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THURSDA THURSDAYY, DECEMBER 1 - WEDNESDA WEDNESDAYY, DECEMBER 7, 2016

U.S. Senators demand study on federal advertising in Black-Owned Media

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Five U.S. Senators have joined the fight for accountability in the federal government’s advertising practices – or lack thereof — when it comes to minority-owned news outlets.

A letter penned by the senators demands that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate the advertising habits of federal agencies.

Sens. Robert Menendez (DN.J.), Charles Schumer (DN.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), Mazie Hirono (DHawaii) and Cory Booker (DN.J.) each signed the letter.

In the new letter sent this month on United States Senate letterhead to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, a request is made that the GAO issue a report on federal advertising contracts and subcontracts with minorityowned publications, public relations firms, advertising

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is among five prominent senators to sign a letter urging accountability in the federal government’s advertising practices. This photo was taken during a panel discussion on criminal justice reform with Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

Can we be a light of hope at the top of the hill

agencies, and media companies.

“News outlets and media companies owned or published by people of color are critical to ensuring that diverse viewpoints are presented to the American people,” the letter stated.

The letter continued: “As one of the largest advertisers in the United States, the federal government should play an active role in ensuring that minority-owned media outlets have fair opportunities to compete for and be awarded federal advertising contracts.”

Menendez said that contracting opportunities through the federal marketplace have proven to be a valuable way for firms to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), applauded the new letter by the senators.

He noted the joint effort between NNPA and the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) in pushing for a new federal advertising study.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr. Sometimes there are things that wake us up in the middle of the night.

One such a time occurred recently with me and it woke me, begging the question “could I be a light at the top of the hill?”

As I lay in my bed and pondered the thought “a light at the top of the hill” my mind scurried like a field mouse running from a predator.

I thought about a boat lost at sea, franticly looking for a lighthouse. I thought about enslaved people who would rather risk their lives in an unknown wilderness searching for the light to freedom rather than to be captured and die in chains as slaves.

Just as slavery is an incapacitating stratagem that will prematurely kill its captives, so does HIV/AIDS. Unlike the most knowledgeable form of slavery, this captivity can be prevented; it doesn’t have to be a sentence to death ridiculed with a stigma used from ignorance.

As painful and debilitating as this disease is, it appears to be just like other forms of oppression in this country- its affects are most noted in people of color.

Black and Brown people seem to suffer the most,and it seems to come at the hands of a lack of finance.

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(Cont'd on Page 8)

NNPAPresident Benjamin Chavis recalls Fidel Castro’s Heroes in the Struggle: fight against Apartheid Douglas M. Brooks

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

The death of Fidel Castro has been met with varying reactions, including condolences to the fallen Cuban leader’s family by former President Jimmy Carter and President Barack Obama.

For some, like Dr. Benjamin Chavis, the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, remembrance of Castro’s reign will always include his support of the imprisoned Nelson Mandela.

Chavis vividly recalled the Cuban leader’s fearless intervention against Apartheid South Africa.

“Fidel Castro’s unprecedented contribution to liberate humanity from imperialism will live forever,” Chavis said on Sunday.

A lifelong and dedicated civil rights activist, Chavis knew first-hand the battles of Apartheid and what Castro did to assist the oppressed in South Africa. Chavis recalled the time he spent shoulder-to-shoulder with Cuban and African troops as they fought against the oppressive South African government during the 1988 “Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.”

(Cont'd on Page 8)

Cuban President Fidel Castro (second from left) and former Nigerian presidential Adviser Onyema Ugochukwu (c) at Havana, Cuba (Circa 1999).

(Wikimedia Commons)

2016 World AIDS Day Honoree This year’s World AIDS Day National Leadership recognition honoree is Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council Since 1989, Paul Kawata has served as Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), the premier organization dedicated to building leadership in communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS. He is the longest-serving executive director of any of the national HIV/AIDS organizations.

Under Paul’s guidance, NMAC has become a powerful voice in Washington, DC for over 3,000 HIV/AIDS organizations nationwide, and provides a comprehensive array of technical assistance programs and services; conferences; training; and printed and online resource materials. Recently, NMAC has deepened its mission to “lead by race,” which emphasizes normalizing discussions about race within the HIV movement, bending the curve of new HIV infections, and retaining people of color living with HIV in care.

In 1987, along with being arrested in front of the White House protesting President Reagan’s abysmal response to the AIDS crisis, Paul and a few other activists founded the National Minority AIDS Council in part in response to the American Public Health Association’s first AIDS workshop, held without any speakers of color.

Prior to joining NMAC, Paul served as founding executive director of the National AIDS Network, the first national organization dedicated to developing the capability and effectiveness of community-based leaders in the fight against AIDS, from 1985-1989. On the heels of the creation of the “Denver Principles,” a series of policies written by and for individuals living with AIDS, he was instrumental in the founding of NAPWA, the National Association of People With AIDS. During his tenure, Paul has planned and implemented three consecutive, annual National Skills Building Conferences—the first of their kind in the world—as well as the US Conference on AIDS (2016 was the 20th anniversary of the USCA). Under his leadership, he recruited the Ad Council to work on the inaugural national HIV/AIDS public service campaign. Paul also organized

Pleading Our Own Cause

WWW.

KAWATA and supported the National AIDS Fund, the single largest private philanthropic partnership in the history of the epidemic.

Join us at the National AIDS Memorial Grove on Dec. 1 as we honor this extraordinary leader.

For more information about the World AIDS Day National Observance.

The Black AIDS Institute’s Heroes in the Struggle Gala and Award Celebration honors, in a star-studded event and photographic tribute, individuals who, over the past year, have made a heroic contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Below, the first in a series profiling the 2016 honorees.

In 2014, when President Barack Obama appointed Douglas M. Brooks director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), he said that Brook was “uniquely suited to the task of helping to achieve the goal of an AIDSfree generation, which is within our reach.” For Brooks, a lauded HIV/AIDS policy authority and a Black gay male living with HIV for 26 years, the significance of his appointment was immense.

As the first openly gay, HIVpositive African-American man chosen to lead the fight to eradicate HIV/AIDS, a disease that disproportionately affects Black gay and bisexual men, Brooks entered the ONAP jobthe highest HIV/AIDS-fighting post in the nation-with exceptional empathy, insight and concern.

“Having been diagnosed with HIV, living with HIV and being on treatment certainly strengthens my ability to understand what people living with HIV experience. It strengthens my resolve to prevent other people from getting HIV,” says Brooks.

Carrying Out the Master Plan As the nation’s “AIDS czar,” Brooks worked closely with federal, state and local officials to produce the National HIV/

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Douglas M. Brooks, MSW, Former Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy.

AIDS Strategy for the United States: Updated to 2020-a revision of the nation’s first-ever HIV/AIDS strategy, developed by the Obama administration and implemented in 2010which details principles, priorities and actions to guide the national response to the HIV epidemic.

Brooks led the strategy’s execution, working to reduce new HIV infections, improve health outcomes for PLWHA and eliminate HIV health disparities in the U.S. This included overseeing the White House’s first meetings on HIV stigma and HIV in the South and pushing the administration to address gay and bisexual men’s HIV/AIDS needs as well as disparities faced by Southern Black and LGBT communities. He was also instrumental in increasing access to Truvada, the pill providing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

(Cont'd on Page 8) MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)

PAGE 2 • DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016

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Civil Rights groups furious in opposition to Jeff Sessions nod for U.S .S.. Attorney General The first sentence from the statement by Color of Change Executive Director Rashad Robinson that was released hours after the news broke that President-Elect Donald Trump had chosen the Alabama Senator as his Attorney General said it all.

“There’s no other way to say it: Jeff Sessions is a racist.”

The statement continued: “Our question for members of the United States Senate is simple: do they support racism, or do they not? In 1986, the Republican-controlled Judiciary

Committee refused to confirm Sessions to the federal bench.

In 2017, the Senate should be just as unequivocal: “no” to racism means “no” to Jeff Sessions.”

“We are deeply disturbed, but not at all surprised, by Donald Trump’s choice of Senator Jeff Sessions, a racist, misogynistic and bigoted man to serve as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer,” wrote Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet Action.

“If you have nostalgia for the days when Blacks kept quiet, gays were in the closet, immi-

grants were invisible and women stayed in the kitchen, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is your man. No senator has fought harder against the hopes and aspirations of Latinos, immigrants, and people of color than Sen. Sessions,” wrote Rep. Louis Gutierrez (DIll.).

Ari Berman wrote in The Nation magazine that, “Donald Trump chose a White nationalist as chief strategist and a White nationalist sympathizer as Attorney General.”

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G. K. Butterfield (DN.C.) also weighed-in on the Trump’s choice for Attorney General.

“We face an alarming choice in the selection of Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as the chief law enforcer for the United States of America,” said Butterfield. “Senator Sessions’ civil rights record is appalling and should disqualify him from Senate confirmation…the Congressional Black Caucus stands ready to oppose Senator Sessions’ confirmation as we adamantly believe his appointment will set us back in the advancement of civil rights and race relations across the country.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Voting RRights ights AActivists ctivists speak on the aft ermath of the 2016 Elections aftermath

By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor) During a recent forum on the 2016 presidential election on Capitol Hill, voting rights advocates and civil rights leaders expressed concerns about the role that restrictive voting laws might have played in the outcome. The forum also tackled the problems faced by African Americans and Latinos on Election Day. “I did not get a call from any of the White voting districts,” said civil rights attorney Barbara Arnwine, the president of the Transformative Justice Coalition.

