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Woodlawn Connection: The Dunlap Family PAGE 3
State's GOP Has Left Families In Need: My W or d Wor ord PAGE 5
This Is What They Think Of Y ou You PAGE 6
Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper A Pr oud PPaper aper ffor or a Pr oud PPeople...Sinc eople...Sinc Proud Proud eople...Sincee 1971 VOL. 43 NO. 12 50¢ THURSDA Y, MA Y 1 - WEDNESDA Y MA Y 7, 2014 THURSDAY MAY WEDNESDAY MAY
AIDS is a Civil Rights Issue
What does my soul look like? But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [a]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB) By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
Rev. Al Sharpton, Micheal Kahane, Southern Bureau Chief of AHF and Hydeia Broadbent, International HIV/AIDS activist & humanitarian. By Jimmie Davis, Jr. During the turbulent 60’s the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with a host of other dignitaries, fought for privileges – several decades later the Rev. Al Sharpton is in the trenches with Aids Healthcare Foundation [AHF] and The New Mount Olive Baptist Church (NMOBC) leading a crusade to obtain civil liberties for individuals who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
The HIV/AIDS virus continues to dismantle the lives of people from all walks of life and it just hangs around, having acquired the status of a dreaded disease that disproportionately affects the lives of African Americans more than whites. “The battle that we face is states’ rights versus the national government,” said Sharpton from the pulpit of the NMOBC, located in Fort Lauderdale. “We must always pro-
tect the minority against the moral majority.” On April 23, a town hall forum was held at the church to explore poverty, lack of insurance/education/money/unemployment/housing and being incarcerated, which are the rudiments that keep driving this epidemic forward. Sharpton says that “AIDS is a Civil Rights Issue” and we must stand together. Moreover, it’s the new theme of this campaign to enlighten
the public about everything the public needs to know about HIV/AIDS. “We must stand up for everyone’s rights,” he said. “This isn’t about who suffers the most. It’s about us rising out together.” Rising above her circumstances of being HIV positive since birth, Hydeia Broadbent, 29, International HIV/AIDS activist & humanitarian, spoke briefly during the forum about not having any medical coverage. (Cont'd on Page 9)
New tobacco ‘apology’ ads plan still excludes most Black Media By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNPA) – A revised plan for major tobacco companies to purchase court-ordered ads to admit that they deliberately misled the public about the dangers of smoking would add nine whiteowned newspapers to the list of publications carrying tobacco ‘apology’ ads but shut out more than 90 percent of Black newspapers and all Black-owned radio and television stations, according to documents filed in federal court.
JUDGE KESSLER
“If they had asked, we could have helped them develop a better plan than this,” said National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Chairman Cloves Campbell. “They didn’t consult us and the end result is that we’re back to where this process started last year. What they have put on the table is totally unacceptable.” If the NNPA files a motion in opposition to the revised plan, as expected, the judge has a number of options from which to choose, including making a final decision on the merits of the case or ordering the defendants to come up with a more comprehensive plan. After being sued by the Justice Department and the To-
Taking it to the streets
Charles Rhodes (second from left) took it to the streets, protesting outside Hollywood City Hall. By Starla Vaughns Cherin Hollywood property owner Charles Rhodes took it to the
streets, protesting outside Hollywood City Hall against discriminatory treatment by city code enforcement. Earlier
Pleading Our Own Cause
this year Rhodes settled $10,000 on a $400,000 code enforcement lien. Battling the city four years
(Cont'd on Page 9)
Local family nominates Lynn Meister, MD for ‘Spirit of Healing’ honor
bacco-Free Kids Action Fund, the major tobacco manufacturers were found guilty in 2005 of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO) when they deliberately misled the public about the dangers and addictiveness of smoking. U.S. Judge Gladys Kessler ordered them to halt the offending practices and place a series of full-page ads in newspapers and commercials on network TV during prime time for a year, reported by Target Market News to be valued between $30 million and $45 million, acknowledging their wrongdoing. (Cont'd on Page 3)
now, Rhodes believes he’s being unfairly targeted and retaliated against after writing letters to the city commission, mayor and media regarding failure to respond to calls for re-inspection of code compliance, harassment and false reporting of code violations by Hollywood’s code enforcement. This is the third time he’s picketed the city. “These fines are outrageous and it’s a pattern with some code enforcement officers. They are trying to take our property and foreclose on us. We comply with the citation and ask them to come for a reinspection, they don’t come and continue charging fines of $1,000 a day and falsely charge us with non-compliance. If we passed inspection there should be no fines at all,” says Rhodes. (Cont'd on Page 9)
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I have a friend that is constant in his belief that if he keeps love in the front of his actions, he will be alright in the eyes of God. My friend will readily tell you that he is not a saint and probably far from it. He will also tell you that, “we got to love everybody even when they do us wrong.” Mind you, my friend is not an avid church goer or one that professes to be all that religious, as-a-matterof-fact he says that he can’t get into that “religious stuff”. In more-times-than-not he startles me with some profound thoughts; as if I’m an astute student of the Word or a person of charter to judge someone else, to me it’s apparent that God is forever cleaning the grime from my hands and the stains of sin from soul. It’s a constant battle and I’ve not given up! My friend, in a recent session of uplift, spiritual insight and some humorous antidotes to daily letdowns, said to me, “You ever wonder what your soul looked like? I was looking in the mirror trying to see what mine looked like.” “What your soul looked like” I responded. “Yea if I were to pull all the skin, muscles, blood vessels and everything else off, what would I see” he said. After we both equated our looks to some new forms of zombies, we wrestled with the persona of a nonphysical appearance to that which causes us to act, react and interact with others. What does our soul look like? What appearance, if fitted into a shape or image, would reveal the outlining features of our dominant personalities?
THE MORRIS FAMILY By Valerie Morris The votes have been tallied and it is official. Dr. Lynn Meister, pediatric hematologist/ oncologist specializing in hospice and palliative care with the Memorial Healthcare System is one of five esteemed physicians being honored with 2014’s ‘Spirit of Healing’ award availing from a letter presented to the Memorial Foundation nominating committee by a local Broward County resident. The remaining four physicians being honored for the ‘Spirit of Healing’ award are: Nina Beauchesne, FACHE; Howard Berlin, MD; Stephanie Jofe, MD; Sri Sundararaman MD MS. Since 1999, the Memorial Foundation and Joe DiMaggio Hospital Foundation opened
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nominations for this award. A letter from Mitchell Eisenberg, MD, chairman to Memorial Foundation and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, listing all past recipient honorees, deadline dated, Feb. 10, 2014 states this esteemed award is given to those individuals or organizations in the community who have shown excellence in their profession, outstanding community service and commitment to the mission of the Memorial Healthcare System. This year, the honorees will be acknowledged at the ‘Circle of Friends’ Luncheon, presented by PNC Bank held May 2 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa on Ocean Drive in Hollywood, Fla. (Cont'd on Page 5) MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM),