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Week of January 25, 2017 Vol 48 • No 04 • www.thechicagocitizen.com

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GROUP HELPS OTHERS TO STOP TRUMP By Monique Smith

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“We want to inspire people to organize with friends and neighbors,” said Dohl. The guide asks people to do more than sign petitions and make calls, “If progressives are going to stop this, we must stand indivisibly opposed to the Trump and the members of Congress who would do his bidding. Together, we have the power to resist – and we have the power to win.”

OBAMA, SPENDING POWER DRIVES CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AMONG BLACKS + PX

President Donald Trump

The 2016 election has more than 65 million Americans scratching their heads and many are left with feelings of fear, anxiety and anger. Hate crimes against Muslim Americans and African Americans are on the rise. The swearing in of the 45th President of the United States has taken place and yet half of the country has not been able to accept the idea of Donald Trump as the leader of the free world. President Donald Trump has spurred a movement of individuals who vehemently oppose his presidency. A volunteer group of former congressional staffers recently authored and published a mandate for frustrated Americans called the ‘Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting The Trump Agenda’. This guide is a literal ‘how to’ resist Trump and those who would support and push his agenda through congress. In the introduction of the guide it states, “Donald Trump is the biggest popular vote loser in history to ever call himself PresidentElect. In spite of the fact that he has no > SEE MORE PAGE 2

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YOUNG BLACKS BENEFIT FROM HPV VACCINE, EXPERTS SAY By Stacy M. Brown (The Washington Informer/NNPA Member) Higher rates of cancers associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) occur in African Americans compared to Whites, according to a nationally renowned physician Dr. Alison Moriarty

Daley. While some Black parents have concerns about vaccines for HPV including that their children are too young to even consider sex, health experts say that the vaccine – particularly Gardasil 9 – does more than help prevent the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).

“It’s a safe and effective form of cancer prevention,” said Daley of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, an organization with is headquarters in New York. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, Daley and other health experts said. > SEE MORE PAGE 2

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GROUP HELPS OTHERS TO STOP TRUMP Continued from page 1

mandate, he will attempt to use his congressional majority to reshape America in his own racist, authoritarian, and corrupt image.” Sarah Dohl, one of the authors of the Indivisible Guide said, “Our core mission is to adopt key tactics of the tea party to effectively resist the Trump agenda”. The Tea Party is an ultra-conservative sect of the Republican Party and a movement that was birthed with the purpose of obstructing the Obama presidency. The Tea Party organized quickly and efficiently, successfully winning many seats in congress. The guide laid out the Tea Party’s two strategic choices; they were locally focused and they were purely defensive. “We want to inspire people to organize with friends and neighbors,” said Dohl. The guide asks people to do more than sign petitions and make calls, “If progressives are going to stop this, we must stand indivisibly opposed to the Trump and the members of Congress who would do his bidding. Together, we have the power to resist – and we have the power to win.” Dohl says that she and the other co-authors of the guide are just an ‘exhausted group of volunteers’ who believe in protecting decent American values. The guide lists strategies and tactics on how to protest and organize. The one difference between the strategies that are a goal of the ‘Indivisible Guide’ and the Tea Party is the legislative power the Tea Party acquired by putting forth candidates to run for various seats in congress. “ We believe that the next four years depend on Americans across the country standing indivisible against the Trump agenda. We believe that buying into false promises or accepting partial concessions will only further empower Trump to victimize us and our neighbors.” The manifesto also includes a special note section for immigrants who need to know their rights and protections under the law. A copy of the guide can be found and downloaded via the website, www.IndivisibleGuide.com.

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YOUNG BLACKS BENEFIT FROM HPV VACCINE, EXPERTS SAY Continued from page 1

Of the estimated 79 million Americans, currently infected with HPV, half of those newly infected with HPV are between 15-24 years of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine is recommended for girls and boys between 11 and 26 years old. “Acquisition of the HPV virus happens pretty quickly after the initiation of sexual activity. So, that’s why it’s important to vaccinate early to prevent the virus before anyone’s exposed to it,” she said. The link between HPV and cervical cancer is irrefutable, Daley noted. “We know that HPV is the cause of cervical cancer,” she said. “And even just last year, there were 12,900 new cases of cervical cancer and 4,100 deaths attributed to cervical cancer.” Reportedly, HPV is also linked to certain cancers of the mouth, throat and genitals in both men and women. The original recommendation of three doses of the HPV vaccine was amended in October to just two

doses for children younger than age 15. Older teens and young adults still require three doses. The rate of those contracting HPV-associated cancers varies by race and ethnicity, African Americans are hit hardest — men and women — according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Black and Latino women had higher rates of HPVassociated cervical cancer than White and non-Latino women. Black women had higher rates of HPV-associated vaginal cancer than White women while African-American and Latino women had lower rates of HPV-associated vulvar cancer than White and non-Hispanic women, according to the CDC. Rates of anal and rectal HPV-associated cancers were also higher in Black men when compared with White men, but lower in b\Black women when compared with White women. In all races and ethnicities, men had higher rates of HPVassociated oropharyngeal cancer than women while Black and Latino men and women had lower rates of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers than white and non-Latino men and women.

