Week 29 - New York Beacon

Transcription

New York’s
Beacon
website:
NewYorkBeacon.net
Vol. 20 No. 29
Showing the Way to Truth and Justice
July 18, 2013 - July 24, 2013
E-Mail
[email protected]
75 Cents
NOT GUILTY?
Innocent verdict sparks protests across U.S.
PEOPLE POWER — Citywide protests and demonstrations in New York greeted the George Zimmerman trial verdict in Florida as thousands joined protests across the country.
In Times Square traffic was held up for more than four hours as protesters from the Bronx, Harlem and Brooklyn converged on the famous square.
(See Story On Page 3)
100 more vigils and demonstrations planned for weekend
(See Story On Page 3)
Phony Manhattan employment agency
is charged with scamming job seekers
BEACON, July 18, 2013 - July 24, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
2
First lady Michelle Obama speaking at a “Let’s Move!” program for
400 children at the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools in
Clinton, Miss., Feb. 27. ROGELIO V. SOLIS
First Lady announces winners
of healthy lunchtime challenge
Special to the NNPA from The sophisticated recipe entries from all
over the country that featured
White House
healthy ingredients like salmon,
First Lady Michelle Obama Greek yogurt and ground turkey,”
along with the Department of said Tanya Steel, Epicurious ediEducation and the Department of tor-in-chief.
Entries had to represent each
Agriculture announced last week
the winners of a nationwide of the food groups, either in one
recipe challenge to promote dish or as part of a lunch meal,
healthy lunches as a part of the with fruits and veggies making
first lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative. up roughly half of the recipe.
The 54 winners, including 12- The winners were chosen by a
year-old Devanshi Udeshi from panel of judges that included
Sugar Land, Texas, will join the representatives from Epicurious,
first lady for a healthy lunch, a the Let’s Move! Initiative and
visit to the White House kitchen White House staff.
“The Healthy Lunchtime Chalgarden followed by a Kid’s State
Dinner at the White House lenge makes healthy eating fun and
educational and I am inspired evhosted by Obama on July 9.
“Our Kids’ State Dinner is one ery year by the creative efforts of
of my favorite events of the year, these kids to create healthy reciand the kid chefs who come from pes,” Agriculture Secretary Tom
around the country never cease Vilsack said.
The list of winners and recipes
to impress and inspire me with
their creativity and ingenuity,” can be found at http://
www. r e c i p e c h a l l e n g e .
Obama stated.
The second Healthy Lunch- epicurious.com.
Additionally, a printable e-cooktime Challenge, originated by
online food website Epicurious, book of winning recipes will be
received more than 1,300 entries available in July at http://
http://
featuring wholesome, tasty in- www.letsmove.gov,
gredients including salmon, www.epicurious.com, http://
black beans and ground turkey. www.usda.gov and http://
“This year, we received very www.ed.gov.
Attorney General Eric T.
Schneiderman has lodged criminal charges against Elena
Shchukina and Ronald Ulysse for
allegedly conning unsuspecting
and unemployed New Yorkers by
operating a phony employment
agency in Manhattan and stealing hundreds of dollars in fees
from dozens of victims. By advertising non-existent jobs to the
public, the defendants, who each
face felony fraud and petit larceny charges, conned honest
job-seeking New Yorkers into
paying for fraudulent job placement services. They each face up
to 4 years behind bars.
The two were arrested and arraigned in Manhattan Criminal
Court last week.
“These imposters conned dozens of victims by offering them
hope that they were on their way
to securing a steady job. But
rather than helping them find employment, the defendants simply
stole their money,” Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman said.
“By repeatedly making false representations and demanding fees
for non-existent jobs and non-existent services, these individuals
scammed the unemployed and
those looking for better jobs and
eroded confidence in lawful organizations dedicated to helping
people secure their futures. My
office is committed to bringing
the perpetrators of such schemes
to justice.”
According to the complaint
filed in Manhattan Criminal Court
today, operating under various
business names — including “Job
Force One” and “United Care Service” — the defendants promised applicants immediate job opportunities, attractive wages and
benefits for maintenance and
cleaning jobs.
The court papers charge that
unsuspecting job-seekers were
required to pay hundreds of dollars in phony application fees
before they were sent to fictitious
Eric T. Schneiderman
employers, false addresses or actual employers that had no association with the defendants. The
papers allege that when job-seekers returned to demand their
money back, the defendants
promised refunds but never paid
them and later vacated the location.
The Attorney General’s felony
complaint charges each defendant with scheme to defraud in the
first degree and five counts of
petit larceny The scheme involved dozens of job applicants
who were solicited and who paid
hundreds of dollars in fraudulent
application fees between about
December 2011 and October 2012.
According to statements made
by prosecutors at arraignment, the
Attorney General’s investigation
found that the defendants operated from multiple locations in
New York City, including 688 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. When their scheme was exposed at one location, the defendants simply closed their doors
and re-opened at a new location.
The investigation continues.
Attorney General
Schneiderman thanked the New
York State Department of State
(NYS DOS) and, in particular its Division of Consumer Protection, for
referring the case and for their valuable assistance.
New York Secretary of State Cesar
A. Perales said, “We applaud the
New York State Attorney General’s
office for taking on this case on behalf of vulnerable New Yorkers. The
Division of Consumer Protection
will continue working closely with
the AG’s Office and other law-enforcement agencies to expose these
bad actors and help eradicate fraud
and abuse in our State.”
The defendants, Elena
Shchukina, 22, of New York, N.J., and
Ronald Ulysse, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y.,
are presumed innocent until proven
guilty in a court of law.
If you feel you have been a victim
of this type of crime or if you have
additional information regarding this
matter, please contact the Attorney
General’s office at (212) 416-6521.
The Attorney General’s Consumer Frauds Bureau issued the following advice to New Yorkers seeking employment:
* Consumers seeking to use an employment agency should not deal
with any agency that poses as an
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
National Black MBA slates annual conference for Sept. 10
The National Black MBA
Association, Inc. announced
its 35 th Annual Conference
and Exposition, September 10
— 14, 2013 at the George R.
Brown Convention Center in
Houston, TX. Highly regarded as one of the nation’s
largest business and professional conferences and expositions, the annual event
matches job seekers with opportunities for some of the
c o u n t r y ’s l e a d i n g t a l e n t ,
NBMBAA members, and Fortune 500 corporations.
With the theme “Courageous Leadership: Owning
Yo u r O w n S u c c e s s , ” t h i s
year’s conference will offer
attendees industry best practices to prepare, distinguish
and position themselves for
advancement in a global
workforce. National thought
leaders and presenters across
business, media, not-for-profit,
academia and Generation Next include Steve Arneson, Ph.D. —
“Bootstrap Leadership: Developing
Your Leadership Brand,” Dr. Renee
Booth — “Leadership is Your Fate:
Using Your Authentic Leadership
Style to Shape Your Environment
and Maximize Your Leadership Impact,” Pamela Y. Culpepper — “Global Game Changers: Energizing the
Next Generation,” Dimitrius
Hutcherson — “Networking: Financial Services,” and more.
The 2013 NBMBAA Conference
& Exposition honorary co-chairs
feature Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.,
CEO, Black Enterprise; Bernard A.
Harris, Jr., CEO and managing partner, Vesalius; Harry Johnson, president and CEO, Friends of the Memorial Foundation, Inc., and Gale
V. King, EVP, chief administrative
officer, Nationwide Insurance. “We
are privileged to have the support
from such a distinguished group
of leaders as chairs that embody
and live the mission of our organization,” said Jesse Tyson, interim president and CEO,
NBMBAA. “With more than forty
years of service and an abiding
commitment to creating opportunities for others, this year’s conference represents one chapter
from the rich history and legacypast, present, and future for the
NBMBAA.”
This year also marks the first
year of an unprecedented partnership with Rice University. For
the first time ever, the conference
will have an academic institution
as a lead sponsor. “After over
forty years as an organization, we
are still proudly celebrating
breakthroughs,” said Audrey
Hines, board chairperson of the
NBMBAA. “We are honored to
have the prestigious Rice University join the mission of the
NBMBAA as lead academic
sponsor during our 35th Annual
Conference & Exposition,” added
Hines. “It’s fitting that Rice University will join us as a lead academic sponsor while we commemorate 35 years of conference
history in Houston.”
Through innovative programming, compelling national figures
and thought leaders, purposeful
networking, and access to employers from across the globe, the conference will also highlight key organizational initiatives that include
a Town Hall luncheon with some
of the nation’s highly regarded African-American influencers, a
Case Competition, Leadership &
Entrepreneurial Institutes, Scholarship Presentations, Career Fair
& Exposition, Professional Development Sessions, and more.
To date, this year’s sponsors include Abbott, Accenture, Bank of
America, Black Enterprise,
Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Comcast/
NBC Universal, ConAgra, Dell, Dow
Chemicals, Eaton Corporation,
ExxonMobil, FedEx, Ford Motor
Company, GE, Genentech, GeorgiaPacific, LLC, GlaxoSmithKline,
Highmark Corporation, Home Depot,
Humana, Intel Corporation, John
Deere, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser
Permanente, Lowe’s, Macy’s,
Marriott, Nationwide Insurance,
Northwestern Mutual Life, PNC, Rice
University, State Farm, SunTrust
Banks, Target, Travelers, United
Health Group, and Wells Fargo.
NBMBAA has also partnered with
United Airlines to offer discounted
travel to this year’s conference. Visit
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/
apps/booking/flight/
s e a r c h RT. a s p x ? P r o m o C o d e =
ZQ2C506107&CS=N for more information.
For a complete listing of scheduled events or to register for this
year’s conference, please visit http:/
/www.nbmbaaconference.org.
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By J. Zamgba Browne
Special to NY Beacon
Reaction was swift across the
country to last week’s all-white
Florida jury acquittal of George
Zimmerman in the shooting death
of an unarmed 17-year-old
Trayvon Martin. The Feb.26, 2011
murder spawned a nationwide
movement of protests.
Zimmerman said he shot and
killed Martin in self-defense under the State of Florida’s so-called
Stand Your Ground law. Hours after the verdict, his legal team said
it definitely will try to get him back
the very weapon he used to cut
down the victim.
President Barack Obama, urged
Americans to honor the slain teenager by acting to curb gun violence.
“The death of Trayvon Martin
was a tragedy not just for his family, or for any one community, but
for America. I know this case has
ANGRY NEW YORKERs — Thousands of New Yorkers poured unto elicited strong passions. And in
the wake of the verdict, I know
the street to protest not guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial .
those passions may be running
even higher.
But we are a nation of laws, and
POLS RALLY —Cong. Hakeem Jeffries speaking at the press conference by local politicians on the not guilty verdict in the George
Zimmerman trial. Flanking him are some of the political leaders. (Photo
by Louis Boone)
a jury has spoken. I now ask every many lives across this country on a
American to respect the call for daily basis.
calm reflection from two parents
“We should ask ourselves, as inwho lost their young son.
dividuals and as a society, how we
And as we do, we should ask can prevent future tragedies like
ourselves if we’re doing all we can this. As citizens, that’s a job for all
to widen the circle of compassion of us. That’s the way to honor
and understanding in our own Trayvon Martin,” said President
communities.
Obama.
“We should ask ourselves if
Reps Charles Rangel, Gregory
we’re doing all we can to stem the
tide of gun violence that claims too
100 vigils planned in wake
of Zimmerman’s verdict Jordon Davis murdered under guise of
By Alastair Jamieson
Vigils will be held at federal buildings in 100 cities Saturday to urge
the Justice Department to step up
a civil rights investigation of
George Zimmerman for the death
of Trayvon Martin.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, head of
the National Action Network and
host of an MSNBC show, announced plans for rallies across the
nation on the TODAY show Monday after a night of protest in some
of America’s biggest cities.
Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted of
second-degree murder by a Florida
jury. The Justice Department says
it has an “open investigation” into
the death of Martin, 17.
While some legal experts doubt
the feds will ultimately file charges,
especially since state prosecutors
did not make race an issue during
the trial, Sharpton said he believes
there are grounds for a hate-crime
case.
“I think they were not aggressive in many areas, Sharpton said
of the Florida state attorney’s office handling of the Zimmerman
case, adding that the feds could
bring a sharper focus.
Zimmerman, who is of white
and Hispanic descent, said he
shot Martin, who was black and
unarmed, in self-defense while
being attacked Feb, 26, 2012, in a
gated community of Sanford, Fla.
Sharpton said the neighborhood watch volunteer’s comment
to a police dispatcher just before
the shooting that “these guys always get away” suggests the
feds have room to act.
A six-woman jury acquitted
Zimmerman late Saturday after
16.5 hours of deliberations.
After the verdict, defense lawyer Mark O’Mara said race had
not played any role in
Zimmerman’s actions that night
and said his client had been
made a “scapegoat” by civil
rights advocates.
“I think that things would have
‘Stand Your Ground, Self Defense’ law
By Walter Smith
In the wake of the Trayvon Martin case verdict coming down during the weekend, media attention is
starting to shift to similar ongoing
cases.
One example, the case of slain 17year-old Jordan Davis, is now making its way into the spotlight. According to the facts of the case,
Davis, who is black, was in an SUV
with some of his friends when
Michael Dunn, 46, allegedly shot into
the vehicle while it was parked at a
gas station following an argument
about “thug music.”
On Nov. 23, 2012, Michael Dunn
and his girlfriend, Rhonda Rouer,
were on the way back from a wedding where he had consumed at least
three alcoholic beverages.
Rhonda Rouer told police when
they parked next to a car with loud
music at the Gate Station on
Southside Boulevard Nov. 23,
Jordon Davis
Michael Dunn said “I hate that thug
music” as he had said to her before.
She went inside to buy wine and
chips, and heard several shots fired
while she was inside. She looked out
and saw Dunn, but did not see a gun.
She went outside and he urgently told
her to ‘get in the car, get in the car!’
As she did, she saw Dunn put his
gun back in the glove box. Dunn told
her he shot at the car with the loud
music — She asked him why. “He said
‘I feared for my life.’ I said ‘why?’ He
said ‘they threatened to kill me.’” The
interviewing policeman asked, “And
he also told you at some point they
were advancing?” Rouer replied, “Correct.” “But he did not elaborate on what
advancing meant?” the policeman continued. “Exactly”, Rouer replied.
Dunn asked the teens to turn down
the volume of the music, but, his attorney said, the teens turned up the volume, threatened Dunn and brandished
a shotgun. Dunn grabbed a pistol from
the glove compartment of his car and
opened fire, before driving away, authorities say. Police said no weapon
was found on the teens or in the ve(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
Southern justice prevails again
By Walter Smith
COMMENTARY
The rights of young Black men
to walk the streets, to live in a safe
environment and exercise the
privileges of American citizenry
has been repealed. It’s not only a
crime to drive while black; it has
now become a crime to be black.
If there was any hope of ridding
the Black community of guns and
other weapons, kiss that premise
goodbye. Young black men must
be prepared to meet and defeat the
George Zimmermans of the world.
Rest assured, George
Zimmerman will pay for his crime
for the rest of his life. He can never
be without his gun, he can never
be comfortable in public, he will
forever have to look over shoulder in defense of his millions of
enemies. There is nowhere on
this earth where he can go and
feel safe. He probably would
have been better off in prison.
The “Not Guilty” verdict may be
a blessing in disguise for the
Trayvon Martin family.
America’s creed, “freedom
and justice for all” exclude
people of color. People of color
were not represented on the
George Zimmerman jury. The
jury should have been made up
of Trayvon Martin’s peers. No
one on that jury could have or
would have identified with
Walter Smith
Trayvon Martin. However they all
identified with George Zimmerman.
The world knows that George
Zimmerman initiated the scuffle
between himself and Trayvon
Martin except the “Seminole Six”.
The entire court was made up
of people of Caucasian decent:
The Prosecutors, the Defense, the
Jurors, and the Judge. Not one
shred of color in the entire court.
Sure there were blacks on the staff
of the attorneys but were obviously absent from the officers of
the court. This is southern justice
at its best.
In March of 1857, 156 years and
4 months ago, the United States
Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, declared that
all blacks — slaves as well as free
— were not and could never become citizens of the United States.
The court also declared the 1820
Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, thus permitting slavery in all
of the country’s territories.
The case before the court was
that of Dred Scott v. Sanford. Dred
Scott, a slave who had lived in the
free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin before moving
back to the slave state of Missouri,
had appealed to the Supreme Court
in hopes of being granted his freedom. Taney — a staunch supporter
of slavery and intent on protecting
southerners from northern aggres(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
3
Pols condemn verdict and urge
civil rights probe of acquittal
Laila Ali to host Little Miss African
American Scholarship Pageant gala
4
Kimberly McCarthy
Black woman Texas’
500th execution
Booth. She is alleged to have gone
By Akwasi Evans
Special to NNPA from NOKOA to Booth home to borrow a cup of
sugar, but when the elderly lady
The Observer
let her in the house, McCarthy at“What a waste of a beautiful girl, tacked the woman beating her with
Oh my God, what a waste of a a candelabra and stabbing her with
beautiful people. You express a butcher knife in the professor’s
concern, you pretend to under- Lancaster home south of Dallas.
stand You write treatise and McCarthy also cut off one of
manifesto on the holy sanctity of Booth’s fingers to steal her wedlife, Yet every day of your live, of ding ring.
Protesters of the execution careach of your lives, you murder
another individual. Hypocrite, ried signs saying, “”Protest the
you mothering hypocrite. You 500th Execution” and “Stop All
are blind to the self induced rav- Executions.” As the execution was
ages of your Weltanschauung.” being carried out they sang, “Wade
—— Excerpt for A Last Letter to in the Water.”
