Citizen Suburban Times Weekly 1-2-2019

Citizen Week of Jan. 2, 2019

| Vol. 2 | No. 21 | www.thechicagocitizen.com

SUBURBAN TIMES WEEKLY

LOOKING BACK ON 2018

Over the past year, the Citizen Newspaper has worked diligently to provide thought provoking news that uplifts the communities that we serve.

As 2018 comes to a close, we went through the archives to share some of this year's highlights.

SEE PAGE 6

ART SCENE

Peter Frampton to Receive the Les Paul Innovation Award PAGE 2

TRAVEL

POLITISCOPE

What Every Frequent Flier Should Know PAGE 2

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What Aristotle can teach us about Trump’s rhetoric PAGE 4

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2 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Jan. 2, 2019

ART SCENE Legendary Guitarist Peter Frampton to Receive the Les Paul Innovation Award GRAMMY® award-winning guitarist, singer, songwriter, and innovator Peter Frampton will receive the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award at the 34th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), being held Saturday, January 26, 2019, in Anaheim, CA. The award is given to those individuals who personify the innovative thinking of Les Paul, the Father of Modern of Music. The Les Paul Foundation partners with NAMM each year to honor the individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology, which also celebrates the legacy of the late, great Les Paul.

Frampton notes, "It is a distinct honor to receive the Les Paul Innovation Award. I would say that many of my career highlights occurred while holding an instrument in my hands that bears Les Paul's name. I was lucky enough to know him personally, and I owe him so much. He was a wonderful character as well as a genius! An incredible guitar player as well as the inventor of so much music technology. Les changed the way we record forever. I can only hope that I've been able to make a fraction of the positive impact that Les Paul made in his iconic career."

Frampton is one of music's renaissance men, having begun a career in his early teens, and still making his mark today in the areas of recording and touring. A multi-platinum-selling artist, he recently celebrated the 42nd anniversary of his fifth solo album, Frampton Comes Alive!, an album that remains one of the top-selling live records of all time with over 17 million copies sold worldwide. In 2007 he won the GRAMMY award for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for Fingerprints and in 2014 was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame.

"Peter Frampton remains one of the most skillful and celebrated artists in rock history. He also was a friend of Les Paul's and has played a

Legendary Guitarist Peter Frampton will receive the Les Paul Innovation Award at 34th Annual NAMM TEC Awards.

pivotal role in helping the Foundation keep Les's legacy alive," shared Michael Braunstein, executive director, The Les Paul Foundation. "Like Les, he is an undeniable master of his instrument and in many ways ahead of his time. We are honored to have Peter join the impressive list of Les Paul

Innovation Award recipients."

Frampton's storied career began at 16 as the lead singer and guitarist for the British band The Herd. By 18, he co-founded one of the first supergroups – the seminal rock act Humble Pie. His touring years have included work with a whos-who of the top names in music, such as David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Gregg Allman, Ringo Starr, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, Steve Miller Band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, and many others. Additionally, he took his eponymous Peter Frampton's Guitar Circus on the road for two years with special guests B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Vince Gill, Larry Carlton, Robert Randolph, Don Felder (formerly of The Eagles), Dean DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots), Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sonny Landreth, Robert Cray, and Roger McGuinn (The Byrds).

His session work includes collaborations with artists who have made their mark on the industry including George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Entwistle, Mike McCready, and Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam), among many others.

Frampton's talent has also stretched beyond music and into the realm of television and film.

He was called upon by Oscar-winning writer/ director Cameron Crowe to serve as technical advisor for the film Almost Famous (2000) and even appeared in the film and composed several songs for the soundtrack. Frampton has appeared as himself in The Simpsons and Family Guy. Les Paul invented the solid body electric guitar, multi-track recording, overdubbing, echo, reverb and numerous other recording techniques.

Without Les Paul, the music industry would not be what it is today. He is often called the "Father of Modern Music," "The Wizard of Waukesha" and even the "Thomas Edison of Music." Les founded the Foundation prior to his passing and

wanted to inspire young people to invent, create, innovate, and get involved in music while exploring their own creative ideas. Today, The Les Paul Foundation works with organizations throughout the country in support of music education, engineering, and medical research. The Les Paul Innovation Award at NAMM and the Les Paul Spirit Award are two of the most prestigious awards celebrated by the Foundation.

