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Maryland spotlights role of African-Americans in War of 1812 See Page B1

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VOLUME 22 NO. 36

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SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

COOKED TO DEATH

In the latest installment of the Florida Courier’s series on Blacks and mental health, we review the Miami Herald’s spotlight on the state’s inability to handle mentally ill prison inmates. BY JENISE GRIFFIN MORGAN FLORIDA COURIER

Darren Rainey was forced into a scalding hot shower at the Dade Correctional Institution on June 23, 2012, and allegedly left there for two hours as part of a punishment ritual. When his body was removed from the locked shower, chunks of his skin had fallen off. According to a grievance Dade Correctional Institution inmate Darren Rainey, complaint from a fellow who was mentally ill, died after being allegedly inmate, Rainey screamed over and over, “I can’t take locked up for hours in a scaldingly hot shower.

it no more, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” A medical document showed that Rainey’s skin was so badly burned from the scalding shower that it had shriveled from his body, a condition called “slippage.” As of August 2014, Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Bruce Hyma had not released an autopsy report or told Rainey’s family how he died. The medical examiner’s office says that it is waiting for the police to finish

their investigation into the battling it out while guards placed bets and watched. death.

Regular practice? Human rights groups, including the ACLU and NAACP, have called for a federal investigation into the gruesome death of the 50-year-old Rainey, who had been diagnosed with a mental illness. A series of investigative stories by the Miami Herald daily newspaper highlighted Rainey’s death and how the state mistreats its inmates with mental health issues. Reports allege that the punishment for prisoners by corrections officers has ranged from the scalding showers to sexual abuse to starvation diets to inmates

THE GANTT REPORT

Happy birthday, LG!

‘Fixing the problems’ The Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) is the third-largest state prison system in the country with an operating budget in 2012-13 of approximately $2.1 billion. More than 100,000 inmates are in DOC prisons and another 145,000 offenders are on community supervision. Last month, DOC Secretary Mike Crews announced system-wide reforms, which will include better training of corrections officers in handling mentally ill inmates. See RAINEY, Page A2

Aristide probe launched Former Haiti president’s quiet life disturbed BY JACQUELINE CHARLES THE MIAMI HERALD /MCT

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Political consultant Lucius Gantt of the Gantt Report celebrated his latest birthday on August 29. That same day, his client, the National Alliance of the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, won enough votes in the national election to lead a coalition controlling the nation’s government. Read Gantt’s message to Florida Democrats on Page A2.

For a twice-deposed, twice-exiled leader who longed for home, Haiti’s firebrand former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, remains holed up behind closed doors. The reclusive former leader has missed many of life’s milestones since his return to Haiti 3 ½ years ago: a relative’s funeral, a public birthday celebration, a daughter’s college orientation. Now, as a revived criminal case against him sparks renewed interests and mounting tensions on the streets of Port-au-Prince, the populist leader is being forced back into the spotlight. Fearing his imminent arrest, supporters in recent weeks clashed with U.N. peacekeepers, erected barricades of burning tires and kept vigil outside of his gated compound on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The crowd of a few hundred has been a far cry from the thousands who once paralyzed the country in spontaneous demonstrations to support Aristide, first as a popular Roman Catholic priest, then as a polarizing president struggling to deal with the opposition. Despite their relatively small number, those who had camped outside the home are part of a See ARISTIDE, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

Does ‘just a sip’ hurt kids? BY DAVID TEMPLETON PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE / MCT

A parent enjoying an alcoholic drink might find his or her young child to be curious about what’s in that bottle or glass. It raises the question: Should the parent offer the child just a taste? Will it remove the temptation or encourage use or even abuse?

No benefit University of Pittsburgh researcher John E. Donovan said previous research findings prompt his recommendation against par-

ALSO INSIDE

NATION | A6

ents’ offering their children a taste of alcohol. Even if research, so far, shows no harm from only a taste, it also has shown no benefit. So why encourage alcohol consumption? His current study published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research sought to identify factors that prompt children to taste or sip alcohol at ages as young as 8 or 10.

Parental approval key Research already has identified two factors predicting whether a 12-year-old child has tasted alcohol – the child’s attitude toward giving it a try and a family environment supportive of alcohol use. But the study led by Donovan, a Ph.D. and associate professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Pitt, and co-written by Brooke S.G. Molina of Pitt’s departments of psychiatry and psychology, found that parental ap-

proval more so than the child’s psychological proneness is key to whether children 8 or 10 years old already have tasted alcohol. “Children who sipped alcohol before age 12 reported that their parents were more approving of a child sipping or tasting alcohol and more likely to be current drinkers than those yet to have a sip,” he said. Parents’ comments confirmed that conclusion. The study involving 452 children (238 girls and 214 boys 8 or 10 years old), and their families from Allegheny County, Pa., sought to identify factors that predict whether a child will start to sip or taste alcohol before age 12.

Anti-hazing program helps high school students SPORTS & EVENTS | B2

North Carolina A&T trounces Alabama A&M in MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Family gatherings A previous study Donovan conducted determined that nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of 12-year-olds have at least tasted alcohol. See ALCOHOL, Page A2

CULTURE | B3

‘From depressed cities to depressed suburbs’

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: REV. JESSE L. JACKSON SR.: A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD | A5

FOCUS

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Hey Democrats, any Negro just won’t do Success is always the best revenge! When people constantly tell you that you are no good, you are inferior, you are incompetent, you are unworthy, and that everybody is better and more professional than you, all you have to do is make things happen! Just win, baby!

In control I’m still in-country in Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, where I took on the task of helping one of the island’s most powerful politicians cruse to a reelection victory. For many years, his political party excelled in the role of “opposition party.” But today, they are celebrating a new position as unquestioned leaders of a coalition of political parties that gives my guy and his coalition complete political control of the country of Sint Maarten! A good man is never honored in his own country. The same is true about good Black political consultants!

Can’t do any worse LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

Never get a chance The political party of choice for America’s African-American voters is the Democratic Party. But it seems no matter how many votes we cast for Democratic candidates, no matter how much money we contribute to Democratic coffers and no matter how many hours, days and weeks we spend doing volunteer work for Democratic candidates, we seem to never get an opportunity to make decisions for Democrats. We never get the chance to run or manage campaigns for Democratic Party candidates – and it doesn’t matter if the candidates are White or Black!

Now is the time for Democrats nationwide to get rid of losers they have been hiring year after year to work on losing campaign after losing campaign! Give the Black political professionals a chance! No political consultant of any race, creed or color can be worse than the pale consultants that have been hired by national, state and local Democratic Parties and Democratic candidates. Give the Black media owners a chance. Give the Black printers a chance. Give the Black mailers a chance. Give the Black caterers a chance. Give the Black pollsters a chance. And damn it, give the Black voters that are the Democratic Party’s most loyal supporters an opportunity to participate in political purchasing transactions made by the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates in every city, county and state in North America! A vote is a vote. If Black polit-

ARISTIDE well-organized network that has shown its ability to quickly come to the Aristide’s aid.

Low profile

RAINEY from A1

“Stories report we have fallen short in specific instances with regard to facility leadership, safety, security, training and services for mentally ill inmates. We’re fixing the problems that have been identified and as we identify new issues, we will fix those too. Our Department should be held to the highest standards, and I have zero tolerance for anything less,” said Crews in a statement released on Aug. 20. “We need to anticipate problems and implement a systemwide approach to correct issues before they become widespread. We must act with a sense of urgency. There is no silver bullet, but everything we do is moving us down a path toward safer facilities and a safer Florida.”

No charges Rainey’s death was brought to the forefront this year when the Miami Herald began asking probing questions about what happened the night he died. No one has been charged in Rainey’s death. He was serving a twoyear sentence for possession of cocaine. He allegedly had been placed in the shower for defecating in his cell. The facility’s warden at the time, Jerry Cummings, was fired this July. According to reports, MiamiDade police officers did not save the 911 tape the night Rainey died. And official reports by prison staff have made it seem that Rainey died while taking a routine shower, although inmates said he screamed out in agony

What love? To paraphrase singer Bill Withers, there won’t be any sunshine for the Democratic Party when we’re gone. All Republicans or some other opposition party has to do is spend money with Black political professionals and Black-owned media, and enough Black voters will drop their love of Democrats like you drop a bad habit! I don’t know if Allison Tant, the Florida Democratic chairperson, reads The Gantt Report, but she should. If political candidates worldwide seek Black political consultants because they

filed a motion with Haiti’s supreme court asking for Belizaire’s removal on the grounds that he is politically biased and his appointment as a judge by President Michel Martelly’s administration did not follow procedure. Under Haitian law, the case should have been put on hold, according to criminal procedure expert Frantz Gabriel Nerette of Universite Quisqueya. But an unpersuaded Belizaire has continued to question Aristide supporters.

from A1

Still, as supporters continue to pledge their allegiance, Aristide has continued to do what he has always done since his surprise return after seven years in exile in South Africa: keep to himself. Not even the death of his mother-in-law, Carmelle Jacob Trouillot, in February in South Florida could sway Aristide to leave. He was a no-show at a 61st birthday celebration in his honor in Portau-Prince and on a recent family trip to New York where his U.S.educated wife arrived with their two daughters to move the eldest into college at Cornell University. “He doesn’t want to create any kind of public attraction for anybody to say he’s preparing for a political comeback,” Vorbe said. “He knows that if he were to ever go some place, he would be overwhelmed.” That’s what happened last year during his one public appearance – to answer a court summons in a murder investigation. Thousands swarmed his vehicle and the courthouse. “It doesn’t get to him. He knows that these things are being brought forward for political reasons,” said Joel Edouard “Pasha” Vorbe, a member of Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas opposition party’s executive committee. Aristide’s secluded life is a sharp contrast to that of anoth-

ical professionals can generate political votes in the Caribbean, generate votes in Africa and generate votes in other parts of the world, they can generate votes in the United States! I live in Florida, and I’m especially concerned about what happens to Black political professionals and Black voters in the Sunshine State.

MIKE STOCKER/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL/KRT

A man holds a photo of former Haiti’s former president Jean Bertand Aristide in 2006, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. er former president, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Like Aristide, he’s the subject of a legal inquiry on corruption and human rights allegations. But unlike him, Duvalier, who returned to Haiti two months before Aristide after 25 years in exile in France, is a public celebrity who is a frequent guest at Haiti’s best restaurants and official presidential events.

