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Golden moments at the Olympics See Page B1 www.flcourier.com
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
VOLUME 24 NO. 33
WE DO HAVE CHOICES Florida’s Black Republicans, Bernie Sanders fans and non-party-affiliated voters have choices other than Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Here’s brief info on two credible third-party candidates. or” language. That “binary choice” of one of the only things establishment Democrats and Republicans agree on. But like many of the statements made during this 2016 election season, the statement isn’t true.
BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS; OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/TNS
Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein, left, and Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson, right, hold themselves out as viable alternatives to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, respectively.
TALLAHASSEE – The number of Zika cases in Florida continued to increase, with the state Department of Health announcing that four more people are believed to have been infected through mosquito bites in Miami-Dade County. The announcement brought the total number of local infections to 21, though health officials said they still think the virus is being transmitted by mosquitoes in only one area of Miami. Meanwhile, the department reported 14 new travel-related cases in the state as of Aug. 9. In such cases, the virus has been brought into Florida by people who were infected elsewhere. Zika, which emerged last year in South America, is particularly dangerous to pregnant women and can cause severe birth defects. As of Aug. 9, the department said Florida had 369 travel-related infections, 57 infections involving pregnant women and the 21 locally transmitted cases.
ZIKA SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT Only about 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus are symptomatic. Zika fever is a mild illness. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon. Signs and symptoms of Zika fever may include: acute onset of low-grade fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (reddening of eye), body aches, headache, eye pain, and vomiting. Treatment is symptomatic since there is no specific treatment against the virus. Illness typically resolves within a week. – www.floridahealth.gov
SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3
Early voting starts Monday in some counties Jacksonville judge accused of racism, sexism NATION | A6
ALSO INSIDE
FLORIDA COURIER / 10TH STATEWIDE ANNIVERSARY
Obama defends his record; the London Olympics
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AUGUST 3 - AUGUST 9, 2012
VOLUME 20 NO. 31
MAKING HIS CASE TO BLACK AMERICA At last week’s National Urban League convention, President Obama spoke about two issues of importance to African-Americans – curbing violence and improving education.
AP PHOTO/BILL HABER
President Barack Obama addressed the National Urban League Conference on July 25.
Scott’s top education, elections managers resign from their jobs
TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
Thousands gunned down
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He went deeper comparing the occasional violence in some communities to the daily violence in Black communities. “Every day – in fact, every day and a half, the number of young people we lose to violence is about the same as the number of people we lost in that movie theater. For every Columbine or Virginia Tech, there are dozens gunned down on the streets of Chicago and Atlanta, and here in New Orleans.” According to a compilation of FBI annual homicide statistics, more than 300,000 African-Americans have been killed by violence since the mid-1970s, when the federal government began compiling the stats. That’s greater than the population of some cities, including Cincinnati, Ohio.
pplauded by an enthusiastic crowd at the National Urban League convention in New Orleans, President Obama – in a rare moment – spoke of the war-level violence in Black communities. And, defying critics, he also seized the opportunity to say specifically what he has done for Black people. “Our hearts break for the victims of the massacre in Aurora,” he said. “We pray for those who were lost and we pray for those who loved them. We pray for those who are recovering with courage and with hope,” he said of the tragic shooting in which 12 people were killed in a Colorado movie theater on July 20. Then the president turned the page: “And we also pray for those who succumb to the less-publicized acts of violence that plague our communities in so many cities across the country every single day,” he said to more applause. “We can’t forget about that.”
‘Defeated by politics’ The president stopped short of promising gun control action. He noted that See OBAMA, Page A2
2012 OLYMPICS / LONDON
A golden performance
Both want to ‘spend time with family’ COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Two of the state’s top managers of Florida’s agencies that are mired in controversy – the Department of Education and the Division of Elections – quit their jobs to go back to their respective families, according to their resignation letters. Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson resigned late Tuesday amid a months-long controversy over the state’s testing regimen and errors on school grades that forced the department to change the marks for dozens of schools. Robinson’s resignation is effective Aug. 31, when he would have Gerard been on the job a little more than a year. Robinson Dr. Gisela Salas, director of the Division of Elections, resigned effective Aug. 1 – just before Florida’s primary elections got under way.
Elections fight The Division of Elections includes three bureaus: Voting Systems Certification, Election Records and Voter Registration Services. The division is responsible for certifying all voting systems that are used to conduct elections in Florida’s 67 counties. The division also maintains the statewide Florida Voter Registration System, which is the official state voter registration list.
Magic hires Jacque Vaughn as head coach BY JOSH ROBBINS THE ORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)
Officials with the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic hired 37-yearold former NBA point guard Jacque Vaughn as their new head coach last weekend. Vaughn learned from some of the best coaches in basketball. He played for Roy Williams, Jerry Sloan, Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich. He also apprenticed under Popovich as an assistant coach. The Orlando Magic hope Vaughn produces the same results as his mentors.
Facing a challenge Vaughn likely will face a difficult challenge. The Magic are expected to trade superstar Dwight Howard eventually, and that move could launch a long, arduous rebuilding process with Vaughn at its center. “We really wanted to find a coach who embodies the type
of culture and identity that we’re trying to build here in Orlando,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan told the Orlando Sentinel. “We feel that Jacque’s toughness, humility and attention to detail personifies the types of values that will help define our program. We were just really impressed throughout the interview process with his presence and his intellect and his passion for preparation.” Most league insiders regard Vaughn as bright, hard-working and organized. Those same insiders note that Vaughn brings just two seasons of coaching experience. He ended his 12-year NBA playing career in 2009. A year later, the Spurs hired him as an assistant coach.
Shaq: ‘u kidding’ Hennigan conducted firstround interviews with five othSee COACH, Page A2
See CHOICES, Page A2
Out of control Baltimore PD ‘routinely’ discriminates Go to www.flcourier.com to read or download the full Department of Justice report. BY KEVIN RECTOR THE BALTIMORE SUN / TNS
BALTIMORE – Baltimore police routinely violated the constitutional rights of residents by conducting unlawful stops and using excessive force, according to the findings of a long-anticipated Justice Department probe released Wednesday. The practices overwhelmingly affected the city’s Black residents in low-income neighborhoods, according to the 163-page report. In often scathing language, the report identified systemic problems and cited detailed examples. The investigators found that “supervisors have issued explicitly discriminatory orders, such as directing a shift to arrest ‘all the black hoodies’ in a neighborhood.”
Blacks profiled They also found that Black residents were more likely to be stopped and searched as pedestrians and drivers even though police were more likely to find illegal guns, illicit drugs and other contraband on White residents. Police practices in Baltimore “perpetuate and fuel a multitude of issues rooted in poverty and race, focusing law enforcement actions on low-income, minority communities” and encourage officers to have “unnecessary, adversarial interactions with community members,” the report said.
Catalyst for investigation
See RESIGN, Page A2
ALSO INSIDE
Black farmers: Land still being ‘stolen’
On July 25 – the day Sen. Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton in a prime-time speech from the Democratic National Convention stage in Philadelphia
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FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
Hard at work
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More local Zika cases found in Miami-Dade
While speaking at a recent televised town hall meeting, House Speaker Paul Ryan said his decision to endorse Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump was a “binary choice ... It’s either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.” Democrats, including President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, advocated for Hillary Clinton during last month’s Democratic National Convention in much of the same “either
– socialist Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who had backed Sanders, told a crowd at a rally across town to continue Sanders’ “political revolution,” not by following his lead, but by voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Stein had been courting Sanders supporters in Philadelphia, while Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson crashed both the Republican and Democratic conventions. In this season of two-party dis-
WALLY SKALIJ/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT
The USA’s Gabrielle Douglas competed on the beam in the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday during the Summer Olympic Games. See Page B4 for a pictorial recap of the first week of the 2012 Olympics.
SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3
Lake County honors state civil rights leader T.H. Poole
Early congressional races to watch
NATION | A6
OBITUARY | B2
Study: Income, education determines cost of car insurance
Titans mourn death of player from Tampa
CoMMenTaRY: CHaRleS W. CHeRRY II: RandoM THouGHTS oF a FRee BlaCK MInd | a4 CoMMenTaRY: THe GanTT RePoRT: deMoCRaTS SPeCIalIZe In ‘BuCKWHeaT’ PolITICS | a4
Four years ago, the Florida Courier reported on President Obama’s speech to the National Urban League, which focused on curbing violence and improving education. The newspaper also recapped the first week of the 2012 Summer Olympics, including a fabulous performance by American Gabby Douglas.
Launched after the death in April 2015 of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, from spinal injuries suffered in police custody, the wide-ranging probe uncovered extensive problems with the way Baltimore officers do their job and police themselves, the report said. Gray’s death, which triggered rioting captured on live television, was one of several recent killings of unarmed Black men by police across the country. The deaths have provoked a nationwide conversation about race, discrimination and police practices, and have exposed deep rifts between police and the communities they serve. “We have to heal our city,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at Wednesday’s news conference. Among the Justice Department findings: Baltimore police too often stopped, frisked and arrested residents without legal justification, and such activities fell disproportionately on Black residents.
‘Zero-tolerance’ holdover Federal
investigators
COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 GUEST COMMENTARY: ANN GARRISON: ‘STOP TRUMP’ FUNDAMENTALISTS CAN BITE ME | A5
concluded
See POLICE, Page A2
FOCUS
A2
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
Don’t play ‘head games’ with women One of the worst things you can do to a woman is comment on her hair! I admit it. I don’t get it! From birth until death, a woman’s hair will change often, sometimes daily. If you loved your mother’s hair throughout the years, you should love your woman’s hair as long as you love the woman.
Hair first When I visited Southern Africa, I saw Black women in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Sun City in South Africa and I observed the hairstyles of women in the jungles of Zimbabwe. One day, I was walking through the ghettos of Soweto near Jo-
the men in her life than it does about her.
Hair last
LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT
hannesburg. I saw this woman wearing tattered clothes and no shoes. But she had one of the most beautiful hairdos that I had ever seen. I asked the lady, “Why do you take so much time and do so much work to create your beautiful hairstyle?” She responded, “My hair is the first thing a man sees. If he doesn’t like my hair, he will not see any of the rest of me!” To me, that says more about
When considering a woman, a good man will look way past a woman’s hair. He will look into her eyes; he will observe her smile. He might even glance at her breasts, or turn around and take a peek at her booty! But the very best men will look for what lasts when they consider a lady. They will look at her heart, her honesty, her level of respect, her character, the way she lives, the amount she contributes and gives, how she relates to adults and children, how she manages money, how she manages her home or business. The best men will look at how a woman sees him! I once thought I had a great female friend. We clicked in a whole lot of areas. We could talk for hours. We enjoyed doing things other men and women do.
