obamacare triumphs

Transcription

obamacare triumphs

New York’s
Beacon
website:
NewYorkBeacon.net
Vol. 21 No. 14
Showing the Way to Truth and Justice
April 3, 2014 - April 9, 2014
E-Mail
[email protected]
75 Cents
OBAMACARE TRIUMPHS
Mass surge to sign up Affordable Healthcare
(See Story On Page 3)
THE LINES — Along the 16th Street Mall this weekend, the final push was on to sign people up for a health care plan, before Monday’s Affordable Care Act at midnight deadline.
Task force of ministers to address stand your ground law
(See Story On Page 3)
Sen. Schumer announces boilers in 100
NYCHA buildings will finally be fixed
BEACON, April 3, 2014 - April 9, 2014 newyorkbeacon.net
2
Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Sen. Gillibrand endorses
Cong. Rangel for re-election
Citing his leadership and effective service to the nation and
the people of New York, U.S.
Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand has
strongly endorsed Congressman
Charles Rangel for reelection.
Senator Gillibrand becomes the
first statewide elected official to
make an endorsement in the 13th
District Congressional race, and
joins top federal, state and local
leaders in backing Congressman
Rangel.
“When our nation first
needed him, Congressman
Charlie Rangel enlisted to serve
our country in the Korean War.
And he has never stopped serving us with all of his energy
since then. When I first came to
Washington, I saw firsthand not
only how Congressman Rangel
delivered for the people of Harlem,
El Barrio, Washington Heights and
the Bronx – but how he reached
out to his colleagues to help lift up
all New Yorkers. I will never forget
how he extended his hand to me
personally to help pass the 9/11
health bill for our first responders.
I am proud to endorse Congressman Rangel’s re-election campaign
so he can continue leading the
fight for affordable health care and
housing, immigration reform and
good paying jobs,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
“I’m so proud to be endorsed
by Kirsten Gillibrand, whose tireless advocacy for the people of
New York has made her one of the
most effective Senators in Wash(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
U.S. Senator Charles E.
Schumer and New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio have announced a major step forward in
Superstorm Sandy recovery for
thousands of New York City
Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents currently living in buildings
with temporary boiler systems.
After prolonged negotiations,
Schumer secured a commitment
from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that
they would provide funding for
NYCHA to install new, state-ofthe-art boilers to replace those
damaged by the storm. Sixty boilers were damaged, and since then
NYCHA has been utilizing temporary and costly boiler
systems. In total, the boilers serve
110 separate residential buildings
in Coney Island, Rockaway and
the Lower East Side, affecting
8,862 units.
Since the storm, NYCHA has
been spending $3 million per
month for the temporary boilers,
greatly taxing the already financially
strapped
agency.
Normally FEMA will try to repair
rather than replace damaged infrastructure and then subsequently negotiate the cost.
Schumer and de Blasio announced that FEMA has agreed
not to challenge NYCHA’s repair
cost estimates and will pay for
brand new boilers, rather than just
repair the damaged ones. This will
greatly speed up the process of
restoring normal service to the
buildings impacted by the storm,
which originally hadn’t been
scheduled to be completed until
2016. Under the new agreement,
FEMA and NYCHA are seeking
to have the final funding agreement in place early this year so
boiler replacement can start later
this year.
“For more than 16
months, bureaucratic infighting
and red tape have denied NYCHA
residents the most basic
of necessities — reliable heat and
hot water,” said Schumer. ”Today we’re firmly on the path to
righting a wrong that has too of-
Sen. Charles Schumer
ten left NYCHA residents in the
cold during the winter and in the
dark at night. Mayor de Blasio and
his team have been working hard
with me on ending this unnecessary delay, and I want to thank
them for their assistance.”
“When Superstorm Sandy
made landfall nearly a year and a
half ago, it brought with it death,
tragedy and destruction. Too often the wait for relief and recovery
has exacerbated the tragedy of the
storm — a reality NYCHA residents know all too well,” said
Mayor de Blasio. “Now, thanks
in large part to the leadership of
Senator Schumer, we will much
sooner than planned start making
the upgrades needed to improve
the quality of life for thousands in
public housing whose lives are still
disrupted by Sandy. These replacement boilers will bring not
only reliable hot water and heat
water to so many, but essential
peace-of-mind.”
“On behalf of the more than
400,000 New Yorkers that call
NYCHA home, I want to thank
Senator Schumer and Mayor de
Blasio for their tireless commitment and leadership,” said
NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye.
“NYCHA has been working aggressively for a year to tap the financial resources needed to restore our Sandy-damaged buildings. Thank you to our FEMA colleagues for engaging in negotia-
Mayor Bill de Blasio
tions and making the commitment to
secure the recovery funding we need
to begin the work necessary to bring
these buildings—these homes—
damaged by Sandy up to a state of
repair and resiliency.”
Since Superstorm Sandy, sixty
boiler systems serving 110 NYCHA
buildings have been in a state of disrepair. NYCHA has been spending
$3 million per month on temporary
boilers. Overall, NYCHA has spent
approximately $56 million for 24 temporary boilers at 16 developments.
The boilers are in place to provide a
replacement to boiler rooms that heat
multiple buildings; each mobile boiler
is working in place of multiple boilers.
To overcome the bureaucratic hurdles, Schumer organized
a sit down meeting with top officials
from FEMA and NYCHA, including
NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye,
in Washington, D.C. to hammer out
a clear path forward. The meeting resulted in an agreement that ultimately cuts through the red tape that
had been preventing the funding
agreement, and paves the way to expedite boiler replacement for thousands of NYCHA residents.
The agreement is as follows:
1. FEMA has agreed to pay for
NYCHA’s cost estimates for boiler
replacement so long as they are provided by independent licensed engineers.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
Governor unveils new tool to help students determine college costs
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
haas announced a new tool that
will help students and families
interpret financial aid award letters from colleges and get bottom line costs before making a
final decision. The Financial Aid
Award Letter Comparison Tool,
available at HESC.ny.gov, is free
and safe to use, with no personal
data collected or saved.
“Knowledge is power, and with
this tool we’re empowering students to make informed college
choices based on what’s best for
them,” Governor Cuomo said.
“Choosing the right college is a
decision that lasts a lifetime but
navigating and comparing financial aid offers can be confusing.
Our Comparison Tool makes the
real price of attending college
more transparent so families can
know what they’re getting into
ahead of time. I encourage students
to log on to HESC.ny.gov to learn
more.”
For many families it can be difficult to choose the best college at
an affordable price, especially without a full understanding of the total costs—including which types
of aid must be paid back. The tool
generates side-by-side comparisons, highlights net costs, and estimates the full two or four-year
cost of each college.
The report also recommends the
potential income required after
graduation, based on an occupation chosen by the user, to be able
to pay back student loans. This feature not only helps students and
their families understand the impact
of borrowing as it relates to current
and future circumstances, but en-
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
courages students to carefully
consider their field of study and
make adjustments in career or college choices if necessary. To make
these projections, the New York
State Higher Education Services
Corporation (HESC) uses current
data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook to provide median
salary estimates for selected occupations. Elsa Magee, acting
president of HESC said, “Students
need to be informed about loan
costs up front, before they commit to a college or career path. The
comparison tool provides details
about the student’s total estimated debt at each institution,
approximate monthly loan payments, and the minimum annual
salary to afford these payments.”
HESC is New York State’s stu-
dent financial aid agency that helps
people pay for college, and a national
leader in providing need based grant
and scholarship award money to
college-going students. At HESC’s
core are programs like the Tuition
Assistance Program (TAP), numerous state scholarships, federal college access grants and a highly successful College Savings program.
HESC puts college within the reach
of hundreds of thousands of New
Yorkers each year through programs
like these and through the guidance
it provides to students, families and
counselors. In 2012-13, HESC helped
more than 342,000 students achieve
their college dreams by providing
more than $979.4 million in grants,
scholarships and loan forgiveness
benefits, including $931 million
awarded through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).
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Kevin Johnson
Judge upholds election
of Mayor Kevin Johnson
By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – After intense internal fighting,
court battles and competing
board of directors that have
characterized Sacramento, Calif.
Kevin Johnson’s term as president of the National Conference
of Black Mayors since last May,
his first month in office, a judge
has ruled decidedly in Johnson’s
favor, effectively firing Executive
Director Vanessa R. Williams and
nullifying all actions of the rump
board challenging Johnson’s
right to remain in office.
Fulton County Superior Court
Judge Christopher S. Brasher issued his ruling in Atlanta last
week.
”We’re gratified that the court
has validated the election of our
leadership and vindicated our efforts to take the necessary steps
to restore accountability and fiscal integrity to this venerable
and critical organization,”
Johnson said in a statement.
“Now we can move forward by
taking the actions that will address any outstanding problems
we have in order to ensure that
the NCBM will benefit current
and future mayors and their constituents.”
In some ways, it may be a Pyrrhic victory for Johnson. He is
limited to one term, which expires
in May. Johnson is also vice
president of the U.S. Conference
of Mayors and is a leading candidate to become president of
the group in June.
When he was elected president of the Black mayors last
May, many members thought he
was just what the group
needed. After all, it was still
reeling from its previous president, George L. Grace, Sr. of
tiny St. Gabriel, La., being sentenced to 22 years in prison for
stealing from the organization.
Grace, who set up secret NCBM
bank accounts in his name in
Louisiana, was convicted of
bribery, obstruction of justice,
mail fraud, wire fraud, making
false statements and violating
the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations ACT
(RICO) and use of an interstate
facility in the aid of racketeering.
In addition to illegally diverting money from the Black mayors’ group, Grace was also
found guilty of extorting businessmen seeking to do business with the city and demanding kickbacks from operators
setting up temporary housing
in his city for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Former President Robert
Bowser, who had preceded
Grace in the top job, was called
back into temporary service to
help stabilize the organization,
Bowser, mayor of East Orange,
N.J., was initially convinced
that Kevin Johnson provided
the fresh face and name recognition that would help the organization recover from George
Grace’s disgraceful conduct.
And Bowser was not alone.
Johnson was unanimously
elected president by voice vote
on May 30, 2013. The former
Phoenix Suns point guard
vowed to “shake up things”
Hundreds of thousands of
Americans on Monday rushed
to buy President Obama’s new
insurance plans, prompting a
victory lap from a White House
that paid a steep political price
for its greatest achievement.
The scramble to sign up under the Obama care law at the
end of six months enrollment
window caused website glitches
and long lines at the on-the-spot
enrollment centers.
But Republicans renewed a
vow to repeal the law, which they
say, costs jobs, handcuffed small
businesses and represents a
government power grab in the
private health care market.
The Health Insurance Marketplace was preparing to close on
a record breaking day of operations – with more than three million visits to Healthcare.gov and
more than one will calls to the
center as of 8 p.m., a U.S. official
said.
It remains unclear, however,
how many of those people went
through the whole process of securing Affordable Care Act in(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
Sign up centers were busy
Mothers of Central Park Five are
honored by Sen. Perkins, NAACP
By Cordel Cleare
Senator Bill Perkins joined with
NAACP New York Branch President
Randy Tucker to honor mothers of
the “Central Park 5” (Gracie Cuffee,
Linda McCray, Milagros Nelson
(posthumously), Sharonne Salaam
and Delores “Dee” Wise) at the
NAACP New York Branch Phenomenal Women’s Award Ceremony .
The well attended event took
place at St. Luke’s AME Church on
Sunday, March 23, in the presence
of a crowd of community supporters and leaders, parishioners, family and friends.
“For over 25 years, you have
stood beside your sons— Antron
McCray, Kevin Richardson,
Raymond Santana, Kharey Wise
and Yusef Salaam—as singular pilRaymond Santana, Senator Bill Perkins, Attorney Michael Warren.
Task force of ministers to address ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws
By Freddie Allen
“In our 12 Point Action Plan,
NNPA Washington Correspon- we will take the leadership to
save our boys and girls, to build
dent
schools in our own neighborWASHINGTON (NNPA) – hoods, to repeal and repair
Rev. R.B. Holmes, a civil rights ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws
leader and pastor of the Bethel across America, to support hisMissionary Baptist Church in torically Black colleges and
Tallahassee, Fla., is heading up a universities, and the importance
task force of 40 ministers to un- of business ownership and the
dertake a 12-point action plan to significance of marriage and the
revitalize the Black community, family,” said Holmes.
taking on issues ranging from
He said the action plan also
the repeal of controversial includes evangelism, renew“Stand Your Ground” laws to able energy and preservation,
supporting Historically Black restoring voting rights for exColleges and Universities offenders, social justice, advocating for veterans, health care
(HBCUs).
Holmes made the announce- support and increasing the
ment here last week at a news minimum wage.
Holmes also announced
conference at the National Press
plans to run for president of the
Club.
National Baptist Convention,
USA, Inc., “the nation’s oldest and
largest African American religious
convention with an estimated
membership of 7.5 million,” according to the group’s website. The
election is Sept. 4.
“In a time when it seems more
popular to be a celebrity than a servant, we stand behind Dr. Holmes
with great expectations,” said Rev.
Jamal-Harrison Bryant, pastor of
the Empowerment Temple AME
Church in Baltimore. “Jesus gave
the clear indication that if you
want to be great all you have to
do is serve.”
Bryant said that historically, the
Black church has always been on
the front line, giving a voice to the
Rev. Holmes
3
Americans line up in thousands to
sign up for Affordable Healthcare
Support for President Obama health
carelaw has eroded among Hispanics
4
By Jens Manuel Krogstad and
Seth MotelPew Research Center
Dorothy Height
Who’s Who Publishing
salutes Dorothy Height
On what of would have been
her 102nd birthday, Who’s Who
Publishing would like to pay tribute to civil rights icon Dorothy I.
Height. According to Time
magazine’s website, she is considered an unsung hero of the
Civil Rights and feminist movements who is widely credited with
bridging the gap between the
two.
Height sat on the stage behind
Martin Luther King Jr. as he gave
his famous “I Have a Dream”
speech. She co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus
with Gloria Steinem and Betty
Friedan. She has received the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
and the Congressional Gold
Medal, the two highest honors
awarded to an American civilian.
She also stood on as Barack
Obama was inaugurated in 2009,
and Obama called her the “god-
mother of the civil rights movement” after her death in 2010.
Dorothy Height served as the
foreword writer for the Inaugural Edition of Who’s Who In
Black Washington DC in 2009
and said in the book “In my lifetime, I have had the honor of
holding national leadership in
the United Christian Youth
Movement of North America,
The YWCA of the USA, Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the
Leadership Conference of Civil
Rights and the National Council of Negro Women.
Share this directory with
young people everywhere. Use
it as a teaching tool to help
them understand that achieving
their highest potential is within
their grasp if they develop their
God-given abilities through
education and pursue a life of
service to their community.”
Support of President Obama
and his signature legislation, the
Affordable Care Act, has declined
among Hispanics over the past six
months, even though the popularity of both is nearly unchanged
among the public overall, according to a new analysis of Pew Research
Center
survey
data.Hispanic support for affordable care act Obamacare has
declined Today as many Hispanics approve as disapprove (47%47%) of the new health care law.
That’s down markedly compared
with the 61% approval just six
months ago.
During the same
time period, Obama’s job approval
rating has slipped 15 points among
Hispanics. About half of Hispanics (48%) approve of Obama’s job
performance today, down from
63% in September 2013. (Among
the general public today, 44% approve of Obama and 41% approve
of the new law, neither significantly
changed
from
September.)Hispanics’ Support for
Obama has declined Since the
troubled launch of the online
health care exchange on Oct. 1,
news coverage has noted low Hispanic enrollment and included
criticism that the Spanish-language version of the website contained poor translations. Others
have disputed that claim, arguing
a major hurdle in enrolling more
Hispanics in health insurance has
been that many don’t understand
the law. Another cause of low
enrollment may be fear of federal
authorities among U.S. citizens and
residents with family members
who are unauthorized immigrants.
