Chicago Crusader 05/24/14 E-Edition

www.chicagocrusader.com

Blacks Must Control Their Own Community

To To The The Unconquerable Unconquerable Host Host of of Africans Africans Who Who Are Are Laying Laying Their Their Sacrifices Sacrifices Upon Upon The The Editorial Editorial Altar Altar For For Their Their Race Race AUDITED BY

VOLUME LXXIV NUMBER 5—SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

•C•P•V•S•

PUBLISHED SINCE 1940

25 Cents and worth more

Union says CPS failed to live up to promises A study recently released by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) details that despite promises made by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Board of Education, the quality of education did not improve after closing 50 schools last year.

The CTU analysis chronicles instances of the receiving schools not getting all of the additional resources that the mayor and

ments but no additional technology teachers, and a lack of progress with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and the International Baccalaureate.

Less than half—exactly 38 percent of the “receiving schools”—have staff librarians.

The percentage for all other CPS schools is 55. When CPS officials announced the

moves to different schools, no funds for additional librarians went to the receiving schools.

The report, Twelve Months Later: The Impact of School Closings in Chicago, refers to the district’s pledges as a “myriad of CPS’ broken promises.” A year ago, the mayor also committed hundreds of millions of dol-

lars in capital improvements and transition supports for the receiving schools.

Besides the library issue, CTU maintained that although the receiving schools had their computer labs updated, only 20 percent of the schools have technology teachers. A similar situation was cited by CTU in the mat(Continued on page 16)

Barbara Byrd Bennett Chicago Public Schools (CPS) promised when it announced on May 22, 2013 that 50 elementary schools would be shuttered.

The list included: computer lab improve-

MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS in Chicago participated in a national one-day strike in 2013 urging lawmakers nationwide to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour in states like New York. (See story on page 3)

‘The Spook Who Sat by the Door’ author Greenlee dies

Karen Lewis

Freeman was convinced a race war was imminent and wanted to ensure that there was a cadre of Black guerilla activists who would lead the Black community. It was seen as a blueprint for taking down the system internally.

Four years after publishing in 1969, the novel became a movie by the same name and gained international acclaim as it was simultaneously published in England and the states.

Spook was a common pejorative for Black people in the 1950s and 60s.

Greenlee’s other works included his 1976 work, Baghdad Blues, about his experiences during the 1950s in Iraq. He also wrote a collection of poems, “African American Princess,” and “Ammunition,” another book of poetry. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for a film, “Lisa Trotter.”

Pemon Rami, director of operations for the DuSable Museum of African American His-

Chicago author, Sam Greenlee, 83, who parlayed strong Black Nationalist beliefs, world travels and a penchant for writing into a 1969 best-selling novel, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” passed away on May 19 in Chicago.

The novel tells the story of a Black man, who, through happenstance, became a CIA agent, although the agency had planned to fail all Black applicants.

Don Freeman, the book’s lead character, stayed in the CIA for five years before retiring and returning home to Chicago to head a social service agency. He used his off-work hours to train a local street gang in the tactics he had learned while a CIA agent.

CRUSADERNEWSPAPERGROUP

@CRUSADERNEWSPAP

Sam Greenlee

(Continued on page 7)

NEWS

NAACP Presidential Selection Process Again Mired in Controversy

By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A search firm hired by the NAACP ranked Rev. Frederick D. Haynes, III, senior pastor of FriendshipWest Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as the top candidate five years ago to become president and CEO of the NAACP. But Haynes wasn’t the favorite of Julian Bond, then chairman of the board of directors, who preferred Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of a small, private foundation in California, for the spot.

So when the selection process shifted from the search committee to the NAACP’s executive committee, the NAACP’s legendary political maneuvering came into play. At Bond’s urging, the executive committee opted to present only Jealous’ name to the full board for an up-or-down vote. To no one’s surprise, Jealous was elected (34-21).

Though Benjamin L. Hooks, one of the association’s most popular leaders, pastored two churches – one in Memphis and one in Detroit – while serving as executive director of the NAACP from 1977 to 1992, Haynes was told he did not reach the final round of the selection process because he wouldn’t agree to give up his church duties in Dallas.

Haynes felt that was a ruse and the experience left a bitter taste in his mouth, with him vowing he would never go through that process again. He could have accepted losing in a fair contest, Haynes told anyone who would listen to him at the time. But what was hard for him to swallow was how a venerated organization dedicated to seeking justice and fairness for African Americans could hold an election for its top office without any pretense of being fair.

When Jealous resigned last September with a year still left on his contract – after repeated clashes with Board Chair Roslyn M. Brock – applying for the vacancy did not cross Haynes’ mind. But apparently, it was on the minds of some NAACP supporters, who hoped the organization could get it right this time – if Haynes would consider going through the search process again.

“I was done with them,” Haynes said in an interview Monday. “As I told them, I do justice work without them. It’s not like I needed them to do what I had already been doing.”

This time, Haynes didn’t pursue the NAACP – they put the fullcourt press on him.

“Literally, from September to February, they called me every week, asking me to reconsider,” Haynes stated. “I told them, ‘The 2

Saturday, May 24, 2014

church thing hasn’t changed – I am not giving up my church.’

They said, ‘That’s no longer a deal breaker. Would you now reconsider?’

“They even called Jeremiah Wright and asked him to ask me to reconsider. The funny thing is the last time, my relationship with him was an issue. They got so desperate that they called him.”

Wright, who had been President Obama’s pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, became a political liability for Obama when he first ran for president in 2008 after videotapes surfaced of him using inflammatory language that was taken out of context.

Obama, after first distancing himself from Wright, eventually denounced him and resigned from the church from which Wright had already retired.

Wright had spoken frequently at Haynes church and despite the public controversy, Haynes refused to disavow him as Obama had done.

“They [members of the search firm hired by the NAACP] called me repeatedly, saying, ‘What will it take to change your mind?’ I said, ‘Nothing. I’m not interested.’ They were relentless, I’ll give them credit for that.

“They said, ‘With Julian Bond out of the picture, everything should be fine.’ And I finally said, ‘Okay.’”

To reassure the NAACP that he would devote full time to his new duties, Haynes volunteered to move from Dallas to Baltimore to be near the national headquarters, he would quit conducting revivals and the only thing he wanted in return was to be able to preach at his church in Dallas twice a month.

“Last Thursday, I got this phone call. I was supposed to be in Florida Friday [for the final vote at the NAACP board meeting]. So they called me Thursday and asked whether I was willing to make the Association my sole source of employment. I told them what accommodations I had made, what preparations I had made at the church and they said, ‘Basically, you’ve answered our question.

Thank you very much.’

“Later, I got this call from the search team that they were going to do something else. I’m fine with that.”

Unlike five years ago, when the executive committee presented the name of only Ben Jealous to the full board, this time the names of two candidates were advanced: Barbara R. Arnwine, who has been president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989, and Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social

Rev. Frederick D. Haynes, III

Barbara Arnwine

Cornell William Brooks

Justice in Newark.

Although he has worked as a lawyer for the Justice Department, the FCC, and at Arnwine’s organization as well as served as director of the Fair Housing Council of Washington, D.C. before heading the New Jersey nonprofit group, Brooks, a graduate of Jackson State University in Mississippi and Yale University Law School, is not well known in national civil rights circles.

According to Board members who interviewed both candidates, they have contrasting personalities. Arnwine, a frequent fixture on television and the conventions of national civil rights organizations, is bold and has a strong personality. Brooks is more under-

stated. Describing him to the Baltimore Sun, former board chairman Julian Bond described him as “the kind of soft-spoken and wellintentioned person I wanted to have in this job.”

Arnwine declined to be interviewed for this article. But one of her supporters on the board said, “All of our civil rights organizations have a problem with a woman serving as their chief, dayto-day spokesperson. Second, the clique that runs the board wants someone they can control, not someone like Barbara, who is talented and her own person.”

Another board member who had no favorite among the finalists said, “This is Ben Jealous all over again. They wanted someone

they can control and manipulate.

You would think they would have learned by now.”

Frederick Haynes said he has certainly learned – the hard way.

“I failed the test of our ancestors,” he said. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. They got me twice.”

Still, he is not bitter.

“I wish Mr. Brooks the best. I really do,” Haynes said. “If what I went through is a reflection of how they do business, I hope he doesn’t have to climb over that kind of nonsense. Our people are still catching too much hell for us to be giving this much hell to each other.”

[Next week: Who is Cornell William Brooks?]

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

NEWS

ILIFF School Of Theology mourns loss of Dr. Vincent Harding Civil Rights Activist, Emeritus Professor Of Religion & Social Transformation, Co-Founder Of The Veterans Of Hope Project, Author, Engaged Citizen & Commentator

By Greta Gloven The Iliff School of Theology mourns the death of Dr. Vincent Gordon Harding, professor emeritus of religion and social transformation, civil rights activist, author, co-founder of the Veterans of Hope Project, engaged citizen, and commentator. Harding died yesterday at the age of 82 as the result of a carotid artery aneurysm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A memorial service is being planned.

“We will greatly miss our brother Vincent and the wisdom he shared with us. His life-giving work of helping others to find their voice when they thought it impossible was a gift to generations of Americans and many abroad,” said Thomas V. Wolfe, president and chief executive officer. “We have not only lost a friend and teacher, but a life giver to shaping the movement of history. We are thankful that his work lives on in the many lives he touched. His inspirational voice

lives on in all of us.”

Harding, born in Harlem in New York City in 1931, was educated at City College of New York, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. He began his life’s work as a member of the U.S. Army from 1953-1955 and as a pastor in Chicago during 1955-1961. From 1961-1965, Harding was a representative to the Southern Freedom Movement from the Mennonite Service Committee. Working with his first wife, the late Rosemarie Freeney Harding, he was based in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Hardings worked with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Movement as a civil rights teacher/activist and negotiator in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Harding assisted King in many ways, but most notably in the writing of King’s 1967 “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” the wellknown speech against the Vietnam War delivered just one year to the day before King was assassinated.

While in Atlanta, Harding later served as the first director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in 1968 and one year later established and directed the Institute of the Black World. The

Dr. Vincent Gordon Harding Hardings also co-founded Mennonite House, an interracial voluntary service center and Movement gathering place. Throughout the 1960’s they traveled the South as reconcilers, counselors and participants assisting the antisegregation campaigns of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, and many others.

Professor Harding joined the Iliff faculty in 1981 as professor of religion and social transformation where he retired in 2004, but remained actively teaching and sharing his knowledge until his

death. Harding also served as a visiting faculty member or distinguished lecturer at many colleges throughout the U.S., including: Drew University, Spelman College, Swarthmore College, Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, the Moton Center for Independent Studies, Duke University, and the Pendle Hill Study Center.

As the co-founder of the Veterans of Hope Project in 1997, Harding and his late wife, Rosemarie, began a multifaceted educational initiative on religion, culture and participatory democracy.

Through a video interview series and a comprehensive curriculum, the Project emphasizes workshops and training in compassionate leadership development in addition to a public symposium series.

Along with his present wife, Alijosie Aldrich Harding, he was also one of the founding members of the National Council of Elders, an organization focused on sharing the wisdom of elders with younger social activists. They worked as a team in organizing his extended visit to Morehouse College where he served as Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection Scholar in Residence in 2012. This residency involved bringing a diverse cadre of renowned scholars and activists to the campus and facili-

tating a dialogue between them, Morehouse students and the larger community. Dr. and Mrs. Harding served as peacemakers with the Dorothy Cotton Institute, traveling to the Palestine/Israel area in 2012 to encourage and discover ways of bringing peace in the Middle East.

Professor Harding was the author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books and thousands of articles. His most noted works included There is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America, Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero, Hope and History: Why We Must Share the Story of the Movement, and America Will Be. Harding is survived by his wife, Aljosie, daughter, Rachel and son, Jonathan. A memorial service is currently being planned. Messages of condolence can be sent to: The Harding Family, c/o The Veterans of Hope Project at The Iliff School of Theology, 2201 S. University Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80210.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Veterans of Hope Project at The Iliff School of Theology, 2201 S. University Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80210 or online at http://www.veteransofhope.org/f unders/.

Black workers encouraged by minimum wage push

By Wendell Hutson Paul Smith said he is happy to be employed full-time but would be happier if he was paid more than the $8.93 per hour he currently earns as a sales associate for a national retailer.

“I made $17,000 last year and that’s with overtime. That does not go far when you have a wife and a child to support,” Smith said. “If I made $10 an hour I would have made $17,600 without overtime and that’s a lot better.”

The current state minimum wage is $8.25 per hour and the national minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.based non-profit organization that focuses on the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families, the increase will help over 400,000 workers tackle the skyrocketing cost of living and to afford better, basic necessities, such as food, housing and childcare.

Earlier this week the Illinois House passed House Bill 3814, an advisory referendum that ask voters if they support increasing the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour. The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate.

Gov. Pat Quinn had hoped to www.chicagocrusader.com

raise the state’s minimum wage this year but said he is satisfied with the progress lawmakers are now making.

