Florida Courier - October 23, 2015

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OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

VOLUME 23 NO. 43

DID HE STAND HIS GROUND? A church drummer whose car broke down on I-95 in South Florida was shot dead by a plainclothes cop. Questions abound.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

PALM BEACH GARDENS – The 31-year-old Florida man shot and killed by a Palm Beach Gardens police officer Sunday legally bought a gun just three days before his death, according to police.

Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Stephen Stepp claimed that Corey Jones of Boynton Beach was holding that gun when Officer Nouman Raja, 38, who was in an unmarked police car and plain clothes, was investigating what he thought was an abandoned car. In response, Raja shot Jones, Stepp said.

Stepp released the information about the gun, among other new details,

in an abruptly announced news conference Tuesday.

He said the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation, and he could release only a limited amount of information to avoid compromising the sheriff’s examination.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg is also investigating.

Raja, working a burglary detail, was parked in a lot near the area, Stepp said.

Thinking the car was abandoned, Raja drove up to investigate. At the same time, Stepp said, Jones, holding the gun, confronted Raja. Stepp said the gun was found on the ground at the scene and its box was in Jones’ car.

Stepp said the SherDriving from Jupiter iff’s Office discovered paThe confrontation oc- perwork indicating Jones curred at about 3:15 a.m. bought the gun three days Sunday, Stepp said. Accord- before the incident. ing to band mates and family, Jones was driving back ‘Feel our grief’ to Boynton Beach from a Jones, a well-known mugig in Jupiter with his band, sician, played drums in Future Prezidents, on Inter- various bands around the state 95 when his car broke county and at his church, down at PGA Boulevard.

Bible Church of God in

Corey Jones, 31, was a musician who played at his grandfather’s Boynton Beach church. He was set to go on a nationwide tour with an up-and-coming band when he was killed.

Boynton Beach. His grandfather, Sylvester Banks Sr., told the media after Stepp spoke that he did not know his grandson had a gun.

“You who are out there that are grandparents; I wish you could feel our

sympathy and feel our grief for what we are going though,” Banks said, while also calling for peace and a thorough, fair investigation into the facts surrounding Jones’ death.

If he could talk to Raja, he

said he would pray for the officer to tell the truth.

“The truth (will) make you free,” he said. “If (the officer) had done right or whether he had done wicked, he’s going to be acSee JONES, Page A2

Scott gets B-CU award

COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2015

In full swing

President silent about forensic audit

BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

DAYTONA BEACH – BethuneCookman University presented its highest honor, the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Leadership Award, to Florida Gov. Rick Scott Wednesday night despite a public outcry that prompted the school’s president to churn out a response to “allay all fears” about the university’s future on the eve of the event.

The morning of the Legacy Awards Gala held at Daytona Beach’s Ocean Center, B-CU President Edison O. Jackson addressed the award flap and other issues relating to the university in a long letter to stakeholders.

‘Shadows of doubt’

KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURIER

The fall football season is well underway, with the University of Miami’s Joe Yearby running hard in UM’s victory over Virginia Tech last week. This week, Bethune-Cookman University and Edward Waters College celebrate Homecoming, and FAMU’s Rattlers take a week off.

“Over the last 60 days, various media outlets have circulated news that cast “shadows of doubt” on the administration’s ability to effectively manage and lead the University. To address these allegations, I decided to write you directly in an effort to dispel these rumors and allay all fears, so that you can celebrate all we have accomplished over the last 111 years,” Jackson wrote.

Much of Jackson’s letter reSee B-CU, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS NATION | A6

Malcolm X letter on sale for $1.25 million

Gator probably killed swimmer in Florida spring

BY ELYSSA CHERNEY ORLANDO SENTINEL / TNS

ORLANDO – A dead man pulled from the waters of Blue Spring State Park on Monday appeared to have suffered wounds consistent with an alligator attack, according to a report from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

A medical examiner has begun the autopsy on James Okkerse, 61. If it’s determined he was killed by an alligator it would

ALSO INSIDE

be the first in the state since 2007, according to wildlife officials.

Okkerse, who moved to Florida from Michigan, has been swimming at Blue Spring for 20 years and was in great physical shape, family members said by phone.

All the park rangers knew the retiree, said his cousin, John Lommerse.

“After bringing Okkerse’s body to shore, it was determined Florida Fish and Wildlife would assume the investigation since there

was obvious trauma to Okkerse’s spotted nearby, was shot and body consistent with accounts of killed because it posed a threat to an alligator attack,” a sheriff’s of- park visitors. fice incident report said.

Alligator sightings at the Orange City park, best known for Spotted and shot manatee viewing during the winWildlife officers saw Okkerse ter, prompted FWC to close the floating face-down Monday swimming area last Sunday as it morning near the shores of the searched for the animal. park’s swimming area after receiving reports that he may have Few fatalities drowned, according to the FlorFlorida’s last fatal alligator bite ida Fish and Wildlife ConservaSee GATOR, Page A2 tion Commission. The alligator,

BOOKS | B3

HEALTH | B4

More moms are choosing birth centers over hospitals

COMMENTARY: JAMES CLINGMAN: BLACKS EXCLUDED FROM DEMOCRATIC DEBATE | A4 COMMENTARY: ANTHONY L. HALL: FARRAKHAN RALLY PEDDLES FAMILIAR PONZI SCHEME | A5

Historic honor for Jamaicanborn author

FOCUS

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OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

Curry bringing back Emerge magazine online com will continue the uncompromising journalistic tradition of its namesake, combining a vibrant website that carries the latest national and international news each day with an in-depth monthly digital magazine component that both reports and analyzes news of interest to Blacks and other people of color.”

SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

WASHINGTON – Former Emerge magazine Editor-inChief George E. Curry has announced that he is reviving the award-winning publication online, possibly as early as mid-November.

Curry resigned as editor-inchief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) News Service as of Oct. 2 and immediately directed his attention toward bringing back Emerge as an online publication.

“For the most part, I have enjoyed my nine years as head of George E. the NNPA News Curry Service,” said Curry, who was with NNPA from 2001-2007 and 2012-2015. “I will always cherish the wonderful experiences I shared with most of the publishers, many of whom remain good friends. Now, I am looking ahead with excitement as I bring back Emerge magazine on a digital platform.”

Experienced journalist

Crowdfunding effort A GoFundMe drive has been inaugurated to obtain seed money to get the Emerge venture off the ground (http://www.gofundme.com/mg5qtr44). In addition, an EmergeOnLine Facebook page has been created (www.

Facebook.com/emergenewsonline).

On his GoFundMe page, Curry said, “EmergeNewsOnline.

Before taking over as editorin-chief of Emerge: Black America’s Newsmagazine in 1993, Curry was New York bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune. He began his career as a reporter for Sports Illustrated magazine and worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He served as a Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune before accepting the New York assignment.

Curry was editor of Emerge for the last seven of its 10-year existence. Less than six months after taking over Emerge in 1993, the Philadelphia Daily News described Emerge as “a feisty, slam’em-to-the-wall publication for African-Americans that’s quick-

B-CU

DUANE C. FERNANDEZ SR. / HARDNOTTSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Gov. Rick Scott responds after receiving Bethune-Cookman University’s most prestigious award. will generate more than $240 million in profit, of which the Board has directed the University to build a much needed student union.”

‘The truth is’ Jackson stated in his response, “All of these concerns were discussed, debated, voted and ratified by the B-CU Board of Trustees, under the leadership of immediate past Chairman Rev. Dr. John Harrington in the early part of 2015.

“Regarding the residence Hall project, in Spring 2015, thirtynine trustees voted 36-3 to approve moving forward with the residence hall project, citing inadequate living conditions, aging infrastructure, and increasing enrollment as critical reasons to support the development of quality living spaces for our students. The truth is, more than 1,200 new beds and more than 300,000 sq. ft. will be added to our campus,” Jackson continued.

“Trustee McCray’s letter alleges that $5.6 million of the Uni-

countable for it.”

Raja is on administrative leave with pay.

Records released The president of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, John Kazanjian, on Tuesday accused the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department of being slow to release information about the shooting.

The police department did, however, release Raja’s records that show he has had no disciplinary actions. He was hired in April 2015.

Previously, he worked at the Atlantis Police Department, where he received a few disciplinary notes for failing to file reports and log evidence pertaining to cases. Once he was reprimanded for not disengaging from a road pursuit when he should have, but otherwise, the officer received praise from both his boss and members of the Atlantis community.

Writing in Time magazine when Emerge closed, Jack E. White said: “No matter what

No direct response

ferred to a scathing six-page letter dated Sept. 15 by Johnny L. McCray, Jr., a Pompano Beachbased attorney and longtime member of the Bethune-Cookman University Board of Trustees.

In his letter, McCray issued an ultimatum demanding that his fellow board members bring in forensic auditors to probe the school’s finances for fraud and fiscal mismanagement – or he would file lawsuits against individual board members and request a state and federal criminal investigation.

In an Oct. 7 article, the Florida Courier highlighted McCray’s letter. McCray, a 1978 B-CU graduate, also had concerns about a $72 million residence hall project and the purchase of a facility in Deltona.

from A1

Clarence Thomas covers

agreements,” he added.

from A1

JONES

ly gaining a reputation for taking no prisoners in its search for truth.” The Washington Post observed that Emerge “gets better with each issue.”

During his tenure at Emerge, Curry was elected president of the American Society of Magazine Editors, the first African American to hold that post. In 2000, he was awarded the University of Missouri’s Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, an honor previously presented to such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill and Walter Cronkite.

After Black Entertainment Television was sold to Viacom, the magazine division of BET was placed in the hands of Vanguarde Media CEO Keith T. Clinkscales, who immediately closed Emerge in 2000 and replaced it with short-lived Savoy magazine.

When Vanguarde filed for bankruptcy in 2004, it had killed seven Black publications.

Deltona campus Edison Jackson

Johnny L. McCray, Jr.

versity’s resources were spent and lost on the project. The truth is $5.6 million was part of a service agreement for soft costs. The truth is the developer, TG Quantum, under that same agreement, consented to reimburse the University for all soft costs.

“The truth is $2 million of the $5.6 million was reimbursed at the financial closing of Phase I of the project; and the remaining $3.6 million will be reimbursed at the financial closing of Phase II. The truth is the residence hall project over the forty-year term

Kazanjian said slowly releasing information can make the community restless.