In some respects, Hispanics might
seem to be natural supporters of
the president’s health care law.
Most Hispanics (61%) say it is the
government’s responsibility to
make sure all Americans have
health coverage, compared with
47% of the public overall who say
this. Some 29% of Hispanics don’t
have health insurance, according
to the 2012 American Community
Survey.
Then there’s the issue
of immigration. In a Pew Research
survey in November, 51% of Hispanics disapproved of the way
Obama was handling immigration.
Meanwhile, 72% of Hispanics last
month said it was “extremely” or
“very” important this year to have
new immigration legislation, which
President Obama
has stalled in Congress. In recent voters, Hispanic support of Demoweeks, Democrats and Hispanic cratic candidates remained strong in
leaders have stepped up criticism our February survey. In a generic
of Obama’s immigration policies as congressional ballot, Hispanics
the number of unauthorized immi- would favor the Democrat candigrants deported nears two million dates for Congress in their district
under the president’s administra- over Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin
tion. Obama has responded by (63%-31%). That margin is roughly
meeting with Hispanic leaders and the same as in 2010, when the split
ordering a review of immigration on Election Day was 60% to 38%, in
enforcement policies.
This is favor of Democratic candidates for
not the first time that Obama’s the House of Representatives, acsupport among Hispanics has cording to National Election Pool exit
fallen. At the end of 2011, a time polls. But it’s worth noting that Hiswhen the rising number of depor- panic turnout has lagged behind the
tations also received public atten- rest of the public in past elections.
tion, the president’s approval fell Despite a fast-growing population
to 49% among Hispanics. It that makes up 11% of the nation’s
bounced back during the 2012 eligible voters (U.S. citizen adults),
presidential campaign, and Obama Hispanics made up just 8% of the
captured 71% of the Hispanic vote. electorate in 2012 and 7% in 2010.
Whether the shrinking support for Jens Manuel Krogstad is a writer/
Obama and the health care law editor at the Pew Research Center’s
among Hispanics translates into Hispanic Trends Project.Seth Moconsequences for Democrats dur- tel is a Research Assistant at the Pew
ing this year’s midterm elections Research Center for the People &
remains unclear. Among registered the Press.
Washington Times launches magazine for conservative Blacks
The Washington Times on
Thursday launched American
CurrentSee, a free weekly digital magazine for conservative
black Americans. The magazine, available at http://
www.americancurrentsee.com,
aims to empower its readers to
embrace a new agenda of economic opportunity, moral leadership and freedom from government dependency.
The Times said Dr. Ben Carson,
the world renowned neurosurgeon whose entrance into politics has excited conservatives nationwide, will serve as Founding
Publisher and Armstrong Williams, who is an entrepreneur, a
TV and radio host and a nation-
ally syndicated columnist, will
serve as executive editor. They will
work with an advisory board comprised of business, community
and church leaders who will offer
insights and strategies for coverage, business models and community outreach.
American CurrentSee is built
on a mobile-friendly HTML 5 platform that works on laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones and
re-creates the intimate reading experience of a news magazine while
leveraging the new capabilities of
mobile devices. It can also be installed on desktops like an app. The
Times plans to offer official apps
in Google and Apple stores later
this spring.
A new edition will be published
each Sunday morning, with readers
alerted to the fresh content via email.
Dr. Ben Carson
Armstrong Williams
In an email announcing the inaugural edition of American
CurrentSee, Dr. Carson said he was
inspired to provide an alternative
source of news and thought leadership to a community that for too long
has been treated by the mainstream
media as politically and ideologically
monolithic.
“The ruling elite has convinced
too many young adults that it’s OK
to stay at home and live in your parents’ basements playing video
games or aimlessly roaming the
5
6
Editorial
Beacon
Walter Smith: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Miatta Haj Smith: Co-Publisher & Executive Editor
William Egyir: Managing Editor
The cost of getting old
By James Clingman
Blackonomics
We are at a critical stage in the
economy when “more than onethird of workers (36%) have a
measly $1,000 saved for their later
years,” according to a study by
the Employee Benefit Research
Institute. “Compare that to the
28% of workers who said they
had $1,000 saved in last year’s
survey, and the picture gets a little
more grim,” the article continued.
The report refers to all workers;
that 36 percent likely skyrockets
when applied to Black people.
You know what happens when
America gets a cold – we get pneumonia.
With baby boomers at the head
of the mortality line, all we can do
now is reflect on the financial
“what ifs” in our lives and try to
figure out how to live with a $1,000
or less in the bank.The millennial
generation had better pay close
attention to their finances and
start saving as early as possible
to keep from making the same
money mistakes their parents and
grandparents made.
First and foremost, be very
careful with those student loans.
Leaving school with a debt of
tens of thousands of dollars, even
before you get a job, is a prescription for financial disaster. I know
the money is great to have, especially what some of you call your
“monthly check,” which is in excess of what your tuition requires.
But you will have to pay it back
no matter what, with interest, of
course. Imagine trying to find
and keep a job, a car, a place to
live, and food to eat, while having to pay a monthly note of $400-
$600for a student loan for the next
20 or 30 years! When you get old
you may also end up in the group
with less than $1,000 saved for retirement.
Keep in mind that a college education, while it is very important
and necessary in this economy, is
not worth what it used to be.
Thus, it would be prudent to
forego that high-priced school
you want to attend and consider a
smaller community college, a tech
school, or an HBCU. Unless you
get a scholarship that covers most
or all of your costs, a smaller less
expensive school is the way to go.
I know most young people
refuse to acknowledge it, but if
you keep living you will get old.
Question: “What will getting old
cost you?” Getting old in today’s
economy is very expensive. And
who knows what will happen to
Social Security and Medicare?
The way things are going now,
young people will be pretty much
on their own when they get old.
It’s best to get a Roth IRA
started now, or at least some kind
of savings plan that will multiply
and be there at retirement. (A few
dollars saved each month now will
multiply into hundreds of thousands or even a million dollars by
the time you reach retirement
age.) Don’t put all your eggs in
one basket by simply depending
on your employer’s contribution
to your 401-K and insurance plan.
Unless you “own” the job you
have, it can be taken away from
you at any time, along with your
retirement plan and your insurance
policy.
Understand, young people, that
if a young athlete or entertainer
can go broke after making unwise
decisions with his or her millions
of dollars, your $80,000 per year
will evaporate at a much faster
pace, especially if you try to live
like they live. Be smart, learn from
the mistakes of others, and understand that you do not have to end
up like the current 36 percent in
this country.
The other caveat for young
people as they prepare for their
retirement is the dreaded conspicuous consumption syndrome. In an article I wrote some
years ago, titled, “Supply and
Demand,” I noted that Black folks
demand and others supply us with
their goods and services. Anything someone makes we will buy
it, no matter how much it costs.
Just look at Nick Young of the L.
A. Lakers who recently had his
home burglarized for a pair of
$6,000 shoes called “Nike Air
Yeezy 2.” That reminded me of
basketball star, Antoine Walker,
getting robbed of a $55,000 watch.
A great article on this subject is
featured on The Root website,
written by Demetria L. Lucas,
titled, “Fronting:We Need to Stop
Living the ‘Fabulous and Broke’
Lifestyle. It’s time to put the ‘fake
it till you make it’ philosophy out
to pasture.” She wrote, “My
wake-up call came…when my
friend called me in a panic, not
knowing what to do. He was
around $30,000 in credit card debt
and had student loans. That friend
ended up moving back in with his
parents for a year-plus so he
could save money to pay off his
credit cards. (More than 10 years
later, he’s still paying off student
loans.)”
The cost of getting old is high
– be prepared.
Don’t wait for
Obama to fight
By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
NNPA Columnist
Alright team, here we are again
approaching the midterm elections. Having won both the 2008
and 2012 presidential elections, we
have to notice that Obama, who is
an excellent campaigner, simply
does not seem to know how to
fight once he has the task of governing. He either concedes ground
prematurely, e.g., freezing federal
workers’ pay, or becomes oddly
passive. In the lead up to the 2010
midterm elections this resulted in
the disaster of that November. We
are now approaching November
2014 and it feels like more of the
same.
Waiting for Obama to stand
up and fight is pointless.
While he may be forced into a
fight, as in the situation of the
government shut-down of 2013,
we have to be clear that it is
simply not his preferred activity. He seems to believe that
he can somehow stand above
the chaos despite the fact that
there are those who, at every
turn, seek to cut him off at his
knees.
Rather than despair, it is time
to take President Obama out of
the equation. November 2014
must be about the issues that
are of most importance to regular people and about candidates
who will fight for them. Let’s
start with healthcare. There is
little question that the Obama
administration bungled the rollout of healthcare reform. But
it is more important to acknowledge that we needed something
stronger and more universal
than the Affordable Healthcare
Act. In fact, we needed Medicare for all.
The Republicans advocate
nothing approaching that.
They want a return to the past
and if they succeed in getting
a majority in the Senate, they will
aim to do just that. So, here are
my questions which you should
ask yourself and your friends:
What will this mean for seniors?
What will this mean for people
with pre-existing conditions?
What will it mean for young
people? You see my point? So,
not only do we not need what the
Republicans are offering, we
need more than what Obama offered. That means candidates
who stand for Medicare for all.
Let’s try another. The Republicans were really upset about the
Stimulus of 2009. Well, without that,
the economy would have remained
in freefall. The Republicans had no
answer for that. They still don’t
have one. Yet, the Obama stimulus
was not enough. It was not enough
in terms of the total dollar amount
but it was also not enough in the
manner in which it was utilized. We
need to have an economic redevelopment program that promotes new
industries that address the environmental crisis. We need economic redevelopment that focuses on the occupants of the dead and dying cities where the private sector will not
invest. We need economic development for states like West Virginia
that have been losing industry and
must change their economy for the
sake of the environment and their
unemployed. We need a bit of economic planning to get us out of this
mess. We need to elect candidates
who stand for a different path.
So, as we look towards November 2014 let’s stop the whining and
get busy. Waiting for President
Obama to raise the flag of fighting
back is, at best, wishful thinking.
But the results of November 2014
are more important than how we are
feeling about Obama at this moment. They need to be grounded in
the sort of future we want for our
families. Let’s roll.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a racial justice,
labor and global justice
Can we make it to the ‘Promised Land?’
By Ron Daniels
NNPA Columnist
Friday, April 4, marks the 46th
anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr/s assassination on a balcony in Memphis. Black America
and people of goodwill in the nation and the world were stricken
by grief, frustration and anger at
the murder of this great man of
justice and peace. Indeed, rebellions erupted in urban centers
across the nation by people who
could not fathom how an apostle
of non-violence could be struck
down so viciously and violently.
It was clear that America was at
yet another cross-road in the
quest to achieve racial, economic
and social justice.
Despite constant death threats,
Dr. King never flinched in his determination that this nation should
be made to live up to its creed. The
night before he was murdered, he
reluctantly mounted the podium at
the Mason Temple Church in
Memphis and seemed to have a
premonition of his impending demise. Yet, he proclaimed that he
was not afraid dying. In the most
memorable part of his oration he
took the audience to the
“mountaintop” with him and declared that he had “seen the prom-
ised land.” Sensing that his life
would be cut short he said, “I may
not get there with you. But I want
you to know tonight, that we, as a
people, will get to the Promised
Land.”
As we reflect on King’s courage and optimism in the shadow
of death, the question is: Can we
make it to the Promised Land?
Clearly Dr. King was speaking to
the long suffering sons and
daughters of Africa in America
when he referenced “we as a
people.” But given his fervent belief in the promise of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, there is little doubt that he
also believed that one day America
as a nation must arrive at the Promised Land. King also knew that for
the “promise” to be realized Black
people and people of good will in
the “beloved community” would
have to struggle to achieve its fulfillment. There would be trials and
tribulations because there were
forces deeply committed to restricting economic and political
democracy to an elite “few” to the
exclusion of the “many” in this
society.
As Dr. King peered over into the
Promised Land, he saw a nation
that embraced his concept of an
Economic Bill of Rights modeled
after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four
Freedoms,” where every human
being would have a decent standard
of living: a land where no-one would
lack for a job with a living wage or
guaranteed annual income, quality
affordable housing, healthcare and
education.
To get to the Promised Land, Dr.
King was preparing a Poor People’s
Campaign to galvanize the “many”
to struggle for an Economic Bill of
Rights even in the face of the fierce
resistance of the “few” at the commanding heights of capital and finance. To get to the Promised Land,
7
Buy Black: An economic empowerment strategy
By George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist
Margarita “Maggie” Anderson wants to transform “Buy
Black” from a leftover 1960s
slogan to a modern economic
empowerment strategy. And
because she has lived it, there
is no person better qualified to
lead the charge.
Anderson and her family
spent all of 2009 purchasing
goods and services exclusively from Black merchants.
She is author of a book cataloguing her experience titled,
O u r B l a c k Ye a r . S h e a l s o
authored an essay in the State
of Black America report issued
Thursday by the National Urban League titled, “Facts vs.
Fiction: Buying Black as an
Economic Empowerment Strategy.”
Like the farmer trying to
g e t h i s m u l e ’s a t t e n t i o n ,
Anderson whacks us across
the head in the National Urban League report with two
disturbing facts.
Fact #1: “…Most of the
products and services African
Americans consume – Black
media and entertainment, Black
dating websites, Black hair and
skin care, Black toys, and Black
fashion –are neither produced
nor distributed by Blackowned firms. Behind this consumption are billions of dollars
in business contracts, busi-
ness growth, advertising revenue, entrepreneurial opportunity and economic empowerment that, while driven by Black
consumer spending, are not
empowering the Black community.”
Ouch!
Fact #2: “In practice, selfhelp economics seems to be
more proactively and effectively leveraged by other ethnic groups. For example, in
Asian communities, a dollar circulates among the community’s
banks, retailers, and business
professionals for up to 28 days
before it is spent outside of the
community. In the Jewish community, the circulation period is
19 days; in the White AngloS a x o n P r o t e s t a n t ( WA S P )
community, it’s 17 days; and
in the Hispanic community,
it’s 7 days. Yet, in the Black
community, the dollar lives
only six hours before it leaves
the community.”
Enough, I feel ya!
Anderson says we have not
harnessed our $1 trillion a year
spending power because our
civic and religious leaders, unlike Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
are unwilling to exhort our community to “Buy Black.”
In his last speech, Dr. King
s a i d : “ … We ’ v e g o t t e n t o
strengthen our Black institutions. I call upon you to take
your money out of the [White]
banks downtown and deposit
your money in Tri-State Bank.
We want a bank-in movement
in Memphis… We have six or
seven Black insurance companies in Memphis. Take out your
insurance there. We want to
have an ‘insurance-in.’”
He explained: “We begin the
process of building a greater
economic base. And at the
same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts.”
Anderson wrote, “While
‘buying Black’ is at least as old
as Emancipation, ‘buying
Black’ has not been a highlight
of the modern, post-Civil
Rights era struggle for economic empowerment, much
less a noticeable movement or
public approach embraced by
our community’s institutions,
professional and civic organizations, universities, or
churches.”
There is rich irony is that our
business organizations are demanding that federal and local
governments award at least 10
percent of public contracts to
Black businesses, yet we won’t
spend 10 percent of our outlays with those same businesses.
“According to the landmark
N o r t h w e s t e r n U n i v e r s i t y ’s
Kellogg Business School
study based on The Empowerment Experiment, out of close
to $1 trillion in Black spending
power, maybe 3 percent of that
goes to Black professionals,
suppliers and firms,” Anderson
wrote. “But if Black households
with annual income of $75,000
or more –middle and upper income African Americans – were
to increase spending with Black
professionals and firms from 3
percent to just 10 percent, we
could create close to 1,000,000
jobs.”
