Florida Courier, July 20, 2012, #29

FC

EE FR

PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BEACH, FL PERMIT #189

www.flcourier.com

Read us online Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/ flcourier

MLK III, others protest for Marissa Alexander B1

Follow us on Twitter@flcourier

www.flcourier.com

JULY 20 - JULY 26, 2012

VOLUME 20 NO. 29

WHAT DOES A LESBIAN ‘LOOK’ LIKE? COMPILED FROM STAFF REPORTS

As part of her defense in a criminal trial, a former spokesperson for Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll said she caught the lieutenant governor in “a compromising position” with another female aide shortly before being fired last year.

The allegations are part of the ongoing prosecution of Carletha Cole, a former aide to Carroll who shared a recording of a conversation with Carroll’s chief of staff with a reporter for Jacksonville’s Florida Times-Union newspaper after she was fired. In Florida, a person must consent to a recorded private conversation.

Charges denied Last week, Carroll dismissed Cole’s claims – and in the process, set the Internet on fire.

On WTSP Channel 10 News in Tampa, she said the charges were false and affected her family. “My

Ammons out, effective immediately COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

Florida A&M University Provost Larry Robinson will take over the duties of president of the school following a unanimous vote Monday of the university trustees, which an hour earlier had accepted the immediate resignation of President James Ammons.

Under scrutiny since the hazing death of Marching ‘100’ drum major Robert Champion, Ammons stepped down Monday instead of waiting until October as he proposed last week when he first tendered his resignation to the FAMU Board of Trustees. Ammons had planned on staying on for 90 days, but instead will go on sabbatical and then return to the university as a tenured professor.

The board appointed Robinson to replace Ammons, but will return in August to decide whether Robinson stays on officially as interim president until a permanent president is found.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll’s comments go viral as she defends herself against allegations of sexual impropriety leveled against her by an ex-employee. husband doesn’t want to hear that. He knows the type of woman I am, and my kids know the type of woman I am,” Carroll said. “For 29 years? I’m the one that’s married for 29 years. The accuser is the one that’s single for a long time, so...Usually Black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.”

Reaction from the Black lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered (LGBT) community was immediate and harsh.

‘Insult to Black women’ Longtime Florida resident Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, executive director and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), wrote on the Huffington Post: “In an attempt to seek public sympathy for her personal and professional matter, Carroll decided to insult every Black woman who is a lesbian, bisexual and/or single. She decided that her personal status as a wife and mother with a long-lasting marriage to her husband was somehow superior and above approach for inappropriate extramarital relations. She further decided to insult my beautiful Black sisters by comparing her life situation to those of longtime single women, and imply that women who engage in sexual relations with other women could not possibly look like her.

“I am so furious and frustrated

COURTESY OF LUCIUS GANTT

During happier days, columnist Lucius Gantt of “The Gantt Report,’’ center, is flanked by Carletha Cole and her then-boss, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll. You can view a Florida Courier video interview with Carroll about issues related to Black Floridians See CARROLL, Page A2 at http://flcourier.com.

NELSON MANDELA / THE FATHER OF MODERN SOUTH AFRICA

Nelson Mandela celebrates his 94th birthday

‘Immediate stability’ “I think FAMU right now needs immediate stability,” said Trustee Marissa West, the FAMU student body president. “I don’t think we can afford to be left vulnerable and I think we need to ensure a very smooth transition in the upcoming days, months, weeks.”

Champion, 26, died on a band charter bus in November after the university’s renowned Marching 100 band traveled from its Tallahassee campus to Orlando to

AP PHOTO

A mosaic of coffee cups make up a giant mosaic portrait of former South African President Nelson Mandela, affectionately knows as “Madiba,” in Johannesburg. Mandela turned 94 on Wednesday.

See FAMU, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FOCUS | A2

Pulitzer-winning columnist William Raspberry dies at 76 FLORIDA | A3

A new bombshell for Zimmerman NATION | A6

NAACP president reports growth AME Church denies withdrawing support from Obama FINEST | B3

Meet Fantastic cruisers

Former community colleges to ask for millions to double grad rates

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Florida’s 28 state and community colleges say they have a plan to make the state the first in the country to reach the national goal of doubling graduation rates by the year 2020 – and they think Gov. Rick Scott will back their plan.

Valencia College President Sandy Shugart on Tuesday told the Florida Board of Education to expect a proposal in the fall. If approved, Shugart said, the four-year strategic plan also would make Florida the top-ranked college system for affordability, job placement, accountability and partnerships with high schools and universities.

Requesting large increase The Florida College System, which formerly was the community college system, will request a 35 percent increase in state funding to reach those goals, but both Shugart and St. Petersburg College President Bill Law said they thought Scott would approve, since their plan had sprung from discussions with him. Shugart said the colleges also could make Florida first in affordability by tying tuition hikes to rises in the cost of living.

According to the Florida College System, the cost of graduating after four years at a university is $39,095.

See COLLEGES, Page A2

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

State colleges like Seminole State say they have better educational values when compared to state universities like Florida A&M University.

ALSO COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 INSIDE COMMENTARY: A. PETER BAILEY: NAACP FALLS INTO ROMNEY CAMPAIGN’S TRAP | A5

FOCUS

A2

JULY 20 - JUly 26, 2012

Pulitzer-winning columnist William Raspberry dies at 76 COMPILED FROM STAFF REPORTS

William J. Raspberry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post who got his start at a Black-owned newspaper and became one of the most widely read Black journalists of his generation, died Tuesday. He was 76.

Raspberry had prostate cancer and died at his home in Washington, D.C.., his wife Sondra Raspberry said. “We had a full 45 years together,” she told Richard Prince of the Journal-isms blogsite. “He was surrounded by family.”

Last month, more than 200 people honored Raspberry at the Washington Post with a roast and benefit for his Baby Steps Foundation that nurtures parents and preschoolers in his Okolona, Miss hometown.

The benefit raised more than $40,000.

Raspberry, who grew up in segregated Mississippi, wrote an opinion column for the Post for nearly 40

AP PHOTO/THE WASHINGTON POST, JULIA EWAN

William Raspberry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post newspaper, died Tuesday. years. More than 200 newspapers carried his column in syndication before he retired in 2005.

Started at Black paper The son of a school principal and a teacher, Raspberry was born in 1935 in Okolona. He graduated from Indiana Central Col-

lege (now the University of Indianapolis).

His newspaper career began with a summer job as a reporter, photographer and editor at the Blackowned Indianapolis Recorder in 1956. After serving two years in the Army, he joined the Washington Post as a teletype operator in 1962 before advancing to general assignment reporter, copy editor and assistant city editor.

In 1965, he covered the Watts rebellion in Los Angeles, and he began writing a column initially known as “Potomac Watch” on local matters for the Washington Post a year later. Raspberry’s column moved to the Post’s op-ed page in 1970.

At the time, the only nationally syndicated Black columnist in the mainstream media was Carl Rowan.

Constantly criticized Although he considered himself a liberal, Raspberry’s moderate, nuanced positions on issues including

FAMU

by a Black woman of power trying to bring other Black women down to save face. Jennifer Carroll, the core of your character is at stake, and you are showing your true colors. Leadership requires grace and dignity under fire, and you are showing that your character includes misguided superiority and poor judgment.”

‘They look like me’ NBJC’s Director of Communications Kimberley McLeod continued the attack on Carroll on the organization’s blogsite.

“At the core of Carroll’s problematic statement is the misconception that people ‘turn’ gay because they are unattractive, cannot meet someone of the opposite sex and out of desperation ‘switch teams.’ Being gay isn’t our ‘Plan B.’ Kimberley It is part of our McLeod identity that isn’t dependent on our physical features or ‘success rate’ with men.

Someone’s marriage to a man, good looks, or femininity isn’t evidence of anything related to their orientation...

“For the record, this is what a Black lesbian looks like. They look like me. They look like comedian Wanda Sykes, actress Jasika Nicole, model Az Marie, singer Tracy Chapman, activist Angela Davis, poet Staceyann Chin and others. Many, Lt. Gov. Carroll, look just like you.

“You can defend your marriage without dissing Black lesbian and single women. You can protect your reputation without revoking Black lesbian femininity.”

McLeod is asking fellow lesbians to tweet photos to @NBJConthemove “to show Lt. Gov. Carroll and others what Black lesbians look like. Use the hashtag

“Bill Raspberry inspired a rising generation of African-American columnists and commentators who followed in his path, including me,’’ said Clarence Page, a Pulitzer-winning columnist with the Chicago Tribune.

“NABJ is deeply saddened by the loss of Bill Raspberry. While he may have authored the book “Looking Back at Us,” William Raspberry opened the hearts and minds of many as he compelled us to look at our-

FAMU National Alumni Association President Tommy Mitchell believes Ammons was pushed out. Mitchell explained that there seemed to be a campaign within the board to “get rid” of

Kanya Stewart of the Capital Outlook and Michael Peltier of the News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

Still getting paid

from A1

Inspired others

Ammons targeted?

participate in the annual “Battle of the Bands” and the Florida Classic football game between FAMU and BethuneCookman University. Officials determined he died after being hazed.

Thirteen band members have been charged in Champion’s death. Of those, 11 face felony hazing charges and could face up to six years in prison. Two others were charged with misdemeanors.

CARROLL

“And because I know words matter, I wish my children, and kids younger than my children, would get back to innocent, hopeful lyrics. I wish their music was more about love and less graphically about intercourse. I wish their songs could be less angry and ‘victimized’ and more about building a better world.”

He won the Pulitzer for commentary in 1994, becoming the second Black columnist to achieve the honor.

Ammons.

“He was forced out,” he said. “He didn’t want to go, in spite of all of the votes of no-confidence.”

Mitchell also expressed concern that the media has overly criticized FAMU. He said that other universities who have faced or are facing similar issues have not gotten as much negative attention and that he felt many of the university’s “outstanding” accomplishments have been overlooked.

Meanwhile, FAMU students and young alumni are working to show the public how they feel about their alma mater. They are using social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to show their support for Ammons and their belief in FAMU’s future.

