The Chicago Crusader January 25, 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 40—SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2014

PUBLISHED SINCE 1940

25 Cents and worth more

Jury convicts Mya Lyons’ father of her murder

By Wendell Hutson Nearly five years after Mya Lyons’ father discovered her body a Cook County jury found Richard Lyons guilty of her murder last Saturday.

The 9-year-old had been beaten, strangled and stabbed before Richard allegedly dumped her body in an alley in the 8400 block of South Gilbert Court, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney Office.

Lyons told police that he rushed Mya to the hospital after discovering her in a weedy alley about 10 lots from his house after she’d disappeared from home.

But what Lyons didn’t say, and what police couldn’t immediately know, is that he put the dead girl’s body in the alley as part of a cover-up, prosecutors said.

“It would be a lot more comfortable if some stranger, some mysterious boogeyman, beat and stabbed and killed that 9year-old girl,” Fabio Valentini, chief of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, said in court. “Sometimes, the truth is ugly. The truth is [Richard Lyons] killed his 9-year-old daughter.”

It wasn’t until nearly three years after Mya was found in a South Side alley that Lyons was arrested. The breakthrough in their

case, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said, was the work of blood-spatter experts.

Prosecutor’s star witness, Rod Englert, a blood-spatter expert, testified that blood

splattered on the seats inside the van and on Lyons’ white tennis shoes could only resulted from the girl being stabbed.

When the guilty verdict was read Friday, the 45-year-old father showed little emo-

RICHARD LYONS, father of Mya Lyons, according to a Cook County jury, murdered Mya in 2008.

tion. But his uncle, Derrick Lyons, who said he rode with Richard Lyons in the van when he rushed Mya to the hospital, said he knows Richard Lyons is innocent.

“My nephew was good to his children,” Derrick Lyons said on his way out of the courthouse. “It’s just not fair the way it went. I am really saddened by our system.”

He proposed that a burglar broke into the Lyons’ residence, encountered the little girl and killed her.

For Erica Barnes, Mya’s mother, the verdict represents closure.

“My daughter wanted us to know what happened to her, and in that court she told her story,” Barnes said after the guilty verdict was announced in court. “The verdict is what we’ve waited for six years. And he’s going to pay for what he did to my baby.”

Valentini accused Lyons of trying to cover up evidence that he had killed his own child when he stabbed her repeatedly to make it look like a “maniac” had attacked her and then dumped her body in an alley down the street from his house.

The night she was slain, Mya stayed out well past her curfew, prosecutors said.

When she returned home at about 11 p.m., Lyons beat her so savagely that he (Continued on page 3)

‘Disrespected’ Obama appointed the most Black Judges

By Freddie Allen NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Despite the unprecedented levels of obstruction from Republicans in the Senate, President Obama has managed to get a higher rate of Black judges confirmed than any other president in history, according to a court watchdog group.

Research compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a national organization dedicated to progressive values and the creation of a just and free society, shows that so far during the Obama administration, Blacks have accounted for 18.7 percent of the federal judicial confirmations, a sharp increase over the George W. Bush administration, where 7.3 percent of the judicial confirmations were Black. During the Clinton administration, 16.4 percent of the federal judicial confirmations were African American.

During the Obama administration, 41 percent of the federal judges that have been confirmed are women, compared to 22 percent under George W. Bush and 29 per-

Justice Abdull Kallon

Justice Bernice B. Donald

cent for Clinton.

President Obama has also managed to get more Asian Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and gays confirmed to the federal bench than either Bush or Clinton.

“This is the best slate of judicial nominees I’ve seen from any president since I’ve been at the Lawyers’ Committee, since 1989,” said Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers

Chief Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonprofit group that works for equal justice under the law. “I’ve never seen a more diverse slate, I’ve never seen a more highly(Continued on page 2)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Black Media seeks inclusion in tobacco settlement (See story on page 3)

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NEWS

Red light camera contract extended in Chicago

By Wendell Hutson A contract with Redflex Traffic System, which monitors red light cameras, was set to end Jan. 31 but for the third time has been extended by the city an additional three months.

However, in March when the contract expires, Xerox Local Solutions would assume management of the city’s red light cameras. Xerox already manages 229 of the city’s 352 red light cameras.

“They’re confident and we’re confident they will complete the transition by the end of this extension,” said Bill McCaffrey, a city spokesman.

“They’re doing things as quickly as they can but we want to make sure things are done correctly.”

But regardless of who manages the red light cameras, which are located in several Black communities, some motorists said they do not like the cameras.

“Sometimes the camera flashes for the wrong reason and drivers end up with the ‘short end’ of the stick,” said Andrew Morris. “I received a ticket after going through a red light to allow an ambulance to get by. And even though the ticket was thrown out, I had to request a hearing and take time off work to attend the hearing in order to get the ticket tossed

out.”

Under city agreements, Redflex will continue to get paid for cameras they operate until Xerox moves them over to their system. As an incentive to move as quickly as possible, Xerox can only generate revenue when a camera is brought over under their management.

“There’s an incentive built into the contract for Xerox to transition cameras as quickly as possible,” he added.

“Xerox is only paid for each system they take over.”

And according to McCaffrey, 202 cameras have been transitioned to Xerox via a software fix while 13 cameras had to be replaced with new Xerox hardware.

Another 14 systems are under Xerox control but currently offline and not issuing $100 red-light camera tickets while the company brings them online. McCaffrey said cameras during this transition phase would be off for between three to five days during this process.

This still leaves 123 cameras at 62 locations still generating revenue for Redflex.

Eventually all 352 cameras will be changed to Xerox’s control and the city will no longer use Redflex as a vendor.

“The important thing is the safety

program stays in place and the cameras are operating correctly,” said McCaffrey.

Redflex, which has been the city’s only red light camera vendor since the program started in 2003, came under scrutiny for an alleged bribery scandal in late 2012 and was ultimately banned from bidding on the new red-light camera contract. Its contract was supposed to end on Jan. 31, 2012, but the city had to extend it while a new vendor was found.

Xerox Local Solutions was the winning bidder for the program and was awarded the contract for $44 million last October.

The city operates 384 red light cameras at 191 intersections, which is the nation’s largest such program, and it has generated more than $375 million in revenue since 2003. The city recently announced it would shut down 34 cameras at 17 locations during the transition period.

Money though is the reason the city chose to use cameras in the first place, contends Serena Morris, a single mother of three.

“It’s all about money with the city.

The city don’t care how they get money from us (taxpayers) just as long as they get it,” Morris said. “This is why I am getting ready to move to the suburbs where there are no cameras.”

THE CITY OF CHICAGO extended its contract with a vendor who manages red light cameras another three months as it prepares to switch providers.

‘Disrespected’ Obama appointed the most Black Judges

(Continued from page 1) rated slate, I’ve never seen a slate with this kind of deep diversity.”

Yet, the current slate of judicial nominees has faced unparalleled delays in the Senate. President Obama’s judicial nominees have waited an average of 115 days between judiciary committee vote and confirmation, more than double the average wait time of President Bush’s nominees. Forty percent of President Obama’s district court picks have waited more than 100 days for a vote on the Senate floor, compared to 8 percent of President Bush’s nominations. Sixty-nine percent of President Obama’s circuit court judicial nominations have waited more than 100 days for a vote on the Senate floor. Only 15 percent of President Bush’s circuit court nominations waited that long.

Meanwhile, the problem of judicial vacancies is getting worse. During President George W. Bush’s sixth year, there were only 48 judicial vacancies. By 2013, however, there were 91 vacancies.

Senate Republicans are gamming the judicial nomination process, utilizing a tradition that began nearly 60 years ago, when a segregationist led the Senate Judiciary Committee. The “blue slip” policy enabled a senator’s objection to a president’s judicial pick from his or her home state.

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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Justice Ojetta Thompson

Justice Robert Wilkins

GOP Senators from Georgia have used the “blue slip” practice to delay some of President Obama’s nominees for Georgia’s northern district for years.

In an effort to fill those judicial vacancies in Georgia’s northern district, President Obama worked with Republican Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, striking a deal that has drawn sharp criticism from some of President Obama’s long-time supporters and Democrats from the state.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) former chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a former Atlanta-based civil rights group, said he and other Black leaders object to some of

Obama’s appointments of federal judges in Georgia.

“The group cites serious concerns that the proposed candidates do not adequately reflect the diversity of the northern district and that the selection process lacked meaningful community input,” Lewis said in a statement. “Additionally, the coalition finds it troubling that several nominees include persons who have advocated in favor of Georgia’s voter ID laws and for including the Confederate Battle Emblem as part of the Georgia State Flag.”

Mark Cohen defended Georgia’s restrictive voter ID laws that some civil rights leaders say discriminate against the poor and minorities. As a Georgia state legislator, Michael Boggs voted in favor of keeping the

Georgia state flag that was based on the Confederate flag.

Georgia’s Black population is 31 percent, twice the national average.

In Alabama, Blacks account for nearly 27 percent of the state’s population and roughly 17 percent of Florida’s state population. Only one of the judges currently serving on the 11th circuit court responsible for those states is Black and only one out of six of President Obama’s nominees for that circuit is Black.

After years of blocked nominations and procedural delays employed by the Republicans, who are in the minority in the Senate, Democrats, headed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pushed the button on the “nuclear option” last November that allowed them to cease debate on a particular issue with a simple majority. The historic move cleared the way for some of President Obama’s judicial nominations and executive-level positions to be confirmed.

“The [Obama] administration has really had a difficult row to hoe because of the difficulties in the Senate,” said Arnwine of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Senate has accorded this president less respect, less deference, and less cooperation than any president I’ve seen.”

The Obama administration’s success in the federal judiciary has not come without sacrifice. President

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Obama has been forced to withdraw five Black judicial nominations, most recently, William Thomas, an openly gay Black judge in Florida, because of a lack of support from Republican senators.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling on Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, to reform the “blue slip” process.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) said that the “blue slip” process is being abused and that is having a chilling effect on qualified Black judicial candidates.

“The reform that we pressed so hard for in the filibuster reform process itself will be still-born if the ‘blue slip’ process is not also reformed,” said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.).

Rep. Butterfield said that no one is letting the president off the hook, because more diversity is still needed in the 11th circuit where Cohen and Boggs, two white male judges, were just nominated.

Butterfield said that the 11th circuit serves a large population of African Americans, that’s why the region needs more Black judges on the bench.

“It’s the Deep South and we must have some movement,” said Butterfield. “If it means repealing the blue slip process that has been observed for years, then the blue slip needs to be discarded.” www.chicagocrusader.com

NEWS

Black Media seeks inclusion in tobacco settlement WASHINGTON (NNPA) – The National Association of Newspaper Publishers (NNPA) and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB), two industry trade associations whose members reach more than 95 percent of African Americans, filed a friend-of-the-court brief objecting to the exclusion of all Black media companies in a proposed settlement that requires the tobacco industry to run ads and TV commercials to correct their misleading assertions about the harmful effects of smoking.

The amicus brief was filed last Friday in federal court in Washington, D.C. U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler is expected to review the proposed agreement January 22 and consider the merits of the brief filed by NNPA and NABOB. An agreement was reached January 9 between the U.S. Justice De-

partment, the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and the four major tobacco manufacturers – Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard and Philip Morris USA – on what “corrective statements” the tobacco industry should be forced to make in ads to address the falsehoods they have been telling about the harmful effects of smoking, the addictiveness of smoking, the dangers of secondhand smoke and claims that lowtar and light cigarettes are healthier than regular cigarettes.

The Justice Department sued the tobacco companies in 1999, charging that they violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Judge Kessler found them guilty in 2006. The judge ruled that the companies were not liable for monetary damages under RICO, but ordered them to make “corrective statements.”

Judge Gladys Kessler The U.S. Court of Appeals for to accept an appeal from the tothe District of Columbia Circuit bacco giants, who are still suing has rejected two industry appeals. over Kessler’s order to include the The Supreme Court has refused corrective statements in “point of sale” displays at retail outlets.

