March is Women’s History Month: We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily difference we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.
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Marian Wright Edelman (1939-present) Families in Peril (1987) March 5-11, 2015
Volume 87 • Issue 30
Atlanta to Selma: ‘Bloody Sunday’ marchers call Voting Rights Act ‘weak’
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COVER STORY
Atlanta group marching on Selma to rescue Voting Rights Act from those trying to kill it By Terry Shropshire “Fifty years ago, we went to Selma to get the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Fifty years later, we are going back to keep it.” That simple and powerful statement was uttered by Rev. Albert E. Love, the founder and CEO of the Atlanta-based Voter Empowerment Collaborative, which is fighting to save the Voting Rights Act of 1965 from becoming obsolete. The non-partisan organization, which does not endorse any political party nor candidates, solely works to empower voters through information, inspiration and involvement. He and his organization, along with thousands of other Atlantans, will be in Selma, Ala., for the 50th commemoration of “Bloody Sunday,” the day that now-Congressman John Lewis led a group of predominantly black marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and were beaten to within inches of their lives. Soon after, Rev. Martin Luther King led another march from Selma to Montgomery and it led to the signing of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. President Obama, the first family, Rep. Lewis and many other dignitaries and celebrities will attend the activities that go on through the weekend of March 6-8. Love will also be there, but for more reasons than to celebrate and reminisce. “We are going to Selma for two reasons: certainly we want to commemorate those who made the supreme sacrifice to help us get the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But we also want to highlight and get the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2015 passed. Two years ago, the Supreme Court gutted a piece of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, especially Section 4 that mandated Justice Department oversight to ensure states obey the law and inform citizens of any new changes in the voting process.” “That is not being done right now,” Love states. “The Voting Rights Act is pretty much meaningless, because we don’t have the protection of the federal government to oversee and hold accountable states that have a history of restricting voting rights. We are going there to put on the front burner the issue of our need to renew the Voting Rights Act.” While Love and the Voter Empowerment Collaborative work on the grassroots level, they will be joined in the political arena by congressmen and senators who see the need to update the VRA. Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.) along with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced legislation to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because they, along with civil rights groups, believe that conservative groups have worked to steadily erode voting rights among minorities. Therefore the trio is working to pass HHR 885, which is the Voting Rights Amendment Act. “Right now, [the VRA] has been seriously weakened, and we don’t have the guarantees from the U.S. Department of Justice to come in and ensure that states won’t make … adjustments before they let the citizens know of the changes. As we speak, we are at a serious disadvantage,” said Love. The aforementioned congressmen agree. “The VRA is one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation ever passed,” said Sensenbrenner in a statement. “Our legitimacy as elected officials relies on the integrity of the ballot box. I urge my colleagues to support the VRAA because it is vital to our commitment to never again allow racial prejudices in the electoral process.”
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March 5-11, 2015
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The bill, introduced Wednesday by Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.), responds to the Supreme Court ruling in 2013 that struck down Section 4 of the law. In a 5-4 vote, the court declared it was time to update the section, which determined which states and localities with a history of minority voter suppression, had to clear changes to their voting laws with the Justice Department. The Supreme Court justices left it up to Congress to come up with a new formula for designating which regions of the country require special scrutiny. The Sensenbrenner-Conyers bill would update the formula by making it apply to all states and jurisdictions with deliberate voting violations in the past 15 years, and by creating uniform transparency requirements to keep communities informed about voting changes. The legislation actually expands the Voting Rights Act as well, by giving more power to federal courts to stop discriminatory voting changes before they are implemented. It would lower the bar for plaintiffs seeking a preliminary injunction of a law in any federal court. Sen. Leahy vowed to reintroduce the Senate legislation. The bill didn’t have any GOP co-sponsors in the last Congress, and there is no indication he will get that help this time around. “I will continue to work to find a Senate Republican to join me in introducing bipartisan legislation to restore this landmark law so that every Americans’ right to vote is protected,” Leahy said in a Washington press conference. Despite the backing of powerful, long-serving congressmen and senators, the bill has “withered on the vine,” Love says because of a lack of media and public attention. This makes the Selma trip all the more important in order to shine the spotlight back on voting rights. “We are excited to be going to Selma. [It is] is a symbol of our struggle. We want people to get involved. This is the most important legislation of the 21st century because it will protect our right to vote,” Love said. “This will have far-reaching ramifications on our right to vote in terms of removing barriers. It was June 25, 2013 that Supreme Court made the ruling, and since then many of the states have enacted many voter ID laws and other restrictions.” Love added that the Voter Empowerment Collaborative’s goal is to have the VRAA passed in the 114th Congress. But first, Love says, we need to get people talking about the proposed bill and understand the
monumental importance of the Supreme Court decision of 2013 that took away Section 4 of the VRA. “As a matter of fact, I liken that ruling [by the Supreme Court to weaken the VRA] to the Compromise of 1877, which resulted in the removal of the troops from the South, and we know what happened after that — lynchings, killings, Jim Crows and these kind of laws. We just want to be in the forefront to get a national dialogue on this issue and make it a citizens’ driven movement.” In the “Shelby County v. Holder” ruling on June 25, 2013, the Court’s conservative majority struck down Section 4 of the VRA, the formula that compelled specific states with a well-documented history of voting discrimination to clear their voting changes with the federal government under Section 5 of the VRA. The two provisions were always meant to work together; without Section 4, Section 5 became obsolete. And here is a very important distinction: Since the Shelby decision, eight states previously covered under Section 4 have passed or implemented new voting restrictions, including ID laws, shortening of early voting, cancellation of Sunday voting, etc. The proposed Voting Rights Amendment Act, Love surmises, would strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a couple of major ways: 1. The legislation draws a new coverage formula for Section 4, thereby resurrecting Section 5. States with five violations of federal law to their voting changes over the past fifteen years will have to submit future election changes for federal approval. This new formula would currently apply to Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Local jurisdictions would be implicated if they commit three or more violations or have one violation and “persistent, extremely low minority turnout” over the past fifteen years. 2. The bill, if passed, would make it easier to seek a preliminary injunction against a potentially discriminatory voting law. Plaintiffs will have a lower burden to show that the hardship to them outweighs the hardship to the state if a law is blocked in court pending a full trial. Section 4 covered nine states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia) and parts of six others (in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota) based on evidence of voting discrimination against blacks and other minority groups dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.