Illinois Tax Filing Season Begins for 2017 SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Revenue (“IDOR”) has begun accepting 2016 state individual income tax returns. IDOR began accepting tax returns on Monday, January 23rd, the same date that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) began accepting them. IDOR is reminding taxpayers that filing tax returns electronically and requesting direct deposit into a checking or savings account is still the fastest, most secure way to receive a refund. IDOR begins this tax season with a continued focus on protecting taxpayers and state government against fraud. “The State of Illinois’ continued resolve to detect and prevent tax return fraud

has resulted in an overall savings of more than$20 million in calendar year 2016 – a $14.5 million or 250% increase from 2015,” said Connie Beard, IDOR Director. “That’s money that would have otherwise fallen into the hands of criminals that continue in their attempts to perpetrate fraud at the state and national level. Protecting our taxpayers and ensuring refunds go to the right individual is our top priority.” As fraud prevention measures continue, IDOR anticipates direct deposit refunds will be issued four weeks from the time of filing for electronic returns submitted error-free. MyTax Illinois, IDOR’s free online account management program has begun

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accepting Individual Income Tax returns. Taxpayers can file their Form IL-1040 for free using MyTax Illinois. Individuals may also utilize MyTax Illinois to make payments, check the status of their Illinois Individual Income Tax refund using Where’s My Refund?, and look up their IL-PIN, estimated tax payments, and 1099-G amounts. For tax year 2016, over six million individual income tax returns were filed with IDOR. Of those, 84% were filed electronically. For the most up-to-date information, forms, schedules, and instructions for the 2016 tax year, visit IDOR’s website at: tax. illinois.gov.

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COLLINS, CHAPA LAVIA ANNOUNCE NEW ATTENDANCE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN CHICAGO – State Sen. Jacqueline Collins and State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia joined members of the new Attendance Awareness Campaign to announce the group’s attendance awareness mission. Collins, one of the co-sponsors of the bill creating the state’s Attendance Commission, spoke about Illinois’ four year study into the causes and effects of chronic absenteeism among students in Chicago and throughout the state. “Journalists and observers have found compelling links between chronic absenteeism and run-ins with the law,” said Collins, D-Chicago. “We need to acknowledge the importance of this issue and recognize that there are many causes of it that go far beyond kids just not wanting to go to class. By fighting to give our students opportunities, we are fighting to end violence.” “The Attendance Awareness Campaign was created by the Illinois Attendance Commission in an effort to support a statewide paradigm shift to focusing on student attendance and messaging that every student counts and every day is precious and indeed matters “ said Antoinette Taylor, a consultant with Exceptional Needs and the Attendance Commission Chairperson. Taylor also screened the Attendance Awareness PSA Every Student Counts: Every Day Matters About the importance and impact of attendance, is now available for the public to share and help spread word of the campaign.

COMMENTARY

TO BE EQUAL: ASSESSING PRESIDENT OBAMA’S IMPACT AND LEGACY By Marc H. Morial (President/CEO, National Urban League)

“That faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change, that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined.” – President Barack Obama, Farewell Address, January 10, 2017 Throughout our history, the National Urban League has taken seriously our responsibility to hold the President of the United States accountable to the needs of urban America and communities of color. During the Great Depression, Executive Secretary Eugene Kinckle Jones served on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet.” Lester Granger, who headed the League during World War II, is among those credited with persuading President Harry Truman to desegregate the Armed Forces. Whitney M. Young advised presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and was instrumental in the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act. Urban League Presidents Vernon Jordan, John Jacob and Hugh Price continued our engagement with the Presidents with whom they served to further the work of civil rights and secure support for Urban League programs. The first African American Presidency quite naturally has held special significance for the National Urban League. In recognition of Barack Obama’s unique place in American history, we set out to create a comprehensive analysis of his two terms, which we released earlier this week to great national interest. Any evaluation of the Obama administration must first recognize that he inherited the worst

President, Barack Obama

economy since the Great Depression, and was faced with Congressional opposition unprecedented in its intensity and sinister nature. Both his accomplishments and his failures must be evaluated against those conditions. In creating our scorecard, the National Urban League harkened back to the famous question Ronald Reagan asked the nation during his sole debate against President Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” In this instance, the question is, “Is the nation better off than it was eight years ago?” And, “Is Black America better off than it was eight years ago?” The answer to both questions is, unequivocally, “Yes.” President Obama is leaving office with an approval rating even higher than Reagan’s, exceeded only by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton. During Obama’s presidency, the economy has added 15 million new jobs, and the jobless rate has dropped from 7.6 percent to 4.7 percent — and from 12.7 percent to