Under the proposed agreement, the tobacco companies must purBank of America, NA, Belmont chase full-page Sunday ads in 35 Bank and Trust, Citibank, newspapers and commercials on F.S.B.Cole Taylor Bank, Fifth either ABC, CBS or NBC netThird Bank, First Eagle National work four days a week for a year.

Bank Harris Trust and Savings Target Market News, which broke Bank, Highland Community the story of the settlement proBank, Illinois Service Federal Savposal, estimates the value of the ad ings and Loan Association, JPbuy at $30 million to $45 million.

Morgan Chase, N.A., Lakeside Bank, Northern Trust Company, In her initial ruling against the toPacific Global Bank, PNC / Na- bacco industry in 2006, Judge tional City, Seaway National Kessler provided a list of publicaBank of Chicago, and U.S. Bank. tions where “corrective stateSeaway and Illinois Service Feder- ments” should be made. Not a al Savings and Loan are the only single Black newspaper, magazine, Black-owned institutions on the or broadcast outlet was included on the list drawn up by the judge. list.

The Black media trade associaIf Chase is not removed from tions say that was a mistake. the list, the four-term council “…The Defendants targeted the member has a consolation prize in African America community with mind – one that may maintain advertising campaigns which were residents’ faith in city governdelivered in part by their paid adment. “Hopefully it (the proposed vertisements in African American ordinance) will begin a dialogue

Ald. Hairston takes on banking giant Chase

By Glenn Reedus A David and Goliath battle is shaping up in the Chicago City Council and despite an aldermen’s clout, Leslie Hairston, who represents the Fifth Ward, is David in this matter. Multinational Chase Bank is assuming the role of Goliath.

Hairston, who was first elected in 1999, recently introduced an ordinance asking that Chase be removed from the list of financial institutions the city does business with. A South Sider, who is also an attorney, Hairston said she realizes it is a huge battle, but it is one that must be waged.

She explained that Chase “has violated the city code by making admissions of dishonesty and deceit in the way they dealt with their investors in the mortgage securities and Bernie Madoff Ponzi scandal. “We use the code against city contractors and all the small companies, why wouldn’t we use this against one of the largest banks in the world?,” the alderman related. She also said, “If we are going to create these rules, we need to follow them.”

Although Hairston requested the ordinance be placed before the council’s finance committee for consideration, it was relegated to the councils’ rules committee.

That committee has been described as “the place where good legislation is sent to die.” According to the council’s Rule 42, proposed legislation is supposed to be voted out of rules and to the appropriate committee within 30 days. The council has no sanctions if a proposed ordinance does not come out of rules in that time frame. www.chicagocrusader.com

Alderman Leslie Hairston Sixth Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer introduced a Privatization Transparency Ordinance in November 2012 and it has yet to come out of the rules committee.

Hairston shared, “ I recognize it might take some time to undo, if it can be undone,” as it relates to dropping Chase from the list of city depositories.

She added, “What we really need to be doing is expanding our options. Let’s get some smaller banks involved.” Hairston added that while there are fewer AfricanAmerican-owned banks in the city than in the past, there also are more Hispanic-owned banks and all of these banks should be considered.

“We need diversity so that we have options as to where we put our money.” She said Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neeley decides where the city’s money is invested. The treasurer decides where our money is invested. The clerk’s website lists these institutions as “municipal depositories:” Albany Bank & Trust Co., N.A., Amalgamated Bank of Chicago,

with the community.

“Chase can pay a $1.7 billion fine without blinking an eye. I know a lot of the African American community bank with Chase.

“They admitted they have done certain things wrong, and where there are smaller entities that violate the municipal code, they can’t do business (with the city). It impacts people’s trust in government because the big guys who can afford to pay get away with it and continue to do business with us, and the little guys don’t. We are sending the wrong message.”

Hairston recalled that between 2005 and 2007 at the height of the sub-prime mortgage debacle, Chase was assessed a penalty by the Feds for its role in providing the questionable loans. “That was part of the reason we created the ordiance then,” listing the depositories.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

print and electronic media,” the amicus brief states. “The proposed remedy does not list any media which specifically targets the African American community. To insure that the Corrective Statements reach the population that the Defendants targeted, the Court should require the parties to jointly select alternative newspapers that specifically target the African American community.”

Targeting Blacks with tobacco products has had a devastating effect on the African American community, the brief notes.

“Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both African American men and women, and it kills more African Americans than any type of cancer,” it says. “According to the Center for Disease Control, while adjusting for age, from 2006 through 2010, African Americans had the highest incidence rates of lung and bronchus cancer (64.8 per 100,000 people) of any ethnic group and the general population (61.7 per 100,000 people).

“In 2011, more than 23,000 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer are expected to occur among African Americans and more than 16,000 African Americans are expected to die from the disease. African American teen smokers also have a greater risk of developing long-term consequences from smoking than other ethnic groups, and are in danger of experiencing the negative effects of tobacco earlier in their lifetimes.”

Despite the disproportionate number of deaths, tobacco companies looked to Blacks to replace those who died or quit using their products.

“The record clearly demonstrates that the Defendants specif(Continued on page 17)

Jury convicts . . .

(Continued from page 1)

killed her or knocked her out so that she appeared dead.

He stabbed Mya repeatedly in the back of his van and put her in the alley, prosecutors said, so that Lyons — “the hero” — could discover her a short time later and play the part of a devastated parent.

However, defense attorney Andrea Webber insisted Lyons’ actions the night of Mya’s murder were those of “a truly upset father who rushed his daughter to the hospital to try and save her life.”

But in January of 2011, more than two years after the murder, Lyons was arrested and charged with her murder after an independent blood splatter expert’s

Mya Lyons finding offered new evidence.

The investigator determined that blood splatter in unlikely spots in Lyons’ van suggested that she was stabbed inside the vehicle rather than elsewhere by an unknown attacker, as Lyons had claimed.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

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EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON? During last week’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, a number of documentaries were shown which highlighted the state of Black America before and during Dr. King’s activities. When you look at the separate drinking water fountains, the separate facilities in all public accommodations, and the degraded treatment that Blacks endured on a routine basis, one might wonder if we were actually dealing with human beings as oppressors. Round this out with the routine lynchings, and other high indignities, it’s a wonder that someone would come along and use non-violence to make a point. As a result of the Civil Rights Movement, progress was made, however, and today, the so-called separate but equal accommodations are a thing of the past.

What stands out when those earlier times are examined is the fear that African Americans demonstrated - many of them were terrified and refused to join the brave few who were taking a chance with their lives. This may seem justifiable in that a whole string of martyrs have loomed prominent. Dr. King is just the tip of the iceberg - President John F. Kennedy was killed for his stance on a number of issues, although the jury is actually out on what they were. Some say he was killed for his support of Black people; some say it was connected to his threat to reveal an extraterrestrial presence, and some say that it was connected to something else. What we do know is that today he is lauded as a martyr. His brother, former attorney general Robert Kennedy was also shot down. The Nation of Islam’s Malcolm X was shot down in front of his family apparently by African American assassins. The list goes on and on, with some prominent and notso-prominent individuals who’ve lost their lives because of their decisions to champion ideas that would enhance the common good.

What now seems evident is that anyone who provides information or who stands up for the well-being of the masses is cut down, either physically or through character assassination, and/or incarceration. Edward Snowden is one who immediately comes to mind. It is important that citizens become aware of the part that the government of the United States plays in compromising our safety. The intrusion that has been uncovered was the same kind of thing that occurred during Dr. King’s time, or during the lifetimes of other martyrs. And this is not just limited to individuals - the Black Panther Party was decimated, allegedly by activities connected with Cointelpro, a covert government initiative. And certainly the government was complicit in the murders of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. Former Cook County state’s attorney Edward Hanrahan was the chief culprit in this regard, although he could not have succeeded without some inside help.

All of this leads to a stinging point - people who are on the side of good - people who sincerely want to see a better world are an endangered species. This seems obvious, and it’s no wonder that many of our disaffected youth have gone in a different direction - they see that things tend to be skewed in favor of the oppressors, at least at this juncture in history.

Today our youth have no personal experiences with separate but “equal” facilities. They have access to free public education, which many are taking for granted and are rejecting. To many, Dr. King’s sacrifice only means just another day off from school.

It seems that the more we move ahead, the further behind we get. Just what is going on? Is there a hidden hand in all of this? It is up to us, those of us who are alive now, to figure this out! A luta continua.

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Saturday, January 25, 2014

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thanks for the laughs Tio Dear Editor: One of the loneliest people around our town these days has to be Tio Hardiman, the political neophyte who seems to believe he has a chance to get the Dems’ nomination for Illinois governor.

You might recall that he made a name and extremely favorable image for himself running the antiviolence organization then known as Cease Fire. Last year though he ran into a buzz saw that simply won’t let up. He has been accused and un-accused by his wife of domestic violence, lost his Cease Fire job before his wife retracted her charges. Just when some people started feeling sorry for the guy he announced he was running for governor-what a hoot.

In the traditional sense his campaign has been a bust and people weren’t sure whether to laugh or lament for him. He seemed to ignore well-meaning suggestions that he should shoot for a lesser office. Fast forward to last week and the farce continued when it was discovered his running mate, Brunell Donald-Kyei had skipped voting in the last election – a stipulation for running for lieutenant governor or governor.

It is amazing that an attorney, which Donald-Kyei is, could be unaware of this. It is even more amazing that Tio Hardiman did not do a better job of vetting his running mate. When one is seek-

ing an office as exclusive as governor, that person needs to know everything about the running mate, even if he or she brushes his teeth left-handed or right-handed.

Unfortunately, Tio Hardiman, a smart man, because he would not listen to sound advice will prove to be a laughing stock. Maybe his political legacy will be that other Black candidates won’t make his same mistakes.

Clyde Thompson

How about a ban on dumb?

Dear Editor: How many people hours went into identifying, researching and crafting a proposed ordinance to ban e-cigarettes? More importantly, how did all of those people hours cost the city of Chicago?

Plenty, no doubt.

I am puzzled that the Emanuel administration sees this as a pressing problem. With shootings every night, retailers leaving the city, and our schools crisis unresolved; you would think the mayor would have weightier problems on his radar.

E-cigarettes are for people who are trying to give up that filthy habit of smoking. Some of the mayor’s minions on the city council who support this idea maintain none of the companies and organizations that focus on smoking cessation have touted

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

the e-cigarettes as a tool to help smokers quit. Maybe if these folk used a little common sense they would immediately realize that is why some smokers have moved to e-cigarettes – so they could wean themselves from the full tobacco products. Yes, common sense is lacking in our government from the top down. If I am trying to avoid second-hand smoke, this new ordinance sends me outside to stand next to people puffing traditional cigarettes and sending (Continued on page 17)

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COMMENTARY

Leaving Jim Crow for California Beyond The Rhetoric

By Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist For the United States, World War II began after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy. A year before that the military draft began and more young men were going into military service. After the Pearl Harbor attack millions enlisted into service to defend our nation. For those who fought in the Pacific Theatre, California military bases were the venue for final training and deployment to the battle lines. Also, our industrial activity was expanding exponentially creating a growing demand for workers. The demand was so great that race didn’t matter. They needed workers in a desperate way as national security depended on it.

This became the perfect place for young Black men growing up in the Jim Crow lands of the South.

During this time growing up in the South was terribly demanding. My people were from Bossier Parish, Louisiana. It was basically wooded countryside. Very few people had steady employment.

Basically, they lived off the land – farming, fishing, hunting and

Harry C. Alford raising poultry, hogs and cattle for precious protein. My maternal grandfather was a share cropper while my paternal grandfather was dirt poor, but hustled up temporary work here and there. Living conditions were deplorable by our standards today. Most people lived in little wooden homes built by themselves. The homes had no plumbing as there was no infrastructure built outside of Bossier City (much of Bossier City had no plumbing either). If you needed water you went outside to a well.

