New York Beacon

Transcription

New York Beacon

New York
Beacon
website:
NewYorkBeacon.net
Vol. 19 No. 33
Showing the Way to Truth and Justice
August 16, 2012 - August 22, 2012
E-Mail
[email protected]
75 Cents
TIME SQ MURDER
Kelly justifies cop killing of knife-wielding man
SHOOT ME — Darrius Kennedy daring police to “shoot me” on busy Seventh Avenue as cops tried to arrest him for openly smoking joint at Seventh Avenue and 44th Street at 3
p.m. Saturday. He finally got his wish as police fired 12 shots at him when he reportedly pulled out a knife and lunged at the officers.
(See Story On Page 3)
Have Black lost their spirit for social activism
(See Story On Page 4)
NEW YORK BEACON, August 16, 2012 - August 22, 2012 newyorkbeacon.net
2
Sen. Gianaris aims to make
NY toughest state on guns
Senator Michael Gianaris is
working to improve public safety
and better protect New Yorkers
from gun violence by introducing a series of bills to strengthen
the state’s gun control laws. His
package of bills are based on criteria established by the Brady
Center to Prevent Gun Violence
which ranks each state according to the strength of its gun
control laws. Currently, New York
ranks fourth in the country. The
passage of Senator Gianaris’s
package of bills, however, would
make New York first in the nation for having the toughest gun
control laws.
“The recent rash of gun violence makes clear that enough is
enough. It is long past time to
improve our gun laws and New
York should lead the way,” Senator Gianaris said. “With the enactment of these sensible gun
laws, New York will establish it-
self as the nation’s leader in combating gun violence. I will continue
to push hard until we get results
and make the streets safer.”
According to New York State law,
firearms do not include weapons
used for hunting or sport but are
defined as a pistol, revolver, and
so-called “sawed off” shotgun or
rifle.
The Gianaris bills would do the
following:
· Limit the purchase of a firearm to GOP presumed presidential candidate nominated Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate
one per month and limit a firearm
dealer from selling a firearm to any
individual who has purchased such
a weapon within the previous 30
days;
· Establishes a universal background check to close a loophole
in firearm sales and require background checks for all gun sales, By Raisa Camargo
urday, Aug. 11, 2012 in Norfolk, Va. “I think he’s going to have a very
even transactions between private
They said the choice shows Rom- hard time selling his plan to cut govsellers and buyers;
Some Latino leaders are say- ney has given up on trying to woo ernment spending on very important
ing Mitt Romney’s selection of the Latino vote. “It’s not the sort services in the Latino community,”
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his of pick that will capture the atten- Barreto told VOXXI about the man
vice presidential running mate was tion of Latino voters,” Matt who is now vice president on the Re“out of touch” with Hispanic vot- Barreto of Latino Decisions told publican ticket.
Ryan’s budget plan aims to cut $5.8
ers.
VOXXI, adding that a majority of
Two others on the shortlist for Hispanics have never heard of trillion over 10 years from projected
federal spending to reduce the defivice president were expected to Paul Ryan.
have more sway with the Latino
Barreto said data from 2011 sur- cit by $4.4 trillion in the same time
vote - estimated at between 10 and veys show Latino voters may not span. Programs like food stamps,
12 million this November. But support the House Budget Com- would see more than $900 trillion in
both Florida Senator Marco Rubio mittee chairman’s deficit plan, reductions, according to news re- who was seen as a highly fa- which would transform Medicare ports.
It would also cut federal income
vored shortlister - and New into a program where future seMexico Gov. Susana Martinez, niors would receive government tax rates for individuals and corpomore of a longshot, were passed checks, called vouchers, that they rations to 25 percent from 35 percent.
over for Ryan.
could use to purchase health in- The tax breaks would help alleviate
Several Latino organizations surance. It would also cut spend- revenue loss.
Julio Ricardo Varela, founder of
and affiliated programs - including for Medicaid, as well as food
Latino
Rebels, told VOXXI he’s skeping the National Council of La stamps, student loans and other
Raza and AARP - have previously social programs that President tical for now that Latinos are lookexpressed dismay about Ryan’s Barack Obama and Democrats ing into the policies and beyond the
politics. He said the pick is “out of
budget plan. And early Saturday have pledged to defend.
several political analysts pointed
Asked whether they thought it touch” with present circumstances.
to Ryan’s budget decisions in the was a good idea to reduce spend- “I think it’s just another lost opporpast and said other Latino con- ing on Medicare to address the tunity by the Republican Party to try
tenders would have brought more national deficit, 73% of Latino vot- and capitalize on increasing voter
diversity to the Republican ticket. ers said they oppose cuts to Medi- appeal among U.S. Latinos,” he said.
Republican presidential candi- care and only 22% support it. “I’ve always firmly believed that
date, former Massachusetts Gov. Asked how to address the national there was a large base of U.S. Latino
Mitt Romney, right, introduced his deficit, a whopping 83% majority voters that were looking toward difvice presidential running mate, of Latinos supported taxes on the
Senator Michael Gianaris
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, Sat- wealthy in combination with cuts.
Hispanics say vice prez pick
‘out of touch’ with Latino vote
Man indicted for attempted murder, torture of ex-girlfriend
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced a 18-count indictment
against Anthony Matthews, 31,
for kidnapping his 26-year old
ex-girlfriend on June 29, 2012,
keeping her bound and captive
for a month, during that time
she was relentlessly beaten all
over her face and body, bound
with cables and wires, burned
with hot metal, and threatened
with death at gunpoint.
Matthews is indicted on two
counts of kidnapping in the
first degree; attempted murder
in the second degree; kidnapping in the second degree; two
counts of assault in the first
degree; assault in the second
degree; unlawful imprisonment
in the first degree; unlawful
imprisonment in the second
degree; assault in the third degree and eight counts of criminal possession of a weapon in
the fourth degree. If convicted
on the top count the defendant
faces life in prison.
According to the indictment,
on June 29, 2012 Matthews took
the victim from her father ’s
Peekskill home. The defendant
drove her to his cousin’s
Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment,
where she was allegedly kept
captive for over a month.
The indictment alleges that
during that time the defendant
shoved a gun in her mouth, breaking her teeth; used a scalding-hot
clothing iron to burn her legs and
a screwdriver heated over an open
flame to burn her genitals; beat
her with wooden planks, including one with protruding nails and
that he kept her bound-up with
extension cords, electronic
charger cords and other restraints.
According to the indictment,
Matthews kept the victim hostage
until July 30, 2012, when he drove
her to his mother’s apartment in
Kings County DA Charles Haynes
Bedford-Stuyvesant, and left the
victim on the doorstep. The
mother called 911. The victim
was taken to Woodhull Hospital.
Medical records show the defendant sustained severe septic
shock, having lost more than half
of the blood in her body. In addition, she had spinal damage, a
liver laceration, fractured ribs, a
fractured nose, numerous burns,
bruising, and swelling on her
face and body. The victim remains hospitalized.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of
a defendant’s guilt.
The domestic violence case is
being prosecuted by Senior Trial
Attorney Josh Charlton from the
Domestic Violence Bureau.
Wanda Lucibello is Chief of the
Special Victims Division in the
Domestic Violence Bureau.
Deirdre Bialo-Padin is Chief of
the Domestic Violence Bureau.
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Black leaders say that we must fight voter disenfranchisement and
not let it deny us the gains made via the Voting Rights Act of 1965
that was passed almost 50 years ago.
Voter suppression could
kill dream of Black voters
By Yussuf Simmonds
Sharpton spoke to the Sentinel.
Special to the NNPA from the Los He said, “The voter suppression
Angeles Sentinel
that we are witnessing through
the voter ID laws and ending
The right to vote is a constitu- early voting are designed to retional right. The Voting Rights Act introduce jim crow to the elec(VRA) that was signed into law on toral process. This is the most
August 6, 1965 was designed to serious threat to voter rights that
protect individuals who were de- we have seen in 47 years since
nied the right to vote based on their (President) Lyndon Johnson
race or prerequisite qualifications signed the Voting Rights Act, and
such as literacy tests, poll tax and/ one of the reasons that National
or having a photo ID card. What Action Network (NAN) and I are
the VRA actually did was: it en- committed to turning them
franchised millions of minority vot- around – these laws – and to
ers whose right to vote had been have people prepare to fight for
curtailed by jim crow laws. That this, is that it could not only cost
landmark legislation became the us this election, it could cost us
great equalizer, and it brought our right to vote period.
about the legal end of discrimina“And we are galvanizing
tory practices of voter disenfran- around the country because this
chisement. It was a victory for jus- is a serious fight and it will not
tice and for all Americans.
only determine if (President)
However, there is a movement Barack Obama would be retoday to re-institute those dis- elected, but it will also determine
criminatory practices. In the last whether we remain a significant
year, several states have passed part of the electorate. People
laws that would suppress/curtail need to understand the seriousthe voting rights of minorities, the ness of this issue.”
elderly, youthful and disabled votActually voter suppression is
ers; and other states have similar the latest ruse in a series of acts
laws pending. It amounts to the that have reared its ugly head
same old jim crow by another name since 2008 since President Barack
and the Rev. A. Sharpton is lead- Obama won the election. Those
ing the fight across the country to acts include, but are not limited
stop those who would turn back to, the birther movement and the
the clock to the “bad” old days.
tea party, and now the subtle
In Los Angeles, to take the voter suppression of voters’ rights in
suppression message to the West(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
ern Baptist State Convention, Rev.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly
said Monday the police killing of
knife wielding 51-year-old Darrius
Kennedy, was in order. But the
Kennedy family and a number of
eye-witnesses said police acted
too hastily.
“All I’m saying is the police
were too quick in their action,” said
Joan Kelly who followed the incident from the beginning to the
end. “Yes, the man was carrying a
knife. But police should have
known this is a troubled man. If
anything they should have shot
him in the leg.”
Another eye-witness, a European visiting from Holland later
told this reporter, “It was a scarily
tense moment, but I don’t think
the police should kill him.”
The following is how the Associated Press reported the tragic
incident.
Lincoln Rocha had just taken
some photographs of his wife
while they visited crowded Times
Square on a hot summer day when
he saw a man nearby start to back
away from police officers who
were talking to him.
When they reached out to try
to grab hold of the man, Rocha
Darrius Kennedy
said, “He just went for his knife.”
The officers went for their guns,
and Rocha went for his camera.
“When I saw the officers draw
their guns, I was sure they would
kill him,” the Brazilian tourist said
Sunday, the day after the man, 51year-old Darrius Kennedy, was
shot to death by police, who said
he had lunged at officers with the
11-inch kitchen knife.
“If they’re going to kill him, I
want to take some pictures, I want
to record it,” Rocha said.
Kennedy was smoking marijuana near the military recruiting
station in Times Square about 3
p.m. Saturday when officers first
approached, police said. It was the
beginning of an encounter that
would stretch for seven of the most
crowded blocks in New York City in
midafternoon and end a few minutes
later with 12 gunshots and many
witnesses.
As officers spoke to Kennedy, he
became agitated, pulled out an 11inch knife and began to put a bandanna on his head, police said. He
ignored repeated orders to drop the
knife and began backing away from
them, continuing for blocks as he
waved the knife and drew many officers into a slow-speed pursuit that
itself lured onlookers.
Rocha said the unusual scene
was the first time he had ever seen
anything like it in any of his several
visits to New York City.
“You see something like this, you
want to record it,” he said. And in
Times Square, crowded with countless tourists, street vendors and
New Yorkers, many others apparently felt the same way.
Though Rocha stayed put, held
back by his wife’s insistence, the
Police torture panel shuts down
but what about the victims?
By Starla Muhammad
Special to the NNPA from The Final Call
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) –
The nightmare reign of Chicago
Police Commander Jon Burge is
not over, say activists. Not for the
dozens of Black men beaten, tortured and coerced into confessing to crimes they did not commit
and forced to spend years languishing behind bars, they add.
Adding insult to injury and injustice, the last glimmer of hope
for many of these men, the Illinois
Torture and Relief Commission
has lost its funding—even as the
city has continued to pay some
victimized by illegal police coercion.
On July 25, the Chicago City
Council voted to authorize $7.17
million in settlements to Michael
Attorney Willis
Illinois State Senator Mattie Huutar
Tillman and David Fauntleroy, both paid out $53.6 million in settlements
victims of the police torture under as a result of Mr. Burge and his Area
Mr. Burge. To date, the taxpayers
of Chicago and Cook County have
‘Roll-Your-Own’ cigarette business fined $15G for tax evasion
Attorney General Eric T.
Schneiderman and New York City
Corporation Counsel Michael A.
Cardozo have announced the
settlement of a federal lawsuit that
the state and city brought against
two “roll-your-own” (RYO) cigarette shops in New York City for
evading cigarette taxes. The defendants have agreed to permanently
discontinue their RYO businesses
and to pay a combined monetary
penalty of $15,000 to both the state
and city.
BB’s Corner, located at 8415 18th
Avenue in Brooklyn, and Nitecap
Entertainment, at 690 Gulf Avenue
in Staten Island, evaded cigarette
taxes by providing customers with
loose tobacco, tubes of cigarette
paper, and access to machinery that
instantly produces finished ciga-
rettes for customers on-site.
Their claim that the sale of loose
tobacco, cigarette paper tubes
and access to the machines did
not subject them to the cigarette
regulatory scheme was unavailing. In addition, the cigarettes
were not fire safe as required by
New York State law.
Sales of non-taxed cigarettes
not only deprive the state of tax
revenue, but also hurt law-abiding small businesses and undercut public health measures designed to discourage smoking.
“No one is above the law when
it comes to paying taxes. These
cigarette shops thought they
could skirt the law by pretending
not to sell cigarettes, when in fact
that’s exactly what they were doing,” said Attorney General
AG Schneiderman
Schneiderman. “It is well-established that cheap cigarettes attract
young smokers, and that smokers
who pick up the habit when they
are young have a far more difficult
time quitting later on. Today’s announcement sends a clear message
to those who try to evade the rules:
my office will aggressively enforce
the laws of this state and protect
consumers.”
“These stores were designed as
a way around important public
health measures. They also hurt
tax-paying, law-abiding New York
City businesses,” said Corporation
Counsel Michael A. Cardozo of the
New York City Law Department.
“The Mayor’s efforts have now
succeeded in closing down all of
these illegal businesses. We intend
to continue our efforts to eliminate
the illegal tobacco trade in all forms.”
As described by investigators,
customers at the defendants’ stores
would purchase loose tobacco and
packages of cigarette paper tubes
with attached filters. Customers
would then make cigarettes, sometimes with the assistance of store
employees, on machines located in
and owned by the stores. The machines would fill the paper tubes with
compacted tobacco to produce completed cigarettes, which the customers would then pay for by the carton. The defendants charged as low
as $29.95 per carton, a price which
fell well under the minimum price per
carton permitted by law and did not
include the state cigarette tax.
The lawsuit alleged violations of
3
Commissioner Kelly justifies police
murder of knife wielding man
4
Have Blacks lost their spirit for social activism?
By Jessica Williams-Gibson
Special to the NNPA from The
Indianapolis Recorder
During the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s, AfricanAmericans mobilized and
marched for issues such as segregation, racial discrimination
and voting rights.
Issues Blacks face today include unemployment, health disparities, mass incarceration, education declines, voting hurdles,
gun violence and the deterioration of the Black family among
many others. These issues matter to African-Americans, however many would argue that very
little action is taken on these issues or if an outcry does occur,
the passion soon fades.
Have Blacks lost their spirit for
social activism? Have Blacks forgotten how to come together to
affect change?
Dr. Derek B. King Sr., a professor at Martin University and
nephew of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.; Rev. Thomas L. Brown, son
of local civil rights activist Dr.
Andrew J. Brown and pastor of
Ebenezer Baptist Church; and
Barbara Bolling, a member of the
national board of directors and
the Indiana State President of the
NAACP, give their thoughts.
The Black church has changed
King believes that Blacks have
lost their spirit for social activism
for several reasons. He says that
during the civil rights movement,
issues of racism were clear and
victories that were won because
of the movement caused people
to believe “the fight” was over.
Most importantly he believes
the Black church has changed.
“The messaging has changed.
SOCIAL ACTIVISTS — Some are concerned that the kind of activism advocated by leaders such as Rev.
Derek King (left) and Rev. Al Sharpton is not as strong in the Black community today as in the past
There are some Black pastors who
try to keep their congregants
aware of issues that affect Blacks
disproportionately. But the majority of the messaging coming out
of the Black church does not speak
to systemic challenges,” said King.
“One of the people who was well
respected in the Black community
was pastors. Much of the messaging that comes out of Black pulpits today is prosperity
preaching…get paid…get your
breakthrough. When we talk about
things that affect Blacks, we’ve
fallen asleep behind the wheel.”
Despite his strong opinion, he
said there is considerable concern
in the Black community about homicide rates, however there is a
laundry list of important issues that
Blacks are either unaware of or
don’t care about.
