UPW Urban Pro Weekly

UPW URBAN PRO WEEKLY

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FEBRUARY 25 - 29, 2016 VOL. 5 NO. 22

Why are younger, more activist-minded blacks not impressed with the Clinton brand?

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Clinton and Sanders set to vie for black votes in S. Carolina, Georgia South Carolina votes on Sat. Feb. 27 and Georgians vote in the March 1 Primary

By Frederick Benjamin Sr. UPW Staff Writer AUGUSTA With the election of Barack Obama in 2008, all of the political rulebooks went flying out of the window. And with his reelection in 2012, it confirmed that American electoral politics on the national level had changed forever.

Now in 2016, the madness that surrounds the Republican Party candidacy of real estate mogul Donald Trump, ensures that those old rulebooks will remain buried.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton’s name recognition and liberal-leaning pedigree, in the past, might have garnered her unchallenged support throughout the AfricanAmerican community, but that is, clearly, not the case today.

Indeed, Clinton’s best chance for unchallenged support among black voters, occurred in 2008 when she first ran for president. Despite the candidacy of a senator from Illinois, the “smart” money among the traditional black political leadership was on Clinton.

But then, Obama won Iowa and all bets were off.

So now, in 2016, Clinton must once again come before the AfricanAmerican community. This time around, however, the dynamics in the black community have changed.

UPW

The success of the “black-livesmatter” movement underscores the power and the efficiency of social-media activism and the movement has benefited from the existence of a virtual “activist community” with long tentacles.

This digital “activist community” began to realize its strength back in 2007. Remember Jena, Louisiana.

Hundreds of thousands of African Americans were galvanized by an incident that happened in a tiny town that no one had ever hear of. And all of this happened before the mainstream traditional media picked up on it.

In the past, the so-called “traditional black political establishment” could be relied upon to “fall in line” and deliver the “black vote.”

But the burgeoning online political movement dances to a different beat.

And young black artists and intellecstuals are calling the tune.

To many in this new-wave African American radicalism, the only presidents in their political lifetimes that they have had to relate to have been George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Everything they want to learn about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they have to Google.

As far as Clinton goes, the last thing she did was to be Obama’s Secretary of State. Now, as respected as the Continued on page 5

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“When Bernie gets in the White House, he will do the right thing!”

Both candidates have celebrity endorsements Recently Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, competing for African-American voters in South Carolina, released a new radio ad featuring film director and actor Spike Lee enthusiastically talking up the record of “my brother Bernie Sanders” in fighting racism.

In the spot, a nod to the movie that made him famous. “How can we be sure?” he continues. “Bernie

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was at the March on Washington with Dr. King. He was arrested in Chicago for protesting segregation in public schools. He fought for wealth and education and inequality throughout his whole career.

No flipping, no flopping. Enough talk. Time for action.”

Among those supporting Clinton are Jessye Norman, Magic Johnson and music producer Pharrell.

Contributors VINCENT HOBBS Photography & New Media KEN MAKIN contributing columnist

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COMMENTARY

NEWS

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FOP AND THE ‘FORMATION’ OF POLICE

Beyonce boycotters: a new danger for people of color Let’s face it – the polarizing response to Beyonce Knowles-Carter’s Super Bowl performance, which honored the Black Panthers, was expected.

What we have learned in the aftermath of that performance is that, in the decades since the Panthers were systematically eliminated by the U.S. government, an inaccurate and ultimately negative narrative of the Panthers has been taught in classrooms and painted throughout society.

Again, that is no surprise. What IS a surprise is the quickly-evolving face of an old enemy.

Recently, members of the Miami (Fla.) Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) called for all law enforcement officers to boycott Beyonce’s concert in Miami later this year.

As is often the case, a representative from these types of organizations sent out a letter, which stated that the group had voted “to have all law enforcement officers boycott Beyonce’s concert,” scheduled for April 27.

“Officers that work these extra duties. They’re called extra duties for a reason. It’s because they’re voluntary and I simply will not sign up and many of the officers that I’ve spoken

Bernie, Hillary from page3 president is in the black community, his weak point has always been foreign policy. His adventures in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan have all been disasters and Secretary Clinton was on board the whole time.

Clinton broke ranks with most left-leaning progressives when it came to the most recent Israeli invasion of Gaza which caused the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. Secretary Clinton embraced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies while Obama routinely gave the Israeli leader the cold shoulder.