If you needed to use a toilet you

went outside to an outhouse (little wooden structure saddled over a deep hole in the ground). Some didn’t have an outhouse, like my maternal grandparents. You went out into the woods and did your business. Imagine no electricity.

Many children would sleep on the wooden floor with sheets.

The school system, for Blacks, was quite basic. The children would attend school three months a year. That was during winter when there were no crops to tend to. The other nine months were spent in the field. The education consisted of reading, writing and arithmetic. There were no high schools. Your education extended to the eighth grade. If you dared to go to high school you would have to travel to Shreveport, Louisiana and board or stay with relatives.

Two of my father’s sisters somehow made it through high school.

That was so prestigious that they were given teacher certificates and began teaching school.

It was certainly rough. If a child became sick their chances of survival were slim. Just about every family experienced childhood death amongst their offspring. My father lost a brother and a sister to the flu. My mother’s oldest brother died before he was ten years old.

Healthcare was certainly third world if it existed at all. Most couples strived to have many children to offset those who would not live to adulthood and, also to work the fields as free laborers.

Bossier Parish was typical of the rural South which was the venue for the vast majority of Blacks during pre-World War II. Take the above and mix it with pure, evil and debilitating racism. Our Jim Crow style of racism was so fierce that after World War II the white South Africans modeled their apartheid system after it.

They found it most effective in suppressing a certain group of people. Southern Blacks were not full citizens nor were they protected by the US Constitution. Our nation during this part of history was a democratic sham.

So when these young Black soldiers went to California, they started to realize what freedom means. No more rural areas but cities and growing towns with complete modern infrastructure.

They saw a job market that was accepting all people regardless of race. Housing was plentiful.

Communities were even starting to build public housing for the new residents to get a jump start on family life. Immediately, they

started writing home about this new and sparkling California.

From their word of mouth alone, Southern Blacks started venturing out to the West Coast.

As the war ended, these Black veterans started settling in California. They sent for their loved ones.

Wives, brothers, sisters and friends were joining these young veterans. Veterans had priority on all of the defense jobs that were recently created so it wouldn’t take long to find a good paying job.

Many would settle in clusters.

Many of the Black students I grew up with had parents who grew up with my parents back in Bossier Parish, LA. We would even develop Southern style “tribes.” The Texan migrants might have a football game with the Oklahoma migrants. We Louisianans might take on the kids with Arkansas roots. In all it was fun.

I ran across an old picture of my people which inspired me to write this piece. http://www.nationalbcc.org/news/latest-news/1935-atime-to-celebrate.

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

Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.

‘If I Dated Black Girls…’

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last Friday, I gave the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at the University of North Alabama in Florence. I was glowingly introduced by my niece, Rachel Gandy, who is a senior at UNA. I told the audience that having grown up in segregated Tuscaloosa, Ala., how satisfying it was to see “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners” sit in the same classrooms, if not at the table of brotherhood. I didn’t use those exact words, but they got the point: revolutionary changes have taken place in my home state since the 1960s and the South in general. So many changes, in fact, that public schools in the Deep South are more desegregated than any other region in the nation.

During my visit, I met a young white male – who shall remain www.chicagocrusader.com

nameless – who works in the same campus office as my niece, spoke fondly of Rachel, and recounted with glee their study together last summer in Costa Rica.

After my speech, when I was doing my usual Friday afternoon radio segment with Rev. Al Sharpton, I was told that this young man said, “If I dated Black girls – I tell Rachel this all of the time – she would be at the top of the list.”

I am sure he meant that as a compliment – it wasn’t.

First, it’s presumptuous to think that Rachel, who is smart and beautiful inside and out, would want to date him. Second, for all the talk about racial progress, there are large segments of our society who make decisions based on race and nothing else. Whites do it. Blacks do it. Latinos do it.

And so do Asians.

After I got over the shock of the young man’s comment – well, I still haven’t gotten over it, as you can see – I thought back to a 2010 Pew Research Center study that found that a record 14.6 percent of all new marriages in the United States in 2008 were between spouses of a different race or ethnicity from one another.

That’s more than double the percentage for 1980.

after he refused to perform a marriage between a white woman and a Black man.

But things are supposed to be different with this so-called “postracial” generation. My niece is an honor student, was in the university’s homecoming court, is charming and beautiful. Yet, the young man at UNA couldn’t see beyond her color: “If I dated Black girls….”

George E. Curry Interestingly, rates more than doubled among whites and nearly tripled among Blacks. But for both Hispanics and Asians, rates were nearly identical in 2008 and 1980.

For me, there was another story within the story: “When whites, Hispanics and Asians decide to marry outside their group, African-Americans rank last in their choice of mates.”

It’s easy to dismiss the kooks such as former Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell who resigned under pressure in 2009

Fortunately, Rachel’s love life is not dependent on whether this young man dates “Black girls.”

There are plenty of African American and every other kind of men vying for her attention. It’s the idea that this fellow got to know my niece as a person yet found her unqualified to date solely because of her race is what galls me.

While growing up in Alabama, I was told that part of the problem was that Blacks and whites had not been allowed to interact under Jim Crow, not even in sports.

However, when those barriers came down, or so the thinking went, racial prejudice would vanish and people would be judged as individuals, not as part of a supposedly superior or inferior race.

In three decades, there will be

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

no majority race in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau.

And that means that all racial and ethnic groups will need to learn to step outside their comfort zone to interact as equals with those who don’t look like them.

In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Obviously, that day has not arrived. Until it does, it’s incumbent upon all of us to make sure that it doesn’t just remain a distant dream.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-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 25, 2014

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COMMENTARY

(Continued from page 1)

THE AMERICAN DYNAMIC AND NATIONALISM 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

In order for the African Community in America to continue

our fight for self-determination and dignity, it is important that we remind ourselves of the nature of the American dynamic. Essentially, and at the foundation of the American-European dynamic, is the fact that it is made up of many nations who migrated to this country and continued to fight for and develop their national interests, inside this country. At the same time they maintained their economic, political, cultural, linguistic, and social relationships with their country of origin.

We can witness this phenomenon on a daily basis by just taking a quick glance at the national/ethnic group practices and beliefs of the Jews, Poles, Irish, Italians, Germans, Swedes, Greeks, French, Slovakians, Czechs, etc., and how they have consolidated their political and economic power in America. They have all done this through their nationalistic unity on the fundamental life giving and life sustaining issues that affect their interests.

In other words, they have maintained a strong sense of where they came from, who they are, and where they are going. This formula has been at the heart of their historical efforts to acquire

power in America. We can observe this same trend among the Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Jordanians, and Palestinians who are the new national/ethnic groups of America. In fact, the Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and other Spanishspeaking national/ethnic groups are following this same pattern.

They are fighting for nationalism in America, without calling it that.

When African people in America talk about nationalism, we are often charged with being racists or anti-white. However, the historical record demonstrates clearly that nationalism has been the primary method by which every national/ethnic group has achieved and maintains power.

Harold Cruse describes this dilemma of the African Community in America, in his most profound analysis of our movement, in his book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. Cruse framed the American dynamic in this manner when he said, “On the face of it, this dilemma rests on the fact that America, which idealizes the rights of the individual above everything else, in reality, a nation dominated by the social powers of groups, classes, in-

groups and cliques both ethnic and religious.”

He goes further to explain, “The individual in America has few rights that are not backed up by the political, economic and social power of one group or another.” Therefore, Cruse states, “…the individual [Black person] has, proportionately, very few rights indeed because his ethnic group (whether or not he actually identifies with it) has very little political, economic or social power (beyond moral grounds) to wield.”

In our efforts to acquire Black Power, we should remind ourselves that the Black Nationalist Tradition has always been opposed to integration, assimilation, and accommodation as a solution to the problems of people of African ancestry in America. In this regard, the Black Nationalist Tradition has rejected the strategies and tactics of appealing to the morality of white people and their white supremacy system.

Black Nationalists have been historically clear that people in power do not teach powerless people how to get power. And they certainly do not give power away, even though, when challenged, they may make some

concessions.

It is so clear that every national/ethnic group understands their political, economic, and cultural interest. It is so natural for them to function in a nationalistic manner in their struggle to acquire and maintain power. The African Community in America has not fully conceptualized and reached a consensus on our nationalistic agenda. Many of us function as if we are scared of really acting out what we really know, for fear of being called racist. We need to stop denying our own reality.

Being called racist because we believe in, and will fight for, the interests of our race with undying loyalty should become the most honorable badge of courage in our community. We should get off of this defensive “trip” when we fight for the interests of our race and some other national/ethnic group calls us racist. We should know by now, this is a tactic to sway us away from the path of acquiring power.

Let’s continue our movement “to assert our own identity, define our own purpose, to make and enforce decisions and to move into our own national interest.” It is called nationalism!

LOYALTY TO PRINCIPLES, NOT PEOPLE

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates isn’t the first political appointee to analyze the work of an administration he served, even as that administration continued to operate.

In 1999, while President Bill Clinton was still in office, long time staffer and confidant, George Stephanopoulos wrote of his disenchantment with his political mentor after the Monica Lewinsky story broke. Stephanopoulos’ memoir was achingly personal, because even as it offered a look at the way the Clinton White House work- ed and a bird’s eye view of the 1992 campaign, it also offered a look at a man’s inner life, and the emotional turmoil he experienced as he struggled to reconcile the Bill Clinton he admired with a Clinton he, perhaps, reviled. At the time, many marveled at the perceived disloyalty of Stephanopoulos. Shouldn’t he have waited until the Clintons had left the White House? What did the Clintons think? How would this frank disloyalty play out?

Fifteen years later, President Clinton is sitting on top of the world with 6

Saturday, January 25, 2014

his Global Initiative, Hillary Rodham Clinton is the leading contender for the 2016 Presidential nomination, and George Stephanopoulos is front and center at ABC News.

Now Robert Gates has written a tell-all about his time as Secretary of Defense, titled Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War (2014). Would that he’d written something as personally searching as George Stephanopoulos did. Instead, he’s got fingers to point, axes to grind, bridges to burn, even as the Obama administration continues to deal with issues that Gates had the opportunity to weigh in on while he served as Secretary of Defense. Duty is pointedly critical of nearly everyone – Congress, Vice President Biden, President Obama, the National Security Council staff, the White House staff, you name it. People have focused on the hits the Obama administration took from Gates’ poison pen, and many have raised the question about his lack of loyalty to the Obama Administration. From my perspective, Mr. Gates was disloyal to himself and to our nation, not to President Obama personally.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux If he felt as strongly as he says he did, that the Obama administration should have made different defense decisions, why didn’t he say so? He talks about biting his tongue while in the White House. Why? So he could loosen it up when he got out.

Had Gates been loyal to those who he pledged to serve, he would have immersed himself in the work of being Defense Secretary instead of describing himself as both contemptuous and bored. It’s that question of

loyalty that plagues me with Gates, more so than Stephanopoulos. Does truth trump loyalty? When?

I think of these men when I think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his unwavering loyalty to social and economic justice. He didn’t care that his opposition to the War in Vietnam was seen as disloyal to a President who responded to Dr. King’s activism on poverty issues by creating a war on poverty. He didn’t care that his opposition to Vietnam got him uninvited to some of the venues where he was once quite sought after. He could have waited until “later” to write and talk about what would have happened. Somehow he knew, though, that there was no later, and so he wrote a book, Why We Can’t Wait (1964).

It is perhaps unfair to compare the moral fiber of Stephanopoulos and Gates to that of Dr. King, but one cannot help note that Stephanopoulos and Gates have been criticized for being disloyal to presidents. What about principle?

There is such a thing as misplaced loyalty, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s aide Bridget Ann Kelly is about to find out. Kelly is

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

said to have been the mastermind behind the several-day shut down of lanes on the George Washington Bridge during peak traffic hours to cause a little retaliatory confusion for Fort Lee, New Jersey, whose mayor did not support Christie’s re-election. Christie says he doesn’t know anything about the bridge scandal, but that his loyal (and now resigned) aide did this on her own. Really? Not without a nudge from above? Kelly may value loyalty to one man over her commitment to serve the people of New Jersey (or just Chris Christie), which is not unusual. Just disappointing.