Some panelists even speculated that the election was stolen due to the weakened Voting Rights Act inability to fully protect the right to vote.

“I think what happened in this election is that voter suppression and manipulation and the voting rolls and every other kind of ID law — I think we saw, basically, a stolen election,” said Ben Ptashnik, the execu-

tive director of the National Election Defense Coalition.

Ptashnik told the packed room on Capitol Hill that Donald Trump was right when he said that the election was rigged, but not in the way the Republican candidate, now President-elect had perceived it. Ptashnik also spoke on the issue of voting machines being proprietary in such a way that only allow the vendors to fix them, if necessary.

Rev. Dr. William Barber, who led the “Moral Mondays” effort in North Carolina as the president of the NAACP’s branch in that state, had a lot to say about how the strategy against voter suppression has to change.

Though Donald Trump won the state over Hillary Clinton, voters in North Carolina tossed During a panel discussion on the 2016 elections on Capitol their Republican governor from Hill, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North office on November 8.

Carolina NAACP, expressed his thoughts on the voter “We have to have a grown suppression tactics that were used during the 2016 up conversation about race and presidential election. Photo taken during a NAACP class in America,” Barber start- demonstration on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in ed. “We need to have a moral Washington, D.C. in June 2015. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA) revival — people are hungry for it.” off the top. You have 13 gover- states.”

Though Democratic presiBarber continued: “We have nors who control 13 boards of elections.

You control 31 perdential candidate Hillary Clinto do some deep dive work in ton won the popular vote, cent of the House of Representhe South. Never forget it: 13 Trump won the election based tatives and you control 26 memformer confederate states, you control 181 electoral votes right bers of the Senate with just 13 on the Electoral College.

An emotional Ptashnik urged audience members to “take Donald Trump seriously and resist” what is about to happen.

Author and senior contributing writer for “The Nation” Ari Berman, who wrote the book “Give Us the Ballot,” also participated in the panel.

CNN contributor and former communications director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (D-Vt.) presidential campaign Symone Sanders moderated the panel.

Members of Congress who attended included Reps. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Bobby Scott (DVa.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) speaks at an event in Washington, D.C. (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

What Health Equity Means to NMAC

By Paul Kawata NMAC’s mission is to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV end the epidemic in America. Health equity is about obtaining theh highest level of health for all communities.

To achieve the highest level of health in the fight against HIV, all people living with the virus should be retained in care and on treatment thatthat reduces their viral load. Everyone who is sexually actives should be retained in care, regularly tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and educated or prescribed PrEP (Pre-exposure pro-phylaxis).

Nobody should be forced on treatment, but in reality, NMAC is more concerned about the racial bias that stops or denies medications, healthcare or support services. Race is the big divide in America; is it any surprise that it is also the big divide in HIV? We may be in the final stages in our fight against HIV. It looks hopeful in Boston, San Francisco and New York. But what about Oakland? What about parts of the South? What about East LA or Compton? Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled for Boston, San Francisco and New York; however, it’s not over until the same can be said for all communities.

To make that happen, we all need to be on the same page about health equity. The science is now unequivocal - people infected with HIV should begin treatment as soon as possible. Yet this message seems to have missed large segments of people living with HIV. How else can we explain why certain communities continue to see increases in new HIV infections while others have stabilized or fallen? Why do certain communities have shorter lifespans or a greater disease burden? Delays in seeking care and treatment should be the exception, not the norm. Your race, gender, gender identity, geography or who you love should not be the reason HIV goes untreated.

In the early days of the epidemic, the data was not clear about the best time to begin treatment or even what treatment to start.

Don’t use those old excuses as a reason to wait. Don’t let the old fears that surrounded earlier generations of treatment be the reason to not stay in care or on therapy. Only by fighting for healthcare and treatment can we bring the promise of PEP, PrEP and TasP to all highly impacted communities.

I Pledge to Support Health Equity: Domestically, only 40% of Americans living with HIV have an undetectable viral load. It’s time to significantly decrease America’s viral load. At this time PEP, PrEP and TasP are the best options to extend the lives of people living with HIV and to stop the spread of the virus. We can achieve both of these goals and create a pathway to ending the epidemic.

Yours in the Struggle

HIV may hide in tissues, even after treatment HIV patients who’ve been treated with antiretroviral drugs still have the AIDScausing virus in their tissues, a new study suggests.

Treatment with antiretrovirals eliminates detectable levels of HIV in the blood and controls the disease. But the new findings suggest that HIV in the tissues may not cause AIDS but could contribute to the development of unrelated conditions, such as cancer and heart disease, according to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers.

“Looking in tissues of treated HIV patients, we found that HIV in some tissues did not appear to be affected by antiretrovirals,” said study senior author Dr. Michael McGrath.

“Notably we saw no evidence of drug resistance, which we would have seen if the virus had been exposed to medications,” said McGrath. He is UCSF professor of laboratory medicine at the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource, which is supported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

This finding is expected in untreated patients, but it was a surprise to see it in virally suppressed patients, he added.

“Our results suggest that HIV in varied tissue compartments can be untouched by the medications,” McGrath said in a university news release.

The researchers analyzed autopsy tissue samples from five HIV patients who took antiretrovirals and found undetectable levels of the virus in their blood.

However, the virus had evolved and migrated to brain, kidney, spleen and other tissues similar to the way it does in HIV patients who don’t take antiretroviral drugs, the study authors said.

The study appears in the October issue of the Journal of Virology.

It’s possible that active, untreated virus in tissues could be driving diseases unrelated to AIDS “that are increasingly the cause of death for virally suppressed patients,” McGrath said.

“In addition, our findings suggest that strategies to ‘cure’ HIV infection, which are centered on treatment of blood, must consider targeting tissue-based sites of HIV,” he added.

By Robert Preidt - SOURCE: University of California, San Francisco, news release, Oct. 20, 2016 HealthDay. Copyright (c) 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

News stories are provided by HealthDay and do not reflect the views of MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or federal policy.

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Community Digest

DECEMBER 1- DECEMBER 7, 2016 • PAGE 3

Publix is Proud to Support Community News WHERE SHOPPING IS A PLEASURE

Event

SOS Children's Villages Florida is hosting their annual Spirit Light up the Village event on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 from 3 to 5 p.m., at Village, 3681 N.W. 59 Place, Coconut Creek, Fla. For additional info contact Dawn Seay at (954) 420-5030 ext. 2003

Event

Chi Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs, Dr, Suite A, Coral Springs, Fla.

Walk

Broward House invites our community to come together for a, World AIDS Day Vigil & Remembrance Walk on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 at 6:30 at Hagen Park, 2020 Wilton Drive.

Ending with a vigil at The Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Hwy., Wilton Manors, Fla. Free parking can be found from 6 to 10 p.m., at Hagen Park and Richardson Park. For additional info call (954) 522-4749

Event

The Kiwanis Club of Central Broward invites you to our Annual “Taste of Kiwanis”, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at West Ken Lark Park, 1321 N.W. 33 Ave., Lauderhill, Fla. Food, fun and live entertainment. Donations to benefit scholarship and service projects for children and youth.

For more info contact Esther Baylor, at (954) 295-2039 or Veronica Phillips at (954) 2574199.

Happenings at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderale, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-6210. * The Theatre of Creative Consciousness of the Arts, Inc. (TCCA) invites you to join them in their mission to fight the wide spread of HIV/AIDS in urban communities of South Florida, hard hit by the epidemic, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 at 3 p.m. For additional info call Alfreda Upshaw at (954) 5339281. *Musical Paintbrush Productions of the Arts, Inc., presents the Second annual South Florida Showcase 2016, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at www.eventbrite.com. *The Christmas Chocolate Nutcracker on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets on sale at the AARLCC Bookstore for more info go to www.ashanticulturalarts.com or (945) 482-1553 or (954) 3576282. * Glenda All Into One, Inc., Free Family Event Health Education, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. For more info contact Glenda Oliver at (954) 593-7551 or Kimberly Watson at (954) 632-2135.

Class Activities

Attention the Classes of 1971 and 1973 · Annual Toy Drive on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 15, and 16, from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Black Firefighters Hall, 309 S.W. 26 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. We will began our Annual Toy Drive. Accepted donation of wrapped and labeled toys for girl and boys, preschool to second grade. · Class Christmas Holiday Party on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016. Further info TBA.

Open House

Book Signing

Alean M. Ford an author and educator, will have a book signing and sharing her Ebook, Tell Them That I Love Them: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016 at 3 p.m., at the Barnes and Nobel, 2790 N. University Dr., Coral Spring, Fla. For additional info call (954) 344-6291.

Yard Sale

The community is invited an Annual Holiday Open House, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016 from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Southwest Focal Point Community Center, 301 N.W. 103 Ave., Pembroke Pines, Fla. For info call (954) 4506888.