She explained, “This 10 percent includes direct spending
with local Black-owned businesses, as well as indirect
spending through the support
of Black vendors, agents, dealers and franchises of mainstream firms. The new jobs
would be created from the
money we already have and
currently spend – no government program and no corporate
social responsibility outlay
necessary.”
Some African Americans, especially those who like to romanticize about Black life under Jim Crow, like to say Blacks
were more willing to support
Black businesses in the past
because of segregation. But
like goods in a White-owned
store, Anderson isn’t buying.
“Segregation did not compel
the ingenuity, intelligence, and
investment that created those
businesses [North Carolina
Mutual Life Insurance Company, Black Wall Street, Madam
C.J. Walker’s hair products] nor
did unjust laws force Black
people to believe in each
other,” Anderson stated. “To accept that the viability of a consumer-driven economic empowerment strategy depends on segregation or oppression of a community is to fall prey to the notion that the Black community
must
be
forced
into
greatness…On the contrary, I
believe we can bring back the
economic empowerment that
sustained the Black community
before and until integration.”
To do that, however, we need
to leverage modern-day technology.
“It is now easier than ever before to learn about, mobilize, seek
and support Black-owned businesses,” Anderson wrote.
“Therefore, technology enables
us to involve consumers in an
economic empowerment strategy
by educating, inspiring and facilitating their practice of selfhelp economics.”
Now, does she have your attention?
George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the
National Newspaper Publishers
Association News Service
(NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker,
moderator, and media coach.
Curry can be reached through
his Web site:
www.georgecurry.com. You can
also follow him at:
www.twitter.com/currygeorge
and George E. Curry Fan Page
on Facebook.
Ella Baker: My civil rights heroine
By Marian Wright Edelman
NNPA Columnist
Until the killing of Black men,
Black mothers’ sons, becomes
as important to the rest of the
country as the killing of a
White mother’s son—we who
believe in freedom cannot rest
until this happens.–Ella Baker
The quote above is from Ella
Baker 50 years ago, and like so
much about this visionary civil
rights leader it is still just as relevant today. She was talking
about the murders of Civil Rights
Movement workers James
Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and
Michael Schwerner, who disappeared together in Mississippi in
June 1964. Chaney was Black, and
Goodman and Schwerner were
White.
Ella Baker was an outspoken
warrior against injustice and inequality her entire life, and always, always unwilling to rest.
Her words continue to be a rallying cry for all of us who believe our nation still does not
see and value Black and White
children’s lives the same way.
I first met Mrs. Baker during my senior year at Spelman
College in Atlanta. She was a
staff member of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and was often a
powerful behind-the-scenes
adviser to close colleagues like
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ella
Baker believed in servant leadership and shared leadership
rather than charismatic leadership and encouraged young
people like me to find and lift
our own voices and join them
with others.
She was instrumental in
founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) and fought to make sure
we retained our own independent organization as students
rather than simply becoming the
youth arm of the Dr. King-led
SCLC. Julian Bond, Diane Nash,
Bob Moses, and many other fellow student activists and
young activists were all influenced by her example, counsel
and convening and share a special debt of reverence and gratitude.
Ella Baker was born in 1903
in Norfolk, Va. She had a strict
mother, a warm and caring father, and a large extended family of grandparents, uncles, and
aunts who shared what they
had with the poor. She was a
fighter and as a child beat up
White children who called her
names. Since there was no
schooling for Black children
beyond elementary years in her
area, she went off to boarding
school at Shaw University in
Raleigh, N.C. and was valedictorian of her high school and
college graduating classes.
She moved to Harlem, got
caught up in its excitement,
and went everywhere to hear
lectures and speeches and read
in libraries to learn everything
she could. After working as a
domestic and as a waitress, she
got a job with the Negro National News published by
George Schuyler who later recommended her for a job at the
N A A C P. S h e r a p i d l y r o s e
through NAACP ranks. “Wherever she went,” her biographer
and friend Joanne Grant wrote
in Ella Baker: Freedom
Bound, “she created a whirlwind, leaving a scatter of papers, notes, leaflets, church
programs, and phone numbers
in her wake. . . She never let up
her struggle to increase the role
of the rank and file.”
Ella Baker pushed for organizational structure and rules
in the NAACP just as she did
later at SCLC and SNCC. Ella
Baker was the one who sat
down with Bayard Rustin and
Stanley Levinson to discuss
how to create a continuing
movement out of the Montgomery bus boycott, which led to
SCLC’s formation. As the first
staff member hired for SCLC, it
was Ella Baker who tried to put
the new organization in operating order so that Dr. King was
not just a leader who reacted
to and jumped from one event
to the next. She worked to give
SCLC the capacity to plan and
implement action. And Ella
Baker was the one who convinced Dr. King to bring me and
about 200 other Black college
students who had been arrested for engaging in sit-in
protests to open up lunch
counters around the South to a
meeting at her alma mater, Shaw
University. My first plane ride
ever was from Atlanta to Raleigh for that meeting. SNCC
was the meeting’s result.
Ella Baker was fully aware of
but unintimidated by the men
she worked with who devalued
the advice of women and sometimes resented her forcefulness, prodding, and “mothering.” She made no special effort to be ingratiating. She la-
bored at SCLC as she had at the
NAACP to raise money, conduct
voter registration drives, speak
to citizens groups (sometimes
ten times a day), and travel to
community after community to
help people help themselves.
I remember her counsel as I
think about sustaining and
strengthening the Children’s
Defense Fund’s mission today
and future tomorrow for the
long haul struggle to create
and maintain a level playing
field for every child. I learned
from her the crucial importance of training a successor
generation of young servantleaders which has been a
strong priority of CDF’s since
its inception.
We all honor Ella Baker by
keeping her belief in freedom and
equality alive until it becomes
reality for every mother’s child.
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.
Opinion
8
African Scene
Amnesty: 1,500 Nigerians killed in Boko Haram violence
ABUJA — Amnesty International says 1,500 people have been
killed this year in an escalating
armed conflict between Boko
Haram insurgents and Nigerian
security forces. Amnesty says
more than half the victims were civilians.
Amnesty International calls the
rising number of Boko Haram attacks “truly shocking” and the reaction of Nigerian security forces,
“brutality.”
The rights group says both
sides may have committed acts
that “may constitute war crimes
and crimes against humanity.” It
calls for an investigation by the
African Commission on Human
and People’s Rights and the U.N.
Human Rights Council.
Boko Haram, an Islamist militant
group based in northeastern Nigeria, has been attacking government forces, churches, schools,
markets and mosques since it began violent operations in 2009.
Three northeastern states have
been under emergency rule for
nearly 11 months but Elizabeth
Donnelly of the Africa Program at
the London-based policy institute
Chatham House says the attacks
continue to get worse.
“It has got more violent and it is
such a range of targets from communities to schools and such
softer targets to actually really
prominent military targets,” said
Donnelly.
Rights groups have repeatedly
accused Nigerian security forces
A Nigerian policeman stands guard by burned out cars and houses, following an attack by suspected of responding to the violence with
extra-judicial killings and holding
Islamic extremists in Kawuri, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
suspects in inhumane prison conditions for long periods of time without charge or trial.
The Nigerian military denies these
accusations and says no military in
the word has devised a perfect plan
to combat terrorists.
Donnelly says the military also
faces a constantly changing and
growing insurgency that is difficult
to combat because it has no clear
leadership structure, funding
sources or focus.
“Beyond that there are lots of
what you describe as peripheral elements to the organization that may
well shift and change. Interests,
motivations shift and change,” she
said.
Boko Haram says it wants to impose its harsh version of Islamic law
and ban all Western education. But
its tactics and real motivations appear to be constantly changing, says
Donnelly.
“It is adapting, and adaptation
means change. This is a group
in flux [constantly changing], but
I think it is a group that will always remain in flux. And I think
that is quite key in terms of policy
responses, knowing that,” she
said.
Last week, Abubakar Shekau,
the man who claims to lead the
group, released a video taking
credit for a recent attack on a military base and detention center.
Amnesty International says it
has “credible evidence” 600
people were killed after Boko
Haram attacked Giwa barracks,
and that most of the victims were
detainees killed by soldiers.
Deadly Ebola virus sparks fears in West Africa
DAKAR — West Africans are
growing more apprehensive as
the region’s first-ever Ebola outbreak spreads. Guinea’s president and other leaders are urging
people to remain calm, but people
across the region say they are
scared.
The outbreak that began in
Guinea’s southeastern forest region last month is causing widespread fear as the death toll rises
and the outbreak spreads.
Leaders throughout the region
have said that there is no reason
to panic, but people say they are
becoming increasingly worried.
“I’m afraid,” admitted Steve
Doe, a resident of Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. “I mean the way it
attacks one, you know, and the
way it kills. I’m afraid that the
outbreak will be known in Liberia
- or anywhere for that matter. We
are all human beings, so yes, I’m
afraid.”
Guinea’s Ministry of Health
says more than 70 people have
died since the first suspected case
was treated on February 9. More
than 125 people across three
countries are now believed to
have been affected by the highly
contagious virus.
The health ministry confirmed
last week that the virus had made
its way to the capital, Conakry.
Aid organizations say this is a
worrying development, as the city
is densely populated and many
people lack access to water and
good sanitation.
In Liberia, at least two people
have tested positive for Ebola.
Sierra Leone has also reported
suspected cases of the virus.
On Saturday, Senegal closed the
land border it shares with Guinea
in the southeast of the country as
a preventative measure.
Papa Konaté, who lives in
Dakar, said he is scared that this
may not be enough, adding that
Ebola is a disease that can affect
anyone. “So of course we are
afraid,” he said. “We pass people
on the streets and then we enter
into our homes — and you see,
here in Dakar, there are many
Guineans everywhere.” Konaté
says there are many Guineans who
come and go, who leave and come
back without a problem. “It’s
risky,” he added.
According to health officials,
the Ebola cases that were found
in Liberia can be traced back to
individuals who recently traveled
to Guinea.
There is no vaccine against
In this photo taken on March 29, 2014, medical personnel at the emergency entrance of a hospital
receive suspected Ebola virus patients in Conakry, Guinea.
Ebola and no medication to cure
the virus, which is spread
through close contact with bodily
fluids, such as sweat, blood or
saliva, of an infected person or
animal.
Doctors say the only way to
contain the outbreak is to stop
further infections.
Monrovian resident Ameago
Sekou Kamara said he and his
family have begun taking precautions to avoid contracting the
Ebola virus.
“Ebola is a deadly disease...so
we are following all the measures
we have been given by the Ministry of Health and Social welfare,”
Kamara explained, “like preventing
handshakes, stop eating bush
meat and avoid coming to where
there is information that there is
an outbreak. Even if a family member that is very close to you has it,
you should not get associated with
the person until you have medical
advice.”
West African authorities and aid
organizations say they are taking all
possible measures to contain the
outbreak. They urge people to act
wisely and follow preventative measures.
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine student wins fellowship to work in Ghana
bor and delivery unit of a hospital.
She was assigned to work with a
young woman close to her in age,
who was three months pregnant,
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,
and assigned to bed rest in the unit
for the duration of her pregnancy
because she was poor and her living conditions were deemed unfit.
“Her situation could have easily been mine. For the first time in
my life, I was playing an integral
role in delivering care to a patient,”
Ms. Sommerville recalled. “The experience helped me see things from
a different perspective and made
me keenly aware of the role that
money, race, and other factors play
in our healthcare delivery system.
It charged me with a mission to become a physician in the hope of
Alia Sommerville
making an impact on the delivery
and availability of healthcare to
the community.”
TouroCOM advances the osteopathic profession and serves
its students and society by providing a firm educational foundation that encourages research
and scholarly activity and participation in community service. Osteopathic medicine is a distinct
form of medical practice in the
U.S. that provides all of the benefits of modern medicine including prescription drugs, surgery,
and the use of technology to diagnose disease and evaluate injury. It also offers the added benefit of hands-on diagnosis and
treatment through a system of
therapy known as osteopathic
manipulative medicine.
Since its founding in 2007,
TouroCOM has dedicated itself to
encouraging minorities to enter
medicine and to increasing the number of primary care physicians. The
school functions as an integral part
of the New York City/Harlem community, working with local schools
and other colleges and universities
to promote the study of medicine,
encourage continuing development, increase educational opportunities and deliver medical services
in a variety of community settings.
In addition to its focus on primary
care, the College emphasizes the
promotion of wellness from prenatal through geriatric care. For further information visit: http://
www.touro.edu/med/
Alia Sommerville, a fourth-year
medical student at Touro College
of Osteopathic Medicine, has
been awarded a scholarship from
National Medical Fellowships,
Inc. (NMF), a non-profit organization that advocates for increasing the number of
underrepresented minority physicians in the United States. The
$5,000 award was made possible
by The Lincoln Fund, a longtime supporter of the NMF and
its mission.
The scholarship is making it
possible for Ms. Sommerville,
who hails from Gaithersburg,
Md., to further pursue her passion of practicing medicine in the
area of women’s health in
underserved communities. She
left for Ghana this week to spend
seven weeks working in two OB/
GYN clinics, helping to deliver
babies and care for patients.
“I am so excited and grateful
for the opportunity to go to
Ghana. I love to learn about different cultures and ever since I
was little I’ve wanted to visit
Ghana,” Ms. Sommerville said
on the eve of her departure. “I
am not sure exactly what to expect, but I have heard wonderful things. I believe this will be
a memorable experience that will
prepare me for the management
of my future patients locally and
abroad.”
“Ms. Sommerville is a dedicated and hardworking medical
student who embodies our mission. It is no wonder that she
received this prestigious
award,” said Dean Robert
Goldberg, DO. “I know she will
make us proud as she represents
our school and Harlem when she
cares for those in need in
Ghana.”
Ms. Sommerville is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she earned a B.S. in
medical technology. After completing the Masters of Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences at
Touro in 2010, she entered
TouroCOM, where she has been
active in a variety of extracurricular activities and serves in
leadership positions to advance
community health and minorities in health care.
Currently she is minority services coordinator for the American Medical Association, and is
a TouroCOM regional liaison to
the Student National Medical
Association, through which she
has helped launch a program to
retain minorities in medicine. She
has mentored Harlem youth interested in pursuing careers in
the health sciences, and helped
start the Black Student Health
Alliance at TouroCOM. During
the summer of 2010, she traveled
to Haiti for ten days on a medical mission where she helped rebuild clinics, set up a surgical
room and inventoried supplies
in the aftermath of the earthquake.
After graduation from
TouroCOM, Ms. Sommerville
will be working as a resident in
OB/GYN at York Hospital in
York, Pa., which she hopes will
eventually be followed by a fellowship in maternal fetal medicine.
Ms. Sommerville said she first
became interested in women’s
health while working as a volunteer during college in the la-
9
10
WEDNESDAY’S WOMAN by Women’s Editor Audrey J. Bernard
During March Women’s History Month, the New York Beacon pays tribute to this bevy of exceptional women who are true beacons of light.
Dr. Patricia Era Bath
Meet Laser Eye Surgery In- Albert Schweizer or his work in
ventor, Dr. Patricia Era Bath medicine, Bath applied for and
Dr. Patricia Era Bath won a National Science Founda(born November 4, 1942, tion Scholarship while attending
Harlem, New York) is an Charles Evans Hughes High
American ophthalmologist, School; this led her to a research
inventor and academic. She project at Yeshiva University and
has broken ground for women Harlem Hospital Center on canand African Americans in a cer that piqued her interest in
number of areas. Prior to medicine.
Bath, no woman had served
In 1960, still a teenager, Bath
on the staff of the Jules Stein won the “Merit Award” of MaEye Institute, headed a post- demoiselle Magazine for her congraduate training program in tribution to the project.]After
o p h t h a l m o l o g y o r b e e n graduating high school early,
elected to the honorary staff Bath received her Bachelor of
of the UCLA Medical Center Arts in chemistry from New
(an honor bestowed on her York’s Hunter College in 1964.
after her retirement). Before She relocated to Washington,
Bath, no Black person had D.C. to attend Howard University
served as a resident in oph- College of Medicine, from which
thalmology at New York Uni- she received her doctoral degree
versity and no Black woman in 1968. During her time at
had ever served on staff as a Howard, she was president of the
surgeon at the UCLA Medi- Student National Medical Assocal Center.
ciation and received fellowships
Bath is the first African from the National Institutes of
American woman doctor to Health and the National Institute
receive a patent for a medical of Mental Health.