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NEWS
Obama Administration calls for sweeping police reforms
By Lynette Holloway After a vociferous outcry over the high-profile deaths of unarmed Black men who died at the hands of White police officers in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City, President Barack Obama on Monday called for sweeping reforms of police tactics in cities across the nation. The president released findings of the White House task force set up after the deaths last summer of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York City’s Staten Island community. The report, which recommends an overhaul of the criminal justice system, says law enforcement agencies should seek independent criminal investigators and independent prosecutors to review cases when someone dies or is injured during encounters with police, according to a statement. The task force also urges law enforcement officers to work to develop trust in communities by creating policies to address racial profiling, changing oppressive tactics while patrolling protesters and gathering statistics on shootings and deaths by
police. The task force also calls for more diverse police forces so that they better reflect the communities they serve. “[A] lot of our work is going to involve local police chiefs, local elected officials, states recognizing that the moment is now for us to make these changes,” the president said in the statement. “We have a great opportunity, coming out of some great conflict and tragedy, to really transform how we think about community law enforcement relations so that everybody feels safer and our law enforcement officers feel, rather than being embattled, feel fully supported. We need to seize that opportunity.” Obama warned that some of the recommendations would be controversial, including independent investigations and independent special prosecutors for situations when civilians die at the hands of police officers. “But the importance of making sure that the sense of accountability when, in fact, law enforcement is involved in a deadly shooting is something that I think communities across the board are going to need to consider,” he said. “Or some recommendations around prohibiting racial profiling. That’s a step that we’ve already taken at the federal level.” He also delved into technology, citing police body cameras, but warned that they are not the antidote to ending tensions between police and the Black community. “There’s been a lot of talk about body cameras as a silver bullet or a solution,” he said. “I think the task force concluded that there is a role for technology to play in building additional trust and accountability, but it’s not a panacea, and that it has to be embedded in a broader change in culture and a legal framework that ensures that people’s privacy is respected and that not only police officers but the community themselves feel comfortable with how technologies are being used.”
Atlanta City Council member Natalyn Archibong introduces plans for Imagine Memorial Corridor Atlanta City Councilmember Natalyn Archibong has introduced legislation to establish an Imagine Memorial Task Force to oversee the adoption and implementation of the Imagine Memorial corridor study. The legislation will go to the Community Development / Human Resources Committee for further discussion at its 12:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, March 10 in the Council Chamber, AtNatalyn Archibong lanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue, S.W. Last fall, a design team from the Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning compiled previous master plans; collected new data; and met with neighborhood residents, community organizations, stakeholders and businesses to come up with a proposal to re-imagine Memorial Drive. The legislation, if approved by the full City Council, would create a 27-member task force to oversee the process of approving, adopting and implementing the plans. “Now that the design plan is complete, it is time to implement those ideas,” said Councilmember Archibong. “This task force will work alongside the community to review the
March 5-11, 2015
MARTA begins bus service in Clayton County on March 21
To herald the launch of MARTA’s bus service expansion into Clayton County on March 21, the Authority is hosting or participating in a series of events throughout March. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend one or more of these upcoming festivities: On Saturday, March 7 state Rep. Mike Glanton, (D) -Jonesboro will host a Meet MARTA Day event at Hearts to Nourish Hope at 640 Hwy. 138, Riverdale from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. MARTA staff will be available to discuss service in Clayton County and other major agency initiatives, such as the ongoing Comprehensive Operations Analysis Study, which is designed to get customers’ input on how to improve the agency’s service; the Transit Oriented-Development Program, which promotes vibrant, pedestrian-friendly and genuinely integrated development with transit; and regional transit expansion. Other MARTA introduction sessions are scheduled for: Saturday, March 14 Meet MARTA Day at Riverdale Town Center 7200 Church St. Riverdale, Ga. 30274 At 10 a.m., view a bus motorcade procession beginning at Legacy Apartment Homes on Riverside Road. The vehicles will travel Riverdale Road to Garden Walk Boulevard to Hwy. 85 to Bethsaida Road and end on Church Street. At Riverdale Town Center, residents can meet MARTA employees in a fun, family friendly atmosphere that will feature arts & crafts and a bounce house for kids, prizes and a live radio remote. Speakers at the 11 a.m. ceremony include the Honorable David Scott, U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 13th congressional district; MARTA Board Chairman Robert L. Ashe III and MARTA GM/CEO Keith T. Parker, AICP. Thursday, March 19 City of Lovejoy Job Fair Lovejoy Community Center 11622 Hastings Bridge Rd Lovejoy, Ga. 30250
plans and have them officially adopted by the City and the Atlanta Regional Commission to ensure that future development, infrastructure decisions, and new projects are done correctly.” The Memorial Drive corridor is highly traveled and has a number of public school facilities, parks, restaurants, and mixed-used developments. It serves as the east-west thoroughfare connecting downtown Atlanta to the city limits and continues eastbound to Stone Mountain Freeway.