Revived charges Driving the tension is a court order for police to bring the priestturned-president before investigative Judge Lamarre Belizaire – by force if necessary. Belizaire has revived an investigation into allegations that Aristide and his supporters stole tens of millions of dollars from the Haitian treasury during his second presidency, 2001 to 2004. The allegations were first raised about a decade ago in U.S. courts, where more than a dozen top Haiti police officers and Colombian drug traffickers were convicted as

until he collapsed and died.

Federal probe urged In June, human rights organizations wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urging the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Rainey’s death. George Mallinckrodt, a psychotherapist who worked in the psychiatric unit of Dade Correctional Institution from 2008 to 2011, also has filed a DOJ complaint. He has stated that guards “taunted, tormented, abused, beat and tortured chronically mentally ill inmates on a regular basis.” A Miami Herald report states that Mallinckrodt also complained to the warden at the Dade Correctional Institution and the DOC, but didn’t receive a response. Crews stated that of all the inmates that came into the DOC system in the 2013-14 fiscal year, 21 percent had a mental illness; 69 percent had a substance abuse issue upon arrival. Some had a combination of both.

Training of officers “To address the challenges faced by our staff, we are expanding our Crisis Intervention Training programs for correctional officers. The Crisis Intervention Training teaches our correctional officers the right and wrong ways to handle this specific population, so they don’t unintentionally escalate an incident or hurt an individual with our use of force techniques,” Crews said in the Aug. 20 statement. He added that 625 officers assigned to facilities with an inpatient mental health population already have received the training.

part of a U.S. government crackdown on alleged drug trafficking in the Aristide administration. But a Miami federal grand jury looking into whether Aristide also received kickbacks from traffickers and stole money from his government and funneled it to U.S. banks failed to levy money laundering charges before the five-year statute of limitations ran out. Aristide’s lawyers have always denied any wrongdoing and question the current legal proceedings.

Motions filed The Haitian inquest – equivalent to a grand jury – is supposed to be secret. The Miami Herald newspaper confirmed the existence of Belizaire’s order, issued after Aristide failed to show up for an Aug. 13 court date. His lawyers, who went instead, say the summons wasn’t properly served and never received by the leader, whose security team includes police officers. They have since said they’ve

“Over the next 90 days, approximately 150 additional officers will be designated for Crisis Intervention Training to ensure all staff who work with inmates who have a mental illness have received this specialized training,” he noted.

New re-entry centers Crews also announced the creation of re-entry centers to assist inmates with mental health needs. “We are scheduled to open one center here at Everglades C.I. (Correctional Institute in Miami) and another center at Baker C.I. (Correctional Institution in Sanderson) in the spring of 2015,” he explained. “Together, these re-entry centers will house 864 inmates that will all receive vocational and substance abuse treatment. Additionally, we are adding mental health treatment and support services for up to 100 of these inmates. These supports will help the inmates so they can successfully transition back into the community and remain crimefree. “We have already begun coordination with the mental health and substance abuse experts at the Department of Children and Families to propose a pilot program that will help inmates with mental illness make a smoother, more successful transition back into mainstream society with the support of a case manager. The use of a case manager can help the inmates who are leaving our system be more successful in the community.” On transparency, Crews stated, “As a Department, I want to take better advantage of technol-

Why bother? As often the case in Byzantine Haitian politics, theories abound as to why the renewed interest in Aristide, whom critics say isn’t above the law. Among the theories: The case is an attempt to distract Haitians from authorities’ slow-going manhunt to find 268 of 329 prisoners who recently escaped from a Port-au-Prince prison. Authorities are seeking to remove attention from the ongoing political struggle between Haiti’s current president Mickey Martelly and the opposition on the yetto-be-organized overdue legislative and local elections that are no longer possible for Oct. 26. The case isn’t about Aristide, but about Duvalier. If Haitian authorities are forced to drop the case against Aristide, the same treatment must also be awarded to Duvalier. Martelly and his supporters fear Aristide is waging a political comeback as Fanmi Lavalas quietly rebuilds. The party recently announced that Aristide spokeswoman Dr. Maryse Narcisse will be its candidate in the yet-to-bescheduled 2015 presidential race.

ogy so we can communicate even more effectively with the public, and be more efficient in providing public records and public data. Through the use of technology, we have the opportunity to provide the public with greater access into the functions of the Department – especially in cases when an inmate dies in one of our facilities. With over 100,000 inmates in our custody, we function much like a city where the vast majority of inmates who pass away do so from natural causes.”

In the wrong place The Rev. Willie Dixon is executive director of the COACH Foundation, Inc., a non-profit based in Tampa that assists inmates and their families before, during and after incarceration. Dixon, who has been involved with prison ministry since 1979, told the Florida Courier that too many mentally ill residents are being housed in prisons. “It appears the prison system is exchanging mental beds for prison beds,” he said. He referred to the report, “The Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails,” released this year by the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. The center reports that approximately 20 percent of inmates in jails and 15 percent of inmates in state prisons have a serious mental illness. “Based on the total number of inmates, this means that there are approximately 356,000 inmates with serious mental illness in jails and state prisons. This is

have winning political strategists, Tant should seek to hire winning Black political professionals, too! And, the old, outdated Democratic idea that “any Negro will do” must be discredited and abandoned immediately! Encourage and motivate your base, Democrats! Spend some serious money and you’ll get some serious Black support! And, “duh.” If you keep hiring losers, you will obviously keep on losing.

Excerpts from Gantt columns are now posted every week on The Gantt Report’s Facebook page; become a fan. Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net. “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

ALCOHOL from A1

Children often have their first taste of alcohol during family gatherings or celebrations, he said. Parents in the study, even those regularly drinking in the presence of their children, did not roundly approve of offering their children a taste. But some were less opposed to it. “We don’t really know yet whether childhood sipping or tasting (of alcohol) has any future negative consequences,” he said. “But our previous research found that sipping or tasting alcohol by age 10 was significantly related to early-onset drinking – that is, having more than a sip or a taste before age 15. “What we’re saying is that drinking with the family does not protect against problems or heavier involvement with alcohol later in life,” he said. “It doesn’t have a good benefit. It doesn’t help the child. It doesn’t prevent problems. If it is not helpful, why engage in it? It could create problems.” As for drinking in front of your children, Donovan said, “If you do, don’t do a lot of it.”

10 times more than the approximately 35,000 individuals with serious mental illness remaining in state hospitals,” according to the report.

Not getting better “The Department of Corrections and the Florida Legislature should do a better job of registering who is going to prison, as well as their mental conditions at the time of their incarceration and release from prison. Without proper help, employment, housing and community involvement, many inmates become homeless and return to prison within 90 days to three years of their release from prison,’’ Dixon remarked. “It has been recorded that many people in the system come out worse mentally than they were when they go in, when they failed to participate in positive programs and maintain a positive altitude,’’ added Dixon, who ministers in various state institutions, including the Zephyrhills Correctional Institution where he teaches a weekly Bible study class. “I would like to see more community programs for former inmates as well as for people exhibiting behavioral problems,” he added. “I am glad to know that there will be more training of correctional officers, and the state certainly needs to do more to make sure all felons with mental health and substance abuse issues have better access to programs while in prison and when they are released so that they can make a smooth transition into society as productive and tax-paying citizens.”

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

FLORIDA

ie, was racially profiled by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman. The unarmed teenager was walking home from a store with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea.

Response to Ferguson

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

Attorney General Eric Holder shakes hands with Bradley Rafford after meeting with him and other students at St. Louis Community College - Florissant Valley in Missouri on Aug. 20.

Inaction in Martin’s civil rights case called disappointing Activists say Holder dropped the ball on investigation of Sanford shooting BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

The NAACP delivered 1.7 million signatures to the U. S. Department of Justice a year ago, requesting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting death of

Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford. Despite the outrage and demands for justice after Zimmerman was acquitted of manslaughter, Attorney General Eric Holder has yet to announce a clear answer on his findings in the shooting of the unarmed 17-yearold who quickly became a household name across America. Ben Jealous, the NAACP President who collected and electronically delivered the signatures says he’s disappointed at the delay, but

is still awaiting Holder’s answer.

‘Keeping the faith’ “Attorney General Holder was very responsive when we initially reached out to ask for answers around Trayvon Martin,” says Jealous, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “It is disappointing that the investigation has gone on for so long without a conclusion when the injustice is so evident. However, I am keeping the faith. I’m

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encouraged by the swift response Holder’s Justice Department has had so far in Ferguson.”

Not guilty verdict Martin was shot and killed by Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012. Despite national outcries, a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of manslaughter on July 13, 2013. The case largely centered on a debate over whether Zimmerman was defending himself although he was the one who confronted and pursued Martin against the advice of a 911 operator. Using expletives, Zimmerman said on the 911 tape, “They always get away.” For civil rights leaders and others, this statement was clear evidence that Martin, wearing a hood-

After the controversial verdict in the criminal trial, justice seekers, largely led by the NAACP and ColorOfChange, then sought redress through the Justice Department, pushing for an indictment on a civil rights violation. Holder promised a thorough investigation but has yet to announce a conclusion. On Aug. 29, a group pushing for justice in the Aug. 9 Michael Brown killing by Ferguson, Mo. police officer, Darren Wilson, delivered more than 900,000 signatures on a petition, also in support of a civil rights charge. Holder, who visited the Ferguson amidst unrest over the killing of Brown, who was also unarmed, has again promised a thorough investigation into the case in which witnesses said Brown had raised his hands when shot. A grand jury will determine whether to bring criminal charges against the officer.

