HAPPY 25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY,

DR. GLENN CHERRY AND DR. VALERIE RAWLS CHERRY!

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DAYTONA BEACH, FLPERMIT #189

SEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2012VOLUME 20 NO. 36 www.flcourier.com

ALSOINSIDE

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4

COMMENTARY: BRUCE A. DIXON: OBAMA AND ROMNEY’S POLICIES CLOSER THAN YOU THINK | A5

FREE9-11

ANNIvErSAry

I saw the Twin Towers fall B4

Obama having trouble with ‘Reagan Dems’

FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

By all accounts, the Democratic Na-tional Convention in Charlotte, N.C., was going very well as of the Florida Courier’s press time late Wednesday night.

President Obama was already look-ing ahead to the convention’s end. He is scheduled to return to Florida again to begin a two-day bus tour with stops at St. Petersburg College’s Semi-nole Campus and the Kissimmee Civ-ic Center on Saturday and Melbourne and West Palm Beach on Sunday.

Four more yearsCapping off the first night of the

DNC, First Lady Michelle Obama made a forceful pitch for voters to give her husband more time to complete the job they had elected him to do four years ago. In a speech that alternate-ly stilled and electrified delegates, the first lady said President Obama was continuing to push forward with his agenda for change despite setbacks in his first term.

The DNC’s first Hispanic keynote speaker, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, acknowledged how difficult things have been in recent years while calling for Obama’s re-election. “The days we live in are not easy ones, but we have seen days like this before, and America prevailed,” he said.

Democrats sought to tamp down a pair of controversies as they gaveled open the second night of their conven-tion Wednesday, inserting the word “God” into their platform and restat-ing support for Jerusalem as the capi-tal of Israel.

BY MARGIE MENZELTHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Only a fraction of Flor-ida’s 1.6 million military veterans get the benefits they’ve earned by serv-ing, leading the Depart-ment of Veterans’ Affairs to launch a campaign to find those who should be getting millions of dol-lars left on the table.

Many of the state’s vet-erans are paying high pre-miums or out-of-pocket for health care and oth-er services they should be getting for free from the government, retired Army Col. Mike Prender-

gast, director of depart-ment, said Wednesday.

Paying twiceAnd many vets and

their family members get services via other pro-grams that cost Florida taxpayers needlessly.

“Any type of health care, counseling, educa-tion or other services that are out there (that veter-ans are getting through other government pro-grams), that could get paid for by the U.S. De-partment of Veterans’ Af-fairs, in effect means that potentially, our taxpay-ers are paying for that service twice,” Prender-

gast said. Florida has the third –

largest population of vet-erans, but only 260,000 of the 1.6 million are draw-ing the benefits to which they’re entitled the agen-cy says.

Focus on VietnamFlorida led the na-

tion in violence against homeless people last year and drew nation-al headlines in late May because of the bizarre “face-eating” attack on a homeless man in Miami.

Among the crimes law enforcement officials saw was a 2006 cluster of attacks by teens using

baseball bats. The skull of one victim, 45-year-old Norris Gaynor, a home-less veteran, was split as he slept on a park bench.

According to the Na-tional Coalition for the Homeless, the numbers of homeless families and children are growing – to one in three of the to-tal homeless population. Veterans make up more than one in 10 homeless people.

Vets hesitantThe campaign will

have a special focus on Florida’s 449,000 Viet-nam-era vets, who make up more than a quarter of all veterans statewide.

Commander Mark Al-varez of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Tal-

See OBAMA, Page A2

See VETS, Page A2

2012 U.S. OPEN / NEW YORK

MARGOT JORDAN PHOTOS

Palm Beach County resident Serena Williams was buzzing through her women’s singles bracket in the U.S. Open as of the Florida Courier’s press time Wednesday night. Check flcourier.com for the final U.S. Open results.

Beating everyone in sight – so far

ALL ABOUT RESPECT

BY DENISE-MARIE ORDWAY AND STEPHEN HUDAKORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)

Florida A&M drum majors Robert Champion and Keon Hollis grew close in 2011, working together to direct the school’s famous marching band.

Yet one situation frustrated both young men as they tried to keep their fellow musicians in line during last

fall’s football season, according to a recent affidavit by Hollis. Band mem-bers were challenging the newly pro-moted drum majors’ authority.

Lack of respectHollis seemed too laid back, mel-

low. Some band members disliked Champion because he was gay and a stickler for rules.

But the two knew there was one sure way to capture the group’s re-spect, especially among the band’s largest and often rowdiest section: the percussionists. They had to cross Bus C – a violent hazing ritual held on the bus that transported much of the per-cussion section to football games.

The beating would kill Champi-on, leave Hollis aching and vomiting in a hotel parking lot and lead to the arrests of 14 fellow marching-band members. It also would expose a vio-lent culture in the band that had fes-tered for years, leading to the retire-ment of band director Julian White

and the resignation of FAMU Presi-dent James Ammons and others.

Sworn statementHollis’ version of events leading to

the tragic scene aboard Bus C on Nov. 19 is contained in a three-page, type-written statement that the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office made public Tuesday. It’s the most detailed accounting of the thought process that went into Champion’s decision to put himself through the ritual beating.

Given under oath, Hollis’ state-ment also describes in detail the beat-ing that he and Champion took that night. It is part of a 104-page proba-ble-cause document that outlines the state’s criminal case against Dante Martin, the unofficial “president” or leader of Bus C.

Martin recently became the 12th member of the band to be charged with felony hazing in connection with Champion’s death. The 11 others

See RESPECT, Page A2

FAMU Drum Major Robert Champion’s

sexual orientation was a factor in his decision to consent to hazing, says his best friend

and band mate.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

As the Florida A&M University football season gets underway, the criminal and civil cases surrounding the death of Robert Champion proceed.

Are White Americans convinced?

SNAPSHOTSNATION | A3Courier reporter’sunplanned adventure at DNC in Charlotte

FLOrIDA | A6Judge rejects highertuition for kidsof illegal aliens

FINEST | B5Meet Sara

Veterans leaving millions in unused benefits behind

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

The state is reaching out to military vets who have not claimed their benefits.

A2 SEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2012FOCUS

Editor’s note: What fol-lows are excerpts of a com-mentary NAACP co-found-er Dr. W.E.B.Du Bois wrote in 1956.

Since I was 21 in 1889, I have...(voted) for a third party even when its chanc-es were hopeless, if the main parties were unsatis-factory; or, in absence of a third choice, voting for the lesser of two evils. My ac-tion...had to be limited by the candidates’ attitude to-ward Negroes.

Of my adult life, I have spent 23 years living and teaching in the South, where my voting choice was not asked. I was dis-franchised by law or ad-ministration. In the North I lived in all 23 years, cover-ing eight presidential elec-tions.

How I votedIn 1912, I wanted to sup-

port Theodore Roosevelt, but his Bull Moose con-vention dodged the Negro problem and I tried to help elect Wilson as a liberal Southerner. Under Wilson came the worst attempt at Jim Crow legislation and discrimination in civil ser-vice that we had experi-enced since the Civil War.

In 1916, I took Hughes as the lesser of two evils. He promised Negroes nothing and kept his word.

In 1920, I supported Harding because of his promise to liberate Haiti. In 1924, I voted for La Fol-lette, although I knew he could not be elected.

In 1928, Negroes faced

absolute dilemma. Neither Hoover nor Smith wanted the Negro vote and both publicly insulted us. I voted for Norman Thomas and the Socialists, although the Socialists had attempted to Jim Crow Negro members in the South.

In 1932, I voted for Franklin Roosevelt, since Hoover was unthinkable and Roosevelt’s attitude to-ward workers most realis-tic.

Didn’t matterI was again in the South

from 1934 until 1944. Tech-nically I could vote, but the election in which I could vote was a farce. The real election was the White pri-mary.

Retired “for age” in 1944, I returned to the North and found a party to my liking. In 1948, I voted the Pro-gressive ticket for Hen-

ry Wallace and in 1952 for Vincent Hallinan.

In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not reg-istered. I believe that de-mocracy has so far disap-peared in the United States that no “two evils” exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say.

No third partyOn the presidential bal-

lot in a few states...a “So-cialist” Party will appear. Few will hear its appeal be-cause it will have almost no opportunity to take part in the campaign and explain its platform.

If a voter organizes or advocates a real third-par-ty movement, he may be accused of seeking to over-throw this government by “force and violence.” Any-thing he advocates by way of significant reform will be called “Communist” and will of necessity be Com-munist in the sense that it must advocate such things

as government ownership of the means of produc-tion; government in busi-ness; the limitation of pri-vate profit; social medi-cine, government housing and federal aid to educa-tion; the total abolition of race bias; and the welfare state.

Any American who advo-cates them today, no mat-ter how sincerely, stands in danger of losing his job, surrendering his social sta-tus and perhaps landing in jail. The witnesses against him may be liars or insane or criminals. These wit-nesses need give no proof for their charges and may not even be known or ap-pear in person. They may be in the pay of the United States government.

Preparing for warThe present (Eisenhow-

er) administration is carry-ing on the greatest prepa-ration for war in the history of mankind...The weight of our taxation is unbearable and rests mainly and de-

liberately on the poor. This administration is dominat-ed and directed by wealth and for the accumulation of wealth. It runs smooth-ly like a well-organized in-dustry and should do so because industry runs it for the benefit of industry.

Corporate wealth profits as never before in history. We turn over the national resources to private profit and have few funds left for education, health or hous-ing.

Our crime, especially ju-venile crime, is increas-ing. Its increase is perfect-ly logical; for a generation we have been teaching our youth to kill, destroy, steal and rape in war; what can we expect in peace?

Next week, Part 2: “Drop the chains...that bind our brains”

W.E.B. Du Bois was a founding member of the NAACP. This article was republished in Hartford Web Publishing.

Why I won’t vote, Part 1

Both had been omitted from the original draft and Republicans had seized on the absence to question both the Democrats’ faith and their commitment to Israel.

Still not enoughThe convention boasts

that four out of 10 dele-gates are African-Ameri-can or Hispanic, and half are women. But though the DNC may be energizing women and non-Whites, it may not help them with the White working class.

“This is an issue we’ve been dealing with since the mid-’70s: How do you ap-peal to White males. And we’ve never come up with the right formula for it,” said Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina.

“Democrats have a prob-lem with White middle-class voters,” added An-drew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Cen-ter, which has studied that electorate in depth. “Those voters are very disappoint-ed and very critical of Obama as president.”

Must work harderWorking-class conven-

tion-goers say more effort is needed.

“I believe the president’s losing support among the blue-collar workers. A lot of people feel he promised a lot, and they’re angry,” said Bob Miller, an electri-cian from Hatfield, Pa.

Many people Miller knows were already sym-

pathetic to Republican so-cial positions – opposition to strict gun control, for in-stance – but backed Obama in 2008 because of his mes-sage of economic hope.

Obama rewrote recent political history that year. Until the late 1970s, blue-collar Whites were usual-ly strong Democrats. They tended to be labor union members, often with eth-nic urban roots, and came from families that had vot-ed for Democratic presi-dential candidates for gen-erations.

A variety of factors pushed them away. Dem-ocrats became cham-pions of affirmative ac-

tion, which many Whites thought threatened their jobs and promotions. Cul-tural conservatives were often uncomfortable with the party’s pledge of easi-er access to abortion, gun control, and gay rights. Democrats also seemed willing to keep tax rates up and to funnel dollars to the less wealthy – dollars that workers felt were often go-ing to irresponsible people who were not working.

GOP advantagePresident Ronald Rea-

gan successfully tapped this vein, creating an army of “Reagan Democrats,” a term that still lingers. Dem-

ocrats occasionally won them back in tough eco-nomic times. In 2008, Re-publicans struggled to only a 46 percent to 44 percent edge, according to Pew.

This year, the Republican advantage has returned. A Pew survey released Aug. 23 found White working-class voters this year pre-ferring Republicans 52 per-cent to 40 percent.

The gain among Whites crosses many lines. Dem-ocrats gained a big lead among Whites with fam-ily incomes below $30,000 in 2008. Today, that lead is gone.

Whites earning between $30,000 and $74,999, gen-

erally considered the working middle class, had split between the two par-ties four years ago. Repub-licans now have a 17-per-centage point advantage.

Getting them backThe Democrats’ answer

is that the convention is putting strong emphasis on economic security for the middle class and portray-ing Republicans as hope-lessly out of touch.

“We’re going to have an honest conversation about where we were in 2008,” said Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt. “We’ve made progress.”

Democrats are remind-

ing delegates how Obama pushed for the auto indus-try bailout, while Republi-can presidential candidate Mitt Romney was opposed. They’re telling viewers how Obama would maintain current income tax rates for people earning less than $250,000. Romney would continue current, lower rates for everyone, includ-ing the wealthy.

The Obama forces tout the 2010 federal health care law, which should make it easier for millions to obtain coverage by 2014. Romney wants to repeal it.