“We’ve gotten selfish. If it
doesn’t affect me, it’s not my problem. During the civil rights movement, it didn’t matter how much
money you had or how much education you had, Blacks in the
south sat on the back of the bus.
Up until 1965 Blacks in America
could not vote. These issues affected all Blacks,” he said.
“Unless it affects a measurable
population of Blacks, we will raise
our voices and take some sort of
action, but generally, (we have the
attitude of) ‘if it doesn’t affect me,
it’s not my problem.’”
Apathy has increased
Brown agrees with King and
says that Blacks have lost their
social activism because they’ve
lost their spiritual activism.
“We have become lazy and
apathetic. Our religion has become
part of the secular movement and
not the spiritual movement,” said
Brown. “Our Black church is about
religion, not spirituality.”
He also echoes King’s sentiments on rampant selfishness in
the Black community.
At 70-years-old, Brown not only
actively demonstrated during the
civil rights movement, but his father, Rev. Andrew J. Brown was a
local leader fighting for justice.
Brown has also sat amongst noted
Black leaders such as Dr. Martin
Luther King, Ralph Abernathy and
even Malcolm X.
Although Brown has not
stopped speaking out on issues
in the Black community, he pinpoints the 90s as the begging of
the decline of the Black activist.
“We were moving toward the
notion of making money and becoming
financially
successful…getting status,” he
said. “We started copying our oppressor.”
Brown does recognize the awe
and accomplishments of President
Barack Obama, but reminds Blacks
that “we have not arrived.”
To further prove his point, he
said that when Blacks do speak out
on issues, it’s usually on issues of
grief such as the Trayvon Martin
issue. Blacks need to speak out
about all injustices, including Blackon-Black crime.
Increases in technology spewing
information quickly have also aided
in Blacks glossing over issues.
People are hustling and are all about
survival while simultaneously losing sight of their historical passion
for change.
He also believes Blacks have lost
the concept of sacrifice.
Technology can be overwhelming
Bolling does not agree that
Blacks have lost their spirit for social activism citing the Trayvon
Martin marches that occurred
across the country and the outcry
during the 2007 Jena 6 incident involving high school students and
racism in Louisiana.
She said that when issues such
as those arise and reach people’s
hearts, Blacks do mobilize and march.
On the other hand, she also said
that technology and the barrage of
news that people are faced with
does make tackling issues overwhelming.
“If something does occur, you
have to act instantaneously. If it
takes you too long to get to your
point, people’s minds will wander.
You got to be ready (to fight injustice) all the time,” said Bolling.
People should not only be vigi(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
Cuomo announces $107M available
for large solar power installations
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has
announced that $107 million is now
available through the NY-Sun initiative for a major solar power incentive program that will increase
the amount of electricity generated
by photovoltaic (PV) systems
throughout New York.
The NY-Sun Competitive PV Program, which is being administered
by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA), seeks proposals for
large (more than 50 kilowatts) PV
systems to be installed at busiErnesta Procope
Ernesta Procope named to top
25 Living Legends of Insurance
Ernesta Procope, a pioneering
African-American businesswoman who transformed a tiny
agency in the 1950s into today’s
powerhouse serving Fortune 500
companies from its Manhattan
office, was named to
Propertycasualty360.com’s “Top
25 Living Legends of Insurance.”
She joins a list of luminaries
like Warren Buffett, Hank
Greenberg and J. Robert Hunter.
“In an industry dominated by
white men, Ernesta Procope navigated her storefront agency
through the Civil Rights era to Wall
Street,” the respected website
writes. “The brokerage, E.G. Bowman, still operates with Procope
at the helm as chairman, and provides insurance to more than 2,000
clients, including Fortune 500
companies, government agencies,
nonprofits, financial companies
and religious institutions as the
nation’s largest minority and
woman-owned brokerage.”
Ronald L. Allen, immediate past
chairman for the National African
American Insurance Association
told the magazine: “Ernesta entered the insurance industry in
the 1950s when two great challenges seemed almost insur(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
nesses, factories, municipal buildings and other larger commercial and
industrial customers. A new
website, http://ny-sun.ny.gov/, has
been launched to provide a onestop-shop for applicants seeking
funding through the NY-Sun program.
“The NY-Sun initiative has helped
establish New York State as a leader
in solar power, and these investments in photovoltaic systems will
allow businesses and municipalities
to put in place green, cost-effective
electric generating installations,”
Governor Cuomo said. “In addition,
these investments will further drive
job growth in the state’s clean power
industry, and create economic development in communities across
New York. I encourage all businesses and municipalities eligible for
these grants to apply.”
This phase of the program is
available through the end of 2013
for PV projects in New York City and
upstate New York at eligible customer sites. This is an expansion –
both in geographical territory and
in funding – of a two-year-old program that previously focused on
large PV systems for the commercial, industrial and municipal sectors
exclusively in New York City,
Westchester County and the lower
Hudson Valley. The awards an-
nounced by the Governor stemmed
from this more limited 2-year-old program. Through the newly established
NY-Sun Competitive PV Program,
$36.4 million will be available in 2012
and $70.5 million in 2013. All projects
will require co-funding to best leverage state resources with funding
capped at $3 million per project.
Proposals under the first round of
the NY-Sun Competitive PV Program
are due Nov. 8 with the remaining two
due dates for this program in the first
and third quarters of 2013.
Francis J. Murray Jr., president and
CEO, NYSERDA, said, “For the last
two years, NYSERDA funding has
helped spark interest in a wide variety of large solar-power projects in
some of the most densely populated
areas of the state. Governor Cuomo’s
NY-Sun Initiative will expand and
stimulate the growth and deployment
of solar technology while at the same
time reducing demand on the grid
throughout the state.”
Public Service Commission Chairman Garry Brown said, “Governor
Cuomo’s NY-Sun Initiative will help
further the growth of solar energy in
the state. Not only will this help diversify our energy supply and improve our environment, it will help
reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and stimulate economic opportunities.”
5
6
Editorial
Lessons from the Olympics
New York
Beacon
By Julianne Malveaux
NNPA Columnist
Walter Smith: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Miatta Haj Smith: Co-Publisher & Executive Editor
William Egyir: Managing Editor
VP Ryan could be nightmare
for the poor and minorities
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
In an apparent off the cuff remark, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan
gushed that he thought it was a
“cool thing” that an AfricanAmerican was president. But
Ryan’s rapture with President
Obama didn’t last past the first
sentence. In the next breath he
quickly added that he didn’t like
much else about Obama. The
much else was how Obama has
spent on health, education and
job development programs that
would help the poor and minorities. That spending has been fiscal heresy for Ryan.
His savage cost cutting plan is
well-known. He’d cut tens of billions from Medicaid and Medicare, and more than a trillion from
everything from food stamps to
welfare over the next decade. The
Ryan slash and burn plan mercifully hasn’t happened during his
tenure as House Budget Committee Chair. But as Vice President
Ryan, he would be in a commanding position to make his cost cutting plan a nightmare come true
for the poor and minorities.
The key to that is winning the
vice-presidency. In distant times
past, the vice-presidency was
little more than a ceremonial, titleleaden position that carried little
authority, and almost no power to
make, shape or change public
policy. Presidential candidates
picked vice-presidents mostly to
shore up their perceived political
or ideological weakness, be it sec-
tionalism, inexperience, image, or
on domestic or foreign policy expertise. The VP was there to balance a ticket, and help a presidential contender win, and nothing
more. But that was in the distant
past.
The vice presidential pick has
morphed into a high stakes game
in the evolution of presidential
politics. The VP is now much more
than just a standard dressing up
of the presidential ticket. He or she
must be able to actually help a
presidential candidate win first
and foremost, or at worse not help
him lose. There were times in past
elections when VPs have made a
difference. Lyndon Johnson in
1960 is the textbook example of
that. He brought legislative savvy,
he was a Southern then still in
good stead, and he could deliver
two or three Deep South states.
He did his job. Bush Sr. also helped
Reagan in 1980. He brought experience, insider connections, and as
a transplanted Southerner, the regional balance that Reagan
needed. And he was moderate
enough to give Reagan a little
edge with moderate Republicans.
But the vice-president has become
much more than that.
A vice president is now directly
involved in discussing, implementing and even helping to formulate domestic and foreign
policy. Vice-Presidents chair presidential committees and commissions. They are consulted and
make recommendations on major
policy decisions and changes.
They are often the hit men on controversial policy issues and during elections they are on the campaign trail to say what the president often can’t say. Clinton’s VP
Al Gore and Bush’s VP Dick
Cheney played the role of advisor
and point man on key issues.
Obama VP Joe Biden plays the
same role. In any case, the VP is
now often right in the center of
presidential politics and the national political debate.
Ryan would be even more at the
center of that debate and decision
making. He was picked in large part
not to balance the Romney ticket,
but because of his budget hammering big stick. A Romney White
House will not only listen to him,
but rely heavily on him on policy
decisions involving spending
slashes, almost all of it involving
crucial domestic programs.
This would come at the worst
possible time for the poor and minorities. The poor are not only
getting poorer, they are also more
numerous than any time in the last
half-century and have slipped
even further behind in wealth and
income disparities. Other reports
repeatedly confirm that a disproportionate number of the poor are
blacks and Hispanics. The single
biggest reason for their plunge
downward is the relentless pecking away at federal spending on
enhancement programs in health
care, education, job and skills
The Olympic games are a celebration of excellence and
athleticism. Whether we are cheering the Williams sisters in their
gold medal-winning doubles
match, or Serena with her gold, or
the graceful Gabby Douglass in
flight, or some of the many others,
we are cheering their excellence,
their indomitable spirits, their
drive. We are also acknowledging
the tens of thousands of hours
that they have put into practice.
Even as we cheer, there are lessons for each of us, both individually and in a social policy context.
We’ve all heard, time and time
again, “just do it” or “I worked
hard for this.” Often the difference
between a gold and silver winner
is the one was hungrier, wanted
the gold more intensely, and
worked harder than the others. To
be sure, some Olympians have
good days, and others have days
that are less than good. But there
is no such thing as “luck” in the
Olympics. Luck is the collision of
preparation and opportunity.
Was Gabby Douglas lucky to
have been taken on by Liang
Chow, the coach who trained her?
No, she was prepared to shine in a
way that made Chow see her potential. And she sacrificed, moving from Virginia to Iowa, missing
her family and moving in with a
generous White family who, for all
their goodwill, were culturally out
of synch with Gabby’s Black experience. She worked hard, she
sacrificed, and she won the gold
medal.
There is a parallel between
Olympics wins and the state of
education in United States. Even
as the Congress considers sequestration when they come back
from their month-long break, educators are concerned that education dollars may be cut. Gabby
Douglas worked hard, she sacrificed. For all the effort on education, sometimes it seems as if we
are spinning our wheels. We know
what some of the problems are, but
we won’t act on them. The achievement gap can be addressed, and it
is in some school systems. In others, little is being done.
Gabby Douglas made sacrifices,
so much so that the redundant use
of the word in this column does not
even begin to speak to her investment in herself. Our nation has made
few contemporary sacrifices, and an
insufficient investment, for the
cause of education. Instead, teachers are being laid off, school hours
are being cut, and essentials such
as civics, art and sports are being
cut or augmented by parents who
contribute so that their sons and
daughters can participate. Meanwhile, the children of those who
don’t have the dollars to contribute
to public education find their
achievement gap growing each year.
As a nation, we will get that in
which we invest . If we invest in the
Department of Defense, we will get
war. If we invest in the Department
of Education, along with state and
local school systems, we will end
up with a better-educated population. If we choose, instead, to invest in correctional facilities, we’ll
end up incarcerated people. If trends
are any indication, most often these
folks will be African Americans. If
we invest in inner city schools, we
close the achievement. If we behave
as if the world is race-neutral (or
post-racial), when the data say differently, then we end of broadening, not narrowing, the achievement
gap.
Our Olympians, especially the
medalists, are dedicated, hard-working athletes who have committed
themselves to achieving excellence.
While we give a lot of lip service to
educational excellence, the fact is
that we are not as dedicated and hard
working to that end as we might be.
Who feels so passionately about
education that they will flood Board
of Education meetings and insist on
necessary changes? How many are
willing to fight for after-school and
summer programs, or provide tutoring? More importantly, how many
Romney’s clumsy attempt to enlist Blacks
By Raynard Jackson
NNPA Columnist
When Mitt Romney addressed the NAACP during their
national convention, I thought
his speech was horrible and
quite a waste of time because he
said nothing that would be of
any interest to the Black community.
Most people, of all political
stripes, thought my analysis
was right on the mark. But not
those in the Romney campaign.
They would have been upset if
anyone had been as critical of
the candidate, but I think they
were especially perturbed that
this unflattering portrait was
being painted by a longtime
Black Republican.
It got under their skin so much
that one of Romney’s senior
communications advisers, a
Black female I am acquainted
with, attempted to discredit my
analysis in a series of private
emails to me.
In her email to me, she claimed
that, “some of his [Romney’s]
most senior policy and communications people are Black.” I
asked her to name them, but she
never did. I will let you draw your
own conclusion. She even
thought it would be good for us
to sit down and talk about the
campaign, so I accepted her offer, but she still hasn’t gotten
back to me with a date.
The campaign made a clumsy
attempt to reach Black voters by
releasing a ridiculous video
titled, “We Need Mitt Romney.”
It was sent out by Romney aide,
Joshua Baca, National Coalitions
Director for the campaign. The
video was poorly written and
poorly produced. The video featured a series of Blacks who
stated, “We need Romney.”
They never explicitly defined
“we” but we got the message –
it was clearly meant to impress
Black voters. Still, they never
made the case for why a vote for
Romney would benefit the Black
community. This was a mindless,
ineffective video. The people
speaking were never identified.
The Romney camp just grabbed
some no-name people and put
them in front of the camera. It’s
embarrassing.
Even the names of supposedly
“most senior policy and communications” Blacks on the Romney
campaign staff are nowhere to be
found on Romney’s campaign
website. There is a full section
targeting the Hispanic vote,
even a section in Spanish. Yet,
nothing there’s targeting the
Black community. That speaks
louder than anything campaign
flunkies can say.
This is what happens when
you have no capable Blacks
around to advise you and work
on a campaign. If a non-Black
such as Baca is in charge of coalitions, then why has he not
reached out to experienced Black
operatives such as Shannon
Reeves, Allegra McCullough,
David Byrd, Aaron Manaigo,
Francis Johnson, Ada Fisher or
James House?
The few Blacks Romney may
have around him are all functional
people and, by definition, they follow orders – they don’t give orders. That is what I mean when I
talk about being in a position of
power: Can they authorize an expenditure of money? Can they get
an event on Romney’s schedule?
Or, can they get a private meeting
with Romney?
I would much rather the Romney campaign simply tell the Black
7
Paul Ryan: Most conservative pick for VP in 100 years
By George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist
After studying the records of
vice presidential candidates for
more than a century, Nate Silver
wrote in Saturday’s New York
Times that Paul Ryan, the person
Mitt Romney selected to be his
vice presidential running mate, is
“as conservative as Representative Michele Bachmann, the controversial congresswoman of
Minnesota…Mr. Ryan is the most
conservative Republican member
of Congress to be picked for the
vice-presidential slot since at
least 1900. He is also more conservative than any Democratic
nominee was liberal, meaning that
he is the furthest from the center.”
As chairman of the House Budget Committee, the Wisconsin
Republican has served as the
chief architect of the GOP’s budget priorities. Detailed analysis of
Ryan’s budget plan show him to
be what Jesse Jackson often
called on the presidential campaign trail in 1984: a “Reverse
Robin Hood” – one who likes to
take from the poor to give to the
rich.
That’s exactly the point docu-
mented by the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities:
“…These regressive new tax
cuts would come on top of the
Bush tax cuts, which also were
costly and provided disproportionate gains to the highest-income households. Combined, the
Bush and Ryan tax cuts would provide an annual windfall of nearly
$400,000 apiece, on average, to
people with incomes over $1 million.”
It added, “By combining large
budget cuts (and tax increases)
that disproportionately harm
lower-income Americans with big
tax cuts that disproportionately
help those at the top of the income
scale, the Ryan budget would significantly worsen inequality and
increase poverty and hardship
(and reduce opportunity as well,
through deep cuts in programs
such as Pell Grants to help lowincome students afford college).”
Even William Gale, who served
as a senior staff economist for the
Council of Economic Advisers under President George H.W. Bush,
agrees.
“At a time when our country
faces a daunting fiscal challenge,
Ryan asks nothing of the wealthiest Americans. His budget pro-
posal would simultaneously cut
tax rates for the rich and corporations while slashing programs for
the poor and elderly: he would
shift many federal low-income assistance programs to state governments and would transform
Medicare into a premium support
system that will shift health care
costs to seniors if health care inflation cannot be controlled,” said
Gale, now co-director of the Tax
Policy Center.
A Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities analysis of Ryan’s 2013
budget plan found that it “would
get at least 62 percent of its $5.3
trillion in nondefense budget cuts
over ten years (relative to a continuation of current policies) from
programs that serve people of limited means.”
It explained, “Ryan’s cuts from
programs benefiting low-income
earners include “$2.4 trillion in reductions from Medicaid and other
health care for people with low or
moderate incomes” and “$134 billion in cuts to SNAP, formerly
known as the Food Stamp Program.” In addition, Ryan would
cut at least $463 billion from “mandatory programs serving low-income Americans (other than Medicaid and SNAP)” and “at least
$291 billion in cuts in low-income
discretionary programs.”
Like his running mate, Ryan favors repealing President Obama’s
signature Affordable Care Act.
And what he proposes as a cure
for America’s ailing health care
system is worse than the illness.
“Ryan budget would divide our
health system into a distinct two
tiers: those who could afford the
care they need would get it; many
others would not,” said Edwin
Park, vice president of the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Referring to Ryan, the former
White House official said, “He
would convert Medicare into a
voucher to buy private insurance
or traditional Medicare, and cap
Medicare financing for the vouchers at levels that wouldn’t keep
pace with health costs. By 2050,
the Congressional Budget Office
says, federal funding for a 67year-old beneficiary’s health
costs would be 35 percent to 42
percent lower than under current
law.
With vouchers growing more
inadequate over time, beneficiaries would face much higher premiums and cost-sharing. Some
would become uninsured; others
would forgo care they couldn’t
afford.”
And the problem with Medicare
and Medicaid would not stop there
under Ryan’s plan.
“He would turn Medicaid into a
block grant program and give states
less financing each year,” Park said.
“States would get one-third less by
2022, which led the C.B.O. to conclude that unless states spent substantially more of their own money
on Medicaid, they’d have to make
substantial cuts to eligibility, benefits and/or provider payments.
When Ryan proposed a similar system last year, the Urban Institute
estimated states would cut 14 million to 27 million beneficiaries by
2021.”
In an effort to shore up his conservative base, Mitt Romney has
selected a running mate clearly out
of step with the American public.
George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association
News Service (NNPA) and editorial director of Heart & Soul magazine. 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.
Time to end ‘Reverse Robin Hood’ tax policies
By Marian Wright Edelman
Child Watch
Right before the U.S. House of
Representatives left for the summer to go home to campaign for
your vote, members of Congress
voted to extend the Bush era tax
cuts for the richest Americans –
millionaires and billionaires. For
more than 10 years, the richest 1
percent have received almost $750
billion from these tax cuts. Income
and wealth inequality have grown
astronomically threatening the
very fabric of our democracy.
The top 1 percent in our nation
now possesses more net worth
than the bottom 90 percent combined. In 2008, the 400 highestincome taxpayers earned as much
as the combined tax revenue of
22 state governments with almost
42 million citizens. It’s way past
time to reset our moral and economic compass, demand a more
just tax system where those with
the most pay their fair share, and
stop the reverse Robin Hood policies that take from the poor and
young to give to the rich and
powerful.
There should not be one new
dime in tax breaks for millionaires
and billionaires as long as millions
of children in America are poor,
hungry, uneducated and without
health coverage. A nation that
does not stand for its children
does not stand for anything and
will not stand tall in the future.
Like Thomas Jefferson, I tremble
for my country when I think that
God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
Yet, the extension of the tax cuts
for the wealthiest American, especially on top of the cuts approved
in the Ryan budget, passed by the
full House defies the prophets,
apostles and tenets of all great
faiths as well as common decency
and economic common sense. The
most recent vote continues to give
huge tax breaks to those who need
them least while shaving away lifelines of survival from those who
need them most. It would cut eligibility for the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC), and the Child Tax
Credit (CTC), two of the most effective investments we have that
lift children out of poverty, and
from the American Opportunity Tax
Credit which helps struggling families pay for their children’s college.
These cuts would push 900,000
children into poverty and at least
6.4 million children into deeper
poverty an unconscionable act
when 16.4 million children are living in poverty; 7.5 million of those
live in extreme poverty.
This is a year of stark political,
economic and moral choices.
Those who caused the deficit
should be asked to pay to close it
and not be rewarded with more tax
breaks which will increase the deficit and shave already inadequate
safety investments. Children under five are the poorest age group
in America, and one in four infants,
toddlers and preschoolers are poor
during the years of greatest brain
development. If you believe as I
do that we have more just and sensible choices like helping babies
during their early childhood development years rather than helping
billionaires who need not one additional material thing, then speak
up and fight back.
Cascading federal, state,
county and city budget cuts adding up to hundreds of billions of
dollars are being pushed by lawmakers pursuing a toxic ideological agenda of no new revenues,
expanded tax cuts for the top 1
percent of Americans and billions
of cuts for poor children and families. Our nation’s greatest deficit
is not one of money but of values
and priorities that leave millions
of children without hope or a vision of the future worth striving
for in our militarily and materially
powerful but spiritually anemic
nation.
That’s why the Children’s Defense Fund has launched a new
campaign to protect children from
budget cuts at the national, state
and local levels. The “Be Careful
What You Cut” campaign lays out
the irrefutable economic case that
cutting children from the budget
now costs all of us more later. It’s
a simple calculation really. Protect
children now or pay later. The campaign is grounded in three provocative ads created by our award
winning pro-bono advertising
agency partner Fallon Worldwide.
The head of a child is on the body
of an adult. The images show
what happens later if you cut child
investments now as the House of
Representatives and their allies
are bent on doing.
For all of you who care about
children, here’s what you can do.
Arm yourself with the facts about
children in your community from
the CDF’s State of America’s Children Handbook, download questions for candidates from the
becarefulwhatyoucut.com Web
site, then go to town hall meetings
or visit your member of Congress
while they are back home campaigning and hold them accountable to ensure they treat babies as
fairly as billionaires. If candidates
want your vote on Election Day
make sure they answer your questions and put children first rather
than last on the agenda.
Join the “Be Careful What You
Cut” campaign. Help us spread the
word by getting pro-bono space
in your local newspapers to run
the advertisements.
Spread the word through your
social media networks. Show your
support by changing your profile
picture on Facebook and your
avatar on Twitter. Donate to the
Be Careful What You Cut Fund, so
that we can run a second wave of
ads in the late fall before the lame
duck Congress makes final budget
decisions for next year.
Together we can and must fight
for justice for our children and protect them from draconian tax cuts
and budget choices that threaten
their survival, education and preparation for the future. If they are not
ready for tomorrow, neither is
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.
Need I say it again?
By Cloves C. Campbell
Last week I penned an article titled
“Show Me the Money.” The article
questioned whether or not the Black
Vote was being taken for granted by
the OBAMA campaign due to the
small amount of resources allocated
to the Black press and other Black entities. I also stated that the Romney
campaign allocated “0” dollars to the
Black press and other Black entities
that I was aware of. Recently, as of
this writing, I have had several conversations with various staff members
from the OFA campaign. Each voiced
their displeasure with the tone of my
article and questioned my position on
the issue. Conversely, I have still not
received one reply from the Romney
Campaign at all. That leads me to believe that the Romney Campaign is not
taking the Black vote for
granted…..they just don’t care about
the Black vote period!
Let’s make sure we are putting my
position in the proper perspective. At
no time did I say that Black folks are not
supporting our President. At no time
did I say that the Black Press did not
support our President. At no time did I
say that we will not support our Presi(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
Opinion
8
ON THE TUBE with Lifestyles & Society Editor Audrey J. Bernard
Mega mogul + Mega diva = Mega drama!
From the moment viewers
set eyes on Tamar Braxton with
her sexy southern drawl and
over the top energy they knew
that she was going to be the
breakout star of the Atlanta,
Georgia-based hit Braxton
Family Values series on WE
tv. The pop star singer and her
music mogul husband Vince
Herbert are a loving couple
who have won over the hearts
of fans who tune in weekly to
see what’s going on with the
Braxton clan and Herbert eventually carving out their own fan
favorite status with their legion of fans.
It was just a matter of time
before their growing popularity garnered their own show.
On Thursday, September 20,
2012, Tamar & Vince will premiere at a special 10PM ET/PT
time slot. The hot new reality
series will follow the comical
yet complicated working – and
personal – relationship between the popular social media couple.
In the hit series “Braxton
Family Values,” viewers were
introduced to the bold and
sassy youngest sister of the
Braxton clan, Tamar, and her
music mogul husband Vince
Herbert. A true fan favorite,
Tamar is back to claim the spotlight and reign “diva supreme”
in WE tv’s first-ever spinoff
Tamar & Vince. With 10 hourlong episodes, viewers will get
an inside look at their one-of-
Tamar & Vince with his beloved pet dog Miracle
kind relationship as it centers 2012.
around Tamar’s obsession with
The series delves into how
achieving instant worldwide pop this dynamic and loving couple
stardom and Vince’s attempts to — who wed in 2008 — handles
help her get there, and keep his the demands of everyday life in
sanity in the process.
both business and personal matAs Tamar’s “husband-ager,” ters. And while fans will get a
Vince (owner of Streamline taste of Tamar and Vince’s overRecords and brains behind major the-top lifestyle, with shopping
pop star Lady Gaga) often walks sprees and G-IV private jets,
a fine line between being a sup- their world isn’t all bubbly
portive husband and an authori- champagne and crystal chandetative manager. Crazy in love liers. Between dealing with her
through their highs and lows, the husband’s health issues, her
couple is out to prove you can stagnant music career, decoratmix business with pleasure. Af- ing their monstrous 12,000 sq ft
ter the premiere, new episodes of Calabasas mansion and Vince’s
Tamar & Vince will air in its regu- beloved pet dog Miracle (who
lar timeslot Thursdays at 9PM constantly barks and pees evET/PT, beginning September 27, erywhere), Tamar has her hands
full!
In the premiere episode, we’re
invited into Tamar and Vince’s
industry-elite social circle and
the inner workings of the entertainment world. It’s now or
never for Tamar, who is very
aware that this album could be
her last chance to fulfill her
quest of becoming an international pop star. The stakes are
high for Tamar’s solo career to
hit big and finally prove she’s
much more than the former
backup singer to older sister
Toni Braxton. Her biggest challenge is her working relationship
with Vince, fully revealed during
their highly-charged recording
sessions.
Tamar is an unbridled artist
who relentlessly seeks her
husband’s professional guidance, while Vince is a no-nonsense music exec that refuses to
bend to his wife’s every whim.
Riding high off the success of
“Braxton Family Values,” she’s
also juggling nonstop industry
appearances so she searches for
the perfect assistant — a male
version of herself — which is no
small task with her never-compromising standards. Even when
Tamar’s diva attitude gets the
best of her, she shows that along
with her big earrings and designer labels is a big heart.
For those fans that just can’t
get enough of their favorite reality married couple, they can get
up close and personal with them
by visiting www.wetv.com/
sync on WE tv Sync as they dish
on behind-the-scenes anecdotes
and respond to viewer comments. Every Thursday night
during new episodes, join the
live interactive viewing party and
get access to exclusive content
including photos, videos and
trivia — all in sync with what’s
happening on your television.
You might even get the chance
to see your comments on-air!
Also, beginning September 20 at
10:00:00PM ET through December 13 at 9:59:59PM ET, enter the
“Mega Sweeps: 10 Weeks of
Luxe Prizes” sweepstakes for
your chance to win weekly luxury
prizes.
During new episodes of Tamar
& Vince, we will reveal a special
code on-air and on WEtv.com/
Sync; when you see the code,
visit WEtv.com and complete the
entry form, provide the code and
click the submit button. Don’t
forget to check out Tamar &
Vince on Facebook and follow
@WEtv — #TamarAndVince —
on Twitter for additional updates
and contest giveaways.
Tamar & Vince is produced
for WE tv by Magical Elves Productions (Top Chef, Project Runway, Last Comic Standing, Fashion Star, The Real L Word and
more) and executive produced
by Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz,
and Julio Kollerbohm. Executive
producer for WE tv is Annabelle
McDonald; executive in charge
of production & development for
WE tv is Lauren P. Gellert.
Bedazzling Braxton beauties back with six all-new episodes
It’s the return of Braxtonmania! America’s favorite sisters are back for more laughs,
tears, sibling rivalry and
drama with six all-new hourlong episodes of Braxton
Family Values. Fans of the
series can see more of their
favorite Braxton ladies —
Toni, Tamar, Traci, Towanda,
Trina and matriarch Miss E —
as they prove that even in the
toughest situations, family always has your back! Let the
Braxton clan take you “backto-school” with more extreme
antics and diva tantrums on
Braxton Family Values, premiering Thursday, August 16
at 9PM ET/PT.
Braxton Family Values season 2, episode 20, “Baby Business & Background Singers,”
airing Thursday, August 16 at
9PM ET/PT will show Tamar,
who is still struggling between choosing a solo career
and starting a family, exploring her fertility options — one
of them involving Towanda as
a surrogate mother for Tamar.
Meanwhile, Toni enlists her
sisters’ help to find new background singers. Finding her
beat, Miss E makes the decision to open a life coaching
business.
In a special continuation of
season two Braxton Family
Values, viewers will see the
Braxton women in high gear
working on their individual
projects all while balancing
during the bonus episodes, two
winners will be chosen from
both categories. Don’t forget to
check out Braxton Family Values on Facebook and follow
@WEtv and #BFV on Twitter for
additional updates and contest
giveaways.
Braxton Family Values is
produced for WE tv by Magical
Elves Productions (Top Chef,
Project Runway, Last Comic
Standing, Fashion Star, The Real
L Word and more) and executive
produced by Dan Cutforth and
Jane Lipsitz. Executive producer
for WE tv is Annabelle
McDonald; executive in charge
of production & development
for WE tv is Lauren Gellert.
Braxton Family Values stars-Tamar, Towanda, Trina, Toni, Traci & Miss E
the demands of motherhood and up on a blind date. With all the trivia — all in sync with what’s
family. Toni, who recently shared drama, things reach a boiling happening on your television.
her brave struggle with Lupus, point during a family vacation You might even get the chance
enlists the help of her sisters to in St. Lucia where Trina makes to see your comments on-air!
Also, Instagram users can
a shocking announcement that
find new background singers.
Meanwhile, Tamar explores threatens to divide the family. enter the Braxton Family ValVisit www.wetv.com/sync ues “Show Us Your Shoe Game”
egg harvesting to mixed results
and persuades Towanda to be a and get up close and personal contest for the chance to win a
surrogate mother for her and with the Braxton divas on WE $500 gift card! Simply upload
husband Vince; Trina — coming tv Sync as they dish on behind- photos of your hottest espaoff the heels of a difficult deci- the-scenes anecdotes and re- drilles, wedges, or peep toes
sion with Gabe — focuses her spond to viewer comments. with the hashtag
energy on her singing career and Every Thursday night during #BFVFlirtyShoes or post your
films her first music video; Miss new episodes, join the live in- killer pumps, animal print stiletE, who makes a foray into the life teractive viewing party and get tos and rocker chic strappy
coaching business, turns the access to exclusive content in- heels with the hashtag
tables on Towanda by setting her cluding photos, videos and #BFVWildShoes. Each week
About WE tv
WE tv (www.wetv.com) is the
women’s network that features
original stories about every kind
of family and all kinds of
drama. From the hit series
Braxton Family Values and
Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows
Best? to popular wedding
shows like Bridezillas and My
Fair Wedding with David
Tutera, WE tv provides a modern view of family life that viewers can’t get anywhere else. Audiences connect to WE tv
and its personalities online, on
demand and via WE tv Sync, a
live, dual screen viewing experience tailored to each new original episode. WE tv is owned
and operated by AMC Networks
Inc.
Police torture panel shuts down but what about the victims 9
apology, although a symbolic act,
would be important as a part of a
healing process that has to take
place given the enormous wrongs
that were done to these men, all
of whom were African American,”
Flint Taylor, attorney at The
People’s Law Office and Mr.
Tillman’s lawyer told The Final
Call.
“Although no one is accusing
Rahm Emmanuel of being
complicit in the scandal unlike the
prior mayor, Richard Daley who
was, he (Mayor Emmanuel) can
speak on behalf of the police department and the city and issue a
heartfelt apology and I don’t believe that the city can put this
behind them just by paying
money. They have to make right
by all of the people that were
harmed,” said Atty. Taylor, who
has been representing victims of
police torture for 25 years.
In addition to an apology, Atty.
Taylor said the city must stop
defending Mr. Burge with taxpayer money. Though in prison,
Mr. Burge continues to collect his
$3,000 monthly pension, the result of a 2011 vote by the police
pension board.
“They have to consider reparations for all of the men who have
no legal claim because of the statute of limitations. All of those
things are important,” added Atty.
Taylor.
Criticism has been leveled at
some members of the city
council’s Black Caucus for not
being outspoken enough during
the entire history of the Burge
ordeal. The Final Call reached out
to the office of Ald. Howard
Brookins Jr., the current chair of
the Black Caucus seeking com-
ment but did not receive a response.