“It’s causing reckless inferences about our officer’s conduct,” he said, adding that Raja, who has been assigned a union representative, has received death threats. He said he believes Raja has since relocated with his family. “Whether it’s good or bad, they need to be more transparent.”

Crump onboard Jones’ family has retained Attorney Benjamin Crump, and said they’re reaching out to other high-profile public figures, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and President Barack Obama.

Crump, based in Tallahassee, has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager from Miami Gardens who was killed in 2012 in Sanford; Tamir Rice, a Black 12-year-old shot dead

by Cleveland police; and Michael Brown, whose shooting last year by an officer in Ferguson, Mo., also drew an outcry by the public.

In a response to money spent on a Deltona campus, the president stated that the university wanted to expand its influence and brand into West Volusia County as a way to diversity its student population.

“With his letter, Trustee McCray indicated the Board was unaware of the purchase; however, the truth is the purchase was approved at the October 2014 Board of Trustee Meeting and official purchase of the property took place on October 30, 2014.”

Jackson said the property was purchased for $1.5 million.

“After fiscal year (FY) 201314, the property generated a $120 thousand profit and in FY 2014-15 generated a $180 thousand profit from long-term lease

Investigations ongoing A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday that Scott had spoken with Bradshaw and Aronberg, as well as with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen, and that the governor had offered FDLE’s help with the investigations.

Friends and family of Jones said they suspect he did not know Raja was a police officer. They, along with state and U.S. representatives, have called for an independent investigation into the shooting.

At Tuesday’s news conference, the police chief said there was no dashboard-camera footage, and said the department doesn’t equip its officers with body cameras.

Politicians opine Outrage over the fatal shooting reached the state Capitol on Wednesday, as members of the Black legislative caucus called for an independent review of the killing. They also called for legislation that would put safeguards in place for future incidents,

Jackson’s statement did not directly respond to McCray’s demand for a forensic audit. Instead, he pointed to the university hiring an accounting firm to review its procedures.

“When questions pertaining to the fiscal management of the residence hall project developed, the truth is the Board engaged Ernst and Young, LLP (E&Y) for the purpose of conducting agreed upon procedures,” he wrote. “…

When questions surrounding fiscal mismanagement under former CFO (sic) arose, the truth is, once again, the Board engaged E&Y, and they reported finding no unusual items supporting a claim of fraudulent activity.”

A forensic audit is an intensive, specialized review of financial records that attempts to find the source of transactions with an eye toward revealing and prosecuting fraud, financial malfeasance and economic crimes. It is different from the regular yearly audit that many non-profit educational institutions generally undergo.

Jackson didn’t indicate that B-CU’s E&Y review of its procedures included a forensic audit.

Opposition to Scott The Daytona Beach-based HBCU, which is celebrating its homecoming this week, had also caught flak for weeks from supporters over the award decision, citing what they allege is Scott’s long record of anti-Black initiatives – including cuts to HBCU funding – as reasons he wasn’t qualified to receive the award.

Vocal opposition against Scott receiving the award named after B-CU’s founder including a statewide letter-writing campaign, an online petition that garnered about 800 signatures, and an

including body cameras for law-enforcement officers, dashboard cameras for police vehicles and automatic reviews of all police-related shootings.

“This has to stop,” State Rep. Bobby Powell, D-Riviera Beach, said. “There is no evidence that we have seen that indicates this man was a troublemaker.

He doesn’t have a record.

My community is frustrated, and rightfully so.”

Caucus Chairman Ed Narain, D-Tampa, suggested that a bill filed for the 2015 legislative session by Rep. Barbara Watson, D-Miami Gardens, offers a plan for conducting an independent review.

The bill, which would have automatically spurred reviews of police shootings, called for creating a commission of 15 members appointed by the FDLE commissioner. At least five members could not be current or former law enforcement officers. The measure did not pass during the 2015 session.

“There are some times where there is some doubt and distrust by the community,” Watson said. “I

believe this bill will get a second set of eyes and hopefully restore the confidence of our community back with our police departments.”

The caucus also called for police training that includes an examination of racial bias.

Delayed information Some of the mistrust, Narain said, was due to a lack of transparency by the Palm Beach Gardens police, who delayed notifying Jones’ family of his death or releasing the details.

“It is these types of delays and the lack of evidence that continue to create distrust between communities of color and local police departments,” Narain said. “It is a source of anguish and frustration for Black people nationwide, and legislative action and enforcement appears to be the only proper remedy.”

Margie Menzel of The News Service of Florida and Kate Jacobson and Adam Sacasa of the Sun Sentinel / TNS contributed to this report.

George Curry accomplishes during the remainder of his journalistic career, he will be remembered for one thing: he was the editor who slapped a portrait of Clarence Thomas wearing an Aunt Jemima-style handkerchief on a 1993 cover of Emerge magazine.

“That shocking image outraged Thomas’ supporters, of course, but it crystallized the disgust that many African-Americans had begun to feel about the ultraconservative legal philosophy of the U.S. Supreme Court’s only Black member.”

Curry was initially hired at NNPA by Chairman John “Jake” Oliver, publisher of the Afro Newspapers, and the second time by NNPA Chairman Cloves Campbell, Jr., publisher of the Arizona Informant.

While serving as editor of the NNPA News Service in 2003, Curry was named “Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists for his work improving the quality of journalism in the Black Press.

outcry of injustice lodged by the state and Volusia County-Daytona Beach leaders of the NAACP.

Millions raised “There has been much excitement around the selection of Governor Rick Scott as the 2015 Mary McLeod Bethune Leadership Award recipient. As stated by the Chairman of the B-CU Board of Trustees, Dr. Joe Petrock, B-CU is a non-partisan private small research driven university,” Jackson explained.

“As such, it is essential for us to engage public and private entities to support the University’s mission. Our government relations activities have resulted in more than $15 million dollars appropriated to support student success over the last three (3) years.”

According to the school, the 2014 Legacy Gala raised $2.5 million, including a $1 million donation from the B-CU student body as a consequence of a referendum approved by the students to add a $30 endowment fee to their fees.

In addition to Scott, other awardees Wednesday night included Daytona Beach-area hospital administrator Jeff Feasel; Florida Blue executive Tony Jenkins; B-CU graduate and published author Lucille O’Neal, the mother of NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal; and Dr. Gerald Lord, a former United Methodist Church leader.

Jackson concluded his letter by saying, “It is my hope that these truths will evaporate the fog that dims the light shining bright at BCU! Together, we will celebrate Homecoming 2015 for what it is, a one hundred eleven year testament that faith in God still works.

I have learned from our students, the power of having a handle on situations.”

GATOR from A1

occurred in 2007 while a man was swimming across a pond in West Miami, trying to evade police. Since then, the state has enjoyed the longest period in recent records without fatal alligator-human encounters.

Jeff Woolfenden, a contracted alligator trapper for FWC, said it’s remarkable no one has been killed in so long, even as development encroaches on areas inhabited by the large lizards.

“That’s really good considering how many alligators we have,” he said. “Go to any body of water and shine a flashlight.”

According to FWC statistics, there have been 22 fatal alligator bites since 1948. In the same time period, there have been 338 non-fatal alligator bites – all unprovoked.

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

On September 15, 2015 Experian discovered an unauthorized party accessed T-Mobile data housed in an Experian server.

• Experian’s consumer credit database was not accessed in this incident, and no payment card or banking information was obtained.

• Based on Experian’s investigation to date, this was an isolated incident over a limited period of time. It included access to a server containing identifying information for some organizations and, primarily, personal information for individuals, including some current T-Mobile customers, and also consumers who applied for T-Mobile USA postpaid service or device financing, which require a credit check, from Sept. 1, 2013 through Sept. 16, 2015.

• Records containing a name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, identification number (typically a driver’s license, military ID, or passport number) and additional information used in T-Mobile's own credit assessment were accessed.

• Experian is notifying individuals who may have been affected by direct mail, and is offering free credit monitoring and identity resolution services for two years. Although there is no evidence at this time the data has been used inappropriately, Experian strongly encourages affected individuals to enroll in the complimentary identity resolution services.

If you believe you were impacted, visit www.protectmyID.com/securityincident to enroll in free credit monitoring online. You may also contact us by: • Calling 866-369-0422 to enroll in ProtectMyID or an alternative identity protection product • Sending an email with questions to consumersupport@protectmyid.com Visit www.experian.com/T-MobileFacts to learn more about the incident or enrollment in identity protection. Please enroll by April 30, 2016. You may contact the three national consumer reporting agencies directly and request a credit alert on your file. This will alert you of attempts to open credit in your name. Contacting any one agency will place an alert on your file at all three agencies: • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 • Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com/fraud; P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 • TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022-2000 You may also consider placing a security freeze on your account. A security freeze restricts all creditor access to your account, but might also delay any requests you make for new accounts.

Check with the credit reporting agencies for their specific procedures regarding security freeze The Federal Trade Commission also provides information about how to avoid identity theft and what to do if you suspect your identity has been stolen. They can be contacted at consumer.ftc. gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338), or The FTC Identity Theft Clearinghouse, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580.

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EDITORIAL

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OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

Blacks excluded from embarrassing Democratic debate The Democrat debate was nothing short of embarrassing, insulting, and dismissive of Black people. The 2-½ -hour rhetorical exercise was an in-your-face thumbing of the nose at Black voters.

How much more proof do we need to make us understand that we are totally excluded from the political process? Are we ignored and dismissed because we don’t vote in primaries, or do we not vote in primaries because we are ignored?

The Republican debate was an inside game of name-calling, accusations, and innuendo with no mention of Black folks. The Dems’ stage show deferred to Black people only once, and that was in an obligatory and patronizing way.

Why are we so accepting of such displays of indifference and condescension from politicians?

Other groups were mentioned and supported in their causes, but Black folks were reduced to one issue – a negative one at that – and given such short shrift that if you turned away for a second or two you would have missed it.

One ‘question’ The Black-guy-in-residence at CNN, Don Lemon, was in charge of Facebook questions – only two of the hundreds posed were even included in the debate – and his first choice was the ridiculous question: “Do Black lives matter, or do all lives matter?”

Aside from the question lacking any substance or even making any sense, the candidates did

JAMES CLINGMAN TRICE EDNEY WIRE

It is so frustrating to see Black people continue to be treated like a bunch of children who only get a pat on their heads, a pacifier in their mouths, and then be relegated to the back of the room by disingenuous politicians. not even answer it. What were they supposed to say – “No, they don’t matter?” And because the question was framed as a choice between Black lives and all lives, it devalued Black people even more.