“As we work to build a majority to raise the minimum wage in Illinois, this referendum will help us get the job done,” Quinn said.

“No one should work 40 hours a week and live in poverty.”

But Mayor Rahm Emanuel has reportedly grown impatient waiting on state lawmakers to pass legislation to bump up minimum wage and is pushing his own initiative by creating a task force rather than simply introducing a new ordinance to the City Council.

A mayoral spokeswoman said the mayor was committed to making sure every Chicago resident is earning a livable wage.

Still, minimum wage workers, who economists say are usually minorities and those whose education does not go past 12th grade, said a higher wage is needed when living in Chicago.

“It is very expensive to live in the city. Rent for a one-bedroom is about $700 a month unless you live in a ‘bad’ neighborhood then you may pay $500 or $600,” explained Dorian Weathers, a 34year-old single mother of two.

“The only way I am able to make it out here is because I get social secu-

rity for my son. If I did not have that I would be in trouble.”

Weathers has worked as a cashier for a small, South Side grocery store for four years and said she is paid $8.75 per hour.

“When I first started I was working part-time making $8.25 an hour, now I am making a few pennies more and full-time,” she said.

“I think any city where the cost of living is high should have a mini-

mum wage of at least $10.”

An increase could mean Tiffany Bell, 31, could finally have her own bedroom. The single mother of a 5-year-old daughter shares her bedroom and bed with her daughter and earns $8.25 per hour working at a fast-food restaurant.

“I have always shared bedrooms with someone. When I was growing up I shared a room with my two sisters and now that I am an

adult I share a bedroom with my daughter,” Bell said. “She is five now but soon she will be too old to sleep in the bed with me so I need to start making more money soon.”

President Barack Obama also said he supports increasing minimum wage to $10 per hour, which comes $18,000 a year for someone working 40 hours per week.

Eight removed from U of C after protest

By J. Coyden Palmer Seven University of Chicago students and one member of the public were removed by University police from a construction site of a parking lot on the campus May 19 after the group was protesting the University not having a trauma center. Public pressure and animosity against the University has been growing in recent years in the longstanding battle. The University, which dropped its trauma center in 1988, claims it cannot afford to become a Level I trauma center, but many others disagree.

Veronica Morris-Moore, an organizer for the Woodlawn group “Fearless Leadership by the Youth,” was one of the people removed by police.

She said people are dying every day on the South Side because they can-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

not get to a trauma center in time.

She believes the problem affects everyone, even those who are not local residents.

“People can have this I don’t care attitude because I live somewhere else, but the facts are if you are driving on the Dan Ryan and get seriously injured in a wreck, it’s gonna be a long ride to the trauma center at County or Christ in Oak Lawn,” she said. “So people need to realize this is in everyone’s best interests.”

The student and community groups that have been the main protestors are asking for medical facilities to treat the severely injured victims of car accidents and gunshot wounds.

The Trauma Center Coalition is comprised of many groups and the fact that seven of those removed were University students says a lot, accord-

ing to Moore. She said originally it was just members of the community involved but now U of C students, faculty and staff are joining in. Last year University police arrested several protestors in an aggressive manner in front of local news media. The negative perception of that incident got more people involved against the University.

“It is out of a concern for the safety of all people that the Trauma Center Coalition has come together to take political action,” explained one of the student protestors Patrick Dexter. “In fact, we seem to be the only ones concerned about safety, as we watched with our own eyes as Assistant Vice President for Student Life Eleanor Daugherty and Executive Director of Community and External Affairs (Continued on page 16) Saturday, May 24, 2014

3

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL A HIDDEN PROBLEM WITH SOME LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS There is a hidden problem with some underperforming minority schools that is not being addressed because it would be seen as “airing dirty laundry.” Basically, the problem is this – there has been a change in the type of students that are attending schools today in contrast to those who attended years ago. In other words, the population of students is changing in the same way that society as a whole is changing, and it does not seem to be going in a positive direction.

Society is experiencing a wealth gap where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. There is also a growing gap, therefore, between students who come from affluent homes and those who come from impoverished circumstances. This is having an impact on overall school performance. For example, in some schools there are increasing numbers of children who are impoverished and who are practically raising themselves. This is particularly true in some high schools.

In addition, youth are inundated with a popular culture that is in the toilet, and it is serving as the proverbial “soundtrack of their lives.” One glaring example is what is called “drill music.”

Drill music, offered by the likes of Chicago rapper Chief Keef, tends to focus on beefs and on guns and drugs. The music behind the words is often mesmerizing, and adds to the embracement of the words. The music is filled with misogyny, violence, and rampant materialism. Getting paid and getting laid are often the only things of value touted in negative rap music. It is a poison that is causing young minds to sink to the lowest levels of decency.

Now, picture a neighborhood non-selective enrollment school filled with youth who do not value education because their minds are programmed by filth that passes for entertainment.

Teachers and administrators are faced with trying to cram traditional values into the heads of these students who are on the slippery slope to nihilism, if they have not already arrived.

This is a giant job that many education advocates just don’t understand when they complain about the quality of schools.

Schools are dealing with youth who are often disaffected and who routinely curse teachers out and are prone to fighting at the drop of a hat. The issue of discipline, therefore, is HUGE, and this problem is being swept under the table. It is very difficult to get adequate gains in reading, math and other academic subjects from those who just are not interested in learning. Moreover, the growing numbers of incarcerated minority youth are a subject that is well known. And once these youth are released, they are mandated to go to school if they are school age. The result is often that some of these youth are not in school because they want to be there, and because of this, they make the learning environment difficult for everyone! Now, this is not to say that all formerly incarcerated youth fit this profile, it is just a sad fact that many of them do.

Considering the foregoing, it is evident that the school performance problem is partially a result of a growing moral and spiritual devolvement. Youth are a subset of society, and they see rampant corruption around them, and have relinquished moral values in imitation of what they see! Under-performing schools, therefore, are often the repositories of these disaffected, morally challenged materialistic–oriented students who do not see a value in education. This is especially true of the thousands of youth who, for varying reasons, are from broken homes. It must be said, however, that not all students who are impoverished and who are from broken homes will be underachievers. But for those who are, low-performing schools will remain that way until someone comes along with a viable strategy to counteract this sordid situation. A luta continua.

4

Saturday, May 24, 2014

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The need for a LaSalle Street Tax Dear Editor: When six heirs to the Walmart fortune control more wealth than the bottom 30 percent of the country, we’ve reached a tipping point. According to Nobel Prize winning economist Jeffery Stiglitz, the growing inequality in America is caused by “excessive financialization” which has led to lower growth, less efficiency, less opportunity and diminished investment in public goods and services. The cause of this situation?

Largely a result of millionaires and billionaires controlling the regulatory authorities who are supposed to rein them in.

Once upon a time, the very wealthy paid their fair share of taxes in the U.S. In the 1950s the incomes of the top bracket faced a marginal tax rate that was over 90 percent. In the year 1960, the top 0.01 percent of Americans paid an effective tax rate of 70 percent, which is nearly twice the amount they pay today. As a result of those high rates, our country built the federal highway system, funded the great society programs that significantly lowered poverty, doubled median family income, funded public services, pensions, and jobs programs at adequate levels.

For all of these reasons, now is the time for a tax on LaSalle Street in Chicago. As the wealth of the 1 percent reaches a record high, it’s time to restore some sanity to the system.

At a time when the city scrambles to save money through school budget

cuts and closings, closes mental health clinics, allows housing foreclosures to ravage countless city neighborhoods, it’s time for a change. That’s where the LaSalle Street Tax comes in.

A $1 to $2 charge to buyers and sellers of futures at the CME, could generate $10 to 12 billion a year, help working families get back on their feet and get the state of Illinois back on the path to financial stability. It would also allow our country to return to an era when the wealthy paid their fair share and the government properly regulated what has now become rampant greed. Is it too much to ask millionaires and billionaires to spare a dollar per trade to help school children? It used to be common sense.

Jackson Potter Chicago Teachers Union

Who did Junior really steal from?

Dear Editor:

ment scenario. The man is in prison and I guess doing his time like he is supposed to. He is in prison however for taking campaign money, not the government’s money and spending it like a fool. The folks who gave him those campaign contributions didn’t ask for their money back when Junior was found guilty.

What I don’t understand about this whole thing is if the people gave the money to Junior freely, and it was never intended to be for anything governmental, how (Continued on page 16)

CHICAGO CRUSADER (U.S.P.S. 596080)

Editor-Publisher

Dorothy R. Leavell Advertising Director

J.L. Smith 6429 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois 60637 773-752-2500 An independent newspaper serving the Southside Westside and Northside, printing the news impartially empowering what it believes to be right and appealling what it believes to be wrong without regard to party politics. Devoted to the Industrial, Educational, SocioPolitical and Educational advancement of Black people. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

VOL. LXXIV NO. 5 MAY 24, 2014

I just read that Jr. Jesse Jackson is going to re-finance his house to pay off a $500,000 penalty to the federal government because he got convicted of misusing campaign funds. The news story said he already wrote the Feds a check for $250,000. I am not trying to defend the man because to me what he did was stupid and even stupider (sic) to taunt the Feds into looking closer if they really believed he did something wrong.

There is something terribly wrong with this whole punish-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Published Weekly NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

New Concept Media Service P.O. Box 377946 Chicago, IL 60637 Member National Newspaper Publishers Association __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscription Rates - $25 Per Year $14.00 for 6 months $44.00 for 2 years

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Periodicals Paid at Chicago, IL POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: THE CHICAGO CRUSADER 6429 South King Drive Chicago, IL 60637

www.chicagocrusader.com

COMMENTARY

How we can Increase Bank Lending Beyond The Rhetoric

By Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist Capital Access has become more elusive than ever before. Why? Because of a “kneejerk” reaction by Congress responding to the subprime mortgage crisis. The colossal mass of regulation known as the Dodd – Frank bill. First of all we should never trust legislation that is written by two retiring congresspersons. Former Senator Dodd and Former Congressman Frank wrote this bill, which causes a lot of paperwork and costs for our banks. Thus, bankers do not feel it is cost effective to do small business lending. When white owned businesses have trouble getting loans Black and Hispanic firms find it practically impossible.

What banks need is an incentive.

Historically, the Federal Reserve is here to protect banks and make conditions good for our stock exchanges. It is not here to provide lending to small business. It never has since its inception in 1913 and never will. We should not waste our time pleading to the Feds. The more Congress tries to make things better for us the worse off we become. In response

Harry C. Alford to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Congress enacted Regulation B of the Banking Act. It is also known as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. It prohibits banks to track by number and volume the race of credit applicants. They thought this would eliminate discrimination but it does the reverse. Because of Regulation B we have no idea how many loans each bank is making to Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, women, etc. We can’t

determine who the good banks are and who the bad ones are. Yet, they can put a removable post it on a banking application or use a code system to note the race of the applicant. Thus, discrimination does exist and we have no metrics to detect it.

The Small Business Administration is exempt from Regulation B and does count its guaranteed lending by race and gender. There was a time that the SBA was continuously improving in the amount of lending to Black owned firms but that has gone away. They are not generating loans any better than the big banks. Blame this on the Dodd – Frank bill and a demoralized labor force at the SBA. They have no motivation to help local communities any more. They even try to hide its activity from the press even though the information is public. The transparency has become cryptic activity.

Decades ago Congress codified the Community Reinvestment Act, aka CRA. Lending in under served communities is a key part of this legislation. Banks were forced to invest and lend in our communities or receive poor grades from the Comptroller of the Currency, which could become a costly situation to a bank. So, what did our

banking industry do? They started the gentrification of our communities. An example is the Shaw area of Washington, DC. You drive by Howard University and you see a startling amount of whites living in the neighborhood. Blacks who were receiving Section 8 housing assistance were pushed out to Prince Georges County and other areas by the DC Housing Authority per directions of HUD. The vacancies left by them were filled by whites who could get CRA low interest loans. This gentrification has happened throughout urban America and most of our local leaders could not figure it out. CRA has been more of an economic hindrance to us instead of a friend.

Similar activity has happened as a result of the Federal Empowerment Zone program and the Enterprise Zone Program, which has come to selected cities. Usually there is a hospital and a major university involved in economically stimulating a declared community.

When they are done the hospital and university have grown immensely in property holdings and newfound revenues. The underserved Blacks have left these communities. Their location has changed but their poverty remains.

How do we get banks to actually

make a positive change in its lending habits? The President of the United States can do it with one Executive Order. He simply can order all federal deposits to sit in banks that show significant lending to all forms of small business, including Black owned businesses.

If banks in Columbus, GA don’t do the right thing then Ft. Benning Army Base will put its payroll and other cash in a bank that will.

All military facilities, federal buildings such as Social Security, hospitals, courthouses, and all agencies shall bank at only positive rated banks. There is no bank president or board of directors going to mess up via discrimination and lose all of that free money. We are talking trillions of dollars (that is a T).

