Local civil rights hero finally gets her due See page C-1
George Clinton
shares tales of the road with P-Funk fans
See page D-1
POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
Volume 79 – Number 9
Dean of the U.S. Congress swears in next Speaker of the House Rep. John Conyers, Dean of the U.S. Congress, swore in Rep. Paul Ryan, (R-Wisconsin) as the newly elected Speaker of the House on Thursday, Oct. 29. Early this month, the big political news was when the House was thrown into chaos after Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy dropped out of the race for the job after being consi dered “ t h e chosen one” for the job. John Conyers F r a n tically trying to fill the sudden leadership vacuum that had been created when former House Speaker John Boehner announced he was stepping down, Republicans begged the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee to take the job. Using his family as an excuse, the Wisconsin Republican consistently refused until he received a key pledge of support from the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative group that had badgered Boehner and McCarthy. After that, he decided he would accept. Watching Ryan being sworn in as House Speaker wasn’t exactly a thrill for most Democrats, which also means most African Americans, but watching Ryan be sworn in by Rep. Conyers should have made all Detroiters extremely proud.
michiganchronicle.com
Benny
African American 490 Challenge raises $60,000 in first month
the liar
Private funds still needed to test rape kits By Kim Trent SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
They call them “rape kits.” They are the second invasion of a woman’s life. They are her decision to take action to prove the unfathomable — that her body has been violated against her will. They are her cries for justice as she allows DNA to be collected to tie the rapist to his crime. So when more than 11,000 unprocessed rape kits were found in Detroit Police storage in 2009, the evidence of inaction was deemed a violation of a community that demands justice. But the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office simply didn’t have funds to allocate to the cause.
By Keith A. Owens
pass by the media?
SENIOR EDITOR
T
Yeah. OK. Moving on.
elling lies is like smoking crack; once it gets good to you, you want a bigger hit the next time.
Ben Carson, who has recently been gaining ground as a Republican presidential candidate and was reported to be the leading candidate in Michigan as recently as last week, is widely acknowledged as a supremely gifted surgeon. He is quickly gaining a reputation as an equally gifted liar. Or, for those who prefer the kinder, gentler and more careful description, there is growing concern in certain circles that Dr. Carson may be suffering from a troubling difficulty discerning a measurable difference between what is probably true and what is, well, you know, not. Predictably, Carson has been striking out at members of the media, claiming that this is all part of some “witch hunt” and that no such vetting process was ever conducted against President Barack Obama or frontrunner Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Seriously? Obama and Clinton were given a
The list of wild and crazy utterances delivered by Carson since he began his quest for the nation’s highest office has gotten so long that at some point someone is likely to ask whether Dr. Carson is feeling OK, or whether he has just plain snapped and gone Fruit Loops. Is he one of those guys who is so bright that his brain occasionally jumps the track, or what exactly is going on here? Because how can anyone who is known to be so brilliant say with a straight face that the pyramids were probably used as grain silos? Or that Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery? And that’s just for starters. What began the currently — and hotly — trending story build-up related to Dr. Carson’s fibs was the recent discovery that he was probably lying about a certain dramatized portion of his childhood where he claimed that he once tried to stab a friend of his named Bob in a fit of crazed, pathological rage. But the knife struck Bob’s belt buckle and broke, after which the young Dr. Carson apparently apologized to Bob
See CARSON page A-4
Detroit city officials and local environmental leaders will be traveling to San Francisco next week to tour the city’s green infrastructure and learn best practices in green development from SF Environment.
See GREEN page A-4
Trent and other women formed the African American 490 Challenge last month to weigh in and speak up for the survivors of these sexual assaults, more than 80 percent of whom are African American. The group plans to raise $657,090 by December 2016 -and raised more than $60,000
See 490
CHALLENGE page A-4
By Donald James SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
If anyone was wondering if Martha Firestone Ford would be reluctant to make major organizational changes now, or in the future, to improve her hapless Detroit Lions, the answer came quickly and decisively during a two- minute press conference.
Michigan Chronicle Associate Publisher Cathy Nedd (right) presents a check for $5,000 to "Big Sean" Anderson and his mother, Myra Anderson.
Michigan Chronicle makes hefty donation to Big Sean By Daniel A. Washington It’s no secret that Detroit rapper ‘Big Sean’ - also known as Sean Anderson - is proud of his Motor City roots. “When I was last talking to Puff, you know P. Diddy, we were chatting about where we were from and he said he was New York all day but if he could be from anywhere else it would definitely be Detroit,” said Anderson, at the Michigan Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 award ceremony where he was honored. Sharing his love for the city in nearly all his remarks publically, Anderson expressed an outpour of emotion for being recognized for his efforts. The artist has taken it upon himself to promote Detroit in his music, image and philanthropic efforts.
$1.00
“That is why it was necessary to raise private dollars to fund the testing of the kits, each costing $490 to process,” said Kim Trent, education policy manager for Michigan Future Inc. and who serves on the Wayne State University Board of Governors. “It’s fantastic that we’ve also seen public dollars being allocated to the law enforcement side of the effort, to investigate and solve the crimes and to prosecute the criminals.”
Martha Firestone Ford ‘Fires’ Lions’ top executives Mayhew and Lawand
Detroit’s Green Task Force to travel to San Francisco to learn green infrastructure
Councilman Scott Benson, chair of Detroit’s Green Task Force, has arranged for 14 local government and environmental leaders to tour San Francisco’s facilities. The tour will focus on two areas, solid waste reduction through recycling and storm water management. San Francisco has some of the most advanced environmental services and outreach in the country and the thought is to bring some of these best practices back to Detroit
November 11-17, 2015
“There is no other city like Detroit,” said Anderson. “I am proud to be from here.”
With his mother at the helm, Anderson’s foundation has helped provide hope, resources and opportunities for youth across the city. The foundation, with help from Adidas and other funding sources, built a studio for students at Cass Technical High School, Anderson’s alma mater. “This is such an honor, you don’t even understand. My mom at times I feel is being underutilized and means so much to me,” said Anderson after receiving the award. “I have to thank God, my grandmother and my whole family.” In honor of the foundation’s work, the Michigan Chronicle presented Anderson and his mother with a $5,000 check to help continue the work of the foundation. For more information on the foundation, visit seanandersonfoundation.org.
Held on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 5, at the team’s Allen Park Training Facility, the “bye week” press conference served as a platform for Ford to say “goodbye” to the team’s general manager, Martin Mayhew, and president, Tom Lawand. Ford announced that Sheldon White, the team’s vice president of pro personnel, will take over for Mayhew. Allison Maki, the Lion’s CFO will now be responsible for the team’s day-to-day business operations. Both White and Maki are serving in interim roles, said Ford, and will report directly to her. ‘ “We are very disappointed with the results of the season so far and believe a change in leadership was necessary,” said Ford about her 1-7 Lions, as she read from a prepared statement. “We are beginning a national search for the best leadership to manage our team going forward. I want to assure our fans that we intend to identify and hire the very best leadership in order to produce a consistently winning football team.’’ Ford also announced no changes in the coaching staff, meaning Jim Caldwell will remain as the Lions’ head coach. While safe, for now, Caldwell should understand that when a new GM and president are chosen, most likely the new executive brain trust
See LIONS page A-4