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COMMUNITY
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March 5-11, 2015
Marchers with a mission to cross Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma A motorcycle brigade will escort six tour buses filled with Atlanta based civil rights supporters on March 8. The people boarding those buses will join thousands to re-enact the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march which commemorates its 50th anniversary on Sunday, March 8. The Voters Empowerment Collaborative, led by former SCLC executive staffer Rev. Albert E. Love, is coordinating the trip. The VEC has organized a bus trip to Selma, AL for the last three years while Rev. Love has made the trek every year since 1990. However, VEC executive director Rev. Love says this year is different. VEC marchers will do more than help America remember a milestone event. They’ll urge all participants to support legislation to make sure the legacy of the 1960s Voting Rights Act stays intact. “The Voting Rights Act had several provisions. One monitored all aspects of voting procedures for nine states and partially watched six others,” Rev. Love explains. “The entire voting rights legislation was renewed in 1970, 1977, 1982 and 2006 because elected officials from all parties realized it was needed. Then the Supreme Court changed it. Now there are challenges. Americans can’t just go to the polls and cast ballots. There are obstacles. It’s not constitutional; and this month, Representative James F. Sensenbrenner a Republican from Wisconsin, has introduced a
bill that restores the VRA and expands it to all states. Georgia Congressman John Lewis has co-sponsored the bill. So this year we march because we want HR-885 to be made into law by December 31st this year.” The 114th Congress will have a chance to pass HR 885 this year. There are several other components to this year’s VEC march that show the range of diverse communities wanting to commemorate
Will Packer, Kenny Leon among greats honored at Georgia Legislative Black Caucus Heritage Dinner
By Terry Shropshire The largest black legislative caucus in the country recently hosted its annual “Heritage Dinner” where the political body paid homage to excellence in the fields of television, movies and entertainment. Actor Chris Tucker and television personality Cynne Simpson hosted the august soiree inside the Thomas Murphy Ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. Theater legend Kenny Leon, producer Will Packer (Think Like a Man, No Good Deed, Ride Along), Steve Allen, Brenda Singletary, Andre Thompson, Gilbert Young, Millie Jackson, Dottie Peoples, Tony Terry and the SOS Band were among the honorees. Late, legendary performers James Brown, Otis Redding and Ray Charles were honored posthumously and Charles’ daughter, Sheila Ray Charles, performed for her father.
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this year’s 50th anniversary event. The South Fulton County Faith Riders, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts, will escort the VEC buses from Atlanta to Selma. Melvin Glaize says more than 20 riders have signed on and more registrations are coming in daily. The group wants to have 50 motorcyclists join the journey. Children will participate in the march through an Atlanta chapter of the Jack and
Jill club. One of the family members of an Atlanta icon, Wendy Jackson, daughter-inlaw of former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, helped coordinate buses specifically for them. The children are a part of one of the oldest clubs established for African-American young people in the country. The entire procession will receive an extraordinary sendoff from the African drummers of the First Afrikan Presbyterian Church in Lithonia. Buses leave from the parking lot of the West End Mall at 6:00 a.m. on the day of the march, Sunday, March 8. The marchers will receive a box lunch at Shiloh Baptist Church in Selma and hear a sermon from Reverend Timothy McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta. Tefere Gebre, the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO will also address the crowd. The AFL-CIO will provide some of the signs marchers will carry. Then everyone will lock arms and join thousands of other participants who will symbolically walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. For more information about what plans the VEC has to make HR 885 a reality contact the Voters Empowerment Collaborative at VEC.org or called 404-788-4542.