Both Kelly and Gates should ponder King as they go about their tasks on the official Dr. King holiday.

King talked about what it meant to be unpopular because of political decision, and declared himself a drum major for justice. Bridget Kelly, Robert Gates, George Stephanopoulos, what are you drum majors for?

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

COMMUNITY

Chicago Urban League Targets Unemployed Youths

By Wendell Hutson Rather than focus solely on unemployed adults, the Chicago Urban League is also focusing its resources on helping unemployed youths with their job search. A recent report cited nearly nine in 10 Black youths, who graduate from high school, do so with no job experience.

According to the new report, “Trends In Teen Employment in Chicago and the United States,” youths continue to experience declines in employment rates and have failed to capture any substantive job growth since Great Recession.

The report states that the employment rate dropped 27 percent in 2012 for youths in the U.S. and Illinois, thus putting Illinois among the 10 highest state jobless rates in the nation.

The figures are bleakest for Black youths in Chicago where 92 percent of all Black males in Chicago age 16-19-years-old were jobless in 2012.

At a community meeting recently Andrea Zopp, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, said more needs to be done to reverse this ongoing trend of rising youth unemployment especially when it comes to Black youths.

“While the economy appears to be growing at a stronger rate, youth employment has seen little to no growth,” said Zopp. “The numbers for Black youth, in particular, remain dismal and this persistent lack of job opportunities coupled with continued low projections for teen summer employment make it clear that we must take immediate action to meet the 2014 summer employment needs of youth and young adults in the Chicago area.”

“Youth employment is not only a vital and effective violence prevention vehicle, but also a means for encouraging youth to stay in school and provides much-needed financial support to youth and their families while serving as a critical stepping- stone to future employment” said Jack Wuest, executive director, Alternative

Schools Network. “The staggering number of Black and low-income teens who were jobless in 2012 provies a sobering reminder that we must do everything in our power to find jobs for all of our young people.”

According to the report, the disparity between employment between white and Hispanic youths have narrowed in recent years for families higher up the income ladder, but Black youths have not seen the same gains. Among Chicago households making between $100,000 and $149,000, nine percent of Black teens are employed, compared to 30 percent of teens from Hispanic families and 33 percent for teens from white families.

Other conclusions the report made were: In 2012, only 16 out of 100 Black youths in Illinois were employed and only 11 out of 100 Black youths in Chicago were employed.

Across the nation in 2012, only 13 percent of Black youths from low-income households were employed and slightly less than 16 percent of low-income Hispanic teens had jobs.

In Illinois less than 9 percent of Black youths living in low-income households (less than $20,000 a year) and only 13 percent of Black youths living in households with an annual income between $20,000-$39,000 were employed in 2012.

The report recommended more investment in summer jobs by the federal government to help combat the problem in Chicago as it pertains to Black youths.

“While the 2011 American Recovery Act allocated funds for summer employment, in 2013 there was limited additional funding and not enough to meet a predicted shortfall of 18,000 youth jobs,” the report states.

“The impact is likely to be the same or worse for summer 2014 and investment must be made to create 2014 summer and yearround employment opportunities for teens and young adults in order to have a substantial affect on the record youth joblessness.”

EMPLOYMENT IN CHICAGO does not look good for Black youths, according to a recent report outlining unemployment among Black youths.

Ima Gontellit finally took a vacation.

She will be back here next week.

A new Illinois law allows most 17 year olds in the state to vote in the upcoming March 18 primary elections. Voters will be selecting candidates for governor, state senators, state representatives and U.S. Congressional offices. For a complete list of local elections visit www.chicagoelections.com. www.chicagocrusader.com

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, January 25, 2014

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR

STRANGER THAN FICTION SERIES FEATURES KAHIL EL ZABAR: Documentary Premiere/World Premiere of Be Known, the 2014 film by Dwayne JohnsonCochran, will be featured at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday, January 24, 8 p.m., Saturday, January 25, 5:15 p.m., and Monday, January 27, 7:45 p.m. The filmmaker will be on hand. The extraordinary art of Kahil El’Zabar, often called modern jazz’s “best-kept secret,” is explored through the lens of his complicated personal life while on tour. Filmmaker Johnson-Cochran, a long-time friend, has a ringside seat to astonishing performances, after-show liaisons, and mentoring sessions with kids of all ages that showcase Chicagoan El’Zabar as a powerfully talented teacher. Opening night reception is generously supported by the College of ArchDesigArts, University of Illinois at Chicago. Visit http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/ for more information.

FILM SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION OF THE NEW BLACK PRESENTED AT CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY: In light of the recent same-sex marriage movement and the fight over civil rights, Chicago Public Library joins Human Rights Watch Chicago in presenting a film screening of The New Black, a documentary that examines how the African American community is grappling with the gay rights issue. The screening is followed by a conversation and Q & A session with director Yoruba Richen and noted civil rights activist Maxim Thorne. The free event takes place on Tuesday, January 28 at 6 p.m. in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium (Lower Level) at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State Street. The New Black documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage. Focusing its attention within one of the most sacred foundations in the African American community— the Black Church—the film takes viewers into various sanctuaries as it tells the story of the fight to win marriage equality in Maryland. Spotlighting the contentiousness of this divisive issue within the Black community, the film also reveals the right-wing Christians’ strategy for exploiting the impasse in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda. The Public Library continues to encourage lifelong learning by welcoming all people and offering equal access to information, entertainment and knowledge through materials, programs and cutting-edge technology. Through its 80 locations, the Library provides free access to a rich collection of materials, both physical and digital, and presents the highest quality author discussions, exhibits and programs for children, 8

Saturday, January 25, 2014

teens and adults. For more information, visit chicagopubliclibrary.org or call the Chicago Public Library at 312-747-4050.

UCHICAGO ARTS EVENTS: Events at The Renaissance Society, 5811 S. Ellis Ave, Cobb Hall Wednesday, January 29, 6 p.m. /Free -Gallery Walk-Throughs with Hamza Walker. Logan Center Exhibitions, 915 E. 60th Street - Thursday, January 23, 6 p.m./Free—Conversation with Participating Artists: Iman Issa, Ika Kneževi and Geof Oppenheimer, Logan Center, 801. The Oriental Institute Museum, 1155 E. 58th Street - Our Work: Modern Jobs – Ancient Origins. Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue, Get Lost! Avant-Garde Itineraries at the University of Chicago. Friday, January 31, 5:30 p.m./Free. Screening: Has The Film Already Started? Logan Center, Screening Room.

ICE SKATING AT LINCOLN PARK ZOO: Ice Skating is ONGOING Thursdays through Sundays only, (plus select holidays) until March 2. Whizz past the goats and cows at the rink in Farm-in-theZoo. Snacks and winter warming drinks are available for purchase and will keep the whole family happy.

Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.

The Cost: $5 per person, $5 for skate rental. The event is suitable for all ages and there is no registration necessary. For more information, contact Hyson Gibbon, Lincoln Park Zoo, Communications and Events Assistant, 312-742-2343.

ONGOING EXHIBITS AT THE ADLER PLANETARIUM: Deep Space Adventure is an immersive space experience that takes you aboard the observation deck of a futuristic starship where you will be surrounded by the larger-than-life phenomena of our dynamic Universe.

The centerpiece of Deep Space Adventure is the Grainger Sky Theater, which offers audiences the most immersive, technologically enhanced theater experience ever developed – with space imagery in the highest resolution and quality possible. Audiences will encounter the Universe at a level of realism that can only be surpassed by actual space travel. Atwood Sphere–An amazing piece of history, the Atwood Sphere, Chicago’s oldest planetarium, was constructed in 1913.

The sphere is 15 feet in diameter with 692 holes in its metal surface, allowing light to enter and show the positions of the brightest stars in the night sky. The sphere slowly rotates around the viewer putting the stars in motion. Originally, this device was not only a planetarium display, but was also used to train pilots to navigate the nighttime sky. CyberSpace–is an all-electronic

exhibition gallery displaying the latest space science discoveries. Explore the ever-changing Universe through computer-based interactive exhibitions, such as Vision Stations, which provide realistic immersive experiences of the Universe, a Cyber Classroom for upto-date information on the latest space science technology and a Cyberstudio for interactive video conferencing. It is the central component of the Adler’s Center for Space Science Education, which has been supported by NASA and the U.S. Department of Education. Shoot for the Moon–This permanent exhibition highlights the exciting stories of space exploration. The exhibition begins with A Journey with Jim Lovell, featuring the fully-restored Gemini 12 spacecraft and the Lovell Collection of personal space artifacts. In the second gallery, Mission: Moon, young visitors discover the thrills and dangers of being an explorer and imagine their own futures in space.

The interactive Moon Wall allows visitors to fly over the lunar surface, exploring the most up-to-date images from the Moon’s surface while listening to personal narrations by Captain James A. Lovell, Jr. For more information, call 312-922-7827 or visit www.adlerplanetarium.org.

COOK COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY Anita Alvarez has appointed a private sector attorney with decades of experience in civil and municipal litigation to manage the State’s Attorney’s Civil Actions Bureau. Daniel F. Gallagher has been sworn in as the new Chief of the Civil Actions Bureau, the division of the State’s Attorney’s Office that handles civil legal matters for Cook County government, its employees and county office holders. Gallagher, 65, has been in private legal practice for nearly 40 years.

Extended Coverage covered!

Each of us, if we’re lucky, has a few treasures. Maybe it’s a family heirloom that we’ve inherited, that special diamond engagement ring, even an outstanding model train collection. *** These are the things we may want to pass on to our own children. We certainly don’t want to lose them. They may call for special insurance protection. ***

Milton E. Moses

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

Yes, your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance covers these items, but generally to a limited extent.

That’s why we recommend a valuable personal property endorsement for expanded coverage. *** This policy endorsement offers broader coverage than the standard household policy and has no deductible. It’s really designed for expensive items like jewelry, furs and cameras. Some can be tailored for specific types of collections. *** It even covers accidental loss. If a stone falls out of a pendant, or you lose a ring at the beach, you’re BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

www.chicagocrusader.com

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, January 25, 2014

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EDUCATION

Freed slaves were better-off than most young Black men today

By Phillip Jackson Many young Black men graduating from college today in the United States are less prepared to succeed in American society than their forefathers who were released from slavery in 1865. When Black men were released from slavery in 1865, they became blacksmiths, bricklayers, carpenters, merchants, teachers, doctors, lawyers, farmers, ranchers, cooks, soldiers and more. They built houses, towns, communities, businesses, families, schools, universities, institutions and futures. Most of these men had less than a third-grade education. Given today’s astronomically high unemployment rates for Black men in some cities, even Black men with college degrees might not find suitable employment, ever.

One hundred forty-nine years after slavery has ended, sixty years after the Brown versus Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court ruling and twelve years after the No Child Left Behind legislation, only 10 percent of 8th-grade Black boys in public schools across America read at or above a proficient level according to the 2011 U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The failure of Black boys in American schools is an unaddressed, undeclared and uncared about national disaster in the United States!

Not being able to read at an 8th-

grade level means that young Black males in America have fewer options than their forefathers who were freed slaves. They do not have the option to attend college, or enlist in the military, or even to earn a living wage! Their lack of school success directly contributes to their super-high unemployment rate, their hyper-incarceration rate in the prison system, the vicious breakdown of the family unit, the social and economic decay of the Black community, and the crippling, senseless violence that has over taken many Black communities. In fact, as many of these young Black men cycle into the criminal justice system, they find that they have virtually re-entered a slavery system similar to the one their forefathers left—modern prisons.

There is no positive future in America for young Black men who cannot read at an 8th-grade level.