Bath interned at Harlem Hospurpose. Her Laserphaco
Probe is used to treat cata- pital Center, subsequently servracts. The holder of four pat- ing as a fellow at Columbia Unients, she is also the founder versity. During this period, from
of the American Institute for 1968 to 1970. Bath became aware
the Prevention of Blindness that the practice of eye care was
in Washington D.C. Born in uneven among racial minorities
Harlem on November 4, 1942, and poor populations, with much
Bath was the daughter of higher incidence of blindness
amongst her Black and poor paRupert and Gladys Bath.
Her father, an immigrant tients. She determined that, as a
from Trinidad, was a newspa- physician, she would help adper columnist, a merchant dress this issue. She persuaded
seaman and the first Black her professors from Columbia to
man to work for the New York operate on blind patients at
City Subway as a motorman. Harlem Hospital Center, which
Raised in Harlem, Bath was had not previously offered eye
encouraged academically by surgery, at no cost.
Bath pioneered the worldwide
her parents. Inspired by
discipline of “community
ophthalmology”, a volunteer-based outreach to bring
necessary eye care to
underserved populations.
She served her residency in
ophthalmology at New York
University from 1970 to 1973,
the first African American to
do so in her field.
After completing her education, Bath served briefly as
an assistant professor at
Jules Stein Eye Institute at
UCLA and Charles R. Drew
University of Medicine and
Science before becoming the
first woman on faculty at the
Eye Institute founded the
American Institute for the
Prevention of Blindness, for
which she served as president.
In 1983, she became the
head of a residency in her
field at Charles R. Drew, the
first woman ever to head
such a department. In 1993,
she retired from UCLA,
which subsequently elected
her the first woman on its
honorary staff. She served
as a professor of Ophthalmology at Howard Universi-ty’s
School of Medicine and as a
professor of Teleme-dicine
and Ophthalmology at St.
Georges University. She was
among the co-founders of
the King-Drew Medical Center ophthalmology training
program.
Bath has lectured internationally and authored over
100 papers. Bath holds four
patents in the United States.
In 1981, she conceived of the
Laserphaco Probe, a medical
device that improves on the
use of lasers to remove cataracts, and “for ablating and
removing cataract lenses.”
The device was completed in
1986 after Bath conducted research on lasers in Berlin
and patented in 1988 making
her the first African American female doctor to receive
a patent for a medical purpose.
The device — which
quickly and nearly painlessly
dissolves the cataract with a
laser, irrigates and cleans the
eye and permits the easy insertion of a new lens — is
used internationally to treat
the disease. Bath has continued to improve the device
and has successfully restored vision to people who
have been unable to see for
decades.
Three of Bath’s four patents relate to the Laserphaco
Probe. In 2000, she was
granted a patent for a
method she devised for using ultrasound technology
to treat cataracts. Bath has
been honored by two of her
universities. Hunter College
placed her in its “hall of
fame” in 1988 and Howard
University declared her a
“Howard University Pioneer
in Academic Medicine” in
1993.
First Lt. Dina Elosiebo
Meet Dina Elosiebo, 1st African
American female pilot of the Army
First Lt. Dina Elosiebo took the
motivational phrase, “reach for the
stars,” to all new heights this month
after making military history. After
completing Initial Entry Rotary Wing
Flight School at Fort Rucker, Ala.
and earning her Army aviator
wings, Elosiebo became the first AfricanAmerican female pilot to graduate from The District of Columbia
National Guard.
“This is an extraordinary, historical event for us,” said Maj. Gen.
Errol R. Schwartz, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard.
“We’re extremely proud of Lt.
Elosiebo. She’s a fine officer, and
now, an Army aviator.”
Even as a civilian, Elosiebo had
her sights set on the sky. She had
already earned her FAA commercial pilot’s license and become a
certified flight instructor prior to
joining the army.
The oldest child, Elosiebo developed
leadership skills and a strong sense of
responsibility at an early age, according to the United States Army website.
However, a large part of this historymaking aviator’s success also stems
from her fellow Black flight pioneers,
the Tuskegee Airmen.
Nicknamed the Red Tails, the Tuskegee
Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United
States armed forces. The group of African American pilots famously fought
in World War II, while subjected to racial discrimination both within and outside the army.
Throughout her impressive career,
Elosiebo reportedly received one of her
many scholarships from one of the
Tuskegee Airmen’s association chapters. They also supported her when
she began working towards a private
pilot’s license at 19-years-old.
As for mentorship, Elosiebo received
direct training and insight from living
legends like Herbert Jones, an original
Tuskegee Airmen who later formed the
first African American-owned airline in
the country. In addition to the
Tuskegee Airmen, Elosiebo looks to
WWII women pilots, the Women’s Air
Force Service Pilots, or WASPS, for
inspiration.
“When I think about the trailblazers
who went before me and the adversity
they continuously faced, be it gender,
ethnicity, or simply doing what had not
been done, it makes me realize I wouldn’t
have a story if it wasn’t for them,”
Elosiebo said.
Lisa Nichols
Meet woman behind Motivating
the Masses, Lisa Nichols
Lisa Nichols is CEO of Motivating the Masses, one of the top training and development companies in
the world, a best-selling author of
6 books and one of the most
sought-after transformational
speakers whose global platform has
reached and served millions.
Nichols’ extraordinary story of
transforming her own life from a
struggling single mom on public
assistance from South Central Los
Angeles to now Millionaire Entrepreneur is the inspiration behind
her bold mission to teach others
that it is possible to do the same.
Using her signature No Matter
What! system (and based on her
New York Times Bestseller by the
same name), Nichols teaches
people how to master accomplishing unfathomable goals and to tap
their limitless potential.
Her featured teacher role in the
self-development movie and
phenomenon, The Secret catapulted
her popularity across the globe.
Nichols has appeared on the “Oprah
Winfrey Show,” “Extra,” “Larry King
Live” and starred on NBC’s Emmy
Award-winning show, “Starting Over.”
Coined “The Breakthrough Specialist” by her peers in the industry, her
powerful message of empowerment,
service, gratitude and excellence has
been delivered via workshops and programs which have impacted the lives
of millions of adults and over 200,000
teens through her non-profit foundation, Motivating the Teen Spirit.
Honored with numerous awards for
her work, Nichols has received the
Humanitarian Award from the country
of South Africa, The Ambassador
Award, and The Legoland Foundation’s
Heart of Learning Award. The City of
Henderson, Nevada named November
20 as Motivating the Teen Spirit Day
and the City of Houston, Texas named
May 9 as Lisa Nichols Day for her dedication to service, philanthropy and
healing.
As a founding member of the Transformational Leadership Council,
Nichols joins other personal and organizational development luminaries such
as Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen,
John DeMartini, Marci Shimoff and
others to co-create value and learning
that help people change their lives and
change the planet.
As CEO of Motivating the Masses,
Inc., Nichols leads a highly energetic,
heart-centered and experienced team
of business and leadership development master trainers and coaches who
serve speakers, authors and entrepreneurs with world-class programs, masterminds and products.
Nichols lives, plays and works in the
greater San Diego, California area and
on stages around the world.
11
12
Beacon On The Scene
(L-R) Fashionably attired Leslie Frazier, Shelly Brooks, Vinette K. Pryce and Florence “Flo’ Anthony (all Pisces) recently celebrated their birthdays at The Café On Broadway
nightclub. (Photo: Ronnie Wright)….. Double XXposure Public Relations guru Angelo Ellerbee hosted a fabulous birthday brunch at his spacious Fort Lee, New Jersey home
for award-winning journalist Vinette K. Pryce (seated), surrounded by numerous well-wishers who enjoyed a delicious buffet.
Arista Records mogul Clive Davis made a backstage visit to meet
and greet Grammy Award-winners Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds
and Toni Braxton following their performance in the smash-hit
musical “After Midnight”
(Photo: Ronnie Wright)
TV Land’s sitcom, “The Soul Man,” starring Niecy Nash and Cedric the Entertainer, will be returning for a third season this spring. Executives at TV Land, Keith Cox and Larry W. Jones, made the
announcement. Currently, there are 8 episodes scheduled for the third season. “The Soul Man” is
about a former soul singer who has now moved to the Midwest to pursue the calling of ministry.
Reverend Boyce ‘The Voice’ Ballentine (Cedric), and wife Lolli (Nash), relocate from Sin City to St.
Louis with Boyce’s brother Stamps (Wesley Jonathan) in tow. [PICTURED] Niecy Nash chats with the
press during Q&A session held at The Crosby Hotel in the SoHo section of Manhattan.
By Michael A. Lenoir M.D.
Whether it’s contemplating our access to
adequate health care coverage or making a
conscience effort to lose weight and get into
better physical shape, good health should
be on everyone’s mind, especially African
Americans.
Many studies have shown that show that
African Americans have a unique set of
problems with health issues that other ethnic groups may not have. It appears that
too often we don’t see our primary health
care providers on a regular basis, fail to seek
treatment at the onset of symptoms or seek
care too late.
There are stark factors that we should all
consider. Among them is the fact that most
of the leading causes of death for African
Americans are influenced by our personal
choices. Many are preventable - primarily
heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and chronic respiratory disease.
How do we achieve good health? It relies on these often-used terms – proper diet,
good nutrition and regular exercise. As a
physician, I would also add frequent check
ups.
Clearly diet and exercise are always part
of everyone’s effort to get healthy. But, it’s
critical to know what diet and exercises are
best for your particular stage in life. In addition to being active and eating healthy,
having a good health care provider for regular checkups and screenings is also important.
Diet: There are a lot of diets out there
from low carbohydrate diets and protein diets to rice diets, water diets, and countless
others. Many turn out to be nothing more
than “fads.” You can find almost any type
of diet you want, but the biggest elements
contributing to successful diets include
portion control, carbohydrate reduction,
and an increase in the amount of fruit and
vegetables consumed.
Counting calories also helps but only if
you carefully watch serving sizes. A package marked 150 calories per serving, may
include multiple servings making it easier
to consume more calories than you realize.
Exercise: Contrary to popular belief,
regular exercise is great for weight control
and good health, but necessarily for
weight loss. One piece of pie can contain 500 calories. Working off those
calories alone would take approximately two hours on an elliptical machine or treadmill.
Another point to consider is that
exercise should be geared to your age
and life stage. Over-exercising can
lead to heart attack and stroke if you
are seriously out of shape. Consult
with a professional trainer to set realistic goals and create an exercise program to meet them. You should also
be given proper, professional instruction on how to perform those exercises
and increase the chances of you
reaching your desired outcomes.
Checkups and Screenings: Few,
if any, of us enjoy a trip to the doctor.
Even doctors dread going to the doctor. But making these visits on a regular basis is a critical component of
any approach to health and fitness.
Just because it is not necessary to go
every year when you’re young, it’s
still a good idea if affordable because
it helps you get in the habit of making
regular visits. Don’t schedule your annual visit around your birthday if it
makes you too anxious, but consider
setting a specific date for each year
to help you remember.
Most men over 40 need a ProstateSpecific Antigen (PSA) screening on
a regular basis, along with an electrocardiogram (EKG) test. Smokers
should also consider an evaluation of
their lungs. Women over 40 need regular breast exams and lung exams, if
they smoke.
Regardless of what the literature
says, PAP smears and assessments of
bone density are critical. Michael A.
LeNoir M.D., president of the National
Medical Association, is a clinical allergist and pediatrician practicing in
the San Francisco Bay area. Founded
in 1895, the NMA is the nation’s oldest and largest medical association
representing the interests of more
than 35,000 African American physicians and their patients.
The Diabetes Health and Wellness Academy of NYC recently held its Wellness
Fundraiser gala at the beautiful Verdi’s Ballroom in Westbury, New York
Good health tips for
African Americans
13
Judge upholds election of Mayor Kevin Johnson
14
(from Page 3)
and called a business meeting
for the next day. It was clear that
unlike presidents who viewed
their role as largely ceremonial,
Johnson was going to be different.
According to minutes of the
meeting, “Upon a motion made
by Mayor Johnny Ford, which
was seconded by Mayor Oliver
Gilbert, the Board of Directors
voted to delegate to the Special Task Force, the power of
the Board for the following purposes: (1) to comprehensively
investigate facts concerning
NCBM’s 501 ( c ) (3) status, any
litigation involving NCBM, and
the financial and business affairs, obligations and duties of
NCBM; (2) to supervise the
management of the ordinary affairs of NCBM; and (3) to engage Ballard Spahr LLP, as its
counsel, and such other professionals, and to take such other
actions as the Special Task
Force deems necessary and appropriate to accomplish these
purposes.”
The motion passed unanimously.
Realizing that they had
ceded their power to the Special Task Force headed by
Johnson, board members loyal
to Executive Director Vanessa
Williams, whom Johnson made
no secret about his intent to
fire, began a counterinsurgency
movement.
On June 13, just two weeks
into Johnson’s term, General
Counsel Susan “Sue” Winchester sent a memo saying that acting on a request from Otis
Wallace, the parliamentarian, she
had examined the record of the
May 30 election and determined
that it was invalid because it did
not
comply
with
the
organization’s bylaws.
Specifically, Winchester said
several provisions of the bylaws
were violated, including the establishment of a nominating
committee, the requirement for
secret balloting and making sure
that only eligible members voted.
Winchester wrote in all capital letters: “THE BOARD AND
OFFICERS OF NCBM UNDER
THE LEADERSHIP OF PRESIDENT MAYOR BOWSER IS
STILL EFFECTIVE AND VALID.”
And for more than eight
months, two boards held themselves out to the public as the
sole governing body.
Johnson and Treasurer Patrick
Green of Normandy, Mo. went to
court to force Vanessa Williams
and Mayor Bowser to turn over
documents needed to conduct a
forensic audit. When Williams
refused, Judge Brasher issued an
injunction compelling her to
comply.
With records in hand – and
leaked to the local news media –
supporters of Johnson found not
just a smoking gun but what they
consider a whole gun show. Williams, the executive director, had
written numerous checks to herself, to her husband and to a
Christian academy for her son’s
tuition. And there were checks
to high-end stores: Tiffany &
Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis
Vuitton, Nordstrom and St. John
Knits. There were repeated ATM
withdrawals, money spent on
toys and nail salons.
A memo written by an accounting firm hired by the Special Task Force noted on Aug.
14, 2013: “Our analysis identified a number of expenditures
that appear to be questionable
business expenses of NCBM. In
summary, based on our analysis
of the above-referenced banking records, we identified approximately $623,000 of questionable payments….”
Auditors said that amount “does
not include significant amounts
of payments we identified for
travel, fuel, restaurants, general
merchandise stores (including
Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, etc.),
grocery stores, specialty retailers (Hobby Lobby, Haverty’s
Furniture, Best Buy, Apple Store,
etc.) or purchases for less than
$100 at locations not identified
above (including Apple iTunes,
Hollywood Video, bookstores,
drug stores, etc.).”
Williams has contended that
NCBM owed her a considerable
amount of back pay. In lieu of
paying her, Williams asserts, the
board allowed her to use the
association’s credit card for personal expenses until the charges
equal her back pay.
On Sept. 6, 2013, the board
headed by Mayor Johnson fired
Americans line up in thousands to
sign up for Affordable Healthcare
(from Page 3)
surance plans.
In a rare moment of triumph
in Obama’s so far grim second
term, senior White House officials saw the deadline day rush
as vindication after the disastrous rollout of the health care
website last year.
“This has been a remarkable
day since the dark days of October and November,” said
White House spokesman Jay
Carney.
