New York’s
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website:
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Vol. 20 No. 46
Showing the Way to Truth and Justice
November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013
E-Mail
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75 Cents
IT’S HISTORY
Mayor-elect De Blasio hits ground running
THE TEAM – Bill de Blasio announces his transitional team which includes Jennifer Jones Austin and Carl Weisbrod, two seasoned civic leaders with extensive public sector
experience.
(See Story On Page 3)
It was history making as candidates win by landslides
(See Story On Page 3)
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
2
Top 5 things you need to
know about Obamacare
By George Hulse
I have the pleasure of helping
to support the health and care of
our New York communities
through my daily work. Looking
out for one another is a big part
of my personal philosophy in
maintaining good health.
That’s why my organization,
Healthfirst, partners with organizations that play a positive role
in the community. We sponsor
hundreds of health education
events throughout the city each
year, educating New Yorkers who
have questions about important
changes in healthcare.
As you may know, beginning
last month, New Yorkers are now
able to apply for health insurance
through the New York State of
Health, the State’s health plan
marketplace. Coverage can begin
as soon as Jan. 1, 2014. And no
one can be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
Since it is a complex time right
now, with all the changes from
the Affordable Care Act (ACA),
I want to lay out the top five
things you need to know about
Obamacare:
1.You are eligible for health insurance through the New York
State of Health if you:
•Live in New York
•Lack insurance or are under-insured
•Are 64 years of age or younger
•Are not eligible for a public program like Medicaid
•Are a legal citizen or resident
2. Open enrollment this year is Oct.
1, 2013 – March 31, 2014. Anyone
who does not have healthcare insurance by April 1, 2014 may have
to pay a penalty: $95 for an individual or 1 percent of income,
whichever is greater
3.Financial assistance is based on
income and family size. You may be
eligible for more affordable coverage if you: earn less than $45,960
as an individual or earn less than
$94,200 for a family of four
4.Healthfirst is a health plan that
you can believe in, with more than
24,000 providers and specialists
and top New York hospitals in
our network, and 92 percent of
our providers are accepting new
patients 5.Healthfirst offers
perks that other health plans
don’t! We offer 24/7 online access where you can:
•Get reimbursement for going to the
gym
•Find a doctor, pharmacy, or clinic
in our extensive network
•Change your doctor
•Access pharmacy benefits
•View recent medical services and
authorizations
•View and pay premiums
George Hulse is vice president
of External Affairs at Healthfirst.
For more tips on leading a
healthier
lifestyle,
visit
www.Healthfirst.org.
George Hulse
Rangel and Samsung executives
2nd Harlem Renaissance to transform
Harlem into New York’s Silicon Valley
Congressman Charles B.
Rangel sat down with Samsung’s
Executive Vice President David
Eun and local tech enthusiasts on
Nov. 4, 2013, at Silicon Harlem’s
launch of “Tech Talk with Charlie
and His Friends,” hosted by its
executive producers Bruce Lincoln and Clayton Banks at MIST
Harlem.
The discussion highlighted
Harlem’s exciting, fast growing
technology sector and its rich history of artistic, innovative, and
entrepreneurial talent. This event
was part of Rangel’s effort to foster an environment for synergy
and experimentation which will
help transform Harlem into the
next Silicon Valley in America.
“It is no secret that tech companies and start-ups from all over
America are flocking to New York
City,” said Rangel. “In the City,
Upper Manhattan embodies the
traditional spirit of the Harlem Renaissance, that special something
which attracted dreamers and visionaries like Langston Hughes,
W.E.B Du Bois, and legendary
entertainers such as Duke
Ellington at The Apollo Theater to
inspire the world.”
Rangel’s guest, Eun, shared the
Congressman’s sentiment: “New
York is on an upward swing. You
have these forces, amazing institutions of higher education, and
capitals of finance, technology,
fashion, advertising and media all
here; and so it could be, and
should be a fantastic place to drive
innovation for the future.”
As the current head of
Samsung’s Open Innovation Center, and former president of AOL
Media and Studios, and former
vice president Strategic Partnerships and Content Partnerships at
Google Inc., Eun has a unique perspective of modern technology
and its global impact on development.
Eun, who is Korean-American,
spoke about the parallels between
South Korea’s infant technology
sector of the early 90s and
Harlem’s golden opportunity in
becoming a competitive global
tech giant. He explained that
Harlem’s attractive, viable commercial space, coupled with its
multi-ethnic residential community
was exactly what entrepreneurs look
for when launching their businesses.
A Korean War veteran, Rangel has
witnessed South Korea’s rise as a
war-torn nation to becoming the
world’s 13th largest economy, which
has been largely driven by its hightech industry in the recent decades.
During his last visit to Korea in the
summer, Rangel was impressed by
the success of public-private ventures in Technovalley and of startups like the Naver Corporation
(Korea’s “Google”). “When I served
in Korea during the war, it was as flat
as a pancake and very poor,” said
Rangel. “Now if you visit South Korea you will see skyscrapers and
buildings that weren’t there. It really
has changed at an incredible speed
and Harlem can learn from them.”
Following their conversation,
Rangel and Eun took questions from
a diverse and overwhelmingly eager
audience that included tech entrepreneurs, investors, public officials,
community organizations and curi(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
CACCI congratulates De Blasio on impressive mayoral victory
The Caribbean American
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) congratulates
Honorable Mayor-elect Bill de
Blasio on his historic victory.
Indeed CACCI takes pride in
lending our voices to the outpouring of well wishes and
support for our Mayor-Elect
Bill de Blasio on his historic
victory at the Nov. 5th 2013
New York Mayoral elections.
According to his biographical statement, Bill Di
Blasio has come a long way
“from his early days as a
young City Hall staffer, to
serving on his local school
board, to his current position as
Public Advocate for the City of
New York.”
Based on our experiences
with Mayor Elect di Blasio, we
have our own story to tell. We
are very well aware of his longtime support for the small business community. He has been a
longtime friend to CACCI. Bill
has championed the rights of
women and minority business
enterprises (MWBE) long before it was popular to do and he
has a strong record of advocacy
for the small business owner,
Roy Hsstick
many of whom have expressed
to CACCI feeling marginalized,
never really having their fair
s h a r e o f N Y C ’s b o o m i n g
economy.
Bill’s voice became our
voice when there was a need to
take a stand on issues that were
not always popular. Parity is a
word which Bill understands all
too well. He has been an early
supporter of the development
of the first ever Caribbean
American Trade and Culture
Center in New York City and
was quite vocal about lending
his support to CACCI’s mis-
sion as we fought to be part of
the revitalization of New York
City. He participated in CACCI’s
small business forums and networking meetings, most recently
this past winter when he addressed CACCI members and
business leaders at a CACCI
breakfast meeting that was held
at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As
part of the Brooklyn NYC Council delegation, Bill made sure that
CACCI’s programs and services
were included in the City’s budget thus helping to ensure that
our small business services
would continue.
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Launching an effort to build an
effective and diverse city government that will deliver on a mandate for progressive change, New
York City Mayor-Elect Bill de
Blasio announced the appointment of distinguished chairs and
senior staff of his transition team
and launched an online effort to
solicit talent and ideas from New
Yorkers and people across the
country.
