Jan 6

Transcription

Jan 6

New York
Beacon
website:
NewYorkBeacon.net
Vol. 18 No. 01
Showing the Way to Truth and Justice
January 6, 2011 - January 12, 2011
E-Mail
newyorkbeacon@yahoo.com
75 Cents
MICHAEL A SUICIDE?
His bodyguard says he was
ordered to conceal syringes
DR. CONRAD MURRAY has all along pleaded innocent in Michael
Jackson’s death.
Carl Douglas, lawyer for Michael Jackson’s bodyguard Alberto Alvarez, outside the hearing for Conrad
Murray.
(Photo by Toby Canham/Getty Images)
New York’s new gov
Andrew Cuomo hits
the ground running
NEW DAY IN ALBANY — Following his low-keyed inauguration ceremony, New York
State’s new governor Andy Cuomo announced a number of far reaching policies that
includes 5 percent pay cut for himself and his new senior executive chamber staff.
Rangel announces new healthcare
provisions to be in effect this year
NEW YORK BEACON, January 6, 2011 - January 12, 2011 newyorkbeacon.net
2
Wesley Snipes
Supporters demand new
trial for Wesley Snipes
By Gregory Dale
Special to the NNPA from the
AFRO-American Newspapers
Following the federal imprisonment of actor Wesley
Snipes on a three-year sentence for failure to file income
tax returns, a collection of celebrities, politicians, friends,
and supporters are demanding the actor receive a fair
trial.
A group calling itself The
Friends of Wesley Snipes is
pushing a petition for the famous actor in order to bring
awareness to perceived misconduct during his trial. Spearheading the movement is Snipes’
wife Nicky and a laundry list of
celebrities and supporters including the Rev. Al Sharpton,
Denzel Washington, Judge Joe
Brown, among thousands of
other supporters.
According to CNN, Snipes
reported to a Pennsylvania federal prison camp on Dec. 9, 2010
for not filing tax returns in 1999,
2000 and 2001. Though Snipes
initially faced felony charges of
tax fraud and conspiracy, those
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
WASHINGTON – “In the New
Year, new and important
healthcare regulations will help
Americans become healthier and
stronger,” announced Congressman Charles B. Rangel.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, the
“medical loss ratio” provision of
the Affordable Care Act will require insurance companies to
spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on care of patients and consumers, rather than on administrative costs. If they don’t, the
insurance companies will be required to provide a rebate to their
customers starting in 2012.
“I believe this new regulation
will strengthen patient confidence in our health care system.
The insurance companies should
not be in charge over our nations’
health. We passed the healthcare
reform in Congress to give patients and their doctors the control over their health, which is
important to make America
strong,” said Cong. Charles
Rangel.
Once the rule is in effect, up to
74.8 million insured Americans will
receive more value for their premium dollar. Over 20 percent of
consumers who purchase coverage in the individual market today are enrolled in plans that
spend more than 30 cents of every premium dollar on administrative costs.
Moreover, estimates indicate
that up to 9 million Americans
could be eligible for rebates starting in 2012 worth up to $1.4 billion. Average rebates per person
could total $164 in the individual
market. Important details regarding the new regulation an additional healthcare benefits for seniors are included below.
“In 2010, my Democratic colleagues and I kept our promises
by passing the historic heathcare
reform bill to bring more accessibility, affordability, and accountability in our healthcare system.
Cong. Charles Rangel
We will continue the fight to preserve these gains for the American people in the New Year and
years to come,” Rangel added.
The following provisions of the
Affordable Care Act take effect on
January 1, 2011. HHS has updated
the state-by-state information on
the implementation of health reform that is available at
HealthCare.gov.
For all health care consumers:
Health insurance companies
are now required to spend 80 to 85
percent of premiums on health care
and quality improvements for patients—not on overhead or CEO
salaries. Insurers who have not redirected premiums so that at least
80 percent goes to customer care
will be required to provide a rebate to their customers starting in
2012.
For seniors:
Increasing Reimbursement for
Primary Care – Provides a 10 percent Medicare bonus payment for
primary care physicians and general surgeons.
Seniors who reach the doughnut hole coverage gap for prescription drugs will receive a 50
percent discount when buying
brand-name medications. Over the
next ten years, seniors will receive
additional discounts until the coverage gap is closed.
Preventative Care – Seniors will
receive free preventive services,
such as annual checkups and certain preventative screenings.
The Community Care Transitions
Program will help high-risk Medicare
beneficiaries who are hospitalized
avoid unnecessary readmissions by
coordinating care and connecting
patients to services in their communities.
The Center for Medicare and
Medicaid Innovation will begin testing new ways of delivering care to
patients. These new methods are
expected to improve the quality of
care and reduce the rate of growth in
costs for Medicare and Medicaid.
Already the Affordable Care Act
has opened up access to quality
health care and helped small companies provide health insurance to their
employees. Provisions that took effect in 2010 include:
Prohibiting denial of coverage to
children who were excluded due to
pre-existing conditions
Extending coverage to young
adults up to age 26 so they can stay
covered as they start their careers
Delivering tax relief for small businesses to help them continue to provide health insurance to their workers
Creating a system to help early
retirees not yet eligible for Medicare
keep their savings and stay insured
Requiring all new plans to provide
free preventative screenings including
mammograms
and
colonoscopies
Ending insurance companies’
ability to rescind coverage when
people get sick or impose lifetime
caps on those with chronic illness
Investing millions into community health programs and helping states provide coverage for
low income families through
Medicaid
Sharpton unveils book deal, $20M fund to build NAN center
Reverend Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network
(NAN) and one of the country’s
foremost leaders for civil rights
kicked off 2011 by entering into
an agreement with Pulitzer-Prizewinning author Karen Hunter to
write an in-depth inside look at
Reverend Sharpton’s life and the
state of the country for the first
decade of the 21st century.
The working title of the book
will be: “Mountain Highs and
Valley Lows” by Al Sharpton and
will give the inside story of how
he felt standing at Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s grave when
Barack Obama won the Presidency, his meeting with President Obama and former U.S.
Speaker of the House Newt
Gingrich, to the lows of preaching the funerals and dealing with
the background infighting
around the deaths of James
Brown and Michael Jackson, as
well as the ending of his own 23year marriage and the challenges
of being single at midlife. Details
will be formally announced on Jan.
11 when Hunter and Sharpton
launch the project.
Secondly, in January, Rev.
Sharpton will formally announce a
$20 million dollar capital drive to
build a permanent House of Justice headquarters and activism library and resource center in
Harlem, New York. The House of
Justice has been the name of
NAN’s headquarters since 1996
and it is Rev. Sharpton’s goals to
build a structure that will house a
public auditorium for rallies, and to
build an archives to have as an
open library of activism featuring
material from the Abolitionist Age
to the “No Justice No Peace” movement of the 21st Century. It will also
be a resource center to train activists on how to organize in urban
and suburban communities in an
Rev. Al Sharpton
array of challenges in the
st
standing taxes and overwhelming
21 century including areas of so- lesbian rights.
“Three years ago, NAN was debt. We have in the last 2 years
cial justice, education equality, immigration, and women’s, gay and challenged financially with out- been able to significantly reduce
those liabilities, positioned ourselves to possibly resolved all tax
issues in the first quarter of the new
year and bring great stability to the
organization,” said Rev. Sharpton.
He added, “We will be working
to secure commitments for the $20
million dollar capital drive which will
make it an achievable and realistic
goal.”
Rev. Sharpton is also handling his
own personal tax liabilities, many of
which were caused by his financial
support of NAN when it couldn’t
support itself.. Rev. Sharpton will
bring his own liabilities up to date
and satisfy current tax liens that
must be filed until all years are
brought current.
Rev. Sharpton said “I believe that
public figures must pay their bills.
Now that we have managed NAN financially, the organization will be in
position to repay me monies l loaned
the organizations over the years
which will make it possible to resolve
my own personnel business obligations.”
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Ending a two-week vacation,
President Barack Obama is
appealing to newly-empowered
Republicans to resist jockeying for the White House in
2012 and work with him to get
the economy growing and the
jobless back to work.
Facing anything but a political soft landing after his holiday stay in Hawaii, Obama told
reporters en route to the capital Tuesday that he understands Republicans, who recaptured the House in last fall’s
elections, “are going to play to
their base for a certain period
of time.”
“But I’m pretty confident
that they’re going to recognize
that our job is to govern and
make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American
people and that we are creating a competitive economy for
the 21st century,” the president said.
Not only does Obama face
an emboldened Republican
Ex. Gov. David Paterson said good-bye to Albany at the weekend caucus in Congress, he also is
confronting the first major
when Andy Cuomo was sworn in.
shake-up of his senior White
House staff.
The first weeks of the new
year will be an early test of how
he will deal with a divided Congress and whether he can build
on the victories he secured
tacted about them at the end of during the final days of the
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
last week.
“This has been ongoing,”
Three dozen staffers kept on
by the Paterson administration said Jessica Basset, a spokeswere terminated from the state woman for the Paterson adminpayroll with just over 24 hours istration, when contacted about
notice on the day before New the calls at the end of last week.
“As transition is taking place,
Year’s Eve.
The employees included re- staff notifications are ongoing
gional representatives, commu- over past couple weeks.”
The layoffs give Cuomo even
nity representatives and interA bodyguard who prosecugovernmental affairs staff. They more spots to fill in the new adtors
say
was ordered by the dochad been told that they would ministration he is pledging will be
tor
charged
in Michael Jackson’s
likely have at least a few weeks a fresh start, but—along with the
death
to
conceal
syringes and
on the job under new Gov. An- other 2,500 Paterson staffers asked
other
items
before
calling 911 is
drew Cuomo if they did not hear to write undated resignation letexpected
to
shed
light
on the chafrom Larry Schwartz—secretary ters earlier in December—mark the
otic
efforts
that
failed
to
revive the
to former Gov. David Paterson largest at-once changeover in exsinger.
and now senior advisor to ecutive employees in recent
Alberto Alvarez testified at a
memory.
Cuomo—by Christmas Eve.
preliminary
hearing against Dr
The staff notified had all subThose calls from Schwartz
Conrad
Murray
about his atnever came. Instead, the employ- mitted their resignation letters, as
tempts
to
revive
Jackson
on 25
ees received calls from someone requested, earlier in the month.
June
2009,
his
attorney
said.
on his behalf around noon on Though they wrote the letters afThe bodyguard’s testimony
Dec. 30 telling them to clear out ter being told they would be fired
could
provide key corroboration
their desks by the end of the fol- if they did not, the letters have now
to
the
prosecutors’
argument that
left many of them unsure about
lowing day.
Murray’s
actions
demonstrated
Jessica Basset, a spokes- their eligibility for unemployment
“an extreme deviation from the
woman for the Paterson adminis- benefits.
tration, confirmed the timing of —with reporting by Andrew J. standard of care” by administering the powerful anaesthetic
the calls on Dec. 30 when con- Hawkins
propofol without the proper
Paterson employees are
fired with a day’s notice
BACK TO THE GRIND — After two weeks away from the Washington
daily grind, President Obama, his wife and children are seen boarding
Air Force One back to Washington.
lame-duck legislative session. promising to take aim at the
And with a host of Republicans president’s agenda, from his
readying to run for his job, the spending plans to his health care
administration will simulta- overhaul. And they’re not wastneously be laying the ground- ing any time.
work for Obama’s re-election
Republicans in the House are
bid, which will be operated out planning to vote on a full repeal
of Chicago.
of Obama’s health care law beObama was arriving back in fore the president’s State of the
Wa s h i n g t o n b e f o r e m i d d a y Union address later this month.
Tuesday, a day before lawmak- However, Democrats will control
ers on Capitol Hill reconvene. the Senate and could thwart the
Republicans, having taken con- repeal drive. And Obama has
trol of the House and boosted
their seats in the Senate, are
Michael Jackson bodyguard
‘ordered to conceal syringes’
propofol.
Deputy district attorney David
Walgren said Tuesday that Murray
forced Alvarez, 34, to gather and
conceal items before calling 911 to
try to help Jackson. Walgren told a
judge that he would present evidence that Murray waited as much
as 21 minutes before calling for paramedics.
At the end of the preliminary hearing, which is expected to go into next
week, a judge will rule whether there
is enough evidence for Murray to
stand trial on an involuntary manMichael Jackson
slaughter charge in the pop star’s
equipment, and also concealing it death. He faces up to four years in
and botching efforts to resuscitate prison if convicted.
the singer.
The Houston cardiologist has
A postmortem report found Jack(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
son died from an overdose of
Cuomo, new senior executive chamber staff to take pay cut
Newly installed New York
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
announced over the weekend
that he will reduce his salary
by five percent.
The salary for the Governor, $179,000, is set by state
law and has not changed
since 1999. The Governor will
return to the State the amount
his salary is reduced.
At New York Beacon press
t i m e o n We d n e s d a y, G o v.
Cuomo was scheduled to deliver this first State of the
State budget address.
In addition, Lt. Governor
Robert J. Duffy and newly hired
senior members of the Cuomo
Administration who are filling
existing positions in the Executive Chamber are also taking
salary reductions and have
agreed to take a pay cut of 5
percent from their predecessors’ salaries. This includes the
Governor’s Secretary, Counsel,
Director of State Operations,
Counselor and the Chief of
Staff.
Governor Cuomo also directed that the budget for the
Executive Chamber be reduced
by five percent.
“Change starts at the top
and we will lead by example,”
Governor Cuomo said. “Families and business owners in
every corner of the state have
learned to do more with less in
order to live within their means
and government must do the
same.”
The Secretary to the Governor has initiated a review of all
Executive Chamber expenses to
determine where the reductions
will be made.
Carol Kellermann, president
of the Citizens Budget Commission, said, “The Governor’s an-
nouncement of cuts in the Executive Chamber budget, including cuts to his own salary,
demonstrate that sacrifices will
be necessary in all aspects of
State government if New York
is to regain its fiscal health.”
The governor also signed an Executive Order requiring all Executive Chamber staff and other
top state officials to participate
in ethics training offered by the
Commission on Public Integrity.
The training will be available
beginning no later than Jan. 31
and must be completed within
sixty days.
Individuals covered by this
Executive Order also include
agency commissioners and their
respective counsels and ethics
officers.
“Honor and integrity will be a
hallmark of this administration,
and I am confident that we have
assembled a team that reflects
that commitment,” Governor
Cuomo said. “Nonetheless, it is
imperative that Chamber staff
and other high ranking government officials be versed in the
ethics rules and regulations that
3
Obama exhorts Republicans
to put politics aside & govern
4
2010 was a tough year both economically and politically
By Yussuf J. Simmonds
Special to the NNPA from the
Los Angeles Sentinel
As 2010 fades into the
distant past as we enter into
2011, it is important to reflect
on the past to look at the some
of the events, and gauge what
might have been done differently so that the new year
could be brighter and better.
Almost a year has passed
since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Within an
hour 17% of the nation’s population was killed. Hundreds of
thousands of survivors were
homeless and hopeless. Today, the report on the progress
in rehabilitating life in Haiti is
not positive. It has earned an
“F” grade. The blight is about
the same as it was a few
months after the earthquake
and that is a global disgrace.
More must be done in 2011 to
ease the suffering of the
masses.
Oprah Winfrey announced
that she will be signing off after 25 years as the queen of
daytime talk shows; she also
announced that she will be
starting a new cable television
network, OWN, Oprah Winfrey
Network; and she was 2010 recipient of the Kennedy Center
honor.
Veteran New York
Congressman Charles Rangel
stepped down as chairman of
the U.S. House of Representatives powerful Ways & Means
Committee for ethics violations. He was eventually censured though he was overwhelmingly re-elected to his
seat by his Harlem constituents.
The Los Angeles Lakers
basketball team won its 16th
championship. The team
holds records for having the
most wins, the highest winning
percentage, the most NBA Finals appearances, and for
NBA’s longest winning streak.
In addition, the Lakers have
produced 16 Hall of Famers
and four NBA Most Valuable
Player Awards.
Shirley Sherrod was
smeared by the United States
Department of Agriculture
(USDA), where she worked for
being as a racist. Sherrod had
been in the business of help-
Oprah Winfrey
Charles Rangel
Shirley Sherrod
ing African-American farmers
and made news in July 2010, after a conservative agitator, Andrew Breitbart, posted a video
of her speaking at an event, the
previous year and of having
racist feelings toward a White
farmer. The story was picked
up by Fox News and other
online media outlets. Her remarks were condemned and she
was asked to resign. The next
President Obama
Over 2500 people died in the Haiti earthquake
day a different story emerged
after it was discovered that
Breitbart and the news media
had run only a portion of her
speech, leaving out the part
where Sherrod told of overcoming her racist feelings. She was
offered a new position in the
USDA and announced her
plans to sue Breitbart. Danny
J. Bakewell, Sr., chairman of National Newspaper Publishers
A s s o c i a t i o n ( N N PA ) , w a s
named publisher of the year.