It is so frustrating to see Black people continue to be treated like

a bunch of children who only get a pat on their heads, a pacifier in their mouths, and then be relegated to the back of the room by disingenuous politicians.

Black commentators on “views shows” hardly ever discuss Blackspecific issues, unless they are crime-related. Candidates have debates and never mention Black people, except to cite a few statistics on poverty and crime – the only things it seems we are noted for in their minds. They never offer their support of our specific issues, the way they do when it comes to women, Jewish, and LGBT issues.

The impact of millions of union members and their lobbyists, along with other groups like the NRA, causes candidates to genuflect and kowtow to their desires. (Their campaign contributions are a great incentive.)

debate, vis-à-vis Black issues, was similar to mine. But when asked what he would have liked the candidates to discuss he said, “voting rights.” I rest my case.

No influence

Not mentioned

Black folks have opted for 501(c) (3) organizations that cannot give money or endorse candidates the way unions can. Our largest organization, the NAACP, cannot lobby or endorse particular candidates.

Although we know the NAACP is an adjunct surreptitious component of the Democrat Party and gets significant funding from unions – which are also overwhelmingly Democrat – that the organization has little or no influence in the Democrat Party.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked NAACP President, Cornell Brooks, about the Democrat debate. Brooks’ assessment of the

Democratic debate leaves room for improvement In contrast to the most entertaining Republican presidential candidate debate, the first Democratic presidential candidate debate was more absorbing. We heard from grownups that refrained from personal attacks and offered solid information about their positions.

While there were mild fireworks, there was much gravitas, and the sagacity with which these candidates discussed issues was most welcome.

My evaluation Hilary Rodham Clinton was gracious, graceful, firm and focused. She was the best I’ve seen her since she gave her incandescent speech at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver. Martin O’Malley missed his chance to shine. He seemed stiff and though he also seemed thoroughly prepared, he did not stand out.

JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICE EDNEY WIRE

Sen. Lincoln Chafee might as well have stayed home. “Whining” Jim Webb complained that he was not getting enough time.

But he spent too much time saying he wasn’t getting equal time, and he did not jump in, as others did, to make his point.

The real contrast is between Hilary and Bernie Sanders, with O’Malley, seemingly running for vice-president, adding occasional spark to the fire.

The only one In response to the question, “Do Black lives matter, or do all lives matter? Sen. Sanders was

the only one who uttered the words, “institutional racism.” He invoked Sandra Bland, the woman who supposedly hung herself in Texas, and talked about mass incarceration.

O’Malley and Clinton addressed the issue as well, with the acceptable answers that included police reform, education and mass incarceration. Clinton suggested a “new deal” for communities of color, but time prevented her from offering details.

Neither Clinton nor O’Malley suggested that institutional racism had anything to do with the Black Lives Matter movement or the racial disparities that exist in our nation. Chafee did not address the issue. Whining Webb cited his work with AfricanAmerican veterans. Where is the public policy?

Clinton talked about the role entrepreneurship plays in empowering people in our nation.

Rebel flag arrests no cause for joy Lots of Black people thought it was good news when a grand jury in Douglas County, Ga., indicted a bunch of Confederate flag-waving White boys who spewed racial abuse and threatened Black guests outside a child’s birthday party, this past summer.

It’s hard not to celebrate on those rare occasions when your enemies are getting hammered by the state. The White marauders in Douglas County, which has gone from just eight percent Black 25 years ago to 44 percent African-American today, carried banners demanding that the Confederate flag be “respected” – their response to the image problem that Johnny Reb has been having since the Charleston church massacre.

Political prosecution However, Black folks should

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

not be celebrating the Douglas County prosecutor’s decision to indict the White supremacists for participating in “criminal gang activity,” in addition to charges of making terroristic threats. This is the first time that Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act has been used in such overtly political circumstances.

If we have learned anything from the modern mass Black incarceration regime that has been in place since the early 1970s, it is that every law that can be abused for political pur-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: AFGHANISTAN

poses will be disproportionately deployed against Black people.

The Georgia gang statute was designed to circumscribe the movements and constitutional liberties of Black and Brown youth, as are similar statutes and gang injunction laws in effect all across the country. It was conceived as an anti-Black law, and its one-time use against racist Whites does not change the nature of the law as an instrument of mass Black incarceration.

The gang statutes are throwbacks to the Black Codes imposed on ex-slaves after the Civil War, when freedmen were not to allowed to gather in groups of more than three people at a time.

Isolated incident One isolated circumstance of racist White boys getting caught

LUOJIE, CHINA DAILY, CHINA

During the debate, unions and the National Rifle Association were mentioned, but the NAACP was not. Candidates seek the endorsements from associations because of the number of members they have and the contributions they make.

What would make us think that our millions of votes alone, especially since we give virtually all of them to the Dems, will bring about any acknowledgement or reciprocity, much less any power in the public policy inner circle? Where are our lobbyists and our SuperPAC? Although we now vote as a bloc in favor of the Dems, our voting bloc must Did she (or any of the other candidates) know that the Democratic National Committee spent only 1.7 percent of the $500 million spent on consulting with minority-owned businesses?

No reciprocity While as many as three-quarters of African-Americans vote for Democrats, it is not clear that our Democratic allegiance is returned. African-American support of the Democratic Party is not reflected in the dollars the DNC chooses to invest in our community. Black lives matter – and so do Black dollars.

African-Americans have twice the unemployment rates of Whites, earn less regardless of education and occupation, have a fraction of the wealth, and less homeownership. We are 13 percent of the population, but half of those incarcerated. Institutional racism is alive and well, but only one Democratic candidate for president chose to mention that.

Haven’t you heard some White person say they didn’t own any slaves, without understanding that slavery’s aftermath can be seen in disparity data? Union up in a law designed to ensnare Blacks is not a sign of progress.

In fact, it is a very dangerous precedent.

The Douglas County prosecutor argues that the gang law can be applied to “any type of activity that occurs with a group that’s organized that commits a crime.”

This legal formula is similar to the way the RICO anti-racketeering laws have been used to swallow up whole neighborhoods of Black teenagers, as happened last year when 100 young people at two neighboring housing projects in New York’s Harlem were charged with conspiracy to murder – largely based on postings in Facebook.

Douglas County prosecutor Brian Fortner, a White Republican, says he will continue to use the gang law against people who don’t “respect the rights of all of the citizens to feel safe and secure.” The Southern Poverty Law Center thinks the prosecutor acted appropriately – but the

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher

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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Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Sales Manager

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be independent, leveraged, and never taken for granted.

As I said before, Black voters give all of our “quid” but get no “quo” in return. We have allowed our political interests to be reduced to a protracted fight for voting rights and one silly question: “Do Black lives matter?”

Politicians merely need to say, “I support your right to vote” and “Yes, Black lives do matter,” and they are off the hook for any other deliverable.

We give so much, but settle for so little.

James E. Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African-American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people.

Contact him via www.blackonomics.com. folks forget that African-American people were systematically excluded from their unions, and used as strikebreakers until a few decades ago. Others forget the advantages they gained because institutional racism dictated African-American exclusion.

Where’s our cut?

Race matters are not the only matters that the Democratic nominee for president must deal with. But those Democrats who take African-American fealty for granted must understand that they have to give as much as they get. If about 25 percent of all Democrats are African-American, shouldn’t we get 25 percent of the dollars that the DNC spends?

I am glad that Sanders raised the issue of institutional racism.

I am wondering if the DNC and others will address the issue by doing a better job of distributing contracts and opportunities to minority-owned businesses.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer.

Center also classifies Min. Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam as a “hate group.”

How would the law be applied to Black activists marching or congregating and waving Red, Black and Green flags and shouting “Killer Cops Out of Our Community!” – and maybe using the word “pig”? Would that be a criminal conspiracy, punishable by 15 years in prison?

And if flags are indictable signs of criminality, what about leather jackets and black berets?

Think about that, while you’re applauding the prosecutor for coming down on some low-life Georgia White boys.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com.

E-mail him at Glen.Ford@ BlackAgendaReport.com.

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OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

Farrakhan rally peddles same Black-empowerment Ponzi scheme P.T. Barnum had an uncanny knack for getting poor people to part with their hard-earned money just to marvel at his “elaborate hoaxes.” His rival huckster, David Hannum, famously scoffed at this with the cynical observation that, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Sadly, tens of thousands of Black folks vindicated Hannum’s observation when they heeded Min. Louis Farrakhan’s “final call” to gather in Washington this month to mark the 20th anniversary of his infamous Million Man March.

Same thing After all, this 82-year-old huckster spent more than two hours delivering the same message about Black empowerment that he delivered twenty years ago, and again ten years ago to mark the 10th anniversary. The only difference came in the marketing of each gathering, having repackaged the 10th as the “Million More Movement” and this 20th as the rally for “Justice or Else.” (Or else what, Farrakhan?!)

The point is that Farrakhan’s “farrakhanisms” are notorious for their sound and fury; but they invariably signify nothing. Yet there seems no shortage of “suckers” willing to part with their hardearned money to fund his Blacknation Ponzi schemes.

This month, he framed his vintage solicitation to fund the latest with a promise to buy millions of acres of farmland – to grow enough wheat and milk enough cows to feed 30-40 million Black folks. I kid you not.

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

Farrakhan is easily the most articulate, visionary, inspiring, provocative, dynamic and intelligent public speaker in America today. But many of us who have been energized and moved by his antiestablishment polemics have come to realize that Farrakhan is little more than a performer who delivers speeches full of sound and fury,

‘No future’

signifying nothing, and

Fashioning himself a latter-day Moses, as is his wont, he intoned, plainly disingenuously, that “Moses was not an integrationist and neither are we. Let me be clear.

America has no future for you or for me.”

All the same, there’s no denying how disreputable Farrakhan has become among the Black intelligentsia. For example, fellow racebaiting hustlers the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton jostled to bask in his reflected glow in 1995 and again in 2005. But even they shunned his call to return to the National Mall in 2015. Instead, rappers Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy were the most prominent Blacks there this year, and Farrakhan seemed eager to bask in their reflected glow.

Frankly, Farrakhan is a false prophet with an uncanny knack for generating false profits. But I gave up long ago trying to understand why so many people continue to buy into his Ponzi schemes for a Black Promised Land hook, line, and sinker.