One day after winning a landslide victory in Tuesday’s general
election, de Blasio named Jennifer
Jones Austin and Carl Weisbrod
– two seasoned civic leaders with
Eric Adams
Ken Thompson
extensive public sector experience
– as co-chairs of the transition,
leading the work of assembling a
progressive, effective and diverse
city government made up of outstanding professionals and public servants.
“We’re building a team that’s
devoted to building one great city
where everyone shares in our prosperity,” said de Blasio. “Above
all, I want to create a government
with the competence to safeguard
the health and security of all New
Yorkers.”
“Our greatest source of wealth
is the diversity of our people,” de
Blasio continued. “We’re going to
create a government that reflects
the face of our city- the greatest
on earth.
Letitia James
Jumaane Williams
De Blasio also announced the
launch of a web site :
BLACK HISTORY-MAKING MONTH
www.transition2013.com – for the
transition. “We are encouraging
New Yorkers – and people from all
across America – from all walks of
life to consider joining our city’s
government,” he said. New Yorkers can also follow news about the
By Vinette K. Pryce
rival to the riverfront residence transition on Twitter at
places her behind Joyce Dinkins @nyctransition.
The first Tuesday this month will whose African-American spouse
be recorded with political pioneer- was elected the first Black to be
ing nostalgia as significant accom- voted to the mayoral position in
plishments for African-Americans 1989.
and significantly in the borough
Dinkin’s “gorgeous mosaic”
of Brooklyn re-wrote history and marked a hope for significant
championed victories for the Black change and perhaps racial parrace.
ity.
For the first time, Kings County
De Blasio’s “tale of two cities”
Reports that Macy’s is planning
will boast a Black district attorney and landslide victory repreand simultaneously its first Afri- sented a majority support from to open a store in Harlem has been
can-American borough president New York voters of all races, gen- denied by Elina Kazan, vice presiwith the triumphant landslide vic- ders, ages, religions, incomes and dent of marketing for the giant retail store. She said the company
tories of attorney Ken Thompson education levels.
and former state senator Eric
Elected the 109th mayor of New had at one time “looked at opporAddams.
York, he easily defeated Repub- tunities in the neighborhood but
Both won decidedly to com- lican Joe Lhota by a margin of 72 we are no more opening a store
mand their leadership in probably percent. Mathieu Eugene, the there.”
So there will be no miracle on
the most diverse borough in New first Haitian to be elected to the
th
York. Thompson handily trounced City Council was returned to rep- 34 Street any time soon, says the
his incumbent opponent Joe resent the 40th Councilmanic Dis- store which is facing criticism and
Hynes by a margin of 72 percent. trict. He scored a whopping 86 a possible lawsuit over accusaAnd the former cop whipped his percent of votes cast in the tions that it is racially profiling
rival Republican Elias Weir claim- Brooklyn district. Grenadian Black and other minority shoping 89 percent of the final count. Jumaane D. Williams also retained pers.
Kazan said the store was drawn
Another first named Brooklyn’s his position in the 45th CD.
into a dispute between local merLetitia James the first of her race to
chants on 125th Street who say
be elected to serve in the position
they will be put out of business
of public advocate. She will be top
by any giant retail shop.
watchdog for citizen rights. James
State Sen. Bill Perkins said
tallied a record 82 percent of votMacy’s was going to be an aners’ confidence and in the process
chor tenant and investor in the
secured another historic entry to
project located between Adam
the history books.
Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and
Also significant is the fact,
Lenox Avenue.
Gracie mansion will reflect a more
“Macy’s is a major proponent
diverse façade with the first Black
of shop and frisk,” Perkins said.
first-lady Chirlane DeBlasio —
…Charles J. Hamilton Jr., outside
whose husband is not — comcounsel for the National Urban
manding the number one position
League, said his group had conin New York City. In January, the
versations with Macy’s about beCaribbean first-lady will become
ing an anchor tenant on the site
only the second of her race to move
but couldn’t come to terms with
into the east-side mansion. Her arBill De Blasio
Brooklyn makes history
with landslide victories
Flanked by members of his family, De Blasio celebrates his landslide
victory.
Austin and Weisbrod, collectively, like universal pre-k,” said Austin.
have more than six decades of ex- “I’m proud to be helping Mayor Elect
perience at the highest levels of city de Blasio build for a better future for
government and leading institu- our families.”
tions that are essential the social
“In the critical areas of public
fabric of New York City. Austin safety and public health, in the escurrently serves as the chief execu- sential work of delivering municipal
tive officer and executive director services and in the overarching
of the Federation of Protestant charge of addressing economic inWelfare Agencies and has held se- equality, we will help the Mayornior leadership positions in city and Elect identify the most effective leadstate government where she has ers to build one city where every
focused on issues including early New Yorker can share in our proschildhood education, economic perity,” said Carl Weisbrod.
empowerment and civil rights.
In addition to naming Weisbrod
Weisbrod has led top city agen- and Austin as co-chairs, the De
cies and public/private partner- Blasio transition also announced the
ships in three mayoral administra- staff leadership of the transition:
tions that have been integral to the Laura Santucci will serve as execueconomic development of the re- tive director; and Ursulina Ramirez
gion including the successful re- will serve as deputy executive direcdevelopment of Times Square and tor. Santucci worked most recently
the founding of the New York City as acting executive director of the
Economic Development Corpora- Democratic National Committee and
tion.
Ramirez served as deputy public
“As a lifelong advocate for chil- ddvocate and senior policy adviser
dren and families, I know how im- to de Blasio in the Public Advocate’s
portant it is to implement policies office.
Macy’s top executive denies
retailer is coming to Harlem
Macy’s department store
the retailer to make the deal finan- partner in the project. “It’s not going to happen,” said Morial at a hearcially feasible.
National Urban League president ing on the project in Harlem ThursMarc Morial acknowledged nego(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
tiations, but said Macy’s is not a
3
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
Mayor-elect De Blasio announces
transition team to seek talents, ideas
Former UN chief Kofi Annan and Brazil
ex-prez call for decriminalization of drugs
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
4
Marian Wright Edelman
New supplemental Poverty
cut irks child defense chief
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense
Fund, released the statement below in response to the U.S Census Bureau’s new Supplemental
Poverty Measure:
“Child poverty remains at
record high levels and the new
Supplemental Poverty Measure
clearly shows children and families still struggling to stay afloat,
struggling to put food on the table
and keep a roof over their heads.”
“And critically important, the
numbers show the effectiveness
of key programs that lift children
and families out of poverty, especially the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
housing subsidies and the Earned
Income Tax Credit. The refundable tax credits lifted 5 million
children out of poverty and
SNAP lifted another 2.2 million
children out of poverty in 2012.
“The proven effectiveness of
these crucial safety net investments shows the wisdom of expanding, not cutting refundable
tax credits and nutrition programs. It’s shameful that members of Congress would even
consider cutting food assistance programs and other supports for poor children and
families still struggling to climb
out of the great recession. We
must all urge our legislators
right now to make the right
choices with our tax dollars.”
