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THURSDA THURSDAYY, APRIL 7 - WEDNESDA WEDNESDAYY, APRIL 13 13,, 2016

Trailblazers of Broward County unveil BCPS 2016 Caliber historical monument on Sistrunk Boulevard Awards ceremony Legacy project honors past, celebrates present, embraces future

The Trailblazers of Broward County along with Artist George Gadson, who created the monument (red shirt).

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – The Trailblazers of Broward County, an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting local AfricanAmerican history and achievements, recently unveiled a long-awaited and highly

anticipated historical monument at Sistrunk Park, located at 200 W. Sistrunk Blvd. The monument, a six-foot bronze sculpture of a Sankofa bird perched atop an elegant base with cascading water, honors Fort Lauderdale’s past and

pays tribute to the many pioneers who made significant contributions to the progress and advancement of the entire City and its African-American community.

The unveiling ceremony attracted a strong turnout of

community and business leaders, homeowners and neighbors, along with a host of members and supporters of the Trailblazers. Elected officials in attendance included State Representative Bobby B. DuBose (District 94); State Senator Chris Smith; Fort Lauderdale Mayor John P. “Jack” Seiler; Vice Mayor Robert L. McKinzie (District III); Commissioner Dean J. Trantalis (District II); and Broward County Commissioner Dale V. Holness (District 9).

Lillian E. Small, business manager of the Trailblazers, served as the event’s Mistress of Ceremonies for an inspirational program that featured an Invocation by Dr. Derrick Hughes, Pastor of First Baptist Church Piney Grove; the Pledge of Allegiance led by Commander Larry Roberts, American Legion Post 220; the Occasion, delivered by Sonya Burrows, vice president of the Trailblazers; along with a Welcome and Acknowledgements from Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor, Robert McKinzie.

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Broward County’s first African American School Board member, the late Dr. Kathleen Cooper Wright, honored with statue unveiling ceremony

By Charles Moseley Dr. Kathleen Cooper Wright received a posthumous honor during the unveiling ceremony of a her very own statue on March 31, 2016, adjacent to the KC Wright Broward County School Board administrative offices, in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before proud family members and a host of community well wishers.

“The statue symbolizes the

significant accomplishment of my mother being elected to the School Board. Her legacy of inclusion, fairness, and a quality education for all of Broward County’s students is still a challenge for some of central Broward’s underserved students. Hopefully the statue unveiling will also serve as a reminder that there is still work to be done,” said her son, Anthony Wright.

Dr. Wright has the unique distinction for becoming the first

Black to serve on the Broward County School Board and first Black female to serve on any school board in Florida.

The Links, in partnership with Broward County Public Schools, Broward County Government, the Broward County Education Foundation and the entire Broward community made the sculpture a reality. Dr. Wright was an educator, community leader, and public servant.

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Bluefield State College

By April Taylor It seems like a common sense conclusion to assume

that the student bodies at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) mainly consist of African American students. However there are

Pleading Our Own Cause

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WWW.

Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) honored its best at the 2016 Caliber Awards Ceremony on April 1, 2016, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. The annual Caliber Awards recognizes and honors the exceptional leadership, hard work and dedication of the District’s outstanding teachers, principals, assistant principals and school-related/District employees.

Congratulations to all of the 2016 Caliber Awards winners!

Assistant Principal of the Year Jacqueline A. Smith, Hollywood Hills High School As an assistant principal at Hollywood Hills High School, Jacqueline A. Smith directs all

(Cont'd on Page 5)

By Rahel Gebreyes from HuffPost Live

Thanks to the efforts of the Fort Lauderdale Links, Inc., in conjunction with Broward County Public Schools, Broward County government, the Broward County Education Foundation and the entire Broward community, who made the sculpture a reality.

With about 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, there’s no reason the conversation about the issue should be slowing down. Actor Jussie Smollett, who has been an outspoken advocate for HIV/ AIDS prevention, delivered that message loud and clear in a conversation with HuffPost Live last week.

The Empire star warned against considering HIV/AIDS to be a problem from “yesteryear.”

“We get attached to these hashtags and it becomes this social media fad,” he said. “But it’s almost as if HIV/AIDS stopped being the thing to talk about before social media came around. We’ve gotta bring that back because we’re not done.”

In recent years, the estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable at about 50,000 new HIV infections annually,

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aspects of school operations, including instructional leadership, data analysis and professional development. A skilled and caring leader, Smith developed school wide reading strategies with Spartan Reads, a program designed to infuse reading into elective and other content areas. She was instrumental in establishing the Spartan Academy to provide extended learning opportunities for students in key academic areas. In 2015, her work with the youth advisory board and Hispanic Unity led to a $100,000 grant from State Farm to implement an afterschool program designed to help students prepare for college.

Empire’ star Jussie Smollett reminds us that AIDS isn’t a problem of the past

This school is the whitest HBCU in America some HBCU’s where African Americans comprise a minority of the student population. NPR recently reported on one such school, Bluefield State College.

Shockingly, Bluefield State College’s student body is 90 percent white. Located in Bluefield, W. Vir., the school is part of West Virginia’s public education system and was founded in 1895 as Bluefield Colored Institute. At that time, the school served as a Black high school. Many of the student’s parents migrated to West Virginia to work in the coal industry.

Best friends, Frank Lawrence (l) and Dr. Karlton O. Johnson show off the Brightstar Credit Union check presented to Dr. Johnson for winning Principal of the Year for the Broward County Public School System. Dr. Johnson is the principal at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Fla.

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AIDS prevention and awareness is as relevant as ever, Smollett said. but gay men and African Americans are still most affected. With new infections still occurring, the actor stressed the importance of knowing one’s HIV status and being open about it.

(Cont'd on Page 10) MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)

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Two best friends adopted from an African orphanage are set to be college mates The couple also went through a rigorous process since Mozambique’s legal system had reservations that adopted children might end up being victims of slave labor.

In January 2008, they finally succeeded in bringing Afonso to the United States. Six months after Afonso got to the U.S., Kelvin followed to the Lewis family.

The two families got to know of each other just lightly while undergoing the adoption process. They later organized a

surprise get together for the two boys after they learned they were best friends.

“I was so happy to have him around. I was grateful, of course, but being put in this new family of people that looked different than me… It was hard to acclimate,” Kelvin said. “I felt like if we were together, everything would be okay.”

“To have someone from home I could share this new life with was incredible,” Afonso added.

“To have him living only two

minutes away was something like fate.”

Both boys went to Gilbert High School and played in the school’s soccer team. Interestingly, both have accepted invitation to join Brigham Young University.

Kelvin wants to be a doctor back in Mozambique, while Afonso wants to earn a degree in international studies to help improve the adoption process between Mozambique and the U.S.

Broderick Johnson is his brother’s keeper

By Michael H. Cottman, Urban News Service

Afonso Slater and Kelvin Lewis

By Victor Ochieng While living in an orphanage in Africa, two boys became the best of friends. At some point, the two boys were adopted by different families and thought they would be apart for a long time. Interestingly, the boys were adopted by families both from Arizona and living just less than two miles from each other. Because of that, the boys met again.

Afonso Slater and Kelvin Lewis, who’re both 18 years of age, were living in an orphanage in Mozambique following the death of their parents who died of HIV/AIDS. The boys were adopted eight years ago by families living in Gilbert, Arizona. At first, the two adopting families didn’t know each other quite well in spite of the fact that they’d adopted children from the same orphanage and were living not far apart.

Afonso and Kelvin have remained good friends through the years and are set to join the same college and become roommates this fall, according to an AZ Central report.

The two boys met at a very young age since their mothers were friends. Sadly, they became orphans within the same year.

Kelvin lost his mother to AIDS when he was only fouryears-old. Since the boy didn’t know his father then, he basically stayed with different relatives, including his grandmother and aunt and he spent most of his days sleeping on the street. Because her aunt also had her own children to take care of, she decided to take Kelvin to an orphanage.

Arriving at the orphanage around the same time, Kelvin and Afonso learned the rules of the orphanage together. According to one of the rules, children who were wetting their beds

had to sleep on the lower bunks, reports AZ Central.

The current mayor of Gilbert, John Lewis, and his wife LaCinda, set on a path to adopt their eighth child. The couple had to travel to Mozambique eight times to face the legal system before they could finally adopt Kevin, completing the process after six years.

Greg Slater and Sharon, his wife, didn’t have any plans of adopting a child. They later had a change of mind during a trip to Mozambique, seeing them commence the process of adopting Afonso. This was after their guide informed them of children living in an orphanage that needed families, according to AZ Central.

“The minute he told me I got this overwhelming feeling I was supposed to adopt them,” Sharon said. “It haunted me the whole time I was there. I kept trying to push it out of my mind and it wouldn’t go away.”

Broderick Johnson sees young Black men on America’s streets taking long drags off short smokes.

“It’s the idleness,” said Johnson, a Baltimore native and advisor to President Barack Obama. “No jobs — or summer jobs — for Black men. Kids are going to hang in the streets. We have to break this cycle. We have to create jobs and mentorships.”

As chair of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force (MBK), Johnson manages several socio-economic programs that aim to improve the lives of unemployed young Black men. Chief among them is MBK, which President Obama launched in February 2014 “to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color,” according to a White House statement. So far, this initiative has prompted private organizations to commit

Broderick Johnson meets Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore. Broderick Johnson is chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force. MBK is President Obama’s initiative to expand opportunity for young men of color.

(Photo by André Chung) “more than $500 million in grants and inkind resources and one billion dollars in financing through community banks, including investments in safe and effective schools, mentoring programs, juvenile justice reforms, and school redesign.”

As President Obama’s second term winds down, Johnson is working to ensure that empowering young men of color is central to President Obama’s legacy.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

AfricanAmerican communities sho wing African-American showing gr owing int erest in homesc hooling gro interest homeschooling

By Ryan Velez NPR reports that homeschooling is getting increasing interest from an unexpected group: African-Americans. According to information from the National Center For Education Statistics, the total amount of students homeschooled is around two million.

Between 5% and 10% of these

are Black. Ama Mazama, a professor of African-American studies at Temple University, also confirms that “Black homeschooling is definitely on the rise.

