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A better understanding of autism

VOLUME 21 NO. 35

Page B1

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AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

THE MENTOR Bayard T. Rustin had a profound influence on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s civil rights career from beginning to end. Rustin was Black and gay when it was dangerous to be either.

COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

WASHINGTON – On Aug. 28, 1963, moments after his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and nine other civil rights leaders hurried off to the White House to confer with President John F. Kennedy. Left behind at the podium to wrap things up was Bayard Taylor Rustin, the organizer of the march. Rustin often was left behind

in histories of the march and of the civil rights movement, too. Now, 26 years after his death, historians give Rustin – who was an openly gay Black man – credit for, among other things, schooling King in the virtues of nonviolence and civil disobedience. Rustin also pulled together the broad national coalition of Black churches, White liberals, Jews, Roman Catholics and elements of organized labor that formed the backbone of the civil

rights movement and provided its marchers.

High honor The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization launched the Bayard Rustin 2013 Commemoration Project to honor Rustin’s life and legacy, with a focus on the role he played in the march’s organization and execution. After years of effort by

WILLIAM J. SCOTT JR/KRT

The 1963 March on Washington’s organizer, Bayard T. Rustin (in glasses), was See THE MENTOR, Page A2 selected to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom 26 years after his death.

Obama honors MLK

2013 U.S. OPEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT

First lady kicks off tourney

Pushes political agenda on March anniversary

most iconic moment of the civil rights movement. Obama, the first AfricanAmerican president, spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where King BY KATHLEEN HENNESSEY described his dream of raTRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU cial equality as many Black (MCT) Americans still struggled to WASHINGTON – Presi- vote. dent Barack Obama tried to reassemble a “coalition of Series of events conscience” to take up his Obama’s remarks capped economic agenda for the several days of events in middle class on Wednesday Washington observing the as he honored Martin Lu- anniversary. ther King Jr. and the marchThousands marched Saters who fought for civil urday on the National Mall rights 50 years ago. to call attention to current “In the face of impossi- civil rights causes: gay and ble odds, people who love lesbian rights, voting rights their country can change it,” and gun laws. Obama said. The commemoration The president spoke at a Wednesday was more solceremony commemoratemn. Speakers including the anniversary of the ed former Presidents Bill March on Washington for Clinton and Jimmy CartJobs and Freedom, the 1963 See OBAMA, Page A2 protest that became the

George Zimmerman’s wife gets probation in plea deal BY RENE STUTZMAN ORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)

MARGOT JORDAN PHOTO

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to kids attending Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day festivities in New York as Floridians Serena Williams, left, and Sloane Stephens, third from left, look on. Serena and Sloane may battle each other as the tournament progresses.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Zimmerman’s attorney seeking legal costs from state

NATION | A6

What you should know about health-care act

Servicewomen sexually abused at alarming rate

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Meet the

cruisers

SANFORD – Shellie Zimmerman, the wife of acquitted murder suspect George Zimmerman, admitted Wednesday that she had committed perjury to help her husband get out of jail and agreed to a plea deal that requires her to serve a year of probation. Shellie Zimmerman had been charged with felony perjury, which carried a possible sentence of five years in prison. Instead, she negotiated a deal to plead guilty to a less serious crime, misdemeanor perjury.

No in-court apology She did not apologize in court to Circuit Judge Marlene Alva, but in a letter to Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., the judge to whom she was untruthful, she wrote, “By lying under oath, I let my God down, I let your Honor and the court down, I let my family and my friends down, and most of all, I let myself down. In the

GARY W. GREEN/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, smiles with her attorney Kelly Sims, left, while reviewing paperwork for her guilty plea. future, no matter what the consequences, I will tell the truth because in the end all you have is your integrity.” Notably absent from the courtroom was her husband, George Zimmerman, the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford. A six-member Seminole County jury acquitted him of second-degree murder last month. See ZIMMERMAN, Page A2

FOCUS

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Black America should march for more entrepreneurs As the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom concludes, Black leaders should add another item to the agenda: entrepreneurship. In the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, lots of young Black kids like me were prepared to get good jobs and use our careers to change the system and open up more opportunities for others to succeed. Today’s kids need another doorway to success. Besides getting good jobs, they need to start good companies and they don’t need to wait until they are in their 20s or 30s to do it.

Funding dropouts Sir Kenneth Robinson’s TED Talk, “How Schools Kill Creativity,” has had more than 17 million views; the animated version of his ideas has had more than 10 million. He believes that the longer students spend in school, the fewer risks they are willing to take and

JAMAL SIMMONS GUEST COLUMNIST

the less creative they become, which will hurt all of us in the modern economy. Peter Theil, one of the cofounders of PayPal, has a similar belief and funded 20 young people under the age of 20 to drop out of college for two years and start companies. There is some evidence that these men are right. Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in his Harvard dorm room and David Karp dropped out of high school to found his first company. He later sold another company, Twitter, for $1.1 billion at 26. Odds are most people won’t found a billion-dollar company, but they surely won’t if they never start even a small company. In this new economic environ-

ment, small- and mediumsized businesses do a lot of the hiring and research shows that minorities and women business owners tend to hire other minorities and women. With a Black unemployment rate of 12.6 percent and a Latino unemployment rate of 9.4 percent, the country could use as many minority entrepreneurs as possible.

Digital skills Of course, young minorities need to learn the digital skills necessary for the tech world, but there are people addressing that problem. Groups like Black Girls Code, Girls Who Code and CodeNow are focused on teaching minorities the skills for digital literacy. Historically Black colleges and universities have robust computer science programs and, according to the Morehouse Research Institute, schools such as Strayer University, DeVry University and the University

of Phoenix are the top producers of Black males with computer science and math degrees in the country. These digital literates need three things to succeed in business: good ideas the market will buy; the will to create and grow companies; and the financing to bring their ideas to life. Let’s leave coming up with good ideas to them. Parents, schools, faith institutions and community groups can focus on developing their will to compete. Part of that encouragement means giving kids the room to forgo law school or take a year off to follow their passions.

‘A garbage man’ As a child, I grew annoyed at adults constantly asking what I wanted to do when I grew up and began giving them a smart-aleck answer that dumbfounded most: “I want to be a garbage man.” Without missing a beat, my mother responded, “All I

ask is that you be the best garbage man there is.” I am not a parent, but there is something to giving kids the freedom to explore their passions. Fifteen years or so after my “garbage man” remark, my parents let me leave college to work for Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign and I’ve spent 20 years exploring opportunities that have grown out of that experience. When it comes to finding the money to start companies, all hands need to be on deck. Families might explore using the equity in their homes to fund good ideas. Historically Black Colleges and Universities should start more incubators on campus that marry up science students with business leaders to see what they come up with.

Work to do There are a few private organizations and angel investor networks that have taken on this challenge.

The White House should host conferences targeting young entrepreneurs and use their convening power to bring them together with investors. There is a lot of work to be done for everybody. Fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, America should revel in the progress we have made, redouble our efforts to tackle the problems that still exist, and then focus on the future. More Black, Latino and women-owned businesses will help even up the playing field in politics and economics over the next half-century.

Jamal Simmons, a Morehouse College graduate, is a principal at The Raben Group, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm. Follow him on Twitter at @JamalSimmons. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

OBAMA

ZIMMERMAN

from A1

er, Oprah Winfrey and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the only living speaker from the 1963 march.

Lied about money

‘Ordinary people’ The president addressed a crowd lined up along the reflecting pool and huddled under umbrellas on a drizzly summer day. Obama paid tribute to the 1963 marchers, both King and “those ordinary people who names never appear in the history books.” He noted that “no one can match King’s brilliance” but called on all citizens to keep up the fight for more opportunity. “The arc of moral universe may bend toward justice,” he said quoting King. “But it doesn’t bend on its own.”

Personal inspiration Obama has often cited King as an inspiration and a touchstone. The president’s speeches regularly quote King, or cite his writings. The president has a bust of King and a copy of the program from the original march in the Oval Office. Obama took the oath of office this year using a Bible owned by King. The gestures have cemented a symbolic connection between the two most recognizable Black leaders in U.S. history.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

President Obama smiles as Yolanda King, the granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., covers her ears as they ring the bell during the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.

Complex relationship

‘Excuse-making’

Irreconcilable roles?

But Obama’s relationship with the civil rights movement and King’s legacy has been complex. Obama, whose mother was White and father Kenyan, has wrestled with this racial identity and his connection to the movement that defined a generation of Black political life. He has identified as part of the Joshua generation, the label given to children of the movement’s founders charged with carrying on the legacy, but he has also criticized the civil rights movement, saying it is fractured. Obama on Wednesday repeated some of that critique.

Over the years, legitimate outrage over discrimination devolved into “excusemaking for criminal behavior,” Obama said. “What had once been a call for equality of opportunity … was too often framed as a mere desire for government support. … As if poverty was an excuse for not raising your child.” As president, Obama has been criticized for dodging direct conversations about race in America, although he has recently spoken more candidly about the discrimination he sees in the criminal justice system, as well as disparities in education and economics.

Obama also has grappled publicly with reconciling King’s teachings on nonviolence – to meet “physical force” with “soul force” – with his role as commander in chief. As he spoke Wednesday, his administration was weighing a missile strike against the government of Syria in response to chemical attack that killed hundreds in Damascus suburbs a week ago. Administration officials have described the attack as a moral outrage and suggested that a military response is justified.

MENTOR

world without anybody noticing."

Not just for Blacks

from A1 NBJC and its allies, President Obama gave Rustin a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, which goes to “men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” according to the president. Along with the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is bestowed by an act of Congress, it’s the greatest honor an American not serving in the military can receive.

‘Unapologetically Black’ Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, NBJC executive director and CEO, called Rustin “a radical visionary.” “(He was) a Black gay activist for freedom and peace during a time when the conditions of both of these identities were perilous. The fact that he lived at the intersection of these identities while fighting for the freedoms of all oppressed people is even more revolutionary. “Rustin was as unapologetically Black as he was gay, and by his very presence challenged the evils of homophobia and racism throughout his life. His legacy leaves a salient lesson for us on the power of living authentically.” Ten years ago, Rustin’s

Bayard Taylor Rustin suburban Philadelphia hometown of West Chester, Pa. named a new high school in his honor, though after a bitter and intense debate over his background and personal life.