The Burge cases have been the
most egregious case of police torture in American history, Salim
Muwakkil, a Chicago-area writer
and broadcaster said on his
WVON-AM 1690 radio show.
“There are international provisions
against this, against some of the
things this guy (Mr. Burge) was
doing. And the city of Chicago,
under the auspices of the city when
this is settled, the city offers no
apology for perhaps the most egregious act of torture in this nation’s
history, domestic torture that was
revealed,” said Mr. Muwakkil during his July 25 broadcast.
“This was revealed and yet despite the egregious nature of this,
the international shame that it
brought on this city, despite that,
there is no apology. Not even an
acknowledgement of wrongdoing
by this city,” he added. There is no
other feeling to have about a city
that refuses to apologize except
shame, said Mr. Muwakkil.
Many still locked up viewed the Illinois Torture and Relief Commission as their last chance at freedom.
Formed in 2009, the commission was
formed to investigate pending
claims of police torture from victims
of Mr. Burge. The commission was
forced to shut down June 30 after
the state cut its $235,000 funding.
The commission consisted of
eight unpaid members that would
review cases and vote on whether
there was sufficient evidence torture was involved. The evidence in
each case was presented by the
commission’s executive director.
Community activists, including
a former police torture victim, family members of victims and members
of the commission met in early July
at a town hall meeting, determined
to fight and pressure state legisla-
tors and Governor Pat Quinn to
put the money back in the budget.
“In June, we were just getting
rolling when they cut off our
funding. In June, we filed five decisions finding claims to be credible and sending them back to
court and we have about 25 to 30
other investigations that are ongoing at the present time. We just
did not have time to bring them
to completion,” Atty. David Thomas, the executive director of the
commission told The Final Call
at the open meeting.
There were a total of 110 claims
filed, said Atty. Thomas. The frustration level is extremely high in
getting state legislators to work
in consort to advocate on behalf
of the commission, he added.
“It’s such a dysfunctional
government. I mean it’s scary
when you see how dysfunctional
it is. In this particular instance I
mean we had all sorts of hurdles
that we had to overcome just to
get going. Just to get a computer
hooked up, to get your phones
working takes like an act of Congress to get it done because of
the bureaucracy,” said Atty. Thomas. Only a few investigations
had been completed when word
of the cut came down and “they
slammed the door,” said Atty.
Thomas.
Illinois State Senator Mattie
Hunter was the lone elected official that attended the town hall.
Other Black lawmakers on the
city, county and state level were
invited, said Atty. Standish
Willis, one of the leading voices
speaking out against the Burge
torture case and police misconduct in general. Atty. Willis and
the group Black People Against
Police Torture organized the town
Jackson Jr.’s wife says he’s showing progress
Special to the NNPA from the
Washington Informer
Chicago Alderwoman Sandi
Jackson, said in a statement this
weekend that her husband,
Jesse Jackson Jr. who collapsed
on June 10, is getting treated for
gastrointestinal and mental
health issues, and that while
he’s still “very depressed” he’s
showing some progress.
Sandi Jackson commented
during an interview with a Chicago newspaper after a visit with
her husband at the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minnesota. The
couple’s two children accompanied her.
“What I can tell you is my husband has his good days and bad
days, and they are increasing his
depression medication to therapeutic levels,” Mrs. Jackson
said.
She also adamantly denied allegations that the congressman
had attempted suicide or was receiving help for alcohol or drug
addiction. Mrs. Jackson said that
medical experts are still trying to
determine whether a weight-loss
surgery might have helped trigger her husband’s depression.
Wide-spread concern over
Jesse Jackson Jr.’s well-being
grew after the Illinois congressman — who is the son of noted
activist Jesse Jackson Sr. — took
an abrupt leave of absence from
Jesse Jackson Jr.
his office on Capitol Hill in May.
While an initial report from his
staff in July said he was suffering
from exhaustion, Jackson’s office
later issued a statement saying he
was undergoing an “extensive
inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues” at the upscale medical facility.
Meanwhile, Jackson, 47, who
has represented Illinois’ 2nd
Congressional District since
1995, remains the focus of a
House Ethics Committee probe
on whether he used public resources — in the form of his
Chicago and Washington, D.C.,
staffs — to vie for the appointment to the Senate seat that was
vacated with Barack Obama’s
2008 presidential election.
‘Roll-Your-Own’ cigarette business
fined $15G for tax evasion
(from Page 3)
the federal Contraband Cigarette
Trafficking Act as well as New
York’s Cigarette Marketing Standards Act, Cigarette Fire Safety Act,
and state tax and public health laws.
In June, Judge Forrest in the
Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the defendants from continuing to possess, advertise, offer
for sale, and/or distribute cigarettes
that do not bear state and city tax
stamps, including by providing customers with access to RYO machines which produce finished cigarettes.
The injunction also prohibited
the defendants from assisting
any other person or entity in performing such acts.
The New York State case was
represented by Assistant Attorney General Marc Konowitz, under the supervision of Tobacco
Compliance Bureau Chief Dana
Biberman and Executive Deputy
Attorney General for Social Justice Janet Sabel.
New York City was represented
by Deputy Chief Eric Proshansky
and Assistant Corporation Counsel Leonard Braman of the New
York City Law Department’s Affirmative Litigation Division.
hall meeting.
Mr. Willis called Chicago, “the
torture capital of the United
States.” The commission is the
only way for those subjected to
police torture but who have exhausted appeals and other legal
recourse, to have their claims reviewed.
Jeanette Plumber, whose son
was arrested at age 15 and has
been in prison 21 years, addressed
the town hall and said her son’s
case will not be heard because the
commission has shut down.
“This was his last chance to
come home,” she said.
“It hurts to see your son suffer
like that, and my son was 15 …
they took my son on 39th and California. Beat him buck naked with
no clothes on,” said Ms. Plumber.
Holding up a picture of her son to
the audience, Ms. Plumber said it is
not just about her son, but all the
Black men who were allegedly tortured at the hands of Mr. Burge.
An inmate incarcerated in Illinois
wrote a letter recently to The Final
Call stating: “The judicial system has
made a mockery of our culture.
Now the Torture Commission was
told to close up their office because
of no funds. This is a tragedy that
those who you all put in office allow
monies to be the rule over justice.”
“As you see, every month someone is exonerated because of Jon
Burge and now those who don’t
have money will have to die in prison
or stay until someone has passion
enough to look into their case.
Unfortunately that’s not fair,” he
wrote.
EMERGENCY CONTRACT
SOLICITATION OF INTEREST
The New York State Office of General Services Design & Construction Group (“OGS”) awards hundreds of
EMERGENCY CONTRACTS each year with an average
contract value over $100,000. Emergency contracts may
have a value as high as $300,000. Bids for Emergency Contracts are taken over the phone and require an immediate
response and performance of the work. Emergency contracts are typically of short duration and are usually awarded
on a cost-plus basis.
Legislation requires that OGS establish a list of contractors by trade interest and geographical area who are interested in bidding on emergency work. Bids are solicited
from this list on a rotational basis. It is anticipated that any
firm expressing an interest in emergency work will be solicited.
To comply with the legislation, OGS is updating its
list of contractors are interested in performing emergency contract work. If your firm would like to be placed on our list of
bidders for emergency work, please complete the Emergency Contract Information Form (a hyperlink to forms
and related information is shown at the bottom of this page)
and return it to the following address:
Office of General Services
Design and Construction Group
Contract Awards Unit
35th Floor, Corning Tower
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12242
In order to solicit for emergency work, your firm
must also have a properly-completed CCA-2 - NYS Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire For-Profit Construction on
file at the New York State Office of the State Comptroller (“OSC”) website. Information about the CCA-2
questionnaire may be found on the OSC website using
the following link:
www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/index.htm
For additional information and application forms related to emergency contracting, please use the following link
on the OGS:
http://ogs.ny.gov/BU/DC/esb/EmergencyDefault.asp
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN EMERGENCY
CONTRACTS!
(from Page 16)
10
AUDREY'S
SOCIETY
WHIRL
Magic Johnson launches
his own ASPiRE Television
By Audrey J. Bernard
Lifestyles & Society Editor
When NBA star and business
mogul Earvin “Magic” Johnson
pulled a mock lever to launch his
own 24-hour cable television network – ASPiRE — targeted at African Americans, he became the
second ginormous celebrity to
launch a network – second to
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network.
ASPiRE will broadcast a mixture
of movies, music, comedy, visual
and performing arts, and faithbased and inspirational shows –
each hosted by an influential African-American celebrity.
At a lavish launch party at
Cipriani 42nd Street, Johnson told
a packed celebrity crowd, “I
wanted a vehicle to show positive images and to have stories
written, produced and directed by
African Americans for our community. ASPiRE — that’s how
I’ve been leading my life.”
ASPiRE hopes to inspire with
its original shows, movies and
documentaries featuring a mix of
comedies and music as well. A
number of well-known shows
from the 1960s and 1970s will regularly be rebroadcast on the network, including The Flip Wilson
Show, The Bill Cosby Show, “Soul
Train,” “Julia” and “I Spy.”
Lawrence Fishburne, Jonathan
Slocumb, Esperanza Spalding and
Omari Hardwick will host the five
blocks of content to be showcased on the channel providing
the “background, cultural relevance and historical significance
of each night’s selection,” according to the network.
“African Americans have
choices, and now they have another one,” Johnson added, explaining that his goal was to create the next BET and open up opportunities for African American
actors, directors and producers.
ASPiRE plans to “shine a light
on the positive contributions African Americans have made to
American culture.” The new television network had its debut on
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 8:00
pm EST. The network launched
with inaugural distribution partners Comcast and Time Warner
Cable.
Adding their own luminosity to
the elegant evening was a special
performance by New Edition who
had everyone dancing and singing as they gave a stellar two hour
performance of their major hits.
There were many notables in
attendance including Magic
Johnson’s wife Cookie Johnson;
Apollo Theater Foundation presi-
Brad Siegel, Earvin Magic Johnson,
Charley Humbard
Al Roker
Magic Johnson pulls switch to launch his
Aspire TV Network
James Francis, Susie
Iliyan
Erika Munro Kennerly, Wyclef Jean,
guest
Earvin Magic Johnson with New Edition
Lynn Whitfield, Sidra
Smith
Justin S. Byrd, Tiaka
Hurst
Earvin Magic Johnson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Walt
Clyde Frazier
Natasha C. Coward, Flo Anthony, Donna
Torrence
Ghana Wilson, Janet Rolle
Cookie Johnson, Jae Pfautch, Omari Hardwick, Brad Siegel, Nicole Friday,
Jeff-Friday, Earvin Magic Johnson
Wilson Morales, NY Knicks
Carmelo Anthony
dent & CEO Jonelle Procope; National Action Network president
Tamika Mallory; singer Natalie
Cole; ABFF founder Jeff Friday
and wife Nicole Friday; NFL great
Curtis Martin; Kwame Jackson;
New York Knicks player Carmelo
Anthony; New York Knicks exec
Allan Houston; GMC TV vice
chairman Brad Siegal; Colman
Russell Simmons, Miss
Universe Leila Lopes
Domingo; director Malcolm D. Lee;
gossip columnist Flo Anthony;
publicist Marvet Britto; DJ Nice;
Rev. Al Sharpton; former New York
Knicks player and Hall of Fall great
Walt Clyde Frazier; ABFF Independent host Omari Hardwick; Essence
Magazine entertainment editor
Cori Murray; filmmaker Samad
Davis; former baseball player Gary
Paul Butler, Emil Wilbekin
Sheffield; singer Wyclef Jean; EVP
& chief marketing officer, CNN
Worldwide Janet Rolle; Ground
Breaking Comedy host Jonathan
Slocumb; ASPiRE general manager Paul Butler; Cheryl “Salt”
James; Sandra “Pepa” Denton;
publisher of VIVmag Jocelyn
Taylor; actress Lynn Whitfield;
Sidra Smith; Laff Mobb Enter-
KimAdam
Jonelle Procope, George Alexander
Omari Hardwick, TJ Holmes
prises Bob Sumner; singer Eric
Benet; NAACP CEO Benjamin Todd
Jealous; record & business mogul
Russell Simmons; Miss Universe
Leila Lopes; actor Taimak; Tika
Sumpter; WABC-TV Eyewitness
News reporters Sandra Bookman
and Kimberly Richardson; and many
more. (Photos courtesy Wilson
Morales)
Harlem Week Supplement
11
12
Harlem Week
HARLEM WEEK began in 1974 as HARLEM DAY, a day of encouragement and fellowship in Harlem for New Yorkers. Given the huge success of the celebration, more days
were added to showcase the community’s rich economic, political and cultural history.
Now in its 38th year, HARLEM WEEK offers over 100 events throughout the summer to over 2 million attendees from all over New York and the world. HARLEM WEEK
celebrates the neighborhoods assets and unique flavor, promoting Harlem’s rich African, African-American, Caribbean, Hispanic and European history, culture, arts, religion,
entertainment and sports.
This year’s celebration began on Sunday, July 29, with a festival “A Great Day In Harlem” saluting the late radio legend Hal Jackson. Themed “Sunday Classics” the four-part,
day-long celebration included the annual International Cultural Showcase featuring award winning dance companies and choral ensembles; the inspirational New York Gospel
Caravan, showcasing a variety of accomplished and emerging worship and praise performers; the international “Fashion Fusion Showcase”; and ended with the enchanting
“Concert Under The Stars” – featuring a musical tribute to Hal Jackson featuring Ray Chew (American Idol Music Director) & The Harlem Jazz & Music Festival All Stars
including Will Downing, Cuba Gooding Sr., Rev. Hezekiah Walker, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, Alyson Williams and more.
Friday, August 3,
10, 17, 24 & 31
UPTOWN FRIDAYS!
Every Friday in August,
explore current exhibitions with free guided
tours and dance to great
music at the Studio Museum.
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00
pm
Location: Studio Museum – 144 W. 125th
Street
Admission: Free
For more information,
visit:
www.studiomuseum.org.
Wednesday, August 1
thru Thursday, August
16
Entertainers Basketball
Classic
Experience one of the
most prestigious summer basketball competitions at Holcombe
Rucker Park!
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Holcombe
Rucker Park – 155th
Street & Frederick Douglas Boulevard
Admission: Free
Wednesdays , August 1, 8, 15, 22
JAZZMOBILE
Featuring Ray Mantilla
(8/1), Cynthia Scott (8/
5),
Frank Wess (8/15) and
Jimmy Owens (8/22)
Time: 7 PM
Location: U.S. Grant
National Memorial
Park, W. 122nd St.and
Riverside Dr
Admission: Free
For more info:
www.jazzmobile.org –
212-866-4900
The Alyson Williams
Experience(8/2), The
Mighty Sparrow (8/9)
Hezekiah Walker ’s Gospel Explosion (8/23) and
more.
On the 8/16, The National Black Sports &
Entertainment Hall of
Fame (NBS&EHF)
joins with Harlem Summer Stage to present its
annual Living Legends
Tribute
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: A.C. Powell
Jr. State Office Plaza –
125th Street & A.C.
Powell Boulevard
Admission: Free
For additional information, visit:
www.harlemsummerstage.net.
Saturday, August 4
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Family Street Festival
Outdoor festival featuring
performance showcases,
arts & crafts, vendors,
food and entertainment.
Time: 12:00 pm – 7:00
pm
L o c a t i o n : W. 1 5 2 n d
Street from Amsterdam
Ave to St. Nicholas Avenue
Admission: Free
For additional information, visit:
www.dancetheaterofharlem.org.
Sunday, August 5, 12, 19
& 26
Kids & Family Programs
@ Studio Museum
Time: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Studio Mus e u m – 1 4 4 W. 1 2 5 t h
Street
Admission: Free
For more information,
visit:
www.studiomuseum.org.
Tuesday, August 7
City Senior Citizens
Thursday, August NY
Day
Members of the Senior
2, 9, 16 & 30
Citizens community can
H A R L E M S U M M E R enjoy a farmers market,
STAGE
senior expo as well as the
HARLEM SUMMER Elder ’s Jubilee Awards
STAGE
Luncheon.
Persuaders Review &
Time: 9:30 am – 3:00 pm
Location: A.C. Powell,
Jr. State Office Building
– 125th Street & A.C.
Powell, Jr. Boulevard
Admission: Free
ers with potential public
and private sector employers.
Time: 10:00 am – 2:00
pm
Location: 1839 Lexington Avenue @ E. 113th
Thursday, August 9 St.