With the honor, Frampton joins Jackson Browne, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Don Was, Slash, Todd Rundgren, Pete Townshend, Steve Vai, and others, who have received the Les Paul Innovation Award since it began in 1991.

Announced early this year, Leslie Ann Jones, the Grammy-winning groundbreaking engineer, producer, and Director of Music and Scoring for Skywalker Sound, will be inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame that same night.

Jones joins luminaries Rose Mann Cherney, Skunk Baxter, Hal Blaine, Jack Douglas, Nathan East, Geoff Emerick, and others with her induction, the industry's highest honor for pioneers of audio technology and the music industry's most accomplished producers and audio technicians.

The NAMM TEC Awards are held during The NAMM Show, the global gathering of music, sound and event technology industries, in Anaheim, California, January 24-27, 2019. They are bestowed annually in honor of the many individuals, companies and technical innovations used in sound recordings, films, broadcast television and video games. Nominees were announced earlier this year. Purchase tickets on site or in advance at https://www.tecawards.org for $65 (General Admission) or $195 (VIP). The show begins with a VIP-only reception at 6PM, followed by the awards ceremony at 7PM, held in the Hilton Anaheim Hotel's Pacific Ballroom.

Stand-up comedian and entertainer Demetri Martin will host the ceremony.

TRAVEL

What Every Frequent Flier Should Know StatePoint - At any given time, up to 5,000 aircrafts are in American skies. Ten million passenger flights took place in 2016.

The “Golden Age” of air travel may feel like it’s long gone in a time of heightened security and since the advent of mass affordable flight, but experts say that consumers can expect flying to be more comfortable and convenient in the coming years -- even when you’re riding coach.

“To survive and thrive, airlines are focused on product innovations and comfort upgrades to ensure repeat business from customers,” says Jennifer Coutts Clay, who has over 40 years of experience in the operational management and marketing of airlines, including time with British Airways and Pan Am. She is the author of “Jetliner Cabins: Evolution and Innovation,” a new eBook app featuring a historical record and futuristic look at the commercial flying experience, with over 6,000 images and interviews with airline experts.

Are you a frequent flier? Clay says these trends may be headed your way: • Better seating: Ergonomically constructed seat-frames, climate-controlled seat-cover fabrics and lumbar-supporting contoured seat-foam inserts are just a few of the cabin upgrades being made to ensure more comfortable travel.

• Mood lighting: Passengers are given more freedom to control their immediate surroundings through lighting. Thanks to developments in LED technology, many airlines are phasing out cold-look-

ing lighting installations to feature a rainbow range of colors customized to suit the time of day, the specific area of the aircraft or to simulate the soothing gradual process of sunrise and sunset.

• Connectivity: In-flight entertainment, streaming content options and connectivity are expanding as onboard Wi-Fi becomes faster and cheaper. In-seat power supplies will keep mobile devices running during long flights, giving passengers opportunities to work, keep in touch with those on the ground and more.

• More accessibility: Airlines are making air travel more accessible to those with special needs. Recent advances include aisle-size wheelchairs, seat-armrests that can be raised, extra grab bars and handrails, in-flight literature in braille, special meals for an increased range of dietary restrictions, privacy curtains for use around lavatory doors and baby-changing facilities.

• Improved experience: Flights are getting longer and more crowded. In response, airlines are aiming to tackle the problems of stressed-out passengers, with more personalization, humanization and options for how time can be used onboard, including opportunities to move around the aircraft.

• Luxury amenities: In first-class cabins of the “gold-standard” airlines, the luxury-level accommodations, amenities and in-flight service standards keep getting better. Passengers can rely on concierge-type support to handle personal arrangements before, during and after flights, and there is limo service for ground transfers to and from www.thechicagocitizen.com

Experts say that consumers can expect flying to be more comfortable and convenient in the coming years -- even when you’re riding coach.

airports. In the future, passengers might be able to expect onboard salon-style spas and even gyms if they are willing to pay a premium.