Family member expressed relief
Western Civilization
after waiting 16 years. ”It doesn’t
Anti-death penalty activists matter if this is the 500th execution
from Houston and Dallas piled or not,” said Randall Browning,
onto buses last Wednesday in Booth’s godson. “We’re just thinkroute to Huntsville to protest the ing about the justice that was
execution of Kimberly McCarthy. promised to us by the state of
McCarthy became the 500th death Texas.”
Before drawing her last breath
row inmate executed in Texas
since the state reintroduced the McCarthy looked up and said,
“This is not a loss. This is a win.
death penalty in 1982.
McCarthy, 52, was executed for You know where I’m going. I’m
the murder of Dorothy Booth; a going home to be with Jesus. Keep
71-year-old retired college psy- the faith. I love you all,” she ended.
McCarthy was pronounced
chology professor in 1997.
McCarthy was a 36-year old co(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
caine addict who lived near
Laila Ali will inspire the
hearts of many when she hosts
the 20-year anniversary of the
Little Miss African American
Scholarship Pageant (LMAA)
on Sunday, Aug.4, 2013 at 4:p.m.
at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in
Los Angeles, CA. Pageant
producer Lisa Ruffin has
planned a luminous affair for
her participants and attendees this year with a host of
celebrity judges that include
ABC-TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”
s t a r s C h a n d r a Wi l s o n a n d
James Pickens, Jr., OWN TV
star Kym Whitley from
“ R a i s i n g
Whitley,” Nicklelodean’s Arjay
Smith and ”Girlfriends” Golden
Brooks. The Wilshire Ebell is located at 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. in
Los Angeles, south of Wilshire
Blvdoffice.
The Little Miss African
American Scholarship Pageant
ha served as one of the
nation’s most astute educational programs dedicated to
empowering young African
American women between the
ages of 6 and 12 with the concepts of CAP - Confidence,
Awareness and Pride. Lisa
Ruffin, an actress and choreographer, has successfully utilized the pageant format to introduce girls from around the
country to the arts, introduce
them to public speaking and
engage them in individual creativity.
The full curriculum encompasses a summer program of
coaching, guest lectures and demonstrations on the heritage of the
African America experience. The
young ladies are tutored in voice
projection, poise, body movement
and memory technique by instructors from the worlds of art, entertainment and education.
The pageant has seen a host
of celebrity participation over the
years including LL Cool J, Jamie
Foxxand Taraji P. Henson . Jay
Leno even paid a holiday visit to
Ruffin and the pageant participants last Christmas, acknowledging the wonderful work Ruffin has
done over the years with a surprise visit from China Ann
McClain, the star of the Disney
Channel’s “A.N.T. Farm” and
Laila Ali
Tyler Perry’s ”House of Payne.”
This year’s host, Laila Ali is especially fitting for the vision of
LMAA. The mother of two, Ali is
a world-class athlete, fitness and
wellness expert, cooking enthusiast and the founder of the Laila
Ali Lifestyle Brand. The daughter of the legendary Muhammad
Ali, Laila is also a four-time undefeated world boxing champion. In
addition to her work as a cast member of NBC’s highly touted reality
program “Stars Earn Stripes”
where she competed to raise
money for a charity that supports
veterans and their children, Laila
h o s t s A B C - T V ’s “ E v e r y d a y
Health.”
“I get ecstatic and teary eyed
when I think about all the young
lives we have been able to touch
over a span of 20 years,” offers
Ruffin. “There are grown women
as well as young girls out there
in the world who we have positively influenced and I am just
extremely grateful.”
Reps Jeffries, Farenthold introduce patent litigation and innovation act
Congressmen Hakeem Jeffries
(D-NY) and Blake Farenthold (RTX) introduced the H.R. 2639, the
“Patent Litigation and Innovation
Act of 2013”. The bill represents
a bipartisan effort to promote
American innovation and job creation in the technology ecosystem by addressing the growing
problem of abusive patent litigation.
Cong. Jeffries said: “The
legislation is designed to provide a constructive framework
for patent infringement cases
to proceed while minimizing
the problem of abusive litigation. The explosion of patent
troll activity diverts resources
away from research and development, hinders innovation
and stifles entrepreneurship.
The civil litigation system is
critical to our democracy. In
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
Rep. Blake Farenthhold
this instance, Congress must
prevent it from being abused.”
The Patent Litigation and Innovation Act will require a
heightened pleading standard
in patent infringement actions,
provide end users with the opportunity to stay litigation and
limit unnecessarily burdensome
discovery until matters related
to dismissal motions, transfer
of venue issues and claim construction are decided. Additionally, the bill will increase
Rule 11 judicial scrutiny for
abusive litigation in order to
discourage frivolous matters
from being commenced.
Cong. Farenthold observed::
“Americans need to know they
are safe from abusive litigation
when they buy a product off
the shelf and use it for its intended purpose. The solutions proposed in this bill will
deter patent trolls without impeding the rights of responsible
intellectual property holders.”
In June 2013, the Executive
Office of the President released
a report on patent litigation and
the innovation economy which
cited an exponential increase in
litigation activity brought by
patent assertion entities (PAEs),
commonly known as patent
trolls. The Software & Information Industry Association has
said that lawsuits brought by
PAEs resulted in the loss of more
than $29 billion annually and
over $500 billion over the last two
decades.
PAEs are increasingly concentrating their efforts on small and
medium sized businesses, including start-up technology companies in New York City’s growing
innovation economy. Last year,
55% of patent litigation cases
targeted businesses that make
under $10 million annually. The
expense involved in frivolous
patent litigation is often crippling, thereby justifying reform.
This bill seeks to redirect such
costs away from frivolous litigation and back into innovation.
5
6
Editorial
Justice denied
Beacon
By Marian Wright Edelman
Child Watch
Walter Smith: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Miatta Haj Smith: Co-Publisher & Executive Editor
William Egyir: Managing Editor
The criminal injustice
system failed Trayvon
By George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist
Watching television Saturday
night, I sat in stunned silence as
the jury returned its not guilty
verdict for George Zimmerman in
connection with the shooting
death of 17-year-old Trayvon
Martin in Sanford, Fla. Then, I
was jolted by a comment made by
Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda:
“… We live in a great country that
has a great criminal justice system. It is not perfect but it is the
best in the world and we respect
the jury’s verdict.”
In what country does de la
Rionda live?
Surely, he couldn’t be referring
to the United States. Granted,
making the prosecutor prove his
or her case against a defendant is
a great idea. So is the notion of
being presumed innocent until
proven guilty. But when it comes
to African Americans, this is by
no stretch of the imagination “a
great criminal justice system.”
I don’t say this out of any bitterness over the failure of the jurors to convict Zimmerman for
murdering Trayvon Martin. Yes, I
thought Zimmerman was guilty of
murder or, at the least, manslaughter. But as much as it pains me, I
must also acknowledge that the
state of Florida did a poor job
prosecuting Zimmerman.
Trayvon’s death is a cold reminder that the Black homicide
rate is more than six times that of
Whites. According to 2010 FBI
statistics analyzed by the Violence
Policy Center, the homicide rate for
Black victims was 16.32 per
100,000, compared to a rate of 2.66
per 100,000 for Whites.
For Black women, the rate was
4.28 per 100,000, compared to 1.48
per 100,000 for White females. And
African-American men were homicide victims at a rate of 29.50 per
100,000, compared to 7.08 per
100,000 for White males.
“America faces a continuing
epidemic of homicide among
young black males,” according to
the introduction to a Violence
Policy Center report titled, “Black
Homicide in the United States: An
Analysis of 2010 Homicide Data.”
The report, published in January,
continued, “The devastation homicide inflicts on black teens and
adults is a national crisis, yet it is
all too often ignored outside of
affected communities.”
And what happens when criminal cases move through America’s
“great criminal justice system?”
Richard Pryor used to joke that
criminal justice in the U.S. means
“just us.” Although the comedian
usually evoked a laugh – unlike
Zimmerman lawyer’s knock-knock
joke – this is no laughing matter.
American Progress, the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, collected some interesting statistics
and published an article titled,
“The Top 10 Most Startling Facts
About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States.”
Among the facts:
·
People of color make up
about 30 percent of the U.S. population, but 60 percent of those imprisoned.
·
Once convicted, Black
offenders receive sentences that
10 percent longer than White offenders for the same crimes. In
addition, Blacks are 21 percent
more likely to receive mandatoryminimum sentences than White
defendants and 20 percent more
likely to be sentenced to prison.
·
Although
AfricanAmericans comprise 14 percent of
regular drug users, they are 37
percent of those arrested for drug
offenses.
·
Although Black juveniles are approximately 16 percent
of the youth population, 37 percent of their cases are moved to
criminal court and 58 percent of
African-American youth are sent
to adult prisons.
·
Blacks are twice as likely
to be arrested during a traffic stop
than Whites and four times as
likely to experience the use of force
during encounters with police.
News coverage and commentary on the Zimmerman trail demonstrated the toxic state of race
relations in the U.S., despite having a Black president in the White
House.
Geraldo Rivera said on Fox
News Friday, “I see those six ladies in the jury putting themselves
on that rainy night, in that housing complex that has just been
burglarized by three or four differ(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
Until the killing of Black men,
Black mothers’ sons, is as important as the killing of White mothers’ sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest.
- Ella Baker, Leading Mentor of
Black Youth, including the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s
Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history next
to Medgar Evers and Emmett Till
as symbols for the fight for equal
justice for all.
- Benjamin Crump, lawyer for
Trayvon Martin’s parents
(2013)
The reaction to the not guilty
verdict from George Zimmerman’s
jury was swift and strong. Young
people poured onto the streets in
peaceful protests in Chicago, Los
Angeles, New York City, and
Washington, D.C. By 3 a.m. more
than 100,000 people signed an
online petition urging the Justice
Department to pursue civil rights
violation charges against George
Zimmerman.
The outrage over the killing of
an unarmed Black teenager who
was doing nothing wrong must
continue until some semblance of
justice is achieved. People who
want to keep faith in American justice feel uncomfortable, upset and
disheartened. Where is the justice
if walking while Black is enough
to get you “stopped and frisked”
in New York City and fatally shot
in Florida with its senseless violent “Stand Your Ground” law that
allows people to defend themselves with deadly force anytime
and anywhere they imagine they
are or say they feel threatened
even if they are the stalker?
Many decades of struggle and
progress to eliminate racial profiling, arbitrary arrests, unfair sentencing, imprisonment and
criminalization of Black males at
younger and younger ages are being reversed by determined special interests like the gun lobby
putting profits before the most
basic American civil rights. The National Rifle Association and their
allies, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),
determined efforts to support and
pass “Stand Your Ground” and other
destructive laws to protect guns
rather than children perpetuates the
epidemic of gun violence, especially
for Black male teenagers like
Trayvon Martin.
Black children and teens were 17
times more likely to die from a gun
homicide than White children and
teens in 2010. Since 1963, 59,265
Black children and teens have been
killed by guns — more than 17 times
the recorded lynchings of Black
people of all ages in America between 1882 and 1968.
What made a Black male teenager
in a hoodie walking home in the rain
appear suspicious and “up to no
good” in George Zimmerman’s
eyes? Would he have stopped a
White male teenager? Isn’t it long
past time that we have a candid conversation about how we can create
a post-racial America for our children and grandchildren beginning
today?
Let us refuse to be silent. If
Trayvon Martin’s parents had been
silent and other voices had not
joined with them, George Zimmerman
never would have been arrested and
never would have been brought to
trial. Let us continue to refuse to be
silent until all the George
Zimmermans of this world are deterred and held accountable for vigilante justice against Black males. Let
us refuse to be silent until the killing of Black mothers’ sons is as important as the killing of White mothers’ sons. Only then will we have a
post-racial America.
Marian Wright Edelman is
president of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No
Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start,
a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe
Start and a Moral Start in life
and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring
families and communities. For
more information go to:
www.childrensdefense.org.
Looking beyond George Zimmerman
By Julianne Malveaux
NNPA Columnist
Trayvon Martin might not be
dead except for the fact that
George Zimmerman carried a gun
and acted as a wanna-be policeman. Rev. Al Sharpton and others deserve props for rallying
people and insisting that
Zimmerman be brought to trial.
Anytime a gun goes off, I think
somebody has to go to trial, simply to ensure that their actions be
accounted for. Zimmerman was
found not guilty, but least he has
been made somewhat accountable for his actions.
Zimmerman isn’t the only one
slaughtering young Black men,
though. Too many of our young
brothers are slaughtering each
other. In Washington, D.C., rising
senior Omar Adam Sykes was
killed on Independence Day. He
was a victim of an attempted robbery, when two men approached
he and a friend with guns. The
Howard University police say that
robberies on campus are on the
decline, but I don’t think that Omar
Sykes’ parents find that any consolation. Indeed, one young Black
man lost to gun violence is too
many, whether the perpetrator was
a vigilante like George
Zimmerman, or another young
Black man who is so desperate for
dollars that he will kill another
brother.
Seventy-four people were shot,
and a dozen killed in gun violence
in Chicago during the July 4 weekend. Two of them were young
boys, aged 5 and 7. Much of this
is gang violence, and too many of
the victims were in the wrong
place at the wrong time. No matter. This scourge of gun violence
is a plague on our nation, but especially on the African-American
community.
The online website Slate estimates that more than 6,500 people
have been killed this year through
gun violence. The Centers for
Disease Control says it is at least
twice as many. Since the massacre of 20 children and six adults in
Newtown, Conn., there has been
a marked concern about gun violence. Concern, however, does
not move legislation. Those politicians who have been purchased
by the National Rifle Association
lament gun violence but are unwilling to do anything about it. So
the violence continues.
There are heart-breaking stories
of those who are massacred.
Young men and women at the cusp
of adulthood who happened to be
“hanging out” with friends on the
wrong corner. Fathers who agitated an enraged driver. Children
who “got in the way” of a random
bullet. The NRA says that guns
don’t kill, people do. But people
without guns can perhaps wreak
havoc without creating a fatality.
While the population of the United
States exceeds 300 million, there are
about 280 million guns in civilian
hands.
Every year, 4.5 million firearms, including about 2 million guns have
been sold. While many do not own
guns, those who do keep acquiring
them – the average gun owner had
nearly seven guns in 2004, up from
four guns 10 years earlier. More
than 30 people are victims of gun
violence each day. A third of them
are under 20; half are between 18
and 35. Gun violence is the leading
cause of death of African Americans
in that age group.
What if George Zimmerman had
7
Fighting to reverse the shameful voting rights decision
By Sherrilyn A. Ifill
NNPA Guest Columnist
The Voting Rights Act has been
described as the “crown jewel” of
civil rights legislation. Its passage
was secured with the courage,
grit and blood of activists
throughout the south, including
Fannie Lou Hamer who endured
beatings simply for trying to register to vote in Mississippi,
Medgar Evers who was murdered
by a White supremacist, students
Andrews Goodman, James
Cheney and Michael Schwerner,
who went missing at the start of
Freedom Summer 49 years ago,
and Black demonstrators in
Selma, Ala., who were beaten on
the Edmund Pettus Bridge
It’s hard to imagine a piece of
legislation with a greater pedigree
and for which more people have
fought and died than the Voting
Rights Act. And yet in a 5-4 decision in Shelby County, Alabama
v. Holder, the Supreme Court
struck down a key provision of
the act. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Congress designated particular jurisdictions in
the U.S. that must obtain permission from a federal authority (either the Department of Justice or
a federal court) before they enact
voting changes that might have the
effect of discriminating against
minority voters. The jurisdictions
are largely located in the south, although several boroughs in New
York, parts of Alaska and Arizona
are included as well. The formula
used to designate the jurisdictions
to be covered is set out in Section
4 of the Voting Rights Act. The
court has declared that Section 4
unconstitutional. This essentially
hollows out the foundation of Section 5.
The court’s decision is a shocking usurpation of power from the
Congress, which in 2006 held hearings over the course of nine
months, heard from almost 100 witnesses and amassed a 15,000-page
record. The result of Congress’
searching inquiry was its determination that voting discrimination
continued in the jurisdictions identified in Section 4 of the Act. In
fact, the record was replete with
examples of voting discrimination
in those areas.
For example, Congress found
that city officials in Calera in
Shelby County, Ala. discriminated
in 2008 when they reduced the
Black population in the sole majority Black council district from 70
percent to 29 percent. Congress
learned that in 2003 once Blacks
won a majority of seats on the
Charleston, S.C. school board,
Charleston County proposed
switching from single-member
district to at-large voting for the
council, and failed to inform any
of the Black members of the
school board of the proposed
change. In 2001 in Kilmichael,
Miss., the all-White town council
decided to simply cancel the
town’s election, once a number of
Blacks decided to run, and data
showed that the jurisdiction had
become majority Black.
In each of these cases, Section
5 prevented the discriminatory
plans from reaching fruition. Today, that protection has been removed, by a 5-member majority on
the court that substituted its judgment for the record painstakingly
amassed by Congress.
This decision is devastating
for minority voters in cities, towns,
and counties all over this
country. In essence, the voting
protections of 48 years have been
removed with a stroke of the
court’s pen.
An example of how emboldened
southern jurisdictions are likely to
become, was provided within
hours of the decision. The Attorney General of Texas said on twitter that Texas’ then-pending voter
ID law, which has been called the
most onerous in the nation and is
currently in litigation under section 5, will be enforced “immediately.” Officials from other southern jurisdictions followed suit,
announcing plans to impose voting practices that would have
been outlawed by section 5 of the
act before the court’s Shelby
County decision. Without section
5, we will have to file costly and
time-consuming litigation. Local
jurisdictions will be able to go forward with discriminatory voting
changes while we wait for court
rulings.