While more Black students may be getting homeschooled, the reasons why are very different than the norm. The majority of Black homeschoolers are coming from urban, two-

parent households. And while the majority white parents are looking to homeschooling for religious reasons, the most common reason given by Black families is racism.

NPR says that this is a huge surprise, given that while Black people are the most religious subgroup in America, it didn’t rank even second or third in terms of reasons why families are looking for homeschooling.

Some stories given by Black homeschoolers may provide insight behind this trend.

Camille Kirksey says that in the beginning, homeschooling wasn’t even on her radar, but her son’s experience in a private pre-K school began the shift.

“It was a mostly Black school with mostly white teachers, which didn’t really bother me until I saw the difference in how they treated certain kids — especially boys,” she says.

“They seemed to be very harsh, kinda barking at them, ordering them around.” She added that Brandon’s teacher “didn’t really treat anybody nicely.”

South Plantation High School graduate serving with a U.S. Navy helicopter squadron

By Navy Office of Community Outreach MAYPORT, FL — A 2006 South Plantation High School graduate and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native is serving with a U.S. Navy helicopter squadron that flies the Navy’s newest and most technologically-advanced helicopter.

Petty Officer First Class Lucmany Andre is an aircrew survival equipment man with the “Grandmasters” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, a Mayport, Fla. based squadron that operates the Navy’s next generation submarine hunter and anti-surface warfare helicopter, the MH-60R Seahawk. Each helicopter is nearly 65 feet long, may weigh up to 23,500 lbs. (max gross) and can travel over 120 miles per hour for nearly 320 miles on a tank of gas.

As an aircrew survival equipment man, Andre is responsible for making sure the aircrews have all safety equipment needed and it is properly maintained.

“I like that my job gives me the responsibility of knowing

that in a serious situation our crews rely on the work that I do,” said Andre.

According to Navy officials, the MH-60R is the most capable multi-mission helicopter available in the world today. It is used for a variety of missions, including hunting and tracking enemy submarines, attacking enemy ships, search and rescue, drug interdiction, delivering supplies and supporting the Navy’s special operations forces.

It is replacing the Navy’s older helicopters because of its greater versatility and more advanced weapon systems.

Andre said they and other HSM-46 sailors are proud to be part of a warfighting team that readily defends America at all times.

“Our command gives us a lot of support and it keeps our camaraderie up,” said Andre.

Sailors’ jobs are highly varied within the squadron. Approximately 270 Navy men and women are assigned and keep all parts of the squadron running smoothly. This includes everything from maintaining helicopter airframes and engines, to processing paper-work,

ANDRE handling weapons and flying the aircraft.

“The mission of HSM-46 is to embark and deploy combatready helicopter detachments around the world. Andre is a big part of why we are so successful. They have a tireless work ethic, and embody our squadron motto of ‘Set the Standard.’ I’m very proud of Andre,” commented Commander Chris Richard, HSM-46 commanding officer.

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Westside Gazette

Veterans and military families most at-risk for deceptive debt collectors

By Charlene Crowell, NNPA News Wire Columnist When it comes to consumer concerns, debt collection remains the top complaint most often reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Two newly-released CFPB reports reveal which consumers are most at risk and the businesses most often

identified in debt collection issues.

As of March 1, CFPB found that California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas account for more than 40 percent of all complaints received since July 2011. Further, in Florida, nearly 60 percent of the state’s entire complaints came from just three metro areas – Miami, Orlando and Tampa Bay.

Still, military members and their families remain the most at-risk in debt collections, even when compared to the general population. Among all complaints received from the military community, debt collection represents almost half - 46 percent - of all military complaints filed. By comparison, all debt collection complaints CFPB received during the reporting

period amounted to approximately 26 percent.

Mortgage complaints from military families were the second ranked lending issue at 15 percent. Service members returning home from deployment or to temporary duty stations also frequently reported fraudulent activity on their credit report and/or identity theft.

Black edutainers bring history to life

Fred Morsell as Frederick Douglass. (Courtesy of Morsell)

By K. Barrett Bilali, Urban News Service Philadelphia resident Antoine Randolph Watts likes to dress up. But most of his outfits are out of date. Like 200 years out of date.

And he often changes his voice, accent and beard length with each outfit.

“No, I don’t have a personality disorder,” says Watts.

“I’m what’s called a first-person impressionist.” He is also part of a growing industry called edutainment.

Watts is one of thousands of Americans who transform themselves into real-life historic personalities from this country’s collective past. Their period costumes are accurate. They change their walk, their speech and learn every aspect of people’s lives and times in minute detail — so much so that their audiences may feel as if they have transited a time tunnel. It is live history, up close and personal.

Like those from other backgrounds, Black edutainers share a common ability to portray characters, an abiding love of teaching and, some-where along the way, they all were bitten by the history bug.

Watts says he was bitten quite young.

“I was six years old, watching a John Wayne movie called The Horse Soldiers,” says Watts, 42, telling the story as if it happened yesterday. “John Wayne took his patrol behind Confederate enemy lines to a final stand at Newton Station.”

Watts is clean-shaven and speaks with a French accent when he dons a Revolutionaryera suit and depicts Joseph Bologne, le Chevalier de SaintGeorge (1745-1799). Bologne was a French-African composer, violin virtuoso, swordsman and colonel during the French Revolution.

When he portrays James Forten, Watts wears mutton

chops. Forten (1766-1842) was an American Revolutionary naval veteran, sail maker, abolitionist, writer and owner of a Philadelphia sail loft.

But Watts’s favorite and best-known character is Jacob Clement White Jr. (1836-1902), a role that requires a full beard.

White was the first graduate of the Institute for Colored Youth, which grew into Cheney University. White became Philadelphia’s first African-American school principal in 1866.

“It takes me three or four months to grow my beard to portray Prof. White,” says Watts, who acknowledged that he prepares months in advance for all of his roles. He studies the lives of all of his characters in great detail.

“We are a part of the Black edutainment industry,” says Ludger Balan, president of Che Nautical Edutainment. Balan is also the communications director for the United States Colored Troops Living History Association.

Balan helps coordinate Black edutainment programs and historic war reenactments across America from his office in Queens, N.Y. “This industry includes historical interpreters, impressionists, reenactors, storytellers and any highly educational

Actor James Earl Jones says his 20-year battle with diabetes is his most “challenging job” ever

By Victor Ochieng Award winning actor James Earl Jones has come out to publicly talk about his two decades-long struggle with diabetes. The actor, who’s an internationally reputed artist with a signature voice, stage presence and screen acting prowess, says he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back in the mid-1990s, coming at the height of his acting career.

According to the now 85year-old, the main reason he’s coming out to talk about his condition is to raise awareness about the disease.

According to statistics, more than 1.4 million new cases of diabetes are reported each year, yet many people still live in denial.

When Jones learned he was suffering from diabetes, it came to him as a shock.

“I fell asleep on the bench in the middle of the gymnasium,” he said. “The doctor who happened to be there told me, ‘That’s not normal.’ I took the test, and there it was. Type 2

JONES diabetes. And it hit me like a thunderbolt.”

Managing the process hasn’t been easy for him.

“It is the most challenging job that I’ve ever had for a while… living well with type 2 diabetes,” Jones said during an interview with theGrio.com. “If I can get control of it, that means I can continue working, for instance. I love working.”

According to Jones, he was living a good life, and was exercising, a fact that gave him

a sense of invincibility. It made him feel he was on top form and couldn’t catch such a disease, which is why he was quite shocked to learn he had the disease.

“I’d been fit, climbing up mountains and skiing uphill and all that. I thought I was invincible, as the army teaches you to think of yourself, so it was a shock. There’s a lot of denial,” he said. “I’m still grappling with ways to live with it.”

Jones, together with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is on a mission to inspire the millions of Americans who’re suffering from type 2 diabetes and their families who’re affected by the disease.

Because of his condition, the actor was compelled to develop a close working relationship with doctors towards finding the best approach to managing the disease. In the process, Jones discovered a workable treatment plan that enables him to significantly cut down on his blood sugar. The approach also provides him with the motivation to stick to healthier lifestyle.

This school is the whitest HBCU in America (Cont'd from FP) In the 1920’s the school became known as Bluefield Institute. The school became a launching pad in the creation of the region’s Black middle class. Bluefield became fully accredited in 1954. After the Supreme Court’s Brown v.

Board of Education decision, Bluefield’s student population began to change because Black students were able to choose from a wider range of options for their education.

The mining industry in the area also began to evolve with the introduction of new technology which caused many families to look for work elsewhere. This, coupled with the return of white veterans from the Korean War, who were able to use the GI Bill to attend school instigated a transformation of the racial makeup of the school’s students.

The ‘60s brought many changes. The student population at Bluefield was now nearly half white, and in 1966, the state chose the school’s first white president, Wendell G. Hardaway. Hardaway soon hired 23 new faculty members who were all white, and the school’s dedicated faculty dropped to just 30 percent Black by 1967.

The next two years brought lots of turmoil with students staging a protest against Hardaway’s discriminatory treatment of Black faculty and students. Tensions also rose with the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy leading to death threats against administrators and a list of demands being delivered to president Hardaway.

Students continued to protest against what they felt amounted to “mental genocide” and “the educational extermi-

nation of the Black student.”

Things soon became even tenser when dorms on the campus were closed in response to a bombing at the school’s gymnasium. The dorms remained closed, and this was the final step in the two decade journey of Bluefield going from an allBlack college to a nearly all white commuter school.

To this day, there are several lawsuits filed by former administrators, accusing the school of racial discrimination. This leads many to wonder if the school should still be classified as an HBCU. The intersection of Bluefield’s past and present is an interesting one. The school’s alumni association is all Black and has never had a white member. Homecoming events no longer reflect the makeup of the student body as most who attend are Black even though the school has been majority white for decades.

Watts as Jacob White Jr. (Courtesy of Watts) event which is a performance,” says Balan.

These dedicated and often part-time performers work in schools, colleges and other venues. Most edutainment organizations are non-profits.

However, they earn revenues that go back into higher-quality productions, authentic materials for props and constant research and writing, Balan says.

“One of our greatest challenges is finding enough interest in our schools,” says Balan.