The slogans “I believe in FAMU” and “FAMU Forever” are showing up on the Internet and are now being made into T-shirts. FAMUans are also posting photos of themselves wearing FAMU shirts and posting videos reflecting the university’s many attributes.

from A1

As part of the termination agreement, Ammons will receive a 25 percent bonus for his performance during the 2010-11 school year based on an outside evaluation. Ammons will also receive a 5 percent bonus for meeting mutually agreed upon goals for the 2011-12 academic year. As president, Ammons’ base salary was about $325,000.

Trustees urged Robinson to move quickly to address concerns raised over the past several months. In the wake of Champion’s death, the band has been suspended for at least the next academic year. The university’s athletics department is also facing a major budget deficit.

civil rights and gun control garnered criticism from both the right and the left.

Philosophically, Raspberry said “he refused to accept the choice offered a century ago by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois over whether political action or self-help was the best course for Black progress,” according to Prince.

Raspberry was especially concerned with the problems of ordinary people. He focused on street violence, drug abuse, criminal justice, poverty, parenting, education and civil rights, often quoting ordinary people he interviewed and asserting his belief in individual responsibility in dealing with social issues.

According to the New York Times, he told Editor & Publisher magazine in 1994 that reporters could “care about the people they report on and still retain the capacity to tell the story straight.”

“Words matter,” he wrote in a 1993 column about the raw lyrics of rap music.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Dr. Larry Robinson has stepped into the FAMU presidency.

#whatablacklesbianlookslike.”

‘Better looking than you’ Anisha “Pineapple Princess” Ellis-Thomas of Orlando celebrated her first wedding anniversary (married to another woman) on Feb. 17. On the madamenoire. com website, she accused Carroll of blocking her from the lieutenant governor’s Facebook account, removing her post and blocking her from any other comments.

“Here is what I posted,” Ellis-Thomas wrote: “I AM OFFENDED. My wife is better looking than you and most certainly engages in that type of relations with me...I really can’t believe that you as a female minority politician would allow that stereotype to leave your mouth. I swear the Black community still thinks only ugly, run down females are gay. Once again ashamed of the “leaders” of this state and the hate they embody.

“YOU OWE THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY AN APOLOGY. I am also checking back for some type of apology/statement regarding your comment...I find it shocking that you are heading a panel reviewing the “stand your ground” law – a law now brought under criticism due in part to the actions of a certain someone based on stereotypes. Now here you are stereotyping yourself. Perhaps you are not the correct person for the job.”

The backstory Cole was fired in September 2011 in connection with remarks she made to the Times-Union about the working atmosphere in Carroll’s office. The affidavit filed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said that a review of Cole’s emails and cell phone records led them to the conclusion that she sent the recording of her and Carroll chief of staff John Konkus having a conversation to reporter Matt Dixon of the Times-Union, which put the recording on its website.

FDLE said the recording was made without Konkus’ knowledge, which would be illegal.

Cole turned herself in at the Leon County (Tallahassee) Jail in October 2011after a warrant was issued from information turned over to prosecutors by FDLE. Cole, 48, is accused of illegally recording a conversation, according to the complaint filed in Leon County Court.

According to court documents, Cole is a minister with no prior criminal record, two children and four grandchildren who decided to work for Carroll’s office rather than begin a seminary program at Harvard University.

‘Impeach Carroll’ The public brouhaha started with a press release Cole sent to the Florida Courier and other media entities dated Sept. 27, 2011 titled, “Impeach Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll.”

“I am hereby calling for the removal of Jennifer Carroll from the office of Lieutenant Governor for not faithfully performing the duty of office thus creating a hostile work environment as well as tampering with a previous FDLE investigation (March 2011) when her personal travel aide, upset after a spirited staff meeting, tried to intimidate me by tampering with my computer and setting fire to the garbage can under my desk with a lit cigar. If it were not for the heroic acts of another employee who smelled smoke and startled by the flames, acted quickly to put out the fire, with a nearby floral arrangement, the state would have suffered tremendous damage to its property,” the release, written by Cole, reads.

“In that staff meeting, myself and another staffer complained that the office environment had become intolerable, embarrassing, and extremely unprofessional due to the behavior of the Lt. Governor’s travel aide and scheduler, habitually withholding pertinent information as it relates to travel and event details, therefore leaving the office completely unprepared to handle day-today activities or to respond intelligently to queries.

selves and to look around at the world, right there in the moment. His thought-provoking columns on social and political issues inspired readers to seek out truth, and to seek change where they saw inequity and injustice,” said National Association of Black Journalists President Gregory Lee Jr., in a statement.

“He blazed a trail for many Black journalists who followed him at the Post, and as a professor inspired those who will help lead us tomorrow. His legacy should inspire us all.”

Besides his wife, he is survived by his mother, who is 106; two daughters, Patricia Raspberry and Angela Raspberry Jackson; a son, Mark; a foster son, Reginald Harrison; a sister; and a brother.

Richard Prince of Journal-isms and reports from the Associated Press and the New York Times contributed to this report.

COLLEGES from A1 Graduating from a four-year college costs $23,647, while graduating after two years in college followed by two at a university costs $31,061.

Last month, Florida’s public universities got permission to raise tuition from 9 to 15 percent, depending on the school. Board of Education member Roberto Martinez said the colleges should get more state funding because they’re cost-effective.

“Imagine how much more value we would be delivering if we were to better fund it,” Martinez said. “I think that we need to provide more funding. If we’re not going to do the tuition increase, it’s got to come from somewhere.”

Doing well Florida colleges already are performing well, according to the Southern Regional Education Board, which reported in May that Florida had the highest three-year graduation rate in the southeastern U.S. at 35.5 percent. The SREB average was 18.4 percent. State tuition, meanwhile, was second-lowest in the region at $2,235.

Law, however, warned that the colleges can’t operate in a vacuum, and said the state “won’t get healthy until the universities get healthy. We cannot have a state that is not functioning at a much higher level in university education.

“But right now it’s our time to argue our case,” he said.

“In this meeting the Lt. Governor stated they acted on her behalf and did as instructed. Therefore, Jennifer accepted full responsibility for creating a mean spirited, disrespectful, unprofessional, hostile work environment. This is not acceptable, not even with an apology!”

Caught in the act?

The most sensational anecdote about Carroll’s office concerns Cole inadvertently walking in on what she says was a sexual encounter between Carroll and a female employee.

“When she entered the office, she found the Lieutenant Governor and her Travel Aide, Beatriz Ramos, in what can only be described as a compromising position,” according to a subsequent criminal court filing submitted

by Cole’s lawyer.

A spokesman for Scott did not return a phone call and e-mail from the News Service of Florida this week seeking a response, but Carroll told the Associated Press that the claims were “totally false and absurd.”

Passes polygraph Cole took a polygraph late last year concerning her claim.

She answered “yes” to questions about the incident, including “Did you ever observe Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll and...Ramos in a sexually compromising position in the Capitol?”

Timothy Robinson, retired chief polygraph examiner for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said that “Ms. Cole’s charts were somewhat difficult to read,” but he believed her. “Her charts, in my opinion, are indicative of a non-deceptive examinee (truthful),” Robinson wrote. “Ms. Cole passed her polygraph.”

Cole goes beyond simply alleging an isolated incident, saying Ramos “jealously hoarded the Lieutenant Governor’s attention in a manner which can only be described as bizarre” and that Cole was ordered to book adjoining rooms when Ramos traveled with Carroll. Cole also said that

policy was changed without explanation after Carroll’s husband went along on one of the trips.

The filing also implies that Carroll worked to snuff out an arson investigation at the Capitol that could have implicated Ramos.

Carroll personally met with the FDLE investigator looking into the fire in Cole’s trashcan. Ramos later told the investigator she put a cigar that she thought she had extinguished into the trashcan; the case was closed.

The day after the investigator met with Ramos, Carroll wrote a letter of recommendation for him to work in the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.

Cole’s trial was scheduled to begin this week but has been delayed.

Carroll fights back Carroll sent responses to well wishers from her state account.

All of the emails to Carroll so far have been supportive, with some also taking aim at Cole.

“I will be fighting back against these blatant lies,” Carroll said in an email to Franz Metz, a supporter who asked her to do so. In another email, Carroll lashes out at the media for reporting the allegations.

Metz’s email suggests that Carroll’s status as the first Black female lieutenant governor and her politics played a role in the allegations.

“Please stand firm and fight this attempt to discredit you and your office,” Metz wrote. “It seems that whenever a self made person of minority descent gets into the political spotlight and are a conservative and not a liberal the lies and character attack come.”

The Scott administration has suggested that Cole’s allegations ought to be considered in light of the felony charges she’s facing.

Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

JULY 20 - JULY 26, 2012

FLORIDA

A3

A new bombshell for Zimmerman ‘Witness 9’ says Sanford murder suspect molested her for years

BY RENE STUTZMAN AND JEFF WEINER ORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)

A woman told authorities that when she was a little girl, murder suspect George Zimmerman sexually molested her for a decade, according to prosecution records released Monday.

The woman, identified only as “witness 9,” said the abuse started when she was 6 and ended when she was 16.

That bombshell is part of a new set of evidence released this week by Special Prosecutor Angela Corey.

On Monday, Corey released witness 9’s statement plus 120 recorded jail phone calls made by Zimmerman when he was in the Seminole County Jail.

‘Don’t like’ Blacks In a statement released several weeks ago, witness 9 told Sanford police that Zimmerman does not like Blacks. In the audio-recorded interview released Monday, she reiterated that but without providing specifics.

Zimmerman’s family, she said, “don’t like Black people if they don’t act like White people. They like Black people if they act White.”

Had she seen George Zimmerman act with hostility toward a Black person, she was asked.

No, she said.

Defense attorney Mark

O’Mara made a last-minute attempt to block the release of witness 9’s statement as well as the jail calls.

He filed a motion Monday morning at the Seminole County Courthouse, asking that they be delayed, but Corey’s office released them anyway. A pending court order required their release.

Encounter at 12 Witness 9 told prosecutors the molestation began when her parents were moving to another state and she and her sister were sent to stay with Zimmerman’s family in Virginia.

“We would all lay in front of the TV” to watch movies, she said, “and he would reach under the blankets and try to do things. … I would try to push him off, but he was bigger and stronger and older,” she said.

He touched her improperly, she said, and at least once, when she was 12, forced her to touch him.

The last sexual encounter, she said, happened when she visited Zimmerman’s family in Lake Mary.

