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JULY 12 - JULY 18, 2013
VOLUME 21 NO. 28
IN THE JURY’S HANDS The parents of Trayvon Martin, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, arrive in the courtroom during the last week of George Zimmerman’s trial in Sanford.
Benjamin Crump
Rev. Al Sharpton
Another Trayvon rally? Thousands may go to Sanford from Orlando BY JAMES HARPER FLORIDA COURIER
POOL PHOTO BY JOE BURBANK/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/ MCT
Editor’s note: This story was written as of the Florida Courier’s press time late Wednesday night, prior to the end of the trial. Check flcourier.com for updates. BY JAMES HARPER FLORIDA COURIER
SANFORD – George Zimmerman’s defense team wrapped up its case as the Florida Courier was going to press with Zimmerman deciding not to testify in the second-degree murder trial. Prosecutors began calling rebuttal witnesses after Circuit Judge Debra Nelson denied a renewed motion by the defense to acquit Zimmerman. The defense rested after that ruling. Before being sent home for the evening Wednesday, jurors were told that they may hear closing arguments from the prosecution on Thursday and from the defense on Friday, followed by jury
More than 200 people attended a town hall meeting at Allen Chapel June 24 organized by the Seminole County NAACP Branch. They were praying instead of protesting, and it was then they decided to continue praying at least every Monday at noon at area churches. Allen’s membership has almost 700 on its rolls, including the city’s NAACP branch president, Turner Clayton, and the city’s only Black city commissioner, Velma Williams. The first call to prayer at the church July 1 was cancelled due to a funeral. Allen’s church members were reminded by Pastor Valarie Houston to attend the instructions and deliberations. call to prayer scheduled the next Monday, July 8. But fewer than 10 people In Sanford showed up for the noon prayer. Allen Chapel AME Church has been Houston has been Allen’s pastor for ground zero for Sanford’s Black resi12 years. She told the Florida Courier dents to organize since Martin was killed on Feb. 26, 2012. See TRIAL, Page A2
As George Zimmerman’s trial ends, Floridians watch, wait, and prepare for the verdict. But is riot preparation really necessary?
Celebrating one of their own
It’s possible that thousands of NAACP members may descend on Sanford where the George Zimmerman trial is winding down. Coincidently, the civil rights organization is holding its national convention in Orlando on July 12-17 at the Orange County Convention Center, less than 20 miles from the city where Zimmerman is on trial in the murder of 17-yearold Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman killed Martin, who was unarmed, as he walked from a convenience store on his way back to his father’s Sanford home.
Waiting on verdict NAACP Director of Communications Derek Turner confirmed to the Florida Courier that the organization always planned some kind of demonstration to show support for Martin’s family, but was waiting until the verdict was rendered so their actions wouldn’t have any
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER
Members of the University of Florida’s Association of Black Alumni congratulate Fort Lauderdale native (and UF graduate) Eugene K. Pettis, center, after he was sworn in as Florida Bar president. Pettis now leads the organization governing more than 96,000 lawyers licensed to practice law in the state, the third largest state bar association in the nation.
SNAPSHOTS State’s Cabinet worth more than $9.76 million
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influence on the trial or on jurors. Turner said at least 3,000 people are expected to attend this year’s convention. “We didn’t anticipate the verdict taking place the same time as our convention,” Turner said, adding that NAACP leaders including President Ben Jealous and others will be making a trip to Sanford at some point during the convention. Turner said plans are under way for what will be a peaceful demonstration there, whether Zimmerman is found guilty or not guilty. He would not release any details.
Sharpton, Crump to speak Turner also noted that National Action Network President Rev. Al Sharpton will be one of the featured speakers on Wednesday, along with Martin Luther King, III and Congressman John Lewis during the closing program of the conference. Sharpton was called in to help nationalize a local Florida movement to put pressure on law enforcement officials to arrest and prosecute Zimmerman. See RALLY, Page A2
Daytona International Speedway looking to do business BY JAMES HARPER FLORIDA COURIER
FLORIDA | A3
Derek Turner
DAYTONA BEACH – Daytona International Speedway is looking for minority, women and local contractors for its $400 million renovation project of the frontstretch at the track. Barton Malow, the contractor for the construction project, will be hosting an outreach event July 17 in the Bill France Room at the Daytona International Speedway (DIS) Ticket & Tours Building, 1801 West International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. “If you are a Florida minority or woman-owned business, or if you are a local Volusia County construction trade, please join the Barton Malow/ Rossetti team to discuss possible opportunities on this project,” according to a press release sent to the Daytona Times, the Flori-
da Courier’s sister newspaper. Interested contractors are asked to RSVP to linda.hughes@bartonmalow. com or call 386-681-4800. No more than two persons are asked to represent firms interested in working on the project. All attendees must sign a confidentiality agreement prior to the event.
Taking action The outreach event came about after the Florida Courier and the Daytona Times published stories in April and May about minority contractors who try to participate in major construction projects like the one DIS is undertaking. After reading the series, Lenny Santiago, a DIS spokesman, contacted the Daytona Times in April and said DIS “intends to implement a coSee SPEEDWAY, Page A2
COMMENTARY: MARGARET KIMBERLEY: IF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN GOES FREE... | A4 COMMENTARY: REV. JESSE JACKSON: OBAMA SHOULD LEAD FIGHT TO REVIVE VOTING RIGHTS ACT | A5
FOCUS
A2
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
Smartphones are the new necessity Does anyone remember what life was like before cell phones? Almost makes you wonder how in the world we were able to drive to unfamiliar places without our trusty GPS app, play those addictive games, and much more. How many of us nearly would hyperventilate from separation anxiety because we’ve left our phones at home? Or worse, in a car or a cab? (This just recently happened to me.) Our cell phones have become glued to our hips. Today, they are more of a necessity than a luxury. And the numbers definitely agree with this statement.
Ownership increasing The latest Nielsen insights tell us that 61 percent (more than three in five) of U.S. mobile phone consumers owned not just any phone, but a smartphone over the most recent period measured March-May 2013. This is a 10-percent increase over the same time last year. Even though 53 percent of U.S.
CHERYL PEARSONMCNEIL NNPA COLUMNIST
smartphone consumers use Android devices, compared to 40 percent who own iPhones, Apple remains the smartphone operating system manufacturing champ because it is the sole manufacturer of the device. Many different companies offer Android OS models and share in that 53 percent slice of the smartphone market share pie, introducing new competitors every other day it seems. Blackberry (3 percent), Windows (2 percent) and others (2 percent) round out the remainder of the market.
Who owns what? Smartphone ownership in the Black community jumped to 69 percent from 54 percent between 2013 and 2012. Across all demo-
graphics, most smartphone owners in the U.S. are women, with three out of five using the devices. And, as you might imagine, ownership is highest among young folks; specifically the 25-34-yearold Millennials with 78 percent market penetration. Right behind them, three out of four mobile consumers between 18 -24 already own smartphones. And even though those of us over 35 might be behind, we’re moving up fast. If you’ve followed my iPhone “adventures” in this column over the last couple of years, you know that even though I might have been intimidated initially, I’ve successfully overcome my technological challenges to master several generations of iPhones. I am now the owner of an iPhone 5 and I dreaded getting a new phone because that meant I had to switch over all of my chargers! However, the change has not been so bad, I’ll have to admit. In fact, even though smartphone penetration has been lowest among Americans ages 55 and older, the ownership numbers among these savvy consumers has almost doubled over the last year and is now at 42 percent.
Used for research Smartphone owners are capable of entertaining ourselves for hours on our lightweight companions. But we can handle all manners of business or find the answer to nearly any question or solution to any problem. We can also use our mobile apps to make smart economic decisions. Nielsen insights tell us that smartphone users spend 87 percent of their time using mobile apps; women slightly edge out men, with more than 28 hours versus 25 hours a month respectively, and 13 percent of their time using the mobile web. How’s this for thinking economically? I was intrigued by a recent Nielsen NRG survey on movie trailers which says that 15 percent of us check out movie trailers and previews on our smartphones before we decide to spend money on tickets, up from six percent in 2010. If you don’t like the preview, you don’t have to spend your money at the movie theater, which is not as cost-effective as it used to be some years ago.
We take advantage Besides talking, smartphone owners in the African-American community take full advantage
TRIAL
from A1
this week she was not disappointed in the turnout, saying most were praying on their job and at home.
No cameras
More than just Trayvon Pastor Houston admits that the city of Sanford still has major challenges. The Trayvon Martin case is not the only murder that has incurred in the city over many years that Black community leaders are concerned about. There are 27 unsolved murders involving Blacks that Houston says the city’s police department hasn’t investigated. “They need some sense of closure,” Houston said, referring to family members of the loved ones whose murders haven’t been solved. “Our kids are being profiled year after year, generation after generation. If he (Zimmerman) had stood down instead of standing his ground, Trayvon would be alive today. “But we are on the move toward justice. The media gave us a voice. We have
Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Nielsen. For more information and studies go to www.nielsenwire.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.
RALLY
from A1
Sanford resident Oscar Redden, one of the few at Allen Chapel Monday, said he was not surprised at the low turnout for the call for prayer. Redden, a former deputy sheriff, calls his Brother’s Keepers organization a “safe haven where you can be who you are.” He holds drug and alcohol recovery meetings in the building. “If Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson was here, you couldn’t find anywhere to park,” said Redden, one of the founders of Brothers Keepers, Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps recovering addicts located a block away from the church. “I’m one person. I’ll go to hell standing for what is right. We are a minority. People come out for cameras. I’m moved by injustice for the least of us,” he explained. “My degree of commitment is not decided by who is here, but injustice. “The people responsible for revitalizing this community died. Nobody passed on the spirit that is needed for the next generation,” declared Redden.
of all the mobile web access and other features, more than any other demographic groups. For example, we love to tweet and are 30 percent more likely to visit Twitter than the average consumer from our smartphones. Sixty-four percent of us visited a retail site or app on our phones. Sixty-one percent of AfricanAmerican smartphone consumers read product reviews. Fiftyseven percent researched and compared prices on our phones. Half of us visited a shopping site or app and 38 percent of us did a bargain search for mobile coupons. So the next time you find yourself checking your latest social media posts on the go, texting, shopping or playing a game, remember that with every little “tap,” your consumer power is working.
GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT
Thousands of demonstrators marched during a rally on March 31, 2012 in Sanford demanding justice in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. been crying silently for 12 years. The color of your skin doesn’t mean you have to be profiled. We are who God created us to be,” she continued.
‘Good old boys’ Redden, who has lived in Sanford all 67 years of his life, says most of the residents “function as if there is no problem” even after Trayvon was killed. He says it took Trayvon’s death for issues and questions Black Sanford residents have been raising for years about local law enforcement to be taken seriously Redden calls Sanford “a good old boys town. Good old boys don’t like being called good old boys. They wear skirts, too.” He says many of the Blacks in leadership roles have been catering to the good old boys. Redden wasn’t impressed when the city hired Norton Bonaparte as the city’s first Black city manager and more recently approved the hiring of Cecil Smith as the city’s first Black police chief. “They want us to see
SPEEDWAY from A1 ordinated community outreach program, including advertising, trade fairs, training and meet-and-greet opportunities, to ensure all qualified local women and minority firms can participate” in the redevelopment project. “We have worked with minority and women business enterprises in the past on other initiatives. We believe this proj-
them working for our benefit,” he noted.
Informing the community Houston has been one of the city’s four pastors who have had a reserved seat in the courtroom as the trial has been going on. She said there are at least 40 people who meet regularly, are briefed about the trial, and inform the community about what is going on. She has her own opinion about the trial. “There is a lot of circumstantial evidence, not direct evidence. He (Zimmerman) didn’t listen to the dispatcher. This was going to be his moment to be a hero. He was profiling Trayvon. He intended to run behind him,” she continued. “Justice has to be served. I’m praying. I have faith that Zimmerman will be found guilty of something.” Says Redden: “If I had caused the death of a17year-old, I would be in the penitentiary. The trial has been about everything but injustice done to that boy. He stalked and killed Tray-
ect would represent a significant potential boost to our local economy, creating thousands of construction jobs,” Santiago added. Barton Malow and Rosetti, the project’s architectural firm for the project known as “DAYTONA Rising,” will be giving an overview of the opportunities, a rough timeline of events, how to pre-qualify as a contractor, and other information. Jobs include site work, concrete and masonry, drywall and mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, among others. Construction on the project began with the official groundbreaking on July 5.
von,” he concluded. Whatever the verdict, Houston said Sanford residents are prepared to act. “Everybody will have their individual reaction. If the NAACP and pastors march, we will march with them.”
Preparing for the worst Miami city officials and community leaders are nervous, and remember how parts of the city exploded 33 years ago after an all-White jury acquitted a Miami cop in the death of a Black insurance agent, Arthur McDuffie. Rioting there destroyed three miles of the city and caused $100 million in damage and 18 deaths. Police met with the Miami-Dade Community Relations Board and a Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Committee to discuss the trial and its aftermath. “We want people to respond in a positive way. If they have frustrations they want to vent, we want them to do that in an orderly and organized way. So the mes-
Turner said more than likely Sharpton would also be going to Sanford while he was in Orlando, but he wouldn’t confirm when. Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys for Trayvon’s family, is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on the controversial “stand your ground” law that Zimmerman initially planned to use to get the murder charge against him dropped. Crump is scheduled to speak around 2:20 p.m. Sunday. Turner also confirmed that hundreds of students, members of the NAACP’s Youth and College Division, will be in Sanford on July 17, the last day of the convention, from 3 to 6 p.m. to register Sanford residents to vote. He said Sanford has a large African-American population that is not registered to vote. “If you are not registered to vote, you can’t
sage is, ‘Peace for Trayvon,’” board member Dr. Walter T. Richardson told CBS Miami. Members of the NBA champion Miami Heat have been asked to lead a nonviolent “unity walk” through inner city Miami neighborhoods after the verdict is announced. Broward County law enforcement, located just north of Miami-Dade County, released a public service announcement video called. “Raise Your Voice, Not Your Hands.” The video urges viewers to focus on nonviolent protests. In the video, a young woman and a young man appear. “Let’s give violence a rest, because we can easily end up arrested,” they both say.
No history of violence An Internet search by the Florida Courier indicates that despite large rallies protesting Trayvon’s death in 2012 in cities like Seattle, Detroit, Philadelphia and New York City, as well as the initial Sanford rally that attracted more than 30,000
serve on a jury,” Turner explained, referencing the fact that there are no Blacks on the Zimmerman jury.
More progress needed Turner said the various civil rights 50-year anniversaries in 2013 “remind us how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. “As we honored the contributions of heroes like Medgar Evers, W.E.B. DuBois and Bayard Rustin, we also fought the new Jim Crow of mass incarceration and the old Jim Crow of voter suppression. “We broke records for voter diversity, but faced new attacks on equal access to education, health care and economic opportunity,” Turner continued. “This convention is a chance for NAACP activists to celebrate our victories and prepare for the year ahead. We have never been content to just memorialize past icons; we need to be the heroes of our present and future,” he concluded.
people, there have been few arrests or violent incidents surrounding Trayvon’s death. Also, there was no violent reaction in Florida to the most recent high-profile incident similar to Zimmerman’s killing of Trayvon Martin. In 2006, 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson was suffocated and subsequently died at the hands of juvenile detention guards in an incident in a Panama City juvenile detention “boot camp.” There were nonviolent marches and sit-ins at then-Gov. Jeb Bush’s office in Tallahassee. All seven prison guards and a nurse who were on the scene at the time Anderson essentially choked to death were acquitted in a subsequent criminal trial in Panama City. Anderson’s family settled a civil lawsuit against the state of Florida and Bay County, but the Department of Justice concluded that there was insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against the guards and the nurse.
Daytona International Speedway’s proposed $400 million project includes thousands of additional seats and “enhancements to the fan experience.”
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
FLORIDA
A3
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation on June 3, 2011 to crack down on pill-pushing pain clinics, vowing to end Florida’s reputation as the “oxycodone capital” of the nation. Looking on, from left: Joyce Dawley, FDLE; Phil Williams, Orlando MBI; Gerald Bailey, FDLE; Seminole sheriff Don Eslinger; Winter Park police chief Brett Railey, Rep. Scott Plakon.
ACLU wants to limit access to prescription-drug database Organization wants law enforcement agencies to have court order to check records BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida on Monday asked the state Department of Health to tighten rules to prevent the accidental release of confidential information from a state prescription-drug database. The database was created to curb “doctor shopping” by drug abusers who visit multiple physicians and pharmacies to get powerful painkillers. But the program in recent weeks has come under heavy scrutiny – and faces a legal challenge – since the disclosure of confidential prescription records for roughly 3,300 people in the Volusia County area. The information was disclosed to defense attorneys involved in a drug case. Now the ACLU is recommending that law enforcement agencies be required to get search warrants in order to access the database.
Database created in 2009 Failing that, Pamela Burch Fort of the ACLU said the Department of Health should limit law enforcement’s access to the database to prevent “fishing expeditions.” Burch Fort was the only member of the
public who spoke during a rule-making workshop Monday at the department headquarters in Tallahassee. “Requiring law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant or a court order is a change that must come from the Legislature and not DOH,” Burch Fort said. “But we want to stress that such an amendment to (state law) is critical.” The database was created in 2009, after Florida became known as a magnet for drug abusers and dealers to get powerful – and sometime deadly – pills. According to the Department of Health, since the database began operations two years ago, Florida has seen a nearly 18 percent drop in deaths due to Oxycodone abuse and a 58 percent drop in “doctor shopping” cases.
What’s required Under the law, pharmacies and other health professionals who dispense certain painkilling drugs must report the name of the prescriber, the date the prescription was filled and the name, address and birthdate of the person to whom the drug is dispensed – all information that was compromised in the Volusia case. But that does not mean physicians have to check the database before writing prescriptions for the drugs. “The (database) is not a research tool,” Burch Fort said. “It is a collection of highly sensitive information to which law enforcement should only have access after a neutral third party has examined the asserted grounds for need (and) determined that the
State’s Cabinet worth more than $9.76 million BY JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE – It was a good fiscal year for the state Cabinet. Cabinet members – Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam – are now collectively worth $9,756,748, up a little more than $900,000 from a year earlier, accord-
ing to newly filed financialdisclosure reports. Putnam, whose wealth is tied to the family owned Putnam Groves, continues to be the fiscal pacesetter, with his net worth up to $7.2 million, an increase from $6.49 million in 2011. His net worth had dipped from $6.8 million in 2010, when he was elected commissioner. Collectively, the trio was worth $8,846,996 a year ago.
law enforcement agency is targeting specific individuals or entities for specific crimes, supported by probable cause.” The ACLU also recommended that the results of law enforcement queries be redacted to remove the names and personal data of those who were not under investigation, and that the Department of Health ensure the results remain confidential and notify those whose personal information has been breached. But Lorri Abramowitz, a former detective in the pharmaceutical drug unit of the Duval County Sheriff’s Office, said the ACLU recommendations would undermine the state’s successful effort. “Having to get a subpoena or a search warrant to obtain that information would totally slow down the process and put us going backwards rather than forwards,” Abramowitz said. “Doctor-shopping cases are down, at least in Duval County. It is working.”
More checks urged Abramowitz also said more checks by physicians and pharmacies would reduce the need for law enforcement agencies to access the database. In a report dated Dec. 1, 2012, the Department of Health found that physicians and pharmacists had used the database 2.6 million times since it began operations in September 2011. Law enforcement officers had used it more than 20,000 times in criminal investigations involving controlled substances. Five
Range of investments Putnam’s 20 percent share of Putnam Groves accounted for $2.8 million, while the majority of his assets are tied in a wide range of investments in Vanguard funds. His Bartow home was valued at $174,000, while a residence in Tallahassee was appraised at $260,000. He also owns portions of homes in Little Gasparilla Island, Lake Wales and Babson Park. The former U.S. congressman earned $123,912 in the state job last year. Atwater reported a net worth of $1,743,229 in 2012, up from $1.6 million when he ran for the statewide office in 2010. As with Putnam, the
thousand pharmacies had entered 56 million controlled-substance prescriptions into the database. Abramowitz, who helped Attorney General Pam Bondi draft the legislation cracking down on pill mills, said limits on use of the database could force law enforcement officers to contact dozens of pharmacies individually. Florida Sheriffs Association executive director Steve Casey pointed to a Sarasota County case in which one person obtained 178 prescriptions for Oxycodone and Hydrocodone from 56 different medical providers, filling them at 26 different pharmacies over two years. “The subject went to dentists, walk-in clinics, emergency rooms, urologists, psychiatrists and other providers every few days to obtain small quantities of the potent drugs in an attempt to go undetected,” Casey said. “That worked until two pharmacists finally consulted the database and alerted investigators… This case exemplifies why the (database) can only be effective if it is checked by medical professionals prescribing or dispensing these powerful prescription drugs.”