King Center commemorates 50th anniversary of Selma March Atlanta . . . The King Center will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights with three events: screenings of the award-winning film “Selma” at The King Center’s Freedom Hall Auditorium (March 6-8); an “Historical and Educational Civil Rights Tour,” to Selma, AL; and an address by King Center C.E.O. Bernice A. King at the 50th Anniversary Bridge Crossing Jubilee Mass Meeting on Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the historic Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Selma, AL. Dr. King will also provide remarks at the Post-March Rally and Salute to Foot Soldiers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, AL, between 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2015. “The Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights was a pivotal moment in American history,” said King Center C.E.O. Bernice A. King in announcing the commemorative program. “This historic protest march secured one of the most important pieces of legislation in the twentieth century, the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made democracy a reality for millions of citizens for the first time. The King Center proudly honors the courageous participants in this campaign, which has transformed our society so much for the better.” The King Center will show the film, “Selma” for a nominal fee of $5 for adults and $2.50 for students and seniors at The King Center’s Freedom Hall Auditorium on: Friday, March 6 at 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 7 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. The widely-acclaimed film, which was directed by Ava DuVernay, produced by Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Cameron McKracken and Christian Coulson, and stars David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo, has received numerous prestigious awards and honors, including the Academy Award for Best Song (by John Legend and Common). The King Center is also sponsoring “The Historical and Educational Civil Rights Tour, Selma, AL” on Sunday, March 8, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ (March 7, 1965), the day when the first Selma to Mont-
gomery March led by John Lewis and Rev. Hosea Williams began and was subjected to a vicious attack by local law enforcement. Tour highlights include: a worship service at the historic Second Avenue Baptist Church; a visit to Marion, Alabama, home of Jimmie Lee Jackson who was martyred during the historic protest (Coretta Scott King was also born and raised near Marion); a pilgrimage to the memorial site marking the martyrdom of Mrs. Viola Gregg Liuzzo; re-enactment of the March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge; and a video on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership in the campaign and how it lead to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The tour, which is sold out, will depart The King Center at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 8 and return from Alabama that evening at approximately 8:00 p.m.
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BUSINESS
March 5-11, 2015
Nearly 4 million Georgia health Cuba Gooding takes legal action to protect Florida A&M insurance customers exposed in data breach and Bethune-Cookman
By Donald James Cuba Gooding, Sr., long-time lead vocalist of the Grammy-nominated R&B ensemble, The Main Ingredient, and Father of Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr., thought it was a great idea to hold two benefit concerts in Orlando late last year during the annual Florida Classic Weekend – a historic and annual college football game between Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M University – to raise needed money for the two historically black colleges. Both schools agreed. Gooding is accusing executives of The Dr. Phillips Center (who took over the dayto-day operations of The Bob Carr Theater) of multiple mistakes and failure of its obligations as a venue, most glaringly, to offer viable opportunities for people to purchase tickets to the benefit concerts, via Internet or the venue’s box-office. In a gesture to correct its many wrongs, Dr. Phillips’ executives, according to Gooding, offered to donate $1,000 to each of the two black universities, to which Gooding, said, “No Way!.” He finds the offer insulting, not only to himself and his family, but to the
two schools as well. Gooding said, “If Dr. Phillips Center had good intentions to help the two black schools, the venue would not have made so many unprofessional mistakes, blunders, and oversights.” Gooding also said there were many other failures and acts of negligence on the part of the Dr. Phillips Center and its brain trust, which will be revealed in court. “I’m in this to win this for the two Historically Black Colleges and Universities that would have given them much more than the insulting $1,000,” said the legendary singer, whose signature hit song is, “Everybody Plays the Fool.” “These two schools, like so many other HBCUs are fighting for their very existence and should not have to be subjected to negligence or mistakes on the part of a venue that should have known better and should have operated with more professionalism.” Gooding is not going away due to the pressure of Dr. Phillips’ name in greater Orlando. “I’m from Harlem – I’m used to a good fight” says the Father of the Oscar Winner, “but what a shame that it had to come down to this. They were quick to take my money for the two events, while rendered nothing close to what was promised.”
Because of the severity and depth of the insurance data breach in Georgia, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating to find the culprit or culprits. Approximately 3.7 million Georgians have been put at risk due to the massive data breach at Anthem Inc., Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said on Friday afternoon, according to the New York Times. Anthem Inc., the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, said 3,726,249 of its current and former Georgia policyholders were affected. No credit card information
or confidential health information has been identified as being in the security breach, Hudgens said. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies are actively investigating this criminal act.” Hudgens said. “Anthem has begun notifying their current and former members whose information has been accessed, and I strongly urge Georgians to take advantage of the free credit monitoring and identity protection services being offered by Anthem.”
Frank Ski selling Buckhead restaurant for $400,000
By Terry Shropshire Frank Ski, the former king of Atlanta’s urban morning radio is placing his popular four-year-old Buckhead restaurant on the market for sale.. Ski, who is now a radio show host in Washington, is no longer living in Atlanta full time and can no longer oversee the day-today operations long distance. Frank Ski’s Restaurant and Lounge has been open since 2011, is said to be on the market for the low, low price of $395,000 or for lease at $18,000 a month, reports the AJC.
Annual sales reached $4,000,000, but he is mostly an absentee owner, because he works at WHUR-FM in the District of Columbia Ski eventually wants to return to hosting a radio show in Atlanta, most preferably in syndication, but has not had any viable offers thus far. Frank Ski’s is 8,000 square feet with seating for 400. There’s a 30-seat bar, two private dining rooms and a special wine cellar dining room which Ski takes special pride in.
