Urban Voice December Edition

VOLS’ BERRY NAMED SEC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF YEAR

UrbanVoice CULTURE NEWS POLITICS

Erlanger Distrust Grows Residents Concerned Over

11 December • 2015 Edition

the Handling of the Alton Park/Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers

POLITICS BLACK CHURCH LEADERS & DONALD TRUMP

JESSE JACKSON Citizens Shouldn’t Have to Demonstrate to Be Treated Justly

DOROTHY

HEIGHT REVIEW: SPIKE LEE’S CHI-RAQ A HIT

FAITH PASTOR DARYL W. ARNOLD, SR Defeating the Spirit of Death, Disappointment, and Depression

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NATIONAL NEWS brief

The National Council of Negro Women Launches Visionary Strategy Declaring A New Agenda For A New Age Dr. Dorothy Height’s Legendary Hat Collection Heads to the Smithsonian vision under her leadership. She called the series of strategic priorities „Four for the Future” and outlined the following objectives: 1. Educating and training young women and girls for the future workforce, with a special focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM 2. Continuing NCNW’s historical focus on health concerns in the African American community

ll WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In celebration of its 80th anniversary, the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) revealed a „new agenda for a new age,” vowing to take urgent action around education, health, economic empowerment and public policy in an effort to build a stronger Black America. During welcome remarks at the 14th annual Uncommon Height Gala recently, NCNW National Chairperson Ingrid Saunders Jonesshared the organization’s new forward-looking

3. Promoting economic empowerment and entrepreneurship and important issues like financial literacy and short- and longterm financial planning 4. Developing new partnerships to encourage young African American men and women to embrace the values of NCNW founders „Our overarching priority is to build on our legacy of advocating for African Americans through public outreach and increasing the efforts

around social engagement, civic participation and public policy review,” Jones stated. „We are more committed than ever to strengthen the African American family and build our communities. That can only be achieved by education, economic empowerment, public policy and collaboration.”

As one of the oldest organizations dedicated to advancing opportunities for African American women and their families, NCNW is an „organization of organizations” with 240 community-based and collegiate sections, 37 affiliates, connecting 3 million women worldwide. Jones said it is through its vast network that the organization will be able to achieve its goals with greater impact while attracting more young people to take on NCNW leadership. „It is only through working together that we are able to reach, influence and effect major change,” she said. „We are stronger together.”

Dorothy Height Hat Collection Goes on Exhibit One of the first initiatives to support NCNW’s

DIRECTV Brings The Impact Network To More Than 20 Million Viewers ll EL SEGUNDO, Calif. and DETROIT, PRNewswire/ -- The Impact Network, the only African American owned and operated Christian television network in the U. S., is now available on AT&T’s DIRECTV platform on channel 380. The network features programming on urban ministries and gospel lifestyle entertainment. „We’re excited about the commitment AT&T and DIRECTV have shown to the African-American community by adding this network,” said Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, CEO and president, the Impact Network. „We hope our programming empowers the community with its uplifting entertainment and with additional opportunities for minorities in the television industry.” „We look forward to bringing our customers a wide variety of programming and unique viewpoints,” said Dan York, chief content officer,

AT&T. „Impact is a welcome addition to our channel lineup. We’re proud to deliver content that speaks to the different communities we serve.”

family entertainment. The Impact Network strives to be the foremost innovative television network locally and abroad with exclusive programming.

The Impact Network’s mission is to provide exceptional Christian and educational programming.

It empowers the spiritual, physical, financial and emotional needs of the community and viewers.

The network line-up includes television ministries by Impact CEO & President Bishop Wayne T. Jackson and Bishop TD Jakes. It also offers original programming like Dr. Beverly Jackson’s „Living Free,” „The Jewel Tankard Show,” legendary gospel icon Bobby Jones’ Cory „CoCo Brother” Condrey, „Impact Better Health/Diet Free Life” with Dr. Robert Ferguson, and „Real Talk” with Kim Burrell.

About The Impact Network: The Impact Network was founded in 2010 by Bishop Wayne T. Jackson and Dr. Beverly Jackson in Detroit, Michigan and is the fastest growing African-American one hundred percent (100%) independently owned Christian network in The United States with diverse family oriented programming. The Impact Network reaches 45 million viewers in the United States, Canada, Africa and the Bahamian Island.

It enriches viewers’ lives with Christian-themed and family-oriented health, fitness, financial, and

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high speed Internet and voice services. We’re the world’s largest provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries.

„Four for the Future” plan includes a three-city tour showcasing Dr. Dorothy Height’slegendary hat collection kicking off in the spring of 2016. The tour called „Messages of Our Mothers” will travel across the country and serve as a forum to dialogue with young African American men and women about the values and messages Black mothers share to help children succeed and survive in society.

The conversation will focus on the core values of respect, education and financial stewardship as a vehicle to build strong families and communities.

display at the Smithsonian Institute, Herman announced. Select hats from the collection of 250 will represent eight themes from Dr. Height’s life: historical; gifts; special occasions; NCNW moments; organizational partnerships; halos; her favorite color – lavender; and lastly, the future. „The Future” features only one hat – the last hat made especially for Dr. Height that she was never able to wear because of her death in 2010. The red hat is symbolic of her vision and hope that NCNW future generations would embrace the organization’s core values.

„Dr. Height’s mother, Fannie Burroughs Height, always stressed the importance of dressing for respect. It was a lesson and value that she carried with her, her entire life,” said the Honorable Alexis M. Herman, the former U.S. Secretary of Labor, close friend of Dr. Height and senior advisor to NCNW. „We hope to instill the same values in today’s young people.”

About NCNW The National Council of Negro Women is a Washington, D.C.based international non-profit organization making a difference in the lives of women, children and families throughout the world through research, advocacy, and community-based services and programs. For more information, please visit www.ncnw.org.

Following the „Messages of Our Mother” tour, the hats will go on

Vanderbilt appoints George C. Hill as chief diversity officer and vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion ll Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos has named a pre-eminent biomedical researcher and diversity advocate to serve as Vanderbilt University’s first chief diversity officer and vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion.

George C. Hill, who will report directly to the chancellor and serve on Zeppos’ senior management team, is charged with articulating the vision and working with the chancellor and the provost to provide leadership in cultivating an inclusive, diverse and equitable academic community. Hill’s appointment, subject to Board of Trust approval, will take effect on Dec.1.

Hill is Levi Watkins Jr., M.D. Professor Emeritus in Medical Education and

distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. He also served as assistant vice chancellor for multicultural affairs and special assistant to the provost for health affairs from 2011 to 2012.

From 2002 to 2011, he served as the first associate dean for diversity in medical education of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“George Hill is a giant in two fields, molecular biology and fostering diversity. He has a deep understanding both of the opportunities that we have as a top research and teaching university and the challenges we must overcome until every single member of our community is fully and equally included,” Zeppos said. “As

Vanderbilt’s chief diversity officer, George will be a vital part of my leadership team and will develop strategies that we need to make our vision for this university community a reality. This work is complex, it is difficult and it is absolutely essential, and I have complete confidence that George is the right person at the right time for Vanderbilt.”

A member of the National Academy of Medicine since 1998, Hill was elected a fellow of the Academy of Microbiology in 2002.

In 2011, he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

URBAN VOICE MAGAZINE 2015 | 3

NOVEMBER 2015

AUGUST

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letter from the

CHAIRMAN/PUBLISHER Jermaine D. Harper, MBA

I

t’s the end of the year, and yes I am reflecting. I am sitting here and I am thinking about the many paths that I have taken in life. I am thinking about the people I’ve met, became associated with, and the one’s I just tolerated for the time being.