Now we have to act. The
NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund has been
fighting voting discrimination
for more than 50 years, and we
won’t stop now. Here’s what
you can do:
1)
If you live in the South or
in a jurisdiction formerly covered by section 5, tell us about
any voting changes happening
in your community. The court
struck down section 4 of the act
and, in effect, removed the
power of Section 5, but the rest
of the Act still provides protections for minority voters. The
Voting Rights Act is not dead.
But without section 5, you are
our eyes and ears. Go to our
website at www.naacpldf.org to
“ Ta k e A c t i o n , ” e m a i l u s a t
[email protected], or call the
Election Protection hotline
shared by national civil rights
groups at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
2) Call your representatives in
Congress and tell them that they
must fix the Voting Rights Act. Tell
them they must act now to restore
protections to minority voters in the
south.
3) Join us for the 50th anniversary
of the March on Washington on
August 24 in Washington, D.C. We
need a massive mobilization to show
America that we will not go back on
voting rights. Contact the National
Action Network for more information.
We can win this. But to win, we
will need to be in the courts, in the
streets, on the airwaves and in the
halls of Congress. Starting now!
[A version of this article appeared
in The Root, an online publication
of the Washington Post]
Sherrilyn A. Ifill is the President
& Director-Counsel of the NAACP
Legal Defense and Educational
Fund, Inc. (LDF). LDF represented
Black voters in Shelby County v.
Holder. Find us at:
www.naacpldf.org
Twitter Sifill_LDF.
Trayvon’s legacy
By Angelo Falcón
Not guilty. And so a polarize debate over the role of race
in American society rages on
with even more fury.
The acquittal of George
Zimmerman raises important
questions about the role of
race in the United States and
for Latinos as a group. This is
a debate made even more complicated by the existence of a
Black President and a highly
polarized political system,
again in large part based on
race. One important question
is whether most white people
have a fundamentally different
social experience in this country than do most Blacks and
other people of color. To what
extent do these differences
color their perception of the
“other”?
Of the Zimmerman trial, one
of the obvious aspects of it
that received little commentary
was the fact that the process
was so racially skewed. The
judge was white, the defense
and prosecution teams were
white, the jurors (except perhaps for a Latina) were white.
There was a clear absence
of Black perspectives, which
we know have a profound impact on how events and people
are viewed in the criminal justice system.
This is particularly the case
when the focus is on Black
youth. The debate over New
York stop and frisk policies, the
disproportionate representation of Blacks in the prison system, the constant media attention on Black-on-Black killings
in Chicago, and so on contribute to a stereotype of all Black
youth.
Back in 1993, at an Operation Push conference, even
Jesse Jackson, probably inadvertently, contributed to this
stereotyping when he said that,
“There is nothing more painful
to me at this stage in my life
than to walk down the street and
hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look
around and see somebody
white and feel relieved. . . . After all we have been through.
Just to think we can’t walk
down our own streets, how humiliating.”
Anyone following the trial
clearly saw how the absence of
Black perspectives impacted on
the interpretations of Trayvon
Martin’s language and actions.
The defense attorneys were
misreading the meaning of common conversational words and
phrases used by most Black
youth, and did all they could to
deracialize Zimmerman’s obviously racially informed comments about the Black youth.
The Martin family had
achieved a victory in getting
the legal system to bring
Zimmerman to trial. In the pro-
cess we were able to see, in excruciating detail, how biased
that process was. The notion
that references to racial profiling were not allowed and that
the defense made attempts to
demonize Trayvon were but
two “color blind” indicators of
how race played such a central
role in this crime.
But perhaps most galling of
all was the apparent lack of importance given to the fact that
an innocent teenager was murdered for no good reason.
Zimmerman should have
stayed in his car as the authorities asked him to do to wait for
the police — by simply doing
this, Trayvon would be alive
t o d a y.
And
to
hear
Zimmerman’s brother say that
there was no need to feel regret over the incident because
his brother did the rights thing,
showed an unbelievable lack of
empathy with the Martin family and the senselessness of
his brother’s crime..
The whole discussion about
Zimmerman’s race also displayed an amazing degree of
ignorance about the Latino
community. Many in the media
referred to Zimmerman as a
“white Hispanic” and others
simple as “white.” This clearly
simplified a white racism narrative but greatly distorted
Latino realities in this country.
Latinos identify racially in a
variety of ways, the majority
indicating that they are “white.”
But it is not clear that all
Latinos view themselves racially in U.S. terms and its
meaning in an American racial
hierarchy is not clear. George
Zimmerman’s mother is Peruvian and his father is a “nonHispanic white,” which further
complicates whatever his racial
identity may be. At some points
he stressed his Hispanic heritage to show that he was not a
racist. Even if Zimmerman identifies strongly as being Hispanic, this is no automatic cure
for racist thinking and behavior. In court, this argument
wasn’t made. So his Hispanic
identity was apparently situational.
The problem is that whether
one is a white, black, Asian or
a “some other race” Latino, racism is alive and well within the
Latino community. Hell, there
are many Latinos who are antiLatino, or bigoted against
Latino groups of national-origins other than their own. At
the same time, with all of the
racism that Latinos as a whole
face with the increasing nativist attacks and racializing they
are experiencing as part of the
immigration debate, Latino solidarity with the Black civil rights
movement seems to be growing
e v e r y d a y. T h e j u s t i c e f o r
Trayvon movement has strong
Latino support.
As we await expected ac-
tions to bring the case to the
state courts, the federal government and a civil lawsuit, this issue will clearly not go away
soon. It is important to understand its salience in communities
of color and among socially conscious whites in the context of a
series of developments largely
driven by the Republican Party
and conservative extremists that
are clearly racially motivated
throughout the country at all
levels — the Supreme Court’s
gutting of the Voting Rights Act
and further weakening of affirmative action, the states that are
promoting discriminatory voter
ID and related suppression laws,
the debate in New York over stop
and frisk, the immigrant bashing
that Latinos are experiencing,
and on and on. It also points to
the racial dimension of the gun
control debate and measures like
Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
In this sense, the call for justice
for Trayvon has a much larger
meaning and impact beyond his
particular tragic case.
The Martin family has
pointed out that they want to
m a k e s u r e t h a t t h e i r s o n ’s
legacy is respected and preserved. There is a growing
movement
that
agrees.
Angelo Falcón is president
of the National Institute for
Latino Policy (NiLP), a nonp a r t i s a n p o l i c y c e n t e r. H e
can be reached at:
[email protected].
Opinion
8
African Scene
African leaders renege on their
pledge to support small farmers
By Global Information Network
Victim’s wife Adrienne Mubenga
Justice near for Angolan dad
‘unlawfully killed’ by UK guards
In a surprise ruling, a UK jury said
three British security guards ‘unlawfully killed’an Angolan father held in
a stress position prior to his deportation to Angola on British Airways.
An earlier hearing had dismissed all
charges against the guards.
In the incident with overtones of
the Trayvon Martin case in Florida,
the victim, Jimmy Mubenga, a father
of five, was overheard crying out:
“Let me up. You’re killing me. You’re
killing me,” as the guards restrained
him face down for almost an hour.
One of the officers was heard telling him: “Stop struggling. We’ll let
you go once we are airborne.” But
the flight never took off. One of the
officers described the moment when
“suddenly it was as if he just gave
up”.
Returning the verdict of unlawful
killing, the jury foreman said: “Mr
Mubenga was pushed or held down
by one or more of the guards, causing his breathing to be impeded. We
find that they used unreasonable
force and acted in an unlawful manner. The fact that Mr Mubenga was
pushed or held down, or a combination of the two, was a significant, that
is more than minimal, cause of death.
The incident occurred in October
2010 but the latest verdict was announced this week.
The latest verdict, nine jurists to
one, may finally bring justice for the
tragically killed Mubenga. The decision could re-open the case against
the guards of the private security firm
G4S who it later emerged exchanged
racist jokes and had “very racially offensive material” on their cellphones,
according to the coroner.
Initially, the Crown Prosecution
Service decided that neither G4S nor
the three guards would face manslaughter charges due to “conflicting
witness accounts.”
Adrienne Makenda Kambana,
Mubenga’s widow, in a statement after this week’s verdict, said: “It’s been
a long journey for me and my family…. I thank the jury for a good verdict, the only true verdict.” w/pix of
Mrs. A. Mubenga
(GIN) – Ten years after 53 African Union countries pledged to
invest in their farmers and break
the cycle of food insecurity, only
seven countries have fulfilled
their pledge.
At a meeting in Maputo,
Mozambique, 53 African heads of
state agreed in 2003 to allocate at
least 10 percent of their national
budgets to agriculture and livestock by July 2008. Ten years
later, only seven countries Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea,
Senegal, Mali, Malawi and Ethiopia - have reached that target.
Investment in agriculture is
key to breaking the cycle of food
insecurity and crisis in West Africa, according to aid organizations.
Many countries, such as Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and the Democratic Republic of Congo, currently devote less than three percent of their national budgets to
investment in agriculture. This is
despite the fact that small-scale
farmers represent more than 80
percent of their populations.
Meanwhile, a U.S. sponsored
initiative - New Alliance for Food
Security and Nutrition – intended
to lift the poor out of poverty is
instead leading to land grabs by
large corporations, according to
critics.
New rules under the initiative
require African farmers to buy
their seeds – including genetically modified seeds - from multinational grain, seed and fertilizer
companies, rather than use the
cheaper local varieties they’ve
used for years.
“The new alliance prioritizes
unprecedented access for multinational companies to resources
in Africa,” writes activist Kirtana
Chandrasekaran with Friends of
An African farmer busy at work
the Earth. “To access cash under
the initiative, African governments
have to make far-reaching changes
to their land, seed and farming policies.
“Take a look at the New Alliance’s
cooperation
frameworks.
Mozambique, for example, is committed to “systematically ceasing
to distribute free and unimproved
[non-commercial] seeds to farmers
except in emergencies”. The new
alliance will lock poor farmers into
buying increasingly expensive
seeds – including genetically modified seeds – allow corporate monopolies in seed selling, and escalate the loss of precious genetic
diversity in seeds – absolutely key
in the fight against hunger.
“Already, under the guise of helping to fight poor nutrition in Africa,
genetically engineered bananas and
cassava are being tested – despite
concern about their impacts, and the
existence of better conventional
varieties.
“Several countries have been
asked to speed up the takeover of
land by foreign investors. Ethiopia,
for instance, will “Refine land law, if
necessary, to encourage long-term
land leasing” while companies are
already asking for up to 12.35 thousand acres of land in Ivory Coast
under this scheme.
Countless studies have shown
that large-scale land acquisitions
Defying Obama, Senegal, Ivory Coast declare they are anti-gay
Despite a small but visible increase in public tolerance towards the gay community, African leaders continue to press for
the criminalization and in a few
cases, the death penalty, for those
who are openly gay.
Their latest condemnations
come in the wake of President
Obama’s Africa trip and his praise
for the Supreme Court ruling
on same sex marriage.
Senegalese President Macky
Sall responded: “You said it, we
have different cultures. We have
different religions. We have different traditions. And even in
countries where this has been decriminalized and homosexual marriage is allowed, people don’t
share the same views.
“Senegal is a very tolerant
country... but we are still not ready
to decriminalize homosexuality.
While we have respect for the
rights of homosexuals — for the
time being, we are still not ready
to change the law.”
This week, a French initiative to
fight discrimination against gays
in the Ivory Coast, was rebuffed
by President Alassane Ouattara.
“We have laws in Cote d’Ivoire,”
he said during a visit to the city
Korhogo in the north. “We have
traditions too; we will stick to
them.”
Ivory Coast Minister Gnamiem
Konan commented on the recent
U.S. Supreme Court decision on
gay marriage. “It’s an aberration,
it is a radical deviation from our
moral and cultural values as a
Alassane Ouattara
Macky Sall
people.”
Gay rights organizations can be Kenyan law, homosexual acts are Liberia are currently reviewing
found all over the continent fight- punishable by up to 14 years in bills to make their anti-gay laws
ing laws that make their prison.
even tougher.
Lawmakers in Nigeria and
sexual preferences criminal. Under
In Uganda, a bill proposing the
death penalty for homosexuals has
once again resurfaced. In Cameroon,
two men were sentenced to prison
by a judge who said the suspects
appeared gay, in part because they
ordered Bailey’s Irish Cream at a bar.
The sentence was later overturned.
Homosexual acts are a crime in 38
African countries.
Eric Ohena Lembembe, executive
director of CAFAIDS, based In
Yaounde, Cameroon, said: “Antigay thugs are targeting those who
support equal rights on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender
identity…Unfortunately, a climate
of hatred and bigotry in Cameroon,
which extends to high levels in government, reassures homophobes
that they can get away with these
crimes.”
South Africa, in contrast, was one
of the first nations to approve gay
Tope Folarin
Nigerian-American author
scoops major literary prize
Nigerian-American writer Tope
Folarin is this year’s winner of the
prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing – the first such prize
to be given to a writer based outside of Africa.
His short story - “Miracle” – is
set in an evangelical church of
Nigerian expatriates in Texas.
Judges called it “utterly compelling” and a “delightful and beautifully paced narrative.”
I’m elated,” Folarin said. “I’m a
writer situated in the Nigerian
diaspora, and the Caine prize
means a lot – it feels like I’m connected to a long tradition of African writers.
“The Caine prize is broadening
its definition and scope. I consider myself Nigerian and American, both identities are integral to
who I am. To win … feels like a
seal of approval.”
Folarin’s prize-winning work is
an extract from his forthcoming
novel “The Proximity of Distance.”
Using the image of a Texas
church presided over by a blind
prophet, Folarin examines “religion
and the gullibility of those caught
in the deceit that sometimes comes
with faith” through the eyes of a
young believer.
Folarin was born and raised in the
U.S., where he lives and works.
Four other Nigerians and one Sierra Leonean were also shortlisted
for the prize. From Nigeria, Abubaka
Adam Ibrahim was nominated for
The Whispering Trees; Chinelo
Okparanta for America, and
Elnathan John for Bayan Layi, a
story about street children. Pede
Hollist, from Sierra Leone, was
shortlisted for Foreign Aid, about
returning to Sierra Leone after 20
years in the US.
Folarin is the recipient of writing
fellowships from the Institute for
Policy Studies and the journal
Callaloo, and he serves on the
board of the Hurston/Wright Foundation. Besides receiving a $15,000
award, he is invited to become a
Writer-in-Residence at Georgetown
University, in his current hometown
of Washington DC, and given an
opportunity to participate in Cape
Town’s Open Book Festival which
runs Sept. 7-11.
U.S. Senator Charles E.
Schumer and Cong. Brian
Higgins have called on the FAA
to implement long-delayed aviation safety regulations to improve safety.
The regulations on pilot qualifications, crewmember training,
and flight simulation training
were required after Schumer and
Higgins authored legislation in
the wake of the Colgan Air Flight
3407 crash near Buffalo, NY.
These rules would require, for
example, that pilots undergo intense training in order to prevent
stalls and recover if a stall does
occur. After initial evidence suggested that the Asiana Flight that
recently crash landed in San Francisco may have been caused by
a stall as the plane approached
too slowly, the legislators also
urged the FAA to propose these
new safety guidelines at the upcoming General Assembly of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations Special Agency.
“While the investigation is still
ongoing, one thing is clear – this
crash and the other recent
crashes like Flight 3407 demonstrate a troubling pattern in
which pilots are mishandling air
speed, which can lead to fatal
stalls. We have new, tighter pilot
safety standards that beef up pilot training requirements set to
take effect later this year, and
we’re asking that these regulations be implemented immediately,” said Schumer. “We’re also
asking the FAA to review bilateral agreements and push these
standards at the United Nations
to ensure American passengers
traveling in and out of the country have properly-trained pilots.
Simply put: foreign airlines
should require their pilots to undergo rigorous training, just as
we are now making American pilots do, before flying in the U.S.
If not, the FAA should consider
limiting that carrier’s ability to fly
in and out of the United States.”
“The lessons of Colgan Flight
3407, which was made so clear to
all by the inspiring families who
pushed for better safety standards, were that these tragedies
must not pass with only sympathy and fact-finding,” Schumer
continued. “We need to take what
we learn and use that to improve
pilot training, and crewmember
training, and international safety
standards.”
“The tragedy of Flight 3407
provided insight into fatal aviation policy shortcomings and
Sen. Charles Schumer
Cong. Brian Higgins
prompted needed pressure to
transform existing training and
safety requirements,” said Congressman Higgins. “Over four
years have passed since that crash
and, as we tragically saw again last
weekend, lives are at stake with
each day that passes without
these rules in place. We commend
the work of Flight 3407 families in
getting us to this point but we still
have a way to go to see all rules in
place and international rules standardized.”
Schumer and Higgins commended the FAA for swiftly putting in place new rules on pilot fatigue and today publishing an important rule on pilot certification,
but said American passengers still
await the completion of rules that
will set new minimum standards on
crewmember training, safety management systems, and flight simulation training standards and
urged the FAA to expedite the finalization of those rules. One of
those rules, the crewmember training standards, is due on October
1st.
In the wake of the Colgan Air Flight
3407 crash, Senator Schumer and
Congressman Higgins authored legislation that sets industry-wide standards for pilot certification, pilot
flight hours, crewmember training and
pilot simulation training, among others. The legislation was passed in
2010 and some regulations have taken
effect, but still others, including crucial new pilot simulation training standards, are not yet on the books.
