The Chicago Crusader January 18, 2014

www.chicagocrusader.com

Blacks Must Control Their Own Community

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

•C•P•V•S•

VOLUME LXXIII NUMBER 39—SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

PUBLISHED SINCE 1940

25 Cents and worth more

Appeal judge hear Howard Morgan Case

By J. Coyden Palmer Three appellate judge in Cook County earlier this week began hearing oral arguments in the case of Howard Morgan, an off-duty railroad police officer who was shot 28 times by Chicago Police in February of 2005. Morgan was convicted of attempted murder in 2012 during a retrial and is currently serving a 40 year prison sentence. Morgan’s supporters along with several Chicago Police officers packed a Cook County courthouse on Jan. 14.

Morgan’s attorney and family said his conviction violated the U.S. Constitution’s “double jeopardy” laws, where a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice after being found not guilty initially.

In the first trial, Morgan was acquitted of aggravated battery and gun charges. In the second trial Judge Clayton Crane ruled Morgan’s attorneys could not bring the acquittals to the jury’s attention.

Rosalind Morgan, Howard’s wife, said her husband is ill and prison is no place for him. She claimed he is not getting the medical treatment he needs for a variety of ailments at the correctional facility in Dixon, Illinois. She is also appealing to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to intervene. One of Morgan’s attorneys, Benjamin Crump, who is the family attorney for Trayvon Martin, said the Howard case

is a miscarriage of justice and people in Chicago should be outraged by what has taken place.

“The [officers] claimed he shot at them but there was never any evidence produced that he fired a shot. Crump said.

“One officer claimed a month later that there was a bullet in his vest, but when they came to court, [they produced] no vest, just a replica.”

That was just one of several issues Howard’s supporters pointed out. Public Defender Lester Finkle, who argued the case before the three appellate judges Monday, said there were problems with the jury in the first trial as well, which ended in a hung jury. He argued that Crane incorrectly dismissed three alternate jurors before the jury was done deliberating. He said the two holdout jurors wanted Morgan to be found guilty and would not change their vote or the case would have been over years ago. Finkle also said Morgan’s conviction should be vacated and he should be released from prison immediately.

The three judges are expected to make their ruling within 45 days. The hearing started an hour late and lasted for only 45 minutes. In the meantime, Morgan’s wife has been doing a media blitz. She has appeared on the Rev. Al Sharpton, Tom Joyner and Cliff Kelly radio shows plead-

AN APPELLATE COURT hearing this week creates the possibility of a re-trial for Howard Morgan who was shot 28 times by Chicago police officers, but was convicted of attempted murder.

(NNPA), a federation of nearly 200 Black newspapers. The industry’s past efforts to target African-American consumers have been thoroughly documented. It is sad that an in-

dustry that sought to exploit our community with a product that is harmful to our health now seeks to further devalue African-Americans by ignoring the Black media when it is being forced to atone what a federal judge determined was a deliberate effort to deceive the American public.”

Peter S. Hamm, director of communications for the Tobacco-Free Kids Action, said on Monday that the media outlets were selected by Judge Kessler and disclosed in an order issued Aug. 17, 2006. Hamm said he did not know how she determined what media outlets would be utilized to carry the newspaper ads and television commercials.

A telephone call Monday requesting comment from the Justice Department was not returned.

The story of the agreement was first disclosed by Target Market News, published by Ken Smikle. The Chicago-based publication said an advertising source placed the value of

ing for the community to get behind her husband’s case. She said her faith in God is seeing her through this but it is very difficult for her and her family.

“I’ve been fighting for nine years,” she said. “This has ruined me financially and

I’ve been without the love of my life for nine years. My kids do not have their father and neither do my grandkids. We know how important the father-figure is to the family.”

(Continued on page 2)

Proposed tobacco settlement excludes Black Media

By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief

The U.S. Justice Department and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund have reached an agreement with the four major tobacco companies that requires them to spend more than $30 million advertising with the three major television networks and run full-page ads in 35 White and Hispanic newspapers, as well as purchasing space on their respective websites but not make a single purchase from a Black print or broadcast media company.

The 24-page proposed consent agreement, reached Friday, will go before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 15, was postponed.

“We are shocked and deeply disappointed that the Justice Department, the TobaccoFree Action Fund and the tobacco industry would all agree to sign off an advertising plan that totally disrespects the Black community,” said Cloves C. Campbell, chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association

the total buy at $30 million to $45 million.

The advertising campaign, which won’t go into effect until all appeals have been exhausted by the tobacco companies, was agreed to as part of a settlement that found tobacco companies misled the public about the dangers of smoking. The four defendants are: Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard and Philip Morris USA. The U.S. Justice Department filed suit against the cigarette manufacturers on Sept.

22, 1999 charging that they had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO). They were found guilty at the conclusion of a trial that lasted from Dec. 21, 2004 to June 9, 2005.

Judge Kessler wrote a stinging opinion saying, that the case “is about an industry, and in particular these Defendants, that survives, and profits, from selling a highly addictive product which causes diseases that lead to a (Continued on page 2)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Dr. Martin Luther King’s work recalled (See Special Section Insert)

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NEWS

New report shows HIV infections going untreated Despite medical gains in treating and curbing HIV and AIDS, young Black men are not experiencing a drop in the diseases like their white and Hispanic counterparts, according to a recent report by the Chicago Department of Health. It indicated more than half the people infected with HIV or AIDS in 2011 were not treated.

And infection rates have risen in many Black communities, such as North Lawndale, Woodlawn and South Shore, according to the report, which did not provide current or previous rates.

Alonzo Irvin, 46, is among those living with HIV even though he was slow to receive treatment. “It is not as easy as people think to get treated for HIV. There are a lot of stigmas attached to people with this disease and that can shame a person not to seek treatment,” explained Irvin. “A lot of folks, like myself, first found out about having HIV or AIDS after being examined for an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). That’s when I found out that I had something much worse than Gonorrhea.”

In 2011, there were 21,555 people living with HIV or AIDS but fewer than half were able to reduce the risk of infecting others, the report stated. An additional 3,800 people are estimated to have HIV

and not know, according to the report.

However, new HIV infections have dropped by 15 percent, the lowest since 2007 especially among drug users, the report stated.

One reason for the decline is due to the culture among drug users, said Department of Health officials.

But the drop in new HIV infections does not include young, Black men who have sex with other men, which is on the rise, according to the report.

“We are absolutely encouraged by the progress we’ve seen,” said Craig Johnson, a spokesman for the Chicago Gay Black Men’s Caucus. “But there is still a disparity when it comes to race, gender and sexual orientation.”

Health officials pointed out that Black men who have sex with other men are twice as likely to contract the disease as white or Hispanic men who have sex with other men, which now account for the largest HIV group in Chicago.

But not mentioned in the report is the rise of people going to one of the city’s five sexually transmitted disease clinics, said health care advocate Ronda Blackman. The free clinics have a daily quota and once it reaches that number “patients are told to try back tomorrow,” she said.

Porsha Winters, 31, waited twoweeks before going back to a city clinic to get treatment for an STD

after she said the first three times were unsuccessful.

“The first time I went was on a Thursday. I got there at 10 o’clock (in the morning) even though the clinic did not open until 11,” she recalled. “It took less than 10 minutes before an announcement was made that the doctor would not be seeing anyone else for the day and to come back tomorrow.”

Winters estimated that 30 people were ahead of her when she visited the city’s Austin clinic on the West Side. “I went back Friday and again I got there an hour before the doors opened but it was too late,” said Winters. “This time it was about 40 people in line before me, so I knew I was not going to be seen so I left. I went back the following day Saturday and got there at 6 o’clock this time only to find out the clinic was closed on the weekend.”

The whole experience discouraged Winters from going back again, she said until one of her friend’s found out she was HIV positive. “That scared me because my friend told me the doctor said early detection often helps but if it is detected too late then your chances of beating it are slim,’ Winters added.

Three of the free clinics are located in Black communities—Roseland, Austin and Englewood. The other two are located on the North Side in Lakeview and West Town. The clinics, according to Blackman,

A NEW HIV/AIDS REPORT released this week showed that more and more people in Chicago infected are not being treated for the deadly disease. have limited funding and staff thus mitted to ensuring that everyone making it hard to treat the roughly who visits one of their STD clinics 100 people a day that show up. is tested and if necessary treated.

“You don’t know how long it may “The STI (sexually transmitted have taken this person to finally go infections) program has experito the clinic to get tested and treat- enced several retirements but the ed,” explained Blackman. “But once STI Health Center hours have not a person finally does go to get tested, changed and we have maintained if they are told to come back tomor- staffing levels to serve our patients,” row they simply give up. Believe it or health officials said, in a statement. not, there are people who think they “In addition, CDPH is recruiting can treat a STD with over the new medical providers to more percounter medicines.” manently replace the providers that City health officials said it is com- retired.”

(Continued from page 1) staggering number of deaths per year, an immeasurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, and a profound burden on our national health care system. Defendants have known these facts for at least 50 years or more. Despite that knowledge, they have consistently, repeatedly, and with enormous skill and sophistication, denied these facts to the public, to the Government, and to the public health community... In short, Defendants have marketed and sold their lethal products with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted.”

The judge prohibited the companies from committing similar acts going forward and ordered them to make “corrective statements” about the lies they had told about the dangers of smoking.

Kessler’s ruling was unanimously

upheld March 22, 2009 by a threejudge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On June 28, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals.

Carefully-crafted “corrective statements” that include the wording, placement and timing of TV commercials and the content, type and size of fonts to be used in newspaper ads were covered in the agreement reached Friday. The statements will acknowledge that the advertising is being done under court order and that companies had misled the public on the health effects of smoking, the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine and the health effects of secondhand smoke.

The companies will also admit that they falsely sold and advertised low-tar and light cigarettes as less harmful than regular cigarettes and designed cigarettes to enhance the delivery of nicotine.

Under the agreement, each com-

pany will decide whether to place ads on CBS, ABC or NBC. “The TV spots will run a total of five times per week, subject to the availability of network time and upon approval of the network(s) on which the spots will air,” the agreement stipulates. “The five TV spots to be run each week will be run by each defendant at its choice between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. in the time zone in which the spot airs, between Monday and Thursday for one year.”

In the event the desired time slot is unavailable, the companies must continue to purchase spots until they have run the corrective statements at least 50 times and have aired a total of 260 spots.

For newspapers, the tobacco companies are required to purchase a fullpage ad in the first section of the Sunday edition of each newspaper. Each ad will contain one of the five corrective statements in their entirety. The companies are also required to advertise on the newspapers’ web sites.

Those same requirements will run in Spanish in Spanish-language newspapers.

The ads and commercials will state, “A Federal Court has ruled that Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Philip Morris USA deliberately deceived the American public and has ordered those companies to

make these statements. Here is the truth:” Texts, of the corrective statements will then be provided.

Under Judge Kessler’s 2006 order, ads will be placed in the following newspapers: Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Charlotte Observer, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Florida Times Union, Fresno Bee, Ft. Worth StarTelegram, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Sun, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sacramento Bee, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, St. Petersburg Times, Tallahassee Democrat, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Eastern Group Publications, San Francisco La Oferta Review/El Vistaz-Combo, NAHP, Chicago Lawndale Group News and NAHP Houston – Que Onda!

“Spanish-language newspapers shall appear in Spanish,” the judge’s order stated.

It is ironic that the tobacco industry is bypassing Black media while complying with a federal order to disclose its deception when in the past it used the Black media to target African-American consumers.

By Wendell Hutson

Proposed Tobacco Settlement Excludes Black Media

Appeal Judges hear Howard (Continued from page 1)

Prosecutors contend Morgan needs to remain in prison and that he was found guilty by a jury. They said Morgan might have been a police officer but his ac2

Saturday, January 18, 2014

tions on Feb. 21, 2005 were of those of a criminal. The appeals court can deny Morgan’s appeal, order another retrial or vacate his conviction all together.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

“The tobacco industry has gone to great lengths to target the AfricanAmerican community over the past 30 years,” the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids stated. “Through market research and aggressive advertising, the industry has successfully penetrated this population. The industry’s ‘investment’ in the AfricanAmerican community has had a destructive impact: African Americans suffer the greatest burden of tobaccorelated mortality of any ethnic or racial group in the United States.”