NNPA represents over 200
Black newspapers throughout
the nation and is the voice of
the Black community.
Michael D. Vick is a football
quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National
Football League. He was recently released from prison after serving time for engaging in
illegal dogfighting. On Aug.
13, 2009, Vick signed a oneyear contract with the Philadelphia Eagles and his comeback
has included not only the game
of football but also speaking to
young people about not falling
by the wayside as he had done.
Cameron “Cam” Newton received the Heissman Trophy in
December 2010, as the most
outstanding college football
player despite a major controversy concerning his eligibility
that embroiled the second half
of the season. He became the
third player in major college
football history to pass for 20
touchdowns and rush for 20
touchdowns in a single season.
Kamala Harris was elected
the attorney general of California in 2010. She is the first
woman, the first African American to be so elected. In addition, she is only the third African American to be elected to
statewide office in the history
of California. Presently, she is
serving her second term as the
district attorney of San Francisco.
In his second year as president, President Barack Obama
gained some major legislative
successes - the healthcare bill
Kamala Harris
Michael Vic
DannyBakewell
Cam Newton
and the financial reform bill despite his party’s “shellacking” during the mid-term elections. Still, he was able to push
through several bills in the
“lame duck” session of Congress, an accomplishment that
defy the pundits, by reaching
out to Republicans on extending the Bush tax cuts and unemployment insurance, and including the repeal of “don’t
ask, don’t tell,” ratification of
New START, the Sept. 11 firstresponders bill, the food safety
bill, and deliver long-awaited
financial relief to Black farmers. It was a tough beginning
of the year for the President,
but he’s ending it on a strong
note. It earned him the honor of
being the man Americans admired most in 2010, according to
a Gallup/USA Today poll.
The Congressional Black
Caucus (CBC) elected a new
chairman: Rep Emanuel Cleaver,
D-MO. He will assume the office
when Congress returns in January 2011. The CBC is an organization of Black congress members and has become known as
the conscience of Congress.
One of its primary missions has
been to advocate on behalf of
Black Americans.
The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the Black members. Membership is exclusive to Blacks.
5
6
Editorial
New York
Beacon
Walter Smith: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Miatta Haj Smith: Co-Publisher & Executive Editor
William Egyir: Managing Editor
Positive cash flow in Afghanistan
By James Clingman
Blackonomics
Why are we sacrificing more
lives in a war that has no identifiable victory in sight? They say
we will leave when we “win,” but
what does that look like? Do we
really believe we can “win,” and
do we think the Afghan people
will miraculously change to our
way of thinking and our way of
doing things when we leave?
You would think that nearly
5,000 lives lost in the Iraq war,
which was based on a lie and cost
taxpayers nearly $1 trillion, would
be a pretty good hint for us to
stop the current madness in Afghanistan. So, why are we still
there? Osama Bin Laden, as far
as our intelligence can tell, if he is
still alive, is somewhere in Pakistan; Hamid Karzai, the President
of Afghanistan, is corrupt and living very well with all the cash being dumped in his country; and,
as was the case in Iraq, billions of
dollars are being wasted each
week as we continue to use more
than 100,000 soldiers to fight
against a relatively small group of
Al-Qaeda, or is the dreaded
Taliban?
Here’s the bottom line: As usual,
the arms dealers and the other
usual suspects from the Iraq war
are the beneficiaries of the $2 billion per week price of this war.
No-bid contracts abound, and the
cash is flowing like Niagara Falls
into the coffers of the same folks
who “lost” $9 billion in cash in
Iraq - money that still has not been
accounted for.
Can you imagine what $2 billion
per week would do for our
economy right now? It was recently reported that the U.S. created 1.4 million jobs during the
past year – in India, China, and
other nations – not in our own
country. What’s up with that?
How many jobs could we create
in 52 weeks with $104 billion? All
of this in the face of political hypocrites standing with hand over
heart praising the young men and
women who are risking and losing
their lives in our latest quagmire.
They say how much they appreciate and honor the soldiers for their
service to this country, but they
refuse to pay them for their service, and they silently stand by as
many soldiers who are blessed to
return home find themselves
homeless and mired in poverty. So
much for honoring their service to
this country, huh?
War is and always has been
about profiteering and cash flow
for a chosen few. Obviously the
war lobbyists and the companies
that profit from the deaths of our
soldiers are stronger than any of
us could ever imagine. They control this game and the war is not
over until they say it’s over. We
railed against George Bush for
Iraq; now Barrack Obama has recommitted to the war in Afghanistan because as he once said,
“that’s where we should have
been in the first place.” That was
then; this is now. Why are we
there now? It must be the
MONEY.
Our economy, at least for
most of us, is in very bad shape.
Many people in this country are
suffering financially and, as a result, physically and psychologically. Millions are unemployed
and without even the hope of going back to work. Gasoline is now
on the rise again, reaching nearly
$4.00 per gallon in some areas.
(It’s interesting that no one is
speaking out against this issue to
any large degree, the way they did
when Bush was President) One
in five mortgages are under water
or upside down, meaning homes
are not worth what is owed on
them. All of this and we are stuck
in Afghanistan spending $2 billion a week on a war that has no
victory in its future.
There is a definitely positive
cash flow in Afghanistan, and it’s
flowing to the well-oiled war machine driven by the warmongers
and their political puppets. How
is your cash flow, Black America?
Are things going good for you?
How about you young soldiers
out there? Have you found a
home yet? Has some of that cash
flow reached you yet? What
about senior citizens? No costof-living increases for you - two
years in a row. You doin’ all right?
What a farce! What a sham!
What a disgrace! Get out of Afghanistan NOW! And use that $2
billion a week to help the people
of this country. A novel idea,
right?
When the White press
attacks a Black voice
By Harry C. Alford
Beyond the Rhetoric
Information is indeed power
and one of the most powerful
instruments is the press. Manipulators try their best to influence the press and use it for
their own advancement and
also against their rivals and enemies. Smear campaigns and
propaganda are as apparent today as ever. Fox News has a
strong conservative bent while
MSNBC is strongly liberal with
CNN being a little soft towards
the left. They deliver the news
with no shame and let it be
known their political preference.
All other stations do the same and
the newspapers can even be
worst. When race becomes an issue, it gets even uglier. Such is
the case with Michael Steele,
Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
The press is continually attacking him from all sides. The
top Democratic operative is
Barack Obama, a Black man, and
the other side now has a Black
man. It is way too much and
something has to give. The
“bull’s eye” is focused on Mr.
Steele and he is criticized for
anything they can get their
hands on.
Actually, he is doing a fantastic job. He has taken the
Republican Party to the greatest election victory in history—winning 690 seats—but,
still, that isn’t good enough.
They want him out because his
voice is too strong and happens to be Black. The White
press fears a Black who is accumulating power and fame.
Mr. Steele has certainly done
that in the last two years and
they are scared to the max ins t e a d o f b e i n g h a p p y.
I
learned this fact early in my ca-
reer of activism. If you want to
become notorious start a movement that forces change. They,
the press, will follow you and do
their best to find dirt, scandal and
any other kind of wrong against
you.
When we started making
changes in the way Indiana did
business with Black entrepreneurs, the White Indiana democratic leaders brought out their
big weapons – writers at the Indianapolis Star newspaper and a
few local newscasters. They
jumped on me like white on rice.
In the beginning it was kind of
shocking to have your picture on
the front page of the newspaper
and an article about how bad or
pitiful you might have been. It
would be all lies but they didn’t
care because the intent was to
smear.
The above assault would have
intimidated the average person
but to their dismay it was encouraging to me. I wasn’t from
Indiana and my wife’s family was
free and independent and beyond
being hurt by them. In fact, they
encouraged me to push on as
they had my back. Local Black
politicians and church leaders
told me they knew the deal and
do not let it deter me as they were
there to support my efforts. I am
forever grateful to them. The
abuse from the White press was
actually rallying the Black community around my cause and
eventually gave birth to the National Black Chamber of Commerce. We could create our own
power and depend just on ourselves to get the mission accomplished.
Eventually, it dawned on me to
begin to fight back. The weapon
I used was there all the time –
the Black press. I started interview(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
Environmental racism in the year 2011
By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. nomic, social, political, and
NNPA Columnist
geographical. But, one of the
most “determinative” factors is
The worldwide struggle for the issue of race.
environmental justice and
The whole history of denial
equality continues. While when it comes to issues of ram a n y a d v a n c e s h a v e b e e n cial discrimination in the U.S.
made globally in defining, re- remains true. Tragically, those
searching, and confronting the who are the victims of these
realities of environmental rac- types of injustices are often
ism, here inside the United denied the possibility for adStates there are still far too equate redress and resolution.
m a n y A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s , In other words, challenging
Latino Americans, Pacific Is- “environmental racism” in 2011
lander and Asian Americans, should be one of the top priNative Americans and others orities for the U.S. government
who remain disproportionately as well as for state and local
exposed to environmental haz- governments.
ards, toxins, cancer-causing
But, we all know well from
p o l l u t i o n s , a n d o t h e r l i f e - prior experiences, that effective
threatening environments.
governmental corrective action
Of course, there are more and meaningful public policy
than one contributing factor to changes only happens when
these circumstances: eco- there is an effective and
sustainability movement for
freedom, justice, and equality
around the specific issue at
hand. Thus, we must build a
stronger environmental justice
movement in the U.S. and establish strategic organizational
alliances at the United Nations
and with other grassroots environmental justice organizations internationally. It will
take stronger movements for
change to get all governmental
bodies to seek greater environmental justice.
Most of the 15 million
weekly readers of the National
Newspaper Publishers Association, America’s Black Press,
should recall that it took many
years before the federal government would even admit the
existence of environmental racism. Under Presidents Reagan
and Bush, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in the
1980’s and 1990’s refused to acknowledge this social problem. By February 1994 President Clinton issued Executive
Order 12898 on Environmental
Justice that gave the environmental justice movement an official federal status. Today, the
EPA has an ongoing Office for
Environmental Justice.
Due
to my prior work with the
United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice and
my background as a chemist, I
was fortunate back in 1982 to
first coin the term environmental racism: “Racial discrimination in the deliberate targeting
of ethnic and minority communities for exposure to toxic and
hazardous waste sites and facilities, coupled with the sys-
tematic exclusion of minorities in
environmental policy making, enforcement, and remediation.”
President Barack Obama is no
stranger to this issue.
When he was a state senator
from Illinois, he worked with others to challenge environmental
injustices in places like Altgeld
Gardens located deep on the
Southside of Chicago.
Hazel Johnson, an African
American grassroots leader from
Altgeld Gardens became one of
the strong effective national
“mothers” of the environmental
justice movement. Today, we
must press forward without relenting. Literally, millions of African American, Latino, and other
minorities are suffering from an
increase in multiple forms of can(CONTINUED ON PAGE 15)
7
New Year thoughts: On our own
By Ted Glick
“The financial elites have
flourished in recent decades to a
great extent because they have
had government on their side,
with the politicians working diligently to ensure that rules, regulations and tax policies established an environment in which
the elites could thrive. For ordinary Americans, it has been a different story, with jobs shipped
overseas by the millions and
wages remaining stagnant, with
labor unions under constant assault and labor standards weakened, with the safety net shredded and the message sent out to
workers everywhere: You’re on
your own.”—--Bob Herbert, “A
Recovery for Some,” N.Y. Times,
11/14/09
For those who are upset about
the Republican victories two
months ago, it would be good to
reflect on these words of Bob
Herbert. The truth is that whether
it was Reagan, Bush, Bush 2,
Clinton or Obama in the White
House, whether Republicans or
Democrats controlled the Senate
or the House, things have gotten
worse for most people in the
United States over the last 30
years.
When Reagan came into office,
the average corporate CEO made
42 times as much as the average
worker. Today it’s more like 350
times as much. This is obscene.
For climate activists, we should
not forget what happened, or what
didn’t happen, with Obama in the
White House and Democrats with
huge majorities in the House and
Senate. There was a complete failure of efforts to put a price on carbon, to enact policies that would
drive the urgently needed shift
away from dependence on coal
and oil to the prioritizing of
renewables, energy conservation
and efficiency.
This year the big focus will be
on the Environmental Protection
Agency. Republican and some
Democratic members of Congress
will be doing all that they can to
defang the EPA, to prevent it from
moving forward with the regulation of stationary sources of carbon emissions and other pollutants. Environmental and climate
groups have been working for
months and will continue to do so
to support and push the EPA to do
its job, and to support and push
Obama to cover the EPA’s back.
I wish I had confidence that
Obama was prepared to do that.
My belief is that he is going to
need direct, constant and steady
pressure to resist the fossil fuel
interests and their enablers in
Congress. Perhaps the fact that
he will have to be gearing up for
his 2012 Presidential re-election
campaign, spending more time out
of Washington interacting with
the people, will strengthen his resolve on this and many other issues, particularly if climate and
progressive activists in the places
where he comes get organized to
let him know what we think and
feel.
It would be good if he did what
he should have done after his election in 2008—use his Presidential
“bully pulpit” to mobilize the
grassroots behind a genuine
change agenda. But this is wishful thinking. It’s wishful thinking
because Obama has demonstrated
over and over again that, despite
his 2008 campaign rhetoric, the
“change” he had in mind had
nothing to do with a change as far
as who is really in power, running
the show, benefiting from government policies.
Bob Herbert has it right.
For the last two years progressive activists have mainly put their
energies into trying to get the
Democrats to use their control of
the federal government to enact
progressive policies. For many of
us, we’ve been turned off by most
of the results, a mixed bag at best.
Often, the legislation was weak
and seriously compromised by
corporate interests. The financial
elite who came close to plunging
us into a full-scale depression are
back on top with their big bonuses
and huge fortunes. There’s been
absolutely no accountability, not
even a serious investigation into
what they did. With the exception
of Bernie Madoff and perhaps a
few other lesser fish, none of them
have been prosecuted.
It’s like the torture that went on
during the Bush/Cheney war
years. No accountability, no prosecutions, let’s all just forget about
it and move on. And the wars continue.
In 2011 we’re going to have to
stand up and go toe-to-toe as necessary with the revitalized climate
crisis deniers, the straight-up corporate enablers, the scapegoaters
of immigrants, teachers and public employees, those who want to
privatize and weaken Medicare
and Social Security.
As importantly, we have to
get back to basics. Lots of us
are doing grassroots organizing already; we need to keep
that going, strengthen and expand it. We need to keep building the networks across issue
lines that will make possible the
emergence, hopefully this year,
of a “united progressives” movement and alliance. We need a
popular, issue-oriented third
force that makes possible the
political and social changes
needed by so many of our
peoples and by our threatened
ecosystem. We need mass movements that are visible, that are
out in the streets, that are engaging in civil disobedience to
drive home the urgency of our
demands, that shake up the system and give hope to those in
need and those who understand
the depth and interrelationship
of our many crises.
We’ve learned—some of us have
been reminded once again—that, in
the words of Frederick Douglas in
1857, “power concedes nothing
without a demand. It never did, and
it never will. Find out just what
people will submit to, and you have
found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will
continue until they are resisted with
either words or blows, or with both.
The limits of tyrants are prescribed
by the endurance of those whom
they oppress.”
Ted Glick has been a climate
activist since 2003 and a progressive activist since 1968. Past writings and more information can be
found at http://www.tedglick.com.
Some colleges flunking fair admissions test
By George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist
It’s the beginning of a new
year and that means it is time
for high school seniors to begin completing college applications. Increasingly, whether
they get admitted will have
nothing to do with their grades,
their SAT scores, or their overall aptitude for college. They
may end up getting denied admission to the college of their
choice because of a criminal
record. Whether a person’s
past should continue to be
held against them — even after they have completed their
sentence – has long been an
issue of public debate. Some
states hamper an ex-offenders’
rehabilitation by denying them
the ability to vote or to hold
certain trade licenses.
The trend among colleges
to use a person’s criminal history against them in the admissions process is being perceived as a new civil rights issue because a college degree
increases people’s ability to
obtain a job commensurate
with their skills and abilities.
A survey by the Center for
Community Alternatives
(CCA) in collaboration with the
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
sent out a 59-page questionnaire in late 2009 to 3,248 insti-
tutions. Of those, 272 responded.
Á majority of the responding
colleges (66%) collect criminal
justice information, although
not all of them consider it in
their admissions. The survey
found, “Private schools and
four-year schools are more
likely to collect and use such
information than their public
and two-year counterparts.”
In most cases, colleges depend on applicants to self-disclose their criminal history. “If
it is discovered that an applicant has failed to disclose a
criminal record there is an increased likelihood that the applicant will be denied admission
or have their admission offer rescinded,” according to report
titled, The Use of Criminal History Records in College Admissions Reconsidered.
At the
end of 2008, more than 100 million Americans had either been
arrested or convicted of a crime,
the study said. Another 2.3
million were in jails and prisons,
giving the United States the
highest incarceration rate in the
world.