I’m thinking about the ups, the downs, the spontaneous decisions, and even the carefully calculated ones. I’m thinking about high school and college friends (shout out to Howard and Morehouse). I am thinking about how just this week I attended the wedding reception of one childhood friend and the home going celebration of another. I am thinking of how I drive around my community, the places I grew up and see so much despair. I am thinking about how I become frustrated to the point of anger when it appears that those that can help, don’t. I am thinking about how we can waste so much time trying to rehash how we arrive at certain seasons in life and nurse our pain that we forget to keep living.

Let me be a little more transparent with whoever’s reading this. Have you ever been so hurt in life that all you wanted to do was sleep? What about waking up and as soon as you open your eyes the burden of your circumstance lands right in the middle of your chest? I can go on and on, and even ask if you have ever felt like just packing your bags, jumping in your car and driving it until it just ran out of gas, moving to a new place where no one knows you and attempting to start life all over again. If you find yourself raising your hand or nodding in agreement, trust me you are not alone. We have all been there.

Stress - anxiety - oppression - depression are all common denominators at this juncture of our lives. When we are here, productivity is not our friend. If we are not careful we will either ourselves or allow someone else to make us feel as if we are not capable of success or pursuing a

4 | URBAN VOICE NeWSMAGAZINE 2015

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Pastor daryl arnold, Overcoming believers church

time to recover prosperous future. This is place of hurt.

This is a place of pain. If we are not careful we can end up in a state of mental paralysis thinking that our lives were designed to end up like “this”. It is important to know that we hurt because we have been injured and because we are human.

Let me give you a visual to help drive home my point. Recently, I received a physical injury and had to take a visit to the emergency room (ER). Just about everyone that came through the ER had some type of injury. Some were more traumatic than others, but whether the degree of the injury was great or small, they all had that one thing in common – the injury hurt. While the ER staff tended to every individual need, I then thought about how we tend to our own wounds.

One patient was sent to x-ray. One was immediately operated on. One patient just needed to lay down and rest. Another needed nothing more than an IV. After being tended no matter what level of trauma they were in each patient was given their discharge papers and given a consult about recovering from their injuries. While the ER visit was quick – find out what’s going on, treat it, stop the pain – just like in life the recovery process will be much longer.

In life the recovery process lasts longer than the process of being put back together, the recovery process lasts longer than it did when you were being wounded. The recovery process will hurt. You will still feel pain. Don’t worry, you are merely experiencing the pain of your recovery. You will never know that you are healed until the pain has gone away.

Many of us have made it through a challenge in our life that may have literally killed the next person, but take note, that you are still here. I have learned that it is time out that we stop asking ourselves,

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

family, and friends, why did we have to go through what we had to go through and start asking the question “Why did I survive it?

You may feel as if it is taking you too long to recover from your injury, but just know that your pain is no longer from your wound, you are now in the healing process. There is nothing, that situation, circumstance, trial, dilemma, obstacle, challenge, hurdle, man, woman, co-worker, spouse, or oppressor can do to you to increase your pain. You have survived them all and now you are in the healing stage of your recovery.

Purpose right now, right in the middle of your pain that your wound is not going to just scab over and leave scared tissue or leave the impression that you have recovered from something, but you really didn’t.

This time your healing will be permanent.

This time, your survival will not just be for yourself, but to save a life, to save a nation, to change a community, and to impact the world.

And so this last month of 2015, I encourage you to recover! Let the pain of your recovery take its course. Without pain there is no true sign of healing!

Until Next Month,

- J.D. Harper

UrbanV ice Publisher Jermaine D. Harper, MBA Email: jd.urbanvoice@gmail.com CONTRIBUTORS Brian Archie Darryl Arnold Charles E. “Chuck” Hobbs II Tasha Robinson Lynn Cole Sharetta T. Smith, JD/MBA Marc Morial Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Reginald Jenkins ADVERTISING Email: ads.urbanvoice@gmail.com PHOTOGRAPHY Brian Archie, Chief Photographer Rick Crank, Rick Crank Photography, Raleigh, NC (919) 961-6082- Cover WEBSITE: www.theurbanvoice.org COPYRIGHT All material appearing in Urban Voice Newsmagazine is copyright unless otherwise stated or it may rest with the provider of the supplied material. Urban Voice Newsmagazine takes all care to ensure information is correct at time of printing, but the publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of any information contained in the text or advertisements. Views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher or editor.

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The National Council of Negro Women Launches Visionary Strategy Declaring„A New Agenda For A New Age”to be Honored

featured must read in this issue

Column:

Columnist: Pastor Daryl W. Arnold, SR. Tells us How to Defeat the Spirit of Death, Disappointment, and Depression

Residents Critical of Erlanger Hospital

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Citizens Shouldn’t Have to DEMonstrate to Be Treated Justly

Review: Chi-Raq is Spike Lee’s largerthan-life love letter to Chicago

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REV. JESSE JACKSON, SR. President, RAINBOW

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By Tasha Robinson

Thrive Lonsdale Creating Community Garden Through City’s Homemaker Programs

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CITY OF KNOXVILLE THOMAS “TANK” STRICKLAND TO RETIRE FROM THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE EFFECTIVE JAN. 29TH < < < < < < COMMENTARY

Politics, Black Church Leaders and Donald Trump By: Charles E. “Chuck” Hobbs

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KNOXVILLE

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News logs

News logs

Thomas ” Tank” Strickland makes Retirement Annoucement

Photo caption

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Thrive Lonsdale Creating Community Garden Through

City’s Homemaker Program Source: Cityofknoxville

A

nonprofit group has

created a community garden in Lonsdale that offers plots to local families, as well as fruit trees and berry bushes that will provide produce for the whole community.

City Council on Oct. 27 approved the sale of a parcel at 1229 Louisiana Ave. to Thrive Lonsdale, a nonprofit organization that serves children in the neighborhood. The organization plans to convert the parcel of land into a community garden.

“We are so excited to be working with the City’s

urban agriculture initiative and to be providing the Lonsdale community with a place to steward their gifts,” said Beth Aaser, Thrive Lonsdale’s garden director.

is unbuildable, so a neighborhood garden is a perfect use for this vacant lot,” said Becky Wade, City Community Development Director.

The lot was sold to Thrive Lonsdale through the City Community Development Department’s Homemaker Program, which makes vacant, often dilapidated properties available for sale to nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, private developers and individuals with the stipulation that the owner rehabilitates the existing structure, builds a new dwelling or maintains the vacant lot.

Aaser added: “Our desire is to see an abandoned lot turned into a beautiful and welcoming space.

Functionally, this garden will house raised garden beds for 20 local families along with communal fruit trees and berry bushes.”

“In this case, the parcel

Thrive Lonsdale aims to create an opportunity for residents whose families historically have farmed by providing a space to grow food. The garden is centrally located in the middle of Lonsdale, directly

SmartFinancial Strengthens Ties to Smart Infrastructure KNOXVILLE, Tenn., -- SmartFinancial, Inc. („SmartFinancial”; OTCBB: SMBK), announced it has consolidated fiber optic communications providers franchise-wide, strengthening its partnership with EPB (Electric Power Board) and fully leveraging the smart infrastructure established as a community asset.

Brandon Christopher, Chief Information Officer,

stated: „As we finalize the integration of Cornerstone Community Bank and SmartBank, it made a lot of sense to consolidate our fiber services to EPB which not only streamlines expenses but also enhances our technology and performance.”

Barry Watson, President of Cornerstone Community Bank, added: „This strengthened partnership is not only good for

Chattanooga, the EPB smart infrastructure benefits SmartBank’s entire footprint which includes 7 offices spanning East Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.

In Chattanooga, we’re excited about the roll out of SmartBanking, leading with our experienced bankers, customizing responsive client solutions, and introducing new products and technology.”