The anti-smoking group also explained, “…There is compelling evidence that tobacco companies not only advertise disproportionately in communities with large AfricanAmerican populations, they also create advertising specifically targeted to these communities. Cigarette ads highly prevalent in African-American communities and publications are often characterized by slogans, relevant and specific messages, or images that have a great appeal among those in the black community, or that depict African Americans in an appealing light. Contrary to how blacks are typically portrayed in the media, cigarette ads portray images of African Americans who are happy, confident, successful and wealthy, in love, attractive, strong and independent.” www.chicagocrusader.com

NEWS

Aldi’s using job fair to hire for new stores Local residents interested in working for the Aldi’s grocery store chain can attend at Monday, January 20 hiring fair at one of several locations in and around Chicago- land.

Those interested in working in Chicago stores north of I-290 should attend the job fair at 1816 N. Clark in the Hotel Lincoln.

Those interested in working in Chicago stores south of I-290 should go to the job fair at Chicago Lake Shore Hotel, 4900 S. Lake Shore Dr. The western suburb job fair will be at 1801 Napier Road in Naperville, while the South Suburbs’ job fair is at the Hilton Garden Inn, 9333 S. Cicero in Oak Lawn. All f the job fairs begin at 7 a.m. and last until 6 p.m. The northern and northwestern fair will be at Hilton Garden Inn at 1191 E. Woodfield Road in Schamburg.

Aldi officials said the chain is known for offering wages significantly higher than the industry standard. These hiring events follow the recent announcement that ALDI plans to open 650 new stores across the nation in just five

years, representing a 50 percent increase and bringing the total store count to nearly 2,000.

Those hired as store associates will begin at $13 per hour, while shift managers will be paid $13 per hour plus an additional $4 per hour when performing managerial duties.

Successful candidates must be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or GED and available to work anytime between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. They must also pass a drug screening and background check, as well as be able to lift 45 pounds.

Part-time Aldi workers work at least 20 hours per week and receive full health insurance, dental coverage and a 401K. About ALDI Inc. A leader in the grocery retailing industry, ALDI operates nearly 1,300 stores in 32 states, primarily from Kansas to the East Coast.

More than 25 million customers each month save up to 50 percent

Clergy seeks to comfort missing girl’s mother Wednesday, January 15 marked the sixth year of the disappearance of then-15-year-old Yasmine Acree and several local ministers including the teen’s uncle, the Rev. Ira Acree, the Revs. Marshall Hatch and Cy Fields, sought to comfort Rose Starnes, Yasmine’s aunt and adopted mother through a prayer service.

There have been no arrests or strong leads since Yasmine disappeared from her West Side home on Dec. 13, 2008. While citywide attention focused on the case, allegations by Acree/Starnes families about police mishandling the investigation garnered national media attention. The charges were substantiated that the initial was bungled.

Acree noted at the recent news conference that Starnes has grown increasingly depressed and attributed it to the lack of attention and follow-up the disappearance is receiving. She is unable to walk to search for Yasmine, according to Ira Acree.

Yasmine has been described as “a fun-loving, well-adjusted girl.”

At the time of her disappearance she was 5’1” and 125 pounds.

Yasmine had no scars or tattoos and occasionally wore glasses. She is medium complexion.

“Regardless of the many rumors that we’ve heard, until we www.chicagocrusader.com

ALDI GROCERY STORES throughout the Chicagoland area will host hiring events on Monday, January 20 as part of the retailer’s five-year expansion plans. on their grocery bills, benefiting from the ALDI simple and streamlined approach to retailing.

ALDI sells more than 1,300 of the most commonly purchased grocery items, primarily under its

exclusive brands, which must meet or exceed the national name brands on taste and quality. ALDI is so confident in the quality of its products, the company offers a Double Guarantee: If for any rea-

son a customer is not 100 percent satisfied with any ALDI food product, ALDI will gladly replace the product and refund the purchase price. For more information about ALDI, visit www.aldi.us. .

Yasmine Acree

know something concrete regarding her disappearance, I will never have any peace.” stated Starnes.

“I’m grateful for the support of my fellow clergy. We plan on praying, but together we will also make a moral appeal once again to the community to speak up and be forthcoming with any information regarding this case.”

Ira Acree said.

A reward of $7,000 is offered for the person who provides information leading to Yasmine Acree. For more information call Rev. Ira Acree at 773-339-8590, or Rev. Marshall Hatch at 773909-5051.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, January 18, 2014

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EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL HONORING DR. KING IN A MEANINGFUL WAY The birthday of the late, great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be celebrated on Monday, January 20, 2014. His actual birth date was January 15, 1929, and had he lived, he would have been 85 years old. Actually, Dr. King is very much alive in the hearts and minds of many Americans and others around the world. He has become an ancestor who lives as a worldwide beacon of hope regarding nonviolence which is helping to show the world that there is a better way to solve problems.

Dr. King looms larger than life and joins a pantheon of fighters for liberty. He knew that his life was endangered, yet he persevered in the face of this danger. His words were prophetic; like the Biblical Moses he said that though he may not get there with us, he has seen the promised land.

We sincerely hope that Dr. King's prophetic words come true.

These are dark, scary times, and his words encourage hope among African Americans and others who value freedom and justice for all. No doubt, a lot of people whose hope may have waned probably had a resurgence of it when President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States, was elected to office. Many people living today, especially our elders, didn't believe that something like that could occur in their lifetimes. But it happened, and even the most cynical among us were moved to question this cynicism. Today, however, deep into President Obama's second term, it is quite apparent that racism is still very much alive and well. But there is sunlight coming over the horizon; there is evidence that many youth of our former slave masters, are growing up with different values than their parents had.

The African American community as a whole, however, has seemed to forget about King's dream in a practical sense, if the offerings of popular culture are a gauge along with the Black-onBlack crime, the high incidents of murder among Black youth, the high school dropout rate among youth and the very high unemployment in the Black community. These issues might cause one to pause and question whether or not there were any gains from Dr. King's supreme sacrifice.

As we come upon this 85th anniversary of his birth, we should do some serious reassessment of our community and our relationships with each other. Are we giving lip service to our quest for meaningful participation in the striving for parity; are we just whistling in a very self-hating, bombastic wind? Has Dr. King's birthday holiday, the first to honor an African American in the United States, just become an excuse to have a day off from school or work? Has Dr. King's ideas become so many empty clichés?

The truth of the matter is that Dr. King's dream can't become a reality without the meaningful participation of all of us! Every African American alive has a moral obligation to actualize his dream - he never said that he could do it alone. It will take the collective effort of all goodhearted people to bring it to fruition.

Some things that we can do to keep Dr. King's dream alive and relevant would be to 1. Take stock of our current actions and how they either add or subtract to the goals of Kujichagulia, Self-Determination; 2. Share the history with our youth in a meaningful way with activities that make the dream come alive in their minds, and 3. Come together with others who share King's belief that the dream will manifest in order to reinforce those ideas. We create our own world, whether we know it or not, and since we do, we might as well create it in a manner that will benefit us. A luta continua.

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Saturday, January 18, 2014

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Was Rahm in D.C. too long?

Dear Editor: Granted the storm last week didn’t leave us with 100 inches of snow like the blizzard of ’79. We did, however, get enough snow and sub-zero temperatures to remind us of that fateful time when then-Mayor Michael Bilandic became former mayor for not dealing with the snow like Chicagoans thought he should.

Last week we had Rahm Emanuel frolicking in Indonesia with his family. It was too cold here then to even THINK about 80 degree temperatures like the mayor was enjoying. It is hard to believe that he spent so much time in Washington that he forgot how passionate we are about getting the snow off our streets.

When we can’t see the grass because of the snow it is time to bring out the salt and the trucksno exceptions.

It seems that as a student of politics Emanuel would recall that former Mayor Jane Byrne capitalized on Bilandic’s goof and took the election from him.

Maybe Emanuel figures that he doesn’t have that worry because there is nobody on the horizon who can stop him from getting a second term. The sad part about that is it may be true.

It is also sad because Emanuel has not done much, if anything for the Black community. He seems to have a limited number

of Black people he will put into key jobs. At some point however, we must start demanding more from the mayor, especially if we are not going to vote him out of office.

Carl Brown

CPS is screwing us again Dear Editor: The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system is sticking it to us again. Not only have the officials there repeatedly lied about the reasons they are closing dozens of our schools, as well as the costs involved; they are also not being very forthcoming about the future of education in Chicago.

If the CPS folks were being honest, so many people would not be surprised the district wants to open 21 charter schools. This comes after 50 traditional elementary high schools and elementary schools were shuttered less than a year ago.

The latest lie is the district wants these charter schools to open to “alleviate overcrowding.” Wasn’t that the rationale they gave us last year when CPS announced it was closing so many schools?

Why won’t the folks at CPS just come out and say they want to get rid of as many union jobs as possible, especially Chicago Teachers Union jobs. We all know that only a tiny number of charter school teachers across the country are part of a union.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

More charter schools mean a dwindling number of teacher union jobs. Fewer jobs in the union means less clout. That means ultimately the powers-that-be, and not residents will control every aspect of the schools. Local school councils will become distant memories.

What is really sad about this push for more charters is that study after study points to the fact that the vast majority of charter schools are not outperforming traditional public schools.

CPS and city officials might not (Continued on page 17)

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COMMENTARY

A Tax Debate Should Embrace Facts, Jettison Rhetoric

By Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist This is in response to a recent article by Congressman Charlie Rangel entitled “We Ain’t Broke.”

It wasn’t the first time that incendiary campaign-style rhetoric attempted such a bold masquerade as public policy prescription. Nor was it the first instance of extensive “economic data” being manufactured out of proverbial “whole cloth.” This IS Washington, after all.

Neither is it rare for a Congressional staffer to pen a piece in his boss’s name. And, certainly, America’s oil and gas industry – daily derided as “Big Oil” – couldn’t have been shocked to once again find itself maligned in the furtherance of some political operative’s ideological agenda. Nope.

The only surprise inherent in, “We Ain’t Broke,” the error-riddled oil industry hit-piece that recently ran in some papers, was the caliber of the elected official to whom it was attributed: the esteemed Charlie Rangel.

Few in Washington can lay claim to a public service career that rivals Charlie Rangel’s.

A combat-wounded Korean War veteran, Charlie Rangel earned a law

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist We are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty at roughly the same time we’re observing the 85th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That’s fitting because despite the concentrated effort to neuter King by overemphasizing his 1964 “I Have a Dream Speech,” his last days on earth were spent trying to uplift garbage workers in Memphis, Tenn. and planning a Poor Peoples Campaign that would culminate in a march to the nation’s capital.

Unlike today, when our politicians seek to get elected and reelected by groveling and catering to the middle class, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in his Jan. 8, 1964 State of the Union message.

“This administration here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America,” he said.

“We shall not rest until that war is won. The richest nation on Earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it.”

Unfortunately, another war – Vietnam – caused Johnson to retreat before he could declare, in the words associated with President George W. Bush, “Mission Accomplished.” Instead of rallying the troops around this noble cause, some subsequent presiwww.chicagocrusader.com

Harry C. Alford degree, counseled pioneering civil rights activists, marched on Selma, was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney under Bobby Kennedy, challenged a well-known and powerful incumbent and won election to Congress with a bipartisan 88 percent of the vote – and, once there – became a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. All this before his 32nd birthday.

Charlie Rangel is now the thirdlongest currently serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having devoted 43 consecutive years

of his life to his constituents’ concerns.

He is universally regarded as smart, charming, and likeable. And, with a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee since 1975 – chairing or serving as the ranking member for nearly 14 years – as well as experience at the helm of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Charlie Rangel is also a bona fide authority on the Federal budget, a man thoroughly versed in even the most intricate details of U.S. tax-code minutia. Which is why it was impossible to reconcile the man with the article to which his name was affixed.

If the congressional staffer responsible for writing the piece in Congressman Rangel’s name still has a job – and in this market, he should count himself fortunate for it – a crash-course in economics and current tax law is definitely in order. Especially considering that 2014 will feature a long anticipated overhaul of America’s bloated, arbitrarily punitive, and counter-productive corporate tax laws.

A good place to start would be the New York Times and its feature earlier in the year on corporate taxes.

Utilizing data from the Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ, the Times plotted

the total effective tax rate – local, state, federal and international combined, after credits and deductions – of companies on the S&P’s 500 index from 2007 to 2012.

While the data demonstrate a 29.1 percent effective rate for the S&P index as a whole, the average tax rate for the energy industry – “Big Oil,” in Rangel staffer parlance – came in significantly higher, at 37 percent.