Keeping hope alive The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., president of the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition, says Holder’s silence on the Martin case could engender a lack of confidence in the Brown and other cases. “We want an answer,” says Jackson. “The wheels of justice must move quickly or it will erode people’s confidence,” he said, adding he hopes Holder’s response on Martin “will come soon.” The Trice Edney News Wire has attempted several times to attain the Justice Department’s status on the civil rights investigation in the Sanford case. However, Press Secretary Kevin Lewis had not responded to two phone calls and an email sent earlier this year. Lewis is the former Black Press liaison at the White House under the Obama Admin-

Supreme Court could consider campaign cash in judicial races BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – When Lanell WilliamsYulee began running for a Hillsborough County judgeship in 2009, she signed a letter to would-be supporters seeking contributions for her campaign. Now, five years later, Williams-Yulee’s letter could spur the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into a First Amendment debate about whether it is constitutional for Florida and other states to bar judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions. Williams-Yulee’s attor- Lanell neys have asked the U.S. WilliamsSupreme Court to take up Yulee the issue, after the Florida Supreme Court in May rejected arguments that the ban is unconstitutional and found that Williams-Yulee violated a code of conduct.

Differing positions The possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the issue got a boost last month when The Florida Bar – which filed the complaint against Williams-Yulee – also urged the high court to resolve the matter. The Bar said in an Aug. 22 brief that it stands behind its position that judicial candidates should not personally solicit contributions, but that appellate courts across the country have taken differing positions on the issue. “The issues at the heart of the conflicts are not such that they can accommodate different interpretations and applications in different jurisdictions and judicial forums without insulting fundamental principles,’’ said the brief filed by Bar attorneys Barry Richard and Hope Keating. “In this instance, the conflicts deal with the proper balance between two compelling interests at the heart of a free and just society. The manner in which that balance is struck should be applied uniformly to all citizens in all places and before all tribunals.”

istration.

A ‘different’ Holder On Nov. 4, 2013, Holder, questioned by reporters at an unrelated press conference, said the Justice Department had not yet decided whether to file charges against Zimmerman, but that the investigation was continuing. Civil rights leaders acknowledge that Holder has not given an answer, but they are also hoping that both criminal and civil rights charges in the death of Michael Brown will bring change. “Holder is different on this one,” says Barbara Arnwine, executive director and CEO of the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law, one of the groups that called for the civil rights investigation in the Martin case. “He’s not the same man he was at that time,” says Arnwine, pointing out that since the death of Martin, Holder has “spent two years investigating racial disparities in the criminal justice system” and has begun to push policy changes.

Ogletree, Crump respond Still there are those who say more should have been done on all fronts. “The death of Michael Brown makes me angry and disappointed in the lack of progress since the death of Trayvon Martin,” says Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, founder and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. He says the greatest sign of hope will be the arrest and prosecution of the police officer who killed Brown. Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, agrees with Ogletree. “Every case is unique,” he said. “All I know about this case is that he was executed.” Crump said he believes the shootings will diminish when “the shooters are held accountable for the killing of our children.”

State justices’ ruling The Florida Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling May 1, reiterated earlier positions that the ban on judicial candidates soliciting money “promotes the state’s compelling interests in preserving the integrity of the judiciary and maintaining the public’s confidence in an impartial judiciary, and that it is narrowly tailored to effectuate those interests.” Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and James E. Perry were in the majority, while justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston dissented. But in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue, attorneys for WilliamsYulee said the prohibition violates First Amendment rights. They wrote in a June brief that “there is little doubt that the Florida Supreme Court's decision in this case is wrong. (The canon of the state’s code of judicial conduct involved in the case) is a contentand speaker-based restriction on political speech; such laws rarely survive strict judicial scrutiny, and this one should not.”

‘Blanket’ prohibitions It remains unknown whether the U.S. Supreme Court, which receives thousands of requests a year to hear cases, will take up the matter. The briefs were posted last week on the website SCOTUSblog. While judicial candidates are barred from personally soliciting contributions, they can establish committees that are allowed to raise and spend money. The June brief filed by Williams-Yulee’s attorneys says 39 states use some form of electing judges, with 30 having laws or rules aimed at preventing personal solicitations of contributions. It said 22 of the 30 are “blanket” prohibitions, similar to the Florida ban. Williams-Yulee, who lost her bid to become a Hillsborough County judge, received a reprimand in the Florida Supreme Court decision. Her attorneys, including a Yale Law School faculty member and attorneys from Washington and Orlando, contended in the brief that the case presents a good “vehicle” to resolve the issue nationally. “The Florida Supreme Court expressly reached and clearly decided the federal constitutional issue, and none of the relevant facts is in dispute,’’ the brief said. “And this case involves a mass mailing by a non-judge candidate – precisely the kind of innocuous communication that (three federal appellate courts) expressly agree is protected by the First Amendment.”

EDITORIAL

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

The lessons of Ferguson, part I: Economic inequality “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am haunted by the words spoken by Lesley McSpadden immediately following the shooting death of her son, Michael Brown, at the hands of Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson almost a month ago. She said, “Do you know how hard it was for me to get him to stay in school and graduate? You know how many Black men graduate? Not many. Because you bring them down to this type of level, where they feel like they don’t got nothing to live for anyway.” Lesley McSpadden’s words reflect more than her own deep anguish. They have been echoed by many of Ferguson’s citizens and

MARC H. MORIAL TRICE EDNEY WIRE

civic leaders who have rallied for justice since Brown’s killing. They also expose the pervasive problems of joblessness and hopelessness fueling so much of the anger and tension in communities of color across America.

Root causes of Ferguson Michael Brown’s death was the spark that ignited a long-smoldering fire in Ferguson; and while the immediate goal of the National Urban League and our affiliate network is the arrest and indictment of Officer Darren Wilson, this column represents the first in a three-part series that aims to

examine some of the root causes and identify solutions that must be implemented to avoid crises similar to Ferguson in the future. Let’s begin with the lack of jobs and the epidemic of unemployment in Ferguson, a city that is 67 percent Black. The National Urban League’s 2014 “State of Black America Report” found that the St. Louis metro area, which includes Ferguson, had a Black unemployment rate of 19.6 percent and a White unemployment rate of 6.9 percent – resulting in an unemployment Equality Index of 35.2 percent on a 100-point scale. This level of economic inequality reflects a glaring disparity of opportunity and has created a chasm of misunderstanding and distrust that is behind much of the violence that has erupted between police and citizens. Four years out of the recession, America’s private sector is

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: FERGUSON AFTERMATH

expanding, but too many people have been left behind. According to a recent Brookings study, “Between 2000 and 2010-2012, Ferguson’s poor population doubled.” In response to the crisis in Ferguson, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to his Senate colleagues calling for both a thorough federal investigation of the shooting death of Michael Brown and targeted legislation to bring jobs to Ferguson and similar struggling cities. Sanders points out, “There is an economic crisis facing our nation’s youth, particularly young African-Americans. Nationwide, the youth unemployment rate today is more than 20 percent and African-American youth unemployment is nearly 35 percent. The legislation would provide $5.5 billion in immediate funding to states and localities to employ 1 million young Americans between

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 225 Why Florida Republicans are in trouble – Gov. Rick Scott received more votes than any other candidate in last week’s state primary elections. Still, almost 11 percent of Republican voters cast ballots in favor of Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, an unknown Puerto Rican grandmother and conservative political newcomer with no meaningful ad budget. That’s a sizeable protest vote, but what was the protest about? Who would they vote for in November? Enter third-party candidate Adrian Wyllie, a Rand Paul-style conservative Libertarian candidate now polling at about 10 percent. That’s where a Rick Scott protest vote can go, which is essentially a vote for Charlie Crist…. How Rick Scott can win – Follow the Jennifer Carroll ‘stealth campaign’ model of 2010. Don’t assume any Democrat anywhere can’t be convinced to cast a vote for Scott. In 2010, Democratic leadership and their consultants didn’t expend resources to continuously campaign in and consolidate their base of Black voters. They waited till the last two weeks before Election Day to energize Black turnout. Carroll, a Black woman selected as Scott’s running mate for lieutenant governor, and GOP consul-

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

tant Clarence McKee initiated a strategy (over the Scott campaign’s objections) which ‘spread the field’ over a period of months. Carroll didn’t leave a Democratic vote unchallenged in Black communities around the state. At the end, her efforts (and Democratic miscues) carved off just enough Black votes, especially in South Florida, to give Scott a narrow win. Scott’s additional millions in campaign dollars allows him to do ‘stealth on steroids’ in 2014. He can actively fight for votes in Black Democratic strongholds they must have if Crist is to win. But Scott doesn’t have Carroll and McKee onboard, and has ignored Black Republicans and Black-owned media outlets to date. The Scott campaign should recalculate....

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com.

Opinions expressed on this editorial page are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of the newspaper or the publisher.

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Time for a movement At Michael Brown’s funeral service, Rev. Al Sharpton called on the nation and our community to task: “We can’t have a fit, we’ve got to have a movement. We’ve got to be here for the long haul and turn our chants into change, our demonstration into legislation.” One of the big lessons of Ferguson is the importance of investing in jobs, education and other tools to combat poverty in our communities instead of militaristic weapons for use against our communities. We hope that Washington and America are listening – and preparing to act.

Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Now or never for young men of color According to Bureau of Justice Statistics figures analyzed by the Sentencing Project, the number of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons reached 1,483,900 in 2012. In addition, there were 744,500 people in local jails, a total incarcerated population of 2.3 million. Twice as many – another 4,781,300 people – were on probation or parole in 2012, meaning nearly 7 million people in America were under some form of criminal justice supervision. That’s more people than the combined population of Los Angeles and Chicago, the nation’s second- and third-largest cities. The U.S. incarceration rate of 716 people per 100,000 population is the highest in the world, according to the Sentencing Project. And people of color carry a disproportionate share of that burden.

GARY MCCOY, CAGLE CARTOONS

the ages of 16 and 24.”