Just one question But one day I asked what I
thought was a simple, nonthreatening question. I asked her if she had ever considered a different hairstyle. Our relationship was never the same! I didn’t have a clue that her feelings about her hair were stronger than her feelings about us. Once her hair emotions took over there was nothing more to say and nothing to discuss or explain. Ladies, I have truly learned my lesson. I will not comment about your hair, say a word about your figure, or mention anything about your understandings or misunderstandings. I will not ask you to improve, progress, get better or to “step up” because most of what I say might be twisted and used against me and/or our relationship!
are happy where they are will resist any and all opportunities to have a better life. And men and women that only know one lane will always retreat back to what they are accustomed to if change is an improvement or an alternative. Ladies, if you think a hair dye, a weave, a wig or some lacefronts will make a man want you, go for it and best of luck to you. But what will you do if you need chemotherapy and all of your hair falls out? If you have a man that loves you for you and wants you, he will love you and remain by your side if you have “good hair” or not. He will stay with you if you buy your hair, grow your hair, or cut all of your hair off!
Similarities attract
Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants. net.
The saying that “birds of a feather, flock together” is true on so many levels. Men and women that can’t love themselves will always find it difficult to allow someone to love them. Men and women that
POLICE
ingfully investigate reports of sexual assault, particularly for assaults involving women with additional vulnerabilities, such as those who are engaged in sex work,” the report said. Officers frequently used excessive force in situations that did not call for aggressive measures, the report said, and routinely retaliated against residents who were criticizing or being disrespectful of police for exercising their right
to free speech and free assembly.
als,” the report said. It noted that officers used unreasonable force against juveniles as well, often relying on the “same aggressive tactics they use with adults.” The investigation concluded that deeply entrenched problems were allowed to fester because the department did not properly oversee, train or hold officers accountable. For example, the report said, the department lacks systems to deter and detect improper conduct, and it fails to collect and analyze data that might root out abuses or abusers. The report said the police department also lacks effective strategies for recruitment and retention. A lack of adequate staffing meant “forcing officers to work overtime after long shifts, lowering morale, and leading to officers working with deteriorated decision-making skills.”
Needlessly aggressive
Court supervision coming
The report found that officers used excessive force against individuals with mental health disabilities or in crisis. Because of “a lack of training and improper tactics,” police ended up in “unnecessarily violent confrontations with these vulnerable individu-
The Justice Department’s so-called pattern or practice review is expected to be the first step before reaching a court-enforced agreement that would hold the city accountable for making reforms and subject it to federal monitoring for years to come.
student debt and guarantee tuition-free education from preschool through university education. She wants to “protect our public school systems from privatization and increase federal funding for school.” Johnson “believes there is no role for the federal government in education.” He would cut the Department of Education.
by a “prebate” – a monthly payment given to every taxpaying household by the government.
Lives Matter movement, and an end to police brutality and mass incarceration. Johnson believes police shootings are rooted in the drug war, which he would like to end.
points is the worst in the history of the poll. But Clinton’s image is only somewhat better: 34 percent positive, 56 percent negative.
Climate change
LGBTQ issues
from A1
that 1990s-era policies that encouraged more aggressive policing contributed to the discriminatory practices and that such measures are partly responsible for fraying the faith of city residents in their police force. Although city and police leaders have disavowed “zero-tolerance” policing, it has continued on Baltimore’s streets as supervisors who came up through the ranks under the former policy have perpetuated it, according to the report, which focused on policing since 2010. The report noted that officers recorded more than 300,000 pedestrian stops from January 2010 to May 2015. Roughly 44 percent were made in two small, predominantly AfricanAmerican districts that contain 11 percent of the city’s population, and seven Black men were stopped more than 30 times each. Black pedestrians were 37 percent more likely to be searched by Baltimore police citywide and 23 percent more likely to be searched during vehicle stops. But officers found contraband twice as often when searching White res-
CHOICES from A1
content, both Stein and Johnson believe they have a chance to peel off voters and leave their marks on the presidential race. Johnson believes he will be on all 50 states’ ballots. Stein expects to make most. Garnering support from 15 percent of voters in national polls qualifies a candidate for the presidential debates. That seems to be the benchmark of legitimacy, at least with regard to so-called mainstream media, for which Stein and Johnson are aiming.
Libertarian, progressive Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, is known for his support (and use) of marijuana, favors small government, a single consumption tax and more protection for civil liberties. Stein, a physician who became a liberal activist, offers a platform that prioritizes action on climate change and eradicates student debt. She wants the nation’s energy to be 100 percent clean and renewable by 2030, would like GMOs banned until they’re proven safe (many scientists already believe GMOs are safe) and would set a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage. Here’s what Stein and Johnson believe:
Education Stein wants to abolish
KIM HAIRSTON/BALTIMORE SUN/TNS
On Wednesday, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis listens as Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake speaks during a news conference about the findings of the Justice Department. idents during vehicle stops and 50 percent more often during pedestrian stops, the report notes.
Gender bias The report, which looked for practices that violate the Constitution or federal law, also found that gender bias might be affecting the Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases. “We found indications that officers fail to mean-
Stein’s platform prioritizes climate change. It calls for a ban on pesticides that she says threaten bees, and would transition the country entirely to renewable energy and end the use of nuclear energy. Johnson believes the climate is probably changing and humans are probably contributing. He supports the federal government’s interest in protecting the environment, but believes that should happen by punishing polluters, not intervening in energy markets or subsidizing certain energy sources.
The economy Stein supports a federal $15 minimum wage, more union rights and tighter regulation of Wall Street. Her platform calls for tax cuts for the poor and middle class, and higher taxes on the wealthy. She hopes to impose a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions. Johnson advocates for a free market with small government and limited regulation. He favors tax reform that would create a single consumption tax that is the same rate for all goods and all purchasers. Basic necessities would be covered
Health care Stein favors a single-payer health care system that would essentially give everyone a form of Medicare. Johnson favors fully privatized health care.
Stein believes in Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer protections from discrimination and supports gay marriage. Johnson says people ought to be free to marry whomever they want.
Immigration Stein’s platform calls for demilitarized borders and an end to deportations of law-abiding undocumented immigrants. Johnson would like work visas to be more easily obtained and to give immigrants a path to citizenship. He notes that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born people.
Foreign policy Stein would like to cut military spending in half and close more than 700 foreign military bases. She would ban drone warfare and would remove U.S. nuclear weapons abroad. Johnson considers himself skeptical of foreign intervention. He believes Congress needs to be involved in military decisions.
Criminal justice Stein supports the Black
Guns Stein supports gun control measures, and believes the issue ought to be treated as a national publichealth emergency. Johnson’s support for gun ownership rights aligns with the Libertarian Party platform, which opposes gun restrictions of all kinds.
Marijuana Both candidates support the legalization of marijuana and deplore the 40-year so-called “War on Drugs.”
‘None of the above’ One thing is certain: polls consistently show that voters don’t like the choice of Trump vs. Hillary. For instance, a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken just before the Republican National Convention found 58 percent of voters were dissatisfied with the choice between Trump and Clinton. Among those surveyed, 64 percent had an unfavorable view of Trump, while 54 percent felt unfavorably toward Clinton. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey offered a similar verdict: Trump was viewed favorably by 27 percent of those surveyed and unfavorably by 60 percent. That net negative rating of minus 33
Single digits Despite the historymaking unpopularity of the two major-party nominees, the two largest third parties didn’t garner a lot of support. Johnson and Stein drew 8 percent and 5 percent nationally, in the ABC/Washington Post survey. They got 11 percent and 6 percent, respectively, in the NBC/Wall Street Journal survey. The two drew roughly equally from both Clinton and Trump at this point, the polls found. Rather than flocking to a third choice, many voters are being driven by negative feelings about the candidate they don’t like, more than positive feelings about their own candidate. That’s particularly true for Trump, who leads a party still badly divided between his supporters and detractors.
Still close As for who is winning in Florida, surveys all show a very close race. The latest Quinnipiac University Poll showed Clinton leading Trump 46 percent to 45 percent among likely Florida voters in a headto-head matchup. Clinton and Trump are tied at 43 percent, with 7 percent for Johnson and 3 percent for Stein. Among Clinton supporters in Florida, 42 percent said their main reason is being pro-Clinton,
Preemptive actions Anticipating what the Justice Department would discover, city officials have pushed forward on several fronts, revising the police department’s policy on use of force and instituting new training. The police department also redesigned and placed cameras in its transport vans and introduced a new software platform to better disseminate new training materials and policies for officers. Both issues arose in the Gray case. In the criminal prosecutions of the six police officers involved in Gray’s arrest and transport, three were acquitted at bench trials, and Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby recently dropped the charges against the three remaining officers. The Justice Department is separately reviewing whether federal civil rights violations occurred. But the legal hurdles for bringing a federal case are higher than those faced by state prosecutors. “We will continue our independent review of this matter, assess all available materials and determine what actions are appropriate,” Justice Department spokesman David Jacobs said in a statement.
while 41 percent said their main motive is being antiTrump and 13 percent said they back the Democratic nominee. Just 29 percent of Florida Trump supporters said they are pro-Trump, while 54 percent were anti-Clinton and 10 percent said they back the Republican nominee. There are also large gaps between the candidates along racial, ethnic and gender lines. Clinton leads among Florida women, 5340, while Trump outpolls her by roughly the same margin among men, 51-39. Trump draws the support of 57 percent of White voters, to 36 percent for Clinton, while non-White voters back her by almost 50 points, 68-21. Both ran strong within their own party, with Trump netting 91 percent of Republicans and Clinton winning 89 percent of Democrats. Independent voters were evenly split, with 42 percent for Clinton and 41 percent for Trump. For more information on Jill Stein, go to http://www. jill2016.com; for Gary Johnson, go to https:// www.johnsonweld.com.
Evan Bush of the Seattle Times, Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel, David Lauter of Tribune Washington Bureau (TNS), and Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of Florida all contributed to this report.
FLORIDA
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
A3
Early voting starts Monday in 24 counties NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
Voters in 24 of Florida’s 67 counties will be able to cast ballots at designated polling places starting Aug. 15, according to the state Division of Elections. Early voting for the Aug. 30 primary is mandated from Aug. 20 through Aug. 27, but county supervisors of elections have the discretion to begin sooner and to keep early-voting locations open on Aug. 28. Duval, Orange, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach are among the counties that will open early voting locations – typically libraries, elections offices, government buildings or community centers – on Aug. 15.
Other dates
SCOTT FISHER/SUN SENTINEL/TNS
Early voters wait in line to vote via absentee ballot outside the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office in suburban West Palm Beach on Nov. 5, 2012. Florida’s primary is Aug. 30 and the general election is Nov. 8.
Orlando shooter’s father attends Clinton rally ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS
ORLANDO – The Orlando nightclub shooter’s father attended Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s rally in Kissimmee Monday night. Cameras captured Seddique Mateen, Omar Mateen’s father, standing in the crowd. He later told a reporter for WPTV, a Palm Beach-based NBC affiliate, that he wanted to attend the rally as a member of the public and a Clinton supporter. “Why should they be surprised? I love the United States, and I’ve been living here a long time,” Mateen said. The Clinton campaign said that the rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public.