More about the air travel experience is available by downloading Clay's app at jetlinercabins.com. The website also offers free videos where users can explore everything from new developments in plane cabins to behind-the-scenes glimpses into how cabin maintenance is performed in the modern age.

“Preparing jetliners to accommodate airline passengers is both an art and a science,” she says. “As passenger expectations evolve and grow, you can expect significant improvements in cabin comfort and hospitality standards."

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Jan. 2, 2019

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4 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Jan. 2, 2019

POLITISCOPE

What Aristotle can teach us about Trump’s rhetoric

BY ANTHONY F. ARRIGO

From Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats to Ronald Reagan’s reputation as the “great communicator” to Barack Obama’s soaring oratory to Donald Trump’s Twitter use, styles of presidential communication have varied over time.

But what is similar across all presidents is their ability to create persuasive messages that resonate with large segments of the U.S. population.

Whatever your opinion about Donald Trump, he is highly effective at doing this. The question is why, and how does he do it?

As someone who teaches rhetoric and communication, I am interested in how people connect with an audience and why a message resonates with one audience but falls flat with another. Whether intentional or not, Trump is using rhetorical strategies that have been around for more than 2,000 years.

WHAT MAKES SOMETHING PERSUASIVE? There have been many definitions of rhetoric over the past two millennia, but at its most basic level it is the practice and study of persuasive communication. It was first developed in ancient Greece, and arose from the need for people to defend themselves in law courts – a brand new invention at the time.

One of the world’s most influential thinkers in this regard was the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived from 384 to 322 B.C. Aristotle was a student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote about philosophy,

Anthony F. Arrigo

poetry, music, biology, zoology, economics and other topics. He also famously wrote about rhetoric and came up with an elaborate and detailed system for understanding both what is persuasive and how to create persuasive messages.

To Aristotle, there were three main elements that all work together to create a persuasive message: a person’s use of logic and reasoning, their credibility and their use of emotional appeals.

Aristotle wished that everyone could be persuaded with detailed logical arguments – what he called “logos.” However, that approach is often tedious, and, frankly, Aristotle felt most people weren’t smart enough to understand them anyway. Facts, documents, reasoning, data and so forth are all important, but those alone won’t win the day. So, he claimed, we need two other things – and this is where Trump excels: credibility and emotion.

TRUMP: THE CREDIBLE LEADER Aristotle argues that someone’s credibility – or “ethos” – is one of

the elements that people find most persuasive.

However, he also said credibility is not a universal trait or feature.

For example, a degree from Princeton gives you credibility only to someone else who has heard of Princeton, understands its cultural cachet and respects what it represents. The Princeton degree itself doesn’t give you credibility; it’s the perception of the degree by someone else that’s important.

Aristotle also said that an important feature of credibility is to appear to have the audience’s best interest in mind by sharing and affirming their desires and prejudices, and understanding and amplifying their cultural values. In politics, the person who does the best job of this will get your vote.

So when Trump states that climate change is a hoax or that the “news media is the enemy of the American people,” what makes that effective for certain audiences has nothing to do with the truthfulness of those statements.

Instead, it’s because he’s channeling and then reflecting the values and grievances of his audience back to them. The closer he gets to hitting the sweet spot of that specific audience, the more they like him and find him credible.

Very often, politicians “evolve” or “pivot” from a position that has earned them intense loyalty from a small group to a position they think will resonate with a larger group in order to get more supporters. This works for some people. But that’s not Trump’s strategy.

Instead, he goes all-in with his core supporters, establishing stronger bonds and identifying more closely with that group than

someone with a more moderate message would. This also creates extremes on both sides: passionate supporters and intense detractors.

President Trump the communicator, then, has a laser focus on one particular segment of the population. He doesn’t mind if you don’t agree with him because he’s not talking to you anyway. His strategy is to continue nurturing his credibility with core supporters.

TRUMP: THE EMOTIONAL LEADER Peppering your credibility with emotional appeals – what Aristotle calls “pathos” – is particularly effective. As Aristotle once wrote, “The hearer always sympathizes with one who speaks emotionally, even though he really says nothing.”