Schumer and Higgins highlighted
that these pilot simulations requirements would include scenarios on
aerodynamic stalls and stall recovery. They argued that these regulations should be implemented immediately in light of the recent string of
crashes during which pilot error after stalls was a factor: as it was in
Colgan Flight 3407, Air France Flight
447, and Asiana Flight 214.
Schumer and Higgins are also asking the FAA, along with the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO), to begin a comprehensive
review of bilateral airline safety
agreements with foreign countries
and assess the broader international
aviation safety framework. With the
new standards passed in the Airline
Safety and Federal Aviation Extension Act set to take effect, the United
States is poised to be a leader in aviation safety. Schumer and Higgins
want to make sure that reciprocal
agreements with foreign air carriers
guarantee that pilots flying into and
out of the United States undergo the
same training as U.S. pilots. They are
asking the FAA and ICAO and other
major State aviation authorities to
identify and prepare our international
aviation partners to bring parity to
their training systems and procedures. Schumer and Higgins said that
the FAA has the authority to ban international carriers, as it did with
Korean Air in 2001, and should exercise that authority if it finds that foreign pilots do not meet U.S. training
standards.
Schumer and Higgins have long
worked with the families of the victims in the Continental Flight 3407
crash to significantly improve air
travel safety in the wake of a crash
investigation which determined that
shockingly limited flying experience
is required to be a co-pilot for a regional carrier. Continental Flight 3407
was flown by a regional carrier,
Colgan Air, which is no longer in existence. The crash was caused in part
due to a dramatic loss of airspeed and
a lack of effective reaction to aerodynamic stall. From the earliest days
after the crash, Schumer and the fami(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
Black Women’s Agenda responds to Zimmerman verdict
Responding to the verdict
reached in the case of the State
of Florida vs. George Zimmerman,
The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc.
(BWA) announced its intention
to advocate for the development
of “a uniform, national understanding of laws associated with
vigilante conduct, the concept of
stand your ground and gun violence.”
In a statement from the
organization’s headquarters,
Gwainevere Hess, president of
The Black Women’s Agenda,
said: “African-American moth-
ers, grandmothers and women of
color across the U.S. shared the
anguish of Trayvon Martin’s
mother, Sybrina Fulton, and our
hearts sank a little deeper with the
reading of this weekend’s verdict
in the State of Florida vs. George
Zimmerman. However, being depressed or angry by the judicial
system does not address the larger
issues facing our nation.
“The death of Trayvon Martin
and subsequent acquittal of his assailant should be a catalyst for us
to collectively focus on the roots
of this tragedy and develop solu-
tions for preventing such incidents in the future. Mothers of
color should not have to grasp
for words to explain to our sons
how the verdict in the
Zimmerman case uniquely impacts them, or to prepare our children to deal with the unfortunate
reality of racial profiling and
people who would take the law
into their own hands.
“The State of Florida vs.
Zimmerman is one case. Even if a
violation of civil rights case is
brought to fruition on a federal
level, it will seek justice in this
one case, this one time. The Black
Women’s Agenda, Inc. is advocating for a positive, actionable response to counter the visceral illomen feelings of hope deferred
prompted by the Zimmerman verdict. We call for the development
of a uniform, national understanding of laws associated with vigilante conduct, the concept of
stand your ground and gun violence. This much we owe to
Trayvon’s memory, our country,
God, and ourselves.”
The Black Women’s Agenda
is a national non-profit
organization that generates
awareness and support for issues
affecting
Black
women
worldwide. It is comprised of 19
collaborating women’s organizations – sororities, civic, service,
and faith-based – representing
millions of women nationally and
worldwide. Through the development of a social priorities agenda,
BWA facilitates discussions that
promote effective policies and
meaningful change. For more information on The Black Women’s
Agenda, please visit www.bwainc.org.
9
Schumer, Higgins urge intensive pilot
training to prevent stalls by planes
10
THE ADAMS REPORT
Fashion, Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .& Stuff
By Audrey Adams
Cuomo introduces RGGI
climate pollution cap
True beauty
Audrey Adams
We take so many things for
granted. You see, this column is
really about things that most
would consider frivolous. My
goal though, is to “keep it real.”
In this case keeping it real is to
stop for a bit and take stock of
what really counts in life. If you
have a loved one on duty in the
Middle East right now; I know
that the topics that are typically
discussed in this column won’t
bring you any comfort.
You are concerned about the
safety and well-being of your
loved one. War isn’t pretty, but
whenever I see news reports, or
see the young soldiers on shore
leave during Fleet Week here in
New York; I look closely at their
faces and what I see is truly
beautiful.
Like everyone else, I have
seen the photographs of our soldiers eating their MRE’s (Meals,
Ready-to-Eat) in the field, sleeping in trenches, running with knapsacks laden with weapons, survival gear and other essentials.
They don gas masks and protective garments in oppressive heat
and sand storms. They ride openly
in vehicles, never knowing what
might lie ahead. They might be
afraid but we’ll never know. Their
faces and attitudes are perhaps
adjusted for the media’s sake. “Hi
Mom!” or “I just want my family
to know that I love them.” are spoken with deep hidden intent. Every “Yes, sir! ” to a journalist is
spoken with confidence. The men
and women serving in our armed
forces deserve our support. They
put their lives, hopes and dreams
on the line each and every day so
that we can be free. That’s heavy
duty.
The beauty that shines in the
face of each soldier is part of each
and every one of us when we realize that we are human beings first.
There is beauty in the bravery, camaraderie, courage, pride, devotion and selflessness in the performance of their duties and pledge
to honor and protect—us. We
can learn a lot from our dedicated servicewomen and men.
Yes, we take so very many
things for granted. A hot shower
every day, a fresh home cooked
meal, sleeping in a bed, not risking our lives at work, lounging
on the couch after work, going
for a drive, taking a walk, relaxing . . . living.
You can create your own list
of things that you take for
granted. I know one thing for
sure; our soldiers aren’t concerned right now about manicures and pedicures, the newest
fashion trends or cosmetics. We
should all admire and appreciate
true beauty when we see it.
Think about it. See you next
week.
Audrey Adams, former director of corporate public relations
and fashion merchandising for
ESSENCE and EBONY Fashion
Fair model and assistant commentator, continues to motivate
and inspire women through her
syndicated columns and motivational speaking engagements.
Visit:
talkwithaudrey.com .
Gov. Cuomo
Earlier this year, Governor An- President Obama recently modeled
drew M. Cuomo announced his own pollution-cutting plan after
plans to lower the CO2 emissions RGGI’s success.
cap on energy plants as part of
Natural disasters have pummeled
his agenda to fight climate our state in recent years, often with
change. The cap, part of the nine- new storms hitting before commustate Northeast Regional Green- nities have had the chance to rehouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) coa- cover from the devastation of the
lition, has been a critical tool in last one. The costs of these storms
lessening climate-altering pollut- – whether in economic terms or in
ants which contribute to increas- impacts on people’s lives – demoningly frequent and unpredictable strate that we cannot rest and must
storms, floods, and weather pat- continue to set and pursue aggresterns.
sive goals for fighting climate
The following joint statement change.
was released by Environmental
We applaud Governor Cuomo for
Advocates of New York, the keeping his word and leading the
Natural Resources Defense Coun- rest of the country by example. His
cil, Empire State Future, and Citi- introduction of rules to reduce
zens Campaign for the Environ- power plant emissions and to invest
ment:
in clean, renewable energy is impor“New York has long been a tant as we work to ensure New York
leader on environmental issues remains a responsible leader for our
like climate change, which is why environment and economy
Village of Sag Harbor dedicates bench in honor of Ambassador Cook
By Audrey J. Bernard
Special Assignment
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan
Johnson Cook attended the official blessing and unveiling of a
bench in her honor located in
front of Lee Jewelers on Main
Street in the Village of Sag Harbor, New York on Saturday, July
6, 2013 at 2 pm.
More than 100 people attended
the dedication including Dr. James
Alexander Forbes, Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside
Church and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation
and family pastor; Rev. Rob
Schenck, president and lead missionary of Faith and Action in the
Nation’s Capital; dedication cochairs Reginald Van Lee, executive vice president at Booz Allen
Hamilton, and Audrey Gaul;
Denise Richardson, journalist &
TV anchor; Mercedes Nesfield;
Gini Booth; Her Excellency’s two
sons Sam & Christopher Cook and
their dad Ronald Cook; and a host
of family and friends to celebrate
this monumental achievement.
During the devotional service,
Rev. Rob Schenck dedicated a
plague to Amb.Johnson Cook
from the national clergy counsel.
Following the celebrated ceremony program, guests gathered
at the swanky B. Smith’s restaurant for an intimate reception. The
afternoon soiree ended with some
guests attending a private after
party as guests of Her Excellency
and Sag Harbor resident Amb.
SJC Ambassador
Amb. Susan Johnson Cook
Johnson Cook at the family’s
beauteous summer home in Sag
Harbor.
Dedication event organizers
Gaul and Van Lee extended special thanks to the Village of Sag
Harbor’s Mayor Brian Gilbride
and his office; the Chief of Police
for the Village of Sag Harbor; and
Lee Jewelers for their support and
kindness during the celebration
as they welcomed guests to cool
off in their store from the blistering sun.
The Office of International Religious Freedom in the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor has the mission of promoting religious freedom as a core
objective of U.S. foreign policy. Appointed by President Barack Obama
and second by then Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton (who sent a letter) in 2011, Amb. Johnson Cook is
the first Ambassador-at-Large, first
woman to hold this post, and the
first Ambassador-at-Large in the
history of Sag Harbor to have such
a dedication.
As Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Amb.
Johnson Cook’s office and staff
monitors religious persecution and
discrimination worldwide, recommends and implements policies in
respective regions or countries, and
develops programs to promote religious freedom.
Medgar Evers College announced that four students were
recently awarded scholarships to
study and conduct research overseas this summer and in the upcoming fall semester. Sophomore
Fabienne Mondelus; seniors
Chad Hannibal and Rhode- Elise
Jacques, and freshman Kevon
Martin were selected from among
a group of 10 students who applied for scholarships.
The summer program in Paris,
sponsored by the College, will
run from July 28 to Aug. 24; participating students will take 6 credits of French language at the language school L’Etoile, and will
live with French host families.
The four students are among 29
from Medgar Evers who are
studying abroad in 2013.
“Travel is a great way for our
students to learn, to experience
the world, and to develop an appreciation for other cultures,” said
President William L. Pollard. “It
expands borders of learning, giving access to new insights and a
greater understanding of how the
world works from academic and
cultural standpoints, as well as
providing a solid foundation for
growth. As our global society
evolves, our students continue to
embrace these opportunities that
allow them to contribute and compete in worldwide markets.”
Biology major and sophomore
Fabienne Mondelus, who has a
3.5 GPA, received a full scholarship from the Office of Special
Programs at the City University
of New York (CUNY) and will
spend a month in Paris studying
language and culture. She is a
program participant with New
York Needs You, which helps and
supports first-generation college
students in achieving and securing
their career goals. “Being well-educated and professional is something that I envision for myself,”
said Fabienne. “And there is no
barrier for me in accomplishing anything that I would like to.”
“Being able to travel and study
abroad opens up the world to students,” said Senior Vice President
& Interim Provost Karrin E. Wilks.
“Understanding different world cultures is a critical element in education for effective citizenry and for
leadership roles in our diverse communities.”
“Studying in Japan gave me the
chance to see the culture first-hand
and to appreciate its traditions,”
said education major Rhode-Elise
Jacques who visited Japan in May.
“It was wonderful to be in a place
that has given so much to the world
through technology and innovation, and to have visited Doshisha
University in Kyoto and Chuo University in Tokyo.” Rhode-Elise, who
has a 3.8 GPA, has also studied in
France and plans to return to Japan
to learn how young, special-needs
children are educated.
“Studying abroad offers students the opportunity to grow both
personally and academically,” said
Study Abroad Program Director
Deborah Stengle. “Studying abroad
in the context of a different academic
environment and student body, expands and strengthens students’
academic experience and their ability to work with people different
from themselves. The experience
also helps broaden awareness of
global issues, expands understanding of international interdependence, and develops proficiency in
a new language. All of these skills
are critical to success in today’s
global job market.”
Scholarship Honorees
Freshman Kevon Martin, the
first Medgar Evers College student to receive the prestigious
Benjamin A. Gilman International
Scholarship for Study Abroad,
was selected to from a pool of 850
students who applied from 324
different universities and colleges nationwide. He will travel
to Japan in the fall to attend the
KCP International Language Institute. “I have already started
studying the Japanese language
on my own,” said Kevon. “And
I look forward to arriving in Japan where I will be able to study
more formally in the classroom.”
KCP is a program sponsored by
Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
Environmental Science major
and senior Chad Hannibal is currently in Cali, Colombia on a fullyfunded, 8-week summer program
as part of the International Research Experience for NYC Louis
Stokes Alliance Scholars. He is
part of an integrated project working alongside researchers from
universities and non-governmental organizations that allows students to see the impact of their
research on communities. His
project focuses on the five-stage
pre-treatment filtration system
measuring and observing the behavior of algae on the surface of
an upflow gravel filter. He is one
of four students on this project.
The Study Abroad Program
provides travel and educational experiences in over 75 different countries. Students can choose to study
abroad for a semester, summer, or
January Intersession program, or
they may take classes related to their
major, minor courses of study, general education requirements or a foreign language. They can also participate in service-learning, volunteer or research based programs.
Students are studying on a variety
of programs sponsored by Medgar
Evers, all CUNY schools and
through the College Consortium for
International Studies (CCIS), a partnership of colleges and universities
that share study abroad programs
in 31 countries; Medgar Evers College has been a member since 2011.
Dr. Alveda King: Grieved over strife surrounding the Zimmerman verdict
I believe that the verdict in the
Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin Case
further exposes a grievous and
deep vein of disharmony and racial tension in our nation that can
only be healed when people realize that every human being
should be treated with dignity and
respect,” says Dr. Alveda King,
director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life.
A trial like this causes public
debate, and people have forgotten what is right anymore. Now
Trayvon’s tragic death is obscured and Mr. Zimmerman is a
public spectacle. The lines of
what is right and what is legal/
lawful have also been blurred and
this trial exposes that.
We saw the same scenarios in
the O. J. trial and the Casey Anthony case. There was reasonable
doubt, no matter how minute the
reasonable doubt proves to be.
Even more recently, abortionists
are butchering women in so
called legal yet under-regulated
facilities where in many cases no
arrests are being made; with
Kermit Gosnell’s case being a recent exception.
In Chicago, where random killings are at an all time high, a Black
Woman, Tonya Reaves, was recently slaughtered and bled to
death for five hours in a Planned
Parenthood abortion mill and no
arrests have been made.
Now in the wake of Trayvon’s
senseless death and Mr.
Zimmerman’s acquittal many people
are angry at the tragic loss of life
and what some perceive to be a
shun on the Black race. For the
record, Acts 17:26 teaches that there
is one blood and one human race,
not multiple races, so racism is
based on a lie!
Others seem to feel a victory because certain constitutional rights
were favorably argued and the question of reasonable doubt prevailed
in this case. Yet it is important to
also note that Zimmerman’s life is
ruined too, and that the court of
public opinion is not completely on
his side.
So in a way the blind scales of
justice seem to have favored Mr.
Zimmerman while Trayvon’s voice
is silenced and his dream died with
him.
The Bible says mercy triumphs
over justice: “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has
shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs
over judgment.” (James 2:13 NKJV)
And Micah 6:8 says that we
should add love and humility to justice.
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
He has shown you, O mortal, what
is good.
And what does the Lord require
of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your
God.
Love and humility are missing on
both sides of this struggle!
My uncle Dr. Martin Luther King,
George Zimmerman
Jr. once said that we must all learn
to live together as brothers (and
sisters) or perish as fools. Too
many people are dying today for
too many reasons, and the race
baiting and strife add fuel to the
fire which grieves my soul.
Again a young American man
has perished, another is a public
spectacle. Who wins?
We must now use this controversy as an opportunity to help
educate our future generations as
to how to act and how to react in
similar situations; then maybe
young Trayvon’s death will not
be in vain.
A profound injustice has occurred in glossing over the death
of this young man and the suffering of his family. The not guilty
verdict violates the tender nuances of human suffering and the
integrity of the criminal justice
system in his community.
It remains critically-important,
however, that all protests against
the verdict demonstrate an irrevocable commitment to nonviolence,
to honor the dignity of Trayvon
Martin’s precious life and not add
further tragedy to what his family
and the people of Sanford have
already experienced.
Let’s face it. If both people
in this tragedy were of common
ethnicity, there would be no
media feeding frenzy. The gun
control
debate
is
a
smokescreen in that people do
use guns to kill other people as
Zimmerman did in this case.
But guns don’t kill people.
People kill people. Yes, sometimes they use guns, but they
sometimes use bombs or knives
too. We definitely need love
control and heart control and
nonviolence control.
There are murders going on
every day that the media overlooks. Remember Tonya Reaves.
Millions of Black babies and
many of their mothers are being
slaughtered in abortion mills.
Where is the justice for that?
Obviously strife and struggle
and conflict were at the base of
this case. Two men alone on the
street in the dark. A punch is
thrown. A gun escalates the
trauma and drama. We need a
Beloved Community. We need
nonviolence conflict resolution.
Let us please give a nonviolent
response to Trayvon’s family, to Mr.
Zimmerman and to America to help
to promote healing and to lay the
foundation needed to repeal faulty
laws that fail to protect our youth,
and to further enact other reforms
to prevent such tragedies in the future.”