7.8 percent for African Americans. The high school graduation rate for African Americans has increased from 66.1 percent to 75 percent. There are 614,000 fewer long-term unemployed. Wages are up 3.4 percent. More than 16 million Americans who were uninsured now have health care coverage, with the uninsured rate for African Americans cut by more than half. Barack Obama’s passion and steady hand made a huge difference in charting a progressive course and positively impacted the lives of ordinary Americans. Black Americans felt both the pride of his accomplishments and the pain when it was clear his opponents sought to diminish a great American. I am confident the long arc of history will judge him favorably. While we scored many of the administration’s achievements with our highest rating, “Superior,” President Obama’s tenure as a whole had shortcomings, due to some notable missed opportunities and outright failures, such as the economic development of urban centers, gun violence and the foreclosure rate and bank closure rate in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. On these and other issues, we rated the Obama administration “Fair” or “Poor.” Our evaluation springs from a consideration of his accomplishments balanced against the conditions under which he served. The National Urban League has given the Obama Administration an overall rating of “Excellent,” our second-highest rating. Marc Morial is the President and CEO of the National Urban League. Follow Marc on Twitter at @marcmorial.

COMMENTARY IT’S NOT PARANOIA One summer night in 1963, I walked through New York City’s Morningside Park, on my way to hear the noted author, James Baldwin, speak at Columbia University. I had come up from Virginia to attend summer school at New York University in Greenwich Village. Not being a native New Yorker, I was taken aback when I realized that Columbia, a “white university,” sat comfortably in the middle of Harlem. The transformation that took place in the short distance from the subway station at 116th Street and Eighth Avenue, to the eastern gateway to Columbia’s central campus caused me to experience what can only be described as a sense of political imbalance. This island of affluence amid a gulf of oppression and deprivation spoke to the importance of political will. I felt that surely some of the money used to beautify Columbia’s campus could be used to improve the lives of Black people living just a few blocks away - if there was the political will to do so. I cannot recall the building where Baldwin spoke, or exactly what he said. But I do recall that a large portion of the audience was white and well educated, and the main thrust of the author’s speech was to point out and condemn the race based inequities in America’s social structure. After he spoke, Baldwin took questions from the audience. One white man, on the younger side of forty, asked the speaker if he wasn’t being just a bit paranoid. The questioner presented himself as “liberal” and sympathetic to the “condition of the Negro,” but the tone of his question marked him as a skeptic. I do not remember Baldwin’s exact words, but I do remember his response. – You are not paranoid if they are after you.

It is no accident that people of color are oppressed, deprived of opportunity and even preyed upon by a system that easily feeds upon us because of our political and economic weaknesses. From the institution of chattel slavery in the Seventeenth Century, to the looting of Black pockets through a system of judicial fines supporting towns like Ferguson, Missouri in the Twenty-First Century, people of color have been preyed upon in America. People of color are not paranoid in America, because the dominant culture is out to get us. And history has shown us that most decision makers at all levels of government in the U.S. lack the political will by to fix this. Now, with a radical shift to the right, America has become even more hostile towards people of color. The French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” – famous for the 2014 slaughter of its staff members in Paris – recently ran a cover with a cartoon image of Barack Obama running for his life, while being shot at by white police officers. The caption, roughly translated into English reads, “Obama, just another citizen now.” But the implication is that as a Black man he now faces the threat that the average Black man faces daily. The Charlie Hebdo cover is telling on several levels. It lets us know that people in other countries recognize the slaughter of unarmed Blacks in America for the racially motivated murder that it is. It also affirms the fact that the rest of the world realizes that personal accomplishments will not protect Black people from the reality that the color of our skin places a target on our backs. Some local police departments are little more than

Oscar H. Blayton “hunt clubs” geared towards “bagging” Black folk. Until recently, those “hunters” have had to be mindful of the United States Department of Justice. But with the impending change in the leadership of that agency, there is likely to be no recourse to the federal government for protection against this slaughter. The notorious racist, Jeffery Sessions, will soon be the Attorney General of our country heading up that agency, and under his racist leadership, we can only expect the worst. It is not paranoia to believe that people of color need to organize to fend off the upcoming assaults on our rights and on our persons. It is not paranoia to create workshops and programs that will teach people of color how to protect their wallets from commercial and judicial predators. It is not paranoia to do all that we can to protect and defend ourselves from a nation that has proven time and time again, throughout its history, that it has no love for people of color. It is not paranoia, because they are after us. Oscar H. Blayton is a former Marine Corps combat pilot and human rights activists who practices law in Virginia.