“America just doesn’t celebrate its history anymore.”

Sharon Banks discovered the effectiveness of Black edutainment. The head librarian at the Queens Library in Cambria Heights, N.Y., contracted Balan’s organization to stage a Black History Month appearance in February. “He made what could be dry, dusty history pages come alive,” says Banks.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

San Diego-based Encore Capital Group and Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) Group based in Virginia are two of the largest debt collectors in the country that have been identified the most often in CFPB’s complaints. Each firm averaged over 100 complaints per month to the Bureau from October through December 2015.

Last fall, CFPB also took respective enforcement actions against the firms for their deceptive tactics involving both debt buying and debt collection.

PRA was assessed an eight million dollar fine, ordered to refund $19 million to consumers and to stop collection efforts on other debts valued at three million dollars. Similarly, Encore Capital was ordered to stop collection efforts on $125 million in debts, refund consumers $19 million and pay a $10 million fine.

Commenting on the disproportionate number of military complaints with debt collections, Holly Petraeus, assistant director for CFPB’s Office of Service Member Affairs said, “While this could be due to a variety of factors, one issue which we have highlighted in the past is the concern that unpaid debts can threaten a military career. Because of this, we encourage all service members to diligently check their credit reports and proactively protect their credit files while they are away from home.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 makes it illegal for businesses to: · Contact service members’ commanding officers regarding unpaid debt; · Disclose service members’ debts to commanding officers; or · Characterize debt delinquencies as military violations subject to service members’ disciplinary actions.

Despite these legal protections, egregious problems persist. CFPB has brought actions over the past year against businesses that continue to violate its rules. For example, the Ohiobased auto lender, Security National Automotive Acceptance Company (SNAAC) was ordered in 2015 to refund or credit $2.28 million to service members and other consumers who were harmed by the firm.

In addition, SNAAC was also assessed a one million dollars penalty, and ordered in a

Charlene Crowell says that mortgage complaints by veterans and military members are another major concern. separate district court action to stop using aggressive tactics to coerce service members into making payments.

Though fewer in number but perhaps with higher financial stakes, mortgage complaints by veterans and military members are another major concern. Disabled veterans, for example, have been charged a funding fee associated with the Veterans Administration (VA) Home Loan program – even though they are exempted from paying the fee that can range from 1.25 percent to over 3 percent of the total home loan.

Once such disabled veterans wrote CFPB, “As a 100 percent disabled US combat veteran, I am informed by VA that the terms of my VA mortgage entitle me to a refund of the funding fee the mortgage provider received when I took out the loan…

Now [company], despite numerous phone calls and requests for update, as well as an in-person meeting and referrals to VA contacts, has not returned this funding fee to me. I need help with [this company which [is] in my view taking money from veterans in order to further their own gains.”

Anyone needing assistance to resolve problems with a financial service or product can file an online complaint with CFPB at: http:// www.consumerfinance.gov/ complaint/.

Seminoles to sea-level rise: An environmental history of Fort Lauderdale “Cooley’s Massacre” reads the sign at Cooley’s Marina marking the site of the Seminole attack in 1836 which led to the creation of Fort Lauderdale as a military post in 1838.

With an era of development spanning just 178 years that completely remade the area from swamp-lands into “the Venice of America,” we have now entered an era that may require “un-making.” Climate change, sea level rise and their effect on the Florida coastline and people represent the new

attack to which we must respond.

Environmentalist and author Audrey Peterman will discuss this span of history at a meeting of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale History Museum, 231 S.W. Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale on Monday, April 11, 6:30 -7:30 p.m.

“We are the ancestors of the future,” says Mrs. Peterman.

“It’s important for us to know where we are, how we got here and what’s happening now so that we can affect the future in the most positive way. Other-

wise we run the risk of passing on to our descendants a diminished environment in which they are unable to meet even their basic needs.”

Reflecting the increasing attention being paid to the environment, Mrs. Peterman will also be speaking at History Miami Museum, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami, on April 8. Fragile Habitat: Conversations for Miami’s Future will be presented by Florida International University (FIU) and will include community members, activists and university faculty.

For more information call (404) 432-2839,

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Festival

Jason Taylor Foundation is giving South Florida community the chance to witness the top youth poets, in the state compete during a cutting edge event – the Louder Than a Bomb Florida Poetry Festival presented by Nova Southeastern University and UPS, events Tuesday, April 5 -16, 2016. For time and locations and for additional info call (954) 424-0799 or visit www.JasonTaylorFoundation.org

Public Hearing

County Commissioners Consider New Child Care Licensing requirements, Public Hearing, Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 2 p.m., at the Governmental Center, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 422 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Commissioner Winston F. Barnes will host a free Citizens Drive, Saturday, April 9, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Youth Enrichment Center, 7000 Miramar Parkway, Fla. This FREE event will assist individuals seeking U.S. citizenship. Commissioner Barnes and qualified attorneys will be on site to provide assistance with applications preparation and submittal. Please bring your identification, two separate checks for your photo and application fee, and any additional documentation that may help your case, such as, a Permanent Resident Card also known as “Allen Registration Card” or Green Card”; birth certificate; naturalization certificate; certificate of citizenship; marriage license; divorce degree; passport, etc. For more info call Shari Covington at (954) 602-3142.

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Scholarship NMAC (National Minority AIDS Council) is currently accepting scholarship applications for the 20th annual United States Conference on AIDS (USCA).

The 2016 conference will be held September 15 - 18 at The Diplomat Resort, 3555 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood, FL 33019. Sessions will address current issues such as the importance of race in HIV services, biomedical HIV prevention, and women and violence. Additionally, USCA’s 2016 southern Florida conference locale provides a needed opportunity to address the epidemic among populations in the Caribbean diaspora – the target population for this year.

As our communities encounter rising infection rates, new and innovative methods are needed to turn the tide. Attending USCA is the best way to gain those skills and learn best practices from those that are experiencing measurable results and positive change. Deadline for Scholarships is July 8, 2016. Apply online at http://2016usca.org/scholarshipregistration/

Fish Fry

Dillard Class of 1968 Scholarship Committee Fish Fry, Saturday, April 9, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Roosevelt Gardens Park, 2841 N.W. 11 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For additional info call Diana Russell-Johnson at (954) 522-4272.

Drive

The race is on and college students all over the state are submitting their entries in hopes of claiming the top prizes for the Drive It Home TrashOff Greek & Club RECYCLING Challenge. Participants submit images of activities they have engaged to showcase how they promote the important message to dispose litter in the proper place to their audience.

Deadline for submissions and voting for all approved entries April 10, at 11:59 p.m. For more info, www.CleanFLroads.com, contact Bernadette Morris at (305) 948-8063 or info@CleanFLroads.com

Presentation The South Florida Hunger Coalition presents The Hidden Hungry, Monday, April 11, 2016 at 9 a.m., at Cinema Paradiso Fort Lauderdale, 503 S.E. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Support Group

Event

POZ CONNECTION Group for Women, a new group is a topic-driven, peer-led support group for all women infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Facilitated by Gina Hossack, it starts Friday, April 15, 2016 and continues meeting Fridays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the World AIDS Museum and Educational Center, 1201 NE 26th Street, Suite 111, Wilton Manors, FL 33305. The meetings are free and food and childcare are provided! Meeting topics that we’ll discuss include medical updates, news and social events.

This is a confidential, safe and comfortable space to share information and to build lasting friendships! Any questions, call (954) 390-0550.

Fourth Annual Jammin’ in the Park and Art Fest, Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 4 to 10 p.m., at Ilene Lieberman Botanical Gardens, 3801 Inverrary Blvd., Lauderhill, Fla. Old Skool Gang, hosted by Chico the Virgo, and sounds by DJ Tony Neal. Free admission and free parking event. For more info visit http:// lauderhillfl.gov/ or call (954) 730-3000.

Jazz

Performance

Hey Awesome Youth Choir Groups… A ‘Must See’ Youth Choir Is Coming To Town! African Children’s Choir presented

by Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital at Memorial Hospital Miramar, Friday, April 15, 2016 at 8 p.m., at Miramar Cultural Center/Art Park, 2400 Civic Center Dr., Miramar, Fla. For tickets info call (954) 602-4500 or visit Miramar.culturalcenter.org Use promo code YCG415.

Festival

Fair

WOLBM International Festival of Praise, Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 4 to 11 p.m., at Betty Ferguson Community, 3000 N.W. 199 St., Miami Gardens, Fla. Free admission but registration is required, free parking. Registration link: http://wolmifp.eventbrite.com

Broward AWARE! Protecting OUR Children to host a FREE Family Fun and Resource Fair, Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Rev. Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park, 2520 N.W. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 377-1119 or (954) 357-5775.

Dillard Center for the Arts in & Old Dillard Museum present Langston Hughes, Ask Your Mama - 12 Moods For Jazz, featuring the Dr. Ron McCurdy Quintet, Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 4 p.m., at 2501 N.W. 11 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Tickets are on sale and available online at dillardhigh.com/showtime. For more info call the box office at (754) 322-0838.

Event Dania Beach PATCH, People Access To Community Horticulture, Dania Beach’s Urban Farm & Market, Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Dania Beach PATCH, 1200 N.W. First St., Dania Beach, Fla.

Fish Fry

Dillard High School Class of 1971 Fish Fry, Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Black Firefighter’s Hall, 1612 N.W. Sixth St., Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Walk

March for Babies annual walk, Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 8 a.m., at Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Ave., Davie, Fla. The March will offer food, entertainment, kid’s corner exercise and activities for all ages. For additional info call Debra Kronowitz at (945) 651-1346.

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.

Here is the schedule of Destination Fridays events in 2016: * May 6 - Haiti * September 9 - Madrid, Spain * October 7 - New York City (Harlem Renaissance) * Kite Making workshop, Monday, April 11, 2016 from 3 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. To join us in this exciting program, contact Desmond Hannibal at (954) 357-6224 or e-mail dhannibal@browardlibrary.org * April is National Poetry Month and once again the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) is hosting a Poetry Slam, Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 2 p.m. The AARLCC is calling for poets, judges and vendors to participate in this event, also the library is looking for a charismatic speaker to be the emcee for this event. * Group A: 10 to 17 year-old * Group B: to 18 to 24 yearold * Group C: 25 year-old and over.