Yard Sale giving back to the community all spaces are FREE, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Northwest Federal Woman’s Club, 2161 N.W. 19 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Reserve your space contact (754) 224-7317 or email barnie1@gmail.com

Leasing/Rental

The

Leasing/Rental Space now available at Midtown Commerce Center affordable executive office leasing and rental opportunities are now available at Fort Lauderdale’s Midtown Commerce Center. The Midtown is located at 1033 N.W. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info visit dickeyinc.com or call (954) 467-6822. You can also follow us @Midtown6 on IG, @themidtownmcc on Twitter and Facebook.

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Celebration

Celebration

A Holiday in Sistrunk, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 from 2 to 6 p.m., at YAA ArtHouse & Megaphone, 821 N.W. 12 Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. If you are interested in being part of the performances contact Marie Huntley at mhuntleyocl@gmail.com or Arely Lozano-Baugh abaugh@YMCASouthFlorida.org at (954) 523-4733.

The Areawide Council on Aging of Broward County will celebrate its 36th Annual Installation Dinner on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2017, from 6 to 7 p.m., at Renaissance Fort Lauderdale-Plantation Hotel, 1230 S. Pine Island Rd., Plantation, Fla. For cost and additional info contact Cheryl Morrow at (954) 745-9567, ext. 10296 or Denise at (954) 745-9567, ext. 10216.

For Sale

Our First Family 2017 Calendar for Sale. For order & special packages call Lavoris at (954) 4784662.

PAGE 4 • DECEMBER 1- DECEMBER 7, 2016

Opinion

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Westside Gazette The Westside Gazette, under the Management of BI-ADs, Inc., reserves the right to publish Views and Opinions by Contributing Writers may not necessarily reflect those of the Staff and Management of The Westside Gazette Newspaper and are solely the product of the responsible individual(s) who submit comments published in this newspaper.

Hastings’ statement on the Change in the wind for Cuba? death of Fidel Castro

By Don Valentine

(FORT LAUDERDALE, FL) -Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (DFL) released the following statement on the death of Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro: “For the first time in decades Cuba has awoken to a world free of the tyrant Fidel Castro, who spent his lifetime brutalizing his people. Fidel Castro abused the human rights of Cuban citizens and watched Cuba sink further and further into poverty. Even as families were torn apart and millions fled to the shores of America through whatever means possible, the Castro regime refused to yield power.

“The current ruling regime is still governing the island with an iron grip.

It is time to bring hope where hope has

been limited, and it is time for the people of Cuba to choose a government through free and fair elections.

“The United States must continue to pressure the current regime to promote a free and open democratic society that allows for political, social, and economic freedom for all.”

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings serves as Senior Member of the House Rules Committee, Ranking Democratic Member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and Co-Chairman of the Florida Delegation.

Democrats could lose even more in 2018 Julianne Malveaux says that Democrats must start now to educate and encourage people to turn out for the midterm elections.

By Julianne Malveaux (NNPA Newswire Columnist)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES The Westside Gazette welcomes your letters. Letters must be signed with name clearly legible along with a phone number and complete address. No unsigned or anonymous letters will be considered for publication. The Westside Gazette reserves the right to edit letters. The letters should be 500 words or less.

The apprehension that I felt upon Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election has only increased as he has announced the appointments of his chief of staff, strategist, and cabinet members. As of this writing, he has mainly announced the selection of older White men, including the racist, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, to lead the Justice Department. The senator’s use of highly inflammatory racial rhetoric (including describing the NAACP as an “un-American” organization, and expressing support for the KKK) prevented his confirmation to the U.S. District Court in 1986.

Now, he will be charged with law enforcement in our nation.

Equally troubling has been the selection of Stephen Bannon, his campaign chairman, as chief White House strategist and senior counselor. Bannon is the Executive Chairman of Breitbart News, a news website that has been the home of the alt-right, the source of lies, hate, nastiness and racist rhetoric. President Barack Obama had to walk away from Minister Jeremiah Wright because one of his sermons was considered racist by some Whites. Trump openly embraces racists and is applauded for it.

The position that Bannon will hold does not require Senate confirmation, while the position that Sessions will be nominated for does. With 54 Republicans in the Senate, Sessions is almost certain to be nominated. Hopefully Democrats have retained enough of a backbone to raise questions about Sessions’ racism. Senate newcomers Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) may be among the first to raise the questions. Still, Republicans will have the votes to confirm anyone they want to confirm.

Welcome to the age of Trump.

Will Republicans get more of an edge in the Senate when we go to the polls in 2018? Thirty-three Senate seats will be up for grabs then. Republicans hold eight of them. Independents Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine), who caucus and vote with Democrats are both likely to be candidates for re-election. A whopping 23 seats currently held by Democrats could be flipped. If some of the states that went Republican in this year’s election can be tilted, Republicans can widen their margin in the Senate.

The Trump campaign (and its affiliated super PACs) have as much as $60 million to spend, and can use it to build ground operations in states where Democrats closely lost this year.

(Hillary and her affiliated super PACs may have as much as $70 million to spend). Democrats lost Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona by less than five percent. Incumbent Democrats Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) are all in states that Republicans won in 2016.

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Fidel passes on at the age of 90.

What will this portend for our island neighbors. More importantly, will this event affect the lives of the hundred of thousands of South Floridian Cuban Americans?

A logical analysis would be that this will be a presage for the status quo to go on in Cuba. Raul Castro, his younger brother, has been in charge for nearly a decade. Notice the Cuban regime has made less than marginal progress for latitude to a more open democratic society. Given the Castro genes surviving cigars and Cuban rum to make it to 90, Raul is also going to be there for awhile. Further, the Cuban military basks in the comfort of the current setting. That will not change with out a major struggle.

The current administration’s overtures to reduce our tension with Cuba is a step in the right direction. The big concern is that in less than 60 days a new administration takes office. No one can predict what that fragile regime will do. Will it erode the start to progress and communication with Cuba? Rational minds would argue the amplification of chances for the noncommunist world to interact with the Cubans is positive. There is no downside to additional interaction with the rest of the global community. His-

The Gantt Report The fidel Blacks know

By Lucius Gantt When politicians of any nation disagree with or hate another political leader, the haters are quick to call their adversaries “thugs, tyrants or dictators”.

Whenever western powers want to invade, colonize, rob or destroy, they justify it by calling the political leader of that country a despot.

The way “El Comandante”, the late leader of the Cuban Revolution is being described by the imperialist press is biased, one-sided and in many cases, flat out wrong!

When the legislators and media discuss Cuba and talk about “democracy”, they are talking about capitalistic democracy where the rich get rich by taking advantage of the poor. Cuba is a different democracy. It is a socialist democracy.

A dictator is a ruler with absolute authority. Well, what is the difference between the Queen of England, the Queen of the Netherlands, the King of Saudi Arabia, the King of Jordan or the former Shah of Iran, who all have similar power, and Fidel Castro? If the west likes you, you are good and if they don’t you are bad.

If you threaten to kill the United States President or plot to overthrow the United States government, you will be arrested and jailed. If you talk about Cuba’s leader and you are arrested, you are being denied freedom of speech!

If you only get your news from social media, the imperialist press or people who voluntarily, perhaps, left Cuba and now call yourself an “exile”, I can understand why you would feel some kind of way.

But when I hear the phrase “Make America great again” it makes me think about the good old days in Cuba that the media and politicians will never tell you about.

I believe it is safe to say that Cuba was once a mobster and gangster paradise, so to speak.

Some of the people that once had wealth and owned many of the casinos, hotels and other lucrative businesses in Cuba have familiar names.

tory shows that this exchange of thoughts helps break the walls of oppression. It happened in East Germany and in the U.S. during the civil rights era in the 60’s.

Given the facilitations of the Trump administration, it would appear that the future will be as dark as ever for Cuba. Trump has been very clear that he will overturn President Obama's administration’s executive overtures toward Cuba. There are people that would argue that Mr. Trump’s attention would be better served studying up on foreign policy dynamics. Not a bad idea since he has only taken 2 of the requisite Presidential Daily Briefings [P.D.B] since being elected. This briefing is given to the “Sitting or President Elect” to keep them current on all world hot spots. Given that cavalier approach from the President Elect, do not anticipate any immediate change for Cuba.

Don’t act like you’ve never heard of Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Luciano urged all of his “friends” to meet with him in Cuba at a meeting called the “Havana Conference”. People that met with him included Meyer Lansky (whose silent business partner was former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar), Joseph Lanza, Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, Al Capone's cousins: Charlie, Rocco and Joseph Fishetti , Albert The Mad Hatter” Anastasia, Vito Genovese and a long list of others.

Of course, these guys came to Cuba to restore “democracy” and to enable “free speech”. They would never exploit the Cuban citizens even if they were allowed and encouraged to do so

by President Batista.

So, many of the people that lost businesses after the Cuban revolution, were friends and cohorts of Batista.

Now what did Fidel to for Blacks and Africans? Well, before Castro, there was rigid and very harsh discrimination and segregation against Black Cubans by the government. After Castro gained leadership, those government policies were ended.

Fidel dispatched thousands and thousands of Cuban soldiers to join Africans in their fight for African liberation from Western racists and colonialists while the country you love looked the other way.