Didn't seek credit "What he was primarily interested in was the outcome and result, not the credit line," said John D'Emilio, the author of "Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin,” a biography of Rustin published in 2003. "But having said that," D'Emilio continued, "he also had to take that position because of the three strikes he had against him: He was gay, a former communist, and most Americans would have considered him unpatriotic for going to jail during World War II." That left Rustin with only one choice, D'Emilio said. "He had to learn how to have an impact on the

At the Lincoln Memorial podium in 1963, Rustin, age 51, looked out on a great triumph of his life: 225,000 people who had marched down Independence and Constitution avenues, the broad streets that frame the capital's mall, and converged for King's great speech at Abraham Lincoln's feet. True to Rustin's roots as a socialist – he had repudiated the Young Communist League after brief membership as a young man – the march's rallying cry was not just freedom, but jobs as well, and not only for Black Americans. In his address, Rustin pressed the crowd to "affirm (their) complete personal commitment to the struggle for jobs and freedom for all Americans," and not to relax "until victory is won."

Months of planning Planning for the march had started in June 1963 after President Kennedy declared that the time had come to rewrite America's civil rights laws. Rustin, fueled by coffee and cigarettes, lined up groups and speakers to bring the movement's case to Washington forcefully, and arranged transportation and security. He worked from the Harlem, N.Y. office of his longtime

boss, A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, America's most important Black labor leader. Rustin "had all the talent and genius of P.T. Barnum but the heart of Mahatma Gandhi and the passion of Frederick Douglass," said Patrick Henry Bass, the author of "Like a Mighty Stream: The March on Washington August 28, 1963.” "People are talking about Rustin … because they're realizing now how progressive he was for his time period," said William C. Kashatus, a Pennsylvania historian. "He was talking about human rights around the world, rights for the gay population, long before it was politically correct to do so."

Daily segregation Growing up in West Chester in the 1920s meant that Rustin, who was raised as a Quaker by his grandmother, had to deal with segregation daily. He wasn't allowed to use the local YMCA; he had to dress for high school football games in a separate locker room and had to watch movies on the theater's second floor. "These kinds of experiences jolted his self-esteem," Kashatus said. "But unlike a weaker figure who would wallow in self-pity, he said, `This is wrong. I am going to fight it.' "

Shellie Zimmerman had lied during her husband’s April 20, 2012, bail hearing, in an effort to help him get out of jail. She testified that she and her husband were broke. In fact, they had taken in more than $130,000 in donations in a little more than two weeks from Internet donors wanting to help Zimmerman defend himself against the murder charge. Sims said Wednesday that his client had been told the money was part of her husband’s defense fund, although the Zimmermans were spending some of it on living expenses. George Zimmerman didn’t tell her to lie, Sims said, but, “She was standing by her man, just as Tammy Wynette said.” Shellie Zimmerman had no prior criminal record, and Assistant State Attorney John Guy of Jacksonville agreed to allow her to plead guilty to the lesser charge. Guy works for special prosecutor Angela Corey, the lawyer appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to handle George Zimmerman’s criminal case.

Got a break It was a negotiation designed to spare her a felony conviction and allow her to move on with her life. When she was arrested, she was a nursing student nearly done with her schooling. Had she been found guilty of a felony, she would have been banned from applying to become a state-certified nurse for three years. After the hearing, Sims called the overall plea deal “more than a triple. It’s a home run” that allows Shellie Zimmerman to move on with her life. The original charge against her was perjury during an official proceeding. That’s a third-degree felony, which carries a possible five-year prison term and $5,000 fine. She pleaded guilty to perjury but not at an official proceeding, a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $1,000.

Constantly jailed Rustin was jailed for refusing to fight in World War II, jailed for resisting Jim Crow laws, jailed for postwar acts of passive resistance against nuclear arms and European imperialism in Africa, and he was disciplined within a federal prison for trying to integrate its dining hall. By the time Rustin met King in early 1956, in the early days of the Black boycott of the segregated bus system and segregated businesses in Montgomery, Ala., Rustin had been to India to study the tactics of Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent struggle for Indian independence.

MLK was armed Rustin, whom Randolph dispatched to Montgomery, urged King to adopt the same strategy of nonviolence and civil disobedience. Until that time, King carried a gun for protection and his guards were armed. Rustin said the guns had to go, and they did. Rustin argued that the righteousness of nonviolent resistance would shine in contrast to the brutality of Southern police and racist political leaders. King – then age 26 to Rustin's 43 – agreed. Rustin died of a heart attack in New York City in 1987 after being hospitalized for a burst appendix and peritonitis. He was 75.

“Without a Bayard Rustin, the movement would have been like a bird without wings," Rep. John Lewis said. “He was the glue that kept it together," Lewis said, citing especially Rustin's ability to build coalitions among labor, religious and ethnic groups.

Toned Lewis down In one of the 1963 rally's more dramatic confrontations, Rustin had to convince Lewis to tone down a part of his speech that urged the movement's forces to move through the South to overturn Jim Crow laws. Lewis, the head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the hottest elements of the civil rights coalition, wanted to rouse the crowd. Rustin, who had encouraged marchers to wear suits and dresses and be polite, was determined to maintain peaceful dignity and give the capital's police no cause to move against the demonstrators. In the end, Rustin prevailed. The crowd dispersed from the Lincoln Memorial peacefully, leaving Washington "as calm as the waters of the reflecting pool," according to a newspaper account the next day.

Benjamin Y. Lowe of Knight Ridder Newspapers (MCT) contributed to this report.

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

FLORIDA

State prepares for massive insurance enrollment 2011 Census data: 28 percent of non-elderly African-Americans are uninsured BY WILLIAM E. GIBSON SUN SENTINEL/MCT

WASHINGTON — Only five weeks from the start of a massive health-insurance enrollment campaign, a small army of paid “navigators” and volunteers remains unorganized, untrained and unclear about just how to accomplish the daunting mission of signing up Florida’s diverse population of uninsured consumers. The slow start, coupled with a lack of cooperation from Florida officials, have raised concerns about prospects for reaching up to 3.5 million uninsured Floridians who, by all accounts, are mostly unaware of how to enroll in plans and the requirement that they do so by Jan. 1 when the Affordable Care Act takes full effect. The task is enormous: one in five Floridians lacks insurance. Republican opposition to “Obamacare” prompted state leaders to refuse to create a staterun online marketplace for buying insurance, leaving the task to Uncle Sam. And Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi complained last week that the program has insufficient safeguards to protect consumers’ personal information.

Oct. 1 deadline Leaders of the enrollment campaign say they can overcome these obstacles, promising extensive and creative ways to reach out to Floridians not only about the insurance requirement but also about the federal subsidies that will help them buy coverage. But their plans to convey information at “back to school” and other community events this summer — buttressed by radio ads and social media messages in English, Spanish and Creole — remain largely unformed. Their task could become even greater if some employers decide to drop their insurance plans, which would widen Florida’s big gap in coverage. The first deadline is Oct. 1, when federal officials must go live with an online “exchange” that will offer an array of pre-approved health insurance policies as well as calculators to help individuals and families determine their eligibility for tax credits and other subsidies. As yet, though, the website isn’t up, and rates for the policies haven’t been determined.

‘Lot of work to do’ Meanwhile, paid “navigators” and volunteers who are supposed to reach out to uninsured people and help them sign up must be vetted, trained and equipped. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in five weeks,” said Robert Bertisch, executive di-

BRANDON WADE/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT

Deborah Young, left, hears about the health insurance marketplace that will begin Oct. 1 from Enroll America volunteers David Griggs and Rachel Perry in Dallas. rector of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, which was awarded a federal grant of $446,783 and will hire five navigators to help people sign up. “I hope it’s enough time. If this doesn’t work, I’m concerned a little bit about the future of affordable health care. We need to get these people insured.” The grassroots campaign is intended to make people aware of the need to buy insurance and explain new benefits, including tax credits, leading into an open enrollment period from Oct. 1 to March. “We have to first make

sure our team on the ground reflects the communities they are working with,” said Nick Duran, who grew up in Coral Springs and serves as Florida director of Enroll America, a Washington-based group charged with overseeing the signup effort. “We do have a staff that speaks Spanish and Creole and already has been working in these communities.”

Federal grants issued In Florida, 36 percent of non-elderly Hispanics and 28 percent of non-elderly

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

POOL PHOTO BY JACOB LANGSTON/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Defense attorney Mark O’Mara, left, and George Zimmerman smile at a witnesses answer during Zimmerman’s trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford on July 3.

Zimmerman’s attorney to seek legal costs from state The state is expected to receive a bill for between $200,000 and $300,000 to cover the legal costs of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted last month in the February 2012 shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin in Sanford. Zimmerman defense attorney Mark O’Mara is preparing a motion to ask Cir-

cuit Judge Debra S. Nelson to authorize the payment that would cover the costs of expert witnesses, travel, depositions, photocopies, and an animated 3-D video that defense attorneys showed jurors during closing arguments depicting Martin punching Zimmerman, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Part of Florida law requires the state to refund legal costs associated with a case, except for attorney fees, when a defendant in a criminal prosecution is acquitted. A judge would have to approve the refund, which is also submitted to the 8290-036 Daytona Justice Administrative Commission for payment. Print v1 The legal costs would be in addition to 09 Aug the more than $900,000 spent by 2013 public agencies on the five week murder trial, Version 3 according to the Sentinel.

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Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, has filed a measure that would prohibit neighborhood crimewatch participants from confronting or attempting to apprehend potentially questionable individuals. The bill (SB 122) also would prohibit people from using the state’s controversial “stand your ground” law as a defense if they leave places of safety to initiate confrontaChris tions. It alSmith so would require law enforcement to issue reasonable guidelines for the operation of neighborhood crime-watch programs. Smith’s proposal comes in the wake of the July 13

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Enroll America has hired 27 staff members in Florida, who are enlisting and training volunteers. Federal officials, meanwhile, passed out $7.8 million in grants last week to eight groups in Florida, some with partners across the state, who will hire and train the navigators to canvass neighborhoods and help people enroll. The navigators and volunteers will be going to churches, social service offices, daylabor centers and clinics — wherever the uninsured can be found.