The Children’s Defense Fund
Leave No Child Behind mission is
to ensure every child a Healthy
Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a
Safe Start and a Moral Start in life
and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people around the world
die from preventable drug-related
disease and violence. Millions of
users are arrested and thrown in
jail. Globally, communities are
blighted by drug-related crime.
Citizens see huge amounts of their
taxes spent on harsh policies that
are not working.
But despite this clear evidence
of failure, there is a damaging reluctance worldwide to consider a
fresh approach. The Global Commission on Drug Policy is determined to help break this centuryold taboo. Building on the work of
the Latin American Commission
on Drugs and Democracy, our first
report — The War on Drugs —
demonstrated how repressive approaches to containing drugs
have failed.
We called on governments to
adopt more humane and effective
ways of controlling and regulating drugs. We recommended that
the criminalization of drug use
should be replaced by a public
health approach. We also appealed for countries to carefully
test models of legal regulation as
a means to undermine the power
of organized crime, which thrives
on illicit drug trafficking.
There is, at last, some evidence
of change. Officials from Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay have assumed the lead in
initiating reforms to drug policy in
their own countries. These efforts
have had knock-on effects across
the neighborhood. In 2013, the
Organization of American States
(OAS) issued a landmark report on
drug policy proposing alternative
forms of drug regulation.
The findings of the Global Commission resonated across Europe
as well. Many European states
serve as a model for a health-oriented approach to drug policy. In
several countries, evidence-based
prevention, harm reduction and
treatment are endorsed — in sharp
contrast to solely repressive approaches adopted in other parts
of the world.
Kofi Annan
President Cordo zo
Drug policy reform is going viral. Other regions are joining the
debate about new and progressive ways of dealing with drugs.
For example, in New Zealand, pro-
posals are being drafted to regulate
synthetic drugs. In West Africa,
where drug trafficking and organized crime is threatening democracy and governance, brave leaders
have launched a West African Commission on drug trafficking and its
consequences.
Even the United States, among
the staunchest of all prohibitionist
states, is enacting new approaches
to drug policy. For the first time, a
majority of Americans support regulating cannabis for adult consumption. And in the states of Colorado
and Washington, new bills were
approved to make this a reality.
There are signs that these experiences could multiply further still.
All countries will have an opportunity to review the international drug control regime in a
few years’ time. The special session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2016 will provide a great opportunity for an
honest and informed debate on
drug policy. We hope that this
debate will encourage drug policies that are based on what actually works in practice rather than
what ideology dictates in theory.
This opportunity must not be
lost. In Vienna, where the international community regularly assembles to review progress on
drug control, we urge enlightened leadership to ensure that
the world looks forward. We cannot remain locked into the old
mantra that the war on drugs can
be won only with more effort and
expense.
With a complex issue like drug
policy, of course, there is no single
simple answer or one-size-fits-all
solution. Countries must have the
space to define and develop progressive, open-minded policies best
tailored to their own realities and
needs.
But today, we know what works
and what does not. It is time for a
smarter approach to drug policy.
Putting people’s health and safety
first is an imperative, not an afterthought. Follow us on Twitter
@CNNOpinion.
Colin L. Powell School at CCCNY announces new board of visitors
General Powell contributes $5 million to school
The Colin L. Powell School for
Civic and Global Leadership at
the City College of New York announced its new board of visitors Nov. 5. The board, consisting of 26 prominent Americans,
will hold its inaugural meeting
later this month. Chairing the
board is General Colin L. Powell
USA, (Ret), CCNY ’58, who donated a lead gift of $5 million to
the campaign for the Powell
School, and has been the driving
force behind the campaign, which
has raised $44 million to date.
The Powell School’s Board of
Visitors will help support the
school’s strategic direction and
philanthropic initiatives. General
Powell, who was instrumental in
recruiting members to the board,
expressed gratitude at their willingness to serve.
“We all recognize the vital need
to educate and support new leaders, particularly from populations
so strongly represented at CCNY
– new Americans, people without
great financial resources and
young men and women from minority populations. I’m grateful
that so many of my friends agreed
to help secure the future of the
Powell School.”
Funds from the campaign for the
Powell School strengthen academic programs; enhance recruitment and retention of top-quality
faculty, students, and staff; and
improve campus facilities and services. Through its scholarships
and paid internships, the endowment also helps students reduce
or eliminate their need to work extra jobs.
General Powell’s $5 million gift
brings his total giving to his alma
mater to nearly $7 million. “We
thank General Powell for his remarkable gift and for his generosity in bringing together such accomplished individuals to offer
their expertise and insight on behalf of our students and school,”
said Jeffrey Rosen, interim dean of
the Powell School.
Colin L. Powell
The following prominent Americans comprise the Board of Visitors:
Madeleine K. Albright, former
U.S. secretary of state
James A. Baker, III, former U.S.
secretary of state
Robert B. Catell, chairman,
AERTC, Stony Brook University
Martin Cohen, co-chairman and
co-chief executive officer, Cohen
& Steers Inc.
Lisa S. Coico, president, the
City College of New York
Fulvio M. Dobrich, president
and chief executive officer, Galileo
Asset Management LLC
Kenneth M. Duberstein, chairman and chief executive officer,
the Duberstein Group Inc.
Harold M. Evans, editor-atlarge, Thomson Reuters
Vartan Gregorian, president,
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., senior
managing director, Lazard Freres
& Co. LLC
Henry A. Kissinger, former U.S.
secretary of state
Richard M. Krasno, president,
William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust
Jeffrey T. Leeds, president and
co-founder, Leeds Equity
Colin L. Powell (chair), former U.S.
secretary of state
Linda Powell, actress
Lisa Quiroz, senior vice president, Time Warner Inc.
David M. Rubenstein, cofounder, The Carlyle Group
Jack Rudin, May and Samuel
Rudin Family Foundation Inc.
Jin Roy Ryu, chairman and chief
executive officer, Poongsan Corp.
and Poongsan Group
Stephen Schwarzman, chairman
and chief executive officer, The
Blackstone Group
Sy Sternberg, retired chairman and
chief executive officer, New York Life
Insurance Co.
Linda Kaplan Thaler, chair,
Publicis Kaplan Thaler
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
5
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
6
Editorial
Chris Christie provided
model for GOP success
Beacon
Walter Smith: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Miatta Haj Smith: Co-Publisher & Executive Editor
William Egyir: Managing Editor
Time to raise minimum wage
By George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist
The first federal minimum wage
of 25 cents an hour was established in 1938. Since then, it has
been raised 22 times. It’s time to
increase the floor for the 23rd time,
from its current $7.25 to at least
$10 an hour.
According to the Center for
Economic Policy Research, the
value of the minimum wage
peaked in 1968. If the minimum
wage had been indexed to the official Consumer Price Index each
year, the minimum wage today
would be $10.52. The last time the
minimum wage was raised was in
2007, when it was raised from
$5.15 to $7.25.
Still, there is resistance.
Republican leaders say raising
the minimum wage will cost jobs.