Ready to workDave Green is ready

to spread the word. He’s president of United Au-to Workers Local 1714 in Ohio, a crucial state where votes of his 1,500 members could help decide the elec-tion. The Lordstown, Ohio, Chevy plant, for years a popular presidential cam-paign stop, is running three shifts, up from one about four years ago.

Obama carried Ohio in 2008, but in 2010, Ohioans turned against Democrats and elected a conservative Republican governor and U.S. senator.

“A lot of people just thought the economy didn’t get good enough fast enough,” Green explained. “And a lot still vote single issue, against gays, for God and for guns.”

Mark Z. Barabak of the Los Angeles Times and David Lightman and William Douglas of McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) contributed to this report.

OBAMAfrom A1

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

Street vendors gather to sell Obama memorabilia outside the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

charged with felonies in Champi-on’s death were arrested in May. Two other former band members are charged with misdemeanor hazing.

‘Our brothers’ keeper’In his statement, Hollis, 22, de-

scribes how his friendship with Champion, 26, evolved and why they felt compelled to submit to the hazing ritual together after the Florida Classic football game.

“We were ‘Squad Dogs,’ a term used to define the people who made drum major together. So that meant we were our brother’s keeper,” wrote Hollis, who was Champion’s roommate during the weekend in Orlando.

Hollis also explained the vari-ous reasons why he thought some band members disrespected them.

“Many people in the band were already in Bus C so those individu-als would give us the hardest time and disrespect simply because we did not cross yet,” he wrote.

Hollis said he did not want to be involved in the hazing after the football game because he and some other band members were going out that night. But Martin reminded Hollis that the Clas-sic, FAMU’s final football game of the year, was a last chance. If they didn’t cross Bus C then, they would have to wait until next year.

Both went aheadAfter performing at the Classic,

the two men changed clothes in their hotel room and reluctantly agreed to cross Bus C.

“I asked him if he was sure he wanted to do it and he stated, ‘Yea I just want to get it over with,’” Hol-lis wrote. “So then I took a shot of vodka and I and Robert went downstairs...”

Hollis explained how he board-ed a bus that was “very cold” from the air conditioning and “very dark” because it was parked in a dimly-lit lot behind the Rosen Pla-za hotel.

He described how he was in-structed by Martin to sit with his head down on the left side of the bus and Champion was told to sit on the right as a young woman be-gan taking her punishment before them in the Bus C ritual.

Beaten while sittingAs the young woman made

her way from the front of the bus to the back through a gauntlet of fists, feet, drumsticks, drum mal-lets and other items, Martin an-nounced that Champion had not yet completed a different hazing ritual called the “hot seat.”

Typically, band members have to complete one or more rounds of the “hot seat” – being beat-en while sitting – before they can cross Bus C.

Champion withstood that beat-ing before Hollis was directed to start crossing. He described the difficulty of moving through a crowd of fellow band members who were trying to beat him, hold

him back and force him to the floor.

He described Champion’s struggle to make it to the back. At one point, Champion fell, and the crowd dragged him back to the front of the bus to start over. As Champion moved toward the back, two other drum majors started pulling Champion to help him along.

After the hazing, many band members returned to the hotel. After repeatedly vomiting in the parking lot, Hollis went to lie down in one of the hotel rooms.

That is where he learned Cham-pion was rushed to the hospital and later died.

Trials pendingCircuit Judge Marc Lubet has set

a hearing for Sept. 21 to discuss possible trial dates for the dozen former band members charged in Champion’s death. All but Martin have pleaded not guilty. Martin, charged with felony hazing late last month, has not yet entered a plea.

His attorney, Richard Escobar of Tampa, said defense lawyers will get their first opportunities next week to gather their own in-formation about what happened. They will begin taking depositions of several witnesses, including Or-ange County sheriff’s detectives and some of the band members who were aboard the bus but not charged.

“The public needs to not rush to judgment,” Escobar said.

lahassee said Vietnam vets are often wary due to how they were treated when they re-turned from an unpopular war.

“We weren’t that well re-ceived,” he said. “But times have changed.”

Alvarez also said that vet-erans’ services, both federal and state, are much improved since that time.

“The Department of Vet-erans’ Affairs is reaching out more than ever to veterans, to let them know what’s out there and how they can help,” Alvar-ez said. “And I think we’re get-ting better educated and not being so reluctant.”

Homeless vets Homelessness is another

problem for veterans, espe-cially those of the Vietnam era. But according to Prendergast, the numbers have dropped in Florida thanks to an aggressive campaign by the federal gov-ernment, dovetailed with state and local veterans’ programs.

“Just in the past year, our numbers have dwindled by about 2,000 who have reinte-grated into their communi-ties,” he said.

The state campaign is also reaching out to 140,000 wom-en vets and to 231,000 veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom

and Enduring Freedom. “Our needs are very differ-

ent, depending on our stag-es of life,” said former Army Capt. Courtney Heidelberg, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

For instance, James Brian Fox, a returning Air Force vet enrolled at Florida State Uni-versity, said he’s now able to get a higher education thanks to paid tuition and five years of free health care.

“To all the veterans out there who are thinking of maybe sep-arating and going to school,” he said, “there are people here waiting to help you.”

An app for thatFox also noted that the vet-

erans agency’s outreach cam-paign includes new media, which he praised for its effec-tiveness in connecting with his contemporaries.

“The mobile app is great,” he said. “Young people use the Internet for absolutely every-thing nowadays.”

Prendergast urged the loved ones of Florida vets to help them qualify for services – es-pecially Vietnam-era vets. They might not be ill now, he said, but in ten years they might be suffering from a dis-ability related to their time in Southeast Asia, where they could have been exposed to herbicides like Agent Orange.

“Whatever branch of ser-vice we earned our stripes in,” he said, “we never leave a man behind – or a woman.”

RESPECTfrom A1

VETSfrom A1

GUEST COMMENTARY

Dr. W.E.B. DU BOIS

A3ELECTION 2012september 7 - september 13, 2012

Editor’s note: On Labor Day, Florida Courier reporter Ashley Thomas was on a flight back to her home in Florida from Virginia when she ended up with a seven-hour layover in Charlotte, N.C., because of bad weather. Taking advantage of the time, she headed to Downtown Charlotte, the site of the Democratic National Con-vention.

bY AsHLeY tHOmAsFLORIDA COURIER

“Welcome to Charlotte, host of the 2012 Democratic Conven-tion. The local time is 6:15,” said the flight attendant as we arrived at the Charlotte-Douglass Inter-national Airport.

I reach for my cell phone to start tweeting for the Florida Cou-rier’s twitter page (@flcourier).

As I step off the plane and walk up the Jetway, I won-der if huge signs would greet the delegates who were coming from all over the U.S. and its territories

to the convention. Nope. At least not from terminal E.

Feeling welcomeDownstairs is a completely

different story. There are flags, streamers and balloons’ red, white and blue taffeta decorated plants everywhere. Many DNC volunteers are holding up signs. Some signs are for “specialty transportation” guests while oth-ers just say “transportation.”

I walk over to a volunteer and ask where I can get more conven-tion information and she points me to the DNC welcome desk. Three volunteers – Reginald, Sha-ron and Lewis – greet me with a smile and start handing me stuff. One item is the 2012 Convention Guide that had a bus route and map inside to help delegates find their way around the city.

After finding the hotel shuttle bus Florida delegates were as-signed to, I decide to try my luck and hop on. I knew the delegates were staying at the Marriot. As

long as the bus – Bus 1 – could drop me off there, I knew I’d be just fine. Wrong.

Optimistic AlaskanBefore boarding the bus, I

bump into a gentleman outside who also appeared to waiting for a shuttle bus. He was wear-ing a volunteer tag and had some Democratic paraphernalia on so I decided to chat with him a bit.

His name was Jose Blanco and he had traveled all the way from Alaska to attend his first conven-tion. Blanco said he wanted Pres-ident Barack Obama to make it real clear why Mitt Romney was wrong and why he was right. I asked him his thoughts on why Romney was wrong and he re-sponded “How much time do I have?” He then started talking about “the value of human be-ings” health care and jobs.

I also asked him about the pos-sibility of voters not turning out the same in 2012 as in 2008, to which he said, “That is possible, but I’m a volunteer in Alaska and I hope to get people out, I’m op-timistic.”

The next set of buses pull up and I bid Jose farewell. I find bus B1 and confidently step up to the door.

Missourians on busOn the bus, there is a police of-

ficer to my left and a young man I learn is from Florida on my right. Apparently most of the delegates flew in the night before or had earlier flights.

The officer tells the bus driv-er how “tight” security was in downtown Charlotte. He’s right. On almost every corner is a cop, a firefighter, an EMT or a secret service agent. I later saw an offi-cer peering through binoculars; he had a gun. I chose not to jay-walk.

While still on the bus I listen to the trio sitting behind me dis-cussing social networks and how it helps get their message out. If I heard correctly, they prefer Twit-ter over Facebook. I ask them if I can snap a picture of them and one chooses not to be in the pic-ture and the other two lean over in the aisle. I later find out they

have traveled from Missouri and are State Senator S. Kiki Curls and Kansas City, Mo. Mayor Syl-vester James.

Lighting up the nightWe arrive as closely as possi-

ble to the host hotel, but its about seven blocks away. I drag my lug-gage behind me (thank God for rolling wheels) and pray that the rain stays away. I realize that the hotel we were dropped off at was a Marriot, but not the one I want-ed.

The Florida delegates were at a hotel 10 blocks away. I reached for my flip-flops and kept it mov-ing.

While walking through Down-town Charlotte, I passed a few vendors and stopped at the ta-ble of an Atlanta businessman named Abdullah. I decided to purchase a button that read “Say it LOUD, I’m for Barack and I’m PROUD.” The buttons were one for $3 or two for $5, but I just bought the one.

People were walking by in eve-ning attire, and I wanted to know where they were going. Turns out there was an affair over at the Na-scar Hall of Fame called “Light up the Night,” but it was invitation only. Hmmph.

The ideal classroomWhile still making my way to

the Marriot with the Florida del-egates, I passed a young lady who didn’t appear to be a local so I stopped her to chat. She was Ati-ya Clark from Rocky Mount, N.C., and this was her first convention.

The 18-year-old University of North Carolina student was at the event as a runner for Fox News. As a political science major she explained how she was looking forward to her duties behind the scenes as a runner as well as the president’s upcoming speech.

I asked her about the potential lack of engagement from young voters during this election cy-cle. She said she thought it was “more important than in ’08. It affects everybody. Some people put it off as I’m young, I don’t have to vote, it doesn’t matter, but it does matter. Student loans, health care, our future.”

My thought on Atiya: That girl is going places.

Close look at ‘Not a perfect man’

I greet another vendor named O.O. “Everyone thinks I’m kid-din’ when I say my name is O.O,” he offers. He pulls out his pass-port. and I say “Oh?’’ And he says “O.O.’’

O.O. is selling art pieces that I found to be very unique and def-initely conversation pieces. I fo-cus on one particular piece about the size of a poster board. It’s the type of picture made up of many smaller pictures. The picture is a closeup of Obama and is titled “Not a perfect man.”

O.O. explains that “of course Barack Obama said that before he ran, ‘I’m not a perfect man and I won’t be a perfect president’ and he actually reminded peo-ple of that when he announced that he was seeking reelection. It (the art piece) is inspired by that quote. He said he also wanted to be surrounded by people of op-posing views. The not a perfect man quote reminded me of the ‘I am a man sign’ of the sanitation workers, (in Memphis, Tenn.) I Googled civil rights and added pictures from the movement as well as those who are protestors.”

Florida hotel, finallyWhen I finally make it to the

hotel, I immediately spot Phil Giorno, the chair of the Volusia Florida Democratic Party. I am happy to know I’m at the right hotel.

I walk over to the lounge area and have a seat. Members from the Florida Black Caucus are chatting away.

“Yes, Obama is definitely going to win this one,” says one person.

“It’s going to be a tough one though,” pipes in another.

“Your hair is so nice. I haven’t seen it like that before,” chimes in another voice.

I love my sisters. We can go from one topic to the next and never miss a beat.

Don Miller from “The Don Miller” radio show comes over to chat with the Caucus members. I then see Florida State Rep. Mia Jones of Jacksonville and DeLand County Commissioner Vonzelle Johnson. I was delighted to see so many strong Black personali-ties in the same room.

I chat with a passerby before realizing the time had drawn near. I had to get back to the air-port. Charlotte was just a layover for me. And I’d just been told John Legend was the entertain-ment for the evening. Hmmph.

Courier reporter finds evening of adventure in Charlotte

QFRC10070000_AA_10_EasyHome_BW_FloridaCourier(10x10).indd 1 8/22/12 10:38 AM

AsHLeY tHOmAs/FLOrIDA COUrIer

Mayor Sylvester James of Kansas City, Mo., is shown with Missouri State Sen. S. Kiki Curls en route to their host hotel aboard a shuttle bus provided by the Democratic National Convention.

Ashley Thomas

september 7 - september 13, 2012A4 EDITORIAL

The Republican conven-tion in Tampa touched on a date that has marked the depths and the heights of the African-American expe-rience in this country.