The report by CCA notes that
African-Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately hurt
by the admissions policy because they are overrepresented
in the criminal justice system.
“Racial disparities have been
documented in the processing
of every type of crime, from ju-
venile delinquency to low-level
misdemeanors to the imposition of the death penalty,” the
report stated. “So pervasive is
the criminal justice system in
the lives of Black men that
more Black men have done
prison time than have earned
college degrees. Because racial bias occurs at every stage
of the criminal justice system,
screening for criminal records
cannot be a race-neutral practice.”
It explained that the use of
criminal records “has become
a surrogate for race-based discrimination, serving the same
function, albeit unintentionally, as the Black Codes and Jim
Crow laws in earlier times.”
The report continued, “Hyperaggressive law enforcement in
low-income communities of
color has led to the
overrepresentation of African
Americans and Latinos among
those with criminal convictions. Excluding otherwise
qualified applicants from attending college because of a
criminal record has the effect
of depriving large numbers of
people of color from opportunities that form the core of the
‘American Dream.’”
The move to consider criminal records originated from a
concern for campus safety, especially in the aftermath of the
Virginia Tech shooting.
“While college campuses are
not immune from crime, the data
show that they are remarkably
safe places compared to the
community-at-large,” the report
observes. “This is particularly
true for serious crimes that involve personal violence.
Violent crime on campus is
rare, and the few college students who are victims of such
crimes are mostly victimized offcampus by strangers. The Virginia Tech incident, a tragic but
aberrational event, was committed by a student who did
not have a criminal record.”
The report found that there
is no measurable difference in
the campus safety of colleges
that examine a person’s criminal past and those that don’t.
“Our argument for eliminating
the collection and use of [criminal histories] in admission decisions is in large part based on
the absence of any empirical
evidence showing that students with criminal records
pose a safety risk on campus,”
the report said.
If colleges are determined to
use the records, there are ways
they can limit the adverse impact on applicants lives. For
example, the colleges can limit
disclosure to specific types of
convictions, such as felonies,
but not misdemeanors or infractions; convictions that occurred only within the last five
years or only felonies committed after the applicant’s nine-
teenth birthday. Additionally,
colleges can provide applicants
with an opportunity to document
personal growth and rehabilitation.
They can also remove barriers to admission for applicants
still under some form of community supervision. The push to get
colleges not to consider criminal backgrounds in college admissions is an extension of “ban
the box” movement to prevent
employers from discriminating
against ex-offenders. Even the
American Bar Association (ABA)
has passed a resolution calling
for increased opportunities for
people who got into trouble as
juveniles.
Our communities – on-campus
and off-campus — will be safer
if ex-offenders are effectively
eased back into the society.
The report concluded, “Depriving people of access to
higher education based on a
criminal record does not make
campuses safer; instead it undermines public safety by foreclosing an opportunity that has
proven to be one of the most effective deterrents to recidivism.”
George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Serv i c e , i s a k e y n o t e s p e a k e r,
moderator, and media coach.
He can be reached through his
Web site, www.georgecurry.com
You can also follow him at
www.twitter.com/currygeorge.
Opinion
8
African Scene
U.S. is offering Ivory Coast’s
Laurent Gbagbo ‘dignified exit’
Senegalese Youth
What can a brother do?
Special to the NNPA from the sands of lives in the Caribbean
GlN
nation of Haiti.
The 84-year-old Wade, critiIn what was perhaps their cized for seeking yet another
most controversial pick for term and for building an overmerit in 2010, Kenyan journal- sized monument at great exists selected Senegalese presi- pense, extended an offer to
dent Abdoulaye Wade for his Haitian youth to repatriate to
g e s t u r e o f c o m p a s s i o n t o - Africa and receive scholarships
wards the young survivors of at the famed Cheikh Anta Diop
a traumatic natural disaster
that took hundreds of thou-
Incumbent Ivory Coast
President Laurent Gbagbo
could be offered refuge in
the US as a means to end the
country’s political crisis, US
officials say.
Washington could help Mr
Gbagbo make a “dignified
exit”, but this opportunity
was “rapidly closing”, they
said.
The comments came as a
delegation of African leaders met Mr Gbagbo in a fresh
attempt to persuade him to
step down following disputed elections.
West African states have
said they will remove him by
force if he does not.
The UN and the African
Union regard Mr Gbagbo’s
rival, Alassane Ouattara, as
the winner of the Nov. 28
election.
Leaders Boni Yayi from
Benin, Pedro Pires from
Cape Verde and Ernest Bai
Koroma from Sierra Leone who represent the Economic
Community of West African
States (Ecowas) - were due
to make an amnesty offer to
Mr Gbagbo if he quit. They
were joined for this trip by
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila
Odinga, representing the African Union.
They were received by a
smiling Mr Gbagbo, AFP
West African leaders want to convince Laurent Gbagbo (left) to cede
power
news agency said.
Afterwards, Mr Odinga described the meeting as “useful”, and Mr Yayi said they
would return. They then
went on to see Mr Ouattara.
After their meeting, Mr
Ouattara said that the dialogue was over.
“Everything has been
done so that we could find a
solution through diplomacy
and dialogue,” he said.
“Since that is not the case,
perhaps Laurent Gbagbo will
have a change of heart. If
not, then Ecowas will need to
use all the means at its disposal including the use of legitimate force so that the
president that was elected
can assume his functions.”
It is the diplomats’ second
visit in less than a week. Last
Tuesday they flew to Abidjan,
Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, but failed to convince Mr
Gbagbo to stand down.
Sierra Leone’s Information
Minister, Ibrahim Ben-Kargbo,
said the leaders would tell Mr
Gbagbo to step down and did
not intend to negotiate with
him.
But a source within the
African delegation told the
BBC that the incumbent
would be offered a legal amn e s t y, a s w e l l a s a g u a r a n tee that his financial assets
would be secure if he left
office.
Africa races to catch Internet wave
Special to the NNPA from the GlN nication Union projects 5.3 billion cell phone owners by the
Five new cables on the con- end of this year. “The mobile
tinent—worth $2.5 billion – are phone revolution continues,”
bringing increasing speeds at says a U.N. report charting the
l o w e r p r i c e s f o r A f r i c a ’s phenomenon that has transinternet-hungry population formed commerce, healthcare
with user growth in the last a n d s o c i a l l i v e s a c r o s s t h e
decade up by 2000 percent! planet. Mobile phone leases in
The International Telecommu- Africa rose from 54 million to
Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson
Africa’s ‘iron ladies’ vied
for the nation’s top spot
Special to the NNPA from the made history as the first woman
to challenge Sudan President
GlN
Hassan Omar al-Bashir, since
Following the path of Presi- he took office 24 years ago.
dent Ellen Sirleaf Johnson Fatima had already made hisa.k.a. Liberia’s “Iron Lady,” tory as the first female minister
four women this year shook in the country in the 1970s.
In West Africa, last year
The Male Establishment,
Brigitte
Kafui
throwing their hats into the To g o ’s
ring for their nation’s highest Adjamagbo-Johnson became
post.
In northern Africa,
Fatima Ahmed Abdelmahmoud
Use of phones has become widespread in Africa
almost 350 million between 2003
and 2008, the quickest growth in
the world.
“Tremendous progress has
been made in the adoption and
use of information and communication technologies,” declared
Dr Hamadoun I. Toure, head of
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at a conference last summer.
“What is most interesting to
me,” Toure said, “and what highlights the critical role of connectivity in Africa – is that once
people have access to information technologies, they don’t
give it up, even when their social or economic situation
changes. Put simply, Africans
want to stay connected, and they
work hard to make sure they stay
connected.”
Toure continued: “In Africa,
we are seeing new broadband
capacity coming on-stream fast,
and I was delighted to be personally present in Kenya in
March when a new submarine
cable was brought onshore, and
then to be in French Guiana earlier this month to see new satellites for Africa being launched.
“These are truly inspirational events, and signs of the
very positive times in which
we live.”
Thom Abe
LOVING IT!
By Tony Felton
Thespian
Experimentation: What is it
about Tuskegee and Black men?
In 1932 the American Government
promised 400 men - all residents
of Macon County, Alabama, all
poor, all African American - free
treatment for Bad Blood, an euphemism for syphilis which was
epidemic in the county. Treatment for syphilis was never given
to the men and was in fact withheld. The men became unwitting
subjects for a government sanctioned medical investigation, The
Tuskegee Study of Untreated
Syphilis in the Negro Male.
The Tuskegee Study, which
lasted for 4 decades, until 1972,
had nothing to do with treatment.
In July 1941, The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined
young men who enlisted to become America’s first black military
airmen, at a time when there were
many people who thought that
black men lacked intelligence,
skill, courage and patriotism.
They came from every section
of the country, with large numbers coming from New York City,
Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit.
Each one possessed a strong personal desire to serve the United
States of America at the best of
his ability. Those who possessed
the physical and mental qualifications were accepted as aviation
cadets to be trained initially as
single-engine pilots and later to
be either twin-engine pilots, navigators or bombardiers. Most were
college graduates or undergraduates. Others demonstrated their
academic qualifications through
comprehensive entrance examinations.
Out of this latter experimentation—-the inspiration to write a
Play, ‘Black Angels Over
Tuskegee’—-came to Layon Gray
who also directs and stars in this
crafty, intelligent, and highly entertaining aura of excellence. All
standout performances, but highlighted, at this time, one THOMAS
RANDOLPH SCOTT II.
“I love being an actor,” Scott proclaims. “I love the control factor that
I possess. I love how I can affect an
individual in a positive way with a
performance. When I first saw the
movie, Superman with Christopher
Reeves, I knew how it affected me.
That’s what I want to do to people.
Take them on a journey they will
never forget. I was an only child.
My mom was an actress. I kinda
grew up in the theater. Perhaps that
is where I got it from. This innate
Thom Scott
need to entertain. It has always been
inside me waiting to get out. I just
know that, when I (experimented)
with the 9 to 5 profession, I discovered it was not for me. I am an actor.”
In addition to being an
official selection of the 2009 National Black Theater Festival, the
play recently won a 2009 NAACP
Award for Best Ensemble and a
2009 Artistic Director Achievement
Award for Best Play. Black Angels
Over Tuskegee also had the opportunity to perform at the 2009 National Tuskegee Airmen Convention in Las Vegas for over thirty
chapters. Original Tuskegee Airmen Ted Lumpkin, President of The
Los Angeles Chapter, says, “I love
By Imani Evans
associated with the DemoSpecial to the NNPA from cratic Party. Some critics, in
The Dallas Examiner
p a r t i c u l a r t h e N A A C P,
charged the SBOE with inapContinuing a fight that p r o p r i a t e l y r a i s i n g t h e a c began almost a year ago, a tions of White decision-makc o a l i t i o n o f c i v i l r i g h t s ers to a level of equal imporgroups - that includes the t a n c e w i t h t h o s e o f c i v i l
Texas National Association rights protestors, and with
f o r t h e A d v a n c e m e n t o f elevating the role of ConfedColored People (NAACP) e r a t e f i g u r e s s u c h a s
and Texas League of United J e f f e r s o n D a v i s w h i l e o b Latin American Citizens - scuring their ideological ath a s p u b l i c a l l y r e l e a s e d a tachment to slavery.
“What we’re asking them
complaint filed at the U.S.
D e p a r t m e n t o f E d u c a t i o n [the Department of Educaasking the agency to review tion] to do is to conduct a
changes to the social stud- proactive review on a numi e s c u r r i c u l u m s t a n d a r d s ber of areas that we’ve comp u s h e d t h r o u g h b y t h e p l a i n e d a b o u t , ” s a i d Te x a s
Texas State Board of Educa- N A A C P p r e s i d e n t G a r y L .
” We ’ v e c o m tion last spring as part of a B l e d s o e .
broader review of state edu- plained about the offensive
nature of the standards that
cational practices.
I n a l e t t e r t o t h e were passed. The standards
department’s Civil Rights clearly require a student to
Division, the civil rights ( b e t a u g h t ) t h i n g s t h a t
groups accused Texas of al- would be considered by them
l o w i n g a n u m b e r o f s y s - to be racially offensive - for
temic practices that nega- example, if a student is betively impact the educa- ing taught a standard that
tional aspirations of minor- says there were positive asity students, and more spe- pects of slavery, this will go
cifically with violating Title against everything that stuVI of the Civil Rights Act of d e n t m i g h t l e a r n i n t h e i r
1964, as well as the 13th and h o u s e h o l d , a n d b e f u n d a 14th Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution.
Attached to the letter
were approximately 150
pages of supporting documentation, including an
outline of the NAACP’s bas i c a r g u m e n t , a s w e l l a s Special to the NNPA from
m o r e a n a l y s i s a n d s t a t e - TheDefendersOnline.com
ments of support by a numLast spring Arizona’s state legber of prominent academicians including sociologist islators enacted a controversial
J o e R . F e a g i n , o f Te x a s law to deter undocumented immiA & M U n i v e r s i t y, a n d D r. grants from crossing the state’s
Anthony L. Brown, of the borders and punish those who
U n i v e r s i t y o f Te x a s . T h e have crossed the U.S. border.
c o m p l a i n t a d d r e s s e s t h e Thus far, however, the most sigfollowing issues:• The State nificant result of the act, S.B. 1070,
Board of Education curricu- has been to deter other Americans
lum changes• Disparate dis- from crossing the state’s borders
c i p l i n e f o r m i n o r i t y s t u - and to punish the pocketbooks
dents• The use of account- and coffers of Arizona workers and
ability standards - i.e. stan- businesses.
A recent report found that the
dardized testing - to impose
sanctions on schools with cancellations of convention and
high proportions of minor- meeting bookings passage of the
ity
students•
T h e law provoked has already resulted
u n d e r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f in the loss of $45 million dollars in
Blacks and Latinos in Gifted direct lodging revenues to the
a n d Ta l e n t e d p r o g r a m s state’s hotel industry.
But the report, “Stop the ConAfter more than a year of
f r e q u e n t l y h e a t e d d e b a t e s ference: The Economic and Fiscal
that drew nationwide atten- Consequences of Conference
tion - and scorn from more Cancellations Due to Arizona’s
than a few educational ex- S.B. 1070, said the lodging-revenue
p e r t s - t h e Te x a s S t a t e losses were just one part of a much
Board of Education voted more extensive economic storm
l a s t M a y t o a p p r o v e n e w buffeting the state, whose tourism
social studies standards for industry is a major source of ine l e m e n t a r y, m i d d l e , a n d come for its citizens and tax revhigh school students. The enues for its treasury. For exprocess was dominated by ample, the report says that when
a s e v e n - m e m b e r b l o c o f such other ancillary revenues that
c o n s e r v a t i v e R e p u b l i c a n hotel stays produce in direct
board members who, critics spending by conference attendcharged, were intent on re- ees– such as for meals, entertainfashioning the curriculum to ment, taxis and limousines, and
suit their ideological prefer- sundry retail buying – the damage done comes to another $141
ences.
Their efforts resulted in million.
And yet, the report finds that
controversial language
that, for example, instructs the damage is even more extenteachers and textbooks to sive: nearly 2,800 jobs those lost
m e n t i o n t h e “ u n i n t e n d e d conferences and meetings would
consequences” of affirma- have supported; more than $86
tive action and the Great So- million in lost wages and more than
ciety, two programs deeply $9 million in tax revenues those
jobs would have produced; and a
mentally untrue.”
While mentioning the
N A A C P ’s p a r t n e r s , a m o n g
them LULAC and the Texas Association of Black Personnel
in Higher Education, Bledsoe
also made a point of including two members of the Board
of Education, Mavis Knight
and Lawrence Allen, who
fought hard against the
changes.
Names of historic persons
given in the standards fall into
two categories, roughly: those
who “must” be taught and
those who “may” be taught.
Students are required to learn
about those in the “must” category only while those in the
“may” category are given as
mere suggestions.
The
NAACP/LULAC complaint
points out that while Texas is
67 percent minority, only 17
percent of the persons listed
in the “must” category are minorities.
“What the experts have
said, that supports what we’re
saying,
is
that
this
marginalizes African Americans,” said Bledsoe.
Dr. Emilio Zamora, a UTA
Arizona Immigration Law
hurts Arizona’s pocketbook
total lost economic output of $253
million.
The report was commissioned
by the Center for American Progress
(CAP), a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., which has opposed
Arizona’s law. It hired a prominent
Arizona economic polling firm,
Elliott D. Pollack & Company, to
undertake the study.
Its results were disparaged by
Russell Pearce, the Arizona
legislature’s Republican Senate
President, and chief sponsor of S.B.
1070. The Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association stated in August
that the state had lost at least 40
conventions and $15 million in lodging revenue – a dollar figure the
CAP study claims is based on a
very narrow accounting of the
losses.
This week Kristen Jernigan, a
spokeswoman for the association,
said that while the bookings for conventions and meetings had taken a
hit, “we feel pretty positive “that
the vacation travel of individuals
and families to the state has not
been significantly affected by the
controversy.