Officials explained that problem with the Heaalthcare.gov
website stopped people from
establishing new accounts for
several months.
But Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius nevertheless hailed the
‘huge surge day’ in an interview with the press
Meanwhile, , news outlets
were reporting a more positive
story as Americans of various
ages and from all walks of life
look into what the newly
launched program has to offer.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells the story of Lissie
Stahlman, 60, who credits “a
combination of patience, luck
and different platforms” for getting her through the system late
last week after trying for three
weeks. She says she saved 50
percent over her current premiums and cut her deductible in
half from $5,000 to $2,500.
ThinkProgress, a liberal
website, reported on a 61-year-
old lifelong Republican, Butch
Matthews, who was heavily skeptical of the Affordable Care Act
when it first passed. A former
small business owner in Little
Rock, Arkansas, Matthews used
to get up every morning before
dawn to deliver canned beverages to retailers before he retired
three years ago. Medical care is
his family’s biggest expense,
since his home and vehicle are
paid for. So he was pleased to discover his local Blue Cross Blue
Shield would cover him under Arkansas’ Obamacare marketplace
for less money than he had been
paying, and with more benefits.
But stories abound about
younger people.. Enroll America,
working to recruit people to
Obamacare in Texas, a state that
has been ostentatiously hostile
to the law, tells the story of Mark
Sullivan, a 31-year old worker in
Austin’s tech sector who immediately created an account on
healthcare.gov and settled on a
bronze plan with added dental insurance. He will receive an $82
per month subsidy, which will
halve his monthly premium to
$78, giving him the financial freedom and security to put his energies into his new tech startup.
The Washington Post reported that California, an early
embracer of Obamacare, has
signed up 600,000 low income
Golden Staters for the law’s expanded Medicaid, and over
100,000 are in some stage of applying for insurance on the marketplaces. The Wall Street Jour-
nal reported on a 28-year-old
freelance filmmaker in Hollywood who was among the first
to sign up on the California exchange market. “At $62 a month
in direct costs to him, the plan,
offered by managed-care firm
Health Net Inc. is ‘a great deal,’
Mr. Foster said. Because he
earns only about $20,000 a year
doing freelance videography
and odd jobs, Mr. Foster qualifies for federal subsidies that cut
deep into the premiums for
health plans available in the new
marketplaces…”
The Journal went on to report
that Foster’s monthly premium
is $213.68, but the subsidies will
cover more than $150 of those
costs. After comparing several
plans, he settled on the Health
Net option because, he said, “I
liked the price, I liked the
website, I looked them up on Yelp
and I liked what people were
saying about them.”
Reading these individual stories does put the website woes
into perspective even as they reveal potential problems down
the road. Almost all the stories
of people attaining coverage,
some after going without for
years, succeed because of the
federal subsidies that will be
available. The way insurance
works, and to pay all those benefits, requires the youngest and
healthiest among us to sign up
in sufficient numbers that the
White House can highlight their
stories, and the media will have
to take notice.
Williams “due to your failure
over a sustained period of several years to fulfil core duties and
responsibilities of the executive
director of NCBM and your recent admissions regarding your
use of the bank accounts of
NCBM and the NCBM Title
Company for personal expenditures totaling at least $632,000
without board approval.”
But the other board that did
not recognize Johnson as president voted to retain Williams and
ignore any actions taken by the
group headed by Kevin
Johnson.
As both groups remained divided, it created awkward mo-
ments. At a world conference of
mayors in Colombia last year,
both factions were claiming to legitimately represent the Black mayors. A conference planned for Bermuda next October was cancelled
because of the conflict.
“NCBM Executive Director
Vanessa Williams spent five days
in Bermuda earlier this month on a
fact-finding mission to ensure that
the Island had suitable facilities
to host the conference,” the Royal
Gazette newspaper reported. The
island paper continued, “The trip
was paid for by the Corporation
[of Hamilton], which held a reception at City Hall in Ms. Williams
honour…
Task force of ministers to address
‘Stand Your Ground’ laws
(from Page 3)
voiceless.
“Historically, it has always
been the voice of a Black Baptist preacher to correct America
and to put us back on track, historically it has always been the
voice of a Black Baptist preacher
to speak truth to power, uncompromising and in the words of
Hosea Williams ‘unbought and
unbossed.’”
(Unbought and Unbossed is
also the title of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s autobiography, published 40 years
ago).
Bryant said that something
has to be done to repeal “Stand
Your Ground laws” that basically
empowers a person to use deadly
force if they merely perceive that
their life is in danger.
“We hoped that government
would do it, but they have not.
We hoped that legislators would
do it, but they would not. Whenever there has been real change
in America it has whenever there
has been real change in America
it has always been under the
leadership of a preacher,” said
Bryant. “Under the leadership of
a preacher who did not need banquet tickets to the governor’s
mansion, who did not need a reserve parking spaces to be seen
in front of the camera, because
we understand that the real
movement is not a sound bite, a
real movement is about what we
do after the benediction.”
The so-called “Stand Your
Ground” laws have been enacted
in nearly two dozen states and
research has shown that the
laws disproportionately affects
Blacks.
A study on justifiable homicides by the Urban Institute
found that White-on-Black homicides are 281 percent more
likely to be ruled justified than a
Black-on-White homicide and is
‘Stand Your Ground’ states that
disparity is greater.
In addition being accompanied by other ministers, Holmes
was flanked by parents of highprofile children personally affected by Florida’s controversial
“Stand Your Ground” laws.
“[Stand Your Ground] laws
target Black males. Black and
brown boys do not benefit from
the Stand Your Ground laws,”
said Sybrina Fulton, the mother
of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed
Florida teenager who was pro-
filed, shot and killed by George
Zimmerman, a White Hispanic
neighborhood watchman in
Sanford, Fla., in 2012.
Fulton applauded the work of
the new task force.
“It’s bringing the conversation
to the table. A lot of people don’t
want to talk about it, because it’s
an uncomfortable subject, but we
need to bring it to the table, we
need to talk about it, so that we
can resolve these issues,” she
said.
Phyllis Giles, mother of Michael
Giles, said that the role that the
‘Stand Your Ground’ law plays in
court cases is unfair and often carries racial undertones.
In 2010, Michael Giles, a 26year-old active duty United States
airmen went to a Tallahassee
nightclub with some friends.
When a brawl broke out at the
club, Giles was separated from his
friends. Giles had a concealed
weapons permit for a gun he had
in his car. As he searched the raucous crowd for his friends, someone punched Giles in the face
knocking him to the ground. Fearing for his life, Giles pulled out his
gun and fired, striking his attacker
in the leg.
Giles was arrested and charged
with attempted second-degree
murder. Witnesses supported Giles
claim and his lawyers argued that
he was justified in using deadly
force. Even though the married father of three, who served two tours
in the Middle East didn’t have a
criminal record, the jury decided
against him. Giles was convicted
of aggravated battery with a
deadly weapon that cost Giles his
career and is serving a mandatory
sentence of twenty years in prison.
Phyllis Giles said that it’s important for the community to come together to address the disparities
associated with the “Stand Your
Ground” law and Black ministers
should lead the charge.
It starts in the church and it will
end in the church and God will
bring it all together, said Giles.
Ron Davis said that he hopes
that Holmes’ efforts lead to reforms in the SYG laws in Florida.
“If you don’t file for ‘Stand Your
Ground’ you shouldn’t get the
benefit of ‘Stand Your Ground’ in
a self-defense case in the jury instructions,” said Ron Davis, the
father of Jordan Davis, the Jacksonville, Fla., teen who was shot
and killed by Michael Dunn, a
White computer programmer who
MADI honors exceptional women at
Women’s History Month celebration
About MADI
The goals of The Metropolitan
Museum of Art’s Multicultural
Audience Development Initiative
are to increase awareness of the
Museum’s programs and collections, to create ongoing relation-
ships with the many diverse communities that make up New York,
to diversify Museum visitorship
and Membership, and to increase
participation in Museum activities. MADI is composed of New
York’s African American, South
Asian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian,
LGBT, Muslim, and interfaith cultural leaders and organizations,
who meet on a regular basis with
Museum staff to pursue these
ongoing goals. The Committee
articulates a strategy for establishing a mutually beneficial alliance
between the local community and
Museum whereby interest in the
Museum is fostered among the
Committee’s constituents and the
greater community.
By Audrey J. Bernard
Style & Society Editor
On Wednesday, March 5,
2014, over 1,000 guests joined
Thomas P. Campbell, director,
Emily K. Rafferty, president,
Donna Williams, chief audience
development officer, and The
Museum’s Multicultural Advisory Committee at the Multicultural Audience Development
Initiative’s (MADI) annual
Women’s History Month celebration at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue
and 82nd Street, New York City.
This year’s exemplary honorees included Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer;
Founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement Susan L. Taylor; and President of Asian Women in Business and MADI Committee member, Bonnie Wong.
While having an amazing
evening infused with great networking opportunities guests
took full advantage of viewing
two exciting exhibitions: The
Nelson Rockefeller Vision: In
Pursuit of the Best in the Arts of
Africa, Oceania, and the
Americas and Jewels by JAR.
Anyone who knows what it’s
like to quiet a room filled with
talkative women would appreciate the effectiveness of Public
Advocate Leticia James who did
just that once she appeared on
the dais and her strong words of
encouragement and empowerment filled the air; most noted
was her remark about the power
of women to change the world
for the better. She was awesome.
The honorees were introduced by friends of The Met and
MADI. Council Member Margaret Chin, a friend to MADI and
The Met, introduced honoree
Bonnie Wong. The Museum’s
Trustee, Charles N. Atkins introduced Susan L. Taylor. The
Museum’s Senior Vice President
for Public Affairs Harold Holzer
introduced Gail Brewer.
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Vision was made possible by the
Friends of the Department of the
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the
Americas. Jewels by JAR was
made possible by Henry &
Marie-Josée Kravis, Phaidon
Press Ltd, Nancy & Howard
Marks, The Ronald & Jo Carole
Lauder Foundation, Agnes
Gund, Mr. & Mrs. George S.
Livanos and Hilary & Wilbur
Ross. (Photos courtesy of
The Metropolitan Museum of
Art/Don Pollard)
Maxine McCrey, Susan L. Taylor,
Alma Rangel
Public Advocate Letitia James; Susan L. Taylor, National CARES Mentoring Program founder & CEO;
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Bonnie Wong, president of Asian Women in Business;
Harold Holzer, senior vice president for public affairs, MMA; Donna Williams, chief audience development officer, MMA
Charles N. Atkins, Michelle Paige
Charles N. Atkins, Susan L. Taylor, Harold Holzer, Donna Williams
Donna Williams, Harold Holzer, Margaret Chin
Myles M. Mathews, Robin Verges, Bernard Butler
Jocelyn R. Taylor, Michelle Bell
Susan L. Taylor, Gail Monroe-Perry
15
AUDREY'S
SOCIETY
WHIRL
16
Washington Times launches magazine for conservative Blacks
(from Page 4)
streets with friends. After all, you
can get a monthly check, a free
cell phone and health insurance
from Uncle Sam for doing nothing,”
Dr.
Carson
wrote. “Opportunity has been
replaced
by
despair.
Embracing character, values,
marriage and family has been ridiculed.
Government dependence has
been substituted for self-reliance. And mediocrity has
replaced excellence.
“We need a new media
source that embraces hard work,
moral character, family values,
good education and self-reliance
and inspires the next generation
with role models who have cast off
the chains of mediocre expectations
and
proven
that
the American dream is alive and
well.”
The Washington Times is providing American CurrentSee with
editorial, technological, marketing
and sales support.
“We are thrilled to launch this
publication and to inject new perspectives into a debate longing for
fresh leadership,” said Larry
Beasley, president and chief executive officer of the Times. “We believe American CurrentSee can
find common ground, shared principles and solutions for community,
church and business leaders looking for a new path to restore the
American dream.”
John Solomon, the Times’ editor and vice president for Content
and Business Development, and
Armstrong Williams, the
publication’s executive editor, said
American CurrentSee has lined up
an all-star cast of writers in the
black community.
“We have selected thought lead-
Mothers of Central Park Five are
honored by Sen. Perkins, NAACP
ers who can analyze, critique and
inspire readers to see a future
where prosperity, self-reliance and
character win the day inside a
community brimming with opportunity and tired of mediocre expectations,” Williams said.
The inaugural March 30 edition
of American CurrentSee debuted
early on Thursday with essays and
articles from, among others, Dr.
Carson, Armstrong Williams, Fox
News analyst Juan Williams and A.R.
Bernard, founder and senior pastor
of the Christian Cultural Center in
Brooklyn.
Boilers in 100 NYCHA buildings
(from Page 2)
2. FEMA will provide full replacement for the boilers, as opposed to repair, provided they
meet one of the necessary criteria.
The criteria include: boilers have
suffered saltwater inundation, boilers are so old that even if repaired
they cannot meet current codes or
cost of repair is above fifty percent of the cost of replacing the
boilers.
3. FEMA has agreed to reimburse NYCHA for the cost of the
temporary boilers thus far, relieving the cash strapped agency of
additional debt.
4. FEMA will seek to have a
funding agreement hammered out
and signed early this year, allowing
boiler replacement to begin later this
year, ahead of the currently projected 2016 start date.
Schumer also previously announced he was pushing New York
City’s separate application to
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant
program (HMGP). Schumer is pushing for $175 million in federal funding to raise boilers, backup generators and change the way several
NYCHA complexes receive their
heat and electricity. Schumer today
said that he expects NYCHA to receive some type of mitigation funding to raise boilers out of the flood
zone.
Sen. Gillibrand endorses
Cong. Rangel for re-election
(from Page 2)
Randy Tucker, President of NY Branch NAACP, Linda McCray, Joanna Santana, Raymond Santana,
Senator Bill Perkins, Attorney Michael Warren, Yvonne Armstrong, Secretary of NY Branch NAACP,
Gracie Cuffee, Kevin Richardson, Sharonne Salaam.
(from Page 3)
lars of hope and support in the
most incomprehensible moments
of inflammatory and exhaustive
injustice imaginable.” remarked
Senator Perkins.
The highly publicized case of
the Central Park 5 was centered
around 5 young men who at the
time ranged in age between 14
and 16 years old wrongfully accused and convicted of the brutal beating and rape of a white
female jogger in Central Park in
1989.
The young men, (Antron
McCray, Kevin Richardson,
Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana
and Korey Wise) were merely
teenagers who were questioned
and coerced for hours on end
without legal representation or
their parents being present. In addition to the miscarriage of justice
that resulted in the wrongful conviction of these young men, their
families and even their neighbors
were vilified and demonized by the
media as well as some public officials and community leaders.
In 2002, the confession of convicted rapist and murderer Matias
Reyes, plus DNA evidence confirming his crime, led the district
attorney’s
office
to
recommend vacating of the convictions of the teenagers originally
accused and sentenced to prison.
The story of the eventual exoneration of the young men, who served
full prison sentences, was not
nearly as highly publicized as the
false accusation of them 13 years
earlier.
As the Central Park 5 had their
lives snatched from them at such
young ages, the impact on their
mothers and other family members
has been great. But throughout
this 25-year ordeal and even currently as they continue to fight for
compensation they have remained
strong. These women’s belief, love
and hope for their sons have
helped sustain them throughout
life and especially throughout this
difficult and treacherous battle.
Attorney Michael Warren
praised all of the mothers and
urged the community to stand by
them and their sons as they continue to pursue justice. He invited
everyone to help by attending a
rally on Thursday, April 17 at 4 pm
on the steps of City Hall calling on
the Mayor for a fair and appropriate settlement for the “Central Park
5”.
Task force of ministers to address
‘Stand Your Ground’ laws
(from Page 3)
objected to the volume of music playing in the SUV carrying
Davis and his friends in November 2012.