When Castro came to New York and was unhappy where he was staying, he gathered his entourage, left and stayed at Harlem’s Theresa Hotel, showing his support for Black business.

When the government you love was slow to assist Blacks after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Fidel offered to send doctors and others to help and assist hurricane victims, but President George Bush refused the offer.

Fidel gave amnesty to Joanne Chesimard, Assata Shakur, a sort of Black Robin Hood, who was active in the Black Liberation Army, a group far more revolutionary than Huey Newton’s Black Panther Party.

It doesn’t bother me that some Cuban Americans celebrated the passing of Fidel Castro but they shouldn’t be mad with me and other Black and African people for considering him a friend and supporter. (Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” onAmazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net.

And, if you want to, “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook.)

Is the Black Community Under Siege with President-Elect Trump?

By Roger Caldwell As President-Elect Donald Trump continues to announce and make nominations for his administration, it appears to be done under a veil of secrecy.

Trump won the election without a hundred percent support from the Republican Party, and he believes that he can do what he pleases. His campaign was unprecedented, and from his perspective, he is following the will of the people.

Even though many of the policies Trump supported, such as the stop and frisk program, which targeted the majority of African Americans and Latinos, was discriminatory, he may try to reinstitute this program across the country. No one knows how Trump will manage the country, but equal protection under the law may become a major battle in the halls of Congress and the courts.

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment, which addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the Civil War. This is one of the most litigated amendments of the Constitution, and is the foundation of many landmark decisions.

This is a very powerful law and there are several clauses such as the Citizenship Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause, that has prevented federal, state and local government officials from depriving its citizens of civil rights, discrimination, and liberty.

With President-Elect Trump and his Chief White House strategist Stephen Bannon in his ear every day, many of their extreme ideas could challenge many clauses in the fourteen amendments. Stephen Bannon is a supporter of Richard Spencer who coined the term “alt-right.” This term purports that White identity is under attack, and they must build White coalitions to survive this attack.

Spencer says, “Someone who is really alt-right recognizes the reality of race, and the fact that race matters, and that race is an essential component of identity.” There is now a new coalition in America, and the foundation is based on White identity. White identity is nothing new in America, because the KKK is an outgrowth of White identity and White backlash.

America has a history of White backlash, when Blacks and minorities are making progress in politics, economics, and leadership positions. From 1880’s into the 1960’s many states enforced segregation and discrimination through Jim Crow laws. After the Civil War, Blacks held major positions in the federal government and many different state and local legislatures.

Southern Blacks lost the right to vote and hold government positions in 1877, and in 1894, Congress ceased appropriations for federal marshals to protect Black voters from intimidation and threats. In 1901, the last Black representative lost his seat, and it was 30 years before another Black was able to win another congressional seat.

Many Blacks think this could never happen in 2016, but Republicans, the alt-right, and White supremacist organizations want Trump and the Republican Party to stay in power for eight years and beyond. They are willing to suppress and obstruct the vote, keeping Blacks and minorities from voting.

In Newark, New Jersey, from November 16-20, 2016, there were three thousand Black activists, celebrities, scholars, and many foreign dignitaries at the Black World Conference.

The Black World Conference was focused on seven key areas: 1. Pan Africanism & Reparations, 2. Religion, Spirituality & Liberation, 3. Culture & Education, 4. Economic Development, 5. Mobilizing Hip Hop and Cultural Workers, 6. The War of Drugs affects on the Black family, and 7.

Sustaining and Enhancing the Black Family.

This was a very powerful event, but there was very little discussion on the importance of voting in America in 2016 and beyond. Blacks are losing their political power, because we are failing to vote as a block and build minority coalitions. Blacks are under siege and attack, so what are we going to do about our conditions and voting?

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AF amily T hat Prays T ogether, Stays T ogether Family That Together, Together

Church Directory

Worship T his and Every Sunday at the Church of Your Choice This

Bethel Missionary Baptist Church 2211 N.W. 7th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33061 Church: (954) 583-9368 Email: bethelmbchurchfl@att.net

Reverend Jimmy L. English PASTOR WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Worship ............................................................. 8 a.m. & 11 a.m.

Sunday School ........................................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday (Prayer Service & Bible Study) ............................... 7:30 a.m.

Saturday (Women Bible Study) ............................................................ 8 a.m.

"Baptized Believers working together to do the will of God"

Westside Gazette New Mount Olive Baptist Church 400 N.W. 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale 33311 (954) 463-5126 ● Fax: (954) 525-9454 CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Monday - Friday 8:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Marcus D. Davidson, Senior Pastor WORSHIP SERVICES & BIBLE STUDY Sunday .................................................... 7:15 a.m. 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ............................................................................ 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday Noonday Service .................................. 12:00-12:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting ............................................ 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study ................................................... 7:00 p.m.

Where the kingdom of God is increased through Fellowship.

Leadership, Ownership and Worship F.L.O.W. To Greatness!

Williams Memorial CME

St Paul United Methodist Church 244 S.E. Second Avenue Deerfield Beach, Florida 33341 (954) 427-9407 EMAIL EMAIL:: Stpaulmeth@bellsouth.net WEBSITE WEBSITE:: saintpauldeerfield.com

Rev. Dr. Jimmie L. Brown Senior Pastor

SERVICES

Sunday School .................................................................................... 10 a.m.

Sunday Worship ................................................................................ 11 a.m.

Bible Study (Tuesday) ....................................................... 11 a.m. & 7.p.m.

Obituaries James C. Boyd Funeral Home Harris Chapel United Methodist Church Rev. Stanley Melek, M.Div E-MAIL:stanley.melek@flumc.org 2351 N.W. 26th Street Oakland Park, Florida 33311 Church Telephone: (954) 731-0520

SERVICES Sunday Worship ................................................. 7:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday School .............................................................................. 9:00 a.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ........................................... 11a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

GRAHAM Funeral services for the late Mary Graham 99 were held Nov. 26 at New Mount Olive Baptist Church with Rev. Frank Kennedy, Jr officiating.

Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens (South).

PHILIPPE Funeral services for the late Solivert Philippe - 71 were held Nov. 26 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Pasteur Hilton Daniels officiating.

Mount Calvary Baptist Church

800 N.W. 8th Avenue Pompano Beach, Florida 33060 Church Telephone: (954) 943-2422 Church Fax: (954) 943-2186 E-mail Address: Mtcalvarypompano@bellsouth.net

Reverend Anthony Burrell, Pastor SCHEDULE OF SERVICES New Member Orientation ........................... 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School ................................................ 9:30 a.m.

Worship Service ........................................ 11:00 a.m.

WEDNESDAY Prayer Meeting ............................................... 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study ..................................................... 7:00 p.m.

THOMPSON Funeral services for the late Horace Earl Thompson - 96 were held Nov. 23 at Victory Church with Pastor Randy Brock and Bishop Donavan Dyer officiating. Interment: Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell Fl.

McWhite's Funeral Home

SUNDAY

"Doing God's Business God's Way, With a Spirit of Excellence"

Mount Hermon A.M.E. Church Reverend Henry E. Green, Jr., Pastor 401 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 Phone: (954) 463-6309 FAX 954 522-4113 Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Email infor@mthermonftl.com

SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICES Worship Service ..................................................................... 7:30 & 10:30 a.m.

Fifth Sunday ONLY .................................................................................... 10 a.m.

Church School ........................................................................................ 9:15 a.m.

BIBLE STUDY: Wednesday ....................................................................... 10 a.m.

Gems & Jewels Ministry Senior Wednesday Wednesday (Bible Study) .................................................... 12 Noon & 7 - 8 p.m.

Daily Prayer Line ...................................................................................... 6 a.m.

(712)432-1500 Access Code296233#

ALEXIS Funeral services for the late Locile Alexis 119 were held Nov. 26 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Fr. Emerson Pierre officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

BROWN Funeral services for the late William Elleston Brown 79 were held Nov. 26 at Berean Church of God with Bishop Dwight Powell officiating.

Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home FREEMAN Funeral services for the late Katherine Wilcox Freeman – 78 were held Nov. 26 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Dr. James B. Darling, Jr officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

GRIGSBY Funeral services for the late Loyce Ida Grigsby - 75 were held Nov.27 at United Church of Christ Fort Lauderdale with Rev. Patrick Roger officiating. Interment: Parklawn Memorial Park, Rockville, MD. POSTELL Funeral services for the late Emily Newbold Postell – 97 were held Nov. 26 at St. Christopher Episcopal Church. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Harris in “Barney Miller” and Shepherd Derrial Book in “Firefly,” died at the age of 71.

According to the Associated Press, Glass died on Friday of respiratory failure, his agent, Jeffrey Leavett, confirmed.

“Ron was a private, gentle and caring man,” said Leavett.

1161 NW 29th Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33311 (954) 581-0455 ● Fax: (954) 581-4350 www.mtzionmissionarybapt.com

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Dr. James B. Darling, Jr., Pastor/Teacher WORSHIP SERVICES

But be doers of the Word - James 1:22 nkjv - “A Safe Haven, and you can get to Heaven from here”

New Birth Baptist Church The Cathedral of Faith International Bishop Victor T. Curry, M.Min., D.Div. Senior Pastor/Teacher 2300 N.W. 135th Street Miami, Florida 33167

ORDER OF SERVICES Sunday Worship ........................................................ 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Sunday School ....................................................................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday (Bible Study) ......................................................................................... 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ............................................................................... 10:45 a.m.