Opposition from doctors Casey said statistics show the database is working, and that as more medical professionals begin using it, the state will continue to see a decrease in prescription-related deaths and “doctor shopping” cases. During the 2013 session, measures by Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, and Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New
increase shows up in part through a rise in the stock market. A Northern Trust IRA account – which includes investments in AT&T, Conoco Phillips, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Pepsico, Phillips 66 and Proctor & Gamble stock and more than $16,000 in gold – is valued at $1.076 million.
Income, debts Atwater’s North Palm Beach home is valued at $295,000. A banker and former Senate president, Atwater earned $118,517 as CFO. Bondi’s worth has jumped from $472,696 in 2010, while a candidate for state office, to $780,871 and included a $107,000
Governor starting search for new running mate THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
With the 2013 legislative session and the billsigning period now complete, Gov. Rick Scott is getting around to finding an occupant for the lieutenant governor’s office, which has been vacant nearly four months. Scott said Monday he recently directed his chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, to establish criteria to select a person who also likely will end up as a running mate in 2014. “We’re starting the process now Jennifer that we’re done with the session, Carroll the budget, the bills,” Scott said. “We’ll take the right amount of time, because we want to get the right person that will do a great job with this.”
Vacant since March The post has been vacant since Jennifer Carroll resigned in March amid a scandal about the Internet café industry. Florida law says “there shall be a lieutenant governor,” but it’s not specific about how long the position may remain vacant. Scott has to have a running mate when he qualifies for re-election in June 2014. He said that while people, including former legislators, may have offered advice on replacing Carroll, the search will be conducted “internally” by the governor’s office.
Port Richey, would have required doctors to check the database before prescribing controlled substances, but they failed – in part due to opposition from physicians’ groups. Florida Medical Association General Counsel Jeff Scott said in an email his organization was instrumental in passing legislation to crack down on pill mills, but “arbitrarily requiring all physicians – regardless of patient population or specialty – to consult a database before prescribing a (drug covered under the law) is not the answer. This puts patients
Pam Bondi
Adam Putnam
increase from a year ago. Unlike in 2010 when she listed no income, she reported earning $128,499 in the state position last year.Bondi also maintains the most expensive home among the Cabinet, with her Tampa area residence appraised at $665,000. The property was valued at $635,400 in 2010.
with legitimate pain needs in limbo and makes it more difficult for physicians to treat their patients.” Scott also said the FMA has serious concerns about patient privacy in light of recent leaks of patients’ personal data. “Until those issues are resolved, forcing physicians to use the database is not good public policy,” he said. A Department of Health spokeswoman said the ACLU’s recommendations and any written comments submitted by July 22 will come up for discussion at another workshop, as yet unscheduled, in August.
Jeff Atwater She also reported owing the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union just over $301,000, down from $311,000 a year earlier. Putnam listed owing $118,704 to Bank of America. Atwater’s liabilities totaled $70,839, owed to Bank of America Mortgage, Bank of America and Chase Financial.
EDITORIAL
A4
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
Zimmerman acquittal is license to kill The number of AfricanAmericans watching and keeping up with the George Zimmerman trial in Central Florida is approaching the number of Black viewers that saw the trial of O.J. Simpson. We seemed to be very, very concerned about the following, the stalking and the deadly shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman’s defense lawyers moved for a summary judgment in the case shortly after the prosecution rested saying that Zimmerman honestly acted in self defense. After everybody in court and every-
Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT
body watching at home laughed, some out loud, the judge promptly dismissed the ridiculous defense motion.
Zimmerman lied George Zimmerman is a liar. If you lie about what actually happened, you also have to lie some more to explain the lie. There has been no evidence presented that Trayvon, the skinny
teenager, beat Zimmerman by raining blow after blow to Zimmerman’s face and broke Zimmerman’s nose. That scenario is impossible because you can’t hit someone in their bloody face over and over again and fail to get blood, skin cells or DNA on your clothes, hands and fists. Eyewitnesses say when Zimmerman murdered Trayvon, he walked away. He walked away from the child’s lifeless body and walked toward the dog walk area out of sight of nearby homeowners. I believe that is when Zimmerman took his handgun and hit himself in the
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: EDWARD SNOWDEN REVISED
face and took something Passing for White just like the Hispanic trysmaller, perhaps keys, and And, if you hate the His- ing to pass as White George made scratches to the back panic-trying-to-pass-for- Zimmerman has and if Zimof his head in order to claim White George Zimmerman merman walks after killing self defense. for what he did to Trayvon Trayvon Martin and if I see Martin, you should also hate George Zimmerman I will Get away with the “Black Zimmermans” be afraid for my life, I will murder? that kill Black youth in Chi- not wait until Zimmerman Now, don’t be surprised cago, in Atlanta, in Hous- grabs me or tries to shoot if Zimmerman walks. Many, ton, in New Orleans, in Los me, I will do what I am cermany Black people in Flori- Angeles and in several other tified trained by the Nationda have been killed by non- cities across the nation day al Rifle Association to do. I wear a hoodie someBlacks and have gotten after day, week after week and month after month. times, but I am not an unaway with it. I’m mad with everybody armed teenager with SkitBlack people in Florida, that kills a teenager and it tles in my pockets. I am and in America, have been hit, punched, slapped, doesn’t matter to me if the against violence against raped, castrated, burned, child is Black, White or sky young people and grown people so I am always preshot, hung, impaled, blue pink. Anyone that calls a child pared to prevent it or stop starved, poisoned, dragged by a car or truck and killed who is preparing to go to it! in other ways only to have college that he doesn’t know a punk, a thug or an Buy Gantt’s latest book nothing done about it. I know you don’t like for asshole and follows him “Beast Too: Dead Man and shoots him in the heart Writing” at any major me to write like this, but it on a dark rainy night should bookstore and contact is true! If you hate me you try to do that to me. him at www.allworldconshould hate what happened sultants.net. Click on this years ago in St. Augustine, story at www.flcourier. in Rosewood and in oth- Zimmermans com to write your own reer Florida cities, towns and beware I have a weapons permit sponse. counties.
Rachel Jeantel: Fish out of water
DARYL CAGLE, CAGLECARTOONS.COM
If George Zimmerman goes free… George Zimmerman is now on trial for Trayvon Martin’s death. Expert legal observers agree that a guilty verdict on a murder charge is far from assured. Zimmerman stands a good chance of going free because the deceased and any other Black person who speaks for him, like his friend Rachel Jeantel, has been put on trial in the court and in the court of public opinion. In 2012, the Malcolm X Grass Roots Movement published a report which detailed the extrajudicial killings of Black people by police, security guards and selfappointed law enforcers like Zimmerman. In the first half of 2012, they reported that 120 Black people were murdered in this manner – one death every 36 hours. If Zimmerman goes free how will Black people respond? How will we react to the denial of justice for Trayvon and the hundreds of others whose names we don’t know? It wouldn’t be enough to tell people not to be violent, or to march in silent protest. There must be very public, very outspoken acknowledgement that our system demands that Black people be victimized by those in authority on a regular basis. A volunteer security guard qualifies as an authority if he kills a Black person. The songs, parades and kumbayahs should be kept to a minimum. Anyone
MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT
who speaks about the case should be unafraid to tell the ugly truth about the many ways in which Black people are targeted in this country. The well-paid pundits and Black misleaders should be called out if they aren’t willing to speak openly about why Trayvon Martin was killed. If the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement is correct, some 300 Black people have died in the same manner since the day Trayvon was killed. Their names need to be known and there should be a frank discussion about why they died. Trayvon Martin is dead because the lynch law still lives. If George Zimmerman is acquitted, that simple fact ought to be spoken loudly and often. If it isn’t, then the injustice is magnified for Trayvon Martin and the hundreds of other unknown victims.
Margaret Kimberley's column appears weekly in BlackAgendaReport. com.
Opinions expressed on this editorial page are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of the newspaper or the publisher.
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Some legal commentators analyzing the George Zimmerman trial believe “star witness” Rachel Jeantel may have been more detrimental to the prosecution’s case than a help. It is generally held that Jeantel’s demeanor simmered of contempt, her language skills were less than stellar and her entire being screamed of a lack of sophistication. But are these things relevant to the process of determining if Zimmerman maliciously killed Trayvon Martin? No. Specifically, there is a myopic focus on the term, “creepy ass cracker”— language clearly without place in civil 21st century American discourse. There’s also her less-than-cooperative manner in interacting with the defense and derisive speculation about her physical appearance.
Jeantel not on trial It’s true that Jeantel was a proverbial fish out of water. Her background and upbringing did not prepare her to perform well in a formal courtroom. Saying this is in-
DJANA MILTON GUEST COLUMNIST
dicative of the ills plaguing the inner-city has merit. But Rachel Jeantel is not on trial. Neither are the inner-city and the destructive forces of its culture and attitude. What demands scrutiny is whether Zimmerman had a right, under the law, to shoot Martin on the fateful night in question. To the degree that Jeantel can assist in illuminating the events that transpired, up to and including the point where Zimmerman took 17-yearold Martin’s life, is relevant and vital. Jeantel was on the stand to describe what she knew of the last minutes of Trayvon Martin’s life and give voice to words Martin can no longer utter. Her appearance, cringe-worthy grasp of English and less-than-cooperative posture towards an opposing counsel whose strategy included exploiting
her shortcomings on social and literacy fronts may not, in the end, have aided Martin’s cause. They are, however, irrelevant as far as the merits of the case go.