They will have trouble working, living and surviving legally in America, and in most of the developed world.

Truth be told, they are not better-off than their forefathers who were released from slavery. Appallingly low percentages of 8th-grade Black males read at or above a functionally proficient level according to data from the U.S. Department of Education: 2011 Reading Levels of 8th-Grade Black Males from 15 Low-Performing American School Districts*

Phillip Jackson City Reading Atlanta 9% Los Angeles 9% Milwaukee 3% Philadelphia 9% Cleveland 3% Austin 9% Detroit 5% Houston 9% Washington (D.C.) 6% Hillsborough County (FL) 9% San Diego 7% There is nothing more important Dallas 7% to the future of Black American comBaltimore City 7% munities than to ensure that Black Chicago 9% boys can read proficiently. The eduJefferson County, (KY) 9% cation of Black boys is too important

to leave solely to schools and government. For young Black men to continue to exist and to begin to thrive as viable human being, parents, families and communities must take control of their learning.

Black communities are responsible for teaching young Black men to read, to think, to build, to father and to love!

Black communities must open their own reading academies in churches, community centers, libraries and parks to ensure that young Black men will learn to read well before the 8th grade. Black communities must create their own mentoring, tutoring, employment, entrepreneurship, technology, and father development classes for young Black men and boys. We can no longer afford to wait for America’s solution to this catastrophe. Constructive help is not coming! The destruction of Black males in the U.S. can no longer be considered an American problem.

These horrific statistics are evidence that America does not care—or worse! * Source: Minority Students and Public Education by Dr. Michael Holzman

Phillip Jackson, Founder and Executive Director, The Black Start Project, an organization dedicated to an excellence in education. Website: blackstarproject.org or email at blackstar1000@ameritech.net.

More than 100 CPS special ed teachers missing in action The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) released the results of an analysis that revealed more than 100 current teacher vacancies are putting thousands of Chicago Public Schools special education students at risk. The analysis examined district-wide staffing levels of the Chicago Board of Education.

Combined with a current proposal by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to eliminate special education class size restrictions, the shortage of teachers will result in students living with disabilities being added to overcrowded general education classrooms and has led to some special education students not receiving adequate services for months.

“These changes just give Chicago Public Schools, ISBE and other school districts in Illinois more opportunities to try and solve their budget crises on the backs of our most vulnerable students,” said CTU President Karen GJ Lewis.

“We’ve seen over and over how CPS does not work within the best interests of our students, but instead, force policies that have devastating long-term effects on them.”

Without oversight pressure, CPS cannot be trusted to provide the 10

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Karen Lewis appropriate support for our special education students. ISBE’s proposed change will only make matters worse. This year’s budget included severe cuts in services to special education students, who make up approximately 12 percent of the district. Funding for autism programming was cut by nearly $4 million, a reduction of

nearly 10 percent. Much of this decrease—about $3.5 million—is due to last year’s closure of schools with special programming for students with autism, including Lafayette, Stockton, Herbert and Trumbull elementary schools.

Special education funding cut from school budgets is not being fully restored at schools where students have transferred. Chicago Public Schools is also restricting access to the cluster programs— specialized special education programs for students with more severe disabilities—by forcing parents to enroll their teens in neighborhood high schools. These schools are not prepared to accept students living with disabilities, and the students are not prepared to enter a general education high school, so academic and safety issues will ensue.

Amidst budget cuts and lack of programming at receiving schools, vacancies in teaching positions will result in overcrowded, split classrooms of both special and general education students and a greater chance of distractions and ultimately, drop-outs. The school year has only six remaining months and still thousands of special needs students lack a full-time teacher and must rely on revolving

substitutes, some of whom have little training in special education.

“Everything we said was going to happen after these school closings—in terms of school violence and the effect on special education students—has happened, so for

districts to cause such disruptions for students with the greatest needs is really an unconscionable act,” said CTU Officer Kristine Mayle, a special education teacher. “If I were the parent of a special education student, I would be livid right now.”

Hales offering second entrance exam Hales Franciscan High School will be hosting a second entrance exam for 8th grade boys and girls on Saturday, February 1 beginning at 9 a.m, Any students who have previously taken the Hales entrance exam or one at another Catholic high school are not eligible for the February 1 test.

Hales is at 4930 S. Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago. There is a $25 fee for the test. For more information, call 773 285-8400 ext. 285.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

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COMMUNITY

AKAs charter first South African chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., (AKA) made history while expanding its global service reach when it recently chartered its first chapter in South Africa. The chapter, Psi Tau Omega, embraces Pretoria and Soweto. Its 15 members include business executives, attorneys, foundation leaders, educators and financial agents. Tracy Whitfield, an entrepreneur from Johannesburg, is the chapter’s first president. Other members include Theolyn Blackwood, Letitia Campbell, Angela Deh, Pamela Graham, Monica Douglas Howard, Nozipo Mbere, Rhonda Lege Scott, Mokgadi Machaba-Abiodun, Cynthia Parrish, Louis Paulsen, Rufaro Rugara, Marcia Shaw, Cindy Thompson and Allison Watson.

While the members represent a diverse cross section of professionals, they are all bound by their allegiance to Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 105year-old mission to “serve all mankind.”

Carolyn House Stewart, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s international president declared that Psi Tau Omega would give life to Nelson Mandela’s Call to Action by creating programs to assist the poor, the illiterate and the sick.

The journey to chartering the Sorority’s inaugural chapter in South Africa began three years ago when

women of note expressed a desire to establish an Alpha Kappa Alpha presence to fill a service void in South Africa. Cognizant of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 105-year record as a global service change agent, AKA’s International Regional Director, Mrs. Evelyn Sample-Oates worked with local leaders to identify strong candidates. Drawing from a pool of inactive members and those committed to the Sorority’s mission, an impressive roster of prospects was identified. They resolved that the chapter would help uplift those in need while increasing the sorority’s visibility.

To commemorate this milestone, a delegation of dignitaries journeyed to South Africa for a weekend of service and celebration, led by International President Carolyn House Stewart and International Regional Director, Sample Oates. Other officials from the Sorority who attended were Adrienne PK Washington, South Eastern Regional Director; Schylbea Hopkins, former Great Lakes Regional Director and chairman AKA African School Task Force; Cynthia Howell, AKA Executive Director; Patricia Watkins, Director corporate office membership department; and Dr. Jean Bailey, director of the Howard University Republic of South Africa.

As part of the chartering agenda,

ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA’S International President Attorney Carolyn House Stewart - (seated center) and the Sorority’s International Regional Director Mrs. Evelyn Sample Oates (seated second from left) are pictured at the chartering of the South African chapter along with the new members from the chapter. the new members engaged in a series of activities that included inspiring workshops and informative meetings.

The highlight of the weekend was a service project with Stop Hunger Now, S.A., an international organization that coordinates the distribution of food and provides other lifesaving aid as part of its mission to end hunger in southern Africa.

Members’ hard work resulted in the distribution of 5,000 bags and 36 boxes of food, which contained rice,

Candidate for Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin officially launches campaign Chicago Federation of Labor and West Suburban Mayors back Boykin’s run for office

COOK COUNTY BOARD Candidate Richard Boykin addresses community members at campaign office opening event.

campaign launch, the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) offered its support by endorsing his run for the First District Cook County Commissioner seat. CFL, founded in 1896, focuses its efforts on strengthening individual local unions by creating a unified voice for the labor movement in the Chicago area.

“Based on the interview process exercised by the CFL’s Committee on Political Education, our affiliates have moved to support Richard Boykin in his run for Cook County Commissioner,” said CFL President Jorge Ramirez.

In addition to being endorsed by the CFL, several elected officials from Cook County’s First District have also backed Boykin in his run for office. Elected officials supporting Boykin include: • Village President Anan Abu-Taleb, Oak Park • Mayor Edwenna Perkins, Maywood • Mayor Sherman Jones, Broadview • Mayor Sam Pulia, Westchester • Mayor Frank Pasquale, Bellwood • Mayor Joseph Tamburino, Hillside

www.chicagocrusader.com

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Richard Boykin, candidate for Cook County Commissioner of the First District, officially kicked off his campaign with support from Congressman Danny Davis, Westchester Mayor Sam Pulia, local faith leaders, elected officials and a host of community members at the campaign’s new Oak Park headquarters on Sunday, January 12.

Boykin, a partner with Barnes and Thornburg, LLP, previously served as chief of staff to Con-

gressman Davis for nine years after being his legislative director.

During that time, Boykin played an instrumental role in several of the Congressman’s initiatives including welfare-to-work, health care, energy and utility, and appropriations accomplishments.

“I’m extremely humbled by all those who have supported me through the launch of my campaign, and look forward to growing our partnership over the coming months with a key focus on improving and expanding services and resources for Cook County residents,” said Boykin.

On the heels of Boykin’s official

soy, wheat, and a multivitamin pack for ten children or six adults.

Mr. Barry Mey, Stop Hunger Now’s SA Chief Executive Officer, was impressed by the members’ diligence and expressed gratitude for their dedication.

International President House Stewart spoke glowingly of the impact the chapter would have on the country.

“Collaboration is critical to our work throughout the world,” stated House Stewart. “I’m proud that so many people are excited and eager to develop partnerships that will assist Alpha Kappa Alpha in carrying out the mission to improve the quality of life for South Africans.” She added that the new chapter’s programmatic goal embodies the Sorority’s theme, “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service.”

The chapter’s newly-elected president, Tracy Whitfield, shared her sentiments on the influence Psi Tau Omega would have on the region, the country and the world.

“We are excited to be part of an organization that helps the underserved while focusing on health, ed-

Crusader launches array of blog posts The Chicago Crusader begins the new year with a new online feature – blog posts. The posts are written by 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.

ucation, poverty and human justice,” she said. “We want to especially focus our efforts on serving women and children in the area. These are areas of importance to the late President Mandela. We are honored to fulfill his vision through the programs Psi Tau Omega will launch and execute.”

President House Stewart and Regional Director Sample-Oates used the celebratory occasion to also meet with leaders from the Graca Machel Foundation, named after President Mandela’s wife. The Alpha Kappa Alpha officials also met with executives from Coca-Cola Africa.

During a celebratory luncheon, Stewart presented the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa a copy of the sorority’s history book PEARLS of SERVICE. An executive from the Oprah Winfrey Foundation accepted the book for the school library.

The chartering weekend activities ended with a public reception attended by close to 100 family and friends. President House Stewart delivered an inspiring keynote address. Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity gave remarks and offered both support and flowers to the new members. The program also featured two youth groups who sang South African melodies.

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 25, 2014

11

ENTERTAINMENT

By Raymond Ward

Congo Square Theatre presents August Wilson’s King Hedley II Congo Square Theatre Company is excited to announce the upcoming production of legendary playwright August Wilson’s King Hedley II. The production is directed by Congo Square ensemble member Daniel Bryant, and is highlighted by the casting of several members of the Congo Square Theatre ensemble. King Hedley II is the anchor performance for the 2014 Season for Congo Square, running March 7 through April 6, following a series of community-inclusive events and fundraising efforts by the company in 2013.

King Hedley II is the 9th play in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, which takes place in the neighborhood Wilson was raised, the Hill District. King Hedley II shares the tragic story of King —a man recently released from prison, attempting to rebuild his life amid changing times and a backdrop of the crime and drug struggles in the community he exists in. King dreams of a life of stability and self-reliance beyond incarceration, gangs and broken family. The play dares to ask what it takes to transcend the limitations of life and personal circumstance, and if pure will is enough to change a man’s destiny.

“In selecting King Hedley II, we took an honest look at the situation we face here in Chicago or “Chiraq” as it is unfortunately called,” offers Daniel Bryant. “We recognize parallels with the atmosphere of guns and gangs in the world of King Hedley II.” Bryant continues, “Wilson reveals the struggles facing a man and his family entangled in generations of this violence. He offers provo- cative insight into hopes and fears they face as they fight to break free from this cycle.”