SmartFinancial’s Chairman

across from Lonsdale Elementary School.

While the garden will be a public area and its fruit trees will offer shared communal produce, only families that are awarded a plot will be permitted to grow plants in the garden.

Families will be interviewed and selected based on interest and need. Aaser will oversee maintenance of the common spaces. For more information or to find out how to donate money, materials or labor, visit thrivelonsdale.com.

Thomas “Tank” Strickland, Knoxville’s community relations director, is retiring next month, officials announced this week.

Strickland has serviced the city of Knoxville for nearly two decades (four mayors), Strickland has served as a liaison between the mayor’s office and community organizations, and represented the city on several boards.

Title VI, as well as the Save Our Sons program to create opportunity and reduce violence involving young men and boys of color.

Among his department’s responsibilities are oversight of the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity programs, the Police Advisory and Review Committee, and

Strickland’s retirement will be effective Jan. 29, 2016.

News logs

Vols’ Berry Named SEC Special Teams Player Of Year BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee’s Evan Berry has been named Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Year.

Berry is the first Volunteer to earn an individual award since his brother, Eric, won SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2008.

Berry became the first Tennessee player in school history to earn First Team All-SEC honors as a return specialist yesterday.

Miller Welborn stated: „As we combine into a $1 billion in assets community bank and expand SmartBank, this is just one example of the many opportunities we are seizing to heighten efficiency and stage for continued growth.

With our Chattanooga flagship office perfectly positioned in the Innovation District, we will look for additional ways to partner with EPB and utilize the fiber optic network to further banking innovation.”

Strickland is a native of Knoxville, TN and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

His service beyond the city has included his work with Golden Gloves boxing program and the First Tee golf program.

The sophomore leads the nation in kick return average (38.3 yards) and is tied for second nationally with three returns brought back for a touchdown. His three kickoffs returned for touchdowns tied the Tennessee single-season record set by Willie Gault in 1980. His total of 804 overall return yards ranks as the fourth-most in a season in Volunteer history, while his 34.8 career kickoff return

average is a new school record.

Southeastern Conference champion Alabama had a league-leading four winners of individual honors. The honors were voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Alabama’s Derrick Henry was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Reggie Ragland was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and Alabama’s Ryan Kelly was named the SEC ScholarAthlete of the Year.

Kelly, along with Arkansas’ Sebastian Tretola earned the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.

First-year Florida head coach Jim McElwain was named the SEC Coach of the Year.

REGIONAL NEWS

7

CHATTANOOGA NEWS

Cigna Among Top Companies in Diversity and Hispanic Inclusion

Announcements Chattanooga’s Pi Omega Chapter Of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Celebrates 90 Years Of Service

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s commitment to scholarship, leadership, civic engagement and public service has formed the bedrock of the legacy of servant-leadership that epitomizes the sorority to this day, said officials.

Doris Kelly, Marjorie Washington and Ida Partridge, members of the Pi Omega Chapter and servant leaders through Alpha Kappa Alpha for several decades, are the evening’s honorees.

BLOOMFIELD, Conn.-(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cigna (NYSE: CI), a global health service leader, has scored among the top companies measured in the 2015 HACR Corporate Inclusion Index (HACR CII).

The HACR CII is a research initiative conducted by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) and the HACR Research Institute.

Participation in the survey helps track trends in Corporate America to measure diversity and Hispanic inclusion at Fortune 100 companies and HACR Corporate Member companies.

“The HACR CII research affirms the progress being made among leading companies to ensure diversity and Hispanic inclusion in the relationships and processes that drive business performance.

The diversity of Cigna’s workforce, along with a continued focus on procurement and philanthropy are essential to Cigna’s mission to help the customers we serve improve their health, well-being and sense of security,” said

Rosanna Durruthy, Cigna’s chief diversity officer.

The 2015 HACR CII report focuses on the progress that participating companies have made over the last year as well as the progress for Hispanics more generally in corporate America. A total of 128 companies received invitations to take part in the survey and 53 companies submitted surveys.

Research and analysis was led by the HACR Research Institute, under the leadership of Dr. Lisette Garcia.

“On behalf of HACR’s Board of Directors, we congratulate Cigna for their commitment to Hispanic inclusion,” said Dr. Lisette Garcia, senior director of the HACR Research Institute.

“Forward thinking companies such as Cigna recognize the importance of using data and

analytics to identify gaps which can be used to help frame strategic plans to impact change and keep up with the demands of a diverse, ever changing marketplace.”

Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. All products and services are provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York.

Such products and services include an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other related products including group life, accident and disability insurance.

ll The Emerald Gala will celebrate Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 90 years of service in Chattanooga. Presented by the Ivy Rose Foundation and the Pi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, this elegant affair will be held on Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at The Chattanoogan Hotel.

The evening will include cocktails, dinner and dancing.

Sound Advice, one of Chattanooga’s dance bands, will provide the entertainment.

Complimentary valet parking will be available for all ticketed guests.

Emerald Gala proceeds will be used for scholarships and for programs that include the ASCEND educational enrichment program that focuses on Achievement, SelfAwareness, Communication, Engagement, Networking and Developmental Skills. Pi Omega also sponsors service programs that provide area youth with school supplies, help in the fight against childhood hunger, promote health awareness and promote environmental sustainability.

Tickets are $60. For more information, go to www.theemeraldgala. brownpapertickets.com, contact any member of the Pi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha or email blsmith45@epbfi.com.

NABOB applauds FCC ruling that gives some AM stations access to FM translatorss ll A recent by ruling by the Federal Communications Commission will make it possible for owners of Class C and D AM radio stations to explore taking their programming to the FM band through the use of FM translators. The decision by the commission, as part of its AM Radio Revitalization proceeding, gives these smaller stations the first opportunity to buy existing FM translators and relocate them to the markets they currently are licensed to operate in.

The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters applauded the FCC’s decision.

Jim Winston, President of NABOB said, “We have been working diligently to help our Class C and D AM stations obtain the first opportunity to obtain FM translators.

Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church To Hold Annual Christmas Gala On Dec. 18 ll Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church will hold its annual Christmas Gala on Friday, Dec. 18 from 7:3010:30 p.m.

The event will be held at the Scottish Rite Building, at 1345 Hickory Valley Road, Chattanooga.

Cost is $20 per person or $35 per couple.

For tickets, contact the church office at 423 698-0337 or Deborah Hudgins at 423 605-7629

Krystal® Now Offering Sprite® Cranberry for the Holidays and Collectible Plush Coca-Cola Bear ATLANTA, Nov. 18, 2015 / PRNewswire/ -- Krystal®, the popular burger chain known for its steamy, small burgers, is now offering Sprite® Cranberry just in time for the holidays. The flavorful beverage is available at Krystal for a limited time.

To kick-off the holiday giftgiving season, and while supplies last, the special deal will also include an upgrade of a medium drink to a large combo drink and include a limited-edition plush CocaCola polar bear – all for only $0.99.

Krystal will make a donation to the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program for every bear distributed in their restaurants.