For all the stunning dollar figures
in the CAP report, its focus was limited to examining the impact of lost
convention bookings. It did not
consider the law’s impact on such
other areas as vacation travel or
business development.
The fact that the Supreme Court
will review the constitutionality of
S.B. 1070 next year will certainly revive the controversy over its passage, and may well provoke a fresh
round of cancellations of convention and meeting bookings within
the state, deepening the damage already done. The CAP report did
state that the total potential losses
from future convention cancellation
could add up to $750 million or
more.
9
Rights groups say Texas Board of Ed
violated students’ constitutional rights
10
AUDREY'S Carole Brantley and Robert E. Pines wed in New Jersey
Audrey J. Bernard
love nest she shares with Bobby Marsan served as a witness for from the couple’s longtime relaSOCIETY ByLifestyles
tionship — some 80 thrilled to the
& Society Editor
before getting ready for her wed- the pretty bride.
After a magical ceremony nines guests joined the regal
ding. And, as she changed into a
WHIRL
On Saturday, December 11, 2010 gorgeous wedding dress upstairs, performed by the Honorable bride and groom for a storybook
at 6:30 p.m., Carol Brantley and downstairs, arriving guests were Renee Jones Weeks and Hon- ending reception that lasted unRobert E. Pines confessed their
love for each other during a private wedding ceremony that took
place in their fabulous Paterson,
New Jersey home that was beautifully adorned with festive holiday
ornamentation setting the tone for
a magnificent winter wonderland
service. The over-romantic bride
and groom wanted their wedding
to reflect their intimate relationship
by opting for this cozy yuletide
ceremony.
On her wedding day, Carole, a
member of the pristine Doll
League, Inc., hastened hosting a
membership meeting at the swank
greeted by Doll League members orable Irene Jones Cates, a Doll til wee hours of the morning to
who made them feel comfortable League member — that in- jamming music by J.J. the DJ.
in one of the plush resident’s su- cluded some hilarious moments (Photos by Charles Wilkinson)
perlatively styled rooms.
This was a fairytale wedding
and there wasn’t a dry eye in
the room when Carole’s daughter from a previous marriage,
Pamela Brantley, who also
served as matron of honor, escorted the princess bride down
the aisle and into the arms of
her handsome prince, Bobby
Pines as guests beamed with
pride. William “Pony” Wilson
served as best man and Doll
League member Barbara B.
Honorable Renee Jones Weeks, Pamela Brantley, Robert Pines, Carole Brantley-Pines, William (Pony)
Wilson, Honorable Irene Jones Cates
Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Pines
Carole Brantley is given away by
her daughter Pam Brantley
Groom Bobby Pines with best man William (Pony) Wilson
Carole Brantley-Pines poses with her Doll League members Dale Booker, Lorraine Matthews,
Charlee Taylor-Hines, Barbara B. Marsan, Margaret Hunter, Hon. Irene J. Cates, Ann Guillory,
Linda Gowie, Jennifer Taylor Smith
Carole Brantley has nothing but love for only child Pam Brantley
Lorraine Calloway congratulates her longtime friend Carole Brantley-Pines
Racism at CBS Television, Sony and Bell Dramatic for 37 years
Pioneering actress Victoria
Rowell is not new to the acting
world and she certainly is not new
to the millions of fans of the daytime drama “The Young and The
Restless”. The veteran actress
was part of the cast as Drucilla
Winters for more than 17 years.
However, the millions of fans and
corporate sponsors of the longtime No. 1 daytime drama may be
surprised to discover that in her
17 years and even worse, in the
show’s 37 year history they have
never had a single African American writer, director or producer
despite of the fact that African
American viewership for “The
Young and The Restless” is estimated well over 35 percent and
some have estimated it is as high
as 45 percent which is causing
many in the civil rights community to call for boycotts and demonstrations of the show and its
advertisers.
Rowell told the Los Angeles
Sentinel in an exclusive interview
for all NNPA newspapers across
the country that she has attended
several meetings in an effort to
help diversify daytime soap operas behind the scenes and in
front of the camera.
Rowell believes that several examples of discrimination exist the
most egregious being the lack of
Black writers, directors or producers, for over 37 years.
The Sentinel contacted Jim
Kennedy, executive vice president for Global Communications
at Sony Pictures Entertainment,
which co-owns “The Young and
the Restless,” along with The Bell
Family regarding the lack of African American participation behind the camera who stated,
“With regard to “The Young and
the Restless,” we are proud of the
fact that five African American
actors play important roles on the
program, and we are especially
grateful for the diverse audience
it has every day,”
“And in light of that, Sony Pictures has over the course of the
past year undertaken an initiative
designed to have us be more representative of the global audience
we work to entertain.” While in
the statement which was sent via
email Kennedy did talk about diversity, he did not address why
“The Young and The Restless”
has not hired a Black producer,
director, writer or crew member in
37 years which leads many industry insiders and civil rights leaders to believe that CBS has no
interest in making real change
without pressure.
For years many industry leaders,
and community organizations including the NAACP, The Urban
League and The Los Angeles
Brotherhood Crusade have raised
concern about what they say is a
lack of diversity in front of, and
behind the camera.
To demonstrate the lack of diversity on television and to help
bring about change in the industry, the NAACP commissioned a
report titled “Out of Focus - Out
of Sync: Take 4.” The report
pointed out that the number of
African-Americans in regular
roles and on air in a prime time
scripted series — in the 2006-2007
season — were 20 African Americans on Fox, 19 on NBC, 17 on CBS
and 15 on ABC. The report did not
track African Americans on cable
channels which in recent years have
become a much larger part of the
television viewing format. The figures, provided by the networks, are
the latest numbers available.
“All four major broadcast networks have made important strides
in increasing diversity,” the report
stated, but it also added: “Progress
has been slower in areas that arguably could have the greatest impact:
writing and producing.
“White males have always dominated the entertainment industry
and that continues to be largely the
case. While African-American writers represent the largest share of
minorities employed in television,
they still only averaged about 5.2
percent of the total number of writers employed. That translates to
161 African-American writers out of
3,088 during the 2005-2006 television season, according to the Writers Guild of America.”
Other African Americans and
Black organizations are looking into
the issue of diversity in daytime
soap operas, including the National
Urban League and NAACP.
The Sentinel obtained two letters from Urban League President
and CEO Marc Morial, addressed
to Howard Stringer, president and
CEO of Sony Corp., and William Bell
Jr., president of Bell Dramatic Serial
Co.
The letters, dated Sept. 23, contended: “Through a preliminary review we have learned that there are
few African American actors, producers, directors and support personnel in the ‘Day time Soap Opera’ industry despite the fact that
African Americans are a crucial significant portion of the loyal audience of viewers for ‘Daytime Soap
Operas.’ The letters pointed out that
this is unacceptable in 21st Century
America.”
Emma Young, head writer and
associate producer for an online
African-American soap opera, “The
Proud and the Privileged,” said
that she knows several actors who
complain about having “no” African Americans behind the scenes.
Young added that it is important
to have Black producers, writers and
directors.
“It’s very important to show African Americans not only in a positive light, but in a true light,” Young
said. Also that someone might not
do that if he or she is not Black,
because they would be unfamiliar
with African American life experiences and their experiences would
come from stereotypes.
Darryl Manuel, producer and director of “The Proud and the Privileged,” agrees, but thinks it is important to have diversity in all
genres of entertainment.
“There’s just a wealth [of information] and a rich point of view that
the general audience misses out on,
by not having a true representation
of that point of view,” he said. “I
mean it’s only going to make those
stories better; it’s only going to
bring more to the pot, you know…
put more meat on the bones, into
the stew, when you have this story
that has an authentic and a rich
story line.”
Davetta Sherwood, an African
American who also played on “The
Young and the Restless,” said at
first she had a good experience being on the show.
Victoria Rowell in the pressroom at the 39th NAACP Image Awards
held at the Shrine Auditorium on February 14, 2008 in Los Angeles, Ca
(AP Photo / Tammie Arroyo)
But that eventually changed. immediately.”
“The experiences that I had
Dawn Stern, another African
with the lack of diversity, the lack American who played on “The
of acknowledgement of the Win- Young and the Restless,” also
ters family, and just our ethnic contends that the show had never
background, was really disap- hired a Black writer or producer.
pointing,” she said.
“They could have had a Black
Sherwood said people on the writer; they did: Victoria Rowell
show were strategic about choos- was her name,” Stern said. “But
ing her. So, she thought they they never gave her the credit for
would treat her “carefully” on the doing what she was doing, they
set.
never gave her the title, they never
But “I felt disregarded at times; gave her the money.”
I felt unappreciated at times,” she
Ellen Holly, the first Africansaid.
American actress to integrate
Sherwood said she confided daytime soaps, played on “One
with Rowell, telling her that she Life to Live”, wrote a book “One
felt something was “a little off” Life The Autobiography of an Afon the show.
rican American actress.” which
“And she shared with me some included her negative experiences
of the issues she had had in her in the soap opera industry.
… years on the show,”.
Holly said that she is conSherwood, echoing similar cerned about what some young
sentiments that Rowell had, said, actors are going through.
“There has never been a Black
They’ve read her book, she
crew or director or writer in the said.
history of “The Young and the
And “they still come to me …
Restless.” So that was really dis- and to this day say to me, ‘The
appointing considering how suc- things that you went through …
cessful and how profitable the you’re writing what’s happening
show has been for CBS and the to me right now.’ And that’s very
Bell family.”
upsetting to me.”
Later she added: “Right now
Rowell said she has always
… it’s about speaking out and been concerned and always
making people aware so that we wanted to find solutions to tell
can create a change right now. Blacks’ stories with integrity and
There’s no more time to wait. We to the best of her ability.
don’t have 20 more years to reOne instance in which Rowell
visit this conversation again. This sought to bring change took place
is something that has to happen when she was told her character
would be illiterate.
She requested the illiteracy
story line be played out to its fullest extent and expedited so that —
while it could be shown that adult
illiteracy existed — the story line be
moved along.
“Then I presented the classical
ballet story line, proving that dance
and arts belong to everyone no
matter what the socio-economic
bracket, no matter what the race,”
Rowell said.
Her story line demanded more
African-American cast members
since her character would have to
have parents, a sister, love interest
and others on the show, she said.
More Blacks came on board.
Doing that was “quite unique,”
but her efforts to do so, she believes, generated “push back.”
Rowell — who first came on the
show in 1990 and continued on for
several years afterward — was
nominated for Emmys and won several NAACP Image awards for her
work on “The Young and the Restless,” along with other Black actors
on the show.
She contended, however, that although some of the African-American actors on the show have won
awards they appear on a small
amount of the shows.
Rowell told the Sentinel that
she’s asking for “one thing” from
all the tenure she has as an actress:
to reinvest in African-American talent as writers, producers and directors in daytime drama, including the
“The Young and the Restless.”
“What could possibly be impossible about that?” she asked.
CBS responded to some of
Rowell’s contentions: “We have
great respect for Victoria Rowell, but
strongly disagree with her statements about diversity. CBS is very
committed to diversity and inclusiveness throughout the company
— including Daytime, where we feature diverse talent in all programming.” But, again CBS did not address the 37 years of not hiring any
African Americans as writers, directors or producers.
The company said that,
through the CBS Diversity Institute and other outreach programs, CBS mentors aspiring
writers and directors, and sponsors talent showcases, including
an “unprecedented casting initiative specifically for daytime
dramas.”
Letters and phone calls from
Urban League President Marc
Morial to William Bell, Jr., President of Bell Dramatic Serial Company and Sir Howard Stringer
Chairman, President and CEO of
Sony Corporation received the
height of disrespect: they have
not been responded to, nor has
Bell Dramatic Serial responded to
the Los Angeles Sentinel’s request for this story, which has
many in the civil rights community furious. “If the Chairman of
CBS would not respond to Urban League President Marc
Morial for a meeting what does
that say about their commitment
to inclusion and diversity?
Maybe the racism starts at the
top” stated Danny J. Bakewell,
Sr., Chairman of NNPA (Black
Press of America).
“Meetings are great, but access and results are greater,”
stated Rowell.
Sentinel interns Biko
Poindexter-Hodge and Robert
Gillard contributed to this report.
By Brandon Brooks and Sam Richard
Los Angeles Sentinel Contributing Editors to NNPA
11
12
Beacon On
Family Fun at MSG
Disney On Ice presents Princess Wishes!;
Sesame Street Live Elmo’s Green Thumb
By Audrey J. Bernard
Lifestyles & Society Editor
*
*
*
*
*
Santa Feld makes dreams come
true
Fresh new Sesame Street Live:
Elmo’s Green Thumb at MSG
All kids love to dream and for
some children, dreams are all
they have to hold onto in these
hard economic times. Feld Entertainment, the worldwide
leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences, has always
given back to the less fortunate
by making their shows available
and affordable to all children –
especially the underserved. The
latest example of the Feld’s giving nature is the magical Disney
On Ice presents Princess
Wishes! show.
Although Santa Claus had left
the building he left behind his
helper Feld Claus to make
dreams come true by keeping
Opening Night tickets affordable
at the mere price of just $12.
Believing is just the beginning in Disney On Ice presents Princess Wishes! starring Disney Princesses –
Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Snow
White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Mulan. Dreamers
from Long Island, New Jersey
and New York City will witness the magic when Ariel,
Cinderella, Belle, Snow
White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Mulan all make their
wishes come true in this collection of celebrated tales
wonderfully told through artistic skating and acrobatics.
Come see your favorite princesses at Nassau Coliseum from
January 6 – 9, Prudential Center
from January 13 – 17, the first
Disney On Ice performance in
several years at Madison Square
Garden from January 21 – 23 and
IZOD Center from January 27 –
30.
With the help of the magical
pixie Tinker Bell, the Disney Princesses embark on an adventure
to find their heart’s fondest
wish. Ariel dreams of a life above
the sea; Mulan finds her inner
strength; Jasmine discovers a
whole new world; and Snow
White finds her true love.
Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping
Beauty also find happiness in
this beautifully imagined ice
show. The enchanted Disney On
Ice presents Princess Wishes!
features an incredible display of
special effects, stunning set design and elegant artistry on the
ice.
Starting one hour before
each performance, families
will be treated to the Disney
Princess Pre-Show, an exclusive fairy tale collection of
gowns and treasures from the
Disney Princess stories. This
Tickets are on sale now for the
highly anticipated Sesame Street
Live: Elmo’s Green Thumb show
playing The Theater at Madison
Square Garden (MSG) for 13 performances from February 17 to
February 21, 2011. To charge
tickets by phone, please call
Ticketmaster. Tickets may also
be purchased online at
www.ticketmaster.com. This
fresh, original Sesame Street Live
show presented by VEE Corporation is a lesson well learned
about our environment and the
r o l e e a c h o f u s p l a y. I t s
greentastic!
As the all-new live story goes,
Elmo has raised his sunflower,
Sunny, from a seed, but his floral
friend has outgrown the flower
pot. Elmo and friends find Big
Bird’s garden the ideal place for
Sunny to flourish and grow but
they are too excited to wait.
Rather than let Sunny follow
nature’s course, Abby Cadabby,
Sesame Street’s fairy-in-training,
casts a spell to make Sunny
grow.
The spell does just the opposite and, instead of growing,
Elmo and all of his friends shrink!
While Abby searches for just the
right words to reverse the spell,
Elmo, Zoe, Telly and friends
explore Big Bird’s garden from
a smaller perspective and
learn some big lessons about
patience, overcoming their
fears and appreciating the role
that each creature plays in our
ecosystem – from dancing ladybugs and beautiful butterflies to grouchy beetles that
s c a v e n g e t h e g a r d e n f l o o r.
Will being small help Sunny
grow tall?
Sesame Workshop is the
nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized
children’s television programming with the landmark
Sesame Street. The Workshop
produces local Sesame Street
programs, seen in over 140
countries, and other acclaimed
shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company and Pinky Dinky
Doo.
MSG Entertainment (MSGE), the
live entertainment arm of Madison
Square Garden, Inc. (Nasdaq:
MSG), is a worldwide entertainment company recognized for its
signature combination of event
production and entertainment
marketing. More than five million people attend MSG Entertainment branded events annually including concerts, special
events, and family attractions.
Disney On Ice presents Princess Wishes! - starring Disney Princesses
bonus experience is free with
ticket purchase and includes a
special appearance by a live
Disney Princess.
Tickets for Disney On Ice presents Princess Wishes! are available
at arena box offices, all Ticketmaster
outlets, Ticketmaster Charge By
Phone or ticketmaster.com. To learn
more about Disney On Ice, log on
to www.disneyonice.com, or visit
us on Facebook and YouTube.
Feld Entertainment is the
worldwide leader in producing
and presenting live touring
family entertainment experiences that lift the human spirit
and create indelible memories,
with 30 million people in attendance at its shows each year.
Feld Entertainment’s productions have appeared in more
than 70 countries on six continents and include Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey,
Feld Motor Sports, Disney On
Ice and Disney Live!