Executive Director, Taron Patton adds, “Congo Square is doing what August Wilson spoke of when he referred to the shoulders on which we stand, in that his work is what we stand for and his public and fiscal support gave us our legs as a company.” “We view this production as a return to our roots of what we do as an ensemble, and it is our charge as an ensemble to keep that vision alive.”

The late August Wilson had been supportive of Congo Square Theatre Company since its inception, as a donor, founding Advisory Board member, and audience member.

The cast of King Hedley II features ensemble members, Ron Connor, Anthony Irons and Taron Patton, and is made possible through funding provided in part by The Joyce Foundation, Target, The MacArthur Fund for the Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Donnelly Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Tickets for King Hedley II go on sale January 20, 2014 and are $35 plus fees, with Two-for-One Saturday Matinee tickets provided by Target. Individual tickets are available online via the Athenaeum Theatre Box Office, www.athenaeumtheatre.org or by calling (773) 935-6875.

For group sales inquiries, please contact the Congo Square Theatre offices at (773) 296-1108.

All Performances will be held at the Athenaeum Theatre Building located at 2936 N. Southport, Chicago, Illinois 60657.

Previews run from Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Opening Night is Sunday, March 9, at 7:00 p.m.

Regular run: March 13 through April 6, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Two-for-One Saturday Matinees at 3:00 p.m., Sundays at 3:30 p.m.

12

Saturday, January 18, 2014

By Elaine Hegwood Bowen, MSJ

Tribes – good play that touches on language barriers of all kinds By popular demand, Steppenwolf Theatre Company extends the hit Chicago-premiere production of Tribes by Nina Raine, directed by ensemble member Austin Pendleton, and featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Francis Guinan and Molly Regan, with Steve Hag-

tric English family who live in its own tiny empire: private languages, in-jokes and fiery arguments. Billy, deaf since birth (McGinty, also happens to be deaf), is the only one who truly listens. When he meets his girlfriend Sylvia (Arenas), he is introduced to a larger deaf commu-

much squabbling about insignificant minutiae.

His brother is working on a dissertation and is heartfelt in his desire to finish it and to have his father’s validation. The sister is dating an older man, who happens to be a novelist with whom the family isn’t too

CHRISTOPHER (ensemble member Francis Guinan), Sylvia (ensemble member Alana Arenas), Daniel (Steve Haggard), Ruth (Helen Sadler), Billy (John McGinty) and Beth (ensemble member Molly Regan) “have an argument.” (Photos by Michael Brosilow) gard, John McGinty and Helen nity, which sparks a struggle for pleased—either with his literary Sadler. This “especially stimulating, self-identity and rebellion against achievements or the fact that the smart and important play” that his family. Tribes is a sharp, witty daughter is dating an older man.

Billy reads lips and tries to work “buzzes, dizzies, and dazzles” con- story about finding the place where tinues for six additional perfor- you can be heard—and a family out his own words when he is moved to speak. But all changes for mances, through February 15. In that feels like home. addition, the 3 p.m. performance Billy’s family certainly has prob- him when he meets Sylvia, a woman on February 8, and the 7:30 p.m. lems communicating, even more so whose parents are deaf and who has performance on February 14 now than its members imagine. The sto- grown up using sign language. She, feature American Sign Language ry is set in London, and Billy has in fact, is losing her hearing and is Interpretation and Open Caption- had trouble keeping up with his bent on encouraging her new friend ing. family when they are talking, and to learn to sign and insist that his Tribes centers around Billy and he sure as heck has trouble during family uses sign language, as well.

The father always tried to ignore his intellectual and proudly eccen- family dinners, filled with wine and Billy’s problem, because he felt that if he raised his son “normal” and treated him as if he had no challenges, then the family wouldn’t be looked upon differently.

I had never been to a play where the theme was centered on the deaf community. On the day that I went to Steppenwolf, the theater had a great number of hearing-impaired spectators, and sign language interpreters were on hand to translate, as well as the director used mixed-media with a monitor displaying lines when necessary. Tribes is a great play that is worth seeing by all who love good theater.

SYLVIA (ensemble member Alana Arenas) and Billy (John For ticket and more information, McGinty) have a deep conversation in Steppenwolf Theatre call Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., at 312-335-1650.

Company’s Chicago-premiere production of Tribes.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

ENTERTAINMENT

RIDE ALONG A Review by Bonnie DeShong In a nut shell, it’s a love story.

Ben (Kevin Hart) is a high school security guard who wants to marry the love of his life, Angela (Tika Sumpter) but feels he must gain

the respect and approval of her over protective brother, James (Ice Cube). He decides he can do this by joining the police force. James is a rough and tough, do it his way, street smart cop. In his mind, Ben is a computer video game

ICE CUBE, PLAYING James in the movie “Ride Along,” looks on as fast-talking Kevin Hart (right) demonstrates his gun skills honed through hours of video gaming.

playing wimp and will never be man enough to take care of his sister.

To everyone’s surprise, Ben is accepted into the police academy.

James gets the idea to take him on a “ride along.” If Ben survives the day, James will give him his blessing. Of course, James recruits his fellow cops to make this a horrible experience for Ben; one that will have him forgetting about joining the police force and shake his confidence enough to leave Angela.

The interesting part is that James is working on a major case investigating the illusive gun smuggler and crime lord, Omar, who no one has ever seen. Ben, unknowingly at first, provides him with important clues on solving the case. He uses his video skills and loyalty to help save the day. There’s a lot of shooting, explosions, car crashes, and crazy scenes.

All of that said, I enjoyed the film; it was over the top in many places and unbelievable in most but it made me laugh. Kevin Hart

BEN, PLAYED by Kevin Hart, goes on a 24-hour patrol with his future brother-in-law, James, (Ice Cube, right) to prove he is worthy to marry James’ sister in “Ride Along.” brought levels to his character. He the tough shield and shows you was sincere, naïve, funny and even his tender caring side, you melt. slapstick, and even though you I say SPEND THE MONEY wanted to slap him upside the and see RIDE ALONG in the head at times, he made you cheer theater. It is mindless fun that will for him. Ice Cube is rough and make you forget the stress of the tough but when he brings down day.

Chicago Music Awards to present Special Lifetime Achievement honor On February 23, 2014, the 33rd Chicago Music Awards will present a special lifetime achievement honor, posthumously, to Odie Payne Jr. for his outstanding contributions to the music industry.

Odie Payne Jr. (OPJ) affectionately known, home and abroad, as “The Official Legendary Time Keeper” performed, recorded, and toured with more blues legends than any drummer in history. A partial list of those legends include Tampa Red, Memphis Slim, Little Walter, Koko Taylor, BB King, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Willie Dixon and many others.

Over his long career, he toured internationally in France, Germany, China, Japan, Spain and Italy. Hence, he was revered for his innovative left hand shuffle, lightning fast single pedal base drum roll, and signature 10-15 minute drum solos.

In Chicago, he was one of the most sought after studio drummers especially for Chess, VJ, Metro and RCA Records. As his music students would attest, he stressed the elements of timing, meter, and phasing.

OPJ was a multitalented bandleader, transcriptionist and instrumentalist in brass, piano, and percussion. As a composer and lyric-

ist of many moods, he is the author of over 150 original compositions including waltzes, polkas, ballads, marches and blues. He led several small combos, a 16piece dance band and the OPJ Memorial Marching Band.

His dedication to music was second only to his devotion to his family. All of his children and grandchildren had drumsticks in their hands before their feet touched the floor.

His wife, Martha Payne, accompanied by his daughter Darlene Payne-Wells and son Odie Payne III MD, will graciously accept the prestigious award.

Catholic Charities residents enjoy holiday celebration Dozens of seniors enjoyed a hot, holiday luncheon courtesy of A. Finkl & Sons, the steel company which is a neighbor of Catholic Charities St. Ailbe affordable housing residences for seniors and persons with disabilities.

On Monday, December 23 staff from A. Finkl & Sons, including Bruce C. Liimatainen, CEO, arrived at St. Ailbe with a buffet lunch and plenty of holiday spirit.

They were joined by Marcus C. Evans, Jr., State Representative and 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris. St. Ailbe is located on Chicago’s South Side, and the A. Finkl & Sons’ new factory is directly across from it.

For more information about Catholic Charities affordable housing for seniors and persons with disabilities, please visit: www.catholiccharities.net/housing. www.chicagocrusader.com

Odie Payne Jr.

Third World Press will honor Baraka Less than a week after the death of Amiri Baraka, Chicago’s Third World Press, one of the nation’s leading publisher of Black authors’ books, will commemorate Baraka’s life with a literary tribute.

Four influential African-American authors, Sonia Sanchez, Woody King, Michael Simanga and Haki Madhubuti, will pen their unique analysis of Mr. Baraka’s work and contributions to the literary, activist and political worlds.

STATE REP. MARCUS C. Evans, Jr.; 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris; and A. Finkl & Sons CEO Bruce C. Liimatainen (l-r) helped several seniors enjoy the recent holiday season.

The book is expected to be between 250-300 pages and will be published October 7 – Mr. Baraka’s birthday. Madhubuti, founder of Third World Press, was among the 2,000 mourners who

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Amiri Baraka attended Baraka’s home going on January 18 in New Jersey. Mr. Baraka was considered one of the nation’s leading poets and playwrights. He was 79 when he died January 9.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

13

ARTS AND CULTURE

The music world mourns the death of conductor Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado, one of the conductors most revered by musicians the world over, died Monday, January 20, 2014 at his home in Bologna, Italy after a long illness. He was 80.

Mr. Abbado made his debut in 1960 at La Scala in Milan and later became its musical director for nearly 20 years. He also served as musical director of the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra and as Principal Guest Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO).

Known for his ability to con-

duct programs without scores and for his personal rapport with orchestra members at home and abroad, Mr. Abbado had suffered ill health for many years which resulted in his resigning from his post with the Vienna State Opera in 1991 and underwent surgery for stomach cancer in 2000. His final conducting stint at La Scala in 2013 reportedly resulted in a fifteen-minute standing ovation by the audience.

The Berlin Philharmonic, where Abbado was chief conductor from 1990 to 2002, said it was mourning “an extraordinary

Claudio Abbado

musician and person.”

The CSO (currently concluding its European tour to the Canary Islands, Essen, Germany; and Luxembourg) and Music Director, Riccardo Muti, released a statement mourning the passing of Abbado who served as Principal Guest Conductor of the CSO from 1982 to 1985. Of Mr. Abbado’s death Muti said, “I am deeply saddened by the loss of a great musician, a man who for many decades has marked history in the world of conducting and musical interpretation for international institutions. His work is an

immense testimony to the importance of European and Italian culture around the world. I admire him for the strong courage he showed in the face of a long and terrible illness and for the seriousness and profundity that characterized his life as a musician and as a Maestro.”

The CSO Association reported that it will issue a more complete remembrance of Mr. Abbado later, including highlights of his repertoire with the CSO. Claudio Abbado is survived by his second wife and four adult children.

Lyric Opera announces cast members for ‘Sound of Music’ Tickets on sale now; extra performances added Lyric Opera of Chicago General Director Anthony Freud announced today that two major Broadway and TV performers – Jenn Gambatese and Edward Hibbert – have been cast in the new production and company premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s iconic The Sound of Music, to be presented this spring following the conclusion of the regular 2013-14 season.

Lyric also announced eight additional performances of “The Sound of Music” which opens Friday, April 25, and now continues through Sunday, May 18 (including 13 matinees) at the Civic Opera House.

“We are excited to confirm two exceptional cast members who will all be making Lyric Opera debuts: Jenn Gambatese as Maria and Edward Hibbert as impresario Max Detweiler,” said Freud. “Until recently, Ms. Gambatese starred as Glinda in the national tour of the musical “Wicked” and other leading roles on Broadway including creating the roles of Natalie in ‘All Shook Up’ and Jane in Disney’s ‘Tarzan: The Musical’ ” said Freud. “Mr. Hibbert is a Broadway veteran and is known to audiences around the world for his droll portrayal of food critic Gil

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. in Millennium Park presents “Savion Glover’s STePz” Friday, January 24, 2014 at 7:30 PM. Under the direction of Savion Glover, “Savion Glover’s STePz” is a celebration of tap. Glover and his ensemble of dancers take tap dance to new heights, fusing music selections of the past with Glover’s iconic style and energy.