Good governors and mayors can do the same. Former Maryland Governor Ehrlich and Lt. Governor Michael Steele did that with no problems or resistance from the local banking industry. Wouldn’t this make a great project and a legacy builder for participating elected officials?

Mr. Alford is the Co-Founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.

Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: halford@nationalbcc.org

The Browning of Public Schools after ‘Brown’

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist This is the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision outlawing “separate but equal” schools. And like most major anniversaries, incorrect information surfaces as purported fact, doing a disservice to the accomplishment being celebrated as well as truth itself.

In this instance, some have asserted that because of re-segregation, public schools in the South, where most African Americans live, are more segregated now than when Brown was handed down. That is simply untrue and if you want to read a comprehensive account of what has truly happened in school desegregation over the past 60 years, there is no better source than “Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain Future,” published by The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. First, let’s dispense with the nonsense.

“The claims that Black students in the South are no better off than they were before Brown, in terms of segregation, are obviously wrong,” the report stated. “They are ten times as likely to be in majoritywhite schools as they were when the Civil Rights Act passed.” www.chicagocrusader.com

The 42-page report is packed with illuminating facts about progress made in the wake of Brown and the subsequent retrenchment. But to appreciate the significance of Brown, it is necessary to understand what our schools looked like before the court decision.

“Nine years after Brown, when President John Kennedy called for the first major civil rights act of the 20th century, 99 percent of Blacks in the South were still in totally segregated schools,” the report recounted.

“Virtually no whites were in historically Black schools, nor were Black teachers and administrators in white schools. For all practical purposes, it was segregation as usual or ‘segregation forever,’ as some of the South’s politicians promised. In the great majority of the several thousand southern districts nothing had been done.”

Actually, there were two Brown decisions. The first, issued in 1954, outlawed segregated public schools masquerading as “separate but equal.”

The court ruled that “segregation is inherently unequal” and ordered the desegregation of schools. With no progress after a year, the court ordered in 1955, in a ruling sometimes called Brown II, that desegregation had to be carried out “with all deliberate speed.”

But racial segregation was deliberate and speed was missing in action.

George E. Curry In fact, nine years after Brown, 99 percent of Blacks in the South were still in segregated schools.

“President Lyndon Johnson powered the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress with bipartisan support, and he proceeded to enforce civil rights law more forcefully than an Administration before or since,” the report stated. “After he also led the battle for the largest federal education aid program in American history, the Southern schools changed. Faced with the dual prospect of losing federal funds if they remained segregated, as well as the threat of a Justice Department lawsuit as a result of the Civil Rights Act, almost all the districts began to desegregate. Strongly backed by the federal courts, federal civil rights officials raised desegregation require-

ments each year. In 1968 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that desegregation in the historically segregated states must be comprehensive and immediate. By 1970 Southern schools became the nation’s most integrated.”

Nationwide, the percent of Blacks attending majority white schools has declined from a high of 43.5 percent in 1988 to 23.2 percent in 2011, about the same level it was 1968.

This did not happen by accident.

“Throughout the l980s there was a strong legal attack on desegregation orders, led by the Reagan and Bush administrations’ Justice Departments and, in l991, the Supreme Court authorized the termination of desegregation plans in the Oklahoma City (Dowell) decision. The decline in Black student access has been continuous since l991,” the report observed.

The report documents the strong connection between segregated schools and concentrated poverty.

“In schools that are 81-100 percent Black and Latino, over three-quarters of the students are also enrolled in schools where more than 70 percent of the students live in poverty,” it stated. “In fact, half of students in 91-100 percent Black and Latino schools are in schools that also have more than 90 percent low-income students. This means that these students face almost total isolation not

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

only from white and Asian students but also from middle class peers as well.”

In its recommendations section, the report observes that while education is primarily a state responsibility, the federal government also has an important role to play. Sadly, the report points out, there has not been a major national study on school desegregation, its costs and solutions since Racial Isolation in Public Schools, a report requested in 1967 by President Johnson.

Non-government organizations also have a role to play.

The report stated, “Civil rights organizations need to develop new strategies and legal theories to end the reversal and restart the movement toward a successfully integrated, truly multiracial society, as was done by the NAACP and Howard University in the campaign that led to Brown.”

George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reach ed through his website, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/ currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

5

COMMENTARY

A MESSAGE TO AFRICAN AMERICAN GRADUATES

Dr. Conrad Worrill, Director/Professor, Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies (CCICS) located at 700 East Oakwood Blvd, Chicago, Illinois, 60653, 773-268-7500, Fax: 773-268-3835 E-mail: c-worrill@neiu.edu, Website: www.ccicschicago.org, Twitter: @CCICS_ Chicago.

Dr. Conrad Worrill Once again, I am sharing my annual graduation speech in hopes that it will help African people in America understand the real meaning of these rites of passage for thousands of our young people who will be participating in commencement exercises affirming their graduation from elementary, middle school, high school, and college in the next few weeks.

Your life has just begun today brothers and sisters. This is probably one of the most important days in your life as you make this transition, this rite of passage in moving toward another stage in your development as young Africans in America.

I’d like to congratulate your teachers, parents, guardians, and extended family members who are with you today and who have supported you in reaching this critical stage of your life at this critical hour in history.

I want to have a brief but serious talk with you today brothers and sisters. It has been predicted that within the 21st century, if current trends continue, 70 percent of African men in America between the ages of 16 and 28 will be either in jail or addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. Increasingly, this same trend is occurring with African females in America.

One of the purposes of our educational pursuits is to turn this devastating trend around.

What does all this mean today as you graduate from this educational institution that professes to be dedicated to the academic and cultural development of young people like you? As young Black people, or Africans in America, about to enter a new stage in life, let me define what being Black and African really means.

First, it is the color of your African ancestry.

Second, it is culture: practicing a

lifestyle that recognizes the importance of our African and African in America heritage and traditions. I am speaking of an African culture that is geared to the values that will facilitate the present and future development of our people.

Third, it is consciousness. We should always be conscious of our strength, beauty, and potential as African people. In this connection, we should always interpret all situations from the standpoint of the greatest good for the greatest number of Africans in the world. This is called the African principle.

Fourth and finally, Black or being African means commitment. It means a willingness to work tirelessly in the interests of African people and all oppressed humanity.

So it is today that I am challenging you to continue on the path of becoming independent African people who are not dependent on others outside of our communities for the things we can do for ourselves.

I am challenging you as you make this rite of passage to prepare yourselves to become committed to the struggle for the just and common cause for the liberation and redemption of African people worldwide.

This dedication to the common cause goes beyond the resources of one generation. It means we must always learn from previous generations. We must always learn from the wisdom of our ancestors using this knowledge as a way of seeking

and struggling for a better way of life for African people based on goals and objectives in our best interests.

In other words, we must stop killing each other over bruised egos, over material items and drugs that other people manufacture and bring into our communities. We must stop the killing!

We must seek to prepare the generations to come to develop the skills and resources for making our ultimate freedom and liberation a reality. As Malcolm X always said, “education is the passport to freedom.”

As the late, renowned, African in America educator, psychologist, and historian Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III writes in SBA: The Reawakening of the African Mind, “We Africans… have not viewed our problems holistically. After years of living under conditions of extreme oppression, we have settled for limited definitions of our problem.”

Dr. Hilliard explains, “A classic example may be taken from the period of the Civil Rights Movement. The evil and gross injustice of slavery and segregation violated the civil rights of African people and had to be addressed. However, the necessary task of fighting for civil rights was insufficient to allow for the healing of a people.

Our healing requires a greater conceptual frame than that provided by civil rights.”

Dr. Hilliard continues with this insight: “First we must see ourselves as an African people, or we will be unable to develop this critical frame. Second, we must understand not only the role that white supremacy has played in our subjugation, but also the role that we ourselves have played by not practicing self determination in our struggle to counter the MAAFA (this is a KiSwahili term that means disaster or as Marimba Ani has conceptualized it to mean the African holocaust of Eurasian enslavement / colonialism).”

Remember parents, teachers, and students as our esteemed ancestor Dr. John Henrik Clarke repeatedly warned, “Powerful people never teach powerless people how to take power from them.

Education is one of the most sensitive arenas in the life of a people.

Its role is to be honest and true and to tell people where they have been and what they are.” Most importantly, Dr. Clarke points out that the role of education and history is to “tell a people where they still must go.”

This is a great day for you who have made this step in your rite of passage and transition. We congratulate you in the name of all of our ancestors and send you forward to the next stage of your development in the cycle of life.

A Luta Continua the struggle continues and we will conquer without a doubt. Hotep (peace)!

way it ought to be. Occasionally Auntie would say, “at least we aren’t in Virginia,” then she would talk about the schools that actually closed rather than admit Black students. In that state developed a plan of “massive resistance” that denied funds to integrated schools, which had the effect of denying education to Black children for at least four years.

In 1969, most African Americans had experienced de facto segregation, but few Californians had experienced the de jure segregation that Brown ended. Had I not the Mississippi experienced, I would have thought that segregation was as much a fairy tale as Santa Claus, or as distant as “the old days.” Neither fairy tale, nor distant fact, de jure segregation is alive and well today.

Today, schools are segregated by income and zip code, not by race.

Cash-strapped urban school systems, largely funded by eroding

property taxes, have fewer resources than well-funded suburban schools. There are also oases in urban public schools where higher income parents come together to fund activities at their neighborhood schools, such as sports and music, which have been eliminated from other public schools for financial reasons.

K-12 school segregation transfers into an advantage for students from the best-financed schools. These young people have the advantage of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes that are not often offered in those urban school districts struggling to provide bare basics. When colleges give students with advanced classes extra admissions consideration, they implicitly disadvantage those who did not have the opportunity to take advanced classes because of where they live.

There are dozens of other con(Continued on page 16)

60 year journey from Segregation

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist Because I was a horribly ill-behaved child, I found myself shipped from San Francisco to Moss Point, Mississippi in August 1969. My mother’s plan was that I’d spend my junior year in high school there and live with my schoolteacher aunt, Annie Mae Randall, who was somewhat affectionally known as the “kid breaker.” It was legend that if you did not understand rules she would beat them into you, but her method was unlimited interrogation, not physical correction (much).

In any case, I landed in Moss Point, fifteen years after the Supreme Court ruled that legal segregation was illegal. However, by ruling that the Brown decision should be implemented with “all deliberate speed,” many towns in Mississippi saw this as a signal to “take your own sweet time.” I 6

Saturday, May 24, 2014

ended up attending an all-Black high school, Magnolia High School, while the all-white Moss Point High School was in rather close proximity. A year later, Magnolia became the town’s junior high school, and Moss Point High was the school for everyone.

Until 1970, the city’s educators had come up with truly bizarre ways to give a polite nod to integration. For a period, Black teachers went to teach in white schools, while white ones taught in the Black schools. To this day I can’t figure out the proportional representation that had Black teachers in the white schools about a third of the time, with white teachers in the Black schools about half of the time.

My numbers may be wrong, but both Black and white students were short-changed when they were robbed of the continuity of instruction.

On the days that Auntie Annie

Dr. Julianne Malveaux Mae had to go to the white schools, she woke up muttering that this was not integration, and mumbling that “all these years after Brown” integration had not happened in Moss Point schools.

Since the “kid breaker” didn’t really yell, she took her frustration out on anyone who would listen, talking legalisms, history, and the

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

GOSSIPTARY

By Ima Gontellit EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is published as political satire, street gossip and humor, and therefore should not be considered as fact but rather as matter of opinion. None of the items therein are collected by the news gathering staff of the Crusader Newspaper Group. Items forwarded to The Chatterbox are kept confidential unless otherwise requested by the author in writing. For submissions please forward to: AChicagoCrusader@aol.com. Original photography and artwork are permitted.

Thank you for reading!

CONGRATULATIONS! To all de little chilren who be graduating from dey grades over this spring and summer. And Ima give a big shout out to that good looking and super smart teenager named Andrew who we hear may wind up

Andrew Leavell being Ima’s boss, if’n he will allow a 97-year-old woman with one bad toe and one good tooth to work for him.

-ImaAWWWW FAKE OUT! Ima was wheeling down Laramie when this boy rode by with de music blaring. We thought the boy had discovered the new campaign theme song of Robert Shaw when we realized it was Chic and dey was saying “freak out,” instead of “fake out.” In de meantime, one lady two blocks down from Jesse White is telling people she hopes Patricia Van Pelt Watkins will run another fake campaign for mayor because seeing her get called a crackhead by a former U.S. Senator and Ambassador was entertaining. “Dat was better than the Real Housewives of Atlanta,” de woman crooned. “If Pat runs against Toni or Dorothy, maybe they’ll scream that she’s sippin’ on dat yak!” www.chicagocrusader.com

While no word has come as to whether or not Ms. Watkins, a reformed drug user and former young

just about every Negro preacher in America by being honest, well-liked, and able to actually provide jobs, and health care to people who come to him for help. The good-looking priest is the best ally Rahm got.