He directed her to lie on a bed and began to massage her, she said.

“I just got up and I ran out of the house and I got in my car,” she said, adding that Zimmerman “only chased me to the front door.”

She and her parents eventually confronted Zimmerman at an Orlandoarea restaurant, she said.

Zimmerman said he was sorry and left, she said.

‘Charming and personable’

In private, she said, Zimmerman was different than when he was around a group of people.

“He always was just, you know, very charming and personable with everyone … and just would laugh and entertain everybody,” she said. “But he was different behind closed doors with me.”

Investigators asked her why she decided to come forward now.

“This is the first time in my life that I’m not afraid of him,” she replied.

The 28-year-old Zimmerman is awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder. He killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black 17-year-old, Feb. 26 after he spotted the Miami Gardens high school junior walking through his Sanford neighborhood.

Zimmerman says he killed Trayvon in self-defense after the teenager attacked him. Prosecutors say Zimmerman assumed Trayvon was about to commit a crime, followed him then murdered him.

Push by media Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. on Friday signed an order, requiring that the recorded jail calls and witness 9’s statement be made public.

More than a dozen media companies, including the Orlando Sentinel, twice went to court, arguing that they are public records and, as such, must be released.

O’Mara had asked that they be kept secret, saying the people his client phoned deserved to have their identities and conversations kept private.

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

George Zimmerman, accused of shooting Trayvon Martin, arrives for his second bond hearing in Seminole circuit court in Sanford on June 29.

As for witness 9, he said prosecutors are unlikely to use her account as part of their case in chief, that it’s uncorroborated and that it’s likely to inflame hostility toward his client.

The jail calls were made in mid-April, when Zimmerman was first arrested.

He’s now free on $1 million bail.

Money talks Prosecutors earlier released a half-dozen of those calls and used them as evidence to support a perjury charge against Zimmerman’s wife, Shellie.

They allege that in those calls, George Zimmerman coached his wife and other relatives on how to move tens of thousands of dollars through credit union

accounts in an apparent effort to hide money.

Shellie Zimmerman testified at an April bond hearing that the couple was broke when, in fact, they had access to $130,000.

The discovery of all that money led the judge to temporarily revoke George Zimmerman’s $150,000 bond and lock him up for another month.

EDITORIAL

A4

JULY 20 - JULY 26, 2012

Health care for the sick and tired Now that President Obama has beaten back opposition to his Affordable Health Care Act, it his road to reelection victory may be on Easy Street!

No, everyone is not ecstatic about the historic health care legislation that gives health care coverage to millions of Americans that didn’t have it. But the seniors and children that need good health care love the legislation.

Frequent-voting politically active seniors really like the legislation that saves Medicare, boosts Medicaid and lowers the costs of expensive prescription medications.

Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT

cess of President Obama’s health plan, but I am not convinced that the plan is universal and covers every single American. And it appears that insurance companies will continue to get rich off of the poor health decisions or bad luck of the people that are paying for healthcare coverage. I wish the president would have fought harder for a “public option” that would allow Everyone not people to buy into the Medicovered care system, as opposed to I’m happy for the suc- buying high-cost insurance

only ones sitting at the political table watching everybody eat the political food given them while our plates are bone-dry. It is insane, backwards and reactionary to sit at a table and watch others eat and claim that you are a diner, to paraphrase Malcolm X. If you don’t know, now you know! Black people in America have to depend on themselves. We have to depend on each other.

Government has always failed us. Politics have failed us. And no one has failed to support, protect and respect the Black community and Black voters more than politicians!

Congratulations to PresiNothing for us dent Obama for his wonderBlack Americans are the ful and meaningful health-

from greedy health insurance agents.

Yes, the president is on a political roll right now. Will it roll him back into the Oval Office – or will it roll him back to his Chicago pizza parlor or back to his Hawaiian pineapple patch?

Let’s add seniors and children to the list of all of the people getting lastminute election oriented attention. White women got something, Hispanics got something, Wall Street got something, banks got something, agribusinesses got something, and everybody is happy about getting some kind of political snack on their plates.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: OLYMPICS UNIFORMS

RJ MATSON, ROLL CALL

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 145 Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll: What the hell was she talking about? Was her comment that “usually, Black women who look like me” aren’t lesbians refer to her being in a long-term marriage with children? If so, she’s probably correct – with “usually” being the critical word. But such things do happen. “Married with children” doesn’t mean a middle-aged woman can’t be attracted to and involved with another woman.

Or was Carroll talking about physical beauty? If so, go to Google, search “openly lesbian” and click on “Images,” and picture after picture pops up of “lipstick lesbians” – Playboy centerfolds, porn stars, beauty queens, athletes – who are openly homosexual. (Not every lesbian looks like she can kick the average man’s ass.)

Will this hurt Carroll politically? Probably not. It may give her some ‘street cred’ with the Tea Party types and evangelicals who feel the same way. It certainly won’t affect her relationship with Rick Scott, who opened mouth and inserted foot when he said he grew up in “the projects,” as did most of Florida’s Black state legislators – many of whom actually were raised in working-class households. Truth be told, most Black folks don’t have love for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered (LGBT) community anyway.

What Carroll did was needlessly open

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

a can of gay whup-ass that could affect a close presidential election in Florida. Mitt Romney’s folks stay away from Scott, the most unpopular governor in Florida history, and had the more popular Carroll as one of their top Florida surrogates – including requesting her to clap at Romney’s NAACP speech. Now, expect the LGBT community to stalk her everywhere she goes.

Why did Bro. Prez eliminate “don’t ask, don’t tell?” Why does he now support gay marriage? Because crossing the LGBT community politically is like swatting an Africanized beehive. The ‘bees’ attack in numbers, they will chase you incessantly, and they sting you until you surrender – or die. Black America should take note...and Carroll should clean this mess up ASAP.

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/ccherry2; on Twitter @ccherry2.

Opinions expressed on this editorial page are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of the newspaper or the publisher.

THE CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racism and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person. The Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief...that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

W W W.FLCOURIER.COM Central Florida Communications Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, Fl 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-3524455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call Lynnette Garcia, 877-352-4455 ext. 4; e-mail lgarcia@floridacourier.org.

Subscriptions to the print version are $59 per year. Mail check to 5207 Washington Blvd., Tampa, FL 33619, or log on to www.flcourier. com; click on ‘Subscribe’.

SUBMISSIONS POLICY SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO NEWS@FLCOURIER.COM. Deadline for submitting news and pictures is 5 p.m. the Monday before the Friday publication date. You may submit articles at any time.

However, current events received prior to deadline will be considered before any information that is submitted, without the Publisher’s prior approval, after the deadline. Press releases, letters to the editor, and guest commentaries must be e-mailed to be considered for publication. The Florida Courier reserves the right to edit any submission, and crop any photograph, for style and clarity. Materials will not be returned.

Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1929-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Chief Executive Officer Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources Lynnette Garcia, Marketing Consultant/Sales Linda Fructuoso, Marketing Consultant/Sales, Circulation Angela VanEmmerik, Creative Director Chicago Jones, Eugene Leach, Louis Muhammad, Lisa Rogers-Cherry, Circulation Jenise Morgan, Senior Editor Starla Vaughns Cherin, Karin Davis-Thompson, James Harper, Andreas Butler, Ashley Thomas, Staff Writers Delroy Cole, Kim Gibson, Photojournalists MEMBER National Newspaper Publishers Association Society of Professional Journalists Florida Press Association Associated Press National Newspaper Association

owners proposed a $17 million budget for election ads for Obama. Representatives of the president’s campaign offered to spend $1 million in political advertising with Black media outlets nationwide. That counteroffer was an insult and the president should fire the representatives that made that offer.

Black voters are sick and tired of being made sick Insulting and tired, so I guess the counteroffer new health care act is better Perhaps the president than nothing! can tell his White campaign advisors to spend some of “Like” The Gantt Report those billion dollars in campage on Facebook. Click paign money with Black vendors in Black commu- on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your nities.

Recently, Black media own response.

care accomplishments. But that victory over fierce opposition is not enough to guarantee a win in the November election. President Obama must have an extraordinary turnout of Black voters nationwide to win reelection and improved health care alone is not enough to motivate the masses to vote in high numbers.

The genocidal fruits of U.S.-Africa policy The United Nations has finally released a report detailing Rwanda’s latest destabilization of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. As usual, the delay was caused by the United States, which routinely blocks criticism of its military and political client-state, Rwanda, which has since 1996 been deeply complicit in the death of 6 million Congolese. The United States is, therefore, also liable for the genocide in Congo – the largest mass killings since World War II. Apologists for U.S. policy in Central Africa are fond of using the word “strategic.”

The United States, they say, arms and protects Rwanda because America has ‘strategic’ business and defense interests in the Congo’s vast mineral deposits.

Changed policy The infinitely corrupt Congolese strongman Mobutu Sese Seko used to be Washington’s attack dog in Africa. But in the mid-90s, the Americans opted to back an invasion of eastern Congo by the Tutsi-minority regimes in Rwanda and Burundi, and the other U.S. client-state in the region, Uganda. Washington chose to put its strategic interests in the hands of a small but highly militarized people, the Tutsi, rather than help the Congolese government maintain control over its own territory.

Why would the United States choose such allies to protect its so-called ‘strategic interests?’ On the face of

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

U.S. policy in Africa has almost always been to choose chaos in those places where it cannot rule directly. it, this would seem like a formula for endless war in the region. Even before the mass killings of Tutsis in 1994, they never comprised more than 15 percent of the population in Rwanda or in Burundi, where Hutu people make up the vast majority.

Having lorded it over the Hutus during and prior to the arrival of European colonialism, and having massacred many Hutu in both nations after independence, the Tutsi are not loved by their fellow countrymen.

They have since become a primary source of destabilization and genocide in Congo.

Why? So the question is: Why does the United States place its strategic interests in the hands of the elite of a warlike minority in the heart of Central Africa? Why would Washington invest millions in minority-ruled govern-

ments of tiny countries like Rwanda and Burundi, which can only be sources of permanent instability in the region? Don’t the Americans understand that support for tiny, aggressive elites guarantees continued chaos?