Senator proposes Neighborhood Watch changes

Larger jackpots coming for Mega Millions Mega Millions, the multi-state lottery game that Florida started to offer June 19, will have larger jackpots beginning Oct. 19, the Florida Lottery announced Monday. The starting jackpots will be $15 million, up from $12 million, and second prize – matching five of the six numbers – will grow from $250,000 to $1 million. The game consists of picking five white balls and one gold Mega Ball. With the new prize structure, the number of white balls to pick from will be increased from 56 to 75 and the number of gold balls drops from 46 to 15. Jackpot drawings for Mega Millions are held every Tuesday and Friday.

African-Americans are uninsured, according to Census data from 2011. Though undocumented immigrants are ineligible for benefits under the law, the state is also home to tens of thousands of legal immigrants, speaking a variety of languages. A staff member who appeared on a Haitian radio show in Miami received 20 phone calls within an hour from consumers wanting to learn more, Duran said. He acknowledged, however, that “most who would benefit (from the new law) don’t know what’s coming.”

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acquittal of Sanford resident George Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch volunteer, in the February 2012 shooting of teen Trayvon Martin. It was initially up to the Sanford police to decide whether Zimmerman would go free under “stand your ground,” and no charges were brought for weeks after the shooting. However, calls for an arrest grew, especially after the release of a 911 tape in which a police dispatcher told Zimmerman not to track Martin’s movements.

September hearing While Zimmerman’s attorney didn’t raise the stand-your-ground law as a defense, the jury instructions advised that Zimmerman could be acquitted if jurors deemed he wasn’t engaged in an unlawful activity as “he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force.” While the House is expected to hold a hearing on “stand your ground” in September, it remains doubtful that changes will be made to the law by the Republican-dominated Legislature. Smith, one of the most vocal critics of the law, isn’t alone in mounting a Sisyphus-like challenge to “stand your ground.” On Thursday, Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, filed a companion (SB 116) to a House measure (HB 4003) by Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, that proposes repealing the law.

EDITORIAL

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Obama’s political opponents, critics critiqued Recently, I’ve been viewing world events with greater interest than usual. Although many of us either ignore or approach world events with a sense of hopelessness and helpless resignation, I believe it’s imperative for us to maintain awareness of how the U.S. government interfaces with the rest of the world in our name. I submit that when our government closes embassies for an indeterminate period, evacuates embassy personnel or emphatically issues travel advisories to American citizens, we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand about world issues. Our practical involvement in world affairs becomes increasingly critical in the face of current events in the world. When we examine circumstances related to the murders in Benghazi, the deposing of presidents in Egypt, the civil unrest in Syria or the granting of asylum to Edward Snowden by Russia, we are reasonably obligated to understand the role the

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

U.S. plays in these affairs.

Affairs of state Anyone analyzing current world events must also analyze the related assessments of the socalled media experts. Concurrent with that analysis is the requirement to filter these assessments through the prism of political motivation. Following my own advice, I’ve been able to develop personal clarity through my own worldview on a wide range of these critical issues. I’ve also been able to confirm that, in the minds of his political opponents and critics, President Obama will never be acknowledged for his ability to

manage the affairs of state. I could attempt a counter-critique of the foreign policy critics by name, but the list would be far too lengthy for the space I have and would only mirror the lengthy list of domestic policy critics. To simplify things, let’s say that 50 percent of the Raucous Radical Right finds it appropriate to say that President Obama hasn’t done enough. The other half says that President Obama has done too much. To confuse matters even more, every few days, they switch positions. Adding insult to injury, few, if any of them extend the courtesy of respecting the office of the presidency. For most, it’s merely Obama this or Obama that!

Diminished esteem? Whatever side of the argument to which they switch, a common theme for many of them is the complaint that “Obama’s” policies have created the diminished

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: OBAMA REACTS TO SYRIA

esteem in which the US is held in the world community. This is the principal issue I most resent. I wonder if they’re too uniquely feeble-minded to understand that the disrespect shown by the world community to the president and the U.S. is a reflection of the disrespect shown to him in the media, by some in the public and by many elected officials. Sadly, many who lead this country also lead the assault against the President. Whether covertly or overtly, they set the example of disrespect that the weak-minded follow. From the outburst of “You lie!” during the State of the Union Address to the most recent chants of “Bye, bye, Black Sheep!” in Arizona or the rodeo stunt, when one considers the innumerable instances of race-based disrespect directed at the President, it isn’t difficult to understand any doubts of U.S. credibility or disdain held by our international adversaries.

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 184 Why I won’t see “The Butler” – Decades of watching Hollywood’s so-called “Oscar-worthy” movies that depict subservient/magic Negroes who help civilize White people ("The Help", "The Butler", "Driving Miss Daisy"); gratuitous sex ("Monsters Ball"); corrupt or savage Black men (“Training Day", "Hustle & Flow") or focus on the White perspective or a White savior ("Glory", "Blood Diamond") as the major themes of 'mainstream' movies is enough. I won't pay for it anymore. (That shouldn't be constructed as being against the race or having a "crabs in a barrel" mentality.) Some argue that “The Butler” could be a historical “teaching tool.” To use a fictional Hollywood movie to teach is dangerous without an understanding of what’s fact vs. what’s fiction. If you want to see the truth, watch a documentary. Wall Street money now runs Hollywood, and with that money comes Wall Street control. The solution? Entrepreneurship to provide independent personal finance so that independent filmmakers are not subject to the whims of big corporations. Independent capital to fund our own projects so we can tell our own stories. The Inter-

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

net and readily available technology, along with a well-written, dynamic story, are the great equalizers. Do we need Hollywood's permission to do great work that uplifts and challenges our people? Or is the Hollywood hustle all about winning Oscars, being an A-lister on the red carpet, and living large in Cali? Would Black filmmakers be satisfied doing great work, building a loyal worldwide following, and making a reasonable profit? We know what to do. It's a matter of the doing. Next week – the march.

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com; holler at me at www.facebook.com/ ccherry2; follow me on Twitter @ccherry2.

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.

THE CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racism and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person. The Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief...that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

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I challenge political leaders who harbor animus toward our president to reconsider their oath of office: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion…So help me God. I challenge them to consider their own roles as “Enemies of the State.” After their own unconscionable behavior, I ask, “What do you really expect of others?”

Dr. E. Faye Williams is chair of the Congress of National Black Women. www.nationalcongressbw.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Democrats following the devil It appears that most people that attended the festivities at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington came away with a common theme, organization. After a day of eating, drinking, singing, dancing, buying souvenirs and listening to speeches by handpicked speakers, everybody that attended the event now say they will go back home and organize. There are a lot of definitions for “organize,’’ but I would assume the marchers want to arrange themselves and their communities systematically for harmonious or united action.

GARY MCCOY, CAGLE CARTOONS

Obama’s enemies

Conscious people What will it be that will get conscious people to come together, work together and help each other? Will fiery sermons by America’s preachers unite us? Will scholarly speeches encourage us to join together? Will workshops, seminars, panel discussions and social media posts do what we need done? America is a capitalist society and in capitalist societies it is difficult to organize without sufficient money or capital. Who among us has time to organize when you don’t have a job, when your house is being foreclosed and when you will soon be kicked out of college because you can’t afford the increase in tuition? Who in our community will be allowed to organize or to come together?

Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT

No one that I know was allowed to speak at the 2013 march that advocated separation from the philosophies, beliefs and ideologies of the people that have historically exploited and oppressed the masses of African-Americans and the masses of Americans.

Weak speakers Some say 200 hundred speakers were scheduled to speak but not a single speaker, on his own, could draw more marchers or listeners than Louis Farrakhan had at his Million Man March. None of the groups and organizations featured prominently at the march was as large and as organized and as financially independent as Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. None of the so-called march leaders generated more jobs, provided more affordable housing, created more businesses than Yahweh Ben Yahweh and his Hebrew Israelites did before the group was run out of South Florida. I’m concerned about whether or not all African-Americans will be welcome participants in efforts to organize our communities. Will the Black Nation-

alists be allowed to be a part of any organizations? Can the Yorubas organize alongside of the Christian religious leaders? Will the student organizers respect senior organizers?

Money, politics Money and politics are parallel. Where you find one, you find the other. If new organizations don’t have a means to generate money and are totally dependent on gifts, grants and donations by devils, I can’t be part of it. And if new organizations have goals of electing and re-electing Uncle Toms and Aunt Jemimas that are more concerned about staying in office than helping their constituents and their districts, I don’t want to be a part of that either. You can’t organize at a one-day march. Organizing America’s Black communities might take years and it will be necessary to allow all members and factions in our community to participate in the organization. If you are only willing to organize who the devil wants you to organize in the way the devil wants you to organize, your organization will not work.

Buy Gantt’s latest book “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” online or at any major bookstore and contact Lucius at www.allworl dcon sultant s .net . Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

Reflections on the 1963 March on Washington The achievements of the civil rights movement presented young Blacks like me with both the right and the responsibility to succeed. I had graduated from high school and looking forward to starting at Morehouse College in the fall of 1963 – 50 years ago – when the famous March on Washington was held. I remember seeing the massive crowd of mostly Black people on TV cascading from the Lincoln Monument. I listened to some of the speeches given that day, but everybody listened to Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Only the coldest of hearts or a dead person would not have been inspired.

HERMAN CAIN GUEST COMMENTARY

and minorities were the early beneficiaries of these landmark laws of the land, and most certainly beneficiaries of the civil rights movement, which was punctuated with that great event and great speech by Dr. King on Aug. 28, 1963. We must not forget, however, that there were many other sacrifices by many others for the movement leading up to this historic day, and these historic acts of Congress. The civil rights movement afforded me and millions of Blacks and minorities the right and reTangible results I must admit that as a sponsibility to succeed. soon-to-be college freshman, I was not convinced Doors opened It opened new doors of that any tangible results would happen following opportunity. Some of us ran the March. Although the through those doors. Some passage of the Civil Rights of us walked, and some of Act of 1964 and the Voting us are still standing on the Rights Act of 1965 were his- outside of those doors untoric, I did not fully realize able to get past the history how their impact on Blacks that preceded the moveand all of America would ment.    We have all realized great unfold until years later.    Millions of Black people progress relative to Dr.