Anger, for example, is an emotion that a speaker can provoke in an audience by using real or perceived slights. In Book 2 of his “On Rhetoric,” Aristotle writes that anger is an “impulse, accompanied by pain, to a conspicuous revenge for a conspicuous slight.”

He details how an audience will channel their “great resentment” and revel in the “pleasure” of their expectation of “revenge” against those who have wronged them.

In another passage, he writes, “people who are afflicted by sickness or poverty or love or thirst or any other unsatisfied desires are prone to anger and easily roused: especially against those who slight their present distress.”

Using slights to channel and rouse anger is a near daily strategy that Trump has used against the FBI, the news media, the Mueller investigation and other perceived enemies.

Anger over the slighting of one’s “present distress” also helps explain why, for example, Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment was such a rallying cry for Republicans. They didn’t like being dissed.

TRUMP’S LANGUAGE STYLE A speaker’s style of language is also important. Trump is very effective with this, too.

Aristotle recommended that a speaker should first identify feelings that their audience already holds, and then use vivid language that resonates with that specific audience to intensify those emotions. Trump has repeatedly put this tactic to work, particularly at his rallies.

For example, Trump regularly invokes a familiar adversary, Hillary Clinton, at his rallies. By drawing on his audience’s known animosity toward her and encouraging them in the “lock her up” chant, calling for her to be jailed and describing her election night loss as “her funeral,” he is using an aggressive style of language that reflects and heightens the preexisting emotions of his audience.

The downside is that the more he uses language that is strongly incompatible with other groups, the more they dislike him. But that seems to be something Trump embraces, which only gives him even more credibility with his supporters.

Whether this approach is a smart electoral strategy in the future remains to be seen.

Anthony F. Arrigo is an Associate Professor of Writing Rhetoric and Communication at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

NEWS

New law expands influenza research and prevention Starting Jan. 1, 2019, students and parents will have more access to research and prevention materials regarding influenza.

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) championed the measure after a rapid increase in the number of people going to see their doctors or health care providers with flu-related symptoms last year.

Senate Bill 2654 will require the Illinois Department of Public Health to develop informational materials about influenza and flu vaccines for school districts. Ad-

ditionally, school boards will be required to provide that information to parents when notifying them of other health-related matters.

“Providing parents with information can help reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits and missed school due to flu,” Hunter said. “I am glad that we now have additional steps in place to protect children and families by providing them the information they need to live healthy lives.”

Have your tax bills been returned?

To help homeowners who have mail-delivery problems, cookcountytreasurer.com now shows when tax bills have been returned by the U.S. Postal Service, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced recently..

“Property owners who don’t receive their tax bills often face interest charges for late payments and even see their properties go up for sale for delinquent taxes,” Pappas said. “It’s an unnecessary waste of time and money, and it’s unfair.”

A team in the Treasurer’s Office has reduced the number of properties with

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incorrect mailing addresses to 63,500, down from 86,200 two years ago.

To see if your tax bills have been returned, visit cookcountytreasurer.com and: • Select the purple box, “Your Property Tax Overview” • Enter your address or Property Index Number (PIN) • Look for a red warning box that pops up if your bills have been returned • Update your mailing information if it is incorrect • Choose “eBilling” if you wish to receive your bill by email

CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Jan. 2, 2019

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NEWS

NNPA’s Series on Slavery Among Most Read of 2018

BY STACY M. BROWN

NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia The shootings of unarmed African Americans by law enforcement officers continued as a hot topic throughout 2018.

As 2018 ends, justice, perpetually denied and hidden behind the “blue wall” of unaccountability, has finally come out of the shadows with the trial, conviction and imprisonment of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was convicted by a jury of his peers for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, whom dashcam video showed was walking away when Van Dyke opened fire.

Upon his conviction, Van Dyke was immediately remanded into custody, saw a later bail request denied, and now faces a possible 20year prison term upon sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 18, 2019.

Along with racially-charged shootings, alt-right protests and the emergence of white supremacists who’ve been vocal in their support of President Donald Trump and his anti-minority policies, there are reminders aplenty of what African Americans and other people of color have had to endure since the founding of the United States.

Three years ago, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, wrote an op-ed warning individuals of color that, “we have to be vigilant and concerned about any scheme to desensitize, trivialize or to downplay the actual genocidal realities of African slavery.”