For additional info call (954) call Desmond Hanniball at (954) 357-6224. * Small Business Resource Center, Monday, April 25, 2016 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. RSVP to (945) 357-6170. * April 29, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the 29th Annual Conference on Children's Literature & 14th Annual Ashley Bryan Art Series. Register by April 22 by calling (945) 3577317 or online at Broward.org/ Library

Meeting

Mount Bethel Change Ministries, NA/AA Meeting, Every Friday, at 6:30 p.m., at 901 N.W. 11 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 763-5644 or (954) 400-8222.

Meeting

Celebration

The Epsilon Mu (EM) Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at Florida Memorial University, Miami Gardens, Florida cordially invites the community to the 50 Year Chartering Celebration, Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 7 p.m., at Milander Center For the Arts, 4800 Palm Avenue, Hialeah, Fla. Formal or informal (Dark Suit and Tie). Hotel Accommodations call (954) 430-5590, group code is KAPPA ALPHA PSI to purchase tickets info http:// www.eventbrite.com/e/50thanniversary-ball-kappa-alphapsi-epsilon-mu-tickets16578823708 For additional info contact Bro Walt Weatherington at (202) 693-3676 weatherington.walt@dol.gov or Bro Dan Paige at (561) 261-0007 dirccardopaige@yahoo.com or Bro. Charles Martin at (786) 402-1309 cmartin0154@aol.com

Monthly meeting for Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. is the second Saturday of the month at 10 a.m., at African Heritage Cultural Art Center, 6161 N.W. 22 Ave., Miami, Fla. For further info call (786) 320 2891.

TO HAVE YOUR COMMUNITY EVENTS POSTED PLEASE CALL -(954) 525-1489 FOR MORE INFO FAX -(954) 525-1861 OR EMAIL: wgproof@thewestsidegazette.com

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Westside Gazette

Trailblazers of Broward County unveil historical monument on Sistrunk Boulevard

April 7- April 13, 2016 • Page 5

Representative Clarke-Reed secures funding for historical memorial park the five-acre site from Rob Kas-

REP. CLARKE-REED

(Con't from FP) State Representative Bobby B. DuBose provided background on the project, which began as part of the City’s Centennial Celebration in 2011 while he was serving as a Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner. Representative DuBose had the honor of introducing the event’s keynote speakers, Anne Fleming Naves, Ed.S., and Dr. Dorothy Jackson Orr. Both speakers delivered heartfelt historical reflections about their personal experiences, the struggles they faced, and the challenges they overcame growing up in Fort Lauderdale’s northwest community.

Award-winning artist George Gadson spoke about his inspiration for creating the monument. He explained that visually and symbolically “Sankofa” is expressed as a

mythical bird that flies forward while looking backward with an egg (representing the future) in its mouth. “’Sankofa’ teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward. That is, we should reach back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us, so that we can achieve our full potential as we move forward,” said Gadson. “The project was a true labor of love that filled me with the spirit and soul of the community.”

In his closing remarks, Beauregard Cummings, president of the Trailblazers of Broward County, spoke about the significance of the legacy project.

“The monument is a reflection of the values and ideals that are deeply woven into the fabric of our community: family, education, religion, fellowship, a strong work ethic, and an entrepreneurial spirit,” said

Cummings. “The Sankofa statue is dedicated to all those who came before us and upon whose shoulders we stand. The individuals who overcame injustice and fought for equality; the men and women whose sacrifices of yesterday became our opportunities of today.”

Following the formal remarks, everyone in attendance gathered in front of the monument for the unveiling of the Sankofa statue, which was led

by Derek Davis, curator of Old Dillard Museum. Immediately following the unveiling, Pastor Hughes led the audience in a brief prayer to officially dedicate the monument to the community.

City of Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Robert McKinzie eloquently summed up the day’s events stating, “In many ways, the dedication of this historical monument marks a new beginning for Sistrunk Park and

(Photos by Ron Lyons) the surrounding area. It is my hope that the monument will serve as a unifying symbol for our community. That it will be a catalyst to activate this park with more events, music, art, and activities. That it will serve as a community gateway inviting neighbors from all over our City to celebrate, experience, and enjoy our unique culture, heritage and artistic expression.”

For more information about the legacy project or the Trailblazers of Broward County, call (954) 735-8973.

DEERFIELD BEACH, FL —Rep. Gwyndolen “Gwyn” Clarke-Reed is pleased to announce that the Florida Legislature has awarded $995,000 to the City of Deerfield Beach, Fla. to purchase and preserve a parcel of land that served as an African American cemetery during the segregation era. The request for the allocation came jointly from the landowner and City so a memorial park could be established at the site.

Rep. Clarke-Reed sponsored a budget request in the House and Senator Maria Sachs sponsored a companion request in the Florida Senate.

The funds approved by the Legislature, and subsequently

by Governor Rick Scott, will be provided to The City of Deerfield Beach specifically to purchase

BCPS 2016 Caliber Awards ceremony

Assistant Principal of the Year Jacqueline A. Smith ; School-Related/District Employee of the Year Nikole Gray and Teacher of the Year Brandon Kyle Jeter.

(Cont'd from FP) Since joining Hollywood Hills High, student achievement has increased significantly in reading, math, science and Advanced Placement exams. The school has improved it state letter grade from a “D” to a “B.” Smith serves as lead admini-strator for the School Im-provement Plan, Professional Learning Communities and the School Advisory Council. Her community involvement includes active support of the Broward Alliance of Caribbean Educators and the Urban League of Broward County.

Assistant Principal of Year Finalists Annette Johnson, Sheridan Technical College Wendolynn F. Mola, West Broward High School André L. Ponder, Forest Glen Middle School Monica Schlosser, Davie Elementary School Nichele Williams, Tradewinds Elementary School School-Related/District Employee of the Year Nikole Gray, Dillard Elementary School Nikole Gray’s ability to work with students from diverse backgrounds contributes to her success as a paraprofessional at Dillard Elementary School.

Formerly serving as a community liaison, she enrolled in university courses to increase her knowledge and develop the social skills needed to become an effective paraprofessional.

Gray’s primary responsibilities include assisting teachers with classroom instruction, creating a safe and comfortable learning environment, and maintaining open communication with parents. She often serves as an interim substitute teacher and collaborates with teachers to

find solutions to help all students.

Gray’s contributions are not limited to the classroom. She shares her knowledge and expertise with her colleagues and others. She is recognized for her work with numerous family and community events, including Art Walk, College Week, Literacy Night, Peace Week and multi-cultural events.

School-Related/District Employee of the Year Finalists Mary Alvarez, Confidential Secretary and Office Manager, Lyons Creek Middle School Solange Dawson, Supervisor, Before & After School Child Care, Heron Heights Elementary School Shilpa H. Parikh, Micro Computer Technology Specialist, Winston Park Elementary School Jacqueline R. Sanchez, Micro Computer Technical Specialist, Griffin Elementary School Nicole Sanchez, Secretary, Exceptional Student Education, Coral Glades High School Teacher of the Year Brandon Kyle Jeter, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School For 17 of his 21 years as a science teacher, Brandon Kyle Jeter has taught an honorslevel course in astronomy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The course, which served an inaugural class of 22 students, has now grown to include 235 students in the program. Students learn to solve complex engineering problems through the use of technology, and become excited about the possibilities of science. Jeter, a National Board Certified Teacher, recently completed a Master of Arts degree in teaching and learning.

While Jeter inspires students

sab whose family operated a successful business in Deerfield for more than 30 years. Kassab bought the property in 1986 after commissioning an archeological survey that showed no evidence of graves or human remains; and in 2005, a second study was conducted also with negative findings. However, during a new and more comprehensive study last summer conducted just prior to building 42 townhomes on the parcel, human remains were found and the study was sus-pended. At that point, Kassab and the City agreed to work together to seek state funds for the City to buy the land for a park.

“I am pleased that we were able to help secure funding for this very important project,” said Rep. Clarke-Reed. “A memorial park on this property will allow Deerfield Beach to commemorate and honor its citizens who would otherwise pass into obscurity, particularly when the cause of their obscurity was the racial segregation practiced in the Capitol office at (850) 717-5092, District Office (954) 786-4848.

The State has an interest in preserving its Black cemeteries from this same era for historical and educational purposes.”

While the appropriation provides funding for the land purchase at this time, the City would have the opportunity to request additional funding in next year’s State budget for the memorial park’s site work. to pursue careers in science, he also helps teachers in Florida and elsewhere to apply technology in their instruction in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and other disciplines. “Mr. Jeter’s passion and creative teaching sparks students interest, moti-vation and excitement,” said Principal Ty Thompson. “Jeter is an outstanding example of a teacher committed to lifelong learning for himself, his students and his community.”

Teacher of the Year Finalists Racquel House, Hollywood Park Elementary School Laurie Kraus, Hollywood Hills Elementary School James Nance, Ramblewood Middle School Lara Ruddy, McNicol Middle School Donna Yard, West Broward High School Principal of the Year Dr. Karlton Johnson, Blanche Ely High School When Dr. Karlton Johnson arrived at Blanche Ely High School eight years ago, enrollment was declining, the physical facility was in poor condition and students were not engaged.

His goal was to transform the school to create a stronger community, and to help students embrace their educational opportunities. Since 2010, the school has improved its state letter grade to a “B,” enrollment has increased and dual enrollment has grown.

The overall graduation rate at Blanche Ely High is now the highest in the school’s history at 90 percent, and the graduation rate for black male students is the second highest in the District. Ninety-six percent of Blanche Ely High magnet students attend four-year colleges and universities, and many earn scholarships.

Through Johnson’s committed leadership, Blanche Ely High has received numerous awards and recognitions for students and staff achievement, and continues to pursue its mission of providing an inclusive learning community for all students.

Principal of the Year Finalists Dr. Jermaine Fleming, Nova Middle School Dr. Lewis Jackson, Dania Elementary School Ernie Lozano, James S. Hunt Elementary School Jon Marlow, Deerfield Beach High School Elaine L. Saef, Panther Run Elementary School.

Page 6 • April 7 - April 13, 2016

Opinion

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.