URBAN VOICE MAGAZINE 2015 | 7

events ATLANTA DECEMBER 15 The Weeknd, Halsey, Travis Scott Philips Arena | 7:30pm DECEMBER 19 Celebration Bowl Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T Georgia Dome | Noon ATLANTA NASHVILLE NASHVILLE DECEMBER 10-11 Smokey Robinson With The Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn Symphony Center Dec 10: 7:30pm | Dec 11: 8pm DECEMBER 21 India.Arie Schermerhorn Symphony Center | 7:30pm

MAY 8 The Isley Brothers Schermerhorn Symphony Center | 7:30pm

NASHVILLE DECEMBER 10-11 Smokey Robinson With The Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn Symphony Center Dec 10: 7:30pm | Dec 11: 8pm DECEMBER 21 India.Arie Schermerhorn Symphony Center | 7:30pm MARCH 2, 2016 Leon Bridges Ryman Auditorium | 7:30pm MAY 8 The Isley Brothers Schermerhorn Symphony Center | 7:30pm

MARCH 2, 2016 Leon Bridges Ryman Auditorium | 7:30pm

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By Tasha Robinson

About Tasha Robinson Former Senior Editor at The A.V. Club and The Dissolve. General popculture writer. Podcaster with @NextPicturePod, which puts big new movies in the context of big old movies. Freelancer at NPR and other sites. Twitter: @ TashaRobinson.

Review: Chi-Raq is Spike Lee’s larger-than-life love letter to Chicago When Spike Lee came to Chicago in April 2015 to discuss plans for his film Chi-Raq, Mayor Rahm Emanuel requested a meeting where he and other Chicago politicians expressed their strong disapproval of the film’s title. According to Lee, Emanuel and city aldermen bullied him, denying city permits to the production and threatening to withhold $3 million in tax breaks unless Lee abandoned that title. Their concern was that he would drive away tourists by portraying the city as a dangerous war zone where innocent people get gunned down on a daily basis.

Which it is, and which Lee does. But in all their protestations, Mayor Emanuel and company came across as more reactionary and image-conscious than concerned about the actual violence in the city. Chi-Raq goes in the opposite direction. It isn’t just affectionate about Chicago; it’s a passionate, rhythmic love letter to the city and its South Side residents. And Lee and screenwriter Kevin Willmott aren’t just calling for gang violence to end. They’re trying to evoke prayer, passion, and anger in and on behalf of Chicagoans who routinely see more than 40 people a week shot in the city, leading to a higher death toll for Americans in Chicago over the past 15 years than in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. Chi-Raq is a rowdy, remarkably funny film that isn’t particularly concerned with how tourists see the city, or where they spend their money. Lee wants results, and he’s willing to go broad and over the top if that gets people talking, thinking, or best of all, taking action.

Lee appeals to Chicago pride in ChiRaq’s opening moments, with a stark lyric video featuring Nick Cannon as rapper / gang leader Demetrius Dupree, spitting equal parts faith and hope in Chicago, and despair at the desperation, betrayal, and violence that follows him in his Englewood neighborhood. The language is raw

and hostile, but his allegiance and pride in his home are everything Emanuel could ask for.

Demetrius — whose stage name is also Chi-Raq — isn’t the only character in the film expressing himself through verse. Willmott, the sharp satirist behind the alternateuniverse film C.S.A.: The Confederate States Of America, based his script on Aristophanes’ ancient Greek play Lysistrata, a bawdy comedy about one woman’s attempt to end the Peloponnesian War by persuading the wives of Athenian and Spartan soldiers to withhold sex until their husbands stop fighting. A one-man Greekchorus named Dolmedes (played

by Samuel L. Jackson, resplendent in a series of blaxploitation-worthy colorful pimp suits) turns to the audience early in the film, explaining that to honor Aristophanes, the story will be delivered in rhyme. And so the characters speak largely in loose, janky poetry, with rhythms that vary between Shakespearian couplets, freestyle-rap battle verse, and slampoetry riffing.

LEE IS WILLING TO GO OVER THE TOP IF THAT GETS PEOPLE TALKING The verse is just one of the many ways in which Lee heightens ChiRaq’s tone, making it clear that this is a Technicolor fantasy and not a serious suggestion that the “No peace, no pussy” movement could end violence. The film does briefly cite Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee, who used a similar sex strike as an attention-garnering tool for her women’s peace movement in Liberia. But mostly, it treats the idea as Aristophanes did: as a stage for an offcolor battle-of-the-sexes comedy.

Dear White People’s breakout star Teyonah Parris stars as Lysistrata, Demetrius’ lusty girlfriend, and a devoted hanger-on of his purple-clad

gang, the Spartans. When tensions escalate with another local crew, the orange-wearing Trojans (led by Wesley Snipes as a giggly, eyepatch-wearing gang lifer called Cyclops), Lysistrata is driven out of her home, and she seeks perspective from quiet local bookstore owner Miss Helen (Angela Bassett). History gives Lysistrata the idea for the sex strike, and a young girl’s death from stray gunfire gives her the backbone to enact it. She enlists her friends, then spreads the word to Cyclops’ lover and other Trojan ladies. Before long, all the women on the South Side have vowed to deny the men even voyeuristic relief.

“Even the hos is no-shows,” one man complains to a strip-club owner played

by Dave Chappelle, who responds, “The situation is out of control! I’m in front of an empty stripper pole!” The movement even spreads around the world, with protests in a variety of countries adopting different, often more decorous versions of that “No peace, no p___y” tagline.

There’s a great deal of goofery at work in Chi-Raq. Spike Lee’s frustration with black-on-black violence and the limits of the Black Lives Matter movement is controversial and well documented, but here, he blends all the thorny issues into a joyous group catharsis full of gospel performance, public marches, and gags about horniness.

This is the vital, confident Spike Lee of School Daze and Bamboozled, a hyperactive stylist going in a thousand directions at once, operating around one guiding ideology, but with no consistent presentation plan.

The storytelling style changes constantly: the participants in a club shootout tell the camera directly of how their moment of rep-boosting glory turned into humiliating longterm physical disability. John Cusack gives a lengthy, badly mic’d, rhetoricpacked sermon as the white Catholic priest presiding over a packed black

church. (He seems like an anomaly in the movie, but he’s based closely on Chicago’s outspoken, politically savvy Father Michael Pfleger, who consulted on the film.) Lysistrata takes over a Chicago armory and sexually humiliates a racist fetishist general, in an outlandish scene that recalls the notorious flop Myra Breckinridge.

Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, as the mother of the murdered young girl, weeps as she scrubs her daughter’s blood from the pavement. This chaotic grab-bag of concepts has a hard time building a coherent flow, or developing characters past their broadest symbolic value.

IT’S A CHAOTIC GRAB-BAG OF CONCEPTS But the wide-ranging styles give Lee a chance to highlight all his strengths.

His history with staging intimate, lascivious foreplay goes back to Do The Right Thing, and he hasn’t lost any of his knack for physicality, or capturing the heat coming off bared skin in sexual settings. The confrontational scenes aimed at the camera, another longtime signature, spark with anger and anxiety.

There’s a powerful drive to the musical sequences, from an uplifting church dance number to the more melancholy, sexual group writhing as the military attempts to draw Lysistrata’s followers out of the armory by bombarding them with irresistible ‘70s sex jams.

And Lee’s ability to energize his actors shouldn’t be underrated. Parris is handed some tough material — her character is half ride-or-die, half Rosa Parks. She’s Mother Teresa in an exposed Wonderbra and an improvised chastity belt. She’s meant to be naïve and wise, forceful and hesitant, fierce and demure, all at the same time. The role isn’t always human enough to hit home, but Parris gives it a conviction that makes the rhyming

URBAN VOICE MAGAZINE 2015 | 9

William McInnis, (pictured) Former Executive Director, Alton Park/Dodson Ave Community Health Centers

Distrust of Erlanger Hospital Growing over AP/DA Health Center Actions

by Lynn Cole Urban Voice Staff

O

ne thing is clear; the distrust residents have toward Erlanger hospital is growing.

Background Early in 2014, Erlanger, in danger of ending the year with a financial shortfall, went to lawmakers seeking financial help. Politicians at all levels of government lobbied for the hospital, and helped Erlanger get a $19 million federal benefit.