But opponents, such as Washington Post columnist Jared
Bernstein, argue that rather than
job loss, employers compensate
by charging higher prices and increasing productivity.
Another common myth is that
employers shouldn’t be forced to
pay young people the minimum
wage. But 88 percent of workers
who would be affected by raising the minimum wage are at least
20 years old and a third are at least
40 years, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
EPI found that of the workers
who would benefit from the raise:
* The average age of affected
workers is 35 years old;
* 88 percent of all affected workers are at least 20 years old;
* 35.5 percent are at least 40 years
old;
* 56 percent are women;
* 28 percent have children;
* 55 percent work full-time (35
hours per week or more);
* 44 percent have at least some
college experience.
The federal minimum wage is
covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. There are approximately 3.6 million workers, or 4.7
percent of all hourly paid workers
who are at or below the federal
minimum wage of 7.25 an hour.
Employers are allowed to pay students and the disabled – defined
as those “whose earning or productivity is impaired by age,
physical or mental deficiency, or
injury” – less than the minimum
wage. It also places limits on workers who derive part of their income from tips.
A study by the Congressional
Research Service found that 40
percent of those earning the minimum wage or less work in “food
preparation and serving related
occupations.” It also discovered
that 72.2 percent have at least a
high school diploma and 8 percent
have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Robert Greenstein, president of
the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities testified before Congress in February: “I would note
that over recent decades, the minimum wage has been allowed to
erode and is now 20 percent
lower, after adjusting for inflation,
than in the late 1960s. For this and
a number of other reasons (relating in part to globalization of the
economy), wages for low-paid
jobs have fallen.”
A fact sheet by Economic
Policy Institute found, “A disproportionate share of minorities will
benefit from a minimum wage increase. African Americans represent 11% of the total workforce,
but are 18% of workers affected
by an increase. Similarly, 14% of
the total workforce is Hispanic,
but Hispanics are 19% of workers
affected by an increase.”
Washington State has the highest state minimum wage at $9.19,
indexed to inflation. California enacted a law that will raise its minimum wage to $10 over three years.
Some cities have wages that are
even higher. The minimum wage
is $10.55 in San Francisco. And in
the recent election, New Jersey
voters approve a constitutional
amendment increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25.
Where city or state minimums
exceed the federal standard, workers receive the higher wage.
The movement to increase the
federal minimum wage has stalled
in Congress. In March, the House
voted 233 to 184 against raising
the minimum wage to $10.10 by
2015, with all Republicans voting
in the majority.
Two Democrats, Senator Tom
Harkin of Iowa and Rep. George
Miller of California have sponsored legislation, called the Fair
Minimum Wage Act, to raise the
federal minimum wage. The hope
to overcome past opposition by
adding some sweeteners for small
businesses, including allowing
them to deduct the full cost of
equipment and expansion up to
$500,000 in the first year.
In his State of the Union address in February, President
Obama proposed a federal mini(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
By Raynard Jackson
NNPA Columnist
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
has been the talk of the political
world for the past week. He won
reelection with more than 60 percent of the vote. The coalition he
put together is unheard of in
today’s political climate where
Republicans routinely right off
significant parts of the electorate.
This failed approach leaves little
room for electoral error and is the
biggest reason why Republicans
have lost two successive presidential elections. Christie has
shown the Republican Party a
path towards electoral victory if
they would adopt his approach.
Exit polls revealed that Christie:
* Won among both men and
women: 63 percent of men and 57
percent of women;
* Won 21 percent of Black voters;
* Won 51 percent of the Hispanic
vote
* Won nearly every education
level and income group;
* Won 32 percent of the Democratic vote;
* Won 66 percent of independents
and 61 percent of moderates.
Christie took his governing philosophy, his personality, and his
blunt honesty to the market place
of ideas and won convincingly.
Too many D.C. pundits are totally missing the point behind the
Christie phenomenon. In a capitalist society, the market place responds to what is appealing or
unappealing to it. Regardless of
what you think about Christie on
a philosophical scale, the marketplace of New Jersey responded to
his message.
Many pundits attributed
Christie’s remarkable success to
voters in New Jersey being stupid. In other words, they didn’t
know who or what they were voting for. If talking heads want to
know who’s stupid, they need only
to look in the mirror.
The truth is people in New Jer-
sey voted for someone who diminished union influence in education,
who is against homosexual marriage, pro-Second Amendment, prolife, supports lower taxes, etc.
I am a native of St. Louis and no
matter how great my analysis of the
recently completed World Series,
nothing can change the fact that
Boston won. The same is true with
Christie. Politics is all about winning, not making a statement.
In additional to his enormous political skills, Christie was aided by
Republican National Committee
(RNC) chairman, Reince Priebus,
who engineered the Growth and
Opportunity Project, a program with
the goal of getting more Blacks and
Latinos engaged with the Republican Party.
In applied research, you take the
best of what was discovered in the
laboratory during the basic research
phase and apply that to real world
situations (elections). This will lead
to empirical data that will either support or reject your findings in the
laboratory.
In this sense, Priebus and Christie
are Siamese twins, tied at the hip.
Priebus and the RNC provided
Christie and his campaign with a lot
of basic research. Christie was politically astute enough to take this
information and incorporate it into
his campaign strategy.
In addition, Priebus put 33 fulltime
staffers on the ground in New Jersey earlier this year with instructions to engage with people of color.
The GOP put about $ 2.5 million into
this race.
I had a private conversation with
Christie back in March about the
Black vote. He said all the right
things (as they always do when I
discuss the Black community with
them). He only received 9 percent
of the Black vote in 2009 and he told
me that he would build better relations with the Black community as
governor. I will clean up my language considerably, but I looked
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
The power of our shared vision and partnership
By Benjamin Todd Jealous
Two decades ago, as a young organizer in Mississippi, I learned that
there are only two types of temporal
power: organized people and organized money. I also learned that in a
democracy, the people can win every time - but only if we are organized.
Today, when I reflect back on my
half-decade at the helm of the
NAACP, I am deeply proud of what
we have accomplished together as
we organized our communities. We
have abolished the death policy in
five states, defended voting rights
from coast to coast, freed multiple
wrongfully incarcerated people, and
shrunk prison systems. We have increased funding for health care, defended the rights of workers, held
wayward mortgage companies accountable and curbed the school-to
prison-pipeline in multiple states. We
have built powerful bridges to help
faith communities join the struggle for
marriage equality and against the
scourge of HIV, and come to the aid
of our allies in the struggles for environmental protection and immigrants
rights. Through all this, we have dramatically expanded the ranks of those
who would assist us in combating
racial discrimination in the streets and
at the ballot box.
Five years ago, the NAACP was
what it had been for most of the past
half century; the biggest civil rights
organization in the streets. Today, we
are that and also the biggest online,
on mobile and at the ballot box as
well.
All of this success is testament to
the power of our shared vision and
partnership to come together for a
stronger, more inclusive America.