RPOF spokesman leaves, pointing to Trump The candidacy of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has helped cost the Florida GOP its chief spokesman. Wadi Gaitan, the communications director for the Republican Party of Florida, said Monday he is leaving the state organization to join the LIBRE Initiative, a group funded by the billionaire Koch brothers that reaches out to Hispanic voters. “I’m thankful for my almost two years with the Florida GOP, however, moving on gives me a great, new opportunity to
Other counties that will have facilities open that day are Baker, Bradford, Calhoun Charlotte, DeSoto, Flagler, Gadsden, Hendry, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lake, Levy, Liberty, Monroe, Okeechobee, Santa Rosa, Taylor and Washington. Sumter County will open early voting on Aug. 16, and Putnam County will follow on the Aug. 17. Clay and Dixie counties begin early voting on Aug. 18, and Alachua, Citrus and Nassau counties begin on Aug. 19. As of Monday morning, 279,134 voters had returned completed “vote-by-mail” ballots, 131,445 by Republicans, 108,593 by Democrats, 6,736 by people registered with minor parties and 32,360 by people without party affiliation.
Not invited “This individual wasn’t invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event,” the campaign said. Mateen’s son was shot and killed by Orlando police officers after a three-hour standoff at the Orlando gay nightclub. The attack left 49 people dead and more than 50 injured. Mateen said his family has been cooperating with investigators and declined to further comment about the case. Officials have not made any arrests in connection with the attack. He told the WPTV reporter he wishes his son had “joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better,” he said. Clinton met with victims’ family and friends during a visit to Orlando in July. In her speech Monday night, Clinton expressed support for the survivors of the attack and the loved ones of the 49 people who were killed. “We can’t ever let that kind of hatred and violence break the spirit and break the soul of any place in America,” she said. continue promoting free market solutions while avoiding efforts that support Donald Trump,” Gaitan said in a statement. Trump, who has proposed building a large border wall as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, struggles to appeal to Latinos in Florida and beyond. Gaitan, whose parents are from Honduras, was hired by the party in 2015. Gaitan was communications director for the successful 2014 congressional campaign of Carlos Curbelo, a South Florida Republican who is one of Trump’s most outspoken critics in the party. Before being hired by the state party, he was press secretary for the GOP conference in the U.S. House. -News Service of Florida
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS
Identified by a West Palm Beach TV station as the father of the man who killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub massacre, Seddique Mateen is seen (wearing a red ball cap) standing behind supporters of Hillary Clinton donning OrlandoUnited shirts, during Clinton's rally at the Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall Aug. 8 in Kissimmee.
Jacksonville circuit judge denies racism, sexism allegations BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE – Three weeks after a state investigative panel accused him of making racist and sexist remarks, a Jacksonville circuit judge is flatly denying the accusations of inappropriate conduct. An attorney for Circuit Judge Mark Hulsey filed a six-page response Monday in the Florida Supreme Court rejecting allegations that Hulsey said Blacks should “get back on a ship and go back to Africa” and that he referred to women staff attorneys as being “like cheerleaders who talk during the national anthem.” The document Monday said the accusations “do not allege that Judge Hulsey failed to properly adjudicate the cases in his division or that any litigant before Judge Hulsey was prejudiced in any way. Judge Hulsey further states that the allegations wrongly imply that he harbors ill-will toward female attorneys or African Americans.”
Denies exploiting aide It also disputed allegations that Hulsey referred to a female staff lawyer as a “bitch” and a “c---,” after she complained to the chief judge that Hulsey was overusing staff attorneys. “Judge Hulsey states that he treats all persons with whom he comes in contact as a judicial officer with proper courtesy and respect,” the document said. The response also took issue with an accusation that Hulsey “exploited” a former judicial assistant by making her feel as if she had to handle personal tasks for him, such as paying personal bills. “Judge Hulsey denies exploiting his former judicial assistant or making her feel compelled to perform personal tasks for him,” said the response filed by Jacksonville attorney Michael Tanner. “Judge Hulsey admits that on two occasions in 2011, his former judicial assistant volunteered to, and did, drive Judge Hulsey’s wife to a medical appointment. “She offered to do so because Judge
Hulsey’s former judicial assistant used the same physician as Judge Hulsey’s wife and told Judge Hulsey she was happy to do so because that would allow him to avoid time away from the courthouse. Judge Hulsey denies that his former judicial assistant advised him that any task which she had expressly volunteered to do burdened her or created an unhealthy working environment.”
Seeking re-election The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission on July 19 filed what is known as a “notice of formal charges” against Hulsey in the Supreme Court, which has ultimate authority to discipline judges. The notice said the commission opened an inquiry this year after it became aware of a “continuing pattern of misconduct.” Hulsey is running for re-election this year in the 4th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties. He issued a statement last month denying the allegations, but the document filed Monday in the Supreme Court was the first detailed public response.
Death sentence questioned In the response, Hulsey also requested that a commission hearing be held in Duval County on the allegations. The questions about Hulsey’s conduct spilled over last week into a death-penalty case that he handled. A lawyer for Death Row inmate Terrance Phillips, who is Black, asked the Supreme Court to order an investigation into the allegations of racism against Hulsey, who in 2012 sentenced Phillips to death. “The integrity of the judicial system as it operated in Judge Hulsey’s courtroom is at issue. And the public is entitled to prompt resolution of the matter so that it will know if justice free from racial prejudice was administered, and if not when will it be,” Phillips’ attorney, Martin McClain, wrote in a document filed in the Supreme Court.
EDITORIAL
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AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
Can we rebuild ‘Black Wall Street?’ “There are [Blacks] who are willing to worship the pyramids of 4,000 years ago but will not build pyramids in the present so their children may see what they left behind as well. We have a leadership who rallies the people to look at past glories but leave their children neglected; who will make great analytical and oratorical dissertations on inadequacies of Eurocenthe tric education and yet will not contribute one penny of their money or their time to the construction of their own schools.” – Amos Wilson, “Afrikan-Centered Consciousness versus the New World Order” Montoya Smith, host of the Atlanta talk show “Mental Dialogue,” asked, “Can we rebuild Black Wall Street?” So, what was “Black Wall Street?” A book by John Sibley Butler titled “Entrepreneurship and Self-Help Among Black Americans, A Reconsideration of Race and Economics” contains an exhaustive section on Tulsa, Oklahoma’s history and a detailed account of what took place in its Greenwood District. I also learned from face-to-face conversations with six of the survivors of the Tulsa Riot.
Destroyed by Whites Black Wall Street was burned to the ground in 1921 by a White mob. The Greenwood District, located in the northern section
JAMES CLINGMAN GEORGE CURRY MEDIA
of Tulsa, was once called “Negro Wall Street,” and “Little Africa.” It was home to hundreds of Blackowned businesses and sat on valuable land desired by White oil speculators, who even tried to buy parcels of that land from Blacks for ten cents on the dollar immediately following the Tulsa riot. Fortunately and wisely, Blacks refused to sell. Despite hundreds of Black lives lost in the riot and all of Greenwood’s businesses destroyed, the story of that economic enclave during the ensuing 17 years was one of triumph over tragedy. By 1923, as a result of Blacks pooling their money to capitalize new enterprises, the Black business district was even larger than before, and Greenwood was completely restored by Black people by 1938. Ultimately, urban renewal and integration – which allowed Blacks to shop at nonBlack stores – led to the demise of Black Wall Street.
Black ‘pyramid’ To Amos Wilson’s point, Greenwood was a “pyramid” built by Blacks in the early 1900s.
Breaking the police ‘blue wall of silence’ In Columbus, Ohio, two African-American police officers filed formal complaints against a White police officer, charging that this White officer made racial slurs and threatened to kill them. It took the Columbus Police Department a year to investigate the charges. When the investigation was completed, the White officer was not made to answer for the racist slurs he apparently emailed. He did not answer for making the death threats. Nor did the police department provide protection for the Black officers who made the charges against the White officer – save for a police cruiser that was dispatched to sit outside their homes for two weeks. Because of this case, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission recent-
SUSAN K. SMITH GEORGE CURRY MEDIA
ly charged the Columbus Police Department for failing to act on the charges of racism and discrimination.
Often ignored The scenario points to a major issue in police departments, nationwide: racism within police departments is often ignored. Many instances of racial hatred go unreported because officers worry about keeping their jobs; the “blue wall of silence” proves
Instead of looking back and merely reveling in the successes of Mound Bayou, Miss., and other enclaves that came before them, Black people in Greenwood built upon those legacies. Thus, my answer to the question posed by Montoya Smith, “Can we rebuild Black Wall Street?” was and is an emphatic and unequivocal, “Yes!” My answer is based on our having done it before under far worse circumstances than today. But as I listened to the other guest on Montoya’s show, Jay West, entrepreneur and president of the Lithonia Small Business and Merchants Association located on the outskirts of Atlanta – a city that is approximately 85 percent Black – I became even more convinced.
One example Jay West understands and promotes local business support. He explained, “I do 95 percent of my shopping right here in Lithonia because I know that one dollar spent here has the multiplier effect of three dollars, as our businesses support one another.” West is absolutely correct, and the Lithonia merchants’ association will benefit collectively and individually from circulating their dollars; they will grow their businesses and create more jobs. This nascent organization can be the model from which new Black Wall Streets can be to be stronger than the desire for officers to come forward and report the racism. One of the African-American officers moved out of the state after the charges were made, and the other resigned from the police force and now works as a security guard. The accused White officer was suspended about nine months ago and had his gun and badge taken away, but still continues to draw his full salary – possible because he is “out” on “sick leave.” The major problem confronting the efforts to draw attention to state-sanctioned violence against Black people is the practice of police officers, and the police unions, protecting the officers no matter their actions.
Laws must change The laws that police departments follow protect racist police officers, and unless and until those laws are changed, the violence against Black people will
Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 282 Happy birthday to me! Your humble writer turned 60(!) last week. I’m now thinking about when to take my Social Security payments. As I’ve told all my well-wishers, I’m thankful for all the days past, present, and to come – however many days remain – “for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11-13) …Also, happy 60th to my peer group in Daytona Beach, from Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, and the University of Florida… The ‘wasted vote’ lie – My last column, I decried the use of the word “revolution” by Bernie Sanders. More on that. Revolutionaries think longterm. If the goal of the Sanders “movement” is wreck the corporate duopoly, the “binary choice” that is today’s Democratic and Republican parties, then your only choice is Jill Stein, NOT Hillary Clinton. For conservative and moderate Republicans with the same goal,
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: DID AMERICA PAY RANSOM?
QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER
CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER
your only choice is Gary Johnson, NOT Donald Trump. Whoever wins, so be it. Both parties have the same message: “A vote for anyone other than our candidate is wasted, because only our candidate can win.” What does that tell you? It’s a good cop-bad cop okey-doke. Vote your conscience rather than for the “lesser evil.” A thirdparty vote is a pebble thrown against the plate-glass window of the two-party corporate system that can eventually be shattered. But it takes time.
Contact me at ccherry2@ gmail.com.