Clinton’s hawkish foreign-policy stance is far to the right of that of Bernie Sanders who is more wont to champion the cause of the Palestinians and other victims of constant warfare.

When the “Occupy Wall Street” movement came online a few years ago in 2011, Bernie Sanders was able

to said they’re not going to sign up,” said Javier Ortiz, the president of Miami’s FOP. I know you all are wondering what or who are the FOP, and how are they different from the regular police, right? We’ll get to that later.

First, I want to make something clear: the Black Panthers (and Beyonce, for that matter) didn’t have an agenda against the police. What they are demanding is accountability.

If the truth be told, the narrative of the Panthers being cop killers is absolutely false. Remember, the original Black Panthers were named The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. If anything, the government’s response to the Black Panther Party led to the police becoming Panther killers.

Back to the point of the column, though.

The FOP is essentially an advocacy group for cops. Through their political influence, they come off as both a police union and as a lobbyist group.

Ideally, that sounds good. But when that “advocacy” turns into unapologetic gesturing for the unapologetic attitude of overzealous and crooked cops, that is a major problem.

I initially learned about FOP groups after the Ferguson tragedy. I researched Jeff Roorda, a controversial and disgraced cop who used the FOP’s influence to launch his political career. His ascension through the ranks ultimately led him to the Missouri House of Representatives.

Through the FOP based in St. Louis, Roorda raised money for Darren Wilson – yep, the same Darren Wilson who shot Michael Brown in cold blood. Roorda also demanded an apology from the National Football League after several members of the (former) St. Louis Rams franchise displayed the “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture after Wilson was exonerated.

Sound familiar?

The Miami FOP president I mentioned earlier called Tamir Rice a “thug” after he was shot. In Chicago, FOPs are fighting to purge tens of thousands of police misconduct files.

Basically, FOPs are as arrogant, merciless and brutish as the bad cops they are “sworn to protect.”

I have a simple solution.

Let’s use these clown cops in Miami as an example. If they don’t want to work at Beyonce’s concert, that’s fine.

But if you’re willing going to pass up a lucrative opportunity, don’t beg taxpayers for more funding for police departments.

As taxpayers, we must wake up and “wise up” when it comes to the police. They’re here to serve the greater community, not the other way around. Especially as AfricanAmericans, who bear the brunt of police brutality and mass incarceration, it is profoundly counterproductive that our taxes go toward harassment and imprisonment.

It’s scary to think that FOPs would aggressive go after the likes of the NFL and Beyonce. If they don’t have respect for authority or celebrities, what chance do regular folks have in the face of out of control cops?

to carve out a niche on that platform.

When the catch phrase “1 percent” gained popularity, Bernie adopted it and has been using the phrase to great effect ever since. Now in 2016, the movers and shakers of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement were among the first to endorse a Sanders candidacy.

Young blacks realize that the arc of the #blacklivesmater movement intersects that of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and realize that Hillary Clinton doesn’t have anything to do with any of it.

Clinton, on the other hand, has had a hard time shaking the perception that she has embraced the Wall Street corporate elite.

The next few days will reveal the extent to which the Sanders or Clinton message resonates with black voters.

The latest polls show that Clinton enjoys a significant majority of South Carolina’s black vote. Her greatest strength, however, is with blacks over the age of 50.

For many younger blacks, the Clinton

legacy rings hollow and older blacks, for their part, know very little about Bernie Sanders.

Most, however, can tell you that he is elderly and that he calls himself a socialist. They will also tell you that he can’t win in the general election and that, anyway, he’s too old.

Many younger blacks, however, are content to find out for themselves who these candidates are.

They are listening to young black literary voices like Ta-Nahisi Coates who has endorsed Bernie Sanders even though he disagrees with some of the Vermont Senator’s views on reparations.

Many younger blacks respect the opinion of filmmaker Spike Lee who has also, endorsed Bernie Sanders, as has actor Dannie Glover and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte.

Ken J. Makin is the host of “Makin’ A Difference,” an online radio program available on iTunes and Soundcloud (soundcloud.com/makinadifference). Updates on the show are available atfacebook.com/makinadifferenceshow. You can also reach Ken by email at makinadifferenceshow@gmail.com, or via Twitter @differencemakin.