1-800-254-NBBC * (305) 685-3700 (o) *(305) 685-0705 (f) www.newbirthbaptistmiami.org

Death Notice 2016 has been a year of shocking and heartbreaking deaths—and now we’ve lost Ron Glass. The veteran actor,

“PRAYER IS THE ANSWER” 644-646 NW 13th Terrace Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 (954) 462-5711(Ministry Office Line) (954) 462-8222(Pastor’s Direct Line) Email: wm_cme@bellsouth.net (Church} pastorCal50@yahoo.com (Pastor)

Rev. Cal Hopkins.

M.Div) Senior Pastor/Teacher

The WITNESS of “The WILL” Sunday Worship Experiences ................................................................ 7:45 and 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ................................................................................................................. 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday Night Triumph {Prayer, Praise and Power} Prayer Meeting ................................................................................................................ 7:00 p.m.

Bible Study ........................................................................................................................ 7:30 p.m.

We STRIVE to PROVIDE Ministries that matter TODAY to Whole Body of Christ, not only the Believers, but also for those stranded on the “Jericho Road”!

“Celebrating over 85 Years of FAITH and FAVOR! Come to the WILL ... We’ll show You the WAY: Jesus the Christ!”

Q & A: What Does Reverend Deal Say? On a recent Q&A article that was written in the Westside Gazette on the week of November 3, 2016 through November 9, 2016, entitled ’The antichrist is alive and kicking’ we will share a response from a reader. We are very pleased when we receive feedback from you. So, we are encouraging you to con-tinue your spiritual journey with us through questions, suggestions and concerns.

Mr. Benjamin McCay, Benjaminmccay@gmail.com, writes: Hello Pastor Deal, I saw your article about the spirit of the antichrist being alive and kicking. Do you believe the man and the beast are also on the Earth? I do. He may already be in the spotlight without being specifically called the man of sin, or about to rise, but I do believe he is here, there are too many prophecies being fulfilled for him not to be.

With this year being year 5777 on the Hebrew calendar I believe it will be a year unlike anything we have seen before. Even with that being said I trust in Jesus to always show me the way and I have faith that He will protect us because the bible says that we are not appointed for wrath. Although the tribulations in Revelation 6 are not wrath and we will face them and are facing them, we can always count on the Lord Jesus Christ in all ways. :) But Pastor, I am messaging you for fellowship and also to say that I truly do believe that we are living in the Revelation. Jesus has blessed me with dreams of the rapture and of the great and terrible day of the Lord and I believe they have come from Him as the details are unforgettable, they have been engraved into my mind.

We must be prepared with our oil and be as the watchers on the wall and warn others, not to spread fear, nor to cause strife, but to honestly and whole heartedly invite others to the great wedding between Christ and His church and to teach others to be as wise men prepared with their oil. God bless you Pastor Deal.

Reverend David Deal is the senior pastor at Every Christian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Reverend Deal can be reached in care of the spiritual editor of the Westside Gazette, 545 N.W. Seventh Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33311; or email David.Deal55@gmail.com

Mt. Hermon invites"All who Labor"

A Family That Prays Together, Stays Together

Rest In Power: ‘Barney Miller’ and ‘Firefly’ actor known for his Emmy-noRon Glass dead at 71 best minated role of DetectiveRon

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church

Sunday Worship Service .............................................................................. 8:00 & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ............................................................................................................... 10:00 a.m.

Communion Service (1st Sunday) ......................................................................... 11:00 a.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting ........................................................................... 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study ................................................................................... 7:00 p.m.

Saturday (2nd & 4th) Christian Growth & Orientation .................................. 8:30 a.m.

DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016 • PAGE 5

Mr. Elton Nesbitt, Sr. 92 died on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in Wuesthoff Hospice - Melbourne, Fla.

NEW JERUSALEM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, INC. -- Accepting resumes for Pastor Candidates must be called by God and demonstrate the qualities of 1Timothy 3:1-8.Subject to background checks.

Resumes accepted from Nov. 16, 2016 thru Dec. 16, 2016 @ 5:00 PM Please send all resumes to: New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, 1107 N.W. 29TH Avenue,Fort Lauderdale,Florida 33311-- Attention: Steering Committee

By Ms. Linda Jones December 11, 2016 10:30 a.m. Mt. Hermon A.M.E. Church located 401 N.W. Seventh Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is excited to host a worship service entitled, “For All Ye that Labor.”

The program is to show its appreciation and gratitude to those persons who provide service and sacrifice to our community.

We look forward to honoring our policeman, fireman, teachers, nurses and others who on a day to day basis ex-

hibit strength, honor and integrity in performing their daily task. We are inviting, “All who Labor” and the entire Fort Lauderdale community to this worship service.

Mt. Hermon A.M.E. founded in 1906, is the third oldest church in Fort Lauderdale and was recently listed by the Fort Lauderdale Visitors and Conventions Bureau as a historical site for the City. Rev. Henry E. Green serves as its Senior Pastor. For more information contact the church office at (954) 463-6309.

PAGE 6 • DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016

Westside Gazette

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Westside Gazette

DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016 • PAGE 7

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis rates are at an all-time high in the U.S.

By Anna Almendrala The Huffington Post The U.S. is backsliding on progress against sexually transmitted infections, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Health Statistics for Black American Men Concerning health statistics observed among Black men

By Jerry Kennard Black men in the United States suffer worse health than any other racial group in America. For example, as a group, Black men have the lowest life expectancy and the highest death rate compared to both men and womenof other ra-cial and ethnic groups.

Discrepancies in health statistics for the more than 17 million Black men when compared to others highlight a great need to better address their causes.

There are a number of reasons that can be pointed to as causes for the issues of poor health among Black men. Racial discrimination, high rates of incarceration, unemployment, a lack of affordable health services, poor health education, cultural barriers, poverty, access to health insurance, and insufficient medical and social services catering to Black men all negatively affect quality of life and health.

Here are some of the sobering health statistics for Black men in the U.S.

What is HIV andAIDS? HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It’s the virus that causes HIV infection.

AIDS means Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

HIV is transmitted (spread) through the blood, semen, genital fluids, or breast milk of a person infected with HIV. Having unprotected sex or sharing needles and syringes with a person infected with HIV are the most common ways HIV is transmitted.

An infected person can have different amounts of the HIV

virus in his or her blood. The amount of HIV in an infected person’s blood is called the viral load.

How HIV Works Your body has a type of white blood cell called a CD4+ T-helper cell (also called Tcell or CD4 cell). CD4 cells protect you from infection.

They are a big part of your immune system. HIV destroys these cells.

When HIV has killed too many CD4 cells, your body can no longer fight off certain infections. These infections are called opportunistic infections.

When HIV-1 enters a healthy CD4+T-cell in the blood, it takes over the “machinery” of the cell to

Rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis reached an unprecedented high nationwide, while rates of congenital syphilis • when a pregnant woman passes the infection on to her baby • also increased. This is the second year in a row that these three STDs have increased, and experts say the all-time highs reflect a nationwide disinvestment in public health, specifically STD prevention.

There were 1.5 million cases of chlamydia reported in 2015, a six percent increase from 2014. At 395,000 cases, gonorrhea is up 13 percent from 2014, and at 24,000 cases, syphilis is up 19 percent from 2014.

Young people ages 15 to 24 make up about two-thirds of all chlamydia cases and half of all diagnoses for gonorrhea. Gay and bisexual men make up the majority of syphilis cases.

Provided by The Huffington Post Cases of congenital syphilis, which can result in pregnancy loss as well as bone deformations, blindness and deafness in newborns have increased by six percent.

These conditions are dangerous but preventable All of these conditions are preventable with safer sex measures like monogamous sexual relationships and condom use. While they’re also all generally curable with antibiotics, they may not be for long: Rising rates of antibiotic resistance mean that doctors around the world are finding it more difficult to find effective treatment.

STDs that go undiagnosed or untreated can lead to infertility, chronic pain and an increased risk for HIV, according to the CDC. The trouble with spotting these bacterial infections is that they can be symptomless or have symptoms • like strange Black Male Health Statistics Black men live 7.1 years less than other racial groups. They have higher death rates than women for all leading causes of death. They experience disproportionately higher death rates in all the leading causes of death. 40% of Black men die prematurely from cardiovascular disease as compared to 21% of white men.

They have a higher incidence and a higher rate of death from oral cancer.

Black men are 5 times more likely to die of HIV/AIDS. Other Health Statistics 44% of Black men are considered overweight; 24% are obese; Black men suffer more preventable oral diseases that are treatable; A higher incidence of diabetes and prostate cancer; A high suicide rate. It is the 3rd leading cause of death in 15 to 24 year olds; Ten Leading Causes of Death Among Black Americans (2013) Heart disease (24% of total deaths); Cancer (22.4%); Unintentional injuries (5.8%); Stroke (4.7%); Homicide (4.5%); Diabetes (4.1%); Chronic lower respiratory diseases (3.3%); Kidney disease (2.6%); Speticemia (1.9%); Influenza and pneumonia (1.7%) Homicide a Leading Cause of Death Among Black Men Ages 15-34 In the category of leading causes of death, when broken down by age group for Black males in the U.S., more disturbing statistics are revealed.