RICK MCKEE, THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE
built across this nation; it is on track to encourage more entrepreneurship and demonstrate the power of a cohesive, mutually supportive, self- directed, and economically empowered network of conscious business owners and consumers who are committed to growth and sustainability.
nancial leverage to stimulate future growth. Lithonia is in that space right now, and there is plenty of room for more cities and segments within those cities to do the same. With leaders like Jay West and others in the Atlanta area, I am confident that pyramid will be built.
Collective power
James E. Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. His latest book, “Black Dollars Matter! Teach Your Dollars How to Make More Sense,” is available on his website, Blackonomics. com, and Amazon Kindle eBooks.
True partnerships between educated consumers and business professionals in Black economic enclaves comprise the basis for real power in the marketplace, i.e. collective purchasing programs and affinity groups, revolving loan funds, business equity funds, and ficontinue and police officers and vigilantes (e.g. George Zimmerman) who need only say, “I was in fear for my life,” will get off. One of the Black officers who made the complaint in Columbus expressed one of their sources of frustration: “When something like this happens, there is nobody to report it to.” There are probably a good number of “good” police officers, White and Black, who know the depth of corruption and protection offered to bad cops, but who know the repercussions of coming forward would be too much to handle. They worry about losing their jobs…and losing their lives. This keeps complaints by police officers against other officers minimized, but given the state of police/community relations that cause communities to blow up all over this nation, this is a time to push for more accountability of and by police departments of the racism within the depart-
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.
Task force request The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference and a number of Black professional organizations, including attorneys, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers, have signed on to a petition to ask the federal government to form an interagency task force to monitor, investigate and hold accountable police departments all over this nation. The work, not surprisingly, needs to begin within the police departments. If not, the sick racism practiced and protected by police departments will continue onto the streets, causing the deaths of far too many people.
Rev. Susan K. Smith is an author and ordained minister who is founder of Crazy Faith Ministries. Contact her at revsuekim@sbcglobal.net.
The real deal about Bernie Sanders It is time for a reality check on Bernie Sanders, the Brooklyn-born Vermont senator and registered Independent who campaigned for the Democratic nomination to run for the office of president of the United States. The first reality is that Bernie benefited from one of the goofiest decisions I have witnessed since becoming aware of American politics. It allowed a registered Independent to run against a long-time registered Democrat for the position.
Right to support Hillary The Democratic Party National Committee under the leadership of Debbie WassermanSchultz was absolutely right in supporting Hillary Clinton over Sanders since she is a registered Democrat and its mission is to get a Democrat elected president. To do otherwise would have been goofier than allowing Sanders to run in the first place. The second reality check is that the large crowd at Sanders’ highly covered rallies were as White as the large Trump
disrupt the Clinton campaign.
A. PETER BAILEY TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM
crowds. Just as Trump did, Bernie had a few Black folks to exhibit when necessary but the overall effect was a sea of mostly young White folks. The third reality results from my being a Malcomite. Brother Malcolm use to tell us if anyone at one of our rallies or meetings shouts “We should bomb the subway,” that person should immediately be evicted from our meeting or rally because nine times out of ten that person is a plant of the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the New York City Police Department. The goal was for us to discuss such a suggestion so everyone there could then be charged with a conspiracy. With this in mind, I am convinced that a significant number of the supposed Sanders crowd were or are actually covert Trump supporters out to
Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher
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.
ments. Silence in the face of evil is complicity in the evil.
Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Sales Manager
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Savior not coming The lesson is to avoid the trap of looking for a White savior, including Hillary Clinton. No White Democrat or White Republican, no White liberal or White conservative, no White preacher or White professor, no White communist or White capitalist, will be a savior for us. We have much too often failed to deal with that concrete reality. That’s why we must develop and financially support leaders who have commitment and talent and who have a concrete track record of promoting and defending Black economic and cultural interests. Such a quest leaves out most of those smooth-talking, fasttalking, always-talking characters who have the label as ‘leaders’ today. They are just two or three steps above White saviors.
A. Peter Bailey’s latest book is “Witnessing Brother Malcolm X, the Master Teacher.” Contact him at apeterb@verizon.net.
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AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
Changing our racial narrative Bryan Stevenson, the brilliant founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, believes it’s possible to change our nation and world despite the inequality and violence that sometimes threaten to overwhelm us. He speaks often about the urgent need to confront our historic narrative. “Mass incarceration was created by policy decisions. We decided to deal with drug addiction and drug dependency as a crime issue rather than a health issue… We didn’t do that for alcoholism. We said, ‘Alcoholism, that’s a disease,’ and now we don’t have a consciousness that when we see an alcoholic going into a bar that we have to call the police – but we didn’t do that for drug addiction. The reason why we didn’t do that was because of a narrative. And there’s a narrative of fear and anger out there.”
‘Post-genocidal society’ He continued: “You see, there’s a smog that’s hovering in the air. It’s a pollution created by our history of racial inequality…We’ve got to talk about the fact that we are a post-genocidal society. There was a genocide on this continent. When White settlers came, they killed millions of Native people. It was a genocide where famine and war and disease destroyed a whole culture, and there are things you have to do to recover from genocide that we haven’t
MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN GEORGE CURRY MEDIA
done. And because we didn’t deal with that, we created this narrative of racial difference that allowed us to tolerate slavery. “And when we talk about slavery, we have to understand what we’re talking about. I don’t think the great evil of American slavery was involuntary servitude and forced labor. I think the great evil of American slavery was the narrative of racial difference that we created to legitimate it. The great evil of American slavery was the ideology of White supremacy that we made up to legitimate the way we treated people of color, and we didn’t deal with that…And because of that, I don’t think slavery ended in 1865. I think it just evolved. It turned into decades of terrorism and violence. And we’ve got to deal with what it’s turned into.
‘Domestic terrorism’ “From the end of Reconstruction until World War II, people of color were terrorized, pulled out of their homes, lynched, burned alive, taken from jails, hanged, shot. Older people of color come up to me sometimes and say, ‘Mr. Stevenson, I get angry when
I hear somebody on TV talking about how we’re dealing with domestic terrorism for the first time in our nation’s history after 9/11.’ They say, ‘We grew up with terrorism. We had to worry about being bombed and lynched every day of our lives,’ and we’ve got to tell that story. “When I look at this country, I look at a country whose demographic geography was shaped by terror. The Black people that are in Cleveland and Chicago and Detroit – those of you who live in these cities in the North and West, you need to understand how you got there. The Black people in New York and Boston and Cleveland and Chicago and Detroit and Los Angeles and Oakland didn’t go to those communities as immigrants looking for new economic opportunities. They came to these communities as refugees and exiles from terror in the American South. And there are things you’re supposed to do for refugees that we didn’t do, and that turned into this era of segregation. “And I have to tell you, I think we have to change the narrative of how we think and talk about civil rights…I hear people talking about the Civil Rights Movement, and it sounds like a three-day carnival: On Day One, Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat on a bus. On Day Two, Dr. King led a march on Washington, and on Day Three, we changed all the laws and racism was over. And we’ve
‘Stop Trump’ fundamentalists can bite me Stopping Donald Trump is like fundamentalist religion. It’s not supposed to require any reasoned explanation. In this aspect, it now reflects the irrationality it decries in the Trump campaign. Trump has bad taste. He makes liberals squirm. He makes racist, sexist, homophobic and stupid remarks. He’s on his third trophy wife and he tweeted pictures to make the point that his wife is better looking than Ted Cruz’s wife. He owns gold toilet seats. I mean ICK, YUCK. EEUWWWWWW. He would be such a mortifying president of the USA. And Trump is no doubt really dangerous, especially to minority populations. He promises to build up our already buff, steroid-and-military-
Glass-Steagall Act to re-regulate the banks and financial industries in the wake of the 2008 collapse that so many of us haven’t recovered from and never will. He says that Big Pharma should have to bid on contracts with Medicare instead of charging whatever they damn well please for their pills. Trump, I also point out, says that NATO is obsolete and unnecessarily costly because the Cold War is over. It’s been over since 1989. Trump also says we can’t afANN ford all these costly humanitarian military interventions. GARRISON Liberals seem shocked whenGUEST COMMENTARY ever I cite these arguably winning policies. They insist that Trump weapons-crazed police state, lead will walk all that back, that we a Blue Lives Matter movement, can’t trust a word he says. privatize more prisons, and wall us off from the Southern Hemi- Voting for Stein sphere that our non-partisan To which I say, “You trust Hillelites have so thoroughly exploitary, she of the 30,000 deleted eed for so long. He’s the Law-andmails, the $250,000 Goldman Order Monster from the White Sachs speeches, and the poverty Lagoon. pimping and corruption empire otherwise known as the Clinton But let’s be honest Foundation?” Trump opposes the Trans Pa“So you’re voting for Trump???” cific Partnership, likening it to they gasp. To which I say, “Of rape. He wants to reinstate the course not, I’m voting for Dr. Jill
To serve Clinton, Ben Jealous slimes Jill Stein Ben Jealous looked so happy to be on the prime time stage at the Democratic National Convention to be endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. Jealous got to the convention as one of Bernie Sanders’ high profile Black supporters, a position he took to ensure that the Black Misleadership Class was represented everywhere within the Democratic Party.
Dems own NAACP The NAACP, which Jealous led for four years, is a virtual annex of the Democratic Party. But since Jealous was no longer president of the organization, it was safe for him to temporarily join the Sanders camp with confidence that Bernie would at some point capitulate, and they could all be welcomed back into the bosom of corporate power personified by Hillary Clinton. One of Jealous’ next stops was the studios of Democracy Now! where he flaunted his utter subservience to the Democratic Party in a debate with the Green Party’s presumed presidential candidate, Jill Stein. Jealous sneered at the very idea of challenging the Democrats at the presidential level. “We cannot afford to end up with having an Iraq War because we narrow-
GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT
ly lose the White House... as we did with Bush,” said Jealous, repeating the old canard that Ralph Nader threw the 2000 election to the Republicans, and ignoring the fact that Hillary Clinton supported Bush’s war in Iraq – and that Clinton and Barack Obama have since set the whole of the Middle East and much of Africa on fire. Jealous said his mission is to keep the “madman” and “neo-fascist” Donald Trump out of the White House, to which Jill Stein replied, “Hillary Clinton’s finger on the button is as dangerous as Donald Trump. And it’s Barack Obama himself who initiated the new nuclear arms race, spending a trillion dollars.”
Jealous the parrot
Wall Street and the ruling class. Jealous shamelessly parroted the insane line that Hillary Clinton is “a fierce advocate for women and for children” when, as Jill Stein reminded him, Bill and Hillary Clinton destroyed the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program – welfare – as we knew it. Jealous said he was “rooted in a Black community that’s been devastated” by mass incarceration – as if Bill and Hillary were not the architects of the biggest surge in Black imprisonment in history.
Sit down, Ben Ben Jealous doesn’t know what a fascist is. He slanders leftists like Jill Stein as giving aid and comfort to Donald Trump, but makes a career of delivering Black people into the clutches of the worst mass murderers and mass incarcerators the Democratic Party has to offer. What is truly anathema to Ben Jealous and his ilk is a reemergence of a Black independent politics that would likely be more radical and more socialist than Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein – and would put Black Misleaders like him out of business.