Minorities more than 50 percent Roughly 38 percent of people in state or federal prisons were Black, 35 percent were White, and 21 percent were Hispanic in 2011. Mass incarceration not only affects families and communities, but is also taxing public safety agencies and the criminal justice system. It is time for the nation to wake up and begin to address the real cause of these problems before it is too late. Research has shown that contributing factors to this sad state of affairs include inner city crime, high crime and drug arrest rates, “War on Drugs” policies, racial bias and inadequate criminal defense services provided to low-income people of color. African-American young men make up 30 percent of all juvenile arrests; 44 percent of all young men who are detained; 62 percent of young men who are judicially waived to adult criminal court; and 58 percent of all youth admitted to state prisons, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

HENRI TREADWELL NNPA GUEST COLUMNIST

stage of the United States criminal justice system, from arrest to trial to sentencing.” This report called for additional funding to public defenders and systemic reform on public safety agencies and the court system. So, how can we begin to disrupt this vicious “Prison Expressway” that is plaguing this nation? Intervention at the earlier stages of an at-risk youth’s life will be crucial in pivoting that child away from a downward spiral. Today’s youth have so much potential to be productive and contributing citizens to their communities. If we work towards strengthening relationships between the community, local businesses and the criminal justice system, this will make room for stronger collaborations that will aid in reducing the scale and inequities of incarceration. Historically, faith-based organizations have served as a safe haven within minority communities. However, to address the issue of mass incarceration six key sectors of the community including must be engaged: education, media, health and wellness, community, criminal justice reform and workforce development. Given the current state of community unrest, the larger issue of mass incarceration, unequal sentencing and treatment of young men of color must be addressed from a systemic and community level. I believe we as a community and nation must remain engaged and committed to saving our young men. If we do not save them, who will?

Henrie Treadwell is founding director of Community Voices: Healthcare for the From the bottom to the top Underserved and a research professor The Sentencing Project also reported to for the Morehouse School of Medicine. the United Nations Human Rights Com- Write your own response at www.flcoumittee that racial disparity pervades “every rier.com.

Blacks in Florida must form coalitions to get the vote out in 2014 Perry Thurston lost to George Sheldon as the Democratic candidate for the position of Attorney General, because his strategy was to not run as a Black candidate. In 2014, it is not politically expedient or politically correct to acknowledge that you are a Black man or a Black woman in a campaign. Since Black folks do not know that a Black candidate is running for office, they don’t educate themselves to vote Black. Floridians would like to think that they are smart politically, but when only 15% of all registered voters vote in a primary, they do not understand the power of voting. There are 2.5 million registered Black voters in Florida and only 3% to 5% of voters voted in the primary. The reason Perry Thurston lost was because he refused to use a Black strategy.

Race still matters

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

now the new Tea Party, and Blacks must not forget their history. In the sixties, there was a movement called Black Power, and we organized and mobilized Black communities to register and vote. Black candidates begin to win offices on a national, state, and local levels, and things begin to change. As Blacks began to take control of cities, more Blacks received administration positions, and more Black businesses received government contracts and some are now millionaires. Somewhere in all the hoopla of Black political power, NAACP, Urban League, Black Lawyers Organizations, Black MBA, 100 Black Men, and the Black Churches are now more divided and fragmented than ever before. In 2014, Black politicians want to run a color-blind campaign, and they have forgotten their history.

Black Floridians must take a page from our history, and remember our trailblazers died, were water hosed, lynched, and their homes bombed for the right to vote. Black candidates forget why they are able to get on a ballot, and now to them politics are color- Practice Black power In 2014, it is time that blind. But race still matters in Florida, and the KKK is Black Floridians return to

their roots, and practice Black Political Power. It is absolutely terrible that only 3% to 5% of the Black community voted in the Florida primary, and our political leaders must not let this happen in the mid-term election. There are sixty days left before the midterm elections and Blacks must get engaged. Thaddeus Hamilton is a Black Democratic candidate running for the position of Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This is a powerful position in Florida, because the individual sits and votes in Florida as a cabinet member. Thaddeus Hamilton can win if Blacks in Florida get the vote out in 2014. Every Black pastor in Florida must educate its congregation each week why they should vote in the 2014 mid-term election. Every Black organization and business must form coalitions and at least 50% of Black registered voters must vote in the election. Search out and find credible Black candidates in Florida in 2014, and practice Black power.

Roger Caldwell is the founder/CEO of On-Point Media. Write your own response at www.flcourier. com.

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

EDITORIAL

A level playing field All of Chicago turned out to celebrate the US Little League Champions, the 11 and 12 year olds of Jackie Robinson West. The parade began at home plate at their field in Chicago’s south side and extended all the way Millennium Park in the city’s downtown. People of all color, race and religion turned out to applaud the young men who did so much to lift the spirits of a city too often scarred by violence. How could an all-Black team of kids from low-income families in South Chicago win a national championship? First and foremost, everyone played by the same set of rules. They competed on a level playing field. They had good coaching, and family and community support. It was their families that taught them to compete, win and lose with grace. In that context, their natural talents were honed into championship caliber. Their triumph stands in stark contrast with the reality that was so harshly exposed in Ferguson, Missouri, in the shooting of Michael Brown. In America, we still do not have a level playing field. African-Americans, once enslaved and unequal, are now free, but still unequal. And that pervasive inequality in fact undermines formal equality under law.

REV. JESSE L. JACKSON, SR. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

Black, but African-Americans are disproportionately poor. We suffer twice the unemployment rate as Whites – in good times as well as bad. Twenty percent of children in America – one in five – are raised in poverty. Among AfricanAmericans, nearly 40 percent are in poverty. The median family wealth for Whites in America is about $113,000 (2009 figures); for African-Americans, it is $5,677. The gap has been growing over the last 30 years. Six decades after Brown v. Board of Education outlawed school segregation, our children go to schools that are increasingly segregated and unequal. Our nation is more diverse, but our communities are still mostly separate. A recent poll revealed that three-fourths of White Americans admit that they have no minority friends. This inequality in fact undermines equality under the law. That is why the horror of Michael Brown’s shooting haunts every African-American parent. Our Not just a Black issue children – particularly our male Most poor people are not children – are at risk. African-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: WORLD POLICEMAN

Americans are more likely to be stopped on the street. If stopped, we are more likely to be detained. If detained, we are more likely to be charged. If charged, we are more likely to do time. That’s routine, and it leads to too frequent horrors, like the shooting of Michael Brown. America has come a long way on racial divides. The election of Barack Obama as president is testament to that. The young are much more comfortable with diversity than older generations. Overt racism is no longer acceptable in most of America. But our racial stereotypes, our preSTEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE conceptions, our conscious and subconscious biases still do real damage to African-Americans, but also to our nation. and full curricula. They too often The triumph of Jackie Robinare left with the worst teachers. son West gives us all delight. The Fund the rich Would this be true if the students horrors of Ferguson shock all of And we still do not provide in poor, urban schools were overa level playing field, where the whelmingly White rather than good conscience. But rather than recoil, we should move in acrules are clear. For example, vir- people of color? We have no plan to revive the tion. Let’s provide a level playtually every industrial nation provides more public resources poor neighborhoods of our cit- ing field for all children from the to schools in low wage neighbor- ies. Public transportation is expensive, and often doesn’t link start. We’ll see many more chamhoods. Everyone understands that the people who need jobs with pions develop and we’ll all benpoor children need more help, the suburbs where the jobs in- efit from it. not less to overcome the shack- creasingly are. Poor neighborles of their poverty. But in Amer- hoods suffer a shortage of hosJesse Jackson Sr. is the foundica, the public schools of the af- pitals, of good grocery stores, of er/president of the Rainbow fluent are lavishly funded and public parks and gyms. Our tax the schools of the poor impov- and trade policies favor moving PUSH Coalition. Write your erished, often lacking modern jobs abroad to moving them into own response at www.flcouritextbooks, decent schoolhouses, our own cities. er.com.

Through the eyes of others There’s an old saying, "There is none so blind as (s) he who will not see." My initial understanding and the evolved significance of that statement have come to shape how I view and interpret many of the events that impact my life, community and country. That admission rings more than true as I reflect on the events of the last several weeks and many others in my lifetime of experiences. I speak specifically to the value I see placed on the lives of others and the value of life that’s seen and acknowledged when others look at me, and those who look like me. If history shows us nothing else, we have been provided numerous examples of how easy it is to brutalize any group of people and justify the brutality once they’ve been dehumanized in the mind and perception of the brute. The history of this nation's inhumane

Black life devalued DR. E. FAYE WILLIAMS, ESQ. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

treatment of enslaved Africans, has been justified with their being characterized as sub-human or biblically as descendants of Ham who are obligated to be servants. During this nation's westward expansion, the treatment of Native Americans was made acceptable by characterizing them as "uncivilized savages." The killing of Japanese and Vietnamese opponents in war became easier by calling them "Nips", "Zips", "Slopes" or "Gooks." If we listen closely enough or pay attention, contemporarily, we will hear our Arabic adversaries called "Raghead Niggers" or "Sand Niggers."

As I evaluate unfolding events in Ferguson, MO; Dayton, OH; NYC and an ever increasing list of places, the value perceived in the lives of Black males is minimal and, seemingly, grows less in each passing generation. The answers to the why of this are many, but I believe that until these questions are routinely and continually addressed in the national dialogue, chaos at the treatment of people of color, Black people in general, and Black males, specifically, will continue to be the norm. The volatile reaction of Black residents of Ferguson should not be unexpected when we assess the history of their community policing or hear reports that residents were commonly referred to by those responsible for "serving and protecting" them as "animals" and "savages." I am at a loss to think that anyone could not

Voting: Don't take it for granted Whoever doesn't understand the importance of voting has been in the dark ages. DR. The importance of voting helps to determine which laws will be passed, how justice SINCLAIR will be implemented, and how your rights GREY III as a citizen will be regarded. On the othGUEST COLUMNIST er hand, if voting is neglected, overlooked, and not taken seriously, inequality along with wrongdoing will continue to be manifested within so many cities throughout the Unless people know why they United States. should vote and what their vote Civil rights organizations along with community activists constantly remind means, they will continue to sit people that they need to register to vote. However, the message is still not resonating on the sidelines complaining with many citizens on its importance. Un- about injustice. less people know why they should vote and what their vote means, they will continue to are placed in position to help resurrect lives sit on the sidelines complaining about in- and communities justice. That's why the decision to vote is a 3. Your voice will be heard – Understand personal one. that politicians look at which communities are active in the political process and will It does count address their needs first compared to those One of the reasons I hear people refusing who aren't registered and who don't vote. to register to vote is because they say their Politics is a numbers game and the more vote doesn't count. Well, that is far from the people who register and participate in vottruth. Every vote counts and as along as the ing, the more likely those in power will lismentality of 'my vote doesn't matter' is al- ten to you and your concerns lowed to continue; policies that don't benefit the least and left out will be upheld. The Midterm elections well-off will continue to get rich and the The importance of voting isn't just cenhopes and dreams of the disenfranchised tered around Presidential elections. Midwill drain. Another reason that I hear peo- term elections are vitally important beple not registering to vote is because they cause they will help shape the direction of don't want to be called for jury duty. Here's the county. Remember, you have the power a question. How can you ensure justice if to make a difference in this world. We canyou don't take part in the process? Once not solely depend on Black leaders to speak again, if you want to make a difference in up when in fact, the power to speak is with your community as well as your country, the power of voting. you need to register to vote, do it, and hold The last thing I want to urge you to do people accountable. when registering to vote is to become familiar with the issues. Ask questions, seek anBenefits of voting: swers, think critically, and you will position 1. Community concern – By registering yourself to vote for the right people to repto vote and doing it, you will impact how resent you and your issues. the government develops a budget, make Dr. Sinclair Grey III is an inspirationlaws, appointments, and policies. In addition to this, you're able to set the future for al speaker, motivator, radio personality, your children and your children's children author, life coach, and committed advocate for change. Contact him at drgrey@ through voting. 2. Productive leadership – Voting helps sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinto ensure that people who adhere to the clairgrey. Write your own response at same values and principles you adhere to www.flcourier.com.

understand the righteous indignation of the Ferguson community to being occupied by a quasimilitary force of oppressors which embraces that mindset. In the eyes of the oppressor, however, mustering that type of response to the community's outrage over the murder of one of their own was a natural first response and the correct method of maintaining proper "control.” Therein lies the crux of the problem. Those who oppress or commit acts with racially-based disparate impact don't see the wrong in what they do.