Holmes’ group also wants to
make sure that aggressors in
deadly altercations can’t rely on
murky ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws
in court.
Like George Zimmerman,
Michael Dunn claimed self-defense, but didn’t rely on the
‘Stand Your Ground’ law in
court. Davis said that shooters
often go free, because of confusing instructions that judges give
to juries in self-defense cases
that include ‘Stand Your Ground’
language.
A bill that would amend the
current law in Florida is slowly
working its way through the
Florida state legislature. The bill
seeks to clearly define who can
use the “Stand Your Ground”
defense and would also allow law
enforcement to set policies governing neighborhood watch
groups.
Davis said that it’s important
that pastors get involved in the
fight to repeal or repair ‘Stand
Your Ground’ laws, because when
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
the other pastors stood up in the
1960s, it really made a difference.
“That’s why we don’t have to
drink out of the ‘colored’ water
fountains, that’s why we don’t
have to sit on the back of the
bus,” said Davis.
“People forget that these were
pastors getting their heads
busted for better civil rights, so
we need the pastors on the front
line again.”
ington,” said Congressman
Rangel. “From giving a voice to
the victims of 9/11 to standing up
to injustice wherever it exists,
Senator Gillibrand has been an
outstanding leader and an incredible partner in Congress. I look
forward to working side-by-side
with her over the next two years
on behalf of the people of the
13th District.”
In addition to Senator
Gillibrand, the Rangel campaign
announced endorsements from
Congressman Joe Crowley, Assemblyman Keith Wright, As-
semblyman Danny O’Donnell,
former Assemblyman (and 2010 opponent) Adam Clayton Powell IV,
Councilwoman Inez Dickens, former
Councilman Robert Jackson.
These official announcements
come on the heels of recent endorsements from the Plumbers
Union, Local 1 and many clubs
throughout Manhattan and the
Bronx, including the William
Jefferson Clinton Democrats, Jim
Owles Liberal Democratic Club,
Three Parks Independent Democrats, Broadway Democrats, Tioga
Carver Democrats, Frederick E.
Samuel Democratic Club and West
Harlem Progressive Democrats.
Can we make it to the
‘Promised Land?’
(from Page 6)
King also warned that the people,
those who aspired to create the
change must themselves undergo
a change, a personal “revolution”
that would translate into creating
a just and humane society.
Hence he proclaimed, “I am
convinced that if we are to get on
the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo
a radical revolution of values. We
must rapidly begin the shift from
a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a
‘person-oriented’ society. When
machines and computers, profit
motives and property rights are
considered more important than
people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are
incapable of being conquered.”
The people must create a
“moral movement” to get to the
Promised Land and that movement cannot countenance a system incompatible with “personoriented” values. Therefore,
those who would get to the Promised Land must challenge and
change systems of oppression
and exploitation; they must advance
a politics of social transformation.
As King put it, “True compassion
is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that the edifice
which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
As we witness the calculated,
mean-spirited assault on Blacks, labor, women and poor and working
people by rightwing extremists, the
explosive growth in mass incarceration within the prison-jail industrial
complex and the ever increasing
concentration of wealth in the
hands of the few, we must continue
to be inspired by King’s view from
the mountaintop. Black people in
particular must be dedicated to leading ourselves and the downtrodden/dispossessed to the Promised
Land.
Ron Daniels is President of the
Institute of the Black World 21st
Century and Distinguished Lecturer at York College City University of New York. His articles and
essays also appear on the IBW
website www.ibw21.org and
www.northstarnews.com . He can
be reached via email at
[email protected]
By Victoria Horsford
HARLEM, USA
First debate for New York’s 13th
Congressional District, currently
represented by Charles Rangel,
will be held at the Abyssinian
Baptist Church, located at 132
West 138 Street, in Harlem, on
April 10 at 7 pm. Abyssinian Sr.
Pastor Reverence Dr. Calvin
Butts recently suggested that it
would be great if Congressman
Rangel ran unopposed this year,
if it was his last election. Congressman Charlie Rangel and fellow Democrats, Reverend
Michael Walrond, and NYS Senator Andriano Espaillat are confirmed for the 4/10 debate.
civil rights attorneys and the parents of Travon Martin, Jordan
Davis, Michael Jiles, and Robert
Champion.
TOM is longest-running show on
Broadway.
AFRICA ECO FORUM AT
COLUMBIA
Vocalist AZANIA performs at the
Apollo Music Café, on April 5 at 10
pm, a satellite event which is part of
the APOLLO Theater’s AFRICA
NOW 4-day Festival. Visit
apollotheater.org.
Jazz 966 celebrates the 15th Annual
CBJC Jazz Festival with the Jeff King
Band, a septet at 966 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn, on April 4, two sets at 8
pm and 10 pm. Admission is $15.
South African music virtuoso,
trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer
Hugh Masekela, celebrates his 75th
birthday in NY at Jazz At Lincoln
Center , on April 4/5.
The Broadway revival of the
Lorraine Hansberry classic, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, starring Denzel
Washington
and
Latanya
Richardson Jackson, opens on April
3, at the Barrymore Theatre.
Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black
Theatre and The Classical Theatre
of Harlem to co-present the 50th Anniversary theater revival of DUTCHMAN, a political allegory of the Sixties Black Arts Movement, by LeRoi
Jones, later known as Amiri Baraka.
Carl Cofield directs the Baraka classic. Previews: April 30 to May 2.
DUTCHMAN opening night gala is
May 3.Play runs through May 23.
For more info, visit:
www.nationalblacktheatre.org.
HOLD THE DATE: DAKART
2014, the 11th Biennale of Contemporary African Art, convenes in Dakar,
Senegal, West Africa, from May 9 to
June 8. Visit www.dakart.org.
A public relations consultant,
Victoria Horsford is also a Harlem
based journalist who can be contacted at:
[email protected]
SPRING CALENDAR
Columbia University to host its
11th Annual Africa Economic Forum, A CONTINENT ASCENDS,
Emergent Perspectives From The
Frontier, on April 4/5. Forum is
formatted in 3 segments. (1) 4/4
Evening of African Arts at Lincoln
Center (2) 4/5 Conference with 2
keynoters - Wale Tinubu of
Oando PLC and Professor
Emmanuel Nnadozie of African
Capacity Building Foundation; 9
panels; networking opportunities;
and career fair at Columbia Law
School and (3) 4/5 Closing Gala,
formal dinner, keynoter Rosalind
Kainyah of Kin Advisory Ltd and
Kina Investments, Ltd; and party.
For more info or to register, visit
www.columbiaaef.com.
NY/NY
THE CLASS OF 2014
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is
overhauling his communications
operation, a commendable move,
after his March ordeals – unrelenting snow storms and the
charter schools tsunamis. New
hires will include a director, writers and aides. Orientation for new
NYC mayors is usually trial by
fire.
While Bill de Blasio won the
mayoral election last November,
it seems that Bloomberg still runs
the NYC Department of
Education’s charter schools division. The 2014/15 NYS Budget
deal cut by Governor Cuomo, the
NYS Senate and the NYS Assembly , pertinent to NYC charter
schools, had no input from area
politicos, parents or teachers.
While the NYS dollar amount allocation to NYC is impressive, it
restrains Mayor de Blasio’s actions vis-à-vis charter schools.
The NYC white minority still
wields disproportionate power
over area’s school system and
politics. The NYC charter school
anti- de Blasio demonstrations in
Albany followed by its distorted,
truth –averse tv commercials,
peopled by Black and Latino students, followed by polls commissioned by the downstate corporate elites successfully took the
muscle out of NYC mayoral control of public schools this year,
in round 1.
STAND YOUR GROUND
TASK FORCE
Dr. R. B. Holmes, pastor of the
Bethel Missionary Baptist
Church in Tallahassee, Florida
has organized a 40- member NATIONAL PASTORS TASK
FORCE to have STAND YOUR
GROUND laws repealed or
amended in all states. The PASTORS TASK FORCE is centerpiece of his “Social Justice” platform to “Re-energize, Reinvigorate and Rebrand” the National
Baptist Convention, USA, which
boasts a membership of 7.5 million African Americans. Dr.
Holmes is a candidate for NBC
presidency. This initiative is supported by Black congressmen,
U.S born Kwasi Enin, son of
Ghanaian parents who are nurses,
has been accepted by all 8 Ivy
League universities – Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth,
Harvard, Princeton, University of
Pennsylvania, and Yale, a rarity.
Enin attends a public school, William Floyd H.S., in Shirley, a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York;
is #11 out of a graduating class of
647; and scored 2250 out of 2400
on the SAT exam. Scholarships
and financial aid attended most of
his acceptance letters. The young
scholar plans to study medicine
and music in college.
Avery Coffey, a Washington DC
senior attend the Benjamin
Banneker Academic HS, has been
accepted by five Ivy League universities Harvard, Princeton, Yale,
University of Pennsylvania and
Brown, four of which proffered
scholarships and financial aid.
Coffey plans to major in Finance
and covetously eyes a CEO job at
an investment consulting firm, like
a Fortune 500 company.
Charlie Rangel
Denzel Washington
Azania
NEWSMAKERS
THE ALUMNI VARSITY ASSOCIATION of the City College of
NY to host its 49th Annual Hall of
Fame Dinner at the National Arts
Club, located at 15 Gramercy Park
South, East 20 Street, Manhattan
on Friday May 16. Educator/Administrator Samuel Penceal (1991
MA) Coach, Tennis, is among the
eight 2014 Alumni Varsity Hall of
Fame Inductees. Event tickets are
$125, which includes cocktail reception, a 3- course dinner and
programs. For more info call
212.650. 5343
ON BROADWAY: Tony nominee Clifton Davis, multi-threat artist, vocalist,. songwriter, actor of
stage, film and TV, is back on
Broadway, playing the Sultan in
the new critically-acclaimed musical ALLADIN. ……. Norm Lewis,
former The Gershwin’s PORGY
AND BESS co-star , joins the
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA cast
in the lead role, on May 12, a first
for a Black actor on Broadway.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s PHAN-
Kwasi Enin
Avery Coffey
Latanya Richardson Jackson
WHAT’S GOING ON
17
18
NNPA Award Winner
Enter tainment
By Don Thomas
At 54 BELOW
‘I could have danced all night with
Miss Doolittle’
Melinda Doolittle
By Vinette K. Pryce
Special Assignment
Doolittle had explained how she
could cuddle or be a buddy but
never a cuddle buddy with anyone.
Te n n e s s e e s o n g b i r d Undoubtedly, she declared that for
Melinda Doolittle breezed recently into New York City for a
three night stint at 54 BELOW
and what a breath of fresh air
she brought up-north. Delivering a cache of ballads and
mid-tempo songs, the 2007
third-placed “American Idol” By Yusef Salaam
finalist scored first place in the Contributing Scribe
City that never sleeps.
Gertrude Jeannette and the
During the sixth season of the
musical talent show, judge Simon H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players production
Cowell described her performance of “Sassy Mamas” by awardas “incredible” “fantastic” and a winning playwright Celeste
“breath of fresh air.” The candid, Bedford Walker had a successful
British critic said then “you don’t run at the East Harlem-based
Poet’s Den Theatre. Deftly diknow how good you are.”
However it seems in 2014, the rected by Pat Floyd, the two-act
song stylist is confident, soulful, play depicted the comical yet inmelodic, a winner and fully cog- formed journeys of three middle
nizant of her gift of singing. Com- age women who discovered lesmanding the stage nestled just sons about love in the arms of
beneath the neighboring former younger men.
The center of the plot focuses
Studio 54 showplace, 36-year-old
Doolittle found neither rivals nor on Joe Billie Massey, (Richarda
dissenting judges to grade her Abrams) CEO of a hospital;
Wilhemina Sorenson, (Cookie
performance.
Instead after belting “All Is Fair Winborn) a Condoleezza Rice
In Love,” “Don’t Touch Me,” type stateswoman; and Mary
“Neither One Of Us,” “At Last,” Wooten (M.Drue Williams), a
“Wild Women Don’t Get The lonely divorcee.
Playwright Walker paints the
Blues” and “Home” Melinda received raves and unanimous adu- Joe Billy character as the extreme
lation. So much so she asked the model of older woman/younger
NYC crowd if they would con- man romance to emphasize one
sider traveling around with her. of her themes – you cannot find
They had given her a standing authentic love with money nor
ovation and she was in favor of with lust so raw that it aches.
Abrams plays Joe Billy to the
them joining her tour.
“I should have brought her a max. When it comes to the subrose,” Don Thomas said. “She is ject of younger men, she has a
like a teaspoon of sugar,” one Ph. D in the matter. For anyone
patron said. “Her stage presence who has a negative critique of
is endearing,” another confessed. older woman/ younger man trav“I would love to be her Cliff eling on a love boat, Joe Billy has
erotic insinuations about the reHuxtable” one admitted.
a time her desire was to be like
(Claire Huxtable), the character
portrayed by actress Phylicia
Rashad on “The Cosby Show.”
The television situation comedy
aired during the late 80s and early
90s showcased an ideal husband,
lover and father.
Doolittle said after watching
numerous episodes she went on a
search for her very own Cliff
Huxtable, the role model portrayed
by actor Bill Cosby.
In cabaret style, Doolittle talked
a bit, danced a little and seemed to
please the crowd inside the West
Side showplace. In celebration of
the release of her sophomore CD
titled “You’re The Reason,”
Doolittle had more than a few reasons.
Dressed in a black, sequined,
jumpsuit belted by a rhinestone
buckled belt, Doolittle ‘twerked’ ala
Miley Cyrus but begged the crowd
“please don’t tell my mama.”
She hailed some of her current
favorites – Katy Perry, Kelly
Clarkson and Sara Bareilles – and
mostly soothed singing classic
songs championed by bassists
Chris Parks, drummer Dan Weiner
and keyboardist musical director
Demarco Johnson. “They sound
like a full orchestra,” a patron said
of the trio.
Reportedly, since her time on
“Idol” Doolittle has wowed audiences everywhere from the White
House to the Musicians Hall of
Fame, from the Kennedy Center to
Carnegie Hall. She has gone on to
share the stage with some of the
very artists for whom she sang background as well as music luminaries
such as Peter Cetera, Cyndi Lauper,
and the renowned Boston Pops Orchestra.
In addition she dedicates
much of her time to working with
numerous charities, especially
those that center on improving
the lives of children; including
the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and
The League, which promotes involvement in community service
among children.
Dolittle also works extensively with Malaria No More,
and has traveled to Africa twice,
once as a presidential delegate
and once with former First Lady
Laura Bush, bringing awareness
to the preventable disease that
takes the lives of over one million children under the age of
five, every year.
Review
‘Sassy Mamas,’ depicts trip of three middle age women
wards of such a liaison that cause
the audience to bellow with
laughter.
Director Pat Floyd has tutored
The cast of “Sassy Mamas”
Abrams well; the actress does not to be patient with her antics and
overplay her hand with her comi- lines so that the audience can uncal quips. Her gifted timing and
professional discipline allows her
KICKIN’ IT with Style & Society Editor Audrey J. Bernard
19
March was Women’s History Month and on Thursday, March 20, 2014, ImageNation Film Festival presented a free monthly network mixer, workshop and panel discussion — Indie Mogul 101:
“Sistas in Film and Television” — at Raw Space Culture Gallery, a new uptown art gallery and special event venue located at 2031 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue between 121st and
122nd Streets), Harlem, New York. The esteemed panel shared strategies, struggles and tips for succeeding in the industry. During the free two hour presentation attendees learned about crowd
funding, audience development, online film and music distribution and independent book publishing. They also learned how to market their work to their followers through the uses of social media,
email, online video and more. The five women participating in an enriching panel included Lisa Cortes, producer (“Precious”); Nicole Franklin, independent filmmaker & editor on CBS Sunday
Morning; Karen Torres, casting director (“The Miracle of Spanish Harlem”); Dedra N. Tate, producer (“Blackout,” “Life, Love, Soul”); and Crystal Whaley, an Emmy-Award winning TV creative
producer. (See more information on each participant below.)