On Aug. 28, 1955, Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year-old Af-rican-American visiting his relatives, was brutally mur-dered in Mississippi for whistling at a white wom-an. His funeral — with an open casket that displayed the barbarity of the attack on him — attracted tens of thousands in Chicago and helped spark the growth of the civil rights movement.

On Aug. 28, 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the March on Washington, where he cap-tivated a nation with the moral plea for the “dream.” That peaceful and dignified gathering helped to enlist

millions across the coun-try on the side of civil rights. Two years later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. This not only protected African Americans, but provided for multilingual voting and protected the right of stu-dents to vote on campus.

As they gathered, Repub-licans should have decid-ed whether their meeting would mark a new low or a redeeming moment for their party and the coun-try. Across the United States, Republican state and local officials have been moving

systematically to restrict the right to vote by limiting ear-ly voting; requiring official ID; limiting hours of voting and voting booths — laws that have a disproportion-ate effect on the poor, on Af-rican-Americans and other minorities, on the young and the very old.

What voter fraud?Republicans claim this is

about fighting fraud but of-fer no evidence of the prob-lem. One expert noted that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than discovering polling-booth voter fraud.

In Pennsylvania, Mike Turzai, the GOP House ma-jority leader, exposed the purpose of the new ID re-quirement: “Voter ID, which is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of

Pennsylvania, done.”In Ohio, Doug Preisse, a

Republican county chair-man, hailed the decision to abolish weekend voting be-cause “we shouldn’t con-tort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter turnout machine.”

Instead of increasing the vote, Republicans seem in-tent on constricting it. Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner ar-gues this is on purpose: “Jim Crow has been resurrected. This is by design. It’s not by accident.”

Mitt Romney should con-demn these efforts to sup-press the vote and call for their repeal. Earlier, Rom-ney attacked an Obama lawsuit to protect early vot-ing in Ohio.

The campaign state-ment claimed, in what the

New York Times editorial-ist called “an extraordinary lie” that Obama wanted to suppress veterans’ voting. Romney must decide which side he is on: with the his-toric tide that has extend-ed the right to vote or with those who want to roll back the clock to an old era of voter suppression.

This is not an abstract question. Tom Edsall, an astute columnist in the New York Times, has suggested that the Romney campaign is using two dishonest ads — on welfare and on Medi-care — to turn the election into a “resource competi-tion pitting middle class white voters against the mi-nority poor.”

Stand with KingAnd it is notable that,

as the convention opens,

there seems to be no room for African-Americans such as Michael Steele, the for-mer head of the party, or Colin Powell, a universally acclaimed leader.

This is likely to be a close election. Romney cannot want a victory built on voter suppression tricks. In a time of Gilded Age inequality, as representative of a party that seems intent on writing off the votes of America’s growing minorities, Rom-ney should stand with King and the dream, not with the nightmare of a revived poli-tics of division.

The Rev. Jesse L. Jack-son, Sr. is president and CEO of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Click on this story at www.flcouri-er.com to write your own response.

Romney should condemn voter suppression

Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1929-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC

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THE CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESSThe Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racism and national

antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal

rights. Hating no person, fearing no person. The Black Press strives to help every person in the firm

belief...that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 152

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: CODE EASTWOOD

Christopher Weyant, the hill

Democratic National Convention – As of Wednesday night, even Republicans were gushing about how great it was. What do you expect with a good “More-house Man,” my friend Cameron Moody, in charge of putting the convention to-gether?

The first lady’s speech was so good that the talking heads at Fox didn’t know what to say afterwards. Their only criticism: “She’s too pro-government.” Well damn, her daddy worked a ‘government job’ keeping water running in the city of Chi-cago to keep food on the table. But to the GOP, a city job ain’t a job. It also seems it’s Fox’s job to incessantly continue to tell us how bad everything is...

No doubt Bro. Prez’s speech will be fabulous. Am I the only one who hears the influence of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who was the Obamas’ pastor for 20-plus years, in their oratory? Wouldn’t some of Wright’s speaking style rub off after hear-ing him every Sunday for two decades? And isn’t it ironic that what most White folks love about Bro. Prez’s speeches comes from the preacherly influence of Rev. Wright? Wonder if the Obamas will ever thank him?

Michael Clarke Duncan, 1957 – 2012: His death shook up some of my 50-year-

old-plus boys and me. I’m a year older, an inch shorter, but 55 pounds lighter (Dun-can was 6’5,” 280 pounds when he died). He worked out, lifted weights, went veg-etarian, lost 35 pounds, got engaged...and still had a heart attack and died 50 days later of ‘natural causes’ at age 54. No autopsy, so we’ll never know what hap-pened. Would a comprehensive physi-cal – scans, stress tests, bloodwork, etc. – have revealed something that could have been corrected? Regardless, I’m getting checked...

Another thing: Duncan played against type late in his career. He wasn’t always big, Black and menacing; I recognized his baritone voice even in cartoons. Seemed like a great guy. Rest well, brother...

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com; holler at me at www.facebook.com/ccherry2; follow me on Twitter @ccherry2.

PUBLISHER

ChARLEs W. ChERRy II, Esq.

quICk TAkEs fROm #2:sTRAIghT, nO ChAsER

Worst hurricanes are political hurricanes

During the last days of Au-gust 2012, a tropical storm tore through the Caribbe-an, clipped the South Flori-da coast and roared through the Gulf of Mexico on a di-rect path to a familiar place. August 29th is my birth date and for some reason every time a hurricane appears in the gulf on that day it hits land in New Orleans, Louisi-ana and often brings a heap of death and destruction.

No one likes a hurricane. If friends and family hear there is a hurricane any-where near you they pick up the phone and call you to see if you’re all right. Peo-ple worry when hurricanes develop because bad things happen. Hurricanes bring strong winds, heavy rain, storm surges that devas-tate beaches and shorelines, power outages and more.

Some say the worst hur-ricanes are political hurri-canes! Yes, hurricane Isaac delayed the Republican Par-ty convention in Tampa but all political parties create hurricanes.

When major political par-ties convene, political gath-erings turn into political hurricanes. Bad things be-gin to happen. Political hur-ricanes bring strong accusa-

tions, long winded speech-es, dark, chilly and cloudy comments, dangerous de-bates, perilous thoughts and a flood of devilish political perpetrators!

A political hurricane can be deadly. Good govern-ment programs can suffer ir-reparable harm, good public servants can be bought and sold by rich and powerful interest groups and corpo-rations and decent organi-zations and groups can be misled and ultimately di-vided and conquered by stormy and surging political platforms and policies.

Just as in real hurricanes, the seniors, the women, the weak and the poor can be hit the hardest and hurt the most. Those people are killed in political hurricanes because they don’t have the levees and storm wall pro-tections that are also called lobbyists. They don’t have wealthy conservative bene-factors that will keep the tax-ing political winds from hit-

ting the rich like the taxes hit and hurt the poor and mid-dle class.

No one knows how much damage a political hurri-cane will do or who the hur-ricane will hurt the most. Hell, with hundreds of po-litical pundits and forecast-ers suggesting which way a political hurricane will turn, no one knows which politi-cal party or which politician will emerge from the hurri-cane as an election day vic-tor.

Political hurricane track-ers lie just like the weather-men lie that forecast natural hurricanes – no one knows what will happen in, during or after a political hurricane except for one thing.

After the American politi-cal hurricane season is over, no matter what, the Ameri-can rich will be richer and the poor Americans will be poorer.

Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” on Amazon.com and from bookstores ev-erywhere. Click on this sto-ry at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

From a Black camera woman being pelted with nuts at the GOP conven-tion to private remarks from House Speaker John Boehner of aspirations that Blacks and Latinos won’t vote to Mitt Romney’s jokes about President Obama’s birth certificate, the Repub-licans have a talent for as-saulting people of color and opening up wounds from a bitter past.

Recent actions off stage and on the big stage of Tam-pa demonstrate why The Wall Street Journal’s latest poll shows African-Ameri-cans giving zero percent of their vote to the Republi-cans in the November elec-tion. For me, this latest hurt feeling ignited with Rom-ney’s recent statement in his hometown of Detroit about “no one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate.’’ This was a sop to the idiotic birther movement.

Despite President Ob-ama’s repeated display of his birth certificate, no proof is good enough for the right wing. These kinds of de-mands on Blacks to prove that water is wet resonate deep in our DNA. We can get the same degrees as Whites, pass the same tests and die in the same wars, but so of-ten our credentials are of-ten devalued or discredited in the effort to paint Blacks as “the other, the lesser, the outsider.’’

When this happened to President Obama, I felt like it was happening to me.

Feeding the animals

The hateful incident of Pa-tricia Carroll, a Black cam-erawoman who works for CNN, only intensified the pain many Blacks have felt as they were undermined or thrown out of their own workplaces. Two Whites in the GOP convention threw peanuts at her saying ‘this is what we feed animals.’’

The culprits were report-edly evicted from the con-vention area by security of-ficials, but for some myste-rious reason their identities were not revealed. While this was apparently an iso-lated incident, to me it was reminiscent of how in 2010 right wing Tea Party pro-testers hurled the N-word at Rep. John Lewis (D. Ga.), a hero of the civil rights move-ment and it shows how hard it is to rise above racial ha-tred in America.

Black apathy?The crowning blow, how-

ever were the words of House Speaker John Boehner who reportedly told a luncheon hosted by the Christian Sci-ence Monitor that his par-ty’s strategy for winning the presidential race does not rely on winning over more Black and Latino voters, but hoping they won’t vote at all.

He was reported as saying: “This election is about eco-

nomics. These (Latinos and Black) groups have been hit the hardest. They may not show up and vote for our candidate but I’d suggest to you they won’t show up and vote for the president ei-ther.”

Political strategist Faye Morrison says Boehner’s words go far beyond mere aspirations but underscore a national Republican strat-egy to suppress the Black vote

“How dare Boehner push apathy as a strategy,” Mor-rison, fumed as she packed her bags to attend the Dem-ocratic Convention in Char-lotte as a delegate. “This election is about the price paid by Dr. Martin Luther King, NAACP leader Med-gar Evers, Fannie Lou Ham-er and the hundreds of other Whites and Blacks who died for our right to vote. Voting is a way to make them – as well as ourselves – matter. Apathy will only continue our suffering.”

In the highly charged pa-triotic setting of the GOP convention, nothing of course was said about the voter campaigns under-way to suppress the African-American vote - just another reason Blacks aren’t warm and fuzzy about the Repub-lican Party.

Dr. Barbara Reynolds is a lecturer at universities and seminaries, an author of six books, and a book coach. Contact her via www.reynoldsworldnews.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Republican assaults on people of color

TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

REv. JEssE L. JACksOn, sR.

REv. BARBARA REynOLDs

TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

LuCIus gAnTT

THE GANTT REPORT

A5EDITORIALSEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Obama and Romney’s policies are closer than you think

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ROMNEY, OBAMA AND WALL STREET

Too much agreement between Republicans and Democrats has always been bad news for those at the bottom of America’s class and racial totem poles.

Back in 1875, Frederick Doug-lass observed that it took a war among the Whites to free his peo-ple from slavery. What then, he wondered, would an era of peace among the Whites bring us?

He already knew the answer. A wave of thousands upon thou-sands of terroristic bombings, shootings, mutilations, murders and threats had driven African-Americans from courthouses, city halls, legislatures, from their own farms, businesses and pri-vate properties and from the vot-ing rolls across the South. They didn’t get the vote back for 80 years – and they never did get the land back.

But none of that mattered, be-cause on the broad and important questions of those days, there was at last peace between White Re-publicans and White Democrats – squabbles around the edges about who’d get elected, but wide agree-ment on the rules of the game.

Like Douglass, the shallow talk-ing heads who cover the 2012 presidential campaign on corpo-rate media have noticed out loud the remarkable absence of dis-agreement between Republican and Democratic candidates on many matters. The list, from cod-dling Wall Street speculators, pro-tecting mortgage fraudsters and corporate wrongdoers to prevent-ing Medicare For All to so-called “foreign policy,” “free trade,” “the deficit” “clean coal and safe nu-clear power” and “entitlement re-form,” is clearly longer and more important than the few points of mostly race and style upon which they disagree. Here are 15 items:

15. Although unemployment is the highest it’s been since the Great Depression, the federal government should NOT enact any sort of WPA-style program to put millions of people back to work. Under Democrat Frank-lin Roosevelt in the 1930s, De-pression-era unemployment was tackled head on by direct federal hiring to dig subways, build roads, schools, parks, sewers, recreation-al facilities and public buildings. Oblivious of this history, Dem-ocrat Barack Obama maintains that only the private sector can or should create jobs.

14. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are “entitle-ments” that need to be cut to re-lieve what they call “the deficit.” One of the first acts of the Obama presidency was to appoint a bi-partisan panel stacked with “def-icit hawks” like Republican Allan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles to recommend raising re-tirement ages and cutting back Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, and pass a law directing Congress to have an up or down no-amendments vote on its rec-ommendations. Fortunately the “cat food commission,” as it was

called, was deadlocked and of-fered none. But Obama and top Democrats, most recently House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, continue to express their readi-ness for some kind of “grand com-promise” with Republicans on this issue.