-Ima7th WARD UPDATE

Todd Stroger

Patricia Van Pelt Watkins woman of loose character, will launch another fake attempt to be mayor, we do know that she seems lost in Springfield and has done very little other than carry the legislative water of the fifth floor of City Hall.

-ImaCRYPTIC MESSAGE: DON’T DO IT Is what one man who said he knows people who know a South Side alderman who said they are thinking of running for mayor. “Dey got a file on (name withheld) that details all of the drinking and drugging (this person) used to do (or still does for all we know) and they can’t wait to find her drug dealer and get him to talk to Chuck Goudie about her taking to Cloud 9. The only person who out drank (this person) is another alderman on the West Side, who has been very open about how high they’d get all the time. What they don’t know is a Cook County official is also known to “stay bent” and loves “Crown Royal” so much that sometimes it comes through they skin.” The man who knew somebody who knew somebody also said, “if (name withheld) keeps playin’ with taking on dat evil guy in City Hall now, they gone fine theyself real embarrassed when they garbage can is emptied and all dem liquor bottles is still inside.”

-ImaHE’S HAPPY Well we know one person who got that boy with the Canadian Mounty hat song on constant rotation— Todd Stroger. We told you Little Stroger was about to make a “come back,” but he had been going around town pretending like he was going to take Michelle Harris’ seat back. While white folk are mad that Ald. Howie Brookins is going to put Todd on the payroll, secretly influential Negroes are breathing a sigh

of relief. Now they say the ghost of John H. Stroger can stop haunting their asses for turning their backs on his prodigy. That’s not the only political job baby Stroger is set to receive—look for him to pop up as a consultant or some kind of bizarre lobbyist in Springfield.

We hear the 12 members of Operation P.U.S.H. are torn between supporting one of the Country Preacher’s bodyguards or his former press agent for the new alderman.

Kieanna Barrett, a Rahm Emanuel

Natashia Holmes will just go back to wherever she come from and sit down. Barrett served as the former chief of staff to newly convicted felon Sandi “The Elf” Jackson and therefore carries all the baggage of serving a corrupt politician. In de meantime, she was said to “be a very effective ward worker,” according to one family in South Shore and “people liked her.” What people do not understand is how she is able to work for the city and for a mayor who did not authorize her to run for a seat where he put his own handpicked tool. This means, according to a family across the street from the other family, “that she’s Rahm’s tool, too, except he couldn’t put her in there because when she was working for Sandi she didn’t even live in the 7th Ward. Now she does.” Right now they say Barrett is set to be the next alderman.

-Ima-

-Ima-

DOMINUS

BLIND ITEM

St. Sabina’s god-like pastor Michael Pfleger has finally cut the strings to questionable 17th Ward Ald. LaTasha Thomas. We hear she fell out of favor with him because

Which Negro alderman was seen very drunk and possibly high coming out of a local tavern with a woman that was not his ugly wife over the weekend? This same alderman is said to be in financial trouble and is “drinking a lot because the feds is on his ass.” This person supposedly is in the same situation that Bill Beavers found himself in, except “he ain’t man enough to stand up to the feds.”

Natashia Holmes employee with the public schools, is taking on Vince somebody who they claim is armed and not-verydangerous., but is apparently wellmannered and able to smile on cue.

We hear folks don’t know who to pull for even though they all hope

‘The Spook Who Sat (Continued from page 1)

Pastor Michael Pfleger “she forgot who got her into office in the first place.” One man who don’t even go to St. Sabina said Thomas’ ties to Victor Reyes and some of DUH Mayor (Daley’s) political hit men has failed to pay off for the aldermanic district that covers West Englewood and Auburn Gresham and some parts of Negroville.

Pfleger, a staunch Rahm Emanuel supporter continues to give cover to De Tiny Emperor who is the most hated politician in Black America since George Wallace. Even though most of Pfleger’s parish boos De Emperor when he shows up for his staged press events where he pretends to cry and be all upset over violence, the beloved priest knows who butters his bread. Folk next to him claim he ain’t ready to give up all de power he done amassed leading docile like Negro followers on one moral cause to the next. On de upside, Pfleger continues to upstage

tory, knew Greenlee for 40 years. It was Rami’s work as a director of a number of plays around Chicago that caught Greenlee’s eye. He asked Rami to appear in the Spook as the character, Shorty Duncan—a part that Greenlee told Rami he had him in mind when he wrote the part.

“Sam Greenlee was a one-of-akind, committed artist to the community and to Black art, in general.

He opened the door for film to be about the struggles of Black people and the commitment to uplifting the race,” shared Rami. He went on to describe Greenlee as a “true revolutionary in heart and in spirit.”

While widely discussed, Rami noted that the movie was never a financial success. He added that he and Greenlee were surprised at its staying power; as even today, it is used as a teaching tool in some universities.

Greenlee’s confidence in Rami’s acting abilities led him to roles in 14 feature films, including “Mahogany,” “Uptown Saturday Night” and “Cooley High.”

A testimony to the power of the

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

appeal of the movie is the fact it is included in the National Archives in the Library of Congress.

A much sought-after speaker, Greenlee was a 1952 political science graduate from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. After two years in the United States Army, he earned the rank of second lieutenant.

While working for the United States Information Agency in 1958 during the Baghdad revolution, Greenlee was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for Bravery.

From 1957-65, he lived in Pakistan, Indonesia and Greece. He studied at the University of Thessaloniki while living in Greece.

Greenlee had been in ill health for the last several years Rami recalled.

He said Greenlee became confined to a wheelchair two years ago when he was honored at the DuSable.

There will be no funeral services.

However, the Du Sable Museum of African American History will hold a memorial service on June 6; further details are pending.

Greenlee is survived by his wife, Maxine Montano; daughter, Natike, and granddaughter, Nailah.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

7

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

PRESERVATION WORKSHOP @ HWLC: Artist, archivist and special collections librarian Steven Szegedi offers guidance on how to care for your treasured artifacts in a workshop entitled Paper and Photo Preservation Basics. Participants are welcome to bring one treasured paper item for a free alkaline buffer.

This workshop will take place on Saturday, May 24, at 2 p.m. in Room 8-South-14/15, 8th Floor of the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State Street, Chicago.

WHITNEY YOUNG BRANCH MEET THE AUTHOR SERIES: In May, Chicago Public Library’s Whitney Young Branch, 7901 S. King Drive, hosts its springtime Meet the Author series. Meet and greet several emerging Chicago novelists and discover what inspires them as they read from and discuss their work. A question and answer session will follow the readings and books will be available for purchase at the events. Upcoming features: Tuesday, May 27 at 6 p.m., author Angel De Amor (aka Angela Whitaker) discusses His Betrayal Her Lies, her steamy debut novel of sexual intrigue and revenge. On Thursday, May 29 at 6 p.m., Jamal Cole, author of Athletes and Emcees, discusses his autobiographical tale of how he used his two favorite pastimes to further his education and break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. Visit chicagopubliclibrary.org for more information.

ROUNDTABLE-PROGRESS ON THE GO TO 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), with “80 years of Reinventing the Region,” presents this Roundtable on Thursday, May 29, noon to 1:30 p.m. at the MPC Conference Center, 140 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 1400. Register today! In October 2010, leaders from across the seven-county region unanimously adopted GO TO 2040, metropolitan Chicago's first comprehensive regional plan in over 100 years. To address anticipated population growth of more than 2 million new residents, GO TO 2040 establishes coordinated strategies that help the region's 284 communities address transportation, housing, economic development, open space, environment and other quality-of-life issues.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) developed and now guides implementation of the plan with its many partners, including MPC. CMAP has initiated an "update" of GO TO 2040 as required by MAP-21, which calls for regional plans such as this to be revised every four years.

Join them for a roundtable on May 29 where CMAP Executive Director Randy Blankenhorn will discuss 8

Saturday, May 24, 2014

GO TO 2040's implementation progress and highlights from the update before the formal public comment period begins in June. Regional leaders will provide input on the role partners play in implementing GO TO 2040 recommendations.

Speakers include: Randy Blankenhorn, executive director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; Toni Preckwinkle, president, Cook County Board; Leanne Redden, acting executive director, Regional Transportation Authority; and Thomas Weisner, mayor, City of Aurora, and board member, Illinois Tollway. For more information, call 773-909-6053.

STARS OF TOMORROW YOUTH ARTS FEST: On Saturday, May 31st, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Taylor Park in Bronzeville, 39 W. 47th Street, there will be a unique opportunity to check out the best of Chicago’s up-and-coming young artists when the annual STARS OF TOMORROW Youth Art Fest returns for its 5th year. Presented by the Chicago Park District and Intonation Music Workshop (IMW), this year's fest will take place at Taylor Park in historic Bronzeville on Chicago’s south side. Bring a blanket and picnic, and settle in for this FREE all-day, all-ages arts extravaganza, featuring a stellar line-up of 23 youth pop/rock bands from IMW, young dancers, poets, and performers from local partners Red Clay Dance Youth Ensemble, LYRIC Mentoring, and Cirques Experience WHEEL JAM, special guest Psalm One, and more! The fest will also include a display of visual art works by local teens, a community dance party, and hands-on activities such as a Musical Petting Zoo, Rock Star Face Painting, Punk Rock Hair Styling, and Decorate-YourOwn-Album-Cover with the Chicago Children's Museum. With over 200 students performing, this will once again be the youth arts event of the year! Intonation Music Workshop (IMW) is an innovative music education program with a focus on pop music. IMW’s in-school, afterschool, and summer programs provide year-round access to instruments, instruction, performance opportunities, and mentorship to youth age 6-17 in Chicago who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity. Through the process of learning to play instruments and working together with their peers, IMW students have the chance to get involved, learn new skills, express their creativity, and find their niche by playing in a pop band. For more information, please visit www.intonationmusicworkshop.org. For specific questions or to schedule an interview with Mike Simons, executive director of Intonation Music Workshop, please contact Hannah Shefsky at 773-909-6053 or hannah@intona-

PRESIDENT KATHLEEN THERESE MEANY, of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, stated that “for the first time in the 124 year history of the District we have a female Head of Engineering, Catherine A. O’Connor.” O’Connor joined the MWRD in 1998 as an Associate Environmental Engineer and worked in an array of positions in the Engineering, Maintenance and Operations, Monitoring & Research Departments. MWRD Executive Director, David St. Pierre added “Dr. O’Connor is the absolute best person to fill this very important role. She possesses the knowledge, skills and relationships it takes to manage and construct important projects that have a huge impact on the lives of the residents of Cook County.” Pictured, left to right, are Catherine A. O’Connor, David St. Pierre and President Kathleen Therese Meany. tionmusicworkshop.org.

SPRING ‘SHEDD’ULE OF EVENTS: Spring into action and dive head-first into a visit to Shedd Aquarium! Don’t miss an opportunity to visit the mesmerizing exhibit Jellies, and feel the wonder of these

mysterious creatures. Shedd’s popular Stingray Touch exhibit will reopen after the long winter, offering a chance to interact with stingrays and touch their silky-smooth backs. Craving something really wild? Head over to Shedd’s Wild Reef exhibit or take a behind-the-scenes tour and let your

mind drift to the Philippines. The aquarium’s four resident dogs also make appearances in the latest aquatic show, One World, showcasing positive reinforcement training with Shedd’s animals – big and small! JELLIES - This mysterious and won(Continued on page 16)

Extended Coverage them, a little less for others.

Do you really need flood insurance? Probably yes. Even melted snow can cause expensive flooding.

Be aware that 25 percent of floodinsurance claims come from outside high-risk areas. *** More homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies do not cover damage due to flooding. You need a separate policy through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program.

Milton E. Moses

*** Questions about flood insurance?

We’ve got the answers at Community Insurance Center, Inc., 526 E. 87th Street, your insurance headquarters. We have been serving the community since 1962. For more information about the services we provide, call (773) 651-6200. You can also reach us via email at: sales@communityinsurance.com or visit the website at www.communityins.com.

*** This flood insurance has a $250,000 limit for dwellings, $100,000 for personal property. In high-risk areas, homeowners may want to look into private “excess” flood insurance. *** Flood insurance doesn’t pay for damage to decks, pools, landscaping or additional living expenses. In the basement, it covers only washer, dryer, furnace and electrical systems. *** For years, FEMA subsidized insurance premiums for homes built before the ‘70s, but now they are raising the rates substantially for BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

BUSINESS

Senators Urge CFPB to End Predatory Small-Dollar Lending

By Charlene Crowell Regulation could achieve meaningful reform After waiting for more than a year for a hearing on a bill that would reform how small dollar loans operate, six U.S. Senators have now taken their concerns to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). A May 14 letter to Richard Cordray, CFPB’s Director, lays out how rulemaking could accomplish much of what proposed legislation has aimed to do.

Speaking in a united voice, Senators Jeff Merkley (OR), Dick Durbin (IL), Tom Harkin (IA), Tom Udall (NM), Richard Blumenthal (CT) and Elizabeth Warren (MA) said, “Sadly, the evidence shows that these loans trap consumers in a cycle of debt in which consumers end up owing more than the initial loan amount — an appalling practice that exploits the financial hardship of hard working families and exhibits a deeply flawed business model that does not consider borrowers’ ability to repay the loan.”