Educate yourself Those who traverse life in judgment of others using stereotypes and false characterizations based on their limited experience seek no understanding beyond what they already know. Those who hold conscious or unconscious racial animus can only see life through the lens of their own correctness. Most evil are those who clearly understand their own as-

pirations for health, peace and happiness for themselves, their families and friends; yet refuse to accept that others not like them hold similar aspirations. If we’re to survive as a nation, we must quickly reject notions that have separated us into US and THEM and seek community. The abiding principle that makes a community is the individual's ability to look beyond self-interests to options that enfold the common good. Community is looking beyond what we singularly understand to objectively evaluate, not accept, beliefs and value-systems that exist outside our present understanding. To paraphrase Matthew McConaughey's character in the movie, A Time to Kill, "Look through someone else's eyes and imagine it was you."

Dr. E. Faye Williams is president/CEO of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Children murdered by other Blacks: A non-issue for too many leaders After the celebrity politicians, press and preachers leave the glare of the cameras in Ferguson, MO resulting from the murder of Michael Brown, 18, by a White policeman, they should focus national attention on the constant slaughter of the innocents: African-American children being murdered most often by Black males. When Whites kill Blacks, it’s an important racial and political issue. But when Blacks murder each other or Black children, most of the loud, passionate voices fade to a shameful silence. Is it no less a crime when the gun used to kill is held by a Black hand or a White hand? The next site of mourning or protest should be Chicago, then on to the Washington, D.C., area and scores of other cities where parents are grieving, kids are afraid and the elderly can’t sit on their porches in broad daylight because bullets are known to come careening through the air.

Another life lost

REV. BARBARA REYNOLDS TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

Near the Capitol From Chicago, the celebrity troupe should camp out in the district and in some Maryland communities to see how toxic things are for little children so close to the power center that provides security to many parts of the world, yet can’t properly protect bullets from killing kids in their homes or playgrounds. August has been a deadly month for three African-America toddlers in Maryland and the district, which began on the first day of the month. Three year old McKenzie Elliott was playing on a Baltimore porch when a straying bullet ended her life. The shooter is still at large On August 10 Knijah Bibb was playing in the bedroom of a Landover Maryland home she was visiting when a man started shooting after a fight. A bullet killed the three-year-old. The shooter is also still at large. The next Saturday another three year old, Laila Miller died tragically at the hands of her father, Frederick Miller, a 38-year-old Marine Corps veteran. These child tragedies unfortunately are not unique to Maryland. The Children’s Defense Fund tells us that in the USA a child or teen is killed or injured by a gun every 30 minutes. That is 50 children and teens every day, 350 every week. And until Black on Black murder is taken seriously, we are left with the heartbreak of the slaughter of the innocence.

On August 20, nine-year-old Antonio Smith, is the latest child gunned down, assassinated, executed – whichever word you want to use – near his home on Chicago’s troubled predominately Black Southside. Police reports show that he was not a gangbanger, nor was he running from the police; he was just walking along in the wrong place at- the wrong time. When will city officials finally realize that Black lives, especially kids in Chicago, are vital enough to be protected and call out the National Guard? During the Fourth of July 85 people were shot in Chicago. Two of them under 15 were shot by police. Despite these alarming statistics, when I was in Chicago recently, I did not get a sense that the police are up in arms about Dr. Barbara Reynolds is an awardthe chaos. There is a perception that Blacks dying violent deaths are normal, winning journalist, author, and minisnot warranting the police protection ex- ter. Write your own response at www. tended to Whites. flcourier.com.

NATION

TOJ A6

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Anti-hazing program helps high school students cident 24 years ago at a Silicon Valley high school, where upperclassmen forced freshmen to enter the first dance of the year on their hands and knees, crawl into a corral and get “branded” with an F — for freshman — inked on their faces. “All in good fun, right?” said Carolyn Hill, a cofounder of Link Crew. “What they were doing wasn’t dangerous, so much as humiliating. Upperclassmen felt it was a welcoming thing, but it created a level of fear and anxiety that got in the way of student success.”

Link Crew leadership training credited with stemming ninth-grade absenteeism and discipline problems BY CLAUDIA ROWE SEATTLE TIMES (MCT)

SEATTLE — As an eager, if nervous, ninth-grader, Anya Meleshuk allowed several older girls to blindfold her one afternoon, put her in a car and drive her to a park where she was told to “propose” to a stranger. Later, dressed in fairy wings, she downed a dozen flavors of ice cream while her friends watched, and went home afterward feeling as if she had been accepted, initiated into Garfield High School, where such “froshing” has a storied history. Many alumni cherish similar memories and were outraged last fall when Principal Ted Howard, long an opponent of this tradition, showed up unannounced at a Homecoming Weekend event to quell what would become Garfield’s moment of hazing infamy.

Turned racial In a local park, the principal found at least a hundred students, many of them blind drunk. Freshmen, wearing diapers and black body paint, were being paddled by upperclassmen, and when Howard, who is African-American, began sending them home, one of the ringleaders threw eggs, cursing him with a racial epithet. Afterward, seven students were suspended for arranging a drinking game beforehand, school counselors refused to write

them letters of recommendation for college, and Garfield — an academic powerhouse accustomed to the media spotlight — found itself the object of unwelcome attention. This year, Howard is hoping for a very different Homecoming. With $11,000 contributed by parents, the school sent five teachers to California for training in a freshmanorientation program called Link Crew, which is used around the country. The target of Link Crew is not just hazing, but fullscale culture change.

Freshman failure rate

Trying to fit in By saturating a school with upperclassmen who are trained to connect with freshmen throughout the year, Link Crew can obliterate the fear of ostracism that leads many ninth-graders to submit to hazing in the first place, say those who have used the program. “When kids go along with this stuff, what they’re saying is ‘I want to count. I want someone to pay attention to me. I want to be a part of the big picture,’ ” said Kevin Ozar, an English teacher at North Farmington High outside of Detroit, who credits Link Crew with stemming ninth-grade absenteeism and discipline problems at his school by more than 30 percent. “There are myriad ways we can include people that don’t involve dangerous levels of alcohol or physical violence or being the butt of a joke,” Ozar said.

STEVE RINGMAN/SEATTLE TIMES/MCT

Wrapping up a day of training, Sarah Antoncich, a Garfield High School faculty member, ends the session with the juniors and seniors who were starting school the next week. “But we have to teach the skills we want students to exercise, and I don’t know that traditional schooling really teaches leadership.”

Helps shy, intimidated On a recent Monday, 92 juniors and seniors from Garfield gathered during the final days of summer vacation for coaching on how to draw out intimidated kids, encourage the shy, educate the overwhelmed. The following Wednesday, they would put those skills to the test as 477 newcomers flood the building for freshman orientation.

Though teachers at Garfield insist that hazing was not the primary reason for importing Link Crew — indeed, students had requested a mentoring program for more than a year — last fall’s scrum in the Arboretum galvanized parents to step up with funding. “It was one of these moments when it became clear that it’s not enough just to complain about it,” said Eric Liu, a parent leader. Liu isn’t expecting an instant turnaround but hopes Link Crew will make Garfield, which has about 1,600 students, more “human scale.”

Humiliating experiences A half-dozen miles north at Roosevelt High, the program has contributed to a more positive school culture, said Principal Brian Vance. One key is training the right mix of upperclassmen — not only the smartest kids, or the most athletic or the perennially popular. For Link Crew to work, its leaders must mirror the entire student population, Vance said. Though the program markets itself as leadership training, it was conceived in response to a hazing in-

Data suggest that ninthgraders are at the highest risk for failure in high school, and Ozar, in Michigan, said academic difficulty among ninth-graders there prompted his initial interest in Link Crew. After eight years of using the program, the freshman failure rate has dropped 19 percent. During Hill’s 22 years with Link Crew, trainers have worked with more than 14 million ninthgraders in 1,986 schools, and she has come to believe that a few key interventions can make a huge difference: creating safety, with upperclassmen looking out for younger students; providing information on what’s essential to know from a student’s perspective; and forging connection. “If we give them all these things, hazing goes away because it doesn’t fit anymore,” she said.

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IFE/FAITH

SEPTEMBER 5 – 11, 2014

Tips to prevent storm damage See page B4

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Fall TV lineup has plenty of superheroes See page B5

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

SECTION

TRACING THE

‘STAR-SPANGLED BANNER’ TRAIL Maryland spotlights role of African-Americans in War of 1812

BY ELEANOR HENDRICKS DANIEL SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

ur national anthem, the “StarSpangled Banner,’’ marks its 200th anniversary this year, and Maryland is all in a tizzy. Celebrations have been in full swing throughout the state. But Baltimore is going over the top for the week of Sept. 10 with a Star-Spangled Spectacular (starspangled200.com). There will be fireworks, tall ships, concerts, an air show, food, family fun, living history and more.