With the help of the $19 million federal benefit, Erlanger reported a $20 million profit in the first half of the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

Erlanger outsourced its food and janitorial services and cut the health and retirement benefits for employees, and then claimed $7.2 million in

savings.

After receiving public assistance and making cuts, the hospital board made the decision to pay out bonuses, and made some politicians leery of supporting any plans to expand Medicaid eligibility using federal funds from the Affordable Health Care Act. Republican state Sen. Todd Gardenhire told TNReport he was concerned about taking “the political hit” for expanding Medicaid if it just meant hospitals were going to pay out bonuses to its management-level employees and called the bonus paid Spiegel a “sneaky, greedy, uncalled-for act by the administration and the trustees of Erlanger.”

State Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican and the Senate Speaker pro tem, questioned whether

10 | URBAN VOICE NeWSMAGAZINE 2015

hospitals would use the increase in funds from the expansion to better serve their communities or to pay out large bonuses to their administrative components.

Erlanger Capital Projects • Erlanger East- $50M • TC Thompson Children’s Hospital- $30M • Surgical Center- $9.5M • Hutchenson (Georgia)Erlanger gave Hutchenson a $20M Loan Now, on the heels of Erlanger’s controversial decision to dismantle the Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers (SSDA) and fire four top level administrators, including the executive director, Will McInnis, last August, the region’s largest hospital has announced the

formation of a new board that will serve in an “advisory” only capacity.

For justification, Erlanger cited SSDA’s rising financial losses and concerns with patient care as the reason for their decision. However, five of those nine former board members - Carmen Ware, Cora Lanier, Felix Beasley, Maeola Shropshire and Robert Shaw disagreed and issued a statement in response to Erlanger’s actions.

The statement read, in part: „In response to Erlanger’s press release regarding its self termination as a federally qualified health center (FQHC), there were numerous fallacies mentioned in the multiple newspaper articles released by

Erlanger concerning the recent restructuring of and personnel changes at the Southside/Dodson Avenue Health Centers (SSDA). I would direct anyone who desires truth and facts to research the 19 Requirements for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Federal PIN 201401. You will find that it clearly identifies the Southside/Dodson Avenue Community Health Center’s Board as the Governing Board; not an advisory board as suggested by Erlanger CEO, Kevin Spiegel. The SS/DA Board was empowered to make decisions on behalf of the operations of the Southside/Dodson Avenue Community Health

Centers as well as hire and fire the Executive Director of the Community Health Centers.

„The termination of Mr. William McInnis, the Executive Director of the Southside/Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers, under the direction of Kevin Spiegel breached the current CoApplicant Agreement in place between Erlanger’s Board of Trustees and the Governing Board of Southside/Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers.

The issue between the two Boards and the executive team of Centers was not one of poor management on the part of Mr. McInnis and his executive team, but rather Erlanger’s unwillingness to accept the independent authority of

.

“health center governing boards must demonstrate autonomous decision-making authority related to the approval of the health center grant application/budget, selection/dismissal and evaluation of the CEO.”--- (HRSA) the governing board. „Erlanger never acknowledged and willfully disregarded this federal mandate despite having received numerous citations outlining the noncompliance. It was Erlanger’s willful refusal to implement and/or abide by the necessary corrective actions, which led to the unfortunate split.

The statement reference federal law (Section 330(k) (3) (H) of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. §254b) which, according to the former board members, requires FQHC health centers to establish an independent governing board and that no other entity aside from that board has the authority to select or dismiss the Executive Director.

According to the Foundation Center, an organization established in 1956 that monitors and reports on grant funding guidelines, the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization is its legal, governing body. In contrast, an advisory board does not have any legal, formal authority.

Urban Voice reached out to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the federal agency responsible for the administration of federal grant dollars to health centers. Here is what we found out: UV: How many Federally Qualified Health Centers are there in the state of Tennessee?

HRSA: At the end of FY 2015, there were 27 health center grantees and 1 health center lookalike in Tennessee UV: How many federal dollars are awarded to these centers, annually?

HRSA : In FY 2015, Tennessee health centers received $80.64 million in grant funding under the Health Center Program.

UV: Are there any supplemental dollars that have been made available as a result of the Affordable Health Care Act? HRSA :Yes, ACA funding has supported supplemental grants to existing Health Center Program grantees to conduct activities such as outreach & enrollment and expansion of medical, oral health, behavioral health, vision, pharmacy and enabling services.

HRSA : Per the PHS Act (42 USC, sec.

254b), all health centers must demonstrate the establishment of a governing board that assumes full authority and responsibility for the health center, how important is this requirement?

Health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations, and as such, are required to demonstrate appropriate oversight in the delivery of primary and preventive health care services to the Nation’s underserved. The governing board requirements ensure that the organization is financially stable and is operating in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations as well as its own established policies and procedures – all while in support of the health center’s mission.

UV: Why did Congress find it important for the health centers to be governed by its consumers?

HRSA : We cannot comment on Congress’ intent; that is a question for Congress. As the agency that administers the Health Center Program we can say, however, that this requirement has proven to be critical to the community-based and patient-directed intent of the Health Center Program.

UV: Would the establishment of an advisory board meet this requirement?

HRSA :In general, health center governing boards must demonstrate autonomous decisionmaking authority related to the approval of the health center grant application/budget, selection/ dismissal and evaluation of the CEO, selection of services and hours of operations, strategic planning, measuring and evaluating the health center’s progress in meeting programmatic and financial goals, and establishment of general policies. In some instances, HRSA does permit certain types of health centers to request a waiver of the 51 percent patient majority governance requirement and allows them to address patient representation through an alternative mechanism such as an advisory board.

UV: If a health center’s board is advisory only (no legal authority to govern), would that health center still be grant eligible?

HRSA : Other than tribal/Indian organizations that are exempt from the governing board requirements by statute, only organizations with a governing board with legal/decision-making authority would be eligible to receive a health center grant.

UV: Does HRSA recommend that health centers seek and obtain their own 501(c)3 designation?

HRSA : To be eligible for a grant, a health center must be a public or nonprofit private entity. Nonprofit private entity applicants are required to demonstrate their nonprofit status.

Public agencies applicants are also required to demonstrate they qualify as a public agency.

UV: If there are co-applicants to a HRSA grant, does one grantee have more authority

over the other?

HRSA : Under a public entity-co-applicant arrangement, the public entity is the legal recipient of the Health Center Program grant and, therefore, may retain some authorities in the administration of the grant (fiscal and general policies). The co-applicant health center governing board must retain all other statutory authorities.

Urban Voice also spoke with the Tennessee Primary Care Association, a not-for-profit corporation with the goal of strengthening community-based primary healthcare systems in the state.

According to Kathy Wood- Dobbins, CEO of the Tennessee Primary Care Association, most health centers are autonomous private nonprofit organizations, but there is a provision in the federal statute that allows public entities to establish community health centers by joining with a community board and applying for a HRSA grant as co-applicants.

“The public entity and the community board have a co-applicant agreement that describes how they will work together to fulfill the requirements to receive community health center funding”, added Wood – Dobbins. “In this agreement, the public entity may retain authority for establishing fiscal and personnel policy. The community board establishes other policy, meets monthly, and hires the executive director of the health center”.

“Under a public entity-co-applicant arrangement, the public entity is the legal recipient of the Health Center Program grant and, therefore, may retain some authorities in the administration of the grant (fiscal and general policies)”, said Elizabeth Senerchia, Public Affairs Specialists at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The co-applicant health center governing board must retain all other statutory authorities”.

Wood - Dobbins added that under the health center program the Co-applicant Board and public entity are envisioned to serve as partners that work together to bring much needed health care services to the community.