As sponsor and co-sponsors of the pending Senate Bill 172, Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act, the lawmakers urged CFPB to include the bill’s provisions in its rulemaking. Despite being assigned to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee since January 2013, no hearing has been held on the SAFE Lending Act. Should CFPB embrace the lawmakers’ request, its new rules would achieve many of the same lending reforms.

The letter’s timing is also significant. It followed a CFPB public forum convened in Nashville in late March. That event coincided with the Bureau’s release of its own payday research. After analyzing 11 months of borrowing at 12 million storefront locations, CFPB confirmed that the industry relies not on individual borrowers’ ability to quickly repay, but on their inability to repay, resulting in individual borrowers taking out many loans each year.

Additionally, CFPB found that four out of five payday loans are rolled over or ‘renewed’ within two weeks of when the borrower

Charlene Crowell paid off a prior loan. Further, over two-fifths of payday borrowers who were paid on a monthly basis — most of whom were public benefits recipients, such as those on Social Security – had 11 loans in its 11-month study period.

Earlier research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) found payday borrowers are annually charged $3.4 billion in fees alone. The typical borrower takes

out 10 payday loans in a year at interest rates averaging 391 percent over a year’s time.

Importantly, the Senators urged CFPB to include more small-dollar loans, not just payday, in its reforms.

“Although your authorities may differ from that of the states, one especially critical lesson is that laws should apply not only to payday loans but also to auto title and other consumer loans. This broad scope of coverage has been essential to ensuring that regulating predatory payday lending does not create opportunities for similarly harmful products disguised in different formats. We urge the CFPB to follow a similarly broad approach for any rules it crafts in the small dollar lending market.”

Auto title lenders take title to the borrower’s car for security rather than direct access to the borrower’s bank account, as payday lenders do. CRL’s recent policy brief highlights these lenders’ routine disregard for borrowers’ ability to repay (http://lnkd.in/bbEmSVJ).

By broadly addressing the varied forms of these small-dollar loans,

CFPB’s rules would deliver reforms that would benefit consumers who reside in states where payday lending still allows tripledigit interest on debts.

Since 2005, no state has authorized high-cost payday lending. In fact, when voters have been given the opportunity to decide whether to allow or ban tripledigit payday lending, the overwhelming voter sentiment has been against payday. Arkansas, Arizona, Montana and New Hampshire are among the most recent states to ban this form of high-cost lending.

“Predatory payday lending has taken advantage of the fragile financial position of far too many hard working families”, wrote the Senators. “We encourage the CFPB to move as quickly as possible to propose rules that put a stop to predatory small-dollar lending practices, while preserving safer, more affordable alternatives.”

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

Bronzeville slated for new resale boutique Beginning in June individuals who want to make money selling clothes they don’t wear any longer, as well as those who don’t want to pay full retail price will be able to shop at a new offering called Plump Chicago. The store will open the first week in June at 411 E. Oakwood.

The store, according to Deloris MeBain, one of the seven partners in the Oakwood Boulevard store, will feature clothes for plus-size patrons, as well as floral arrangements. MeBain said the target

customers are women size 12 and larger. Eventually, the store will offer men’s clothing too. The consignment is a 60/40 split.

MeBain said Plump Chicago currently is soliciting merchandise in all sizes for men and women.

She described potential customers as those who “would have a chance to dress for success, a party, church or a date in style.” She added Plump Chicago will give these shoppers a chance to shop for clothing they could not otherwise afford.

UPSCALE CLOTHING THAT may ordinarily be out of the price range of many shoppers should no longer be an issue when the proposed Plump Chicago resale store opens in June.

PLUMP CHICAGO WILL open next month in Bronzeville as the community’s newest retailer.

The consignment shop will feature men and women’s clothes and floral arrangements www.chicagocrusader.com

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, May 24, 2014

9

EDUCATION

1,200 Chicagoans had fun learning A free, day-long event recently featured pop-up workshops and activity stations hosted by more than 20 citywide organizations. Participants dabbled in music, technology, nature, architecture, digital media, art, fashion and more.

As part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Summer of Learning and Earning, the event served as a preview of the thousands of after-school and summer programs offered by Chicago City of Learning (CCOL) partner organizations and included in CCOL’s comprehensive database at ChicagoCityofLearning.org, the hub of youthfocused Chicagoland opportunities.

“Through Chicago City of Learning, we are able to provide quality learning opportunities year-round for students and fun for the whole family at events like this one at Jones College Prep,” Emanuel said. “With the help of hundreds of organizations, we have turned Chicago into a giant classroom to challenge and teach students by leveraging the innovation, creativity, and resources of our City’s thriving cultural institutions, universities and businesses.”

In an open-air atrium, partygoers enjoyed perfect weather as everyone from tots to teens shared their talents during an Open Mic experience powered by Hive Learning Network, Digital Youth Network (DYN) and L.Y.R.I.C. Mentoring. Inside, while some attendees were getting their hands dirty studying insects and plants with The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, others were turning recycled materials into accessories with Adler Planetarium’s Youth Council.

As Young Chicago Authors were giving a crash course in new journalism, Shedd Aquarium was offering a

10

Saturday, May 24, 2014

hands-on lesson in animal tracking.

Meanwhile, others were practicing hip-hop yoga with Mindful Practices or creating selfie stickers with FUSE. A recap video will be posted to the CCOL website next week.

“For the families of young Chicagoans, Chicago City of Learning is a significant resource. No matter what the interest, Chicago has it.

Destination: Chicago is the place to sample it, and ChicagoCityofLearning.org is the place to find programs to fulfill it,” said Nichole Pinkard of DYN at DePaul University. “As youth explore what our great city has to offer, parents can share in their discovery of new passions.”

“I like to get my kids involved in everything,” said Jenny Mikhail of Jefferson Park, who attended Destination: Chicago with her five children. “We just moved to Chicago, and this is a great way to learn what’s available to them.” Eager to get back to the festivities, her 7-year-old daughter chimed in, “I love art!”

Other CCOL organizations participating in Destination: Chicago included Chicago Park District’s Inferno Mobile Recording Studio, One With Nature (OWN), YouthMuse, YOUmedia, LevelUP Makerspace, Intuit: Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, The Westside Writing Project, Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Mikva Challenge, Chicago Park District’s teen summer internship program TRACE – Teens Reimagining Art Community and Environment, Con- vergence Academics and Digital Youth Network’s Digital Divas.

Chicago City of Learning (CCOL) is a city-wide, year-round program that uses all of Chicago as a classroom

AT DESTINATION: CHICAGO 1,200 sampled citywide youth summer programs available through Chicago City of Learning. (Photos Chicago City of Learning) – with endless opportunities to learn new skills, discover passions and build pathways to further education and careers. Digital badges offered through CCOL recognize learning across programs in the initiative – whether at a park, museum, library, or online course – giving learners a digital portfolio that communicates the skills they have developed.

CCOL is led by the Office of the Mayor and the City of Chicago and Digital Youth Network at DePaul University, and is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For more information, visit www.ChicagoCityofLearning.org, email ccol@mkcpr.com or call 312-822-0505.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

COMMUNITY

350 Youth Leaders learn about Democracy in Action Chicago Youth Leaders Join Others from Across for Youth Democracy Day 2014 Over 350 youth leaders, ages 10-21, from the Chicago Metropolitan Area and from north, central, and southern Illinois came to Springfield, IL on Thursday, May 8 for Youth Democracy Day 2014, an educational and civic engagement project designed to help young people learn about democracy in action and use that education to advocate for youth program funding.

Youth Democracy Day gave these youth leaders the tools they need in order to go back to their home communities equipped with knowledge that will help them organize their peers to take action and to ensure that their communities become safer, better places.

Youth Democracy Day 2014 is an annual event, sponsored by Chicago Area Project with an affiliate network of more than 50 community/faithbased organizations in the Chicago Metropolitan area, and the Illinois Council of Area Projects, 18 independent area projects with over 200 grassroots affiliate organization throughout the State of Illinois.

The youth leaders were trained during a Democracy in Action Session at the State House Inn. During the session, legislators including State Senator Emil Jones III, Illinois Black Legislative Caucus Senate Chairman (D-14), State Representative Dennis Reboletti (R-45), and Representative John Anthony (R-75) spoke about youth as leaders and the democratic process.

One of the highlights of this part of

plauded the efforts of CAP/ICAP. Jones thanked the youth for coming and told them about the legislative process in Springfield. “You are a special interest group,” said Jones. “You are coming down here to ask us state legislators to pass legislation that will bring back money to your communities to make your neighborhoods safer, your schools better. So, that is what a special interest group is and there is nothing wrong with anyone being a special interest group.”

Rep. Dennis Reboletti told the youth leaders that he feels very close to Chicago Area Project. “One of the founders of this organization, a guy named Moose Brindisi, had a camp for children at risk,” said Reboletti. “My father was one of those children at risk. He attended that camp many, many years ago. So I understand where your situation is at… I appreciate you coming down here. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

Anthony shared that he grew up in Chicago in the Cabrini Green Housing Project, that his mom was a drug addict and that he did not know who his father was. For three years he was homeless. However, he never gave up.

“I saw this day,” he said. “I saw this. I saw me giving back to communities. I saw me talking before great masses of people.” He cautioned the youth leaders that they must be fashioned and formed now in order to be the leaders of tomorrow. “Get involved!” urged Anthony whose district includes Will, Kendall, Grundy and LaSalle counties.

“The area I represent is an 87 percent white district. They said I couldn’t win that district and I did—because of in-

YOUTH LEADERS AND adults from the Wentworth Residents United for Survival are pictured during the Chicago Area Project/Illinois Council of Area Project Youth Democracy Day 2014 on May 8, 2014 in Springfield, IL. Following a Democracy in Action Session at State House Inn, the group headed over to the State Capitol Building with the goal of seeing Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-5).

YOUTH AND ADULTS from South Suburban Area Project and La Causa Community Committee in South Chicago are pictured with Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-80). This civic engagement was made possible by Chicago Area Project/Illinois Council of Area Project’s Youth Democracy Day 2014, which took place on May 8, 2014 in Springfield, IL.

YOUTH AS RESOURCES hold the Proclamation that was presented by Senator Mattie Hunter for the Chicago Area Project and Illinois Council of Area Projects. The Proclamation, which acknowledged and applauded the efforts of CAP/ICAP contained several statements including: “WHEREAS, Youth Democracy Day 2014 is an event that celebrates and promotes the potential of Illinois’ young people and fosters an environment encouraging roles as active citizens in our state government.” the program was the reading of a State tegrity, not because of my skin color.” a group that is holding fundraisers to Senate Proclamation to Chicago Area The Democracy in Action Session raise college scholarship money to help Project and the Illinois Council of Area was led and facilitated by key youth young people going to college. A Lewis Projects. The Proclamation had been leaders who shared their views and ex- University graduate, Ashley returned prepared by State Sen. Mattie Hunter pertise. emcee for the session was Ash- from New York City where she now who was unable to attend the Youth ley Ellis, 23, a former CAP/Youth As lives and works, to emcee the Youth Democracy Day event due to illness. Resources Board Member, a youth ad- Democracy in Action session.

The Proclamation, read by emcee and vocate and founder of EMYRGE After the Democracy in Action sesYouth As Resources Board Member (Empowering and Motivating Youth sion, the youth leaders went over to the Ashley Ellis, acknowledged and ap- to Reach the Greatness they Embody), State Capitol building for meetings www.chicagocrusader.com

and civic engagement with their state legislators and officials. Prior to going, many of the organizations had made appointments to see the legislators who represented their communities.

Chicago Area Project Executive Director David E. Whittaker emphasized the importance of Youth Democracy Day 2014 and future events like this.

“Youth Democracy Day 2014 emphasizes and recognizes young people as resources and partners in building a brighter future for all of our citizens,” he stated. “These youth leaders are

learning how to use the democratic process to advocate with state legislators and officials for funding for programs that prevent violence and help develop their communities. They will go back to their communities and share this education with their peers.”

DEVANTE CADLE, 17, from Bishop Shepard Little Memorial Center serving Back of the Yards and Englewood. Devante, is a junior at King College Prep.

YOUTH AS RESOURCES Board Member Olivia Fitzsimmons, 21, told her fellow Youth Leaders that the answer is to speak up and out loud and proud.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

The Illinois Council of Area Projects was established in 1990. ICAP’s mission is to unite, promote, and support local area projects involved in the prevention of juvenile delinquency through indigenous efforts.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

11

ENTERTAINMENT

By Elaine Hegwood Bowen, MSJ

By Raymond Ward

MUSICAL ROYALTY: Jessye Norman is probably one of the greatest (if not THE greatest ) this country has ever produced !