Ben Jealous could muster no substantive response to Stein on issues of war and peace, or on domestic issues, either. The Black Misleadership Class is not concerned with policy, but with their own position in the DemGlen Ford is execuocratic Party structure, tive editor of BlackAgwhich is their doorway to endaReport.com.
EDITORIAL
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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GOING BACK TO SCHOOL
RICK MCKEE, THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE
got to change that narrative. “Because the truth is that for decades in this country, we had segregation, and segregation was brutal. We told Black people that they couldn’t vote just because they’re Black. We told Black kids you couldn’t go to school because you’re Black. My parents were humiliated every day of their lives. Those signs that said ‘White’ and ‘colored’ weren’t directions. They were assaults. And we haven’t done the things you’re supposed to do to help recover from those assaults.
ourselves to a process of truth and reconciliation in the 1960s – but we didn’t do that. And because we didn’t do that, now we are suffering from a presumption of dangerousness and guilt, and we have to deal with it. “Black and Brown people in this country are presumed dangerous. They’re presumed guilty. It is the reason why we’re having these issues with police on our streets, and we’ve got to change that narrative.”
Stein.” To which they repeat, at another decibel level, “So you’re voting for Trump??? A vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Trump!!!” There are abundant rumors that Trump even talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin, aside from his public wisecrack that he hopes their hackers can find Hillary’s 30,000 missing e-mails. Liberal online petitioner CREDO Action took that wisecrack so seriously that they’re circulating a petition labeling Trump a TRAITOR and imploring Director of National Intelligence James Clapper not to share any national security briefings with him. “Let’s be clear,” Credo Action writes. “Trump’s encouragement of a dangerous dictator like Vladimir Putin to commit espionage and publicize state secrets poses serious national security concerns, and may violate federal law. This unprecedented action is even more horrifying given that Trump is scheduled to start receiving classified national security briefings, reportedly as early as this Friday.” Who would you rather have their finger on the nuclear trig-
ger? Someone who talks to Vladimir Putin, or someone who demonizes him?
Marian Wright Edelman is founder and president of the No commitment Children’s Defense Fund (www. “We should have committed childrensdefense.org).
Rigged Dem system GASP. So you’re voting for Trump???? No, don’t be a dummkopf. I’m voting for Dr. Jill Stein. And if the Democratic National Committee really wanted to stop Trump, they wouldn’t have rigged the nominating process to defeat Bernie Sanders, who consistently defeated Trump by greater margins than Hillary in the polls. Stopping Bernie Sanders’ campaign against Wall Street, gross inequality, catastrophic trade deals and the one-tenth of one percent was more important to the DNC than stopping racist, sexist, homophobic, all-aroundbigoted bully and authoritarian Donald Trump.
Ann Garrison is a writer living in Oakland, California. This article previously appeared in Counterpunch.
Can every American political activist now be imprisoned? On July 26, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of political prisoner Rev. Edward Pinkney. Convicted in Berrien County, Mich., the community activist has already served over 19 months for supposedly altering dates on a recall petition against then Benton Harbor mayor James Hightower. His sentence of 2.5 to 10 years in prison has him currently locked up in the remote Marquette Branch Prison, almost 500 miles from his family and friends. The Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from Rev. Pinkney’s attorney on May 11. Amicus briefs were also filed by the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union, which was given leave to also argue before the court.
Four issues appealed The first revolved around whether the alteration of dates on the petitions was even a felony under the specific law he was charged with violating. The law specifies acts by government officials who violate election laws. However, the court decided that the provision in Pinkney’s case also applies to any individual, not just officials. The court held that “sufficient evidence was presented to support
DAVID SOLE GUEST COMMENTARY
son who might have done so because Pinkney was “leader of the recall campaign.”
Activist history Finally, the court upheld the introduction of Rev. Pinkney’s long career as a community activist as “motive” to commit election violations. These included “his radio show,” “his recall efforts in the local community,” “his speaking engagements across the country” and “his search for justice and equality in general.” According to the three judges, this “showed that defendant had a motive to alter the dates on the recall petitions, thus providing evidence of the identification of the perpetrator.” This last conclusion can condemn every political activist in the country to be guilty of any political crime just for being an activist. It is expected that the case will be appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court in the next few months. Donations toward Rev. Pinkney’s defense can be made at bhbanco. org. Write to Rev. Edward Pinkney #294671, Marquette Branch Prison, 1960 U.S. Highway 41 South, Marquette, MI 49855.
the jury’s guilty verdicts” based entirely on the facts that Rev. Pinkney was “the leader in the recall efforts,” “had previously sponsored several recall campaigns,” “circulated 33 of the 62 recall petitions,” spoke at city commission and other meetings about the recall and “demonstrated animosity towards [mayor] Hightower in various ways.” Rev. Pinkney is African-American from a city that is 90 percent AfricanAmerican, but was tried in front of an all-White jury by a White prosecutor and White judge. The court completely brushed off the effect of the prosecutor harping again and again on the defendant’s activist history on the jury, stating “the jury was properly instructed several times that it could only consider the other-acts evidence for motive purposes” and that “jurors are presumed to follow their instructions.” The Court of Appeals then argued that even if Rev. Pinkney was not the one who altered dates on David Sole is a leadthe petitions, he could be convicted for aiding er of the Detroit Workers and abetting another per- World Party.
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NATION
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
Black farmers continue plow against USDA Complaints continue about land being seized, families driven from land
not better, which is why we have to stand up.” The farmers said the White House, the US Department of Justice, Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus and civil rights leaders have done little to bring this long-running saga to a close. “Cases have not been processed and no investigation has been undertaken,” Lucas said.
BY BARRINGTON M. SALMON TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
For more than two decades, Black farmers have driven tractors to Capitol Hill and walked the halls of Congress, coaxing, cajoling and confronting lawmakers. They have also filed lawsuits, protested and demonstrated. All of this an effort to correct an admittedly egregious legacy of racism and discrimination by the US Department of Agriculture. Despite high profiled settlements several years ago, just last month, three dozen farmers and their supporters from Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky descended on the steps of the United States Supreme Court. At the rally and demonstration, the protesters promised to fight until they’re heard and one of their members, Bernice Atchison, filed a writ with the Supreme Court.
Still seeking justice “(Former USDA Secretary Dan) Glickman acknowledged that the agency had discriminated against Black farmers. We have dealt with bias, discrimination and double standards,” said Georgia farmer Eddie Slaughter in front of the court. “We had supervised accounts which meant they had power over our money and county loan officers discriminated against Black farmers. It’s been nothing but fraud, deceit and breach of contract,’’ Slaughter added. “Our damages are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have persecuted us and now, 35 to 40 percent of Black farmers have been run out of the business. They were supposed to return one and a half million acres of land to Black farmers, but didn’t.” Slaughter concluded, “We’re here to say Black farmers of 2016 are the Dred Scott of 1857. He demanded to be free. The fraud and corruption amounts to economic terrorism against Black farmers. We don’t have anyone standing up for us. The Congressional Black Caucus or President Obama could have created a national investigative commission. But they’ve done nothing. Equal justice under the law does not exist in this.”
‘They’re punishing me’ Atchison, president of Black Farmers of Alabama, agreed as she recounted her long ordeal since the USDA seized and sold 239 acres of family land. “My husband’s father died and they sold the land on the steps of the courthouse,” she explained as she held an armful of folders. “I’ve been fighting since 1983. I’m 78 years old. It’s been a long time for me. I have enough evidence that it would take a truck to haul it away. I walked the halls of the Capitol Hill with (the late) John Boyd, going from office to office.” In 2004, Congress asked Atchison to testify before a subcommittee. “They said my face was the face of the 66,000 Black farmers who’d been denied and said my due process had been violated,” she recalled. “Congress called me as an expert eyewitness before them and a judge gave me standing in the court. I’m the most impacted, but I haven’t been paid. They’re punishing me. We’re asking for justice not a set amount.”
Won’t quit Oklahoma resident Muhammad Robbalaa said he was at the rally “because a fighter doesn’t quit.” He said, “I have an older brother who lost his land in 1983. He had a stroke after we fought a battle with the State Supreme Court,” said Robbalaa, 75. “They ruled that it was other folks land and they gave it to White folks. I’m still in the cattle business and my daughters have come back and joined the business. I originally owned 250 acres of land but now I’m on leased land.” TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE
Eddie Slaughter, president of the American Agriculturalist Association, said at a recent protest: “We’re here to say Black farmers of 2016 are the Dred Scott of 1857.
Land ‘stolen’ Atchison said she has a case on the docket that she filed in 2014. But she says she and her colleagues have hit a brick wall. “It’s been 20 years that farmers have been saying that they’ve been mistreated and we’re still losing land,” said Gary R. Grant, president of the Black Farmers & Agriculturists Association and the Black Land Loss Fund. “Where we had one million farmers, that number is down to 20,000. Many farmers feel a sense of helplessness, a number are suffering from disease and health issues we’ve never dealt with such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They’re wiping us out. The land isn’t disappearing. It’s been stolen from us.”
about the travails of Black farmers in a Yes! Magazine article headlined, “Second Chance for Black Farmers,” details one of the many challenges. Estes reports, “The USDA does provide a remedy for farmers who believe they’ve been treated unfairly: They can file a claim with the agency’s civil rights complaint office in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “There’s a hitch though. Ronald Reagan shut down that office in 1983, and the USDA never informed farmers. “So for the next 13 years, until the office was reopened by the Clinton administration, Black farmers’ complaints literally piled up in a vacant room in the Agriculture building in Washington.”
About USDA study
Pigford settlements
Grant said there has been no congressional investigation into the assortment of alleged abuses by local farm service agencies. “Not a single employee at USDA has lost their job,” said Grant. “Between 1981 and 1996, 64 percent of Black farmers have (disappeared) and only one person was forced to retire but with full benefits.” Repeated attempts to secure comments and reaction from the USDA were not successful. However, a 1994 USDA study examined the treatment of racial minorities and women as the agency was weathered allegations of pervasive racial discrimination in the way its employees handled applications for farm loans and grants to primarily Southern Black farmers. Between 1990 and 1995, researchers found that “minorities received less than their fair share of USDA money for crop payments, disaster payments, and loans.”
‘Gross deficiencies’ The final report noted that the USDA gave corporations 65 percent of loans, while 25 percent of the largest payments went to White male farmers. Further, 97 percent of disaster payments went to White farmers, with less than 1 percent reaching Black farmers. The study highlighted “gross deficiencies” in the way the USDA collected and handled data which muddied the reasons for the discrepancies in treatment between Black and White farmers in such a manner that the reasons couldn’t easily be determined.
Complaints piled up Carol Estes, in a story
The farmers who congregated in front of the Supreme Court cited figures ranging from 14,000 to 40,000 cases they say the USDA has failed to process. The official put in charge of unblocking the bottleneck is a part of the problem because he’s made no effort to facilitate the processing of the backed up claims, they charge. The farmers have received two settlements, Pigford I and II, class action lawsuits which together have allocated about $2.25 billion to tens of thousands of Black farmers. The first lawsuit was settled in April 1999 by US District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman. And in December 2010, Congress appropriated $1.2 billion for 70,000 additional claimants.
