PERSPECTIVES: Dr. Ben Carson-Gifted hands, foot in mouth! Page 3
Milwaukee to host first annual Suicide Prevention Conference Oct. 25
COMMUNITY
Strategically following National Suicide Prevention Month in September, the challenging topic is a recent memory for some. For others it’s a far off thought or even a daily worry. Suicide however, is a topic everyone should be learning about as it can affect anyone. Prevent Suicide Greater Milwaukee, a branch coalition of Prevent Suicide Wisconsin, along with Milwaukee County’s Behavioral Health Division, Dry Hootch, GLS, Mental Health America of Wisconsin, and UW-Milwaukee will be presenting a full day conference focused solely on Suicide Prevention. While providing extremely valuable information the planning
VOL. XXXVIII Number 12 October 16, 2013
The Milwaukee
New Sculpture of “The Dreamer” unveiled
JOURNAL
committee set out to offer the conference at a low cost to insure the message was presented to anyone who was interested. The cost is $30 or $45 for those interested in the 5.5 continuing education credits. The training, conveniently located at the Milwaukee County War Memorial will feature Dr. Patrick Corrigan a licensed clinical psychologist providing services for people with serious mental illnesses for more than 30 years. He was principal investigator for the Chicago Consortium for Stigma Research. It will also feature Dr. Jeffrey Garbelman who has worked extensively in maximum security settings, developing
expertise in the area of suicide assessment. He will be training all who attend in the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) which will include a certification. There will be a panel discussion with Dr. Steve Dykstra, a licensed psychologist with Milwaukee County's Mobile Urgent Treatment team and Dr. Brian Fidlin a clinical psychologist at Children’s Hospital and nationally recognized speaker on the areas of pediatric brain development, substance abuse and dependency. Lastly, the audience will hear from Michael Orban the Author of the book “Souled Out: A Memoir of War and Inner Peace”. Michael is a war veteran who has 45 years of experience with combat PTSD.
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'Very anxious':
MPS enrollment grows for the first time in a decade
The newest Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sculpture was unveiled during a ceremony officially opening the King Drive Commons IV, located at 2705 N. MLK Drive. The sculpture, a bust of the famed civil rights leader, was created by renowned artist Zenos Frudakis, and is the focal point of the King Drive Common IV’s Freedom Garden. Helping to unveil the artwork are (left to right): Brett Gerber, president of IMPACT 7, an urban development organization; Welford Sanders, executive director of the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation; Frudakis, and Mayor Tom Barrett. (Photo by Yvonne Kemp)
Families recognizing significant improvement and successes
Enrollment in Milwaukee Public Schools grew between 2012-13 and 2013-14, reversing a decline that lasted nearly a decade. MPS’ fall enrollment count submitted to the state this year was 78,502, up from 78,461 submitted at the same time last year. The modest increase came after the district lost 1,000 or more students each year for the last nine years. “Milwaukee is arguably the most competitive K-12 education marketplace in the country. “We are grateful that families recognize the significant improvements we’ve made and the successes we’ve seen by choosing Milwaukee Public Schools,” MPS Superintendent Gre-
PULSE OF THE COMMUNITY
gory Thornton said. Part of the district’s success in attracting students has come from expanding and replicating successful traditional schools and charter schools thanks to strategic use of underutilized or unused facilities. This year, those actions have resulted in Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School growing by 45 students, I.D.E.A.L. Charter School growing by 30 and Golda Meir School growing by 28. The growth of Golda Meir, rated “Exceeds Expectations” by the state, is expected to continue in 2014-15 the school uses expanded space received in 2012-13 to serve high school students beginning at 9th
grade. It is utilizing a once-vacant middle school building. Proposals in the state Assembly (AB 417) and Senate (SB 318) would take away Milwaukee Public Schools’ ability to use its facilities strategically to expand successful programs by forcing the district and the city to sell buildings. In addition to growing and replicating successful individual schools, other district successes have also helped attract families. Those include: • More MPS schools are meeting or exceeding expectations and fewer MPS schools are rated as failing to meeting expectations on state report cards • MPS’ graduation rate has grown 14 percentage points between 2000 and 2012 (continued on page 5)
Students at MPS’ Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High Sch-ool, which added students in 2013-14 thanks to the district’s strategic use of facilities.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: “Local pastors Fred L. Crouthers, John W. McVicker, Sr. and Mose Fuller are asking Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn to start a gun buyback initiative. This program has proven to be very successful in Camden, New Jersey. Do you think this Photos and question by Yvonne Kemp program will work in Milwaukee. Why or why not?”
FORMER MILWAUKEE MAYOR MARVIN PRATT: “The gun buy-back program previously organized by my foremer collegue, Ald. Michael McGee, Sr., was a success several years ago. I believe it would be successful again. We will not get all the illegal guns off the streets, but this initiative will remove some and save a life or multiple lives. It’s a worthy and much needed effort.”
TRACEY DENT-PEACE FOR CHANGE ALLIANCE: “ A gun buy-back program is needed. Every little bit helps. This program needs to happen annually in order to be effective. Put big marketing money behind this program so that the public is aware of this (i.e.) social media, flyers, listening sessions, etc.”
ANNIE WOODARD: “I believe we should exhaust any and all efforts to end gun violence in Milwaukee.”
JENELLE ELDER-GREEN: “What works in one city does not necessarily work in another. What does work is a united effort by the community designed to decrease violence, whether it be by guns or physical assault. We must mobilze as individuals and a community to support this--and other efforts--to decrease gun violence.”
Is America scared of diversity?