Trump and his right to speak

By Rasheed Z. Baaith “For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction…”

(Psalms 5:9) I’m not one of those who believe that Donald Trump should be quiet or made to shut up. Nor do I believe that his rallies should be shut down or his speeches interrupted. And I do not question that many of us find what he

has to say alarming, reprehensible and divisive. I know I do but I defend his right to say whatever he wants to say; for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, while there is much that America has to do to live up to the ideas expressed in the Constitution, the right to free speech has been affirmed over and over again. Those who oppose Trump’s right to speak have to remember that that same right if denied him can be denied them.

Whatever greatness America has is

Oh, the lottery trap

By Don Valentine What if I told you there was a $70 billion tax that the poor pay the most.

You would probably say that isn’t very fair. That’s exactly what the lottery is, an almost 12-figure tax on the desperation of the least fortunate. Notice the affluent and middle class are not obsessed with the lottery.

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Westside Gazette

Their wealth is built on more reliable decisions with their money. Let your family and friends know what a folly getting addicted to the lottery is to get rich.

The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson points out, researchers have found that the bottom third of households buy more than half of all tickets. That means households making less than $28,000 a year are dishing out $450 a year on lotteries.

To be blunt, your chances of winning the lottery anywhere are decidedly slim, the sheer size of the U.S. population and popularity of the game means that American participants must climb an even steeper mountain towards any potential windfall. This was evident for all to see in the formative part of this year, as the nation’s Mega Millions jackpot soared to an unprecedented $656 million after being unclaimed for several weeks. When the first winner was announced at the end of March, an estimated 1.5 billion tickets had been sold nationwide. Enjoy the whim of the lottery, but in an infrequent usage.

undeniably connected to the right to free speech. No matter how repulsive or incendiary that speech is.

Two, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. We are abhorrently clear about what and how Trump thinks. He prides himself on speaking his “mind.” We also should be clear that no matter what we may think of what he spews, Trump is a very intelligent man. One cannot have the successes in the business world he has had without intelligence and capability. He has both. He knows what he is saying and he knows the effect of what he says. I don’t think he does anything without a business plan and his business at the moment is to become President and the plan is to do it by any means necessary.

Even more, there is some truth in what Trump says about his supporters becoming violent if the Republican Party denies him the nomination.

They are true believers in him, no matter what he says or what he does.

They believe him to be the corrector of all their wrongs, the insight to all they cannot understand and the one who will bring back the America they love.

An America dominated by biased, misogynistic, unyielding males. Preferably white in ethnicity. An America where everyone knows their place and is kept in that place by policies designed to prevent change or progress.

But at least we are clear about what Trump and his believers want. I don’t think they’re alone in that kind of retro thinking. I don’t think Cruz wants anything different from Trump.

He’s just more circumspect about what he says. Ask yourself, when has Cruz ever been an advocate for people of color? When does he talk about fairness in education or economics? Or social advances.

What Cruz has said about Muslims and Muslim communities is every bit as dangerous as what Trump has said.

Remember too that the fastest growing segment of Islam in America is Black people. So if they target Muslims, and Muslim communities, he will be targeting Black communities.

There is enough profiling of us as it is. We’d better start thinking outside the box. Let Trump talk because forewarned is forearmed…

Republicans continue to pay lip service to Blacks Raynard Jackson says that the RNC can’t go into the Black community and not address the issue of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

By Raynard Jackson, (NNPA News Wire Columnist) As I continue my swing through Eastern Europe, I had every intention of writing about my conversations with all the political and business leaders that I was spending time with. I wanted to write about how the U.S. is viewed by those in Eastern Europe and the relevance of this part of the world to the U.S. But, I have received so many phone calls and e-mails asking me about the continued firings of the few Black staffers at the Republican National Committee (RNC) that I have decided to share my thoughts on this issue and deal with Eastern Europe at a later time.

First of all, these staffers deserved to be fired and it should have happened a long time ago. They were in way over their heads and their level of arrogance was just astonishing.

But in fairness to them, they were set up for failure by the Party from the very beginning. Many in the Party felt the need to hire Blacks, not because they really wanted to diversify the Party, but in some of the Party’s thinking, they can’t be called “racist” because they hired a few Blacks. I am not joking. This really is the thinking of many in the Party.

Let me be perfectly clear: you can’t have engagement with the Black community without the active participation of our congressional leadership.

The RNC is not, let me repeat, is not a policy making body in regards to

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legislation. But it is political malpractice to claim to want more Blacks in our Party without equipping staff to go into the Black com munity with specific pieces of legislation that deal with issues relevant to our community.

You can’t go into the Black community and not address the issue of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court told Congress that they needed to update the formula used to determine how Section 5 is enforced.

Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress since the court’s decision, but have done absolutely nothing to address this issue. Republican congressman from Wisconsin, Jim Sensenbrenner, has tried to work on a bipartisan solution to this issue and the house leadership has refused to let his proposed legislation come to the floor.

The Black unemployment rate is still teetering near 10 percent and yet the Republican controlled congress has made no targeted policy proposals that would address this issue. Some in leadership have made stupid statements like, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Message to leadership: everyone does not have a boat. Therefore, a rising tide would drown them.

These fired staffers had absolutely no engagement with our congressional leaders, rank and file members, or their staffers. So, to this extent they were set up for failure.

So, you have staffers going into the Black community with no specific solutions to the problems that are important to them—voting rights, access to capital, education reform, etc. Blacks are being told that the Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party of lower taxes, the party of more individual freedom— yada, yada, yada.

This is where the rising tide theory becomes insulting to Blacks.

Don’t tell me that your solutions for other people’s problems will “trickle down” to me and my community as a byproduct of your legislative priorities.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

What if Donald Trump’s Campaign manager was Black Julianne Malveaux says that women who are supporting Trump need to be well aware of his propensity to disregard and disrespect women.

By Julianne Malveaux (NNPA News Wire Columnist) It is probably not especially politically correct to bring more race matters into the debacle that is also known as the Donald Trump quest for the Presidency. He has called out and targeted racial and ethnic groups, as well as targeted individual women because of their appearance (or more, but we won’t go there). He has supported basic thuggery, offering to pay the le-gal fees for a man who sucker-punched an African American protester, and egging on others who beat up a protester. The latest goes from the amusing to the amazing. Although there is a video showing his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski putting his hands on former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields, he and Trump have said that eyes can lie. Even in the face of video evidence, he denied touching Fields. He and Trump tried to dismiss her as “delusional,” essentially “blaming the victim.”

Imagine that Corey Lewandowski was an African American man. Imagine that he nearly knocked down a White woman reporter. Can you hear the outrage? Can you hear the demands? Were Lewandowski African American, would he have been caricatured as a hoodlum or thug, pandering to the stereotypes? Or would Mr. Trump have had Black Lewandowski’s back as firmly?

I am not surprised that Mr. Trump has condoned Lewandowski’s violence, nor am I surprised that he’s taken the “wuss” role by suggesting the reporter, who was attempting to get his attention, had “touched” him (and that maybe he should press charges). It is entirely consistent with his other campaign behavior. He has suggested that his supporters might “riot” if he does not get the Republican nomination. His amazing incivility adds to the vaudevillian atmosphere of this bizarre campaign. How different would it be if Corey Lewandowski were Black?

A Black man could not have put his hand on a White woman with impunity. If he did, he probably would not have had to wait more than a week to be charged for his transgression. He might have apologized, whether he were asked to do so or not, both from civility and from cultural conditioning. Trump and Lewandowski assumed that Michelle Fields, a White woman, could be thrown under the bus by two powerful, White men who called her a liar, delusional, and any other slur they could get away with. A Black man would not have had the luxury – he would have had to rush into rapid CYA (cover your hind parts) mode.

Those women who are supporting Trump need to be well aware of his propensity to disregard and disrespect women. Loyalty notwithstanding, Lewandowski’s untoward behavior deserves some reaction – maybe not a firing, but some form of suspension, or something that suggests that a “hands on” campaign need not be literally hands on, or that the “ground game” that Lewandowski is often praised for does not mean that he should knock reporters down to the ground.

Those African Americans (and there are a few), who are supporting Donald Trump need to ask themselves what the reaction would be if Corey Lewandowski were Black. Would Trump be as supportive? Would others? And just for the record, who are the senior African Americans on the Trump team? Just asking. Not complaining, if there aren’t any.

I am of the generation that used to play “what if” all the time. Knowing, but determined to imagine and speculate, what would happen if you flip the script. What if the White McKinney, Texas police corporal Eric Casebolt had pulled a blonde White girl by the hair instead of pulling the braids of the Black Dajerra Becton? Or, what if a Black officer, not Casebolt, had pulled a White girl by her blonde locks? The very muted outrage that we heard when Becton was assaulted would have turned into a crescendo had a Black police officer had the temerity to assault a White teen.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

The Gantt Report Who is this Lucius?

By Lucius Gantt Who is this Lucius?

Who is this man that says things in the media that many African Americans want to say but don’t?

Who is this guy that lives and works in Florida but is not from Florida? Who is this fellow that walks with all of the spirits, good and bad, that seems to be a man of the past who lives in the present and sometimes walks in the future?

Well, he is not the TV Lucius that built an “Empire” and let some woman walk into his office and take his company from him.

Lucius Gantt is the Lucius that is not scared!

He is not afraid of his shadow. He is not afraid of the government. He is not afraid of the police. He is not afraid of the Vatican and he is not afraid of the hooligan!

Lucius Gantt is God-fearing only.

This Lucius Gantt is not a graduate of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) but Lucius Gantt IV did graduate from FAMU. Two of my three children attended and/or graduated from HCBUs. If you want detailed information about Lucius Gantt, the journalist, the columnist, the lobbyist or the businessman, do an extensive google or internet search or just ask anyone that knows about world class media professionals or the most versatile, professional and most successful Black political consultants in Florida.

Most people who say they “know” this Lucius Gantt don’t really know me, they know of The Gantt Report.

They know The Gantt Report newspaper and internet column has been around since 1980, has been read more than other editorial and opinion columns and has been more prolific, versatile and prophetic than columns written by other writers.

Leonard Pitts, Joy Reid, DeWayne Wickham, Cynthia Tucker and others get the teaching jobs and big bucks for speaking so they shouldn’t be scared to share the panel discussion with this Lucius. Put us together and let the people decide who is the media champ and who are the media chumps!

But when the HCBUs, “major” universities, churches, organizations and group seek people to pay to give lectures, conduct workshops, talk to students, address graduations, give testimonies at churches, speak at rallies at so forth, the name Lucius Gantt is not even on the radar!

Why? Because they can’t tell this Lucius what to say. They can’t control this Lucius with a $5,000 honorarium or stipend, a coach class plane ticket and a cheap hotel room!

If this Lucius is asked to speak, Lucius will tell the truth whether the HCBU, the church, the association or the group wants him to tell the truth or not!

I’ve been trying to quit writing The Gantt Report for years but my long time readers and true friends say Lucius, don’t quit.

I asked my “Mom”, Julia, from Daytona why she reads TGR and she said Lucius, you always tell the truth.

I asked her what made her think that and she said, “If you weren’t telling the truth, you would have been dead, jailed or sued for slander a long time ago!”

So, without speaking engagements, lobbying contracts, media contracts or a plain old job, how can I survive?

Well, survival is simple. Good men, or good journalists, are never honored in their own communities.

Jesus Christ wasn’t honored in Nazareth or Galilee.

When you are a God-fearing and righteous writer in America you are treated like Jesus was treated by haters in his time.

The Biblical haters wanted the “miracles” but they didn’t want Jesus. People want to read truthful columns but they don’t want anything to do with the truthful writers!

So, this Lucius, not the TV Lucius, will soon be invisible. He will not be back for future seasons on the Fox Network. This Lucius will disappear!

If you don’t see Lucius begging for minimum wage jobs or low paying political or governmental business it is because this Lucius works with billionaires in the USA and wealthy people around the world who invest in commodities or do financial trading platform transactions or health care product manufacturing!

Yes, you may call me a rabid, vicious media dog but you so-called religious fanatics should know the Bible says, “even a dog gets crumbs from the table” and this Lucius can say what he wants to because he gets crumbs from his clients that sit at the billion dollar round tables! (Buy Gantt’s latest book, Beast Too: Dead Man Writing on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net.

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

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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"

Elevating Word Church 911 N.W. 209 Ave., Suite 122 PEMBROKE PINES, FL 33029 (954) 297-9530 ewc@elevatingwordchurch.org www.elevatingwordchurch.org Sunday Prayer -- 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship -- 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday Adult & Youth Bible Study -- 7:30 p.m.

MONTHLY EVENTS *Men’s and Women’s Ministry, *Villa Maria Nursing Home *Food Distribution

Pastor McQuaise & Antoinette Hepburn

“Renewing minds, transforming lives, and impacting the world for Christ.”

Faith United Church of Christ 6201 NW 57 Street Tamarac, FL 33319 954-721-1232 uccfaith@bellsouth.net faithbroward.org "Historically the First Church in the City of Tamarac!”

Rev. Dr. Ileana Bosenbark, Senior Pastor

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

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!

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

WEEKLY SERVICES & EVENTS SUNDAY Worship Service (Communion 1st & 3rd Sunday) ........................................................... 10 a.m.

F.A.I.T.H. Academy for Children (Spiritual Formation) K-12 ................................ 10 a.m.

TUESDAY F.A.I.T.H. Academy for Adults (Spiritual Formation) - Office Complex ...... 10:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY

James C. Boyd Funeral Home

Worship & Arts Ministry Rehearsals (Open Auditions) - Sanctuary .............................. 7 p.m.

DAVIS Funeral services for the late Kenneth Bernard Davis - 51 GRACE Funeral services for the late Eric Hilton Grace - 48 were held March April 2 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Gardens with Apostle Andrew Jones officiating.

Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Central.

Harris Chapel United Methodist Church Rev. Juana Jordan, M.Div E-MAIL:juana.jordan@flumc.org 2351 N.W. 26th Street Oakland Park, Florida 33311 Church Telephone: (954) 731-0520 Church Fax: (954) 731-6290

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.

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 SUNDAY

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.

"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#

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1161 NW 29th Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33311 (954) 581-0455 ● Fax: (954) 581-4350 www.mtzionmbc1161.com

Dr. James B. Darling, Jr., Pastor/Teacher WORSHIP SERVICES Worship Service ............................................................................................................ 10:15 a.m.

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

Communion Service (1st Sunday) ........................................................................... 10:15 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.

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

Join The Religious Elite In Our Church Directory call us TToday oday -- (954) 525-1489

April 7 - April 13, 2016 • Page 7

Westside Gazette

GRAY Funeral services for the late Hayward Warner Gray –81 were held April 6 at James C. Boyd Funeral Home. Interment: Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fl. HUNT Funeral services for the late Tamira Denise Hunt –39 were held April 2 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Apostle John L. Mohorn, Jr., officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

MOSS Funeral services for the late Michael Dunbar Moss – 54 were held April 1 at James C. Boyd’s

Memorial Chapel with Pastor David G, Minus officiating. Interment: Lauderdale Memorial Park.

McWhite's Funeral Home ERVIN Funeral services for the late Nelson E. Ervin, Jr. - 52 were held April 2 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Windsor Ferguson, Jr. officiating. Interment: South Florida National Cemetery, Lake Worth, Fl.

Williams Memorial CME “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!”

Peter Stanle y “Buf Stanley “Bufffalo” Balcunas Balcunas,, 69, of Da vie la., passed a way on Davie vie,, F Fla., aw March 28, 2016

Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home ECKFORD Funeral services for the late Jimmie Floyd “Spider” Eckford -72 were held April 2 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Pastor W.J. Gaskins officiating.

PURVIS Funeral services for the late Annie Bell Purvis - 87 were held April 2 at Mount Hermon AME Church with Rev. Henry E. Green, Jr., officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

TAYLOR Funeral services for the late Jessie Lee Taylor –80 were held April 2 at Lighthouse Worship Center Church of God In Christ with Bishop Jimmie L. Williams officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

LAW Funeral services for the late Elder Joseph Law, Jr. -82 were held April 2 at Church Of the Lord Jesus Christ with Pastor Bennie Harris officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Garden.

WASHINGTON Funeral services for the late Beulah Washington - 85 were held April 2 at First Baptist Church Piney Grove with Rev. Dr. Derrick J. Hughes officiating.

Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

SEWELL Funeral services for the late Michelle L. Hall-Sewell –56 were held April 2 at Mount Bethel Baptist Church with Pastor Michelle Martin officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

WILLIAMS Funeral services for the late John Herbert Williams, Jr. – 39 were held April 2 at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church with Rev. Elijah Robinson officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

By Digna Balcunas Mr. Peter Stanley “Buffalo” Balcunas was born in Brockton, Mass. in July 1946 to the late Walter and Ellen Balcunas.

In 1966 he enlisted in the US Marine Corps after attending Murray State University and served as an infantryman in the Vietnam War. He later served in the US Marine Corps Reserve with the Fourth Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant after more than two decades of distinguished service.

In 1976, he earned a Criminal Justice degree from then Broward Community College and joined the long blue line at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, where he used to describe his job as “enforcing the law and to protect life and property”. His greatest love was working and dedicating his free time to the Northwest Fort Lauderdale area.

He began working specifically with the youth of the area when he was off duty in the evenings. He would chain up a punching bag that he kept in the trunk of his patrol vehicle to the chin-up bars at Sunland Middle School. Youngsters often came over to hit the bag.

He started a following that would eventually lead to a longstanding reputation as a well-respected public servant and mentor.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Page 8 • April 7 - April 13, 2016

BUSINESS

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UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY DIRECTORY

OFFICE: (954) 733-7700 ext. 111 CELL: (754) 234-4485 4360 W. Oakland Park Boulevard Lauderdale Lakes, Florida 33313 ken@acclaimcares.com

Supreme Court unanimously upholds principle that every person counts in redistricting

NAACP Legal Defense Fund statement in response to Supreme Court’s decision in Evenwel v. Abbott NEW YORK, NY — Today’s Supreme Court decision in Evenwel v. Abbott secures a major victory for voting rights and preserves a fair, stable rule for state and local governments, which may continue to rely on an inclusive “one person, one vote” standard that has long governed redistricting efforts.

The decision also affirms one of the key principles—representational equality—which the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has long supported before the Supreme Court and in jurisdictions throughout the country.

Evenwel involved a sweeping attempt to redefine how redistricting is conducted and to undermine a bedrock constitutional principle that every citizen counts. Specifically, the appellants, two white voters from rural counties in Texas, asked the Court to force states to apply a new, nebulous “eligible voter” standard, as opposed to a total population count, in drawing state and local electoral districts. The use of an ill-defined “eligible voter” standard had the potential to confer second-class status on millions of people, particularly those living in urban areas in the United States, including children, people on the path to citizenship, those not registered to vote, and individuals unable to vote due to racially discrimi-

natory felon disfranchisement laws.

Upwards of 75 million children, 13 million of whom are Black and, thus, not yet eligible to vote, would be have been counted out of the redistricting process had appellants prevailed. Indeed, appellants’ case threatened to take America’s redistricting process back to nefarious periods in our democracy similar to when Black people were counted as 3/5ths of a person for redistricting purposes and expressly excluded from the body politic.

The Court’s decision today vindicates the “one person, one vote” standard, which rightly takes into account Censusderived total population counts when apportioning voting districts. This standard has been applied universally for over 50 years by all 50 states and the thousands of localities within them. Moreover, this clear understanding of “one person, one vote” is already regarded as America’s “de facto national policy” in legislative redistricting, enjoying overwhelming, bipartisan support among state and local governments.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

FDIC deserves applause, not criticism: Federal regulator worked to keep tax refunds away from high-cost loans

By Charlene Crowell

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Every tax season, consumers across the country hope that when their returns are completed a refund will soon be on the way. Consumers that qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program are likely among the most anxious to receive their refunds, as it usually represents a significant cash infusion.

Just as consumers wait a full year in hopes of receiving a refund, high-cost and high profit lenders are just as anxious to take substantial amounts from consumers’ hard-earned dollars.