“Since its beginnings fifty years ago, the community health center program has distinguished itself from other health care programs by its emphasis on the participation of people who are served by the health center on its governing board”, said Wood – Dobbins. “By having strong consumer representation, health centers are connected to the communities they serve and can take the community needs into consideration when setting policies such as hours of operations and on establishing new services”.

Former GOVERNING Board of Director •

Carmen Ware

•

Erskine Oglesby

•

Cora Lanier

•

Gerald Webb, (E)

•

Anita Shumaker, MD (E)

•

Felix Beasley

•

Tommy Patillo

•

Shelia Young

•

Maeola Shropshire

•

Robert Shaw

New ADVISORY Board of Director •

Rosemary Geiger

•

Nakeda Eady

•

Carol Cox

•

Gerald Webb, (E)

•

Anit a Shumaker, MD (E)

•

Beverly Johnson

•

Rose Mary Porter

•

Rick Youngblood (E)

•

Henry Hoss (E)

* denotes Erlanger Trustee

12 COMMENTARY

Act Now to Make Anti-Poverty Tax Credits Permanent by: MARC MORIAL President, National Urban League COMMENTARY

out of necessity, it is also an economic stimulus.” – Alice Lieberman, Professor, University of Kansas School of Social Welfare.

With only a few weeks left in the year, Congress is debating a series of key issues for working families. One of the most important is the fate of key parts of two tax credits that help millions of low-income working Americans.

ll(TriceEdneyWire.com) - „The Earned Income Tax Credit is the most effective anti-poverty program in the United State. It both encourages and rewards work by allowing low-income workers to recoup money that otherwise would have gone to taxes. And since low-income people are more likely to spend their income than to save it

The two credits — the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) — are powerful tools that reduce poverty and encourage and reward work. Together, they lift more children out of poverty than any other program, while also promoting greater mobility and opportunity for families.

And, with four million African American children living in poverty today, the EITC and CTC make a critical difference in our communities.

In 2009, President Obama

signed into law temporary improvements to the credits that dramatically expand access to the CTC to very low income working families and provide additional help for some families receiving the EITC. Although these very important improvements to both tax credits were extended in 2012, they will expire in 2017 unless Congress acts to make them permanent.

This fall may be the best opportunity that Congress has as it debates legislation that could make some business tax breaks permanent. As the House and Senate consider this legislation, they cannot leave working families behind. They must make the improvements of the EITC and CTC permanent as well.

If they don’t, African Americans would be disproportionately harmed: two million working African American families and 4 million children would lose an average of $1,200 per year. A

single mother of two working full time at the federal minimum wage would lose every penny of her CTC. “In many cases, these two measures are what allows working families to stay in their homes,” said Don Cravins, Jr., Executive Director of National Urban League Washington Bureau. “The consequences of ending the credits would be nothing of devastating.”

In the course of these discussions, Congress also has a chance to address the plight of lower-income workers without kids, many of whom are left out of the EITC. Expanding the EITC to cover these workers has bipartisan support and would help promote work, could reduce incarceration rates, and boost earnings.

Now is the time to make your voice heard in the halls of Congress. You can help by contacting your senators and representatives, urging them to make the improvements to the EITC and CTC permanent and reminding them of the importance of fixing the glaring hole in the EITC that leaves out childless workers without kids.

With your help, we can make the key provisions of these credits permanent so that they can keep making a difference in our communities.

The Obama administration is calling for Congress to make the improvements to these working family tax credits permanent.

Citizens Shouldn’t Have to Demonstrate to Be Treated Justly rev. JESSE JACKSON President, RAINBOW PUSH itself for possible demonstrations and riots. Once more community leaders anticipate that Chicago citizens will take to the streets — hopefully in nonviolent, disciplined demonstrations — to demand that Black Lives Matter.

Those who have seen the video agree that it is devastating. Local elections were a month away when the shooting took place. The tape was withheld from the public pending official investigation.

But to date, there has been no action on that investigation. The police officer who shot and killed McDonald reportedly may be charged Tuesday. He remains on the police payroll.

COMMENTARY ll (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Over a year ago in October, 2014, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by a Chicago policeman and killed. With the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, the city fought several attempts to have the dashcam video of the incident released to the public. By Wednesday, the video will be released by judicial order. An entire city now girds

Yet even while the tape remained secret, the Chicago City Council, acting on advice of a city attorney who had seen the tape, according to local media reports, voted for a $5 million settlement for the McDonald family before the family even filed a lawsuit. Officials continued to oppose release of the video until a judge finally ordered its release under the Freedom of Information Act laws.

In Chicago, officials offered no remedy.

Instead they sat on the tape for more than a year, buried the killing in an unending investigation, gave the officer a pass, and got through the elections.

Having failed to take action, they now lead a city that awaits a fearsome reaction.

Jeffrey Neslund, one of the attorneys for McDonald’s family who has seen the video, says, “It will have a powerful impact on anyone seeing it.” It apparently shows that McDonald was carrying a small knife but was walking away from police when he was shot repeatedly.

Neslund argues that “the bigger story is the process. That needs to change. If the mayor and people in his administration know how devastating this is, and they can’t fire this officer and recommend that he be disciplined and charged, it is ridiculous.”

People want a remedy, not a riot. It is utterly irresponsible to do nothing until the courts make the tape public and then shudder at the anticipated outraged response by Chicago residents. Long ago, the mayor should have announced a complete shakeup of the Chicago Police Department.

Only that can begin to revive any trust in the police. The unending secret investigation should make its findings known.

If the tape is as damning as

reported, the police officer should be charged and relieved of his duties.

Black lives do matter. If there are demonstrations when the tape is released on Wednesday, I hope citizens will protest with discipline, and demand a remedy. Chicago’s citizens should not have to demonstrate in the streets in order to be treated justly. Citizens of color should feel protected not threatened by the police whose salaries they help pay. Elected officials should worry less about covering up the horrors than about remedying them. Only action will heal the city’s wounds, and the time for it is long overdue.

Politics, Black Church Leaders and Donald Trump of voting impediments were the more educated and relatively well off pastors who could read the passages, pay the taxes and the like. The local Republican Party and decades later, the Democratic Party, knew full well to court the pastors to ensure maximum turnout for given candidates

COMMENTARY ll For many decades after slavery ended, black pastors often were the most formally educated or learned individuals within a given black community.

Black pastors during this era wielded enormous influence over their flocks with respect to all issues political or social.

Where and when black people could not vote in vast parts of the Jim Crow South from the late 1880s to 1965 because of poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses, among the paucity of blacks who could theoretically withstand this litany

During this period, whites in both major parties knew the power of the black pastor with respect to all things political and social because by and large, as black people were not highly educated or politically and socially aware en masse, said whites knew that the same would be more easily controlled if the black pastors were kept in line. For such reasons, conservative whites in the South, then of the Democratic Party, knew that the key to keeping blacks complacent was through encouraging black pastors to encourage their flocks to keep things separate but (un) equal. Similarly, northern white progressives in both parties used black pastors for their political and social ends, too, including Margaret Sanger.

Sanger, a noted eugenicist and

founder of Planned Parenthood, was adamant that black pastors be used to help spread her goal of birth control and “sterilization” among “inferior” people.

Knowing this history is important because it puts what Donald Trump and other major political figures are doing as far as courting black pastors into perspective. The difference these days, however, is that black people en masse are far more formally educated and generally knowledgeable about political and social issues.

Thanks to the Internet and social media, information about the candidates and their positions are a keystroke or voice request away. Which is a good thing.

Because while I am friends with many great black pastors, including my own, Reverend Dr. Julius H. McAllister Jr. of Bethel A.M.E. in Tallahassee, Fla., the political preferences of my black pastor friends belongs to them and my political preferences belong to me… period!