Black voters lift Hillary Clinton Over Bernie in S.C. Hillary Clinton maintains a solid lead over rival Democrat Bernie Sanders in South Carolina ahead of the state’s primary, thanks to strong support from black voters of all ages, a new Monmouth University poll shows.

Black voters make up more than half the Democratic electorate in South Carolina and the Clinton campaign is counting on their loyalty to demonstrate that it has built a voting coalition capable of beating back Mr. Sanders’s strong challenge.

The Monmouth poll showed her support overall is nearly twice that of Mr. Sanders — she leads 59% to 30%. The state’s primary, the fourth Democratic contest of the campaign, is set for Feb. 27.

While Mr. Sanders tends to perform best among young voters nationally, younger African Americans in South Carolina aren’t flocking to his populist message, the survey suggests. Mrs. Clinton leads among black voters under the age of 50 by 60% to 26%.

—Peter Nicholas

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MAKIN’ A DIFFERENCE COMMENTARY by Ken Makin

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Business Profile

Jennifer Kendrick

• Ajja Fashions

2439 Peach Orchard Rd., Suite 11

Jennifer Kendrick, owner of Ajja’s Fashion, poses for a photo inside her new fashion boutique. Photo by Vincent Hobbs INTERVIEW BY VINCENT HOBBS Why did you decide to open a fashion boutique?

We opened in October 2015. I was inspired by my four daughters; they each have their own unique style and personality. I wanted to have something that we could all share together as a family and that would bring others joy. I named my boutique “Ajja” after my daughters — meaning Aubriuna, Ja’Miracle, Jennica and Aubriana.

Most of all, I want ladies to know that it’s fine to be saved (born-again) and dress classy. I want ladies to feel good about themselves when they shop at Ajja Fashion. That’s what motivated me to open the store.

What type of person is the ideal Ajja customer?

The ideal Ajja customer is a woman or man who is stylish, exclusive, chic, elegant and upscale. They know where they’re going in life and they want nothing more than to look and feel fabulous on the way there. Our customers are open to exploring new things and are never afraid to be trend setters.

Classy yet sassy, and never trashy, is the ideal Ajja Fashion customer.

What is unique about your business that sets it apart from competing fashion boutiques?

I offer high-quality clothes and my Continued on next page

Handbags are displayed on a wall inside Ajja’s Fashion boutique.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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Ajja Fashions from page 6 prices are very reasonable. I offer a bigger variety of plus-size clothing than most boutiques. I have layaway plan. AjjA gets new fashion in twice a week, and it’s fresh and original, never the same style. I am open afterhours for appointments.

What are some of the types of fashions and accessories that you carry?

I carry jewelry, designer bags, waist shapers, shoes, church wear, men’s suits, and children’s clothes, as well as a variety of other fashion items.

Your slogan is “Inspiring fashion for the distinctive woman”. Who inspires you?

Gospel singer Tamela Mann really inspires me. I love her style and her choice of clothes as a plus-size woman. I love her personality and she’s a strong sister — she’s a go-getter. I am also inspired by Dr. Brenda Duncan, a pastor here in Augusta; she is a very positive person who is a faithful and encouraging woman of God.

Jennifer Kendrick, owner of Ajja’s Fashion, arranges clothing on a mannequin on display in front of the fashHow does your faith play an active ion boutique. (February 20, 2016 Augusta, GA) - Photo by Vincent Hobbs role in your approach to business?

Transforming Lives Bible Church. My Interaction with the community am able to get potential customers’ Even though it’s a boutique, I find husband, James C. Kendrick, Sr., is the is very important to me and my evaluation on the quality of my myself ministering to women, as part pastor at TLBC. business because the people in the product. I believe that every cusof meeting my customers. We just community are the ones buying my tomer is vital to the success of my talk and they might share something You recently held a fashion show product. I want to interact with my business and that their assessments personal with me and I’m able to to showcase the product that you community to know what interests of my product will not only benefit give encouragement if needed. I’m carry. Why is this interaction with them, and what I need to have in me, but will also ensure that I give very involved with the ministry and the community important for your my store. I believe that by showcas- the community the highest-quality outreach programs at my church, business? ing my product to the community, I of my merchandise.

“Genius in Chains” at the Augusta Museum

AIKEN TECHNICAL COLLEGE PRESIDENT DR. SUSAN A. WINSOR (left) receives a certificate and pin recognizing her 30 years of service within the South Carolina Technical College System on Feb. 8. Aiken County Commission for Technical and Comprehensive Education Chairman Carlos Garcia (right) makes the presentation.