Sesame Street: Elmo's Green Thumb Ensemble
(TM/© 2011 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of VEE Corporation)
52nd Annual Benefit
Metropolitan New York Chapter
of The Doll League, Inc. gala
The Doll League(standing) Jennifer Smith, Dale Booker, Lorraine Matthews, Linda Gowie, Charlee T.
Hines, Irene Cates, Barbara Marsan, Carole Brantley, Ann Guillory (seated) Tijuanna Johnson, Margaret Hunter, Sheryl Tucker
chestra (HSO), featuring African
who were amazed that they were Dolls truly redefine beauty.
The party for a purpose hon- American graduates of the
able to find a place that matched
their graceful beauty. These real life ored The Harlem Symphony Or- nation’s top conservatories, and
The Barbara T. Jacquet Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships
to academically outstanding high
school graduates who demonstrate
a need for financial assistance to
pursue college degrees.
Doll's prexy Charlee TaylorHines presented a check for $10,000
to Amadi Hummings, conductor, artistic director and founder of HSO
to further its important work on behalf of African and African American composers. Taylor-Hines also
presented a check for $10,000 to the
Scholarship Fund. Jacquet was a
longtime member of this chapter.
The Metropolitan New York
Chapter of The Doll League, Inc.
is comprised of 13 hardworking
women volunteers who also
maintain professional careers,
including Charlee Taylor-Hines,
Dale Booker, Irene Jones Cates,
Linda Gowie, Ann Guillory,
M a r g a re t H u n t e r, Ti j u a n a
Johnson, Barbara B. Marsan,
Lorraine Matthews, Carole
Brantley-Pines, Jennifer Taylor
Smith, Sandy Tate, and Sheryl
Hilliard Tucker.
(Photos by Charles Wilkinson,
Ruth Hunt and Audrey J. Bernard)
Bill Taylor, Lorraine & Gregg Matthews
Charlee Hines, Amadi Azikiwe
Annie Greenup
NCBW 100 Bergen-Passaic chaper members Gladys Hoffler Thomas, Deborah 'Beechie' Witcher Jackson, Gail Gravely Cheesman
Sandy & Bob Tate
The Metropolitan New York
Chapter of The Doll League, Inc.
attracted over 300 resplendent
invitees to its 52nd annual benefit
on Saturday, December 4, 2010 at
The Palisadium located on the
beautiful cliffs of New Jersey
overlooking the tranquil waters of
the Hudson River with a breathtaking view of the Manhattan
skyline.
The tony venue provided the
perfect setting for an enchanted
evening of dinner, dancing and
music to the old school, soulful
sounds of The Brothers 2+2
Band. Award winning TV personality Cheryl Washington returned
as Mistress of Ceremonies. Beautiful Dolls Dale Booker and Ann
Guillory served as gala benefit
co-chairs; and Doll Barbara B.
Marsan did a superb job as journal chairperson.
The Dolls dazzled guests in
their choice of stylish silvery
dresses which set the tone for a
sparkling evening. Their radiance
did not go unnoticed by guests
Gus Jenkins,
Denise Richardson
Mr. & Mrs. Earl Heron,
Dr. Marcella Maxwell
Jean Tanis, Carole Brantley
Audrey Smaltz, Gail Marquis
Barbara Marsan, Dr. Ena A. Marsan, Eve A. Marsan, Dr. Earl A. Marsan
Maisha Taylor,
fiance Bruce Alston
Ruth Hunt
The Scene
13
KICKIN’ IT with Lifestyles & Society Editor Audrey J. Bernard
14
Russell Simmons announces winners
of Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series
Danny and Russell Simmons
MIAMI, FLORIDA – Russell
and Danny Simmons’ Rush
Philanthropic Arts Foundation
is dedicated to providing
underserved urban youth with
significant exposure and access to the arts, and to offering exhibition opportunities
for underrepresented artists
and artists of color.
Last year, the Foundation
joined forces with Bombay
Sapphire and Mark Ecko’s
Complex magazine to create
the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series to further “foster creativity and promote
artistic expression,” according to Russell Simmons,
p r e s i d e n t a n d c o - f o u n d e r,
Rush Philanthropic Arts
Foundation.
The partnership was
launched last year with a nationwide search for the next
great talents in multi-media
art and photography which
took place from September
through November 2010 in
cities including Chicago,
Andre Guichard, contest winner Jorge Cavalier, Russell Simmons, contest winner Stan Squirewell, Danny Simmons
Jorge Cavalier's winning entry
DJ D-Nice, Russell Simmons
Atlanta, Dallas, Washington
DC, Houston, Detroit and
New York City.
Over 2,000 submissions
were received from artists
around the country hoping
to be the next big name in
both urban photography
and multi-media art. All
submissions were judged
by a panel that included
Ecko, Rush Philanthropic
A r t s F o u n d a t i o n ’s v i c e
chairman, co-founder and
artist Danny Simmons, along
with curatorial staff from the
Foundation, and top curators
from around the country.
On Saturday, December 4,
2010, the grand finale winners
of the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series took place at
Miami’s Paris Theater that was
attended by Hip Hop Royalty
including Marc Ecko, Russell
Simmons and Danny Simmons,
to support the artist hopefuls
and announce the winners. As
invitees sipped signature
Bombay Sapphire cocktails, DJ
D-Nice provided a mellow
soundtrack for everyone to
view the submissions.
After considerable deliberation by the Artisan Series jury
panel, Russell Simmons announced the inaugural winners
of the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series — Washington, DC
photographer Stan Squirewell
and Miami artist Jorge Cavalier. The winning artists will
have their work installed at the
Rush Arts Gallery in Manhattan from January 13-27, 2011.
(Photos by George Martinez)
Stan Squirewell's winning entry
(from page 2)
charges were later dropped
and Snipes was charged with
misdemeanor violations.
Prosecutors argued that
Snipes had received $40 million since 1999, but had not
completed tax returns and was
involved in a tax resisters
group. The actor denied his involvement and said his failure
to file was due to a mistake by
his financial advisor.
The Friends of Snipes contend on their website that, in
addition to Snipes unfairly receiving the maximum sentence
of three years in prison on misdemeanor charges, he was denied an appeal. Additionally,
the group claims that two jurors from the Snipes trial sent
out e-mails explaining that
three other jurors presumed
that Snipes was guilty before
the trial began. In their emails, the two jurors claimed
the remaining jurors, in rendering their verdict, never
believed that Snipes would
be sent to jail, and felt they
needed to come forward to
show misconduct.
But Judge Hodges, who
issued Snipes’ sentence, declined to interview the jurors to
confirm any misconduct and
issue the actor a new trial.
Snipes’ lawyer, attorney
Daniel Meachum, said a brief
for Snipes’ appeal will be submitted this month and the petition is slated to be submitted
to the Supreme Court in February.
“It’s not so much a case
about Wesley Snipes, but it’s
Rights groups say Texas Board of Ed
violated students’ constitutional rights
(from page 9)
professor specializing in
Mexican American history,
agrees.
“To state the obvious,
such striking omissions and
deletions suggest a pattern
of neglect rather than happenstance or an occasional
lapse of judgment,” Zamora
said in his statement of support.
Later in his statement Zamora adds: “Part of
the explanation for the
skewed representation rests
in the continued predominance of White males as
major figures in history
books. This view of history,
however, cannot be justified
solely by the emphasis that
we give to fields of history
like government, industry,
and wars… 76 percent male
representation is inordinately high, especially if we
consider that the study of
history has expanded significantly since the early
1970s and provided greater
depth and breadth from
which to draw.”
But the SBOE curriculum
changes are only one part of
a larger broadside against the
Te x a s e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m .
Also mentioned is the state’s
method of funding schools;
unequal access to Gifted and
Talented programs (according
to the Texas Education Agency
both Blacks and Latinos are
underrepresented among gifted
and
talented
students);
underfunding of charter
schools (Black students make
up 33 percent of students in
open-enrollment
charter
schools in Texas, which means
any differential treatment of
charters affects Blacks more
dramatically); disparate discipline (Black students, while 14
percent of Texas public school
students, are 33 percent of students who are suspended); and
the problems posed by highstakes testing (for instance, because of sanctions associated
with low accountability
rankings, schools actually find
ways to remove low-performing
minority students from the test
rolls in order to affect the system).
a case about the judicial process right now,” Meachum told
the AFRO during a recent interview. ”This case is about
the everyday man.
Wesley Snipes is actually
just a vessel because there’s a
bunch of people—Black and
LOVING IT!
(from page 9)
this play. It’s real and it reminded
me of my times at Tuskegee. [It’s]
a great show.” The play, showcased now at the Actor’s Temple
Theater in NYC, is produced by
The Black Gents, Edmund
Gaynes, and The Layon Gray Experience (www.layongray.com).
For tickets and more information call (212) 239-6200.
www.telecharge.com for online
tickets. It has a limited run until
February/2011, before, GOD
WILLING, it heads to Broadway.
Physically long and lean,
with the subtle grace of a
dancer, Thom Scott plays ‘honest’ Abe, the brother of Mr.
Gray’s character, Quenten. The
two stage brothers go through
all of the trials and tribulations
together; staying focus and ultimately making it as bona/defied the odds, true Tuskegee
airmen. “We got the chance to
meet actual Tuskegee airmen,”
Scott remembers. “Which
helped us to understand what
it was really like to have lived
such a life. To try and under-
Crucially, the complaint
charges that these educational practices are not simply wrongheaded but disc r i m i n a t o r y, a n d t h a t t h e
various issues raised in the
complaint “were either the
result of unnecessary policies that have a disparate or
stigmatizing impact on African Americans and Latinos,
or reflect disparate treatment
or neglect.” Although the
complaint does not suggest
a specific remedy, it is clearly
an invitation for the federal
government to consider taking legal action against the
State of Texas.
“We were able to talk to
and meet with people who
are interested in what’s going on in Texas and want to
be kept informed,” said
Texas NAACP Legal Redress
chair Robert Notzon, referring
to a recent visit he and Bledsoe
m a d e t o Wa s h i n g t o n D . C .
”There’s a good chance that
we’re going to get some hearing from people that are inter(from page 8)
ested and can do something
with this.”
the first woman to run in a
presidential poll in 50 years.
She headed up the opposition
Democratic Convention of African Peoples Party but chose
refugees. You are members to withdraw from the race
along with two other opposiof our family.”
Adonis Verad, a 24-year-old tion candidates claiming the
medical student from Port-au- vote was already rigged.
In Central Africa, two
Prince who lost his entire family in the earthquake, was over- women have ruffled—male—
c o m e w i t h e m o t i o n . ” I ’ v e f e a t h e r s . B u r u n d i ’s A l i c e
heard people say that Haitians Nzomukunda, a former vice
are originally from Senegal and
right now I’m feeling that here
are my roots. I can smile now
after many months of tears and
trauma.”
University in Dakar.
Many
of his critics dismissed him as
a great talker, given to utopian
thinking. But, Wade offered—
and delivered— $1 million in
direct aid.
In October 2010, 163 Haitian students landed in
Dakar aboard a chartered
flight paid for by the
Senegalese government. All
are now at school, and their
expenses are taken care of by
the state.
“Your ancestors left here
by physical force,” Wade told
the students at a welcoming
c e r e m o n y. “ Yo u h a v e r e turned through moral force …
When the slaves embarked on
the ships, this is the last
piece of African earth they
saw … Dear students… you
are neither strangers nor
When the White press attacks a Black voice
(from page 6)
ing with the six Black newspapers
in Indiana on a regular basis and
started writing articles attacking
the lying, conniving White press.
My audience was totally Black
and they knew exactly what I was
talking about. It got to the point
that no matter what the Indianapolis Star or evening news station would report the Black community would not pay it any attention as my word was being delivered properly in the Black
newspapers. After a while my
White enemies started reading
Black newspapers on a continual
basis to see what we were saying
about them. They went on the defensive and that meant we were going to win. We did!
A few years ago I was in Indianapolis and ran into the reporter who wrote the worst articles about me. Pat Traub was
in a bar and was having a few
drinks. I sat down by him and
struck up a conversation. He
was no longer a reporter for the
Indianapolis Star so I asked him:
“Why did you write those ruthless, lying articles about me?” He
replied, “That was what I was paid
stand what they actually went
through. It was an unforgettable
experience. How could it not affect my performance? It is an
actor’s goal to be believable. We
all want to please. We care what
people think of our craft. I care
what people think of me as an
actor. Yes, I am somewhat insecure. I have a fear of failure. I do
struggle with self-doubt. Actors
want to be liked. Do I lose sleep
over it? No way. But I do care
what people think.”
A self proclaimed dedicated
husband of sixteen years, he
concludes, “I want to be a moniker of a star. I want to give good
performances that make a
change. My favorite movie,
Castaway, with Tom Hanks, so
brilliant on so many levels. I
want to carry a movie like that.
And I want to tell stories about
Black men that have not been
told. But as a man, as a human
being, and as a Christian, I would
like to tell the world, if they are listening, that JESUS is coming back.
Get your life right. HE is coming
back soon as LORD & Saviour.”
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Africa’s ‘iron ladies’ vied
for the nation’s top spot
What can a brother do?
(from page 8)
White—who have been incarcerated when they don’t necessarily need to be there, because
the prosecution has not turned
over all the discoveries [evidence] that they’re required to
do. Wesley’s just one of many
victims in this system.”
to do. It was just my job – nothing personal”. Yes, my people, it
is just a very cruel game and a
ploy to gain or maintain power
which turns into money.
So, the next time you notice the
White press going after a brother
or sister who is leading something
please understand it is a ruthless
game. Take it with a grain of
“salt”. Wait and hear the other
side of the story.
Mr. Alford is the co-founder,
president/CEO, of the National
Black Chamber of Commerce®.
Website: www.nationalbcc.org.
Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.
president and the leader of the
Democratic Alliance for Renewal, formed an alliance with
other opposition parties against
Pierre Nkurunzinza. She was
thwarted only through arrest
without charge.
Finally in Rwanda, Victoire
Ingabire Umuhonza came forward to do battle with President Paul Kagame. After locking her up in jail and then
under house arrest, Kagame
went safely to the polls and
won by a landslide.
Environmental racism
in the year 2011
(from page 6)
cer and other diseases as a direct results of unjust and terrible exposures to environmental dangers. That is why we
must oppose any attempt to
scale back health care coverage and reform in the United
States. Millions of lives are at
stake.
Let’s work with the EPA today and the Obama Administration to get more relief and to
establish better living conditions for our families and communities across the nation.
2011 should be a year for more
progress. Don’t let the nega-
tive, cynical forces of reaction
take us backward. Yes, there are
many different issues and priorities that will demand out attention and energy. It is in the context of our overall struggle for
justice and empowerment that I
am reminding us not to forget
about the air we breath, the water we drank, and the environment where we live. Racism in
all of its deadly forms must be
challenged.
Dr. Benjamin F Chavis Jr.
is senior advisor to the Black
Alliance for Educational Options and President of Education Online Services Corporation.
15
Supporters demand new trial for Wesley Snipes
16
Obama exhorts Republicans to put politics aside & govern
(from page 3)
promised to veto a repeal if it
reaches his desk. Even so, Republicans say they will try to
starve the overhaul of money
and dismantle it piece by piece.
Obama will also face opposition on spending and the
debt. Though the president
has said the nation’s long-term
fiscal health must be addressed, he’s warned that cutting spending now could be disastrous for the fragile economic recovery.
But conservative Republicans, including many newly
elected members of Congress,
want to cut spending immediately. The first test of how
much Obama is willing to compromise with this wing of the
GOP comes in February, when
lawmakers have to pass a massive spending bill to keep the
government running.
Obama said he hopes that
House Speaker-designate John
Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
“will realize that there will be
plenty of time to campaign for
2012 in 2012. And that our job
this year is to make sure that
we build on recovery.”
But 2012, nevertheless, is fast
approaching, and he knows it.
Senior adviser David Axelrod
plans to head to Chicago this
month, with Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, taking his place at the White House.
More staff will follow Axelrod to
Chicago, though aides have not
yet been asked to commit to making the move.
Obama is also considering naming former Commerce Secretary
William Daley to a top White
House job, possibly chief of staff,
a person familiar with the matter
said Monday. Daley, an executive
at JPMorgan Chase, would bring
extensive private sector experience
to a White House seeking to
counter the notion that the president is antibusiness.
The person was not authorized
to speak publicly on the manner
and requested anonymity.
After making only a few brief
public appearances during his
nearly two week family vacation, Obama eased back into the
public eye on his final day in
Hawaii. After an afternoon at
the beach, Obama treated his
friends and family to shave ice,
a Hawaiian snow cone, stopping
to shake hands and talk with
people who had gathered near the
Island Snow store that is a favorite of the Obamas. He also joined
his family for an evening trip to the
Honolulu Zoo.