Of course, America’s three largest energy firms – Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips – paid well above even that average in their effective rates – 37, 39, and 74 percent, respectively. In absolute terms, those three companies combined paid the most of any companies: $289.7 Billion, from 2007 to 2012. Again, these are findings published in the New York Times, and they describe rather a different universe than the “9.2 percent” – and the “billions in subsidies” – cited in the “Rangel” piece.

Additional highly sourced economic reality can be found within the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) annual “Investment Heroes” report, (http://ow.ly/ssWnz) which documents the leading role that oil and natural gas production has had on U.S. economic growth and job creation; of the $56.1 billion invest-

The War on Poverty – and MLK

dents retreated. President Reagan saw fit to joke about this serious national undertaking.

Providing a throwaway line that conservatives still use today, the former actor said: “In 1964 the famous War on Poverty was declared and a funny thing happened…I guess you could say, poverty won the war.”

Liberals were also misleading, saying instead of having a War on Poverty, it was more like a skirmish on poverty.

The truth lies somewhere between those polar opposites.

Since we began collecting such statistics, the lowest U.S. poverty rate was 11.1 percent in 1973. It rose to 15.2 percent in 1983 before falling back to 11.3 percent.

In 2012, 13 million people lived below half of the poverty line, most of them children.

According to scholars at Columbia University, when recalculated to include expenses not counted in official statistics, the poverty rate fell from more than 25 percent in 1967 to about 16 percent today. Over that period, the child poverty rate declined from 30 percent to less than 20 percent and the elderly poverty rate decline dramatically, from 45 percent to 15 percent.

“The truth is that the nation’s investment in the War on Poverty has yielded huge and lasting gains,” Los Angeles Times col-

George E. Curry umnist Michael Hiltzik wrote.

“LBJ’s program was not just a plan for financial handouts. It also encompassed a broad approach encompassing ‘better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities,’ as he put it in his address on Jan. 8, 1964. LBJ’s campaign brought us Head Start (in 1965) as well as Medicare and Medicaid. He understood that political and social empowerment were indispensable factors in economic betterment, so he pushed for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”

Still, many expected the poverty rate to be lower than it is today.

According to the Center of Bud-

get and Policy Priorities (CPP), “The poverty story over the last half-century in the United States is mixed for several reasons. A much stronger safety net along with factors such as rising education levels, higher employment among women, and smaller families helped push poverty down. At the same time, rising numbers of single-parent families, growing income inequality, and worsening labor market prospects for less-skilled workers have pushed in the other direction.

“Today’s safety net – which includes important programs and improvements both from the Johnson era and thereafter – cuts poverty nearly in half. In 2012, it kept 41 million people, including 9 million children, out of poverty, according to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). If government benefits are excluded, today’s poverty rate would be 29 percent under the SPM; with those benefits, the rate is 16 percent.”

Other factors also contribute to today’s poverty rate, including rising income inequality, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. It stated that between 1964 and 2012, the share of national income going to the top 1 percent of U.S. households nearly doubled, from 11 percent to 22 percent in 2012. Meanwhile, the share of national income going to

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

ed by the energy sector in 2013, eight of the top 25 companies hail from the oil and gas industry.

Please remember that it was our energy industry that fed our war machine during World War II while Germany and Japan literally ran out of its energy supply and had to capitulate to the Allies. Yes, our energy industry is our economic life blood as well as a key component to our national security.

With a few clicks of a mouse and a brief Internet stroll, “Rangel” can feast on inexhaustible data demonstrating the oil and gas industry’s support of more than 9.2 million American jobs, (http://ow.ly/ssW7e) and its deep investment in America’s current and future economy.

While his boss surely doesn’t need the education, let’s hope “Rangel” helps enlighten his Congressional colleagues with some of his newly acquired tax acumen. Maybe then we can all have confidence that corporate tax reform will augment rather than handicap America’s economic growth, her energy security, and her richest source of tax revenue.

Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.Website: www.nationalbcc.org.

Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.

the poorest fifth of households fell between 1979 (the earliest year available) and 2012.

There is also the issue of shrinking jobs that pay decent wages, especially those at the low end of the pay scale.

“Moreover, large racial disparities remain, with child poverty much higher and the share of African Americans with a college degree much lower than among whites. Meanwhile, poverty in America is high compared to other wealthy nations largely because our safety net does less to lift people out of poverty than those of other Western nations,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted.

The War on Poverty is far from over. Although slow to join the battle, President Obama is now fully engaged, underscoring our country’s economic inequality.

This is no time for the president or Congress to surrender.

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 reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter. com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

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COMMENTARY

(Continued from page 1)

HAROLD CRUSE AND THE CRISIS OF THE NEGRO INTELLECTUAL 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

One of our great esteemed ancestors, Harold Cruse wrote a book, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual which was published in 1967, at the height of the Black

Power Movement. This insightful book stirred up a spirited conversation in the African Liberation Movement. That conversation revolves around the weaknesses of our movement, the direction of our movement, and inability of some of the leaders and thinkers of our movement to understand what Brother Cruse calls “The Great American Ideal.” This problem continues to linger with us today.

Brother Cruse spent most of his activist and organizing days in Harlem, New York from the 1940s until he accepted a professorship at the University of Michigan and helped develop their Black Studies Program in 1967.

In Harlem, Brother Cruse was an active participant in most of the major organizing activities that swept through New York for over twenty years. The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual is a summation of those experiences as it related to the literature and history of the African Liberation Movement.

This year, 2014 marks the fortyseventh year of the publication of The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual.

Its importance to our movement has still not received the attention it deserves, primarily because Brother Cruse was so honest in his criticisms of our movement and many of its well-known leaders.

Therefore, the book was blocked in many circles from receiving the kind of legitimacy its substance deserved.

However, a small group of scholar/activists have discussed and debated Brother Cruse’s ideas during this forty-three year period and have organized study groups form time to time that have aided in understanding the ideas that Cruse presents in his book.

When we use the term intellectual, we are talking about people who struggle around ideas— writers, poets, scholars, researchers, teachers, students, and activists.

Intellectuals are people who grapple with ideas and who function in the cultural, political, educational, and economic domains of the society. As Dr. Anderson Thompson always says, “Ideas are weapons of war.”

With this definition, let us review briefly some of the ideas and concepts that Brother Cruse presented in The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. One of the major points Cruse makes is the African American intellectuals are pathological in their approach to the choices available to them. It is Cruse’s observation that they appear to adopt the values of the dominant group, which he describes as the white Anglo Saxon Protestant.

It was in the first chapter of The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual that Cruse raised this question of the problem of identity of the African in America people. The question of our identity still remains a fundamental problem with the African in America Community today. There is a tendency in the African in America Community to identify with, emulate, and support other races and ethnic groups at the expense of our own race.

Cruse illustrated this in his book when he described the following: “In 1940, as one of my first acts in the pursuit of becoming a more social being, I joined a YMCA amateur drama group in Harlem. I wanted to learn about theater so I became a stage technician— meaning a handyman for all backstage chores. But the first thing about this drama group that struck me as highly curious was the fact that all the members were overwhelmingly in favor of doing white plays with Negro casts.”

Cruse continued on this point.

“I wondered why and very naively expressed my sentiments about it.

The replies that I got clearly indicated these amateur actors were not very favorable to the play about Negro life, although they would not plainly say so. Despite the fact that this question of identity was first presented to me with-

in the context of the program of a small, insignificant amateur drama group, its implications ranged far beyond.”

Another problem Cruse addresses is that the African in America intellectual’s conceptualization of our condition is not based on the ethnic reality of America. The American Ideal espouses one set of principles through the Constitution, but the basis of reality of this society is founded on ethnic and religious pluralism not individualism, according to Brother Cruse.

From the point of view of Brother Cruse, the African in America intellectual is not accepted by whites and does not identify with their own racial group. Cruse concludes that the crisis of the African in America intellectual is an identity crisis and misunderstanding of the false postulation of the American Ideal.

For Brother Cruse, the crisis was whether the African in America intellectual will accept the challenge of being the spokesman or spokeswoman of the African in America masses in terms of setting guidelines for our movement and of understanding the issues of our race, making proper analyses, and proceeding to help build our movement. This is still the crisis we face today.

Fighting Poverty on Two Fronts

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared a war on poverty. Appalled by the way too many Americans lived, he empowered federal workers to develop and implement programs that created jobs, health care, housing and legal assistance. Some of the funds were given to states, and some were given to cities. In any case, President Johnson was committed to closing income gaps, and up to a point, he was successful.

He had to overcome two sets of obstacles. One was Republican resistance (Sounds familiar?); the other was competing needs, especially, in 1968, of the war in Vietnam. Johnson poignantly explained his choices.

He said he had to give up “the woman he loved – the Great Society – to get involved in that b—- of a war.”

President Obama, too, interested in issues of poverty and inequality. To be sure, these are not issues he focused on during his first term as president.

6

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Indeed, I’ve described his actions as late and great. He has spent this past month in speeches and gatherings addressing poverty and ways to eliminate it. Like Johnson, he is likely to face a hostile Congress and budget constraints to get these programs.

Still, in highlighting just a few areas – Los Angeles, San Antonio, Philadelphia, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and Southeastern Kentucky – the president picked a good mix of urban and rural areas, as well as population diversity. Were I choosing, however, I’d add the District of Columbia, where President Obama could throw a stone to find the poorest area in Ward 8, and one of the richest areas in Ward 3. On this matter, though, I’ll not be a distractor. It’s about time the poor got some attention.

Tea Party Republicans, with waning power, are still insisting that any new program must be offset by cuts in existing programs. Their cuts in food stamps, for example, can be eliminated if the president and Democrats are willing to give something else. The president’s new poverty pro-

Dr. Julianne Malveaux gram must be matched, they say, by other cuts. These folks have effectively tied President Obama’s hands behind his back. Only Congress can loosen the restrictions of these ropes.

I often wonder whether Republicans represent any poor people, be-

cause their attacks on things such as food stamps hurt the people that keep voting for them. You’d never know they represent any poor people by the votes they take, their resistance to higher wages, and the ways the block programs designed to help the needy.

There is a movement afoot, though, to increase the minimum wage. At the federal level there are proposals to raise the wage by as much as $10 an hour. Some cities and states have already raised the wage that exceeds $10. This is the long-term result of the Occupy Movement that, whole failing to articulate specific goals, raised consciousness about the 1 percent. Now, people are considering tax breaks on the wealthy and insisting that Congress look at ways that the poor are disadvantaged compared to the rich.

Some Republicans operate with an amazing arrogance, using the Bible to make their points against public assistance and food stamps. At least two have cherry-picked the Bible, using that Thessalonians verse that says, “If you do not work, you cannot eat.”

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

The Bible also talks about feeding the hungry, but these seem to be parts of the Bible that have escaped their notice.

Bible or not, the economic recovery is moving more slowly than anyone would like. The stock market has had tremendous gains, but the unemployment rate has dropped slowly for the overall population, and even slower for African Americans. The status of African Americans is hardly mentioned as economic analysts gloat about poverty, and some members of Congress have been downright derisive toward those who are jobless. These are the same people who voted down the president’s American Jobs Act I 2011.

President Obama is moving in the right direction by paying attention to poverty. Let’s hope Congress allows him to move from conversation to implementation.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C. 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!

MAILBAG Dear Ima: That crazy man running as a rightwing, chicken wing for governor has stepped in some deep doo doo for secretly telling white people downstate that if he’s the HNIC of Illinois he’s gone lower the minimum wage and make sure that po’ folk stay as po’ as possible while he spends his $53 million one dollar at a time. After he got busted out (probably by white folk with kids making minimum wage) he took his foot out the doo doo and

James Meeks right-winger) for years. That’s why whenever there’s some “faith-based” issue that the conservative tea partytype church leaders are concerned about, Meeks rounds up all of the Negro preachers who like to look at themselves on CLTV, throws them a few dollars, and then gets them to stand up at news conferences on things they don’t know nothing about.

Meeks, who threatened to run for mayor, until ordered to get out of the race, also threatened to run for governor until ordered to get out of that race. When a credible candidate emerges to run against the Tiny Emperor in 2015, watch right-wing Meeks jump out there with his Izod sweaters and Kool Aid gators and say he’s gone run. He can be counted on to spoil anything that is remotely going to really help Chicago’s Negro.