The answer is: Yes, they do understand. Since independence, U.S. policy in Africa has almost always been to choose chaos in those places where it cannot rule directly. And chaos brings genocide. The U.S. reasons that, at any given moment, chaos contains many options, an infinity of possibilities for superpower action – whereas stable regimes with broad popular support provide less room for the foreigner to maneuver, less possibilities for a quick change of policy or regime.

Which is one reason that China looks good to Africa and to much of the rest of the formerly colonized world.

The Chinese do not foment coups, or encourage whole regions to become saturated in arms. They just want to do business in a stable environment. That’s why China has surpassed the U.S. as Africa’s trading partner, and why U.S. imperialism will ultimately be defeated. Because nobody wants someone around who spreads chaos and mass death everywhere he goes.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com. E-mail him at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

NAACP falls into Romney campaign’s trap Those members of the NAACP who booed Mitt Romney as he spoke at the organization’s annual convention in Houston fell into a clever political trap set up by the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign.

Romney should pay a big bonus to the operatives who arranged for him to address the overwhelmingly middle-income Black folks in attendance at the convention. When members of the audience booed Romney’s description of the health care bill as “Obamacare” rather the Affordable Care Act, his political operatives probably did some highfiving and chest-bumping while declaring, “Mission accomplished.”

They knew that would elicit boos that would impress those Whites who delight in seeing a White man stand up to what they consider pushy, freeloading Negroes. Also Romney’s operatives, including those twenty Blacks who were a part of his posse, knew there would be some kind of negative reaction from the audience when he said “If you want a president who will make things better for African Americans, you

A. Peter Bailey TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

are looking at him.”

Didn’t understand Most of the press just didn’t get it or at least pretended it didn’t. For instance, a Washington Post reporter wrote of Romney being cast “as someone willing to forcefully speak his piece even in unfriendly territory.” A Wall Street Journal editorial began with “Mitt Romney dared to speak to the NAACP convention on Wednesday…” In other words a courageous, principled Mitt Romney stood his ground against the representatives of big government freeloaders.

What the NAACPers should have done was to listen to Romney in total silence, clap briefly when he finished his speech and bid him farewell.

Jimmy Hicks, a legendary columnist with the New York Amsterdam News before his death, once said that the most impressive

protest event he ever saw in his many years as a journalist occurred when several hundred angry members of the Nation of Islam stood in total silence before a New York City Police Department precinct building on 132nd Street in Harlem where one of their members were being held.

Just silence There was no slogans being shouted, no singing of songs, no waving of signs or posters, just Black people coldly staring at that building. Jimmy said it so thoroughly messed with the nerves of the police officers that they relented and let Brother Malcolm X see the brother they were holding.

Such a tactic by the NAACPers may very well have diminished much of the joy of Romney and his operatives. Other Black organizations should treat what happened at the NAACP convention as a learning experience.

Contact A. Peter Bailey at apeterb@verizon.net, or 202-716-4560. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

JULY 20 - JULY 26, 2012

EDITORIAL

What Romney could have told the NAACP Give Mitt Romney credit for going into the NAACP lions’ den. He stood his ground, told the truth, weathered a chorus of boos and didn’t back down.

It was a bold – and smart – move. He told it like it is, saying that the 14.4 percent Black unemployment rate was an example of how the “duration of unemployment, average income, and median family wealth are all worse for the Black community.” He told the Obama worshiping crowd...“if I did not believe that my policies and...leadership would help families of color...more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I would not be running for president.”

Plunging a dagger into the hearts of the NAACP’s bosom buddies in the teachers’ unions, he said “I will give the parents of every low-income and special needs student the chance to choose where their child goes to school.”

Good for him! One would think that such sincerity would and will be appreciated. Don’t bet on it!

One thing is for sure: since the non-partisan eras of NAACP leaders Roy Wilkins and my friend and former boss Benjamin L. Hooks, whom Romney quoted, the organization has become nothing more than a partisan appendage of the liberal Democratic Party establishment.

Its leaders, the Congressional Black Caucus, and others have come together as “overseers” of the liberal “plantation” which Congressman Allen West (R-Fla.), has so aptly described.

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ‘OBAMACARE’ AND ROMNEY

Too polite CLARENCE V. MCKEE GUEST COLUMNIST

Wrong on the issues On almost every issue, the NAACP leadership sides with its liberal friends against the interests of much of its own constituency. And what are those issues?

As Chicago area writer Dennis Byrne wrote over a year ago regarding the situation in too many Black communities: “...culture is described by the growth of a matriarchy, as displayed by the many grandmothers raising their daughters’ children. By the absence of men in child rearing. By men who prey on young women who have never learned what to expect from decent, caring and responsible men. By the collapse of the family and the destruction of men’s and women’s traditional, balanced roles in making children strong enough to resist the challenges of today’s broader culture of irresponsibility, casual sex, substance abuse and other plagues.”

So what side does the NAACP come down on? YES, to same-sex marriage; NO, to legislation banning race and sex-based abortions; NO, to vouchers and choice for poor parents whose children are trapped in the “schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline” schools; YES, to race baiting for Democrats’ political gain at every opportunity.

Those were the shark-infested political waters Romney waded into. He did well, but he was a bit too polite. He could have really told it like it is in Obama’s Black America. He could have talked about the dirty little not-so secrets that Obama, the Democrats, the Congressional Black Caucus, Eric Holder and the NAACP don’t want to talk about.

• The urban terrorism gangand drug-related violence is slaughtering so many innocent men, women, and children in our cities. In Obama’s Chicago, where his former chief of staff is mayor, more people have been killed this year than the number of U.S. troops killed thus far in Afghanistan over the same period. A day later, Vice President Joe Biden speaks to them about the environment – but not THAT environment.

• According to the Children’s Defense Fund, Black males born in 2001 are more than five times as likely as White males to be incarcerated some time in their lifetime. One in nine Black males between ages 25 and 29 is in prison or jail.

• Sixty-six percent of the women newly infected with HIV each year are Black, according to a May study. The infection rate for Black women in the major urban areas studied is comparable to the Congo. Obama’s Center for Disease Control states that nearly one in 30 Black women will become infected with HIV in her lifetime.

Gov. Romney could also have reminded the NAACP audience

CHRISTOPHER WEYANT, THE HILL

of Obama’s 2007 promise that he would ensure fairness in the criminal justice system and rethink the wisdom of locking up first-time nonviolent drug offenders for decades. Of course, he has done nothing of the kind.

He also could have been as blunt as Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll whom Romney invited to join him in Houston. The NAACP life member said in a statement, “President Obama’s policies are failing us (and) have made a bad situation worse for struggling African-American families.”

This is what Romney could have said. But he didn’t. But why should he if Obama didn’t show up?

No outrage The NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus aren’t in an uproar over these issues. Biden didn’t discuss them in his remarks. Why should Romney? If

Blacks and the NAACP don’t ask Obama, as the Janet Jackson hit song asks, “What have you done for me lately,” why should he care?

Here’s what Romney did say: “I hope to represent all Americans, of every race, creed or sexual orientation, from the poorest to the richest and everyone in between...Every good cause on this earth relies in the end on a plan bigger than ours.”

Clarence V. McKee is president of McKee Communications, Inc. (www.mckeecommunications.com) a government, political and media relations consulting firm in Florida. This commentary originally appeared in Newsmax.com.

Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Coming out of the closet on mental health Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) has been away from Congress on medical leave for so long that his colleagues have been clamoring to know what’s wrong, and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported that the congressman was receiving treatment for addiction. The truth, according the Rep. Jackson’s staff, is that the congressman is being treated in a residential facility for exhaustion and mood disorders.

Why not say that in the first place? Because divulging one’s mental health status is often the kiss of death in politics and public life. It may be okay in Hollywood to speak of exhaustion, mood swings, and other mental health issues. In that world, treatment is often followed by a late night talk show interview and a career revival.

Politicians are different In contrast, any politician who has come out of the closet about his or her mental health gets anything but a hard time. Sen. Thomas Eagleton (D-Mo.), who had been elected to local, state, and national office for more than a decade, briefly joined the McGovern presidential ticket in 1972. When his medical records were leaked, Eagleton was pushed from the Democratic ticket, because he had long-standing mental health problems.

Eagleton checked into hospitals three times for physical and

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

nervous exhaustion, was known to have suffered from depression, and reportedly received electroconvulsive therapy twice. While his mental health history was not part of the public record, his hospitalizations led to speculation that he had a drinking problem.

Still, he was so effective as a campaigner and politician that he unseated an incumbent Democrat in his race for the United States Senate.

When George McGovern learned that Eagleton had taken the anti-psychotic drug Thorazine, and his doctors had spoken of his “manic depression,” McGovern initially supported Eagleton. However, when McGovern learned that Eagleton’s depression could return, he asked Eagleton to withdraw from the ticket and he complied.

GOP attacked Even though 77 percent of the American people said Eagleton’s medical record would not affect their vote, Republican opposition was geared up to attack McGovern because of Eagleton’s mental health status, and the press showed their ignorance by rather cavalierly referring to Eagleton’s

Many health plans do not even bother to cover mental health, and if they do, it is covered for a limited number of sessions. Having mental health problems is still enough of a stigma for some professionals to pay for mental health out of their pocket rather than have their mental health treatment be a matter of record. “shock therapy.”

Since men are far less likely to seek treatment for mental health issues than women are, Eagleton showed amazing self-awareness to seek help. He perhaps did not reveal more, and sooner, because he understood the public perceptions, and thus the negative consequences of being open about mental health.

Fast-forward 40 years to Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. Many would argue that we’ve come along way on mental health awareness, but some would argue the point. Many health plans do not even bother to cover mental health, and if they do, it is covered for a limited number of sessions.

Having mental health problems is still enough of a stigma for some professionals to pay for mental health out of their pocket rather than have their mental health treatment be a matter of record. Comedians and others joke that when someone appears to behave erratically (or in some cases, extremely mindfully), they

We’re in love with the Internet We Americans love our Internet. According to a new Nielsen study, “Top U.S. Web Brands and News Websites,” nearly 212 million of us were surfing the net in some shape, form or fashion in May this year – a little more than 276 million of us are estimated to have Internet access.

Americans take various avenues – mobile Internet, computer or tablet – to visit the websites we love. We spend, on average, a whopping 29 hours online per person a month. For a 30-day month, this works out to be a little less than an hour a day.