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EDUCATION
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March 5-11, 2015
Best and worst college majors for finding a job After finishing the arduous task of completing their college degrees — not to mention racking up a combined $1.2 trillion in student loan debts — graduates are expecting to quickly land a high-paying job that will immediately catapult them into the ranks of the American middle class. But that’s not how it always works out. There are some majors, obviously, that pay much more than others, and there are majors that have a much higher unemployment rate than their counterparts. Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce produced a study that listed majors for fields of study that currently have the best track records for helping its graduates find employment by calculating employment totals in the fields where the degrees apply. Not surprisingly, the demand for teachers and school administrators make education the major with the lowest unemployment rate at 2.4 percent, according to the report. Other disciplines such as biology and, of course, health made the list with unemployment rates under 3 percent. Some of the fields with the lowest unemployment rate, such as engineering at 2.8 percent, also come out on top in terms of starting salaries. Electrical engineering majors, for example, who topped the list for the highest-paying jobs for graduates with salaries that start out at an average of $57,030. Take a look at the best and worst majors for employment in America:
(3). Health: 2.7 percent unemployment (4). Engineering: 2.8 percent unemployment (5). Computers, statistics and mathematics: 3.5 percent unemployment Five worst college majors for finding employment: (1). Architecture: 10.3 percent unemployment (2). Social sciences: 10.1 percent unemployment (3). Psychology and social work: 9 percent unemployment (4). Law and public policy: 8.6 percent unemployment (5). Journalism: 8.2 percent unemployment
Five best college majors for finding employment: (1). Education: 2.4 percent unemployment (2). Biology and life sciences: 2.6 percent unemployment
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Superintendent Beverly Hall died after a battle with breast cancer on Wednesday, March 4. Hall had been battling breast cancer as dozens of educators stood trial for a cheating scandal that happened during her tenure as head of the school district. The educator faced racketeering and conspiracy charges, but was not been well enough to stand trial. Her legal team issued a statement that read, “Dr. Hall fought this disease with great courage and dignity. For the last year and a half, Dr. Hall’s directions to her doctor have been simple: get me well enough to stand trial; and to her lawyers: see to it that I get a fair trial. She was never concerned about the outcome of such a trial, only that the process be fair. She never doubted that in a fair trial, with the jury hearing the state’s contentions and her rebuttal, to include her own testimony, she would be acquitted. In the end, she was not strong enough
to go to trial although that had been her earnest hope.” “I’m just saddened by her passing and my condolences to her family,” said defense attorney Gerald Griggs. Griggs said he thinks Hall’s death will have some impact on the jury, but “I think we have to look past that at this point,” he said. Hall’s oncologist argued in court last summer that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that spread through several parts of her body. A report by the state accused Hall of ignoring cover-ups during her twelve years as superintendent. She resigned from her position in 2010. The American Association of School Administrators named Hall as National Superintendent of the Year in 2009. Hall was 68 years old.
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ENTERTAINMENT
March 5-11, 2015
‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett Mike Epps and Nia Long to star signs deal with Columbia records in ‘Uncle Buck’ TV adaptation
Life is imitating art for “Empire” star Jussie Smollett, who just signed a new deal with Columbia Records! We see Jussie (pictured above on the keyboard) singing his heart out every week as Jamal Lyon Fox’s addictive, fascinating hit drama “Empire.” It’s can’t miss TV on Wednesdays, and that’s as much for the story as it is for the music.
Now, Jussie’s grabbed the attention of some music industry pros, and he’s getting another chance to share his musical gift in a new way. “There will be a Jussie Smollett album. I signed to Columbia,” Jussie announced during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, adding that he’s going to be in some amazing company at Columbia. “So, darling, I’m label mates with Beyoncé and Adele and Barbra Streisand.” MUST READ: ‘Empire’ Gets Real Black & Confronts The White Woman In The Room shouldn’t expect a similar vibe from Jussie’s own studio project. He would still love to have his friends from the show contribute something creatively to the album, though. “It’s going to be a whole different thing. Now, the Empire family will still have something to do with it,” said Jussie. “I would love for Terrence to come and oversee the production of all of the music,” he continued. “I would love for Timbaland to come on and Jim Beanz. We’ve all talked and they’re all down to work on it.”
Victoria Rowell accuses CBS and Sony of retaliation against diversity activists
Former The Young and the Restless star Victoria Rowell is accusing her previous employers of going after those speaking out against racism. Earlier this month, Rowell filed a lawsuit against CBS and Sony Pictures where she alleged both refused to re-hire her over her “public and private complaints regarding the lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera on the show.” In 2007, Rowell left the show after calling it home for 17 years and alleged she departed “reluctantly” after she faced years of “racial discrimination” and tried to return to Y&R and its sister show, The Bold and the Beautiful. Rowell claimed she was shot down by both and listed in her suit, “Those in charge of hiring at Sony and at Bell-Phillip Television Production Inc., with CBS’s CEO allegedly
pulling their strings,” have denied her return. CBS has claimed Rowell’s accusations have “no merit” and maintained she left the show on her own and will “vigorously defend this case,” against them. In an interview with The Wrap, Rowell claimed those who insisted on diversity are punished and are retaliated against by the big wigs in Hollywood. According to Rowell, The level of retaliation in entertainment is profound – it’s terrorism. When you think of not being allowed to work in your art form as a writer, a director, because you speak out. It’s systemic. Agents, managers, they don’t want to rock the boat, because they have a whole cadre of talent they have to keep employed. Rowell recalled to the site, years ago while she still worked on Y&R, she was hit with a whopping $20,000 fine after she missed one day of work. According to Rowell, she was lecturing inner-city youths at the time she was absent on the set. Rowell claimed the fine she received was much greater than what other actors would obtain in similar instances. Rowell revealed, she went to the NAACP and AFTRA for help regarding her fine and it was revoked. Rowell stated her lawsuit against her former employers is a last ditch effort, she also insists it is to spearhead the end the Hollywood system of racism and to gain equal rights. While Hollywood has seen some diversity in recent years, Rowell charged they need more, and blacks currently in the business have a huge burden applied to them. Rowell remarked: Shonda Rhimes… cannot be the representation of an entire people, that’s dangerous. There are many people who are African-American and can write very well, but cannot get through that door.