King's dream to get to this "promised land,” while encountering new challenges that did not exist before the decade of the 1960s. Advances in technology, information accessibility and demographic changes are reshaping our economic, social and political landscape. Understanding and navigating through these times of dynamic change will determine our future success.

Remove barriers The future is not about color barriers or denial of rights. It's about the responsibility to leverage our rights and remove all barriers to greater opportunities for all of us and our nation. Fifty years after the March on Washington, we have all moved closer to the ideal of "all men are created equal", and closer to a society where we are all treated equally. It will never be perfect, but that's the "promised land" of Dr. King's vision for today and tomorrow.

Herman Cain is a radio broadcaster, author and former Republican presidential candidate. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Whites given phony and undue credit by Daniels, Simmons On Aug. 14, 2013, Russell Simmons posted these words on twitter: “Funniest thing I’ve ever seen Harriet tubmans [sic] sex diary.” Those are words guaranteed to catch one’s attention, the way a bomb going off gets attention. Simmons wasn’t lying or joking either. His latest entertainment venture, All Def Digital, had in fact produced something he called The Harriet Tubman Sex Tape. For the worst and most despicable reasons possible, Mr. Simmons chose to commit a character assassination of Harriet Tubman, one of the greatest in the pantheon of Black American heroes. By extension he defamed not only Tubman, but all Black people and perpetrated the worst slanders used against Black women. The fact that Simmons chose to make Harriet Tubman a character in a porno reveals much about him, his feelings about Black people and his high regard of White people.

Clueless, ignorant

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

know why Harriet Tubman is so revered. By first stealing herself away from the chattel slavery system and then taking hundreds of other people from their slave owners, she turned the tables quite adroitly, all without having sex with anyone. She followed up her individual feats of bravery when she led a Union attack on Confederate forces near the Combahee River in South Carolina in 1863, the only woman to have led an army into battle in the Civil War.

Memory tarnished In Simmons’ turgid imagination, the woman who John Brown referred to as “General Tubman” becomes nothing more than a whore. An enslaved woman had no means by which she might empower herself. She had no control over her body and thus no control over her sexuality. She could be forced to have sex with any White man or even with a Black man when slave holders wanted to create more babies and thus more profit. For Harriet Tubman to have overcome these circumstances with her bravery and genius, only to be depicted as a woman who enjoys having sex with her slave holder is the worst thing that any Black person might do to her memory.

One might conclude that Simmons is nothing more than clueless and ignorant of the history of this country and of his people. Yet his treachery shows something far worse than obvious misogyny, self-hatred and stupidity. This so-called parody existed because Simmons determined that the path to success must go straight through the heart of our heritage and bring down a woman whose actions were above reproach. Simmons obviously believes that his success depends on Black people being demeaned and willing to laugh about it. Simmons claims that he wanted to show Tubman “turning the ‘The Butler’ tables” on the slave master. The Black people should have had vulgar and stupid impresario, en- nothing worse than Russell Simtrepreneur, mogul doesn’t even mons to contend with, but he

EDITORIAL

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: SYRIA

chose to do his dirty work in the same week that another awful depiction was unleashed by Hollywood. “Lee Daniels’ The Butler’’ is a train wreck of a film which leaves a bad taste for anyone even dimly aware of the basic facts of American history. “The Butler’’ is a fictionalized account of the life of Eugene Allen, a man who served as a White House butler from the Harry Truman through Ronald Reagan administrations. This story could be interesting on many levels but in the hands of the ham fisted and Black hating Daniels the civil rights movement is in the end just a useful back- Phony hopefulness What might have made for an drop for absolving White people intriguing dynamic is turned inof any guilt. to a hodge podge of phony hopefulness about how the “good neEngaging film gro” inspires White people to do Daniels does know what makes the right thing. Movies of course for an engaging film and it is this depend on some degree of draskill that makes “The Butler’’ so matic license. But it is absurd in insidious. He cleverly depicts the extreme for the Gaines charhow the lead character, named acter to literally be serving breakCecil Gaines for the purposes of fast to presidents and their top the movie, must escape from the staff people as they discuss what cruelty of the Jim Crow era South, to do in Little Rock, Selma or Birwhere America’s apartheid took mingham. shape. The movie does tell some hisMost of the Black actors in the toric truth but with an underlying film are talented and popular au- message that political action is dience favorites. The combination acceptable only within very narof seeing our experiences validat- row parameters. ed in an entertaining film guarantees box office success. Simmons scolded It is true to this very day that After being properly scolded for Black people show two faces, or in the sex tape horror, Simmons rethe case of people like the Gaines moved the sex tape from his site character, only one face, not be- and now says he has plans to proing allowed to be fully human duce biographies of Harriet Tubwhen interacting with White peo- man and Frederick Douglass. He ple who have power over them. probably has no real interest in Having seen lynching and terror, doing this but for the sake of arGaines is fearful for himself and gument he must be treated as if for his son who chooses to be in he does. He can’t be trusted with the forefront of the Black freedom our image ever again and must movement. never be allowed to live down this

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star

shameful episode. Daniels will probably get more movie deals and more opportunities to create outwardly uplifting fare that is in reality anything but. He is equally untrustworthy but more dangerous. He is after all the man who gave us Precious.

Black misleaders Black celebrities cannot be given a pass to treat us any way they want but the yearning for Black success is still quite strong. As with politicians and other misleaders, they get consideration where none is deserved. Hopefully there will be no more Black historical figures in sex tapes or White people being given phony and undue credit, at least not for a while. Two such episodes in one week is simply too much.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in Black Agenda Report, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She can be reached at Margaret.Kimberley@BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Nielsen celebrating 90 years of innovation Isn’t it fascinating how a person can have a single idea or dream planted, take root and change the world as we know it? Well, that’s exactly how Nielsen came to be. This week, Nielsen will celebrate its 90th anniversary. So, I’d like to give sincere kudos to Nielsen on such a momentous, milestone anniversary. On Aug. 24, 1923, in Chicago, a visionary engineer named Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr. (also known as A.C. Nielsen) first came up with the idea of selling performance surveys. He borrowed $45,000.00 to start a business to test the quality of conveyor belts and turbine generators. With those first, simple measurements, Mr. Nielsen introduced the concept of market research. Today, 90 years later, Nielsen has evolved and grown to become a global market research company with a presence in more than 100 countries – headquartered in New York and the Netherlands.

Many ‘firsts’ Did you know that Nielsen has many “firsts?” And we are most known for our TV ratings, but there is so much more. So, if you don’t mind, how about I share with you a short Nielsen history lesson today? So here we go. After the engi-

CHERYL PEARSONMCNEIL NNPA COLUMNIST

neering surveys, Nielsen began measuring drug and retail store sales in 1933, followed by food and department store sales the next year. Client service teams were assembled after in order to make sure the data being collected would be interpreted correctly and so that clients would have a liaison to work with on their day to day operations. And fueled by his passion and curiosity for consumer insights, A.C. Nielsen created the concept of “market share” in 1935. Folks were listening to radio long before TV came along, so Mr. Nielsen acquired the rights to the first instantaneous Audiometer in 1936. This device attached to a radio to record when it was on and what station was being listened to. A few years later, in 1942, Nielsen’s radio index was launched in the U.S.

Nielsen ratings

The infamous “Nielsen ratings” as you know it, made its debut in 1950 when the company began measuring TV audiences. National daily TV ratings in the U.S. weren’t offered until 1973. And, who remembers when those now-ubiquitous bar codes (officially known as Universal Product Codes or UPCs) started popping up? Yes, it was Nielsen that introduced the scanning of bar codes Technology evolves in 1977. This revolutionized the Also in the 1940s, the U.S. Chi- way marketers and retailers were cago headquarters doubled in able to understand how and why

What would King say about exclusion of McClurkin? The hijacking of the Civil Rights Movement by homosexual activists took a quantum leap with the barring of Donnie McClurkin from the Martin Luther King Concert celebration. Such a strategic strike by the LBGT could not have happened without the compliance of the normal House Negroes of the Democrat Party, who also profit from the plight of African-Americans. This has become typical of Democrat administrations. African-Americans must take complete notice of the fact that the voice of the Black community was completely disregarded for a few disgruntled homosexual activists. Mayor Vincent Gray, of Washington, D.C. due to pressure from the Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender lobby requested internationally known gospel singer, and Senior Pastor of Perfecting Faith Church, of Freeport, New York, be banned from performing. Mayor

size and two more international offices in Canada and Australia were opened (the first opened in the United Kingdom in 1939). In addition to radio, the consumer and pharmaceutical indexes were introduced. Mr. Nielsen really stepped out on a limb in 1948 and invested in the first commercial computer, the UNIVAC 1. Now you can imagine this computer was far from today’s PC or even the new portable tablet devices. You know those giant, clunky metal and cable masses you may have seen in old sci-fi movies? Yes, that’s what it looked like. I wonder what Mr. Nielsen would say if he could see how technology has evolved today?

REV. DR. CLENARD H. CHILDESS, JR. GUEST COLUMNIST

Vincent Grey, and undoubtedly the White House, all agreed.

Possible repercussions It is a sad day for the church, especially for the Black church, for let us realize, this move was executed after careful consideration of the possible repercussions. Their assessment? The Black church will remain complacent, will more than likely abandon their brother, and go away, with little objection. Such assessments can be made due to the Black church, and most of its members’ ungodly alliance with the Democrat Party,

who now dictates to them who can perform at concerts, and who cannot. Please for one minute don’t think that Mayor Gray didn’t receive a call from the oval office affirming the request of the LGBT insisting that Donnie McClurkin not perform. I might also add, we should not think for a second that Barack Obama, who spoke at the Lincoln Memorial Wednesday, could not have intervened on the behalf of Donnie McClurkin, but refused.

consumers make purchasing decisions every day. Today, Nielsen measures 400 billion retail product transactions a year in more than 600,000 stores around the world.

The Black Box

es, we can watch our favorite programs on our phones, tablets, computers and game consoles. So as the devices and gadgets evolved where we watch our favorite shows, so did Nielsen’s measurement services. In 2008, Nielsen began developing reports that detailed media usage across screens – television, internet, and mobile devices. Nielsen’s history is progressive and delivers a forecast of infinite possibilities in years to come, which I hope inspires you. And, I hope you see and are empowered by your role in Nielsen’s success. Nielsen research, studies, survey results and data provide clients with this information to better engage and reach us and our communities. So here’s to another 90 years of innovation! I know you can’t wait to see what’s in store next.