And you know how quickly time flies when you’re “surfing” the web. (Wouldn’t it be great if the same could be said about working out and we committed ourselves to exercising that much each month? I almost passed out this morning doing walking lunges and realized I had only been at it for 45 seconds. But I digress).

We loved Google the most, as it remained the champion of

CHERYL PEARSONMCNEIL NNPA COLUMNIST

web brands visited in the United States, with 173 million unique visitors (“unique” is digital-speak for the number of visitors counted once to a web site). Facebook came in second with close to 152 million unique visitors. Rounding out the top five brands were Yahoo! (almost 143 million), YouTube (127.5 million) and MSN/ WindowsLive/Bing (almost 127 million).

Here’s a complete U.S. picture for May 2012: • The average person made 64 web site visits/sessions.

• 97 domains were visited per person.

• There were 2,716 web page views per person.

• Each web page was viewed

an average of 1 minute and 5 seconds.

• Online time per person was 29 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds for the month.

• 211,985,000 people went online.

• 276,550,209 people had Internet access.

I don’t intentionally set out to view 2,716 web pages. Does anyone? You start out trying to find a recipe or news recap or gossip tidbit and the next thing you know another item on that page catches your attention, so you click on it. Then another little sumthin’, sumthin’ on the new page grabs you, and off you go again, until BAM, you’ve viewed 2,716 web pages in a month.

We love being in the know: 57 percent of online Americans visited current events and global news sites, averaging 18 visits and a total of 1 hour 22 minutes. Interestingly, the popularity ranking of a website does not always correspond with the amount of time spent there. Take a look:

must be “off their meds.”

Strong stigma The stigma remains, and it is stronger in the African-American community than the majority community. Tell an AfricanAmerican friend or colleague about feeling down for more than a week or so (two weeks of down moods is one sign of depression), and he or she will tell you to pray on it. “God will help you through it,” they will say. But the Lord helps those who help themselves, and sometimes the help needed won’t be found on your knees.

Or, the response to manic episodes is “Child, you so crazy,” as if that is a badge of honor, not a sign that help is needed. Every indicator we have of mental health utilization suggests that AfricanAmericans are less likely to seek help than their White counterparts, and while some of it may have to do with cost, some of it has to do with stigma.

As widely as post-partum depression is known and discussed,

1. More than 62 million unique U.S. visitors visited Yahoo! – ABC News. Average time spent per person was 17 minutes, 56 seconds.

2. CNN Digital Network followed with 39.6 million, but people spent on average more time here, about 35 minutes per person, and this site had the most page views (1.6 billion).

3. HPMG News (formerly AOL News brands) had more than 33 million visitors. Average visit: 16 minutes, 17 seconds.

4. MSNBC Digital network: 30.1 million visitors, 15 minutes, 3 seconds.

5. NYTimes.com: 29.2 million visitors, 19 minutes, 16 seconds.

6. Huffingtonpost.com: 29 million visitors, 20 minutes, 46 seconds.

7. Tribune Newspapers: 22.5 million visitors, 7 minutes, 58 seconds.

8. Fox News Digital Network: 21.6 visitors, 34 minutes, 36 seconds.

9. Today: Almost 16 million visitors, 8 minutes, 52 seconds.

10. USAToday.com: 15.1 million visitors, 8 minutes, 50 seconds.

African-American women are only half as likely to seek help as White women. Study after study reports the underutilization of mental health services among African-Americans.

Women are far more likely to be diagnosed with mood disorders than men are, which puts another burden on men.

Indeed, African-American men with mood disorders are more likely to rely on informal support systems, or to forego treatment than they are to seek help. Thus, a 2011 study from the School of Social Work at Michigan State University concludes that there is an unmet need for mental health services among African-American men.

It is as unfortunate that Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been hospitalized for mood disorders, as it would be if he were hospitalized for another illness. The fact that he has shared his mental health status may allow Americans, regardless of race or ethnicity, to come out of the closet about mental health.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Page views are comparable to ratings for TV. The higher the number of views, the higher the site’s advertising rates. Higher rates mean more revenue. Your consumer power is at work even as your nimble fingers surf the web, because our collective visits add up.

Where do you spend your time?

I hope you’re using your 29 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds wisely with sites and advertisers that are deserving of your precious (and limited) time. Otherwise, I’m going to invite you to take up doing those walking lunges with me, so you can fully appreciate the value of even a mere 45 seconds!

Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for Nielsen. For more information and studies go to www. nielsenwire.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

TOj A6

NATION

JULY 20 – JULY 26, 2012

NAACP growing in field and online, president says The NAACP, in its 103rd year, has consistently grown over the past three years and continues to be relentless in its quest for equality and fulfillment of America’s promises of freedom.

That is the NAACP described by its president/ CEO Ben Jealous.

“Brothers and sisters, I am proud to report today that the state of the NAACP is strong and getting Ben stronger evJealous ery day. In the past three years we have increased membership three years in a row for the first time in more than 20 years,” he told the crowd during his keynote at the NAACP national convention in Houston last week.

“Because of you, because of your dedication and sacrifice and because of the more than 25,000 NAACP active volunteer leaders in our more than 1,200 active

units across the country... it is truly never a question if we will win, but when we will win.”

He reported that in the past four years, online activ-

ists have grown from 175,000 to more than 650,000 people; including Facebook followers that have grown from 5,000 to 135,000.

Jealous also said indi-

vidual donors have grown from 16,000 to 125,000 people writing checks of all sizes to the association each year and that the organization, once beleaguered

with financial problems, has now been in the black “every year for the past four years, and growing every year straight through this recession.”

WOW! PASS

EXTRA SAVINGS ON ALL SALE &

CLEARANCE APPAREL! (EXCEPT SPECIALS, SUPER BUYS & SPECIAL PURCHASES)

EXTRA 2O% OFF

SELECT SALE & CLEARANCE APPAREL FOR HIM, HER & KIDS, PLUS FINE & FASHION JEWELRY EXTRA 15% OFF ALL SALE & CLEARANCE SHOES, HANDBAGS, COATS, SUITS, DRESSES, IMTIMATES; MEN’S SUIT SEPARATES & SPORTCOATS & SELECT HOME ITEMS EXTRA 1O% OFF ALL SALE & CLEARANCE WATCHES AND ELECTRICS & ELECTRONICS Excludes: Everyday Values (EDV), specials, super buys, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, rugs, men’s store electronics, cosmetics/fragrances, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., special purchases, services, macys.com. Cannot be combined with any savings pass/ coupon, extra discount or credit offer except opening a new Macy’s account.

EXTRA SAVINGS % APPLIED TO REDUCED PRICES. OR TEXT “CPN” TO MACYS (62297)

VALID 7/18-7/22/2012

AME Church tries to clear up issue about endorsing Obama SPECIAL TO THE NNPA

A July 1 story posted on the Charisma News website and Facebook page reported that the AME denomination was threatening to withdraw support from Obama because of his stance on same sex marriage and that the AME Church was partnering with an organization called the Coalition of African-American Pastors.

(Charisma News is a publication of Charisma Media, which owns Charisma, New Man, Ministry Today and SpiritLed Woman magazines.)

According to Bishop Samuel L. Green, president of the AME Church Council of Bishops, “As a denomination, we do not endorse candidates for any political office. As such, we cannot ‘withdraw’ support from President Obama because we cannot endorse any candidate for political office and did not endorse the president. No organization has been authorized to speak for the AME Church.”

Church condemns report Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, chairperson of the AME Church’s Commission on Social Action said, “Contrary to the report, neither the AME Church nor its leadership is involved with or partnering with the We also condemn those who attached the good name of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to an effort to sow discord and misinformation.

“The story in Charisma News bore a sad and striking resemblance to other stories that either stretch or totally abandon the truth in an effort to divide and conquer the African-American community.

“As a denomination born in the struggle for equality, we condemn any effort to discourage voters or to lead voters astray through misinformation. The AME Church Social Action Commission will instead continue to encourage all citizens, and especially those touched by our churches, to register and exercise their right to vote,” she continued.

The AME Church also asked Charisma News to rescind the story.

“We call upon Charisma News and those who furnished this erroneous story to their website to immediately rescind the story.

Should that not be done, we will immediately seek possible remedies to correct the situation,” said Bishop T. Larry Kirkland, president of the General Board of the AME Church.

This story is special to the NNPA from the L.A. Watts Times.

SUMMER STOCK-UP SALE & CLEARANCE 25%-5O% OFF STOREWIDE PLUS, TAKE AN EXTRA 1O%-2O% OFF† WHEN YOU USE YOUR MACY’S CARD OR SAVINGS PASS. †EXCLUSIONS APPLY. SEE PASS.

DON’T MISS OUR SPECIAL PURCHASES–THE SEASON’S NEWEST LOOKS AT PRICES SO LOW, YOU DON’T NEED A SAVINGS PASS! SEE THEM AT SELECT MACY’S STORES OR AT MACYS.COM FREE ONLINE SHIPPING EVERY DAY + EXTRA 2O% OFF!

Free shipping with $99 purchase. Use promo code: EXTRA for extra savings; offer valid 7/18-7/22/2012. Exclusions apply; see macys.com for details.

SUMMER STOCK-UP SALE PRICES IN EFFECT 7/18-7/25/12.

OPEN A MACY’S ACCOUNT FOR EXTRA 15% SAVINGS THE FIRST 2 DAYS, UP TO $100, WITH MORE REWARDS TO COME. Macy’s credit card is available subject to credit approval; new account savings valid the day your account is opened and the next day; excludes services, selected licensed departments, gift cards, restaurants, gourmet food & wine. The new account savings are limited to a total of $100; application must qualify for immediate approval to receive extra savings; employees not eligible.

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD July 20 - July 26, 2012

IFE/FAITH More teachers suffering from PTSD See page B4

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

How to select, store and prepare summer veggies See page B5

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA www.flcourier.com

|

SECTION

B

A march for

Marissa PHOTOS BY PENNY DICKERSON/SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Protesters show their support for Marissa Alexander during a rally hosted at Hemming Park in Jacksonville on July 13.

Civil rights leaders, politicians rally for Jacksonville woman sentenced to 20 years for ‘warning shot’ FROM STAFF REPORTS

Martin Luther King III was among the many protesters who participated in a rally in Jacksonville on July 13 in support of Marissa Alexander, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing what she says was a “warning shot” into the wall after a physical altercation with her husband, Rico Gray.

