Citizen Week of Oct. 2, 2019
| Vol. 3 | No. 8 | www.thechicagocitizen.com
SUBURBAN TIMES WEEKLY
EMERGING YOUNG ARTIST TOURS CHICAGO’S SUBURBS, PERFORMS FOR SOUTH SUBURBAN STUDENTS Students at Crete-Monee High School recently received a performance from a 19-year-old emerging singer from Atlanta known by her stage name, MicahBlu. MicahBlu has been performing for most of her life and always hits the stage with various shades of blue in her outfit, her hair and her makeup. SEE PAGE 2
A 19-year-old singer from Atlanta recently gave a performance to students at Crete-Monee High School in Chicago’s south suburbs. Photo Credit: Provided by MicahBlu
POLITISCOPE Mississippi: African American voters sue over election law rooted in the state’s racist past PAGE 2
NEWS
NEWS
Does Your Child or Teen Experience Migraines? What to Know PAGE 3
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Why is Suicide a Growing Problem in the Black Community? PAGE 4
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COMMUNITY
Emerging Young Artist Tours Chicago’s Suburbs, Performs For South Suburban Students Continued from page 1 BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
Students at Crete-Monee High School recently received a performance from a 19-yearold emerging singer from Atlanta known by her stage name, MicahBlu. MicahBlu has been performing for most of her life and always hits the stage with various shades of blue in her outfit, her hair and her makeup. The performance at Crete-Monee was part of the sold-out High School Nation Tour which brought MicahBlu to several high schools in Chicago’s surrounding suburbs over the course of two weeks. “The most important part of who I am is that I’m a singer and that’s like everything to
me. I literally sing ‘Hello’ when I meet people. I’m all about positivity and loving yourself and loving yourself enough to love other people around you,” said MicahBlu. Breaking into the music industry didn’t happen overnight for MicahBlu and when it comes to making music and keeping her positive attitude, she said it can be challenging at times. “To break into the music industry is actually really hard. There is a lot of behind the scenes work you have to do to get your name recognized, even in the slightest bit, and then there’s still a lot more to do after that,” said MicahBlu. “Staying positive is definitely something you have to work for and it’s an everyday process and an everyday battle but
every day is a new day. I feel like when you just go on default mode, you can just get lost. I think you should always live in the present and notice everything you’re doing, notice your surroundings, and just stay positive.” This positivity is woven into MicahBlu’s music and she said that she loves sharing her positivity with a younger audience which made her recent high school tour a great fit. “A tour like this is exactly what I love because I feel like it’s like my demographic and it’s just really fun and full of energy. I feel like I relate the most to the high school audience that I’m performing to now on this tour,” said MicahBlu. “I hope that when young people listen to my music it’s good enough to make them forget about any problem they’re going
through or anything that’s going on in the world. That’s my goal.” During the tour, MicahBlu would arrive early and stay late before and after the performances to meet with students. She said that in doing the High School Nation Tour in the suburbs of Chicago, she not only garnered thousands of new social media follows but she also heard from students that they were inspired by her music. “I love when people tell me that my music makes them feel a way, or when they say that my music changed their mindset on something or open their eyes to something different about something,” said MicahBlu. To learn more about MicahBlu visit www. micahblu.com.
POLITISCOPE
Mississippi: African American voters sue over election law rooted in the state’s racist past BY GIDEON COHN-POSTAR
A lawsuit over a Mississippi election law, if successful, will change the way that state elects its governor. Four African Americans filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in May 2019, charging that the way their state elects its statewide officials violates the Voting Rights Act, the 14th Amendment and the principle of “one-person, one-vote.” To win election, a candidate for governor of Mississippi has to win an outright majority of the popular vote – and win a majority of the state’s 122 House districts. If no candidate does both, the state House gets to select the next governor, regardless of who got the most votes. No African American has been elected statewide since 1890. Republican legislators in Mississippi defended the law by arguing that the plaintiffs provide “nothing more than conjecture” that they would be harmed by this election method. Media coverage of the lawsuit has emphasized that “no Mississippi candidate who won the most votes for a statewide office has been prevented from taking office because of the other requirements.” As a historian of 19th-century voting rights in the U.S., I believe this analysis ignores the history of anti-democratic gubernatorial
Gideon Cohn-Postar
election laws. Today, Mississippi is one of only two states where the winner of the popular vote does not automatically become governor. Vermont is the other. In the 19th century, however, many states had such laws. The damage that these laws did to democratic legitimacy and political stability in the 1870s, ‘80s and ‘90s was not conjecture. These laws were intended to entrench the rule of the party in power. This November, Mississippi is preparing for its first close gubernatorial election since 1999. The election law that is the focus of the lawsuit could decide who wins. Its origins and the track record of similar laws in more competitive states bear investigation.
