Florida Courier - August 15, 2014

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Florida doctor creates program to prep students for health careers See Page B3

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AUGUST 15 – AUGUST 21, 2014

VOLUME 22 NO. 33

FROM SANFORD TO FERGUSON Another killing of an unarmed Black teen has sparked national outrage and has ignited a tinderbox in a Missouri town

Michael Brown’s distraught grandmother, Desuirea Harris, is helped out of Jennings Mason Temple Church of God in Christ on Monday in Jennings, Mo. at a press conference held at the church. Comforting her at right is Benjamin Crump, the lawyer for the family.

BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

They were like shots heard around the nation. The shots from a police revolver that killed 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 9. His death was just two days before he was to start his freshman semester in college. Within 24 hours, outrage had boiled over into protests in the streets of the small town, a suburb of St. Louis. The NAACP, the National Action Network and the National Bar Association had taken stands. And the Federal Bureau of Investigation had announced an of-

J.B. FORBES/ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/MCT

ficial probe. Even President Obama weighed in this week: “The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and his commuMichael nity at this very difficult Brown time. As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as needed. “I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding. We should comfort each other and talk See FERGUSON, Page A2

Remembering Civil rights activist Dr. Jefferson Rogers

ROBIN McLAURIN WILLIAMS, 1951-2014

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Dr. Jefferson P. Rogers, a renowned theologian who blazed a civil rights trail across the nation, died Aug. 1 in Daytona Beach. He was 97. Among his numerous notable accomplishments, Dr. Rogers was a member of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s brain trust and his home often served as a center for strategy sessions with Dr. King, the Rev. Andrew Young, Dr. Wyatt T. Walker, Jesse Jackson and many other stalwarts of the Civil Rights Movement. Born Jan. 24, 1917 in Quincy, FL, Dr. Rogers graduated from Florida A&M College (now University) in 1940 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. The Rev. Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, president of Morehouse College, arranged a scholarship to Howard University for him to study for the ministry.

Mentored by Thurman

‘The tears of a clown’ KEN HIVELY/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

The young Rogers earned his master’s degree in religion and philosophy from Howard in 1943, where one of his professors and mentors was Dr. Howard Thurman, who also became one of the country’s most influential African-American authors, philosophers, theologians and civil rights leaders. After graduating from Howard and serving as director of Christian education at Jones Tabernacle AME Church in Philadelphia, Dr. Rogers and his wife, Mary Grace, decided to continue their

Comedian/actor Robin Williams killed himself on Monday after fighting addiction and depression for decades. Williams is pictured in August 2009. See Page B1 for a related story on depression and suicide.

See ROGERS, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

Thurston seeking to make state history as first Black attorney general FROM STAFF REPORTS

Florida House Minority Leader Perry Thurston is seeking to make history this year as the state’s first Black attorney general and the first elected Black cabinet officer since Reconstruction. Thurston currently is the top Democrat in the Florida House of Representatives as minority leader, the leader of the party that has fewer members in the House. Perry His goal is to unseat inThurston

ALSO INSIDE

cumbent Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Nov. 4 general election. But first he faces primary opponent George Sheldon, former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families. Early voting in the state primary begins Aug. 16 and ends Aug. 23. The primary election is Aug. 26.

Criticism of Bondi A criminal defense attorney in South Florida, Thurston has been a longtime advocate of automatic restoration of the civil rights of ex-felons who have served their time and

FLORIDA | A3

otherwise completed their criminal sentences. He is critical of Bondi for making it harder for felons to have their rights restored. “It’s an important issue in my community and it causes disenfranchisement of a good part of my community. It affects jobs, earning a living to be a contributing part of their family and voting,” Thurston said in a previous interview with the Florida Courier. “It has taken the heart out of our community. It destroys communities and systematically bars men from doing what they need to do.’’ Thurston also has criticized Bondi’s position on the medical marijuana initiative, her defense of the same-sex marriage ban and the state’s legislative maps.

Morehouse to state House Thurston, of Broward County, was first See HISTORY, Page A2

Willie Gary reflects on $24 billlion settlement

OBITUARY | B2

Journalist Roger K. Clendening II dies at 44

FOOD | B6

Bring out the best of summer vegetables

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 NATION: IS PRESIDENT OBAMA DRAGGING DOWN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY? | A6

Courts create ‘rocket dockets’ for immigrant children


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