“You know, I think there’s going to be politics. That’s what
Cuomo, new senior executive
chamber staff to take pay cut
(from page 3)
apply to them. Top government
employees should have no
questions, no gray areas, and
no possibility of confusion regarding what is proper and
what is not.”
The Executive Order also requires officials to participate in
this ethics training every two
years. The training will focus
on the rules about serving in
government.
Blair Horner, legislative director of the New York Public
Interest Research Group, said,
“Today’s action by the governor not only addresses a real
problem, but it sends a powerful message that Albany’s ethics climate must change. We
hope that this is the first step
in a journey to overhaul New
York’s woefully inadequate
ethics laws.”
Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director for the New York
State League of Women Voters said, “Governor Cuomo
is setting a new tone in Albany by requiring top government officials to attend
e t h i c s t r a i n i n g . Wi t h t h e
ethical morass that has engulfed state government in
recent years this is a welcomed development and The
League of Women Voters applauds this important first
step in restoring integrity to
our state.”
Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union said, “The
governor is putting action behind his words with this Executive Order. In order to ensure
that ethics reform is upheld, the
major players involved must all
be on the same page. Governor
Cuomo’s mandate to fix Albany
has taken one more step forward today.”
A signed statement certifying
participation must be submitted
by each individual for their personnel file.
happens in Washington. They
are going to play to their base
for a certain period of time. But
I’m pretty confident that
they’re going to recognize that
our job is to govern,” Obama
said to reporters traveling back
to the capital with him on Air
Force One.
Another critical juncture
could come as early as March,
when lawmakers vote on
whether to raise the debt ceiling. Some GOP lawmakers, including South Carolina Sen.
Lindsey Graham, have said
they won’t vote to raise the
debt limit unless there is a plan
in place for dealing with longterm obligations, including
Social Security, and for returning to 2008 spending levels.
With the debt ceiling at $14.3
trillion, and the debt at nearly
$13.9 trillion and growing daily,
White House economist
Austan Goolsbee said that refusing to raise the limit would
have a “catastrophic” impact
on the economy.
Despite Republican gains,
Obama still holds some leverage — namely a Democratic
majority in the Senate that
could counter Republican action in the House, and the veto
power of the executive branch.
He’s also coming off a successful run in the final weeks
of 2010, having secured wins
on a tax compromise with Republicans, a new nuclear arms
treaty with Russia and the repeal of the military’s ban on
openly gay service members.
Still, Obama has said there
is unfinished business he
wants to address this year, including energy legislation and
immigration reform, specifically the DREAM Act, which
was defeated in Congress last
month. He has said he’ll make
another go at the legislation,
which would provide a path to
citizenship for young people
brought to the U.S. illegally if
they go to college or join the
military.
White House officials say
they also see some opportuni-
ties to capitalize on that momentum and work with Republicans,
including on looming trade deals
with Colombia and Panama, and
the reauthorization of the No
Child Left Behind education act.
In an op-ed piece in The Washington Post on Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said
lawmakers from both parties are
already working together to draft
a reauthorization, and said, “few
areas are more suited for bipartisan action than education reform.”
Preparations are under way
for a busy month for Obama, including visits from at least two
allies. Obama will host French
President Nicolas Sarkozy on
Jan. 10, said a senior administration official who confirmed the
visit on condition of anonymity
because it had not yet been announced by the White House. In
addition, Chinese President Hu
Jintao will be in Washington for
a state visit on Jan. 19.
Obama will deliver his State
of the Union address later this
month, in which he’ll outline his
agenda for the year, including
proposals for deficit reduction.
Change will be coming to the
White House. Obama spent some
of his Hawaiian holiday reviewing a staff restructuring review
led by interim chief of staff Pete
Rouse. While officials have cautioned that there won’t be
sweeping changes throughout
the West Wing, some shifts will
be made quickly after the
president’s return to Washington.
Obama is likely to name a new
director of the National Economic
Council later this week or early
next week. Top contenders to replace the departed Lawrence
Summers are Treasury Department official Gene Sperling, investment banker Roger Altman
and Yale University President
Richard Levin.
The new NEC director will
have broad oversight of the
administration’s economic decisions and could signal a shift in
policy as the White House
grapples with a 9.8 percent
Michael Jackson bodyguard
‘ordered to conceal syringes’
(from page 3)
pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have contended he did not
give Jackson anything that
“should have” killed the singer.
Choreographer Kenny Ortega
described how the singer appeared sick during a rehearsal
days before his death and left
early. The rehearsal was for a series of planned comeback concerts
in London.
Ortega said after that incident,
Murray “was upset that I had sent
Michael home the night before
and didn’t allow him to rehearse”.
The hearing provided another
glimpse into the private life of
Jackson, who had grown reclusive after his acquittal on child
molestation charges in 2005.
He was described fondly by
former workers, even though the
singer would not allow staff into
his bedroom.
It was in that room that Walgren
said Murray was providing Jackson
propofol about six times a week after being hired as the singer’s personal physician in May 2009. It was
also there that Jackson died, the
prosecutor said, long before help
was summoned.
Another bodyguard, Faheem
Muhammad, testified that he saw
Jackson lying on his bed, his eyes
and mouth wide open. He described
Murray as panicked, and that the
doctor asked whether anyone knew
CPR.
The hearing is expected to include
testimony from police, coroner’s officials and forensic experts who will
describe the mix of sedatives found
in Jackson’s system.
Preliminary hearings have a lower
burden of proof than trials, and defence lawyers rarely present a case.
Murray’s lawyer, Ed Chernoff, did
not make an opening statement.
The 57-year-old cardiologist
passed notes to his lawyer, but did
not speak during the proceedings.
By Victoria Horsford
DEC. NEWS RECAP
Journalists James Booker; John
Brown,61; Solomon Burke, 70;
Gary Coleman, 42; CBS-TV correspondent Harold Dow; Journalist and style doyenne Evelyn
Cunningham: Al Goodman; civil
rights icon Dorothy Height, 98;
NYPD brass Arthur Hill; Lena
Horne; First Lady of Johnson
Publications Eunice Johnson;
businessman Ernest Kalibala;
Jazz pianist Hank Jones; businessman Bruce Llewellyn, 82;
Vocalist Abbey Lincoln; Actress
Vonetta McGee, 65 ; saxophonist James Moody, 85; Teddy
Pendergrass; Nonprofit executive Douglas Pugh; scholar/
writer Sandra Summers Head, 67;
Radio broadcast pioneer Sidney
Small; Shirley Verrett; and Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’
Adua. Entrepreneur Percy Sutton
died in late 2009.
NY Governor David Paterson
commuted the sentence of AfricanAmerican John White who was
convicted and imprisoned on manslaughter charges. He was protecting his family against white trespassers, a Long Island mob, who
threatened violence. His gun accidentally discharged, killing one of
the trespassers. White’s jail time
weighed mostly on illegal gun possession…… President Barack
Obama signed into a law a landmark
$4.6 billion bill to settle class action
lawsuits, filed by Black farmers and
Native Americans against the US
government, which addresses unfair treatment and discrimination.
About $1.2 billion will be allocated
to 70,000 Black Farmers…… The
December big chill and snow blizzards across continental US may
MEDIAUPDATES
force new GOP/Tea Party Congressmen to revisit their twisted
Financed to the tune of $189
views denying the relationship be- million by Discovery since 2008,
tween climate and natural disasters. Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN,
is a joint venture between
BREAKING NEWS
Winfrey’s Harpo Inc. and Discovery Communications. The
White House press secretary OWN was launched on 1/1/11
Robert Gibbs resigned on January and initially reaches 80 million
5, effective January 31. Gibbs will homes. Christine Norman, OWN
be an outside political adviser to CEO says. “OWN will not only
the president and his re-election be a logical extension of who
campaign. The 112th Session of the Oprah is, but also a logical exUS Congress begins on January 5. tension of her daily show. 24/7.”
The GOP holds the House majority. General Motors, Kohl’s DepartGod must work overtime to really ment Stores and Proctor and
bless America through 2012..
Gamble are aboard as OWN sponsors, committed to 3-year deals.
NEWSMAKERS
OWN airs in NYC on Time
Warner channel 115.
MILLENNIALS: Congrats to the
new kids on the block, the 2009/ STUDENT/EDUCATOR OPPS
2010 African-American newborns,
for whom there are great expectaFull-time teachers and librartions. The 2009 class includes Kai ians, grades 7-12, are invited to
Sidberry, born on June 11; Cyler apply for a Toyota International
Johnathan Williams, born in June; Scholarship to South Africa, from
Richard Parnell Habersham III, born July 24 to August 10, 2011. This
on December 9; and Dylan Corbett, Scholarship to SA offers firstborn on December 21; and Mahlan hand exposure to the nation’s
Abyan Clear, born on December 1. social and environmental comThe 2010 arrivals are Nina Grey, plexity and will focus on its susborn February 9 and Jack Kadem tainable development, emphasizParham, born on October 25.
ing links among its history, culACHIEVERS: Two prominent ture, power and the environment.
African Americans will be honored Visit www.iie.org/toyota for an
at the 62nd Annual Advertising Hall application. Deadline is January
of Fame Induction Ceremonies & 23.
Gala Dinner, on March 30, at the
College-bound HS seniors
Waldorf Astoria. Bill Cosby be- with a 3.0 GPA are eligible for paid
comes the first-ever honoree to be internships for 4 years. Students
the recipient of the AHF President must be interested in disciplines
Award For Special Lifetime Contri- like media, business, computer
bution to Advertising, which will be schience, engineering, techgiven to an individual, whose main nology. These Internships are
occupation is not in advertising. Earl available in Atlanta, NY/NJ,
Graves, Sr., Chairman/Founder of Philadelphia, Wa s h i n g t o n ,
Black Enterprise, is among the eight D C , M i a m i , P h i l a d e l p h i a
advertising legends, who will be a n d B r i s t o l , C o n n e c t i c u t .
inducted into the 2011 AHF Hall of D e a d l i n e i s J a n u a r y 1 4 .
Fame.
Visit.emmabowenfoundation.com
CAPRICORN NATIVES: for application.
Muhammad Ali, Dr. Ben-Jochanan,
BOOK NOTES
Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J; Mary Flowers: Mae Jackson; Dr. Leonard
Jeffries; Dr. Ben-Johannan; James
Mainstream media is paying
Earl Jones; Cheryl Lugo, UniWorld lots of attention to the new book
Group founder Byron Lewis; Cheryl “DISINTEGRATION: The SplinMills Carroll; Elayne Richard; Voza tering of Black America” by
Rivers; Ron Ryan; Denzel Washing- Washington Post, Pulitzer Prize
winning writer Eugene Robinson,
ton; and Tiger Woods.
2010/REST IN PEACE: who argues against Black AmeriTuskegee Airman, Retired Air Force can homogeneity. Robinson
Lieutenant Colonel and business- sees an hierarchy of Black Amerigroups:
1)
the
man, Lee Archer, 90; Dean of Black can
Diaspora Studies: Methodology,
Pedagogy and Research” Conference, from January 6-8, at the
Schomburg
Located at 515 Lenox Avenue, Harlem
and at the CUNY Graduate Center, at
365 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. More
than 125 scholars from the US, the
Caribbean, South American, Africa
and Europe will present in 27 sessions, during the Conference, whose
participants include Dr. Khalil Gibran
Muhammad, Schomburg Director
designate, Dr. Molefi Asante, Dr.
Johnetta Cole, and Dr. Maulana
Karenga. Visit www.nypl.org, then go
to Schomburg.
Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH
Coalition convenes the 14th ANNUAL
WALL STREET PROJECT ECONOMIC SUMMIT, from January 1114, at the Sheratorn NY Hotel, located
at 811 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan.
Power breakfasts and dinners, special sessions and seminars, including
a day-long Small Business Institute
(SBI) Intensive, are among SUMMIT
highlights. Captains of industry,
economists and politicos compose
the main cast of SUMMIT characters. Congressman Charles Rangel will
be honored at a VIP Opening Gala
reception where Senator Chuck
Schumer and His Excellency
Babatunde Raji Fashola, Governor
of Lagos State, Nigeria, will speak.
Wells Fargo, Citi, Google, and
Verizon are among SUMMIT’S
participating corporations. Visit
www.rainbowpush.org.
Oprah Winfrey
The 57th WINTER ANTIQUES
SHOW, a benefit for the East Side
House Settlement, runs from January
21-30, at the Park Avenue Armory on
67 Street, Manhattan. The gold standard of the nation’s art expositions,
the Winter Antiques Show is the destination for the cognoscenti and for
exhibitors, who specialize in American, English, European and Asian fine
and decorative arts, from antiquity to
the 1960s. Lecture series, Young Collectors Night and the January 20
Opening Night Party are part of the
WAS mix. Subscriptions to the Opening Night party range from $300 to
$2500.
Visit
WinterAntiquesShow.com. The East
Earl Graves
Mary J. Blige
Side House Settlement is a Bronxread it.
based social service and education
GREAT FOOD, ALL DAY organization, serving the predomiLONG, literary doyenne Maya nantly African American and Latino
Angelou’s new Random House residents, in the Mott Haven area.
book, is an epicurean delight. Her
The AMERICAN FOUNDATION
savory recipes, for veggies,
chicken, pork, beef and fish, will FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF THE
titillate all palates and are good WEST INDIES hosts its 14th Annual
The Legacy Continues” Awards Gala,
for all occasion.
The 12/29 NYT Op-ed essay at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue at
“Prosperity Starts With A Pea” 61 Street, Manhattan, on Wednesday,
was the appetizer for Jessica Har- January 26. The 2010 AFUWI honorris’ new book “HIGH ON THE ees are Patrick Gaston, Kaye FosterHOG: A Culinary Journey From Cheek, Dr. Michelle Johnson, Yolanda
Africa to America,” in book- Lezama-Clark, Carlton A. Masters,
stores this week. Jessica Harris, Brenda Blackmon, Michael Escoffery,
PhD, is a native New Yorker, a and Jeanine Liburd. Maurice DuBois
prolific author whose titles in- and Star Jones are event master and
clude “The African Cookbook,” mistress of ceremonies, respectively.
Jesse Jackson Sr.
“Beyond Gumbo,” and “Iron Pots The two-tier, black-tie AFUWI Gala
and Wooden Spoons.” The poly- begins with a reception which is folTranscendents/elites like Oprah, glot English professor moon- lowed by a formal dinner awards cerBeyonce, Richard Parson, Citi lights as a culinary anthropolo- emony. Tickets subscriptions begin
Group Chair and Vernon Jordan, gist.
at $500. For reservations and more
lawyer/Wall Streeter; 2) the Maininfo, call 212.889.4694 or visit
stream middle class, which is most
www.afuwi.org.
CULTURE STOPS
Blacks; 3) the Emergent commuThe AFUWI is a nonprofit organinity, which comprises mixed-race
The Schomburg Center for Re- zation founded in 1956, which is the
families and African and Carib- search in Black Culture and the primary conduit for University of the
bean émigrés; and 4) the Aban- Institute for Research in Black West Indies fundraising efforts in the
doned, which needs of a Marshall Culture co-sponsor “The State United States.
Plan! More on the book when I of African American and African
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
WHAT’S GOING ON
17
18
NNPA Award Winner
Enter tainment
By Don Thomas
Remembering
Jazz Legend Dr. Billy Taylor dead at 89
Dr. Billy Taylor, an acclaimed
jazz pianist and composer who
became one of the genre’s most
ardent advocates through radio,
television and the landmark
Jazzmobile arts venture, has died
at age 89.
Taylor died of a heart attack in
Manhattan, said his wife,
Theodora Taylor. “He enjoyed his
life,” she said. “Music was his
love.” Though he had a noteworthy career as a musician and composer that spanned decades, and
played with luminaries such as
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and
Miles Davis, Dr. Taylor was probably best known as a tireless jazz
booster, educator and broadcaster.
Dr. Taylor, as he preferred to
be called, was the first Black to
lead a television studio orchestra
in the 1950s. He helped found
Jazzmobile in the 1960s – which
began as mobile, outdoor concerts on a parade float to bring
free music to inner city neighborhoods. He was host of a popular
jazz show on National Public Radio from 1977 to 1982.
And, in what he later called one
of his more significant accomplishments, he profiled musicians
for CBS’ Sunday Morning show
– winning an EMMY Award in
1983 for a piece on Quincy Jones.
Arnold J. Smith, a professor of
jazz history at New Jersey City
University and friend of Taylor’s,
said the pianist was “one of our
best spokesmen ever in the his-
Dr. William “Billy” Taylor (seated) receives hugs and kisses from adoring family members, friends and
devoted fans during “A Touch Of Taylor” tribute held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture in The Village of Harlem on Monday, November 29, 2010. A Memorial Service for Taylor will be
held at Riverside Church, on Mon. Jan. 10 at 6pm. 2011. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to
Jazzmobile, Inc. http://www.jazzmobile, the organization founded by Dr. Taylor (Photo: Louis Boone III)
tory of this music. To the point that,
it’s my feeling and others, that he
sacrificed his jazz piano playing for
the cause of jazz.”