The flag Mary Pickersgill, a Baltimore banner maker, was hired to stitch a giant flag (30 by 42 feet). It was so large it had to be constructed on the floor of Brown’s Brewery. She enlisted the help of others, including her indentured servant, Grace Wisher, a Black teenager. Pickersgill’s home has been converted into the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House (flaghouse.org) that’s open to the public. You can see the tribute to Wisher and others, along with artifacts and displays that depict that intensive period.

‘For Whom It Stands’ Having an AfricanAmerican involved in the making of the banner has inspired the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (rflewismuseum.org) to curate an art exhibition, “For Whom It Stands: The Flag and the American People.” It celebrates the diversity of the U.S. as told through the flag. The show features works by Hispanic, Arab Americas, Native American and artists of other cultures as well as African-Americans. The exhibit runs until Feb. 28, 2015. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine (Baltimore.org) brings the War of 1812 all the way to its 2014 celebration with activities, tours, drum and fife performances, cannon firings, costumed soldiers and sailors, ranger talks and the unfurling of a large replica flag (17- by 20 foot). “The flag meant hope and salvation,” says Ranger Jim Bailey. “Changing the flag is one of the coolest things we do here.”

The War of 1812 It occurred between the better known Revolutionary War and the Civil War. But as it happened, the British were attacking young America again. They already had torched the White House, causing President James Madison and his wife, Dolly, to flee. Their next target was

2. Baltimore. As we know, in 1812 Blacks were still enslaved. Although in Baltimore, many African-Americans were skilled freemen who worked in important trades such as sail makers, carpenters, riggers, naval mechanics and ship builders. The calamity of war impacted their lives too. So when the British attacked Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on Sept. 12, 1814, 20 percent of the ordinary citizens who fought alongside the militia were free and enslaved Blacks. Amazingly, those ordinary men defeated the most powerful naval fleet in the world. That battle will forever be remembered in our national anthem. Francis Scott Key, who penned the lyrics, witnessed the encounter while being held on a British vessel. The next morning, when through the mist, he saw the United States’ flag flying, he knew which side had been victorious. His original manuscript is on display in the Maryland Historical Society, located in Baltimore.

Key’s ‘land of the free’ Key was a successful lawyer who dabbled in poetry. “The Star-Spangled Banner” is said to be his best work. It was the public who set the words to an old drinking ditty. But when Key wrote the phrase, “the land of the free,” he wasn’t referring to everybody because he was a slave owner and an antiabolitionist. Nevertheless, the flag stood (and still stands) as a symbol for a country with ideals of liberty for all.

THE FLORIDA CONNECTION Agnes Lightfoot, a Realtor in Palm Coast, has documents that prove that her ancestors were slaves on Sotterley Plantation. Her mother, Agnes Kane Callum, who lives in Baltimore, has researched the fam-

3. Southern Maryland

Sotterley Plantation

The war flowed south through the counties of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s. Travelers can follow the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail of 100 miles, stopping to view places that were plundered, burned and/or destroyed. On plantations, slaves escaped; some joining the British navy, others finding refuge with Indian tribes. Of the 4,000 Blacks who fled with the invaders, about 2,400 relocated to Canada or Trinidad as free people. In an exhibit at Jefferson Patterson Park (jefpat.org), you’ll learn about Charles Ball, a local slave who escaped and enlisted with the US Chesapeake Flotilla. After the war and after fighting for the nation’s freedom, he was returned to slavery.

Travel to St. Mary’s County to visit Sotterley Plantation (visitstmarysmd.com) that was built in the early 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It served as a mustering station for the American militia, and when it was invaded by the Redcoats, it lost many slaves. On Aug. 11, Sotterley presented a performance that returned to the War of 1812 in order to show how the conflict altered life on the plantation. “The Choice Risking Your Life for Freedom” is a play that focuses on the choices set before the 64 people enslaved there. Not every slave chose the freedom that the British offered, but the four who did, returned later to free 48 more. Some of the action takes place in a

ily’s genealogy back to Sotterley. Mrs. Callum discovered that Raphael Cane (note the change in spelling) was brought to Sotterley and his son, Henry, was born there in 1860. Owner Dr. John Hanson Bristol kept careful records, and listed the first and last names of his slaves. Once emancipated, some of the family left, but ma-

1. The flag flies at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Md. 2. A restored slave house is on display at the Sotterley Plantation. 3. Learn about Charles Ball at Jefferson Patterson Park. 4. This exhibit shows Grace Wisher’s silhouette in the attic window of Mary Pickersgill’s home. PHOTOS BY ELEANOR HENDRICKS MCDANIEL/ SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

restored slave cabin. Sotterley is planning to repeat the event in 2015. It is open to visitors yearround. The War of 1812 lasted for three years and Maryland will continue its celebration into next year.

Eleanor Hendricks McDaniel, a seasoned travel journalist, lives in Ormond Beach, Fla., and Philadelphia. She provided this travel article to the Florida Courier. Follow her on Twitter: @ellethewriter and her website: flybynighttraveler.com.

ny stayed on as servants. Through due diligence, Mrs. Callum was instrumental in having the slave cabin restored. Because of her research and dedication, she was elected to the Sotterley Board of Trustees. Now retired, she has been named trustee emeritus. Read about her at msa.maryland.gov.

SPORTS AND EVENTS

TAMRON HALL RALPH TRESVANT

Tickets are on sale now for Tampa Funk Fest 2014 with performances by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill, Fantasia and Doug E. Fresh. The festival will be Oct. 18 at Raymond James Stadium. More information: www.funkfest2014.com.

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

KEITH SWEAT

MSNBC’s Tamron Hall will be the guest at the Urban League of Palm Beach County’s Youth Empowerment Luncheon on Sept. 12 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

Tickets are on sale for an Oct. 3 concert featuring Keith Sweat, El Debarge and Howard Hewitt at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts.

STOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

St. Speaker: Retired Navy Captain Robert J. Silah. More information: Call 386-2358635 or email learymm4@ gmail.com .

Fort Lauderdale: A Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale reunion is scheduled Sept. 19 at Mt. Hermon AME Church, 401 NW Seventh Terrace. The speaker at the 10:30 a.m. service will be Dr. Edison Jackson, president of Bethune-Cookman University.

Miami: The Back to Love Tour with Anthony Hamilton and Chrisette Michelle makes a stop at the James L. Knight Center on Sept. 20. Michelle also is scheduled at the Ritz Theatre in Jacksonville on Sept. 19.

Coral Gables: Israel Houghton and New Breed along with Miel San Marcos are scheduled at the Almavision Miami radio anniversary on Sept. 12 at BankUnited Center. St. Augustine: Tickets are on sale now for an Oct. 11 show at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre featuring Earth, Wind & Fire. Daytona Beach: The Halifax Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America will hold its 30th anniversary luncheon meeting at noon on Sept. 25 at the Halifax River Yacht Club, 331 S. Beach

St. Petersburg: Singer Anthony David and Chante Cann will perform Sept. 6 at FreeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave. Tampa: Candy Lowe hosts Tea & Conversation every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at 3911 N. 34th St., Suite B. More information: 813-3946363. St. Petersburg: Macy Gray is scheduled Oct. 10 at Janus Live. St. Petersburg: The Steve Harvey “Act Like A Success’’ Tour will stop at The Mahaffey on Oct. 18.

PHOTOS BY KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

North Carolina’s Tony McRae, a junior, had a 95-yard kickoff return in the first half of the game to help the Aggies cruise to a 47-13 win in the 10th annual MEAC/ SWAC Challenge.

North Carolina A&T trounces Alabama A&M in MEAC/SWAC Challenge FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

The North Carolina A&T Aggies defeated the Alabama A&M Bulldogs 47-13 on Aug. 31 in the annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge with a crowd of 8,210 at Bright House Networks Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The Aggies, of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and the Bulldogs of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), faced off at the 10th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge Presented by Disney. The game was nationally televised on ESPN. The Bulldogs scored first, but the Aggies began to pull away at the end of the first quarter with Tony McRae’s 95-yard kickoff return. The Aggies’ ground game proved a challenge for Alabama A&M as the North Carolina team totaled 309 rushing yards. Running back Tarik Cohen led the team with 167 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while quarterback Kwashaun Quick rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns. The annual event features teams from two prominent historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) over Labor Day Weekend for the start of college football season. For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge weekend, visit www. An Aggie cheerleader is all smiles as her team wins 47-13. meacswacchallenge.com.

An Alabama A&M player goes up for a catch in the Aug. 31 game held at the University of Central Florida’s stadium. The North Carolina team’s band performs before a crowd of about 8,000 spectators.

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SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

CULTURE

DAVID CARSON/ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/MCT

Police officers line up across West Florissant Avenue as they watch protesters on Aug. 12. in Ferguson, Mo. A study found that Blacks in Ferguson were much more likely to be searched by police although Whites were more likely to be found with contraband.

‘From depressed cities to depressed suburbs’ Ferguson is just one example of suburban poverty in the US. BY TERESA WILTZ STATELINE.ORG

The fires of Ferguson, Mo., run counter to the narrative about suburbia, the story Americans tell themselves about strip malls and rolling lawns, about McMansions and upward mobility. Instead, the unrest in the St. Louis suburb after the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager by a White police officer evokes images of 1960s-era Watts, of burning inner-city neighborhoods in New York, Washington, Detroit and Chicago. The tear gas and protests in Ferguson were sparked by the shooting of Michael Brown, but they point to deeper, more pervasive problems that plague suburbs across the country: rapidly increasing poverty, scarce jobs and even scarcer resources. “Poverty is rising in suburban communities and it’s smashing the stereotype of calm and prosperity,” said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. “All over the country outside major central cities, the rate of poverty in the suburbs is exceeding that of the (urban) places people used to leave to escape.”