He never gave a good enough reason on why—after making all those promises to his constituents—that he suddenly abandoned his state senate seat and just gave it up, like it never happened. Was he ordered to do that too—after all his boy Rauner, al-

Bruce Rauner shoved it down his cavier-laced throat claiming that he didn’t really mean what he meant. Now what Negro folks may not know is this man is best friends with none-other than former IL State Senator and anti-homosexual activist preacher James Meeks. Yes, he and this Bruce Rauner are tied to the hip. We wonder what he said to his minimum-wage earning tithers when they heard the news what their pastor’s ace boon coon was fixin’ ta do? Now no one should be surprised that Mr. Meeks pals around with the right-wing, considering he’s a closeted Republican himself. According to folk who claim to know other folk who know this stuff, Meeks been running around with the GOP (and Rahm Emanuel, another closeted www.chicagocrusader.com

was the new civil rights leader, helped elevate his profile in Chicago by shutting down liquor stores, and taking him to free hostages in a country he couldn’t even spell. All of the Nigarati joined Salem Baptist Church and turned in millions of dollars in donations (tithes and offerings) and soon helped Meeks cut a deal with Republican sports owner Jerry Reinsdorf for a new church.

The church grounds, which strangely resembles a basketball stadium to some churchgoers, was supposedly managed by Reinsdorf’s groundskeepers—we heard to protect their investment. They wouldn’t want none of Meeks followers getting the Holy Ghost and tearing up a building they didn’t really own at the time.

Jesse was so impressed with Meeks that he once named him as his rightful successor should he die, wind up in jail or get run out of town by his angry wife.

We thinks Jesse and his mean-spirited and recently incarcerated namesake were aptly tricked by their religious friend, who probably didn’t really tell them how conservative he was. They did realize he didn’t know much about religion when he took to denouncing Farrkahan and his god son before the Million Man March. They had no clue that he would close the largest liquor store in Roseland (one that employed a whole bunch of Black folk) and put a book store in its place, only to turn around and shut that down. Instead, every time the Country Preacher got close to figuring out what was going on, Meeks would smile and remind him in public of a story about how when he was 18 years old that when other boys his age had photos of Lola Falana, Diahann Carroll and Pam Grier on their walls to look at and dream to at night—the only giant poster he looked to was of Jesse Jackson. GTFOHWTBS. So with Rauner’s flip flopping and proving he is more tea-party than Lipton, we wonder what will Meeks do?

boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually. So the mother sent the 8-year-old first one Saturday morning, with the idea of sending the older boy to see the preacher in the afternoon. The preacher, a huge man with a booming voice like James Earl Jones, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, “Do you know where God is, son?” The child’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?!”

Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and leaned in close to his nose and bellowed, “Where is God?!” The boy screamed, took off from the room, out de door of the church and ran directly home and jumped into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, “what happened?” The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time—GOD is missing, and they think we did it!”

- Ima THEY TRICKIN’ We hear a deal is in the works for somebody currently being slapped around by the Feds in Springfield.

The signing involves a bunch of Negro preachers in Cook County who got some “health care money” and may have been involved in some sort of shenanigans. It is a crime if you took some money from the government and used it to go to Capt’n

Hard Time with yo’ girlfriend. This person says he’s too old to go to jail and all of this mess done made him not want to touch his sidepiece who used to count on him for millions.

Keep yo’ eyes open—in your hymn books, because you will soon hear de song.

- Ima SPEAKING OF DA CHERCH You should not be surprised when yo pastor shows up in the pulpit lifting the arm of two other white Republicans who also want to unseat the Bald Eagle and his equally bald running mate. It seems that deese ministers are taking a page out an old Cook County book and are playing both ends against the middle. While they is pushing up on Quinn for a handout for their “social programs” and “education initiatives,” they are also pushing up on the other white men who want his job, too. This is called leveraging a bet. These preachers claim not to play the lottery but they don’t mind taking a gamble with Black votes. What’s so sad is there are people who still run up in these churches and will do WHATEVER their preacher tells them to do—without thinking, without question, without any information whatsoever. These folk are called sheeple—and most of them are women who work hard all week and run up in de house of de lawd on Sunday and give all dey earned to some Negro in a robe who knows how to sang “In the Upper Room.”

Come on Black people. Think. Most of your ministers have a very low-in(Continued on page 17)

Signed Former Salem Baptist Member & Reluctant Democrat -ImaYOU IN TROUBLE NOW?

Jesse Jackson Sr. so supports term limits.

This leaves us to wonder, what on earth was the Country Preacher thinking? You do recall it was him and his son who found an Ebonicsspeaking Meeks, dusted him off, took him around the nation, said he

Two little boys in Woodlawn, ages 8 and 10, are always getting into trouble over one thang or another.

They are always getting into mess and their parents know’d all about it.

If any mischief happened on their block, those two boys are probably involved. The boys’ mama heard that a preacher on Cottage Grove had been successful in disciplining children and setting them straight, so she asked if he would speak with her

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, January 18, 2014

7

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

TOO HOT TO HANDEL: Exelon and the Auditorium theatre present Too Hot to Handel, the Jazz Gospel Messiah, on Saturday, January 18, 7:30 pm and Sunday, January 19, 3 pm at the Auditorium Theatre.

You can purchase tickets at the Box Office, 50 E. Congress Parkway, or online at AuditoriumTheatre.org. Tickets start at $25. For more information, call 1-800-982-ARTS (2787).

ALTGELD GARDENS TOUR TRAINING INFO SESSION: On Saturday, January 18, at West Pullman Park, 401 W. 123rd Street, Chicago, IL 60628, the Bronzeville Historical Society in partnership with the Field Museum of Natural History will conduct a Resilience and Renewal Tour Guide Training highlighting Altgeld Gardens, Beaubien Woods and surrounding communities. It will be held from 10 am – 1 pm.

HONORING DR. KING’S DREAM: Join in a celebration of the life of one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our generation, a very special event in the ongoing Jambalaya Series on Monday, January 20, 12:30 pm at the DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 W. 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637. There will be a staged excerpt reading from Jeff Stetson's The Meeting, which focuses on a fictional meeting between legendary civil rights activists Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. This is a FREE event directed by Daniel Bryant and featuring Anthony Irons and Ron Connor.

INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: In response to the upcoming changes in health care, the Chicago Public Library and community partners present a monthly series of programs to help people learn more about the Affordable Care Act. Participants can get information and answers to their questions about the ACA. In addition, assistance in registering for health care coverage is offered at several branch locations.

No reservations are required. For more information, please visit chicagopubliclibrary.org, or call your neighborhood branch library. January Affordable Care Act Programs: Affordable Care Act-Get Covered Illinois - Tuesday, January 21 at 1 pm and Thursday, January 23 at 1 pm at the Manning Branch, 6 S. Hoyne Avenue, 312-746-6800. Certified application counselors from Sinai Community Institute answer questions and assist the public in registering for health care coverage. Affordable Care Act- What Are My Options? Wednesday, January 22 at 12 pm at the Logan Square 8

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Branch, 3030 W. Fullerton Avenue, 312-744-5295. The Puerto Rican Cultural Center offers an information table for the public to learn more about the Affordable Care Act. JOURNAL OF ORDINARY THOUGHT WRITING WORKSHOPS DOCUMENT MIGRATION STORIES AT CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BRANCH LOCATIONS: Chicago continues reading the One Book, One Chicago selection The Warmth Of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson in January. As part of the programming surrounding Ms. Wilkerson’s book, Chicago Public Library invites the public to join the writers of the Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT) for weekly community writing workshops to document and share their personal stories of migration. In addition to regular attendees, the workshops welcome new writers to be part of the facilitator-led sessions exploring how migration has shaped our lives and our city. Journal of Ordinary Thought workshops in January are: Friday, January 24, 10 am at the Budlong Woods Branch, 5630 N. Lincoln Avenue; Tuesday, January 21 at 4 pm at the Hall Branch 4801 S. Michigan Avenue; Tuesday, January 21, 6 pm at the King Branch, 3436 S. King Drive; and Wednesday, January 22, 6 pm at the Bezazian Branch, 1226 W. Ainslie Street. For more information, go to onebookonechicago.org or call 312-747-4050.

9TH ANNUAL POLAR ADVENTURE DAYS OFFER FAMILIES WINTER FUN AT NORTHERLY ISLAND: The Chicago Park District presents the ninth annual Polar Adventure Days. The January event, one of three, will take place from 12 - 4 pm on Saturday, January 25 at Northerly Island, 1521 S. Linn White Drive on the Museum Campus. The program is admission free. Polar Adventure Days offer families the opportunity to explore Northerly Island and come face-to-face with live animals, engage in winter activities, and create nature-inspired crafts. Participants are encouraged to dress for the weather as events take place both outdoors and inside the visitor center.

The following features and activities will be available at Polar Adventure Days: Various live animals will be on site to discover, such as birds of prey from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation and coyotes from Big Run Wolf Ranch; Dog sledding demonstrations with huskies of Free Spirit Siberian Rescue; Live entertainment from The Dreamtree Shakers from Old Town School of Folk Music; Arts and craft tables led by a different organization each month for making nature-inspired creations; January

features the Art Institute of Chicago; (February features the National Mexican Museum of Art). In addition, there is a Toddler zone that features outdoor “ice fishing” and a REI winter activity station. Free snowshoe rental for exploration of the island is available if there is enough snow and Free hot cocoa goes to the first 500 participants. Please call to confirm scheduled activities for Polar Adventure Days as activities are subject to change. Limited parking is available for $3, cash only, during Polar Adventure Days. Directions by car to Northerly Island: Take Lake Shore Drive north or south to the 18th Street/Museum Campus exit. Follow Museum Campus Drive toward Adler Planetarium. Turn right on Linn White Drive. Go past the Charter One Pavilion (on left) and the Burnham Harbor Yacht Club (on right). The visitor center and free parking are on the left. Northerly Island is also accessible by public transportation: Take the #146 bus, exit at Linn White Drive and walk south to the visitor center. For more information, call 312-742-PLAY (7529). Polar Adventure Days is sponsored by Bright Start College Savings, a 529 savings plan created and administered by the State of Illinois. It allows (Continued on page 17)

MICHAEL B. BARRETT is announcing his candidacy for Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County as a Democrat, 15th Sub Circuit, in the March 18 Primary Election. Barrett has been endorsed by the majority of Democratic Township Committeemen in the 15th Sub Circuit He is a graduate of Marist High School and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of Iowa. He then earned his Juris Doctor Degree from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, where he was on the Deans List and was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award. He was appointed and served as an active member of the Cook County Committee on the Courts in the 21st Century. He was also appointed by former Cook County Chief Judge Donald O’Connell and served as an active member of the Circuit Court of Cook County Expanded Jurisdiction Committee.

Barrett also is an active member of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, and is past president of the Southwest Bar Association,.

Extended Coverage ***

Thieves are fast! They can smash a window and strip a car of valuables in no time flat. Here’s how to protect yourself: *** Basic: park in a well-lit area with people around. Lock the car, windows and sunroof, and activate the car alarm. *** Don’t leave valuables in an unattended car—even in the trunk.

Thieves check out parking lots; they can spot you stowing purchases and can grab them the moment you leave the car.

Milton E. Moses

Protect your car—and everything in it. And talk to us about auto insurance 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) 6516200. You can also reach us via email at: sales@communityinsurance.com or visit the website at www.communityins. com.

*** Don’t leave mail in your car. It’s an invitation to identity theft. *** Don’t leave an empty GPS mounting device or electronic cables in the car. It’s a hint that electronics are hidden inside. *** Don’t leave your vehicle registration card in the car. An enterprising thief can use it to get a fake title—and even a title loan against your car! Keep a copy in your wallet and the original in a safe place.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

BUSINESS

Preserving the American Dream of Homeownership Mortgage rules set standards for homebuyers, homeowners, lenders and servicers

By Charlene Crowell Although many economists claim the recession is over, millions of Americans are still reeling from its financial effects. In particular, communities of color continue to be disproportionately affected by billiondollar losses in family wealth. New mortgage rules, effective as of January 10, offer a strong foundation to begin rebuilding what has been lost.

These new rules will provide protections for consumers whether they are struggling with troubled mortgages, looking to buy a home or seeking access to credit.

Summarizing the reasons for the new rules, Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently said, “Consumers want – and need – someone to stand on their side and provide safeguards against bad mortgage deals that ruin their credit, cost them their homes, and saddle them with additional problems. . .

No debt traps. No surprises. No runarounds. These are bedrock concepts backed by our new common-

sense rules that take effect on January 10.”