For young Black men between the ages of 15 and 34, the number one cause of death in 2013 was homicide.

Further breakdown of deaths by age group among young black men due to homicide: Ages 15-19, homicide accounted for 47.8% of total deaths; Ages 20-24, 49.9% of total deaths; Ages 25-34, 33.5% of total deaths.

(Read full story at www.thewestsidegazette.com)

make more copies of itself. This process is called the HIV life cycle.

HIV Treatment HIV-1 medicines help stop HIV from using the CD4 cell’s machinery to make more

copies of the HIV virus. The different HIV-1 medicines do this by interfering with different steps of the HIV life cycle.

The use of multiple HIV-1 medicines is called antiretroviral therapy, or ART. ART can reduce the viral load and increase the number of infection-fighting CD4 cells in a person’s blood.

discharge, burning during urination, sores or pain • that can be mistaken for other conditions. This makes regular screening an important part of STD prevention.

Rising STD rates reflect our national spending priorities The increase in STD rates is directly attributable to a decrease in funding for health clinics that can screen and treat people, as opposed to any recent change in sexual behavior among certain demographic groups, says Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, an HIV and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA School of Medicine and Public Health.

“Historically, when we’ve invested in prevention and control, we’ve been able to greatly reduce infections,” said Klausner. For instance, venereal disease control became a national priority during World War II because STDs were disabling soldiers. During this time, doctors discovered the cure for syphilis and the army embarked on a major public health campaign that included condom distribution and STD education.

(Read full story at www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Women report vaginal ring for preventing HIV had little effect on sexual intercourse

Vaginal ring, a device that has shown to reduce risk of HIV infection.

Most women who used an experimental vaginal ring for HIV prevention report that the physical act of sex was largely unaffected by using the product, which is inserted monthly for continuous wear.

This finding is among several insights gleaned about experiences of women who used the ring during the ASPIRE study, also known as MTN-020, announced today at the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) meeting in Chicago.

ASPIRE evaluated whether the ring, which continuously releases the anti-HIV drug dapivirine, could safely reduce HIV infection among 2,629 women aged 18-45 years living in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Among participants randomized to receive the dapivirine ring, risk of HIV infection fell by 27 percent.

A further analysis found that the ring reduced the risk of HIV infection by at least 56 percent among women who used it with greater frequency, and up to 75 percent or higher among those who used it consistently. Further exploration of the ring’s clinical potential began in July 2016 through the large-scale HOPE (HIV Open-Label Prevention Extension) study, also known as MTN-025. ASPIRE, HOPE and their ancillary studies were primarily funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides developed the dapivirine ring and supplied it for the studies.

“Women need an HIV prevention modality that offers safe, effective protection and is practical for use in their daily lives,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “Women enrolled in the MTN-020/ASPIRE study reported that the experimental vaginal ring generally did not interfere with sexual intercourse, which is an encouraging sign that this product could appeal to a larger group of women at risk for HIV infection.”

The ASPIRE study staff interviewed 214 participants who used the ring to obtain qualitative data about their sexual experiences durin the trial.

(Read full story at www.thewestsidegazette.com)

PAGE 8 • DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016

Carnival Vista Media Day

By Dr. Hyacynthia M. Leonce, Entertainment Reporter Carnival Vista Media Day was a great success! “The 3,934passenger Carnival Vista isn’t just the line’s newest, largest and innovative ship — it’s a true “floating resort” offering a host of on-board amenities and facilities.” Going through the media entrance was easy with even the security staff with friendly smiles, and they even spoke nicely compared to security staff at other places.

While waiting for the PR people of Carnival Vista, I spotted Tommy Davidson, the comedian. I

was trying not to stare, but I had to go up to him to make sure. So I slid next to him and spoke softly like an old friend.

“So, what’s up?” I said, “you doing okay today?” And he spoke, I was pleasantly surprised. So, we chatted for a couple of minutes and I was right that was him. The man had me cracking up! Before I politely exited, I asked for a pictur, and he even gave me a couple jokes cracking on me and was nice enough to take a picture with me. What!!

I haven’t even started my tour, and I am meeting famous people already.

Upon entrance to the ship the mood was festive with Soca music

7 Myths About HIV/AIDS

Many myths are still around about HIV and AIDS. Get the real story here — it can help you enjoy a full, healthy life.

Myth 1: Treating HIV will require me to take dozens of pills every day.

Fact: Years ago, people with HIV needed to take a lot of pills.

Now, most people starting on HIV treatment only take 1 to 4 pills daily. You may be able to take medicines that combine 2 or 3 drugs in a single pill.

Myth 2: I can wait to start taking medicine for my HIV. Fact: You probably need to start taking HIV meds right away.

Your doctor will talk to you about taking drugs called “antiretroviral treatment.” They limit the level of HIV virus in your body. This helps protect your immune system and lowers the chance that

Can we be a light of hope at the top of the hill (Cont'd from FP) I’ve understood this fight against HIV and AIDS for a long time. What overwhelms me the greatest is that when I see the people that need the services the most, they’re the ones left out all the time.

We fight continuously to be at the table when the funds are being disbursed. We fight for the equilateral distribution of such funds, but it doesn’t happen. When I say “we” I’m talking about Black people.

And you Black people at the table “talk” a really good game so much so that funds become unequally disbursed.

When I see organizations forming different events in different communities and one event gets more than the other, I beg to ask the question: are we really serious about fighting this disease together?

Even when we are at the table there seems to be some confusion over whose money is it. Animosity and infighting with different people from different organizations - why?

We need to have a meeting of the minds in our community to form our own agencies to fight this battle, and we need to stop fighting amongst each other.

It’s a sad commentary when peoples’ lives are at stake, and we’re at the table fighting for crumbs when there’s enough money to go around to make sure that the people who need are served in an appropriate manner with dignity.

We do not need two-membered marches or some secret meetings where funds are divided out unequally and people are constantly suffering.

Are we going to let our little lights shine in our community to save lives or are we going to be split up and allow our lights to flicker and be extinguished because of our unwillingness to share, leaving us left in the dark of despair? “nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” Matthew 5:15 (NASB) Thank you Lord, in the name of Jesus for giving us light to share in a dark world knowing that our light shines brighter when it leads a path to You. THERE IS NO DARKNESS IN THE LOVE OF YOU.

playing in the Atrium with a live DJ. My “Wow” factor was the LED Column with changing scenes, one of which was a tall aquarium with dolphins. Awsome! Magnificent! I couldn’t take my mind off it, and have you seen winding steps in glass?

Amazing! The Atrium was designed with beautiful holiday decor; it’s the season to be merry!!!

We were asked to meet at the Red Frog Pub & Brewery. “Carnival Vista’s RedFrog Pub & Brewery is the result of a unique collaboration between Carnival and Miami-based Concrete Beach Brewery. Concrete Beach is an Alchemy & Science brand, an independently operated subsidiary of The Boston Beer Company. Alchemy & Science is home to other such popular you’ll pass the virus to others.

Myth 3: Because I have HIV, I’m going to develop AIDS. Fact: It’s possible that you’ll develop AIDS, the disease that HIV causes. But it’s also possible you won’t. If you begin taking HIV drugs promptly, they can help protect you from advancing to AIDS for many years.

Myth 4: If I’m on medication, I can’t spread HIV through sex.

Fact: If you take your HIV drugs properly, over time the level of virus in your blood may fall so low that your doctor will call it “undetectable.” But the virus is still in your body. That means you still have a risk of passing the virus to a sex partner, so use protection.

Myth 5: I should avoid exercise since I have HIV. Fact: Exercise is a good way to protect your health when you have HIV. It can: Prevent fatigue, Improve your appetite, Lower your stress, Maintain your muscles and Protect your bones Aim for 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day. Get both aerobic and strength-training exercise.

Myth 6: I’m not going to live long enough to need to worry about other diseases.

Fact: Today, many people with HIV are living long lives.

If you keep the virus under control with HIV medicine, you may live for many decades. But you may have a higher chance of problems including cancer, heart disease, and kidney disease. So follow the usual steps for good health: Eat a healthy diet. Exercise. Don’t smoke.

Some HIV medicines have side effects that can cause weight loss, like diarrhea and nausea. Talk to your doctor (or a dietitian) about how to eat right and prevent weight loss.

Also tell your doctor about any other medicines you’re taking and any other health problems you have. HIV drugs can change how your other medicines work.

They can also make controlling other health problems, like diabetes, more difficult.

Myth 7: Now that I have HIV, I can’t have kids.

Fact: If you’re a man with HIV, you may still be able to safely father a child. If you’re a woman, you may still be able to safely become pregnant. Doctors can help you take steps to lower — or remove — the chance that you’ll pass the virus to your partner during conception. If you’re pregnant, your doctor may have you take certain HIV drugs that may help protect the baby. The baby may also be given medication after birth.