DR. ALVEDA C. KING: is the
daughter of the late slain civil
rights activist Rev. A. D. King
and niece of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Founder of King for
America, Inc. Mother of six and
doting grandmother. Consultant
to the Africa Humanitarian Christian Fellowship.and a former
college professor.
11
Evers students awarded scholarships to study abroad
12
Beacon On
Whoopi Goldberg
Cher
Deborah Cox
This year’s NYC Pride had the famous Dance on the Pier at Hudson River Park Pier 26, now in its 27th year. It’s the official closing of NYC Pride events.
All proceeds from the Dance on the Pier benefit New York City’s Official Pride events and LGBT community organizations. Co-headlining the show this year
were award-winning DJs Dave Audé and Oscar G. The event also featured an opening set from local rising star DJ Luis Perez. The headliners of entertainment
were the amazing Deborah Cox and the phenomenal Cher, who was introduced by Academy Award-winning and “The View” talk show host Whoopi Goldberg.
Several community vendors were on hand serving delicious foods and beverages as the event closed with the world’s longest-running LGBT fireworks display
along the Hudson River.
(Photos: Jim Carroll)
Vanilla, Pier 3 Supervisor
Sherrell and Leon, vendors on Pier 3
Mark, volunteer on Pier 3
National Urban Technology raises funds
and awareness at 18th annual gala dinner
Style & Society Editor
The National Urban Technology Center, Inc. (UT) supports
our youth and our community.
Founded by Pat Bransford, the
non-profit organization develops
education curriculum and services for building social/life skills,
improved academic skills, and financial and digital literacy skills
for underserved youth. Through
its Youth Leadership Academy
(YLA) courses, students develop
fundamental skills for life effectiveness, including: recognizing
and managing emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging
situations constructively and
ethically.
On Wednesday, June 12, 2013
at Capitale, New York City, UT
hosted its 18th annual gala dinner.
This year’s gala did not disappoint. Returning as Master of
Ceremonies was the affable
Maurice DuBois, anchor, CBS 2
News, who shared MC duties
with E! News Correspondent Alicia Quarles.
More than 300 festively
dressed guests came together to
pay tribute to four extraordinary
leaders who are committed to putting all students on a path to academic success and 21st century
skills and to participate in fabulous live and silent auctions
that consisted of lavish items.
Entertainment was provided by
Vy Higginsen’s Gospel for
Te e n s C h o i r a n d D J M e l
DeBarge. Auctioneer Audrey
Smaltz, CEO and founder, the
Ground Crew, manned the live
auction/adopt a school segment that raised a hearty
$52,500.
Following an opening video
“Changing the World, One Student at a Time,” it was time to hear
from UT’s fierce and fearless
leader Pat Bransford, founder &
president, National Urban Technology Center. In her dynamic
delivery guests were taken back
to 18 years when the first student
passed through the doors of UT.
“Looking back, as measured outcomes began to come in – increased grade-point averages,
homework preparedness, and
graduation rates in geographic
areas with the highest drop-out
rates in the country – nothing was
as rewarding as seeing a teacher’s
even light up and say, “my kids
are involved in school now, because of Youth Leadership Academy.”
Fast forward to the present,
Bransford thanked the audience
for helping UT to continue serving its students and realize its vision and dream. “Your steadfast
support has allowed us to con-
The National Urban Technology Center staff
Luis A. Ubinas
Pat Bransford, Valentino D.
Carlotti
Dr. Marva Gumbs-Picou,
Dr. Ramon Gonzalez
Christopher J. Williams & wife Janice
Williams, Valentino D. Carlotti
Deborah Cox, Maurice DuBois, Judy
A. Smith, Star Jones, Hill Harper
tinue to partner with schools and
communities, integrate new research and applied theory to keep
the curriculum rigorous and relevant, and engage a generation of
learners who were at risk to drop
out of school altogether,” stated
Bransford.
Then it was time to dine and
guests dined on grilled peppered
shrimp salad with baby lettuces
(first course); braised short ribs of
beef, mélange of spring vegetables
and Russian fingerlings (main
course); assorted cookies and
dipped fruits followed by a scrumptious dessert reception of chef’s
assortment of passed miniature desserts.
“This year we celebrate your
spirit of generosity and commitment
as we recognize four exceptional
leaders dedicated to corporate, community, and public service in their
Master of Ceremonies Maurice DuBois
pursuit of excellence in education
for all children. Valentino D.
Carlotti, Luis A. Ubinas, Judy A.
Smith and Dr. Marva GumbsPicou have inspired us with their
innovation, teamwork, caring,
and perseverance, and it is with
great gratitude that we thank
them for their steadfast leadership
and commitment to service,”
stated Bransford.
During the award ceremony,
presentations was made to Luis
A. Ubiñas, president, Ford Foundation (humanitarian award presented by Hill Harper), Judy A.
Smith, founder & president,
Smith & Co., Inspiration for ABC
TV series “Scandal” (public service award presented by Star
Jones), and Dr. Marva GumbsPicou, assistant principal, Manhattan Alternative Learning Center @ Wadleigh (education lead-
Adaora Cobb.
Alicia Quarles
Arielle Meredith, Hill
Harper, Hollis Wakeema
ership award presented by Dr.
Ramon Gonzalez). In addition UT
presented its coveted corporate
and community leadership award
to Valentino D. Carlotti, partner,
Goldman, Sachs & Co. The award
was presented to him by his longtime friend Christopher J. Williams, CEO & founder of The Williams Capital Group, L.P. and Williams Capital Management, LLC.
Honorary Chairs: The Honorable Vernon E. Jordan Jr., senior
counsel, Akin Gump; The Honorable H. Carl McCall, chairman,
board of trustees, State University
of New York ; The Honorable
Charles E. Schumer, United
States Senator-New York; and
Louis Gossett Jr., Oscar winning
actor, founder, Eracism Foundation. Gala Chair: Christopher J.
Williams, chairman & CEO, The
Williams Capital Group and Will-
Judy A. Smith, Pat
Bransford, Deborah Cox
Vy Higginsen, Tom Bransford
iams Capital Management. Gala CoChairs: Jessica & Alan Isaacs, Dr.
Reatha Clark King & Dr. N. Judge
King, and Kathy & Jeffrey
Zukerman.
Gala committee: Jose Rivera
Alers, Richard Bilello, Sharon Y.
Bowen, J.D., Pat & Tom Bransford,
J.T. (Ted) Childs, Jr., Dr. Stephen M.
Coan, Linda G. Davila, Kimberly B.
Davis, Toni G. Fay, Darrell &
Carmen Gay, Sanjeanetta Harris.
Alia Jones-Harvey, Joyce Haupt,
Arthur “Skip” Henderson, Richard Kind, Bettina L. Klinger.
Don Lowery, Dr. Carlotta Miles,
David Perlin, Marilyn & Hugh
Price, Vikki L. Pryor, Inez N.
Richardson, Synthia Saint
James, John Starks, Malcolm S.
Sykes, Glenn Tunstull, Cheryle
A. Wills, and Angel Zapata.
(Photos courtesy Margot Jordan and Patrick McMullen)
The Scene
13
Southern justice prevails again
14
(from Page 3)
sion — wrote in the Court’s majority opinion that, because Scott
was black, he was not a citizen
and therefore had no right to sue.
The framers of the Constitution,
he wrote, believed that blacks
“had no rights which the white
man was bound to respect; and
that the Negro might justly and
lawfully be reduced to slavery
for his benefit. He was bought
and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and
traffic, whenever profit could be
made by it.” Referring to the language in the Declaration of Independence that includes the
phrase, “all men are created
equal,” Taney reasoned that “it
is too clear for dispute, that the
enslaved African race were not
intended to be included, and
formed no part of the people who
framed and adopted this declaration”.
In many respects this social
attitude still exists today. We are
looked upon by the Caucasian
world as inferior, uneducated,
and undeserving.
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s
mother is an educated graduate
of FAMU and holds a responsible government job. Her older
son Jahvaris is attending college
at Florida International University, majoring in information technology. She lives in a modest
home in a good neighborhood
and is a good parent. Yet this is
not apparent to the American society because she is black and expected to be ignorant. Both
Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton
invested their time and love into
their son. He was traveling with
his dad the night he was murdered. So despite all the stereotypes, black people do get married and divorced and have children from marriages. They can
create homes with a nuclear family and with a caring father. They
can live regular middle class lives
that are directed by study, success, and stability.
George Zimmerman profiled
Trayvon Benjamin Martin, a temporary resident of the Retreat at
Twin Lakes, as an intruder and
possible robber and decided he
had to take some action against
him. He had told the dispatcher
that “these assholes always get
away”. Zimmerman was determined this one would not get
away. He called the Sanford police department, made sure they
were sending help, and chased
down Trayvon Martin, confronted
and tried to detain him, which initiated a struggle which resulted
in Zimmerman pulling a gun and
shooting Trayvon through the
heart. He proceeded to concoct a
story possibly with help from the
Sanford Police, to support his evil
deed. Because Trayvon was a
Black kid, the Sanford police department bought Zimmerman’s
story, recorded it, and sent
Trayvon to the morgue in a body
bag as a John Doe. George
Zimmerman went home without
the threat of ever being arrested.
Demonstrations and protests
from media and civil rights activists prompted the State of Florida
to make an arrest and charge
Zimmerman with second degree
murder.
The NRA, with minimal knowledge of the case, sprang into action and raised and contributed
thousands of dollars for the
George Zimmerman defense fund.
It is not clear whether the defense
attorneys were pro bono or was
paid from the defense fund.
What was most disappointing
in the television talk show discussions were the voices of several African American commentators who were at odds with each
other about the racist aspect of
this case. Their support for the
defense of George Zimmerman
was disgusting. They spoke as if
they never heard of the Emmit Till
case or of the Scottsboro Boys
nor the Wilmington 10, nor police brutality nor Stop & Frisk, nor
Martin Luther King nor Medgar
Evers, nor Chaney, Schwerner,
and Goodman, nor the Klu Klux
Klan, nor George Wallace.
Plaxico Burris got two years for
shooting himself, Michael Vick
went to prison for killing dogs
and Marissa Alexander got 20
years for firing a warning shot.
George Zimmerman murders an
innocent child and goes free. The
case began with racism and ended
the same way. One African American female called upon Al
Sharpton not to fan the “flames
of racism”.
Southern justice has spoken
and hopefully, those liberated African Americans will wake up and
face reality.
The American Criminal Justice
System does not work for people
of color, it works to control them
and to protect its white citizens
from them. For proof positive,
check the prison population:
41%.
African Americans represent
13% of the US population and
41% of the prison population.
We can cure this ill. Our young
adults should set their sights on
the criminal justice system.
Those who can afford college
should become lawyers and those
who cannot afford college should
pursue a career of law enforcement.
We should establish a scholarship
fund in the name of Trayvon Benjamin Martin to support this effort.
We lose our sons through Black
on Black crime, Police and vigilante
shooting, and that number will increase with the George Zimmerman
verdict that allows one to track,
confront, initiate a fight, and shoot
to kill an unarmed man in the name
of “self defense”. Of course all
black men are armed with dangerous weapons, their fists and the
ground they walk on.
Our sons are our future. We must
take all steps necessary to insure
that incidents of Trayvon Benjamin
Martin disappear from this society.
Phony Manhattan employment
agency is charged with scamming
job seekers
(from Page 2)
employer.
* Consumers should read the
contract with the employment
agency carefully.
* Before signing any contract,
check to see if the agency is licensed by the Commissioner of
Labor or, if the employment
agency is located in New York
City, by the New York City De-
partment of Consumer Affairs.
* Employment agencies are required by law to prominently display their license.
* The law limits the fees that an
employment agency may legally
charge consumers and consumers
cannot be charged until after they
are placed in a job.
* Consumers should also keep in
mind that low-cost or free employment assistance may be available.
Pols condemn verdict and urge civil rights probe of acquittal
(from Page 3)
Meeks and Hakeem Jeffries discussed at a joint press conference
the need for the Department of
Justice to investigate and potentially prosecute Zimmerman.
State Sen. Eric Adams reacted
as follows: “We feel this ruling
all the way up here in Brooklyn,
where this poisonous culture of
bias has infected our own system of justice. Laws like Stand
Your Ground and the abuse of
Stop and Frisk take us backward,
and will only lead to more tragedies like Trayvon Martin,” said
Adams.
The former NYPD captain and
Brooklyn Borough President candidate also said that “justice was
not served in Florida for the family of Martin or for Americans.”
Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the NAACP, suggested
that this case would galvanize
young blacks in “the way the
Emmett Till case did, in the way
the Rodney King case did.”
Emmett Till, 14, was murdered in
Mississippi in 1955, because he
reportedly whistled at a white
woman.
The NAACP called for the
opening of a civil rights case
against Zimmerman in an online
petition addressed to Attorney
General Eric Holder.
Civil rights leaders, including
the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al
Sharpton, urged peace in the
wake of the verdict. Jackson said
the legal system ‘‘failed justice,’’
but violence isn’t the answer.
Some Black leaders questioned
whether Zimmerman, who is part
Hispanic, would have been acquitted if he had been a black man and
Martin had been white.
“I find it troubling that a 17-yearold cannot walk to a corner store
for candy without putting his life
in danger,” said Kasim Reed, the
mayor of Atlanta. “I find it more
troubling that a citizen could not
see a young African-American
youth without immediately concluding that he was up to no good.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg did
not condemn the verdict but went
after the “Stand Your Ground” law
that critics say provided
Zimmerman legal cover to shoot
Martin in self-defense.
NYC Council Speaker Christine
Quinn called the acquittal a
“shocking insult” to Martin’s family. Mayor wannabe Anthony
Weiner said that Martin’s legacy
be “a committed racial profiling.”
Former NYC Comptroller Bill
Thompson tweeted that Martin
was killed because he was black
and “no justice” was done in
Florida. Public Advocate Bill de
Blasio called the verdict “a slap in
the face to justice.”
Republican mayoral candidate
Joe Lhota said that there were “no
winners in the verdict and the verdict should be full respected.
Rep. Jeffries said “once again,
the court system has failed to deliver justice in a racially-tinged
matter that involves the killing of
an innocent, unarmed AfricanAmerican male.” He added his
voice to the chorus calling for the
Justice Department to open an immediate investigation to determine
if George Zimmerman can be
charged with violating the
nation’s civil rights laws in the
“cold-blooded killing” of Martin.
Rev. Jesse Jackson asked “how
can a boy attending his business,
going to his home, running from a
man who is pursuing him be guilty
and the killer not be.
“I think it was always a stretch,
having, this is not a jury of his
peers: six women, not one black,
not one man. It never was a jury
of his peers. I’m really challenged,
in some sense, thinking about this
jury,” said Jackson.
City Comptroller John Liu said
the shocking Zimmerman verdict
“highlights the sad reality that
equal justice for Martin and millions of other young men of color
has yet to arrive.”
New York City Councilman
Jumaane Williams called laws like
Stand your Ground not “only inhumane; they have exacerbated
some of the country’s basic problems.” He said the murder of
Martin is the most recent example
of profiling in America, a “practice that is discriminatory at its
best and deadly at its worst.”
“We are sick and tired. What
we are now charged with now is
the responsibility to sustain our
unity and have our emotions fuels a
relentless pursuit of reform,” said
Williams who is vice-chair of the
Council’s Black, Latino and Asian
Council.
The Rev. Alfred P. Sharpton called
the verdict “an atrocity” and that it
is probably one of the worst situations he has seen. “What this jury
has done is establish a precedent,
that if you are young and fit a certain profile, you can be committing
no crime, just bringing skittles and
iced tea home to your brother, and
be killed and someone can claim selfdefense having been exposed with
all kinds of lies, all kinds of inconsistencies,” said Rev. Sharpton.
Jordon Davis murdered under guise of
‘Stand Your Ground, Self Defense’ law
(from Page 3)
hicle.
Following the shooting, Dunn and
Rouer drove back to the hotel where
they were staying and claimed that
they only discovered that Davis had
died after seeing a report about the
incident on the news the next day.
Dunn has invoked Florida’s
“Stand Your Ground” defense and
saying that he fired into the SUV
because he believed there was a
weapon inside the vehicle and that
the teens “threatened to kill me.”
Dunn is being charged with firstdegree murder as well as three counts
of attempted murder.
Fortunately, three of the others in
the vehicle lived and can tell their
story relating to the shooting. Un- though they’re down almost everylike the Trayvon Martin murder, the where else. More than 500 people are
murderer will not be able to estab- dead from such shootings.
lish a one sided defense of “self deDavis’s father, Ron Davis, has
fense” nor a defense of “Stand Your pledged to turn his son’s shooting
Ground”.
death into a crusade against guns and
In the eight years since the pas- Florida’s controversial Stand Your
sage of Stand Your Ground, self-de- Ground law which allows people to
fense killings have more than tripled defend themselves if they “reasonably
in Florida, and prosecutors some- believe” someone will hurt them.
times have little choice but to accept
Widespread opposition to the law
the shooter’s story:
emerged after the shooting of Trayvon
The only other witness is in the Martin by neighborhood watch volmorgue. And like most of the gun unteer George Zimmerman in central
amendments incubated in Florida, Florida. Zimmerman, whom police ini237It’s
W.
37th
this one quickly went viral.
now
tiallyStreet,
declined to arrest, has been tried
the lawSuite
of the land
in more
thanYork,
20 andNew
acquitted.
203
New
York 10018
states. Has it reduced violent
crime,
Dunn’s
lawyer
says he fired out of
Tel:
(212) fear
213-8585
the stated goal of the law?