As technology has continued to evolve, so have Nielsen’s measuring tools and methods. Today, Nielsen measures the activity more than half a million online panelists worldwide. Who remembers when there were only a few channels available for television? The famous “Black Box” made its debut in 1987 and used to capture the viewing habits of Nielsen households. Now there are hundreds of networks and channels from which to choose for our viewing pleasure – those premium channels that each have a specific interested audience and a plethora of program options as well. Talk about coming a long way? In addition to monitoring our viewing Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is sehere in the U.S., today Nielsen alnior vice president of Public so measures TV viewing audiencAffairs and Government Relaes in 33 countries. tions for Nielsen. For more information and studies, go to Infinite possibilities And with the changing times www.nielsenwire.com. Click on and how our lives have become this story at www.flcourier.com so dependent on mobile devic- to write your own response.

agenda trumps the Black Church in urban communities. The Machiavellian tactics of the homosexual activists is clearly seen here. They speak tolerance and acceptance, yet they attack, bully, and punish those with whom they disagree. We all need to recognize that McClurkin is the worst nightmare of the gay agenda. The insistence of the gay agenda to ignore psychiatrists, and even the liberal American Psychiatric Association, who factually state, there is no homosexual or lesbian gene, thus those who are trapped in the Moral convictions The president could have mir- lifestyle, is due to a flawed orienrored Martin Luther King’s re- tation, not genealogy. sponse to the insistence of the gay agenda being in the platform, by Freed from lifestyle Bayard Rustin in 1963, which reI have repeatedly said, “You sulted in Rustin leaving the move- don’t give civil rights to sexual oriment. When Martin L. King spoke entation because the orientation at the Lincoln Memorial, he stood might be flawed.” There are thoustrong to his moral convictions; sands of people such as McClurthe President doesn’t have the kin that have been freed from the same moral convictions as Mar- homosexual lifestyle, and it is ditin, and in comparison, they are rectly due to that freedom, he was miles apart, and thus you have the barred from performing at a Marexpulsion of Donnie McClurkin tin L. King Gospel Celebration. from the performance. It is clear Oh the irony! Remember, the to one and all, the homosexual request of the Black church was

ignored. Despite numerous calls from Pastors, they were basically told, ‘you don’t have enough clout... your influence is insignificant... and above all, you will vote for us anyway, so why should we listen...?’ Well church, I am reminded of an awesome sermon and later title of a book, by Martin Luther King, and I must interject its title here by asking this salient question: “Where do we go from here? What will the Black church do? How will the Black pastors of Washington, D.C. respond? I would say if there is no response, than the lack of one will do far more damage than the offense itself. Then we will we be reminded of another sermon of Martin’s called...”Unfulfilled Dreams?”

The Rev. Dr. Clenard H. Childress, Jr. is the founder of www. BlackGenocide.org - a website designed to reach the AfroAmerican community with the truth about abortion. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

TOj A6

NATION

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

The silent battle for servicewomen Silent for 25 years Female soldiers Bullock was sent to Fort being sexually Sam Houston in San Antoharassed, abused, nio for training. Although she had never assaulted at been away from home bealarming rate fore, the city girl from BalBY MELISSA DRIBBEN PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. military is struggling to defend troops who are under siege day and night on ill-defined battlefields. Troops who are fighting wars in which it can be impossible to identify the enemy or to know whom to trust. And when they are betrayed, they dare not tell anyone. They are the nation’s women in uniform, and they are being sexually harassed, abused and assaulted at an alarming rate by their fellow soldiers and officers. Since 9/11, with unprecedented numbers of women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the nation’s military leaders say that misogyny is undermining troop readiness. Women enlist for the same reasons as other soldiers, to further their education, establish careers, and serve their country. These were Linda Bullock’s motives, too, when she joined the Army Reserve at 18. She wanted to belong to a community based on honor and trust. Something she couldn’t find in her own family where she had been repeatedly raped by a close relative.

timore, “a string bean” at 5-foot-9 and 135 pounds, surprised herself with her toughness. “It was cool,” she says. After two weeks of field exercises, she returned to her barracks desperate for a shower. While the rest of her fellow soldiers left to get dressed, Bullock stayed behind, luxuriating in the hot water. The bathroom was deserted when she finally wrapped herself in a towel. Suddenly, her drill sergeant appeared. “Who else is here?” she remembers him asking. “No one,” she said. Then he covered her mouth, threw her down and raped her. “He acted like he was on a mission,” Bullock says. She was strong, but no match for a man of about 6-foot-3 and at least 200 pounds. “And anyway, I was too petrified to move.” When he finished, he threatened, “If you tell anybody — not that they’ll believe you — you might as well kiss your career goodbye.” So she said nothing about it for the next 25 years.

Most not reported A 2010 study commissioned by the Department of Defense found that 4 percent of military women on active duty had been

sexually abused or assaulted while on the job. But about 70 percent and 80 percent of victims do not report their attacks. The Department of Veterans Affairs has found that one in five female veterans seeking health care say they have been subjected to sexual intimidation, threat, assault, or rape. And men are abused as well; one in 100 screened by the VA reports sexual trauma. Soldiers remain silent because they fear that they will not be believed or that they will be blamed for sending mixed messages. They worry about being branded as weak or damaged or untrustworthy. Among the few victims who come forward, even fewer press charges. Military courts do not protect a victim’s identity as carefully as the civilian justice system does. Confidential conversations between a victim and a psychologist, medical professional, even a chaplain can be used by defense attorneys. And there is skepticism that attackers will be punished.

New policy Of the 2,284 sexual-assault investigations conducted in 2009, nearly half were dropped because evidence was insufficient, the victim declined to pursue the case, or the court ruled that the allegations were unfounded. In a confidential interview with the Defense Department task force, one military judge advocate

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

Linda Bullock, pictured in August 2011, says she was sexually assaulted by a drill sergeant while serving in the military 25 years ago. general said: “We don’t lose cases due to lack of effort or care. They are tough cases.” Recognizing the problem, the nation’s military leadership has adopted a new policy toward sexual abuse, said Maj. Gen. Mary Kay Hertog. “We’re not going to ignore it, we’re not going to excuse it, and we’re not going to condone it.” Hertog, the new director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said, “It’s all about the climate that is set by that commander on the ground.” Recruits need to be

trained to respect and protect one another, response services need improvement, and abusers must be brought to justice. But like any complex system, she said, the military cannot transform itself overnight. “It’s evolutionary. ... It takes a long time to change the culture.” Some victims are tired of waiting. In February, 15 women and two men, both active duty and veterans, filed a class-action suit against the Pentagon. The suit claimed that the military failed to properly investigate rapes and sexual assaults.

The weekend before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, more than 20 additional names were added to the lawsuit, said Susan Burke, the plaintiffs’ lead lawyer. “It is clear there needs to be dramatic and immediate reform,” said Burke, former counsel to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. “The military cannot be permitted to continue to retaliate against soldiers who have been raped and sexually assaulted. The military needs to prosecute the perpetrators, not blame the victims.”

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Dark-skinned Mexicans still face discrimination See page B2

August 30 - September 5, 2013

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Emeli Sandé among artists coming to Florida See page B5

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA www.flcourier.com

SECTION

autism

A better understanding of

EARLY SIGNS

Leading experts discuss treatment, research and advocacy at conference this month in Utah BY KOREN MCKENZIE SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

ore than 35 of the world’s leading experts discussed new treatment options, research, resources and avenues for advocacy last month at the U.S. Autism & Asperger Association’s (USAAA) 2013 Annual World Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Speakers at the Aug. 1518 conference included physicians, scientists, behaviorists, psychologists, educators, researchers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, developmental specialists, social workers, nutritionists, siblings, teachers, self-advocates, parents and education consultants. Attendees left the conference, held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel and Convention Center, with valuable information that will empower them to help themselves, their children, grandchildren, family, patients, friends, and others touched by autism, said Lawrence P. Kaplan, Ph.D, founder and chairman of the USAAA.

Increase in autism rates Given the increase in autism rates, challenges with early diagnosis and demand for treatment modalities, USAAA’s conference was particularly valuable and significant for anyone impacted by autism, a developmental disorder typically diagnosed in early childhood. Autism impacts the brain in four major areas of functioning – language/communication, social skills, sensory processing and behavior. Persons with autism can have unusual talents as well as impairments. No two in-

According to the Center for Disease Control, about one in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder and occurs in all ethnic groups.

dividuals have the same traits with the same level of severity. It is a “spectrum” disorder with varying individual diagnoses collectively referred to as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals on the spectrum range from those who are nonverbal with severe challenges that can include self-injurious behaviors, to individuals on the higher-functioning end of the spectrum (known as Asperger’s syndrome) who are extremely intelligent with good expressive verbal language, yet impaired social skills. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), about one in 88 children has been identified with an ASD and one in 54 boys. The CDC reports that ASDs are almost five times more common among boys (one in 54) than among girls (one in 252). ASDs are also reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. The Autism Society of America estimates that the lifetime cost of caring for just one child with autism ranges from $3.5 million to $5 million.

Lack of specialists Autism is more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. According to a recent study published in The Journal of Special Education, the rate of autism in children of all races is on the rise. However, students who are Black, Hispanic or American Indian are less likely to be identified with an autism spectrum disorder compared to White and Asian students. Early identification and treatment of autism is considered essential for best outcomes. A survey of pediatricians published in the Pediatrics journal on Aug. 19 suggests that language barriers in the doctor’s office and the lack of culturally appropriate awareness materials contribute to a lag in early diagnosis of autism among Latino families. However, the pediatricians surveyed say that a common problem across all communities is the general lack of developmental and autism specialists – the biggest barrier to early diagnosis.

Community outreach The USAAA’s mission is to “provide the opportunity for everyone living on the autism spectrum disorder to achieve their fullest potential, by enriching the autism community with education, training, accessible resources, and partnerships with local and national projects.” Kaplan, the father of a child with autism, said 50 scholarships were offered to the underserved Latino community to attend the conference and the organi-

It is critically important that parents, caregivers and medical practitioners learn the early signs of autism and become familiar with the typical developmental milestones that a child should be reaching. The following “red flags” may indicate that a child is at risk for an ASD. If a child exhibits any of the following, it is important to ask a pediatrician or family doctor for an evaluation: • No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter • No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions by nine months

Florida resident Koren McKenzie, the author of this article, is the mother of nine-year old Ethan, a child with autism.