Poverty in suburbs In Ferguson, which has a population of just over 21,000, the poor population rose 99 percent in the past decade, said Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and the co-author of “Confronting Suburban Poverty in America.” (Overall, the poor population in the St. Louis suburbs rose 68 percent.) Across the country, more poor people live in suburbs than live in cities. Perceptions have yet to catch up with how radically the geography of poverty has shifted, Kneebone said. Without an up-todate understanding of the complexity of poverty, suburbs often don’t have the resources needed to help their impoverished populations, she said. “We need to come up with a 21st-century agenda,” said Sylvester Brown, a community activist and former columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We know poverty is at the root of all this (in Ferguson). But I’m not hearing talk about the long-term solution, about what is really the belly of the beast, economic transformation. “This is a country (wide) problem. It just happened to fire up in Ferguson.”

No single path From 2000 to 2011, the number of Americans liv-

Ferguson like many struggling towns nationwide Ferguson , Mo. has been home to dramatic economic changes in recent years. The city’s unemployment rate rose from less than 5 percent in 2000 to over 13 percent in 2010-12. Amid these changes, poverty skyrocketed. Between 2000 and 2012, Ferguson’s poor population doubled. By the end of that period, roughly one in four residents lived below the federal poverty line. 0-10.0% 100

100

200

300

400 miles

10.1-20%

20.1-30%

Poverty rate 2000

30.1-40%

Poverty rate 2008-2012

Ferguson

DETAIL AREA

40.1-100%

Ferguson

the recent economic recovery. Middle-income wage earners took the biggest hit, accounting for 60 percent of recession losses and only 22 percent of recovery growth.

Ferguson, MO.

20 km

St. Louis County

St. Louis County St. Louis

Major issue: Transportation

20 miles

Suburban poor living in high poverty or distressed neighborhoods, 2008-2012 3.1%

24.9%

34.5%

44.1%

93.8%

Within the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, the number of suburban neighborhoods where more than 20 percent of residents live below the federal poverty line more than doubled between 2000 and 2008-2012. For poor black residents in those communities, the figure was 53 percent.

Source: Brookings Institution analysis of American Community Survey data Graphic: Greg Good

ing below the federal poverty level ($23,492 for a family of four in 2012) rose about 36 percent, to 46.2 million. Meanwhile, the number of the suburban poor grew 64 percent. There’s no single path to poverty in the suburbs. Some of suburbia’s poor are the formerly middle class who were walloped by the 2007-09 recession, losing jobs and homes when the housing bubble popped. Some are immigrants who bypassed the traditional urban route and headed straight for the suburbs. Others are lower-income African-Americans and Latinos who were pushed out of gentrifying cities as housing prices skyrocketed. Other people, some of them with federal housing vouchers, left cities looking for jobs, safer neighborhoods or better schools. “The movement to the suburbs is really about people moving to opportunity,” said John A. Powell (he spells his name with lowercase letters), a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Hass Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. “But low-income people have not landed in places of high opportunity in the suburbs,” Powell said. “They move from depressed cities to depressed suburbs. They are trying to move to opportunity and they are failing. Opportu-

D.L. PHILLIPS/FINAL CALL

The tear gas and protests in Ferguson were sparked by the shooting of Michael Brown (shown in posters), but they point to deeper, more pervasive problems that plague suburbs across the country: rapidly increasing poverty, scarce jobs and even scarcer resources.

nity is moving away from them.”

Mostly minorities In the suburbs, as in the rest of the country, race and poverty are inextricably linked. There are prosperous African-American suburbs, like Maryland’s Prince George’s County (outside Washington), California’s Ladera Heights (Los Angeles) and New York’s Hillcrest (New York City). And yes, most poor suburban residents are White. But increasingly, the faces of suburban poverty are Black and Brown. People of color in the suburbs are disproportionately likely to be poor and much more likely to live in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty. The disparities are stark, Kneebone said: Over 50 percent of African-Americans and Latinos live in poor suburban neighborhoods, compared with 23 percent of White suburbanites. Case in point: Ferguson, where 25 percent of Blacks live below the poverty line, compared with 11 percent of Whites. (Ferguson is divided along strictly Black/ White lines; its Asian and Latino populations are quite small.)

Lack of jobs The median income for African-Americans in Fer-

guson is $32,500, compared with $53,400 for Whites. The Black unemployment rate in Ferguson is 19 percent; White unemployment is 6.7 percent. In 1990, Ferguson was a majorityWhite enclave; today 67 percent of the population is African-American. Its leadership structure, from City Hall to the police, remains overwhelmingly White. Broader changes in the U.S. economy also have changed the character of the suburbs. Jobs have moved out of cities into the suburbs, even with the revitalization of many cities. But most are not the wellpaying manufacturing jobs that bolstered the urban middle class for decades. Instead, suburban jobs are concentrated in the retail or construction sector — jobs that tend to pay less and were decimated by the recession. Even as the U.S. economy continues its slow recovery from the recession, a structural shift to lowerpaying jobs is likely to exacerbate the suburban poverty trend. A 2012 study by the National Employment Law Project found that lowerpaying jobs accounted for 21 percent of recession job losses and for 58 percent of recovery growth. Higherincome wage earners accounted for 19 percent of job losses in the recession and 20 percent of growth in

In many ways, being poor in the suburbs is more difficult than it is in cities. For one, transportation is often a problem. Few suburbs have the kind of reliable public transit systems of cities like Chicago, New York and Washington, making owning a car imperative. Commutes are often lengthy and expensive; a sick child in day care needing to be picked up from the other side of town can present a crisis for a parent who could lose a much-needed job. For poor suburbanites, having a car can be both a lifeline and a liability. In St. Louis County, which includes Ferguson, there are 90 municipalities. In a nine-mile strip, a driver can drive through as many as 16 of them, said Thomas Harvey, co-founder and executive director of the Arch City Defenders, a nonprofit agency that provides legal services for the indigent in St. Louis County. The Arch City Defenders released a study of the municipal courts in St. Louis County and found that in Ferguson, court fees were the suburb’s second-largest source of revenue.

More traffic stops Often, Harvey said, their clients will get traffic tickets driving through one of those 16 jurisdictions. Perhaps they’re driving a car that needs repairs before it can pass inspection. They can’t afford to pay the tickets and their licenses are suspended. “These are people who are making a choice between paying their electricity and getting their car fixed,” Harvey said. He added that his group’s study also found that in Ferguson, 86 percent of traffic stops involved Black motorists, although Blacks make up just 67 percent of the population. Whites make up 29 percent of the population of Ferguson but account for just 12.7 percent of vehicle stops. Blacks in Ferguson were much more likely to be searched by police although Whites were more likely to be found with contraband, the study found. Ferguson has a large apartment complex just

across from where Michael Brown was shot. But most suburbs don’t have the kind of bleak housing projects that put inner cities like Chicago on the poverty map.

Lack of services Privation can look different in the suburbs, but poor is still poor. A poor person in a relatively prosperous suburban county, for example, might not qualify for health and social services because their zip code appears to be much richer on paper, said Levy of the National Center for Suburban Studies. And most suburbs aren’t equipped — and in some cases, aren’t willing — to handle the problems presented by its poor populations. Most government and nonprofit money is concentrated in the cities, leaving the suburbs short on services. Few have adequate job training, foreclosure counseling, food banks or multilingual social workers. That’s partly because suburbs with large impoverished populations don’t have the tax base to fund such programs, said Ed Paesel, executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association in suburban Chicago.

More challenges In Chicago’s south suburbs, for example, tens of thousands of jobs disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s when steel mills were closed. When the jobs left, working-class suburbs became home to the working poor — and to the jobless. Homes were left vacant and abandoned, and so, too, were many industrial sites. Property and sales tax revenues plummeted, squeezing schools reliant on that money. Middleclass families, deterred by the struggling schools, declined to move in. Levy said American suburbs are likely to continue to be home to growing numbers of poor people. “This is creating not just a moral dilemma for these communities, but it creates economic challenges as well,” Levy said. “How can you have a truly successful and sustainable economy in a region if more and more of your communities are sending your kids to the worst schools, have access to the fewest jobs, the worst health care and people have a harder time getting to work — if they have it?”

HURRICANE SEASON

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

FAMILY FEATURES

reparing for an unexpected emergency, especially one brought on by severe weather, is one of the most important ways you can protect your home and family. Proactively addressing storm-related issues ranging from property damage to power outages can minimize a potentially disastrous situation.

Verify your homeowners insurance covers storm damage Nearly all homeowners carry some form of insurance on their home, as required by their mortgage lender. But policies can vary, and the aftermath of a powerful storm is no time to find out you’re underinsured. To ensure your homeowners policy adequately covers your needs, take time to review the policy every year at renewal time, and any time you make any significant improvements to your home. Check that the coverage amount for your main residence accurately reflects the finished square footage of your home, including any upgrades or changes such as a newly renovated bathroom or expanded deck structure. Also confirm that the replacement cost your homeowners insurance agent has determined is consistent with what you would expect to pay to rebuild your home. In addition, take time to understand any exclusions, especially those for weather-related incidents. For example, many homeowners insurance policies do not automatically include flood protection. Finally, take time to thoroughly document your personal possessions with video or still images and record their value. Store the documentation in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box or remote-access electronic file, that you will be able to access in the event of an emergency. Not only will this help expedite your claim if you need to replace items, but you’ll have a list ready when you face the daunting task of replacing your belongings.

Keep up on home maintenance Stepping outside after a significant storm is no time to remember that you forgot to trim the tree or secure a loose section of fencing. Making time to provide ongoing home maintenance for exterior features of your home, such as landscaping, decking, siding, roofing and shutters, will ensure they are in good function when bad weather strikes. While little can be done to prevent damage from highimpact storms, routinely checking that everything is in good repair will minimize the chances of preventable destruction. As you assess your home and yard, ask yourself: Are the trees and shrubs properly trimmed and set far enough away from structures that they are unlikely to topple in high winds? Are shutters affixed securely to the house? Are there any cracked or otherwise weakened windows that should be replaced to prevent shattering during a storm?