To that end, if one’s political and social sensibilities reject Donald Trump as a political figure, as it should for any well read black

person in America, or should said black person’s pastor stand in the pulpit on Sunday morning and suggest that Donald Trump deserves our respect and vote, just smile and know that said pastor has sold out for a ticket on the Coon Train. At that point, pray for discernment as to whether to simply reject said pastor’s political message and wait for the spiritual lesson, or ask God to guide you to another church home altogether….

Hobbs served as lead counsel for Dr. Julian E. White, the legendary band director for the Florida A&M University Marching 100, following the hazing death of Drum Major Robert Champion. In 2014, Hobbs was invited by the United States Department of Defense to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was a legal observer of the court proceedings for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and the 9/11 terror co-conspirators.

Charles E. “Chuck” Hobbs II is a trial lawyer based in Tallahassee, Florida. During the past decade he has appeared on Court TV twice, first ascharles-hobbs co-counsel in the 2003 gambling case of former Florida State University quarterback Adrian McPherson, and in 2006 as lead attorney for four of the five young men charged in the Kappa Hazing case, the nation’s first ever felony hazing trial. Hobbs has provided legal commentary on CNN, Fox News and “E” network on a number of topics including hazing on college campuses, the Martin Lee Anderson boot camp case as well as the Duke Lacrosse scandal. In 2011,

An active member of Bethel AME Church, he also holds memberships in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, Valentine Lodge #147 PHA F&AM; 100 Black Men of America, The Federalist Society and the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society.

A Tallahassee native, Hobbs earned a B.A. in history from Morehouse College in 1994 and a M.A.S.S. with a concentration in history from Florida A&M University in 1995. In 1998, Hobbs earned a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

MONEY FUNNY? TRY THESE BUDGET FRIENDLY HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING IDEAS holiday advice ll The turkey is gone. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have past. There are less than four weeks left before Christmas, and many of us are realizing once again that we have more month left than money. Although, this may be the norm 11 months out of the year, it can be quite difficult for December with its expectations of gifting in celebration of the Holiday Season. Whatever you do, don’t panic – we got you!

Here are some tips from the Urban Voice to get you through this season just in case your money is acting a little funny.

1. Don’t Stress: Everyone falls on hard times – that’s just life. Don’t get down in the dumps about not having any cash this season. You

are under no obligation to buy gifts. Perhaps this could be a good exercise in refusing to do things simply out of habit or a sense of duty. Rather than stress about what you don’t have, be thankful for what you do. Take the time to focus on what really matters. Make this season special by starting new, free traditions such as sightseeing in neighborhoods with spectacular Christmas decorations; snuggling with loved ones and a hot cup of cocoa or tea to read a book or watch a favorite movie, or sitting around together sharing family stories.

2. Put Your Talents to Work: Can you sew? Do you like to cook? How about making something and giving the gift of creativity this Holiday Season. There are hundreds of websites such as Pinterest

that has wonderful DIY Christmas gift ideas. You will be surprised by the number of cool gifts you can make with a mason jar.

3. Make Thrift Stores and Dollar Stores Your Friend: My family is huge. I have seven aunts and nine uncles. Two years ago, I wanted to make sure that each of them, including my parents, received a special Holiday gift (that’s 18 gifts) not including my immediate family, friends, and co-workers. Let me just say, The Dollar Tree and thrift stores became my BFF. You can always find a cool decorative tin that can be used to fill with treats or trinkets.

4. Communicate: Get Everyone on the Same Page: Make decisions as a family. What will be your

spending limit for gifts? Will you buy individual gifts for everyone? Will you do a gift exchange? Will you buy gifts at all? There is no right or wrong way to celebrate.

Communicating gift giving guidelines will help you save money and be sure that everyone has the same expectations.

love. Don’t stress material things or get caught up in the Holiday hype focusing on what you can or can’t afford to buy. In the end, you are the gift. Give of yourself and that will be all that matters at least it will be to those that actually do matter.

5. Give of Yourself: Aren’t you all that and a bag of chips anyway? Why not just give of yourself? One of the things I like to do is give my loved ones coupon books with special favors they can redeem throughout the year (with a 48 hour notice, of course). Other ideas include: cleaning someone’s house, washing someone’s car, or babysitting someone’s children.

The Holiday Season is a time to enjoy those you

URBAN VOICE MAGAZINE 2015 | 13

“DEFEATING THE SPIRIT OF DEATH, DISAPPOINTMENT, AND DEPRESSION”

by Daryl W. Arnold, SR. • Senior Pastor, Overcoming Believers Church, Knoxville, TN ll We are approaching one of the most exciting and energetic seasons of the year, the Christmas and advent season. By now every store that you go into is filled with holiday shoppers preparing for the Big day to approach. The sound of traditional Christmas carols are being heard in the background of every place that we go. Churches are preparing for their Holiday plays, cities have lit up their downtown walkways, families are gathering from all over the country and causing traffic backups on every highway exit. The smell of eggnog and fresh baked cookies is the common scent in all of our homes, but what can be a season of happiness to some is also a season of sorrow and depression for others. You see, Christmas is not just a holiday the causes you to remember the family and friends that you have but it also causes you to remember all of the family, friends and love ones that you’ve lost. As I think through how blessed I am to have four healthy children and a beautiful, loving wife to celebrate Christmas with, I can’t help but to also think of those that have had to bury their spouses or children throughout the years.

Just 2 months ago I had to preach the funeral of a sixteen year old that committed suicide.

It was one of the most difficult assignments that I have ever had. Three days later I buried a young man that had been shot in a drive by shooting and a couple of days after that I buried an older woman who died of a terminal disease. During the funerals I was perfectly fine; I preached as hard as I could with the hopes of bringing some sense of hope and solace to the family, while at the same time trying to compel those that were distant from God to receive Him as their savior. In every service, people were encourage and multiple souls were saved. I felt

like I did my job and was able to witness results. From most clergies perspective, that was a clear WIN all things considered.

However, on the next week it seemed as though I emotionally went into a fast downward spiral.

I couldn’t focus on anything, I struggled with sleeping at night, was overly irritated with my staff and family, completely lost my appetite, and I felt myself trying to fall into a moment of depression. I began to seek the Lord in prayer concerning what was going on in me. Why was I daily losing my emotional stability and internally coming apart? I really felt like I heard the Spirit of God say to me in one sentence, “DEATH IS DESTRUCTIVE WITHOUT THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE.” If death is not defined and viewed from a biblical lens, it will not only destroy the body of the deceased, but it will also destroy the minds of those that are yet still alive. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people that I provide spiritual counsel to that have lost a love one years ago and are still grieving as though it had happened on last week.

How painful it is to look them in their eyes and see the hollow, emptiness that lies within. Death is destructive until you embrace the proper perspective. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 MSG, “And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word.

Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.”

What Paul is saying is this, it is perfectly normal for us to mourn and to grieve when our love one’s die. As a matter of fact it is probably abnormal for a person not to show any emotional signs at all when they journey through the devastation of death. However, when we grieve as believers we don’t grieve without hope. We grieve intelligently. We grieve knowing that death is not a PERIOD to the believer but a COMMA. A period in a sentence means that the sentence is finished and there is nothing coming behind it. However, a comma means that there is a quick pause in the sentence but the sentence is not complete. When our love ones, family members, and friends that are in Christ take their last breath and give up the Ghost, remember that, that exhale was not a period but a comma. There’s more to come in eternity. We all should grieve, but not as those who have No Hope. We must learn to have the prosper perspective of death.