On Aug. 18, the United Nations held an observance that likely made Chavis, and others like him, proud.

They remembered that on that date five hundred years prior, in 1518, Charles I, Spain’s King, issued a charter authorizing the transportation of slaves from Africa to the Americas.

Up until then (from at least 1510), African slaves were generally transported to Spain or Portugal and then trans-shipped to the Caribbean. Charles’s decision to create a more direct, more economically-viable Africa-to-America slave trade, fundamentally changed the nature and scale of this terrible human trafficking industry.

During the 350 years that followed Charles’s decision, at least 10.7 million black Africans were transported across the hemispheres.

An additional 1.8 million died on route. In August, the NNPA at

ON AUG. 18, THE UNITED NATIONS HELD AN OBSERVANCE THAT LIKELY MADE CHAVIS, AND OTHERS LIKE HIM, PROUD. THEY REMEMBERED THAT ON THAT DATE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS PRIOR, IN 1518, CHARLES I, SPAIN’S KING, ISSUED A CHARTER AUTHORIZING THE TRANSPORTATION OF SLAVES FROM AFRICA TO THE AMERICAS. Chavis’ direction, began a series on the diabolical history and continued impact of the transatlantic slave trade.

To date, the NNPA has published eight parts of an ongoing series on the transatlantic slave trade – none was more controversial than Part Two, “The Catholic Church Played Major Role in Slavery.”

The trans-Atlantic slave trade was introduced by the coming of the Europeans who came with the Bible in the same manner that Arab raiders and traders from the Middle East and North Africa introduced Islam through the Trans-Saharan slave trade, according to AfricaW.com, a premiere informational website available throughout the continent.

“In fact, the Church was the backbone of the slave trade,” the authors wrote. “In other words, most of the slave traders and slave ship captains were very ‘good’ Christians.”

For example, Sir John Hawkins, the first slave-ship captain to bring African slaves to the Americas, was a religious man who insisted that his crew “serve God daily” and “love one another.”

His ship, ironically called “The Good Ship Jesus,” left the shores of his native England for Africa in October 1562. Some historians argue that if churches had used their power, the Atlantic slave trade might have never occurred.

By the same logic, others argue that the Catholic church and Catholic missionaries could have also helped to prevent the colonization and brutality of colonialism in Africa. However, according to a 2015 Global Black History report, the Catholic church did not oppose the institution of slavery until the practice had already become infamous in most parts of the world.

In most cases, the churches and church leaders did not condemn slavery until the 17th century. The five major countries that dominated Continued on page 7

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6 | CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Jan. 2, 2019

NEWS

LOOKING BACK ON 2018 Continued from page 1

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

JANUARY - The Village of Flossmoor hosted their fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service where Village residents were encouraged to dedicate their day off to community service projects. Photo Credit: Village of Flossmoor

JANUARY - Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) opened their seventeenth facility in Flossmoor on Jan. 11. Photo Credit: Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Over the past year, the Citizen Newspaper has worked diligently to provide thought provoking news that uplifts the communities that we serve.

As 2018 comes to a close, we went through the archives to share some of this year's highlights.

Across the country, many people take off work and school on the third Monday in January to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In 2018, the Village of Flossmoor went even further and encouraged it’s residents to consider the day off a “day on” and spend the time engaging in community service projects.

At the end of January, Planned Parenthood opened a new health center in the Village of Flossmoor to better serve the the 1,200 patients, living in southern Cook County, who were previously traveling to other Planned Parenthood locations to receive care.

In March, the Citizen featured a local hero, Babette Peyton, who is a disabled military veteran that has been participating, and dominating, in archery competitions across the world by using only her good arm and her teeth to shoot her bow and arrow.

Also in March, the American Dental Association launched the Community Dental Health Coordinator program at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. The unique program trains dental workers on how to best connect with the community they are serving through case management and educational services which leads to a better dental experience for children and adults.

As winter turned to spring, Prairie State Col-

lege installed a Micro Pantry at their Matteson Area Center, 4821 Southwick Dr., as a new resource for students and residents who may be struggling to access food. The micro pantry is accessible any time of any day and relies on the honor system to ensure that people are taking what they need and leaving what they don’t.