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State Announces Free Tax Preparation for Low Income Families

OBAMA, SPENDING POWER DRIVES CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AMONG BLACKS By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Despite a plethora of economic and social challenges, African-Americans remain among the most optimistic consumer groups in the nation’s economy. A recent report by the market research firm, Packaged Facts, revealed that nearly half (47 percent) of African-Americans believe they will be better off financially 12 months from now. The report, titled, “African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition,” found that just 37 percent of ‘other Americans’ are as optimistic. Also, revealed in the report, affluent Black Americans hold especially strong convictions about how their financial future will unfold, although the abiding optimism of African-Americans transcends income levels. “For African-Americans, optimism is not tied to their affluence or wealth, but to their faith,” said Princess Jenkins, an entrepreneur and founder of the nonprofit “Women in the Black,” an organization that assists female entrepreneurs. Jenkins also owns the Brownstone Lifestyle Boutique in New York. “We have survived yet another inescapable era and come out on the other side of it better, brighter, informed and with affordable health coverage for our families.” Jenkins continued: “I have benefited from the consumer optimism shared by those in the Packaged Facts report because, in the aftermath of the presidential election, Blacks feel that the economic growth engines put in place under the eight years of President Barack Obama have started to pay off.” Jenkins said that Black people have rode the economic downturn, the fall of Wall Street, the threatened closure of the auto industry and the mortgage crisis and have finally emerged on the other side and the cloud has lifted. The 2016 Nielsen Consumer Report showed that the spending power of African-Americans has exceeded $1 trillion. The spending power is just one reason for the optimism, Packaged Facts

noted. The reasons for the steadfast confidence of African-American consumers are many and complex, the report’s authors said. To begin, despite the growing chasm between the very rich and the rest of American society, there are strong empirical reasons for African-Americans to believe that upward mobility remains achievable for them. Key social and economic indicators point to a significant increase in the number of middle- and higher-income African-Americans over the past decade. During this period, the number of African-American households with an income of $100,000 or more jumped 83 percent, while the number of African-Americans employed in management and professional occupations grew from 3.8 million to 4.8 million, an increase of 26 percent. There are now nearly two million Blacks who earn at least $75,000 annually. The confidence of Black consumers may also stem from the “Obama effect,” a phenomenon that among other things sparked renewed optimism among African-Americans based on their pride in the election of the country’s first Black president. A Packaged Facts analysis of trends in the consumer confidence index of Simmons National Consumer Study data has found a factual basis for this hypothesis. In 2007, Blacks were less likely than other Americans to be ranked as “highly confident” consumers (20 percent vs. 25 percent). By 2009, the year after the election of President Obama, the positions of each segment had reversed, as 26 percent of Blacks and just 17 percent of other Americans were classified as “highly confident” consumers. By 2013, following the re-election of President Obama, 42 percent of Black consumers were rated as “highly confident” compared to just 28 percent of other American consumers. More recent trends suggest that the Obama effect may in fact have been in play in recent years, at least when it came to boosting the optimism of Black consumers. The proportion of African-American consumers categorized as “highly

confident” fell from 42 percent in 2014 to 38 percent in 2015 and 31 percent in 2016. Nevertheless, as the ObamaAfrican-Americans remain more likely than other consumers to have a high degree of consumer confidence (31 percent vs. 27 percent). “I work with African-American entrepreneurs each day who believe that they can create opportunity and generate profit. Words like hustle, ingenuity, faith, and luck almost always trump fear and pessimism,” said Lyneir Richardson, the director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, a research and practitioner-oriented center at Rutgers Business School in Newark, New Jersey. Still, it’s vital that African-Americans continue to keep their money flowing within the community, said Samson Adepoju, the founder and CEO of Salon Your Way in New York. “African-Americans should invest part of their money back into local Black businesses and, if there isn’t one in a particular area, start one up,” Adepoju said “Financial education is crucial and a lot of our money can be invested in stocks and bonds. Rather than spending $350 on a pair of Air Jordan’s, why not buy Nike stock, which is about $50 per share? That way, you can actually own a piece of Nike,” he said. Despite the optimism, some have expressed caution, because there’s still a large swath of the Black community that’s unemployed or underemployed. “It’s a little troubling to see such strong optimism from the African-American community while our unemployment rate has grown to 14.1 percent,” said Steve Burton, who started his first E-Commerce business at 18, which allowed him to invest in music. Burton, who started a business to license music for television shows and movies for FX, Disney, Lifetime and BET, owns PerfectTux.com. “I believe that we are in a time where African-Americans are starting to realize the impact of their own buying power and the importance of spending wisely, building wealth, and starting businesses,” said Burton. “These factors would lead to optimism that transcends income levels, because when you know better, you do better.”