When asked by an interviewer
in 2007 how he would talk to a
jazz newbie, Dr. Taylor said it depended on the quality of the music. “When it’s well played, there’s
not a lot you have to say, because
if you play it right, then people get
that melody, the rhythm, or whatever the aspect of the music is that
is attractive to them. But one of
the things that we have not done
is to put jazz in the position that it
deserves in our society,” said Taylor.
For Dr. Taylor, jazz was a central musical form for telling the story
of America. “If you really listen to
that, study that, everything you
need to know about America is right
there, and it’s up to us who’ve experienced much of that to be able
to share that,” said Taylor.
William Taylor was born July
24, 1921, in Greenville, N.C., but
he grew up mostly in Washington, D.C. After graduating from
Virginia State College, where he
studied sociology and music in
the 1940s, he moved to New York
City to forge a career as a jazz
pianist.
Billy lucked out, landing a
gig playing with Ben Webster,
Big Sid Catlett and Charlie
Drayton opposite the Art Tatum
Trio, he told an interviewer in
1994. He went on to lead the
Billy Taylor Trio, and composed
dozens of pieces for ensembles
as well as more than 300 songs,
including the popular “I Wish I
Knew How It Would Feel to Be
Free.”
Dr. William “Billy” Taylor is
survived by wife Theodora Taylor, daughter, Kim Taylor-Thompson, a law professor at New
York University. His son, Duane,
died in 1988.
(AP Entertainment Writer
Frazier Moore and Associated
Press Writer Charles J. Gans contributed to this report)
R&B ‘Lovergirl’
Teena ‘Ooo La, La, La’ Marie dies in her sleep
Teena Marie live in concert J&R Music NYC, 8-26-06
(photo by Ronnie Wright)
R&B singer Mary Christine Brocket, 54, (affectionally,
known around the world), as
Teena Marie, best known for
her 1980s hits “Lovergirl,”
“Ooo La La La” and “Lead
Me On,” recently died in her
sleep of unknown causes in
her Los Angeles, California
home.
Teena’s debut LP, 1979’s
Wild and Peaceful, was written with her mentor Rick
James, who dueted with her
on the breakthrough single
“ I ’ m A S u c k e r F o r Yo u r
Love.” Motown, who rarely
signed white artists, didn’t
put her photo on the cover
— leading to a longstanding
belief that Marie was actually Black.
Te e n a w a s b o r n i n
Santa Monica and began
performing at a very young
age, appearing as a tap
dancer on a an episode of the
Beverly Hillbillies when she
was only eight years old.
She was signed to Motown
by Berry Gordy, Jr. when she
was 19, though no music
was released for nearly three
years while they figured out
what kind of material to give
her.
“One day [Rick James] was
walking down the hall and I was
sitting in Stevie Wonder’s office,” Marie recalled in a 2009
interview. “I would always be in
there playing his piano and
singing. Rick popped his head
in there and we started having
a conversation and after that we
just became really close
friends.”
James contributed much
to Marie’s disco-infused debut album, though they rarely
worked together in the ensuing years. She released three
more albums for Motown, but
in 1982 she got into a legal
battle with the label.
In the end she won a
landmark lawsuit that declared it illegal for labels to
keep artists under contract
while refusing to release their
work. It became known as the
“Brockert Initiative,” after
Teena’s real name. “It wasn’t
something I set out to do,”
she told the Los Angeles
Times in 2004.
“I just wanted to get away
from Motown and have a good
life. But it helped a lot of
people, like Luther Vandross
and the Mary Jane Girls and a
lot of different artists, to be
able to get out of their contracts,” Teena said.
After the lawsuit Marie
signed to Epic, and released a
series of R&B hits including
“Ooo La La La,” “Work It,”
“Here’s Looking At You” and
“Lovergirl,” which hit #9 on
the Billboard Hot 100.
She took a long break in the
1990s to raise her daughter,
but in 2004 she re-emerged
with the album La Dona, which
was released on Cash Money
and featured contributions by
Common, Birdman, Gerard
Levert and Rick James.
It was James’ final recording before his death. Teena
Marie’s most recent release
w a s 2 0 0 9 ’s C o n g o S q u a r e .
She continued to tour until
shortly before her sudden
death.
Theater
19
By Don Thomas
Playwright
Hazel Rosetta Smith
Following a uplifting,
heartfelt and spirited conversation with noted playwright Hazel Rosetta Smith,
it gives me a great pleasure,
to announce that her prod u c t i o n o f “ To Yo u , M r.
Hughes,” will finally take
c e n t e r s t a g e at Harlem’s prestigious Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture.
It is more exciting to share
with you, Smith’s words regarding the upcoming production, as she said,
“ To
t h o s e w h o k n o w m e … To
those who have enjoyed my
work…To those who wish me
Langston Hughes
(L-R) Artists Sir Shadow and LeRoy Neiman. “Is Sir Shadow for
real? Is he a poet? Is he a one-line artist? Or is he a philosopher? It
is likely that he is this and more. What I do know is that he puts
smiles on faces and sends them happier on their way. Shadow’s work
sports fun and champions beauty…to do that you just have to be good!
Bravo!,” says LeRoy Neiman. Visit SirShadow.com or the Hue Man
Bookstore in Harlem, where his one-line calendars are currently on
sale.
well…I am asking…Will you
help me fill every seat of the
Langston Hughes Auditorium?
“It is my heart’s desire to
show appreciation and support to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture for producing two
special performances of my
play at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on
Saturday, February 26, 2011.
“It seems so appropriate,
yet overwhelming to me,
that “To You, Mr. Hughes”
will make its appearance on
the stage of the Langston
Hughes Auditorium of the
Schomburg Center.
“Originally produced by
the African American Institute of the United Nations in
1992, “To You, Mr. Hughes”
is a comedic, dramatic, musical tribute to Langston
Hughes, The Poet Laureate
of Harlem.
“Nineteen years later, my
dream is finally here. My vision for it will appear. I see
every seat accounted for
with the words SOLD-OUT
boldly displayed.
“I have visualized it and I
believe it can happen for
both shows. I am proud and
honored to have an outstanding cast: Jeff Bolding,
A n g e l a B o u r e l l y, M i c h a e l
Liverpool, Denise Spann-Morg a n , K e v i n S i p l e y, Ly n n a r d
Williams. I know you will be
joyfully entertained, informed
and enlightened.
“Thank you in advance for
whatever you may do. As Alw a y s , I n G o d ’s C a r e , ” c o n cluded Hazel Rosetta Smith.
Tickets are available NOW
at the Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture, 515
Madison Avenue, Harlem. Gift
Shop (212) 491-2206 (Open
Mondays thru Saturdays ~ 11
a.m. to 6 p.m.). Tickets are $20
~ Schomburg Members are
$16.
‘To You, Mr. Hughes,’ finally takes center stage
Flick-Chat
20
Kam’s assessment of the (Best and
Worst) in 2010 Black Cinema arena
Kam Williams
Movie Critic
Blacktrospective
Ten Best Black Feature
Films (1) Just Wright (2) Why
Did I Get Married Too? (3) Prince
of Broadway (4) Brooklyn’s Finest (5) Lottery Ticket (6) For Colored Girls (7) Night Catches Us
(8) Blood Done Sign My Name
(9) Frankie and Alice (10) Takers.
Best Black Documentaries
(1) We Need to Talk (2) Biracial,
Not Black, Damn It! (3) Neshoba
(4) The Other City (5) Waiting for
Superman (6) The Lottery (7) A
Place Out of Time (8) Jean-Michel
Basquiat: The Radiant Child (9)
Ghetto physics (10) To Live and
Die in Amerikkka.
Best African Films (1) Africa
United (2) White Wedding (3)
Soul Boy (4) Bouncing Cats (5)
Soundtrack for a Revolution.
Best Actor (Lead Role) (1)
Nate Parker (Blood Done Sign My
Name) (2) Prince Adu (Prince of
Broadway) (3) Bow Wow (Lottery
Ticket) (4) Don Cheadle
(Brooklyn’s Finest) (5) Common
(Just Wright) (6) Anthony Mackie
(Night Catches Us) (7) Tyrese
(Legion) (8) Denzel Washington
(Unstoppable) (9) Terry Crews
(The Expendables) (10) Jaden
Smith (The Karate Kid).
Best Actor (Supporting Role)
(1) Diddy (Get Him to the Greek)
(2) J.B. Smoove (Date Night) (3)
Samuel L. Jackson (The Other
Guys) (4) Chiwetel Ejiofor (Salt)
(5) Wesley Snipes (Brooklyn’s
Finest) (6) T.I. (Takers) (7) The
Rock (The Other Guys) (8) Ving
Rhames (Piranha 3D) (9) Keb’ Mo’
(Who Do You Love) (10) Morgan
Freeman (Red).
Best Actress (Lead Role) (1)
Queen Latifah (Just Wright) (2)
Sonequa Martin (Toe to Toe) (3)
Kerry Washington (Mother and
Child, Night Catches Us) (4)
Thandie Newton (For Colored
Girls) (5) Tasha Smith (Why Did I
Get Married Too) (6) Latoya
Luckett (Preacher’s Kid) (7) Janet
Jackson (Why Did I Get Married
Too?) (8) Kimberly Elise (For Colored Girls) (9) Halle Berry (Frankie
and Alice) (10) Jill Scott (Why Did
I Get Married Too?).
Best Actress (Supporting
Role) (1) Paula Patton (Just
Wright) (2) Loretta Devine (For
Colored Girls) (3) Sharon Leal
(Why Did I Get Married Too) (4)
Keyali Mayaga (Prince of Broadway) (5) Kerry Washington (For
Colored Girls) (6) YaYa DaCosta
(The Kids Are All Right) (7) Zoe
Kravitz (It’s Kind of a Funny Story)
(8) Phylicia Rashad (For Colored
Girls) (9) Janet Jackson (For Colored Girls) (10) Tessa Thompson
(For Colored Girls).
Best Director (Feature Film)
(1) Sanaa Hamri (Just Wright) (2)
Tyler Perry (For Colored Girls),
(Why Did I Get Married Too?) (3)
Erik White (Lottery Ticket) (4)
Antoine Fuqua (Brooklyn’s Finest)
(5) Tanya Hamilton (Night Catches
Us).
Best Director (Documentary)
(1) Janks Morton (We Need to Talk,
Guilty Until Proven Innocent) (2)
Carolyn Battle Cochrane (Biracial,
Not Black, Damn It!) (3) E. Raymond
Brown (Ghettophysics) (4) Arthur
“Silky Slim” Reed (To Live and Die
in Amerikkka) (5) Nabil Elderkin
(Bouncing Cats).
Worst Film (1) Harlem Aria
(2) Grown Ups (3) Our Family
Wedding (4) Death at a Funeral
(5) The Losers. Worst Actor (1)
Damon Wayans (Harlem Aria) (2)
Chris Rock (Grown Ups), (Death
at a Funeral) (3) Forest Whitaker
(Our Family Wedding), (Repo
Men) (4) Lance Gross (Our Fami l y We d d i n g ) ( 5 ) M a r t i n
Lawrence (Death at a Funeral).
Worst Actress (1) Zoe
Saldana (Death at a Funeral),
(Losers) (2) Maya Rudolph
(Grown Ups) (3) Anna Maria
Horsford (Our Family Wedding)
(4) Regina Hall (Death at a Funeral) (5) Eyde Byrde (Harlem
Aria).
Film Strip
Comic Kevin Hart dared to be funny
By Marie Moore
Contributing Scribe
“You don’t know how far you can go if you don’t try,” -Kevin Hart
Stand up comic Kevin Hart
continues to build upon his film
track record with his latest comedy, “Little Fockers.” Wielding a
double edge sword with his successful DVD “Seriously,…
Funny,” which also is the name of
his Comedy Central special, has a
lead role in “Soul Plane” and appeared in “Death at a Funeral,”
“Fool’s Gold,” “The 40 Year Old
Virgin,” “Epic Movie,” “Scary
Movie 4,” and “Meet Dave.”
A former shoe salesman, Hart
acted on a dare and the rest is history, he told this scribe. “A friend
of mine told me I was too funny
guy and should try and do stand
up. I said ‘seriously?’ We talked
about it for a long time and one
day he dared me to go on stage. I
took his bet and went on stage. I
fell in love with it. I haven’t looked
back since.”
After stints in film, “Focker”
fame caught up with Hart. Although he says it was timing that
this all came about, it helps when
you are friends with one of its
stars. “Though a lot of people
went out for it,” he recounts, “they
liked me. Ben and I have a relationship from past movies that
we’ve done so it was kind of a nobrainer for them. I was excited
about it and said let me take the
opportunity and run with it.”
So what does Hart owe his
success to in a very heavily competitive field? “Well, you don’t
know how far you can go if you
don’t try it. My only advice would
be go for a theme with any possible dream.
“That’s what makes dreams so
beautiful as they start to come
true. You have to push and push
and I’m a living example of it, that
dreams can come true. Believe in
yourself and go with your gut. If
you wanna do it, do it!” Hart said.
With so many Black actors
and actresses in the business and
so
many
ticket
buying
theatergoers, Blacks still are not
getting meaty roles and nominations. Hart attributes that to lack
of projects and not prejudice.
“Instead of me dwelling on that
and and crying over things that I
can’t change, I’m trying to figure
out how to make a difference. So
we need more people like myself
that are in the entertainment business and have a face that can be
recognized to pull some weight to
bring our projects to the table.
When we do that, we clear our own
way,” Kevin said.
Just as important as a plethora
of projects is the abundance of
human support for the less fortunate. Hart says he is no
stranger to doing his part. “I’m
from Philadelphia and a friend of
mine does a walk for peace there
and I’m involved with that, a
toy drive and I talk to the kids
in the juvenile faculties. I try
to get them on a straight path.
It’s important for them to see
u s a n d t h a t w e c a r e , ” said
Kevin Hart.
MELLOW FELLOW
As part of his “Welcome 2
America” tour, His Purple Highness Prince blew into a snowy
New York City on Wednesday,
December 29, 2010, and melted the
hearts of thousands of adoring
fans who braved the frigid weather
to attend what will go down in the
history of Madison Square Garden concerts as one of the most
majestic shows ever!
Wearing a purple shimmering
shirt, Prince thrilled a sold out frenetic crowd that stood dancing in
place during the two hour plus
show including long time funky
band cohorts Shelby Johnson and
Morris Hayes and three background singers. Prince avoided
fancy backdrops and explosive
pyrotechnical gimmickry and any
other distractions and opted for a
luminous, glyph-shaped stage
rounded out by good old fashioned entertainment which captured his radiant essence to perfection.
As soon as the house lights
were dimmed, pandemonium broke
out. Minutes passed before the
frenzy died down and when the
lights came up, Prince was seated
at a black baby grand piano as
Misty Copeland, a beautiful soloist ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre, joined him on stage
as he performed “The Beautiful
Ones.” The symmetry of that performance set the tone for what
was to follow . . . an enchanted
evening filled with an equal dose
of love, beauty and sexual healing layered with a high measure
of funk!
Then it was party time as the
gifted one turned up the heat and
broke into a body of his electrifying hits – from his signature albums 1999, When Doves Cry,
Purple Rain — as he played to
the crowd enticing them to sing
along on the choruses to “Little
Red Corvette,” “Raspberry Beret”
and “Kiss.” They also lent their
Prince Prowess to his cover of the
Time’s “Cool.”
Three quarters into the show,
His Coolness took a deserving
break and when he reappeared he
was sportin’ a red sequined top
over red velvet form-fitting bell
bottom spandex pants with red
shoes.
There must have been a funk
machine in the back where he was
able to get a funk transfusion ‘because he came back with more energy than an energizing bunny
laced with naughty dance moves.
He ran through “Uptown,”
“The Question of U,” and “If I Was
Your Girlfriend” with a little funky
help from Monáe. He returned to
playing the piano for a medley of
tracks – “I Wanna Be Your Lover,”
“How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore,” and “Condition of the
Heart.”
He was joined on stage for his
final song, the Time’s “Jungle
Love,” by WBLS radio personality Egypt and Cyndi Lauper who
wailed her tail off. And as he
danced all over the stage with gy-
Prince rocks MSG
rating moves like an exotic dancer
who had overdosed on Viagra, the
crowd started their New Years Eve
celebration early jumping up and
down and shouting out his name
over and over not aware that
Prince had long since left the building. But he left his funky print
behind that kept this crowd going
– like an energized bunny!
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
inductee’s (2004) fellow Twin Cities homeboys Mint Condition
opened the show followed by
double-Grammy nominee Janelle
Monáe who is someone worth
watching. If Prince had a sister,
her name would be Monáe.