Mike Epps and Nia Long are set to star in the television adaptation of the 1989 film Uncle Buck. The show, which will be produced by Will Packer – who also produced Think Like a Man and Ride Along – will center around the immature Buck Russell (played by Mike
Epps) who takes care of his brother’s children, according to industry insiders. Long will play Buck’s wife. It was announced last month that the movie would be heading to the small screen in an all-Black adaptation on ABC.
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ENTERTAINMENT
March 5-11, 2015
Rapper Purubian poised to blow up in the rap game By Terry Shropshire Rising rap star Purubian is back for the first time. Let me explain. This Midwest-born lyrical lion was a regional star as a member of hit rap group in Flint, Mich., as he took all that anger and rage from the ghetto-fab episodes and stored it up in his chest and spit those hot emotions onto wax. Purubian and his group caused enough thunder in “Flint-town” that they got the attention of Warner Bros. records and Tommy Boy Records and dropped mean mixtapes such as Playing for Keeps. After laying low for a good minute, he pops up in Atlanta, a new incarnation of the young kid from Flint, rocking his own beats and studio through the flamboyantly-titled mixtape Cocaine Cush Codeine, featuring the equally bodacious single and video “Boss S---.” You have to be able to bring the noise when you storm out the gate with a mixtape wrapped in the name Cocaine Cush Codeine, which stands out like neon lights. Before you jump to conclusions, the title is not necessarily what you think. “There’s many ways it can be viewed. But those three, if you do the research on them, those are three of the most addictive drugs. That’s what I’m giving you in my music. My music is addictive,” he explained.
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He’s laying it out ... with this own style and under his own independent label, Purubian Productions/GMM and bringing you that style that you’ve never heard before. You’ll definitely see that Purubian found that style with devastating tracks like “Cocaine,” a straight club-banging anthem that wraps intoxicating melodies and smooth background harmonies around his chillingly cool cadence as he spits about that life in the mix. He also blows up the set with “Leaning and Trapping” and accompanying video that has him poised to crack open the small window to mainstream hip hop success. Today, Purubian does it again through his video for the debut single “Boss S---“ off of his current mixtape, Cocaine Cush Codeine. “If you come where I’m from and can relate to what I’m saying, it’s gonna be addictive. But … everybody’s gonna view [it] their own way. Music is about guessing anyway. Curiosity. It’s all about making you think,” Purubian continues. “Even with Nas and Jay Z, they would say s--- in riddles. Lil Wayne carried the torch. And you be like ‘damn, did you hear what he said? Run that back.’ There are messages in there, but you gotta catch it. Music has gotten away from that a little bit, but some people keep it rocking.” The songs and video are not the only things that are rocking; his rap name also got people’s attention. “Purubian is a metaphor for ‘pure.’ In the hood, it’s a metaphor,” he says. “Some of the best. Top shelf. If it was wine, it would be top shelf. It was cognac, it would be XO or Louis XLIII, the truest form of this.” Purubian got his first taste of the game a member of much-respected Midwest group Skanbino Mob back in Flint, about an hour north of Detroit, a place where the weak are devoured and excuses are unacceptable. The runaway success of the group’s regional hit record “Killas On Yo Team” got the boys their first major deal. While their debut album Playing for Keeps was jam packed with
thumping beats and creative lyrics, the label failed to properly promote the album, leading to nominal success. “The deal was good,” Purubian remembers. “It put more money in our pockets. But it wasn’t promoted correctly. We did promo tours and a few radio interviews, but they weren’t spinning our music.” When the doors to Tommy Boy slammed shut, Purubian’s dreams could have slammed shut like a coffin as well. He was at a crossroads. He later decided to make that move to the Black Hollywood and the epicenter of American rap music in order to get his “second wind” in the music game. Even more importantly, he had to get his “focus.” Purubian was able to find that “second wind” by rededicating himself to his craft and building his own studio from the ground up so that he could have much more creative control than when he was inside the group in Flint. And, he was able to take the lessons he learned to take his game to the next level. “That’s what happens to a lot of young artists when they first come into the game. When you are 16, 17, 18 or 20, you don’t know nothing about a contract. You just know that this person is telling you that your song is going to be on the radio. You’re going to be performing every night for the next 60 days and here’s a quarter of a million dollars so you don’t have to work anymore at the mall or wherever you work at,” he said. “The key is to learn something from it and get your second wind. In the end, you gotta be driven. A lot of times you don’t’ get your second wind. It’ll beat the fight out of you. ... But that ain’t in my DNA. I gotta keep on pushing.” Purubian is currently pushing his new mixtape under his label Purubian Productions/GMM. And, with more mixtapes en route, Purubian definitely feels he is on the precipice of breaking it wide open in the rap game. To read this interview in its entirety visit atlantadailyworld.com
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PRAISE
March 5-11, 2015
Maya Angelou Forever stamp unveiled
Lent should teach patience The May Angelou Forever Stamp. The U.S. Postal Service announced last month that it would honor Maya Angelou — the beloved author, poet, actress and champion of equality — with a Forever Stamp, and today unveiled the stamp. “Maya Angelou inspired our nation through a life of advocacy and through her many contributions to the written and spoken word,” said Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan. “Her wide-ranging achievements as a playwright, poet, memoirist, educator, and advocate for justice and equality enhanced our culture.” The First-Day-of-Issue stamp dedication
(Photo: 2015 U.S. Postal Service) ceremony will be April 7 at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., USA Today reports. The ceremony is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. The stamps can be pre-ordered for delivery shortly after April 7, the Postal Service said. The stamp uses Ross Rossin’s 2013 portrait of Angelou, which is in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s collection where it will be on display through Nov. 1, USA Today reports. The stamp features this quote from Angelou: “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