Disenfranchisement by law The gubernatorial election law dates to 1890, when it was drafted into Mississippi’s constitution by a nearly all-white convention. The Southern Democrats in charge of the convention were intent on removing African Americans from politics. The constitution they crafted subjected prospective voters to a literacy test and poll tax – effectively disenfranchising nearly all African Americans. They included the majority vote and state House district provision in the constitution as a backstop to preserve white control of Mississippi. However, voter suppression and a racially polarized electorate have produced few competitive elections in Mississippi, ensuring that the backstop has rarely been necessary. In the 19th century, many states with similar election laws had much more competitive elections. The bad results these laws produced in close contests demonstrate the worst-case possibilities of Mississippi’s system. The crowbar governor These anti-majoritarian laws in governors’ races caused what legal scholar Edward B. Foley termed “a veritable epidemic” of crises during the Gilded Age. In West Virginia (1888), Rhode Island (1893) and Tennessee (1894), partisan legislatures overruled the www.thechicagocitizen.com
voters to install governors in office who had failed to win the most votes. The 1890 drama in Connecticut provides the worst example of these laws in action. Democratic candidates running for governor won the most votes in every Connecticut election during the 1880s. But with multiple parties running, they never captured a majority. The legislature, gerrymandered to favor the Republicans, installed their candidates in office 4 out of 5 times, even though they never even won a plurality. In 1890, the Connecticut legislature was evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. That year’s gubernatorial election was thrown to the legislature. Deadlock ensued. In a three-way race, where the Democrat had won nearly 4,000 more votes than his Republican opponent, Republicans in the state Senate refused to seat him. Though the Democrats held the moral high ground, the Republicans had the election law on their side. With the stalemate, the sitting Republican governor, Morgan G. Bulkeley, who had not even run for re-election, simply stayed in office for two more years. While Bulkeley’s supporters commended him for stepping in to “hold the fort,” his unelected tenure provoked a crisis of legitimacy that ground state government to a halt.
When the legislature refused to appropriate funds for the state budget, Bulkeley borrowed $300,000 ($8.3 million today) from his family’s company – Aetna Life Insurance – to pay for state operations. Neighboring states refused to acknowledge the legality of arrest warrants he issued. At one point, the Democrats changed the locks on the governor’s office and Bulkeley popped them off with a crowbar. “Nothing short of a revolution,” said the disgusted governor of New York, could end the tyranny of the minority in Connecticut. But Bulkeley’s methods had damaged the Republican Party’s reputation. In the regularly scheduled 1892 election, the Democrat who had won the most votes in 1890, Luzon B. Morris, won an outright majority and became governor. The hero of Gettysburg In Maine in 1879, a similar election law came close to provoking a civil war. The sitting Democratic governor, Alonzo Garcelon, placed a distant third in the election, behind the Republican and Greenback candidates. Because no one won an outright majority, the new legislature, which Republicans expected to control, would decide the winner. As the incumbent, however, Continued on page 4
CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 2, 2019
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NEWS
Does Your Child or Teen Experience Migraines? What to Know StatePoint - The pain and symptoms that accompany migraines can be debilitating. For children and teens, it can mean missed school days, absence from social or sporting events and activities at home. To evaluate migraine treatment in children and teens, new guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Headache Society looked at two areas: acute treatments to stop or lessen pain and other symptoms during a migraine, and treatments to prevent or reduce how often migraine attacks occur. “The good news is that there are effective treatments for children and teens for migraine attacks when they occur,” says guidelines lead author, Dr. Maryam Oskoui, McGill University, and an AAN fellow. Based on the guidelines, families dealing with pediatric migraines should consider the following: • Clinicians make a migraine diagnosis based on the intensity and duration of pain, how many attacks a person has had, and whether they’re accompanied by associated symptoms
associated with their child’s migraine attacks. These can include lack of physical activity, being overweight, excessive caffeine intake, poor sleep habits and dehydration. Many of these issues can be addressed with healthy habits, like nutritious foods, regular exercise, adequate hydration and sleep. • Ask your child’s neurologist about the risks and benefits of preventive medication and appropriate acute treatment. For example, in studies, the drug amitriptyline combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) -- which employs techniques like relaxation and coping strategies -- was more beneficial than amitriptyline combined with headache education in reducing migraine attack frequency “The good news is that there are effective treatments for children and teens for migraine attacks when they occur,” says guidelines lead author, Dr. Maryam and migraine-related disability. However, it’s important to note that Oskoui, McGill University, and an AAN fellow. amitriptyline may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. like nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to medicine specialist. A neurologist is “The benefit of CBT alone or in light and sound. Those with migraines a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing combination with other treatments in should get a diagnostic evaluation disorders of the brain and nervous migraine prevention warrants further that includes a careful medical system study,” says Dr. Oskoui. history, as well as general physical and • Triggers can vary, so families • Treat migraines as soon as your neurological examinations conducted should identify and address the factors child or teen becomes aware of one by a neurologist or headache