Things could have gone a different way. Since 2010, far-right wing
extremists have repeatedly and simultaneously attacked the most basic
civil rights protections of most Americans. They’ve attacked women’s
rights, affirmative action, workers
rights, immigration, LGBT equality,
food security, health care, and even
our right to drink clean water and
breathe clean air. One has to wonder
whether their decision to attack all of
us all at once was motivated by mere
greed or by an even more devious
design to ensure that we would
Balkanize as we each retreated into a
defensive posture.
However, together, we chose the
courageous path. We have marched
forward arm in arm, repeatedly embracing the motto of the three musketeers:
all for one, and one for all. As a result:
we have passed powerful anti racial
profiling legislation in New York City
and even abolished the death penalty in Maryland with the help of leaders in the LGBT community; passed
marriage equality bills from coast to
coast with increased support from
faith leaders and communities of
color; and most recently we have built
a powerful defense-and offense-for
voting rights by pulling the entire progressive family together in ways incomparable in recent memory. Occasionally, we have even picked up new
conservative friends and allies.
Today, as I prepare to leave my position at the NAACP, I am confident
that there is a bright future for both
the Association and the larger civil
and human rights struggle.
We may have started this century like
we started the last: fighting assaults on
our voting rights and pushing back
against attacks on our most basic civil
and human rights. Nonetheless, this
time we have a distinct advantage. We
know that no matter what happens in
the courts, every year our ability to defend and expand civil and human rights
protections at the ballot box, in statehouses and on city councils will increase. Moreover, as organizers, we understand that while the future will come
no matter what, we have the power to
make the future come faster.
Benjamin Todd Jealous is the outgoing president and CEO of the national
NAACP.
Contact: Ben Wrobel 917-846-0658
[email protected]
@NAACPPress.
7
We need immigration reform now!
By Marian Wright Edelman
NNPA Columnist
Nine-year-old Jaime Gordillo
Villa was born in the United States
and is a good student who has
gotten awards for both good
grades and behavior. He wants
to be a lawyer when he grows up
to help immigrants and others
who need help. He says he
doesn’t want people to suffer for
things they didn’t do.
His family knows about suffering since coming to the United
States to start a new life. Jaime
adored his big brother. They
studied and played soccer and
video games together. But when
his brother was detained by immigration officials, his family had
to spend so much money on lawyers to try to keep him here that
they lost their home. And then
his brother was deported, anyway. Jaime’s afraid his mother or
father might be next if they are
caught by the police and he might
lose them, too. He is one of 50
courageous children the Center
for Community Change has coming to Washington, D.C. on November 14 to share their stories
with members of Congress and
urge them to pass immigration
reform with a pathway to citizenship this year.
As the debate on immigration
reform continues in Congress, millions of children have so much at
stake. One in four children in the
United States currently lives in an
immigrant family, representing
about 18.4 million children. Children of immigrants represent the
fastest growing segment of the
child population. Immigrant populations are diverse, but many children in immigrant families face significant challenges to their health
and well-being, including poverty,
lack of health insurance, low educational attainment, substandard
housing, and language barriers.
Any long term solution to our immigration system must take into
account what is best for these children.
A recent report from Human Impact Partners (HIP), Family Unity,
Family Health, highlights the
need to protect children’s rights
and keep families together during
immigration reform to ensure
children’s health. Family-focused
immigration reform would result in
better child health. Our current immigration policies push families
apart and children into illness and
poverty. HIP projects that if current policies remain unchanged,
43,000 U.S. citizen children will experience a decline in health status, 100,000 will develop signs of
withdrawal, and more than 125,000
will go hungry in the next year.
Children of undocumented immigrants – the majority of whom are
U.S. citizens – will continue to suffer from trauma and fear of deportation which can lead to costly
health consequences in their
adult lives.
The Children’s Defense Fund
has joined with many child and
family advocates supporting a set
of key principles for children we
hope Congress and the administration will incorporate in immigration reform without more delay. Limbo is a very bad place for
children to live.
First, we believe there must
be a direct, clear, and reasonable pathway to citizenship. Any
pathway to citizenship must be
open, affordable, safe, and accessible to children in need of status, including beneficiaries of
Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA), undocumented
children under the age of 21, and
unaccompanied immigrant children.
Second, our immigration system must uphold children’s basic
human rights and ensure access
to critical public services, programs, and economic supports for
children and their families. Protecting a child’s human rights
should include ensuring children
receive legal representation before all immigration authorities
and, for all unaccompanied children, the appointment of an independent child advocate from the
moment of detention throughout
the course of any immigration or
other related court proceedings.
Third, we need to ensure enforcement efforts have appropriate protections for children. In all
enforcement actions, including
those along the border, the best
interests of the child should be a
primary consideration and children must be given the benefit of
the doubt during any investigation or detention. There should be
appropriate and accountable
training policies for interacting
with and screening children that
reflect a humanitarian and protection-oriented approach, prohibit
the use of force, and create reasonable and safe conditions for
children.
Finally, we must keep families
together. All policies regarding
admissibility, enforcement, detention, and deportation of children
and their parents must consider
the best interests of children, including enabling immigration
judges to exercise discretion in
admission and removal decisions
based on the hardship to U.S. citi-
zen and lawful permanent resident
children. The immigration system
must be updated by resolving current backlogs and ensuring familybased immigration channels are adequate for future migration without
lengthy family separation.
As the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society, every child within our borders should
have access to the services and resources they need to survive, grow,
and thrive. As our nation’s leaders,
hopefully, move forward with the
important task of reforming federal
immigration laws, I hope they will
take into account the unique needs
of children. Please urge your member in the House of Representatives to take action on immigration
reform that promotes child well-being by ensuring families stay together and gives all children the opportunity to grow and thrive. The
Senate has acted. The House must
vote—now.
Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund
whose Leave No Child Behind®
mission is to ensure every child a
Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair
Start, a Safe Start and a Moral
Start in life and successful passage
to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For
more information go to:
www.childrensdefense.org.
2013 elections: Something to vote for – and against
By Lee A. Daniels
NNPA Columnist
Last week’s elections for the
governorships of New Jersey,
where the Republican incumbent
won, and Virginia, where the Republican contender lost, have
thrown into sharp relief two political dynamics it’s important to
not lose sight of.
The first is that Black voters in
both statewide contests (and in
the New York City mayor’s race)
have once again proven why the
Republican Party is so desperate
to undermine their right to vote
by any legislative or regulatory
means necessary: Because Black
Americans’ commitment to vote
shows every sign of continuing
to increase.
More about that later.
The second development those
elections made unmistakably clear
is the open political war inside the
Republican Party between its establishment wing, as represented
by politicos such as New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie and its Tea
Party faction, as represented by
Ken Cuccinelli, the Virginia Attorney General who tried unsuccessfully to move up to the state’s
governor’s chair.
The establishment wing has
grown increasingly angry that the
Tea Party faction is alienating voters the GOP needs to win back the
White House. For their part, Tea
Party activists and officeholders
have never hesitated to sneer at
their establishment counterparts as
“RINOs” (Republicans in Name
Only).
So: did the triumphant re-election
of Gov. Christie – forged in a decidedly Democratic-leaning state,
with substantial support from
nearly all segments of the electorate, including Black and Hispanic
voters – signal the GOP had found
a workable campaign model and a
champion for the 2016 presidential
contest?