For many of us Lent is nearing the finish line. We are exactly two weeks away from celebrating the Resurrection. It is usually at this time in the 40 days of sacrifice that you begin to wonder what it was that you needed to do to strengthen your spiritual voyage or if you are still the prodigal son out in the fields having a great time. It is usually patience that wears thin. Lent is supposed to be a time in which we contemplate and attempt to get a deeper meaning out of our life and those around us. That is the hallmark of Lent really. We live in a world that lacks any kind of patience. Everything is a rush. We communicate to the person next to us via Instant Messaging. Drivers on the road are prone to road rage because you did not take off the instant that the light turned green. The person in line behind you at the grocery is sucking in air because the clerk is not moving the line faster. The gentleman standing next to you waiting on the elevator is desperately pushing the button on the wall in hopes that the elevator doors will open. All these things are
the immediate result of the lack of patience and social engagement. Here are a few things to try today: 1. Walk over and talk to your coworker. I am sure that he or she would like to actually hear a full thought out sentence than just a quick abbreviated instant message. 2. Instead of eating lunch at your desk, go eat lunch with other people. It is actually nice to be able to have a conversation that is not rushed. 3. Pick up the phone and call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time with the only intention of catching up 4. Practice living out a spiritual or scripture reading in real time today. We need to begin the walk and extend the forty days of Lent into our everyday living. It is not a time to turn inward, rather we should turn outward. It is these things that Lent should help us foster and work on. Everything is not a race to the finish line. We will all be there in a grave soon enough.
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GUEST COMMENTARY
GUEST COMMENTARY
by George E. Curry
by Julianne Malveaux
Shelby County to Washington, D.C. March needed After ceremonies wrap up Sunday in Alabama commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March and the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a group of die-hard demonstrators will re-enact the full march. “We are re-enacting the full 54-mile March this year,” Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) President Charles Steele announced at a press conference in Montgomery. “The March will begin in Selma on Sunday, March 8th, with the Commemoration of Bloody Sunday, and will conclude on Friday, March 13th, with an 11:00 a.m. event on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery.” At the news conference, Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders (D-Selma) correctly noted, “The right to vote is being challenged at every turn. From voter photo ID (modern day poll tax), proof of citizenship to register (modern day literacy test) and reduction in voting and voter registration days to the Shelby County v. Holder decision gutting the 1965 Voting Rights Act and more, Americans are losing the right to vote, which so many people sacrificed their lives and blood to secure.” In Shelby V. Holder, by a margin of 5 to 4 in June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to gut Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required jurisdictions with a proven history of racial discrimination to pre-clear any election law change with the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The case grew out of a decision by Calera, a small city in Shelby County, Ala., to implement a redistricting plan that led to the defeat of the city’s lone African American City Council member. Under the plan, a district that was 71 percent Black was redrawn so that its Black population was reduced to 23 percent. The plan was never submitted for pre-approval. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, more than 40 bills have been introduced in 17 states that would restrict access to registration or voting. In view of these politically motivated efforts to suppress the Black vote in particular, I am hereby proposing a Shelby County, Ala. to Washington, D.C. March, with the goal of getting Congress to protect the integrity of voting in the U.S. Just as the Selma-to-Montgomery March led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a Shelby County to D.C. March could pressure Congress to act again to protect the sacred right to vote. The march would kick-off in Calera, about 30 minutes south of Birmingham, and address
the relevant voting issues along the march route. After Calera, Ala., the next stop would be in Georgia, where marchers could express support for proposed legislation that would expand opportunities for eligible citizens to vote, and provide for or expand the electronic transfer of voters’ information between state agencies. In South Carolina, demonstrators could support a bill that would relax voter ID or citizenship laws and legislation that would make it easier for people with disabilities to cast a ballot. Crossing into North Carolina, demonstrators can join an effort to overturn the Voter Information Verification Act, a voter suppression bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. The controversial measure requires government-issued voter ID, ends same day voter registration, bans Sunday voting and discontinues pre-voter registration for 16- and 17-year-olds. Several organizations, including the NAACP State Conference of Branches, have sued to overturn the law. Marchers might want to spend some extra time in Virginia before moving on to D.C. to oppose a bill that would restrict access to registration and voting and support a competing one that would increase access to voting, oppose a bill that would require proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate) to register or to vote, support proposed legislation that would expand early in-person voting, back a proposed legislation to reduce waiting times for voting, endorse a bill to expand opportunities to vote by absentee ballot, support a bill to protect voters from having their name wrongfully removed from voting lists, and back a proposed bill to increase the likelihood of contested provisional ballots being counted. In Washington, demonstrators should underscore the embarrassing reality that D.C. is the only capital of a democratic country in the world that does not enjoy voting representation in its national legislative body or true home rule. I am glad we’re commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But after the celebration, it’s time to undo the damage the Supreme Court and largely-Republican state legislatures have done to the landmark voting legislation. The Brennan Center report stated. “This year, the courts – including the U.S. Supreme Court – are again poised to rule on voter ID and other election laws. Courts failed to block a number of restrictive laws last year, and without clear limits, states appear ready to move forward with harsh new measures.” We must block those measures.