Contact:
NYC Economic Devel- [email protected]
opment Day
– 212-866-5809
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM In- Admission: Free
ternational Business &
Health Conferences
10 AM – 3 PM Indoor Thursday, August
Business & Professional 16 thru Sunday,
Services Expo
10 AM – 2 PM Career August 19
& Jobs Fair
H A R L E M W E E K Tr i 10 AM – 5 PM Outdoor State Jr. Tennis Classic
Farmer ’s Market
Held in concert with The
12 Noon – 2 PM Annual Greater Harlem Chamber
B u s i n e s s Aw a r d L u n - of Commerce, the U. S.
cheon
Open and HARLEM
Location: Columbia WEEK, this four-day
University,
A l b e r t competition for youth
L e h r n e r H a l l , 11 5 t h throughout the tri-state
Strert & Broadway
region. Presented by the
Admission: Registration H a r l e m J u n i o r Te n n i s
required
Program Les Halles Cup,
showcases the best tenThursday, August nis male and female players ages 12 through 18.
9 through SunTime: 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Aug. 16 & 17
day, August 12
– Fred Johnson Tennis
Golden
Hoops
@ Courts – W. 150th Street
Rucker Park
& A.C. Powell, Jr. Bou“Each One Teach One” levard
S h o w c a s e s t h e f i n e s t Aug. 18 & 19 - Special
b o y s a n d g i r l s h i g h Tennis Exhibitions &
school athletes in the NY Championships
region
at Howard Bennett PlayTime: 1:00 pm – 7:00 ground
pm
W. 135th St. (bet. 5th
L o c a t i o n : H o l c o m b e Ave. & Malcolm X Blvd.)
R u c k e r P a r k – 1 5 5 t h Admission: Free
Street & Frederick Douglas Boulevard
Saturday, August 18
Admission: Free
“Summer in the City”
Saluting Jamaica’s 50th
Anniversary
with a Musical Tribute to
Bob Marley
Jobs & Careers Fair in Part I • 12 NOON – 5
East Harlem
PM
Sponsored by Assembly- NY City
man Keith L.T. WrightIn “Children’s
concert
with
T h e Festival”(Day I)
Greater Harlem Cham- F e a t u r i n g
exhibits,
b e r o f C o m m e r c e a n d games, arts & crafts, live
SCAN our communities music, dance, free health
combat unemployment, t e s t i n g , e x h i b i t s , a n d
by connecting job seek- sports clinics.
Wednesday,
August 15
W. 1 3 5 t h S t . ( b e t . –
Malcolm X & A.C.
Powell Jr. Blvds.)
12 Noon – 2PM
ESPN RADIO 98.7 FM
Featuring a special live
broadcast of the Steven
A. Smith Show at Lenox
Terrace Cove
on W. 135th St. (bet. 5th
Ave. & Malcolm X Blvd.)
Part II • 11 AM – 3 PM
Harlem Honeys and
Bears
Senior Citizens Swimming
Demonstrations
For the whole family –
Hansborough Recreation
Center
W. 1 3 5 t h S t . ( b e t .
Malcolm X Blvd. & Fifth
Ave.)
Part III • 12 NOON – 5
PM
Historic Black
College Fair & Expo
Over 50 historic Black
colleges, Universities
and public, private, city
and state colleges and
universities, will distribute
information on admissions, scholarships and
financial aid.
W. 1 3 5 t h
St.
(bet.
Malcolm X & A.C.
Powell Jr. Blvds.)
Part IV • 12 NOON – 2
PM
Everyone will be
“Dancing
In
the
Street”
Saluting Jamaica’s 50th
Anniversary
Hosted by Dahved Levy
from
W. 1 3 5 t h S t . ( b e t . F.
Douglass Blvd. & St.
Nicholas Ave.)
Part V • 2 PM – 3 PM
The Fabulous
Fashion Flava Show
Featuring the best in Urban Fashions
Part VI • 3 PM to 5 PM
“Uptown
Saturday Nite”
Salutes to International
Jamaican Musical Icons
Harry Belafonte
& Bob Marley
Part VII • 12 NOON –
5 PM
Ray Chew renowned musical director wooooed the crowd of thousands with his impromptu rap during Harlem Week’s outdoor “Concert Under the Stars” tribute to the late great
radio personality Hal Jackson held at National Grant’s Tomb park
International Vendors
Village
Featuring Arts &
Crafts, Music, Clothing, Jewelry, Hats,
Sculptures, Foods, Job
Recruitment, Product
Sampling, and Corporate Exhibits W.135th
St.
Part VIII • 7PM 10PM
HARLEM
WEEK
2012
Outdoor Film Festival
In
Concert
Wi t h
Imagenation
The Featured Film:
“Marley”
The definitive life story
Bob Marley,
musician, revolutionary,
and legend.
On The Great Lawn of
St. Nicholas Park
W. 1 3 5 t h S t . & S t .
Nicholas Ave.
www.imagenation.us –
212-694-2887
Saturday, August 18
• International Vending
& Exhibits
Site II • 12 NOON – 7
PM
W. 1 3 5 t h S t . ( b e t .
Malcolm X & A.C.
Powell Jr. Blvds.)
•
NY
City
“ C h i l d re n ’s F e s t i val” (Day 2)
Theme: “Back to
School”
• On the YMCA Stage
12 NOON to 6 PM
- Dance, Jazz, Spoken
Word, Hip-Hop, R&B
- “Dress for Success”
A “Back to School”
C h i l d r e n ’s F a s h i o n
Show
Site III • 1 PM – 7 PM
ior
St. Nicholas
Tennis Clinics
Main Stage
Sunday, August 19 A t H o w a r d B e n n e t t W. 1 3 5 t h St . a n d St.
Playground
Nicholas Ave.
HARLEM DAY
T H E M E : “ H A R L E M : • 5th Avenue Stage • featuring Tributes to
“Soul Train”
Where The World Meets 1PM – 7 PM
salutes to South Afri- & Don Cornelius
The World”
Site IV • 12 NOON to
Saluting South Africa and can Music Legends
Japan with Tributes to
Nelson Mandela, Miriam
4 PM – 7 PM
Makeba,
Jazzmobile
Hugh Masekela and the
presents
“ G r e a t J a z z o n t h e Music of Japan
Site I
Great Hill”
Free outdoor Jazz con- W. 1 3 5 t h St . ( b e t . 5 t h
cert on the Great Hill of Ave. & Malcolm X Blvd.)
10 AM – 4 PM
Central
Park presenting a multi- • U p p e r M a n h a t t a n
generational celebration Auto Show
12 Noon – 6 PM
of
Big Band Jazz and Swing • The NY City Health
Dancing.
F e a t u r i n g Village
Wycliffe Gordon, Alyson Health testing, educaWilliams, Steve Kroon tion and information
• Upper Manhattan
and Brianna Thomas
Central Park West Side Small Business Expo
from 103rd to 107th Sts. & Fair
w w w. j a z z m o b i l e . o rg – • HARLEM WEEK /
USTA Tri-State Jun212-866-4900
7 PM
International Exhibitors
& Vendors Village
Saturday, August 25
PES Harlem 5K Run/
Family Health Walk
Thousands of participants from all over
NYC, the tri-state region, nationally and internationally participate
in the Annual Percy
Sutton Harlem 5K Run/
NYC Family Health
Walk-A-Thon through
Historic Harlem. The day
also features numerous
exhibits from HARLEM
W E E K s p -o n s o r s a n d
international
food
tastings.
Event Registration:
6 : 0 0 a m / R u n St a r t
Time: 8:30 am / Walk
Start Time: 9:30 am
Location: 135th Street
& St. Nicholas Ave
Admission: Free
Featuring Toots
Event Calendar
13
14
(from Page 6)
They are saying it with their
words, but don’t have the guts
community straight-up that they to put it in words.
I find this senior adviser’s rehave no interest in our vote.
sponse to my column illustrative
of everything that’s wrong with
the Romney campaign. They are
totally incapable of giving direct
VP Ryan could be nightmare
for the poor and minorities
(from Page 6)
training, and the massive cutbacks and downsizing in the public employment sector.
This has been coupled with a
colossal leap in the fortunes of
the rich and major corporations.
Their wealth bounty has soared
through a benign and porous tax
and regulatory system that has
given the taxpayer company store
away to them.
The Ryan plan would be a
dream come true for them. It would
shove out even more of the tax
cut bounty to the wealthiest, and
do absolutely nothing to insure
that any of the tax cut giveaway
go toward investment in new job
creation.
The cuts would leave the tattered safety net for the poor in even
greater tatters. It doesn’t take a
soothsayer to predict that the number of poor will skyrocket even
more under the Ryan plan.
Ryan knows he’s in a commanding position. He told an interviewer
during the Republican presidential
candidate’s debates that all the
Republican candidates believed his
plan was the best plan for the country. Tea Party Express leader Amy
Kremer was in delirium in stating
that selecting Ryan “proved” Rom-
answers to the most basic of
questions. Who are the Blacks
that are supposedly on the campaign? Why are there no Blacks
on the campaign website? Is
Romney ever going to meet and
speak with Black Republicans?
Contrast failure to reach out
to Blacks with his courting of
conservatives, which culminated
in his decision to pick Paul Ryan
as his vice presidential running
mate. Some political strategists,
realizing the presidential race
will turn on which candidate can
best attract independents, had
urged Romney to select someone who could appeal to that
segment of the electorate. But
ney was committed to their draconian economic hatchet plan. Unfortunately for the poor, in a Romney White House VP Ryan could
make that nightmare happen.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a
frequent political commentator on
MSNBC and a weekly co-host of
the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is
the author of How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge. He is an associate editor of
(from Page 2)
New America Media. He is the
host of the weekly Hutchinson ferent options in deciding whether
Report on KPFK-Radio and the to vote for the president or not.”
He said it’s a disappointment for
Pacifica Network.
those who were hoping to see
Rubio, Martinez or Nev. Gov.
Brian Sandoval, another name
floated, on the ticket. “If it were
tory, our legacy and our publishers Rubio, Martinez or Sandoval he
stand by the credo of Black Press. It might have gotten the bump, if that
was a demographic they wanted
states:
The Black Press believes that to capitalize,” Varela added. “”I
America can best lead the world away think a lot of U.S. Latino voters
from racial and national antagonisms are still kind of voting with their
when it accords to every person re- hearts, and it’s a disappointing
gardless of race, color creed, full hu- choice.” Republican presidenman and legal rights. Hating no per- tial candidate, former Massachuson, fearing no person, the Black setts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and
Press strives to help every person in his new vice president pick, Wisthe firm belief that all are hurt as long consin Rep. Paul Ryan, greet the
crowd on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012
as anyone is held back.
Let’s put this to an end right now. in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/VirginBlack folks, young and seasoned, ian-Pilot, L. Todd Spencer) Varela
read Black Newspapers every week. clarified that as an organization,
We the Black Press will continue to Latino Rebels, does not advocate
support the President, his campaign for a particular side and that they
and his administration. But don’t get have been pretty consistent in
it twisted, we will ask the questions how off-target the GOP has been
when they need to be asked. Need I since the primary season. But at
the same time, they have also been
say it again….?
critical of Obama’s administration,
particularly with SuperPac comments, Chimichangate, the “Fast
and Furious” fiasco and, of
course, immigration.
It also
sharpens the debate among both
parties and, analysts say, it’s certain to heighten the tension this
Its clients include manufacturers, retailer, banks, consumerproducts companies, foundations, and large labor unions.
Hispanics say vice prez pick
‘out of touch’ with Latino vote
Need I say it again?
(from Page 7)
dent. What I did say and ask was, as
we are less than 100 days out “Show
Me the Money.” We know how the
Romney Campaign feels about the
Black vote, actions speak very loudly.
When Romney can go to the NAACP
conference and boldly state that the
first act he would make as President
of the United States of America is to
repeal “OBAMACARE”, it is obvious that his campaign does not care
about the Black vote. That position
has been crystal clear for months. If
you care to argue that point….I’ll bet
you $10,000 dollars I’m right.
With over $3 billion dollars being
spent, I questioned why our newspapers were not being used for advertising. What I was told was that
the audience our newspapers reach
was not the demographic of the campaign. They believed their resources
would be better utilized by targeting
younger Blacks that are more inclined
to use digital, social media and other
electronic means of communication. I
believe that our newspapers touch all
areas and also offered those platforms
in our proposal.
Let’s keep it real. The Black press
has been and continues to be the most
trusted source for news for Black Folks
for over 100 years.
When any events of significance
have occurred in the Black community the Black Press has always been
and continues to be the most trusted
source by Black folks! Our member
publications reach 19.5 million Black
readers each week.
No other information outlet can make
that statement. Our members, our his-
Ernesta Procope named to top
25 Living Legends of Insurance
(from Page 4)
mountable: gender and race. Her
pioneering efforts and phenomenal success forged a business
model for inclusion within our
industry.”
Best known for providing
property/casualty insurance programs to Fortune 500 companies
and major nonprofits, the firm
also serves small businesses, religious institutions and individuals.
It provides expert loss-control services through its staff of safety
experts with credentials up the
Ph.D. level.
Licensed in 50 states, E.G. Bowman serves multinational corporations and taps domestic and international insurance markets for
both standard and specialized coverages.
Her profile in “Living Legends”
can be read online at http://
tinyurl.com/6pk665q.
Learn more about E.G. Bowman
at:
www.egbowman.com.
Propertycasualty360.com is a National Underwriter Website.
Have Blacks lost their spirit for social activism?
(from page 4)
lant in addressing new issues, but
also remember issues that took
place during the civil rights movement still affect Blacks today. She
cites today’s Voter ID laws mirroring poll taxes of the past.
King, Brown and Bolling are
hopeful that Blacks can regain the
passion that once fueled mass social change.
King looks to Black media to
use brutal honesty and inform the
public about issues going on in the
African-American community.
Bolling said that Blacks should
educate today’s youth about the
past and prepare them to fight for
injustices.
She also said that instead of
people looking for a “new Dr.
King,” President Obama or groups
like the NAACP to solve all of
Blacks’ problems, average people
should take a stand and fight for
Rush Limbaugh, the Weekly Standard and the Wall Street Journal
all wanted Ryan. And that’s who
they got because Romney did not
want to offend any group he felt
that was important to him.
It is clear that Blacks simply
are not important to the Republican standard-bearer. With it
comes to Blacks, when all is said
and done, there nothing said and
nothing done.
Raynard Jackson is president
& CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington,
D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be
reached through his Web site,
www.raynardjackson.com.
issues they are passionate about.
Brown agrees that the answer
to the problem lies in
volunteerism.
“We’ve got two or three generations caught up in feeling that
they’re entitled. People need to
volunteer,” said Brown. “Well, my
daddy, Dr. King, Andy Young, Sam
Proctor and all those guys used
to say ‘it’s got to get worse in order for it to get better.’ We have
not hit our bottom yet.”
election year. Angelo Falcon of
the National Institute of Latino
Policy echoed Varela’s statements,
saying that the choice means Romney is not going to make “any dramatic deals with Latinos.” He said
it now opens the line of attack for
Obama against Romney because
Ryan’s ideas and strategies are
more focused and, therefore, easier
to direct clear messages on.
“While Romney was playing up to
the right-wing base, he might have
been seen even as a centrist. Now
with Ryan, there’s a connection
there in terms of specific policy
changes,”
Falcon
told
VOXXI.Nonetheless, the implication this will have on the Latino
vote for November is still up in the
air. And several Latino civic organizations were quick to indicate
that this will lessen the appeal for
Romney’s camp. Gabe Gonzalez,
the national campaign director for
the Campaign for Community
Change, stated that Romney’s pick
is “an enormous gift for Democrats”
because he projects it will significantly increase their chances for
the fall. “The Paul Ryan approach
is immensely unpopular and every
poll confirms it. Most importantly
it’s the opposite of an agenda for
prosperity,” he stated. Likewise
Hispanic Republicans defended
Ryan’s Latino credentials pointing
to his record and credibility toward
the economy.
Sen. Gianaris aims to make
NY toughest state on guns
(from Page 2)
· Require prospective purchasers
to obtain a firearm safety certificate, which can only be acquired
after the successful completion of
a safety training course that includes live firing, a safe-handling
demonstration and a written test
of firearm laws;
· Impose a 10-day waiting period
to the sale of a firearm in order to
give law enforcement officials
enough time to perform a thorough
background check of the prospective owner. This would also allow
for a “cooling-off” period to help
guard against impulsive acts of
violence;
· Close several gaps in the regulation of firearms and sale of ammunition, including requiring dealer
permits to sell firearms, rifles, shot-
guns and ammunition, require insurance for permitted dealers and
mandating dealers to report all firearm and ammunition sales within 24
hours to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. Records of all
sales must be kept on file by the
state for at least ten years;
In New York City alone, the number of shootings have increased by
12 percent from the beginning of
this year through early July, compared to the same time last year.
New York trails California, New
Jersey and Massachusetts in the
Brady Center’s ranking for the
nation’s toughest gun laws. The
passage of the Gianaris proposals,
along with previously introduced
gun control measures by his fellow
Senators, would push New York’s
ranking to number one and better
ensure our public safety.
15
Romney’s clumsy attempt to enlist Blacks
16
Voter suppression could kill dream of Black voters
(from Page 3)
the form of voter IDs.