Certainly
for his life when someone in the
not, according to study after study; SUV brandished a shotgun and threathomicides are up in SYG states, ened him.
Subscribe and Advertise in the
New York Beacon
Neighborhood Technical Assistance
Clinic honors NYC’s nonprofits
The Honorable Omyma E. David, H. E. Dame
Louise Lake-Tack, Mayor Ernest D. Davis
and Rev. Dr. Valerie Oliver-Durrah
Style & Society Editor
The Neighborhood Technical
Assistance Clinic (NTAC) under
the leadership of its Founder and
President Rev. Dr. Valerie OliverDurrah hosted its sixth annual
gala at Steiner Studios, Stage 6,
at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, on
Wednesday, June 26, 2013, from
7pm to 10pm honoring New York
City’s nonprofits that serve so
many families and neighborhoods,
but often does not get the credit
they deserve.
The empowering gala “Salute
to New York City’s Nonprofits
and the Neighborhoods They
Serve: Promoting Wellness and
Healthy Neighborhoods” recognized NYC’s borough presidents
as honorary chairs, as well as
nonprofits, funders and supporters. NTAC also saluted the Caribbean community as it celebrated
Caribbean American Heritage
Month. Cheryl Wright, supervisory committee member of the
Municipal Credit Union and licensed real estate agent for Century 21 Achievers Realty, served
as gala chair. Wright did such an
exceptional job that she will return as gala chair for NTAC’s 2014
gala.
Proceeds from the elegant
evening event provided technical
assistance training to a grassroots
organization in each organization:
Sisters With Purpose Inc. of
Brooklyn;
LIFE Camp, Inc. of Queens; Figure Skating in Harlem of Manhattan; Fellowship Covenant Church
of the Bronx; and the Emergency
Children’s Help Organization of
Staten Island.
Proceeds also enabled NTAC
to offer free capacity building
trainings to more nonprofits during the year. “What a lineup of exceptional leaders,” said NTAC
Vice-President of the Board Rev.
Kanyere Eaton. “I really enjoyed
presenting their awards this year.”
“It was a spectacular event,”
added visionary Rev. Dr. OliverDurrah. “From a rooftop cocktail
reception to a dinner buffet and the
awards ceremony, this was a classic celebration for New York City’s
nonprofits and the neighborhoods
they serve, and the Caribbean
guests honored during Caribbean
Heritage Month.”
Following an exceptional menu
presented by At Home with NYC
Neighborhoods Dinner Buffet
guests were awed by a spectacular performance presented by the
Edge School of the Arts (ESOTA)
located in Laurelton, Queens and
known for intensive training for
young aspiring dancers and high
quality performance for family audiences. Kerri Edge and her dancers recently returned from a dance
exchange program in China at the
world renowned Beijing Dance
Academy; the Edge School of the
Arts is celebrating the acceptance
of several students into LaGuardia,
Frank Sinatra and Talented Unlimited high schools as well as summer intensives at the Bolshoi,
Eglevsky, Ailey, Joffrey and
Saratoga.
Boncella Lewis & Jazz Band performed and Antigua/Barbuda Caribbean music was provided during
the cocktail hour by Johnny Gomes
thanks to the Consulate General’s
Office of Antigua and Barbuda in
New York.
NTAC’s Chairperson Rev. Sylvia
G. Kinard, Esq. stated, “Each of our
Lifetime Achievement Awards represents a lifetime accomplishment.
For example, H. E. Dame Louise
James and Rev. Dr. Valerie OliverDurrah , and Mayor Ernest D. Davis
Dr. Lamuel A. Stanislaus and Senator Eric Adams
Lake-Tack’s benevolence to
churches and charitable organizations is unsurpassed.” Her
Excellency’s award was presented
by Rev. Dr. Oliver-Durrah and the
Hon. Deputy Consul General of
Antigua and Barbuda, Omyma
David. “Dr. Lamuel A. Stanislaus
was engaged in mentoring Caribbean leaders and in the private
practice of Dentistry in New York
City for 32 years before going to
the UN.” New York State Senator
Eric Adams and Jennie M. Pascal,
administrative officer of the Consulate General of Grenada, presented his award.
“Rev. Dr. Eleanor Moody-Shepherd co-leads an annual trip to the
south to study the history of the
Civil Rights Movement and
Southern Religion.” She has
served as a mentor to Black clergy
women from all over the Diaspora.
Presenting her award was Rev.
Kanyere Eaton, Senior Pastor at
Fellowship, Covenant Church in
the Bronx and vice chair of
NTAC’s Board.
Honorees for NTAC’s Neighborhood Investor award included
Ann Marie Adamson, External
Affairs, Healthfirst; Hazra Ali,
CEO, New Hope & Beyond, Inc.;
Laurie A. Cumbo, candidate for
H. E. Dame Louise Lake-Tack, Dr. Lamuel A.
Stanislaus, and Rev. Dr. Eleanor Moody-Shepherd
Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General, Rev. Sylvia
Gail Kinard, Esq., H. E. Dame Louise Lake-Tack,
and Rev. Dr. Valerie Oliver-Durrah
the 35th Council District &
founder, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
(MoCADA); Margaret J. Denson,
director of event planning and
community relations, office of
Council Member Leroy Comrie;
Wayne Devonish, director of property management, Northeast
Brooklyn Housing Development
Corporation; Robert Mitchell,
chairman & CEO, Soundbooth
Inc.; Beverly Roberts, president,
NAACP Parkchester Branch; and
Tiffany A. Tucker, founder, Redemption, Inc.
NTAC’s board secretary and
corporate executive with Federal
Express Gayle Gilbert presented
Macy’s, Inc. with a Corporate Partner Neighborhood Investor
award.
100 Black Men, Inc. of New
York was honored with the “Nonprofit of the Year” Award presented by Mark S. Brantley, Esq.,
chairman of Municipal Credit
Union and Sylvia Gail Kinard,
Esq., chairperson of NTAC, and
accepted by Fitzgerald Miller,
chairperson, 100 Black Men, Inc.
of New York.
Invited Sponsors for “Salute to
New York City’s Nonprofits and
the Neighborhoods They Serve”
gala included BNY Mellon, Brooklyn Brewery, Con Edison,
HealthFirst, JP Morgan Chase,
Macy*s, Inc., Madiba, MetroPlus
Health Plan, Municipal Credit
Union, National Grid, New York
Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, St.
George’s University, Sweet’N Low,
TD Bank, United Way of NYC,
Verizon, and WABC-TV.
The Silent Auction table was
generously supported by Bacardi,
Inc.; Brooklyn Brewery; Brooklyn
Historical Society; Catamaran Hotel, Antigua and Barbuda, West
Indies; Copper & Lumber Store
Hotel, Antigua and Barbuda, West
Indies; Flamboyant Hotel, Grenada,
West Indies; Grenadian by Rex Resorts, Grenada, West Indies; Half
Moon, Rose Hall, Jamaica, West
Indies; Hawksbill by Rex Resorts,
Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies;
Hotel Bonadies, Ravello, Italy;
Jackie’s on the Reef, Negril, Jamaica, West Indies; Lia Schorr Day
Spa; Maca Bana, Grenada, West
Indies; Macy’s, Inc.; Madiba;
Neighborhood Technical Assistance Clinic; Nu Yu Day Spa;
Olivino Wines; Queen Ristorante;
TD Bank; Theatrical Marketing;
and Travellers Beach Resort,
Negril, Jamaica, West Indies.
(Photos by Shakai Coumarbatch)
H. E. Dame Louise Lake- Dr. & Mrs. Lamuel A. Stanislaus and Lance
Rev. Dr. Valerie Oliver-Durrah and H. E.
H. E. Dame Louise Lake-Tack and Dame
Tack and Melvin Myers Ogiste
Dame Louise Lake-Tack
Helen B. Lucas
Prior to the gala, NTAC sponsored a cocktail reception to meet and greet its honoree H.E. Dame Louise Lake-Tack, governor general of Antigua & Barbuda, on Tuesday, June
25, 2013 at The Victorian Mansion in Brooklyn, NY. The host committee included: Rev. (Dr.) Valerie Oliver-Durrah, President/CEO, NTAC; Honorable Omyma E. David, Deputy
Consul General; Dr. Una S. T. Clarke, former Councilmember; George-Beer, LLP; Melvin Myers; Hon. Sylvia G. Ash, Judge; Gail Smith, CCO, MetroPlus Health Plan; Hon. Cheryl
E. Chambers, Judge; Brooke Remel Oliver Durrah; Peridot Davis Chambers. The event was catered by Madiba with a lavish fruit display by Melvin Myers of Success Catering
and dessert by Naturally Delicious. Lively music was provided by the Brooklyn Jazz Generation.
15
AUDREY'S
SOCIETY
WHIRL
16
100 vigils planned in wake of Zimmerman’s verdict
(from Page 3)
been different if George
Zimmerman was black for this
reason: he never would have
been charged with a crime,” he
said.
“The facts that night, [it] was
not borne out that he acted in a
racial way,” O’Mara added. “His
history is a non-racist.
On Sunday, rallies in support
of Martin grew in size and intensity.
In Los Angeles, protesters
marched onto Interstate 10, shutting down the freeway for nearly
an hour, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The LAPD told NBC News that
one arrest has been made during
a demonstration after protesters
threw rocks at police. LAPD commander Andrew Smith said officers fired back bean bags at some
protesters.
In New York City, thousands
of demonstrators marched from
Union Square to the touristheavy Times Square Sunday
night, slowing and in some cases
halting traffic.
WNBC reported the area was
gridlocked with people holding
signs in support of Martin and
calling Zimmerman’s acquittal a failure of the judicial system. Police
reported about 10 arrests for disorderly conduct as at 5 a.m. ET,
according to WNBC.
“This is a show of strength, but
it’s also a show of solidarity with
the (Martin) family because last
night what happened was complete
disrespect to them,” said Imani
Henry, an activist with the People’s
Power Assembly who had come for
the protest in New York City’s
Union Square Sunday afternoon.
“We want to show love and respect to them.”
Some in the crowd said they
were still in shock over the verdict.
“I’ve been speechless all night,
I couldn’t sleep,” said Kelly
Knight, a Brooklyn resident who
came for the protest. “I have a
young daughter, and I thought, if
it happened to him, it could happen to her,” she said.
Local churches across the country were also organizing rallies and
urging supporters to wear hoodies
in honor of Martin, who was wearing a black hoodie when
Zimmerman shot him in the chest
on Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman said
he shot Martin in self-defense after the teen attacked him.
In Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place, demonstrators con-
tinued to hold rallies well into Sunday evening. Along with expressing solidarity with Martin, many
held signs calling for an end to
Florida’s “Stand Your Ground”
law, which allows people fearing
for their lives to use deadly force if
they believe their lives are at risk.
In the Florida state capital of
Tallahassee on Sunday, roughly
200 protesters, some wearing
hoodies, sang songs of justice and
carried signs that said “Racism is
Not Dead.”
Though expressions of outrage
dominated Sunday’s rallies, many
religious leaders used morning services to help begin the healing process following the contentious legal battle.
In New York City, Rev.
Jacqueline Lewis wore a pink
hoodie during Sunday morning
services at Middle Collegiate
Church.
She told her congregation to
conduct themselves in the peaceful way Martin Luther King Jr.
would have wanted and prayed for
both Martin and Zimmerman.
“We’re going to pray, and we’re
also going to continue to organize,
which is what we do,” she told reporters before church services.
Though the most vocal showings since the verdict was read
Black woman Texas’ 500th execution
(from Page 4)
dead at 6:37 p.m. CDT, 20 minutes after Texas prison officials
began administering a single, lethal dose of pentobarbital. The
use of pentobarbital, more commonly employed in euthanizing
animals, raised concerns among
some death penalty experts. H.
Lundbeck, the U.S. distributor of
pentobarbital, condemned the
use of the drug in executions in a
statement: “It’s against everything we stand for. We invent and
develop medicine with the aim of
alleviating people’s burden. This
is the direct opposite of that.”
In a statement, Maurie Levin,
McCarthy’s attorney, said, “500 is
500 too many. I look forward to the
day when we recognize that this
pointless and barbaric practice,
imposed almost exclusively on
those who are poor and disproportionately on people of color, has
no place in a civilized society.”
Texas is the killing capital of the
world. The state has carried out
almost 40 percent of all U.S. executions since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to re-
sume in 1976. Eighteen states plus
the District of Columbia have outlawed the death penalty. Thirtyfour still use it, but none as frequently as Texas. Prior to
McCarthy execution members of
the Friends Meeting House (Quakers) placed 500 markers outside
their church on Martin Luther
King, Jr. Blvd. to protest the execution and call for an end to the
barbaric and archaic system of killing people who are incarcerated
and under complete and total government or state control and supervision.
Schumer, Higgins urge intensive pilot
training to prevent stalls by planes
(from Page 9)
lies of the victims worked on legislation to close the gaps in airline safety that allowed this tragedy to occur and create one level
of safety for all segments of the
industry. Their efforts culminated in the passage of the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation
Extension Act in the summer of
2010, which mandates new safety
standards including increased
training for pilots and stricter flight
and duty time regulations to combat pilot fatigue. This law also requires that online vendors of airline tickets disclose, at first viewing, if the flight is operated by a
regional carrier instead of a major
carrier.
The standards regulating pilot
flight hours have already taken effect, whereas standards for
crewmember training, safety management systems, and flight simulation training are on hold until a
finalization deadline on October 1st
of this year.
Schumer and Higgins are pushing for an expedited implementation of these new regulations and
a thorough review of bilateral safety
agreements to ensure the pilots of
international carriers meet U.S.
standards.
Looking beyond George Zimmerman
(from Page 6)
not had a gun? If he did what he
was told to do, police officers
may have come and questioned
Trayvon as he proceeded to the
house of his daddy’s friend.
Or perhaps there may have
been a fist fight. There surely
would not have been a deadly
bullet, and while Zimmerman was
the slayer, our gun laws are
complicit in Trayvon Martin’s execution.
How many young people have
been victims of unintended violence, victims of drive by violence,
people just minding their business
and losing their lives for minding
their business? How many people
with axes to grind would whoop
and holler instead of carrying guns
to workplaces, schools, and other
places? How many crazy legislatures are relaxing gun laws to allow people to carry guns in bars
and near schools? How many retailers, such as Starbucks, refuse
to ban guns in their establishments
(in states where openly carrying
guns is legal)?
As we mourn for Trayvon Martin, let us also recognize the
scourge of gun violence. If we restricted gun ownership, this tragedy, and thousands of others, may
not have happened.
Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and
writer. She is President Emerita
of Bennett College for Women in
Greensboro, N.C.
have been in support of Martin, ing his acquittal. Facebook pages
others have used social media to proclaiming support for him have
stand up for Zimmerman follow- thousands of “likes.”
Defying Obama, Senegal, Ivory
Coast declare they are anti-gay
(from Page 8)
marriage in 2006. It is the only
country in Africa to have done
so, though being openly gay can
be challenging in more traditional
communities.
On June 30, Duduzile Zozo, a
23 year old lesbian, was murdered
and raped in Thokoza, a township
south of Jo’burg. Gauteng premier
Nomvula Mokonyane called the act
“brutal, senseless and unacceptable.”
“Our heartfelt condolences go out
to the Zozo family. Our prayers are
with you,” she said. w/pix of
Duduzile Zozo
African leaders renege on their
pledge to support small farmers
(from Page 8)
and leases destroy the livelihoods
and food security of thousands
of communities, and that access
to land is essential for the right to
food.
Meanwhile, Cameroon appeared to be reconsidering a proposed palm oil plantation by the
U.S.-based Herakles Capital which
would be 10 times the size of Manhattan. Environmental groups in-
cluding Greenpeace and World
Wildlife Fund say the project violates Cameroon’s laws and could
endanger wildlife and deprive locals
of their livelihoods.
The controversial food programs
were also highlighted during
Obama’s recent Africa trip.
The New Alliance and the Feed
the Future program, he said, are helping to promote development and
deliver food aid in “new and creative
ways.”
The criminal injustice system failed Trayvon
(from Page 6)
ent groups of black youngsters
from the adjacent community. So
it’s a dark night, a 6-foot-2-inch
hoodie-wearing stranger is in the
immediate housing complex. How
would the ladies of that jury have
reacted? I submit that if they were
armed, they would have shot
Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than
George Zimmerman did. This is
self-defense.”
This is the same Geraldo Rivera
who said last March, “I think the
hoodie is as much responsible for
Trayvon Martin’s death as
George Zimmerman.”
Fox News even invited Mark
Furman, the former detective for
the Los Angeles Police Department, to discuss the role of race
in jury selection for Zimmerman’s
trial. Lawyers for O.J. Simpson
presented evidence that Furman
had used the n-word more than 40
times over a 10-year period. Yet,
Furman, who pled no contest to perjury charges and sentenced to three
years of probation, appeared on Fox
News’ “America Live” to talk about
race.
When Zimmerman earlier selected Fox News as the only network he would grant an interview
to, he was right at home.
George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News
Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote
speaker, moderator, and media
coach. Curry can be reached
through his Web site:
www.georgecurry.com. You can
also follow him at www.twitter.com/
currygeorge and George E. Curry
Fan Page on Facebook.
Stevie Wonder boycotts Florida
By Andrea Billups
After the acquittal of
George Zimmerman in the
death of Miami teen Trayvon
Martin, singer Stevie Wonder
has signed, sealed and delivered his own verdict for the
state of Florida. The musical icon says he is boycotting the Sunshine State until
its “Stand Your Ground” law,
which
was
cited
at
Zimmerman’s trial, is reversed, The Hollywood Reporter said.