Or did the fact that in Virginia,
Tea-Party hero Cuccinelli lost to
Terry McAuliffe, the well-funded
Democrat and long-time Clinton
close associate, by less than three
percentage points prove the appeal
of extreme right-wing positions
even in a state that President
Obama won just a year ago?
The problem for the GOP is that
last week’s results didn’t settle that
crucial question because the two
contests each had their own unique
set of circumstances.
In Virginia, Cuccinelli, a doctrinaire reactionary, tried to obscure
his record in hopes of appealing to
moderate and independent voters.
But that approach was undermined by his running mate for Lieutenant Governor, E.W. Jackson, a
Black minister who had never run
for any office before and whose
views were even more extreme than
Cuccinelli’s. That Jackson insisted
on spouting them only served to
remind voters of Cuccinelli’s past
positions, too.
Furthermore, Cuccinelli was
hurt by a political scandal involving expensive gifts both he and
out-going Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell had received from
a donor seeking their support for
his business ventures.
The Cuccinelli-Jackson combination provoked such GOP establishment pillars as the Republican
Governors Association, the Republican National Committee, and
the U.S. Chambers of Commerce
to sharply cut their financial support of Cuccinelli’s campaign – the
most dramatic sign of their determination to rein in the Tea Party.
But there’s also no evidence the
Chris Christie “model” could be
duplicated elsewhere or power his
march through the GOP primaries
once he officially declares he’s
seeking the GOP presidential nomination. New Jersey is a reliably
Democratic state, whose electorate has just rewarded him for his
rightly praised leadership in the
aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Its
solidly Democratic majority of voters aren’t alarmed by Christie’s
rock-ribbed social-conservativism
because he doesn’t flaunt them—
and they have a safety valve
against him: Democrats control
both houses of the New Jersey
state legislature.
It’s worth noting that last week,
as Christie won 60 percent of the
vote, 61 percent of the voters also
approved amending the state con-
stitution to raise the minimum wage
to $8.25 on January 1 and increase
it annually to keep pace with inflation. Democrats had proposed the
amendment after Christie had
blocked passage of similar legislation.
That’s just one example of the
difficulty Christie will have explaining himself in Republican Party primaries, where his audience will
have a far different political cast
than in New Jersey.
But the fact that Christie won 21
percent of the Black vote and 44
percent of the Hispanic vote does
illuminate – for the umpteenth time
– a political truism. It’s easy to get
at least a decent proportion of the
“minority” vote. All one has to do
is sincerely speak to the issues that
concern them – and then, once in
office, deliver.
That’s why Black voters in Virginia
turned out to vote last week at a rate
that matched their performance in
the 2012 presidential contest (when,
nationally, the Black voter turnout
rate surpassed that of Whites for
the first time). And why they gave
90 percent of their votes to Terry
McAuliffe, the Democrat, and not,
Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican.
They understood they had something to vote for – and something to
vote against.
Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His
latest book is Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America.
Exiting the train of consumption
By James Clingman
Blackonomics
During a seminar in Buffalo, N.Y.
a few years ago, noted author and
financial adviser, Brooke
Stephens, said, “How you handle
your money is a reflection of how
you feel about yourself.” Many
of us, including me, may not want
to admit it, but there have been
times in our lives when we did
some pretty stupid things with our
money. We spent all we had and
then some; we ended up with more
month than money; we bought
things we thought would bring us
satisfaction but later found they had
little lasting value.
As mature adults now, our financial mistakes and indiscretions
should be used to help our young
people, many of whom find their
self-esteem and self-worth in their
possessions. And, sadly, the more
they pay for those things, the greater
their perceived self-worth.
Shahrazad Ali once said, “Black
folks brag about how much we pay
for things, and White folks brag
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
Opinion
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
8
African Scene
The curtain finally comes down on
the deadly war in Eastern Congo
By Global Information Network
Zakes Mda
Zakes Mda pleads for
release of Eskinder Nega
By Global Information Netwwork ers in Tahrir Square, he wrote an
article urging Ethiopian soldiers
South African author Zakes to follow their example, should
Mda is urging Africans to step demonstrations break out in
up
and
protest
the Addis.
His column appeared on a USlengthy sentence meted out to
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder based Ethiopian news website
Nega for his pro-democracy writ- blocked inside his country. In reings that offended the govern- sponse, the state security dement.
tained Eskinder, accusing him of
Mda, a novelist, poet and inciting the public against the
playwrite, is the son of A.P. Mda, government. He was tried and
a “guiding light” in the founding sentenced in 2012 to 18 years.
Mda said that African voices
of the Pan African Congress.
Nega, who turns 45 this month, needed to be heard on this matter.
sits in Kaliti prison, outside of “Why should these violations be
Addis Ababa, where he is serv- Bob Geldof’s business and not
ing an 18-year sentence as a con- ours? Surely we also care about
human rights because we are divicted terrorist.
“The government would have rectly affected, even more so than
the world believe he is a reckless, those based in the west.”
Coincidentally, the African Meeven racist, agitator bent on violent revolution,” wrote Mda. “Yet, dia Leaders Forum will be meeta review of the evidence against ing this week in Addis Abba. The
him reveals a thoughtful and prin- N.Y.—based Committee to Protect
cipled man whose only crime has Journalists called on participants
been to urge, peacefully and pub- to ensure that press freedom is
licly, Ethiopia’s rulers to deliver squarely on the agenda. See their
website www.cpj.org for addipeaceful, democratic reform.”
Eskinder came onto the radar tional information.
Eskinder is a prisoner of conscreen of Ethiopian officials
when in February 2011, inspired science and recipient of the 2012
by the Egyptian military’s toler- PEN/American Center Freedom to
ance of pro-democracy protest- Write/Barbara Goldsmith Award.
Thousands of women dressed
in white marched down the central boulevard in Kinshasa this
week, singing the praises
of President Joseph Kabila and
the army, according to media on
the scene.
The celebrations marked the
end of a brutal 20-month revolt in
Africa’s mineral-rich eastern
Congo. The M23 rebel army reportedly scattered after the Congolese army captured its last hilltop stronghold.
With the defeat of the M23,
hopes have been raised for peace
in a region where millions died.
The leader of the M23 movement, Bertrand Bisimwa, ordered
rebel commanders to prepare
fighters for “disarmament, demobilization and social reintegration.” The group will pursue its
goals through political means, he
said.
M23 seized parts of Congo’s
North Kivu province last year. But
the Congolese military, backed by
United Nations forces, retook territory from M23 in recent weeks
and a two-week U.N.-backed offensive cornered the insurgents
in the lush hills along the border
with Uganda and Rwanda.
The real test will be whether
government and rebels can reach
a lasting political deal. M23 took
up arms last year when a previous 2009 peace accord with the
Tutsi-led rebels unraveled.
Lambert Mende, a spokesman
for Kabila’s government, said it
would sign an accord in the coming days in the Ugandan capital
of Kampala, where peace talks
have been taking place for
months.