• No babbling by 12 months • No back-and-forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months • No words by 16 months • No meaningful, two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months

Theresa K. Wrangham, far right, moderated a panel discussion among some of the leading experts on autism, including, from left to right, Dr. Theodore Henderson, Dr. Phillip C. DeMio, Dr. Frances D. Kendall, Dr. Bob Sears, Dr.William Shaw, and Dr. J. Michael Uszler. zation is exploring sources of outreach to the AfricanAmerican community. At the opening session on Aug. 16, Dr. Temple Grandin addressed more than 700 attendees. Grandin is one of the most famous and highly accomplished adults with autism in the world. Her life was brought to the screen in the HBO film “Temple Grandin,’’ which received seven Emmy awards in 2010. A best-selling author, she also is a professor of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. She shared anecdotes, images of her brain, humor and a wealth of insight gained from her journey with autism. She discussed early intervention strategies, the importance of teaching and exposing children with autism and fostering a work ethic, preparation for employment and succeeding in the workforce, differences between verbal thinkers and visual thinkers, and the priority of addressing sensory processing issues common to persons on the spectrum.

Exploring the brain Dr. Martha Herbert, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School on the cutting edge of research and a Pediatric Neurologist with subspecialty certification in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at the Massachusetts General Hospital, spoke on Aug. 17. She is the author of “The Autism Revolution: WholeBody Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be,” released

in 2012. She discussed the various connections in the brain, the interrelationships between the brain and body, the latest treatment modalities, and brain plasticity - the brain’s natural ability to change. She also described the dynamics of how the brain can change for better or worse in response to negative input such as irritants or toxins or in response to positive input such as nutritional supplementation and healthy diet. Other renowned experts and professionals included Tim Page, a Pulitzer Prize winner and professor who was grateful for his diagnosis at age 45; Stephen M. Shore, a world-renowned lecturer who overcame his autism challenges and is now a professor of special education; and Elaine Hall, a mother of a child with autism and founder of the theater and film program, The Miracle Project.

Living with autism Siblings of individuals on the autism spectrum also shared their experiences and perspectives on living with autism, as well as lessons learned. Panel members ranged in ages from 9 to 19. “Sometimes it can be really hard” said Qwyn, age 9, who has two siblings with autism. “My sister’s mood is not always good,” but “I love her a lot, and my brother is in a group home.’’ Her mom, she says, taught her a lot about autism, as well as extended family members like her uncle who just

treats her sister like a human being. Another sibling, Madison, age 19, read a poem to the audience that her parents wrote in 2001 when she was 7 years old to help her and others understand autism. She says “it sucks sometimes,” but she realizes that every family has its own difficulties and everyone is going through something. It’s a matter of “perspective.” Madison’s advice for siblings is to make an effort to have a relationship with a sibling with autism, even if it’s not traditional, as it will greatly enhance their lives beyond what they could believe. When asked about bullying, the siblings shared the varying experiences of seeing their siblings fully accepted and appreciated, as well as rare occasions of dealing with people who are bullies and overly critical and judgmental. “It makes me sad truly to see that people with disabilities are looked on so differently,” said 17-yearold Andrew. “I have personally made it my mission to make people understand that we are all equal and special in our own way.” He added, “I’ve shed a few tears for my brother,” but “time and love heals all wounds.” The shift in his perspective happened in growing up and realizing the effect of it. It was worth all of the work I put into it, Andrew says. “It gets better. You might see the troubles in front of you right now – the mountain – but once

• Any loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age

you climb it, you’re in the clouds and it’s great.”

Candid panel A self-advocacy panel comprised of several highly esteemed persons diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s Syndrome candidly discussed the daunting personal challenges of coping with depression, misinformation, dietary issues, suicidal thoughts and self-harming behavior. When asked what they would like people to remember the most, one panel member told the audience that she just wants people to understand what it’s like to live with autism and how hard they have to work. She wants people to “embrace them, accept them for who they are and understand their limits.” “Even people who are neurotypical think differently than the person who is sitting next to them,” said another panel member, and if given the chance, “people with autism can succeed beyond anyone’s expectations and go farther than anyone ever thought they would.” Video downloads of panel discussions and presentations at the conference are available for purchase on USAAA’s website at http:// www.usautism.org/tv.

Email Koren McKenzie at contact@solveautismnow.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

CULTURE

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

STOJ

Discrimination lingers for darkskinned Mexicans Casting call for ‘no one dark’ sparks outrage BY TIM JOHNSON MCCLATCHY FOREIGN STAFF/ MCT

MEXICO CITY — Flip through the print publications exalting the activities of Mexico’s high society and there’s one thing you rarely find: dark-skinned people. No matter that nearly two-thirds of Mexicans consider themselves moreno, the Spanish word for dark. Mexico has strong laws barring discrimination based on skin color or ethnicity, but the practices of public relations firms and news media lag behind, promoting the perception that light skin is desirable and dark skin unappealing. The issue came to the fore this month when a casting call for a television spot for Mexico’s largest airline stated flatly that it wanted “no one dark,” sparking outrage on social media and, ultimately, embarrassed apologies. “I’d never seen anything that aggressive and that clear, all in capital letters: ‘NO ONE DARK,’ ” said Tamara de Anda, a magazine editor. “I decided to go with it.”

Round of apologies Her tweets elicited apologies both from Aeromexico and from the Catatonia public relations firm, which blamed a modeling agency that issued the casting call. “We offer a heartfelt apology and reiterate our respect for all people with-

out regard to gender, language, religion or skin color,” Aeromexico said on its official Twitter account. De Anda wrote up her feelings on her popular blog, Crisis of the 30s, saying the incident was part of a far larger phenomenon of marginalization of a majority of the population. “I’ve been swallowing Mexican advertising for 30 years of my life, 11,000 days,” she wrote. Apart from government pronouncements and “folkloric” tourism campaigns, she said, it’s as if “dark-skinned people don’t exist.” It might seem like a harsh judgment. After all, Mexican tourism campaigns promote the nation’s multicultural heritage and its heritage as a home of the Aztec and Mayan empires. The nation of 118 million people includes 15.7 million who consider themselves indigenous. Moreover, an estimated 450,000 Afro-Mexicans live mostly along the coasts.

Anti-discrimination laws In 2001 Legislators amended Mexico’s constitution to bar all forms of discrimination and set up the National Council to Prevent Discrimination. Twenty-two of Mexico’s 32 states (including the federal district) now have anti-discrimination laws on the books. The nation has signed more than two dozen international treaties and conventions banning unfair treatment. But the distance between legalities and practice is substantial, said Mario Arriagada Cuadriello, a doctoral candidate in comparative politics at the London School of Economics.

He is an editor at Nexos, a leading cultural and political magazine. When Arriagada published an article in this month’s issue about widespread discrimination in Mexico, he received a flurry of responses. “People wrote to say that if you are light-skinned, you get better treatment in restaurants,” he said. One person told him that in an exclusive area of the capital, residents ask that their dark-skinned domestic servants not walk in the common gardens “because it is anti-aesthetic and makes the areas ugly.”

History lesson One of Mexico’s most prominent intellectuals from the early 20th century, Jose Vasconcelos, held up the mestizo, or person of mixed Indian and European blood, as part of a superior “cosmic race” with greater spiritual values. Following the Mexican Revolution that began in 1910, the government embraced the mestizo as an ideal. Images of dark-skinned Mexicans appeared on items such as lottery tickets. By midcentury, in an apparent effort to win over the upper class, the thenruling Institutional Revolutionary Party adopted images of more Europeanlooking Mexicans wearing Indian clothing. People of all color filled the Congress, and still do. At the end of the century, Mexico had accepted global norms against discrimination. But kiosks sagged with society magazines, such as Caras, Central and Clase, published by some of the nation’s biggest tycoons and celebrating the

TIM JOHNSON/MCT

Mario Arriagada Cuadriello is a social scientist and magazine editor in Mexico. He says the country’s society magazines show discrimination in their coverage of the people of Mexico. light-skinned moneyed classes, a distinct minority. Indigenous Mexicans rarely appear in media and are treated as a class apart, although the discrimination is closely tied to economic conditions. “The Indian is only accepted if he is decorative, wearing his traditional costume. But not in jeans and a jacket because then (the perception is that) he’ll rob you,” de Anda said.

From ‘cinnamon’ to ‘black’ On playgrounds and sidewalks, a fighting insult is to describe someone in racial terms as a dark indigenous person. According to a 2010 government survey on discrimination, only 13 percent of Mexicans considered themselves lightskinned or blonde while 64.6 percent said they were “dark.” The rest described themselves as anywhere

from “cinnamon,” “swarthy,” “chocolate,” “brown,” “yellow,” “a little tanned” to “black.” Arriagada flipped through a copy of Clase, a magazine-style supplement to the El Universal newspaper that gives photo spreads to prominent families during their beach holidays, at weddings or celebrating social events. “Look,” he said of those portrayed in its pages, “it’s like Norway.”

Black vegetarians balance new diet and old traditions than other groups.” Bush emphasizes that the group isn’t exclusive. There are plenty of members who aren’t black. Instead, they want to make sure AfricanAmericans feel comfortable joining a vegetarian group. Bush says that some people might assume these organizations are predominantly white or exclusive. It’s also a social group. Once a month, members gather at one of Dallas’ vegetarian eateries. In June, the group went to the vegan Spiral Diner in Oak Cliff, a Dallas neighborhood.

BY CLAIRE WISEMAN DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT

DALLAS — In Re Richardson’s kitchen, her new diet collides with her old. There’s a stack of Southern Living cookbooks she’s never used under a shelf with liquid aminos and her favorite curry spice. She’s putting together a dish of quinoa and mixed vegetables as her 90-yearold mother, James Watson, watches. Watson isn’t vegetarian, and doesn’t believe that the food she eats will change certain aspects of her health. Her attitude is in many ways the reason the Black Vegetarian Society of Texas exists. Richardson, a strict vegan since 2010, joined the group last year and uses careful planning and selfcontrol to navigate her meals. Like many members of BVSTX, Richardson transitioned to a vegan diet after concerns about her health led her to re-examine what she was putting into her body. “You can control everything that has to do with your health by what’s at the tip of your fork,” she says.