All that’s left is for God to demonstrate his perverse tolerance for genocidal conflict by turning the Promised Land Farrakhan preaches about into a Black homestead in Idaho, right next to the homestead Richard Butler carved out for White supremacists. There, Farrakhan’s hopelessly misguided Blacks and Butler’s hopelessly racist Whites could embark on an interracial conflict that rivals the internecine one Sunnis and Shiites have been waging for nearly 1,000 years.

then is heard from no more…until his next curtain call.

lion Man March (the March) by calling Black men, women, and children to the National Mall again to launch their Millions More Movement (the Movement).

Considering that I am still in despair over dashed hopes and broken promises from the March, I thought it would be too politically masochistic to join the Movement.

However, thanks to C-SPAN, I could not resist tuning in from the comfortable home my Caribbean work ethic and unparalleled opportunities in America have enabled me to own. And it saddens me to affirm that what I saw only vindicated my decision not to dignify this occasion with my presence.

Incidentally, it seems appropriate to note here that fellow Caribbean native Wyclef Jean delivered the most instructive and useful message of the day. Feigning selfdeprecation, he begged the crowd to excuse his perfect English as he shared his immigrant story of coming to America at the age of 10 and working several jobs at once (“the way we West Indians do”) to get by. He ended his story by declaring this self-evident truth: that if he could achieve such stellar success in America, then there was no reason why every Black American could not do the same!

Unfortunately, speaking such obBarren seeds vious truths was not on the MoveIn Farrakhan’s spirit of continu- ment’s agenda for this day, as evally sowing the same barren seeds ery other speaker made patently and still having them fall on fertile clear…. ground, I’ve decided to mark this 20th anniversary with the same Just a performer commentary I wrote to mark the Farrakhan is easily the most ar10th. I continue to hope against ticulate, visionary, inspiring, prohope that it will expose his mes- vocative, dynamic and intelligent sage of thorns for what it truly is. public speaker in America today I wrote “Millions More Move- (as he has been for decades). But ment (and that’s millions more many of us who have been enerdollars, not people…fool!),” on Oc- gized and moved by his anti-estober 17, 2005. I did so as one who tablishment polemics have come heeded Farrakhan’s call to join his to realize that Farrakhan is little original Million Man March (in more than a performer who deOctober 1995), only to become so livers speeches full of sound and disillusioned, disaffected, and du- fury, signifying nothing, and then ly disgruntled that I marked the is heard from no more…until his 10th anniversary more as a recov- next curtain call. ering victim than as an enabling For example, in March 1995, follower.

Farrakhan led an army of one milSadly, my testimony is as rele- lion Black men in a spirited devant today as it was on that sem- nunciation of White supremacy. inal anniversary. Again, I hope it More importantly, he exhorted serves as cautionary tale…

Blacks to atone for their self-inflicted maladies and for the seriFrom 2005 al failures of Black leadership. Of Minister Louis Farrakhan and course, the irony that his failures his Nation of Islam (NOI) marked are paramount in this respect was the 10th anniversary of their Mil- completely lost on him.

He exuded such infectious majesty on that occasion that even pedestrian Black leaders delivered speeches about self-help, Black empowerment, and personal responsibility with such eloquence that one might have mistaken them for historical Black luminaries like Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But none of them reached the rhetorical heights where Farrakhan’s rhetoric soared – from the opening of his speech until he ended it with this now trademarked pitch: Now brothers, the last thing we want to say, we want to develop an Economic Development Fund…

Inside of one month, we would have over $100 million. And in one year, we would have $1 billion … which means that no Black organization will be accountable to anybody outside of us… How many of you would like to see all our Black organizations free?

A task force will be formed … to make sure that the things that we say today will be implemented…

[W]e want an outside accounting firm to come in and scrutinize every dollar that was raised from your pockets to make the Million Man March a success… We will come back … and we will account for every nickel, every dime, every dollar…so that you can trust. I put my life on this.

To rob you is a sin. To use you and abuse you is a sin. To make mockery of your love and your trust is a sin. And we repent of all sin and we refuse to do sin anymore.

Bought it all I am ashamed to confess that I not only bought every word Farrakhan uttered back then, but also contributed to his phantom Economic Development Fund (EDF).

I derive no consolation from having enough sense not to contribute to his equally dubious Economic Exodus (slush?) Fund.

The point is that, based on my research and inquiries, Farrakhan did not implement any of the Black empowerment initiatives he outlined, or fulfill any of the fiduciary promises he made (that is, if any of them were ever intended to be). Frankly, it shall redound to his eternal shame that Farrakhan did, in fact, use and abuse the trust we vested in him and made a mockery of the love we bestowed upon him as a leader who, we hoped, would create a “third force” to compel the American establishment to address the concerns of the poor and powerless.

Therefore, watching events unfold, I had an appalling sense of déjà vu as speaker after speaker delivered essentially the same words I heard 10 years ago. Only this time, instead of projecting the aura of historical Black luminaries mentioned above, they looked and sounded more like secondrate actors spouting off hackneyed lines about Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq. And, instead of professing atonement for their own sins, they were blaming President Bush for everything from causing the levee breaks in New Orleans to cutting back their welfare checks.

Return to crime scene Indeed, what I watched, from my 1995 vantage point, smacked of a bunch of thieves returning to the scene of their greatest heist and trying to pull off a similar heist a decade later. Specifically, one of the longest speeches on Saturday was a shameless (but decidedly shameful) solicitation for money by one of Farrakhan’s boosters.

In what must be a patented NOI version of Three Card Monty, he entertained the crowd with jokes (like a Saturday night comedian) and threw them a few religious platitudes (like a Sunday morning preacher), all while coaxing them to put their “Benjamins (100 dollar bills) in the receptacles” (like an everyday street hustler).

Incidentally, NOI praetorian guards placed these receptacles all over the Mall and guarded them like Fort Knox. But it speaks volumes about Farrakhan’s intent that this was the first political rally on the hallowed Mall at which organizers had receptacles to collect cash instead of trash….

To deliver Saturday’s pièces de résistance (think Sermon on the Mount), Farrakhan descended the steps of the Capitol like a deus ex machina (Black Moses) – escort-

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: HALLOWEEN AND DONALD TRUMP

RICK MCKEE, THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE

ed by his personal security detail from the Fruit of Islam (FOI) – and wowed the longsuffering crowd with vintage farrakhanisms.

The highlight of his speech (or the most irresponsible part, depending on your vantage point) was his call for a separate Black United States of America comprised of “Black, Brown, Red and poor people.” Never mind reasonable suspicions that might cause Brown and Red people to fear Blacks treating them in a Black United States just as Whites treated Blacks in the United States.

Still, Farrakhan went so far as to detail the ministries he envisioned, including those for Agriculture, Education, Trade and Commerce, Defense, Information and Religion. And he promised that his Black United States of America (presumably with him as the Black George Washington) would forge economic and political solidarity with a United States of Africa and a United States of Latin America and the Caribbean.

‘We need money’ Intriguing stuff … until one realizes that it’s merely a repackaging of the grand platform for the “global advancement of Black people” he presented 10 years ago. But to perfect his recidivism, Farrakhan signaled the end of this speech with his familiar refrain: “Now brothers [and sisters] we need money.”

Only, instead of using the pretext of an EDF, he announced the founding of a National Skills Bank where millions of Black people – who wish to contribute to his borrowed vision of a Pan-African world – could register their names “for a small deposit of $20 … and donate as many Benjamins as you can.” (Farrakhan even pulled a $100 bill out of his pocket at this point and held it above his head so that there could be no confusion between Benjamins and Georges [one dollar bills] when these new suckers make their deposits.)

As for the “millions” who attended, you can believe NOI counters or your lying eyes.

Of course, I would not be at all surprised if – 10 years from now – Farrakhan has nothing of substance to show for all of his talk about the Movement. And I suspect many other Black men who joined his Million Man March are now just as cynical. Not least because aerial shots – juxtaposing the one million men who heeded Farrakhan’s call in 1995, with the smattering of men, women and children who heeded his call (in 2005) – provide irrefutable evidence that many of us have become justifiably disillusioned with Farrakhan’s hollow rhetoric and financial schemes, and no longer want to be associated with him.

(Speaker after speaker made the point of marveling at the mirage of “millions” in attendance and suggesting that D.C. authorities might deliberately undercount them for political reasons. One could not help thinking that NOI disciples were propagating a Big Lie about the size of the crowd for their own political reasons.)

Some hard questions But before too many people register (i.e., pay) to be used, abused, and mocked yet again, I urge all Black people of conscience (especially journalists) to demand the financial reports. After all, Farrakhan promised in 1995 that they would be published on an annual basis to ensure fiscal transparency in and good governance of his EDF. And, to help frame our demands in this regard, here are just a few threshold questions I would ask Farrakhan to answer, if I had the chance: • What is the name of the “outside accounting firm” you promised would audit all of the EDF’s operations and use of resources, and can you have that firm publish a comprehensive (or money

for value) audit online as soon as possible?

• You indicated in 1995 that “in one year, we could have $1 billion” in the EDF. What amount did you have after one year, and what is the total amount collected to date?

• One of the most dramatic and “uplifting” moments during your speech in 1995 was when you said that, with so much money in the EDF, you would have your board “call in Myrlie Evers Williams and ask her, what the budget of the NAACP is for this year? $13 million? $15 million? Write a check.”

How many checks, and in what amounts, Minister Farrakhan, did your EDF write to the order of the NAACP or other minority organizations over the past 10 years?

• At your rather less-attended and less-celebrated Million Family March in October 2000, you called on 1 million families to donate $100 each for your NOI to fund economic development in blighted Black cities all over America. What cities have since benefited from those funds?

• In a similar vein, please name three ongoing concerns (whether businesses, development projects, or community outreach programs) that have been funded by seed money from the EDF and now fill you with the most pride.

• When framing your solicitations for donations, you invariably profess an interest in helping Black and poor people of all races, religions, and creeds. Therefore, what has your NOI done to better the lives of non-Muslim Black Americans – besides selling them recordings of your sermons, speeches, press conferences, and, it seems, every other word that has ever proceeded out your mouth?

(NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, I purchased many of Farrakhan’s recordings before I came to my senses in the late 1990s – a few years after the Million Man March.)

Meanwhile, if purported civil rights leaders – like (the fathering babies out of wedlock) Rev. Jesse Jackson and (chronically indebted) Rev. Al Sharpton – had any credibility or clout left, they would’ve silenced Farrakhan long ago by raising these questions in the public interest. Instead, there they were in 2005, shadowing Farrakhan, hoping to bask in his reflected glow….

What about reparations?