13. Climate change treaties and negotiations that might lead to them should be avoided at all costs. Democrats admit that climate change exists and is man-made; Republicans say it’s a myth. But both ignored the Kyoto Proto-col and Obama, like Bush before him, has worked tirelessly to de-lay, derail and boycott any actual talks that might lead to construc-tive international climate change agreements.

12. NAFTA was such a great thing it really should be extend-ed to Central and South Ameri-ca and the entire Pacific Rim. On the 2008 campaign trail, Obama sometimes mumbled about re-negotiating parts of NAFTA. But even before the primaries were done, press reports had him as-suring the Canadian government this was only campaign rheto-ric. In four years he has pushed NAFTA-like “free trade” corporate rights agreements with South Ko-rea, most of Central America, and is now secretly hammering out something called the Trans-Pacif-ic Partnership Agreement.

11. Banksters and Wall Street speculators deserve their bail-outs and protection from crim-inal liability, but underwater and foreclosed homeowners de-serve nothing. Republicans think underwater homeowners deserve blame for forcing banksters to of-fer millions of fraudulent high-in-terest loans were then re-sold to investors around the world. Dem-ocrats think underwater home-owners deserve empty promises of help that never quite arrives for most of the foreclosed, the about-to-be foreclosed, their families and communities. But both agree on free money for banksters and speculators, but no moratorium on foreclosures and no criminal investigations of mortgage and securities fraud.

10. Palestinians should be oc-cupied, dispossessed and ig-nored. Iran should be starved and threatened from all sides. Cuba should be embargoed, and Americans prohibited from go-ing there to see what its people have done in a half-century free of Yankee rule. Black and Brown babies and their parents, rela-tives and neighbors should be bombed with drones in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and similar plac-es. The politicians and corporate commentators have a misleading name for this. They call it “foreign

policy.” The realistic term for it is global empire.

9. Africa should be milita-rized, destabilized, plundered and where necessary, invad-ed by proxy armies like those of Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burundi or Kenya, or directly by West-ern air and ground forces, as in Libya. President Georgia Bush announced the formation of AF-RICOM, the U.S. military com-mand for the continent that has officially swallowed all U.S. civil-ian diplomatic presence. But on-ly a Black U.S. president, even un-der the cover of “humanitarian war,” could have invaded an Afri-can nation and openly dispatched special forces to Central Africa.

8. U.S. presidents can kidnap citizens of their own or any na-tion on earth from anyplace on the planet for torture, indefinite imprisonment without trial, or murder them and neighboring family and bystanders at will. The distinctions between Republicans and Democrats don’t amount to differences. Republicans Cheney and Bush got their lawyers to say these things were OK and did them. Democrat Obama got Con-gress to enact ‘laws’ giving these acts a veneer of fake legality, some-thing a Republican probably could not have done.

7. Oil and energy companies, and other mega-polluters must be freed to drill offshore almost everywhere, and permitted to poison land and watersheds with fracking to achieve “ener-gy independence.” The Republi-cans say “Drill baby, drill,” but it seems only Democrats can chill out enough supposed ‘environ-mentalists’ to make this happen. Obama campaigned on restrict-ing offshore drilling four years ago, and reversed himself just be-fore the BP oil disaster in the Gulf. The White House cooperated with BP in lying to the public about the extent of the disaster and has shielded BP from paying anything like the value of actual damages incurred to livelihoods, human lives and the environment.

6. The FCC should not and must not regulate telecoms to ensure that poor and rural com-munities have access to the In-ternet, or to guarantee net-work neutrality. Republicans have always been in favor of dig-ital redlining and against net-work neutrality. Barack Obama claimed on the campaign trail he’d take a back seat to nobody in guaranteeing network neutral-ity. But he appointed as FCC chair a man who helped write the infa-mous Telecommunications Act of 1995, which gave away the gov-ernment-built Internet backbone to a handful of immensely power-ful telecoms like AT&T and Com-cast, and flatly reversed himself on network neutrality. The De-partment of Justice was forced to stop the ATT-T-Mobile merger by a storm of public outrage, but ap-proved the Comcast-NBC deal.

5. Of course there really ARE

such things as “clean coal” and “safe nuclear energy.” Again, these are things Republicans have always pretended to believe. At the 2008 Democratic conven-tion, Democrat Barack Obama joined them, declaring he intend-ed to be the president of “clean coal and safe nuclear energy.” Obama is building a wave of 33 nuclear plants across the country, the first two in mostly Black and poor communities of Georgia and South Carolina where leaky exist-ing nukes are causing cancer ep-idemics. The people know these things are myths. But Republican and Democratic candidates for office, all the way down to state and county officials seem not to.

4. Immigrants must be jailed and deported in record num-bers. On this issue, Republicans talk a mean game about sending them all back and jailing tens or hundreds of thousands along the way. But only President Obama has walked the walk, deporting over a million immigrants in his term in office, often with little or no due process and after hous-ing many for months in atrocious privatized immigration prisons.

3. No “Medicare For All.” For-get about eliminating the Medi-care age requirement so that all Americans would qualify. Re-publicans never wanted Medi-care even for seniors, let alone ev-erybody. Years ago, Illinois State Senator Obama was telling audi-ences that if they elected Demo-crats to Congress, the Senate and the White House, they’d get sin-gle-payer health care. But once in office, he excluded Medicare for All from the proposals on the table and enacted a national ver-sion of Massachusetts Romney-Care, requiring everybody to pur-chase private health insurance or be penalized.

2. No minimum wage increas-es for you, no right to form a union, no right to negotiate or strike if you already have a union, and no enforcement or reform of existing labor laws. Again, Republicans have always opposed minimum wage laws. Obama promised to boost the minimum wage his first two years in office while he still had ma-jorities in the House and Senate.

But he didn’t do this or pass leg-islation beefing up the right to or-ganize unions, which has been eroded under Democrat and Re-publican administrations alike.

1. The 40-year war on drugs must continue, and even men-tioning the prison state is un-thinkable. There are 2.3 million people in U.S. prisons and jails to-day, a per-capita total that beats the world. Politicians of both par-ties wag their fingers in multiple directions. But as Michelle Alex-ander points out, if the U.S. pris-on population were rolled back to say, only 1 million, the level it was about 1980, this would cost one million jobs; contractors, sheriffs, cops, bailiffs, judges and func-tionaries of all kinds would have to go out and find real jobs.

The rabbit hole goes still deep-er. We didn’t have to stop at these fifteen points of Democrat-Re-publican agreement, but you get the idea. Just as in Frederick Douglass’s day, the more Demo-crats and Republicans agree, the worse it is for the rest of us.

No Black influenceThere was a time when Black

America had its own principles, and formed the immovable left-most rock of the American polity. But in the 21st century, that rock has been dissolved by a tide of corporate money. With the rise of a cohort of Black corporate Demo-crats and a right-wing Black Dem-ocrat in the White House there is no longer even any vaguely left-ish influence on Democratic par-ty politics.

The House Progressive Cau-cus is the biggest in Congress, with over seventy members, but is powerless and irrelevant. Ex-cept for stylistic flourishes, the music they listen to and the col-or of some faces, the differences between Republicans and Demo-crats seem to exist mostly in polit-ical marketing campaigns and in-side our own heads.

Bruce Dixon is managing edi-tor of BlackAgendaReport.com. Contact him at bruce.dixon@blackagendareport.com. Click on this story at www.flcouri-er.com to write your own re-sponse.

PAT BAGLEY, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Three weeks ago, New York City policemen killed a knife-wielding man in broad daylight in Times Square. On that occasion, they had plenty of time to clear by-standers from their line of fire. Therefore, nobody was injured when two trigger-happy policemen fired 12 shots between them from just three feet away. Local authorities have not said how many of those bullets actually hit their target.

Two weeks ago, NYC po-licemen killed a gunman in broad daylight on the street outside the Empire State Building. On this occasion they had no time to clear by-standers from their line of fire. Nine people were in-jured when two trigger-hap-py policemen fired a total of 16 shots from just four feet away.

This second shooting be-gan after a disgruntled ex-employee exacted revenge by gunning down a former co-worker right there on the street (though without injur-ing anybody else). He had to have known he would be ei-ther arrested or shot dead on the spot. Indeed, he report-edly planned for the “suicide by cop” that followed.

Cops praisedNYC Mayor Michael

Bloomberg led a chorus of commentators heaping praise on the police for the way they performed on both occasions. But I see noth-ing praiseworthy about the police firing 12 shots to take down a mentally-ill man armed with nothing more than a knife. Even worse, it strikes me as not just reck-less but incompetent that they sprayed so many er-rant shots at a standing tar-get on the second occasion that nine bullets ended up hitting bystanders.

Clearly, given the ease with which disgruntled em-ployees can get their hands on guns and “go postal,” the real shock is how rarely the police have to respond to such incidents. The irony is that the shooting at the Em-pire State Building demon-strates that the police pose far greater danger to the

public by the way they re-spond, than the incidents themselves pose in the first place. (In this case, the gun-man never even fired a sin-gle shot at them.)

So instead of praising these policemen as heroes, Mayor Bloomberg would do more to ensure public safety by requiring all NYC policemen to take remedi-al courses in target shoot-ing – and mental training to know when it’s time to hold fire. Assuming deadly fire was even warranted, both of these incidents should have ended with no more than two clean shots.

In the meantime, all pe-destrians would do well to think of New York City as “Dodge City,” because dodg-ing police bullets could be-come a way of life there.

Anthony L. Hall is a Ba-hamian native with an in-ternational law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily we-blog at www.theipinion-sjournal.com. Click on this story at www.flcouri-er.com to write your own response.

Not all urban youth plan to get in line to buy Nike’s outrageously priced $315 basketball shoe when it goes on sale this fall. In fact, rather than focusing on false status symbols, during 2012 thousands of members of the National Urban League Young Pro-fessionals (NULYP) got in line to provide more than 50,000 volunteer hours in communities throughout the nation.

They also raised more than $382,000 to support Urban League affiliates across the country. They added 4,369 new members to their ranks. Their social media strategy increased their influence to over 1.5 million friends, follow-ers and connections. And they are now playing a ma-jor role in the National Ur-ban League’s Occupy the Vote campaign leading up to the November election.

New movementThe enthusiastic activ-

ism of the NULYP is a clear sign that “civil rights” is

becoming the choice of a new generation. These young people are infusing the National Urban League movement with new ideas and energy and we are giv-ing them opportunities for leadership development and community service that are strengthening our organization and our na-tion.

At a time when many urban youth have been la-beled as under-achievers and potential trouble mak-ers, the NULYP, under the leadership of its dynamic president, Ms. Brandi R. Richard, is demonstrating the ability of urban youth, ages 21-40, to empower communities and change lives.

Their mission is to sup-port the Urban League Movement through vol-unteerism, philanthropy

and membership devel-opment. NULYP trains, develops and educates young professionals – the best, brightest and most dedicated – to take lead-ership roles within the Na-tional Urban League, the civil rights movement and society-at large. Its mem-bers are defining and lead-ing the next generation civil rights agenda through 57 chapters across the na-tion.

Rather than putting false hope in fads like the lat-est overpriced basketball shoe, these young people are empowering them-selves and their commu-nities to expand opportu-nity and bring more peo-ple into the economic mainstream. I am proud of them and we are glad they are part of the National Ur-ban League family.

Marc Morial is presi-dent/CEO of the Nation-al Urban League. Click on this story at www.fl-courier.com to write your own response.

New York City becoming new ‘Dodge’ City

Young professionals empowering communities

and changing lives

FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ.

BRUCE A. DIXON

BLACK AGENDA REPORT

TRICE EDNEY WIRE

MARC H. MORIAL

TOjA6 NATION sepTember 7 – sepTember 13, 2012

bY jIm sAUNDersTHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – A Mi-ami federal judge has found that Florida is violat-ing the constitutional rights of American-born children of illegal immigrants by re-quiring them to pay high-er tuition rates than other students at state colleges and universities.

The case, spearhead-ed by the Southern Pover-ty Law Center, centers on students who live in Flor-ida and are U.S. citizens, despite their parents’ ille-gal status. Those students have been denied dis-counted, in-state tuition rates enjoyed by other stu-dents who graduate from Florida high schools and enter the higher-education system.

‘Additional obstacle’U.S. District Judge K.

Michael Moore, in a rul-ing dated Aug. 31, said the state regulations violate equal-protection rights and create “an additional obstacle for plaintiffs (stu-dents named in the case) to attain post-secondary education from one of the state’s public institutions that is not faced by other residents.”

“(Classifying) U.S. citizen students who reside in Flor-ida according to their par-ents’ undocumented feder-al immigration status does not advance any legitimate state interest, much less the state’s important interest in furthering educational op-portunities for its own resi-dents,’’ Moore wrote.