14 | URBAN VOICE NeWSMAGAZINE 2015

The first way of not allowing the death of a love one to lead us into depression is to “SAVOR THE MEMORIES.” One of the things that death can not do to the believer is rob them of the precious memories they have. The times of joy, laughter, and even struggles that we have had with our loved ones can never be erased from our minds and hearts. You see memories are permanent memorials that bench mark and chronicle significant moments in our lives. Proverbs 10:7 says, “The memory of the just is blessed.”

Which means that every time you remember the precious times and seasons that you have had with your loved ones, God blesses you to relive that experience all over again. Therefore, as long as you don’t lose your memory you can never lose your love one.

There was a boy that came to his father in tears because while at recess in school he lost his favorite book. His father said, “Son what are you so sad about?” The boy replied, “Dad I lost the book that you gave me on my fifth birthday and I’ll never get to read it again.” His father responded and said, “Son if you’ve read the book, it is impossible for you to lose it. It may not be in your hands, but it’s still in your head. This Christmas many of you are going to feel the same way about your family members that you have lost. You’re going to be sad that they are not sitting around the Christmas tree or not carving the turkey with you like last year. but remember my brothers and sisters, you may not have them in your hands anymore but the sweet memories of them will never escape your heart. I challenge you to do everything that you can this year to “SAVOR THE MEMORIES.” The next thing that I would encourage you to do is fight the spirit of depression. “LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR THE 2 MINUTE REMARKS.” There are a few things that are historically customary at African American funerals. Excuse me in advance for overtly being stereotypical.

Someone will sing a couple of verses of “I WON’T COMPLAIN,” generally sang poorly. One of the kids will recite a poem, the person who gave the deceased the most hell will make the biggest scene while the family member that loved the deceased the most will comfort them.

Churches, High School Classes, and Greek organizations will read resolutions, the preacher will give a sermon on the reality of the resurrection and the moderator will open the floor up for 2 MINUTE REMARKS. Now that’s the point when I

get real nervous, the 2 Minute Remarks. This is suppose to be a time where family, friends, and close associates share a couple of words about some positive experiences that they’ve had with the person who has died. This is where the funeral has the proclivity to get out of control or at least completely dishonest. You see what often happens is instead of people talking about who the deceased was, they often talk about what the deceased should have been.

Let’s be honest, we all have been to that funeral where the person who had died was as mean as a snake and was first cousins with the devil himself yet when you heard the 2 minute remarks you would think that he was the archangel Gabriel. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want people to have to lie about me in their 2 Minute Remarks in order to make me a better person in death than I was in life. I want for my life to reflect the image of God on the Earth. I want to leave a real character legacy for my wife, children, church and community. I truly want to intentionally live my life in such a way that Jesus would be glorified in my 2 Minute Remarks.

The third thing that you can do to combat the spirit of depression and see death from the proper perspective is to “LEAVE A SCENT” in the Earth. Paul said in James 4:13-15 NIV, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” What Paul is saying here is that your life is so much shorter than you think. It seems like just yesterday when I was graduating from high school and headed to college but in all reality it was almost 30 years ago. Time is passing so much more quickly than we think.

However, what I’m learning in my older age is that it’s not the length of your life that really matters it’s the strength of your life that really matters. The text adequately compares life to a mist or a vapor. Like the mist that comes out of a can of air freshener that you use to spray your home or car. When you spray it you see the mist but it quickly disappears, but are you sad or disappointed because you no longer see the mist? No, because although you don’t see it you can still smell it. It LEFT A SWEET SCENT. It changed the environment that is was sprayed into. That’s how we have to look at death. Our lives are like vapors or mist in comparison to eternity. We are here for a moment and then we disappear.

What matters is that we changed the environment that God placed us in while we were here. Our primary objective in life should not be that we try to live forever, but that we leave a scent when we die. It was Benjamin Franklin who said, Lost time is never found again. Use it wisely!

Last but certainly not least, the best way to put death into perspective and reject the spirit of depression this holiday is to “LOOK FOWARD TO THE REUNION.” Listen to the words of the Holy Spirit as He comforts us concerning the death of our love ones, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NIV The application of this passage is simple. What God is saying is, although many of your family members and friends will miss Christmas dinner this year because they have died in the Lord, you can still have joy. Why? Because there is a reunion that is to come that is planned By the creator Himself in Heaven. The music with be DJ’d by the Angelic Host in Glory. The venue will be in a mansion where the streets are paved with Gold. There will be no handicap parking available outside because there is no disease, deformity or disabilities there. The Guest of Honor will be the King of King Himself, and everyone of your love ones who have died in the Lord will be present, adorned in their glorified bodies, and clothed with white garment that have been washed in the blood of the lamb. When we all get to Heaven what a day of rejoicing it will be, when we all see Jesus we will sing and shout the victory! I LOOK FOWARD TO THE REUNION. So my friend I’m led to once again remind you that it’s alright to grieve this Holiday season but don’t allow your grief to morph into depression. Let this Holiday be a time to 1) SAVOR THE MEMORIES, begin a new life by 2) LIVING FOR THE 2 MINUTE REMARKS, and 3) LEAVE A SWEET SCENT in the Earth and start LOOKING FOWARD TO THE BIG REUNION. May favor go before you, goodness and mercy follow you, and Christ be in you the hope of Glory. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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---- CHI-RAQ MOVIE REVIEW CONTINUED dialogue sound natural. Her gravitas and solemnity help ground even the silliest scenes. (And that sequence with the general, whom she persuades to strip to his Confederate-flag briefs, then hump a Civil War cannon, is pretty damn silly. Only Parris’ forceful dignity keeps it from derailing the film.)

Cannon’s gang leader is even more contradictory. By portraying him as simultaneously a tortured artist, a bratty boy, and a noble figure of manhood, Lee seems to be trying to encompass all the contradictions of black men raised in violence and forced to act out set roles that may not fit their personalities. The smaller figures, in simpler and tighter roles, aren’t drawn so messily, but they’re similarly hard to see as real people.

Jackson’s swaggering narrator is meant as an oversized caricature, but Hudson is defined solely by grief, and Bassett solely by weary, wise defiance.

But all these roles still make an impact onscreen because the actors are icons, playing the iconic roles that have defined them. Hudson has nothing but sadness to sell, but she brings it across beautifully. Jackson has become strutting personified. No one sells raging melancholy like Bassett.

THERE’S A DRIVING, DESPERATE ANGER UNDERNEATH THE PLAYFULNESS And above all, there’s that driving, desperate anger underneath the playfulness. Lee and Willmott stay as up-to-the-minute as film production

timelines allow, dropping references to George Zimmerman and Darren Wilson, to Dylan Roof and Sandra Bland. They evoke the Black Lives Matter movement and offer real statistics and analysis of gang violence and American obsession with war and weaponry. In a quiet moment, Cusack’s character points out that sustainable jobs and meaningful education are necessary to fix the problems in the black community, and that the sex ban is just a stunt.

Lee ends once again with a familiar onscreen call: “Wake up!” But the gravity of the issues doesn’t prevent Chi-Raq from enjoying its winking, hipwriggling sexual theater, or offering up a gloriously ridiculous ending, as artificial as a grade school “say no to drugs” pageant. The film embraces the fantasy of everlasting peace, while repeatedly acknowledging the reality of inner-city blight.

That may be a message Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel doesn’t want anyone to hear. But Lee has his revenge, by portraying Chi-Raq’s fictional Chicago mayor (played by D.B. Sweeney) as a selfish, unreasonable clown who bullies his underlings with rhetoric, and has no real answers himself.

Lee doesn’t make Chicago look like a tourist’s nightmare, so much as he makes it look like an idealistic battleground. But he does make its mayor look like a spastic failure. That’s the power of satire — to veil real frustration under a palatable disguise, and make anger entertaining without losing any of its force.