Finally, I feel constrained to note that, at one point in his speech, Farrakhan ridiculed the $40 billion debt relief African heads of state negotiated a few months ago with G8 countries.

He posited that, because England alone had exploited more than a trillion dollars from the African continent, this purported relief was, in fact, an insult (implying, of course, that the Africans are too ignorant or provincial to recognize this).

Except that his logic raises the following question: Farrakhan is on record claiming that White Americans amassed trillions of dollars by exploiting Black Americans for centuries as slave and cheap laborers. Therefore, never mind debt relief. How much have Farrakhan and other enlightened Black Americans negotiated in reparations from White Americans?

The answer, of course, is nothing! Which is why Farrakhan’s advice for African debt relief (or Caribbean reparations) should ring every bit as hollow as his plan for a separate Black United States of America.

Anthony L. Hall is a Bahamian native with an international law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com.

NATION

TOJ A6

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

Christian network bans pastor for ties with Farrakhan, criticism of Carson COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple A.M.E. Church in Baltimore, Md., has been banned by the Daystar Christian Television Broadcasting Network for his association with Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam.

Bryant was one of the speakers at the Oct. 10 Million Man March anniversary in Washington, D.C. The network sent him a letter from Daystar, which he read last Sunday at church. It reads, “We are writing to cancel Dr. Bryant from being on our program. At this time we do not feel comfortable with his comments speaking about Dr. Ben Carson nor are we comDr. Jamal fortable with his association with Louis Bryant Farrakhan. We are a channel about reconciliation and not division. We apologize for any inconvenience. Sincerely, Jennifer Gardner.”

DETROIT FREE PRESS/TNS

Malcolm X is shown in this undated photo. He was assassinated in 1965 at age 39.

Malcolm X letter on sale for $1.25 million COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

A letter written by Malcolm X in 1964 is on sale for $1.25 million, reports the New York Post.

The seller, Gary Zimet, said the letter was discovered in a storage locker and almost thrown out. It was saved when Zimet saw some autographs by baseball greats Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

California memorabilia dealer Moments in Time put the long-lost note up

first American-born Negro to make the actual Hajj itself.”

On racism Malcolm recounts meeting “Muslims here of all colors and from every part of this earth,” as he voices the belief that if Americans converted to Islam, it would stop racism.

“If white Americans could accept the religion of Islam . . . they, too, could then sincerely accept the Oneness of Men, and cease to measure others always in terms of their ‘difference in color,’ ” he wrote. “And with racism now plaguing America like an incurable cancer, all thinking Americans should be more respective to Islam as an already proven solution to the race problem.”

“As America’s insane obsession with racism leads her up the suicidal path, nearer to the precipice

for sale for $1.25 million, the Post reports.

The civil rights activist wrote the letter by hand after his pilgrimage to Mecca.

“I have just completed my pilgrimage (Hajj) here to the Holy City of Mecca . . . which is absolutely forbidden for non-Muslims to even rest their eyes upon,” Malcolm wrote in the letter, which was on stationery imprinted with Arabic writing and illustrations of historic sites. I very much doubt that 10 American citizens have ever visited Mecca, and I do believe that I might be the

that leads to the bottomless pits below, I do believe that whites of the younger generation, in the colleges and universities, through their own young, less hampered intellects, will see the ‘Handwriting on the Wall’ and turn for spiritual salvation to the religion of Islam, and force the older generation to turn with them.’’

Malcolm, who was assassinated in 1965, added that the “insane obsession” in the United States with racism could lead to the same outcome as in Hitler’s Nazi Germany: destruction.

He wrote that an embrace of Islam is the only way “white America can [ward] off the inevitable disaster that racism always leads to.”

Calls out Daystar Bryant said the network sent him a letter banning him but has not rebuked any of the Christian evangelicals who affirmed and prayed for Republican candidate Donald Trump to become the next president of the United States even though the real estate mogul is inarguably divisive and has made cruel remarks about Women, Asians, Japanese, Blacks, Hispanics and others.

In his Oct. 18 sermon titled “Let the Chips Fall Where They May,’’ Bryant stated, “For Daystar to suggest me going on stage before a million people calling the name of Jesus is divisive and to have ought with me calling Ben Carson into accountability for having made his name in Baltimore but never speaking to the plight of Black Baltimoreans yet they continue to re-air old footage of me preaching to raise money for their network – I want you to know that people want your gift but despise your guts.’’

He continued, “You have to be careful of people who love your personality but can’t stand your purpose. Be careful of those who want your body but can’t handle your brain. Within the last eight years, White evangelicals have vilified the presidency of Barack Obama but eight years ago said that Republican George Bush was God’s man. I want people to know when man shuts a door, God opens an elevator shaft.’’

A report on Eurweb. com was used in this story.

A report by Black Christian News Network was used in this story.

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Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount or credit offer, except opening a new Macy’s account. Dollar savings are allocated as discounts off each eligible item, as shown on receipt. When you return an item, you forfeit the savings allocated to that item. This coupon has no cash value and may not be redeemed for cash, used to purchase gift cards or applied as payment or credit to your account. Purchase must be $50 or more, exclusive of tax and delivery fees.

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Female inmates cycling their way to better health See page B4

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Jones and Tyson starring in Broadway show See page B5

S

CARNIVAL 2015

The energy of thousands of masqueraders moving to the beat of bone-rattling soca music makes Miami Broward One Carnival one of Florida’s most distinctive events.

SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

MIAMI – The Miami Broward Carnival One Host Committee culminated the 2015 Miami Broward One Carnival season with a kaleidoscope of colors and pageantry last week.

This year, more than 15,000 masqueraders competed for the coveted Band of the Year title at the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds. One Island Mas captured the championship title in front of more than 35,000 attendees.

Heavyweight soca artists kept the high-energy vibes going at the post-Parade of Bands concert. Trinidad’s Queen of Bacchanal Destra and the Bakanal Band, Xplosion Band, Patrice Roberts, Dil-e-Nadan, Fadda Fox, Snakey, MnM Music Menace, Boasta & Mello, Laurena Davis, Claudette Peters, Rudy, Ricardo Drue, Julien Believe and Lyrikal all performed.

MC Wassy and MC-Da Mighty Pencil presided on stage, and kept things moving. Notable DJs included Dynasty, SoSo, DJ Waggy T of 99 Jamz, Renny, Supa Trackz, Choice-One, Rude-Deck and Barrie Hype.

Miami Broward One Carnival winners Female Individual: Nicole DeNobriga of Mascots International, “Mythical Legend of the Trapeze.”

Male Individual: Raphael Dalrymple of Mascots International, “Spirit of the Circus.”

2015 Queen: Shelia Boyd of Island Gems Mas, “Nani Yehi.”

2015 King: Jean Pierre De Gannes of Mascots International, “Picoca The Circus Ringmaster.”

Junior Carnival winners First place, individual female: Skye Ramos of Heritage TNT, “The Enchanted Peacock.”

First-place male individual: Nicholas Sinanan of Heritage TNT, “Serenity.”

First-place Queen: Briana Charpentier of Heritage Royalty Kids, “The Gem.” First place King: Jadan Chan Tack of Heritage TNT, “The Majestic Chinese Dragon – Good Karma.”

The 2015 Panorama winner was Pantastic Steel Orchestra.

Next year’s Miami Broward Carnival is set for Sunday, Oct. 9.

For a gallery of hundreds of Carnival 2015 pictures, log on to www.flcourier.com.

CALENDAR

B2

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Orlando. Performers scheduled are Vanilla Ice, Salt N Pepa, Coolio, 2 Live Crew, Color Me Badd, Rob Base, DJ Laz and Gucci Crew II.

St. Petersburg: The 18th Annual African American Health Forum is Nov. 7 at the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center, 1344 22nd St. S. A Midtown Memorial Wellness Walk, Run & Bike is at 7:30 a.m. The forum is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Registration details: Email Tyhisia Alexander at talexander@hcnetwork.org.

Fort Lauderdale: The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center will channel the ambiance of the Islands of the Bahamas on Nov. 6. This age 21-and-over event is scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $10.

Location: 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. More info: 954-3576210.

Miramar: “America’s Got Talent’’ finalist SVET and Karina Iglesias of “The Voice’’ will perform Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. following a hip-hop summit at the Miramar Cultural Center.

The summit is 5 to 7 p.m.

Register at 954-602-4500, prompt #1.

Tickets to the concert can be purchased at www. miramarculturalcenter.org.

Miami: Martin Dixon’s I’m So Hood Comedy Tour stops at the James L. Knight Centr on Nov. 25.

Tampa: The Hillsborough County NAACP’s annual Freedom Fund Dinner is Oct. 30 at the Embassy Suites on Spectrum Boulevard. More information: www.hillsboroughnaacp. org.

St. Petersburg: The first 95.7 Beats By The Bay music festival is Oct. 24 at Vinoy Park. The lineup includes Tyrese, Blackstreet, 112, Whodini and Rob Base.

Fort Lauderdale: Catch hip-hop star Big Freedia on Oct. 25 at Revolution Live.

Tampa: Eric Deggans, NPR’s TV critic, will speak at the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists’ Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet on Nov. 12, at the Tampa Marriott Westshore. More information: www.tbabj. com.

Coral Gables: The Legends Of The Old School tour makes upcoming stops in Coral Gables, Estero and

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

S

YO GOTTI

NAS, Lil Wayne and Yo Gotti are among the scheduled performers at the HIT Music Festival on Nov. 7 at the University of South Florida Sun Dome.

Plantation: Holy Convocation 2015, A Call For A Holy Nation continues through Oct. 23 at Judah Worship Word Ministries International, 4441 W. Sunrise Blvd. More details: 954791-2999.

St. Petersburg: Tickets are on sale for a concert featuring Chaka Khan on Nov. 13 at the Mahaffey Theater.

Orlando: The Opal Network Alliance’s South Florida Women’s Summit is Oct. 28-29 at the Bonaventure Resort & Spa in Weston.

More information: www. onatoday.com.

Tampa: Candy Lowe hosts Tea & Conversation every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at 3911 N. 34th St., Suite B. More information: 813394-6363.

SOWETA GOSPEL CHOIR

One of the Soweta Gospel Choir’s U.S. stops is the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 22. The concert starts at 6 p.m.

INNER CIRCLE Stop The Violence and Embrace Inc., a non-profit organization, will benefit from the Bad Boys of Reggae Bridging Communities Concert featuring Inner Circle on Oct. 24 at 9 p.m. It’s at the Majestic Event Center, 801 N. John Young Parkway, Orlando. Tickets: http://badboysofreggaeimg.eventbrite. com.