“There is no doubt about it; it
is a continuation and an extension of the tea party and others
who want to turn back the clock.
It is also an attempt for them to
eliminate our voting strength.
They can have a fight without our
hands being handcuffed behind
our backs. And I think a lot of us
are sleeping through the most
significant challenge to our being able to protect ourselves that
I have seen in a long time. We
must have a sense of urgency and
a sense of crisis about this.”
An NAACP report titled ‘The
Hidden Swing Voters: Impact of
African Americans in 2012’ revealed that due to a significant
increase in voting, African Americans tipped the 2008 presidential
election outcome in the swing
states of North Carolina, Virginia,
Indiana and Florida. Part of Rev.
Sharpton’s jobs is to re-energize
the electorate as was done in
2008.
He continued, “They must be energized even more than (they
were) in 2008 to continue to fight
… we cannot win one round and
think that the fight is over. They
(the right wing) started the night
of the inauguration … they
started planning how they were
going to undermine the President
and all of us. Many of us celebrating the inauguration for a
year while they were plotting and
the results are: we lost the House
of Representatives to the right
wing. We cannot afford to lose
any more elections because of
the principles and the interests
that we represent… and we certainly cannot afford to not have
the right to vote.”
While Rev. Sharpton is in
town, many of the local leaders
who share the urgency that he
spoke about, concerning voter
suppression, has decided to hold
a fund raiser to assist in defraying his expenses, as he travels
throughout the country on be-
half of all disenfranchised people.
They included Supervisor Mark
Ridley-Thomas, Music mogul
Clarence Avant, Judge Greg
Mathis, and Sentinel’s executive
publisher Danny J. Bakewell Sr.
Out of a concern for the dismantling of the VRA, the Sentinel has
reached out to many prominent
Black leaders, and this is what they
had to say:
CBC CHAIR, CONGRESSMAN
EMANUEL CLEAVER: “At a time
where the right for millions of
Americans to vote is once again
being threatened, it is critical for
us to remember the significance of
this day and the events that led to
the passage of this landmark legislation.
“Forty-seven years ago, this
country took a stand to protect
people of color from nefarious disenfranchisement tactics. Today,
while we celebrate passage of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, nearly 5
million people’s right to cast their
ballot is once again under attack.
Six years ago, no voter identification law existed. Today, at least 33
states have introduced contemporary versions of voter ID requirements and at least 13 states have
introduced bills to end Election
Day and same-day voter registration that allows millions of voters,
particularly minorities, the elderly
and those from low income households to participate in the democratic process. We cannot let this
stand.
“ As we honor the work done by
those who fought to preserve this
right, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus reaffirm their
commitment to protecting the voting rights of all Americans and to
make sure that no eligible voter is
turned away from the ballot box
this year or ever again.”
CONGRESSWOMAN
MAXINE WATERS; “We have
become outraged and deeply
alarmed by mostly republican state
legislatures’ recent attempts to disenfranchise minority, low-income,
ex-felon, and young voters. Republican-controlled legislatures
around the country are rewriting
voting laws to require photo identification at the polls, reduce the
number of days of early voting,
and to enhance voting restrictions
against ex-felons and out-of-state
students.
“At a critical time in our nation’s
history, when we are debating the
future of vital social services and
federal programs, the Republicans
are crafting policies to limit and
discourage the participation of
groups and individuals who do not
share their political views. These
actions are purely motivated by
politics and the Republican Party’s
nationwide efforts to consolidate
power and influence at the expense
of fundamental rights.
“The new voter ID laws and
other restrictions have the potential to disenfranchise millions of
eligible voters and disproportionately impact specific populations.
Election experts say minorities,
poor people, seniors, and students
are among those that are least likely
to have valid driver’s licenses. And
studies have shown that as high
as 11 percent of eligible voters nationwide do not have governmentissued IDs.”
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
PRESIDENT & CEO MARC H.
MORIAL: “The list of 2012 swing
states – states where neither presidential candidate currently has a
clear majority – includes Ohio,
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida,
Nevada, Iowa, Virginia, North
Carolina and Colorado. Whichever
candidate carries these “battleground” states will likely win the
election. That is why the two nominees are making a lot of campaign
stops and targeting millions of advertising dollars in these states in
order to bring undecided voters to
their side. But according to a new
report released this week by the
National Urban League Policy Institute, we need to add another
state to this list — the State of Black
America. That’s right, just as in
Police torture panel shuts down
but what about the victims
(from Page 3)
2 police “terror squad” that
wreaked havoc on the Black community from the 1970s through
the 1990s. It was during this time
Cmdr. Burge and those under his
authority are accused of physically abusing and torturing suspects to make them confess to
crimes.
Since 2003 Chicago taxpayers
have paid an additional $82.5 million to defend the city in hundreds of police misconduct lawsuits, according a July 30 article
in the Chicago Sun Times.
Despite this recent payout and
the details that emerged of a 20year police torture scandal that
has gained international attention, no official apology was
made to the victims or their families by the city of Chicago. Some
100 men are believed to have
been subjected to torture at the
hands of police at Area 2 headquarters.
Mr. Burge was convicted in 2011
of perjury and obstruction of justice related to torture allegations
and was sentenced to four and a
half years in prison.
Mr. Tillman, who was only 20years-old when wrongfully convicted, will receive $5.37 million, for
the 23.5 years spent in prison on
the basis of a tortured confession.
He was innocent of a 1986 murder
and rape. Mr. Fauntleroy, who was
accused of a double homicide in
1983, will receive $1.8 million. The
charges against Mr. Fauntleroy
were dropped in 2009.
That there has been no apology
from former Mayor Richard M.
Daley, who served as Cook County
State’s Attorney from 1981 to 1989,
or current Mayor Rahm Emmanuel
which has offended many.
Critics accuse Mr. Daley of
knowing about the torture and turning a blind eye. According to media reports in 1982, while Mr. Daley
was states attorney evidence was
presented to him raising questions
about abuse at the hands of Mr.
Burge and his squad. They accuse
Mr. Daley and others of being part
of a cover up. As part of Mr.
Tillman’s settlement, the former
mayor will not be deposed for questioning in his case.
The number of prosecutors,
police officers and other officials
that knew about the torture remains to be seen and the full extent may never be known. To date,
Mr. Burge is the only person convicted of anything related to the
torture charges and sentenced to
jail.
At a press conference following
the July 25 council vote, Mayor
Emmanuel said he was focused on
the future of the city not just the
past.
“An apology is very significant
not only to my client Michael
Tillman but my feeling with regard
to the African American community here and as to the families of
all the torture victims and the torture victims themselves that an
2008, when African American voters went to the polls in record
numbers and were a deciding factor in the election of Barack
Obama, the Black vote could
again tip the scales either way in
2012 depending on how many register and vote.”
SUPEERVISOR MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS: “The election of
Barack Obama to the presidency
made these Tea Party-types lose
their minds. But these Jim Crowera tactics aren’t fooling anyone.
These people are straight up trying to take away our right to vote.
This isn’t about fraud or identification. It’s about black and brown
people choosing a president in
2008 that they can’t stand — so
now they’re trying to see to it that
we can’t vote in 2012. Are we going to sit by and allow that to happen? Hell no.”
COUNCILWOMAN (MAYORAL CANDIDATE) JAN
PERRY: “The greatest danger to
African Americans, in terms of
voter suppression, is apathy and
a lack of awareness. We have to
challenge ourselves, and challenge our public officials and
other elected officials… and the
fourth estate …the media to get
information and to provide us
with different viewpoints … to
provide us with analyses … to
provide us with discourse to sit
and debate, so at the end of the
day that people feel more
empowered…that they are better
informed and that they have may
different options in the way that they
get information.”
MARIAN WRIGHT
EDELMAN: “People who don’t
vote have no line of credit with
people who are elected and thus
pose no threat to those who act
against our interests.”
DANNY J. BAKEWELL SR.: “The
right to vote is a precious commodity and our forefathers and our
foremothers have paid the ultimate
price so that we, today may have a
better quality of life. We must let
those who engage in voter suppression by any other name that we are
going to stop you. Many have died
and we must al least honor their service to us by fighting back.”
NAACP PRESIDENT BENJAMIN JEALOUS; “We must overwhelm the rising tide of voter suppression with the high tide of voter
registration and mobilization and
motivation and protection. Simply
put, the NAACP will never standby
as any state tries to encode discrimination into law.”
In connecting the dots to unmask
those who use other means to
achieve the same nefarious results,
the former Speaker of the House of
Representatives and now DEMOCRATIC HOUSE
MINORITY
LEADER, NANCY PELOSI:
“They’re going after (U. S. Attorney General) Eric Holder because he
is supporting measures to overturn
these voter suppression initiatives
in the states. This is no accident, it
is no coincidence. It is a plan on the
part of Republicans.”
Commissioner Kelly justifies police
murder of a man wielding a knife
(from Page 3)
others following the chase pulled
out cellphones to capture footage and, in some cases, offer
commentary.
“They’re going to shoot you,
boy,” a man’s voice is heard yelling on a video that an onlooker
provided to The New York Times.
Numerous officers can be
seen going down the street in
another video on the website of
the New York Daily News.
According to the police, officers pepper-sprayed Kennedy six
times but he held onto the knife
throughout, wiping the spray off
his face. Finally, he lunged at
police and two officers shot him
in the torso, police said.
In one video segment, police
cars with sirens blaring pull up
as gunshots are heard. Officers
moved quickly to corral onlookers.
Kennedy was pronounced dead
at Bellevue Hospital.
Rocha acknowledged that it
made a difference that Kennedy
was only holding a knife, and that
there were so many officers on
scene.
“If it was a gun, a revolver, I
don’t know that people would stay
there and take pictures,” he said.
“I just stayed because I saw he
was holding a knife,” Rocha said.
“I was behind the officers, I knew
he couldn’t reach me.”
Kennedy, who lived in
Hempstead, N.Y., and was a native
of South Carolina, had been arrested 10 times, including seven
for marijuana possession, police
said. In 2008, he was taken to a
hospital for observation after
knocking down garbage cans in
Times Square.
Lessons from the Olympics
(from Page 6)
are willing to change the policy
lens through which we view educational issues, insisting that our
legislators address issues of education? There is an anti-tax lobby,
led by Grover Norquist of the
Americans for Tax Reform, that
will not endorse candidates unless they pledge not to raise
taxes, and the Tea Party that is so
effective that they are unseating
Republican stalwarts.
Might a group of education advocates come together to develop
power as formidable as that of the
Tea Party? Might that group decide
that any legislator who cannot support a robust educational agenda,
is unworthy of reelection? Might we
have the will to assert that all children can learn, and then make their
learning a priority? We will get what
we invest in and, unfortunately, we
aren’t investing enough in education.
Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and
writer. She is president Emerita of
Bennett College for Women in
Greensboro, N.C.
By Victoria Horsford
THE 2012 ELECTION
I do not get it. US technology and
ingenuity will study Mars, the mysterious red planet, its terrain, its culture, for two years. However, when
do we initiate a study on what makes
the GOP tick? Why did Mitt Romney, who said to some supporters
last May that he would win the presidential election because he is white?
Why did he select arch conservative Congressman Paul Ryan of
Wisconsin as his GOP VEEP? Ryan
wants to cut federal government
spending by dismantling education,
Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security
and who favors tax cuts for the rich
and more military spending Ryan is
a mainstream America nightmare.
Few Ryan’s nor Romney’s Medicare
RX. Rev Al’s response to the GOP
2012 ticket. “It’s not about Obama,
It’s about your Momma,” which
centers on Medicare! Is Ryan the
GOP 2012 Sarah Palin? The DNC
must be kicking its heels!
Bruce Wright
ber of books, including “Black fore her decades-long barmaid stint
Robes, White Justice” and “Black at Harlem’s famous Showman’s jazz
AROUND TOWN
JOB OP: The Burgess Group is Justice In A White World.” In addi- club.
conducting a search for an Internal tion to two generations of the Wright
SUMMERPLEASURES
Affairs Director for the NYS Dormi- clan, the street naming ceremony
The City Parks Foundation hosts
tory Authority. The NYS Dormitory was attended by NYC/NYS politicos
Authority provides financing and like Councilwoman Inez Dickens, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, from
construction services to public and Comptroller John Liu, Assemblyman August 17 to August 26. Festival is
private universities, nonprofit Herman Farrell, Governor David a celebration of the late, great
healthcare facilities and other orga- Paterson, and Mayor David Dinkins. saxophonist’s birthday and includes a series of performances by
nizations which serve the public
jazz artists at a trio of venues, the
NEWSMAKERS
good. For the job description, visit
Trinidadian writer/scholar Earl Harlem School of the Arts, located
www.TheBurgessGroup.com or call
Lovelace returns to NY to promote at 645 St. Nicholas Avenue, 141
212.406.2400.
QUEENS: The bad news is that his new novel IS JUST A MOVIE, Street, Harlem; Bill’s Place, owned
the Queens, NY based Allen Chris- which is set in his beloved Trinidad, by Bill Saxton, located at 148 West
tian School, one of the premier co- circa 1970s. On August 18, he attends 133 Street, Harlem; and the New
ed schools, private or public, in NYC, the 8th Fort Greene Park Summer Fes- School for Jazz and Contemporary
closed earlier this year, owing to fi- tival. On August 19, Margery Laing Music’s Jazz Space, located at 55
nancial hardships. Founded by of the Antigua and Barbuda Interna- West 13 Street, Manhattan. Visit
Reverend Floyd Flake 30 years ago, tional Literary Festival, hosts a book www.summerstage.org.
The Essie Green Gallery hosts its
it epitomized academic excellence party for him at 80 Vaughn Avenue,
and set the bar high for student ex- New Rochelle. Call 914.393.3037.And ART FAIR, End of Summer Exhibipectation. The good news is the The the 9/23 Brooklyn Book Festival is tion from August 18 to September
Eagle Academy For Young Men of on Lovelace’s book promo calendar. 18. Located at 419A Convent AvSoutheast Queens will inhabit the Lovelace also wrote “While Gods enue, Harlem, the Art Fair showbuilding. The School will accommo- Are Falling,” “The Dragon Can’t cases the works of African AmeriDance” and “Salt.”
can fine arts masters and contemdate grades K to 8.
HARLEM: The place is Seventh Harlemite Thelma Lillian (Lil) Pierce porary artists like Alston,
Avenue at 138 Street, which was re- died in June. The recipient of many Stringfellow, Bearden, Carter,
named Judge Bruce Wright Place on awards, including the Abyssinian Gunther, Blayton-Taylor, Hardrick,
July 31. Bruce Wright was a renais- Baptist Church’s Honorary Doctor Lam, Holland, Lewis, Mitchell, Neal,
sance man. A distinguished jurist of Victorious Living 2012, she wore and Bullock. The Art Fair opening
who served on the NYS Supreme many professional hats. A reception is 8/18. Call 212.368.9635
Court he was also a civil rights ad- restauranteur in the 60s, she worked for more info.
The Jamaican Independence Celvocate/firebrand, who wrote a num- at Diggs Den, and Carl’s Corner beebration Foundation and the Consulate General of Jamaica co-host a
Gala Fundraiser Dinner commemorating Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary of
Independence on Saturday, August
18 at the NY Hilton Hotel Grand Ballroom, located at 1335 Avenue of the
Americas, Manhattan. Jamaica PM,
the Honorable Portia Simpson
Miller is the Gala Guest of Honor.
The black- tie Fundraiser, begins at
6:30 pm with a cocktail reception and
silent auction and is followed by dinner, the Awards Ceremony and dancing until 3 am. Entertainment will be
provided by the Fabulous Five
Band. For info and reservations, call
631.374-7811 or 212.935.9000.
African Friends of the U.S., a
501©3 nonprofit, has organized a
historic event for the African
Michael Jordan
Earl Lovelace
Diaspora, the Africa Day Parade,
which will he held on August 18,
from 12 noon to 3:30 pm. The Parade route begins at West 124 Street
at Morningside Avenue and continues to 112 Street at Morningside,
where the review stand will be
housed. Visit [email protected] or
www.afus.us.
“Nikki G: A Portrait of Nikki
Giovanni in Her Own Words,” the
stage drama by actor and theater
impresario Darryl L. Lacy, has recently been published. Lacy will
host a two-tiered special event
about his book about world-renown poetess/academic on August
20, from 6-8 pm. He and actress
Michelle Biggins will read excerpts
from “Nikki G,” which will be followed by a dialogue with Victoria
Horsford, concluding with an audience Q&A and a book signing. The
NIKKI G. book launch event will be
held at the Joseph Kennedy Center, located at 34 West 134, Harlem.
Michael Jordan and NBA players such as Carmelo Anthony,
Rajon Rondo, John Wall will cohost a $20,000 per person Dinner/
Fundraiser for President Obama’s
re-election campaign, which will be
held on August 22 at the Chelsea
Piers Sports Complex.