Not enough
for more than 20 years. After being evicted, the Wises lost their property and are living in a hotel. A GoFundMe page is soliciting help for the family. Supporters have raised $6,000 toward the $50,000 goal. “Nothing has been done to enhance the opportunities and fairness. What they’ve been doing is working to manipulate and separate the Black farmer from his community where he lives, and critically himself,” said Grant.
‘Last plantation’ Lawrence Lucas, who worked with the federal government for 38 years, said little has changed at the agency. “There’s a reason why they call the USDA ‘the last plantation.’ The civil rights problems there have not been fixed,” said Lucas, president emeritus of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees. “Ninety-seven percent of Black farmers did not get the debt relief promised in the agreement. Things are
Grant, Slaughter, Atchison and the other farmers said the government has colluded, nothing’s changed. They are further victimized and the land they own continues to be seized and stolen. “People think that Pigford and $50,000 settled all our issues, but it hasn’t. You can’t even buy a tractor with just that,” Grant said. “They continue to take and foreclose Black farmers. The (lawsuit) assured us a hearing before foreclosure and that has not happened. All we want is justice and equality.”
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR BLACK STUDENTS. NO EXCUSES. The classic guide from Florida Courier publisher, lawyer and broadcaster CHARLES W. CHERRY II PRAISE FOR ‘EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE’: “This guide for African-American college-bound students is packed with practical and insightful information for achieving academic success...The primary focus here is to equip students with the savvy and networking skills to maneuver themselves through the academic maze of higher education.” – Book review, School Library Journal • How low expectations of Black students’ achievements can get them higher grades;
The judgment was the largest civil rights settlement in this country’s history. While some see the settlement as a victory, for most Black farmers it’s bitter-sweet because the payments aren’t enough to buy farm equipment, give farmers long-term comfort, and doesn’t make up for the destruction of rural Black communities and the theft of land by government officials, they say. For example, the farmers detailed the travails of Eddie and Dorothy Wise, North Carolina farmers who were forced off their 106-acre farm in January by 14 heavily armed sheriffs and federal marshals. They said this happened without the couple being granted any hearing.
• Want a great grade? Prepare to cheat!
Green Beret evicted
workshops, seminars,
Wise, a 67-year-old retired Green Beret and his wife, a retired grants manager, lived on their farm
Nothing’s changed
• How Black students can program their minds for success; • Setting goals – When to tell everybody, and when to keep your mouth shut; • Black English, and why Black students must be ‘bilingual.’ …AND MUCH MORE!
www.excellencewithoutexcuse.com Download immediately as an eBook or a pdf Order softcover online, from Amazon, or your local bookstore ISBN#978-1-56385-500-9 Published by International Scholastic Press, LLC Contact Charles at ccherry2@gmail.com
Facebook ccherry2 excellencewithoutexcuse
for info on speeches, book signings, panel discussions.
Twitter @ccherry2
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IFE/FAITH
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
New generation of writers discuss race in new book See page B2
SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE
Bow Wow says he’s retiring from rap See page B5
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Simone Biles competes on the beam during qualification at the Rio 2016 Olympics on Aug. 7. WALLY SKALIJ/ LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS
GOLDEN MOMENTS
FROM THE 2016 OLYMPICS
USA shines in gymnastics; big win for swimmers BY FLORIDA COURIER STAFF
T
eam USA got off to strong start at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here are some of the golden moments of the week, prior to the Florida Courier’s Wednesday presstime. The “Final Five’’ gymnastics team dominated the competition and won gold. The team is made up of Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas and Madison Kocian. Their 8.209 point victory over their closest competitor – Russia – was the largest at a major gymnastics meet. “Laurie started out amazing and Aly went out there. I was just so excited, ‘OK, it’s fine. We got this.’ They motivated me to do my best because I saw their routines,” Biles said Tuesday. Early in the week, Michael Phelps had racked up his 21st gold medal, which included ones in the 200-meter butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x200m freestyle relay. Katie Ledecky won gold in the individual 400-meter freestyle and set a new world record of 3:56:46. She also won in the 200-meter freestyle. LIlly King, who called out a Russian rival for her two failed drug tests, won gold and backed up her talk of keeping the Olympics clean. Ryan Murphy took home gold as well, setting an Olympic record in the men’s 100 backstroke. The USA men’s basketball team trampled Venezuela 113-69 Monday night.
MARK REIS/COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE/TNS
Fans cheer during the U.S. women’s rugby sevens match against Australia on Aug. 7 in pool play at the 2016 Rio Games. This is the first time rugby has been an Olympic sport since 1924.
Valiant efforts There won’t be any Olympic medals for the Williams sisters in Rio. Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams lost their doubles matches on Sunday, having won three previous gold medals. Serena won on Sunday but fell to Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the women’s singles competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics on Tuesday night. On Monday, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who became the first American to compete in the Olympic Games while wearing a hijab, advanced after beating a Ukraine fencer in the individual sabre event. However, Muhammad later lost to Cecilia Berder of France. The American will have another shot at the gold during team competition. “I realize this moment is bigger than me,” Muhammad said. Her comments about tolerance have resonated with people globally. “A lot of people don’t believe that Muslim women have voices, or that we participate in sports,” she said. “I want to challenge the misconceptions not only outside the Muslim community, but also within the Muslim community. … I want to show girls it is important to be involved in sports and to lead an active lifestyle.”
ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS
American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad celebrates after beating Olena Kravatska of the Ukraine during a first-round match in the Women’s Individual Sabre at the Rio Olympic Park on Aug. 8.
BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS
Carmelo Anthony rebounds on Monday as the U.S. men’s basketball team faced Venezuela in Rio.
SEE MORE GOLDEN MOMENTS FROM THE 2016 OLYMPICS ON PAGE B2
SPORTS
B2
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
STOJ
GOLDEN MOMENTS
FROM THE 2016 OLYMPICS
BRIAN PETERSON/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS
The “Final Five” – Alexandra Raisman, Madison Kocian, Lauren Hernandez, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas. Michael Phelps swims to a gold medal in the men’s 200m Butterfly at the Olympic Aquatic Stadium on Tuesday. ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/ TNS
ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS
Serena Williams competes against Daria Gavrilova of Australia in the first round of the women’s tennis singles tournament at the Olympic Tennis Centre on Aug. 7.
FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Tampa: The Children’s Movement of Florida will host a forum featuring candidates for Florida Senate District 19 on Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. at Robert W. Saunders Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave. Miami Gardens: An Orange Bowl Family Fun & Fit Day is set for Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex, 3000 NW 199th St. It will include free haircuts, backpacks, school supplies and health screenings. St. Petersburg: Jill Scott takes the Mahaffey Theater stage on Sept. 1. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Jacksonville: A-Train Live: The Experience with Rodney Perry makes a stop at the Ritz Theatre & Museum on Aug. 19. Orlando: Man in the Mirror: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band performs Aug. 19 at House of Blues Orlando for a 7 p.m. show. Miami: Drake’s Summer Sixteen Tour, which features Future, makes an Aug. 30 stop at the AmericanAirlines Arena.
Jacksonville: Aaron Bing performs Aug. 14 at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts. Orlando: Dru Hill and Lyfe Jennings perform Aug. 27 at House of Blues Orlando for a 7 p.m. show. Jacksonville: Jill Scott takes the stage Aug. 28 at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts and Aug. 30 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach.
The Bad Boy Family Reunion is coming to AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Sept. 10 and Tampa’s Amalie Arena on Sept. 11. Performers will include Puff Daddy, Faith Evans, Lil Kim, Mase, 112, Total, Carl Thomas, The Lox and French Montana.
DMX
Fort Lauderdale: The Keb’ Mo’ Band will perform Sept. 22 at the Parker Playhouse.
A Kings & Queens of Hip Hop concert is Aug. 27 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Artists will include DMX, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Trina and Scarface.
Miami Beach: Leon Bridges will perform Sept. 13 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater. Jacksonville: Catch Boney James on Aug. 18 at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville The show is at 8 p.m. Hollywood: Seal performs Aug. 18 at Hard Rock Live. The show starts at 8 p.m. Jacksonville: Kenny G stops by the Florida Theatre Jacksonville on Sept. 1 for an 8 p.m. show. Miami: Kanye West’s The Saint Pablo Tour stops at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sept. 16.
New generation speaks in ‘Fire This Time’ BY DR. GLENN ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER
Not long after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, Jesmyn Ward – the author of the novels “Where the Line Bleeds’’ and “Salvage the Bones,’’ and a memoir, “Men We Reaped’’ – decided to enlist the writers of her generation to address the specters of race and history in Jesmyn America, as Ward James Baldwin had with “The Fire Next Time’’ in 1963. Ward envisioned a collection of essays, memoirs, and poems that deal with the past, in a section called “legacy,” with the present, in a section called “reckoning,” and with the future, in a section called “jubilee.” The result, is not “as tidy” as Ward thought it would be. The 18 contributions in “The Fire This Time’’ range widely, from a “defense” of the husband of Phillis Wheatley, the 18th-century AfricanAmerican poet; to an analysis of murals protesting police harassment, to reflections on fatherhood; to the art of storytelling (and “the stank from whence black Southern life, love
CARL THOMAS
BOOK REVIEW Review of “The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race.’’ Edited by Jesmyn Ward. Scribner. 226 pages $25. and labor came”); and to the changing forms of White rage.
The subtle and overt Taken as a whole, “The Fire Next Time’’ serves as a powerful reminder that meaningful discussions about Black lives mattering must “acknowledge the plantation, must unfold white sheets, and the black diaspora.” They must reckon with the fact that Garnette Cadogan, a visiting scholar at The Institute for Advanced Knowledge at New York University (who is
now writing a book about walking), was handcuffed by the New Orleans police when he was a student because he waved hello to them – and badgered by the cops in New York City because he was jogging to the subway at Columbus Circle. And, as Carol Anderson, a professor at Emory University, indicates, discussions must address the more subtle, less overtly racist manifestations of White rage that take the form of reductions in local, state, and federal government employment, where there is less discrimination in hiring, retention, and pay; voter suppression initiatives; stand-yourground laws; and a mortgage foreclosure crisis that hit Black Americans harder than any other group in the United States.
Little optimism As it documents that African-American intellectuals and activists are finding a collective voice, Ward acknowledges that the volume also testifies to the exhaustion of many Blacks, who are tired of teaching their kids “that America sees them as less, that she just might kill them,” and who feel futile “in the face of this ever-present danger.” It is understandable, it seems to me, that expressions of optimism about the future are rare in “The Fire This Time.’’ “Of course you can see why anyone would want to be black; being black is fun,” the poet Kevin Young
CASEY J
Tickets are on sale for the Festival of Praise on Nov. 30 at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater. Performers include Fred Hammond, Pastor Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton, Karen Clark Sheard, Regina Belle and Casey J.
writes. “Don’t tell anybody.” Claudia Rankine, a professor of English at the University of Southern California, suggests that real change will not come until and unless there is a “rerouting of interior belief,” but implies that at the moment “a lack of feeling for another” reduces the likelihood of “a sustained state of national mourning for black lives.”