Her stand your ground defense was denied.

The mandatory 20-year sentence also has drawn national attention to Florida since the Trayvon Martin case.

Alexander’s case set off yet another controversy involving the law, which is under intense scrutiny after the shooting death of the Miami teen in Sanford. A task force established by Gov. Rick Scott is reviewing the state’s law.

‘Gross miscarriage of justice’ Congresswoman Corrine Brown, who has been outspoken about both cases, also was among the NAACP and community leaders, clergy and politicians who participated in the march and rally.

Before the rally, Isaiah Rumlin, president of the NAACP Jacksonville branch, said, “A gross miscarriage of justice occurred when Marissa Alexander, a repeat victim of domestic violence was sentenced to 20 years in jail for protecting her life.’’

“Florida’s unjust Criminal Justice System has repeatedly and disproportionately affected minorities. The 10-20-Life and Stand Your Ground Laws have not been consistently applied and we are sending a message that this will no longer be tolerated in our communities. We are putting elected officials on notice that we will hold them accountable to the oaths they took to protect and serve.

“Even if she is guilty of some crime and deserves some sort of sanction by the court,” he said, “the judge should have the authority to decide an appropriate sentence after hearing all the unique circumstances of the case.”

Martin Luther King III addresses the crowd. Seated on the right is Congresswoman Corrine Brown.

The comment made by President Barack Obama is printed on a T-shirt worn by a protester.

Prayer is offered up at the rally on July 13.

The rally prompted plenty of prayer and reflection from protesters.

S

CALENDAR

B2

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

JULY 20 - July 26, 2012

S

MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE

Tickets are now on sale for the MEAC/SWAC Bethune-Cookman vs. Alabama State football game at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Sept. 2.

Palm Beach: A health fair is scheduled July 21 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at 2330 south Congress Ave. Free back-to-school physicals will be offered as well as health services to include vision, dental pap smears, HIV testing, breast exams diabetic testing and more.

More information: 561-3180814.

Miami: The Second Chance Sealing and Expungement workshop will be July 26 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Bethel Church, 14440 Lincoln Blvd. (Limited capacity, ID required). Preregistration is available at www.miamisao.com. More information: 305-547-0724.

Vero Beach: The Christian Student Fellowship at Indian River State College is hosting a 10th anniversary celebration and fundraising banquet. The banquet is Sept. 21 at the college’s Richardson Center on the Mueller Campus. Seating is limited. Tickets are $20.

More information: Elsie Mokoban at 772-559-8325 or emokoban@aol.com.

Fort Pierce: The St. Lucie County Library System announces its parenting program “Father & Child Con-

MARVIN SAPP

EMMANUEL & PHILLIP HUDSON

Internet sensations Emmanuel & Phillip Hudson will be at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on July 29 for a 6 p.m. show.

nection” for July focusing on “Discipline: To Teach and Lead by Example.” Sessions will be held at the Morningside Branch Library July 10 at 6 p.m. and at the Fort Pierce Branch Library July 24 at 6 p.m. More information: 772-579-3419 or seibenicke01@elcslc.org.

Miami: Mary J. Blige will be in concert with D’Angelo and Melanie Fiona at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Aug. 30 for an 8 p.m. show.

Fort Lauderdale: Live jazz, blues, pop and everything in between along Hollywood’s signature 2.5 mile Broadwalk is every Friday of every month. More information: 954-924-2980.

Fort Lauderdale: A threehour cooking class with professionally trained chefs is scheduled at City College Fort Lauderdale, 2000 W. Commercial Blvd. The class is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. MondaySaturday. Cost: $39.99 per

person per class. More information: 954-703-6745 or www.chef954.com.

Miami: The Funkshion Fashion Week Miami Beach will be held through July 22 at various locations throughout Miami and Miami Beach. More information: www.fashionweekmiami.com or 305-673-2756.

Boca Raton: An open mic night for 18 and up featuring comedy, poetry and

The King’s Men Tour with Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Donnie McClurkin and Israel Houghton is scheduled at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Sept. 30.

music is held every Monday at the Funky Biscuit in the back of Royal Palm Plaza, 303 SE Mizner Blvd. Signup is at 8 p.m.; showtime at 8:30 p.m. More information: Richy Lala 561-512-8472.

Miami: Miami-Dade County hosts a Downtown Harvest Market every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Residents and visitors have the opportunity to purchase seasonal produce directly from Miami-Dade growers

at the Stephen P. Clark Center’s Courtyard, 111 NW 1st St. More information: www. earth-learning.org.

Miami: Nicki Minaj will be at the James L. Knight Center on July 24 for an 8 p.m. show.

Miami: Tickets are on sale for a show featuring Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez at the American Airlines Arena on Aug. 31.

REMEMBERING FALLEN SOLDIER

Army specialist killed in Afghanistan will be buried in Bushnell Monday FROM STAFF REPORTS

Residents from Tampa to Chiefland lined the streets this week to pay tribute to Army Specialist Clarence Williams III. Williams, 23, was killed along with five others on July 8 when their armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

His body was escorted in a procession on Wednesday morning from MacDill Air Force Base to Chiefland in Levy County. Williams and his five comrades were returned to American soil on July 12 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Clarence His body was flown to MacWilliams III Dill on Wednesday morning and then transported by hearse to Carnegie Funeral Home in Chiefland.

Tampa residents lined Bayshore Boule-

Maria Hawkins Cole dies in Florida at 89 SPECIAL TO THE NNPA

Big Band singer Maria Hawkins Cole, wife of jazz legend Nat “King” Cole and mother of singer Natalie Cole, died July 10 in Boca Raton after a short battle with cancer.

She was 89.

“I just want to thank everyone for their prayers [and] loving support. Mom has passed, gone to glory, July 10th 2012. She will be next to Dad at Forest Lawn,” Maria Natalie Cole tweeted on JuHawkins Cole ly 11.

Born in Boston in 1922, Cole and her sister moved to North Carolina after her mother died in childbirth, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Performed with Basie, others Blessed with the gift of music, she studied voice and piano as a child and graduated in 1938 from the Palmer Memorial Institute, then one of America’s most prestigious African-American prep schools.

After a short stint in Boston, Cole then moved to New York to pursue a career in music, performing with Benny Carter’s band, Count Basie and Fletcher Henderson.

Married Nat in 1948 Her big break came in the 1940s after Duke Ellington heard a recording of her “throaty, resonant voice,” according to The New York Times, and hired her as a vocalist for his orchestra. She stayed with him until 1946, when she became a solo act at Club Zanzibar in Harlem, opening for the

vard on Wednesday as his body passed by and a similar scene occurred in Chiefland to honor the fallen soldier.

Staff Sgt. Ricardo Seija, 31, of Tampa was killed in that same attack. His body also was escorted home for the final time on Tuesday morning.

Service on Saturday Williams attended Hernando High School and joined the Army in 2009. He was due to return home at the end of this month. He is survived by his father, Clarence Williams Jr, his mother Talisa Williams and two sisters.

He and Seija were assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion in Fort Bliss, Texas.

A memorial service for Williams was held in Brooksville on Monday and another was scheduled for July 21 at Living Waters Worship Center in Ocala. He will be laid to rest in Bushnell on Monday.

Mills Brothers.

It was there that Nat “King” Cole first saw her, and reportedly became so smitten that he divorced his first wife, Nadine. The pair were married in 1948 in a lavish wedding presided over by Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.

“Nat wanted to improve himself,” Maria Cole told The Boston Globe in 1989, as cited by the Times. “I wanted to help him improve. What he needed, I had. What I needed, he had. That’s why our marriage worked.”

Encountered racial violence After their wedding, the pair traveled and performed together during the 1950s, often encountering racial violence. She raised their five children and supported her husband while his career flourished.

After her husband died of lung cancer in 1965 at age 45, Cole created the Cole Cancer Foundation and became very active in charity work.

According to the Times, Cole’s family said she also retuned to singing both before and after her husband’s death. She and Nat recorded songs with Capitol Records and her best-known solo album, “Love Is a Special Feeling,” was released in 1966.

Lived in Florida at time of death “Our mom was in a class all by herself,” Natalie said in a statement released with her twin sisters Timolin and Casey Cole.

“She epitomized class and elegance and truly defined what it is to be a real lady.

“We are so blessed and privileged to have inherited the legacy that she leaves behind along with our father. She died how she lived: with great strength, courage and dignity, surrounded by her loving family.”

According to the Associated Press, Cole, who lived in Ponte Vedra Beach at the time of her death, will be buried in private services in California.

This story is special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper.

The LATCH system makes it easier to be sure your child’s car seat is installed correctly every time. Just clip it to the lower anchors, attach the top tether, and pull the straps tight. To find out more, visit safercar.gov.

STO

FINEST

July 20 - JULY 26, 2012

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

B3

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

E-mail your high-resolution digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier.com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

Florida Courier photojournalists were onboard Royal Caribbean ships with thousands of Tom Joyner Morning Show fans on the Fantastic Voyage 2011 and 2012. We’re featuring some of the “Finest” cruisers.

TONY LEAVELL/FLORIDA COURIER and DELROY COLE/FLORIDA COURIER

Jada Pinkett Smith to launch campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking FROM WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON – Actress and activist Jada Pinkett Smith urged Congress on Tuesday to step up the fight against human trafficking in the United States and abroad.

The actress testified during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that she plans to launch a campaign to raise awareness and spur action against human trafficking and slavery.

She said the “old monster” of slavery “is still with us,” almost 150 years after

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the U.S. “Fighting slavery doesn’t cost a lot of money. The costs of allowing it to exist in our nation and abroad are much higher,” she said.

“It robs us of the thing we value most, our freedom.”

Family attends hearing She said the issue was brought to her attention by her daughter Willow, 11, who sat nearby with actor Will Smith, Pinkett Smith’s husband and Willow’s fa-

ther. The Smiths all wore blazers over T-shirts that read, “Free Slaves.” The hearing room was filled mostly with young people, some trying to take photos of the famous family.

With her father’s arm around her, Willow remained attentive to her mother’s testimony and often whispered to her father. At least 30 minutes into the hearing, Will wrapped his gray blazer around Willow.