“D
Article courtesy of theGrio via Tony Dokoupil, Senior Staff Writer, NBC News
iversity” is on the rise in America and people are “very anxious” about it, according to a sweeping new Esquire-NBC News survey.
The large-scale, bipartisan study — co-created by leading Republican and Democratic pollsters — mapped “the new American center,” as well as the ideological wings, and the data are a rich, complex portrait of the issues that unite voters today, regardless of party or ideology.
As a guide to the winning political messages of the future, says Republican pollster Robert Blizzard, who helped produce the results, the work is nothing short of “a bible.” But at a glance the results may concern people, especially immigrants, minorities and people of color. A third of the center is worried about how “increasing diversity” in America will affect the country’s future, with almost one in five saying diversity makes them “very anxious” — and a super-majority (65 percent) reporting that diversity inspires in them no sense of hope in the future, or at least no sense stronger than the anxiety they reported here. Take an interactive quiz to find out where you stand. At the same time, while most people of the center support laws that protect minorities in the workplace, the center seems to think that these laws have gone too far: Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) believe that in respecting the rights of minorities, “we’ve limited the rights of a majority of Americans.” And if the center were in power, it would favor ending affirmative action in hiring decisions and college admissions (57 percent) and requiring all vot(continued on page 7)
Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin to Host Affordable Care Act Community Forum Forum will feature representatives from Marketplace Qualified Health Plans (QHPs)
In their continued effort to provide key information to the community regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW) will be hosting another community forum on Wednesday, October 23, from 5 to 7 pm at BHCW, 3020 W. Vliet Street. The event is free and open to the public. Representatives from the four Milwaukee Marketplace Health Exchanges insurance providers will participate on a panel and answer attendee questions. The Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) are Common Ground Healthcare Corp, Compcare Health Services Ins. Corp., Molina Healthcare of WI, Inc. and WPS Health Plan, Inc. (Arise). The community is welcome to attend and get questions answered for themselves and their families. BHCW encourages the community to keep in mind the important ACA dates; the initial enrollment period for ACA will end March 31, 2014. Qualifying individuals who enroll through the Marketplace by December 15th can begin receiving health coverage in January 2014. Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW) is one of the few organizations in the Milwaukee area that received an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Navigator grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the National Healthy Start Association. This grant allows BHCW to provide ACA related outreach and education (continued on page 5)
The Milwaukee Community Journal October 16, 2013 Page 2
cells, taken without her knowledge, continued to proliferate instead of dying. After a very painful eight months, Henrietta died on October 4, 1951 and was buried in an unmarked grave. A grave that was ultimately marked in May, 2010 with funds donated by Dr. Roland A. Pattillo, who worked under Dr. George Guy, at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Dr. Gey, who had been working to find live cells lines that could be used to test, develop and create pharmaceuticals to address the scourge of polio that was crippling the nation, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Trillions of Henrietta Lacks cells were grown and promulgated at the Tuskegee Institute, in Tuskegee, Alabama, at the same time that the Department of Public Health was also funding the testing of Black men, alleging to find cures for syphilis and gonorrhea. These cells were said to have come from a woman by the name of Helen Lane, not Henrietta Lacks, as the family would later learn. The descendents of Henrietta Lacks. (File photo) For many years, it was not known that Henrietta’s cells had been harvested, nor that she was the donor of HELA cells. Over twenty years, after her death, when the family was approached for various science/research projects, and lawyers began to propose money-making opportunities, that never materialized, did the family learn about their Mother’s cells. While it was known that penicillin was a cure for syphilis, men continued to come to Tuskegee where they were guaranteed meals and free health care, during the Great Depression. At the same time, the Lacks Family was in the throes of their loss and deeply affected by the maladies associated with lack of funds. Ultimately, several family members agreed to care for the Lacks children. The after-effects of such a travesty certainly affected the family’s economic, educational and social opportunities. Multiple abuses were remembered by the children, these scars inflicted indelible wounds. he book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, The oldest son, Lawrence and his wife, Bobbette, attempted, to the best of authored by Rebecca Skloot, a top ten booktheir ability, to keep the family together. To their credit, they always remained a committed, loving, family, who worked to better themselves and uplift the seller for over three years, told the story of the whole, as they continue to do today. Henrietta Lacks, a 31 year old woman who died Many approaches to the Lacks family, over the years, never led to full-underfrom cervical cancer, with only nine months bestanding of what HELA cells were, nor any compensations for the trillions of dollars earned by world-wide pharmaceuticals that provided cures and better tween her initial diagnosis and her demise. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, August l, 1920 and raised in Clover, Virginia, this lives for many. These discoveries and cures continued to allude the Lacks family. And today, many need new discoveries to improve their quality of life. wife, mother and new citizen of Turner Station, Maryland, moved, with her Cancer, stroke, diabetes are maladies that have affected several family memfamily, to find employment at Bethlehem Steel Companies, that employed over bers. 38,000 people during that industrial period. Henrietta Lacks, typified women Deborah, second daughter of Henrietta Lacks, whose only sister, Elsie, died of her time. after years of institutionalization for epilepsy, shortly after Henrietta’s death, She loved, attended church, helped others coming to Maryland from the continued to ask about her Mother. Throughout the years, Deborah was the South for employment opportunities and dreamed the dreams of women her persistent, consistent advocate that sought more information, more hospital age. She loved to dance, play cards, and help her family by cooking delicious records and expressed her feelings of deep loss as a teen, as a young Mother, meals. Those who knew her say “ she was a giver”. So many are not surprised and certainly as a mid-lifer, with many illnesses, herself. that her cells now continue to give to so many, yet today. Regrettably, Deborah did not live to see the book published, nor has she heard Mrs. Lacks was first seen by Dr. William Wade, one of the doctors of Turner the many accolades we all wish to give her, for she passed in May 2009, after Station, Maryland, five months after the birth of her fifth child, Zakariyya. When Dr. Wade could not halt the bleeding, he referred Henrietta to Johns Hop- years of battling high blood pressure and acute diabetes. We honor Deborah, for without her there would have never been “The Immortal Life of Henrietta kins’ Gynecology Department. It was there that Dr. Howard Jones took a Lacks”. biopsy and told her she had cancer. Dr. Roland Pattillo, in the interim, had begun the annual symposium on Over the months, the standard of care, for that time, was administered but her
HELA MOMENTUM CONTINUES
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women’s health at the Morehouse School of Medicine, in 1996. Named in the honor of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells he had first worked with in his undergraduate chemistry class at Xavier University, in New Orleans. Dr. Pattillo had witnessed the affects of hydroxy urea on HELA cells, while working, with his professor, for a cure for cancer. He also knew that the cells had come from Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman, often un-named, in the past. So when the opportunity came to work on HELA cells, at Johns Hopkins, as a Fellow under Dr. Gey, Dr. Pattillo worked aggressively on other things the HELA cells could do in discovering cures for cancer, while learning more about the Trophoblast and stem-cell identification. His cell lines continue to be used and are one of two lines used in testing for the Gardasil inoculation that prevents cervical cancer today. Dr. Pattillo continued to challenge science and the use of the HELA Cells, and in1996, invited the Lacks Family to the first HELA Conference held for the Morehouse School of Medicine at Morehouse College’s Dr. King Chapel. David Lacks, Sr., Deborah, Sonny and other members of the family were honored by the City of Atlanta. This proclamation of Henrietta Lacks Day in Atlanta represented the first official introduction of the Henrietta Lacks family. The report of the 1996 HELA Conference in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology was read by Rebecca Skloot a scientific writer who had heard of Henrietta Lacks in her biology classes as a young college student. Enthralled by the story of the cells and bolstered by the knowledge that this story had never been told, she reached out to Dr. Roland Pattillo. Dr. Pattillo, after much scrutiny, determined that Rebecca was sincere about telling the true story. The rest of it is history, as the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” remained in the top ten book category for over three years. It has been translated throughout the world, read by millions, and has become the impetus for many discussions, additional scientific, scholastic, bio-ethic symposiums and speaking engagements plus opportunities to relate to inquiries about the needs of the Lacks family. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, under the leadership of Dr. Daniel E. Ford, Vice Dean for Investigation and Director of Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, began a scientific, scholastic, community and family initiative four years ago on the Johns Hopkins campus. Noted speakers have been at the forefront of addressing the major health concerns from the community, particularly East Baltimore where community-based organizations, schools, including a partnership with the Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, where two $ 15,000 scholarships have now been awarded, and the hospital community comprised of employees of Johns Hopkins are very supportive. The name, image and significance of Henrietta Lacks are no longer an anomaly. Few have not read the book, or watched television shows about the family. And soon there will be the movie about Henrietta Lacks’ life, that has been scripted and will be ultimately casted for view on HBO, with underwriting supporters, including Oprah Winfrey. This year’s, Johns Hopkins HELA Memorial keynote speaker was Dr. Gary H. Gibbons, Director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NHLBI, who oversees a staff of over 900 scientists working to cure, sustain and improve the quality of life of those affected by heart, lung and blood diseases. Dr. Gibbons was full Professor and Director of the Heart Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, after stints at Stanford University in California and Harvard School of Medicine. He is an outstanding, creative scientist, himself, respected highly for his leadership in the American Heart Association. Dr. Gibbons quickly identified with the Lacks Family and the need to ensure that they are always remembered and honored for their gift of life to so many. Over 70,000 papers have been chronicled and presented using HELA cells. Thousands of pharmaceuticals have begun their initial tests and slides with HELA cells. It is said that if they were connected, HELA cells would go around the world multiple times and be one hundred times taller than the Empire State Building . They have traveled to the moon to study the affects of zero-gravity as a precursor of space travel and resultant cellular affects. Yet, the Lacks Family has never been monetarily rewarded for this magnanimous gift to science.
(continued on page 5)
PERSPECTIVES Dr. Ben Carson: ‘Gifted
The Milwaukee Community Journal October 16, 2013 Page 3
Quote of the Week:
Hands,’ Foot in Mouth
“If I allow the fact that I am a Negro to checkmate my will to do, now, I will inevitably form the habit of being defeated.”
-Legendary African American Architect Paul R. Williams
GUEST COMMENTARY
Any idiot knows that having access to healthcare is not worse than slavery By George E. Curry
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Dr. Ben Carson
r. Ben Carson became the darling of conservatives earlier this year by stridently attacking the Affordable Care Act with President Obama sitting just a few feet away. Carson, who was serving as the keynote speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast at the White House, said, “Here’s my solution: When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health savings account to which money can be contributed – pretax – from the time you’re born ’til the time you die.