Roadblocks ahead Indeed, Rachel Jeantel’s demonstrated lack of preparation when it comes to advancing her future standing and performing well on a high-stakes stage will likely cause her to encounter roadblocks and barriers in life. Be that as it may, as far as we know, Rachel Jeantel hasn’t killed anybody. In the grand scheme of things, there are bigger fish to fry.
Djana Milton, a member of the Project 21Black leadership network, is a software engineer, product of Catholic schools and is a classically trained musician, pilot, and former athlete. Comments may be sent to Project21@nationalcenter.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.
Civil rights history made and unmade We applaud the United States Supreme Court for striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and extending equal protection for all legal marriages in America, regardless of gender. The United States Senate also made history law week by voting to create a path to citizenship for millions of people who may have entered the country illegally but have been working, going to school, obeying the law, raising families and living in the shadows for years. Both of these decisions move us closer to the dream of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans, including African-Americans and people of color. But as we near the 50-year celebration of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the Supreme Court took one step sideways and one step back regarding affirmative action in Fisher v. University of Texas and voting rights in Shelby v. Holder.
Tragic decision There is no unalienable right more fundamental to our democracy than the right to vote. Yet, last week, the Supreme Court made a tragic decision by ruling that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. For the purpose of providing stringent remedies where appropriate, Section 4 established a formula to identify those areas in the country where racial discrimination has been most
MARC H. MORIAL TRICE EDNEY WIRE
prevalent. Section 4 is the foundation upon which Section 5 stands, which requires states or local governments with a history of voting discrimination to get approval from the federal government before making any changes to their voting laws or procedures. The Voting Rights Act was necessary in 1965 and remains so in 2013. If the voter suppression tactics employed by numerous states in the 2012 elections aren’t evidence enough, consider that in the first four months of this year alone, restrictive voting bills have been introduced in more than half the states.
Direct blow to progress This decision is a direct blow to 50 years of progress towards voter equality and to the dream that Dr. Martin Luther King so passionately and purposefully shared with us in 1963. As Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who was brutally beaten during the Selma to Montgomery march that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 put it: The Supreme Court put a dagger in the heart of the law. The National Urban League is urging Congress to abandon partisanship and act immediately in the
best interest of our nation and our democracy by enacting a new and responsible formula for Section 4.
Celebrating justice On Aug. 23 in Washington, D.C., the National Urban League will join Harry Johnson and The Memorial Foundation as they convene a “Drum Majors for Justice Celebration” that will be free and open to the public, featuring legacy leaders and torchbearers of the Civil Rights Movement discussing our progress over 50 years and the challenges ahead. On Aug. 24, we will join Melanie Campbell, Ben Jealous and Labor leaders, as well as Rev. Al Sharpton, in supporting the “50th Anniversary March on Washington: Realize the Dream” rally and march. These events look back at where we have come from and also look forward to the work that still lies ahead. As I have said many times, when it comes to guaranteeing the basic rights at the heart of our democracy, there can be no commemoration without continuation.
For more information on the 50th Anniversary/March on Washington activities, visit www. DrumMajorsForJustice. com. Marc Morial is president/CEO of the National Urban League. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
EDITORIAL
Reflecting on comprehensive immigration reform Americans have now celebrated July 4th and America’s independence. It was also a time when public ceremonies were held to swear in newly naturalized American citizens. That gives us a chance to reflect on comprehensive immigration reform and think about the economic implications. First, it is important to look back at U.S. immigration law. In the beginning, the United States did not have limits on immigration. The earliest law, passed in 1790, was a naturalization law declaring that only free Whites of “good moral character” could be naturalized, and that a person born in the United States was a citizen only if his or her father was a U.S. citizen.
White privilege So, any free White person could apply to be naturalized after two years. There was no quota placed on the number of immigrants. This is important, since many people want to claim their ancestors arrived here “legally,” implying some legal limit existed that they obeyed. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution protected the trans-Atlantic slave trade by saying Congress could not pass laws to limit the “importation” of slaves from Africa until after 1807. Then in 1807, Congress passed and President Thomas Jefferson signed into law the end of bringing slaves from Africa into the United States, effective Jan. 1, 1808. So, those African-Americans who are the descendants of American slavery trace their roots in America to before 1808. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in July 1868, stated that all persons born in the United States were citizens, clarifying the right to citizenship of African-Americans born into slavery. Congress subsequently passed the Naturalization Act of 1870, further clarifying the right of a person of African descent to become a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Chinese restricted While the 1870 act clarified the status of African-Americans, it left in place the uncertainty around any other persons of color. Congress addressed this in the neg-
WILLIAM E. SPRIGGS TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM
Helping to correct an imbalance in labor laws and workers’ rights will help to correct an imbalance in the ability of workers to bargain freely about their wages and working conditions and to form unions; and, it will increase the reach of labor law enforcement. ative with the Page Act of 1875, which restricted Chinese men coming to the United States to work-to prevent forced labor, and for Chinese women to come to the United States-a set of exclusions that Congress would reinforce in 1882 and again in 1892, increasing restrictions on Chinese immigration. This was expanded with the Immigration Act of 1917 that barred immigration from Asia and the Asian subcontinent. These were not reversed until the 1940s, when Congress lifted the bans and clarified the right of people of Asian descent to be naturalized citizens of the United States. Not until the 1920s did Congress pass laws limiting immigration from other countries, imposing emergency quotas in 1921 and later cementing in place national quotas in 1924. So, for the bulk of Americans of European descent,
Obama visits Mandela’s old cell, but won’t free his own political prisoners President Barack Obama, a man of infinite cynicism, made a great show of going on pilgrimage to Nelson Mandela’s old prison cell on Robben Island, where the future first Black president of South Africa spent 18 of his 27 years of incarceration. With his wife and daughters in tow, Obama said he was “humbled to stand where men of such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield…. No shackles or cells can match the strength of the human spirit,” said the chief executive of the unchallenged superpower of mass incarceration, a nation whose population comprises only 5 percent of humanity, but is home to fully one-quarter of the earth’s prison inmates.
GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT
‘Kill list’ updated True sociopaths, like the commander-in-chief who updates his “kill List” every Tuesday, have no sense of shame, much less irony. Obama feigns awe at Mandela’s suffering and sacrifice in the prisons of apartheid South Africa, yet presides over a regime that, on any given day, holds 80,000 inmates in the excruciating torture of solitary confinement. During Nelson Mandela’s near-
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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: TWO PATHS
all immigration was “legal” in that no limits were placed until 1921, aimed primarily at limiting immigration from Southern European countries-like Italy. So, the major waves of European immigration that took place in the 1850s, 1880s and 1910s faced no legislative limits.
National quotas in place Once national quotas were in place, the sense that an immigrant was “illegal” meant they were from a country that exceeded that country’s quota. Before 1921, it meant you were a race that America did not like. But the national quota laws meant replicating the national origins of people already in the United States, a great advantage to Europeans while a big disadvantage to people of color. Not until the civil rights movement forced America to re-examine the issue of race did immigration laws change to remove this heavy bias in 1965. Ironically, by giving each nation the same quota, it meant that some countries would face more binding quotas, and for the first time Mexican immigrants would face a quota. Since Mexico has a common border with the United States, this obviously means the quota is more binding on Mexican immigration than other countries. That is a long history to put the discussion of comprehensive immigration into a bigger context. Each wave of immigration faced a reaction, whether “Know Nothing” Party members of the 1850s, who disliked Catholic immigrants from Ireland, or later xenophobic reactions to Italians that brought on a sense of panic.
New wave of immigrants And, each wave was felt to hurt the labor market of “native”-born Americans. The 1990s saw a record massive wave of immigration. But it also saw one of the largest growths of jobs in U.S. economic history. The Black unemployment rate that wallowed in double digits from September 1974 to June 1997 finally returned to single-digit levels and reached a record low of 7.3 percent in November 2000. In 1995, for the first time, households in the middle quintile of income in the Black community
CHRISTOPHER WEYENT, THE HILL
overlapped with the middle of the White distribution-making some Blacks truly middle income. And, in 2000, the share of Black families with children living in poverty fell to a record low. Clearly, massive immigration did not stop that good news.
to bargain freely about their wages and working conditions and to form unions; and, it will increase the reach of labor law enforcement. All workers will benefit from this sunshine.
Legal vs. illegal
But, ultimately, the real issue is a set of policies that aims for full employment and puts the priority on getting more people paid. That must be the first priority of policies. The immigration law passed by the Senate could, over a decade, usher in a new wave of almost 10 million more workers through business-friendly changes that open a new flow of science and engineering workers, college professors, multinational executives, physicians and their families (who will be permanent residents), which is about the size of the 1990s wave of immigration. That new wave can boost America’s economic growth to new heights and so lower our federal deficit as the Congressional Budget Office predicts-or without full employment policies being the first priority, could cause the labor market to continue to make wages sag and pile up unemployed Americans. So, it is up to Congress and the President to get to work now on putting full employment first.