Bethune-Cookman, Edward Waters celebrating homecomings takes place on campus at 3 p.m.

BY FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

Two of Florida’s HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities are celebrating their homecomings this week. BethuneCookman University (B-CU) in Daytona Beach and Edward Waters College (EWC) in Jacksonville will both play their homecoming games on Saturday, Oct. 24.

B-CU’s homecoming parade is 9 a.m. Saturday along Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard in Daytona Beach. A tailgate party is from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Municipal Stadium. The Wildcats take on Norfolk State at 4 p.m.

An alumni after party is scheduled that evening in the President’s Banquet Room at B-CU’s Center for Civic Engagement.

On Oct. 25, a “Check Out” Comedy Show will be held at noon at B-CU’s Gertude Heyn Memorial Chapel. The doors open at noon.

A portion of the proceeds go to a scholarship fund.

A free Jazz on the Quad concert featuring The Love Band and Roscoe Jenkins Band

Parade, brunch before EWC game EWC’s homecoming theme is also the college’s tagline, “Preserving History, Promising Futures.”

The events will begin with the homecoming parade at 10 a.m. The parade route starts at Stanton College Preparatory School on 13th Street.

An Alumni Spirit Brunch also is Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. in the Adams-Jenkins Sports and Music Complex. The brunch is sponsored by the Jacksonville Chapter of the EWC National Alumni Association. EWC President Nathaniel Glover will be the keynote speaker at the event.

The game will be held at 3 p.m. at the Stanton College Preparatory School football field. The Edward Waters College Tigers will take on Selma-Concordia College Hornets.

For more about the HBCUs, visit their websites at www.cookman.edu and www.ewc. edu.

Reporter’s daughter weds in St. Augustine Kelsey Nicole Dickerson and Donte’ Boyer, both Jacksonville natives, tied the knot on Oct. 16 in a small civil ceremony attended by family and friends in St. Augustine. An intimate lunch at Capital Grill and photo session in the Jacksonville Towne Centre courtyard followed the morning nuptials.

Kelsey is a dance and drama instructor for R. Frank Nims Middle School in Leon County. Donte’ is a U.S. Navy reservist and is employed by Aspen Dental as a dental hygienist.

Their union is made complete with the addition of Dickerson’s 3-year-old daughter, Journey Nicole.

Kelsey is the daughter of Penny Dickerson, a reporter for the Florida Courier and its sister paper, the Daytona Times.

The LATCH system makes it easier to be sure your child’s car seat is installed correctly every time. Just clip it to the lower anchors, attach the top tether, and pull the straps tight. To find out more, visit safercar.gov.

PHOTO BY GREGORY MCKINNON/TRANSFORMUS PHOTOGRAPHY

S

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

BOOKS

B3

Jamaican-born professor wins prestigious Man Booker Prize

BY ROHAN PRESTON STAR TRIBUNE/TNS

RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS

Author Marlon James is seen at a reading of “A Brief History of Seven Killings” last year at Common Good Books in St. Paul, Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS — Writer Marlon James of St. Paul, Minn., became the first Jamaican to win the Man Booker prize for fiction — one of the literary world’s most prestigious accolades —on Oct. 13 in London.

James, 45, who teaches literature at Macalester College in St. Paul, won for his epic 2014 novel “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” which revolves around the attempted assassination of reggae icon Bob Marley.

“This is so sort of ridiculous,” he said as he accept-

‘Black Silent Majority’ focuses on Black activism, development of narcotics policy in New York

BY DR. GLENN C. ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

In 1967, the Rev. Oberia Dempsey, the youth minister at the Abyssinian Baptist Church (who had also held the ceremonial position of “Mayor of Harlem),” declared that criminal behavior related to drugs had gotten out of hand.

“Take the junkies off the streets and put ’em into camps,” Dempsey recommended. “Sure the Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP would howl about violation of constitutional rights. But we’ve got to end this terror and restore New York to decent people. Instead of fighting all the time for civil rights we should be fighting civil wrongs.”

REVIEW “Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment’’ by Michael Javen Fortner. Published

by Harvard University Press., 325 pages, $29.95 Six years later, the New York State legislature passed and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller signed a law mandating long prison sentences for anyone possessing or selling narcotics.

Outcry by Blacks In “Black Silent Majority,’’ Michael Fortner, a professor of urban studies at the City University of New York, makes the provocative argument that this dramatic change in policy, which was adopted in ma-

ny other states and resulted in the incarceration of millions of African-Americans, emanated less from a White backlash than from a mobilization of working and middle-class Blacks “against the reign of criminal terror in Harlem.”

Racialized housing policies, residential segregation and urban de-industrialization insulated White ethnics and suburbanites from the “the black urban sub-proletariat,” Fortner points out; in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Whites worried more about student protests and taxes than violent crime.

By contrast, Blacks constituted about 20 percent of New York’s population in 1972, but suffered 60 percent of drug-related deaths. And so, according

ed his award in a ceremony carried live by the BBC. “I think I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning and it didn’t happen.”

He bested two Americans on the short list of six authors who were finalists: Anne Tyler for “A Spool of Blue Thread,” a domestic drama set in Baltimore; Hanya Yanagihara for “A Little Life,” about four male friends in Manhattan and the childhood abuse suffered by one of them; British writers Tom McCarthy (“Satin Island”) and Sunjeev Sahota (“The Year of the Runaways”); and 28-year-old Nigerian

to Fortner, “black leaders pleaded with white legislators to extend the penal arm of the state into their ‘dark ghetto.’”

Not fully explained Fortner’s thesis is not entirely persuasive. He suggests, for example, that calls for education, jobs, social services, and rehabilitation are inconsistent with support for punishment while also acknowledging that many Americans, Black and White, advocated (and still advocate) both structural reforms and making individuals more accountable for their actions.

Nor does Fortner adequately explain why White politicians would enact the policy preferences of “the black silent majority” while virtually every Black member of the New York State Assembly and Senate voted against the Rockefeller drug laws.

That said, by emphasizing the importance of socio-economic class in an admittedly racialized po-

Chigozie Obioma for his debut novel, “The Fishermen.”

From advertising to renowned author “So much of my literary sensibility was shaped by winners of the Man Booker Prize,” James said days before the ceremony. “It’s something that was remote to me and I’m just honored to be in the company of these great writers.”

James worked in advertising for many years while he nurtured his ambitions in Jamaica. It was through the Calabash Literary Festival in the capital city of

litical culture, Fortner has made an important contribution to our understanding of public policy.

Motivating factor It appears that in the late ’60s and early ’70s middleclass Whites and White ethnics were motivated by a desire to protect their children from drugs (and the broader culture) rather than by an urgent desire to guard their communities against Black and Puerto Rican drug addicts.

And middle-class Blacks do appear to have responded to dramatic increases in black-on-black crime by dismissing “bleeding heart liberals” – and opting to protect the benefits of their newly won economic gains through aggressive policing and punishment.

Proposed solutions A survey of Harlem business owners in 1971, Fortner indicates, revealed four proposed solutions to the community’s crime problems: stricter law enforcement and an improved

Kingston that he was able to develop his voice. In fact, he came out of the festival’s inaugural workshop with a manuscript for his first novel, “John Crow’s Devil,” published in 2005.

“The Booker says what we knew, and that is Marlon is one of the best writers in the world,” said Colin Channer, the novelist who is a co-founder of Calabash. “This brings the prestige and light to a lot of what has been going on in our little country, which the musicians have known all along.”

court system (21 percent); more policemen (16 percent); taking junkies off the street (9 percent); and more severe punishment for criminals (6 percent).

Put “in the unenviable position of furnishing a history that shows that working and middle-class African-Americans are partially responsible for the mass incarceration of Black sons, brothers, husbands and fathers,” Fortner concludes by giving voice to his own regret about the shift from liberal sentiments to conservative acts.

And by endorsing what appears to be a growing sentiment in the United States against the laws that produced the massive incarceration of people of color, at great cost to taxpayers, while failing to curb drug addiction and crime.

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He wrote this review for the Florida Courier.

B4

HEALTH

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

STOJ

More moms are choosing birth centers over hospitals Facilities nationwide now covered by many insurers because of Affordable Care Act

BY PHIL GALEWITZ KAISER HEALTH NEWS/TNS

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Kristen Shorey gave birth to her second baby this summer in a marble-lined bathtub surrounded

by LED candles and rested afterward on a queen-size mahogany bed. She received no painkillers, never saw a doctor and was home with her newborn son, Rowan, seven hours after birth.

It was nothing like the hospital experience where she had her first son two years ago, she said.

In fact, the June birth wasn’t in a hospital at all but at the Greenville Midwifery Care & Birth Center. She delivered with help from a midwife instead of an obstetrician.

Shorey, 25, labored in a waterfilled tub rather than a small bed while hooked up to intravenous tubes and a fetal heart monitor, her 27-year-old husband, Taylor, by her side.

“This was the most empowering experience of my life,” she said.

The upstate South Carolina facility is one of 313 birthing centers nationally and one of 113 opened since 2010, almost a 57 percent increase. It’s also among a small but growing number of centers owned or affiliated with hospitals.

Now covered There are nearly 4 million births a year in the U.S. and 98 percent still arrive in hospitals, but the increase in birth centers run by midwives has obstetricians, health insurers and hospitals taking notice. The number of babies born annually in birth centers has jumped 56 percent since 2007 to about 16,000, while total U.S. births have dropped nearly 10 percent in the same time, according to federal data.

The Affordable Care Act has played a role in their growth. The 2010 law required state Medicaid programs to pay birth centers a facility fee, in addition to paying the midwives. Since Medicaid

pays for nearly half the births in the United States, the extra funding has made running centers more economically feasible.

Birth centers are covered by many insurers the same way a traditional hospital birth is covered. Since the length of the mom’s and baby’s stay in a birth center is so much shorter — hours instead of days — and does not involve doctors or anesthesia, the costs of a normal delivery are about half those in a hospital, birth center officials say.

They can be more economical for families, too, compared to hospitals, although how much depends on insurance coverage.

Women who have health plans with high deductibles may save money at a birthing center, while others could have a health plan that will cover most of their hospital bills but not any services at a birth center.

Not for everyone Yet cost advantage is not what most women that have used a birth center talk about. They praise birthing centers’ peaceful environments, where they can absorb painful contractions by soaking in a warm bathtub, walking around a large room, or listening to music.