NNPA President Benjamin Chavis recalls Fidel Castro’s fight (Cont'd from FP) In the 1980s, the frontline African nations that bordered South Africa were periodically being militarily violated with the brutal violence and repression that became routine of the Apartheid regime, said Chavis who first wrote about his experience three years ago, in a column published by the L.A. Watts Times.

South African military attacks directly on the African National Congress (ANC) inside South Africa and in Angola, South West Africa and in other areas of southern Africa had escalated.

South Africa invaded South West Africa – which is now Namibia – and the Republic of Angola.

“Castro urgently dispatched more than three hundred thousand Cuban soldiers to Angola over several years to help stop and to eventually defeat the South Africa military on the ground in Angola in 1988,” Chavis said, noting that, by contrast, U.S. President Ronald Reagan tacitly supported A-

Castro and Malcolm X partheid South Africa and tried unsuccessfully to have a “constructive engagement” with Apartheid under the guise of preventing communism in southern Africa.

Chavis traveled to Angola in 1988 on more than one occasion to witness how Cuba was helping the MLPA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in Angola and the ANC as well as SWAPO (South West Africa Peo-

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ples Organization).

“I visited the battleground area in the aftermath of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale that took place during a six-month period from the end of 1987 to the spring of 1988,” he said, noting that that battle was the largest, single armed conventional warfare on African soil since World War II. (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

does and his moto is “If you have happy employees you have happy passengers.” Well I think you got that right Patrick! (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

How to do a post-holiday Party Detox DAVIDSON breweries around the country, including Angel City Brewery in Los Angeles and Coney Island Brewing Co. in Brooklyn, N.Y. Each of these breweries produces beers specifically inspired by and brewed to be representative of their respective locales. The resulting examples include such beers as Tropic of Passion, a passion fruit wheat beer from Miami, Angel City IPA from L.A., and Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner from New York.” We got to go inside the actual tanks, cool, if you are a beer drinker - all the beer you can drink!

Inside the Red Frog was the sweet sounds of Caribbean music playing. The media group sat around talking while appetizers were passed around by the wait staff. The Waitstaff offered food samples from various restaurants on the ship.

We were also invited to taste the beer and other drinks. My favorite drink was what they called “Pain Killer,” a virgin

Havanah Bar drink so I don’t know why they called it a pain killer but… anyway, it was made with coconut cream, pineapple and orange juice, with nutmeg on top. Delicioso!! My favorite food was the spicy fried shrimp.

Carnival Vista did not disappoint! Guy’s Burger Joint is certainly “a guest favorite.” The lines were long at the burger joint. “Guy’s freshly made burgers, hand-cut fries and innovative toppings was created in partnership with Food Network personality Guy Fieri.” Since guest could fix their own toppings, I believe it created a frenzy.

One of the bar waiters was Patrick Chester, who was from my Island of St. Lucia. He stated that he had worked with Carnival Liberty for two years and when his contract ended six months ago, he was afforded the wonderful opportunity to work for Carnival Vista. Patrick stated that he enjoys what he

Heroes in the Struggle

there were opportunities to impact community in significant ways.”

Today Brooks works as the senior director of community engagement at Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company whose product portfolio includes Truvada and other ARVs. In this newly created role, he works closely with communities affected both by HIV and the hepatitis C virus by providing information on prevention and accessing treatment. The work involves developing “whole health” methods that include mental- and physical-health resources, support for substance abuse, and partnerships with academic institutions to help people complete their high school or college education or technical training.

Brooks’ ascendance to the highest anti-HIV/AIDS post in the land and his return to help PLWHA access prevention and treatment methods represents a long journey from his diagnosis with HIV in 1990, when the virus was treated as a death sentence. The ARVs keeping millions of people alive today did not exist; nor did PrEP. Yet 26 years later, Brooks finds himself leading the crusade to institute some of the advancements in treatment that have kept him healthy and thriving.

(Cont'd from FP) Brooks had also fought to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic for the previous two decades. Before ONAP, he was the senior vice president for community, health and public policy at the Justice Resource Institute (JRI), a health and human services agency. While there, he oversaw JRI Health, a division that provided residential, peer, legal and other supportive services for PLWHA and people with disabilities, as well as HIV prevention services and a community center for LGBT youths.

In 2010 Brooks was named chair of the board of trustees of AIDS United in Washington, D.C., and appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. The Next Chapter After serving as AIDS czar for two years, the Boston University graduate, who has a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed social worker, wanted to have a more handon experience in the field. “As I was wrapping up my time at ONAP, I wanted to come back into community, but in a different way than I’d been,” he says.

“I wasn’t looking to run programs. I wanted to be where

© Provided by health.com No, you definitely should not do a full 24-hour juice cleanse— but there’s nothing wrong with having an extra-low-calorie day after a night of bingeing on unhealthy food and beverages, says F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, MD, an obesity expert at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “It won’t negatively impact your metabolism. You won’t be starved,” he says. “It’s just one day.”

Here’s how to safely power through your binge and make the most out of your post-party detox, according to the docs: 1. Hydrate. First things first, wake up and de-bloat with a tall glass of lemon or cucumber water (the veggie contains an antioxidant that helps reduce swelling).

2. Eat a healthy breakfast.

Have a scaled-back breakfast of Greek yogurt with 2 teaspoons hemp seeds and half a grapefruit. Or make chia seed pudding with a cup of mixed berries; you can prep it in just 10 minutes and leave it in your fridge overnight. When you wake up, the milk-soaked chia seeds turn into a delicious nocook pudding. If you want to give this dish an even bigger nutrient boost, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of heart-healthy ground flaxseed, which will give you 20% of your recommended daily fiber intake.

3. Schedule an a.m. workout. If you overdid it the night before, there is one silver lining: “You’re likely carbed up from your indulgent meal last night, so you’re going to have a lot of energy,” explains Jim White, RD, owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios. “Use that energy and do a little bit of cardiovascular training, a little bit of weight training; keep drinking plenty of water and you’ll feel better.”

U.S. Senators demand study on Federal advertising in Black-owned Media (Cont'd from FP) “The NNPA and NAHP thank Senators Booker, Schumer, Menendez, Hirono and Gillibrand for helping to push for this strategically important GAO inquiry,” Chavis said. “2017 should be the year of greater economic equity and parity with respect to more inclusiveness in the billions of dollars spent annually by government departments and agencies on advertising.”

Earlier this year, Democratic Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and many of her colleagues in the House formally requested an investigation into how federal government agencies spend advertising dollars.

Jonathan Sanchez, the associate publisher and chief operating officer of the East Los Angeles-based Eastern Group Publications, Inc., which boast a loyal readership of about 500,000 subscribers, the news is more than welcome.

Earlier this year, after Norton’s letter, Sanchez said he was appreciative that action was finally being taken.

“I have been working on this issue for years and I am glad this is finally becoming a reality,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez has supported efforts by NNPA and NAHP that calls lawmakers to sponsor a new report that will help determine why minority media companies have been excluded from the lucrative advertising deals

government agencies have made with other news organizations.

Norton’s letter came a little more than one month after she held a press conference on Capitol Hill with leaders from the NNPA and NAHP. - At that press conference, Norton called on the GAO to perform a new study and update a 2007 report that revealed government agencies spent $4.3 billion in advertising but just a pittance of that amount was spent with minority media publications.

The Congresswoman also secured the support of many others in the House of Representatives.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield, California Rep. Karen Bass, New York Rep. Yvette Clarke, Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, Michigan Rep. John Conyers, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, and California Rep. Maxine Waters – all Democrats – were among those who signed Norton’s letter and called for action.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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BUSINESS

Westside Gazette

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What WillYou Find During Medicare Open Enrollment? October 15 -December 7 Your health needs change from year to year. And, your health plan may change its benefits and costs each year too.

That’s why it’s important to review your Medicare choices each fall. Compare your current plan to new options and see if you can lower your costs or find a plan better suited to your needs.

Open Enrollment is the one time of year when Medicare beneficiaries can see what new benefits options Medicare has to offer and make changes to their coverage.

Whether you have Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan, you’ll still have many of the same benefits and security you have now, including: • Preventive benefits – including certain cancer screenings – available at no cost to you when provided by qualified and participating health professionals. The annual wellness visit lets you sit down with your doctor to discuss your health care needs and the best ways to stay healthy.

• Medicare will notify you about plan performance and the ability to use its online Plan Finder to compare and enroll in quality plans.

• In 2017, if you reach the “donut hole” in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, you’ll save 60 percent on covered brand name drugs and see in-

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creased savings on generic drugs while in the donut hole.

It’s worth it to take the time to review and compare your Medicare coverage options, but you don’t have to do it alone. Medicare is available to help.

• Visit Medicare.gov/find-aplan to compare your current coverage with all of the options that are available in your area, and enroll in a new plan if you decide to make a change.

• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1800-633-4227) 24-hours a day/ 7 days a week to find out more about your coverage options.

TTY users should call 1-877486-2048.

• Review the Medicare & You 2017 handbook. It’s mailed to people with Medicare in September and is also available online at Medicare.gov.