Russell Feingold, U.S. special
envoy to the Great Lakes region,
said: “In a region that has suffered so much, this is obviously
a significant positive step in the
right direction”
Malawi President Joyce Banda,
in her role as chair of the Southern Africa Development Community, called on the parties to avoid
a renewal of fighting, for the sake
of the DRC, and the continent as
a whole.
M23 rebel going home
In the U.S., Friends of the Congo
executive director Maurice Carney
cautioned: “Contrary to media reports, the M23 announcement that
they are laying down their arms
does not end the conflict in
Congo. The story is really whether
this is the end of Rwanda’s intervention.”
“The long overdue pressure on
Rwanda by the U.S. and UK was
critical” to disabling the DRC, he
said… We must keep the pressure
on the U.S. government to cease its
support of strongmen in the heart
of Africa. ...
The Congo has seen the deadliest conflict in the world since World
War II, with an estimated 6 million
killed.”
Steel company spreads the pain from Zimbabwe to Minnesota
By Global Information Network and flooding, property damage
and other environmental hazards
From Minnesota to Zimbabwe, in Kentucky.
United Steel Worker President
workers across two continents
are challenging an industrial Mike Da Prat said of recent negoconglomerate that has wrecked tiations with Essar: “They have a
havoc with a trail of failed min- legal firm that has piles of lawing operations around the world. yers and we’re dealing with them
In the U.S., the Essar Group all the time…We are now fighting
Ltd, has a mixed legacy, with over language that has existed for
bankruptcy in West Virginia, a decades.”
cash crisis threatening pension
Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, workpayments in Minnesota and in ers have been living on half salaSault Ste. Marie, Ontario, out- ries for the past 36 months while
standing debts of $530 million the government negotiates the
Finance Minister A. Agarwar
sale of the debt-ridden Zimbabwe
Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO)
to Essar.
In its initial effort to off-load
ZISCO, the government “accidentally” threw in the holdings of the
Buchwa Iron Ore Mining Company, worth several billion dollars,
although the selling price of
ZISCO was only $750 million.
Essar is claiming the unexpected
prize plus lengthy tax exemptions
ever since.
Established in 1946, ZISCO was
briefly the largest steelworks in in-
dependent Africa, producing a million tonnes of steel each year. Now,
with the ZISCO deal up in the
air, half-built workers’ housing remains, giving the region an empty
and abandoned look.
“There is a high rate of stress;
workers suffer from high blood pressure and strokes. The situation has
been going on for too long,” said
Misheck Mashedze, a ZISCO steel
employee for the past 12 years.
“So many promises have been
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
Nubian Society’— African Americans in Transit honor local heroes 9
The Nubian Society is an organization of African American
Transit Workers which was established in 1981. Over the years
they have recognized organizations and individuals within local communities whose behind
the scene service has contributed to the betterment of the
lives of residents of New York
City and beyond. On Saturday,
Nov. 9, the Nubian Society recognized Unsung Heroes at a lavish affair held at La Bella Vita in
Ozone Park, New York.
This year’s honorees were: Retired NYCDOE Principal and
Journalist, Dr. Eulene Inniss; Dr.
Arlene Allen, Educator and
President of the Kiwanas Club
of Cambria Heights; Transit Superintendent Wanda Robinson
and Melvin R. Johnson Retired
Captain NYC Department of Correction. Eulene Inniss, an outstanding recipient also received
a proclamation from Marty
Markowitz, Brooklyn’s Borough
President which was presented NNubian Chairman Anthony T Stalley -- Honree Dr. Arlene Allen, Educator and Williams F Risbrook
Clarence and Mable Robinson present to honoree Dr. Eulene Inniss by Mabel Robertson, president
of the Association of Black Educators of New York and recognition from fellow Guerilla Journalist Milton Allimadi, publisher/
CEO of Black Star News.
In the past the Nubian Society has honored distinctive persons such as: State Senator and
newly elected Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams;
Bronx Borough President Ruben
Diaz; Queens Borough President Helen Marshall; City Councilman Albert Vann; Political Activist/Actor Harry Belafonte;
100 Blacks in Law Enforcement;
and Rev. C. Herbert Oliver and
Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Civil
Rights Activists and more.
Paul Waldon, president, said
that, “the Nubian Society takes
great pleasure in helping young
children realize their dreams
through outstanding educational opportunities; we award
scholarships to High School seniors every year”. Paul is a man
of passion and purpose so, the
NNubian Chairman Anthony T Stalley -- Honree Transit SuperintenNNubian Chairman Anthony T Stalley and Honree Melvin R. Johnson
dent Wanda Robinson and Faith Williams
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16) and Naacp Jamaica Branch President Leroy Gadson.jp
]Nubian Society -- African American In Transit President Paul Waldon and Broad Members (All Photos by Lem Peterkin)
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
By Ollie McClean
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
10
THE ADAMS REPORT
Fashion, Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .& Stuff
By Audrey Adams
Gobble, Gobble?
Audrey Adams
Tis’ the season to have a tendency to gobble up everything
in sight! Last night, I attended
the first of what I’m sure will be
a round of holiday parties. So I
started to think about how I
would handle the accompanying food and drink that comes
with partying. It is hard to resist
the tempting aroma of home fried
chicken, fish, cornbread and
potato salad, stuffing, mashed
potatoes and gravy . . . all the
scents of the holidays and let’s
not forget the champagne, wine,
mixed drinks and eggnog to
wash it all down. So . . . I figure
that if I have an issue, then surely
someone else might have one too!
Have you figured out how to
enjoy the holiday season without
putting on additional pounds?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to eat,
drink, be merry and not show the
results of partying? Wouldn’t it be
great if someone designed a garment that would “support” us
throughout the season? Imagine
going to your favorite store’s lingerie department to purchase a
Lycra-enhanced undergarment
and putting it on before going out
each evening.
Ah, it sounds appealing
doesn’t it? If only! Unfortunately
such a garment would certainly
restrict your ability to breathe or
eat anything between gasps for air
. . . or sit down for that matter. The
undergarment would restrict your
appetite as well as your ability to
enjoy the evening’s festivities,
and that’s no fun. The only true
solution is to watch what and
how much you eat instead of
gobbling up everything in sight.
Don’t let the season be a reason
to overindulge. Think about it.
See you next week.
Visit TALKwithAUDREY.com
and checkout my online radio
show, TALK! with AUDREY for
a weekly interviews that will inform, motivate and inspire you.
Tune in to listen to a live broadcast of TALK! with AUDREY . . .
every Tuesday from 6:00 to 7:00
P.M. on Harlem ’s WHCR 90.3 FM.
Audrey Adams, former director of corporate public relations and fashion merchandising
for ESSENCE continues to motivate and inspire women
through her syndicated columns
and motivational speaking engagements.
Tips for managing federal
student loan repayment
Tips for managing federal student
loan repayment
Recent college graduates are
reminded that the grace period for
federal student loans is ending and
repayment will begin in November.
New York State Higher Education
Services Corporation (HESC), the
State agency that helps people pay
for college, reminds borrowers that
they have several options available that can help keep payments
manageable. HESC offers these
tips to help borrowers manage
their student loan payments: 1.