Danticat’s confession In the last essay in “The Fire This Time,’’ Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian-born writer of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, confesses that she wants to look forward, to have a dream, to tell her daughters that they have the power to at least try to change things, “that their crowns have already been bought and paid for and that all they have to do is
put them on their heads.” But, she writes, the world, and people who are hostile and violent “for reasons that have nothing to do with your beauty, your humor or your grace, but only the color of your skin…keep tripping me up.”
Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.
TOJ
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
HEALTH
B3
Law helping more poor patients get to doctor Obamacare coverage in Arkansas and Kentucky dramatically improved access to care and relieved financial strains, surveys show. BY NOAM N. LEVEY TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON – Poor Americans in states that have expanded Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act are going to the doctor more often and having less trouble paying for it, new research finds. At the same time, two years of experience with the expansion offer additional indications that the improved access to care will ultimately improve patients’ health, a key goal of 2010 law, often called Obamacare. “The effects of expanding coverage will be an unfolding story over time,” said Dr. Benjamin Sommers, lead author of the study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. “But we are starting to see the kind of broadbased improvements that we would expect with better access.”
Serious divide Sommers and other researchers at Harvard University have been tracking the impact of Medicaid expansion by surveying poor residents in Arkansas and Kentucky, both of which expanded Medicaid eligibility, and in Texas, which has rejected the expansion. Since 2014, the health law has made hundreds of billions of dollars of federal aid available to states to extend Medicaid coverage to poor adults, a population that had been largely excluded from the government safety net program. Medicaid eligibility historically was limited to certain vulnerable popu-
ZBIGNIEW BZDAK/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS
Dr. James Jackson examines Matthew Shorter, a Medicaid patient enrolled in the Healthy Indiana Plan at the Heart City Health Center on June 4, 2015 in Elkhart, Ind. lations, including low-income children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and the elderly. Thirty-one states have opted for the expansion. But Republican politicians in many red states continue to oppose expansion, arguing that Medicaid is unaffordable and ineffective. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has pledged to repeal the law. The divide between states that have expanded and those that have not is profound, the new research suggests.
Big rate changes In Arkansas and Kentucky, for example, the share of poor adults without
health insurance plummeted between 2013 and 2015, from more than 40 percent in both states to 14 percent in Arkansas and less than 9 percent in Kentucky. In Texas, by contrast, the uninsured rated dropped only from 39 percent to 32 percent. The new coverage in Arkansas and Kentucky, in turn, dramatically improved poor patients’ access to care and relieved financial strains, the surveys show. The share of patients in the two states who had trouble paying medical bills fell more than 11 percentage points between 2013 and 2015, while in Texas, more patients reported medical bill prob-
lems in 2015 than in 2013.
More check-ups Survey data from 2014 showed those improvements after just one year of the Medicaid expansion in Arkansas and Kentucky. But with another year of data, researchers noted more evidence that the improved access is also allowing more poor patients to seek recommended medical care. In 2015, for example, nearly 55 percent of lowincome Arkansas residents reported having a checkup in the past year, up from 45 percent in 2013. In Kentucky, the percentage surged even more, from 46 percent to nearly
60 percent. There were similar improvements among chronically ill patients who reported getting regular care, with the share in Arkansas jumping from 62 percent to 74 percent and in Kentucky from 69 percent to 79 percent.
Encouraging report By contrast, fewer lowincome Texans reported getting a check-up or getting regular care for a chronic condition in 2015, compared with 2013. The authors cautioned that the increased use of recommended care does not guarantee these patients will get healthier in the future.
But Sommers called the findings “encouraging,” noting that improved measures of health — such as lower cholesterol or blood pressure — may be a few years off. “These outcomes take more time to show up,” he said Nonetheless, the study’s authors say, the results from Arkansas and Kentucky should help inform debate in other states. “Our study suggests that coverage expansion … can produce substantial benefits for low-income populations,” they concluded. The researchers surveyed approximately 9,000 low-income adults in Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas from late 2013 to the end of 2015.
More teenagers are showing signs of ‘text neck’ BY VIKKI ORTIZ HEALY CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS
Think your kid’s posture is starting to suffer from always looking down at a cell phone? It is, according to a national chain of physical therapy clinics, which reports that more teens than ever are complaining of “text neck,” or back and neck pain that can only be explained by the strain on the body caused by constant viewing of hand-held
technology. “We have teens experiencing the same shoulder, neck and back pain usually felt by people 30 years older,” said Megan Randich, a physical therapist and facility manager for Athletico in Westchester, Ill. “They shouldn’t be experiencing those issues.” Randich said spine specialists also are seeing evidence of strain from cell phone, tablet and laptop use in high school athletes who complain that
they don’t have the normal range of motion — or feel pain when trying to throw a baseball, strike a football stance or perform in other sporting activities.
Too much texting The physical therapists’ findings echo research published in 2014 in the National Library of Medicine, which warned that the extra weight — sometimes up to 60 pounds — on the cervical spine caused by looking down
can lead to wear-and-tear on the spine, degeneration and even surgery. Elaina Towns, a mother of three in Palatine, Ill., said she and her husband routinely try to enforce rules to limit their kids’ screen time, and thus, strain on their bodies. The family doesn’t allow technology use during dinner or at family gatherings. By 10:30 p.m. all electronics must be docked in a charging station and remain off all night, she said. Still, Towns said she thinks all young people growing up in this era are at risk for text neck. “I have kids who are very active and not plugged in all the time, but nonetheless, I completely believe that this could have an effect on this generation moving forward,” she said. “They don’t talk on the phone, for starters, so all their communication through peers is through texting. They’re not even picking up their heads.”
Stretches, exercises Athletico, the OakBrook, Ill.,-based company with 350 clinics across the U.S., is so concerned about the prevalence of text neck that it has produced a list of stretches and exercises teens may do to correct the damage and improve damaged tissue. The exercises include: Shoulder blade squeeze: Pinch your shoulder blades back behind you, working to touch your elbows. Once back as far as you can go, hold the position for five seconds before relaxing. Repeat 20 to 30 times.
PHIL VELASQUEZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS
Physical therapists say they’re seeing more and more people come in with the “text neck” – sore and damaged necks from looking down at our phones so much. Neck stretch: Sit up tall with your head held high. Pull chin toward your chest, creating a double chin, and hold this position for five seconds. Repeat this 20 to 30 times. Chest stretch: Stand in the middle of a doorway and hold both ends of the door frame. Lean forward until you feel a stretch. Hold this position for 5
seconds and repeat 20 to 30 times. Randich added that another way for teens to combat text neck: Get outside and be active. “Before this generation, there was so much more outdoor free play,” she said. “Activities used to counter any poor posture or positioning. They’re no longer doing that.”
ENVIRONMENT
B4
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
STOJ
PHOTOS BY DANIEL TRAUB/FLORIDA CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
The Indian River Lagoon is one of the most biodiverse waterways in North America.
Indian River Lagoon in environmental crisis Contamination from septic tanks threatens one of the most biodiverse waterways in North America.
In Martin County, signs warn swimmers not to enter the Indian River Lagoon.
BY LISA DESAI AND YASMEEN QURESHI
Bethany Quinn and her husband, Sean, moved into their home in Stuart, in Martin County, three years ago. It’s the same house Bethany grew up in, nestled in a middleclass neighborhood and across the street from the St. Lucie Lucie River, part of the larger Indian River Lagoon estuary. As a girl, Quinn would swim in the river with her family. But today Quinn doesn’t allow her two daughters to go near the water. The river isn’t safe, in her view; it’s too polluted. “I just don’t see how it can come back,” Quinn said. The Indian River Lagoon, stretching 156 miles along Florida’s Atlantic coast from Ponce de Leon Inlet in New Smyrna Beach to Jupiter Inlet north of West Palm Beach, is one of the most biodiverse waterways in North America. The estuary is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, including more than 800 dolphins.
Decades to clean up It also represents a significant part of the Florida economy. With an economic value of $3.7 billion, the Indian River Lagoon supports 15,000 jobs and is responsible for $1.3 billion in annual recreational spending, according to the St. Johns River Water Management District. But the Indian River Lagoon faces a grave environmental emergency, according to reporting by “PBS NewsHour Weekend’’ in partnership with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. Cleaning up the estuary will take decades and hundreds of millions of dollars in a process that will directly affect everyone who lives near the waterway. Contamination of the lagoon from fertilizers and nearby septic tanks has steadily increased every year for more than a decade, with state environmental and health officials largely ignoring the problem and continuing to issue permits for new septic tanks. This year marked a tipping point for the contamination. All over the Indian River Lagoon, there is evidence today of algal blooms, and in some parts of the waterway, the algae is in the form of toxic blue-green scum. These algal blooms starve plant life and can destroy the marine ecosystem.
Brian Lapointe, a scientist at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, examines sludge from the bottom of the Indian River Lagoon.
Big fish kill In March, the contamination in the lagoon led to one of the biggest fish kills in the estuary’s history. At its worst, thousands of dead fish could be seen floating lifeless on the lagoon’s surface. Dolphins in the lagoon have tested positive for E. Coli and antibiotic-resistant bacteria likely as a result of untreated sewage leaching into the water, which could cause many of the dolphins to be sickened and die. “We’re having a crisis in the Indian River Lagoon from excessive amounts of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that are causing harmful algae blooms,” said Brian Lapointe, a scientist at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. “Some of these are toxic and some are not toxic, but still cause ecological damage.”
Man-made problem The Indian River Lagoon’s crisis is man-made. Since the 1960s, the population of the five counties around the lagoon has doubled. Many of the 600,000 houses that surround Indian River Lagoon use septic tanks instead of a county or municipal sewage systems. “The problem is septic tanks really don’t treat the sewage to a very high level,” Lapointe said. “They are not engineered to re-
move nutrients, and they don’t disinfect.” Septic tanks don’t treat sewage. Instead, they rely on dense soil to filter out contaminants. But septic tanks don’t perform well in the porous soil of Florida’s coastal areas. The septic tanks are leaching into tidal creeks and canals that flow into the Indian River Lagoon. The sensitive estuary also receives high levels of fertilizer runoff and takes in discharge from Lake Okeechobee. When untreated sewage from septic tanks combines with these other pollutants, algal blooms result, creating an overgrowth of algae that can be seen as colorful scum on the water’s surface. “We have two major problems – that discharge from the lake bringing a lot of fresh water into the system and then all the septic tanks that are also draining into the system with fecal coliform bacteria … and it really is like the perfect storm coming together creating a big, big problem in this area,” said Lapointe.