This production highlights Glover’s capability with all complexities of jazz phrasing–both bass line and melody, the wild improvisations, structures and deconstruction, from departure to re14

Jenn Gambatese

Edward Hibbert

Elizabeth Futral

Chesterton on NBC’s hit TV series ‘Frasier.’ ” Duane Schuler will be lighting designer for the production, who has designed countless operatic and theatrical productions at Lyric and internationally. Previously announced members of the creative team are Emmy-nominated conductor Rob Fisher; director Marc Bruni; Set designer Michael Yeargan; costume designer Alejo Vietti; and choreographer Denis Jones.

Previously announced cast members include international opera stars Christine Brewer and Elizabeth Futral, starring as the Mother Abbess and Elsa Shraeder. Brewer is a Grammy Award winner and won rave reviews at Lyric for “Die Frau

ohne Schatten” in the 2007-08 season. Futral, an alumna of Lyric’s

Ryan Opera Center, is a longtime Lyric favorite who most recently

Savion Glover turn.

Tickets are $30 - $55. Call the Box Office at 312.334.7777 or go to harristheaterchicago.org.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

performed the role of Musetta in “La Bohème” in the 2012-13 season.

In addition, 37 members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra will perform with a 25-member ensemble (including 12 members of the Lyric Opera Chorus). Lyric chorus master Michael Black will prepare the chorus for this company premiere, which marks the second work in Lyric’s American Musical Theater Initiative.

Single tickets start at $29, and can be purchased at the Civic Opera Box Office at 20 N. Wacker Drive; by visiting lyricopera.org; or by calling 312-827-5600.

Pierre Boulez cancels CSO concerts due to illness Pierre Boulez, the Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has canceled his February 2014 conducting engagements with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) due to health issues. The CSO will proceed with the planned programs with three young conductors hand-picked

by Maestro Boulez to substitute for him—-during two subscription weeks, beginning on February 20 and ending on March 1, 2014—as a celebration of Boulez’s innovative musicianship and mentorship.

“Pierre Boulez is one of the great revolutionaries in the history of music,” said Riccardo Muti, the CSO’s music director. “It is important to honor Maestro Boulez as a living master and to ensure that his ideas are communicated to the next generation.”

“Pierre Boulez has served as an inspiration to the musicians of our age not only through his career as a composer and conductor, but with his visionary ideas about the design and presentation of concert programs,” said Martha Gilmer, Vice President for Artistic Planning and Audience Development for the CSO (The Richard and Mary L. Gray Chair).

These two programs, which Boulez originally conceived while in Chicago in 2012, highlight not only large orchestral scores, such as Debussy’s

Pierre Boulez “Jeux,” but also take the audience on a journey through select miniatures

by Igor Stravinsky for various-sized chamber ensembles. According to Gilmer, Boulez has devised specific directions for how each program should be choreographed, and has pre-recorded his own thoughts and insights into the music.

Gilmer said that Boulez had invited three young conductors to join him in Chicago during his residency, to work with him as he prepared the programs. They are CSO Solti Conducting Apprentice Matthew Aucoin, Marcelo Lehninger and Cristian Macelaru. With Boulez now unable to travel to Chicago, the young conductors will substitute for

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

him in the two programs.

“Video projections of Boulez’s insights into the creative concept for each concert program, as well as his thoughts on individual works of music, will be an integral part of the programs,” said Gilmer. “So while Pierre Boulez is not able to come to Chicago, the spirit and soul of what he imagined these weeks to be will be very much present.”

“Even without Pierre Boulez on the podium, the CSO is committed to honoring his approach and responding to the challenge that he has given to us to always imagine new ways to present music and connect with audiences,” added Deborah F. Rutter, president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. “These programs are two perfect examples of how we do this.”

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has had a long association with Pierre Boulez. He made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February 1969, leading two weeks of subscription concerts. Boulez returned as guest conductor in 1987, and beginning in 1991, he began appearing annually in Chicago. In 1995 he was invited by Daniel Barenboim to become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s third principal conductor, and in 2006 he became the CSO’s Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus. www.chicagocrusader.com

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

A Moment to Super Size Your Thinking Unfortunately, too often we take matters into our own hands, which sadly equates to leaving God out.

The more I listened to this song, the more I realized that God is simply in search of anyone who will allow his presence to abide and reside as priority. Behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him (Revelation 3:20-22 NIV). Actually, God has no respect of person…he is so willing whenever to use whoever will allow him the opportunity to come in. What great news that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, your socio-economic level, your age, ethnicity, gender, status or if you’re thin or pleasingly plump.

By Effie Rolfe You’re the King and you’re invited to come in—are some of the lyrics of Donald Lawrence’s beautiful praise and worship song entitled, “When the Saints Go to Worship.” Actually, for me this melody was love at first sound, when Lawrence initially recorded it in 2000 with his choir the Tri-City Singers. He recently re-recorded the track on his latest project—20 Year Celebration Vol 1, Best for Last, which features the incomparable vocals of Kelly Price, who according to Lawrence, “She’s a singer’s singer!” Well anyways, since I am one of Donald’s biggest fans and purchased the CD and was listening while driving this past Sunday. I began to meditate on the powerful lyrics…we welcome you in –we welcome you in—you’re the King and you’re invited to come in—to this sanctuary—this tabernacle and you’re invited to come in. The more I listened, the more I pondered the question, why should we have to invite God into our lives? I mean, isn’t he’s omnipresent—everywhere at the same time? In Psalm 139, King David speaks of God’s never ending presence, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there, if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take

Effie Rolfe the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me and Your right hand shall hold me.”

Then the revelation hit me…we are so busy with the cares of life that we spend very little time with the Giver of life. Sadly, we are all guilty of not continuously seeking the guidance and presence of our heavenly Father concerning our lives.

Archdiocese celebrates Christian unity with prayer week Archdiocesan parishes, working in cooperation with the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, will join with other Christian denominations in ecumenical celebrations during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ending Sunday, January 25. In addition to prayer at individual churches, there will be ecumenical services throughout Chicago and the metropolitan area. All are invited to attend these services and events.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity services and events include: Friday, January 24 – 7 p.m.

St. Mary Parish, 126 Herrick Road, Riverside, will host a “Celebration of Unity” with a Taize Prayer Service led by Rev. Dr. Martin Marty.

Friday, January 24 – 7:30 p.m.

St. Ferdinand Parish, 5900 W. Barry Ave., Chicago, will hold a bilingual (English/Polish) Ecumenical Prayer Service following the 7:00 p.m. Mass. St. Ferdinand’s confirmation students will lead prayers and music for this 2014 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Celebration.

Saturday, January 25 – 7:00 p.m.

The Focolare Movement will host its annual Prayer Service for www.chicagocrusader.com

Christian Unity at KAM Isaiah Israel, 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago.

Sunday, January 26 – 11 a.m.

Second Presbyterian Church, 1936 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, will host an Ecumenical Worship Service with Fr. Mike Kallock, Pastor of Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Chicago, as the guest preacher.

Begun in 1908, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each year in cities and towns across the country and around the world.

The Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Chicago works to foster the ecumenical goal of the visible unity of Christians, to deepen interfaith relations with Jews and Muslims, and to nurture understanding among all religious groups through dialogue, formation, prayer, and collaboration in civic affairs. For more information about the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, visit their website at www. arch chicago.org/departments/ecumenical, or contact Sr. Mary Ellen Coombe, nds, Associate Director, 312-534-5324, mcoombe@archchicago.org.

Simply put—God’s criteria, is a willing heart. In fact, the more available hearts—the more work can be done for the kingdom. The only way God can do anything in the earth realm or in this world is by using ordinary people like me and like you. We are heaven’s hands, feet, ears, eyes, mouthpiece—in other words we are the body of Christ and our mission should be God centered to bring salvation to the world in every area.

Take time during this day that God has given you and prayerfully give it back to him. Yes he wants priority in your life, but allowing him to use some of your life can make a world of difference. Additionally, to know that God has a sol-

id purpose filled plan for your life filled with blessings that you could never image should be worth at least a few minutes of your time. So on behalf of me, my family, the city of Chicago, this nation and the world—Lord I am extending a personal invitation—you’re the King and everyday you’re invited to come in.

Have you invited God into your plans today...? ©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 Chicago Gospel represented big in the country capital of the world for the 29th Annual Stellar Awards. It was another amazing Stellar Award winning weekend—all roads led to Nashville, which is also home to several major gospel record labels. Chicago’s Central City Production once again rolled out the red carpet as gospel celebs and luminaries gathered to receive and support the 29th Annual Stellar Awards. “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 ex-

Jonathan McReynolds hibited by the artists continues to make our sold out live show a must see event. I am thankful to the gospel music community for all their support.”

Of course, Chicago represented well with major acts like Donald Lawrence and Company performing his hit single, The Gift. Newcomer Jonathan McReynolds wowed the crowd with his beautiful acoustic urban gospel tune— ”No Gray.” VaShawn Mitchell ended the set with McReynolds, Jonathan Nelson and Zacardi Cortez all lending their vocals to his very popular “Turning Around

Sheila Jackson Lee For Me.” Last year Anita Wilson performed but this year she helped present an award and the Chairman of the board, Mr. Don Jackson introduced long time friend, Bishop Paul Morton to give honors to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The charming elected official received the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Award for her contributions on Capitol Hill in helping September become Gospel Heritage Month. Also, the founder and Pastor of Christian Tabernacle, Rev. Maceo Woods, received the Ambassador Bobby Jones Legends Award presented by the television host himself, Dr. Bobby Jones. Woods was one of the first gospel musicians to play at Madison Square Garden and the Apol-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Rickey Smiley

lo Theater. The organist and creator Gospel Supreme received the noted award and said, “Nothing good is ever lost.”

Speaking of legendary, the Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year was received by the star of TV’s Meet The Browns, Tamela Mann who also took home trophies for Artist of the Year along with a total of seven Stellar Awards for her music ministry. Chicago native comedienne turned television host, Sherri Shepherd of The View along with funny man and syndicated radio personality, Rickey Smiley of Dish Nation hosted the event and gave lots of laughs in between. “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. Lastly, Pastor Charles Jenkins of Fellowship Baptist helped present Song of the Year—and the winner was Kirk Franklin who wrote the massive song, “Take Me to The King” for Tamela Mann.

Congrats to WVON Radio announcer and former Chicago Gospel Music Festival Manager on being hand picked by HistoryMakers for her accomplishments in the gospel music industry here and abroad. Morris said, “I am humbled, honored, blessed and favored to receive this acknowledgment.” Morris is scheduled to begin taping for the highly acclaimed program this week.

Also, catch her radio show on WVON AM 1690 every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pastor Carole Clark invited you to the Praetorium Deaf Church on Saturday, January 25th to celebrate its 9th year Anniversary at Stone Temple, 3622 W. Douglas in Chicago from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The celebration continues on Sunday, January 26 at 11 a.m.

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HEALTH

U.S. Rep. Waters joins Mary Mary to support breast cancer survivors Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), a longtime advocate of breast cancer awareness, education and research, showed support for urban women and their families struggling with cancer at the inaugural Life Worth Saving Awards & Fundraiser Luncheon recently. The founder of Life Worth Saving, Yvette Pye, is in her third fight against cancer. The organization understands that the effects of life-threatening diseases can potentially become devastating and serves as a vehicle to empower, educate and heal the community. The event was held at the Century Community Charter School in Inglewood, CA. Attendees included gospel duo Mary Mary.