MONEY MATTERS BLACK FAMILIES CAN BRIDGE THE WEALTH GAP BY OWNING A HOME By Edward Gaston (Florida Star/NNPA Member) From predatory lending and foreclosures to wealth stripping and income inequality, the national wealth gap is relevant and ongoing. The wealth gap continues to expand based on one of the greatest heists of all time: the shifting of generational wealth from one cultural group to another. The wealth gap has been validated and maintained over generations. Minorities have been denied access to capital to build businesses and grow farms. They have been forced to pay higher interest rates for mortgages and disproportionately — and intentionally — impacted during the nation’s foreclosure crisis. Women continue to be paid less to do the same work as men

in Corporate America, and underserved communities pay high interest rates for emergency loans. Sadly, no solutions have proven to be sustainable across these communities in order to lessen the gap. With the foreclosure crisis, Americans watched minority and low to moderate income homeowners lose equity and generational wealth with no plan for recovery. It is highly unlikely for the wealth that has been denied or stripped from underserved communities to suddenly reappear. However, there are some solutions to bridge the gap, one of which is home ownership. Although the financial crisis negatively impacted homeownership for many communities, it remains a proven weapon for increasing wealth, particularly

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through home equity and tax benefits. Homeownership is very different from purchasing clothes or buying a car, which loses value. Having your own four walls is still part of the American Dream. Homeownership done right, can put Black families on the path to growing equity, which is a necessary step toward securing generational wealth. Put simply, buying the right home, the right way is a big step toward filling the wealth gap to combat generational poverty. Second to saving money, purchasing a home is considered as a common sense investment strategy for building wealth. To assist with homeownership, it is imperative to connect with a HUD certified counseling agency, which is available in most communities to walk you through the process to prepare for and purchase a home. These organizations have industry experts on staff, who are empowered to create individual resolutions and solutions and train buyers on building wealth through homeownership. To find an agency, visit HUD’s website at https://www.hud.gov/ offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm. The housing market is rebounding and although underserved and low to moderate income homebuyers still face hurdles that others do not, it is necessary to work toward homeownership and bridge the wealth gap. The Florida Star is a member publication of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Learn more about becoming a member at www.nnpa.org.

GM recently hosted the Discover Your Drive Diversity Journalism Program at NAIAS.

GM HOSTS DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE DIVERSITY JOURNALISM PROGRAM AT NAIAS DETROIT — General Motors (GM) launched its second annual Discover Your Drive diversity journalism program recently, hosting 13 college students and nine professional journalists as mentors from across the country at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Students from diverse backgrounds participated in the program that promoted diversity in automotive journalism and news coverage. Discover Your Drive concluded with an awards presentation recognizing students for their work at NAIAS as well as their social media presence during a scavenger hunt throughout Detroit. Students used the new, award-winning all-electric Bolt EV, named 2017’s NAIAS Car of Year and OnStar technology to find their way around the city. Find posts on Twitter @GM_Diversity #DiscoverYourDrive.

www.thechicagocitizen.com • 51 years of serving the Black community

There are two stories here for the 650 filler. Use the photo for the first story.

Duckworth Addresses Women’s March on Washington WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) shown in the center addressed the 2017 Women’s March on Washington recently, calling on those in attendance to get involved in their communities. Following her remarks, Duckworth released the following statement: “Right now, there are real threats to women’s rights and civil rights in our country. However, the core values of our great nation – values for which I and countless other servicemembers risked our lives

and limbs to protect – are stronger than the agenda of any one person. The best way we can fight for our rights is for more people to get involved in the political process. To everyone who attended a march today, stay involved in your community. Stand up and make your voice heard. Together, we can ensure that every woman – no matter her race or religion – has the right to fair pay, the right to make decisions about her own body and the right to a safe workplace environment.”

SPRINGFIELD, IL –Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary James Dimas recently announced free income tax preparation and electronic filing is available for low income workers and families. The services are provided free of charge at locations across the state to families with incomes up to $55,000 and individuals with annual incomes up to $30,000. “Many low income families don’t have access to affordable, professional tax preparation,” said Dimas. “Filing tax returns can be complicated and we want as many Illinois workers as possible to be made aware of this free service.” Through a partnership between IDHS and tax assistance centers across the state including the Center for Economic Progress and Ladder Up, volunteers provide counseling and advise workers about withholding allowances, filing status, and other tax benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Volunteer tax preparers can assist in filing federal and state income tax returns for tax year 2016, and, in some cases, for prior years. Last year, more than 29,000 Illinoisans received free income tax preparation assistance from over 1,800 volunteer tax preparers. The Illinois Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service began accepting 2016 state and federal individual income tax returns on Monday, January 23rd. The 2017 tax filing deadline is Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Most sites will be open between January 21 and April 18, 2017. Participants are asked to bring appropriate documentation and appointments are made on a first come, first served basis. A complete listing of tax help sites and their hours of operations are available by visiting http:// www.dhs.state.il.us/OneNetLibrary/5/documents/ CN16.1416.14S.pdf.

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fashion

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Azoya Launch Satisfies Chinese Shoppers’ Cravings for U.S. Products NEW YORK - The official U.S. launch of Azoya, an integrated turnkey e-commerce solution provider, which will help U.S. retailers and manufacturers break into the Chinese market with less risk in 2017 through fully-managed cross-border e-commerce, has launched. Azoya made the announcement at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City recently. As the world’s largest e-commerce market, China is lucrative, growing and ravenous for U.S. products. In 2015, cross-border consumer e-commerce reached $40 billion in 2015 with an annual growth rate of 50 percent.1 Top-selling categories include cosmetics and skincare, baby and mom products, healthcare products, fashion apparel, and groceries.