Don’t go in water Bethany and Sean Quinn know their house in Stuart is part of the problem. Buried in their front yard is a septic tank, one of 30,000 in Martin County alone. “If I had my preference, I’d much rather have it be something that goes and is treated and the water’s
reclaimed and turned into something useful,” Sean Quinn said. In May, the St. Lucie River became so polluted that state health officials warned residents not to even touch the water. “I know people aren’t catching as much fish. You don’t see any of the seagrass. You rarely see shells,” Quinn said. “It’s changing right before our eyes.” Despite the visible problems, many Floridians are largely unaware of the adverse effects of septic tanks because state officials continue to permit their installation near Indian River Lagoon. According to the Florida Department of Health’s website, more than 100 new septic tank permits were issued in July in the five-county region around the lagoon. State health officials declined to comment about the state’s continued permitting of septic tank installations around the estuary.
An expensive solution Martin County Commissioner Doug Smith is spearheading a 20-year, $138 million project to clean up the river by connecting more than 10,000 houses that rely on septic tanks to sewage lines. Homeowners in Martin County will be required to replace septic tanks and connect to sewage lines, at a cost of about $8,500 per homeowner. Under the project,
those who cannot afford septic tank removal can pay in installments over 20 years through their property tax bills. “People want to have good, healthy water. They want it to be clean water, and it really should be,” Smith said. “Generations ago it was … and so everybody’s hope is that we can get back to that.” Last month, Gov. Rick Scott described septic tanks as a “major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies.” He also said he would propose new funding for a 50 percent matching grant to help curb pollution in the Indian River Lagoon and assist homeowners moving from septic tanks to sewer lines. Among homeowners who have signed up to remove their septic tanks is Suzie Debartolo. Her house in Martin County overlooks the St. Lucie River. She used to enjoy being on the water, but she’s since sold her boat and stored away her kayaks. “You see how that is just totally dead?” she said, pointing to the river. “You don’t see any sign of life down there … I wouldn’t dare get in here.” A companion report aired on “PBS NewsHour Weekend’’ on Aug. 7. The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit news organization supported by foundations and individual contributions. For more information, visit fcir.org.
STOJ
FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
Meet some of
FLORIDA’S
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Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest? E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) 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.
Above left: The U.S. women’s 4x100 relay team won silver on Aug. 6, the first weekend of the Olympics. Shown from left at the Olympics Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are Amanda Weir, Lia Neal, Allison Schmitt and Katie Ledecky. Ledecky also won gold in the individual 400-meter freestyle and set a new world record. BRIAN PETERSON/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS
Above right: Bernard Lagat, at age 41, is the oldest U.S. athlete to compete in a running event at Rio and the second-oldest U.S. track-and-field competitor in history. Born in Kenya, he competed for his native county in the 2000 and the 2004 Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 1,500-meter event in 2004. After becoming a naturalized citizen of the U.S., the long-distance runner competed for America at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Bow Wow says he’ll retire from rap BY RANDY LEWIS LOS ANGELES TIMES TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Rapper-actor Bow Wow, a.k.a. Shad Moss, sent out a series of tweets last weekend announcing his retirement from rap 16 years after getting started as teenage hip-hop prodigy. “I always said I’d retire from music before 30,” Moss said in one of the tweets. “I just can’t see myself at 30 years old rapping.” His second career as an actor has included television and film roles in “Entourage,” “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family” and “Like Mike,” and he is a regular on the “CSI: Cyber” series as the character Brody “Baby Face” Nelson. OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/TNS
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama prepare to greet Singapore’s prime minster, Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Ho Ching, at he White House during an official arrival ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 2. On Aug. 5, the president celebrated his 55th birthday at the White House.
Obama celebrates last birthday at White House with plenty of stars EURWEB.COM
Beyonce, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Oprah, Magic Johnson, Ellen DeGeneres, Rev. Al Sharpton, Stevie Wonder, Chance the Rapper (and his brother Taylor Bennett), and Pusha T were among the guests at President Obama’s 55th birthday party. First Lady Michelle Obama threw the star-studded turn up the night of Aug. 5 at the White House. According to USA Today, the White House would only confirm that there would be a “large number of family members and friends to mark the occasion.” A no phones policy was likely in place (like previous years), but it didn’t stop folks from sharing pics before and after the shindig. Magic Johnson tweeted a picture of himself and his wife. “Cookie and I getting ready to go to President Obama’s birthday party!” he wrote. The Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted at 1:10 a.m.: “Leaving the White House after the celebration of President Obama’s birthday. His last birthday as President.”
One more album In an additional Instagram Bow Wow message to fans, he said he’ll release his final album, “NYLTH,” and that the executive producer will be Snoop Dogg, who helped usher Bow Wow onto that national stage in 2000 at age 13 with his debut album “Beware of Dog.” He made no mention of a release date for “NYLTH.” “Beware of Dog” included the singles “Bow Wow (That’s My Name)” featuring Snoop Dogg, “Puppy Love” and “Ghetto Girls,” and eventually sold more than 2 million copies. “Made over 20 million off rap. Why be greedy?” Moss wrote in another tweet. “I’m good with everything I accomplished. I made it to the White House.” Snoop Dogg also bestowed the name “Lil’ Bow Wow” on Moss, who dropped the “Lil’” appellation in 2002. Record producer Jermaine Dupri also was instrumental in launching Moss’ career, collaborating with him on the track “The Stick Up,” which Dupri included on the soundtrack to the Will Smith film reboot of “The Wild, Wild West.”
‘New adventure’
Magic and Cookie Johnson get ready to head to Obama’s bash.
His success as a recording artist, however, has declined since his peak in the early 2000s. His 2006 album, “The Price of Fame,” was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies, but his 2009 follow-up, “New Jack City II,” sold just over 30,000. His new album, “Underrated,” was released July 22 for the Cash Money/Universal Republic and is ranked No. 24,545 on Amazon’s list of best-selling pop-rap albums, and No. 795,915 in music releases overall. “Retirement only means that it is time for a new adventure,” Moss wrote in yet another tweet. “Over 10 million sold. This the last one. THANK YOU.”
B6
FOOD
AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2016
Natural v. added
SUGAR What does it mean for your family’s health?
TOJ
HOMEMADE ORANGE GRANOLA Servings: 6 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal 1 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 cup sliced almonds 1/4 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup 100 percent Florida orange juice, divided 3 tablespoons canola oil 2 tablespoons honey 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup dried cranberries Heat oven to 325 F. Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In large bowl, combine oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds and cinnamon; mix well. Drizzle in 1/3 cup orange juice; stir well to evenly coat oatmeal mixture. Repeat twice more, stirring after each addition of orange juice. In small bowl, combine oil, honey and vanilla; stir well to combine. Drizzle oil mixture over oatmeal mix ture; stir well to coat oatmeal mixture. Spread oatmeal mixture on prepared baking sheet in even layer. Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, to evenly brown granola. Remove from oven, add cranberries and cool completely. Store in airtight container up to one week. Serving suggestion: For a morn ing parfait, serve homemade orange granola with milk or a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. Add in sliced fruit for extra color.
FROM FAMILY FEATURES
Sugars are one of the most important health conversations today. A diet filled with too many added sugars is associated with weight gain, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. According to the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the average American consumes an average of 20 teaspoons a day, significantly more than the 6-9 teaspoons recommended daily by the American Heart Association. Sugar can mean different things to different people, which not only adds to the confusion, but can quickly derail even your best intentions as you try to make the right choices for your family.
The difference between added and naturally occurring sugars Many nourishing foods such as fruits, vegetables, certain whole grains and dairy products contain what are known as naturally occurring sugars; these are simple carbohydrates that are naturally present in a food’s biological structure. For example, the lactose found in milk is a sugar, as is the fructose in fruit. In contrast, added sugars are those sugars or sweeteners you add in your kitchen – adding sugar or honey to a recipe or onto your breakfast cereal, for example – as well as sugars and sweeteners that are added to a variety of products by food manufacturers. Added sugars are often used to enhance taste and flavor, of course, but can also be included for other reasons, such as to prevent spoiling – think summer jams – or assist in fermentation, such as in baking. “Working with the Florida Department of Citrus, I’ve seen firsthand how much confusion there is around this topic for many families,” said registered dietitian Kate Geagan, author of “Go Green Get Lean.” “Yet while too many added sugars can fill your diet with ‘empty calories,’ naturally occurring sugars are found in some of nature’s most nutrient-rich packages, delivering a bevy of benefits such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and more.” An 8-ounce glass of 100 percent orange juice, for instance, has no added sugar. Beyond being an excellent source of vitamin C, it’s a good source of folate, especially important for women of childbearing age, as well as potassium, a vital mineral which helps nerves and muscles communicate and can help offset the effects of too much sodium in the diet. In fact, the FDA recently announced it will add potassium to the Nutrition Facts Panel because many Americans are falling short. The benefits don’t stop there, though. A glass of 100 percent orange juice also delivers magnesium, vitamin A and niacin. Plus, it’s a significant source of hesperidin, an antioxidant that research suggests may have heart, blood pressure and cognition benefits, as well as reduce inflammation and oxidation. Furthermore, one glass counts as one serving (1 cup) of fruit to help you meet the 1.5-2 cups per day recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
How much added sugar is too much? A delicious, vibrant eating plan that you can stick with for the long haul doesn’t mean you can’t ever consume added sugar, but it is about cutting back for most Americans – especially for groups with the highest intakes, such as adolescents and men – and replacing those calories with nutrient-rich foods. The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting added sugar intake to a maximum of 10 percent of total calories each day, or 200 calories of a 2,000 calorie diet, which matches guidelines from the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association. For best results, focus on filling your diet with an abundance of naturally nutrient-rich foods and shift to a diet that includes plenty of plant foods. For more recipes using Florida orange juice, visit floridacitrus.org.
CLEARING UP FOOD LABEL CONFUSION In May 2016, the FDA announced a revamped Nutrition Facts Panel that includes, among other improvements, clearly listing added sugars on their own line for the first time. Up until now, both added and naturally occurring sugars have been lumped together under one “sugars” line, making it vexing for the average eater to determine how much sugar is naturally occurring versus added, especially given the dozens of different names for sweeteners that manufacturers often use. When this change hits supermarket shelves, families will be able to more easily spot foods and beverages that contain little to no added sugar. In addition to highlighting added sugars and potassium, the Nutrition Facts Panel will now more accurately reflect serving sizes that Americans actually eat and drink. Also, packages that are reasonably consumed in a single sitting will no longer get a free ride using smaller serving sizes and listing multiple “servings” per bag, container or can.
SLOPPY O JOES Servings: 4 9 ounces lean ground turkey 1/2 large minced onion 1 small red bell pepper, minced 1 teaspoon cumin seed, ground 1 teaspoon coriander seed, ground 1 cup Florida orange juice 1 cup organic tomato juice 1 large sweet potato, baked and diced 4 whole wheat dinner rolls In medium saute pan, saute ground turkey over medium heat until cooked thoroughly. Remove turkey; reserve. Saute onion until translucent. Add red pepper, cumin and coriander; saute for 1 minute then add orange juice. Cook until orange juice is reduced by two-thirds; add tomato juice and cooked turkey. Cook until tomato juice has reduced by two-thirds then add diced baked sweet potato and stir until combined. Split dinner rolls in half; spoon turkey mixture in center. Serve immediately.