WHCR-FM City College Radio sta-
Jeanne Parnell
tion talk show host Jeanne Parnell plays
the Apollo Theater on August 22 when
she introduces vocalist extraordinaire
Alyson Williams, as a part of the Harlem
Week Amateur Night month-long celebrations, for which Harlem residents
get a 50% discount.
The SoHo Project in NYC hosts a
special event, Harlequin, a night of
shopping – fashion, fine arts, and jewelry – proceeds from which will benefit
the Wadleigh Scholars Program, at the
Cove Lounge at 325 Lenox Avenue, on
Tuesday, August 28. Wadleigh is a
Harlem based Middle/High School, part
of the NYC Department of Education.
Founded 49 years ago by educator
Edouard Plummer, the after-school
Wadleigh Scholars Program readies students for admission to the nation’s top
boarding schools and local private
schools.
Many of today’s doctors, lawyers,
Wall Streeters are WSP alum. Shoppers
can buy works by fashionista Kiki
Paterson; jewelry by Anna Maria
Horsford; and fine art by Yolene
Legrand, Milli Burns, et.al. For more info
write to:
[email protected] or call:
254.707.2867.
A management consultant, Victoria
Horsford is a NY based writer and pop
culture historian
[email protected]
Nikki Giovanni
WHAT’S GOING ON
17
18
NNPA Award Winner
Enter tainment
By Don Thomas
The Chews are breaking barriers, setting
records and striving for creative excellence
Musical Director Ray Chew
Compiled By Don Thomas
dom.
Ray is a renowned musical
Considering the old adage director, best known for being
that two heads are better than the current Musical Director of
o n e , e n t e r t a i n m e n t p o w e r television’s globally popular
couple Ray and Vivian Scott “American Idol,” as well as
Chew could certainly be the steering the musical ship on
poster children for that wis- TV’s “Showtime at The Apollo”
for several years as well as
consistently lending his musical talents to numerous BET
specials.
An entertainment industry
veteran, who created ASCAP’s
annual “Rhythm and Soul
Awards” during her tenure
there, Vivian is the founder
and principal of TimeZone International, a worldwide marketing/ promotion/ touring/ licensing/ distribution firm
whose client base reads like a
Who’s Who of entertainment,
with names such as Jill Scott,
Lil Wayne, JoJo, Toni Braxton,
Kem, Brian McKnight, Jay-Z,
India.Arie, BeBe Winans, and
even includes corporate clients, such as McDonald’s.
Scott Chew is also a curator
for the New Jersey Performing
Arts Center.
Together, the Chews created and head Chew Entertainment, a premiere event production company.
The collective musical/entertainment knowledge, talent
and expertise that the Chews
possess has produced several
stellar events, including two
star-studded productions at
N e w Yo r k C i t y ’s f a m e d
Carnegie Hall.
Most recently, the Chews
began the Power to Inspire
Foundation, through which
they are excited to provide
young people with the insight
and knowledge of music appreciation and the music business and its many facets.
Through their workshops on
Curator Vivian Scott Chew
music and the business of mu- dertake, the Chews are a formisic, their goal is to nurture and dable, accomplished couple. Inguide the future Ray and Vivian dividually, they are each highly
Scott Chews of the entertain- successful, but together, the
ment industry.
Chews are UNSTOPPABLE! For
Breaking barriers, setting more information visit:
records and striving for creative www.timezoneinternational.com/
excellence in all that they un- or http://RayChew.com
(L-R) R&B singing sensation Alyson Williams, Bishop Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir and Legendary Crooner Cuba Gooding, Sr. belted out their hit songs
during Harlem Week’s outdoor “Concert Under the Stars,” tribute to the late great “Sunday Classics” radio personality Hal Jackson held at National Grant’s Tomb Park
KICKIN’ IT with Lifestyles & Society Editor Audrey J. Bernard
19
“It may seem like I came out of the blue. But, my road was long, windy, full of hurdles, and even some dead ends. I lost
family. I lost friends. I even lost my way. When I reached what felt like rock bottom, I realized I had a responsibility to
everyone who believed in me and to kids, like me, who just needed a chance and something to believe in.” — Victor Cruz
from the epilogue of Out of the Blue
Victor Cruz Out of the Blue
with Peter Schrager book
cover
Super Bowl-winning and
record-breaking NY Giants
wide receiver Victor Cruz has
penned a memoir Victor Cruz:
Out of the Blue with Peter
Schrager chronicling his unexpected rise to professional
football fame that was released on Amazon.com on
July 17, 2012.
In celebration of the book
launch Hennessy V.S. hosted
a celebratory book bash at No.
8 in NYC that was attended by
many celebrities including the
sexy football star’s family and
fiancé Elaine Watley, along
with Wale, Josh Groban, Eric
Benet, Julissa Bermudez,
Adrienne Bailon, DJ Kiss, DJ
Clark Kent, Peter Rosenberg,
K. Foxx, Joel Ortiz, Jeannette
Jenkins and DJ M.O.S.
Famous for his amazingly
spectacular plays with the NY
Giants as well as his posttouchdown salsa moves, Cruz
is now scoring uchdowns on
the New York Times Best Sellers list where his book has remained a fan favorite since its
release. While his meteoric
rise in the NFL looked like the
result of a magical year, it was
actually a lifetime in the making.
Raised in Paterson, New
Jersey’s gritty Fourth Ward,
Cruz overcame numerous setbacks through hard work, perseverance, and the support of
his loving family — from his
grandmother who gave him his
signature dance moves; to his
late father, a former firefighter,
who introduced him to football and taught him how to
play; to his hard-working,
single mother who never let
him give up in the face of a
challenge.
They all helped to keep him
on the right path, as did his
coaches, but Cruz’s journey
was never easy. There were
family tragedies, academic
struggles, injuries, and more.
In this inspiring, never-before-seen account, Cruz pays
tribute to the people and
places that made him the man
he is today, recounts his most
defining moments, and illustrates how his hardships ultimately unleashed his impenetrable will to win.
Victor Cruz: Out of the Blue
is a candid and moving reflection of an overlooked and undersized athlete with an uncommon last name in American football that was determined to beat the odds and
earn his chance to succeed.
(Photos by Jerritt Clark)
Victor Cruz with Hennessy Hostesses
Victor Cruz and family
Peter Rosenburg, Wale, Victor Cruz, Josh Grubman
Victor Cruz and girlfriend Elaina
Watley
Wale, Julissa Bermudez, Victor Cruz, Adrienne Bailon
NY Giants salsa star Victor Cruz
pens Out of the Blue memoir
20
On the Move
Halley’s IEG becoming a major
player in world of entertainment
Compiled By Don Thomas
Manny Halley, founder/CEO
Imani Entertainment Group
(IEG) began its journey in becoming one of the premier entertainment companies in the world in
January 1999. Created and nurtured by Manny Halley founder/
CEO, IEG has become a major
player in the entertainment world.
With a bevy of companies under
the IEG umbrella ranging from
management to book publishing.
This company has set its sights
on all aspects of the entertainment
world and with hard work, dedication, and a fresh outlook they are
posed to take over.
Halley is responsible for discovering the voice and talent of
Grammy Award nominated R&B
singer/songwriter Keyshia Cole.
Born and raised in the inner city
streets of Brooklyn, New York,
Halley brings the hustle mentality
and heart of the streets to the
board room serving as the executive producer for Keyshia Cole’s,
“The Way It Is” reality series
which holds the #1 spot for the
highest rated BET program in history and running the nation’s
best-selling IHOP for the past 10
years.
With his family by his side,
Halley has sought to create a leading empire that the entertainment
industry has yet to see. In 2003, a
friend of Halley’s arranged a meeting for him to meet a rising songstress making noise out of Oakland, California, Keyshia Cole who
sang for Halley and was signed
on the spot to his growing entertainment company.
Within the year, he arranged a
meeting for Cole to meet with
Chairman of Geffen Records, Ron
Fair, who would be responsible for
signing and executive producing
Keyshia’s debut and Grammy
nominated sophomore albums,
“The Way It Is” and “Just Like
You.”
In conjunction with BET, Halley
developed and co-produced the
reality television series, “The Way
It Is”, an original program giving
audiences the ultimate backstage
pass into the life of Keyshia Cole
in 2006. On October 30, 2007, the
second season aired following
Cole’s new claim to fame and recording of her second album, “Just
Like You” while dealing with the
demons of her and her family’s
past.
Halley’s role was highlighted in
the series as viewers saw how he
handled Cole’s day-to-day affairs
with press, studio time, artist collaborations and even her family.
The show premiered with outstanding ratings with the second
season finale drawing in a reported
3 million viewers and 2 million
households becoming BET’s largest returning series and original series in BET history.
A man of strength, faith and
humility, Imani “Manny” Halley will
not rest until the world knows who
Imani Entertainment is. His commitment, dedication and loyalty to his
artist and more importantly best interest are unsurpassed. He has
merged his many talents and keen
sense of delivering what the public
wants into his latest endeavors.
If his track record is any indication, the future looks might bright
for the entertainment mogul. Visit:
http://imanientgroup.com/ or
Manny Halley (@mannytheceo) on
Twitter.
Mathew Knowles
(right) received an
Honorary Doctorate
D e g r e e f r o m C o rnerstone Christian
Bible College on
Father’s Day and delivered a commencement address on
“The Ten Point Protocol for Success.”
T h e C o l l e g e ’s 1 7 t h
commencement ceremony was held at
the Destiny Dome
Embassy at Cathedral of Praise International in Fort
Wayne, Indiana. A
standing-room-only
crowd attended the
event.
(D.T.)
-
THEATER with Second Night Reviewer Audrey J. Bernard
Bullet for Adolf Theatre
Poster
On Wednesday, August 8, 2012,
Bullet for Adolf, a new comedy
by Woody Harrelson and Frankie
Hyman, performed its American
premiere at New World Stages,
340 West 50th Street. Written and
directed by Harrelson (Academy
Award nominee for The Messenger and The People vs. Larry
Flynt), and co-written by his BFF
Frankie Hyman, the production
is scheduled to play through Sunday, September 9, 2012.
As the story goes: During the
summer of 1983, in the sweltering
heat of Houston, an unlikely
friendship is formed when a
couple of mid-western rubes with
uncertain futures meet up with a
slick New Yorker on the run from
his past. The disappearance of a
WWII artifact sets off a chain of
events that proves that nothing
changes the present like a blast
from the past. The characters that
populate this hysterical, rapid-fire
new comedy by real-life friends
Bullet for Adolf Opening Night Curtain Call: Lee Osorio, Marsha Stephaie Blake, Woody Harrelson, Frankie Hyman, Tyler Jacob
Nick Wyman, Shamika Cotton, Brandon Coffey, David Coomber, Shannon Garland, Tyler Jacob Rollinson, Rollinson
Frankie Hyman
Marsha Stephanie Blake, Lee Osorio, Shamika Cotton, Tyler Jacob Rollinson, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Frankie Hyman, Shamika CotFrankie Hyman, Woody Harrelson, Brandon Coffey, David Coomber, Shannon Gar- ton
land, Nick Wyman
Woody Harrelson and Frankie
Hyman are based on real people,
though the events depicted are fiction and the names have been
changed to protect the not-so-in-
nocent.
The awesome cast for Bullet for
Adolf includes: Marsha Stephanie
Blake, Raul Casso, Brandon
Coffey, David Coomber, Shamika
Cotton, Shannon Garland, Chris
Myers and Nick Wyman.
The creative team includes
Dane Laffrey (sets), Kristy Leigh
Hall (costumes), Jen Schriever
(lights), Brett Jarvis (sound), and
Imaginary Media (projections). Bullet for Adolf is being presented by
Children at Play. (Photos by Walter
McBride / Retna Ltd.)
Into the Woods highlights Public
Theater’s 50th anniversary
Into the Woods Poster
The Public Theater’s production
of Stephen Sondheim and James
Lapine’s Into the Woods — part of
The Public’s 50th Anniversary season at The Delacorte Theater —
opened on Thursday, August 9,
2012. The Shakespeare in the Park
production has been extended
through Saturday, September 1, 2012.
As the story goes Once Upon a
Time, a Baker and his wife embarked
on a quest to break a witch’s spell.
On their journey Into the Woods they
cross paths with Little Red Riding
Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella and a
host of other hysterically flawed characters. The familiar fairytale faces
must confront the fact that their happily ever after may not be as happy
as they expected.
Tickets for Shakespeare in the Park
are free and distributed the day of
the performance. All performances
are at 8:00 p.m. For ticket information
and performance schedule, visit
www.shakespeareinthepark.org or
call 212-539-8750. The Delacorte
Theater in Central Park is accessible
by entering at 81st Street and Cen-
tral Park West or at 79th Street and
Fifth Avenue.
Directed by Timothy Sheader with
co-direction by Liam Steel, the cast
of Into the Woods features Amy
Adams, Jack Broderick, Glenn
Close, Gideon Glick, Cooper Grodin,
Ellen Harvey, Ivan Hernandez, Tina
Johnson, Josh Lamon, Bethany
Moore, Jessie Mueller, Donna
Murphy, Denis O’Hare, Jennifer
Rias, Laura Shoop, Tess Soltau, Sarah Stiles, Kristine Zbornik and
Chip Zien.
The non-Equity ensemble of Into
the Woods features Victoria Cook,
Johnny Newcomb, Noah Radcliffe
and Eric R. Williams. The 2012
Shakespeare in the Park summer production of Into the Woods is based
on the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre London Production, produced
by Timothy Sheader and
WilliamVillage for Regent’s Park
Theatre Ltd.
The creative team behind Into the
Woods features John Lee Beatty and
Soutra Gilmour (scenic design);
Emily Rebholz (costume design);
Ben Stanton (lighting design); ACME
Sound Partners (sound design);
Rachael Canning (puppetry); Leah
Loukas (wig design); Liam Steel
(movement direction); Jonathan
Tunick (orchestrations); and Paul
Gemignani (musical direction). (Photos by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.)
Into the Woods Opening Night Curtain Call: Gideon Glick, Ivan
Hernandez, Jessie Mueller, Tina Johnson, Ellen Harvey, Bethany
Moore, Denis O’Hare, Donna Murphy, Amy Adams, Eric R. Williams, Cooper Grodin, Josh Lamon, Sarah Stiles, Chip Zien, Tess
Soltau & Jack Broderick
Manhattan Borough President
Scott Stringer, Elyse Buxbaum
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Tonya Pinkins
New Off Broadway comedy Bullet
for Adolf has American premiere
21
22
Olympic Treasures
Hip, hip, hip hooray! Jamaica
By Vinette K. Pryce
Special Assignment
Three cheers to Jamaica, hip, hip,
hip! hooray. The celebrating island
has three more reasons to boast its
place in the world — three neatly
stacked collection of Olympic treasures, four gold, four silver and four
bronze medals. Closing out the
track and field events Saturday,
Usain Bolt helped the all-star haul
to total one dozen, one more than
the Beijing, China windfall of 11.
Before leaving the global, London center stage, Bolt treated a capacity crowd to a world and Olympic record-breaking run anchoring
the 4X100 relay. Powering the
fourth leg advanced by Yohan
Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta
Carter, Bolt crossed the finish first
at 36:84 secs.
Afterwards, he used his baton
to lead an Olympic, chorus of
cheers that celebrated the spirit of
the games. Hip, hip hooray for that
gesture. The host-nation seemed
to enjoy Bolt’s antics. They
cheered his relaxed and spirited
performance.
Bolt added to the moment, exchanging clownish acts with
Britain’s double-gold Olympian
Mohammed Farah. ‘Mo’ mimicked
Bolt’s “to the world” signature while
Bolt simulated Mo’s heart-shaped,
overhead stance. Together they
were picture perfect.
Jamaica’s Bolt and the Somaliaborn athlete who championed the
10,000m and 5,000m races that
vaulted Great Britain to gold medal
track and field winning status were
cheered in equal proportions by the
massive crowds that witnessed
their performance.
Although NBC-TV did not
broadcast the award ceremonies for
Jamaica’s victors, the fact its athletes dominated the 100m and 200
metres races in London during the
30th Olympiad is now recorded history. They made history and elevated the nation’s medal count to
12 and in the process tallied 10th in
the medal standing for the world,
tying with Cuba.
Hip, hip, hip, hooray! A triple
feat sweep found Bolt, the fastest
man on the planet winning the 100
metres and his club-mate Yohan
Blake, the second fastest with first
time Olympian, Warren Weir locking out medal hopes for any other
athletes by taking the three most
coveted medals of the Olympics finishing first, second and third. The
triumvirate dominated the event
when the two fastest men on the
planet and another making his
world Olympic debut, raced to make
history as athletes second only to
those who represented the USA to
win a sweep in the 4X100 relays.
Running the 200 metres in 19.32
seconds, Bolt repeated his gold
medal victory to win the event he
won in Beijing, China four years
ago. Blake won the silver finishing
in 19.44 and Weir grabbed the
bronze in a time he had never done
previously, 19.84 seconds.