In addition to seeing one of the
master performers of all time perform, another thing that made this
show so worth seeing was his genius use of established artists
such as Mint Condition,
Cassandra Wilson, Maceo Parker,
Larry Graham and Sheila E, who
have paved the way for others
while placing the spotlight on
emerging artists such as Monáe,
jazz bassist and vocalist Esperanza
Spalding and R&B artist Lalah
Hathaway. Showcasing the newer
artists is Prince’s master plan to
pay forward knowledge and empowerment to the next generation
of talent and to try to inspire others to do so in their own spheres
of influence.
The tour launched the Prince
Chocolate Candy Bar of Belgium
milk chocolate by Dylan’s Candy
Bar, the world’s largest candy emporium. “We are thrilled that
Dylan’s Candy Bar is making a
commemorative candy bar to mark
Prince’s residency in New York,
which marks the beginning of his
much anticipated ‘Welcome 2
America tour,’” said Prince’s manager, Kiran Sharma. The limited
edition Prince candy bars are available only at his concerts in the U.S.
and at the chain’s New York City,
East Hampton, Roosevelt Field,
Orlando and Houston stores.
“When I started Dylan’s Candy
Bar in 2001, I wanted it to be a place
that merged my love of pop culture, fashion, art and music with
candy. Since then, we have been
(Copyright NPG 2010)
fortunate to pioneer artistic partnerships with many legends. To
have Prince, the purple majesty
himself, approach us with his signature graphics to be developed
on a commemorative chocolate bar
was a dream come true,” said
Dylan Lauren, CEO and founder of
Dylan’s Candy Bar.
Kudos to Prince and Live Nation Entertainment, the largest live
entertainment company in the
world, which brought in Terrie Williams, publicist and public relations specialist to the stars to make
sure that the African American
media was invited to his show.
Williams worked exclusively with
her “go to” senior consultant
Cheryl Duncan to make this happen. Both Williams and Duncan
visited each media person in their
seat to bring personal greetings
from Prince and Live Nation. What
a class act. Purple Passion rules!
#
#
#
#
#
Born and raised in Minneapolis,
Prince Rogers Nelson received his
name from his father, jazz musician
John Nelson, who was a performer
in the Prince Rogers Trio. In contrast to the privileged status implied by such a name, the young
Prince was saddled with a run-ofthe-mill crappy childhood, and after his parents’ divorce he left
home to escape a combative relationship with his stepfather.
During a brief period where he
once again lived with his father, he
was given his first guitar, initiating
an enduring interest in composition and performance; the remainder of his childhood was spent living with one of the married couples
in his neighborhood, and it was
with their son, André Anderson,
that Prince formed his first band
Grand Central that included
Prince’s cousin Charles Smith,
friend Morris Day and André’s sister Linda.
By their high school years the
members of Grand Central had reinvented themselves as Champagne, switching their focus from
covers to self-written material.
Despite some success as a live act
in the Minneapolis area, Champagne would dissolve before any
recordings were made.
At the age of 18, Prince put together a collection of demo tracks
with the help of producer Chris
Moon, and with these high-quality recordings and some further
help from manager Owen Husney
he secured a contract with Warner
Brothers Records. The debut release For You (1978) materialized
not long afterward, the bulk of its
material having been composed
and realized by the young performer on his own.
This first offering was given
only a lukewarm reception, although the not-at-all-suggestively-titled single “Soft” and
“Wet” managed to make a reasonable showing in the R&B
charts. An eponymous release
the following year did somewhat
better, launching two singles
“Why You Wanna Treat Me So
Bad?” and “I Wanna Be Your
Lover” into the R&B and dance
charts.
By his third album, Dirty Mind
(1980), the musician had fully consolidated a reputation for controversial (i.e. sexually explicit) material — a reputation first established in his raunchy stage
shows. The album also initiated
a trend of strong critical support
in response to the varied and ambitious nature of the arrangements.
In 1981 the flamboyant performer managed to expand his
reputation overseas and make his
first venture to the top of the
(dance) charts through the release of his fourth album (and its
title single) Controversy.
The beginning of his career as
a producer for other artists was
also initiated a this time, taking
the form of sessions he helmed
for his former bandmate Morris
Day’s new ensemble The Time;
in the decades to come Prince
would expand this role with a series of “protégé” subjects, including Vanity, Apollonia, The Family
and Sheila E.
The most dramatic shift in his
fortunes, however, took place
late in 1982 after the release of
the single “1999,” the first of his
songs to attract the attention of
the mainstream, MTV-watching,
pop music audience. The album
of the same name (featuring his
new backing band The Revolution) achieved triple platinum status soon after its release, and
launched two more singles –
“Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious” — high into the pop charts.
This new-found commercial
popularity was given significant
reinforcement by his next project,
the feature film/soundtrack album
Purple Rain (1984), which was a
huge success in both formats; it
also served to maintain his “controversial” status among censorship groups and religious fanatics. The album’s track “Darling
Nikki” and its reference to the
degraded, deviant practice of
masturbation raised many uberprude eyebrows.
Prince continued to have his
kinky way with the charts throughout the remainder of the 1980s, following up Purple Rain with the
popular releases Around The World
In A Day (1985), Parade (1986) (featuring the #1 single “Kiss”), Sign
O’ The Times (1987), Lovesexy (1988)
and Batman (1989) (associated with
Tim Burton’s superhero film of the
same name).
His subsequent film ventures did
not fare nearly as well, however, and
his second feature Under The
Cherry Moon (1986) achieved only
a fraction of the success given to
its soundtrack album Parade. This
outcome was repeated yet again with
his third film, a sequel to Purple
Rain titled Graffiti Bridge (1990).
With the arrival of the 1990s
Prince assembled a new backing
band, which he dubbed The New
Power Generation. The recording
debut of this line-up was made
through the 1991 release Diamonds
And Pearls, its first two singles
“Cream” and “Gett Off” finding their
way to the top of the pop and dance
charts, respectively. His 1993 effort
was also given this icon as a title,
although it has since come to be referred to as “The Love Symbol Album.”
As declining sales greeted early
90s albums that included a greatest
hits collection, an official release of
The Black Album (completed in
1987 and previously available only
as a bootleg), and the new album
Come (1994), a conflict arose between Prince and Warner Brothers
concerning control of his extensive
back catalog.
Two more albums, The Gold Experience (1995) and Chaos and Disorder (1996) were delivered to the
label to fulfill the terms of his contract, after which he issued the
sprawling 3 CD collection Emancipation (1996) through his own NPG
imprint in which a dedicated fanbase
continued to ensure a substantial
amount of commercial success.
Another extensive collection, the
4 CD archival set Crystal Ball, appeared in 1997, and the two albums
Newpower Soul (1998) and Rave Un
2 The Joy Fantastic (1999) closed
out an incontinently prolific decade.
With the arrival of the 00s and the
end of his publishing contract with
Warner, Prince dropped his “symbol” and resumed use of his birth
name. In the new decade he also
adjusted the focus of his output
away from the mainstream and concentrated instead on the core fans
that continued to support him, creating the internet-based subscription service NPGMusicClub.
The 2001 release The Rainbow
Children (celebrating his conversion to the Jehovah’s Witnesses)
was first made available through this
service, as were the albums One
Nite Alone (2002), Xpectation (2003),
N.E.W.S. (2003), The Chocolate Invasion (2004) and The Slaughterhouse (2004).
Added to this flurry was the conventionally-released effort Musicology (2004), issued under license to
another corporate bloodsucker,
Sony Music. A high-profile collaboration with Stevie Wonder on his
“comeback” single So What The
Fuss followed in 2005.
His Purple Highness holds court in
NYC at Madison Square Garden
21
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SPORTS
23
Jets get Colts in first round
By Andrew Rosario
East Rutherford, NJ -—It had
all the feeling of a pre-season
game. With the New York Jets
playing for absolutely nothing
against the Buffalo Bills, head
coach Rex Ryan deactivated
his starting running backs
(LaDanian Tomlinson and Shonn
Greene) his corner backs (Darelle
Revis and Antonio Cromartie) and
his safeties (Eric Smith and James
Ihedibgo). Quarterback Mark
Sanchez and his tender shoulder
only played the first two series
and didn’t attempt a pass. With
all that, the Jets managed to destroy a sorry Bills team 38-7. Fans
spent more time tailgaiting before
the game than actually stayed for
the entirety of the contest.
The Jets jumped on the Bills
from the get go taking a 3-0 lead
after a 28 yard Nick Folk field
goal. The make shift defense
kicked in the first touchdown of
the day as cornerback Marquice
Cole stepped in front of wide receiver Steve Johnson to pick off
the pass and return it 35 yards for
the pick six. Back-up quarterback
Mark Brunnell came in and didn’t
look like the aging quarterback
signed to just hold the clipboard
on the sidelines. He threw 2 touchdown passes (17 yards to
Santonio Holmes and 52 yards to
Braylon Edwards) and completed
6 of 12 passes for 110 yards. The
second touchdown pass came after he threw a pick six which got
the Bills within 10 points 17-7. It
was the 40 year old’s first touchdown pass since November of
2005.
The benching of Tomlinson
and Greene gave back-up running
back Joe McKnight a chance to
show why Ryan kept him on the
roster. He gained a whopping 158
yards on 32 carries and more
Backup QB Mark Brunnell looked like he just drank from the
fountain of youth.
impotantly did not fumble, something that plagued him in the preseason. Most of his work came on
special teams’ duty. When he
wasn’t running through and over
the Bills defense, his mate John
Conner chipped in gaining 44 yards
on 8 carries for a combined 202
yards. They took advantage of a
Bills running defense that came in
the game ranked dead last giving
up 162.5 yards per game.
The New York Jets now get set
to play the team they faced in last
years AFC Championship the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts will
host the game as they defeated
the Tennessee Titans after Adam
Vinatieri kicked a game winning
43 yard field goal. Just like last
year, the Jets will have to win 3
road games in order to get to the
big game February 6th in Dallas.
It has been an up and down
Rookie Joe McKnight made the most of his debut
(Photos by Mike Hendriguez)
year for Gang Green from the very
start. First, it was the Hard Knocks
series on HBO. Then the Revis
holdout in which he missed the
entire pre-season. He then
strained his hamstring in the
second game of the year. Off the
field the team was reprimanded
by the NFL for shoddy treatment of a female reporter. Then
the Brett Favre story became
full blown in which Favre was
fined $50K. Perhaps the most
embarrassing though was the recent video of a Ryan’s wife showing off her toes in a video allegedly taped by Ryan himself.
Those stories will be in the backdrop as the Jets look to get to the
Super Bowl for the first time in 42
years. If they fail, no one will be
talking about what occurred on the
field. They will focus on what happened off it.
Giants’ bittersweet win ends 2010 season
By Jason Clinkscales
The Green Bay Packers broke
the hearts of the New York Giants
in back to back weeks. First, there
was a 45-17 drubbing of Big Blue
at Lambeau Field in a game where
a win guaranteed a playoff spot
for New York. Then, in the final
minutes of their eventual 17-14
win over the Washington
Redskins, fans at FedEx Field
chanted “Green Bay Won!” to let
their rivals know their playoff
hopes were dashed.
There are some takeaways from
this 10-6 season. Despite the career-high 25 interceptions thrown,
Manning became the first Giants
quarterback to throw for 4,000
yards in back to back seasons. As
the season progressed, Brandon
Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw provided a balanced running attack
with 2,058 rushing yards combined. Mario Manningham was 56
yards short of 1,000 receiving
yards; which would have given
Manning two receivers to reach the
mark (Hakeem Nicks had 1,052 in
13 games). Equally as important,
the defense finished the season
seventh-best statistically in the
league thanks to sixteen interceptions, a league high 30 force
fumbles and 46 sacks. The group
hit hard and often, yet unfortunately, not often enough in six painful losses, including the December
19th “Miracle at the New Meadowlands” at the hands of Philadelphia
Eagles and the loss in Green Bay
the following week.
Injuries once again took their toll
on this team. Last season, the defensive decline began with the loss
of safety Kenny Phillips, yet the
retooled group rotated starters to
get healthy bodies on the field. In
2010, New York played with six different starting offensive line combinations and made many in-game
changes because players went
down. It lost both starting wide re-
Braylon Edwards waltzed into the endzone on this TD catch.
ceivers Steve Smith & Hakeem
Nicks in November and December. Even the overlooked loss of
Domenick Hixon during training
camp forced New York to shuffle
between kick and punt returners
throughout the year.
Hindsight is amazing, isn’t it?
Prior to the start of the 2010 season, most football pundits didn’t
think the Giants stood much of a
chance to grab a playoff spot. The
Dallas Cowboys were supposed to
dominate the NFC East and make
a Super Bowl run while the wild card
teams were supposed to come from
the NFC North and South. Washington and Philadelphia were supposed to make the division interesting, but the entire group would have
been left in the dust by a ‘superior’
Dallas squad. Though the Cowboys
flopped, the NFC North and South
still churned out the wild card teams
with Big Blue on the outside looking in.
A healthier defense and one of the
league’s best offenses did keep the
NFL on notice for three months.
However, in this uncertain
offseason of labor disputes, it’ll be
a challenge to see where the Giants
go for 2011. On top of a iffy rookie
class from the college ranks, general manager Jerry Reese has to play
the waiting game in regards to the
team’s numerous free agents, including Bradshaw, Smith, defensive
tackle Barry Cofield and TE Kevin
Boss.
(Photos by Marc Rasbury)
24
BEACON
Marc Rasbury
SPORTS
The NFL coaching carrousel continues to go ´Round and ´Round
By Marc Rasbury
One NFL head coach stated recently that there are only two
types of individuals in his profession, coaches who have been fired
and those who are about to be
fired. Black Monday in the NFL is
known as the day after the final
game of the regular season since
that is the day several members of
the coaching fraternity are asked
to surrender the keys to their office.
Carolina’s John Fox agreed to
part ways with his organization
before their last game.
Eric Mangini of the Browns was
the only one canned less than 24
hours after the final gun went off
in Seattle this week. But, unlike
most years, several head coaches
got the ax before the season
ended.
Dallas’s Wade Phillips,
Minnesota’s Brad Childress,
Denver’s Josh McDaniels and San
Francisco’s Mike Singletary were
all let go during the season. When
all is said and done, there could
be up to ten new coaches roaming the sidelines next season. The
Bengals’ Marvin Lewis and
Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher might
walk away from their current posts
due to disagreement with their
owners and general managers. The
general sentiment is that neither
one of them will be unemployed
for long should they decide to
leave the current position.
Miami’s Tony Sparano and
Oakland’s Tom Cable are hanging
onto their jobs with a wing and a
prayer.
Then you have our own Tom
Coughlin who has made the playoffs in all but two of his seven
years with the Giants, yet some of
the Big Blue faithful are calling for
his head. It is a wonder that the
angry villagers have not shown
up at the Timex Center with
torches and pitchforks. Thank
God, that the Giant hierarchy are
level-headed individuals and do
not bow down to some of the zealots that follow the team.
Jacksonville’s Jack Del Rio and
Houston’s Gary Kubiak both received stays of executions and will
be back on the sidelines next season. But they better make the playoffs in 2011 or they will be looking
for work 365 days from now.
Other than the Presidency of
the United States, the military or
law enforcement there are few
jobs tougher than a NFL coach.
They work 17-20 hour days. Their
success could hinge on things out
of their control like a bad call or
could be influenced by the
weather. Then their every move is
subjected to the scrutiny of second guessers like the media and
fans who possess nowhere near
the knowledge of the game that
they do. Why would someone
want to subject themselves to this
type of pressure knowing that
very few get to leave on their own
terms?
It is in their blood. Football
coaches are a rare breed and to
make it to the highest level of that
Eric Mangini
profession can provide an adrenaline rush better than any legal or
illegal stimulant on the market. But,
like any drug or vice, sooner or later
the downside is going to catch up
with you.
If the coach does not burn himself out like Bill Parcells did during
many of his jobs, his record and/or
the League will eventually catch up
to him. Brian Billick and Mike Ditka
rode two of the most dominant defenses to Super Bowl victories. A
few short seasons later, they found
themselves unemployed. The
League discovered ways to score
on their once formidable units.
The Vikings’ Leslie Frazier and
Cowboys’ Jason Garrett will have
their interim tags removed from
their titles after taking over the helm
of their respective clubs by the end
of the week. Frazier and Garrett are
both deserving of their new positions but one has to wonder if they
truly know what they are getting
themselves into. The San Francisco, Cleveland, Denver and Carolina jobs, along with some others,
will be filled in the near future. Jon
Gruden and Bill Cowher are among
the former head coaches currently
holding TV analyst positions who
are waiting in the wings to, perhaps, fill some of those positions.
Or perhaps, the GMs with vacancies will all go after Stanford’s Jim
Harbaugh or look for that hot
young coordinator who has been
penned as the next big thing.
Remember the old saying, “Be
careful of what you ask for, you
might just get it.” These guys work
all of their lives to get a job for
which they will be eventually fired
from. God Bless Them!
Oakland’s Tom Cable’s future is up in the air.
They can take the interim tag off of Jason Garrett’s title.
(Photos by Marc Rasbury)

Jan 6

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