A central part of the new rules is a new designation of a Qualified Mortgage (QM) which sets standards that apply to all lenders and covers about 95 percent of loans currently in the marketplace. QM loans are restricted from having the kind of risky features that caused the financial crisis. QM loans must be fully amortization, meaning that loan balances cannot increase as payments are made. Other key QM characteristics require that: • Loan terms cannot exceed 30 years; • Lenders are required to determine a borrower’s ability to repay the loan, reviewing consumer income and assets against debt and other obligations beyond an initial teaser rate; • Points and fees for the total loan amount are capped at three percent with an adjusted threshold for smaller loans; and • Lenders offering adjustable rate loans cannot use teaser rates to underwrite these loans and are to use the maximum rate during the first five years of the loan.

Another CFPB rule bans “yieldspread premiums,” the financial in-

Charlene Crowell centives formerly paid to brokers for steering borrowers into higher cost loans rather than those that were cheaper and for which they qualified.

It is important to note that none of these new rules affects the required amount of a mortgage down payment. Secondly, these rules apply to new mortgages that people apply for after the January effective date.

In response to these rules, Barry Zigas, the director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of

America was swift to express his approval. “Consumers are finally going to be in an environment where their ability to repay a loan will be the fundamental determining factor about whether they will get a loan or not. This is a terrific week for Americans,” concluded Zigas.

Similarly, Chris Polychron, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors, said, “These regulations will go a long way to protecting consumers from receiving loans that may be inappropriate for them and gives them some additional legal protections. NAR supports these changes and has provided input throughout the rulemaking process.”

For borrowers with existing mortgages, as well as future borrowers, other rules will now affect mortgage servicing, i.e. how house payments are collected and managed. Loan servicers must now provide borrowers with a monthly statement that shows the interest rate, loan balance, escrow account balance and how payments are applied. Servicers cannot begin foreclosure proceedings until after 120 days of delinquency, giving borrowers time to apply for loan modifications before initiating a foreclosure process.

In response to critics of these mortgage servicing reforms, Director Cordray said, “Our rule means simply that mortgage servicers must now do their jobs . . . Over the past year, we have heard plenty from realtors around the country who are just as frustrated as consumers at poor mortgage servicing practices.”

A new web-based resource by the Center for Responsible Lending brings together fact sheets on the new rules, related analysis and testimony. For more information on these new rules visit: http://rspnsb.li/KxNeFa. As CRL President Mike Calhoun has said, “Families across the country need an opportunity to rebuild their household balance sheets after the worst financial crisis in decades .. . .The CFPB is setting the course for a financial marketplace with greater transparency and accountability. Consumers, responsible lenders and our nation’s economy all benefit from the improved markets that result from this work.”

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

How to protect your nest egg from financial downturns From increased unemployment to commonplace home foreclosures, it’s hard to forget the devastating effects of the 2008 financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression.

While the hope is that regulatory bodies and bureaus created in the crisis’ wake will help prevent a recurrence, some experts say these reforms were shaped by the same entities responsible for the crisis — but that citizens have the power to chart a different course for their own economic futures.

“Whether policies were formed with selfless or selfish intentions, you don’t need to quietly agree to them, especially if they are misguided. We have a system that can respond to the efforts of individual citizens,” says Jay W. Richards, Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics and author of the new book, “Infiltrated: How to Stop the Insiders and Activists Who Are Exploiting the Financial Crisis to Control Our Lives and Our Fortunes.”

In his book, Richards suggests that complacency on the part of ordinary citizens will lead to more serious financial disasters. He encourages readers to take steps to prevent future crises and protect their own nest eggs: • Get Informed: “Many culpable entities used the crisis fallout to lay blame elsewhere and increase their own power,” says www.chicagocrusader.com

with information on how to save, what to consider when borrowing, and how to make a budget.

• Diversify: Experts recommend balancing different types of assets, such as cash, stocks, bonds and commodities. Having different types of investments means you might be better shielded from economic crises, because some assets might fall while others might rise.

• Don’t Rely on Your Home: If the recession taught people anything, it’s not to rely too much on home equity for retirement. Many think their homes are more valuable than they really are or will be when it’s time to retire.

• Be Philanthropic: “Those concerned about the future should be the first to grow effective local organizations providing real safety nets for the destitute,” says

HOW TO PROTECT your nest egg should be of keen interest to retirees and those about to retire. The best source for protection is information according to the author of a new book on seniors and finances.

Richards. “But with knowledge, change our fiscal and regulatory prudence and intelligent action, trajectory,” says Richards. history won’t have to repeat it• Take Control: Online educaself.” tional resources can help you get “The only way to prevent decep- informed. To brush up on basic fition and cynicism during future nancial skills, visit MyMoney.gov, crises is for ordinary citizens to get a site created by the Financial Litinformed and outraged enough to eracy and Education Commission BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Rich- ards, who believes philanthropy is a moral responsibility best left to communities.

• Think of the Future: When a consumer borrows, she or he alone bears the debt. However, when the government overspends for short term goals, future generations are expected to foot some, or all, of the bill. “This is immoral and no fancy economic theory can change that,” asserts Richards.

• Be Civic: Your vote matters to politicians. Call, write and visit them to express concerns over economic regulations you don’t support.

More information about “Infiltrated” can be found at www.InfiltratedTheBook.com.

Remember, you don’t need a PhD in economics to stay informed.

The Crusader Newspaper Group is interested in our readers’ ideas, thoughts and opinions, whether you’re in Chicago, Northwest Indiana or any part of the U.S. we encourage you to send a letter to the editor at crusaderil@aol.com.

Please limit your letters to 200 words.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

9

EDUCATION

A guide to the next step in education Common Core For most public school students in the U.S., 2014 will be the year of Common Core. After years of planning and development, national standardized tests tied to the new education initiative are being rolled out this year. What does this mean for public education and for those who care about equity and access to education for communities of color? Below, a primer to get started as Common Core—and the debate about it—sweeps across the country.

What exactly is Common Core?

That’d be the Common Core State Standards Initiative to you. The state-run program, which was first proposed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, is intended to introduce a single set of newer, more challenging standards for math and language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Prior to Common Core, every state set its own academic standards. The selling point is that the new standards, which ostensibly require critical thinking and analytical skills, will make students globally competitive in a rapidly shifting economy. They’re technically voluntary standards that 45 states plus the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories have adopted.

Common Core is often confused for a federal program because the Obama administration has provided some $350 million to fund the initiative, and made receiving feder-

al money via Race to the Top and leniency on programs like No Child Left Behind contingent upon states’ adoption of Common Core.

What’s the big deal? The rollout of Common Core signifies the beginning of a new chapter in the high-stakes testing era. The standards will be accompanied by new standardized tests, and thus far they’ve not been well-received. The first rounds of Common Core tests unveiled in New York and Kentucky in the last year before curriculum was even aligned to the new tests were so difficult and baffling to students that they caused frenzied public backlash.

But there’s more. Common Core is rolling out at the same time that high-stakes testing has become an even more powerful weapon to punish teachers and students. The Obama administration, which in 2012 began handing out waivers to states who failed to meet the already onerous No Child Left Behind required that in exchange, states further tie standardized tests to teacher evaluations. Teachers whose students fail to do well or improve significantly can, and indeed are already losing their jobs, because of their students’ test scores. “At that point, the standards become the test,” said Wayne Au, professor of education at the University of Washington, Bothell.

Who’s backing it? A bipartisan coalition of federal and state lawmakers and education chiefs has

CHICAGO STUDENTS LOOK over their school work been selling Common Core for years on the promise that the new standards will address inequality in public education and help make all U.S. students “globally competitive.” They’re not alone though. The two national teacher unions the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, while expressing their serious concerns with Common Core, have come out in support of it. The dominant education venture philanthropy groups Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation support Common Core, as does big business, like major tech companies Intel, Apple and Microsoft as well as the testing and curriculum behemoths Scholas-

tic, McGraw-Hill, Pearson and Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt. The U.S. public education market has been valued at $500 to 600 billion, and education reform is a prime business opportunity.

Who’s criticizing it? This is where it gets interesting. The progressive left, which has been critical of the misuse of testing and punitive, market-based education reform, remains especially critical of Common Core. But they’ve been joined—not necessarily in alliance though—by a growing faction of the tea-party and libertarian Right who consider the state standards, which are easily mistaken for federal standards, an infringement on states’ rights. Conservative groups like the

Heritage Foundation and the Milton Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, and pundits like Michelle Malkin, are pushing back against Common Core. Because of the uproar over a dozen states have been reconsidering or slowing down their Common Core adoption.

What is the rollout looking like right now? Like so much of education policy, this really is a state and local issue. The standards may be uniform but every state is encouraged to come up with its own implementation and curriculum, so this will vary from state to state.

What are the stakes for students and communities with under-resourced schools? Progressive educa(Continued on page 17)

Symposium will focus on funding of public schools Why is public education and its proper funding so essential? Is American education adequately funded? How do we determine and measure what is adequate?

What are the trends in Illinois?

Those will be among the questions discussed at a symposium Feb. 1617 at the University Club of Chicago, 76 E. Monroe St. The symposium is titled “Funding of Public Schools: The Economic and Social Value of Adequate Funding.”

The program will include speakers with educational finance expertise from Illinois, Kansas, Nevada and New York, as well as from Canada, Greece and previous posts with the World Bank. Among those presenting, on Thursday evening, will be Randy Dunn, the state superintendent of education in Illinois.

Attending the event will be school superintendents and principals from Illinois and neighboring states, as well as researchers and policymakers. “State and federal funding for education, both K-12 and higher education, is being cut back every year, and we need to be able to show why there are benefits 10

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Randy Dunn, the State Superintendent of Education in Illinois. to strong public support for education,” said Carolyn Shields, the chair of the department of educational organization and leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The event is being sponsored by the university’s College of Education, with funds from its Edwin J. O’Leary Endowment in Financial

Management. “We hope to encourage people at the conference to think differently about educational finance, and to enhance the understanding of educational finance in the state and beyond,” Shields said. “It’s a really important topic that we need to bring to the attention of anybody who can influence policy in any way, shape

or form.” The keynote address on Thursday evening will be given

by George Psacharopoulos, a former economist with the World Bank and a former member of parliament in Greece, who is recognized as one of the leading experts in the field. His research has focused on the role of education in economic and social develop-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

ment, and he will speak on “The Value of Investment in Education.”

Dunn will lead off the Thursday evening program, which will start at 7:45 a.m., speaking on “Trends and Expectations in Illinois School Funding.” The symposium itself will begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, and the featured speaker for the afternoon will be Walter McMahon, a professor emeritus of economics and education at Illinois, who will address the “non-market” and social benefits of education funding. McMahon also has worked internationally with the World Bank and other agencies, his research focused on education’s role in the development of human capital and in economic growth.

The speakers on the Friday morning program, which will begin at 8:30 a.m., will deal with how to define and measure adequate funding in education. Wrapping up the morn-ing and the conference will be Andrew Wall from Eastern Illinois University. He will talk about “Estimating the Adequacy of Funding of Educational Programs: The Case of Illinois.” www.chicagocrusader.com

COMMUNITY

Walgreens Gives Over $12,000 to Six High School Students Hundreds of high school teens from Chicago and surrounding suburbs joined the Expressions movement to use their creative talents to tackle hard to discuss topics including teen dating violence, suicide, STD prevention, and teen pregnancy.

From those who participated, six were selected as outstanding peer-topeer health advocacy leaders for this crusade and to attend an award ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center Friday, January 10, 2014.

The six teen leaders selected to receive a total of $12,000 in cash as a collective are: • Jemima Adeyinka – 1st Place Creative Writing - South Shore International College Prep • Alexandria Abraham – 2nd Place Creative Writing – Thornton Fractional North High School • Jessica Trieu – 1st Place Media

Arts – Northside College Prep • Brittany Hammond –2nd Place Media Arts – Percy Julian High School • Nelson Aviles – 1st Place Visual Arts -Westinghouse College Prep • Theodora Borland – 2nd Place Visual Arts - Lake Forest High School Dignitaries in attendance to recognize these students included State Representative Marcus Evans and Aldermen Patrick O’Conner, Michelle A. Harris and Kent Novit (Lake Forest, Ill.).

John Gremer, director of Community Affairs at Walgreens, encouraged these students by stating “It’s okay to have your own voice and to express your individuality. When you speak, people will listen because they know your voice is different from everyone else and it matters.”