Decision praisedCheryl Etters, a spokes-

woman for the state De-partment of Education, said attorneys were review-ing Moore’s ruling Tues-day. But in a court docu-ment filed last month, the state emphasized that the students are dependents of undocumented parents.

“The tuition rate for all students depends upon es-tablishing legal residency, and the legal residency of all dependent students is based on their parents’ le-gal residency,’’ the docu-ment said. “Plaintiffs con-cede that they fully quali-fied as dependent children when making college ap-plications relevant to this action.”

Moore’s decision, how-ever, was praised by two Democratic House mem-bers who unsuccessful-ly proposed a bill this year that would have made such students eligible for in-state tuition.

“I hope today’s rul-ing quickly ends Flor-ida’s ridic-ulous pol-icy of re-quiring U.S. citizens to pay expen-sive out-of-state tuition rates sim-ply because of their par-ents’ legal status,’’ said Rep. Reggie Fu l l w o o d , D-Jackson-ville, who was joined in the pro-posal by Rep. Ha-

zelle “Hazel” Rogers, D-Lauderdale Lakes.

Public school gradsFour of the named plain-

tiffs in the case were born in Miami and a fifth was born in California. They each graduated from Flor-ida public high schools in 2010 or 2011 and made plans to attend Florida In-ternational University, Mi-ami-Dade College or Palm Beach State College, ac-cording to Moore’s ruling.

Each of the students was denied lower in-state tu-ition rates, and three either could not attend college or were forced to withdraw, the ruling says.

State law and regula-tions approved by the state Board of Education and the university system’s Board of Governors detail resi-dency requirements for in-

state tuition eligibility. In a 19-page order,

Moore wrote that public higher education and re-duced in-state tuition rates are “properly viewed as at-

taching to the student and not to the household.”

“It is the plaintiffs who, upon graduating from a post-secondary education-al institution, receive their

names on diplomas, and it is Plaintiffs --not Plaintiffs’ parents, cousins, or sib-lings --who are entitled to the benefits conferred by such a degree,’’ he wrote.

Judge rejects higher tuition for children of illegal aliens

SHOP 9AM-1OPM FRIDAY & 9AM-11PM SATURDAY. HOURS MAY VARY BY STORE. VISIT MACYS.COM AND CLICK ON STORES FOR LOCAL INFORMATION.

ONEDAY SALESATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 OPEN 9AM-11PM PREVIEW DAY FRIDAY OPEN 9AM-1OPMMORNING SPECIALS 9AM-1PM BOTH DAYS!PLUS, FASHION & HOME CLEARANCE SELECTIONS5O%-8O% OFF orig.* prices

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FREE SHIPPING AT MACYS.COMwith $99 online purchase. No promo code needed; exclusions apply.

OPEN A MACY’S ACCOUNT FOR EXTRA 20% SAVINGS THE FIRST 2 DAYS, UP TO $100, WITH MORE REWARDS TO COME. Macy’s credit card is available subject to credit approval; new account savings valid the day your account is opened and the next day; excludes services, selected licensed departments, gift cards, restaurants, gourmet food & wine. The new account savings are limited to a total of $100; application must qualify for immediate approval to receive extra savings; employees not eligible.

SEPTEMBER ONE DAY SALE PRICES IN EFFECT 9/7-9/8/12.

Excludes: Everyday Values (EDV), specials, super buys, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, rugs, electrics/electronics, cosmetics/fragrances, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., special purchases, services, macys.com. Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount or credit offer, except opening a new Macy’s account. Dollar savings are allocated as discounts off each eligible item, as shown on receipt. When you return an item, you forfeit the savings allocated to that item. This coupon has no cash value and may not be redeemed for cash, used to purchase gift cards or applied as payment or credit to your account. Purchase must be $25 or more, exclusive of tax and delivery fees. YOUR PURCHASE OF $25 OR MORE.

VALID 9/7 ‘TIL 1PM OR 9/8/12 ‘TIL 1PM.LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER.

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WOW! $1O OFFFRI ’TIL 1PM OR SAT ’TIL 1PM; CANNOT BE USED ON SPECIALS OR SUPER BUYS

N2080190E.indd 1 8/29/12 10:31 AM

Rep. Reggie Fullwood

Rep. Hazelle Rogers

LIFE | FAITH | HEALTH | MONEY | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD

www.flcourier.com

BSHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE | SECT ION

HEALTH | FOOD | TRAVEL | SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS

LIFE/FAITHT

Remembering Michael Clarke Duncan See page B3

SuN coAST / TAmPA BAY

September 7 - September 13, 2012

Book review: ‘Darkest America’ See page B3

17,410 fans watch as B-CU defeatsAlabama StateBY ANDREAS BUTLERFLORIDA COURIER

Bethune-Cookman Universi-ty rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat Alabama State Univer-sity 38-28 in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge at the Citrus Bowl on Sept. 2 in Orlando.

The game was aired live on ESPN as 17,410 fans watched the two HBCUS battle it out.

Louisiana Tech transferBrod-erick Waters threw for 110 yards with two touchdowns while running for 100 more with a score off the bench to garner MVP Honors for B-CU.

“I don’t mind playing from behind. This team has confi-dence in itself. We all are con-fident in each other” Waters re-marked.

Waters replaced Jackie Wil-son, who started the game but failed to conduct a scoring drive. Wilson did throw for 74 yards and run for 25 more.

“I have been told to prepare like a quarterback. I have played quarterback all my life. Coach-es told me to be ready to play either quarterback or receiver,” said Waters.

Hornets start strongAlabama State (0-1) drove

down the field to open the game, capping it off with a five-yard touchdown run by Greg

COMPILED BYANDREAS BUTLERFLORIDA COURIER

Tennessee State holds off FAMU

One last defensive stand helped Tennessee State Uni-versity defeat the Florida A&M University Rattlers 17-14 in the ninth annual John A. Merritt Classic on Sept. 1 in Nashville, Tenn.

Tennessee State’s defense kept FAMU’s Damien Flem-ing from crossing the goal line on the final play of the game to seal the win.

The Tigers struck first on Michael German’s 22 yard touchdown pass to Devin Wilson to lead 7-0 in the first quarter.

Tennessee led 17-0 after a six-yard score from Trabis Ward with 4:11 to play in the third quarter. Ward finished with 128 yards rushing for Tennessee.

The score was 17-7 after a 13-yard touchdown pass from FAMU’s Tyler Bass to Travis Harvey in the third quarter.

FAMU cut the deficit to 17-14 on Fleming’s eight-yard

touchdown pass to Michael Ethridge with 9:32 to play.

German threw for 263 yards with a touchdown and an in-terception for TSU.

Fleming led FAMU with 119 yards passing with a score and an interception. He also ran for 52 yards.

The Tigers outgained the Rattlers in total yardage 401-272, but they were penalized 20 times for 178 yards.

Eddie Rocker added 90 yards rushing and Harvey six catches for 52 yards for FA-MU.

Lane tops Edward Waters

Chris Rini threw for 107 yards with three touchdowns and ran for 53 more yards to help Lane College win its home opener 45-28 over Jack-sonville’s Edward Waters Col-lege.

Edward Waters led 7-0 on Ralph Shuler’s three-yard

score with 11:52 to go in the first quarter.

EWC also led 24-21 on Ray Dukes’ nine-yard touchdown run with 12:41 remaining in the third quarter and 28-24 after Anthony Wallace’s 10-yard score with 5:47 to go in the third quarter.

Lane College, based in Jack-son, Tenn., went on to score the game’s last 21 points.

The Dragons outgained the EWC Tigers 366-225 in to-tal offense. Lane College al-so forced EWC into five turn-overs for the game.

Brandon Turman ran for 109 yards with a touchdown and Tony Goodman recorded 11.5 total tackles to lead the Tigers.

Dyron Speight added 107 yards passing, Eric Knowlton 88 yards rushing with three scores and Evan Yabu had two receiving touchdowns for the Dragons.

Alcorn State upsets Grambling

Arnold Smith’s four-yard touchdown run with 1:33 re-maining lifted Alcorn State University to a 22-21 win over

See MEAC/SWAC, Page B2

See HBCU, Page B2

meAc/SwAc cHAlleNGe recAP

wildcats sting Hornets in

season opener

Plenty of excitement during first week of gridiron action

The MVPs of the Sept. 2 game were quarterbacks Broderick Waters of B-CU, left, and Greg Jenkins of Alabama.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN LESSIG

Members of the Howard University Bison football team celebrate after winning the second annual AT&T Nation’s Football Classic 30-29 over the Morehouse Maroon Tigers on Sept. 1 at RFK Sta-dium in Washington, DC.

PHOTOS BY KIM JACKSON/FLORIDA COURIER

The Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats come from behind to defeat the Alabama State University Hornets on Sept. 2 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Or-lando.

HBcu fooTBAll rouNDuP

TSPORTS SEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2012B2

defending SWAC Cham-pion Grambling State Uni-versity (GSU).

Grambling State had one more chance to win the game but Fabian Carter’s 42-yard field goal attempt fell short as time expired.

GSU built a 21-9 lead through three quarters be-fore Alcorn State rallied to score the game’s final 13 points in the final period.

Jeremy Runner ran for 166 yards with a score and Dawrence Roberts ran for 121 yards to lead the Ti-gers.

Anthony McGhee and Juwan Martin each added a rushing touchdown for GSU.

Darius Smith threw for 102 yards and ran for an-other 34 with two touch-downs to lead Alcorn.

Arnold Walker added 56 yards rushing and Joe Prince 55 yards rushing with a touchdown for Al-corn.

Howard clips Morehouse

Jamie Cunningham threw a 13-yard touch-down pass to David Wilson with 22 seconds remain-ing as Howard University edged Morehouse College 30-29 in the second annu-al AT&T Nations Football Classic at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC.

Cunningham, a true freshman entered when starter Randy Liggins Jr. was benched following a fumble that led to More-house retaking the lead at 23-17 on David Carter’s two-yard score with 4:18 to go in the third quarter.

Morehouse (0-1) re-took the lead at 29-24 on Donnay Ragland’s 72 yard touchdown pass to Devon Mann with 1:54 to play.

Ragland threw for 238 yards with a score and Carter ran for 134 with two touchdowns to lead More-house’s Maroon Tigers.

Cunningham threw for

79 yards with a score while Liggins threw for 132 with two scores for Howard.

The Maroon Tigers topped the Bison 472-317 in total offense (218-106 rushing). Morehouse com-mitted four turnovers while Howard had two.

Alabama A&M edges Tuskegee

Vernon Marshall blocked Eduardo Mulliro’s 52-yard field goal attempt as time expired to preserve a 7-6 win for Alabama A&M Uni-

versity over Tuskegee Uni-versity.

Tuskegee (0-1) led 3-0 on Mulliro’s 20-yard field goal with 1:17 left in the first quarter.

Alabama A&M (1-0) took a 7-3 lead on Deunte Ma-son’s five-yard touchdown toss to Montarius Smith.

Alabama’s Theron Rice blocked Mulliro’s 44-yard attempt with 6:29 to play. Mason threw for 171 yards and ran for another 55 to lead Alabama. Mulliro added a 35-yard field goal

for the Tuskegee Golden Tigers in the fourth.

Other scoresNorfolk State-24, Vir-

ginia State-0; North Caro-lina Central-54, Fayette-ville State-31; Texas South-ern-44, Prairie View A&M-41; New Mexico-66, South-ern-21; Concordia-20, Mis-sissippi Valley State-19; Mississippi State-56, Jackson State-9; Arkan-sas Pine-Bluff-17, Langs-ton-14; Bowie State-24, As-sumption-20; Fort Valley

State-31, Delta State-23; West Virginia State-34, Johnson C. Smith-31; St. Augustine’s-28, Wing-ate-10; Winston-Salem State-28, North Carolina Pembrooke-23; West Al-abama-44, Clark Atlan-ta-0; Chowan-70, Living-stone-35; Newberry-46, Elizabeth City State-20; Al-bany State-24, North Green-ville-12; Virginia Union-28, Benedict-7; Stillman-28, Central State-27; North Alabama-31, Miles-30; Oklahoma State-84, Sa-vannah State-0; Delaware State-17, Virginia Military Institute-10; Coastal Car-olina-29; North Carolina A&T-13.

This week’s top games

Bethune-Cookman (1-0) at South Carolina State: It’s the MEAC opener for both teams. Both are two of the better HBCU programs. This will be a dogfight or a catfight.

Florida A&M (0-1) at Oklahoma (1-0): Rattlers travel to Norman to face a top 10-ranked FBS team.

Edward Waters (1-1) at Morehouse (0-1): NAIA Florida HBCU heads to At-

lanta to face a good Divi-sion II HBCU squad.

Hampton at Old Domin-ion: The Pirates almost beat Old Dominion last season. Can they duplicate that success and get a win? It would be great for the MEAC and HBCUs if they do win.

Norfolk State (1-0) at Liberty: The No. 1 ranked HBCU plays a good FCS team. Another shot for the MEAC and HBCUs against other FCS programs. Nor-folk is also ranked No. 24 in the FCS polls.