“Until the Stand Your
Ground law is abolished, I will
never perform there again,”
he said to cheers. Florida,
however, is not the only state
to feel Wonder’s wrath. “As
a matter of fact, wherever I
find that law exists, I will not
perform in that state or in that
part of the world,” Wonder said
Sunday at his performance in
Canada’s Quebec City.
As mass protests continue
around the country and other
musicians pay tribute to Martin, many are calling for renewed awareness of civil rights
and justice as they decry the
j u r y ’s d e c i s i o n t o f i n d
Zimmerman not guilty in the
shooting death of Martin, 17.
Wonder encouraged his own
fans to support him in speaking out against what he sees
as an injustice. “The truth is
that — for those of you who’ve
lost in the battle for justice,
wherever that fits in any part
of the world — we can’t bring
them back,” he said in an emotional video posted on
YouTube.
By Victoria Horsford
BREAKING NEWS
Trayvon Martin, Black manhood were the centerpieces of
a profoundly flawed American
judicial system and the
Zimmerman court case.
To summarize, Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager is killed by adult, white
George Zimmerman, a Germanic-American/Afro-Peruvian. Zimmerman is tried for
manslaughter and murder. An
all-women jury of six, five
white and one light-skinned,
returned a not guilty verdict
and Zimmerman walks away
with his gun. What is wrong
with the picture? For openers,
the state of Florida where murderers like Casey Anthony and
Zimmerman walk and where an
African American woman who
fired her licenses gun into the
air to divert her es tranged serially-abusive husband’s attention was sentenced to 20 imprisonment. Her action injured
no one.
The Zimmerman case, like
Anthony’s, was characterized
by a less-than-stellar prosecution team. I just read on FB
that Zimmerman’s myspace
page is littered with racist epithets and admissions of criminal activity. Wonder how much
research the Florida prosecutors did. And jury selection!
Moving forward, the US Attorney General Eric Holder
should initiate a federal civil
rights
case
against
Zimmerman. News account
and Zimmerman’s lawyers say
that the elite US FBI has no
incriminating evidence against
the defendant. Forensic tips
for the Feds: review George
Zimmerman’s social networking accounts and start outreach to the National Security
Administration about its legion files of telephone surveillance, to pull calls made by
Zimmerman, his father, the
Sanford police department and
other key players following the
Trayvon Martin murder. The
nation is mad as hell about our
legal system which requires immediate overhaul, from local
governments right up to the
Supreme Court, which has been
busy recently extracting
muscle for civil rights laws.
HARLEM UPDATES
The Harlem Business Alliance ( HBA) hosts an open
house at its new satellite, HBA
Small Business Service Support Center, at 275 Lenox Avenue, on Thursday, July 18,
6:30 to 8:30 pm. Area entrepreneurs are encouraged to visit
the site and review its offerings at hbany.org or
HBAopenforbusiness.splashthat.com.
Harlem brownstone lo-
Springer, 82, died. He produced
about 10 Broadway plays which
centered on the African-American
experience, including the Pulitzer
prize winner, “No Place To Be
Somebody,” “ Bubbling Brown
Sugar,” “Eubie,” “A Lesson From
Aloes,” and “Rolling On the
I.O.B.A.,” a musical tribute to
Black entertainers in the 20s who
toured the vaudeville circuit.
SUMMER CALENDAR
cated at 2056 Fifth Avenue 125/
126 Streets recently sold for $4
million, which is good news and
bad news. It is rumored that the
seller is an African American.
Councilwoman Inez Dickens,
referencing the transaction
said. “This sale…will affect the
assessed valuation of nearby
properties driving up real estate
taxes for families that own in the
surrounding areas.”
It has been confirmed that
developers will be breaking
ground soon, at the eyesore lot
located on Lenox Avenue, between 124/125 Street where
Whole Foods and other commercial tenants will be housed.
BOOK MARKS
REMINDER: The Harlem
Book Fair on July 20, which is
based on Lenox at 135 Street,
Harlem, USA, in front of the
Schomburg Center for Research
in Black Culture.
The following are some
titles of interest, which will be
covered in depth by this column.
1) A BLUEPRINT FOR THE
PERFECT LIFE: 101 SECRETS
TO LIVE THE LIFE OF YOUR
DREAMS, a self-help book by
“the Genie” Kabral Sharpe.
2) DA NANG POSTSCRIPTS is
a novel about the Viet Nam war
as filtered through the eyes of
a Black Marine supply clerk, by
B.F. Gaulman.
3) Questlove, drummer of The
Roots, the Jimmy Fallon TV
show’s house band, has written
his memoir, MO META BLUES.
4) Celebrity print/electronic
journalist Flo Anthony wanted
to set the record straight. She
is not co-writing a novel with
Zane. Anthony has completed
first novel, DEADLY STUFF
PLAYERS, an African American
murder mystery about a gossip
columnist and an NFL Hall Of
Famer, who solve the murder of
the first plus- sized model, the
wife of a Black dot.com billionaire. Publication date is November. 19. I bet film producers are
already optioning the rights.
Trayvon Martin
Tina Turner
NEWSMAKERS
Love and marriage go together like the horse and carriage this summer, especially in
Europe where actress Halle
Berry, 46 married her French
beau, actor Oliver Martinez, 47,
last weekend in France..
……Pop/R&B goddess Tina
Turner, 73, will marry her longtime beau Erwin Bach, 57, on
July 21, in either Switzerland or
the French Rivera…
RIP: Norman Parish, 75,
died in Washington, DC. Parish founded the Parish Gallery
in Georgetown, in 1991 when
Black American arts was not in
vogue and not selling or widely
exhibited. His Parish Gallery became one of the nation’s best
known African American owned
galleries, which exhibited the
works of more than 170 artists
like the masters Sam Gilliam, Richard Mayhew, Lou Stovall, and
E.J Montgomery.
Theatre impresario Ashton
Ashton Springer
Norman Parish
Gourmands, take note. The next
Restaurant Week, NYC begins
July 22 and ends August 16. Approximately 294 Manhattan are
part of the Restaurant Week promotion, which offers lunch for $25
and dinner for $38. B. Smith’s,
Red Rooster, “Cesca, Le Cirque,
Shun Lee and Cipriani are among
the Zagat fine-dining supernovas
on the Restaurant Week roster.
Visit nycco.com/restaurantweek.
EDIASPORA-NOW, a Manhattanbased Caribbean Fine Art and
Crafts Online Gallery and Ms B
Productions present an exhibition,
The Colorful World of Alfred
Weekes: Sculptures and Reliefs,
at the PHYSICAL THERAPY OF
HARLEM space on 116 Street,
West of Fifth Avenue , Harlem,
from July 19 to August 16. Opening reception 7/19 begins at 5 pm.
Visit Diaspora-Now.com or call
212.491.4652
Judia Black, Sharon Lopez,
Jodie Patterson and Karen Pavlin,
“women partnering to move money
in directions that makes our world
better,” will host a celebration in
honor of South Africa’s pre-eminent statesman, Nelson Mandela,
at 541 Old Sag Harbor Road,
Bridgehampton, NY, on Saturday,
7/27, from 1-4 pm. Wine tasting,
African cuisine, African-inspired
beauty products and jewelry are
part of the afternoon mixer, for
which tickets are $75 in advance
and $100 at the door. Event proceeds to benefit the House of
Mandela
Foundation.
[email protected] or visit:
purplegiraffeproductions.com,
The NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (NMA) hosts its
110 TH Annual Convention And
Scientific Assembly in Toronto,
Canada, from July 27/31. The NMA
“promotes the collective interests
of physicians and patients of African descent.” Founded in 1895,
the NMA is the largest and oldest
national organization representing
more than 30,000 African American physicians. Moreover, the
NMA “continues to be the conscience of American medicine by
working to end disparities in
health care and improving the
quality of health among minorities.”
For more info, call
201.347.1895.
or
visit
wwwn.manet.org.
The National Association of
Black Journalists hosts its 38 th
Annual Convention and Career
Fair, at the Gaylord Palms Resort
in Orlando, Florida, from July 31
to August 4. The largest organization of journalists of color in the
nation, the NABJ boasts a membership of 4000 journalists. For
more info, visit www.nabj.org.
A management consultant,
Victoria Horsford is a NY based
journalist who can be reached at:
[email protected]
WHAT’S GOING ON
17
18
NNPA Award Winner
Enter tainment
By Don Thomas
Amber Books winner of NAACP Image
Award for ‘Outstanding Literary Work’
Amber Books, the award
winning imprint of Phoenix, AZ
based, Amber Communications
Group, Inc., was announced as
an NAACP Image Award winner for “Outstanding Literary
Work - Youth/Teens” - for it’s
title, “Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons - A Dialogue With
America’s Young Leaders” by
Gregory J. Reed, Esq. (Amber
Books), and has earned an
NAACP Image Award for Literature at the 2013 44th Annual
NAACP Image Awards Show,
held at the Shrine Auditorium
in Los Angeles, California,
February 1, 2013.
Tony Rose, Publisher/CEO,
Amber
Communications
Group, Inc., stated in his acceptance speech, “On behalf
of Amber Books, Gregory J.
Reed, Esq., and the Keeper of
the Word Foundation, we are
extremely excited to have been
honored with an NAACP Image Award for Literature.
“I want to thank God, with
whom all things are possible
and Gregory J. Reed, Esq., who
brought ‘Obama Talks Back:
Global Lessons - A Dialogue
With America’s Young Lead-
Tony Rose, publisher proudly
displays NAACP Image Award
ers,’ an outstanding and historic
collection of student letters to
President Barack Obama and his
Yvonne Rose, associate publisher
shares a very proud moment with
our NAACP Image Award
responses to those students
from all across America, along
with the President’s speeches,
public statements, and quotations during his campaigns and
tenure as President of the
United States of America, to
Amber Books.
“We thank the NAACP Image Awards, The 2013 44th Annual Image Awards Sub-Committee Members, The NAACP Voting Members, our NAACP Image Awards Literary Coordinator, Annette Thomas, for her
diligence and hard work on behalf of our African American Literary Community, and I thank my
wife, Yvonne Rose, The Associate
Publisher of Amber Communications Group, Inc., for her and her
editorial and design team’s tireless
work and technical and creative
skills, in making a great book even
greater. Thank you to everyone
who made this outstanding
NAACP
The Certificate of Authenticity
on the Trophy says - “We congratulate you on your award. This
award recognizes that this
achievement is the product of hard
work, and a continuous desire for
excellence.” Youth/Teens “Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons - A Dialogue With America’s
Young Leaders” (Amber Books)
Mrs. Muriel Waller (Mother), sharing a proud moment with the
NAACP Image Award
Gregory Reed (Author) Tony Rose,
Publisher - February 1, 2013.
On the TUBE
‘The Hustle’ - breaking into the Hip Hop world
By Rosemarie Baker-Moore
Special Assignment
Kutta and D (Y’Lan Noel and
London Brown, respectfully) are
Brooklyn’s Finest, Hip Hop’s
newest addition in the quest for
fame and fortune, rappers driven
by their desire to make it in the
music industry. Their manager Ya
Ya (Erica Dickerson) tries to
smooth out a path for them but
her own demons threaten to make
it a rocky one.
They face the obstacles that
novices in the Hip Hop world deal
with, musical differences, love,
lust, baby mama drama, sex and
all the other ingredients that pepper life. You might expect this to
be predictable but the excellent
writing and direction keep you
guessing.
This is the makings of “The
Hustle,” the first scripted series
on FUSE TV, the national music
television network. This six-episode half hour dramedy will cap-
ture your interest and make you
care about the characters, because
they are so real and raw. You’ve
met every one of the four major
characters, during your daily walk,
you’ve laughed with them and at
them and you’ve felt their pain.
The first episodes give you a
chance to meet the team including
sidekick and funny man Rashad
(Clinton Lowe) and feel Brooklyn’s
gritty personality and swag. It
shines through with clips of street
scenes and helps you hold on to
the action.
Guest appearances by Jadakiss,
POWER 105.1’s The Breakfast
Club, Freddie Gibbs and The Red
Café give the series a shot of reality, reminiscent of the series Entourage. The music under the supervision of Paul Stewart, Oscar winner for Best Song (Hustle & Flow)
binds the pieces together with totally realistic musical moments.
The cast is a blend of superb
new talent, fresh and hungry. Y’lan
explained “Kutta is me in certain
ways, passionate about his
projects and career.” His love and
respect for old school music, will
reflect somehow in his characterization of the most serious half of
the duo. Erica’s (Ya Ya), is driven,
a focused go-getter who sometimes stumbles into the wrong
thing but, as Erica explained, “She’s
a little more correct than me, sometimes I say the wrong things.“ Ya
“The Hustle” cast poses with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club. (L-R) Prentice Penny, London Brown,
Davetta Sherwood, Y’lan Noel, Clinton Lowe, Brooklyn McLinn, Erica Dickerson, Angela Yee, DJ Envy,
Charlamange.
Ya has an answer for everything.
London, believable in his role
as the always smiling (D), light
yet edgy, dependable, is a natural born comedic talent. However
he became serious long enough
to explain how the cast interacts
so smoothly. “We just feel like
family. It’s everyone’s first show.
We can go to the director and talk
to him about anything.”
He further clarified, “We want
to inspire people, our characters
are focused to get to the top,
our scripts are focused to get
to the next level.” It takes a lot
of determination and creator
and producer Prentice Perry
made sure that the series maintained it’s high degree of au-
thenticity.
You can watch “The Hustle”
on FUSE, Wednesday nights at
11 p.m., followed by The Hustle
After Party which will air immediately following, featuring appearances buy the cast, interviews and
performances with Hip Hop celebrities, and discussions with music
industry insiders.
AUDREY’S REEL WHIRL with film reviewer Audrey J. Bernard
local heroes around the country
THE LONE RANGER
Movie Poster
In support of Disney/Jerry
Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone
Ranger,” released in U.S. theaters
on July 3, 2013, Disney sponsored The Lone Ranger Ride for
Justice to bring attention to and
celebrate inspiring local heroes
and organizations that stand for
justice, integrity and righteousness in their communities. Fans
nationwide were encouraged to
nominate their courageous local
heroes or organizations to be
honored with The Lone Ranger
Ride for Justice award at advance
screenings of the film.
This series of screenings took
place across the country in Los
Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, Houston, Atlanta,
Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Detroit and San Antonio.
On June 24, fifteen fan screenings across the country took
place to honor the outstanding
local heroes in each market resulting in lucky fans receiving a surprise visit from Armie Hammer
who plays “The Lone Ranger” to
Thrilling train ride scene from “The Lone Ranger”
receive an award.
sion by supporting the American mer), a man of the law, into a
legend of justice — taking the
This is a film that just keeps giv- Indian College Fund.”
ing as the Hollywood premiere of
Ticketholders along with audience on a runaway train of
“The Lone Ranger” — one of this thousands of park guests lined epic surprises and humorous
summer’s most celebrated movies the streets of Disney Park’s
— was a charitable event benefit- legendary Hollywood Bouleting the American Indian College vard in Disney California AdFund and attended by the film’s venture Park in Anaheim, Calidynamic stars Armie Hammer and fornia and wildly cheered as the
Johnny Depp. Disney donated the film’s stars, filmmakers and cepremiere tickets to the American In- lebrities – including the Park’s
dian College Fund which in turn famous resident, Mickey Mouse
sold them to the public for $1,000 — walked a bigger than life red
each to benefit Native American carpet. Why even the masked
students. Since the studio spon- crusader’s iconic horse Silver
sored the event, 100% of the rev- made an appearance along with
enues received will be used for the special train engine built spescholarships and other support for cifically for the film.
Native American students.
The classic western about
“We’ve had a terrific collabora- the famed masked hero took
tion with the Native American com- on a new persona with layers
munity throughout the production of laughter infused in the acof Disney’s ‘The Lone Ranger,’” tion through the eyes of Nasaid Disney Studios chairman Alan tive American warrior Tonto
Horn. “With the world premiere of (Johnny Depp) who recounts
this exciting film at hand, we are the untold tales that transpleased to commemorate the occa- formed John Reid (Armie Ham-
“The Lone Ranger” premiere Native Indian,
Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer
Armie Hammer, star of “The Lone Ranger”,
makes a surprise appearance to honor outstanding local heroes in New York as part of The
Lone Ranger Ride for Justice screening series
Armie Hammer & Mickey Mouse
friction as the two unlikely heroes
must learn to work together and fight
against greed and corruption. “The
Lone Ranger” also stars Tom
Wilkinson, William Fichtner,
Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale,
Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham
Carter.
A Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer
Films presentation, “The Lone
Ranger” was produced by Jerry
Bruckheimer and directed by Gore
Verbinski, the team behind the
blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, with screen story
by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and
Justin Haythe and screenplay by
Justin Haythe and Ted Elliott &
Terry Rossio. (Photos courtesy
Walt Disney Studios)
“The Lone Ranger” celebrates
19
20
Jazz Chat
Ramsey Lewis delivers jazzy smooth grooves
By Charles Simmons
Special Assignment
Legendary Ramsey Lewis recently delivered a jazzy smooth
groove collection of his latest arrangements to a capacity crowd
at City College Aaron Davis Hall,
located in the Village of Harlem.
The concert was a musical treat
designed especially for fathers
and grandfathers celebrating
Father’s Day.