Alexandria Abraham, one of the six

leaders, believes “teenagers will listen to other teenagers more than they will adults. Expressions is a cool way to speak to teens [through the expressions of art] about the importance of teen health,” she concluded.

About The Expressions Challenge The Walgreens Expressions Challenge, sponsored by Walgreens Co., is a movement established to engage high school teens ages 14 to 18 in the conversation about healthy choices for their future through creative expression. The Expressions Challenge is held in Chicago and St. Louis and to date has reached more than 500,000 teens. The Expressions Challenge has awarded over $156,400 in cash and prizes to winners, entrants, teachers, schools, and organizations.

SIX HIGH SCHOOL students received monetary awards for being outstanding peer health advocates from Walgreens. From left to right: Kathryn McNulty (Teacher-Percy Julian High School), Brittany Hammond (2nd place Chicago Multimedia), Laura Larson, (Teacher-George Westinghouse College Prep High School), Nelson Aviles (1st place Chicago Visual Arts), Jemima Adeyinka (1st Place Creative Writing), Vincent Hathorn (South Shore International College Prep Teacher), Alexandria Abraham (2nd Place Creative Writing), Michelle Potter (Thornton Fractional North High School Teacher), Jessica Trieu (1st place Multimedia), John Gremer (Walgreens), Theodora Borland (2nd place Chicago Visual Arts), Carolyn Bielski (Lake Forest High School Teacher). Photo by David Turner Photography

WALGREENS DARREN BENTON, Julian High School Teacher Kathryn McNulty, Chicago Finalist Brittany Hammond.

NBC 5 CHICAGO Reporter/Anchor Michelle Relerford was the keynote speaker.

The HHW Vocal Arts Ensemble entertained the crowd. www.chicagocrusader.com

WCIU-TV’s Reporter/Producer Summer Jackson served as the emcee for the Walgreens Expression Challenge ceremony.

WALGREENS DARREN BENTON, Chicago Finalist Jemima Adeyinka, South Shore International Prep High School, Principal Janice Wells, South Shore International Prep High School Teacher Vincent Hathorn.

WALGREENS DARREN BENTON, Chicago Finalist Jemima Adeyinka, South Shore International Prep High School, Principal Janice Wells, South Shore International Prep High School, Teacher Vincent Hathorn.

Crusader launches array of blog posts The Chicago Crusader begins the new year with a new online feature – blog posts. The posts are written several Chicagoans and former Chicagoans who cover a wide range of topics from restaurant reviews to technology.

The bloggers, Al Greer, Gwen Kelly, Kelly R. Turner, Chef Michelle Reedus, Richard Muhammad, Martin Lindsey, Brian Ray, Jeffrey Walker, Algernon Penn, and Sandra Combs write about their personal and professional experiences. They also throw in some old fashioned common sense. Their work is updated on rotating schedules, so make sure you visit http://chicagocrusader.com/chicago/blog.aspx. The bloggers and the Crusader appreciate your feedback.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Scan this QR (quick response) code to view the Crusader Newspaper Group’s blogs about STEM, overcoming sexual abuse, mentoring, restaurant reviews, urban agriculture, politics, economic development, and more.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

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ENTERTAINMENT

By Raymond Ward MAKE IT STOP! The year 2014 is only a few weeks old, but, “the inmates have already taken over the asylum.” Below is just a sampling of the foolishness that has already been reported in the media. I guarantee that it will have you rolling on the floor with laughter!

1. The “legendary” Rapper Flavor Flav was arrested in Hempstead, New York in a bizarre bust...triggered by the fact Flav has 16...count em....SIXTEEN suspensions on his license.

According to TMZ, Flav was driving a black Hyundai, and on the way to his mothers funeral, when cops spotted him ...claiming he was driving 79 in a 55 mph zone. Upon further investigation, troopers discovered that Flav had 16 license suspensions. Law enforcement told TMZ that Flav had a variety of unpaid tickets that resulted in the suspensions. In addition, they found a small amount of marijuana in the car.

Flav was arrested for felony aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He was booked, released without bail and went on to attend his mother’s funeral.

I don’t know how he got to his Mom’s funeral....but I’m hoping he didn’t drive!

2. A Michigan man pleaded no contest last week to a battery of charges including attempted murder and home invasion after he reportedly stuffed his exgirlfriend into a Christmas bag in the basement of her home.

Jonathan Elbers, 24, of Tuscola County appeared in Macomb County Circuit Court to plead to the charges, which also included unlawful imprisonment, resisting arrest causing injury and larceny. He offered his no-contest plea, which is not an admission of guilt, a day before he was scheduled to go on trial, The Macomb Daily reports.

The charges stemmed from an incident when Elbers apparently jealous, kicked in the door to his former girlfriends home and began choking her. The police were called, but before they arrived the victim, Charlotte Ventimiglia, had freed herself from the Christmas bag and reportedly hit the alleged assailant in the head with a porcelain rooster or chicken.

Elbers reportedly fled when police arrived at the home and heard screaming coming from the basement. He was arrested three days later when police discovered him hiding in the woods and wrapped in a piece of carpet.

Exhausted by the time the police caught up with him, he reportedly said, “I had it. I give up.” Elbers will be sentenced on February 20th.

3. Authorities claim a substitute teacher from Hyattsville, Maryland drove a sixth-grade student’s head into his desk with enough force to give him a concussion—-after he allegedly would not stop throwing spit balls, reports The Washington Post.

Georgette Takideu, 47, was charged with assault and cruelty to children for the incident at a Northeast Washington school. Police say a student made a complaint to the principal, who investigated. According to The Post, one of the students said the teacher told the 11-year-old boy, “You should die young.”

Multiple students went to school administrators to say that the teacher had repeatedly knocked on the student’s head, “as if someone were knocking on a door.”

4. Police were called out in Livingston County, Delaware during a snow storm, to search for a missing woman. The woman was found stuck in a Tree House!

At about 3:40 AM on January 5th, the 21-year old woman told police that after getting into a fight with her friend, she decided to search a tree house looking for a cat that had climbed up a tree in one of her mother’s dreams! (THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!) According to the report, the woman told police her mother had ‘a vision that the cat was in this tree house and she had wanted to check it ever since and that was why she was there.

The woman then told police she was stuck in the “completely dark” tree house and that nobody knew where she was. She also was cold and couldn’t get down, police said she told them. Using a GPS location from the woman’s phone, police say they were able to narrow the search until they heard a woman’s scream.

Police say it was snowing heavily outside and the temperature was about 15 degrees. The woman had no hat or gloves on and was only wearing black stretch pants, boots and a jacket. After helping her to climb down, police say she was escorted to the ambulance, but refused to answer questions. The woman’s mother arrived and told police she believed her daughter was having some “mental issues” and was on medication that she had been told she wasn’t supposed to drink with.”

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Saturday, January 18, 2014

By Elaine Hegwood Bowen, MSJ

Life of a King “Life of a King” is an inspirational movie starring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr., as Eugene Brown who in real life spent 18 years in jail after drug running and finally being convicted of armed robbery in the Washington, D.C. area. He is released from prison after playing and mastering the game of chess for years. He discovered a multitude of

Brown gets work as a janitor at a high school, while working a few days as the detention monitor, before it is discovered that he is an excon. He goes on to develop and establish the Big Chair Chess Club, and he is triumphant, after ironing out a few wrinkles.

From his daring introductory chess lessons to a group of unruly

for me a woman who is kind and gentle, plays the school principal.

Although she has to fire Brown, she supports his off-school chess club, which is being held in an old house that Brown is able to purchase.

Parker plays the mother of star chess player Tahime, played by Malcom M. Mayes, who is struggling to stay out of a gang after a classmate is

CUBA GOODING, JR., and Dennis Haysbert have a heartfelt talk in prison, right before Gooding, who plays Eugene Brown, is released. life lessons through the game of high school students in detention killed in a botched drug deal. Of chess, and now he wants to save in- to the development of the Club and course, in most movies in this genre, ner-city high school kids from the the teens’ first local chess competi- there is an unwilling parent, and streets by showing them the game. tions, this movie reveals Brown’s dif- Parker is good in that she doesn’t see “Life of a King” opens this week- ficult, inspirational journey and how anything worthwhile in her son beend around the country, and al- he changed the lives of a group of ing in the chess club. But she shows up when it really counts—when he though it is another “save-the-in- teens with no endgame. ner-city-kid” movie, I liked that the I liked this movie, because it is wins second place in an open chess theme was chess—a sport that is good to see big stars, along with competition.

Haysbert plays a good friend to highly skilled but when mastered Gooding, namely Richard T. Jones, can bring a young person accolades veteran actor Dennis Haysbert and Brown, even though Haysbert is left and success leading to college schol- veteran actress Lisa Gay Hamilton behind in jail. He tells Tahime, when he comes to visit with Brown arships. and Paula Jai Parker.

After re-entering the workforce, Hamilton, who brings to mind for a pep talk before a big match, that even though he is in prison for life, his mind is free when he thinks about playing chess. This meeting has an effect on Tahime and prepares him for the road ahead.

Gooding is good in this role, even though he has a tough time reconnecting with his daughter—his son is released from juvenile lock-up, shortly after Brown returns home.

But he is able to reconcile and reconnect with them, once they see that he is so involved in making sure his group of students stay on the straight and narrow.

“Life of a King” is a worthy independent film; one which I hope gets MALCOLM M. MAYS, who plays Tahime, talks with wide distribution. Check out your Gooding, who plays Eugene Brown, after Tahime lets outside local theater listings to see where you can catch it. influences keep him from playing chess.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

ENTERTAINMENT

DuSable Museum presents Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration The DuSable Museum of African American History will celebrate “The Drum Major For Justice” during a full day of activities honoring the late Civil Rights Leader and Noble Peace Prize-winner, the Rev-

erend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on Monday, January 20. The theme for the 2014 celebration is “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.” Exciting, educational events suitable for the entire family

are on the schedule, from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM. All events will take place at the Museum which is located at 740 East 56th Place (57th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Chicago.

Dr. King’s final prophetic manuscript “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community,” provides the theme for this year’s celebration at The DuSable. The daylong event designed to “elevate your consciousness” will include: “The King Day Read On” – powerful Civil Rights passages read by Chicago community leaders and concerned citizens; “Truth-to-Truth” – a spoken word battle; Youth and Family Make & Take Art Project Workshops; films dedicated to Dr. King’s legacy; actor Marcus Gentry as Dr. King; and remote broadcasts by radio stations Power 92-FM and WVON-AM. In addition, walking throughout the Museum’s galleries will be historic personalities from

our “Walking with Heroes,” program. Notable figures come to life to present their unique connection to the Civil Rights Movement. Actors will portray icons such as: Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, and his wife Kittihawa, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, Ida B. Wells, Elijah McCoy and Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs to name a few.

The 2014 M.L. King Day Celebration at The DuSable Museum is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and United Airlines, The Official Airline of The DuSable Museum. The DuSable Museum gratefully acknowledges the Chicago Park District’s generous support of the Museum.

Special Event Admission prices will be in effect during the 2014 M.L. King Day Celebration. ABSOLUTELY NO PASSES or REDUCED ADMISSION TICK-

ETS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Admission is $10 per person. For more information on this program, please visit www.dusablemuseum.org, or telephone 773-947-0600.

About The DuSable Museum of African American History The DuSable Museum of African American History is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the country. Our mission is to collect, preserve and display artifacts and objects that promote understanding and inspire appreciation of the achievements, contributions and experiences of African Americans through exhibits, programs and activities that illustrate African and African American history, culture and art. For more information on the Museum and its programs, please call (773) 947-0600 or visit us at www.dusablemuseum.org.

THE BOOKWORM SEZ “Negroes and the Gun: The Black Tradition of Arms” Johnson; in fact, both slaves and Black freemen in the early-to-mid 1800s used guns to defend themselves. For that, “Punishment was swift.” Still, pre-Civil War records from Vicksburg, Mississippi show that slaves had “direct access” to firearms and that merchants who illegally sold guns to slaves were “periodically” prosecuted.

Later, when Lincoln opened the Union Army to “Negro soldiers,” Black men took up arms, “intent

“Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges” A new exhibition scheduled to open at The DuSable – Monday, January 20, 2014 The DuSable Museum of African American History is honored to present a new art exhibition entitled, “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges.” The exhibition will open on Monday, January 20, 2014

(M. L.King Day) and continue through Sunday, April 13, 2014 at the Museum which is located at 740 East 56th Place (57th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Chicago.