In May, a group of nurses from Advocate South Suburban Hospital took a trip to Springfield where they met with lawmakers and discussed several pieces of legislation that would affect healthcare patients and workers.

In June, the first fundraising event was held for the Blue Island Fire Museum and Education Center. The fundraiser was an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast and all the proceeds are being used for construction of the Blue Island Fire Museum and Education Center. Once complete, the new Museum will serve as the permanent home of Old Bess, a restored 1925 Seagrave motor pumper that was the first new motorized piece of equipment that Blue Island ever purchased.

The South Suburban Humane Society hosted their second annual Dogs on Parade fundraiser in July where seventeen cement dog statues were painted by community businesses, organizations, and residents. The dogs were displayed throughout Flossmoor for about a month and then auctioned off to benefit the animal shelter.

Another public art project that popped up in July was a new mural, designed by Bernard Williams, on the Major Taylor Trail. The mural honors the story of legendary cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor and is produced in partnership with Archi-treasures as part of a larger effort by local groups to make environmental and

JUNE - Prairie State College installed a Micro Pantry at their Matteson Area Center. Photo Credit: Prairie State College MARCH - Disabled military veteran, Babette Peyton, shoots her bow and arrow using only her good arm and her teeth.

JUNE - The first fundraising event was held for the Blue Island Fire Museum and Education Center in June. Once complete, the museum will serve as the new home for Old Bess (pictured). Photo Credit: Blue Island Historical Society

JULY - The South Suburban Humane Society hosted their second annual Dogs on Parade fundraiser where seventeen cement dogs were painted by community businesses, organizations, and residents to display throughout the Village of Flossmoor. Photo Credit: South

JULY - Community members worked together to help paint a new mural on the Major Taylor Trail that honors the story of legendary cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor. Photo

Suburban Humane Society

Credit: Archi-treasures

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CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Jan. 2, 2019

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NEWS

AUGUST - Residents of the Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201-U held a protest in front of Coretta Scott King Magnet Elementary in University Park to express their disapproval of the closure of Coretta Scott King Magnet Elementary and Talala Elementary. Photo Credit: Provided by Catrina Johnson

aesthetic riverfront improvements to the Little Calumet River.

In July, the Mayor of the Village of Matteson, Sheila Chalmers-Currin, hosted the inaugural Friends of Sheila Chalmers-Currin Golf Outing at the Glenwoodie Golf Club in Glenwood, IL. The event was a fundraiser for the Village of Matteson and offered golf, breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with an opportunity to network with elected officials from Matteson, surrounding communities, and the entire Southland region.

As students were returning to school in August, residents of the Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201-U held a protest in front of Coretta Scott King Magnet Elementary in University Park to express their disapproval of the new Facility Management Plan which called for the closure of the Coretta Scott King Magnet Elementary and Talala Elementary.

In September, a public meeting was held for Envision Ford Heights, a community-wide

SEPTEMBER - A public meeting was held for Envision Ford Heights, a community-wide planning effort aimed at revitalizing the Village of Ford Heights. Photo Credit: Katherine Newman

planning effort aimed at revitalizing the Village of Ford Heights. The purpose of the initial meeting, held at the Senior Center in Ford Heights, was to get input from the community about what their top priorities are and what they see as the most needed improvements. Envision Ford Heights is a collaborative effort from the Village of Ford Heights and the Antero Group, a civil engineering and urban planning company that is assisting with the planning and implementation of the Ford Heights improvement plan.

As the state prepared for election season, the Rich Township Democratic Organization held their Annual Democratic Dinner in October at the Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor. The 2018 theme was Join the Blue Wave and featured special guests like J.B. Pritzker, who at the time was the democratic candidate for Governor, and Senator Toi Hutchinson from the 40th District of Illinois.

In November, Illinoisans voted in one of the most expensive governor's races in the state’s

history and elected democrat J.B. Pritzker as the new Governor of Illinois. Along with electing a new governor, democratic candidate Kwame Raoul was elected to be the new Illinois Attorney General over his republican opponent, Erika Harold.