The doors opened promptly at
7pm as the enthusiastic fans were
ushered to their comfortable
cushioned seats. The stage lights
went up as the legendary Ramsey
Lewis with his band appeared center stage. Lewis with a big smile,
warmly greeted all the fathers and
grandfathers, who attended with
family members.
The audience responded with
a thunderous standing ovation.
For more than an one hour and
half Lewis and company kept
the crowd completely engaged
by performing his classics including, “Wade In The Water,”
“The ’In’ Crowd,” “Sun Goddess,” “Oh Happy Day,” “Les
Fluer” and many others.
Flipping the script, Lewis
jumped into his latest CD titled
Taking Another Look, released
on April 24, 2013, featuring beautiful arrangements of “Intimacy,”
“Love Song,” Living For The
City,” “Betcha By Golly Wow,”
“To Know Her,” “The Way She
Smiles” and “Jungle Strut.” Kudos go out to Edward Roebuck
from Ramsey Lewis’ camp who
provided me with excellent seats
to witness this awesome performance. “Man, I was definitely in
‘The In Crowd’”.
Nom for Best Supporting Actress
in 2013 African Oscars
KD Aubert
Ramsey Lewis
Screen Africa announced that KD Aubert (PICTURED) has been nominated for
Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Diaspora Film for the 2013 Nollywood and
African Film Critics Awards (African Oscars) for her role as (Stacey) in the 2012
film “Turning Point.” Hailed as the highest U.S.A. based awards honoring excellence in African filmmaking by The Nollywood Film Critics USA, The African
Oscars recognizes excellence of professionals in the African film industry who
have positively impacted the lives of citizens. The Nollywood Film Critics USA is
the official movie review organization for Nollywood and African films and headed
by Founder and Senior Film Critic Dr. Victor O. Olatoye. The ceremony is scheduled for September 14th at a red-carpet event at the legendary Warner Theatre in
Washington D.C. Special Guest Performers include Yemi Sax, Jerri Jheto, Jennifer
Eliogu, and Katumbella.
21
Theatergoers are singing praises for
Choir Boy and it gets a worthy extension
Choir Boy at MTC,
The Studio at Stage II,
New York City Center
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Last
month, a friend of mine wagged
his tongue so much about the
newest Off Broadway sensation Choir Boy that he got laryngitis. And after seeing the
play, and buoyed by the amazingly brilliant Manhattan Theatre Club’s American premiere
of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s
production, I too adopted the
stance of a Town Crier by channeling my best Paul Revere.
McCraney’s play about many
social issues was soul searing.
And what made this play even
more intense for me was that I
saw it during the same time that
the Supreme Court passed the
same sex marriage law in California and the Paula Dean debacle about the “N” word. And
thanks to the astronomical
word of mouth shout outs, this
limited engagement production
will now run through Sunday,
August 4, 2013.
There are not enough adjectives to describe this transformative play about the coming
of age for five young Black
boys who attend a prep school
that MTC bills as follows: “The
Charles R. Drew Prep School
for Boys is dedicated to the
creation of strong, ethical
black men. Pharus (Jeremy
Pope) wants nothing more than
to take his rightful place as
leader of the school’s legendary gospel choir. Can he find
his way inside the hallowed
halls of this institution if he
sings in his own key?”
No one stays in his lane in
this life changing play directed
by Trip Cullman and featuring
an amazingly gifted cast that
includes Nicholas L. Ashe (The
Lion King), Kyle Beltran (In
The Heights), Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper (The Piano
Lesson), Grantham Coleman
( A s Yo u L i k e I t) , A u s t i n
Pendleton (Ivanov), Jeremy
Pope (Little Shop of Horrors)
and Wallace Smith (American
Idiot).
Each student comes to the
school with his own problems
that McCraney unravels boyby-boy in a very unorthodox
but memorable manner. There
is a gay issue that permeates
the play but the playwright
leaves you to figure out who
the main players are. Then
t h e r e ’s t h e “ N ” w o r d a n d
McCraney nails it by showing
the stupidity of the use of the
word. And let’s not forget the
underlying sentiment layered
throughout the play, “growing
up Black in America.” And as I
waited in a long line for the ladies room, one thing the play
Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney (center) is flanked by Wallace
Smith, Nicholas L. Ashe, Jeremy Pope, Grantham Coleman, Kyle
Beltran, Chuck Cooper and Austin Pendleton
A scene from Choir Boy (Photo by Joan Marcus)
MTC artistic producer Mandy Greenfield and music director
Jason Michael Webb pose with Choir Boy cast
Music director-vocal arranger Jason Michael
Webb and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney
did do was to start a dialogue.
The ladies were heavily engrossed in race conversations.
Bravo, Mr. Playwright!
The creative team for the
new MTC production of Choir
Boy includes David Zinn (scenic and costume design), Peter
Kaczorowski (lighting design),
Fitz Patton (sound design) and
Jason Michael Webb (music director).
The play opened on Tuesday, July 2 at MTC’s The Studio at Stage II – Harold and
Mimi Steinberg New Play Series
MTC executive producer Barry Grove,
artistic producer Mandy Greenfield &
artistic director Lynne Meadow
Chuck Cooper poses with son Alex
Cooper
at New York City Center – at 131
West 55th Street, NYC. Commissioned by MTC with support
from Time Warner Inc., Choir
Boy opened at London’s Royal
Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
in a co-production with MTC
and was hailed by critics. Choir
Boy is a co-production with Alliance Theatre.
Performance schedule
t h r o u g h S u n d a y, A u g u s t 4 :
Tuesday through Saturday at
7:30 PM: Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at
2:30 PM. Tickets are available
MTC general manager Florie
Seery & director of marketing Debra Waxman-Pilla
Kyle Beltran with proud parents
at the New York City Center
Box Office (131 West 55th
Street), CityTix (212-581-1212),
and www.nycitycenter.org. In
order to ensure that tickets to
Choir Boy are affordable to the
widest possible, most diverse
audiences, M T C i s p r i c i n g
tickets at $30 for the initial
run of the show. For more
information on MTC, visit
www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.
F o l l o w M T C o n Tw i t t e r :
@MTC_NYC or on Facebook
(Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas
for Broadway.com)
Tarell Alvin McCraney is author of The Brother/Sister Trilogy: The Brothers Size, In the
Red and Brown Water, &
Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet.
His other works include Wig
Out! set in New York’s drag clubs
and The Breach which deals with
the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina. He was the first recipient of The New York Times’ Outstanding Playwright Award, the
2009 Steinberg Playwrights
Award, and the Paula Vogel
Playwriting Award.
THEATER TALK
Flick Chat
22
Bittersweet biopic recounts final
hours in Oscar Grant’s short life
By Kam Williams
Senior Movie Critic
Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) and his girlfriend, Sophina
(Melonie Diaz), were returning to
Oakland in the wee hours of the
morning after attending a New
Year’s Eve 2009 celebration when
their crowded train was stopped
by police in response to a report
of a disturbance. Oscar was
among a number of male passengers ordered onto the platform
at Fruitvale Station, where he was
initially allowed to sit quietly with
his back against the wall.
However, he was subsequently ordered to lie on his
stomach so that he could be
handcuffed and placed under arrest. When he resisted, a struggle
ensued during which Oscar
could be heard begging not to
be Tasered as a cop yelling
“bitch-ass [N-word]” forced him
to the ground.
Another officer pulled out a
pistol and proceeded to shoot
unarmed Oscar in the back,
prompting the mortally-wounded
young father to exclaim, “I got a
4 year-old daughter!” The entire
incident was captured on a cell
phone by a fellow straphanger
who posted the video on
Youtube, thereby instantly turning the controversial slaying into
an international cause célèbre.
Had Oscar been callously executed or accidentally killed by a
cop who had merely mistaken his
.40 caliber weapon for his stun
gun? Guilt or innocence, a matter ultimately left for a jury to
Actor Michael B. Jordan delivers
gripping performance as Oscar
Grant
decide, is not the primary focus
of the biopic “Fruitvale Station.”
Instead, this bittersweet biopic
seeks to humanize the very colorful Oscar Grant by chronicling the
serendipitous series of events
leading up to his untimely demise.
The film unfolds over the course
of the last day in the charming 22
year-old’s abbreviated life, a period during which he interacts affectionately with Sophina, their
daughter (Ariana Neal), his
mother, Academy Award-winning
actress (Octavia Spencer), pals,
strangers and other relatives.
For instance, we see Oscar inform his disappointed girlfriend
that he’s lost his job as a clerk at
the local supermarket. Later, he
tucks tiny Tatiana into bed and
promises to take her to Chuck E.
Cheese the next day. And he ominously takes to heart his mom’s
erroneous presumption that riding
the train would be a lot safer than
driving to San Francisco that fateful night.
Already winning awards at both
Cops arrest Oscar Grant (2nd left) and his friends at Fruitvale Station
bering, inner-city reality, never hits
the Cannes and Sundance Film sentimentality or melodrama.
Festivals, “Fruitvale Station”
Some of the credit must also a false note.
Whether Oscar Grant deserves
marks the remarkable writing and go to Michael B. Jordan for his
directorial debut of Ryan Coogler. compelling, warts-and-all por- to be remembered as a martyr or a
A recent School of Cinematic trayal of Oscar, a complicated provocateur, this poignant portrait
Arts (USC) grad, the gifted 27 soul with perhaps as many posi- of him as a flawed free-spirit is moving enough to be remembered come
year-old exhibits the talents of a tive attributes as faults.
seasoned veteran here, crafting
The support cast deserves a Academy Awards season. Excela character-driven tale that’s share of accolades, too, for en- lent (4 stars). Unrated. Running
touching and emotionally-en- suring that the palpable produc- time: 85 minutes. Distributor: The
gaging without resort to either tion, one well grounded in a so- Weinstein Company.
Michael B. Jordan and Ariana Neal, who plays his 4 year-old daughter
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SUPREME COURT OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF NEW YORK
Index No. 306389/2013 — Date
Summons Filed: 5/23/13 – SUMMONS WITH NOTICE- Plaintiff
designates New York County as
the place of trial – Basis of venue
is Plaintiff ’s residence –
Catherine Ko, Plaintiff, -againstDe Ming Liang, Defendant.-ACTION FOR DIVORCE- To the
above named Defendant: YOU
ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to
serve a notice of appearance on
the Plaintiff’s Attorneys within
twenty (20) days after the service
of this summons, exclusive of the
day of service (or within thirty
(30) days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within
the State of New York); and in
case of your failure to appear,
judgment will be taken against
you by default for the relief demanded in the notice set forth
below. Dated: May 22, 2013, Leta
Liou, Esq., The Law Firm of Liou
& Maisonet, PLLC, Attorneys for
Plaintiff, 124 Nassau Street, Suite
2, New York, New York 10038,
(646) 587-0188. NOTICE: The nature of this action is to dissolve
the marriage between the parties,
on the grounds: DRL Section 170
subd. (2) - the abandonment of
the Plaintiff by the Defendant for
a period of more than one year.
The relief sought is a judgment
of absolute divorce in favor of
the Plaintiff dissolving the marriage between the parties in this
action. The nature of any ancillary or additional relief demanded
is: That either party may resume
use of a prior surname; That the
Court grant such other and further relief as the Court may deem
just and proper; The parties have
divided up the marital property,
and no claim will be made by either party under equitable distribution. NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC ORDERS. Pursuant to
domestic relations law section
236 part b, sec. 2, the parties are
bound by certain automatic orders which shall remain in full
force and effect during the
pendencey of the action. For further details you should contact
the clerk of the matrimonial part,
Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street,
New York, NY 10007 Tel (646)
386-3010. DRL 255 Notice. Please
be advise that once the judgment
of divorce is signed in this action, both parties must be aware
that he or she will no longer be
covered by the other party’s
health insurance plan and that
each party shall be responsible
for his or her own health insurance coverage, and may be entitled to purchase health insurance on his or her own through a
COBRA option, if available.
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If the mesh caused complications, you may be entitled to
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Notice OF FORMATION of
Homeownership Lending, LLC
Articles of Organization filed with
Secretary of State of New York
(SSNY) on 06/21/13.
Office location: NY County. SSNY
has been designated as an agent
upon whom process against the
LLC may be served. The address
to which SSNY shall mail a copy of
any process against the LLC is to:
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CLASSIFIED
23
24
BEACON
Marc Rasbury
SPORTS
Victor Cruz retracts Zimmerman controversial statement
By Derrel
Johnson
“Jazz”
New York Giants Pro
Bowl wide receiver Victor
Cruz landed in the hot seat
over the weekend by making controversial remarks
regarding
George
Zimmerman, who was acquitted of the murder of
Trayvon Martin Saturday
night by a jury in Sanford,
Florida. The Patterson,
New Jersey, native posted
a Tweet that said “Thoroughly
confused.
Zimmerman doesn’t last a
year before the hood
catches up with him.” His
remarks
implied a violent reaction
to Zimmerman after the
not-guilty verdict in urban
neighborhoods. Cruz
later deleted the Tweet,
but was bombarded by
numerous negative comments by Zimmerman
Supporters afterward.
Cruz, who is famously
known for salsa dancing
after scoring touchdowns
in NFL games, didn’t back
away from speaking about
the comments, as he appeared on numerous
sports talk shows Monday morning, including
the national program
Mike and Mike in the
Morning on 98.7 ESPN
New York and the local
show Boomer and Carton
on 660 WFAN, among
others. Cruz also Tweeted
some a statement that
backed away from his
original statement. “I
never have and never will
advocate violence under
any circumstances and I
pray that we all encourage
and educate each other.”
On Mike and Mike,
Cruz, who recently signed
a five-year, $43 million
deal with the New York Giants, said the following.
“I took it back because I
understand how things can
be taken,” Cruz said on the
radio. “There are a lot of children that follow me, a lot of
kids that follow me, and I
don’t want them to think I’m
trying to incite violence on
anyone. That’s not what I’m
here for. That’s not what my
intent was — or is — at all,”
Cruz said when appearing on
Mike and Mike via telephone. Cruz is on the right
page when he talks about the
need to “encourage and educate each other,” and hopefully that will be one of the
byproducts of the tremendous amount of attention that
the murder
of Trayvon Martin in general,
and the comments by Cruz in
particular,
has received.
What Cruz, and other athletes and entertainers need to
learn is to think about their
comments before they post
them. A Tweet like this could
potentially have negative implications with potential endorsement deals, something
that his new agent, Roc Nation Sports, headed by hiphop mogul Jay-Z, is seeking
for all of his clients. Cruz is a
successful author as well, and
when I spoke to him recently
at The 40/40 Club in New York
City, he said he is planning a
follow up to his debut literary work Out of the Blue.
His comments could potentially have a negative impact on his ability to sell as
many books.
He seems to have learned
his lesson, but when will athletes learn to keep their opinions to themselves about
things of a high controversial nature?
Cruz isn’t the first athlete
to make comments that he
later regretted, and he won’t
be the last. Let’s hope that
this incident in which Cruz responded in a passionate
manner isn’t held against him
in the future.
Victor Cruz
2 African-Americans selected in top 7 picks of NHL draft
By Derrel “Jazz” Johnson
Seth Jones, son of former NBA
player and former Brooklyn Nets
assistant coach Popeye Jones,
and Darnell Nurse, nephew of
former NFL quarterback Donovan
McNabb, were both selected in
the top seven picks of the 2013
National Hockey League (NHL)
Draft, which took place on Sunday at the Prudential Center in
Newark.
Jones was rumored to go as
high as #1, and would have made
history as the first ever African
American to be selected with the
first pick, but slipped to the fourth
pick before he was snatched up
by the Nashville Predators. When
asked if he would hold a grudge
against teams that passed on him,
he responded “I’m competitive…
you definitely want to prove them
wrong.”
I spoke to Seth’s father Popeye
after he was drafted. When I asked
him about his nerves and those of
his son’s as he slipped in the draft,
the proud Dad said “I’m pretty
sure that the nerves picked up.”
Popeye continued, saying “I was
more anxious myself just to know
where he was going to go. Nashville is a terrific hockey city.”
Nurse was asked about Seth falling in the draft as well. “I felt pretty
bad for him because he had all of
those cameras in his face. I was
like ‘please get them out of his
face so he can just relax.’” Nurse
continued speaking about his
2013 NHL Draft counterpart.
“He’s very mature. Something
like that isn’t going to affect him.
He’s a
hockey player.”
Nurse, meanwhile, was selected
with the seventh overall pick by
the Edmonton Oilers. When
asked how he felt, after being selected, he said “Unbelieveable.
Organizations like this when you
are a kid you grow up dreaming
of being a part of. I can’t wait to
make my mark.”
He had about 35 family mem-
bers and friends who came out to
support him Sunday, including his
father, who played in the Canadian
Football League, and famous
uncle. “My Dad probably
stresses out a little more than me,”
Nurse said of being selected. “I
was just happy for my whole family,” Darnell said, as there were
mock drafts that saw him being
selected as low as 14th. “Being a
Canadian kid I grew up watching
all of the Canadian teams,” he said
of his excitement of playing for
Edmonton. Nurse jokingly talked
about his Uncle’s draft experience
compared to his. “He went higher
than me but I didn’t get booed,”
referring to McNabb being jeered
when selected by the Philadelphia
Eagles in the 1999 National Football
League Draft with the second overall pick.
The National Hockey League has
a roster of players that is more
diverse than it is given credit for. In
the 2013 NHL Draft, that diversity
was on full display, with two African Americans selected in the top
seven picks.
With Seth Jones and Darnell
Nurse, you have two kids who chose
hockey over basketball and football,
respectively, despite having professional fathers in those sports. Perhaps their love of hockey will create
many more African American fans
as well.

Week 29 - New York Beacon

Transcription

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