“Yvette is a fighter not just for herself but for other women who also face this horrible disease,” said Congresswoman Waters. “I urge all women to make sure you are aware of breast cancer risk factors, doing monthly breast self-exams, and getting regular mammograms to detect breast cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages.”

Congresswoman Waters’ advocacy on health care issues, and her

willingness to challenge the health insurance companies, started nearly four decades ago. In 1978, then a California Assemblywoman – Waters fought insurance companies when she introduced AB 3548, legislation requiring insurance companies to cover reconstructive surgery or prosthetic devices for women who have undergone mastectomies. Waters’ legislation passed both chambers of the California Legislature and was signed into law in September of that year. In Congress, she continues to serve as an effective advocate on breast cancer and other women’s health issues.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer and the second most common cause of cancer deaths in American women,” said Congresswoman Waters. “By continuing to support organizations like Life Worth Saving, together we can all help do our part in reducing the incidence of breast cancer by speaking with family members, friends, and loved ones about risk factors, education and prevention.”

ATTENDING THE INAUGURAL awards fundraiser event for Life Worth Saving is L to R: Tina Campbell (Mary Mary), Carla Smith, Yvette Pye (Life Worth Saving Founder), Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Jane Padgett, Catherine M. Dang, M.D., Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) and seated is Marilyn Jackson.

Survey shows need for more outreach for healthcare act Illinois figures highlight need for continued outreach with 73% of Illinoisans who enrolled through the Marketplace qualified for financial assistance The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released numbers today indicating that nearly 2.2 million Americans enrolled in a health plan via the Health Insurance Marketplace through the end of December. These figures represent a five-fold increase from enrollments in October and November. In Illi-

nois, 61,111 consumers have selected such a plan. Nearly three-quarters of those Illinoisans (73%) qualified for financial assistance in the form of subsidies for premiums. However, a recent national survey found that many potential consumers remain unaware that financial help is available to make health insurance more affordable. “It’s great news that tens of thousands of Illinoisans now have affordable health care, but we still have a long ways to go,” said David Elin, State Director in Illi-

HEADING INTO THE second half of open enrollment for Illinoisans, Get Covered America campaign staff and volunteers intend to increase their efforts informing uninsured of health insurance affordability.

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nois. “These new numbers highlight why our outreach efforts are so important and why we’re expanding our efforts into places like Central Illinois. Consumers need to know financial help is available.” The Get Covered America campaign staff and volunteers have already spoken with thousands of uninsured Illinoisans, and they will be ramping up efforts for the second half of the open enrollment period.

About Get Covered America and Enroll America Get Covered America is a national campaign of Enroll America that is focused on educating consumers about the benefits of health coverage and the new health insurance options available under the Affordable Care Act. With operations in ten states (AZ, FL, GA, IL, MI, NC, NJ, OH, PA, and TX), our grassroots team is powered by passionate staff and volunteers with one motivating goal: to give Americans the information they need to choose an affordable health insurance plan that’s right for them and their families.

Enroll America is the nation’s leading health care enrollment coalition, bringing together community and health organizations, businesses and others to inform consumers about new health coverage options and how to enroll in them. It is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

American Red Cross seeks nominations to honor local heroes The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago is accepting nominations to honor local standouts at its 12th annual Heroes Breakfast in April. The Red Cross honors community members every year who have demonstrated heroism through extraordinary acts of courage or kindness. To nominate a hero, visit redcross.org/chicago/heroes or call 312-729-6388. Nominations are due Jan. 31.

Hero candidates must live or work in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry or Will counties in Illinois, or Jasper, Lake or Newton counties in Indiana. The heroic act must have taken place on or after January 1, 2013. Honorees will receive a Red Cross medal of honor at an event on Wednesday, April 30 at The Fairmont Chicago.

Nominations are accepted in the following 11 categories: Adult Good Samaritan: an individual(s) who courageously and selflessly responded to a significant or unexpected crisis; Blood Services: an individual(s) or organization who promotes community blood donation awareness and helped to build the community blood supply; Citizenship: an individual(s) who showed concern and worked to improve the safety and well being of others; Community Impact: an individual(s) who displays leadership and

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

commitment to his or her community by making a positive, noticeable and significant impact in society; Disaster Relief: an individual(s) who exhibited heroic efforts in response to a natural disaster or emergency situation, providing relief to victims through financial or voluntary assistance; Emergency Medical Assistance: an individual(s) who, during a time of crisis, provided medical assistance including CPR and/or first aid to a person or people in need; Firefighter: a professional or volunteer firefighter(s) who acted above and beyond the call of duty, exhibiting heroism either in response to an emergency situation or through an ongoing commitment to the community; Law Enforcement: a professional police officer(s) or related law enforcement official(s) who exhibited heroism either in response to an emergency situation or though an ongoing commitment to the community; Military: an active, reserve, ROTC, retired member(s) of the Armed Forces, or a military supporter, who acted above and beyond the call of duty; Nurse: a licensed and practicing nurse, nursing student, or retired nurse who exhibited heroism either in their response to an emergency situation or through an ongoing commitment to the com(Continued on page 17) www.chicagocrusader.com

Black Media seeks inclusion . . .

HOUSES FOR SALE

(Continued from page 3) ically targeted African Americans to encourage them to smoke,” the brief observed.

“The Defendants recognized that new smokers, who could replace smokers who died or quit, were essential to their continued profits. The Court noted, for example, an internal 1981 Lorillard document commenting that the company “must continually keep in mind that Newport is being heavily supported by blacks and the under 18 smokers.

We are on somewhat thin ice should either of these two groups decide to shift their smoking habits.’

“To locate new black smokers, the Defendants used targeted marketing tactics. Tactics included sponsorship for youth sports teams, advertisements featuring black athletes, tie-ins with professional sports teams, tie-ins with record companies, and scholarships for underprivileged youth. One memorandum recommended ‘tie-in with any company who help blacks – We help them, they help us.’ It suggested targeting groups that are 16 and older, and sponsoring Miss Black Teenager contests. It also specifically discussed ‘[h]ow to reach Younger Smokers: P.O.S. [point of sale] material, sampling, Black inner-city newspapers,

[and] Tee-shirt giveaways.”

The brief cited data showing tobacco companies “even designed brands with the express purpose of targeting the black community for their use.”

Special efforts to get Blacks to become smokers notwithstanding, the Black press is being ignored in plans to educate the public about the misdeeds of the tobacco industry.

Cloves C. Campbell, chairman of the NNPA said, “It is sad that an industry 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 for what a federal judge determined was a deliberate effort to deceive the American public.”

A 2012 Nielsen report on African American consumers was cited in the brief to show that 91 percent of African Americans believe Black media is more relevant to them. In addition, 81 percent of Blacks believe that products advertised in Black media are more relevant to them.

If parties to the agreement are serious about reaching Black consumers, they can’t

ignore the NNPA’s approximately 200 Black-owned newspapers and NABOB’s 200 Black-owned radio stations, three commercial television stations, and one cable TV network, the brief stated.

It said, “Advertisements with NNPA and NABOB will disseminate the information more comprehensively and more directly to members of the African community, American which was a primary target of the Defendants’ extensive marketing practices to promote smoking. Because the Defendants directly and intentionally targeted the African American community, the publication of the text of the court-ordered corrective statement by NNPA and NABOB members will be a more effective and complete remedy for the Defendants’ harmful conduct.”

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Continued from page 4)

their putrid smoke my way.

I suspect it won’t be long before the city will have figured out a new tax on ecigarettes. Not too long af-

ter that the city will probably develop another tax for people who don’t smoke anything.

Sam Markham

American Red Cross seeks (Continued from page 13)

munity; Youth Good Samaritan: an individual(s) who courageously and selflessly responded to a significant or unexpected crisis.

Videos featuring last year’s local Red Cross heroes can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/chicagoredcross.

The 2014 Heroes Breakfast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our sponsors: Allstate, Aon, ITW, BMO Harris Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Motorola Solutions Foundation, W.W. Grainger, Inc., ComEd, Fortune Brands Home & Security, PwC, USG Corporation, Anixter International Inc., Deloitte LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP. About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to vic-

tims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.

The Red Cross is a not-forprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago leads a regional grouping in Illinois and Northwest Indiana that serves more than 9.6 million people. Follow us on Twitter @ChicagoRedCross.

HELP WANTED National Business League is looking for a Part Time Teacher to teach Youth Entrepreneurship to Urban Youth. You can call us at 773-304-5005 or mail Resume to National Business League of Chicago, P.O. Box 19388, Chicago, IL 60619

www.chicagocrusader.com

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SPORTS

Black Chicagoans Aja Evans and Shani Davis to Represent USA in Olympics

By J. Coyden Palmer As the world will turn its attention to Russia early next month for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Black Chicagoans will have two of their own to root for. Speed skating champion Shani Davis will be making his third appearance in the Olympics, while Morgan Park High School alum Aja Evans will make her first in the sport of women’s bobsledding.

Both Olympians spoke with the Crusader recently and said they are excited about the opportunity to represent their country.

“Words cannot express how this feels,” said Evans. “Honestly, it hasn’t even fully sunk in yet.... I’m overwhelmed with so many emotions right now. This year has exceeded my expectations as far as my connection with my teammates go and I’ve genuinely built a bond with each and every woman on the national team and it’s so hard to get to that crossroad where some continue on the path and some stray away.”

Evans only recently took up the sport, which has shifted its focus to recruiting track and field athletes.

Evans joins fellow African Americans Lolo Jones and Lauryn Williams, both of whom were Olympians two years ago in the summer Olympics and Jazmine Fenlator. It’s the most

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African Americans ever on the bobsledding team. Ironically, Evans and the other women found out they made the team on the eve of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Evans said she is honored to be teamed up with a great group of women. She described their kinship as a “wolf pack.”

While Evans is happy with making the team, she said she still has a lot to prove to herself and others. The USA traditionally has not been a strong team in the sport. Evans and other members of the team are seeking to change that. She said the support she has received from family, friends and just regular Chicagoans who have reached out to her have been overwhelming.

“I hope you don’t think I’m satisfied with just this title, it is truly an honor but I have so much more in store. I can’t wait to represent my country and show them what I am truly capable of,” Evans said. “I can’t thank you enough for all the love and support.”

Davis said even though this is his third Olympics, it never gets boring.

The defending Olympic champion in the 1000 meters, in which he is also the world record holder, Davis will be seeking his third Gold medal at that distance to go along with two Silver medals in the 1500 meters.

BLACK CHICAGOANS AJA EVANS and Shani Davis will be heading to Russia to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Evans this weekend made the women's bobsledding team while Davis is a speed skater. Both hail from the South Side.

A diehard White Sox and Bulls fan, Bursting onto the world stage in ment of the world, it’s an awesome Davis said he is proud to have been 2006, Davis said he has matured and feeling.”

Davis is the favorite to win in Sochi. given the opportunity to represent speed skating has given him the opportunity to travel the world. Grow- Proud of his race, he joked that be- Chicago for so many years on this ice. ing up on the South Side of Chicago, cause the city is located along the He said no matter where he is in the he joined the Evanston Speedskating Black Sea he will have a “home ice ad- world, he will always be a Chicago Club at the age of six and never vantage.” Davis said he believes he kid at heart. has done a lot to expose the sport to “Chicago is always on my mind looked back.

“My mother made a lot of sacrifices other young African American kids. when I travel the world. I miss the food for me growing up,” Davis said. “She Every year he teaches speed skating to the most,” he said with a laugh. The made sure I got to practices and kids in Evanston. He said the place XXII Olympic Winter Games will go events all over the area even though gave so much to him as a kid, he loves from Feb. 6-26. The events will be broadcast on the NBC network. You we had no car. I’ve always had a pas- returning and helping others.

“We have to start training our next can keep up with Davis and Evans by sion and natural talent for this sport.

When you embrace your God-given generation of speed skaters,” Davis following their Facebook and Twitter accounts bearing their names. talents and use them for the better- says.

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