“To simplify foreign expansion and ensure longterm growth in China, we build an e-commerce ecosystem for U.S. retail companies,” says Franklin Chu, Managing Director, Azoya International. “Our behind-the-scenes work means Azoya is invisible to Chinese customers who prefer to buy products directly from the U.S. retail company. Established in 2013, Azoya International is a leading solutions provider in cross-border e-commerce to China. To date, over 35 retailers in 12 countries have partnered with Azoya to expand into China with ease, including French fashion retailer La Redoute and Feelunique, the largest online beauty retailer in Europe.

Make Your Way to Grand Bahama Island from New Orleans Non-Stop

Franklin Chu, Managing Director, Azoya International.

Dove Releases New Video and Limited Edition Beauty Bar PR Newswire - When it comes to beauty over the past 60 years, just about everything has changed. Hairstyle and makeup trends have evolved, but the very definition of beauty continues to widen. Through it all, Dove has been providing the same great superior care and championing real beauty for generations of women. On the 60th anniversary Dove 60th Care Bar (out of pack) of the Dove Beauty Bar, Dove will celebrate women redefining #RaisetheBeautyBar with us by sharing on beauty over those past six social media how they will redefine beauty.” decades. Dove releases a new video showing a Dove invites women to shape the retrospective of iconic beauty moments and the movement to redefine beauty further by Dove brand’s heritage of featuring real women sharing how they will #RaisetheBeautyBar in its ads and caring for their skin. Women on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. have redefined beauty, built confidence, and #RaisetheBeautyBar is a way for women challenged stereotypes, and it is the brand’s to pledge how they will redefine beauty honor to have been by their side since 1957, for themselves, for the girls in their lives, caring for them every step of the way. or our society more largely. Sharing how “Women have always been our one will #RaisetheBeautyBar will be inspiration. Since we launched the Dove unique and personal for every woman. A Beauty Bar in 1957, we have been wholly #RaisetheBeautyBar pledge might mean committed to providing superior care to all embracing your curves, expressing your real women and to showing real women and real beauty and body confidence around the girls in beauty in our advertising from the start,” said your life, or caring for yourself and others. Nick Soukas, Vice President of Marketing for For a limited time in January and Dove. “Together with generations of women, Dove has helped widen the definition of beauty, February, the Dove Beauty Bar, with a superior and mild formula that has remained but there’s always more work to be done. unchanged since its launch in 1957, will be We remain committed to redefining beauty, engraved with the word ‘Care’ to symbolize challenging stereotypes, and celebrating what the superior care Dove has provided women makes women unique for the next 60 years. over the past 60 years. Since its inception, We hope women everywhere will continue to

Dove has been committed to providing women with products that deliver superior mildness and care. The Dove product range has grown across many categories and countries, but the inspiration behind that first Dove Beauty Bar still lies at the heart of everything the brand does. The Dove Beauty Bar was a revolution in personal care in 1957, unlike any cleansing product in the market. The Dove Beauty Bar, the #1 Dermatologist recommended bar in the US, is not a soap and doesn’t dry your skin like ordinary soap can. With a patented blend of mild cleansers and its signature ¼ moisturizing cream, the Dove Beauty Bar delivers soft, smooth skin to women around the world. In fact, if you place the Beauty Bars that Dove produces in a year end-to-end, they would wrap around the globe 4.5 times! The Dove Limited Edition ‘Care’ Beauty Bar is available at food, drug, mass, value, and club retailers. For more information, please visit www.Dove.com/60YearsOfCare.

Rollout of Theatro’s VoiceControlled Wearables at Neiman Marcus Last Call Stores NEW YORK and DALLAS, -- Luxury fashion retailer Neiman Marcus (NMG) and Theatro, the pioneer of voice-controlled wearables for retail employees, announced the rollout of the innovative voice controlled wearables as a service to several of the Neiman Marcus Last Call locations. The Theatro service enables Neiman Marcus Last Call to streamline operations, heighten customer service, and improve staff efficiency in its stores. The announcement was made during National Retail Federation (NRF) annual Big Show, January 15-17, 2017, at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City, where Theatro is exhibiting in booth #248.

www.thechicagocitizen.com • 51 years of serving the Black community

The Bahamas is promoting new direct Grand Bahama Flights from New Orleans at Pelicans games.