One of America’s most admired and decorated artists now tells her amazing story from her childhood in the South to the world’s greatest stages. In her much anticipated memoir,“Stand Up Straight and Sing!” by Jessye Norman (Haughton Miffin Harcourt Publishing), the singer tells the story that only she could tell, in a moving and entertaining fashion.

Re-issued ‘Home of the Brave’ highlights racism during World War II Chicago-based Olive Films has re-issued “Home of the Brave,” which is a film based on a play by Arthur Laurents and recounts the story of a young, Black soldier who has suffered a nervous breakdown and has developed psychosomatic paralysis. Crippled by rage and trauma, his condition was induced by experiences encountered during a reconnaissance mission, combined with a lifetime of racial discrimination.

He may be able to walk again, but only if he can overcome his anger and frustrations. The film’s theme revolves around a diverse group of men subjected to the horror of war and their individual struggles.

“Home of the Brave” was one of Hollywood’s first bold statements regarding the issue of race. The cast includes Frank Lovejoy, Lloyd Bridges (father of Beau and Jeff ), Douglas Dick, James Edwards, Steve Brodie and Jeff Corey. The

film was produced by Stanley Kramer (“On the Beach”) and directed by Mark Robson (“Champion”) with a screenplay by Carol Foreman (“High Noon”).

The Black soldier, Private Peter Moss, played by Edwards, runs into an old high school mate named Finch, played by Bridges, right as they both have been called into a special assignment. Moss is feeling tension with the other soldiers in the room, and Finch helps smooth the way with the other bigoted bunch.

During the four-day mission on a Pacific Island occupied by Japanese forces, Finch is shot and this renders Moss disabled where he can’t walk anymore. But before Finch is shot, he comes real close to calling Moss out of his name, after he believes that Moss is responsible for the team becoming a bit misguided. This really troubles Moss, but before he can really get

to the root of why his old high school buddy would call him n***er, Finch is shot and dies. After they return to the base, the doctor works feverishly with Moss to help him trace the roots of his shock and anger to the racism that he has faced.

The military psychiatrist shows Moss that although he has been made to feel inferior, he is just like any soldier who witnesses a buddy getting shot. The surviving soldier may feel something secondary but his first instinct is that he is glad that he is not the one who has gotten shot.

After an arduous few days, with episodes of psychosis, Moss is finally able to accept that, as a soldier, he is one and the same as all the other soldiers (now some would argue that Moss isn’t the same as all the other soldiers, or he certainly isn’t treated as the same).

(Continued on page 16)

Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman is not only one of the world’s most admired and beloved singers, she is an American icon whose life story is as moving and dramatic as the great operatic roles she has performed on stage.

Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, nurtured in a close family and tight-knit community centered around the church, she studied piano and sang the songs of her childhood, not dreaming that the passion for music might lead to her life’s profession.

In “Stand Up Straight and Sing!” Jessye Norman recalls in rich detail the strong women who were her role models, from her ancestors to family friends, relatives and teachers.

She hails the importance of her parents in her early learning experiences.

MUSICAL ROYALTY TOO! Here’s a friendly reminder.

Don’t forget the 20th Anniversary Essence Music Festival is happening July 3rd thru July 6th in New Orleans.

Scheduled to perform are: Prince, Lionel Richie, Nile Rogers, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Ledisi, Tank, Tamar Braxton and Charlie Wilson.

Also, Michelle Williams, Stephanie Mills, Eve, Naughty

By Nature, Estelle, Raheem DeVaughn, Marsha Ambrosius and Tevin Campbell.

Holding forth during The Essence Empowerment Experience will be Iyalna Vanzant. Alicia Keys, Yolanda Adams, and Reverend Al Sharpton, just to name a few.

For ticket information visit Ticketmaster.com or call 1800-745-3000.

I’ll meet you in “The Quarter.

12

Saturday, May 24, 2014

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

ENTERTAINMENT

The Bookworm Sez ‘1954: The Year Willie Mays and The First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever’

By Bill Madden c.2014, Da Capo Press $25.99 / $29.00 Canada 290 pages You know the rules.

Each base must be touched, each ball hit within bounds – or so you hope. No spitballs, corked bats, pine tar, or steroids. Four bases to run. Three strikes, you’re out.

Those are the basics of baseball.

But rules, of course, can be changed, just like the game itself and in the new book “1954” by Bill Madden, you’ll see how the game was altered forever by one simple fix.

It was a time when Perry Como dominated the music charts and Elvis was just some kid in Memphis. The Cold War raged; Brown vs. Board of Education was decided; and radio was king, although every-

body wanted a television set on which to watch a few brief programs on a handful of stations.

It was 1954 and, like much of the world, baseball was in the midst of change, too.

Though Jackie Robinson had broken baseball’s color line seven years earlier, many teams had rosters that were still completely white. The Dodgers were “the most aggressive” on tackling segregation with six Black players that year. The Indians had five and the Giants, four. That complete desegregation was coming was obvious, despite protests against it and owner reluctance.

Willie Mays, returning after two years in the Army, was one of baseball’s 38 (out of 536) Black players in 1954. Mays had been spotted by scouts while still in high school, but was denied a spot on at least one team whose owners refused to sign a Black player. In 1954, he signed a contract for $13,000 and became a Giant.

Mid-season, Ernie Banks joined the Cubs as “one of the elite players in the Negro Leagues.” Hank Aaron was brought up for the Braves, though he’d been mercilessly (and racially) derided for his running style. Other talented Black players followed them to the ma-

jors, and at the end of the 1954 season, fans gathered to “witness the first World Series game in history with players of color on both teams,” a game between the Indians and the Giants.

Four teams (the Yankees, the Tigers, the Phillies, and the Red Sox) had yet to integrate.

Recognize those names? It’s likely that you do, especially if you’re a baseball fan – and there’s so much more here for you if you are. For everybody else, though, “1954” will be an eye-crossing, head-spinning mix of statistics and stories that won’t mean nearly as much.

In the lightning-fast manner of a sportscaster, author Bill Madden tells a story that goes beyond Jackie Robinson’s history-making 1947 debut. Readers will learn why 1954 was so important to the game; how racism continued to taint the industry for at least a few more months after this iconic season; and how, sixty years ago and despite that it had been around awhile, the game was really still evolving.

I can’t stress enough that this is not a book for casual ball-watchers or followers of modern baseball. No, it’s for fans who love the history of the game. For that kind of person, “1954” rules.

Mayor Emanuel announces encore season of ‘Night Out In The Parks’ Building on Last Year’s Success, Second Season Features More Than 1,000 Events, New Community-Based Performers Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Park District Superintendent and CEO Michael Kelly, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Commissioner Michelle Boone, local arts organizations, performers and community members today announced the encore season of Night Out in the Parks at Douglas Park in the Lawndale community. The 2014 series will include more than 1,000 cultural events and activities at parks across the city featuring 50 neighborhood arts and theater organizations; more than 90 percent of the events are offered with free admission.

“Chicago is known around the world for the vibrancy of its arts and culture and we are bringing this creative spirit and energy to neighborhoods all across the City through Night Out in the Parks,” said Mayor Emanuel. “By expanding the number of events offered in the second year of this successful program, we’re enabling more residents to check out the best of what Chicago has to offer right in their own backyard while also supporting local artists.” www.chicagocrusader.com

Launched last year, Night Out in the Parks is part of Mayor Emanuel’s citywide vision for art and culture. It is also a key component of the Chicago Cultural Plan, which was launched by Mayor Emanuel and DCASE in 2012 and is the first plan of its kind in more than 25 years.

Through the Cultural Plan, the City is making investments in public art, music festivals, films, concerts, exhibitions and performances. “‘Night Out in the Parks will elevate and amplify the cultural assets of neighborhoods across Chicago, facilitate neighborhood planning of cultural activity and help the City integrate culture into daily life—all of which are key components of the Chicago Cultural Plan,” said DCASE Commissioner Boone. “By collaborating with the Chicago Park District, DCASE can help to expand access to the arts—including music, theater and dance—across Chicago communities.”

“After last year’s incredible inaugural season of Night Out in the Parks, we are excited to bring even more cultural opportunities to our city’s neighborhoods, said Park District Superintendent Kelly. “Night Out in the Parks provides wonderful opportunities for families to enjoy quality time together but also connect with

CHILDREN ENJOY A Chicago Dance Theatre performance during a 2013 Night Out in the Parks event. their neighbors in a fun and social set- at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 6:30 p.m. ting.”

This year, Theater on the Lake will This year’s offerings include events take the show on the road to three and performances by new and re- park locations while the historic laketurning partners. Highlights include: front facility is undergoing renovaTheater on the Lake – June 18 - tion, performances will be held at August 10 Wednesdays – Saturdays Berger Park, Washington Park RefecBLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

at Kenwood Community Park tory, Union Park. For ticket information visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/theater-on-the-lake or call 312742-7994.

For the full story visit www. chicagocrusader.com and click the Entertainment link Saturday, May 24, 2014

13

ARTS AND CULTURE

Cheney University Concert Choir visits Chicago during Spring Tour

By Barbara Wright-Pryor The Cheney University Concert Choir, Marques L. A. Garrett, conductor, was presented in concert Wednesday, May 14 at The Church of the Good Shepherd, 5700 South Prairie Ave. The concert was sponsored co-jointly with The Grant Memorial AME Church, 4035 S. Drexel Blvd.

The Cheney University Concert Choir is a well-disciplined 17member unit comprised of music students at Cheney University, a public, co-educational historically Black university that is a part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education located in Eastern Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. The Choir repertoire spans music of over 400 years from early composers to today’s living composers and includes various genres of music including standard

THE CHENEY UNIVERSITY CONCERT CHOIR (left) Toni Caldwell-Hall accompanist; Marques L. A. Garrett, conductor.

For the May 14 concert, Conchoral repertoire, Negro Spirituals and art songs by Black composers. ductor Garrett selected a variety of

choruses for the very talented 12 touring ensemble of singers who demonstrated their versatility in the various styles. Concert fare included works by contemporary composers Rosephanye Powell (Non Nobis, Domine); Moses Hogan (Ride on, King Jesus); Adolphus Hailstork (Nocturne); Morten Lauridson (O Magnum Mysterium) along with those of Monteverdi, Schubert, Albert Hay Mallotte, R. Nathaniel Dett and William L. Dawson which the ensemble performed with perfect diction and intonation. They were accompanied by University faculty member Toni Caldwell-Hall, pianist.

The Concert Choir is the official choral ensemble for the University and performs for major on-campus functions and tours to cities around the country as good-will ambassadors and representatives of

their historic university.

Founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, Cheney University of Pennsylvania is the oldest of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America. Its founding was made possible by Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist who bequeathed $10,000, one-tenth of his estate, to design and establish a school to educate the descendants of the African race.

Today, Cheney University students represent a variety of races, cultures, and nationalities who receive “education beyond the vision of Humphreys.” Cheney graduates become teachers, journalists, physicians, business persons, scientists, lawyers, and enter the diplomatic services of government. The University offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 30 disciplines and the master’s degree in education.

Summer Rush Hour Concerts to resume at St. James Cathedral The 2014 Summer Concert Series runs June 3 through August 26.

This summer, Rush Hour Concerts (RHC) celebrates its 15th anniversary season and honors the memory of its founder Deborah Sobol who died suddenly of an aneurism January 25, 2014 at the age of 63. Sobol was a longtime pianist and artistic and executive director of Chicago Chamber Musicians who launched RHC in 2000 to create free public access to highquality music with an emphasis on audience education.

The summer concert series has become a beloved annual event offering live classical music every Tuesday evening after work in River North’s historic St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron Street since its launching. Brant Taylor, cellist with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is Interim Director of RHC. Each evening begins with a preconcert reception with the artists at 5:15 p.m. in the cathedral foyer, followed by a 30 to 45 minute concert beginning at 5:45 p.m. The reception and concert are always free and no tickets are required. For the fifth consecutive year, 98.7 WFMT will broadcast the Summer Concert Series live each week. The 2014 Summer Concert Series runs June 3 through August 26.

Highlights of Rush Hour Concerts’ 15th Anniversary season include Igor Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du soldat” (The Soldier’s Tale), a 1918 collaboration between Stravinsky and Swiss writer C. F. Ramuz as the season opener on June 3. Other highlights include a Bach doubleheader featuring Sones de Mexico Ensemble which will serve as the 14 Saturday, May 24, 2014

June 10 - Johannes Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major; - Janet Sung (violin) and Kuang-Hao Huang (piano);

season’s formal tribute to founder Sobol; the return of “Lyric Shorts” featuring singers from the Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center; another iteration of RHC’s collaboration with the Poetry Foundation; and a World Premiere by Jason Seed commissioned in honor of RHC’s 15th anniversary.

The June 2014 Summer Concert Series includes: June 3 - Igor Stravinsky: “L’Histoire du soldat;”- Fulcrum Point New Music Project and Frank Babbit (narrator);

Deborah Sobol (1950-2014)

June 17 - Howard Frazin: “Some Thoughts on Good and Evil;” John Macfarlane (violin), Brant Taylor (cello) and Winston Choi (piano); June 21 - “Make Music Chicago;” June 24 - Aaron Copland: “Appalachian Spring;” - Members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera Orchestras; John Macfarlane, conductor.