Creative Impressions will present “Genius in Chains” of Saturday, March 5 at 1 p.m. at the Augusta Museum of History Rotunda.

“Genius” is a soulful celebration chronicling the diversity and dynamism of African American music harkeing back to its African origins and covering a multitude of genres. The event is free to the public.

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GHSA 3AAA - Laney advances Laney’s Jaiden Hamilton prepares for a free throw after being fouled during a game against Dawson County at the Laney gym.

The Lady Wildcats crushed the Lady Tigers 64-45 in the second round GHSA 3AAA game on Feb. 19, 2016.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

A Laney student runs down the side of the basketball court with a Laney Wildcats flag in support of the girl’s basketball team.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Laney’s De’Sha Benjamin (R) shoots the ball as a Dawson County player defends during a game at the Laney gym. The Lady Wildcats crushed the Lady Tigers 64-45 in the second round GHSA 3AAA game. (February 19, 2016 Augusta, GA) Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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SPORTS Augusta U.

Augusta University’s Casey Rowland comes to bat during the second game of a doubleheader against Erskine. The Diamond Jags won 2-0 in the first game, 3-0 in the second game, over the Flying Fleet. (February 17, 2016 Augusta, GA) Photo by Vincent Hobbs

(Far Left) Augusta University’s Haley Birkle makes the pitch during the second game of a doubleheader against Erskine. The Diamond Jags won 2-0 in the first game, 3-0 in the second game, over the Flying Fleet. (February 17, 2016 Augusta, GA) - Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Augusta University’s Auburn Balcorta swings at the ball during the second game of a doubleheader against Erskine.

The Diamond Jags won 2-0 in the first game, 3-0 in the second game, over the Flying Fleet. (February 17, 2016 Augusta, GA) - Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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COMMUNITY

HAPPENINGS

Archie Manning to be featured speaker at AU Alumni event National Football League icon Archie Manning will be the featured speaker for Augusta University’s Alumni Weekend Signature Event. The program will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 30, in the Maxwell Theatre on the university’s Summerville Campus.

The event will also serve to recognize the university’s presidential alumni award winners.

Manning is an award-winning author and quarterback whose athletic career includes two Pro Bowls. He was also inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame.

Although he is known for his legendary football career and being the father of Super Bowl champs Peyton and Eli Manning, his humanitarian achievements transcend the field.

Each summer, Manning and his sons run the Manning Passing Academy for aspiring quarterbacks and he has hosted the Archie Manning Cystic Fibrosis benefit golf tournaments for 25 years. He also serves as a commentator for CBS Sports’ college football broadcasts and assists in pub-

Elim Baptist Church to celebrate 45th Annual Paine College Day Elim Baptist Church will celebrate the 45th Annual Paine College Day on Sunday, February 28th at 11: 00 AM. Paine College Day at Elim is a special occasion where the church provides spiritual and financial support for the College.

This year’s theme is “The Ties That Bind: Elim and Paine in Christian Fellowship and Service”.

The speaker for the service is Reverend Toney R. Cross, Minister

of Men at Tabernacle Baptist Church of Augusta, GA. Please join Elim as they worship God for the continued relationship between Elim and Paine. Many guests from Paine and the community will join Elim in this momentous occasion.

Elim Baptist Church is located on 2359 Mount Auburn Street in the Sand Hills Community. The Pastor/Teacher is Rev. George C. Miller, III.

Aiken Tech to host College Goal SC Area college-bound students and families can receive free assistance in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) during a College Goal South Carolina event at NFL QB Archie Manning lic relations and consulting capacities Aiken Technical College (ATC).

The event will be held Saturday, for a variety of companies such as Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Gatorade, Direct TV and Zurich.

College’s Enrollment Services Center.

Health Center Credit Union is the presenting sponsor for Augusta University’s Alumni Weekend. Tickets for the Signature Event are $10 for alumni and $15 for non-alumni. To purchase tickets, visit augusta.edu/ alumniweekend. For additional information, contact the Office of Alumni Affairs at 706-737-1759.

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Financial aid experts from ATC and the University of South Carolina Aiken will be available to guide students and their families through the FAFSA and answer questions about financial aid.

For more information about the ATC event, please contact Sims at (803) 508-7341 or email financialaid@atc.edu.

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