So, claims about “legal” versus “illegal” immigration and the sense that immigration must hurt the fate of American workers is very complex. What is clear from the 1990s experience is that macroeconomic policies matter; putting in place policies that aim for full employment trump the immigration flow effect on increasing the labor supply to depress wages. The response of the Federal Reserve to let the unemployment rate fall below 4.5 percent in the late 1990s, the lowest rates since the late 1960s, before it tried to slow the economy was important. Inflation and stagflation during the 1970s had convinced economic policy makers that unemployment rates at that level would cause inflationary pressures that could not be easily stopped. But, the harm done to low-wage workers and millions of workers in the shadows can be corrected; indeed, it is addressed by the Senate legislation. Not just workers, but employers, were hiding workand jobs-from enforcement of labor law and from job seekers who needed information on job openings. Helping to correct an imbalance in labor laws and workers’ rights will help to correct an imbalance in the ability of workers
ly three decades of imprisonment by the White regime, he spent a total of only about one week in solitary confinement. The rest of the time, despite often-harsh treatment, backbreaking labor, and unhealthy conditions, Mandela and other political prisoners at Robben Island and other South African jails were typically housed together. Indeed, Mandela and his incarcerated comrades called the prisons their “university,” where they taught each other to become the future authorities over their jailers.
the human species. At California’s Pelican Bay and the state prison at Corcoran, thousands of inmates are held in isolation, 80 of them for more than 20 years, the very definition of barbarism. Yet, Obama journeys across oceans and continents to stand for a photo op in the cell of a prisoner whose ordeal was nowhere near as horrific as the standard fare for political prisoners in his own country. On his trip to South Africa, Obama proclaimed that “the world is grateful for the heroes of Robben Island.” And, that’s certainly true, although it was a U.S. intelligence agent who lured NelU.S. prisoners son Mandela into a trap in 1962 abused that ultimately led to his capture Racist South Africa’s treat- and imprisonment. ment of Mandela and his co-revolutionists was downright beFree U.S. political nign and enlightened, compared to fate of U.S. prisoners who are prisoners Obama has no sympathy, howdeemed a threat to the prevailing order. At U.S. high security fa- ever, for political prisoners of any cilities, the slightest evidence that race in his own country. Former an inmate is of a political bent of Black Panther Herman Wallace is mind is cause for him to be con- thought to be the longest-serving demned to a solitary existence for prisoner in solitary confinement decades – a social death alien to in the United States, having spent
Full employment first
William Spriggs serves as Chief Economist to the AFL-CIO and is a professor in, and former chair of the Department of Economics at Howard University. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.
40 years alone in a cell in Louisiana’s notorious Angola Prison. Obama could free him at any time, but of course, he won’t. He could emancipate Black Panther captive Russell Maroon Shoatz, who has spent nearly 30 years in solitary, or Republic of New Africa political prisoner Mutulu Shakur or any and all of the scores of other aging political prisoners – people whose dedication to human freedom is no less than Mandela’s, yet have been subjected to far worse treatment at American hands. Instead, Obama has doubled the bounty on Shakur’s comrade and sister, Assata, in exile in Cuba. She might even be on Obama’s kill List – which is the real and authentic legacy of this country’s first Black president.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen. Ford@Black AgendaReport . com. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.
Obama should lead fight to revive Voting Rights Act President Barack Obama should lead a forceful drive to revive the Voting Rights Act, which was effectively disemboweled recently by the Supreme Court’s decision. All celebrate the 1965 Act as the most consequential civil rights legislation of the past century. Its passage was central to the building of the New South, opening the way to attracting foreign investment in auto factories, creating CNN, hosting the Super Bowl, even electing presidents. One afflicted with a poisoned heart is often blind to its effects. The South learned only after the civil rights legislation that segregation was blighting its own potential. In 2006, the Congress, af-
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM
ter weeks of hearings and thousands of pages of testimony and evidence, overwhelmingly reauthorized the law by a vote of 980 in the Senate and 390-33 in the House.
‘Preclearance’ still needed Legislators chose to sustain Section 4 that identified which counties and states had a history of discrimination sufficient that
changes in voting rights would be subject to prior approval by the Justice Department under Section 5. “Preclearance” not only blocked laws with discriminatory effect, but it also inhibited efforts to suppress the right to vote. But, Justice John Roberts, writing for the court in a five-four decision, argued that “our country has changed.” He and the activist reactionaries on the court substituted their judgment for that of elected officials and struck down Section 4. Yet, the decision came after an election in which Republicans, particularly in Section 4 states, had pushed harsh restrictions on voting that would make it harder for minorities to vote. When the
Miami Heat played the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals, the games were rough, but proactive referees kept them from becoming brawls. Justice Roberts’ decision, in essence, would pull the referees off the court.
Responsible way forward We need to keep the referees on the court. Sen. Patrick Leahy (DVt.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has already pledged hearings to begin reformulating Section 4. Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that he hoped the House would find a “responsible way forward.” The president should elevate this issue so that Americans can see who stands for voting rights, and
who stands in the way. Over the past years, the new South has made progress, but that is in large part because the Voting Rights Act put referees on the field to enforce the law. Will Republicans join Democrats in reviving bipartisan support for remedying the Supreme Court’s wrongheaded decision? Or will they use the court’s decision to intensify their efforts to suppress the vote? By pushing hard for action, the president can help re-create the bipartisan support that is vital for our progress as one nation.
Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is president and CEO of the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.
NATION
TOj A6
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
Housing discrimination continues, study shows Report shows shady practices still exist by landlords and real estate agents
still have work to do to end housing discrimination once and for all.”
More research wanted
BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
Blatant acts of housing discrimination have declined in the U.S., but a national study shows that prospective landlords, real estate agents and rental housing providers have found a new way to keep their racism under the radar. The study of 28 cities, conducted by The Urban Institute and released last month by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, reports that while Blacks, Asians and Latinos are no longer blatantly denied housing by being told it is unavailable, discriminators now simply show them fewer units than Whites are shown. “Real estate agents and rental housing providers recommend and show fewer available homes and apartments to minority families, thereby increasing their costs and restricting their housing options. The study concludes this is a national, not a regional, phenomenon,” states a HUD description of the study results.
Units omitted The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housing based on race. But the study, titled Housing Discrimination Against Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2012, outlines how housing providers attempt to get around the law by sneakily omitting certain units while apparently showing Blacks and other minorities what they want them to see. “Black, Hispanic, and Asian renters are all told about fewer housing units than equally qualified white renters,” says the Executive Summary of the study. “Black renters who contact agents about recently advertised housing
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housing based on race. However, a new study outlines how housing providers attempt to get around the law by sneakily omitting certain units while apparently showing Blacks and other minorities what they want them to see.
White home seekers favored
A Department of Housing and Urban Development nationwide study spanning 28 metropolitan areas reveals a pattern of discrimination against minorities seeking information to rent or purchase a home.
Difference in access to housing for minorities in U.S. As a percentage of white access
Renting
White
Number of properties told about
100% 88.6
Black Asian Hispanic
Buying *Differences favor neither whites nor Hispanics
Number of properties shown
100% 95.8
90.2
93.4
87.5
92.5
Black
100% 83.0
100% 82.3
Asian
84.5
81.2
White
Hispanic
100*
Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development
units learn about 11.4 percent fewer available units than equally qualified whites and are shown 4.2 percent fewer units. Hispanic renters learn about 12.5 percent fewer available units than equally qualified whites and are shown 7.5 percent fewer units. Asian renters learn about 9.8 percent fewer available units than equally qualified whites and are shown 6.6 percent fewer units.”
Miami among them Other than the reduced numbers of units shown, the study reports that ethnic minority renters also experience other less consistent forms of discriminatory treatment. They relate to “housing costs and
Graphic: Chicago Tribune
quality and the helpfulness of the rental agent.” Racial minorities seeking homes to buy receive the same discriminatory treatment, the study shows. “Like renters, minority homebuyers are rarely denied appointments that their white counterparts are able to make,” the study reports. “However, black homebuyers are slightly more likely than equally qualified whites to be denied an in-person appointment.” Among the 28 cities sampled in the study were: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, San Diego, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Newark, N.J., Greensboro and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Colum-
100* © 2013 MCT
bia, S.C., Kansas City, Mo., Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C. “Fewer minorities today may be getting the door slammed in their faces, but we continue to see evidence of housing discrimination that can limit a family’s housing, economic and educational opportunities,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in a statement. “It’s clear we
The Urban Institute’s Margery Turner, one of six preparers of the study, observes the stealth nature of the discrimination: “The forms of discrimination documented by this study are very difficult for victims to detect,” she said in a statement. “To detect housing discrimination today, HUD and local fair housing organizations need to conduct proactive testing, especially in the sales market, where discrimination appears higher than in the rental market.” Despite the clear findings of the new type of discrimination, the study indicates more research is needed in order to pinpoint the causes and effects of the discrimination as well as the neighborhood segregation that apparently result. “As attitudes and market practices evolve, policymakers and fair housing practitioners need reliable research not only on patterns of discrimination, but also on other factors that may contribute to residential segregation and disparities in neighborhood quality,” concludes the executive summary. “Minorities still suffer from substantial disparities in neighborhood amenities and access to opportunity and the levels and forms of housing discrimination captured by this paired-testing study cannot fully explain current levels of residential segregation.”
Recommendations It continues, “Information gaps, stereotypes and
fears, local regulatory policies, and disparities in purchasing power all work together to perpetuate segregation, even though many Americans – minority and white – say they want to live in more diverse neighborhoods.” Pending more research, the following are among the final observations and recommendations given in the study: “Meaningful reductions in neighborhood segregation and inequality can only be achieved if we tackle all these causal forces at the same time.” “Enforcing existing fair housing protections remains essential. However, fair housing enforcement alone cannot reverse persistent patterns of segregation or undo the damage they cause.” “The evidence argues for a multipronged strategy that includes vigorous enforcement of anti-discrimination protections along with education. Education should pertain to “the availability and desirability of diverse neighborhoods; local regulatory reforms and affordable housing development.” The goal must be “to open up exclusive communities and preserve affordable options in gentrifying neighborhoods” and to provide “neighborhood reinvestment – to equalize the quality of services, resources, and amenities in minority neighborhoods.” “New incentives” are needed “to encourage and nurture stable diversity.” The study concludes, “All these elements are required to achieve the fundamental goals of free and fair housing choice and healthy, opportunity-rich neighborhoods.”
Demonstrators stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 in Washington, D.C., the day the court ruled on the Voting Rights Act striking down portions of the law. OLIVIER DOULIERY/ ABACA PRESS/MCT
Clyburn to head US House’s drive to revise Voting Rights Act BY ZENITHA PRINCE TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
House Democrats have tapped Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.), to lead their efforts to revise the Voting Rights Act, after the Supreme Court gutted the law’s Section 4 last month. “I tasked Jim Clyburn of South Carolina to take the lead on this issue to bring together in a bipartisan way the ideas that could meet the criteria, or be a set of criteria that could meet the court’s judgment,” said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif.), in a press conference on June 27. “The bill has been reauthorized…most recently in 2006. So, this is fresh and yet they (the justices) think it needs to be changed. Hopefully we can do so quickly, most importantly in a bipartisan way as we did before, with a beautiful spirit of wanting to respect the precious right to vote for everyone in our country.” In an interview with The James Grio, Clyburn said DemoClyburn crats are debating a new set of national voting standards to replace
the current system that requires part or all of 15 Southern states to obtain “preclearance” before making any changes to their election systems. (In Florida, affected counties were Hillsborough, Monroe, Collier, Hardee and Hendry.)