They say they prefer the care of midwives who stay with them through labor and give them hours of personal attention rather than obstetricians who typically appear only near the moment of birth or if an emergency arises.

Shorey liked the post-birth services, too. She was able to stand up five minutes after having the baby in a tub. The next day, a midwife from the center came to her house to check on her and baby, then called her every day for a week.

Birth centers are not places for complicated pregnancies, requiring costly services. They are intended for women with lowrisk pregnancies who want to give birth under the care of midwives and without pain relievers such as epidurals. They exclude women with medical conditions such diabetes, high blood pressure before pregnancy, those having multiple babies or who are over 35. And they don’t do ce-

sarean sections.

‘Peaceful environment’ Yet even sometimes for lowrisk pregnancies, women want to hedge their bets. Dana Schrenk said when she chose the Baby & Co. birth center in Cary, N.C., it gave her peace of mind that the facility was only a few hundred feet from the WakeMed Cary hospital.

Schrenk, who gave birth in September, was impressed when she first visited the birth center with its plush bedding, Bose sound systems, wood floors and big tubs. “It’s nicer than our house,” said Schrenk, 31. “I believe birth is a natural experience … and wanted a quieter, calm peaceful environment.”

Her husband agreed. “I never liked hospitals … it’s a place to go if you are sick or dying and I did not feel like that was the place to go to create life,” said Jon Ruth, 36.

More in the works WakeMed is a minority owner in the birth center, one of four owned by Baby & Co. that have opened in the past two years.

The others are in or near Denver, Nashville, and Rogers, Ark. A fifth is planned in Charlotte in November.

Nationally, about 20 birthing centers are owned by or affiliated with hospitals. Eleven have opened since 2013. About half also are located on a separate floor or wing from the hospital’s regular labor and delivery department but the rest are in separate facilities away from the hospital.

Midwifery education The education and training of midwives varies in the United States.

Only about a third of birth centers are accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC), which evaluates the facilities and sets national guidelines. State laws and regulations also vary.

North Carolina has few rules, but South Carolina sets specific licensing requirements for birth centers that include they ensure all women see a doctor at least twice during pregnancy.

The American College of Ob-

PHIL GALEWITZ/KAISER HEALTH NEWS/TNS

Nakita and Farren Noel, both 26, hold 3-day-old Cooper on Sept.

15. Cooper was born at the Women’s Birth and Wellness Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Insurers are increasingly contracting with birth centers, though it’s easier for hospitalaffiliated centers to get in those networks, said Kate Bauer, executive director of the American Association of Birth Centers, a trade group. “It’s not equal competition,” she said.

reen Darcey has run an accredited birth center since 1996. She struggled for years to get insurers to include her center in their networks, but today she has most of them. The center’s midwives performed 500 births last year.

Early on Sept. 12, Nakita Noel and her husband, Farren, both 26, drove 40 minutes from Raleigh to reach Darcey’s birth center. Less than 25 minutes later, she gave birth to Cooper, her second child. The family went home eight hours after that.

Returning the next week for a checkup, Noel revisited the bright, airy birthing room with fond memories. ‘It’s just so nice here. I felt so much warmer and it was a more welcome space to have a baby in and to recover in.”

Said Darcey: “Having a baby at a birth center is like being at a home, except it’s the midwife’s home.”

In an office building a mile from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Mau-

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service.

stetricians and Gynecologists supports using birth centers that are accredited and have certified nurse-midwives, who are licensed and professionally trained as registered nurses and midwives.

Even with those caveats, the physician group says hospitals are still the safest place for women to give birth. It recommends birth centers have transfer agreements with nearby hospitals and consulting relationships with an obstetrician.

Like being at home

Spinning class helps female inmates battle weight gain ably go a little crazy. I probably wouldn’t be able to manage my emotions, my temper, my anger.

I think anger management is a huge issue for a lot of women who are in prison; they are victims of trauma and abuse,” Gavin said.

And, of course some of the women have hurt other people.

Exercise can be a way to release all sorts of emotions.

Erica Tibbetts from Gearing Up often leads the spin class.

Tibbetts is in bike shorts. Everyone else has on prison blues: long navy pants and a white Tshirt.

“The worst seems to be women don’t have good sports bras in here,” she related.

BY TAUNYA ENGLISH WHYY/TNS

The gym at Riverside Correctional Facility in Philadelphia is through the metal detector, two heavy doors and down the hall.

There’s a basketball court like one you’d see at any high school, except there’s a corrections officer on guard near the 3-point line.

Sixteen stationary bikes are set up in a half circle in the corner.

On bike number two, Lakiesha Montgomery, 32, from Philadelphia, is pedaling fast and singing along to the Nicki Minaj’s song “Fly.” “I didn’t think I’d be able to keep up, I’m not the skinniest thing in the bunch,” she said. But she is keeping up.

In 2011, biking advocates from the nonprofit group Gearing Up persuaded prison administrators to let them bring in bikes to teach indoor cycling. Founder Kristin Gavin says before that she had mentored ex-offenders in the community.

“Over and over I had conversations with women who were saying, ‘While I was incarcerated, I put on 60 pounds, I put on 70 pounds,’” she says. Then she would ask them how long they were in prison and she says they’d typically respond, “six months.”

Sense of freedom

PHOTOS BY BASTIAAN SLABBERS FOR NPR/TNS

Women incarcerated at the Riverside Correctional Facility in Philadelphia take part in a spinning class run by Gearing Up. Amanda Cortes, second from left, lost 90 pounds in a year.

A study of prison health in Kentucky found greater weight gain for women compared to men.

Women on average gained nearly 11 pounds, men only gained 2.5 pounds.

‘Not a real outside’

University study

At Riverside, Montgomery spends time in the prison yard most days but doesn’t get much exercise there.

“The outside is not a real outside, it’s like a mini garage. They have a basketball court there, but I don’t play basketball. It’s a lot of people that come out so you don’t have room to really jog or walk. It’s like you sit out to just get some air,” she noted.

She has arm tattoos and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. Her hair is braided back into cornrows. She also has high cholesterol.

Montgomery was charged with

Gearing Up is working with researchers at Temple University to track the weight and body image of the women who spin at Riverside Correctional. The study was just eight weeks long and small, but they’ve already found small improvements in resting and recovery heart rate — two preliminary measures of heart health.

Gavin says often the women come to class initially to stop gaining weight then later find other reasons to keep coming back.

“I can speak to myself, if I weren’t given the opportunity to be physically active, I’d prob-

Leahya Ellis and other spinning class participants use exercise as a way to shake away stress, anger and depression. assault this year, among other charges, and has been in county jail for about six months.

“First time, last time,” she says.

In the meantime, spin class is something to do.

“Keep away frustration be-

ing locked up, it helps you get through,” Montgomery remarked.

The Department of Justice surveyed the health of state and federal inmates in 2012 and found that women are more likely than men to be obese.

No one has a water bottle and exercise shorts aren’t allowed.

Tibbetts says the women come to class anyway and work with what they have.

Climb on a bike and there’s a sense of freedom, even if you’re not going anywhere.

At the beginning of class, one by one, the women call out their intention for the ride. The ritual is called “clearing.”

Christina wants to leave behind shakedowns. Jean wants to forget “cough and squat.”

Sheik is leaving behind “wrongful mistakes.”

Others want to shake off the past, stress and depression.

At the end of the Gearing Up class, just before the goodbyes and sweaty hugs, there’s one last ritual.

The women share what they’ve brought back from the ride.

One women says she’s “bringing sexy back.” She and everyone around the circle have a wish: “I’m Jean, and I’m bringing back my bikini. I’m Ruth, and I’m bringing back faith and confidence.”

This story is part of a reporting partnership with NPR, WHYY and Kaiser Health News.

STOJ

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

These masqueraders participated in the Seventh Annual Miami Broward One Carnival’s Parade of the Bands at the Dade County Fairgrounds on Oct. 11.

The Florida Courier staff selected them as this week’s Florida’s Finest – for obvious reasons.

PHOTOS BY CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Legendary performers Jones,Tyson starring in Broadway’s ‘Gin Game’

BY REBECCA KEEGAN LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

NEW YORK — At the top of several steep flights of stairs behind the stage at Broadway’s Golden Theatre, an unmistakable baritone voice boomed out of a dressing room door.

“Are you feeling those stairs?”

James Earl Jones asked. It was clear that the 84-year-old actor, who was snacking on grapes, was not, in fact, feeling the stairs.

Nor was his costar in the dressing room one flight below, 90-yearold Cicely Tyson, who had arrived in leather pants, silver Ugg boots and a baseball cap, bounding into an interview with a bunny-like energy.

Jones and Tyson are in a revival of “The Gin Game,” a two-person play originated on Broadway in 1977 by Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. The new production, which runs through Jan. 10, reunites the two trailblazing African-American actors who first shared a stage in a 1960s production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks.”

This time they star in a rare piece of theater that places the fears and hopes of older people at center stage.

In the play, written by D.L. Coburn and directed by Leonard Foglia, the characters flirt, scuffle and try to stave off the loneliness of life in a low-rent retirement home by playing gin. Jones is Weller Martin, an ornery egotist who declares that he is suffering from “one of the worst cases of old age in the history of science,” and Tyson is Fonsia Dorsey, a teary newcomer whose people never come on visiting day.

A hilarious physical mismatch — Jones is 6-foot-2 and broadshouldered, Tyson 5-foot-3 and thin — they are nevertheless equal players in both stage presence and historical significance.

Extraordinary careers The two stars have led parallel careers with groundbreaking roles. After “The Blacks,” Jones made his mark in the fictionalized portrayal of boxing champion Jack Johnson, “The Great White Hope,” which opened

JOAN MARCUS/TNS

Cicely Tyson is Fonsia Dorsey and James Earl Jones plays Weller Martin in “The Gin Game.” on Broadway in 1968 and was adapted to film in 1970, while Tyson earned an Academy Award nomination as the wife of a Depression-era sharecropper in the 1972 movie “Sounder” and played a woman living through slavery and segregation in the 1974 TV movie “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”

“She and I emerged in the same period and flowered in a way and went into an orbit,” Jones said. “The Blacks,” he added, “was about revolution. And that was our beginning. … It was a phenomenon and coincided with Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement. Our production shared energy off that whole

consciousness that was being awakened in America.”