• If you have limited income and resources, you may be able to get Extra Help paying your prescription drug coverage costs. For more information, visit socialsecurity.gov/i1020 or call Social Security at 1-800-7721213. TTY users should call 1800-325-0778.

• Get one-on-one help from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

Visit Medicare.gov/contacts or call 1-800-MEDICARE to get the phone number for your local SHIP. This message is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

What will you lose if consumer financial protection goes away?

Charlene Crowell says that, in the coming months, we must remain watchful for legislation and executive actions that would reverse the financial justice accomplished over the past five years.

By Charlene Crowell (NNPA Newswire Columnist)

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As Americans adjust to the realities wrought by the recent elections, one of the most important consequences has yet to be fully explored: the future of consumer financial protection.

Many successful candidates in the recent election repeatedly claimed that over-regulation, too much bureaucracy or both were harming the economy. In their view, the nation needed to let businesses operate unhindered and free from regulatory constraints.

Additionally, many of the same forces that years ago op-

posed Wall Street regulation and the creation of a consumer watchdog never gave up their quest to weaken or dismantle the only governmental agency whose sole purpose was to protect consumers.

The problem with both of these views is that as Wall Street made billions, America’s people suffered and lost: jobs, homes, credit standing and financial assets. The only thing that seemed to grow during the Great Recession was the amount of debt consumers faced and reckoned with at kitchen tables across the country.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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money marching orders James Clingman says that in addition to supporting and growing our local Black businesses, we must adopt a consistent, continuous, habitual movement centered on buying from ourselves.

By James Clingman (NNPA Newswire Columnist) In April 2005, I wrote an article titled, “Billion Dollar March,” at the behest of “The Ice Supreme Man” Ashiki Taylor in Atlanta. The article was in reference to our penchant for marching when we are upset, and then going home to sit down and wait for another crisis. This reaction to our grievances is so predictable and has no effect on the situations against which we protest and demonstrate. The obvious question is, “Why do we continue to do it then?”

Because I don’t do foot marching, I won’t spend my time

trying to answer that question; you can ask those who are calling for marches to explain it to you. What I will do, however, is suggest another kind of march: The Billion Dollar March. Just as in 2005, we are confronted with the same problems, the same conditions, the same powerlessness, and the same Black leadership that opts for foot marching as a way to get politicians to change, and as a remedy against unfairness, such as being killed by a rogue cop.

Those of us who were members of the MATAH Network in 2000 will remember our monthly “Standing Order.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

PAGE 10 • DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016

Miami Dolphins on a 6 game win streak

Westside Gazette Film Review:

Almost Christmas

From left to right: Kimberly Elise, Mo’Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Danny Glover and Gabrielle Union star in “Almost Christmas.” (Universal Pictures)

By Dwight Brown (NNPA Newswire Film Critic)

(Photos by Ron Lyons)

HELP WANTED LEGAL NOTICES PUBLICATION OF BID SOLICITATIONS Broward County Board of County Commissioners is soliciting bids for a variety of goods and services, construction and architectural/engineering services. Interested bidders are requested to view and download the notifications of bid documents via the Broward County Purchasing website at: www.broward.org/purchasing.

December 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 2016

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Watching this humorous film is like getting a funny greeting

www.thewestsidegazette.com card that makes you laugh as it warms your heart. This ode to the joy and angst people feel as their family reconvenes for the certain chaos, gluttony and joy during Christmas, is a nice way to start the holiday season. It’s a very entertaining stocking stuffer. It’s comic relief.

Under writer/director David E. Talbert’s (“First Sunday”) guidance you know there will be equal doses of merriment and inspirational message. Toss in producer Will Packer’s (“Think Like a Man”) sensibility and you can pile on the silliness and bawdy humor.

What’s on view is a raucous comedy that feels almost TV sitcomish. It’s seasoned with enough soap operaish drama to make you laugh at the characters and be astonished by their mischievous schemes.

Walter Meyers (Danny Glover, “The Color Purple”), the

successful owner of several auto repair shops, eagerly awaits the arrival of his four adult offspring and their extended families back to the Atlanta home they grew up in. He looks forward to their smiling faces, is somewhat saddened that his deceased wife Grace won’t be there and is frankly wondering if his kids can set aside their differences for five days so they can enjoy the holidays. Fat chance.

His youngest daughter Rachel (Gabrielle Union, “The Birth of a Nation”), a perpetual law student who is low on funds, brings her young daughter and the grudge she bears for her older, far more successful sister Cheryl (Kimberly Elise, “For Colored Girls”), who is a dental surgeon.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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December 1 - December 7, 2017 2016 • Page 11

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HBCU students speak with Charles Koch during Thurgood Marshall College Fund

By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

Billionaire Charles Koch (r) answers questions during a luncheon hosted by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund in Washington, D.C. (Lauren Burke/NNPA)

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) held its annual fundraising gala recently in Washington, D.C. Before the packed and glitzy evening affair, TMCF hosted a luncheon featuring the work of Koch Industries. Charles Koch participated. The billionaire took questions from students attending various Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) around the nation.

Koch spoke about the need to provide value in the lives of others as a business motivation and profit driver. He told the students that products that assist and improve the lives of others are typically profitable,

Green Party candidate Jill Stein demands recount in three key states

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein now has raised enough money to for-

mally request a recount in three key swing states.

Stein’s camp – and, quietly, Hillary Clinton’s too – are hoping that irregularities and alleged hacking of voting ma-

Jill Stein speaking at a Green Party Presidential town hall in Mesa, Ariz., in March 2016.

(Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

Members from local alumni chapters from Historically Black College & Universities (HBCU’s) put aside their rivalries for a good cause recently. So whether they were FAMU Rattlers or Bethune Cookman Wildcats, they joined forces at the African American Research Library & Cultural Arts Center for a Thanksgiving food basket giveaway for those in need. Other HBCU’s on hand included Tuskegee, Allen, Morehouse, Florida Memorial, and Hampton University.

chines in some counties in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan will reverse Trump’s victory.

At the deadline on Friday, November 25, Stein formally filed a petition with the Wisconsin Board of Elections to appeal the results and demand a recount.

She’s was expected to meet the deadline in Pennsylvania on Monday, Nov. 28 and in Michigan, where the deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 30.

a standard canon of business advice that has been conveyed by many business owners in the technology age. One student asked Koch how he felt when he made his first million dollars.

Koch said that money was “not how I measure success,” and continued to repeat the themes found in his book “Good Profit,” which was given to every student attending the lunch.

Koch Industries has been ubiquitous at national conventions over the last two years.

The Charles Koch Foundation hosted a session on justice reform featuring their general counsel Mark Holden at the annual National Urban League convention in Baltimore. They have also contributed to the United Negro College Fund

If Stein is correct and the votes in those swing states prove Clinton to be the actual winner, then the former Secretary of State could claim an Electoral College victory and the presidency.

That scenario is a long shot, but a growing petition with millions of signatures and a “Never Trump” movement has picked up steam since the Nov. 8 election with the hopes of convincing a large enough swath of the Electoral College to change its vote and go against a Trump presidency.

The Electoral College casts the official votes for president on Dec. 19.

So, who are these individuals who have the last – and ultimate – say in the presidential election and would they consider changing their vote?

In total, there are 538 members who comprise the Electoral College and they each gather in their respective state capitals to cast the formal vote for president.

They are selected at state and local party conventions and are almost always supportive of their party’s candidate.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

(UNCF) and TMCF at a time when HBCUs have struggled during the last eight years for federal as-sistance. In 2014, Koch Industries and the Charles Koch Foundation donated $18.5 million for scholarships to UNCF. The honorees for the TMCF gala were Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square; Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack; Shelley Broderick, Dean and Joseph Rauh, Jr. Chair of Social Justice at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and Benjamin F. Wilson, Managing Principal Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. Talk show host Wendy Williams was the emcee for the evening. After the awards were given out, a number of students at HBCUs took to

the stage for various honors.

Many donors and sup-porters of TMCF also attended the event.

Many education advocates were pushing the name TMCF President Johnny Taylor to be Secretary of Education under the Trump Administration, but on November 23, Betsy DeVos, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party, was named for the job.

The theme of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s 28th Annual Awards Gala was “Developing Minds…Delivering Dreams,” and celebrated the achievements of the nation’s foremost visionaries who have used their status to positively impact HBCUs. In 2015, the gala attracted more than 1,500 attendees and raised over $4.8 million.

Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, Brother Harry Murphy and Daughter Luana Roberts of Elks Lodge 652 and Temple 395 gives back to the community during the Thanksgiving holiday.

THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE PRESENTS THE 10 TH ANNUAL

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2016 | 5:00 PM HISTORIC SISTRUNK BOULEVARD From NW 9th Avenue to NW 11th Avenue event highlights Wonderland with Toy Giveaway and Health Fair Giant Holiday Tree Lighting Featured Entertainment: KUUMBA Dancers & PLAY Chorus Dillard High School Jazz Band Ladies of Soul Larry Dog Band Kids Zone: Santa, pony rides, reptile exhibit, train rides, bounce houses and inflatables, arts & crafts, face painting, and more Teen Zone: DJ, rock wall, game trucks, and more Gourmet Food Trucks

www.fortlauderdale.gov

PAGE 12 • DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2016

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