Raised on soul food Richardson says that avoiding meat and animal products, along with recent removal of the wheat protein gluten, has helped everything from her energy level to her skin. A longtime vegetarian, she made the switch to veganism between her second and third cancer diagnoses. But her diet still baffles Watson. “It tastes OK,” Watson says, looking on as Richardson rinses carrots, celery, broccoli and kale un-

Rarely eats out

REX C. CURRY/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT

Re Richardson, right, serves a vegan meal of quinoa and sauteed vegetables at her Dallas home on Aug. 1. Her mother James R. Watson, left, hasn’t adopted the vegan lifestyle. der purified water, “but it’s not like mine.” She raised her daughter on soul food — collards, cornbread and fried meat. Special occasions were marked with food, and the family would look forward to a Sunday roast. Now, mother and daughter cook separate meals in the home they share in Dallas. Richardson won’t use a microwave or nonstick cookware and purifies her tap water before using it to cook. Watson, on the other hand, still likes to throw a little ham into her

greens and beans. And while Watson supports her daughter’s quest for health, she doesn’t entirely understand why it’s necessary. She says that life, not food, has given her high blood pressure. “I don’t fault anybody for going on a strict diet or eating healthy, but it just makes me wonder,” Watson says.

Spreading the word BVSTX, founded in 2001, has around 100 members. Group president Barbara

Bush says that meetings average between 15 and 20 members. The group holds quarterly classes on topics from vegetarian shopping and cooking to the benefits of juicing. At their annual “Meat Out” event, they set up a booth and pass out informational fliers. “It developed as an educational organization,” Bush says, “with a focus on the African-American community because of the nature of and the number of diet-related diseases that have a greater impact on African-Americans

Eating out is a rare treat for Richardson. She keeps vegan snacks in her bag at all times, since most restaurants don’t cater to her needs. She once sent back a salad at a conventional restaurant because, as she explained it, she could smell the chemicals soaking her greens. “I’m looking at not only what they’re serving, but how they’re preparing it,” Richardson says. At Spiral, the menu is refreshing. Because of her decision to cut out gluten and avoid soy, some meat substitutes used at the diner are off limits. But for the most part, she’s free to choose. Ingredients are local and organic, the way Richardson prefers them. Around the table, the conversation jumps from vegetarian soul food restaurants to the best places to buy fresh produce. When a new member wanders in, they give her shopping and eating advice. “We just want to be available to the community,” Bush says. Though Re Richardson’s

changes have been strict, she doesn’t push them on her family. She’ll bring a vegan dish for all to try at family gatherings. Her mother says that thanks to Richardson’s changes, she has stepped away from frying and cleaned up her diet just a little. “Sometimes I’ll go a week without eating meat,” Watson proudly says.

Common ground Much of Richardson’s real work in the kitchen comes from adapting her mother’s old-timey recipes to fit her new standards. She makes small changes, substituting nutritional yeast for cheese in baked macaroni and cheese or replacing whole milk with almond milk in cornbread. Sharing the kitchen space with her mother depends on finding this common ground. Take the way she prepares her vegetables. Richardson sautés them with coconut oil until they are just tender. That way, they don’t lose much of their raw nutritional value. Watson prefers them a little softer. But she knows about maintaining their nutritional value. It comes from an old adage encouraging her to drink the water vegetables are cooked in — “eat the pot liquor” — learned when she started cooking. While most of their meals differ, they can at least agree on breakfast. It’s always oatmeal. But even there, there are small differences. The daughter sweetens it with dates. Her mother? “The works,” Watson says. “Sugar and butter.”

STOJ

HEALTH

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Are you covered? Individual mandate Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act requires most individuals and their dependents to have health insurance or pay a penalty. Although a key factor in reducing the number of uninsured Americans, the mandate is the most unpopular part of the law. But it’s necessary to make the law’s insurance market reforms work properly. The ACA bars insurers in the individual and small-group markets from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health problems, charging higher premiums based on their health and placing annual and lifetime limits on covered benefits. Without the individual mandate, these new consumer protections would cause sharper premium hikes because they would encourage older, sicker people to get coverage, while healthy people would wait until they get sick to buy insurance. The mandate is designed to discourage this behavior and promote a mix of healthy and less-healthy people to enroll for coverage. That diversity of new enrollees is designed to help keep premium costs in check.

On Oct. 1, Americans can begin enrolling for health coverage next yearon the new state insurance marketplaces. The Affordable Care Actbecomes fully operational three months later in 2014. That’s when most people must have health insurance or face a fine for noncompliance. Most of the roughly 260 million Americans with job-based, individual or government coverage probably have nothing to worry about. But if you’re unsure — or among the nearly 49 million uninsured Americans — we’ve prepared a guide to bring you up to speed.

No if ... ... you’re a member of one of the following exempt groups • Part of religious group opposed to accepting health insurance benefits • An undocumented immigrant • In prison

• Part of an Indian tribe

• Too poor to file a tax return ($10,000 single, $20,000 family) • Paying more than 8 percent of income for health insurance, minus employer contribution or tax credits

Penalties for the uninsured 2014

2015

2016

Adult

$95.00 325.00

695.00

Child

47.50 162.50

347.50

Family* 285.00 975.00 2,085.00

Penalties will increase yearly by cost-of-living adjustment after 2016 *Family penalty is whatever is greater: $285 or 1 percent of family income for 2014; $975 or 2 percent, 2015; $2,085 or 2.5 percent, 2016 Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Graphic: Judy Treible © 2013 MCT

Medicaid expansion Hoping to reduce the ranks of nearly 49 million uninsured Americans, the Affordable Care Act allows states to expand the number of people eligible for Medicaid, the state/federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled. This so-called “Medicaid Expansion” will extend coverage in 2014 to an estimated 8 million nonelderly adults who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That’s about $15,900 for an individual in 2013 or nearly $32,500 for a family of four. The federal government has pledged to pay all medical costs for the newly eligible Medicaid enrollees in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and no less than 90 percent of their costs thereafter. The June 2012 Supreme Court decision allows states to decide whether to participate in the Medicaid expansion. As of July 1, 23 states and the District of Columbia are moving forward with expansion, 21 states are not and six others are still debating the issue, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which studies health care issues.

• Maternity and newborn care • Mental health services • Prescription drugs

• Rehabilitation services

Insurance industry reforms

Accessibilty Guarantees access to individual coverage regardless of current or past health problems

Value of coverage Each plan must cover at least 60 percent of costs Out-of-pocket limits Insurers must limit annual out-of-pocket costs such as co-pays, deductibles

J i m At h e r t o n / F o r t W o r t h S ta r - T e l e g r a m / M C T

• A grandfathered plan from before ACA was enacted

• Hospitalization

Rules designed to make new policies more generous, affordable and transparent

• Your employer

• Private insurance you bought that’s at least the bronze coverage level

• Emergency services

• Pediatric services

... you have insurance through

• Medicare

• Ambulatory patient services

• Preventive and wellness care

No if ...

• Tricare or veteran’s health program

All insurance plans, both in and out of the marketplaces, must cover these 10 “essential health” benefits

• Laboratory services

—Tony Pugh, McClatchy Washington Bureau

Do I have to buy coverage?

• Medicaid or CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)

Essential health benefits

Online, telephone resources

• HealthCare.gov: http://www.healthcare.gov • “The YouToons get ready for Obamacare” video: http://kff.org/health-reform/video/youtoons-obamacare-video/ • CuidadoDeSalud.gov (resource for Spanish speakers): http://www.cuidadodesalud.gov • Business.USA.gov/healthcare (federal ACA information website for business owners): http://business.usa.gov/healthcare • HHS Affordable Care Act hotline: 1-800-318-2596 • HHS ACA hotline for hearing-impaired callers with TTY/TTD technology : 1-855-889-4325

Insurance marketplaces As part of broad changes to the way health insurance is bought and sold, the Affordable Care Act creates new online health insurance marketplaces where individual and small-group coverage can be purchased from qualified health plans. Each state will have a marketplace that will launch in October with open enrollment for coverage in 2014. An estimated 7 million people will purchase insurance on the marketplaces between October and March 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The marketplaces will either be federally operated, state-run or administered jointly. Marketplace plans will be divided into four categories based on the portion of medical expenses they cover: Bronze plans cover 60 percent; silver plans cover 70 percent; gold plans cover 80 percent and platinum plans cover 90 percent. Plan members pay the remaining portion. The marketplaces will also offer “catastrophic coverage” for people under age 30 and those age 30 and over with low incomes who can’t get affordable insurance or who have a hardship exemption from the individual mandate. Catastrophic plans protect against high medical costs from accidents or a major illness. Small employers and their workers will also be able to purchase coverage through the marketplaces, using the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP. Some small employers

Help for the uninsured In states that participate, more people will be covered by Medicaid, the state/federal health insurance for the poor and disabled

Insurance marketplace coverage Who will use marketplaces? People purchasing individual and small-group coverage

How the coverage levels vary Percent of health care costs covered by: Insurers

You

40%

Bronze

Silver

ketplaces, according to Families USA, a nonpartisan patient advocacy group. The tax credits are structured to protect people from spending more than a set portion of their income on coverage. The amount of the tax credit depends on the applicant’s income and the cost of coverage. The tax credits could range from a few hundred dollars to more than $10,000. Low-income people will get larger tax credits than those with higher incomes. The amount of the tax credit is revealed after submitting an online

Nearly 26 million low- and moderate-income people will be eligible for tax credits to help pay for coverage on the new mar-

Medicaid Expansion Where the states stand (as of July 1, 2013)

Maine N.H. Vt.

Wash. N.D.

Mont. Ore. Idaho Nev.

Minn.

Wyo.

Mich.

Neb.

Iowa

Calif. Ariz.

Kan. Okla.

N.M.

Ohio

Ill. Ind.

Utah Colo.

N.Y.

Wis.

S.D.

Ky.

Mo.

Texas

Pa.

Mass. R.I. Conn. N.J. Del.

W. Va. Va.

Md.

N.C.

D.C.

Tenn.

S.C.

Ark. Miss. Ala.

Ga.