Thoughts on standards Clyburn said such standards could include requiring that every state have a minimum number of early voting days and could extend to redistricting, voter ID laws and other ballot access concerns. Such an approach could positively impact a broader range of voters, he suggested, noting that many of the state voting provisions he found most problematic were not in states covered under the pre-clearance formula the high court struck down. “Section 4 needs to be written in such a way that covers any state law that is designed to yield a specific result outside of fundamental fairness,” Clyburn said in the interview. He added, “Every state ought to be subject to some standards.”
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How Ramadan could impact Egypt’s revolution
DENIS VYSHINSKY/ITAR-TASS/ZUMA PRESS/MCT
Supporters of overthrown Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi pray near Rabia Al Adawiyya mosque in Cairo, Egypt, on July 4. A woman holds up a defaced poster of thenPresident Mohamed Morsi oustide the Al-Qobba Presidential Palace in Cairo on July 2.
Opponents of Mohammed Morsi gather at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Egypt, on July 3. LI MUZI/ XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS/MCT
KEITH LANE/ MCT
Monthlong Muslim holiday of fasting and reflection adds to country’s anxieties BY EDMUND SANDERS LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT
C
AIRO, EGYPT — A muggy sunrise over Cairo on Wednesday ushered in the start of Egypt’s annual Ramadan season, when Muslims begin a monthlong period of fasting and religious reflection. The question many here are asking: Will the revolution take time off for the holiday? The military, which last week brought down Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, certainly hopes so. The militaryled interim government is betting that Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood supporters will find it harder to sustain their protests demanding his reinstatement while simultaneously refraining from food, water and cigarettes from dawn to dusk. In most Muslim countries, the government and economy noticeably slow down during Ramadan as people prefer to sleep during the day and spend the nights with family members and friends breaking the fast.
‘Greater meaning’ With the political turmoil since last week’s military coup, many Egyptians say they’re not
particularly in a holiday mood this year. But in the Muslim Brotherhood’s Cairo stronghold of Rabaa, where thousands of Morsi supporters have camped out for a week, most are vowing to keep their sit-in alive even as they fast in temperatures that are expected to hit 100 degrees in the coming days. Many said that celebrating Ramadan in makeshift tents on the streets will give the holiday greater religious meaning. “This feels like a holy pilgrimage” said Eneyat El-Shenway, 38, a teacher and mother of five. Usually at this time of year she would be cleaning the house back in the city of Mansoura, finishing last-minute shopping for special foods, decorating the family dinner table and cooking her children’s favorite dishes, including kofta, duck and macaroni.
More restrained Instead the family is fasting under a carpet-covered tent perched on a traffic median in the middle of Rabaa. “We can forgo all the things we usually enjoy for the sake of our country,” she said. “Even if we eat nothing but water and dates, this year we are 1,000 times happier.” Muslim Brotherhood officials said they were doing their best to give a holiday atmosphere to the protest encampment, decorating tents, laying carpets on the asphalt and planning night-
Ramadan
The world’s Muslims observe Ramadan, their month of spiritual discipline, by fasting, abstinence and prayer during daylight hours.
Calendar
• Muslims use the lunar calendar of 354 days (12 months of 28 to 30 days each); Ramadan is the ninth month • Since lunar year is shorter than 365-day solar year, Ramadan occurs earlier each year in the Western calendar
Origin
• On the 27th day of Ramadan, the Quran, the sacred book of Islam, began to be revealed to the prophet Muhammad
Fasting
• Healthy adults consume nothing between sunrise and sunset, not even water; sex and smoking are forbidden • Normal daily tasks are performed; business hours may be shortened
Reasons for fast
• Religious duty specified in the Koran • Purifies body and strengthens individual’s faith • Creates common bond with poor
Meals
• A small meal is eaten before sunrise • Muslims gather for prayer and a meal after sunset; evenings are festive
Fasting’s end
several days
Festivities
• Friends and family gather to pray, eat, exchange gifts • In some countries, shops and cafes stay open all night
Source: University of Chicago’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies
time soccer matches. White lines have been painted on the streets pointing to the direction of Mecca in preparation for mass prayers. Charities are setting up tables of free food for the protesters, many of whom come from out-
• A feast, “eid al-fitr,” marks the end of Ramadan; celebrations can last
© 2013 MCT
side Cairo. But because Ramadan is seen as a time of brotherhood, charity and equality, ardent Muslims might find it difficult to reconcile the holiday with anti-military protests and calls for vengeance. Harming or killing other
Muslims is especially taboo. By the same token, the military might find itself more restrained during the holiday. Launching a crackdown against the protesters, such as the one Monday that killed at least 51 people, could trigger a public backlash.
Violence typically drops During Ramadan, it’s not uncommon for violence and crime to drop, partly because people are physically weaker and more focused on religion. During the U.S. occupation of Iraq, for example, attacks against American troops usually dipped during Ramadan. A study in Saudi Arabia found that men were less likely to beat their wives during the holiday. Other research, however, suggests that fasting and giving up vices such as cigarettes can make people more irritable and intolerant during Ramadan. In 2009, a church burning in Egypt was attributed to the anti-Christian sentiments whipped up during holiday. In the Palestinian territories, militant attacks against Israel’s occupation have often spiked during Ramadan out of a belief that if a Muslim dies as a martyr during the holiday, the rewards in heaven are even greater. Asked if the family considered going home for the holiday and returning to protest after Ramadan, El-Shenway shook her head and said, “I’d be a traitor.”
CALENDAR & BOOKS
B2
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
S
Jakes’ MegaFest takes place next month in Dallas SPECIAL TO THE COURIER
Thousands of attendees from some 40 countries are expected in Dallas for Bishop T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest scheduled Aug. 29-31. The three-day festival is returning to the United States for the first time since 2006 and will be held at the Dallas Convention Center, American Airlines Center and other venues throughout the Texas city. MegaFest marries four of Jakes’ most popular conferences: ManPower, Woman Thou Art Loosed, MegaYouth and MegaKidz, with plenty of faith, entertainment and business features for the entire family. Pastor Joel Osteen and
Oprah Winfrey’s “Life Class’’ is scheduled Aug. 29 during MegaFest featuring Bishop T. D. Jakes. The event will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Tickets are required for the event. wife Victoria will headline the event along with Jakes. Other nationally known guests include Dr. Jasmin Sculark, Dr. Marvin Sapp, Pastor Sheryl Brady, Dr. E.
Dewey Smith and Pastor Chris Durso. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are in life, everyone is looking for answers, and MegaFest
is the place to find them,” said Jakes, who started MegaFest in 2004. “Whether you come on your own or with family and friends, one thing is for sure: people attending MegaFest will find joy, fun, great music, encouraging community and powerful messages of inspiration, hope and purpose.”
Group packages available MegaFest’s four signature events include: • ManPower – An event for men of all backgrounds to hear from major sports figures, entertainers and world leaders about building a purpose-filled life. • Woman Thou Art
Loosed – Focused on women seeking answers and spiritual guidance, Woman Thou Art Loosed will feature appearances by nationally recognized entertainers and is comprised of talk sessions, preaching, biblical teaching and worship to encourage and inspire. • MegaYouth – Featuring popular youth-focused entertainers and speakers, MegaYouth will provide a forum for young people to find answers and encouragement and a chance to enjoy an energized experience of faith, purpose and community. • MegaKidz – MegaKidz is an adventure crafted just for children to give them a memorable MegaFest ex-
perience in a secure environment. Tickets for the three-day men’s and women’s conferences are $50 per person, while three-day admission to the youths’ and children’s conferences are $20 per person; discount family and group packages are available as well. MegaFest has welcomed more than 700,000 attendees since its inception in 2004. Past speakers and performers have included Aretha Franklin, Steve Harvey, Dave Ramsey and Cirque du Soleil. This is the first time MegaFest will be hosted in Dallas. For more information and to register, visit megafest.com.
FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Miami: “Red’’ is a dancetheater piece that deconstructs and reinterprets the story of Ruby Bridges, whose parents heeded the NAACP’s call for children to desegregate elementary schools in the South. The performance continues July 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Location: Miami Center Theater, 9806 N.E. Second Ave., Miami Shores. www. MTCMiami.org. Miami: Toni Braxton will perform Aug. 29 at the James L. Knight Center for an 8 p.m. show. Tampa: The America’s Most Wanted Festival starring Lil’ Wayne, T.I., Tyga and G-Eazy is scheduled July 13 at Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre at the Florida State Fairgrounds. They also will perform July 14 at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. Miami: Miami Tower and Miami Jazz will present a free concert featuring Yvonne Brown, Oriente and the Federico Britos Trio on July 12. The concert starts at 8 p.m. at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center, 174 E. Flagler St. Miami: 2013 “American Idol’’ winner Candace Glover and finalists on the Fox show will be on tour at the Amway Center in Orlando on Aug. 1 and AmericanAirlines Arena on Aug. 2. Miami: The legendary Chaka Khan is scheduled to perform July 20 at the James L. Knight Center. Fort Lauderdale: Live jazz, blues, pop and everything in between along Hollywood’s signature 2.5 mile Boardwalk is every Friday of every
FANTASIA
Fantasia and Avant will perform Aug. 2 at the James L. Knight Center. The show begins at 8 p.m.
JULIAN MARLEY
Julian Marley & the Uprising Band are scheduled at Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Live on July 21.
month. More information: 954-924-2980. Boca Raton: An open mic night for 18 and up featuring comedy, poetry and music is held every Monday at the Funky Biscuit in the back of Royal Palm Plaza, 303 SE Mizner Blvd. Sign up is at 8 p.m. The show begins at 8:30 p.m. More information: Richy Lala 561-512-8472.