“Rush Hour Concerts” is committed to broadening arts access and launched its Community Engagement Residencies to bring expert musical instruction to underresourced neighborhoods in Chicago through a long-term strategy of artistic and community collaboration. Now in its 15th year, Rush Hour Concerts has expanded into a year-round arts organization, yet remains grounded in its mission to reach across all communities with new ways for audiences to experience world-class music in Chicago.

For more information, go to rushhour.org.

Lance Loiselle brings a slice of New Orleans to Chicago’s Southside Lance Loiselle, a South Side church music director and jazz musician, will release his first album as a solo jazz artist on a recital 4:00 p.m. Sunday June 1, 2014 at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, 2017 West 110th Place. Admission is Free.

The album entitled “The New Hymn Standard” is a mix of the music of New Orleans, modern jazz, funk, Latin styles, and con-

temporary urban flavor.

The recital will feature members of the Lowdown Brass Band, Chicago Community Chorus, Classic Act Choral Ensemble, the Beverly-Morgan Park Choir and other South Side musicians.

Loiselle, a founding member of the Lowdown Brass Band, is the former music director of the Mount Carmel High School Caravan Players (from 2004-2010)

and keyboardist for legendary band Treologic.

Loiselle studied jazz and received a Master’s degree from DePaul University. Although this is his first album as a solo artist, he has performed around the world including Tokyo Jazz Festival, Macau, Philippines, Italy, Mexico and Canada and on recordings on iTunes and on CD as a side man or collaborator on more than 25

recordings.

Lance Loiselle is the founder of Cigiol Publishing which publishes and licenses music for commercials, film and television. He is the director of music at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church and the Beverly-Morgan Park Community Choir and currently teaches jazz band, choir and concert band at Seton Academy in South Holland.

tire Motown Family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack that changed America.

For information and/or tickets go to ticketmaster.com. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at 312-9771710.

Lance Loiselle

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL continues in performances at The Oriental Theater (Ford Theater for Performing Arts) through August 9. MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is the true story of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from featherweight boxer to music mogul who launched the careers of Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Jackson Five and Michael Jackson.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the en-

merstein’s beloved Broadway musical “The Sound of Music” is this weekend – Friday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, May 24 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m.

If you haven’t seen it – or have seen it and would like to experience it again, get down to Chicago’s Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. This will be your last chance to attend. Tickets start at $29 and are available now at lyricopera.org/soundofmusic or at 312-827-5600.

******** The final performances of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s stunning new production of Rodgers and Ham-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

A Moment to Super Size Your Thinking

By Effie Rolfe The Good Samaritan—do they exist anymore and an equally important question—is it safe?

We often hear of the Good Samaritan defined as a charitable or helpful person ultimately having compassion towards people that are different. In the book of Luke 10:25-37 is the story of a man robbed, beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite—Jews in good standing, pass him by. A third man, who is a Samaritan, a group despised by Jews, gives aid to the man, saving his life. Unfortunately, these days one may question, in today’s crime-infested society if it’s even safe to act as a Good Samaritan? Although, I often give monies to the homeless and those less fortunate, many times compassion caused a desire to do several benevolent acts. However, due to fear of hidden agenda’s that desire quickly subsided and caused me to rethink the outcome.

I share this bible parable in part because of my friend, Elijah Mondy who owns MBF Radio Broadcasting Network and former WMAQ NBC TV employee for 29 years. Last April, he was shot and the story made national news in the Associated Press as well as the local news media.

Months later, after speaking with Elijah I learned that he and his

Effie Rolfe wife, Belinda were leaving WalMart and saw someone lying in the middle of the road. He asked his wife to stop so they could offer assistance to the victim in distress.

Against her better judgment, Belinda stopped but immediately called 9-1-1. The stranger approached the car and asked if he could get in the back seat because he didn’t want to be left alone to die. “I think I was trying to get out to comfort him, when the door opened—the man shot me in the side and the bullet lodged into one of my lungs close to my heart. My lung collapsed. I felt

The Crusader Gospel Corner Rev. John P. Kee and New Life came to Chicago for a pre-gospel fest aimed at stopping the violence.

The Grammy and Stellar Award winner teamed up with Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star COGIC and Community Outreach in Chicago for Stop the Violence and our Silence. The amazing service was held this past Tuesday, May 20th at Life Center COGIC, 5500 S. Indiana Ave. Kee shared classics such as “Jesus Is Real,” “Show Up,” “Wash Me,” “Standing In the Need of Prayer” and “Life and Favor.”

Rev. Dr. Alexis Felder and New Faith Baptist International presents “Free to Soar” Women in Ministry Conference May 22 – 25. Guest speakers include Elder Lisa Ballard, Rev. Dr. Medina Pullins, Bishop Sheryl Brady, Dr. T.L Penny, Prophetess Janet Floyd and more.

25 S. Central Avenue in Matteson.

Evening services are free and open to the public. For more information and registration visit newfaithbaptist.org Congratulations to Pastor Darius Brooks and the Tommies Reunion this past Sunday at Grace Central Church in Westchester. Grammy award winner Brooks wrote several www.chicagocrusader.com

Pastor Darius Brooks songs for Rev. Milton Brunson during the longest running community choir’s successful run. “Over and Over,” “Cleansed by The Blood,” “He Cares,” “Get My Joy Back,” “Crown of Life,” “The Holy Ghost,” “There is No Failure,” “Safe in His Arms,” “For the Rest of My Life,” “Available and For the Good of Them.” The amazing standing room concert was held at Grace Central Church, 10216 Kitchener Street in Westchester on Sunday, May 18. “People were so excited and thanked me for keeping the Tommie’s legacy alive,” said Brooks.

myself drowning in my own blood. As we were leaving, three more guys ran out with pistols and rifles tried to shoot at the car.” Thankfully, Belinda’s quick reaction saved her own life as she sped off to escape what could have resulted in a fatal encounter.

The doctors later reported if she hadn’t acted swiftly as she did that he could have died. “Had it gone another inch or so it would have went through my lungs and into my heart,” he said which left him in critical condition.

Recently, Elijah had his fifth surgery and thankfully the youth have since been caught and duly charged. Because of the high profile case, all four were charged and are held on a $3 million bond. Two were sentenced to prison for six to eight years with S.I.S. In spite of all that happened to him, Elijah continues to maintain he was doing what Jesus commanded and has no regrets.

“Both guys apologized and one

was named Fred Willis. He asked me for forgiveness and said his life has been horrible since the incident. He admitted that peer pressure and stupidity caused him to be with the wrong crowd,” said Mondy. The two juveniles involved are yet to be sentenced.

The moral of the story is perhaps we should continue to be compassionate even when our own lives might be in harm’s way.

In the words of Elijah, “Because the Lord commanded us to go and do likewise, when you see someone lying in the street in peril—you shouldn’t go off and just leave. I have been doing this all of my life. However, I would be a lot more alert and careful but I will still continue to stop and try to help somebody. I will look and see if something fishy might be going on. Nowadays you have to be more cautious and suspicious,” said Mondy who was back at work at one of his three radio

stations, WJIW 104.7 FM in Greenville, MS. He continued, “By the way after numerous tests the bullet mysteriously disappeared. One cardiologist tried to find it and said it was a miracle of God since the bullet was embedded into the lung and couldn’t move.” He went on to say, “ The Good Samaritan risked his life.

The others were religious and concerned about themselves but the Good Samaritan’s attitude was if I don’t help this man what will happen to him.” This is a hard pill to swallow and I pray that at the right time that I will do the right thing.

Are you empowered to be a good Samaritan….? ©Effie Rolfe is the author of “Supersize Your Thinking,” a Media Personality and Motivational Speaker. You can visit my website: effierolfe.com or follow me at twitter.com/effiedrolfe.

12 new priests begin their service in Chicago and suburbs Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, ordainied 12 new priests at 10 a.m., on Saturday, May 17, at Holy Name Cathedral, in Chicago. The men, ranging in age from 25 to 44, include five from the Chicago area, one from Nevada, three from Mexico and three from Poland. Later this month, Cardinal George will ordain three priests for the Archdiocese of Chicago for service in the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius.

In ceremonies held earlier this month at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, these seminary graduates received a Master of Divinity degree. After ordination, the new priests will serve in parishes in Chicago, Blue Island, Elmwood Park, Northbrook, Palatine, Robbins, Streamwood and Waukegan. Five will be assigned to post-graduate studies for one year while serving on the weekends in their parishes.

The men are: Juan Luis AndradeLimon, 32, from Mexico, is assigned to St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish, 6435 South Kilbourn Ave. in Chicago. He will celebrate his first Mass on May 28, at 12 p.m., at Nuestra Señora del Rosario Parish in Ocotlan, Jalisco, in Mexico.

Connor Coyle Danstrom, 29, born in Wheaton, is appointed to full time post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at Munde lein. He is assigned to St. Benedict Parish, 2339 York Street in Blue Island and St. Peter Claver Mission, 14139 South Claire Boulevard in Robbins. His first Mass is May 18, at 10:30 a.m., at Sacred Heart Parish, 1077 Tower Road in Winnetka.

Dan Ignatius Folwaczny, 28, from

Francis Cardinal George Chicago, will have his first assignment at St. Norbert Parish, 1809 Walters Ave. in Northbrook. He celebrated his first Mass on May 18, at 9:30 a.m., at St. James Parish, 2942 South Wabash Ave. in Chicago.

Derek Ho, 31, born in Buffalo Grove, is appointed to full time post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at Mundelein. He is assigned to St. Celestine Parish, 3020 North 76th Court in Elmwood Park. His first Mass is on May 18, at 11:30 a.m., at St. Edna Parish, 2525 North Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights.

Matthew Jamesson, 29, from Carson City, Nev,, is appointed to full time post-graduate studies at the

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Pontifical Faculty of Theology at Mundelein. He will have his first assignment at St. Theresa Parish, 455 North Benton in Palatine, and will celebrate his first Mass on May 18, at 11 a.m., at Sacred Heart Parish, 114 South Elizabeth Street in Lombard.

Isaac Lara, 28, born in Tlaxcala, Mexico, is appointed to full time post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at Mundelein. He is assigned to Maternity B.V.M. Parish, 3647 West North Avenue in Chicago, and will celebrate his first Mass on May 17, at 5 p.m., at St. Catherine Laboure Parish, 3535 Thornwood Ave. in Glenview.

(Continued on page 16) Saturday, May 24, 2014

15

NEWS

12 new priests begin their service in Chicago and suburbs (Cont’d from page 15) Grzegorz Lorens, 32, born in Skarzysko-Kamienna, Poland, will have his first assignment at St. John the Evangelist Parish, 502 South Park Blvd. in Streamwood. His first Mass was May 17, at 5 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish, 1747 Lake Avenue in Wilmette.

Francisco Javier Luna Silguero, 44, born in Monterrey in Mexico, is assigned to Good Shepherd Parish, 2719 South Kolin Avenue in Chicago. He celebrated his first Mass May 17, at 5:30 p.m., at St. Sylvester Parish, 2157 N. Humboldt Blvd. in Chicago.

James Andrew Mueller, 28,

from Chicago, is appointed to full time post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at Mundelein. He will have his first assignment at Most Blessed Trinity Parish, 450 Keller Avenue in Waukegan. His first Mass was May 18, at 1 p.m., at St. James Parish, 831 North Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights.

Marek Maciej Smolka, 29, born in Zakopane, Poland, is assigned to St. Francis Borgia Parish, 8033 West Addison St. in Chicago, and celebrated his first Mass on May 18, at 1:15 p.m. (in English and Polish) at St. Albert the Great Parish, 5555 West State Road in Burbank.

Michael Wyrzykowski, 35, born in Szczecin, Poland, is assigned to St. Ferdinand Parish, 5900 West Barry Ave. in Chicago, and celebrated

his first Mass May 18, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity Polish Mission, 1118 North Noble St. in Chicago.

Bradley Angelo Zamora,

25, from Chicago, is assigned to Holy Name Cathedral Parish, State and Superior streets in Chicago, and celebrated his first Mass May 18,

(Cont’d from page 3) Leif Elsmo stood by and looked on while UCPD dragged protesters by their arms, shouting in pain as they were forced off the site. “What chance do we have to get through to an institution that has proven so reticent to engagement? The idea that the standards of protest and dissent are set by those being protested and dissented against is laughable.”

The University released a statement late Monday night regarding the events earlier in the day. It said they support the rights to protest peacefully, but are also responsible for patient safety. They said the protest last year, in which people were arrested, came as a result from the protestors blocking access to the emergency room. The statement said this time construction workers could have been in peril as a result of the protest, but they will not be filing any charges against those who chained themselves to gates on the property.

“Despite repeatedly offering the protesters alternative locations that are safe and on public property, they chose to remain on the construction site.