When you die, you can pass it on to your family members, so that when you’re 85 years old and you got six diseases, you’re not trying to spend up everything. You’re happy to pass it on and there’s nobody talking about death panels. “Number one. And also, for the people who were indigent who don’t have any money we can make contributions to their HSA [Health Savings Account] each month because we already have this huge pot of money. Instead of sending it to some bureaucracy, let’s put it in their HSAs. Now they have some control over their own health care.” Predictably, the Right wing rushed to embrace him. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the crew at Fox News were ecstatic that a prominent Black neurosurgeon shared their world view. Jonah Goldberg, a columnist for the Right-wing National Review, compared Carson to racial apologist Booker T. Washington. David Graham, writing in The Atlantic, called him Herman Cain without the “personal skeletons.” And the conservative Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed under the headline, “Ben Carson for President.” Carson became a paid contributor to Fox News, was hired to write a weekly column for the Right-wing Washington Times, and became in demand as a
The 50s R&B Groups The Coasters
R&B was king for 1950s teens at the Northside “Y” Remember when…
By Richard G. Carter
“In my bed each night I get dreaming, that you were here by my side. And lately I haven’t been sleeping, I just lay there in sorrow and cry. Oh, oh darling dear…” The Counts, “Darling Dear” (Dot Records-1956)
Back in my Milwaukee teens, I was a champion party-goer and partythrower. As a matter of fact, Ben and Marlene Johnson -- noted former local politicians -- met at one of my house parties when we were all in high school in the mid-1950s. For Black teenagers, our music was original Black rhythm and blues --
speaker at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and any national event that attracts more than three conservatives. Professionally, Carson is no dumb man. He earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his M.D. from the University of Michigan. At the age of 33, he became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the youngest major division director in the school’s history. In 1987, he led a 70-member surgical ream that separated twins who had been joined at the back of the head. After the successful 22-hour surgery, Carson gained national recognition. His autobiography, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, was published in 1992. The book recounts how his mother, Sonya, reared him and his older brother, Curtis, after she and her husband, Robert, divorced when Ben was 8 years old. In 2009, TNT released a television movie with the same title as his book, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Ben Carson. In 2008, George W. Bush presented Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Carson has made several controversial remarks after his appearance at the White House. In March, he said on Fox TV: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA [North American Man/Boy Love Association], be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.” Under pressure, Carson withdrew as commencement speaker for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He also apologized for “not the best choice of words,” called his critics racist, and then apologized again. Of all of his outrageous comments, his latest one ranks among the most egregious. Speaking at a Voter Values Summit, Carson said, “I have to tell you that Obamacare is, really, I think, the worst thing that’s happened to this nation since slavery. It was never about healthcare, it was about control.” First, the Affordable Care Act does what its proper title implies – it makes health care affordable to millions of people, including the uninsured. If making insurance more affordable, not allowing insurance companies to reject people with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to remain on their parents’ insurance policies until they are 26 years old isn’t about healthcare, the esteemed neurosurgeon doesn’t know the definition of healthcare. Second, any idiot knows that having access to healthcare is not worse than slavery. Enslaved Africans had no rights, as the Supreme Court ruled in its 1857 Dred Scott decision, “which the white man was bound to respect.” They were brutalized, degraded, whipped, killed, and raped at the whim of the slave master. Marriage was not recognized and the slave codes in various states made it illegal to teach Blacks to read or write. The Affordable Health Care Act is worse than that? It’s a ridiculous comparison. At the rate he is going, Carson’s photograph will be slapped on boxes of rice. Dr. Ben will be more appropriately known as Uncle Ben.
George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.
a.k.a, doo-wop -- the real thing. We grooved to it at Saturday night parties and sung along and danced to it on Friday “Canteen Nights” at the Northside YMCA at N. Sixth St. and W. North Ave. In those days, we were a passel of people constituting a dynamic, youthful Black social structure. There was Alvin Russell, Pat Flowers, James Reed, Evelyn Bailey, Billy Reed, Loretta Walker, Bobby Thomas, James (Chief) Juniel, Beverly Pitts, William Wade, Gloria Harpole, Willie Buford, Julia Tarver and Jack Byrd, among many others. Our music, especially the records and artists we knew and loved, was the greatest. And so was how we closely embraced all that good stuff -- and each other -- at the “Y” under the watchful eyes of the respected Ralph Jefferson and the great Bob Starms. The lights were down low, but not too low, when Ruth Brown’s “Daddy, Daddy” and the Drifters’ “Whatcha’ Gonna’ Do” got us going. By the time the Counts’ “Darling Dear;” Johnny Ace’s ”Pledging My Love;” the Moonglows’ “Most of All,” and the Clovers’ “Comin’ On’” (“I’m the latest edition of the Woman’s Home Companion…”) were played, we were warmed up and more than ready to slow down and grind. The likes of Loretta Juniel, Erna Hampton, Chuck (Smalltime) Johnson, Howard Fuller, Odell Christon, Middleton (Bart) Wilson, Annette Benson, Richard Huff, Charles (Dapp) Wilson, Joe Butts, Cornelius (Peter) Shedd and Mardree (Jim) Harpole got down with “Have a Good Time” by Ruth Brown; ”The Wind” by the Diablos”; “Cherry Pie” by Marvin and Johnny, and “Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight” by Pookie Hudson and the legendary Spaniels -- the iconic 1954 tune that introduced Black R&B to white America. By mid-evening, the cramped dance floor was filling with fine folks such as Loretta Jones, Beverly Beckley, Joanne Witherspoon, Jesse Nixon, Barbara DeWalt, Wellington (WW) Warren, Fostina Pinnix, John Givens and Barbara Cochran. Everyone swayed to “Chop Chop Boom” by the Danderliers; “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Roy Hamilton; “My True Story” by the Jive Five, and “I’ll Be Forever Loving You” by the El Dorados. Things got even better as more Lincoln and North Division peers arrived, as well as Edison Scott, of West Division. But wherever we partied -- from my pal Sam Johnson’s house, to mine to the fabled Northside “Y” -- original Black R&B was right there with us. Tunes such as “You’re Still My Baby” by Chuck Willis; “Come Go With Me” by the Del-Vikings; “I’ll Be True” by Faye Adams; “Sexy Ways” by the Midnighters; “Show Me the Way” by the Five Notes; “Maybe” by the Chantels, and “Please, “Please, Please” by James Brown and his Famous Flames, made us know we were home. Over the years, I’ve been asked by old friends to list my choices as the best (continued on page 5)
THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT (SECTION 1): All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside. “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any persons within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
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Community can benefit from MPS decision on Malcolm X Complex
Article courtesy of Milwaukee Black Media Alliance
he heart of Milwaukee's African American Community stands to benefit from this week's vote by MPS Board of Directors to sell the Malcolm X Complex to 2760 Holdings, LLC.