The actress called for an extension of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which provides funding

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith pose for a photo with their daughter Willow Smith during the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb.13. The Smiths were at a Congress hearing on Tuesday.

to combat trafficking and help trafficking victims.

The act also created a task force, chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, which coordinates among federal agencies to implement policies against human trafficking.

Sen. John Kerry, DMass., pledged to try to gather bipartisan congressional support to further fund the act.

The State Department estimates that at least 14,500 people are trafficked to the U.S. annually.

LIONEL HAHN/ ABACA PRESS/MCT

My Skills. My Benefits. My Future.

Are you a 35 to 60 year-old unemployed Veteran looking for a new career?

Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) Provides eligible Veterans with education benefits for up to 12 months of training Now accepting applications

For more information visit

www.benefits.va.gov/VOW or call

888-442-4551 "Helping Veterans Attain Personal and Economic Success"

TOj B4

HEALTH

Stoj

july 20 – JULY 26, 2012

Teachers and post-traumatic stress disorder Doctors say victims assaulted in classrooms suffer more than physical injuries

BY JOEL HOOD CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT

Six years ago, Norma Brown, a Chicago Public Schools teacher of more than 30 years, took a stand against a fourth-grader who refused to remove his baseball hat in the school’s lunchroom.

A fight ensued. A group of 11and 12-year-olds surrounded Brown, yelling and cursing. One cocked his fist and punched her squarely in the left eye. Brown stumbled for the door and two girls, a sixth-grader and an eighth-grader, began punching and kicking her. She fought to remain standing.

“I knew that if I fell to the ground they would stomp on me,” she said recently. “When you fall, you’re dead meat.”

What happened to Brown may be extreme, but police records show reports of violent attacks against teachers and school staff have risen sharply in Illinois over the past decade. As doctors and psychologists work to return them to the classrooms, there is growing acceptance that these assault victims may suffer more than physical injuries.

From nightmares to panic attacks In the difficult months following her attack, Brown was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, an affliction more commonly associated with emergency responders and soldiers returning from battle.

Similar diagnoses have been made around the country for teachers who have been assaulted by students, or even those who’ve simply witnessed violent outbursts at school.

Like all victims of trauma, teachers can experience symptoms of PTSD in different ways. Some have nightmares that can linger for years. Some rely on medication to get through their day.

Others suffer from such severe anxiety that they cannot step foot back inside the school where they were attacked. A few abandon teaching altogether.

Diagnosis not easy to accept Brown has never been able to return to the elementary school where the attack took place and even today won’t drive in the neighborhood. She said she relies on anxiety medication to keep her calm and meets regularly with a Dr. Holly Houston, a PTSD specialist.

“Of the teachers that I have counseled over the years who have been assaulted, 100 percent

Former teacher Norma Brown is shown on June 5 in Hazel Crest, Ill. Brown was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the Chicago Public Schools teacher was kicked and punched by a group of students in 2006.

E. JASON WAMBSGANS/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT

of them have satisfied diagnostic criteria for PTSD,” said Houston, who has worked with about a half dozen Chicago public school teachers overcome symptoms of PTSD. Brown said the diagnosis of PTSD was not easy to accept at first.

“Is this why I have these nightmares and can’t sleep? Is this why I was having to take sleeping pills?” she recalled thinking. “I was over-eating. Having all kinds of bad thoughts. Wanting to hurt people. I’m not a pill taker. I hate taking drugs. But I’m on medication right now for anxiety. If I don’t take it, it’s on.”

New research helps broaden understanding Doctors who’ve studied PTSD in military veterans say new research has helped broaden the understanding of the psychological effects of trauma.

This has led some to conclude that PTSD is far more common than previously imagined, affecting nearly anyone who has survived a life-threatening event, said Dr. Gerald Juhnke, a noted PTSD expert and professor in the Department of Counseling at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

“In the beginning we pretty much looked at shell-shocked and PTSD diagnosis being military related or police officers or emergency responders,” Juhnke said. “We now know that PTSD

can relate to any issue where two things take place: serious risk of harm to oneself or loved ones.”

‘Teachers are very vulnerable’ In fact, teachers may be more susceptible than most, Juhnke said, particularly those in tough, urban schools where violence is commonplace.

“Teachers don’t carry guns or badges; they’re not going into the profession ever believing they’re going to be injured or attacked by students,” Juhnke said. “Teachers are very vulnerable. Their personality is such that they don’t forget easily.’’

Like Brown, many teachers who suffer from PTSD see their careers significantly altered.

“They have anxiety about going back to the classroom,” Houston said. “They often dream about the assault. They sometimes have fear about being around children of a certain type or size.”

Violent crimes in inner-city schools Violent crimes are a daily occurrence in many troubled Chicago Public Schools. Police log dozens of calls a week from CPS schools, investigating complaints of battery, drug use, armed robberies, sexual assault, bomb threats and arson.

In this environment, experts say, it is possible that even teachers who have never been attacked can suffer symptoms of

PTSD. They may feel anxious or on edge.

For teachers who have physical confrontations with students, the trauma can be more severe. Dr. Harry Croft, an author and PTSD expert in San Antonio, said sufferers have feelings of helplessness that can be triggered by every day sights or smells. Houston said she has seen teachers haunted by “intrusive thoughts” that make it difficult to put the attack behind them.

“It’s your mind trying to grasp or accommodate or process what has happened,” Houston said. “Some of it comes in dreams. It is normal to feel depressed or angry.”

Assaulted by ‘disturbed’ students Teachers who’ve been assaulted by students are often reluctant to talk about it. Some have legal cases pending against their districts, while others said they simply want to put the incident behind them.

One former teacher, who spoke to the Chicago Tribune on the condition that her name not be disclosed, described a horrific attack at a West Side elementary school in 2004.

She was seated at her desk when a student, apparently upset by a poor grade, surprised her with a punch to the face. The student proceeded to smash her head numerous times into the chalkboard before help arrived.

“There was no reason for it,

the student just went nuts,” said the woman, whose speech is still slurred by the facial fractures she sustained in the attack. “He was disturbed.”

The woman, who said she has not been diagnosed with PTSD, still “dreams of teaching.” But she has yet to return to the classroom.

Difficult return to classroom When Brown finally did return to teaching, three years after the attack, she eased back in slowly.

She was limited to teaching as a substitute in the lowest grade levels and only in neighborhoods where she felt comfortable. But the school system could not accommodate those requests for long and soon began assigning her to teach in more challenging classrooms in tougher neighborhoods.

“She was having to go where she needed to go and there were a couple of times where she got to school and walked out, saying ‘I can’t do this,’ ” Houston said.

Her substitute teaching hours dwindled over the last school year. Brown became increasingly frustrated and recently decided to retire. Her memories of the 2006 assault remain as fresh as the day they occurred, Brown worries she may never fully put it behind her.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not reminded about what happened, and all that came after,” Brown said.

Progress on teen pregnancy could be lost, experts warn

BY EDWARD MITCHELL ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (MCT)

ATLANTA – Andre Castro still remembers the days when teen pregnancy seemed an unsolvable problem. Young people were having unprotected sex at increasingly early ages. Pregnancy rates were rising across the country. Community leaders were frozen, debating the wisdom of abstinence-only education versus early childhood sex education.

But those days are long gone, said Castro, the director of Adolescent Health and Youth Development Programs for Gwinnett County’s health department.

Since 2005 at Meadowcreek High School, Castro has overseen a health program that exposed all students to both abstinence and sex education, as well as targeted counseling.

“Every student who entered Meadowcreek in ninth grade was touched by the program, and this is our second or third year with no new teen pregnancies,” he said.

Still a big problem Meadowcreek is not a wholly unusual success story. In communities nationwide, the tide has turned against teenage pregnancy, said Bill Albert, an official at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Preg-

nancy.

“The decline … has been nothing short of extraordinary,” he said. “We have seen more than a 40 percent decline in teen pregnancy and birth rates. We’ve seen declines in all 50 states and all age and ethnic groups.”

But teenage pregnancy remains a significant problem.

What’s more: Some fear the progress, much of it sparked in the classroom, could be lost because of school budget cuts.

“Without the funding to provide comprehensive health and improved sex ed curricula in schools, and without access to affordable, teen-friendly health services, many of our young people won’t have access to the important information and services they need,” said Vikki MillenderMorrow, president of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

One-man operation School budget cuts may limit the reach of educational drives going forward.

“Schools are strapped for funds, so who’s going to pay for teachers to be educated or for other health professionals to come into the school system?”

Millender-Morrow asked.

Castro has already seen the effects of budget cuts.

“I started out as one-man operation, and I’m back down to a one-man operation,” he said.

VINO WONG/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/MCT

Andre Castro leads the efforts of educating students about teen pregnancy at Meadow Creek High School in Norcross, Ga. “The lack of funding could result in rising teen pregnancy rates.”

Just as worrisome as the possibility of more teens becoming pregnant is the fear that teens who are already pregnant will drop out of school.

Grad rates affected According to a report released in June by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy, teen pregnancy increases school dropout rates. The report listed Gwinnett and DeKalb counties in Georgia as districts where teen pregnancy rates have harmed graduation rates.

“There really is a link between teen pregnancy and high school

dropouts,” Millender-Morrow said. “It is the number one reason that girls drop out of high school.”

At Meadowcreek, Castro sought to keep teen parents in school by hiring caseworkers to assist them with day care, and making up class credits.

“Those students ended up a year behind, but they graduated,” he said.

But budget cuts could make similar efforts financially infeasible going forward.

Family dynamic Parents may have to take the lead in the struggle against teen pregnancy, said social worker

and one-time teen mom Christy Ware, who now works with pregnant teens.

“We need to hold parents more accountable,” she said. “The state offers so many things, but if we don’t change the (family) environment, we’re not changing anything.” That is one way to keep making progress, Castro said.

“We’re going to have to approach this as a community, and not as separate institutions. All of us — parents, religious institutions, schools, public health agencies — have to come together to develop things that will meet (youth) needs, as opposed to what we think they need.”

STOJ

July 20 - JULY 26, 2012

FOOD

B5

By Sharon Thompson McClatchy Newspapers

Tomatoes, squash, corn, peaches … the summer is full of yumminess.