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starting. For children and teens, medications such as ibuprofen and triptans can help relieve pain during an attack. For teens, consider the combination sumatriptan/naproxen. • Families and neurologists should carefully weigh the use of treatments not proven to be effective in children and teens. For example, while botulinum toxin is effective in preventing migraine in adults, it hasn’t shown the same effectiveness in children and teens. And while some of the newest treatments, including calcitonin gene-related peptide antibodies and other similar drugs and devices are effective for adults, the study of their pediatric use is only beginning. To learn more about migraines, visit BrainLifeMag.org/PedMigraine, the AAN’s free patient website and magazine, and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Though common, pediatric migraines are painful and can be debilitating. Talking to your child’s neurologist about the latest treatments is recommended.
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NEWS
Why is Suicide a Growing Problem in the Black Community? BY STACY M. BROWN NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
It’s no secret that African Americans – particularly teens – are committing suicide at record levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates have increased by 30 percent since 1999 and nearly 45,000 lives were lost to suicide in 2016 alone. A June 2019 study conducted by the Journal of Community Health revealed that suicide deaths among black females aged 13 to 19 rose 182 percent between 2001 and 2017, while the rate among black teen males rose 60 percent during that same period. From 2015 to 2017, 52 percent of black teen males who died from suicide used firearms, a method with a fatality rate of nearly 90 percent. Another 34 percent used strangulation or suffocation, which has a fatality rate of about 60 percent. Among the 204 black teen females who died by suicide from 2015 to 2017, 56 percent used strangulation or suffocation and 21 percent used firearms, according to the study.
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Experts and others have tried to determine why African Americans increasingly are choosing to end their lives. Theories have run the gamut – from the lack of strong father-figures to racism and social media and even the increase in black wealth. Whatever the reason, the CDC said it’s important to note that suicidal thoughts or behaviors are both damaging and dangerous and should be treated as a psychiatric emergency. CDC officials also caution that those who have suicidal thoughts should understand that it doesn’t make one weak or flawed. “Why are we killing ourselves? The lack of treatment of mental illness is the key factor to why suicide is on the rise in the black community,” said Clarence McFerren, a mental health advocate and author who admits to previously having suicidal thoughts as a teenager. “Throughout my life, I’ve been faced with difficult situations which festered into five mental illness diagnosis – ADHD, PTSD, severe depression, bipolar tendencies and anxieties – and I did not understand what was going on until I took the
steps to get help,” McFerren said. Famed Beverly Hills family and relationship psychotherapist and author, Dr. Fran Walfish said she’s treated hundreds of thousands of children and teens each year and recently she’s seen the number of troubled teenagers who are cutters and dealing with suicidal thoughts, feelings, ideas, plans, and even attempts of suicide. “There is nothing glamourous about suicide. The one common-denominator shared by all who cut, contemplate or attempt suicide is that they feel emotionally alone in their families,” said Walfish, the author of “The Self-Aware Parent,” and who appears regularly as an expert child psychologist on the CBS Television series, “The Doctors.” “They feel there is no one person they can talk to about their pain who will listen, validate, understand, and be a safe warmly attuned place for comfort,” she said. Sam Gertsmann, the founder of Opinion-Lounge, a website for discussing politics, said he’s had extensive experience working suicide hotlines. “While suicide is a complicated topic, it’s clear that the rise of social media is one of the main causes of the recent
Hampton University to Offer Free Enrollment, Room & Board to University of the Bahamas Students Displaced by Hurricane Dorian In an effort to help those students and families affected by Hurricane Dorian, Hampton University is entering into an agreement with the University of the Bahamas-North to allow students who have been displaced by the hurricane to continue their education on HU’s campus. “I think this agreement is something that can be helpful to a great number of students and families, and is part of something I’ve tried to do my entire career – helping people to achieve and meet their goals,” said Hampton University President, Dr. William R. Harvey. Students from the University of the Bahamas-North will be able to attend classes at Hampton for the fall 2019 semester, receive room and board for one semester, and will have the option to stay at Hampton once the semester is over at regular rates for tuition and fees. For more information, please contact the Hampton University Office of Admissions at 757-727-5328. Anyone interested in supporting these students, please contact the Hampton University Office of Development at 757-727-5002.