The Democratic challenge from the left Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel just got himself spanked. Despite a $16 million campaign war chest and the support of President Barack Obama, the former Congressman and White House Chief of Staff could not avoid a run-off in the general election. Garnering 45 percent of the vote to Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s 34 percent, he almost, but not quite, cleared the 50 percent bar for victory. Emanuel, the darling of the mainstream Democratic Party, has earned the dubious distinction of being in the first mayoral runoff in nearly 20 years. He also runs the risk of being the first incumbent mayor ousted since Harold Washington beat Jane Byrne in 1987. The man who delivered the Emanuel whipping, Chuy Garcia is a county commissioner and former alderman. His base is the poorer neighborhoods of Chicago, the Latino community, and the teacher’s union. He pounded on the theme of income inequality and exploited the fact that Emanuel is perceived as arrogant and removed from poor people. Indeed most of Rahm Emanuel’s support came from wealthy white voters who helped raise his large campaign fund. Garcia didn’t have a fraction of Emanuel’s money, but he had a large cadre of volunteers to help deliver his votes. There were three other candidates in the race, and their combined 20 percent of the vote will likely determine the outcome of the April 7 election. Just a day after the election, both Emanuel and Garcia were courting their competitors, seeking their endorsements. So far, those opponents have been noncommittal, and the outcome of the race will depend on whether Emanuel is most persuasive. In any case, Emanuel’s loss can be seen as a major setback to the Democratic establishment. Voters are tired of income inequality being acknowledged, with nothing being done about it. Their only recourse is the vote, and on February 24 in Chicago, they used it. Another Democratic setback is looming as the inevitability of Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton’s Democratic nomination may be challenged by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma). Warren has been portrayed as a champion of the people, especially where consumer protection and financial matters are concerned. She has raised her voice against financial skullduggery by banking institutions, been a critic of attempts to weaken the Dodd Frank bill, and a defender of consumer rights. The architect of the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) agency, Warren has been the darling of the left, and she has enhanced that status with her
travel to many progressive gatherings. While she has demurred when asked if she will run for President, her replies, if somewhat definite, also seem coy. Additionally there have been efforts to draft her into running, with online petitions and other efforts directed her way. While Warren seems to have little baggage, Hilary Rodham Clinton seems less than invincible. Questions have been raised about the Clinton Foundation and the sources of its money, especially when this money has come from foreign governments that have mixed relationships with the United States. Other questions have been raised about the high six figure speeches Clinton gives and the audiences she gives them to. Certainly she is entitled to earn what the market will bear with her speeches, but some say those who foot the bill are the very Wall Street scions that Elizabeth Warren rails against. Could Elizabeth Warren seriously challenge Clinton? Is there a change that she could win the Democratic nomination? If she chooses to enter the Presidential race in the next several months, she will be entering the race at about the time Barack Obama did eight years ago. Like Obama, she has penned an autographical book that explains the origins of her populist views. And like Obama, she has the chance of “catching on” with voters. After Clinton, the only competition Warren is likely to have for the Democratic nomination is Vice President Joe Biden. But Biden, at 73, may be considered to old to be considered a viable choice for President. Additionally Biden has a history of both verbal and behavioral gaffes (most recently offering a rather intimate whisper into the ear of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s wife Stephanie, at Carter’s swearing in). Whether she enters the race or not, Warren’s very presence pushes Clinton to the left on populist economic issues. And if Warren enters the race and pulls three or four states, and about 20 percent of the popular vote, she offers Clinton a challenge. If these “draft Warren” petitions catch o n and hundreds of thousands of signatures are gathered, that too, is a challenge to Hilary Clinton. Voters are looking for alternatives and Democrats aren’t providing them. Instead they are offering a party line that inhibits discussion of issues and hews to the inevitability of party favorites. Rahm Emanuel’s defeat and the Warren challenge to Hilary Clinton suggest that the party line is unsatisfactory.
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