Mississippi Valley State (0-1, 0-0) at Alabama State (0-1, 0-0): Alabama should bounce back from last week’s loss to Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlan-do.

Alabama A&M at Arkan-sas Pine Bluff: The teams battle for early positioning in SWAC divisional races.

Jackson State at Ten-nessee State: The Jackson SWAC team gets a shot at an HBCU from the Ohio Valley Conference. The teams play each other reg-ularly. Jackson State won last year 35-29.

Jenkins to take a 7-0 lead with 11:06 to go in the first quarter.

The Hornets capitalized off a Wildcat turnover on a muffed punt to take a 14-0 lead with 4:28 to play in the quarter after Isaiah Crowell’s two-yard score.

Jenkins’ three-yard score put ASU up 21-0 with 13:45 to play in the second quarter.

“We came out and fought hard early on. Then I think we got com-placent and started feeling our-selves. They got some momen-tum and carried it the rest of the way,” commented Alabama State Head Coach Reggie Barlow.

Bethune-Cookman (1-0) re-sponded with 38 unanswered points fueled by a fierce rushing attack.

“You can’t look to the end without going through the pro-cess. We have been telling our kids that we had to go through a process to reach our goals. We had to play every play and stay in the moment. It was tremen-

dous to see the fight in this team,” commented Bethune-Cookman Head Coach Brian Jenkins.

21-10 at halftimeB-CU amassed 551 yards of to-

tal offense (367 rushing) in the game and had three 100-yard rushers. Along with Waters, run-ning backs Isidore Jackson (123 yards) and Rodney Scott (103 yards, one touchdown) also eclipsed the mark.

ASU had 351 yards of total of-fense, including 253 yards in the air.

“They are a very good football team with a high octane offense. They are a championship caliber team that will win a lot of games. They are also very well coached. I’m not surprised with their fast start,” mentioned Jenkins.

The Wildcats defense clamped down on the Hornets’ fast-paced spread offense from there on out.

Bethune-Cookman got a sec-ond-quarter touchdown run from Andronicus Lovette and a 20-yard field goal from Sven Hurd to get within 21-10 at halftime.

B-CU got within 21-17 when

Waters connected with Jhomo Gordon from 24 yards out with 5:53 remaining in the third quar-ter.

ASU fumbled on the ensuing kickoff as instant replay over-turned an initial ruling on the field.

“We started well, but we didn’t finish. When you turn the ball over to a good team. it will make things hard on you. We had three turnovers in the second half,” stated Barlow.

MEAC leads seriesB-CU capitalized on Waters’

six-yard score to lead 24-21 with 4:28 to play in the quarter. The Wildcats never looked back.

It was the second consecutive year that B-CU won the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. The Wildcats defeated Prairie View A&M 63-14 in 2011.

The Wildcats’ win also gave the MEAC a 6-2 advantage over the SWAC in the series.

Jenkins led the Hornets by throwing for 196 yards with an interception. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 39 yards along with two scores and was named MVP for his team.

“We are a fast-paced offense and we like to execute that way. They held us up in the second half and the turnovers hurt too,” commented Greg Jenkins.

Eddie Poole added 102 receiv-ing yards with a touchdown and K.J. Stroud four catches for 39 yards for the Wildcats.

Crowell, a Georgia transfer and 2011 SEC Rookie of the year, fin-ished with 18 yards rushing and 17 receiving for the Hornets.

T.C. McWilliams added six catches for 89 yards with a touch-down, Jarred Neely five catches for 64 yards and Daniel Duhart threw for 57 yards and a score for ASU.

Jarkevis Fields led the Wildcats defensively with 10 total tack-les and a sack. LeBrandon Rich-ardson added two sacks, Harold Love III a sack and a half and Al-Ghaffar Lane an interception for B-CU.

Jimmy Daniels led Alabama State defensively with nine total tackles and a sack.

B-CU travels to Orangeburg, S.C. to face South Carolina State in its MEAC opener while ASU will host Mississippi Valley State in its SWAC opener.

MEAC/SWACfrom B1

HBCUfrom B1

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN LESSIG

Tamar Braxton (“Braxton Family Values”), star of the upcoming WE tv reality series “Tamar & Vince’’ sings the national anthem at the second annual AT&T Nation’s Football Classic.

PHOTOS BY KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

Bethune-Cookman University’s 14 Karat Gold Dancers take to the field during the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Sept. 2 in Orlando. The dance team performs with B-CU’s marching band.

B-CU quarterback Broderick Waters is MEAC’s Offensive Player of the Week. On Tuesday, he was named the National Player of the Week by Boxtorow. The 5-11, senior, Sarasota native picked up the award after completing 6-of-9 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also rushed for an-other 100 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ 38-28 victory over Alabama State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Sunday.

B3CALENDAR / OBITS TOj SEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Orlando: Florida Sen. Gary Siplin will host a free housing workshop titled “Homeownership: The American Dream” on Sept. 29 at the Pine Hills Commu-nity Center, 6408 Jennings Road. Speakers will include Joyce Odongo of Wells Fargo Neighborhood Lift Program, Bobbie Thomas of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Miller of CredAbility, and Brenda Dollison of the HELP CDC organization. The pre-registration deadline is Sept. 21; however, on-site registration will be available. More information: 407-207-2071.

Ocoee: The City of Ocoee’s Human Relations Diversity Board will host its Third An-nual Fiesta de Colores Sept. 15 from 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Bill Breeze Park, 125 North Lakeshore Drive, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. More Infor-mation: www.ocoee.org or 407-905-3100.

Jacksonville: “The Price is Right Live’’ presented by The Artist Series will be held Sept. 25 at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. The interactive stage show will give contestants pulled right from the audi-ence the chance to “come on down” to win appliances, vacations and even new cars. Tickets start at $32 and can be purchased by calling

904-632-3373 or visiting www.artistseriesjax.org.

Tampa: A Diversity Job Fair hosted by JobNewsTampa.com will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Embassy Suites- USF Campus, 3705 Spectrum Blvd. Over 40 companies will participate. Ultimate Staffing will also be in attendance offering free resume reviews

for all job seekers. At-tendees are encouraged to pre-register online at www.JobNewsTampa.com.

Jacksonville: Nephew Tommy of the “Steve Harvey Morning Show’’ and Friends will be live at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville Sept. 14 for a 7:30 p.m. show.

Orlando: Comedian Sinbad

will be at the Hard Rock Live Orlando Oct. 12 for an 8 p.m. show.

Jacksonville: The Back to Love tour featuring Anthony Hamilton and Estelle stops at the Times Union Center Performing Arts Moran Theater on Sept. 9 for a 7:30 p.m. show.

Tampa: Girl Scouts of West

Central Florida is seeking troop leaders, both men and women over age 18, to volunteer as positive adult role models for girls to build courage, confidence and character. Training provided. More information: Kristie Wiley: 813-262-1765, vol-unteer@gswcf.org or www.gswcf.org/volunteer.

Jacksonville: Comedian and actor Kevin Hart will be at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 12 for a 7 p.m. show.

Jacksonville: The Jackson-ville Tattoo Convention fea-turing live tattooing by some of the nation’s top artists as well as contests, seminars, giveaways and more will be held Sept. 14 -15 at the Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel Convention Center. Price: $15 day pass- $35 week-end pass, tickets may be purchased at the door.

St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Pe-tersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues from 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. More information: 727-393-3597.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

KELLY PRICEA Forever R & B concert featuring Kelly Price, Dru Hill, Carl Thomas and Shirley Murdock will be held at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables on Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.

AARON BINGAaron Bing will perform at the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center Sept. 15 for an 8 p.m. show.

FRANKIE BEVERLY & MAZEFrankie Beverly & Maze will be at the House of Blues Orlando Oct. 5 for a 7:30 p.m. show.

BY DR. GLENN ALTSCHULERSPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Review of “Darkest America: Black Min-strelsy from Slavery to Hip-Hop.’’ By Yuval Taylor and Jake Austen. W.W. Norton & Company. 256 pp. $26.95.

In 1934, Zora Neale Hurston vented her spleen about minstrelsy. On stage, she wrote, Negroes were excused from pop-ping their eyes only when they were roll-ing them in fright.

They say “ ‘Is you is, or is you ain’t,’ grab a banjo and work themselves into a sound sleep…. All of which may be very good vaudeville, but I’m sorry to be such an im-age breaker and say we just don’t live like that.”

And yet, in her own stories and essays, Hurston drew heavily on the Black min-strel tradition. In “Lawing and Jawing,” for example, Judge Dunfumy tells a lawyer, “Yo mouf might spout lak a coffee pot but I got a lawyer dat kin beat your segastua-tin.” And, as she looked down her nose at the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Hurston claimed that “Butter Beans” and “Susie,” stars of the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, were among the few performers “of the real Negro School” in New York City.

In a sense, Yuval Taylor, senior editor at Chicago Review Press, and Jake Austen, editor of Rocktober magazine, suggest, Hurston “wanted to have her watermelon and eat it, too.”

Pride and shameIn “Darkest America,’’ Taylor and Austen

demonstrate that minstrelsy (and its mod-ern-day manifestations on TV sitcoms and in popular music) has a “complicated cul-tural history.”

Acknowledging that minstrelsy rein-forced demeaning racial stereotypes, the authors claim that it also presented “a carefree life, liberated from oppression, responsibilities and burdens” and permit-

ted performers to “signify on” or even sub-vert the very social norms and practices they appeared to be exemplifying.

It isn’t necessarily wrong, they conclude, self-consciously opening up a “burnt cork-sullied can of worms,” to feel pride as well as shame for “humming ‘Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens,’ chuckling at an Amos ‘n’ Andy dialect routine, or catching a Zulu coconut or a “Good Times’’ rerun.”

Dignified performances?“Darkest America” covers a lot of

ground: Taylor and Austen have interest-ing things to say about Bert Williams, Ste-pin Fetchit, Bill Cosby, Flavor Fav, Spike Lee and Tyler Perry.

Because the evidence is scarce, how-ever, their assertions about the motives of performers and the response of (Black and White) audiences to minstrelsy are specu-lative.

Black minstrels may well have been per-formed with a wink, a shrug, and a sig-nifying spirit. But it isn’t clear that Bert Williams was dignified “not just when he wiped off his blackface, but during his blackface act itself.”

Or that in “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” Louis Armstrong was celebrat-ing American entertainment itself “rath-er than an actual plantation heaven.” And it seems a stretch for Taylor and Austen to characterize the “mumbling post-scripts”

uttered by Lincoln Perry (Stepin Fetchit) in racist 1930s films as “talking back” to Whites that is “borderline dangerous.”

Dangerous gameTaylor and Austen remind us that Blacks

enjoyed watching minstrel shows. They suggest as well that stereotypes “seemed less odious” when Whites were not watch-ing them. But we really do not know all that much about the composition of audi-ences – and what they were thinking and feeling. Did blackface remind Blacks of good times? Codes of dignity, masculinity, and double consciousness?

Did some Blacks respond to minstrel shows by unburdening themselves of ste-reotypes or even “reclaiming” them? Do others, especially these days, enjoy em-barrassing their bourgeois Black brothers, sisters and parents by airing “dirty laun-dry”? If so, why?

We live – and Taylor and Austen write – in deconstructive times. In-jokes, sar-casm, skepticism, cynicism, and self-par-ody dominate intellectual discourse and popular culture. In certain settings and with certain audiences, minstrels may have – and still may – supply balm for rac-ist words and acts. But, let’s face it: They play a dangerous, dignity-denying game.

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of Ameri-can Studies at Cornell University.

BOOK REVIEW

‘Darkest America’ delves into meaning of minstrelsy

BY DENNIS MCLELLANLOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — Michael Clarke Duncan, the tall and massively built ac-tor with the shaved head and deep voice who received an Academy Award nomi-nation for his moving portrayal of a gen-tle death row inmate in the 1999 prison drama “The Green Mile,” died Monday. He was 54.

Duncan died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a

statement from his pub-licist, Joy Fehily. He had suffered a heart attack in July and did not recover.

A former ditch digger for a natural gas com-pany in his native Chi-cago, Duncan began his Hollywood saga as a ce-lebrity bodyguard in the mid-1990s. He received his first big acting break playing a member of the

drilling team sent into space to blow up an asteroid heading to Earth in the big-budget 1998 movie “Armageddon,” star-ring Bruce Willis.

Gentle giantBut it was “The Green Mile,” starring

Tom Hanks as a death row prison guard in a Louisiana penitentiary during the Depression, that thrust the 6-foot-5, 300-plus-pound Duncan into the lime-light.

He portrayed John Coffey, a gentle gi-ant with supernatural powers who has been sentenced to death for the murder of two young White girls.

“There was something about him that I just couldn’t ignore,”

writer-director Frank Darabont said of Duncan in a 2000 Daily Variety in-terview. “After his first reading, he kept haunting me.

Given that he was a fairly inexpe-rienced actor at that point, obviously there was a concern about ‘Gee, how

would this guy do?’“But once we put him on film, it be-

came apparent that he was up to the task.”