Prepare for backup power during an outage Loss of power is one of the most common occurrences in severe weather. And the financial impact of outagerelated expenses (e.g. spoiled food replacement, supply purchases or home repair) can add up quickly. “Storm-related power loss can be costly for a family,” said Greg Inwood, vice president for Briggs & Stratton Standby Power. “An unexpected power loss can result

in a number of inconveniences if the outage requires special arrangements such as meals out and overnight hotel stays.” The easiest way to prepare for a weather-related power outage is by installing a standby generator in advance of the storm season. Fortunately, attaining the safety and comfort provided by a standby generator during a storm event has become more reasonable thanks to emerging technology that has made generators smaller, smarter and, therefore, more affordable. “In the past, having a generator was cost-prohibitive for many households,” said Amanda Grandy, marketing manager for Briggs & Stratton Standby Power, which is the exclusive licensee of GE Generator Systems. “Today, technology has advanced to make owning a standby generator far more affordable for the average family.” Improved technology features such as GE’s Symphony® II power management system, which manages a home’s power demands automatically and electronically during an outage, allow more of a home’s lights and appliances — up to two AC units — to be powered with a smaller standby generator. A home that would typically need a larger 20 kW home generator to power all of the home’s power demands could now be powered with GE’s 10 kW unit paired with Symphony® II technology. The smaller, more affordable 10 kW home generators also boast the smallest footprint on the market, making it ideal for homes with tight lot lines. Learn more about the home standby generators available to homeowners at www.gegenerators.com.

Emergency preparedness kit Having an emergency preparedness kit of items that your household may need in an emergency situation is critical. Basic utilities such as electricity, gas, water, sewage and phone service may be unavailable after a storm strikes, so the kit should contain food, water, any necessary medications, lighting and backup battery supplies.

Common types of backup generators A power outage is a common result of weather-related emergencies, but it’s also one of the easiest to correct by using a generator. There are two common generator types: portable generators and standby generators. • A portable generator is an immediate but temporary solution. Typically powered by gasoline, it is lower in cost and doesn’t require installation time, but it can only power a few items for a few hours. • A standby generator is an automatic, permanent backup power solution. It requires professional installation outside the home. It is powered by natural gas or liquid propane and turns on automatically during a utility power outage to keep a home’s lights, furnace, AC units and other appliances on while the power is out.

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SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest? E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier. com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/ glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

TikaD

A Philadelphia native, Davon Beale started his career as a hairstylist, model and actor, graduating from the Paul Mitchell School with his cosmetology license. He has been in such productions as “The Hunger Games” and has received his SAG-AFTRA certification. Additionally, he has participated in runway shows, including Charlotte and Charleston Fashion week. His goal is to create a brand for himself that will inspire others to be themselves and ultimately encourage them to inspire someone else. CREDIT: LakeNormonPhoto

Davon

Indiana native TikaD, 31, has been in Florida for nine years. She graduated with a criminal justice degree at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. She loves to travel and is very serious about fitness with plans to enter a fitness competition in the near future. Tika says her friends would describe her as a free bird, down to earth, carefree and sweet. CREDIT: TikaD

Fall TV lineup will feature plenty of superheroes ecutive producer David Goyer. “The thing that I always loved about Constantine is he was a smart ass,” Goyer says. “He didn’t have any superpowers. He was just a working class bloke. He had a wicked sense of humor. “I also felt like it was someone that would sort of translate into television without us having to change the core DNA of the character.”

BY RICK BENTLEY THE FRESNO BEE (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — Holy comic book heroes! Not since the late 1970s has there been as many network TV shows based on the super-powered characters from the colorful pages of comic books. Joining the already established “Arrow” on the CW and “Marvel’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” on ABC on the fall network TV schedule, are these comic-book inspired shows: “Gotham,” begins Sept. 22 on FOX “The Flash,” launches Oct. 7 on CW “Constantine,” starts Oct. 24. on NBC “Agent Carter,” is waiting in the wings as a mid-season replacement for ABC. And, it’s not just the networks who have cape-and-cowl fever. Netflix will produce five series based on Marvel Comics characters: Daredevil, Jessica Jones. Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the Defenders. The genre is booming, in part, because of the massive success of comic book movies. It’s also a way for networks to lure back young viewers with shows that have a darker tone, a reflection of the dark changes to the comics over the decades. The CW Network saw a big drop in male viewers — 18 to 34 year olds — when “Smallville” ended in 2011. CW President Mark Pedowitz sees “The Flash” and “Arrow” as a way to tempt those viewers to come back. The challenge is making the special-effects heavy shows financially feasible. Greg Berlanti, executive producer of “The Flash,” says advancement in technology makes it easier — and cheaper — to mimic the live-action version of superpowers. He also suggests this renewed interest in comics is the latest example of Hollywood understanding the attraction of heroes vs. villains. “When I was kid on Saturday afternoon I would go over to my grandparent’s house and there were all these Westerns that were on,” Berlanti says. “I think it’s a similar kind of thing. There were

‘The Flash’

Stephen Amell, center, and other “Arrow’’ cast members are pictured above. The series airs on the CW network. these classic kind of universes where there were bad guys, good guys, good gals, bad gals, right and wrong.”

‘Gotham’ Comic book-inspired TV shows have always embraced the good vs. evil concept, but the new shows have a far darker tone and approach. “Gotham” is a completely different look at Batman than the 1966-68 “Batman” series, which was presented as a bright, pop art kind of world where everything was played tongue-in-cheek. In “Gotham,” the Caped Crusader is still a pre-teen Bruce Wayne trying to come to grips with the murder of his parents. It doesn’t worry Bruno Heller, an executive producer on “Gotham,” that the series will focus more on the creation of some of Batman’s greatest foes — Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler — than the caped crimefighter. He believes the city of Gotham will provide the larger than life character that will be a central part of the show. “This is about people, and it’s about people trying to overcome real problems as opposed to trying to learn how to fly,” Heller says. “Will the fanboys back away from it? I don’t think so, because

I think, certainly for me, the really interesting parts of these stories is the origin stories. As soon as you’re into the capes and costumes, it’s less interesting than seeing how they got there. And this is about how all these people got there.” Heller says the show won’t change the long accepted mythology of the heroes. “What we won’t do is break the kind of canonical iron truths of the Batman story,” he says. “But issues of chronology and who was there when and how, we will play with. In a fun way, not in a disrespectful way or a sort of iconoclastic way.”

‘Arrow’ It was “Smallville” that brought a new approach to telling superhero stories. Instead of rushing to get Clark Kent (Tom Welling) into his bright Superman crimefighting suit, the series launched as a family drama with Clark being a special needs kid. The show dealt with dark issues of greed, anger, revenge, hatred and fear as Clark grew into his super role. That trend continued with “Arrow.” Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is still a billionaire playboy, but he’s carrying a lot more baggage after honing his archery

skills while fighting for survival on a desolate island. In two seasons, he’s already had to deal with the death of his best friend and mother. Green Arrow had plenty of problems in the comic books — especially in the early 1970s run by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams — but the series creators took major liberties with the character when bringing him to TV. “One of the nice things about Green Arrow is unlike Batman or Spider-Man or Superman where everyone knows about Batman’s parents dying or Krypton blowing up or getting bit by a radioactive spider, Green Arrow has an origin that is subject to a lot of interpretation,” says executive producer Marc Guggenheim. “In fact, it’s been interpreted and reinterpreted in the comics over many, many years. So there’s not as much canon that’s precious, so we can play around. We always start with the comic as our source of inspiration.”

‘Constantine’ Also on the darker side is “Constantine.” The comic book character spends his days fighting demons in hopes that one day he won’t have to pay a debt he owes to the devil. That’s what appealed to ex-

One comic book hero who isn’t getting the dark treatment is The Flash. Both the 1990 version starring John Wesley Shipp and the new offering with Grant Gustin playing Barry Allen focus more on the speedster’s battle with super villains than the angst of having the super power. Berlanti says The Flash will be looked at as being a prodigy whose skills need to be honed. “I always thought that was a great place to sort of start with the show, because it allows us obviously to sort of examine backwards in time what sort of happened to the character and where he comes from and why he is who he is and how he’s overcome some of the things he’s overcome,” Berlanti says. “And it always allows for, I think, deeper story telling moving forward.” Geoff Johns, chief creative officer of DC Comics, looks over the way the company’s characters get used on television. He has a close relationship with Flash, having written the comic for years. There were countless discussions about whether to include some of the heavy emotional elements he brought to the comic in the series. “Flash is such an optimistic character and it’s all about moving forward. When I wrote the comic, it was really about giving him an emotional anchor that would hold him back, something that happened a long time ago,” Johns says. “The lightning bolt is really something that hits Barry and allows him to literally and emotionally move forward in his life, reconnect with people in a different way and explore that heroic side that is inside him.”

F0OD

SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Pop up some fun For back-to-school snacking, you can’t beat popcorn. Pop up a bowl and let the fun flavor creations begin — sweet, savory or with just a dash of salt. Popcorn is a grab-n-go treat that takes minutes to make. Plus, it’s whole grain and contains fiber to fuel the body and keep you feeling fuller longer than other snacks. This beloved treat is also economical, costing mere pennies per serving. For more information, visit www.popcorn.org.

Dip it up On this page are some fun and flavorful alternatives for back-to-school snacking.

MCT

Serve a satisfying snack

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

When it comes to packing lunches and after school snacks for your little ones, it’s easy to get into a rut. But by making a few delicious and convenient choices in the grocery store, you can break away from the same old sandwich routine and serve up nibbles and noshes your kids will love. Whether your star pupils prefer a savory dip, a light and salty snack or a chewy fruit bar, here are a few great choices you can pack.

For a quick burst of flavor at home or on the go, try Sabra Classic Singles with veggies, pita bread, pita chips or crackers. These 2-ounce servings of creamy Classic Hummus are perfect for the lunchbox or on-the-go snacking and portable enough to bring along on any adventure. For more information, visit www.sabra.com.

Fuel Their Day Help them have a great day at school by serving those little learners the proper fuel. With a commitment to creating all natural snacks you can feel good about giving your kids, Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars are cholesterol free, dairy free and kosher. From the sweetness of Blueberry to the tartness of Lemon, these bars are available in a variety of jam-packed, fruity flavors. For more information, visit www.naturesbakery.com.

Do you need an easy way to pack more protein, calcium and other nutrients into your family’s diet? You can’t go wrong with a kid-friendly kitchen staple like low-fat yogurt. With a wide array of textures, consistencies and flavors, there are sure to be several varieties that even the pickiest eater will enjoy. Take these beloved flavors to new heights with toppings such as dried fruit, organic granola, dark chocolate and coconut shavings.

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