One of the worst offenders is those who offer Refund Anticipation Loans, also known as RALs. Generally offered by banks and tax preparation services, RALs are one of the shortest term loans available and come with some of the highest fees. The loans, backed by turning over your refund to the lender, provide consumers with instant cash - but these consumers then forfeit a sizeable portion of their refund. The larger

the refund, the larger the RAL fees.

Consumers using these predatory loans are often unaware of the range of choices now offered by the Internal Revenue Service. Waiting periods for tax refunds are now just a day or two. With options such as e-filing and direct deposits, there is no need to give a bank or tax service your dear dollars.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) used its regulatory authority to discourage banks from offering RALs. Many might presume that members of Congress would congratulate the FDIC for its consumer-friendly stance.

Instead, on March 16 members of the House Financial Services Committee criticized FDIC for alleged ‘abusive tactics’ rather than focusing on the FDIC’s push to prevent harm to consumers and risks to banks. The attack is unfortunate, given that most people want government to have their back.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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April 7 - April 13, 2016 • Page 9 Westside Gazette Miami Heat: Erik Spoelstra deser ves a lot of praise Miami Dolphins: What should the Dolphins do at RB? deserves

By D’Joumbarey A. Moreau Three.

At most that might be the number of coaches you could legitimately make an argument that they are better coaches than the Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. After Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers, you’ll be lost for thoughts thinking there are better candidates around the league.

In Miami, we’re so used to winning all the time that when we don’t it’s looked at as a problem. Everyone can’t win everything all the time, but with the way that Spoelstra has developed this Heat franchise by putting his fingertips on everything you’d think otherwise.

When the All-Star break hit and the Heat had a 29-24 record it looked like the team hit a point of no return and their future wasn’t going to become bright. Worse than getting a low seed in the playoff race, many people were fearful that Miami might miss the playoffs altogether. That’s when the news got even worse, and like they say when it rains it pours.

The franchise found out that their leading scorer Chris Bosh was going to miss the remainder of the season due to potential

clotting of blood in the lungs.

For as bad as the situation looked, Spoelstra didn’t quit and continue to rally the troops as he preached patience and establishing good habits on the court along the way. Fast forward three months later and the Miami Heat have the best record in the NBA since the AllStar Break. With big wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls, Miami has started to exert their dominance over their Eastern Conference foes. It’s also a reason why a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon and have picked them as one of the potential teams who could emerge from the Eastern Conference to reach the NBA Finals and all it took was a change in style.

Fast forward three months later and the Miami Heat have one of best records in the NBA

MISCELLANEOUS

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.

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since the All-Star Break. With big wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls, Miami has started to exert their dominance over their Eastern Conference foes.

With all of the dilemmas that Miami has faced this season should Spoelstra be nominated as one of the Coach of the Year candidates? You better believe he should be.

After the injury to Chris Bosh, it would wreck most coaches’ chances to make the playoffs or sustain any type of consistency.

Instead, the opposite happened under the leadership of Spoelstra.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

By D’Joumbarey A. Moreau It’s safe to say that the Miami Dolphins have a unique way of conducting business when it comes to acquiring talent for their team.

The reason that’s said is because in the 2012 NFL Draft the Dolphins found a gem when they drafted the hometown hero, running back Lamar Miller in the fourth round of the.

After 32 teams in the league passed on Miller three times the Dolphins took a flyer from the running back from Miami Killian. The move couldn’t have been smarter because the shifty but dynamic running back became their workhorse for the next three seasons. Four years

later and Miller had one 1,000 yard season, two 900 yard seasons and had three seasons where he scored at least seven touchdowns. In such a short period of time Miller became a dynamic running back that fans were proud to have a part of their team.

Four years with the franchise and Miller had one 1,000 yard season, two seasons where he had at least 700 yards, and he scored, at least, nine touchdowns in each of his last two years with the franchise. In such a short period of time, Miller became a dynamic running back that fans were proud to have a part of their team. What made it even sweeter was the fact that Miller was on-ly 24-

years-old and he was only going to get better as he started to hit the prime of his career.

That’s why a lot of fans were upset that the Dolphins didn’t make a serious enough offer to keep Miller in Miami and now he’s the new franchise back for the Houston Texans.

To make matters worse the situation could’ve been avoided had management signed Miller in 2014, the year before his contract expired.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Page 10 • April 7 - April 13, 2016

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Westside Gazette

City of Fort Lauderdale accepting nominations for Citizens Recognition Awards served the citizens of Fort Lauderdale for a significant number of years and whose service has made a significant impact on the development and quality of life for the community. (This person may be retired, deceased

or separated from the City.)

The Citizens Committee of Recognition will review the nominations and make their recommendations to the City Commission for final approval. The 2015-2016 recipients will be re-

cognized at the 42nd Annual Citizens Recognition Awards event later this year.

For more information, visit www.fortlauderdale.gov/ccr, e m a i l publicaffairs@fortlauderdale.gov, or call (954) 828-5942.

Broward County’s first African American School Board member, the late Dr. Kathleen Cooper Wright, honored with statue unveiling ceremony ever that goal may be,” Judge Wright added.

Dr. Dorothy Orr, former Broward County Interim School Board superintendent, worked alongside Dr. Wright and attended the unveiling ceremony, reflected upon the impact that Dr. Wright had on the educational landscape of Broward County. Both Dr. Wright and Dr. Orr were natives of Fort Lauderdale and attended Dillard High School during the days of school segregation in the 1950’s. Dr. Orr spoke ad-

2016 Citizens Recognition Award recipients with Fort Lauderdale City Commission.

From left: Mayor John P. “Jack” Seiler; Vice Mayor Robert L. McKinzie; Commissioner Romney Rogers; Greg Brewton, Exemplary Former City Employee; Sharon MajorHughes, Citizen of the Year; Stanford K. Smoker, Honored Founder; Donald Singer, Distinguished Citizen; Commissioner Bruce G. Roberts; and Commissioner Dean J. Trantalis FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – The City of Fort Lauderdale is accepting nominations for the 2015-2016 Citizens Recognition Awards. The nomination form

Empire’ star Jussie Smollett (Cont'd from FP) “Getting tested, knowing your status, being responsible for yourself and other people is so important — being honest with yourself, number one, so you can be honest with everyone else,” he said.

Smollett also shared words of optimism for those who have been infected and are seeking proper treatment.

“We have to remember that it’s not a death sentence. You can live with it and you can live a beautiful, wonderful life with it, but it’s also something that we can prevent,” he said.

is available online at www.fortlauderdale.gov/ccr and submissions are due by Friday, April 15, 2016 at 5 p.m.

The Citizens Recognition Awards recognize Fort Lauderdale citizens whose efforts and achievements foster civic pride and responsibility, encourage

South Plantation High School graduate (Cont'd from Page 2) Serving in the Navy, Andre said he is learning about being a more respectable leader, sailor and person through handling numerous responsibilities.

“The Navy has taught me that everything is what you make it,” said Andre. “You are the only person who can keep yourself from achieving your highest level of success.”

public service, develop appreciation of the City’s heritage, and significantly contribute to the development of the community. Award categories include: Honored Founder – awarded to a courageous citizen who prepared the way for future growth and harmony in Fort Lauderdale Citizen of the Year – awarded to a Fort Lauderdale resident who, in the opinion of the Citizens Committee of Recognition and the City Commission, has made the greatest contribution to the community in the current year Distinguished Citizen – awarded to a resident of the community who has contributed to the development of Fort Lauderdale over a number of years (i.e., a pioneer).

Exemplary Former City Employee – awarded to a former City employee who has

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WRIGHT

mirably as she shared her personal reflections on Dr. Wright from the perspective of being the liaison for the superintendent’s office to the Broward County School Board.

“When she spoke with you, she spoke with knowledge that she had and she explained things very well so that you could understand clearly what she was saying. She was no nonsense. She had a way about her in dealing with people.

When it came to business she was just-no nonsense.”

Kathleen Laurel Cooper Wright, pioneer School Board Member

(Cont'd from FP) Dr. Rosalind Osgood serves as the chairperson on the Broward County School Board in commemoration of 100 years of academic excellence as well as co-chair for The Kathleen Wright Project Committee. This moment in history was particularly gratifying for Dr. Osgood, who benefited first hand due to the efforts of Dr. Wright.

“Dr. Wright paved the way for me. I thank God for blessing me to be a part of the leadership team for the unveiling. . May her spirit live on in each of us as we continue to create opportunities for our children to grow every day.”

Perhaps no one knew her better than her husband, retired Broward County Judge Zebedee Wright, also a native of Fort Lauderdale and community leader in his own right, who stood for social justice and quality education and opportunities for those within Broward County’s African American community.

“Kathy was a longtime teacher in the system over at Dillard High School and at Broward Community College and she was a very dedicated individual toward the education of children. She thought only of the kids. She never considered adults in favor of different things for people; everything was geared toward the child.

“The conception and the idea was great. I’m very happy that it finally came to a conclusion. I wasn’t too thrilled with the results because that image is no more than a statue. It is not a reflection of Kathleen. In other words, I’m saying the sculptor himself apparently didn’t talk to people close to her like her children, her sister, her brothers. See, in order for a sculptor to do a real job in catching the image of the person their sculpturing, they’ve got to get a real feel for that person. And obviously he didn’t because the sculpture itself, that statue is just a statue, it’s not Kathy.

“But, I’m proud that it’s there because it can serve as an inspiration, particularly for young Blacks to reach their maximum heights in their pursuit of what-

"Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way".

Nikki Giovanni

Democratic National Convention attendees Freda R. Wright (l) and Kathleen C. Wright raise their locked hands as they listen to Reverend Jesse Jackson’s speech.

July 17, 1984. Angela Pancrazio, photographer. Gelatin silver print.

(Collection of Oakland Museum of California) A quiet, modest, yet dynamic personality, Kathleen Laurel Cooper was the ninth of 11 children born to Sam and Kathleen Cooper of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 31, 1935. She attended Dillard Elementary and High School in Fort Lauderdale. Kathleen married Zebedee Wright in 1953. They had three children: two sons – Ronald and Anthony, and one daughter, Laureatte.

Wright graduated with distinction from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with an emphasis in History. Shortly thereafter, she began teaching at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.