Real tearsDuncan credited acting coach Lar-

ry Moss with teaching him “how to dig within myself” for the heavily emotional crying scenes in the movie.

“I’m an emotional person, a very emo-tional person,” Duncan told the Chicago Tribune in 2000. “All those tears you see in the movie were mine.”

In 2002, two years after the Academy Awards ceremony, Duncan told the Or-ange County Register: “Realistically, I didn’t think I would win the Oscar, but the nomination was a personal valida-tion for me. It proved to me that I was a good actor. More important, it showed other people that I was a serious actor.”

Film workDuncan later appeared in films such

as “The Whole Nine Yards” (2000), “Planet of the Apes” (2001), “The Scor-pion King” (2002) and “The Island” (2005). He also did voice work in films and television, including “Brother Bear” (2003) and “Kung Fu Panda” (2008).

He was born Dec. 10, 1957, and grew up on Chicago’s South Side. His fa-ther left the family when he was 6, and he and his sister, Judith, were raised by their mother, who steered him clear of gangs, drugs and alcohol.

Growing up, he harbored dreams of becoming an actor.

“Of course, people told me, ‘Mikey, you will never be an actor. You don’t have the look. You’re ugly,’ ” he recalled in a 2003 Chicago Sun-Times interview.

What helped him, he said, was that his mother “always told me to think ‘YC-DA.’ That stands for ‘You Can Do Any-thing.’ ”

Attended HBCUDuncan attended Alcorn State Univer-

sity in Mississippi but left before gradu-ating to help support his ailing mother. Back in Chicago, he began working for the gas company.

On the job, he talked so much about his dream of going to Hollywood and becoming an actor that his co-workers dubbed him “Hollywood Mike.” He fi-nally quit his job and became a securi-ty guard for a traveling show. Once the show reached Los Angeles, he decided to stay.

Working first as a bodyguard for Mar-tin Lawrence, Will Smith and other stars, he began landing small parts in films and television. In 1998, he played bouncers in “Bulworth” and “A Night at the Roxbury” and a bodyguard in “The Players Club.”

While making “Armageddon,” Dun-can became friends with Willis, who was instrumental in getting him the role in Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s serial novel “The Green Mile.”

“Bruce told me, ‘Michael, I’ve just read this script and you are this guy John Coffey. I just know it,’ ” Duncan recalled in a 2001 Ottawa Citizen interview. Wil-lis said he’d call Darabont — and he did, telling him that he had found the man to play the role.

More than ‘big tough guy’“I’m used to being the big tough guy,

the bodyguard type,” Duncan told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in 2000. “I had never taken a role like this. I start-ed reading the novel and couldn’t put it down. I got emotional while reading it. Once I finished it, I said, ‘That’s me. I don’t care what I have to do, but I’ve got to play this role.’ ”

As “The Green Mile” was about to open in theaters nationwide in 1999, Duncan told The New York Times, “This is really like a gift from God. I tell people, ‘It’s just like a cliche, but it’s true: In Hol-lywood, dreams can come true.’”

Besides his mother, Jean, and his sis-ter, Judith, he is survived by his fiancee, actress Omarosa Manigault.

Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty dies of gunshot woundNNPA NEWS SERVICE

Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty, who helped launch the careers of rap superstars such as Missy Elliott, 50 Cent and LL Cool J, was found dead Aug. 30 at apartment in the Bronx, New York. He was 44.

According to MTV News, the music execu-tive’s body was found with a gunshot wound to the head shortly before noon. Police explained that they discovered a pistol at the scene, lead-ing them to believe that the wound may have been self-inflicted.

Lighty rose to fame in the 1980s working with New York’s DJ Red Alert, and served as the road manager for Boogie Down Produc-tions, according to News One.

He later joined Russell Simmons’ Rush Artist Management in 1989 and then launched his own firm, Viola-tor Records, the following year. Later in his career, Lighty went on to help launch the careers of artists including Mariah Carey, Nas, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes and more.

‘Hip-hop hero’The New York Daily News

reported that Lighty had been dealing with a myriad of personal problems including debt and a recent divorce from his wife.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of a hip-hop hero,” Russell Simmons said in a statement on his web site. “Chris Lighty has been a dear friend of mine since he was a kid. He was a bril-liant partner in business and I was so proud of all that he had accomplished.

“He is an amazing example of how a pas-sionate street kid from the streets can go to the most even-keeled, smart, thoughtful manag-er in the business and a generous philanthro-pist.’’

Simmons continued, “He was loved by ev-eryone who knew him, including me. He will be missed greatly by all of us.”

Chris Lighty

Michael Clarke Duncan

Oscar nominee Michael Clarke Duncan dies at 54

STOJTOJB4 9-11 ANNIVERSARY SEPTEMBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

BY ED HASHEYSPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

I’ve had some tough experi-ences. But nothing prepared me for what would be one of the worst days in my life.

Still, I’m humble enough to know I can’t complain. I am alive, and lucky – and I feel somewhat guilty about that fact. For the last five years since witnessing that horrible event up close and per-sonal, I have not complained. I remained silent out of respect for those who suffered and died, along with the anguished families they left behind.

I thank God for every day given to me, no matter how bad it gets sometimes. I know inside that it will never be worse than what un-folded in front of me on Septem-ber 11, 2001.

Calm before the stormThis story actually begins in

1999. I am a graphic designer and illustrator, and I was immersed in a freelance project to redesign the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) news-paper. This took me around the world, starting with the WSJ Eu-rope publication in Brussels, Bel-gium in 1999, then to the Asian WSJ in Hong Kong in 2000, then finishing up at the WSJ’s New York office in 2001. Their headquarters are – were – located in the upper floors of 1 World Financial Center, directly across the street from what were the World Trade Center tow-ers.

It was my sixth visit to Lower Manhattan. I decided to ask my wife Jeanne if she wanted to join me this time, as my birthday is September 13. We wanted to cel-ebrate it together, especially since we didn’t see much of each other due to my busy schedule.

We flew in on the afternoon of September 9 into Newark, N.J., and stayed at a hotel in Times Square. The following Monday was a nor-mal opening workday. I took the Number 1 and Number 9 subway lines from Times Square to the WTC station at Cortland Street.

The weather was perfect out-side. It was the typical WSJ work-day; eight hours of work and a typ-ical lunch at one of the hundreds of local restaurants.

After finishing my workday, it was back up to Times Square to spend the evening with Jeanne. We dined at a simple pizza joint. She told me she walked up and down Fifth Avenue all day, and her feet were killing her.

After asking her what she was doing for the next day, she said the hotel concierge gave her a bunch of coupons, including one for free admission to the observation deck of the World Trade Center. I re-plied, “Great. You can go up to the towers in the morning and do lunch with us after that. I can show you where I work.” We decided to get to bed fairly early, and leave around 7:30 a.m. on September 11 for 1 World Trade Center.

A normal dayWe woke up to a beautiful Tues-

day morning, got breakfast, gath-ered our belongings and headed out for the day. We got about half-way to the subway station; Jeanne had a confession.

“I don’t think I can make it to-day,” she said. “My legs are killing me from all that walking yester-day.”

So I escorted her back to the ho-tel and she prepared a hot bath and turned on the ‘Today Show.’ She felt bad for bowing out at the last minute. I told her not to wor-ry, and that we could try again to-morrow. I then headed back to the subway.

I was reading a book about the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry and lis-tening to my iPod. It takes about 20 minutes to get down to Low-er Manhattan from New Jersey. I looked at my watch; it was 8:40 a.m., and my stop at Cortland Street was next.

Leaving the train, I walked up to the street exit, and right as I saw daylight, I heard a huge ex-plosion and then many pieces of falling debris, some the size of car hoods, started falling around me and the large crowd of people with me at the station.

The noise hurt my ears and I could feel the heat from the fire-ball above. I fell down twice as the large crowd began to scramble for safety. What happened?

Witness to hellish destruction

The mass of people in the train station responded by frantically reversing course and heading back into the train station, but there were too many people trying to exit. Many of us squeezed against the side of the World Trade Center complex, trying not to be hit by the falling debris. After about a minute, the debris stopped falling. I looked up and saw smoke and flames; the distinctive smell of kerosene lin-gered in the air. There were several parked limousines and cars dam-aged from the debris.

Broken shards of glass were ev-erywhere, and some pedestrians were injured. A few paramedics arrived and began administering first aid. Police began setting up barricades, while firemen start-ed driving up and pulling out fire hoses.

I decided to cross over Liber-ty Street. I looked up and saw the first tower engulfed in flames that quickly turned into thick black smoke. Eyewitnesses said a plane had crashed into the building. From our per-spective, we were thinking it was a small plane, but I remember one man say-ing it was a jet. This made sense, as the explosion was huge. I knew this was the north tower, the one with the big antenna on top.

I decided to cross back over the street closer to Tower Two. Police arrived and instructed us to clear the area.

People dieAll of this time, my eyes

were fixated on the damage above. To my horror, I start-ed seeing people jump to their deaths. I have always wondered three things with respect to dying: first, what it would be like to die in a plane crash; second, what it would be like to die fall-ing as we all have dreamed about; third, if we die be-fore we hit the ground. But I never wanted to bear wit-ness to any of it.

As each person fell, I started praying. Two men next to me argued wheth-er the first object com-ing down was a body; after about three seconds, the ar-gument was over. We were not sure where to go or what to do. People in the crowd screamed and gasped in horror as each person fell to their death. Police and fire-men alike were scrambling for cover. Chaos ruled.

Bodies were landing on awnings, on the cement pavements, on the shrub-bery. Each time a body hit, it made a sound similar to that of a sack of flour hit-ting the ground. There is no time to look away in a situation like this. There were mists of blood in the air each time a body landed.

Almost every person was alive before they made impact, some kicking and screaming, others calm and choosing to land on their backs. Others were smoldering and unconscious. Most poignant was a brave couple that jumped together and obviously wanted to somehow be in control of their own fates. I remember the clothes they wore, and to this day I can-not get the image of this one man in a plaid, outdated suit, orange or brown in color. He was bald, may-be 50 years old or so.

It is true what they say about shock. Everything in your brain starts playing in slow motion. This whole time I felt helpless, as if I was in a trance waiting for some logical end to the whole thing.

Second tower hitThen I heard a loud noise of an

aircraft. A rapidly moving shad-ow was visible in the sky. I looked up and remember seeing another large airline jet smash into the sec-ond tower.

This explosion seemed much closer. You could hear the jet en-gines throttle up just before im-pact, and it slammed into the building so fast, it was just a blur. I fell to the ground again, feeling the heat of the huge fireball that grew from the explosion directly above me.

The markings on the aircraft were distinctly that of United Air-

lines. Then it became clear to me that this was no accident. This was terrorism.

A wave of panic soon hit me. Were there more jets coming in? Will the towers collapse and kill us all? Are there bombs on the ground? How big is this attack?

Survival instinctI felt a rush of adrenaline as I ran

into an entryway of a bank across the street. Flying debris destroyed the windows all around us. Cops and firemen were among the large crowd of people running for their lives. I ducked behind some ta-bles and waited for debris to stop falling, and I heard the distinctive sounds of metal and broken glass ricocheting everywhere.

The police regrouped and used bullhorns to give evacuation or-ders to either go up Broadway or go over the Brooklyn Bridge. I starting walking briskly up Liberty Street, and as I passed the entrance area to Tower Two, I saw a fireman coming out with a very large Black woman on his shoulders.

She was moaning. He stood her up against a round shrubbery pot, and I saw that her polyes-ter suit was melted to the back of her body. Pieces of melted cloth-ing and burnt flesh were falling off her. The fireman collapsed in ex-haustion. Then, about two dozen of his colleagues went running in-to the building in heavy gear. I had a real bad feeling that they were all in grave danger.

I realized I needed to get back to Jeanne to assure her I was safe. So I start running north up Broadway. I

kept trying the phones but nothing worked; all circuits were busy.

I tried getting on the subway, but electrical power had failed and the subway system was on lock-down. So I ran to my Times Square hotel room, which took about 30 minutes.

Reality hitsWhen I arrived back at the room,

Jeanne was in tears. I gave her a big hug, and she felt me trembling. Then we watched on the televi-sion in disbelief as the first tower collapsed. Two thoughts came to my mind: What happened to those firemen? Did they get all the peo-ple evacuated in time?

I lay down on the bed and so many emotions flowed over me. I learned that Washington, D.C. was under attack. My brother worked as a Navy corpsman in the White House clinic. Was he OK? Even-tually, I did make contact with ev-eryone, including colleagues at the Wall Street Journal. And we were all lucky.

I was sad, angry, nervous, and happy to be alive, but humbled and completely overwhelmed by others’ deaths that day. I can’t stop seeing the visions of bodies falling. I still pray for their families.

And then there is fate. What would have happened if my wife decided to visit the World Trade Center’s observation tower that morning? For this, I have to be-lieve there are guardian angels. They certainly had too much to cope with that day.

New York City was a ghost town that afternoon. No whir of traf-

fic, only the constant wail of sirens heading south to the horror down-town.