ATLANTA, PRNewswire/ - Vacation Express recently announced a new, direct service to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island from New Orleans! Beginning May 27, 2017, exclusive non-stop flights to Grand Bahama Island will depart weekly from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport through June 26, 2017 for quick four-night escapes. “Travelers are sure to be excited about the Airport’s eighth international destination with new non-stop flights to Freeport, The Bahamas,” said Mark Reis, Interim Director for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. “We are pleased that Vacation Express continues to provide great options for our passengers to visit beautiful vacation destinations like The Bahamas.” In celebration of this new service and in support of local Bahamian hero and shooting guard for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, Buddy Hield, The Bahamas Tourist Office is promoting these non-stop flights with a booth featuring giveaways, travel vouchers and more at games held at the Smoothie King Center on January 23, February 23 and March 14, 2017. “Grand Bahama is one of our country’s most exciting and adventurous destinations.” Mrs. Joy Jibrilu, Director General, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has said. “The Island has so much to offer especially with its myriad of eco-tourism attractions, its pristine beaches that go on for miles, world class resorts and great shopping.” Travelers to Grand Bahama Island will be delighted with the non-stop flights operated by Sunwing Airlines on a Boeing 737-800 featuring their signature Champagne Service, which includes a complimentary bag of pretzels, in-flight entertainment and a complimentary beverage. All passengers are permitted one free carry-on bag and the option to upgrade. Upgrades start at only $20 each way for Preferred Seating with the option to upgrade to Elite Plus for only $39 each way which includes amenities such as priority check-in, seating with extra legroom and a free checked bag weighing up to 44lbs. Vacations are on sale now, and packages

Phylicia Rashad, Ursula Burns And Bernard Tyson

To Speak At The 2017 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit NEW YORK, -- Black Enterprise hosts its 12th annual Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit on Thursday, March 9th to Sunday, March 12th at the Arizona Grand Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. The Summit, hosted by ADP, is the leading executive development conference for women and annually welcomes more than 1,000 mid- to senior-level power players and C-suite executives from across the country. This year’s conference highlights include: The Women of Power Legacy Awards dinner honoring those who blazed trails and redefined the standard of success for women of color. This year’s recipients are Ursula Burns, Chairman of Xerox Corp.; Phylicia Rashad, Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and stage director; Pastor Shirley Caesar, Grammy Awardwinning singer; and gender and race activist Marcia Ann Gillespie. Ursula Burns, the first black woman to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and Ann Fudge, former chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Advertising, will talk candidly about the clearest paths to corporate power for black women, the realities of life at the top, and what they wish they’d known then that is crystal clear now.

Phylicia Rashad, among others will speak at the 2017 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit in March.

www.thechicagocitizen.com • 51 years of serving the Black community

8 / CITIZEN / Chicago Weekend / Week of January 25, 2017

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AUTHOR CONTENDS THE NEED FOR KINDNESS IS GREATER THAN EVER through open, non-adversarial NOVATO, Calif., interchanges that result in PRNewswire/ -- In light of the mutually beneficial outcomes. recent election, our country Lublin offers these four key has become entirely polarized. points: Whether in the political arena, Kindness does not a business environment, mean weakness or within one’s church Kindness can help you or circle of friends or stay competitive family, the need for Kindness leads to kindness has never positive expectations and been greater. If we better outcomes are to heal this divide Success, achieved in our nation, and in through kindness, our homes and “In light of the makes for a communities, nation the need for recent election, happier We have the kindness is essential. our country has power to transform lives, our Bestselling become entirely our businesses, and author Jill Lublin’s newest polarized. Whether our community. What is desperately book could not in the political needed at this be timelier! “The Profit Of arena, a business time is a global “attitudinal Kindness: How environment, adjustment” to Influence Others, Establish or within one’s in which we, Trust, and Build as individuals, church or circle of business owners, Lasting Business Relationships” leaders, friends or family, and makes the case commit to the need for that acting out implementing of kindness is strategies kindness has never kindness not just an act of into our lives, been greater.” goodness, but it businesses, and pays dividends everyday affairs in on the bottom order to facilitate line. As anger and demand a return to societal balance has become the order of the -- as well as to increase our day, this powerful reflection individual success. reminds us that kindness is Readers will learn about: a currency that actually fuels The Power of Giving First success. How to Communicate in When kindness becomes Kind and Productive Ways the primary goal in one’s life, Exactly What Integrity Is business, community, or family, and How to Maintain It everything changes -- how we What Teamwork Looks look at life, what we get from it, Like When It’s Fueled by and how others act towards us Kindness and relate to us. How One’s Sphere of “The Profit Of Kindness” Influence Can Expand Greatly will help your audience master When Kindness is Practiced the art of building trusting, For more information visit, long-lasting relationships http://www.jilllublin.com

CITIZEN / Chicago Weekend / Week of January 25, 2017 / 9

Jill Lublin’s new book entitled, “The Profit Of Kindness: How to Influence Others, Establish Trust, and Build Lasting Business Relationships” makes the case that acting out of kindness is not just an act of goodness, but it pays dividends on the bottom line.