The exhibition tells the story of Jewish professors from Germany and Austria, who were dismissed from their teaching positions in the 1930s. After fleeing to Ameri(Continued on page 19)

PROFESSOR ERNST BORINSKI teaching in the social science lab, Tougaloo College, MS, ca. 1960. Photo courtesy of Mississippi Department of Archives and History. www.chicagocrusader.com

By Nicholas Johnson c.2014, Prometheus Books $19.95 / $21.00 Canada 340 pages The headlines made you shake your head.

There was another shooting nearby the other night. Another senseless argument, another impulsive action, another life ended.

Sometimes, you wonder if things like that could’ve been prevented.

But as you’ll see in “Negroes and the Gun: The Black Tradition of Arms” by Nicholas Johnson, history – both old and recent – has a lot of bearing on the bearing of arms.

Frederick Bailey had had enough.

He’d been raised as the slavecompanion to a young white boy in a big-brother role and was “coddled.” His owner, therefore, thought it best that the sometimesimpudent Frederick be sent away and “broken.” But headstrong Frederick wouldn’t have any of that, and he fought back.

Frederick (Bailey) Douglass was “far from the first to fight,” says

Nicholas Johnson on proving themselves” and fighting for their freedom. Once the war was over, Black veterans petitioned Congress for their SecondAmendment rights to bear arms, and then for a Fourteenth Amendment.

Using their guns, Negroes helped settle the Old West by cowboyin’ and stagecoaching. The “color line became blurred” then as “red, black, and white men mixed together, but it wasn’t just a man’s world. “Stagecoach” Mary Fields (a.k.a. “Black Mary”) was known

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

to be a better shot than any man in the state of Montana.

By the turn of the century, being armed was a near-necessity for many Negroes. It was a time of lynchings; race riots; Jim Crow laws; and occasional, surprising pockets of legal protection. Still, any white person who thought that a Black man or woman wouldn’t dare shoot in self-defense was woefully mistaken.

That sentiment was still around during the Civil Rights Movement, despite “cautions” against violence from Martin Luther King – and, once again, women took up arms, too. But by the mid-1970s, Black mayors and other officials were petitioning the government for a different action: to help take guns away from their Black constituents.

When I first started “Negroes and the Gun,” I figured that I was (Continued on page 17)

Saturday, January 18, 2014

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ARTS AND CULTURE

Sphinx Organization receives $4 million anonymous grant The Sphinx Organization has received a $4 million anonymous programmatic gift which is the largest single contribution in the organization’s history. The gift will expand the scope of Sphinx’s educational and training programs that aim to empower its alumni to pursue transformational artistic and career opportunities.

“We are deeply grateful for this incredibly generous gift which will enable us to capitalize tremendously on the depth of the programs we have been building over the past two decades,” shared Founder and President of Sphinx, violinist Aaron P. Dworkin.

As a result, Sphinx is excited to announce an enhancement to the top scholarship awards for its flagship program, the annual national Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players. The Senior Division First place scholarship is now $50,000, with Second and Third places at $20,000 and $10,000. The Junior Division scholarship structure will be $10,000; $5,000 and $3,000 for the First, Second and Third place.

The 17th annual Sphinx Competition will be held February 21 and 23 in Detroit, Michigan. The Honors Concert will be held Friday, February 21. Admission is free.

The Finals Concert is scheduled for Sunday, February 23. Ticket prices begin at $10. In the coming months, Sphinx will continue developing additional initiatives designed to further expand the impact of its programs over the next 5 years.

In addition, Sphinx will launch a competitive scholarship program for alumni of the Sphinx Competition, Sphinx Virtuosi, Sphinx Performance Academy, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, and the 2012 and 2013 Sphinx Medals of Excellence.

Along with this, an intensive training program is being established for emerging conductors of color in partnership with several leading orchestras in the country. The mission of the Sphinx Organization is “to transform lives through the power of diversity in the arts.”

Annually, Sphinx reaches over 20,000 young people and over 2 million in live and broadcast au-

SPHINX ORGANIZATION FOUNDER Aaron Dworkin and 2013 Sphinx Junior Division winner Adé Williams of Chicago. diences. For more information visit SphinxMusic.org.

Sphinx Organization go to sphinFor more information on the xmusic.org. about the Sphinx Organization,

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Guild presents 30th annual ‘Fantasy of the Opera’ Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Guild Board of Directors will celebrate its 30th Fantasy of the Opera in the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Friday, January 31, 2014 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Boasting fabulous food, terrific music, delightful drinks and great friends, Lyric’s Fantasy of the Opera is presented by the Lyric Opera Guild Board of Directors and has been for the last thirty years while raising funds to benefit Chicago’s own world-renowned opera company. It’s one of Lyric’s most exciting and elegant events – truly “the hottest party in the coldest month” – featuring drinks, music, and dancing all in the historic Civic Opera House.

This year’s theme, “Petals and Pearls,” is inspired by Lyric Opera’s new co-production with The Houston Grand Opera of Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The lob-

LYRIC OPERA’S FANTASY OF THE OPERA cabaret stars include (from l. to r.) Eric Owens, Patricia Racette and Stefano Secco. Racette and Secco are appearing in Lyric’s current production of Madama Butterfly; Eric Owens will appear in Dvorák’s “Rusalka” opening its run February 22 for six performances through March 16.

The Musician’s Club of Women will be awarding $85,000 in stipends in 2014 for students of voice, piano, strings and winds.

Applicants for the 2014 music scholarships and awards competition must be female U.S. citizens living and studying within 100 miles of Chicago. Age requirements are 23-32 for voice, 18-30 for piano and winds, 16-30 for strings (as of March 8, 2014). A $50 application fee, audio recording and resume are to be submitted along with the applica-

by will be transformed into a beautiful Japanese garden, and to enhance the evening, special performances and demonstrations will take place throughout the evening – taiko drummers, an origami presentation, and an ikebana floral showcase.

The 8:00 p.m. cabaret performance in the Ardis Krainik Theatre features some of the biggest stars from Lyric’s current season and music director Sir Andrew Davis will return as Master of Ceremonies.

Christine Brewer (The Sound of Music), Ana María Martínez (Rusalka and Otello), Brandon Jovanovich (Rusalka), Eric Owens (Rusalka), Jill Grove (Rusalka), and David Cangelosi (Die Fledermaus

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tion form.

The competition will be held March 8 and 15 in Ganz Hall, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. All applications must be received by February 1. All applicants will be notified by mail if they have been approved no later than February 26.

For more information and applications, call 630-858-8131; email mcwscholarshipauditions@gmail.com; or go to musiciansclubofwomen.org .

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and Madama Butterfly) will perform selections from the great American songbook and Broadway classics.

Guests at the $275 general admission level will enjoy passed hors d’oeuvres before and after the Cabaret, as well as sushi and sake by Arami. Guests at the $500 VIP level will enjoy passed hors d’oeuvres and attend a post-Cabaret seated dinner in the William B. and Catherine Graham Room. Guests at the $6,000 Fantasy Table level receive premium reserved dinner seating in the Graham Room, as well as gourmet samplings before and after the Cabaret.

This season’s Fantasy Raffle features American Airlines (Lyric’s offi-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

cial airline) first-class roundtrips for two to London, business-class worldwide roundtrips for two to any American Airlines destination, and business-class roundtrips for two to Tokyo. Other prizes are Majorica pearls and an oriental rug.

The Fantasy Silent Auction (held in the Nancy W. Knowles Lobby) features an array of specialty items.

Highlights include a Chicago Blackhawks Fantasy package with premium tickets to a game, a Zamboni ride, a post-game locker room visit, signed hockey sticks and a photo with a player; a Cigar Package with premium cigars, accessories, and a fifth of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban single malt scotch; a Louis Vuitton handbag; and getaways to London and Washington, D.C. Guests will be able to bid using their personal communication devices or one provided for the evening.

After the Cabaret, all guests will sample Izakaya sushi and sake downstairs in The Wine Cellar, also known as the Opera Club. VIPs and Sponsors will enjoy a royal seated dinner, in the Graham Room for VIPs or in a private opera box for Sponsors, prepared by Limelight Catering. Guests will enjoy dancing to music performed by Rendezvous in the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Grand Foyer, with Japanese-inspired décor by Event Creative. And you never know who may grab the mic to sing with the band!

Complimentary valet parking is available for all ticket price categories. All proceeds benefit Lyric Opera of Chicago. For more information, call 312-332-2244. www.chicagocrusader.com

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

A Moment to Super Size Your Thinking see the God given masterpiece staring back in the mirror. Ok, you might be saying, ‘… but Effie, I need this and I need that…’ That might be true, you might have to tweak a few things and hone your craft, but the real essence of your ability is as close as your next breath. Think about it, how many times have you tried to find something and minutes, hours or days later discovered that you already had it? Chances are we’ve all done it one hundred times over. Ok, what about the last time you looked for your keys only to find that they were already in your pocket or purse? How many times have you torn the house up

By Effie Rolfe Greatness Within…you have it. You really are wonderful and amazingly blessed. As we go forth in this new year preparing for an abundance of ideas and opportunities graced with tremendous favor—this is the perfect time to be reminded of your uniqueness.

Within you is tremendous gifts, talents and strengths…find them and find walk in your real purpose. God made you to be a world changer, but you must believe in yourself and abilities. You must realize that you have everything necessary to live an exciting and fulfilled life right now—period! Why, because you are perfectly made in the image and likeness of God—the Creator of the Universe. So, stop searching for temporary external happiness and begin to look within your heart to

Effie Rolfe

The Archdiocese of Chicago recently released to plaintiffs’ lawyer, Jeffrey Anderson, documents related to 30 Archdiocesan priests who have been accused of abusing minors at various times during the last half century. This release of documents is part of a mediation agreement between the Archdiocese and claimants’ lawyers. All of the documents relate to cases that date back many years, in some cases decades. Ninety-five percent of these cases occurred prior to 1988. These cases were reported to civil authorities and the Archdiocese did not hide abuse or protect abusers.

All of the priests involved in this document release are out of ministry and 14 are deceased. No priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor serves in ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago today.

The Archdiocese’s concern is for the rights of everyone involved, which both the Archdiocese and claimants acknowledge require careful consideration. Some portions of the documents are redacted to comply with legal restrictions about privacy of medical and mental health information and to protect the innocent.

Nothing is redacted to conceal the identity of abusers.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is in full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the U.S. Bishops in Dallas in June 2002. The charter requires that no priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor can serve in public ministry. The Archdiocese of Chicago refers all reports of sexual abuse immediately to civil authorities. The Archdiocese’s independent Review Board examines the findings of all investigations and makes recommendations to the archbishop re-

garding fitness for ministry and safety of children.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is concerned first and foremost with the healing of abuse victims and has maintained a victim assistance ministry for more than 25 years. In addition, the Archdiocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, charged with assisting victims and their families and preventing abuse, has trained and processed background checks on more than 160,000 priests, deacons, religious, lay employees and volunteers; conducted more than 3,000 training sessions; and trained more than 200,000 children to protect themselves from sexual predators.

The abuse of any child is a crime and a sin. The Archdiocese encourages anyone who has been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee, to come forward.

Complete information about reporting sexual abuse can be found on the Archdiocesan website at www.archchicago.org/departments/protection/protection.shtm.

The Archdiocese also referred other abuse victims who have not reported their situations to the Protect and Heal section of the web site archchiago.org. The section, described as “both a resource and a mission,” was established by the Archdiocese’s Office for the Protection of Children and Youth (OPCY).” The 11-yearold office also was described as one that has trained more than 160,000 priests, deacons, religious, lay employees and volunteers to recognize and prevent abuse as well as teaching more than 200,000 children to protect themselves from sexual predators. The OPCY provides a range of service and resources for parents and caregivers.

Archdiocese releases abuse statements and documents

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searching for your eyeglasses that were already on your face? Lastly, how many times have you accused someone of moving that important paper only to find that it was still on top of the pile where you left it? My point is— we spend so much time looking for things already within our reach.

You have what you need. Until we come to the realization that before you were born with all the creative genius and uniqueness to excel to any level possible, you will continue to look for things.

Perhaps if you stopped and begin to think of your blessings and what you are good at doing, this will help you to see what you al-

ready have. My prayer is that you take a long look into the mirror of your inner self until you see what God has already given you.