LIONEL RICHIE
Lionel Richie is scheduled to perform Sept. 18 at Hollywood’s Hard Rock Live. Fort Lauderdale: Through July, the museum/gallery of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center will be hosting “Portraits by Caribbean Artists.” Four local artists – Phillip Curtis, Shernett Muhammad, Melissa Aldana and Courtney Henderson – will be sharing the spotlight with images inspired by their Caribbean heritage. More
information: www.broward. org/library.
More information: www. earth-learning.org.
Miami: Miami-Dade County hosts a Downtown Harvest Market every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Residents and visitors have the opportunity to purchase seasonal produce directly from Miami-Dade growers at the Stephen P. Clark Center’s Courtyard, 111 NW 1st St.
Miami Gardens: The Legends of the Summer will feature Justin Timberlake and Jay Z at Sun Life Stadium on Aug. 18. Kissimmee: Osceola Heritage Park, 1875 Silver Spur Lane, is hosting the Youth Basketball of America
National Championships through July 13. Boys and girls basketball teams from around the nation are competing. Tickets are $50 adult tournament pass, $15 daily, $20 student tournament pass, $10 daily (17 and under) and youth 5 and under free (cash only.) More information: www.ohpark. com.
UCF professor examines public sphere of South in ‘To Render Invisible’ DR. GLENN ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER
lic space” between 1865 and 1920, when Jim Crow laws were firmly in place.
Following the election of 1888, the local press in Florida complained that White voters stayed away from the polls while “motley crowds of negroes loaded to the muzzle,” ready to cast Republican ballots had showed up in force. One resident complained that “here in Jacksonville, where ninety-nine hundredths of our visitors and immigrants are white men, two thirds of ‘the guardians of the city’s welfare’ are Negroes.” They were exaggerating, of course, perhaps with malice aforethought. After the Civil War, as Robert Cassanello, a professor of history at the University of Central Florida reminds us, Blacks in the South did, indeed, exercise their hard-won right to vote, but Whites tried to remove them from the public square.
Case study
Review of “To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville’’ by Robert Cassanello, University Press of Florida. In response, Cassanello demonstrates, Blacks developed a “counterpublic,” challenging racism at the ballot box, in schools and public transportation, and at the workplace. “This back and forth,” he writes, “epitomized the history of the public sphere and pub-
In “To Render Invisible,’’ Cassanello uses Jacksonville as a case study to reinforce the conclusion of historians that segregation was implemented in the post-Civil War South following a decades long struggle in which Blacks “were politically assertive and contentious in public life.” Orange Park, a private school, he reveals, tested the constitutionality of segregation laws in 1896, by putting Black and White children in the same classrooms and White teachers and Black pupils in the same dormitory building. The superintendent of schools declared that “such commingling of the races as now exists in the south is thoroughly wicked.” A state law banning these practices, however,
was not passed and signed by the governor until 1913.
Organized boycotts Blacks also resisted a 1901 city ordinance separating the races in streetcars. Respectable Blacks, they argued, should not be subjected to the insults of poor, vulgar and racist Whites. Black passengers refused to obey streetcar conductors. They organized boycotts of public transportation and formed a Black-owned and operated North Jacksonville Line. They made streetcars an issue in municipal elections. And they challenged legislation in the courts. Blacks organized labor unions as well. Demanding a 10-hour day, they called a strike at Jacksonville’s lumber mills in 1873. They went out again seven years later, forcing concessions from some mill owners. In 1902, a carpenter’s strike marked the first time Black and White unions
acted in concert. The limited successes achieved by Black workers, Cassanello points out, were due in part to the desire of local management to retain them as sources of cheap labor. Eventually, however, White officials used vagrancy laws to keep Black laborers “in their place.”
‘Geography of freedom’ “To Render Invisible’’ provides a timely reminder that Blacks in the South were by no means passive bystanders during Reconstruction (1865-1877) – and the years following their virtual abandonment by the Republican Party. Careful, most of the time, not to pose a direct threat to White political supremacy or to explicitly endorse social equality between Blacks and Whites, they “practiced the geography of freedom,” Cassanello writes.
By the early 20th century, alas, Whites in Jacksonville (and elsewhere) had deployed poll taxes, redrawn ward districts to deprive Black councilmen of their seats, and actively or tacitly encouraged the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, to reclaim the public spaces from Blacks they deemed ignorant, uneducated, superstitious and uppity – and used those spaces to codify a social order grounded in racial supremacy. A moment had passed, Professor Cassanello concludes, but it was only “a single moment” in the long history of Blacks, insistently “engaging the public sphere in the South.”
Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He wrote this review for the Florida Courier.
STOJ
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
EDUCATION
B3 College or job?
OLIVIER DOULERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT
President Barack Obama shakes hands with students after speaking at a news conference on May 31 in the Rose Garden of the White House. He discussed helping to keep college affordable for middle-class families and students by preventing student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.
Students deeply concerned about doubled loan interest rate On July 1, Stafford loan rate was to increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 BY SHAYLA MULZAC TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
Due to Congress’ failure to act, the interest rate on the very popular federally subsidized Stafford stu-
dent loans doubled on July 1 from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, causing millions of students to worry about their future. “Personally, I feel like the government is telling me that I have to choose either a minimum wage job post high school or agree to cripple debt postgrad,” said Maya Ennis, a senior psychology major at Wheaton College in
Wheaton, Ill. “In an economy that has already proven to be hard on recent graduates in terms of finding jobs with a decent salary, it does not seem to make sense to increase the burden. In some ways it feels like students who decided to attend college but who cannot pay the full fee out of pocket are being punished.”
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No comprehensive legislation Last year, Congress voted to extend the lower rate on June 29, 2012 for another year. A year after the temporary extension of the interest-rate-relief program, Congress has still not passed comprehensive legislation that permanently addresses the federal student loan rate.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have vowed to lower the rate before students return to school in the fall. Still, the uncertainty is bothersome to students who are also aware of partisan bickering so intense that a distracted Congress has been unable to end the budget cuts of sequestration. In the absence of a decision to reduce the doubled rate, nearly 7 million students will suffer. In a waiting mode, some students are struggling to figure out whether it is beneficial to sign off on student loans for the upcoming fall semester.
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Dr. Rosalind Fuse-Hall, former chief of staff to the president at Florida A&M University (FAMU) and interim director of Title III programs, has become the 17th president of Bennett College. Fuse-Hall replaced Dr. Esther Terry, an alumna who had been serving as interim president since Dr. Julianne Malveaux left in 2012. Bennett College is a private four-year HBCU for women based in Greensboro, N.C. Fuse-Hall’s first day on the job was July 1. During a press conference, she said, “I feel blessed and highly favored that I can join the many illustrious leaders who have led this college. I am humbled by this distinct honor to serve as 17th president of Bennett College and I am truly excited and overwhelmed to be back in North Carolina.” Fuse-Hall said she plans to use her skills to build strong partnerships especially among graduate and professional schools across the nation, which will support the endeavors of Bennett’s graduates and scholars. This year, 44 percent of Bennett College’s graduating class was accepted into graduate or professional schools. About 40 percent of Bennett’s graduates, with the help of partnerships and consortiums created among Greensboro’s five colleges and universities, earned degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).
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The college has a total enrollment of 750 students. Fuse-Hall said the college is working with a consultant from Atlanta to help Bennett use technology to help widen the college’s recruitment scope. Her second initiative is to increase the college’s endowment, which is currently at $11 million. Fuse-Hall said on average alumni giving by all colleges and universities is 9 percent and this percentage drops to 6 percent for HBCUs (historically Black
Protest held after Black history materials tossed ASSOCIATED PRESS
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A report by the Associated Press was used in this story.
Former FAMU director named president of Bennett College
New president’s plans
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“The increase is just too much and it makes me feel like going to school is not worth it. I’m much better off going to a trade school or developing a skill that can generate enough funds in my pocket and then go back when I am financially stable,” said Oneil Jerrick, a sophomore majoring in business marketing at Brooklyn College in New York. “Getting an education will always be in high demand but what’s the point of raising the rate on a loan where we have millions of students graduating each year unable to get a job?” Rep. Joe Courtney (DConn.), had planned to introduce legislation this week extending the 3.4 percent rates for an additional two years. This would give Congress time to rethink student loan interest rates as part of the higher education reauthorization bill. Senate Democrats on Wednesday failed to restore lower interest rates on student loans, again coming up short and perhaps signaling that the undergraduates might really face rates twice as high as the ones they enjoyed last year. The one-year stopgap measure failed to overcome a procedural hurdle as Republicans — and a few Democrats — urged colleagues to consider the plan now that would link interest rates to the financial markets and reduce Congress’ role in setting students’ borrowing rates. Competing proposals failed and lawmakers said students would face higher costs to repay their loans after graduation. “Today our nation’s students once again wait in vain for relief,” said Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. “They expected more of us and I share their disappointment.”
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – A protest blocked traffic after part of a financially struggling Michigan school district’s collection of Black history books, tapes, film strips and other materials was found discarded outside its high school library. WWJ-AM and the Detroit Free Press report the protest took place Monday at the
colleges and universities). Bennett alumnae giving stands at 18 percent, which is well above the national and HBCU average. And she wants to prepare young women to be competitive in today’s global marketplace by building upon Bennett’s Rosalind study abroad programs. As Fuse-Hall a 2004 Eisenhower Fellow, Fuse-Hall traveled to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and, in turn, hosted study abroad fellows from South Africa and China while at FAMU.
Longtime North Carolinian A North Carolina native, she grew up on the campus of Fayetteville State University and comes from a family of educators. Her father served on the faculty at Fayetteville State. Her mother and five aunts were teachers. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a Bachelor of Science in administration of criminal justice and went on to earn a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law in Newark, N.J. Fuse-Hall also studied at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Institute of Educational Management. She has 25 years of higher education experience having begun her career as the assistant director of minority affairs at St. Lawrence University (Canton, N.Y.). She also has served as the executive assistant to the chancellor at North Carolina Central University and corporate secretary to the Board of Governors of the 17 campus University of North Carolina system. In addition, she worked as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill.