Lisa Cortés is an Academy Award
nominated film producer. Executive producer of the Academy
Award winning ”Precious: Based
on the Novel ‘Push’ by
Sapphire,” Cortés has always
been a pioneer. Her work with
trailblazing companies such as
Rush Artist Management, Def Jam
Records and Lee Daniels Entertainment has helped to shape a career
that is bold and daring. Her pro-
ductions have received over 70 international awards and nominations,
including the Academy Award, the
Golden Globe, the Berlinale Golden
Bear, and the Sundance Film
Festival’s Grand Jury Prize among
others. Prior to her film career, Corteìs
worked with Russell Simmons and
Rick Rubin to launch the iconic Def
Jam label and immensely influenced
hip-hop culture. She was vice president of artists and repertoire at Mercury Records, where she worked with
many multi-platinum and Grammy
Award winning artists. Corteìs also
founded and served as president of
Loose Cannon Records, a subsidiary
of Polygram Records. Corteìs
launched her own production company, Corteìs Films, in 2009 and has
several projects in development including The Infinity Engine. In 2013,
she produced and co-directed with
Shola Lynch, ”Imagine A Future.”
Other recent productions include
Mickalene Thomas’ ”Happy Birthday To A Beautiful Woman”
and Kwaku Ananse for Focus Features “Africa First” program.
Nicole Franklin is an award-winning filmmaker, television director, stage manager, editor, educator and web event host. For more
than a decade, her company
EPIPHANY Inc. has been producing independent films for numerous cable networks including
Showtime, BET, IFC, Nickelodeon, Sundance Channel and
The Documentary Channel. Her
credits include ”The Double
Dutch Divas!,” ”Journeys In
Black: the Jamie Foxx Biography,” ”Kids Around the World,”
NBC Nightly News, The Today
Show, Black Enterprise Business
Report, and she is part of the
Emmy-Award winning team
on CBS Sunday Morning. Her
current educational films include
“Gershwin & Bess: A Dialogue
with Anne Brown” and the 10chapter series ”Little Brother,”
both titles distributed by Third
World Newsreel. “Little Brother”
is a recipient of the Foundation to
Promote Open Society/Campaign
for Black Male Achievement
Award, fiscally sponsored by
Fractured Atlas. Inspired by
Gershwin & Bess…, Franklin has
a screenplay in development titled
Nicole Franklin
“Bess.” Epiphany Inc. is the co-parent company of Midnight Media
Capture, LLC, a web event channel
where stories drive brands. Franklin’s
affiliations include Directors Guild of
America (DGA), Producers Guild of
America (PGA East), IBEW, The
Black Documentary Collective (BDC),
DV Republic and New York Women
in Film & Television (NYWIFT).
Project reels may be viewed at:
YouTube.com/NicoleFilms.
Franklin hosts weekly webcasts on
global storytelling through the
Google+ Community,An EPIPHANY
Conversation. In-person speaking
appearances are fiscally sponsored
by Fractured Atlas.
Lisa Cortes
Crystal Whaley
Crystal Whaley is a multiple Emmy
Award-Winning, and Peabody
Nominated Film and TV creative
producer, specializing in episodic
TV, documentaries, commercials,
music videos and children’s televi-
sion and features films. She’s a former
commissioning producer for Sesame
Workshop, former executive producer
of Free Spirit Films Inc. and former senior director of Video Production for
award-winning, Arista Records.
Whaley has produced nationally syndicated and Peabody nominated documentaries for PBS and The Learning
Channel. Recently winning a Telly
Award in 2013 and consulting for a
variety of clients, her company Pixel
Media Inc. has a first look deal with
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. A
member of the Producer’s Guild of
America (PGA), she holds a Journalism degree from Howard University and
a Film Production certificate from New
York University.
Dedra N. Tate
Dedra N. Tate, a Howard Univer- 10 Records. Platinum successes
sity graduate, has been a thriving later…Flavor Unit Entertainment partcontributor to the entertainment in- ners, Queen Latifah and Sha-Kim, ofdustry for almost thirty years. Af- fered her the position of president and
ter thirteen years as president and general manager where she handled
general manager of Queen Latifah’s the daily operations of three record
Flavor Unit Entertainment, Tate labels, a management company and a
stepped into the entrepreneurial burgeoning television and film proarena with her company Unlimited duction division. Tate was the superContacts, Inc. Under the UCI ban- vising producer for UPN’s Vibe
ner, Tate has successfully leveraged Awards and produced projects for
her years of experience and con- Flavor Unit Television and Films, intacts to segue into TV/film produc- cluding “Kidnapped,” a family comtion, event planning, career man- edy developed with Lions Gate Enagement, promotion/marketing tertainment and “WIFEY’S” a cutconsulting and public speaking. ting edge, one hour scripted series
Tate started her career in 1984 as pilot, produced in conjunction with
advertising sales assistant at MTV VH-1 & BET Networks. She is the
Networks, Inc. and in no time pro- associate producer of the indepengressed to talent relations. She dent film “Blackout,” with an entransitioned to the music industry semble cast enhanced by the perforas national promotion coordinator mances of Jeffrey Wright, Saul
for UNI Records followed by execu- Rubinek, Latanya Richardson- Jacktive positions in radio & video pro- son and Melvin Van Peebles. ”Blackmotions at MCA, Motown & BIV out” was written, directed and pro-
duced by her UCI client Jerry
Lamothe and was an instant audience
hit at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival
and the Urbanworld/VIBE Film Festival. Tate also co-produced
Lamothe’s latest creative venture,
”The Tombs,” a short film starring
Nashawn Kearse that chronicles
the journey of an African American
man processed into NYC’s central
booking system. Tate added the
moniker of casting director to her credits with her independent film “Life,
Love, Soul” (LLS) where she wore
multiple hats to bring the indie film to
fruition including producer, casting
director, music supervisor and also
played a key role in securing private investors to fund the production. LLS stars Jamie Hector and
Chad Coleman from HBO’s “The
Wire,” Terri J. Vaughn (“The Steve
Harvey Show”/”All of Us”), Tami
Roman (CBS’s “Moonlight”/
”Wifey’s) and Ashford & Simpson’s
Valerie Simpson, in her acting debut.
LLS secured a limited theatrical release at select AMC Theaters and a
DVD distribution agreement with
RBC/E1 Entertainment. LLS was the
winner of the prestigious “Audience
Award” at the 2011 BET Urbanworld
Film Festival and was also an HBO
Finalist at the 2011 Martha’s Vineyard
African American Film Festival.
The Links, Incorporated and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women
also unanimously selected LLS as
the opening night red carpet premiere for the Teaneck International
Film Festival in November, 2011,
with all proceeds benefiting
their charitable work in Bergen
County, NJ. Tate’s current projects
include the independent feature film
“ZOO” starring Jermaine Hopkins
and Treach (Naughty by Nature) and
a short film titled “Attempted Burglary,” currently in post-production,
serving as the associate producer for
both.
Karen Torres began her varied
career in television, film and theatre in the 80’s starting as a programming assistant at WCBS-TV
in New York. By early 90’s, she
moved on to feature film as a production assistant on the major
feature ”Carlito’s Way” starring Al
Pacino continuing to work on the
Indie classic ”Party Girl” starring
Parker Posey, Micheal J. Fox’s Spin
City, Paul Simon’s The Capeman on
Broadway starring Marc Anthony.
Torres created El Bodeguero
Productions and produced, wrote
and directed her first independent
feature film, ”Pleasant Dreams,”
which premiered at Urban World
Film Festival and was presented
the Horace Mann Award as
Woman of the Year for her work as
a Latina film maker. In 2000, she
was creative director for Urban Box
Office’s Latinflava.com producing
video content for the website as
well as journalistic pieces highlighting urban artists in all arenas of
media. Torres became an associate producer at Galavision producing for Telemundo’s Galascene.
From there she was segment pro-
produced and directed the documentary ”Outside Lookin’ In,” a commentary on urban youth and 911 currently part of the Media Watch program at Berkeley University. Torres
produced and wrote the Off-Broadway production ”Women of NineAudition For Life” starring CSI
Miami’s Eva La Rue. Karen has also
worked with the HBO New York International Latino Film Festival and
its founder Calixto Chinchilla since
its inception in 2000 in marketing,
publicity, sponsorship and as premiere talent coordinator. In 2005, she
worked in development for Sonny
Grosso, executive producer of
Grosso-Jacobson Productions in
casting and development for A & E
productions such as Kings of South
Beach and Hallmark
Movie
Channel’s Citizen Jane. Torres also
worked with 15-time GrammyAward
Winner, the late, Phil Ramone and his
partner, Sonny Grosso on their stage
production ”Be My Love.” Her feature film (co-producer/casting director), “The Miracle of Spanish
Harlem,” was just theatrically and
nationally released in December 2013
to critical acclaim nationwide.
Karen Torres
ducer for Nickelodeon, Nick at Night,
MTV, PBS-TV, Bravo Television, HBO
(Rosie Perez Show), Univision (John
Leguizamo,). Torres continued to
work on feature films such
as HBO’s ”Maria Full of Grace,”
“Washington Heights,” “When
Mambo was King,” “Indocumentados,” “Machetero,” and Jennifer
Lopez’s “El Cantante.” Later on, she
ImageNation presents five titans of communications
A Strange Review
20
‘Life of An Addict’ needs some rehab
By Deardra Shuler
Contributing Scribe
I am always supportive of theatre and often encourage projects
that are struggling to get its message out. I know the work and
expense that goes into financing
a production can be all consuming. Thus, I can appreciate the
labor, and hopes and dreams involved in putting forth a production.
However, sometimes in their
eagerness, producers kick the
baby from the nest before it’s
ready to fly. And, in the case of
“Life of An Addict,” sadly that is
the case.
“Life of an Addict,” written and
produced by Andrea Blaine, was
presented at the Symphony
Space, located on the corner of
95th Street and Broadway in Manhattan for one night only. The
storyline was about a religious
woman named Angel (Shaenna
Miller) and her addicted boyfriend Aaron (Eugene Daniels).
A devout woman, Angel is
very involved in her church, as
are her friends Mabel (Cecella
McElveen) and Delise (Susu
Bobien). One day, her friend Eric,
portrayed by Phillip Hatcher, introduces her to his cousin Aaron,
whom he swears is a standup
dude.
Judging on appearances
alone he seems that way. Selfish
and conniving, Aaron has secrets. He sees a good thing in
Angel and gives her the romantic
bum’s rush that leads to their living together and a hasty engagement. Addicted to love, Angel
falls hard and does not see the
warning signs.
Aaron is having problems finding work so Angel is paying the
bills. Aaron keeps talking love
while disappearing for days at a
time. Suspicious, Angel finally
finds out that Aaron is drug addicted and hangs out with unsavory characters. He convinces
Angel he is rehabilitating himself.
However, when he falls off the
Actress Lucienne Taylor portrays (Moosie) in “Life of An Addict”
wagon he causes Angel’s life to tors should not be walking across
spiral out of control. The premise the stage from the interior set,
of the production is an important stepping into the exterior set that
and valid one, thus the writing represents outdoors. But rather
could use more flushing out. the actors should leave the apartHowever, where the play really ment via the apartment door and
needed work was in the set de- move back stage into the exterior
signing, costuming, sound and entrance that represents the street,
so the locales are totally separate.
staging.
Also, there should be a wallThe way the set was designed
needed rearranging. For example, ing constructed or a curtain that
if there is a split stage featuring hides the stage hands and actors
an interior set on one side and an as they move around backstage,
exterior set on the other side, ac- thus are invisible to the audience,
which was not the case as structured. The actresses looked like
giants wearing those 6” heels that
seemed uncomfortable (I noted
they put on more sensible shoes
in the latter part of the play).
And, I believe it was Sister
Mabel who wore an ill fitting dress
that seemed far too big for her, as
were the braids that were so long
they were falling into her face. Now,
this may seem rather picky to mention, but all of those things were
distractions.
The audience becomes so focused on the big hair, the big dress,
the big shoes, they miss the dialogue. Also, there were periods
where the sound fluctuated. Therefore, while on occasion one actor’s
mike was loud, the other actor’s mike
was barely audible.
And last but not least, while the
play was religiously influenced, the
MC who kept coming out and making announcements during the play,
did not need to keep asking the audience to stand up to hear the announcements. This came off as if
the play was a church setting and
not a theatrical venue. I must say
that never in my theatre going history have I seen the audience being
asked to stand to hear announcements.
The first time the audience accommodated but by the third request
fewer people stood up as it seemed
unnecessary, and it was. So, the
producers of the show should decide whether they are doing a church
service or a theatrical production.
What can I say, the play is premature and requires more rehearsal
time, a redesigned stage, better
stage marking, costumes that do not
encumber the actors, and all announcements made at the start of
the show, announced one time only.
Otherwise, it just looks like a lot of
egos out front trying to get noticed.
Of course, after the play, if the MC
wants to introduce the show’s principles, please do. That’s how it’s
generally done.
The entire cast although adequate could use more rehearsal
time. Eugene Daniels, Phillip
Hatcher and Lucienne Taylor gave
noteworthy performances. Additional cast include Darren Copeland
and Felicia Williams. The dancers
Crystal Furvin, Myoung Jin Son,
Crystal Glass Warner, and Isaac
Demetrius Zellner gave good performances as drug addicts and via
their dance number. The step dancers were delightful during intermission.
The play itself has promise.
As stated, it needs work in the
production end of it. I wish the
play luck and hope changes will
be done to make it a more comprehensive and viable production the next time the play runs.
I know, this is a strange review!
And, I hate to be so blunt — but
when inviting critics to review a
play, make certain the play is at
its best and does not come off
as amateur hour.
‘Sassy Mamas,’ depicts trip of three middle age women
(from page 18)
derstand and enjoy her character.
Donald Dash offers the role
of LaDonte, whom Joe Billy
treatd like her erotica
steakhouse. He is merely her
sexual waiter who must serve
the flavors on the menu at the
snap of her fingers. Dash, 22,
seems slow to warm to his role,
but at the height of his performance he is first-rate.
M. Drue Williams’s Mary
Wooten literally shops her way
to divorce. The shopaholic has
to rent a warehouse to store the
items she buys and most of them
she doesn’t use. So, she gives
her husband the perfect excuse to
drop her for a woman their daughters’ ages. Williams casts her
Wooten the opposite of Joe Billy.
Her Wooten is shy, reserve. She’s
not as outrageous in her desire
for younger guys.
Wooten is not on the prowl for
young prey. She wants security
and finds it in an ailing old guy
who money is old, too – he’s a
millionaire. Williams offers palatable tension and uncertainty to
the play as she wrestles with the
decision whether she’s going to
wed the rich fellow or Colby, her
younger gardener. Nicholas Miles
Newton fashions Colby as a delightful with country boy innocence that endears him with the
audience. His Southern accent is
contagiously authentic, awkward
mannerisms, sweet, and his moral
convictions seem lame, yet wholesomely vital, in fast-moving metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Cookie Winborn as Wilhemina
Sorenson is the favorite. She has
accumulated numerous fans during her tenure as an H.A.D.L.E.Y
player. This is one of the few roles
in which she displays her voguish
style as the ambitious
stateswoman who has her eyes on
a window to be chosen as Secretary of State.
Wilhemina has no time for love
because politics is her husband.
Her $1,000 outfits (which Winborn
struts like Michelle Obama), globetrotting endeavors to protect and
serve, and overall elegant lifestyle
certainly erase the idea that she’d
ever be interested in a younger
man. Winborn generates Ruby Dee
essence on the stage.
There is symmetry in her
craft that attracts the viewer,
calls him/her to genuinely absorb the journey of her character. Desean Stokes plays Wes
Washington, who is determined
to marry Wilhemina. Here, the
playwright tosses the Mom
Mabley jokes about younger
men/older women in the trash
can of stereotypes. Washington is not a cheap opportunist
who seeks to lurk in
Wilhemina’s light.