Also during the month of November, Glenwood Academy hosted their 70th Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon at The Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago. The Luncheon was a fundraiser for the school and featured a special performance from the student band, parent testimonials, and students dressed in military uniforms mingling with guests.

At the end of November and into December the Bloom High School Drama Club presented Elf The Musical Jr. As we reflect on 2018 and prepare to celebrate another new year, the Citizen staff looks forward to continuing to bring our audience the news that matters most to them.

OCTOBER - The Rich Township Democratic Organization held their Annual Democratic Dinner featuring Senator Toi Hutchinson as the keynote speaker at the Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor. Photo Credit: Rich Township Democratic Organization

DECEMBER - Students at Bloom High School presented their production of Elf The Musical Jr. Photo Credit: Bloom High School Drama Club

NNPA’s Series on Slavery Among Most Read of 2018 Continued from page 5 slavery and the slave trade in the New World were either Catholic, or still retained strong Catholic influences including: Spain, Portugal, France, and England, and the Netherlands.

“Persons who considered themselves to be Christian played a major role in upholding and justifying the enslavement of Africans,” said Dr. Jonathan Chism, an assistant professor of history at the University of Houston-Downtown.

“Many European ‘Christian’ slavers perceived the Africans they encountered as irreligious and uncivilized persons. They justified slavery by rationalizing that they were Christianizing and civilizing their African captors. They were driven by missionary motives and impulses,” Chism said.

Many Anglo-Christians defended slavery using the Bible. For example, white Christian apologists for slavery argued that the curse of Ham, in Genesis 9:20-25, provided a biblical rationale for the enslavement of Blacks, Chism said.

In this passage, Noah cursed Canaan and his descendants arguing that Ham would be “the lowest of slaves among his brothers” because he saw the nakedness of his father.

However, a further understanding of the passage also reveals that, while some have attempted to justify their prejudice by claiming that God cursed the black race, no such curse is

recorded in the Bible.

That oft-cited verse says nothing whatsoever about skin color. Also, it should be noted that the Black race evidently descended from a brother of a Canaan named Cush. Canaan’s descendants were evidently light-skinned – not black.

“Truly nothing in the biblical account identifies Ham, the descendant of Canaan, with Africans. Yet, Christian apologists determined that Africans were the descents of Ham,” Chism said.

The reporting, viewed by tens of thousands, received numerous comments – some who claimed the Church was being picked on.

“This is certainly ill-informed. Someone needs to do more homework. Many Popes condemned slavery: Eugenius IV (in 1435 the Papal bull Sicut Dudum), Paul III (1537 bull Sublimus Dei), Gregory XIV (1590 bull Cum Sicuti), Urban VIII (1639 bull Commissum Nobis), Innocent XI (in 1676), Benedict XIV (1741 bull Immensa Pastorum), Gregory XVI (1839 bull In Supremo), Leo XIII (in 1888 and 1890),” said reader Stephanie Jones.

Another reader, Deborah, commented: “Thank you Stephanie, you know, this makes me feel like it wasn’t a coincidence that this author and this news media purposely chose this time to bash the Church once again. Just to kick us while we are down.”

However, reader Lisa Catranides defended

the article, writing: “Along with the practice of extraction of Africans from their homelands for enslavement on other continents, slavery of Africans IN Africa was brutally manifested under Christian Missionaries who imprisoned and enslaved thousands of Africans during the development of the rubber extraction industry.

“Christian missionary forces built numerous Stockades to hold and torment Africans forced to harvest rubber trees under direction of Dutch King Leopold with assistance of Christian Missionaries from Great Britain.

“An Irish missionary accompanying the British, named Rodger Casement, was knighted by the king of England for revealing the brutality of imposed slavery of rubber trade within Africa, leading to the cessation of Britain’s involvement in the rubber trade partnership with the Dutch at that time.”

Catranides continued: “The enslavement of people of color by the rubber trade also continued into South America, with Rodger Casement again exposing the crimes. “An excellent historic account of these atrocities is written by prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa in a novel entitled, “The Dream of the Celt.’ It provides astonishing insights into this era, as lived by spirited Irishman Roger Casement, including excerpts from his personal journals …No spoilers here… a mustread.”

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