La. Fla.

Alaska

**Federal poverty level in 2013: individual, $11,490; family (4), $23,550 Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Graphic: Judy Treible

Platinum

Tax credits

$15,900 $32,500

About 138 percent of the federal poverty level**

Gold

with less than 25 workers will be eligible for a tax credit worth up to 50 percent of their premium contribution. In states with federally-operated marketplaces, employers can only offer worker coverage through one SHOP plan in 2014, but multiple plans in 2015 and thereafter.

Hawaii

NOTE: Alaska and Hawaii are not to scale

application through the marketplace. The money is sent directly to the applicant’s insurance company to be applied to the premiums. Individuals and families who earn between 100 percent to 400 percent of the federal poverty level will be eligible for the tax credits. In 2013, that would be individuals who earn roughly $11,500 to $46,000 annually, or four-person families earning roughly between about $23,550 and $94,200 annually. The amount of the tax credit is based on the price of the “benchmark plan,” which is the secondlowest cost “silver” plan in your area.

Insurance market changes

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Graphic: Judy Treible

The annual income cutoff for Medicaid will rise to: Individual Family (4)

Catastrophic plans typically have lower premiums than a comprehensive plan, but individuals are usually responsible for initial health costs — often up to $6,000 — before coverage kicks in. Tax credits cannot be used to purchase catastrophic coverage.

Not expanding

Debate ongoing

60%

Policy by state Expanding

Rating requirements Limits amount older plan members may be charged, no annual benefit-spending limits, rates can’t vary based on gender, occupation or claims history

The health care law engineers a complete makeover of individual and small group coverage next year through a series of changes designed to make newly issued policies more generous, accessible, affordable and transparent. The individual, or “nongroup,” market has long been problematic for consumers. It’s known for high customer dissatisfaction and turnover, high coverage denial rates, lean benefits and premiums subject to frequent increases. The new rules guarantee access to individual and smallgroup coverage regardless of current or past health problems. They also require each plan to cover at least 60 percent of medical costs, and limit annual outof-pocket costs, like co-payments and deductibles. The new consumer protections also limit the amount that older plan members may be charged; outlaw annual benefit-spending limits; and no longer allow insurers to vary rates based on gender, occupation or medical claims history. The law requires all individual and small-group health plans in 2014 to cover a list of “essential health benefits,” including substance abuse services, pediatric dental and vision care, mental health treatment and others often excluded from current policies. Just 15.4 million people purchase individual coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But that number is expected to increase substantially next year, when premium tax credits become available to help people buy individual coverage through the new online insurance marketplaces in October. About 24.5 million people have small-group coverage through companies with 50 or fewer employees, according to federal estimates.

TOj B4

FOOD

TOJ

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Sweet Celebrations

From family Features

hether you’re celebrating a special occasion or an everyday moment, ice cream treats are always welcome on the menu. These sweet recipes are sure to make any occasion a little more fun. Fried Ice Cream Sticks: Developed by innovative baking master and Blue Bunny ice cream flavor creator Chef Duff Goldman, this recipe really takes the cake. These bite-sized desserts are frozen and fried ice cream deliciousness on a stick. Fruit Salsa Sundaes: Warm glazed fruit with a subtle hint of cumin give ice cream banana splits a new flair. Cool Party Cubes: Kids of all ages will love this fun way to eat birthday cake — any day of the year. Find more sweet ways to celebrate everyday moments or special occasions at www.BlueBunny.com.

Fried Ice Cream Sticks Prep Time: 10 minutes, at least 3 hours freeze time Cook Time: 30 seconds to 1 minute each Makes: 8 servings 8 1/2-cup scoops Blue Bunny Premium Caramel Fudge Brownie Sundae Ice Cream 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup panko bread crumbs Vegetable oil, for frying 8 lollipop sticks Butterscotch, chocolate or caramel sauce, optional Whipped cream, optional

Cool Party Cubes Prep Time: 30 minutes, at least 1 hour freeze time Makes: 4 servings 2 squares (2 ounces) white chocolate baking squares 1/2 cup prepared vanilla frosting 4 Blue Bunny Premium Birthday Party Ice Cream Sandwiches 2 medium firm kiwi, peeled 1 3/4 cups halved small strawberries (or large strawberries cut into chunks) 3/4 cup fresh blueberries 3 tablespoons peach preserves (pineapple, mango or apricot could be substituted) Grate or shred white chocolate with box grater onto large plate. Thinly spread frosting on one side of one ice cream sandwich, keeping remaining

When is ice cream more than ice cream? When it helps make wishes come true. Wells Enterprises, Inc., maker of Blue Bunny ice cream, is helping Make-AWish grant 100 wishes to 100 kids with life-threatening medical conditions in honor of the company’s 100th birthday. Wish granting events are taking place across the country throughout 2013, each celebrated and captured on www.100Years100Wishes. com. While there, join the celebration and lend support to the 100 wish kids by signing the Wish Card. The collection of signatures and messages will be delivered to all 100 wish kids in October 2013 in celebration of Wells’ 100th birthday on Oct. 24.

sandwiches in freezer. Press frosting side into white chocolate, spread frosting on unfrosted side; turn and press into white chocolate. Return to freezer; repeat with remaining ice cream sandwiches. Freeze at least 1 hour, until solid. (May be kept covered in freezer overnight.) Thirty minutes before serving, cut kiwi into thick slices, cutting slices into quarters. Place in medium bowl along with other fruit. Heat preserves in microwave-safe bowl, just until melted (20 seconds in a 1250 watt microwave), breaking up large pieces of fruit. Pour over fruit and toss to coat; chill 15 to 20 minutes. Remove prepared ice cream sandwiches from freezer, cut each into bite-size squares; arrange with glazed fruit in 4 dessert bowls or plates.

Place ice cream scoops on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for at least 2 hours. In soup bowl or other mediumsized bowl, beat eggs and sugar with a fork until well blended. Place panko crumbs in another soup bowl or medium-sized bowl. Dip the ice cream scoops into egg mixture, then roll in the panko bread crumbs, coating completely. Freeze 1 hour. Heat oil in a deep-fat fryer to 375°F. Fry ice cream scoops, one at a time, until golden brown; 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from oil and insert a lollipop stick. Top with a drizzle of butterscotch, chocolate or caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream, if desired. Serve immediately. Fruit Salsa Sundaes Prep Time: 10 minutes Makes: 4 servings 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 6 medium fresh strawberries, diced 1 large kiwi, peeled and diced 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin 4 small firm bananas, cut in half lengthwise 8 1/3 cups Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Banana Split Ice Cream Fat free whipped topping, optional Chocolate sprinkles, optional 4 maraschino cherries, optional In medium skillet over medium-low heat, cook pineapple and brown sugar just until pineapple is softened, 5 min utes. Add strawberries, kiwi and cumin; cook several minutes until fruit is heated through. Arrange 2 banana halves in each of 4 dessert bowls; top each with 2 scoops ice cream. Spoon glazed fruits equally over ice cream. Garnish with whipped topping, chocolate sprinkles and a maraschino cherry, if desired. Serve immediately.

TOJ

AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

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Florida Courier photojournalists were onboard Royal Caribbean ships with thousands of “Tom Joyner Morning Show” fans on the Fantastic Voyage 2011 and 2012. We’re featuring some of the “Finest” cruisers. Photos by TONY LEAVELL/ FLORIDA COURIER and DELROY COLE/ FLORIDA COURIER

EDDIE GRIFFIN

Comedian and actor Eddie Griffin will be at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 27.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Jacksonville: Chris Tucker will be at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville on Sept. 27. St. Petersburg: Reggae singer Beres Hammond will be at Jannus Life on Aug. 30. Orlando: J Cole’s What Dreams May Come Tour stops at Hard Rock Live Orlando on Sept. 12. He also will be at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts in Jacksonville on Sept. 14.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND ONE RACE FILMS PRESENTEXECUTIVE A ONE RACE FILMS PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH RADAR PICTURES A DAVID TWOHY FILM VIN DIESEL “RIDDICK” PRODUCERS SAMANTHA VINCENT MIKE DRAKE GEORGE ZAKK PRODUCED BASED ON CHARACTERS WRITTEN AND BY VIN DIESEL TED FIELD CREATED BY JIM & KEN WHEAT DIRECTED BY DAVID TWOHY A UNIVERSAL RELEASE SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC

Clearwater: John Legend and Tamar Braxton are scheduled at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Nov. 4. Tampa: The Isley Brothers with Kem and Nephew Tommy are coming to the University of South Florida Sun Dome on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m.

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Tampa: The Hillsborough Community College Institute for Corporate and Continuing Education will present a free event Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Open Café, 3332

N. 34th St.. Speaker: Dr. Jeff Johnson, author of “Creating A Better Me. More information: www.tampatraining. com. Tampa: The second annual UNCF Walk for Education is Sept. 7 at Al Lopez Park. Register online at www.uncf. org/tampabaywalk. St. Petersburg: Tickets are on sale for a concert at the Mahaffey Theater with Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. The show has been changed to Sunday, Sept. 27. Orlando: Diana Ross is scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. at Hard Rock Live Orlando. St. Petersburg: Stephen “Ragga’’ Marley will perform Oct. 17 at Jannus Live. Orlando: Soulbird will present a SongVersation with India. Arie on Oct. 11 at the House of Blues Orlando and Oct. 17 at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville. Daytona Beach: A Southern Soul Blues Concert featuring Mel Waiters, Sir Charles Jones and Bigg Robb is scheduled Oct. 5 at the Mary

McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center. St. Petersburg: Youths ages 7 to 11 can enjoy a night of football, kickball, ping-pong, foosball, video games and dance parties during “Freestyle Fridays” at the Fossil Park and Willis S. Johns Center, 6635 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. First visit free; $6 each following visit. More information: 727-893-7756. Tampa: Delatorro McNeal, CEO of Platinum Performance Global, is bringing business experts to the Mainsail Hotel and Conference Center Sept. 5-7 for Full Throttle Experience 2013, a business and leadership conference. More information: www.fullthrottleexperience.com. St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Petersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues from 5:30 p.m.10:30 p.m. More information: 727-393-3597. Daytona Beach: Michael Winslow is scheduled Sept. 6 and 7 at Bonkerz Comedy Club.

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AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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