This decision was the first step in the process of the building being renovated into a space the entire community will benefit from.This vote authorizes the administration to request the City of Milwaukee to sell the building to 2760 Holdings, LLC. MPS buildings are owned by the City of Milwaukee, so the sale must be approved by the Milwaukee Common Council. The building is being sold to 2760 Holdings, LLC for the purchase price of $2.1 million. There is an option for Milwaukee Public Schools to lease back any space used for MPS educational purposes. The sale marks the completion of a multi-year process that will result in a multi-purpose facility that includes an MPS school. 2760 Holdings, LLC, will make significant improvements to the 50-plus-yearold building to prepare it to be reopened as a community center and school. MPS estimates the cost of those improvements to be, at minimum, $4.2 million, approximately matching the lease payments MPS would make over 50 months for the educational portion of the building. 2760 Holdings’ payment of the sale price of $2.1 million makes the deal a “break-even” one for the district because MPS ultimately reimburses the improvement for the educational portion while having the option to repurchase the facility. In the end, taxpayers and the community benefit because the community receives an upgraded, 21st-century facility for a community center and school. Contrary to statements made by lawmakers, 2760 Holdings, LLC is not a ‘fly-bynight’ organization. As is typical in commercial real estate developments, when partners from different organizations come together, they create a separate LLC to work on the project. Principals of 2760 Holdings, LLC, include James Phelps, whose work has included renovations at the Medical College of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the YWCA – and Dennis Klein, chairman of KBS, who has been involved in substantial construction and development projects including three mixed-use University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee properties, two new facilities for Marquette University, major new Milwaukee hotels Aloft and Marriott, and the redevelopment of Capitol Court into Midtown Center. In August 2012, the Board of School Directors authorized the administration to explore the option of community centers for several unused Milwaukee Public Schools buildings. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning sponsored a design event this summer for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Economic Development Corp. where use for of the former Malcolm X building as a community center was affirmed. The claim by supporters of the legislation that the agreement with 2760 Holdings was “thrown together” isn’t supported by the facts. In August 2012, the Board of School Directors began discussion of turning unused former school buildings into community resource centers. The process specific to converting Malcolm X began in May and included a number of public hearings. However, the legislation to strip MPS and the city of Milwaukee of their control over local school facilities was introduced less than two weeks ago. Despite the continued criticism from parties that wanted St. Marcus Lutheran School to purchase the property, Milwaukee Public Schools has offered three other facilities to St. Marcus Lutheran School – all of which are in the neighborhoods where many St. Marcus students live and two of which are in close proximity to St. Marcus’ existing site – but St. Marcus leaders rejected those sites. MPS remains open to discussing available sites with St. Marcus. Alderwoman Milele Coggs, where the Malcolm X Complex is located introduced the resolution to proceed with the sell to the Milwaukee Common Council this week.
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Quarles and Brady Law Firm honors retiring Chairman John Daniels
John W. Daniels, Jr.
Black Health Coalition ACA Community Forum
(continud from page 1) to anyone in Milwaukee County. Additionally, BHCW is providing training sessions to organizations and assistance with enrollment. For questions about the community forum or to RSVP, please contact Marlo at 414-933-0064 ext. 212 or mblackhawk@bhcw.org. To learn more about BHCW, please visit the organization’s website at www.bhcw.org and stay up-to-date with current racial health disparities information and community health events via their Facebook page.
MPS enrollment grows for the first time in a decade
(continued from page 1) • More MPS students are taking Advanced Placement courses • More MPS students are going to college • MPS Class of 2013 scholarship total was about $24 million, up from about $18 million the year before • MPS is home to the two best high schools in southeast Wisconsin – Rufus King International School High School Campus and Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School – according to The Washington Post.