As a result, we had no choice but to remove them from the location, for their safety and that of the workers at the site,” the statement read in part.

The University continues to

maintain its position that opening a trauma center would compromise the hospital’s ability to run its burn unit and the trauma unit for children at the Comer Children’s Hospital. This week, there will be different activities on the campus every day protesting the University’s position. One event in particular will feature U of C doctors themselves who are in favor of trauma care. There will also be a community march on May 23 that will end at the hospital.

“We know we have broken the rules, but only in service of drawing attention to an unjust system,” said Dexter, a fourth year geography major. “To those who say our protests would be better aimed at city hall or the state house, we reply that institutions that perpetuate systemic injustice are worthy targets as well, as the status quo would not go on without their assent.

Eight Removed from U of C after protest

Union says CPS failed to live up ter of iPads for all receiving schools. In that case, according to CTU, teachers were not provided learning opportunities to increase their proficiencies with iPads.

In her rebuttal to the report, CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett characterized the CTU report as “deliberately mischaracterizing the facts about the district’s investments in welcoming schools.”

She countered that some of the problems the 30,000member CTU officials cited were to be handled at the school, not district level.

One instance was the library funding. Byrd-Bennett also maintained that the district supplied $10 million for the iPads and the latest technology.

The district cited its successes over the past year as improved attendance, better math, reading, science and

(Continued from page 1) English grades, along with more students being on track to graduate on time.

The CTU analysis offered that although CPS provided some additional funding for the receiving schools, those monies will not stretch into upcoming school years— that translates into the receiving schools continuing “to have unmet needs due the disproportionate disadvantages their students face.”

The report also noted that CPS’ direct funding to receiving schools was onetenth of the dollars for the transition for the closures. CTU officials compared “start-up funding” for expanding charter schools to the financial support for moving students to the receiving schools. The per pupil amount for the expanding charters was $2,770, compared to approximately $230 for the student going to a receiving school.

Byrd-Bennett charged, “CTU is only looking at funding that was budgeted at schools.

However, we spent $21 million on direct student supports and another $10.4 million on safety and security.

We also spent 1.5 million on the book fair that provided books that were otherwise unused to students to use now.”

CTU President Karen Lewis said, “Shuttering our schools was touted as a hard and difficult choice by the mayor and the Board (of Education), but this was the easy, draconian choice.

“Parents, teachers and the public demanded resources and supports for these education communities. Sadly, by making promises that remain unfulfilled, these schools and students they serve have been dealt, yet, another blow from failed policy to broken promises.”

at 2:30 p.m. at St. Barbara Parish, 2859 South Throop St. in Chicago.

HOUSES FOR SALE

(Continued from page 8) drous exhibit, sponsored by their body mass each day?

Walgreens, offers a unique Guests can also learn about chance to see how these ele- topics such as survival and witgant creatures have thrived for ness these creatures hunt by millions of years. At Jellies, using their long tentacles and guests will also have the stinging cells. Jellies is open chance to learn about ocean daily. Admission is included conservation and jellies impact with Total Experience Pass. on our waters. Guests will For more information, and even have the opportunity to tips for an enjoyable experiobserve their eating habits. ence at Shedd, please call 312Did you know that jellies con- 939-2438 or visit www.sheddsume enough food to double aquarium.org.

Re-issued Home of the Brave highlights racism during (Cont’d from page 12) He is helped along with this by speaking with another one of the team’s soldiers, who also suffered a casualty during the

mission. Moss also accepts the fact that his body willed him into temporary paralysis, because of the fact that his friend was shot and not able to walk away from the incident. As a

60 year journey

(Continued from page 6) sequences to defacto segre- us to the starting line, but gation. They include the we are still a long way from racial achievement gap and the finish line. May 17 was unequal access to scholar- an opportunity to celebrate, ship, internship, network- to reflect but also to contining, and employment op- ue the work. portunities. Brown opened Julianne Malveaux is a the door and, by ending de- DC based economist, aufacto segregation, changed thor and educator. She the terms and conditions of can be reached at julianAfrican American life. It got nemalveaux.com.

16

Saturday, May 24, 2014

result, he is able to prepare to walk on the plane and return to the United States and get on with his life.

I appreciate this film, because it does explore race relations within the military during World War II. However, it does tie everything up into a

nice, pretty bow at the end, which I don’t think would have normally been the case.

The National Board of Review named the movie one of the 10 best films of 1949—probably because it tackled the issue of race relations. Further research reveals that the protagonist in

the play was of Jewish descent, which makes the film entirely different than the original play.

“Home of the Brave” was produced in 1949 and is available on Blu-ray and DVD. For more information, visit http:// www.olivefilms.com/films/home-of-the-brave-blu-ray/.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Continued from page 4) is it that the Feds get to levy paign contributors and the fine and collect money write every one of them a that was never theirs in the check for what they confirst place. Have you heard tributed to Jr.’s campaign? anybody say the governI do understand that Jr. ment is going to go can’t make a fuss about it or through the list of cam- they will keep him locked BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

up for every minute of his sentence. But somebody high up in the federal government needs to make the Feds explain how they can do this. It sure doesn’t seem right.

Alexander Oliver www.chicagocrusader.com

HOUSES FOR SALE

www.chicagocrusader.com

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, May 24, 2014

17

HOUSES FOR SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, -v.RICHMOND C TUREAUD A/K/A RICHMOND TUREAUD, CITIBANK, N.A. S/I/I TO CITIBANK, FSB, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. S/I/I BY PURCHASE FROM THE FDIC AS RECEIVER OF WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK, CITIBANK N.A. S/I/I TO CITIBANK (SOUTH DAKOTA) N.A., MIDLAND FUNDING LLC, EQUABLE ASCENT FINANCIAL, LLC, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 12 CH 39404 715 WEST 59TH STREET CHICAGO, IL 60621 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on March 12, 2014, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on June 16, 2014, at the The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive - 24th Floor, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 715 WEST 59TH STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60621 Property Index No. 20-16300-053-0000. The real estate is improved with a 2 unit home with no garage. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial sale fee for Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twentyfour (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN AC-

TO PLACE AN IN THE CHICAGO CRUSADER CALL 773-752-2500 18

CORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. Effective May 1st, 2014 you will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driverʼs license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues. For information: Visit our website at service.attypierce.com. between the hours of 3 and 5 pm. PIERCE & ASSOCIATES, Plaintiffʼs Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street Suite 1300, CHICAGO, IL 60602. Tel No. (312) 476-5500. Please refer to file number PA1221675. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. PIERCE & ASSOCIATES One North Dearborn Street Suite 1300 CHICAGO, IL 60602 (312) 476-5500 Attorney File No. PA1221675 Attorney Code.

91220 Case Number: 12 CH 39404 TJSC#: 34-4260 I606915 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WINTRUST MORTGAGE, A DIVISION OF BARRINGTON BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, N.A. F/K/A WINTRUST MORTGAGE CORPORATION F/K/A SGB CORPORATION D/B/A WEST AMERICA MORTGAGE COMPANY Plaintiff, -v.IVAN PROKOPIV Defendants 12 CH 038207 6735 S. GREEN STREET CHICAGO, IL 60621 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on April 1, 2014, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 3, 2014, at the The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive - 24th Floor, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 6735 S. GREEN STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60621 Property Index No. 20-20-407-013.

The real estate is improved with a residence. Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted.

The balance, including the Judicial sale fee for Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twentyfour (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this

Saturday, May 24, 2014

property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 151701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. Effective May 1st, 2014 you will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driverʼs license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues. For information, examine the court file or contact Plaintiffʼs attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876. Please refer to file number 14-12-21129. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE, IL 60527 (630) 794-5300 Attorney File No. 14-12-21129 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 12 CH 038207 TJSC#: 34-6085 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiffʼs attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

I606950

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

SPORTS

Morgan Park champs honored in Springfield The Morgan Park High School basketball team, back-to-back Class 3A state champions recently accepted State Representative Monique Davis’ invitation to be honored at the State Capitol. Davis introduced and her house colleagues passed HR 1000 honoring the team. Each member received a certificate of honor.

During their Springfield visit the state senate also honored the Mustangs. State Senator Napoleon Harris, a former National Football League (NFL) linebacker, stressed the importance of academics to the players. When the team members met with Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, he discussed the new laws that directly affect teens, and encouraged them to be role models

at school and in the community.

During the students’ time with Governor Pat Quinn they received a first-hand account of the challenges of being the state’s governmental leader. The governor also stressed the importance of college and how to prepare for it, along with doing their absolute best. All of the team members carry at least a 3.4 grade point average (G.P.A.) and are college bound.

Of the visit, Davis said, “The team members were so warmly received by all at the Capitol and the legislative body as a whole was extremely impressed and proud of their behavior and their representation of Morgan Park High School.”

Bulldogs’ Jalen Brown inked by Georgia State The 2014 South Suburban College (SSC) Men’s Basketball Team accolades and accomplishments continue to grow this postseason as sophomore Jalen Brown signed a letter of intent to play on scholarship for Georgia State University Panthers this fall. Georgia State Basketball participates on the highest level–National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I–and is coming off a Sun

Jalen Brown Belt Championship and postseason National Invitational Tournament (NIT) berth.

Brown, a 6’8” forward from

Buchanan, MI helped the Bulldogs to a Regional Championship and a seventh place finish at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 2014. He was named to the All-Region 2nd Team and was a key cog in the Bulldogs impressive 31-6 record.

He averaged 13 points, 8.1 rebounds and two blocks per game last season at SSC, and his 72 blocks ranked 9th in the NJCAA. "I am very happy for Jalen and his family,” said Bulldogs Head Coach John Pigatti. “He has put a lot of hard work in the class room and on the court in order to accomplish his goal of playing Division I Basketball. Coach Ron Hunter and the Georgia State staff have signed a special player in Jalen."

Brown completes a five-player recruiting class, according to the Georgia State website. “I believe that Jalen will fit our system well and rounds-out what we feel is an excellent class of newcomers who will join us for the upcoming season,” Coach Hunter said. “Jalen is a talented big-man who I believe is going to make an immediate impact on our team.”

DE LA SALLE JUNIOR Brandon Hutton a Country Club Hills resident, is the school’s latest Meteor of the Month. Hutton is a De La Salle basketball player who will attend the University of Iowa.

Meteor of the Month nominees are students recognized by their peers who have displayed exceptional qualities of faith, community service, or social justice. www.chicagocrusader.com

MEMBERS OF THE Morgan Park High School basketball team received honors during a visit with the governor and other state legislators in recognition for their Class 3A state championship title.

Governors State University unveils its new mascot When Governors State University athletics begins intercollegiate play in the fall, its opponents will face off against the GSU Jaguars.

The university unveiled the Jaguar mascot recently, after conducting a search that took several months and included input from faculty, staff, student and the surrounding community.

“The university is growing and having a mascot is an important component to a rich experience for our students,” said Courtney Sanders, vice president of enrollment management and marketing.

“A mascot is an identifying symbol for a university, an important tool for building a tradition. We are thrilled to start building long-lasting traditions as the GSU Jaguars.”

The university began its search in February by taking suggestions from students, staff, faculty and residents of the surrounding communities. It received over 400, more than half of which were unique. The university’s search committee then voted to narrow the choices down to four finalists: the Jaguars, the Prairie Wolves, the Gladiators and the Bengals. After an artist designed sketches of what the mascot could look like, the university then put the choice to an open vote online.

The university received an overwhelming response, logging over 30,000 online votes.

Sanders said the university wanted to make the process as democratic as possible. With a mascot being an enduring symbol, the university wanted as much outside input as possible when making the choice, she said.

The Jaguar is the university’s first mascot. It stands among other firsts for the university coming this fall,

including the first freshman class, the opening of its first student residence hall and the beginning of intercollegiate play for its first sports teams.

GSU presented prizes to the people who were the first to submit the four finalists. Joseph Iniguez received $175 for his submission of the Gladiators. Calvin Rowe received $100 for submitting the Prairie Wolves and Steven Alvarado received $50 for submitting the Bengals. Paula Franklin was the grand prize winner and received $350 for submitting the Jaguars.

Governors State also introduced key members of its sports clubs: Reginald Plumber, golf club.

GSU’s golf club is in its second year of play.

Dabney Buchanan, men’s softball.

Men’s softball is also in its second year of play.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Natasha Dillard, bowling club.

The bowling club is in its third year of play and has the largest membership of all sports clubs.

Anita Kunkes and Andrea Johnson, volleyball club. The volleyball club began play in 2010 and just won the Orland Park Park District championship.

Wenjie Lee, table tennis club.

Table tennis began play in 2009 and is currently ranked 14 in the nation.

Calvin Rowe, basketball club.

GSU’s basketball club won the Mokena Park District title two weeks ago and upset Judson University last fall.

The sports program is led by program director Dean Jennings. Jennings has been program director for the last five years.

Governors State University is located at 1 University Parkway in University Park.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

19

20

Saturday, May 24, 2014

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com