Lovable odd couple Asked, in separate interviews, to recall their first impressions of each other in “The Blacks,” in which they played a couple, Jones described Tyson’s beauty (“She was what the boys now would call ‘hot,’” he said), and Tyson said that Jones had made her laugh uncontrollably.

“He’s so big and boisterous, with all the thunder of a lion,” Tyson said. “Because I was consistently facing the audience, I acquired a way to laugh and not move a muscle in my face.”

Their wildly different temperaments come across in brief interviews: Jones, reserved, reads some lines of poetry that informed his character, while Tyson walks into the room and hands over a piece of chocolate, saying, “It’s good for you.”

“These are two people who love to work,” director Foglia said. “That’s all they want to be doing. James Earl walked in on the first day of rehearsal knowing every word. That’s always his process. He doesn’t like to walk around with a script in his hand.

Cicely is the opposite. She’s more improvisational. She works in any way she can to find her way into the moment.”

Jones, who is self-critical, enlisted the help of expert card handlers for his card shuffling scenes; Tyson, who has been playing grandmother roles for 40 years, said she opted not to force anything in rehearsal discussions about her character’s walk.

“I’ve played so many old women, where am I gonna get another walk from?” Tyson said. “After I got Fonsia’s shoes, I found myself walking in a funny way, kind of rocking side to side, and I thought, ‘Oh, that must be her.

She just took over my body.’”

Years without work Tyson plays Viola Davis’ mother in the ABC show “How to Get Away With Murder.” Asked about the speech Davis delivered at the Emmy Awards in which she cited the lack of opportunities for Black actresses, Tyson reflected on the long dry spells she endured between acting jobs over the decades.

“I couldn’t be Black and not have it impact my career,” Tyson said. “I went for years not work-

ing. I guess every two years maybe I’d get a role. Intermittently I’d find something to do. I just would not allow myself not to work.”

When she couldn’t find acting work in the 1970s, Tyson said she turned to public speaking, traveling to Europe and Africa to deliver motivational speeches.

Lured by language Jones, who is nearly as famous for voicing Darth Vader in “Star Wars” films and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” has starred in many plays that were not originally written for Black actors, works from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams.

“I was born on a farm in Mississippi,” Jones said. “I knew what the social faults of this country have always been. A lot of them are still there. I’ve not paid much attention to it. I’d rather pursue the work than pursue an activist approach to the work. … I hear people reporting about problems with Hollywood, for instance, with papers that say don’t even bother trying to tell stories about Black people or women, because they won’t find an audience. That was an old-time dictum, really, they’re proving wrong.”

Both Jones and Tyson said they came to acting not for fame or wealth but for expression. Jones, once a stutterer, was lured by language, and Tyson, who was introverted, by a vehicle to communicate.

“I was extremely shy as a child,” said Tyson, who was born in Harlem, the child of immigrants from Nevis, in the West Indies. “When I found I could speak through somebody else, that I could express my emotions, that’s what hooked me. Once I was allowed the expression, the release of my emotions, then I felt like I was a person.”

Energized on Broadway With six performances a week in a play in which they are the only two characters — a task that might be daunting to actors decades younger — Tyson and Jones said they are energized by their work.

“When I leave every night, I feel good the way an athlete feels good after a good workout,” Jones said. “Maybe it’s the other kinds of energy I’m allowed to release in the play. It’s not about the performance. But the energy.”

FOOD

B6

OCTOBER 23 – OCTOBER 29, 2015

STOJ

How about them apples?

PHOTOS BY DAVID CARSON/ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/TNS

This recipe is adapted from one by Wayne Harley Brachman via the Food Network.

Recipes for fall’s bountiful fruit

BY DANIEL NEMAN ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/TNS

Winter is coming, as you know if you look at a calendar or have seen any episode of “Game of Thrones.”

To make up for all the cold, the sleet, the shoveling and the misery, Nature gives us a little gift. Every fall we are blessed with apples.

Apples’ success as a doctor-repellent is legendary. You can’t make all-American pies without them. And they can be a vital component in anybody’s eye.

Best of all, they are crispy, sweet and delicious. Except the tart ones. Those are crispy, tart and delicious.

Even Delicious apples are delicious.

For apple lovers, this is the best time of the year. The markets are full of what seems to be an unending variety of apples, from Pink Lady to Braeburn, from Idared to Empire, from Criterion to SweeTango to Grimes Golden.

You can just bite into them all, if you want. But apples are too good to be solely eaten out of hand. They should be cooked, too, or at least used uncooked as part of a treat that is even better than plain apples.

I am speaking here about caramel apples, one of the most glorious delights of the season.

A trick for fall treat You can make caramel apples by taking those cellophanewrapped caramels, melting them and dunking apples into them, but that’s not really satisfying — and it’s not nearly as good as making them yourself.

The caramel is the key, and making it is not hard, but you do need a candy thermometer.

An accurate candy thermometer. A few degrees off and you get caramel that either slides off the apple or a crispy — not chewy — caramelized shell.

The secret is to calibrate your candy thermometer. Just boil water and see what it registers on your thermometer. If it reads 212 degrees, you’re fine.

If it reads 206 degrees, you’ll

know to add 6 degrees from every temperature it says.

Do this simple trick, and you will be rewarded with chewy, delicious caramel apples that are a perfect autumnal treat.

For an apple-related entree, I made one of my favorite recipes. It combines chicken, apples, onions and Dijon mustard, and I agree with you: It sounds awful. It sounded awful to me 25 years ago when I first discovered it in a Glamour magazine cookbook, and it still sounded awful to me every single time I have made it since then, and there have been many.

These are four ingredients that should not play well together. And yet, I keep coming back to it because the recipe is so good. I have no idea why the ingredients blend together with such harmony, but they do.

Best of all, it is simple and fast to make.

Glorious apple butter Apple butter takes considerably longer to create, but patience while cooking is often a virtue.

Apple butter is one of those pleasures I came to appreciate only as an adult. When I was a child, I didn’t understand why anyone would bother with apple butter when they could have jam. But with age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes apple butter.

Homemade apple butter is glorious, but it takes a keen sense of proportion to keep all the flavors in balance. You begin with tart apples, Granny Smiths, which must be peeled, cored and sliced. These are initially simmered in a lightly sweet mixture of apple cider and water until they are soft enough to be passed through a sieve.

Plenty of brown sugar is added, along with lemon juice and zest. But the tricky part comes from the proportion of spices — cinnamon, cloves and allspice.

Too much spice makes the butter bitter, but a light hand with them will turn these common ingredients into something spectacular.

Don’t forget the English muffin. For some reason, apple butter always tastes best on an English muffin.

CARAMEL APPLES Yield: 8 servings 8 apples, preferably Granny Smith 8 craft sticks or chopsticks 1 cup chopped pecans, peanuts or nuts of your choice 1 cup heavy cream, divided 3/4 cup light corn syrup 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract This requires an accurate candy thermometer. To check yours for accuracy, boil a small pot of water and use your candy thermometer to find its temperature. If it reads above or below 212 degrees, you will have to adjust your reading accordingly. For instance, if your thermometer reads the temperature of boiling water as 217 degrees, you will have to remember that your thermometer reads 5 degrees higher than the actual temperature.

Wash and completely dry the apples. Insert a stick into the stem end of each. Pour nuts into a bowl and set aside.

Fit a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a candy thermometer. Over high heat, cook 3/4 cup of the cream, the corn syrup, butter and sugar to 246 degrees (this is the firm ball stage). At this point, the syrup will be golden. Remove from the heat and carefully swirl in the remaining 1/4 cup of the cream and the vanilla.

Use caution; this is very hot and it may splatter.

After the bubbles have subsided but the caramel is still hot, dip and turn the apples into the caramel to coat and let the excess drip off. Dip the bottoms into the chopped nuts. Arrange the apples on a nonstick or waxed paper-lined cookie sheet and let cool. Note: If the caramel becomes too thick to dip the apples, reheat it over low heat, stirring, until it can again be poured.

Per serving: 621 calories; 32 g fat; 15 g saturated fat; 72 mg cholesterol; 3 g protein; 87 g carbohydrate; 77 g sugar; 6 g fiber; 34 mg sodium; 57 mg calcium.

This is adapted from a recipe by Wayne Harley Brachman via the Food Network.

This dish is from “Glamour’s Gourmet on the Run’’ by Jane Kirby.

CHICKEN IN APPLE-MUSTARD SAUCE Yield: 4 servings 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup apple juice 1 medium onion, sliced 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard APPLE BUTTER Yield: About 5 1/2 cups 4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and quartered 1 cup water 1 cup apple cider Brown sugar as needed, around 2 1/2 cups 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon allspice Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons Cook the apples in the water and cider over medium-high heat until soft. Pass through a food mill or force through a sieve. Measure the purée and add 1/2 cup brown sugar for each cup of purée. Add the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, rind and lemon juice and cook over very low heat until thick and dark brown, stirring occasionally. To test if it is thick enough, put some in a mound on a spoon and move the spoon away from the heat. If it is still in a mound after 2 minutes, the apple butter is done. This may take three to four hours or more.

1 apple, cored and sliced Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of waxed paper.

With dull side of a heavy knife or the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound chicken breasts to flatten to about 1/2-inch thick.

Over medium-high heat, heat butter in a large skillet. Sauté chicken about 3 minutes on each side until golden. Add apple juice, onion, garlic

and thyme. Cover and cook 10 to 12 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken; keep warm.

Heat liquid to boiling. Add mustard to skillet. Stir until well blended. Add apple slices. Pour sauce over chicken.

Per serving: 261 calories; 9 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 88 mg cholesterol; 27 g protein; 17 g carbohydrate; 12 g sugar; 2 g fiber; 191 mg sodium; 27 mg calcium.

The recipe is from “Glamour’s Gourmet on the Run’’ by Jane Kirby.

A fall favorite: Homemade apple butter spread on an English muffin.

If apple butter is not to be used within 1 week or so, boil canning jars with 2-part lids, completely covered with water, for at least 5 minutes.

Remove from the water without touching them on the rims or inside, and allow to dry.

Fill these jars up to 1/4 inch below the top with the apple butter and seal with the two-part lids. Return jars to boiling water that covers them by at least 1 inch, and boil for 5 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool. If the lid is not sucked down a bit by a vacuum, refrigerate and use the apple butter inside within a week or so.

Per (1 tablespoon) serving: 33 calories; no fat; no saturated fat; no cholesterol; no protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 8 g sugar; no fiber; 2 mg sodium; 7 mg calcium.

The recipe is adapted from the Washington State Apple Commission.