Then and only then, will you discover that what you already have is what you need. Now that you’ve looked within to see your amazing abilities, use your greatness to be a blessing and a world changer.

Do you recognize the greatness within you…? ©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.

The Crusader Gospel Corner It’s a Stellar Award winning weekend—all roads will lead to Nashville as celebrity recording artist, industry execs and fans gather for the 29th year of the most coveted award in gospel music. “I am once again humbled by the continued growth of the Stellar Awards, which this year lead us to move to a bigger venue - double the size of the Grand Ole Opry,” says Don Jackson, founder and executive producer of the Stellar Awards. “The time, talent and commitment exhibited by the artists continue to make our sold out live show a must see event. I am thankful to the gospel music community for all their support.” Chicago’s Rev. Maceo Woods will receive the Legends Award, pre-

Mahalia Jackson sented by Dr. Bobby Jones. Woods is the founder and pastor of Christian Tabernacle Church of Chicago.

The legendary organist has played worldwide and known for his annual program Gospel Supreme. The gospel legend recalled his first Gospel Supreme, “We really started in 1963 at DuSable. The very first one, we had James Cleveland, Billy Preston and Mahalia Jackson and that’s sort of where it started.”

Speaking of legendary, the Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year has been another favorite for the past several years with Tasha Cobbs and Tamela Mann vying for

Tamela Mann the category that honors the late queen of gospel music. The show will be hosted by stand up comedians turned television hosts, Sherri Shepherd of The View and syndicated radio personality, Rickey Smiley. “As a life long fan of gospel music it is truly an honor to host the 29th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards,” says host Sherri Shepherd. “I especially look forward to sharing the stage with my co-host Rickey Smiley, together we plan to keep you engaged and maybe laughing a little too.”

Congratulations to Rev. T.L. Barrett who recently celebrated his 70th birthday with a star-studded concert on last Sunday, at his church, Life Center COGIC. Special guests from all over shared in

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Rev. T. L. Barrett

the holy-ghost filled services such as the Royal Voice of Life Choir, Percy Gray and Joshua’s Troop, Tyrone Block & LSD and the Victory Travelers.

Please pray for Apostle Richard D. Henton of Monument of Faith Church, who recently experienced some health challenges. Last week, his son—Pastor John Henton shared the following on the church’s website, “We thank you for your prayers, Apostle Richard D. Henton is improving and today he lifted His hands giving praise to God! Please continue to keep him in prayer and we will keep you updated. “The effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much.”

We are petitioning prayer for our Pastor of the Monument of Faith Church, located on the South Side of Chicago. Apostle Henton was recently hospitalized; he is ALERT and NOT ON LIFE SUPPORT. We are asking that you join us in a mass corporate prayer. We believe in the power of prayer, the bible tells us in Matthew that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven.” In June of last year, there was a citywide celebration for the 80-year-old founder of R.D. Henton Breakthrough Ministry.

Stellar and Grammy Award winning artists and ministers in the gospel were in support including Rance Allen, Edwin Hawkins, Ricky Dillard, Rev. Jesse Jackson, as well as several city and state officials.

Condolences to the family and friends of Rev. R.L Mitchell, Pastor of Old Landmark Church of God in Chicago, who passed on December 29th. His home going services were held at the church last Saturday, January 11th. Last year, a block of the street near the church on 72nd and Jeffrey was named in his honor, where he had pastored for 58 years.

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HOUSES FOR SALE (Continued from page 7) telligence quota, have bad reading comprehension, and were probably ordained by somebody with the same. You ought to question any preacher who stood behind your little mean mayor and shut down your kids schools named after people who struggled for our freedom and fired a whole bunch of Black people last year. If your preacher is running behind de President and ain’t once opened they mouth to demand relief from all this injustice happening to Y-O-U, you ought to back out of that church parking lot and drive right on down to Chiapetti in Bridgeport and join the rest of those lambs headed for slaughter - Ima UT OH The Deacon Board at Fellowship had better be asking

the right questions because we hear some very important white folk are now “looking into the deal Jenkins did with some Turkish Moslems” to open a charter school in Chatham. These white folk are “pulling financial records, looking at taxes, are looking at the complex deal Jenkins put together,” in this case, the person was heard to say. We hear that while the polished, big toothed minister got his members to applaud their giving up the ghost to Turkish leaders, a few of his members have had enough with his “business dealings,” including one that almost got him linked to a convicted felon and alleged government snitch with a perm.

- Ima FEELIN’ SLIGHTED One West Side clergyman

COMMUNITY CALENDAR (Continued from page 8) families to save money for chil- warming drinks are available dren’s future education with- for purchase and will keep the out paying taxes on any earn- whole family happy. Hours ings. Learn more and enroll Thursday-Friday, 4 pm - 8 atwww.brightstartsavings.com. pm; Saturday-Sunday, 12 pm - 8 pm. The Cost: $5 per ICE SKATING AT LIN- person, $5 for skate rental. The COLN PARK ZOO: Ice event is suitable for all ages and Skating is ONGOING there is no registration necesThursdays through Sundays sary. For more information, only, (plus select holidays)until contact Hyson Gibbon, LinMarch 2. Whizz past the goats coln Park Zoo, Communicaand cows at the rink in Farm- tions and Events Assistant, in-the-Zoo. Snacks and winter 312-742-2343.

THE BOOKWORM SEZ (Continued from page 13) in for something dry and maybe a little boring.

I was wrong.

Author Nicholas Johnson tells the story of African American history through firearms, but his is a lively account. Not only are we given a thorough timeline that reflects this books’ title, but we’re treated to individual stories of people, famous and infamous: Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Booker

T. Washington, Louis Armstrong, Walter White, and, yes, the fascinating gunwoman of whom “men were rightly afraid…”

In the end, I highly enjoyed this book and I think you will, too, whether you’re pro-gun-ownership or not.

For the history and its accompanying final, thoughtprovoking chapter, “Negroes and the Gun” is worth a shot.

who was said to be instrumental in bringing “Reverend AL” to town is said to be feelin’ very slighted by the MSNBC host, who has come to town, taken the spotlight and has refused to share it with anyone.

Though his move was nothing but a publicity stunt designed to embarass Jesse Jackson, Danny Davis and every person living on the West Side who claims to be a freedom fighter, this preacher actually thought that by associating with the man who told on Don King and James Brown—oh, and some drug dealer, that he would suddenly see his political stock go up.

Instead it has gone down and this clergy leader is said to be roaming from the West Side to the South Side trying to find himself in all of this foolishness. A highly educated person, he was dumb enough to listen to his running buddies who thought Ecclesiastics was some sort of venereal disease.

A guide . . .

(Cont’d from page 10) tion experts argue that there’s no problem, theoretically, with new rigorous standards, but that in the context of the high-stakes accountability movement, Common Core look much like the trajectory set forth by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. “The high-stakes testing regime will disproportionately impact students of color,” said Andre Perry, dean of the Davenport University’s School of Urban Education.

“I think that’s going to continue. What I’ve always feared is how we hold schools and teachers accountable to meeting the standards,” said Andre Perry, dean of Davenport University’s School of Urban Education. “Whenever you put social and political functions on top of tests you corrupt what you’re trying to measure.”

HOUSES FOR SALE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Cont’d from page 4) believe this but the deceptive paths they are on are seen by our children. It is not a good thing for these young people to see folks in authority manipulate the truth and flat out lie to get what they want.

We know that there is money to be made from

charters schools and many of the mayor’s buddies are behind the push for more charters. It seems no one but those of us who really put children ahead of profits care about them getting a better education than we received.

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Scott Turner BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

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SPORTS

Big Honor for “Big Hurt” White Sox Slugger Frank Thomas Headed to Hall of Fame

By J. Coyden Palmer This summer, former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas will reach the epitome of baseball status when he is enshrined into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Thomas, 45, was the only African American voted in by the Baseball Writers of America in this year’s class. Thomas, who grew up in Georgia, said he was proud to be going into the Hall representing the White Sox and the African American community.

“I know we are struggling right now to get young Black kids to play this sport and that is disheartening. But hopefully with my induction we can raise the profile of the sport in the community,” said Thomas during a press conference at U.S. Cellular Field last week.

Thomas grew up playing football and baseball. But he said football was his first love and as a kid he grew up dreaming of playing in the NFL. At 6’5” and weighing 250 lbs. when we went to college, Thomas had the body to compete as a football player. He played one year at Auburn University when the football coach at the time told

him he should reconsider his career options.

“It was actually Pat Dye who got me to really think about baseball as a career,” Thomas confessed.

“He told me they were four deep at the tight end position and I probably would not see much playing time until my junior year.

I played baseball freshman year and he saw me hit and said, ‘son you’ve got some talent. You might want to try this full-time.’”

Thomas said that experience taught him a valuable life lesson.

He encouraged other Black youth to not specialize in one sport at such an early age.

“When I was growing up in Georgia, it’s a football culture not baseball,” Thomas said. “Baseball was not seen as a cool sport. But baseball has rewarded me with a very blessed life.”

Thomas praised the Chicago White Sox and Major League Baseball for their efforts to get more African American kids playing the sport. He said in recent years they have seen some improvement but the numbers are still too low.

“The White Sox have been a

leader in programs for our youth.

And Major League Baseball’s RBI program [Revising Baseball in Inner cities is also having an impact,” Thomas said. “But we need to do more. We have to tell our kids about the tremendous oppor-

tunity the sport offers.”

Thomas played in the major leagues for 18 years after debuting with the White Sox in August of 1990. He finished his career with a .301 batting average while hitting 521 home runs and driving in

1,704. Thomas a five-time All Star won the Silver Slugger Award in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 2000. He was also the American League MVP in 93 and 94. Thomas got 83.7% of the vote on the first ballot.

Frank Thomas

“Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges” (Continued from page 13) ca to avoid Nazism, some refugee scholars found teaching positions at historically Black colleges and universities in the “Jim Crow South.” “Jim Crow” laws mandated segregation in all public facilities, creating a “separate, but equal” status for African Americans. Together with the use of intimidation and terror by whites, these laws isolated Blacks physically and culturally.

The exhibition explores what it meant to the students to have these new staff members as part of their community, how they were affected by the presence of these teachers, and what life was like for white, European Jews teaching at Black colleges and universities.

The exhibition looks at the empathy between two minority groups with a history of persecution, some of who came together in search of freedom and opportunity, and shared the early years of struggle in the Civil Rights Movement.

Inspired by Gabrielle Simon Edgcomb’s landmark book From Swastika to Jim Crow: Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges (Krieger Publishing Company, 1993) and the subsequent PBS documentary

by Joel Sucher and Steven Fischler of Pacific Street Films, the exhibition includes artifacts, photographs and two new films by Sucher and Fischler, featuring www.chicagocrusader.com

both the professors and the students. It begins with the dismissal of the refugee scholars from German universities and continues through their search for positions

in the United States. The exhibition then highlights the backgrounds of the Black students and follows the Professors and students coming together to teach

and learn and to share a community on campus.

Curated by the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City, the exhibition has traveled nationally since 2010 and exhibition highlights include: • Receipts for the $28 in fines Professors Lore and Donald Rasmussen paid for having lunch with a Black Civil Rights colleague at a Black café in Birmingham. Eating at a public place with someone of the other race without a seven foot high separation wall was considered “incitement to riot. Professor Lore Rasmussen and her husband were arrested and when Professor Lore Rasmussen was free to go, she was not allowed to ride home alone with her Black student, so she stayed in jail with her husband and bail was posted for them by a Black dentist.

• Paintings by Professor Victor Lowenfeld and his student John Biggers show their influence on each other’s work. Biggers went on to get his Ph.D. from Victor Lowenfeld at Penn State University and then chaired the art department at Texas State University, where he stayed until his retirement in 1983. His work is in the permanent collection of the MoMA and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among other institutions.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

• Spice box brought from Germany by Professor George Iggers to the United States. He taught at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Prof Iggers and his wife, Wilma, were involved in the Civil Rights Movement and spearheaded a challenge to the Little Rock Board of Education in the 1950s. Professor Iggers was one of the first white members of the Black fraternity Phi Beta Sigma.

Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges is made possible through major funding from the Leon Levy Foundation. Additional support provided by the Helen Bader Foundation; The Lupin Foundation; The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; the Alpern Family Foundation; and the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation.

For more information on the exhibition please call 773-9470600 or visit our website at www.dusablemuseum.org. The DuSable Museum of African American History gratefully acknowledges the Chicago Park District’s generous support of the Museum. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

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