But what to do with all these tasty fruits and vegetables? Check out our guide to selecting, storing and preparing your summer harvest

I l l u s t r at o n s b y D av e J o h n s o n / MCT

Many of us wait all year for tomato season, when we can buy homegrown tomatoes from local farmers or pick them from our gardens and enjoy the smell and juiciness of a “real” tomato.

Even though most any freshly picked tomato tastes wonderful, many consumers want heirloom tomatoes because of the flavor and texture that rarely can be found in modern tomatoes.

Heirloom or homegrown, here are tips on how to select and store fresh tomatoes: n A ripe tomato will be vibrant in color, plump and firm, and have just a little give.

Sniff it if you can; if it’s missing that sweet, woody smell, leave it behind. Always look for tomatoes and grape tomatoes that are free of wrinkles, a sign of age. n Keep tomatoes unwashed and at room temperature; putting them in the refrigerator can turn the flesh mealy. For maximum air circulation, remove them from plastic bags. To help speed ripening, put them in a paper bag with an apple, which emits ethylene gas, a ripening agent. Once ripe, tomatoes will last up to three days. n For the smoothest slicing, use a serrated knife, which will cut through a tomato’s skin without bruising the flesh. To remove the core, use a paring knife to cut around it at an angle.

— Real Simple magazine

Back yard gardeners who grow zucchini and yellow summer squash often have more than they can possibly eat.

The prolific summer squashes can be used in so many different dishes, that it’s a shame to think about giving the extras away. But neighbors will appreciate your generosity. n If you buy zucchini — a type of summer squash — or yellow squash at the farmers market, choose small (about 6 to 8 inches long) and tender ones because both skin and seeds are eaten.

The peel is antioxidant-rich. n To store fresh summer squash, place it unwashed in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Wash the squash just before preparation. The storage life of summer squash is brief, so use it within two to three days. n Summer squashes have a mild flavor and pair well with a variety of herbs and seasonings. Because they are so versatile, freeze as many as possible to use during the winter. n To freeze zucchini and summer squash for use in soups and casseroles, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place in boiling water for 2 minutes, remove and plunge in ice water to stop the cooking.

Drain well and pat dry between layers of paper towels. Place in freezer bags, label and freeze. n If you want to make zucchini muffins and quick breads, shred the zucchini first.

Make sure the zucchini is blemish-free and rinse it well under cold water. Do not peel. Once shredded, portion out the zucchini in the amounts you need for your recipes. Place it in freezer bags, squeezing all the air out and pressing the bags flat. Label and date. Sliced or shredded zucchini keeps about 10 months in the freezer. n Before using shredded zucchini in muffins or quick breads (most bakers prefer zucchini), thaw it and pat it dry between several layers of paper towel on a dish. Let stand about 10 minutes and press down again, squeezing out as much moisture as you can. n Shredded zucchini also is great for making pancakes, and zucchini and summer squash are great for tossing with hot pasta. n According to Cooks Illustrated, you can seed larger zucchini and summer squash by rolling the vegetable and applying slight pressure with the palms of your hands to soften the insides and loosen the seeds. Then halve the vegetable lengthwise and scoop out seeds with a spoon.

MCT Illustraton

Ask any farmer or back yard gardener about fresh corn and they’ll tell you the best way to cook it. Put a pot of water on to boil before you run out to the garden, pick the corn, shuck it on the way back to the house, and plunge it into the boiling water.

Since most of us don’t have back-yard crops, we must buy corn at the farmers market or grocery store. We’ll take it anywhere we can get it.

Here are some suggestions on how to select, store and prepare fresh corn: n Look for ears with green husks, moist stems and silk ends that are free of decay. Kernels should be small, tender, plump and milky when pierced, and they should fill up all the spaces in the rows. n Keep unshucked fresh corn in the refrigerator until ready to use, wrapped in damp paper towels and placed in a plastic bag. Typical shelf life is 4 to 6 days. n To steam: Remove husks and silks.

Trim stem ends. Stand ears in a tall pot with 1 inch of water. Cover with a tightfitting lid and steam for 5 minutes. n To microwave: Place ears of corn, still in husks, in a single layer in the microwave. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, turning the ears halfway through cooking time. Allow corn to rest several minutes before removing the husks and silks. n To boil: Remove husks and silks.

Trim stem ends. Carefully place ears in large pot of boiling water.

Cook 2 to 4 minutes, or until the kernels are tender. n To grill: Peel away the outer layers of husk. If the ears have many layers, peel off the first few, leaving a few layers for protection but allowing the kernels to caramelize a little. Put the corn on the grill as soon as the initial flames from the charcoal die down and the coals are still red hot. Grill the corn, turning often, until the first layer of husk is charred completely. Depending on your fire, this could take 5 to 10 minutes. Just before serving, peel back the husk and brown the kernels on the grill, turning the corn frequently. To remove the corn from its husk, cut the stem end up to the bottom of the ear and peel back the husks and silk.

— From the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service

A basket of just-picked peaches will yield some of our most favorite summer treats: ice cream, pies, cobblers, shortcakes, smoothies, muffins and preserves. Sure, we can buy them readymade, but the joy comes from peeling, pitting and slicing — and turning the glorious fruit into something even more spectacular. n Peaches should be soft to the touch but not mushy. n Look for a well-defined crease that runs from the stem to the point. n Don’t squeeze peaches; they bruise easily. n Place firm peaches on the counter for a day or two, and they’ll ripen. n Promptly refrigerate ripe peaches and eat them within a week of purchase. n To keep sliced peaches from darkening, add lemon juice or ascorbic acid. n Three medium peaches will yield 1 pound, or 2 cups, of sliced peaches or 1½ cups of purée. n As a general rule, avoid bruising peaches in the picking or preparation processes. The peaches should be ripe yet firm. Very soft peaches will not cook or freeze well. n To peel easily: Submerge in boiling water, immediately plunge peaches into cold water. The skin should come off in large peels. If peaches are slightly underripe, allow them to remain in the hot water a little longer to loosen the peel.

— From Georgia peach grower Dickey Farms

FOOD

TOj B6

S

july 20 – JULY 26, 2012 Breakfast-To-Go Grape Smoothie Jump-start your day with this easy all-in-one drink.

Makes 2 1/3 cups 1 1/2 cups frozen California grapes 1 banana, sliced 1/2 cup vanilla or honey lowfat Greek yogurt 1/2 cup grape juice 1/4 cup wheat flake cereal Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken and Grape Skewers These quick-to-fix skewers can also serve as appetizers.

Makes 4 entrée servings 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, fresh minced 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, crushed 1 tablespoon oregano, fresh minced 1 tablespoon rosemary, fresh minced 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 pound chicken breast, boneless and skinless 1 3/4 cups California green seedless grapes, picked from stem and rinsed 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh In small bowl combine olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, oregano, rosemary and lemon zest. Whisk together marinade.

Cut chicken into 3/4-inch cubes. Alter­nate chicken and grapes and thread onto 12 skewers.

Place skewers into a baking dish or pan large enough to hold them. Pour marinade over skewers, coating each one. Marinate for 4 to 24 hours.

Remove skewers from marinade and let excess oil drip off. Season with salt.

Grill until chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

Arrange on serving platter and drizzle with additional olive oil and lemon juice.

FROM Family Features

G

rapes have been enjoyed for their taste and beauty for thousands of years. And today’s scientific research keeps on showing that grapes are more than just a pretty fruit — they’re also very, very good for us.

In fact, over a decade of research sug­gests that grapes help maintain a healthy heart and may also help defend against a variety of age-related and other illnesses. Studies are ongoing to uncover the links between grapes and heart health, eye health, brain health, joint health, cell health and preventing certain cancers.

Of course, grapes aren’t just healthy, they also taste great: crisp, juicy and sweet. Kids love them. And, they’re convenient, making them truly a Super Snack. Eat them by the bunch, or toss them into recipes like these.

To learn more about the health benefits of grapes from California, and to get more delicious ways to enjoy them every day, visit www.grapesfromcalifornia.com or www.facebook.com/ GrapesFromCalifornia.

Grape and Salmon Power Salad Fresh grapes are just one of the “super” foods in this hearty and hearthealthy salad.

Makes 6 servings 3/4 cup pearled barley 3 cups firmly packed kale leaves, torn and sliced into ribbons 1 cup halved, red or black seedless California grapes 8 ounces cold, cooked salmon, skin and bones removed 1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped Dressing 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 clove garlic, mashed 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Pinch cayenne pepper 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Cook barley according to package directions, or in plenty of lightly salted boiling water for about 35 to 45 minutes until it is plump and tender, and still slightly chewy. Drain and cool.

Tenderize kale by blanching it in boiling water for 2 to 3 seconds or cooking in the microwave for 1 minute.

Rinse in cold water to stop cooking,

and squeeze dry. Fluff and uncrimp dry kale pieces with your fingers.

In a medium bowl, mix together barley, kale, grapes, salmon and walnuts.

To prepare dressing: In small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne. Gradually mix in olive oil.

Pour onto salad and fold gently to combine. Serve immedi­ately or refrigerate.

Frozen Grape and Banana Skewers with Chocolate Drizzle These delightful frozen treats are healthy, too.

Makes 4 servings 2 firm ripe bananas 2 tablespoons orange juice 1/2 cup red grapes (about 16) 1/2 cup green grapes (about 16) 8 10-inch wooden skewers 1 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa solids), finely chopped Line a baking sheet with wax paper.

Cut the banana into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Place in small bowl and toss gently with the orange juice.

Skewer fruit, alternating two grapes for each piece of banana, and place fruit skewers onto lined tray.

Place chocolate in small micro­wave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir well, and microwave another 10 seconds if necessary to melt chocolate.

Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate onto fruit skewers.

Place the tray in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Once frozen, skewers may be transferred to a sealable plastic bag where they will keep in the freezer for up to a week. Allow to soften at room temperature for 5 minutes before eating.

Publix is the real deal.

With all the claims of low prices and great values, which grocery store really does offer you the most? Bottom line, it’s Publix. No gimmicks. No come-ons. Just straight-up savings that will help keep your grocery budget in check. Go to publix.com/save right now to make plans to save this week.

LOVE TO SHOP HERE. LOVE TO SAVEHERE.