“There is nothing glamourous about suicide. The one common-denominator shared by all who cut, contemplate or attempt suicide is that they feel emotionally alone in their families,” said Dr. Fran Walfish, the author of “The Self-Aware Parent,” and who appears regularly as an expert child psychologist on the CBS Television series, “The Doctors.”
jump in suicide rates,” Gertsmann said. “Social media show users pictures and videos of everyone living better lives than they are; even though these pictures are often staged and paint an inaccurate picture, the brain isn’t able to differentiate and simply sees that everyone else is better off,” he said. “Social media also puts numbers on your popularity – your followers, your likes, your replies. And, no matter how many you have, you’ll always want more,” Gertsmann said. Kevin Darné, the author of “My Cat Won’t Bark! (A Relationship Epiphany), believes that the suicide rate among young African Americans is due to the growing list of black millionaires and billionaires. “Today, we have Oprah owning a TV network, Tyler Perry owning his own studios, Shonda Rhimes
owning her night of television on ABC, Jaz-Z becoming a billionaire, Dr. Dre selling ‘Beats’ to Apple for $3 billion, and a few Fortune 500 black CEOs, black doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs,” Darné said. “Although racism is still alive, it’s impossible to deny the fact that the rise of a black upper middle class and an increase in black millionaires [contributes to others having lower self-esteem],” he said. “The irony is the more black success that someone sees in various industries could make a person start to wonder about what’s wrong with themselves. Depression and lack of fulfillment can cause people in a rich country to consider suicide … when there’s a huge gap between one’s expectations and their reality, life can seem miserable,” Darné said.
POLITISCOPE
Mississippi: African American voters sue over election law rooted in the state’s racist past Continued from page 2 Garcelon had power over certifying the legislative election results. Using every trick in the book, Garcelon’s cronies overturned enough election results to give his allies control of the new legislature. The state’s supreme court ruled his actions illegal, but Garcelon ignored them and seated his illegitimate legislature, hoping they would vote to re-elect him governor. Bands of armed Mainers from both sides of the dispute began gathering in the capital. Only the intervention of Civil War hero and former Maine Gov. Joshua Chamberlain averted bloodshed. Chamberlain, head of the state’s militia, refused to take sides. When a group of Garcelon’s supporters pushed into Chamberlain’s office, he opened his shirt and dared them to do what the rebels had failed to at Gettysburg. The supreme court again ruled that the Republicans had the right to organize the legislature and appoint the governor. For two more weeks Garcelon refused to back down, but when Chamberlain publicly accepted the
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court’s decision and sided with the Republicans, the crisis came to an end. Maine quickly amended its constitution to permit governors to be elected with only a plurality of the vote. Bad track record If the civil rights lawsuit against the gubernatorial election process succeeds, it will mark a repudiation of Mississippi’s legacy of racial disfranchisement. If it does not succeed, then Mississippi’s legislature and governor might want to consider the examples of Connecticut in 1890 and Maine in 1879. Laws that place anti-democratic restrictions on the popular vote have a bad track record in competitive elections. At best they add unnecessary complexity and instability to what should be a simple system. At worst they undermine the principle of popular rule, damage voters’ faith in democracy and provoke crises of legitimacy. Gideon Cohn-Postar is a Graduate Student in History, Northwestern University.
CITIZEN | Suburban Times Weekly | Week of Oct. 2, 2019
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