The partners of the nationally recognized law firm of Quarles and Brady LLP recently honored retiring Chairman John W. Daniels, Jr. for his years of service to the firm, its clients and the community. The event was held at Hotel Pfister in its Grand Ballroom. Daniels retired from the law firm as Chairman Emeritus. He will continue to assist in strategic efforts to ensure ongoing, outstanding service to the firm’s clients. Daniels became chairman of Quar-
les and Brady since 2007. In the position, he has led the firm throuh a fundamental transformation, shifting from the traditional operational model upon which most major law firms are built to a client-centric, business-minded organizationl. Daniels ushered in the shift in the midst of the worst economy in decades, leading to significant growth while most of the legal industry has declined. Daniels further led Quarles and Brady to a position of industry
R&B was king to 50s Northside “Y” teens
(continued from page 3) original Black R&B sounds -- owing in part to the hundreds of 45s I’d accumulated since my introduction to the music in 1953. I started to think more about this in the summer of 1991 during extensive interviews in Gary, Indiana for my authorized biography “Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight: The Story of the Spaniels” (August Press-1995). So here goes, my fantastic 15. And with so many greats, it was a very difficult task: 1- “Baby, It’s You” (Spaniels); 2 - “Baby, I Need You” El Dorados; 3 - “I Only Have Eyes For You” (Flamingos); 4 - “When I’m With You” (Moonglows); 5 - “You Gave Me Peace of Mind” (Spaniels); 6 - “White Christmas” (Drifters) 7 - “Good Lovin’” (Clovers) 8 - “Night Train” (Jimmy Forrest); 9 - “Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight” (Spaniels); 10- “Blue Moon” (Marcels); 11 - “Goin’ Out of My Head” (Imperials); 12 - “Duke of Earl” (Gene Chandler); 13 - “Sincerely” (Moonglows); 14 - “Since I Fell For You” (Harptones), and 15 - “For Your Precious Love” (Impressions). Many of these songs and recording artists were, and still are, unfamiliar to white people who think it all started with Elvis Presley and the Beatles. No way. We all know it was original Black R&B from the golden era of 195363. And we lived it at 6th and North. People like Ben and Marlene, Tonish Jones, Annette (Polly) Williams, Tommie Gee, Eleanor Wilson, Betty Bynum, Geraldine Matthews, Maurice Beckley, Ann Miller, Eula Newsome, O.C. Murray, Richard Wiley, George Earl (Mickey) Mitchell, Jeanne Levy, Bert Revels, Floree Junior, Wilbur Dixon, George Lott, Stella Wilson, Lester Baldwin, Rita Rembert, Mylum (Bubbles) Kelly, Mildred Nelson and Carl Ray Witherspoon. During our Friday night “Y” days, the popular Chuck Dunaway -- a young, local white disk jockey -- knowingly played original Black R&B on WMIL’s “Rockaway With Dunaway.” He knew the score, was honest about it and attracted droves of listeners. But the soulful voice of Black piano man Dooley Wilson had presaged our notable times-to-come in 1942’s classic “Casablanca.” To wit: “You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh. The fundamental things apply, as time goes by…” Milwaukee native Richard G. Carter is a freelance columnist
The Milwaukee Community Journal October 16, 2013 Page 5
prominence as a firm that values diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The firm ranks impressively in surveys conducted by women’s and minority groups, and both clients and independent organizations have recognized and honored the firm for its achievements in this area. Because Daniels dedicated so much of his career to opening oors
for disadvantaged and urban youth, Quarles and Brady is establishing a John W. Daniels, Jr. Scholarship in cooperation with the American Bar Association Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund. The ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship grants 20 incoming diverse law students with $15,000 of financial assistance over the course of their three years in law School.
Since its inception, over 260 students from across the country have received the ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship. These exceptional recipients have overcome adversity, proven themselves through academic success and public service, and demonstrated the tenacity to excel within the profession.
HELA MOMENTUM CONTINUES
(continued from page 2)
The family were introduced to the cells, their proliferation, and their significance to science through the Johns Hopkins symposiums; and annually they learn more as they now transfer their knowledge to additional memorials that honor their Mother, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt. Some of the family are now speaking about memories, also sharing the new things coming to the family by way of opportunities, yet their health challenges and desires to continue to grow, while helping others, remains a challenge . The maladies that disproportionately affect the African American community certainly have not escaped the Lacks family. Bobbette, the wife of Lawrence Lacks, the oldest son, suffered an acute stroke in January 2012 and continues to require daily home nursing care. “Sonny”, David Lacks, suffered a stroke in June of 2013, after going to many colleges and universities to share how the family continues to remain focused and united in honoring their Mother’s legacy of giving. His hospital bills are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and now unable to work, his expenses remain a legitimate personal concern. Zakariyya’, the youngest’s, knees are so bad that he now is cared for in a senior-assisted living complex. Hopefully, the Affordable Healthcare Act will help to address these medical and economic challenges. More universities are making the life of Henrietta Lacks required reading and the second, third and fourth generations are making education, increased exposure and augmented involvement in all future Henrietta Lacks activities a requirement for the use of her name and image. The unification of the Henrietta Lacks legacy justifiably warrants involvement of the family. Recently, with help from Johns Hopkins, the family, forged an agreement for the utilization of Henrietta Lacks’ genome. Concerned about what this knowledge might mean to descendants of HELA, they agreed, in writing, to permit her genome to be used but it requires approval of a formal committee, comprised of Lacks Family members, scientists from Johns Hopkins and the community, that will determine which scientists and which projects would
be permitted usage. The Henrietta Lacks Legacy Committee, led by tenured advocate Courtney Speed, of Turner Station, where the Henrietta and her family resided before her death, held a plaque ceremony at the New Pittsburgh Avenue address, Saturday, October 7, 2013. Over 200 people witnessed the unveiling, including the Lacks Family, Mrs. Speed, her Board and residents from the community, including Dr. William Wade, Jr., plus Dr. Roland A. Pattillo, from the Morehouse School of Medicine and Dr. Daniel Ford, from Johns Hopkins Medical School. The Lacks Family Foundation is available at www.helafoundation.org where your donations support other families affected with major health issues, and provide employment and training opportunities. Administered by the Lacks Family, the foundation made its first grant to a Baltimore group that supports outreach and workshops for prostate and breast cancer patients. Called Time 4 the 99, the organization’s goals are prevention and reducing the disparities in African American diagnosis and care. “HELA FAMILY STORIES”, with memoirs from Lawrence and Bobbette Lacks, is available exclusively at Amazon.com. It captures the memories of the children and its affects on their lives and thoughts, as shared by the oldest brother and his wife, who became surrogate parents for this young family, after Henrietta’s death, 62 years ago. Dr. Roland Pattillo, along with a group of scientists, HELA family members and residents of Virginia are working to actuate CRIL-HELA, the Committee to Recognize the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The dilapidated cabin, where Henrietta was raised, before coming to Turner Station, Maryland, remains in Clover, and many believe this should be a national historic site, with national recognition and designation. Additionally, Morehouse School of Medicine continues to lead by honoring HELA during their annual symposium, in September, while working to further refine the CRIL-HELA mission. If you have not read the book....you must...for it is an engaging discourse on the lives of people of a different era yet so impacting on our lives today. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks “ illuminates the challenges of a woman whose cells continue to give so much to testing, trials, and future discoveries. We know who Henrietta
Is America scared of diversity?