A report by the NNPA News Service was used in compiling this report. school in Highland Park. The district’s state-appointed emergency manager Donald Weatherspoon has said workers on the second floor of the library mistakenly threw them out last month. He’s said the district in the mostly Black Detroit enclave was able to recover the materials in time. The materials were found by area residents who say some of the collection was destroyed. Andre’ Davis, vice president and secretary of the Highland Park school system’s board, says he’s resigning in protest of the dumping.
TOj B4
FOOD
TOJ
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
FROM Family Features
Summer entertaining is easy with simple, crowd-pleasing recipes from light bites to sweet delights that require almost no time in the kitchen. Invite over a few of your closest friends, heat up the grill and set out your favorite wines for a truly memorable outdoor dinner party. Select simple recipes that can be prepared ahead of time and quickly seared on the grill once your guests have arrived. Everyone will enjoy the food and you’ll love that you’re not trapped in the kitchen. Prep, chop and marinate everything then store it all in containers. Continue the trend of simplicity by serving food-friendly wines, such as those from Las Rocas. Las Rocas, which literally means “the rocks” because of the rocky soil where the grapes are grown, produces an incredibly vibrant Garnacha and refreshing Rosé that pair wonderfully with these dishes. Make the occasion truly special by beginning the festivities at sundown to take advantage of the cool breezes and beautiful sunset. Line the tables with a row of small candles, hang sparkling white lights from the trees and put on your favorite music. Your guests may never want to leave. For more information, visit www.lasrocaswine.com. Pan Seared Rib Eye with Balsamic Glaze and Crispy Salted Potato Wedges Serve with Las Rocas Garnacha, a vibrant and versatile red wine with rich dark berry flavors and aromas. Yield: 4 to 6 servings For Crispy Fingerling Potatoes 1 pound small Yukon gold potatoes cut into wedges Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus a couple of sprigs For Steaks Kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 3/4-pound bone in rib-eye steaks, about 1 inch thick 1 large shallot, thinly sliced 1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons unsalted butter For potatoes: Place the potatoes in saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Set over high heat and bring to boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes depending on size of potatoes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Pat potatoes dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set potatoes aside and begin steak. For steak: Sprinkle large castiron skillet with kosher or coarse salt; heat skillet over high heat for about 8 minutes, then add steaks. Sear until steaks are crusted brown, about 4 minutes; turn steaks. Sear to desired doneness or about 6 more minutes for medium rare. Transfer to cutting board and let rest while you make sauce. Wipe out pan and add shallot; cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Slowly add vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until reduces and thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, swirl in butter, and season with pepper to taste. Drizzle sauce over steaks just before serving. To finish potatoes: Heat olive oil in large skillet over high heat. When hot, add seasoned potatoes, cut side down, and rosemary. Cook until golden and crispy, about 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Red Wine and Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta Yield: 6 servings 1 orange 1 cup blackberries and or raspberries 1 vanilla bean, cut in half 3 cups Las Rocas Garnacha wine 2/3 cup sugar 1 cup whole milk 1 1/4-ounce packet unflavored powdered gelatin 2 cups whole Greek style yogurt Fresh mint sprigs for garnish Remove a wide, 2-inch-long strip of zest from orange with sharp paring knife. Peel and segment orange and toss with blackberries, cover and refrigerate. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean. Place seeds and pod in small saucepan. Add wine, 1/3 cup sugar and orange zest strip. Simmer over medium-low heat until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 35 minutes. Discard vanilla bean pod and zest strip. Cool completely. Set aside 1/4 cup for serving. Combine milk with remaining 1/3 cup sugar in medium saucepan. Sprinkle in gelatin and let stand, undisturbed, until gelatin softens, about 4 minutes. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until gelatin and sugar are just dissolved (do not boil); let cool. Whisk in 1 cup of wine reduction and yogurt until smooth. Pour into six 6-ounce ramekins or jars, cover and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours or overnight. If using ramekins, dip bottom of each ramekin in warm water to loosen. Invert each panna cotta onto a plate. If using jars, skip this step. Drizzle panna cottas with reserved wine reduction and garnish with oranges and berries and sprig of fresh mint.
Goat Cheese Crostini with Grilled Peaches, Serrano Ham and Marcona Almonds Serve with Las Rocas Rosé, a fruit-forward seasonal wine with notes of raspberry and strawberry. Yield: 1 dozen crostini 12 slices French bread, sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices Extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 12 thinly sliced pieces Serrano ham 2 ripe peaches, halved, pitted and sliced into 12 thin wedges 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup) 1 tablespoon roughly chopped Marcona almonds Preheat grill. Brush each slice of bread on one side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill, oil-side down until lightly golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from grill and place a piece Serrano ham on each. Drizzle peaches with 1 table spoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Grill peaches until grill marks appear, turning once, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Place warm grilled peaches on top of each crostini and sprinkle each with crumbled goat cheese and Marcona almonds. Drizzle them lightly with additional olive oil. Serve.
STOJ
JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT
Meet some of
FLORIDA'S
finest
submitted for your approval
B5
Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest? E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier. com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/ glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.
More than 4,000 cruisers joined nationally syndicated radio talk show host Tom Joyner on the 13th annual Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage 2012 aboard Royal Caribbean’s “Navigator of the Seas,” one of the world’s largest cruise ships. The Florida Courier spotlights some of the best-looking people on board. Vicki, a native of Charlotte, N.C., was on her both on her fourth Tom Joyner cruise. Miguel Baidy of Atlanta was on his first Tom Joyner cruise. DELROY COLE / FLORIDA COURIER
vicki miquel Kevin Hart’s new movie had an impressive opening during the Fourth of July weekend.
SWV is made up of Cheryl “Coko” Clemons, Leanne “Lelee” Lyons and Tamara “Taj” Johnson.
SWV gets reality show on WE tv FROM WIRE REPORTS
WE tv has signed on R&B girl group SWV (Sisters With Voices) for a reality show as they attempt to reclaim the fame of their 1990s heyday. The cable channel ordered six, one-hour episodes of the series, called “SWV — Sisters With Voices,” which will air in early 2014, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The trio, consisting of Cheryl “Coko” Clemons, Leanne “Lelee” Lyons and Tamara “Taj” Johnson, announced the news while performing at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 7.
Noth says he received hate mail about his interracial marriage FROM WIRE REPORTS
Actor Chris Noth opened up during an interview with the Wall Street Journal about the backlash he received for marrying a Black woman. Noth is known for his roles in “Sex in the City,” “Law & Order” and “The Good Wife.’’ After marrying his longtime girlfriend, actress Tara Lynn Wilson, Noth said he was met with tons of opposition toward his interracial relationship, which included people sending them racist hate mail. “When I was in a play on Broadway two years ago I’d occasionally get letters of outrage, usually from somewhere in Alabama or
Reunited in 2005 The New York City-based group, whose chart-topping hit songs include “Weak” and “Right Here/ Human Nature,” broke up in 1998, amid internal fighting, to embark on separate solo careers. They reunited in 2005. “The journey of SWV is the kind of real and personal comeback story our viewers love to see,” said Lauren Gellert, WE tv’s senior vice president of original production and development, in a statement Monday. “These dynamic women experienced enormous success together, then it all fell apart. United again, the stakes are higher than ever, and so – at times – is the drama and tension. We can’t wait to present this fresh, new series to WE tv viewers.”
Actor Chris Noth is shown with wife Tara Lynn Wilson. something, saying y’know, ‘Don’t come down here with your wife,’” he said. Noth hopes that the world moves towards a more open and post-racial outlook. “We’re all getting together. We’re all mixing it up,” he said with a laugh. The couple began dating in 2004, after meeting at Noth’s New York music venue, The Cutting Room. Wilson and Noth have one child, Orion Christopher Noth, born in 2008.
A great birthday weekend for Kevin Hart Comedian’s new film earns $17.4 million during holiday weekend FROM WIRE REPORTS
“Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain” was a box office hit the first week it debuted. The stand-up comedian’s new movie “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain” was overshadowed at the weekend box office by the success of “Despicable Me 2” and the misfire of “The Lone Ranger,” but it was a good one. “Let Me Explain,” filmed last year at a sold-out Madison Square Garden concert, brought in $10.1 million between July 5 and July 7 and finished with a surprisingly strong $17.5 million for the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. That’s pretty impressive since the film from Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films and the comedian’s HartBeat Productions cost just $2.5 million to make.
Could make history It could become the fourth highest stand-up comedy film of all time, behind only “Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip” ($36 million), “The Original Kings of Comedy” ($38 million) and “Eddie Murphy Raw” ($50 million). That “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain” is a big success, however, isn’t too shocking. Hart’s last standup comedy film, “Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain,” earned $7.7 million after release in September of
2011, this despite the fact that it never played in more than 300 theaters.
In more movies According to Deadline.com, “Let Me Explain” was in 876 theaters. This has been a good year for Hart, who has a small appearance in “This Is The End” and also hosted the Fourth of July festivities in Philadelphia last Thursday night (broadcast by VH1). The next few months could only make the “Think Like A Man’’ star an even bigger one: Hart features in no less than five movies set for release in 2013 and 2014, including “Ride Along” (with Ice Cube), “Grudge Match” (with Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone), “School Dance” (from director Nick Cannon) and a remake of “About Last Night” (with Paula Patton). “The challenge for us was cutting through the clutter surrounding the holiday and the other movies,” Lionsgate’s executive vice president for theatrical distribution David Spitz told TheWrap. “Our marketing team did a great job of that, and we got a real boost from Kevin on social media.” Lionsgate targeted African-American viewers for “Let Me Explain,’’ the same demographic that pushed Hart’s breakout film, “Laugh at My Pain,’’ to a $7.7 million gross in 2011.
‘Best birthday ever’ Hart has a strong online following, with 7.7 million Twitter followers. He was celebrating his movie’s success and his July 3 birthday. “I can’t remember anything from last night LMFAO,” he tweeted. “That means that I had the best BIRTHDAY EVER!!!! His “Real Husbands of Hollywood’’ season 2 reality show on BET is scheduled to return in the fall. Hart’s new movie grossed the $17.5 million in five days and came in eighth place in the box office’s Fourth of July weekend lineup. “Despicable Me 2’’ pulled $82.5 million while “The Lone Ranger’’ drew $48.9 million.
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JULY 12 – JULY 18, 2013
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