However, she rejects him as
such, and he chases cross-continents to convince her that he
loves her. Stokes shades Washington as mature beyond his
chronological years. He’s thirsty
for Wilhemina acceptance, but
patiently waits for her to make up
her mind to accept his offer of
marriage.
21
with Theater Reviewer Audrey J. Bernard
The new hit Broadway musical
ROCKY will knock your socks off!
Devine (choreography), Christo- (orchestrations), Harold Mertens serve as executive producers and Allen Kramer, Roy Forman, Cheryl
pher Barreca (scenic design), David (wig & make-up design) and Jeremy Barbara Dorwall and Michael Wiesenfeld, Zone Tankel, Lucky
Winter Garden Theatre Mar- Zinn (costume design), Christopher Chernick (special effects design). Hildebrandt serve as associate pro- Champions, Scott Delman, JFL Thequee for Rocky Broadway Akerlind (lighting design), Peter Polk & Co. is the press representa- ducers. Also, Stage Entertainment atricals/Judith AnnAbrams, Latitude
(Photo by Walter McBride)
USA & Sylvester Stallone, Metro- Link, Waxman/Shin/Bergere, and
Hylenski (sound design), David tive.
Holcenberg (music supervisor), Joop van den Ende and Bill Taylor Goldwyn-Mayer, The Shubert Or- Lauren Stevens/Josh Goodman.
ROCKY, a new musical with an Chris Fenwick (music director), are the lead producers for ROCKY. ganization, Kevin King-Templeton, (Photos courtesy Linda Lenzi @
original score by the Tony Award- Stephen Trask & Doug Besterman Adam Silberman and Eric Cornell James L. Nederlander & Terry Broadway.com)
winning team Stephen Flaherty
and Lynn Ahrens, with a book by
multiple Tony Award-winner Thomas
Meehan and Sylvester Stallone
opened on Thursday, March 13,
2014 at the historic Winter Garden
Theatre (1634 Broadway, NYC) to a
celebrity packed audience followed
by a knock-out party at The
Copacabana that made you a little
punchy as everywhere you turned,
you saw stars!
The astounding ROCKY cast
features Andy Karl (Rocky), Margo
S e i b e r t ( A d r i a n ) , Te re n c e
Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone (Photo by
Archie (Apollo Creed), Dakin
Walter McBride)
Matthews(Mickey) Danny
Mastrogiorgio (Paulie), Jennifer
Mudge (Gloria) and ensemble
members Adrian Aguilar, Eric
Anderson, Michelle Aravena,
James Brown III, Sam J. Cahn,
Vincent Corazza, Kevin Del Opening Night Curtain Bow-Jennifer Mudge, Terence Archie, Margo Seibert, Andy Karl,
Aguila, Ned Eisenberg, Bradley Dakin Matthews, danny Mastrogiorgio and cast of Rocky
Gibson, Stacey Todd Holt, Sasha
Hutchings, David Andrew Macdonald, Vasthy Mompoint, Vince
Oddo, Okieriete Onaodowan,Adam
Perry, Kristin Piro, Luis Salgado,
John Schiappa, Samantha Shafer,
Wallace Smith, Jenny Lee Stern,
Dan’yelle Williamson and Mark
Terence Archie, Andy Karl
Zimmerman.
The bigger than life boxing extravaganza is grippingly directed by
Tony nominee Alex Timbers, and Sasha Hutchings, Kristin Piro, Vasthy Mompoint, Joop Van Den Ende, Sylvester Stallone,
Janine Van Den Ende
features captivating choreography Samantha Shafer, Dan'yelle Willaimson
by Tony nominee Steven Hoggett
and Kelly Devine. And for theatergoers who like to be jolted from
their seats by a power packed performance, ROCKY keeps you on
your feet delivering pound for
pound action including the last 20
minutes of the play which turns into
Okieriete Onaodowan, Bradley Gibson, Sam
one of the greatest fights to hit
J. Cahn, Adam Perry
Broadway.
Special ticketholders get the most
Brandon Rubendall,
Alex Timbers
beef cake view for their money as
James Brown III
they get to become a part of the production when they’re escorted from Will Taylor, Sophie Taylor, Isaac Robert Hurwitz,
Phillip Rosenberg
their seats to view the final 20 min- Bill Taylor
utes of the performance from the
stage. There are not enough superlatives to describe my excitement
or why my heart is still racing. You’ll
leave the theater feeling light on
your feet and headed back to the
box office for a return bout.
Whoopi Goldberg
Kelly Devine
ROCKY brings to life the story of
Dakin Matthews Andy Karl, wife Orfeh
struggling small time Philly boxer,
Rocky Balboa, who gets an once- Brianna Aguilar, Adrian
Chris Henry Coffey, Jenin-a-lifetime shot to go the distance Aguiler
nifer Mudge
against heavyweight champ Apollo
Creed. The new musical is based
on the Academy Award-winning
film of the same name, which starred
Stallone – who walked the red carpet with his lovely family — in the
title role.
It takes a village to put on a show
of this magnitude and this tour de
force is no different! The phenomThomas Meehan
enal creative brains behind this play
included: Steven Hoggett & Kelly Natasha Rossi, Danny Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Margo Seibert, Andy and granddaugh- Jennifer Flavin & Sylvester Stallone with
Ahrens
Mastrogiorgio
Karl
ter Emma
family (Photo by Walter McBride)
THEATER WHIRL
Flick Chat
22
Crowe portrays biblical patriarch in
novel adaptation of popular parable
By Kam Williams
Senior Movie Critic
Anybody with even a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible is
undoubtedly familiar with the
story of Noah and the Ark. That
scriptural passage, found in Genesis, revolves around a righteous
patriarch recruited by God to
build a big boat before the arrival
of a flood being meted out as divine punishment for man’s many
wicked ways.
Heeding the word of the Lord,
he proceeded to construct the
mammoth vessel before herding
two of each species of animal into
the hold. It subsequently rained
for 40 days and 40 nights, with
water covering the entire Earth’s
surface, thereby drowning all of
humanity except for his family.
So, until now, the tale of Noah
was basically a simple one about
God’s decision to completely wipe
the planet of sinners and start
over. Leave it to Oscar-nominated
director Darren Aronofsky (for
Black Swan) to come up with a
novel and intriguing reinterpretation of the popular parable recast-
Russell Crowe in scene from “Noah”
ing Noah as a complicated soul
wrestling with inner demons during his quest to do the Lord’s bidding ahead of the impending deluge.
The movie “Noah” also
has an ecological angle, plus some
computer-generated monsters ostensibly designed to holds the kids’
interest.
The film stars Academy Awardwinner Russell Crowe (for Gladia-
tor) in the title role, and features a
talented supporting cast which includes fellow Oscar-winners Jennifer Connelly (for A Beautiful
Mind) and Anthony Hopkins (for
The Silence of the Lambs), threetime nominee Nick Nolte (for Warrior, Affliction and The Prince of
Tides), as well as Emma Watson
and Ray Winstone.
The picture opens with what
is essentially a Sunday school lesson, a refresher course about the
creation of Adam (Adam Griffith)
and Eve (Ariane Rinehart) who
begat three sons: Cain, Abel and
Seth. The evil one, Cain, slew his
sibling Abel, and those descending from Cain’s demon seed continued to do the devil’s work by
generally exploiting the planet’s
natural resources.
Noah, by contrast, as a son of
Seth, learned how to live in harmony
with nature. He and his wife
(Connelly) raised their sons, Shem
(Douglas Booth), Japheth (Leo
McHugh Carroll) and Ham (Logan
Lerman), with the same eco-friendly
philosophy.
Eventually, of course, Noah
gets his marching orders from
God, and the plot thickens when
the steady drizzle develops into
a never ending downpour. Suddenly, his nosy neighbors no
longer see constructing an ark as
such a nutty idea anymore, and
it’s going to take a miracle like
an army of animatronics angels
to keep the desperate hordes
from climbing aboard.
Meanwhile, a visibly-anguished
Noah agonizes over what’s about
to transpire, and consults his sage,
berry-imbibing
grandfather,
Methuselah (Hopkins). But anticipatory survivor’s guilt isn’t about
to alter God’s plan one iota. An
alternately introspective and breathtaking Biblical epic, every bit cerebral as it is panoramic! Excellent (4
stars). Rated PG-13 for violence,
suggestive content and disturbing
images. Running time: 138 minutes. Distributor: Paramount Pictures.
th
The 14 Street Y and MCC Theater launch
first spring break theater camp in NYC
The 14 th Street Y Camps will
partner with MCC Theater for
a spring break theater camp.
Students in elementary and
middle school will attend various classes including acting,
dance, improv, music, and African American theater. Camp
will end with an Improv marathon extravaganza with members of the MCC Youth Company. The classes are divided
from K-5 and 6-8. To sign up,
visit: K-5: www.14streety.org/
camps.
6-8:
www.14streety.org/
teentheater.
“Our Holiday Camps are
simply awesome and are consistently sold out. We combine
a passion for innovative arts
programming with hip counselors in an engaging environment,” said Chloe Markowitz,
director of youth programs.
“We a r e d e l i g h t e d t o b e
partnering with the phenomenal teaching artists from the
MCC Theater Company, who
will be bringing their years of
theatrical expertise to our
youth. We can’t wait to take
holiday camp to the next
level!”
Previous alumni of the 14 th
St r e e t Y a n d M C C e d u c a tional partnership have
gone on to Princeton University, Performing Arts high
schools in Manhattan and
selective musical theater
and acting companies. No
Instructors, students and parents attend Ashley dance class at 14th Street Y spring break theater camp
previous theater experience center, aquatics program, a
is necessary to enroll in the pre-school, baby and toddler
spring break theater camp.
classes, after school programs,
sports leagues and arts and
About The 14th Street Y
culture events.
The 14th Street Y is proud
The 14th Street Y serves to be a part of the Educational
over 10,000 East Village resi- Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
dents each year with a variety organization with a 125-year
of community programs includ- history of serving New Yorking a state-of-the-art fitness ers downtown. The Y is lo-
cated at 344 East 14th Street, to discovering and developing
between 1st and 2nd Avenues. challenging, engrossing theater
to present on their main stage,
About MCC Theater
while simultaneously nurturing
the development of emerging
MCC Theater is New York’s young voices through literary
hottest Off-Broadway destina- a n d e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s .
tion, producing edgy, innova- Website: www.14StreetY.org
tive new work by today’s most Directions: L to 1st Avenue; 4, 5,
provocative and vibrant art- 6, Q, N, R, or W trains to Union
ists. MCC Theater is dedicated Square.
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Order entered by the Civil Court,
New York County, on 08/23/2013,
bearing, Index Number NC001247-13/NY, a copy of which
can be examined at the Office of
the Clerk, located at 111 Center
Street New York, NY 10013,
grants Joel Olivero Rivera AKA
Joel Olivero the right to assume
the name of Joel Olivero. The
place of birth is New York, NY,
the date of birth is Aug. 25, 1991
and the present address is 506
West 177th Street, Apt. 1E, New
York, NY 10033
Notice is hereby given that an
Order entered by the Civil Court,
New York County, on 09/26/2012,
bearing, Index Number NC002432-12/NY, a copy of which
can be examined at the Office of
the Clerk, located at 111 Center
Street New York, NY 10013,
grants Dymon Terrell Hobbs
AKA Damon Terrell Hobbs,
Damon T. Hobbs, Damon Hobbs
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Name Change
has submitted a permit applicacap mrkts, derivatives products, astion to the DEC Region 2 Office
set rsrch, alpha generation stratgs, Notice is hereby given that an Order
stats & mdlng. Must have compe- entered by the Civil Court, New York
requesting approval of the State
tence w/VBA, Excel & techncl langs County, on 03/13/2014, bearing, InFacility Permit for the operation
incl. Python, R, Eviews or Perl. Must dex Number NC-000570-14/NY, a
of the Energy Building facilities.
have exp w/ fincl packages incl. copy of which can be examined at
This meeting is being held in orBloomberg & DataStream. Job site: the Office of the Clerk, located at 111
der to conform with DEC
New York, NY. Reference # 8R4P4U Center Street New York, NY 10013,
Commissioner’s policy CP-29,
& submit resume to Merrill Lynch HR grants Catherine Louise Blackwell
Environmental Justice and PerAKA
Catherine
Louise
Chancey,
Box 02, 161 Maplewood Avenue,
mitting.
Maplewood, NJ 07040. No phone Catherine Louise Chancy, Catherine
This session will include an inL.
Chancey,
Catherine
Chancey
the
calls or e-mails. Must be legally auformational presentation regardthorized to work in the U.S. w/o spon- right to assume the name of
ing the permit application submitCatherine
Louise
Chancey.
The
sorship. EOE.
ted by NYU Langone, followed
place of birth is Charleston, SC, the
by an opportunity to ask quesdate of birth is March 21, 1942 and
tions and provide comments rethe present address is 325 Lenox
lated to the permit application.
Avenue, Apt. 3-S, New York, NY
10027
CLASSIFIED
23
24
BEACON
Marc Rasbury
SPORTS
OPENING ATTRACTION – New York Mayor Bill de Blasio throws the ceremonial first pitch before Opening Day at Citi Field on Monday.
Mayor de Blasio takes to the mound
By Joe Jackson
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio throws out the
ceremonial first pitch before Opening Day at Citi
Field on Tuesday. The Mets weren’t the only
ones who had a tough afternoon Monday at Citi
Field in Queens.
Mayor Bill de Blasio was met with a Bronx cheer
when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the
Mets’ Opening Day game. Despite the loud boos
and jeers, the mayor—a self-proclaimed Boston
Red Sox fan—threw a fastball to Mets catcher
Travis d’Arnaud from just in front of the pitching
mound.
“I heard some fans chanting ‘Bring back
Bloomberg,’” said fan Michael Russell, 46 years
old, of Monmouth County, New Jersey, referring
to a mayor who also faced his share of boos. “He
had a pretty good pitch, though. That would’ve
been even worse if he had hit home plate or something.”
de Blasio appeared wearing a Mets cap and
striped jersey with “de Blasio” above the No. 6 on
the back—in honor of Rico Petrocelli, his longtime
favorite Red Sox, press aides said.
The mayor was accompanied by seven children
from the East Harlem Tutorial Program who were
displaced from their homes in mid-March by a
deadly explosion in the neighborhood. It was a
rough day in Queens: The Washington Nationals
won.
Before the 1p.m. start time, the mayor told reporters that he had been “playing ball in my own
way” for many years, including playing softball in
a league for coaches of NYPD youth councils. He said he also played through teams
that his son, Dante, had participated in: “So
it’s in me.”
de Blasio added that he had practiced
his “knuckle-curveball” pitch at the Park
Slope Armory the night before. He appeared aware of the possibility of a negative reaction—and played down its significance—at the pregame news conference.
“I think everyone’s going to be too cold
to respond,” he said, referring to the unseasonable chill. “But whatever it is, it is.…I
think sports fans have a right to express
themselves any way they want.”
Afterward, de Blasio watched the game
against the Washington Nationals from
mid-level seats that he personally purchased, said press secretary Phil Walzak.
He also met informally midgame with Mets
owner Fred Wilpon, Walzak said.
Mark Marzig, 54, a salesman from northern New Jersey who was seated nearby,
said he understood the less-than-warm reception for Mr. De Blasio: “He cares nothing about the Mets; he’s a Red Sox fan.”
Ed Wyckoff, 36, of Toms River, New Jersey, was more sympathetic. “I thought they
were a little hard on him,” he said. “He’s still
learning to do the job.” Asked if he had
plans to throw any pitches at Yankee Stadium, home to the Red Sox nemesis Yankees, de Blasio said he’d “be happy to“—
if invited.
Packed CitiField Stadium on opening day

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