As a teacher and a person active in numerous social, political and charitable organizations, Kathleen always urged people to get involved in their community and to work through the system to bring about the changes they felt were needed. Some of her community service involvement includes: Secretary, Vice-President, and President of the Broward County Social Studies Council; Secretary, Vice-President and President of Delta Sigma Theta Public Service Sorority; service on a variety of local committees; Guild President and Vice-President of Churchwomen at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church; member of the Democratic Executive Committee, Democratic Women’s Club, National Organizations of Women, Women’s Political Caucus, League of Women Voters, and Northwest Democratic Club. She also was active in several efforts to bring voters to the polls in the Northwest communities. She served on the Board of Directors and was Chairperson of Women’s and Girl’s Work at the Northwest YMCA, in addition to being a “Y” Club Advisor. Dr. Wright was a founder of the Black Alliance for School Educators, a chairperson of the Affirmative Action committee of Broward County’s Democratic Party, and a board member of the Early Childhood Development Association.

It was this attitude and devotion to community service which led Wright to become a candidate for the School Board of Broward County, Florida in 1974. The challenge of running against an incumbent was a monumental undertaking. Through hard work, vigorous campaigning, and unwavering commitment to service, she succeeded and became the first Black Broward County School Board member. Mrs. Wright subsequently served as Vice-Chairman of the School Board.

Tragically, Wright’s life ended on Aug. 27, 1985 as result of injuries suffered in the airplane crash of Delta Flight 191 in Dallas, Tex. on Aug. 2, 1985.

As a young woman, Wright lived a most interesting life that is worthy of emulation by young Blacks today. She gave a full life of community service of the highest quality.

"We are living in a world where your color matters more than your character".

Sister Souljah

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Westside Gazette

Health Center leader inducted into the Grassroots Hall of Fame

Annie Neasman, president and CEO of Jessie Trice Community Health Center Inc. (c) BETHESDA, MD –Annie Neasman, president and CEO of Jessie Trice Community Health Center Inc., in Miami Dade, Fla., has been inducted into the Grassroots Hall of Fame for the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). Grassroots Hall of Fame members have made lasting contributions to insuring the creation, survival and strength of Community Health Centers and the Health Center Movement through their dedicated and tireless efforts over many years.

Neasman was presented the Hall of Fame Award at the 2016 NACHC Policy and Issues Forum in Washington, D.C., an event attended by more than 2,000 health center leaders from around the country.

“Annie has been a passionate advocate on behalf of health centers and the movement would not be what it is today without her dedication, skilled leadership and tireless energy,” said Tom Van Coverden, president and CEO of NACHC. “Annie has been on Capitol Hill many times carrying the health center message, and rallying public support for funding.

We’re deeply appreciative of her commitment, hard work and leadership in advocacy.”

Neasman was singled out for the award for her long-standing and passionate commitment to advocacy. She has aworked diligently to educate leaders at the local, state, and national level about the value of investment in health centers, including First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Jessie Trice Community Health Center, Inc. owns and/ or operates 51 facilities, including nine Comprehensive Primary Care centers, a women’s substance use residential program, forty school-based locations and two university centers. The center’s multi-cultural, multilingual, and multidisciplinary staff serves a diverse population of over 39,575 patients who make more than 126,000 visits annually.

The Jessie Trice CHC is part of a national network of Community Health Centers that started more than fifty years ago as a daring experiment in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty campaign.

Today, that pilot project has evolved into the largest and most successful primary healthcare system in the United States. Health centers serve more than 24 million Americans (one in 14 people) who live in more than 9,200 rural and urban communities. Health centers also save the U.S. healthcare system more than $24 billion every year in reduced overall costs from preventable hospitalizations and avoidable emergency room visits. To learn more about the mission and accomplishments of heatlh cent-

ers please visit www.nachc.org.

Founded in 1970, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and expand access to quality, community-responsive health care for America’s medically underserved and unin-

sured. NACHC represents the nation’s network of over 1,200 FederallyQualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve over 24 million people through over 9,200 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.

NAACP Statement on Supreme Court upholding “One Person, One Vote”

BALTIMORE , MD– NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks released the following statement about today’s Supreme Court decision on voter representation in Evenwel V. Abbott: “We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court today re-affirmed a key principle of our representative system upheld at every lower level of the court system – that people who hold elected office are chosen by and represent the interests of ALL the people who live in their districts, regardless of whether they were active voters, or supportive of an individual candidate’s or party’s agenda and philosophy.

“If voting is a civic sacrament, then the principle of “one person, one vote” is a civic commandment enshrined in our Constitution. Today, the Court unanimously affirmed that principle.

“In this year, when candidates for president are asking people to support policies that would denigrate, demean, discriminate and even deport people who have been living and working in America, the NAACP remains unapologetic in our fight against attempts to silence large segments of our population, or game the election process to preserve their own power and influence.

“Regardless of age, prior background, citizenship status or other circumstance, everyone deserves a voice in important policy decisions affecting critical issues like education, health, and job creation and economic development. Given these and other wide-spread attempts by lawmakers since 2010 to weaken the voices of the poor, the young, voters of color, we consider today’s decision to be a huge win for our democracy.

“As we remember and honor the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin King, Jr., who was taken from us 48 years ago today, we shall continue our work to perfect this Union and demand that all have a seat and a voice at the table to declare that Our Lives Matter, and Our Votes Count.”

Community Christian School (CCS) would like to congratulate the new reigning King and Queen for 2016.

Crowned king is Master Christian Carter, age three. King Christian is the son of Melvin Carter & Christa Loften.

Crowned Queen is Miss Chloe Keen, age four. Queen Chloe is the daughter of Oral & Destiny Keen. CCS is under the direction of Mrs. Diana O. Eubanks, operated by the Community Church of God in Fort Lauderdale, 1300 N.W. 19 Ct., (954) 527-7886, Rev. Dr. J. Curtis Eubanks is the senior pastor.

April 7- April 13, 2016 • Page 11

Page 12 • April 7 - April 13, 2016

Westside Gazette

The brief wondr ous life of teachers’ mental health wondrous

By Dr. Isaiah B. Pickens, Ph.D. Fresh chalk and clean seats line the classroom as the promise of changing lives fills the heads and hearts of new teachers prepping their first lessons. The fresh car smell enveloping the next few months inevitably will fade and an aroma filled with the demands of teaching —from ensuring students pass standardized tests to addressing their behavioral challenges — linger in the air.

As a clinical psychologist who has worked in school-based clinics and as the son of educators, I found the data from two studies — the federal review

of teacher job outcomes and survey results from the American Federation of Teachers — particularly intriguing. Findings from that research indicate that 78 percent of teachers express overwhelming levels of stress, but only 17 percent of teachers leave the profession within the first five years. These findings provide a nuanced picture for understanding an important contributor to our students’ academic success: teachers’ mental health.

The journey leading teachers to emotional burnout is multifaceted and influenced by both how teachers deal with stress and how stress shows up in the

classroom. Christina Maslach, a trailblazer for understanding professional stress that overwhelms teachers, defines burnout as a person having emotional exhaustion, feeling disconnected from others and her work and difficulty feeling accomplished in her job. Few antagonists to teachers’ mental wellness contribute to burnout as much as feeling incapable of successfully fulfilling teaching responsibilities — also known as low teacher self-efficacy.

Having difficulty connecting with students, classroom behavior problems, perceptions of limited support from administration, and little time to re-

charge outside of work can undermine the most resilient teachers’ mental health. Equally important, teachers’ struggling to manage stress can unintentionally create tense classroom environments that model unhealthy stress-reduction strategies for student’s learning how to become socially and emotionally healthy people.

Building mentally healthy teachers, who can subsequently build emotionally healthy students, is a benefit that many in the education community have taken seriously. While programs such as School Climate Teams and collaborative groups focusing on social-emotional learning appear to be growing, the scattered approach to implementing these support systems nationwide brings into question how well teacher mental health and stress mana-

www.thewestsidegazette.com gement is systemically addressed, particularly for teachers in classrooms with significant behavior disruptions. Integrating additional resources into already-packed professional development days and extracurricular laden school years may be difficult, but an opportunity may lie in plain sight with targeted approaches to building teacher self-efficacy.

Helping teachers feel competent in managing classroom behavior and connecting with students in meaningful ways are core intangibles that both facilitate healthy learning environments and anecdotally have provided teachers rejuvenating moments to press beyond mentally draining work days.

At minimum, training on basic classroom management is already integrated into teacher’s professional development, but what if a holistic approach was adopted that addressed how healthy management of behavior and emotionally over-

Former Broward prosecutor and mother of two, Florence Taylor Barner, is running for Broward County Court Judge in Group 3. Here is Barner (second from l) with the new mayor of Coconut Creek, Mayor Becky Tooley (second from r) showing some love to the guys before they head off to the special Olympics in West Palm Beach, Fla. This was an autism awareness event where autistic kids were invited to create the tree in the background to kick off Autism Awareness Month. Each puzzle piece was placed there by an autistic kid in the community. The people in the photo are all autistic and are also getting ready to go to the special Olympic trials. Coconut Creek Community Center and the City of Coconut Creek sponsored the First Annual Autism Awareness Project.

whelming situations impacted both teacher and student mental wellbeing? An approach that acknowledges the multifaceted identities of the teacher and student as well as the seen and unseen stressors they face — the burden of being a single parent and a teacher or the weight of feeling the stereotypes of gender or race in the classroom but having no outlet to express it. Whether it’s mindfulness-based lunch breaks for teachers or employing culturally competent approaches that encourage classes to dissect a book by Junot Diaz that facilitates discussions about race, finding practical and healthy ways for teachers and students to unload these stressors may provide a foundation for greater systemic change that addresses teacher stress beyond the classroom.

In the process, we give teachers the chance to better connect with students by modeling healthy ways of dealing with stress and extend the longevity of their mental wellbeing by helping them fully believe they are the dynamic teachers they are capable of becoming.

Follow Dr. Isaiah B. Pickens, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ pickenspoints

Dr. Isaiah B. Pickens, Ph.D., A licensed clinical psychologist in New York City and founder of iOpening Enterprises.

Baltimore Sun via Getty Images