The USA had accomplished the
feat on seven occasions and remained the dominators in that
event. Bolt won the event on the
Aug. 9 anniversary of Jesse Owens
Olympician megastar Usain Bolt thrilled East London’s Olympic Stadium crowd when he unleashed his
global world famous signature Bolt pose
historic fourth golden, victory at the to his collection. The sprinter cham- in third by Trinidad & Tobago’s
pioned a Jamaican sweep by lead- Lalonde Gordon.
Olympics in Germany.
Chris Brown led the Bahamas’
That fact was not lost on Jamaicans ing Yohan Blake and Warren Weir
living in Europe.
to finish the 200 m race with silver team, passed the baton to
Demetrius Pinder who handed
After winning, Bolt thanked fans and bronze.
and particularly mentioned loyal
He also led Nesta Carter and Michael Mathieu a third leg advansupporters and Jamaicans in the Michael Frater to the winner’s spot tage. But it was Miller who brought
United States. “I thank Jamaicans in Saturday, anchoring the 4X100 re- home the gold. Not to be overthe US for all their support,” Bolt said lay to give Jamaicans 12 more rea- looked, the tiny 10-member delegaon NBC TV. “This is what I wanted sons to celebrate emancipation and tion from Grenada celebrated with a
and I got it. I’m very proud of my- independence from Great Britain. half-day holiday, the victory of their
self,” the 25-year-old said.
“This is what I wanted and I got golden Spice Islander Kirani James.
James put his 110,000 popula“After a rough season I came out it. I’m very proud of myself,” the
here and did it. I thought the world 25-year-old said. “After a rough tion on the map and in the spotlight
record was possible. I guess I was season I came out here and did it. I on Aug. 7 when he led a field of
fast but not fit enough. I’m very dedi- thought the world record was pos- mostly-Caribbean athletes to finish
cated to my work and London meant sible. I guess I was fast but not fit first in the 400 metres race. The 19enough, he said after winning the year-old from the Village of Gouyave
so much to me.”
The championship showing also 200m.” Bolt’s 19:32 was not a took the lead from the start to esregisters Bolt as the only Olympian record. His time matched USA’s tablish history for Grenada, winning
to win consecutive Olympic events Michael Jonson’s world record the island’s first gold and leading a
in both track races. Bolt now has six time which he ran at the Atlanta triple sweep for the region.
Immediately after his victory, the
Olympic gold medals and is the most Olympics.
Bolt secured his fifth victory country’s Prime Minister Tillman
decorated Jamaican Olympian ever.
Three Jamaican women preceded the since track and field began, Blake Thomas visited Gouyave to declare
men in Beijing with a 1-2-3 victory in registered 19:44. Jamaican women a national holiday. Government
the 100 metres that placed athletes barely missed out joining their male offices closed early on Aug. 7. He
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Kerron counterparts for gold in the 4X100 also called James in London offerStewart and Sherone Simpson into relay race. The US quad shattered ing congratulations on behalf of the
the Olympic history books.
the long-standing world record 110,000 population. “I say it’s an
Hip, hip, hip, hooray! Jamaica.
scoring a world and Olympic record historic occasion because he is the
first Grenadian to obtain gold at the
beating Jamaica at 40:82 secs.
CARIBBEAN HIGHLIGHTS
In the end, Jamaica with the larg- Olympics. Not only for Grenada but
LONDON OLYMPICS
est delegation (54) boasts four gold, the OECS, (Organization of Eastern
five silver and three bronze and Caribbean States),” Thomas said.
Caribbean athletes imprinted in- Trinidad & Tobago which registered James, he added is a “real good role
delible memories at the 30th Olym- the second largest consisting of 31 model for our young people.”
“So it’s an historic occasion and
piad in London. After the 15th and athletes claims one gold and three
last day of track and field competi- bronze. T&T’s Keshorn Walcott we are all are proud of him. We want
tions, the English-speaking region proved to be king of the javelin to let him know we’re going to supclaimed 18 medals. Jamaica took the throwers by claiming gold in that port him and continue to do whatever we can to help him because he
lead tallying 12, split three-ways, four event.
gold, four silver and four bronze.
He threw a winning 277.51 feet has made us proud.”
Governor General Sir Carlyle
Saturday when Usain Bolt, the to take gold for the twin island. On
superstar representative of the re- that same day, Richard Thompson, Glean, from James’ Gouyave village,
gion raced his final leg of the 4X100 Keston Bledman, Marc Burns and also joined in the festivities. James
relay he raised the Jamaican total of Emmanuelle Carter ran off the track first attracted international attention
11 won in Beijing, China to the dozen with a bronze after the 4X100 relay when he won the semifinals on Aug.
6. Immediately after winning the
his country now boasts. He made race.
history doing it, he clocked a world
Another major Caribbean suc- heat, he walked over to last-placed
record time of 36:84 sec.
cess blazed a trail for the Bahamas finisher Oscar Pistorius and exThat was not the only historic feat when Ramon Miller crossed the fin- changed his race name label.
The South African, double amhe accomplished he also thrilled fans ish in 2:56:73 ahead of every other
at the London Olympics by becom- athlete running the men’s 4X400 putee, Pistorius was born without
ing the first athlete to defend gold in relay. Miller took the gold and also shin bones and races wearing carboth the 100 and 200 metres. The established a new record for his bon fiber blades. James’ win united
sprinter excited fans from start to fin- homeland. He surged past Angelo the English and Spanish Caribbean
ish securing three more gold medals Taylor of the USA and was trailed with announcement that the Do-
minican Republic’s Luguellin Santos
took the silver and T&T’s Gordon, the
bronze medal. The Caribbean sweep
also included Brown from the Bahamas who barely missed medaling, taking fourth place.
Prior to that history-making run,
Jamaicans were on a high from Shelly
Ann Fraser-Pryce’s retention of her
title in the 100 metres. She first took
the title at the Beijing Olympics in
2008 and in London whisked by her
challengers to claim Jamaica’s first
gold.
Her colleague Veronica Campbell
Brown edged in after USA’s Carmelita
Jeter crossed the finish to snatch the
bronze. Fraser-Pryce medaled again
last Wednesday scoring silver in the
200 metres. On that same night,
Hansle Parchment made history for
the island when he hurdled to second
place in the 110metres race.
It was the first-ever Olympic victory in that event for the nation. With
super-sprinter Usain Bolt securing his
position as the fastest man on the
planet, easily winning the 100 metres
Jamaica’s medals’ count has been
soaring to tumultuous uproar from
Caribbean fans who pack the 85,000seat stadium daily.
An NBC commentator said he was
fortunate to watch Bolt’s Olympic run
from a corner position. He said he said
he was able to see Prince Harry arrive.
According to the television witness, as the royal took his seat, the
race started. He said as soon as the
race, the prince exited and likely made
his way to compliment Bolt, the athlete he visited at his training camp, on
his island earlier this year.
Bolt’s mentor Yohan “The Beast”
Blake has not disappointed either.
He is regarded the second fastest man
on earth after winning silver behind
Bolt. The two top sprint positions for
men and women proved a golden gift
to nationals who are also celebrating
50 years of independence from the
host country.
“We have produced outstanding
sportsmen and women. For us in terms
of sports we are there, and we are
going to venture into other areas as
well,” Prime Minister Portia SimpsonMiller said. The leader said her country is “on this journey” and had been
since the late 1940s when Jamaica first
competed at the Olympics.
Along with Bolt, Blake, FraserPryce, Parchment and Victoria
Campbell-Brown, Jamaicans pinned
their hopes on a medal from Asafa
Powell. Reportedly, groin pains prevented him from running to maximum
capacity.
Another lost opportunity found
swimmer Alia Atkinson capturing
fourth place in the 100 metres breaststroke. After registering her best swim
she barely missed medaling.
As in past Olympics where Jamaicans represented Lithuania, Jamaicans are competing for the USA. Jamaica-born Sanya Richards-Ross secured gold for the USA.
Alicia Montano who ran the 800
metres wearing the red, white and blue
also wore a red hibiscus flower in her
hair on Aug. 8.
After winning she explained it was
the 100th birthday of her Jamaican,
grandmother Doris May Simpson and
she wanted to celebrate the mother of
10, her mother’s mother and her
grandmother.
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24
BEACON
S
PORTS
USA men’s basketball wins gold, but
Marc Rasbury
would they beat the 1992 Dream Team?
By Derrel “Jazz” Johnson
The USA Men’s Basketball
Team, led by LeBron James, Kobe
Bryant, Kevin Durant and Carmelo
Anthony, won Olympic Gold Sunday when they defeated Spain in
a closely contested 107-100 game.
Durant led the Americans with 30
points, including 5 three-pointers,
and James added 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Bryant
added 17 points in what he said
was his final Olympics game. His
Los Angeles Lakers teammate Pau
Gasol led Spain with 24 points, 8
rebounds and 7 assists. It was a
closer game than many expected,
and made USA Basketball head
coach Mike Krzyzewski sweat.I
With the exception of Lithuania,
who the Americans struggled to
defeat in a 99-94 game, most of the
games were one-sided. The most
points scored in the Olympics by
an American team, 156, was set
when the team crushed Nigeria by
83 points, also a record. Anthony
scored 37 points, shooting a sparkling 10-12 from three-point range
in only 14 minutes, and the 29
three-pointers made by the Americans is also a record. USA Basketball also had huge wins over
France, 98-71, Tunisia, 110-63, Argentina, 119-86, and Australia,
119-86. But a question that has
been on the minds of many, is what
chance would the current team
have stood against the original
Dream Team?
The ego of future NBA Hall of
Famer Kobe Bryant got the debate
started when he made a statement
that sparked a lot of debate. When
asked how his current team would
fare against the 1992 Dream Team,
Kobe had this response: ”Well,
just from a basketball standpoint,
they obviously have a lot more size
than we do, you know, with [David]
Robinson and [Patrick] Ewing and
[Karl] Malone and those guys. But
they were also, some of those wing
players, were also a lot older, at kind
of the end of their careers. We have
just a bunch of young racehorses,
guys that are eager to compete. So
I don’t know. It’d be a tough one,
but I think we’d pull it out.”
The comments by Bryant inspired a response from the best
player on the 1992 team, Michael
Jordan, who responded “I absolutely laughed” when he heard
what Bryant said. Jordan said there
is “No comparison” and added
“For him to compare those two
teams is not one of the smarter
things he ever could have done. I
heard Kobe say we were not athletic,” Jordan responded, “But we
were smart. He said we were too
old, but I was 29 and in the prime
of my career. Pip (Scottie Pippen)
was 26 or 27, (Charles) Barkley was
29, Patrick (Ewing) was 29 and
Chris Mullin was 29. Almost everybody was still in their 20s.”
One of the most outspoken members of the 1992 Dream Team also
responded to the comments by
Kobe. “I just started laughing” said
Charles Barkley, when he heard the
statement.” How old is Kobe
Bryant? He’s 34? And he’s calling
us old? At the time, we were only
like 28, 29. Michael Jordan and me
were the same age. We were both
29. Other than Kobe, LeBron
(James) and Kevin Durant, I don’t
think anybody else on that team
makes our team,” Barkley said.
Even the coach of the current
team, Duke University head coach
Mike Krzyzewski, who was an assistant coach in 1992, disagreed
with Bryant. “Right now I
wouldn’t say that,” Krzyzewski
said, adding “But this team can
be very good. The one thing
about this team they are all kind
of in their prime or getting ready
to go into their prime, and Kobe
hasn’t lost anything. Whereas in
’92 there were guys at the end of
their careers. Larry (Bird) had a
hard time physically, John Stockton was hurt, Magic had been out
a year. In their prime, all those
guys together, there was no team
ever like that.”
My opinion? The 1992 team
would crush the 2012 team. The
Dream Team of 1992 won their
eight games in the Olympics by a
combined 360 points, or an average of 45 points per game. The
2012 Olympic team could play my
friend and I in one of the eight
games and still not win the games
by an average of 45 points. The
current team won their right
games by a total of 257 points, or
32.1 points per game. Impressive,
but
skewed as well, with an 83-point
win, and two wins but margins
less
than 10 points.
The biggest flaw the current
team would face against the 1992
team is rebounding. In Barkley,
Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and
David Robinson, you have four
players all in the top 30 in the NBA
for rebounding all-time. The current United States team has one
center, Tyson Chandler, who may
not even be in the same league as
an all-around player as Christian
Laettner, the 12th man on the 1992
Dream Team. The 1992 Dream
Team would get offensive rebound
after offensive rebound defended
by the 2012 team if the two were
to face-off in a fantasy match up.
The
Lithuanian
team
outrebounded the Americans by
five, 42-37, and there isn’t a
rebounder on the team even close
to those on the 1992 team.
As great as Kobe Bryant is, he
does struggle against great defense, and, at the two-guard position, Jordan is the greatest defender of all time. Jordan is a former
winner of the Defensive Player of
the Year Award, and was always
one to rise to the challenge. Defending Kobe would be one, and
Jordan would succeed, as he did
most often. The only potential
mismatches I see for the 1992
Dream Team guarding the current
Olympic team would be James and
Durant. Scottie Pippen, a great defender in his own right, would
likely get the assignment of guarding James, a match up I would
have loved to have watched. They
are close in height, but James is a
lot stronger than Pippen.
Magic Johnson might also be
used to guard LeBron James in
this fictional match up. Kevin
Durant would be another tough
match up, and if on the court with
James, would also face numerous
defenders. Durant is too agile for
any of the big men to guard him, but
too tall for any of the shorter players to guard him. We did see James
have success on Durant when playing him physically, something FIBA
allows more than the NBA, and perhaps that would be the key containing him.
Magic Johnson might have been
a little passed his prime, but at the
age of 32, he was still capable of
playing basketball at a high level.
Besides LeBron James, the 2012
team would not have an ideal match
up defensively for Magic.
Stockton, the all-time assists
leader, is a master of the pick-androll, and running off picks with Karl
Malone and David Robinson would
be unstoppable. On the defensive
end, Magic
and Stockton might have problems
guarding Deron Williams and
Russell Westbrook, but the shotblocking ability of the 1992 team
erased a lot of the shots.
In this fictional match up, I would
see LeBron notching a triple double
and Durant going for 20+, but Kobe
would struggle and Tyson Chandler
and the front line would all be in foul
trouble.
The four big men, Barkley, Ewing,
Malone and Robinson would dominate the boards, and lead the 1992
Dream Team to a near-30 point win
with very balanced scoring. Not an
embarrassment for anyone, as that
team is filled with some of the greatest players in NBA history.
From Arthur Ashe Day to the men’s final, get ready to rock
By Marc Rasbury
It is about that time again.
The USTA’s US Open is upon
us and this year there is added
excitement coming from the
Olympic Games. The US Open
is traditionally one of the most
anticipated sporting events and
this year should not any different.
With Serena Williams capturing the gold at the London
Games, tennis fans world wide
will be looking forward to see if
she can sustain her current
dominance over the sport at
The Open. It was not like she
was beating up on ’92 Dream
Team opponents or the Washington Generals at the Olympic
Games. She was taking on the
best female tennis players in
the world. She struggled in the
early rounds but caught her
second wind in elimination
rounds. And this is coming off
the
heels
of
winning
Wimbeldon. She is coming into
The Open on fire leading the
field of the likes of Maria
Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka,
Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams. It should be interesting to
see how Sharapova responds to
that old fashion drubbing that
Serena bestowed upon her at the
Olympic games. Over the past
few years, the women’s field has
been a crap shoot. The way
Serena is playing, it will be hard
to bet against her.
On the Mens side, Roger
Federer will be looking to revenge his loss to hands of Andy
Murray. Rafael Nadal will be
looking to redeem himself after
his early exit in the London
Games. Look for these three men
along with Novack Djokovic to
be vying for the title.
The 17 th Annual Arthur Ashe
Day will kick off the festivities
this year once again. Arthur
Ashe Day is an event established to exposed kids that normally would not have access to
this great sport. It is a fitting tribute to the man that opened the
doors to game to those that were Serena Williams rolls into the US Open on fire!
traditionally on the outside looking in.
The grounds to the Billie Jean
King Center will be open free to
the general public on August 25 th
from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Kids of
all of ages will be able participate
in several tennis-related activities
and interactive games throughout the complex. In addition to
family fun, there will be a Stadium
Show hosted by Jordin Sparks,
Quddus and New York Rangers
star Brad Richards. Musical sensations The Wanted, Carly Rae
Jepsen, Owl City, Mindless Behavior and Rachel Crow will join
tennis stars Jon Isner, Federer
and Clisjters for fun filled concert and tennis demonstration in
Arthur Ashe Stadium. This event
will require paid admission. Contact Ticket Master for prices and
avaialbilty. The Olympic Games
results have added another level
of excitement to this year’s US
Open as if this event needed any
added spice. I just look forward
to this tournament every year and
this year is no exception.

New York Beacon

Transcription

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