Leaving the cityIt took us two days to get out of

Manhattan. Luckily, Jeanne’s col-lege roommate lived in Mont-vale, N.J. Our journey home start-ed with a long walk to Madison Square Garden with our luggage, then taking the PATH subway train to New Jersey. The train stopped abruptly just before the Newark stop, and we had to evacuate due to a bomb threat.

We finally got picked up after a round of cellphone tag and ar-rived at our friend’s home, only to learn that four families on the block had family members miss-ing. This humbled me quickly. The next day we drove back home to Sarasota, ironically the same place President George Bush was when he was notified of the attacks.

How 9/11 affected meI first thought this event would

make me an angry, bitter person filled with hatred. But actually the opposite has occurred. I have a higher level of compassion for people, but with a resolve not to put up with nonsense or ever let my guard down. We live in a dan-gerous world, but we must live free.

I have come to terms with the reality that this will never leave my mind. Almost every day, some-thing triggers a memory; the sound of a jet, anyone crying, movie trail-ers, etc. But I am more acutely aware of how precious everyone’s lives are, and will never take life for granted.

Even in the midst of the evil that happened that day, I saw much good. There were storeowners handing out flip-flops to women who abandoned high heels in pan-ic. There were firemen and police-men who after several disruptions, kept regrouping and kept on try-ing. Many made the ultimate sac-rifice. I remember an Asian para-medic cradling an elderly man who was bleeding from his head, comforting him. And most of all, I remember how compassionate people were in general, helping each other out despite the panic.

I have always felt that people’s true colors come out in times of crisis. I am a witness. The people of New York City shined that day, and continue to do so. They are all my heroes, and my heart goes out to anyone who was a victim of that day.

Ed Hashey, a Sarasota resi-dent, now teaches third grade at Wakeland Elementary School of International Studies in Bra-denton.

I SAW THE TWIN TOWERS FALLEditor’s note: This is one story of an occasional Florida Courier

series entitled ‘Survivor’s Stories, First Person.’ We highlight the lives of Floridians who have survived life-changing events, as described

in their own words. Ed Hashey, formerly the Florida Courier’s creative director, survived the September 11 attacks, and for five

years he was silent about what he saw. He spoke about 9/11 for the first time exclusively to the Florida Courier in 2006.

“Two men next to me argued whether the first object coming down was a body; after about

three seconds, the argument was over.”

TODD PLITT/KRT

JIM WATSON/US NAVY NEWS/MCT

B5FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT SToJ SEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest? E-mail your high-resolution digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier.com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

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Former NFL playernamed permanentreplacement of Philbin on daytime show

FROM WIRE REPORTS

NEW YORK – Former NFL player Michael Strahan was offi-cially welcomed Tuesday as Kel-ly Ripa’s new co-host (and Re-gis Philbin’s permanent replace-ment) following nine months of on-air tryouts.

But what made this pairing the best match? Among 59 sub-stitutes – some auditioners, oth-ers just filling in for fun – “there was definitely something spe-cial” in their chemistry, says Mi-chael Gelman, executive pro-ducer of the newly retitled Live With Kelly & Michael.

“They’re able to have this fun, and they have a shorthand to-gether, and it just works,” he says. “Having him come back all these times made it easier.”

Ripa warmly embraced Stra-han after introducing him amid balloons and confetti on Tues-day: “Now it’s time for the new era of our show to begin.” And she said of her 6-foot-5 partner,

“It’s so nice to have a co-host who can literally sweep you off your feet.” (He did.)

Same formulaIn a news conference that fol-

lowed, Ripa said the camarade-rie is “spontaneous,” adding “we have similar senses of humor.”

Strahan says the chemistry is genuine: “You can’t get on live TV every morning and fool peo-ple. We’re two people who can laugh at themselves and laugh at each other.”

The show’s formula won’t change, though Gelman says he “can’t wait” to feature Strahan in the syndicated show’s annual Halloween costume party.

Strahan, 40, brought along his fiancée, Nicole Murphy (Eddie’s ex), and says the welcome “was a little overwhelming for about 10 seconds. And then when I was hugging Kelly, that’s when I was calming down.”

Not a big secretThough it was one of sum-

mer’s worst-kept secrets, Strah-an’s selection a few weeks back prompted congratulatory mes-sages, including some from oth-er candidates, all of which went unanswered.

“I didn’t want to be the

squeaky wheel, so I just ignored everything,” Ripa says, add-ing that she stopped tweeting a month ago.

Strahan will continue to be a host of Fox NFL Sunday, com-muting to Los Angeles on fall weekends, then return to New York to be with his “new TV wife.”

Strahan has co-hosted the show 20 times, most of them since Philbin left last November, and was shown in a clip from a guest appearance in February 2008, just after his New York Gi-ants won the Super Bowl, say-ing he might someday like to re-place Philbin. “I was joking!” he says now. “It was like a prophe-cy,” Ripa told viewers.

But Ripa says she mostly en-joyed the tryouts (except for one co-host she wouldn’t name) and says it “reminded me so much” of her own on-air tryout as a re-placement for Kathie Lee Gif-ford. “I was having so many flashbacks of my life 12 years ago.”

Strahan is no stranger to tele-vision. In addition to his Fox du-ties, he starred in “Brothers,’’ a short-lived 2009 sitcom on that network, and has hosted cable reality shows.

Strahan gets seat next to RipaKelly Ripa is shown with Michael Strahan, who permanently replaces Regis Philbin.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Black camerawoman who works for CNN said last week that she was not surprised to have two people at the Re-publican National Conven-tion throw peanuts at her and say “this is what we feed ani-mals.’’

The two White people were immediately removed from the Tampa Bay Times Forum convention arena by security officials on Aug. 28 and their identities weren’t revealed. The camerawoman, Patri-cia Carroll, wasn’t able to tell definitively where they were from.

“This is Florida, and I’m from the deep South,’’ Carroll, a 34-year-old Alabama native, told Maynard Institute blog-ger Richard Prince on Aug. 30. “You come to places like this, you can count the Black people on your hand. They see us doing things they don’t think I should do.’’

‘A wakeup call’She said racism is a global

issue and the incident could have happened on a street corner or at the Democrat-ic convention, scheduled this week in Charlotte, N.C.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign said it has apologized to CNN for what happened.

“We find it absolutely de-plorable. We condemn it in the highest possible way,’’ said Russ Schriefer, strategist for the Romney campaign.

CNN said Carroll was not interested in addressing the issue any further. She told Prince that she was hoping the story would go away.

“I can’t change these peo-ple’s hearts and minds,’’ she said. “I know who I am. I’m a proud Black woman. A lot of Black people are upset. This should be a wakeup call to Black people. ... People were living in euphoria for a while. People think we’ve gone fur-ther than we have.’’

BET’s ‘106 & Park’ star moving on to E!

After leaving his seven-Year stint as host of BET’s nationally syndicated show, “106 & Park,” Terrence Jenkins has wasted no time landing another gig. This week the E! Network has official-ly announced that the 30-year-old will join Giuliana Rancic as

the new co-host of E! News.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jen-kins will fill in for Ryan Seacrest’s vacant slot as the show’s weekday anchor begin-ning Nov. 12.

“Terrence Jen-kins is a talented and well-con-nected television personality who will bring an original sen-sibility to our news programs,” E! President of network strategy Cyndi McClellan said in a state-ment.

Jenkins added, “I’ve always

had a passion for the wide spec-trum of pop culture that E! News covers so well; I can’t wait to get started. I’ve had a great career so far, and it’s all been building to-ward this.”

‘Long way to go’Similar to Seacrest, who will

remain as the news programs managing editor and continue to host E! red carpet coverage, the New York native has a well-rounded resume, as he con-tinues to perfect his burgeon-ing acting career. Last month he opened up to the Huffington Post on his transition from an on-air personality to an actor.

“It’s the hardest thing in the world honestly. Sometimes it’s very overwhelming being on the set,” he admitted. “It’s not just the lines, it’s making the char-acter and going as an actor – it’s challenging. And that’s why I love it so much. I can host with my eyes closed, but when I’m on a movie set I really feel like I’m challenged.”

“For me, when I’m on a movie set it’s like going back to college. I just learn and I’m really hum-ble because I have a long way to go.”

Black camerawoman not surprised about RNC incident

Terrence Jenkins

tojtojB6 FOOD SEPtEMBER 7 – SEPtEMBER 13, 2012

Simple, Time-Saving SoluTionS To Spruce up rice

Don’t get caught in a dinner-as-usual rut — here are some quick and easy ways you can add a little flair to the family meal, without spending hours preparing dinner:

citrus rice� — To hot cooked white rice, add grated orange, lemon or lime zest for a fresh, lively taste.nutty rice� — To hot cooked brown rice, add peanuts, cashews, pine nuts or sunflower seeds; stir in dried cranberries or cherries for added flavor, texture and color.portobello mushroom rice� — To hot cooked brown rice, add sautéed chopped portobello mushrooms and toasted chopped pecans. Top with crumbled feta cheese.

BaSil rice and TomaTo Soup Serves: 4 (1 1/4 cups each)

1 bag Minute® Steamers Brown Rice�

1 jar (24 ounces) pasta sauce�

1/2 cup heavy cream�

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped�

Prepare rice according to package directions.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine pasta sauce, cream and basil. Cover loosely and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in prepared rice.

Tips: If a thinner soup is desired, add 1 cup �heated chicken broth.

Serve with cheese crostini and olive �tapenade.

Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.�

SouTh of The Border Turkey dinnerServes: 4

1 bag Minute® Steamers Brown Rice �

1 pound ground turkey, cooked and crumbled�

1 can (11 ounces) southwestern corn blend�

1 cup prepared salsa�

Prepare rice according to package directions. In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine turkey, corn

and salsa. Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir in rice. Tips:

Add 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese.�

nUse as filling in tortillas and top with shredded lettuce �and chopped tomatoes.Roll into burrito-sized tortillas and serve with sour �cream.

cheeSy chicken Broccoli and cheeSe caSSeroleServes: 4

1 bag Minute® Steamers Broccoli and Cheese Rice �

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup�

6 ounces (about 1 cup) cooked, diced chicken�

1/2 cup milk�

Prepare rice according to package directions. In medium microwave-safe dish, combine soup,

chicken and milk. Microwave on HIGH for 2 min utes. Stir in rice.

eaSy arroz con polloServes: 4

1 bag Minute® Steamers Spanish Rice �

1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed�

1 small tomato, diced�

6 ounces (about 1 cup) cooked, diced chicken�

1/4 cup sliced Spanish olives, sliced�

1 green onion, sliced�

Prepare rice according to package directions.In medium microwave-safe dish combine rice, peas

and carrots, tomato and chicken. Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.

Add olives.Tip:

Garnish with green onions.�

FROM FaMily FeatuRes

Don’t think you have time to make a de-licious meal for your busy family? Think again; with these handy tips and easy reci-pes — which call for just four ingredients — you can get a satisfying supper on the ta-ble in no time. Make it even easier by in-cluding Minute® Steamers into your fami-ly’s favorite meals, for wholesome, hearty, time-saving dishes everyone will love.

Use these tips to make meal prep easier during busy nights:

Stock upAlways keep some basic ingredients on

hand to make last-minute cooking a lot easier.• Frozen vegetables — Can be served as

a side or added to soups and rice dishes.• Broth — Beef, chicken and vegeta-

ble broths can be used to make soups and sauces, and to add flavor when cooking vegetables and rice.• Add-ins — Nuts, sesame seeds, pars-

ley, dried fruit and cheese can be added to main dishes, sides and salads to make them even more flavorful and nutritious.

Time saversTake advantage of grocery items that do

some of the work for you. • Frozen rice — For a tasty side or a

starter for a full meal, try Minute® Steamers — exceptional-quality, flavorful rice that heats in the microwave in a self-ventilating steamable bag. It only takes four minutes to have one of six varieties on your dinner table.• Pre-cut vegetables — Save some prep

time by using pre-cut vegetables. Give them a quick wash and they’re ready to use.• Pre-seasoned ingredients — Look for

canned, diced tomatoes with garlic and on-ions, cheese made with jalapeño, or mari-nated chicken or pork cuts. These are all ways to add flavor without adding time.

Plan aheadIf you have more time on the weekend,

you can do some prep work to cut down on your weeknight cooking time.• Prep ingredients — Chop vegetables

and shred cheese, and keep them in stor-age containers or resealable bags in the fridge. You can also brown ground beef and cut any meats into recipe-ready pieces. • Herb cubes — Put a tablespoon of

chopped herbs in each well of an ice cube tray. Fill with either water or olive oil, then freeze. Once frozen, pop them out and store in a freezer bag — you’ll have fresh herb flavor in a flash.• Cook once, eat twice — Double up on

a recipe, then freeze one half for later. Or, plan a second meal around leftovers. For example, use Monday night’s taco meat for Tuesday night’s taco salad.

For more delicious ways to get a speedy supper on the table for your family, visit www.4ingredientmeals.com.