(continued from page 1) ers to show photo-ID (58 percent), a move which disproportionately locks out minority voters. Likewise most of the center (54 percent) is against a path to citizenship for people who came to this country illegally — and less than a third (32 percent) support such a path as part of any bipartisan immigration reform. The overwhelmingly white complexion of the center (78 percent) may cast these positions in an unflattering light, especially when a plurality (40 percent) is worried that “racial tensions” will turn violent in the near future. But while the center may seem unnervingly nativist and almost openly hostile to people of color, say the pollsters, these data points don’t tell the whole story. “Keep in mind,” said Blizzard, “the center voted for Obama by a decent margin in 2012.” When asked which public figure they trust the most, more people in the center picked Obama (9 percent) and Oprah Win“Overall, frey (6 percent), making them the results America’s most suggest relied-upon pubthat for lic figures by a long shot. And a most Amerdegree of pragicans, matism may be at work: 64 per- class now cent of the center trumps say racial discrimination is on race as the the wane and our defining laws should be modernized to obstacle of reflect this happy upward change. Explore Es- mobility, a quire magazine's sentiment coverage of the that’s exclusive survey. “What’s really strongly recoming through flected in here,” said Democratic pollster other studDaniel Franklin, ies. who helped conThe induct the survey, “is that the cen- come and ter is focused on education their own pergap besonal finances, and with their tween anxious feelings about the na- blacks and tional economy, whites has they just want to narrowed make sure everyin recent one is treated fairly when it years while comes to the the same economy.” Overall, the gaps have results suggest that for most grown into Americans, class chasms benow trumps race tween as the defining obstacle of up- those bornward mobility, a rich and sentiment that’s strongly re- born-poor, flected in other regardless studies. of color or The income and education country of gap between origin.“ blacks and whites has narrowed in recent years while the same gaps have grown into chasms between those born-rich and bornpoor, regardless of color or country of origin. The center seems to feel this opportunity gap acutely, with only 5 percent of the new majority strongly agreeing with the idea that America remains a land of opportunity for all — and almost a third (31 percent) doubting the statement that everyone has a chance to work themselves into the middle class. Far from nativist or racist, in other words, the center seems keen to fix America’s mobility problem, restoring unfettered access to opportunity, and protecting the American dream for all. Even if “diversity,” in the meantime, makes them nervous. The survey of 2,410 registered voters was conducted from August 5-11, 2013, using cutting-edge polling and analytical techniques, by Benenson Strategy Group (headed by Joel Benenson, lead pollster for Obama in ‘08 and '12) and Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies (the lead pollster for Romney '12.)
The Milwaukee Community Journal October 16, 2013 Page 7
Local Fair Housing Council Joins Housing Discrimination Complaint against U.S. Bank
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance and six of its member organizations announced that they have amended their federal housing discrimination complaint against U.S. Bank National Association. The civil rights groups allege that U.S. Bank continues to maintain and market foreclosed homes in white neighborhoods in a much better manner than in African American and Latino neighborhoods. Failing to maintain and market homes because of the racial or ethnic composition of the neighborhood violates the federal Fair Housing Act. The new metropolitan areas added to the complaint are Milwaukee, Baton Rouge, Indianapolis, and Memphis. Evidence already in the complaint from the Chicago metropolitan area is being supplemented with new properties near Chicago in the cities of Aurora, Dolton, Evanston, Hazel Crest, Matteson, Waukegan and Country Club Hills. NFHA has also provided HUD with new evidence in Baltimore supporting their allegations of a continuing violation by U.S. Bank. The six member organizations that filed the complaint with NFHA are the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council (MMFHC), Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, HOPE Fair Housing Center (Illinois), South Sub-
IN MILWAUKEE...
...52 percent
of U.S. Bank-owned homes in Milwaukee communities of color had five or more maintenance or marketing deficiencies.
urban Housing Center (Illinois), Open Communities (Illinois), and Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center. The complaint now brings the total to 24 cities in 11 metropolitan areas where U.S. Bank is alleged to have discriminated in the maintenance and marketing of its bank-owned homes and homes for which it is the owner of record as the trustee. The number of new properties added to the complaint is 96, bringing the total number of properties to 273. The original complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on April 17, 2012 and includes Atlanta, GA; Dayton, OH; Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL; Oakland/Richmond/Concord, CA; and
Washington, DC. The organizations evaluated the maintenance and marketing of bankowned foreclosed homes for 39 different types of deficiencies, including broken windows and doors, broken and obstructed gutters and downspouts, accumulation of trash, overgrown lawns, no “for sale” signs, and other issues that affect curb appeal, the security of the home, and the value of the home. “U.S. Bank has failed to take care of homes that it owns and for which it is the owner of record in the communities of color we have investigated,” said Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “U.S. Bank’s actions have significant financial and health impacts on local governments, schools, neighborhoods and homeowners who live near these neglected properties. Homes with broken and boarded windows and overgrown lawns become targets for vandalism, dumping and criminal activity. We found homes where the neighbors complained about rat and flea infestations. U.S. Bank has a duty to maintain and market homes in communities of color in the same professional manner as it does in white neighborhoods.”