Accepting applications for the 2017 Snider Prize

EVENT OF THE WEEK

The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago will begin accepting submissions for the 2017 Snider Prize, a purchase award given to emerging artists as they leave graduate school, on January 17, 2017. MoCP’s curatorial staff will select three artists for this award: one winner will receive $2,000, and two honorable mentions will each receive $500. These funds will go toward the purchase of work to be added to MoCP’s permanent collection. This award forms a part of the museum’s ongoing commitment to support new talent in the field of contemporary photography. The prize is open to MFA students currently in their last year at an accredited program of study, and is sponsored by MoCP patrons Lawrence K. and Maxine Snider. Submissions will be accepted now to April 1, 2017 at midnight, and the three award recipients will be announced on May 1, 2017.

SSC Jazz Fest to Pay Tribute to legendary educator Keith Anderson

THEME: KINDNESS

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 4:32 - And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

If you have a calendar item or news event that you would like to include in the Citizen’s church news section, please submit your information to editorial@thechicagocitizen.com. You can also mail your information to: The Chicago Citizen Newspaper Inc., 8741 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago,Illinois 60619, Attn: Church News

2016 Snider Prize award recipient, Adam Golfer, Boy Unlocking Horse, 2015.

National Mentoring Month Become a mentor and help someone else realize their potential during National Mentoring Month in January. If you are interested in mentoring, contact Child Link’s mentoring program by sending them an email at info@ childlnk.org for more information and an application!

The 2017 SSC Jazz Festival Concert will be dedicated to the memory and legacy of Mr. Keith Anderson, long time music educator, advocate, and mentor. Mr. Anderson directed the bands at Hillcrest High School in County Club Hills from 1993-2006, after which he served as the Director of Fine Arts for Bremen High School District 228. Before arriving at Hillcrest, Anderson was an elementary teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in District #147. Mr. Anderson’s bands from Hillcrest High School were regular participants in the SSC Jazz Festival, and Mr. Anderson himself has been a festival clinician.

The festival concert will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 11th, in the Kindig Performing Arts Center of South Suburban College, and will feature the SSC Jazz Orchestra with guest artists Jim Cooper and Sam Hankins, and special guests from the area. There is no charge for admission although donations are appreciated to benefit the Music Scholarship Fund. For more information, please contact Rob Calhoon, Jazz Fest Director, at 708-596-2000, ext. 2299. South Suburban College is located at 15800 S. State Street, South Holland, IL.

Family time is some of the best time. Check out some of these events and places that you and your children will enjoy. Chicago Children’s Museum. Beginners Art Studio at Wonder Works Children’s Museum in Oak Park Polar Adventure Days at Northerly Island. Underground Adventure at The Field Museum For more events and ideas, visit http:// chicagokids.com.

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Dozens of organizations launch “Our Miss Brooks: A Centennial Celebration” to honor groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize winner and Illinois Poet Laureate GWENDOLYN BROOKS AT 100

Chicago, IL – To honor the legacy and endur ing contributions of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, and to inspire a new generation of writers, dozens of institutions, artists and educators have joined to create programming for Our Miss Brooks: A Centennial Celebration. Through June 2018, the celebration features readings, performances, school programs, discussions, exhibits and more; most will be free and open to the public. Our Miss Brooks: A Centennial Celebration (OMB100) kicks off on Thursday, February 2, 2017 with an unprecedented and highprofile reading of Brooks’ works by the five other African American Pulitzer Prizewinning poets: Rita Dove, Yusef Komunyakaa, Natasha Trethewey, Tracy K. Smith and Gregory Pardlo. The reading will be held at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Rubloff Auditorium from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public; online registra tion is required. The reading is produced by The Chicago Community Trust with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Poetry Foundation. It will be hosted by Kendra G., WGCIFM morn ing show radio host, and moderated by Natalie Moore, WBEZFM’s South Side reporter and

Joyce Owens, "More Than Cool" (a portrait of the poet laureate), acrylic and collage on can vas, 2016. Excerpted from Revise the Psalm (Curbside Splendor, 2017). Used with permission by the artist www.joyce owens.com. artwork created by Joyce Owens

author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and America. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American writer to receive a Pulitzer Prize, and she served as the Illinois Poet Laureate from 1968 to 2000. Through her work, she was an activist, a feminist and an insightful observer of Black life. Perhaps no other poet has captured the essence of Chicago life more than Gwendolyn Brooks. In the centennial of her birth, she remains an impor tant, historic voice. “Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the few poets whose work was as at home in pool halls, com munity centers and bars as it was in academia and classrooms,” says Quraysh Ali Lansana, artistic director of OMB100. “Her art endures because it’s so finely crafted and meticulously constructed around timeless subjects. She lived in Chicago, among us and chronicled 20thcentury black life in Chicago more comprehensively than other writer of her time. This celebration will remind some, and enlighten others, of just how much she loved this city.” More than 40 local and national partners are developing OMB100 programs. Information for all OMB100 events can be found on the celebration’s website, www.gwen dolynbrooks100.org.

12 / CITIZEN / Chicago Weekend / Week of January 25, 2017

Farewell President Obama

"I won't stop; I'll be right there with you as a citizen, inspired by your voices of truth and justice, good humor, and love." President Barack Obama