communityjournal.net
The Sports Page The Milwaukee Community Journal October 16, 2013 Page 8
Marquette Golden Eagles hold Media Day
The Marquette Golden Eagles introduced the 2013-2014 Squad to the media recently, introducing the newest crop of freshman who hope to help the team make an appearance in the tournament in March of 2014. (Above left--pictured left to right): Jamil Wilson (from Racine), Deonte Burton (number 30 from Vincent High School), Juan Anderson and Duane Wilson (from Dominican High School) wait pensively to talk to sports writers. Waiting with them is Father William Kelly of Marquette. (Pictured at right): Marquette Coach Buzz Williams talks with Wilson. (Photos by Bill Tennessen)
No Uncle Tom on Football’s Racism By Dave Zirin
R
Let me be clear: The racial slur ‘redskins’ is not okay with me. It’s never going to be okay with me. It’s inappropriate, damaging and racist. In the memory of our Blackfeet relatives, it’s time to change the name. —Bob Burns
ick Reilly—the unbuttered wheat toast of sportswriters—is going to have a grim Thanksgiving.
Last month, to much media attention, the ESPN columnist wrote about his Native American father-inlaw’s support for the Redskins name. This was the foundation for his article’s thesis that the only people who care about whether the team should change a name many see as gobsmackingly racist are white, politically correct ninnies. Actual Native Americans, like his father-in-law, feel honored or don’t give a damn. No one less than Washington’s Hall of Fame former coach Joe Gibbs recommended Reilly’s piece as an answer to anyone who has a problem with the Redskins name. But alas! Karma can be cruel. Reilly’s father-in-law a Blackfeet elder named Bob Burns has now issued a statement that not only did Rick utterly misquote him, he also refused to make a correction. As Burns writes in the Indian Country Today Media Network: You can imagine my dismay when I saw my name and words used to defend the racist Washington Redskins name. My son-in-law, ESPN’s Rick Reilly, completely misunderstood the conversation we had, quoting me as saying “the whole issue is so silly. The name just doesn’t bother me much. It’s an issue that shouldn’t be an issue, not with all the problems we’ve got in this country.” But that’s not what I said. What I actually said is that ”it’s silly in this day and age that this should even be a battle—if the name offends someone, change it.” He failed to include my comments that the term “redskins” demeans Indians, and historically is insulting and offensive, and that I firmly believe the Washington Redskins should change their name. When Rick’s article came out, it upset me to be portrayed as an
“This personal and professional disaster for Reilly is a microcosm about the harmful effects of mascoting. The argument made for decades by Native Americans is that their ubiquitous presence as sports mascots enables the dominant culture to see them only as stereotypes and not as a living, breathing, visible part of this country.”
“Uncle Tom” in support of this racial slur. I asked him to correct the record. He has not, so I must do it myself. Reilly responded by writing, “While I stand by the reporting in my Sept. 18 column about the Washington Redskins nickname controversy,
and felt I accurately quoted my father-in-law in the piece, clearly he feels differently. This is an incredibly sensitive issue, and Bob felt he had more to say on the subject after that column was posted on ESPN.com. We’ve spoken and cleared this up.
I admire Bob and respect his opinions, and he’s welcome to express them. Bob and I are good and I’m looking forward to my next steak with him.” Damn. While this is all certainly coated in schadenfreude, more interesting than whether Reilly is “good”
with Bob Burns is why he chose to hear what he heard and write what he wrote. Ray Halbritter from the Oneida Nation said to me that he wonders the same. “There has been a concerted effort by those who want to keep using this racial slur to pretend that the targets of the slur support their agenda. “They enjoy the privilege of not being denigrated with a word that has been used as an epithet against Native people for decades. The most disturbing question about Rick Reilly and [team owner] Dan Snyder is why are they so devoted to continue slandering Native Americans with this racial slur?” This personal and professional disaster for Reilly is a microcosm about the harmful effects of mascoting. The argument made for decades by Native Americans is that their ubiquitous presence as sports mascots enables the dominant culture to see them only as stereotypes and not as a living, breathing, visible part of this country. Here is Rick Reilly and he is so focused on defending the right of teams to have the freedom to practice minstrelsy that he is not actually hearing the Native American man under his
own roof. When that same man asks for a correction, Reilly still will not hear him, and he has to write his own response. This country has always been more than comfortable with Native Americans as brands on sports teams and military hardware such as Apache helicopters, and Tomahawk cruise missiles. It is not comfortable with actual, real-life Native Americans like Bob Burns. This is the legacy of conquest: You glory in the fighting prowess of the noble savages you vanquished because it indirectly is a way of praising your own sense of muscular manifest destiny. I hope Rick Reilly writes a follow up about what this experience has taught him. If not, then ESPN may have to issue their own statement. This colossal embarrassment does show that the old guard defending the Redskins name are feeling the earth shake and are finding themselves able to do little more than grasp at straws. Dave Zirin is the author of Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love (Scribners).
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The Milwaukee Community Journal October 16, 2013 Page 10
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