Keep Track of Your Loans Know
who holds your federal loans and
how much you owe. The National
Student Loan Data System
(NSLDS) provides a full history of
your federal student loans, including your loan balances, names
and addresses of your loan holders and colleges attended. Use
HESC’s loan tracker to help keep
an accurate record of both your
federal and private loans, and keep
copies of your master promissory
notes (MPN) and other important
paperwork together. 2. Choose a
Repayment Plan Select a repayment plan that’s right for your financial situation. You’ll have from
10 to 25 years to repay your loan,
depending on the repayment plan
you choose. Generally speaking,
the longer the loan term, the more
interest you will pay. Use the repayment comparison calculator at
Federal Student Aid to evaluate
which of these plans may offer the
best option for you:·
Standard Repayment A fixed payment
amount each month of at least $50,
or more if necessary to meet the
10 year repayment requirement.
This plan minimizes the total
amount of interest you will have
to pay over the life of the loan.·
Extended Repayment Available to
borrowers who owe more than
$30,000 in federal student loan debt,
extended repayment allows for a
maximum repayment period of 25
years. Payment amounts can be
fixed or graduated. ·
Graduated Repayment Payments
start out low and increase every
two years, with full payment required within 10 years. Your minimum monthly payment must cover
the amount of interest that accrues
between payments. If you expect
your income to increase steadily
over time, this plan may be right
for you. Borrowers who are experiencing financial hardships may be
able to choose options that can
reduce their monthly payment even
further:· Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Available for Stafford,
Grad PLUS and Consolidation
loans; IBR is not available for loans
that are currently in default, Parent
PLUS Loans, or Consolidation
loans that were used to pay off a
Parent PLUS Loan. The required
monthly payment is capped at an
amount that is intended to be affordable based on your income and
family size. If you make on-time
payments under the IBR plan for
25 years and meet other requirements, you may be able to have
the remaining balance of your
loan(s) cancelled. Use the interactive IBR calculator to see if you are
eligible for IBR and what your estimated monthly payment may be. ·
Income-Sensitive Repayment
Available only for Federal Family
Education Loans (FFEL) loans, the
Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan
is based on your annual income at
the time you begin repayment and
must be repaid within ten years. As
your income increases or decreases,
so do your payments.·
Pay As
You Earn Only loans made under
the Direct Loan Program - Direct
Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized
and Direct PLUS loans for graduate or professional students are eligible for repayment under Pay As
You Earn. You must be a new borrower. You are a new borrower if
you had no outstanding balance on
a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan
as of Oct. 1 2007. In addition, you
must have received a disbursement
of a Direct Loan on or after Oct. 1
2011. The Pay As You Earn plan
generally has the lowest monthly
payment and eligible borrowers
have up to 20 years to repay. If you
repay under Pay As You Earn and
meet certain other requirements,
any remaining balance will be forgiven after 20 years of qualifying
repayment.
Contact your loan
servicer for additional information
about repayment plans and options
for reducing your monthly payment. 3. Start Repayment An Electronic Debit Account (EDA) allows
online payments or automatic deductions from your checking account and may offer an interest discount. Not only will you save time,
but you won’t have to remember to
write a check every month. Check
with your servicer for details. 4.
Create and stick to a budget Creating a budget will help you live
within your income and manage
your payments. Meet your “needs”
first, then your “wants” as you can
afford. Revisit your budget regularly to make adjustments as necessary. Get started by using HESC’s
budget worksheet to help. 5. Keep
in Touch Remember to notify your
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
West Virginia U. prof’s
religious right’s upheld
Liberty Institute, on behalf of
Dr. Byron C. Calhoun, M.D., a
West Virginia University School
of Medicine professor and vice
chairman of the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology at
West Virginia University
Hospital’s Charleston Division,
successfully resolved a dispute
with the University triggered by
Dr. Calhoun’s personal volunteer
pro-life activities.
In August, Dr. Calhoun was
threatened with a written, professional reprimand from the University shortly after some of his volunteer work in the pro-life arena
received media attention. Dr.
Calhoun serves as the national
medical advisor for the National
Institute of Family and Life Advocates.
Dr. Calhoun, whose volunteer
pro-life work is anchored in his
religious convictions, turned to
Liberty Institute for help. Under
the threat of legal action by Liberty Institute, the University
backed off, claiming it never officially filed the reprimand against
Dr. Calhoun – despite having
provided him with a copy.
“The University made the right
decision to withdraw its threat of
a reprimand,” said Roger Byron,
Liberty Institute attorney. “A
government entity must never be
allowed to intimidate, threaten or
penalize anyone for their religious exercise and related
activities. We are pleased that
Dr. Calhoun may continue his invaluable volunteer pro-life work
without fear of reprisal from
WVU.”
The National Institute of Family
and Life Advocates trains and provides legal counsel to life-affirming
pregnancy resources centers with
the aim of developing faith-based
resource centers in every community across the nation.
Liberty Institute is a nonprofit legal group dedicated to defending
and restoring religious liberty
across America — in our schools,
for our churches, in our military and
throughout the public arena.
Liberty’s vision is to reestablish religious liberty in accordance with
the principles of our Founding Fathers.
EMERGENCY CONTRACT
SOLICITATION OF INTEREST
The New York State Office of General Services Design
& Construction Group (“OGS”) awards hundreds of EMERGENCY CONTRACTS each year with an average contract value
over $100,000. Emergency contracts may have a value as high as
$300,000. Bids for Emergency Contracts are taken over the
phone and require an immediate response and performance of
the work. Emergency contracts are typically of short duration
and are usually awarded on a cost-plus basis.
Legislation requires that OGS establish a list of
contractors by trade interest and geographical area who are
interested in bidding on emergency work. Bids are solicited
from this list on a rotational basis. It is anticipated that any
firm expressing an interest in emergency work will be solicited.
To comply with the legislation, OGS is updating its list
of contractors are interested in performing emergency contract
work. If your firm would like to be placed on our list of bidders
for emergency work, please complete the Emergency Contract
Information Form (a hyperlink to forms and related information
is shown at the bottom of this page) and return it to the following address:
Office of General Services
Design and Construction Group
Contract Awards Unit
35th Floor, Corning Tower
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12242
In order to solicit for emergency work, your firm must also
have a properly-completed CCA-2 - NYS Vendor Responsibility
Questionnaire For-Profit Construction on file at the New York
State Office of the State Comptroller (“OSC”) website. Information
about the CCA-2 questionnaire may be found on the OSC website
using the following link:
http://www.osc.state.ny.us./vendrep/index.htm
For additional information and application forms
related to emergency contracting, please use the following link
on the OGS:
http://ogs.ny.gov/BU/DC/esb/EmergencyDefault.asp
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN EMERGENCY
CONTRACTS!
By Sarah Lazare ,
Staff writer of Comon Dreams
Four months after California
prisoners declared a hunger
strike to protest solitary confinement and other abuse, they are
still suffering retaliatory punishment at the hands of corrections
authorities, the Prisoner Hunger
Strike Solidarity Coalition announced Monday.
“We demand an end to retaliation, and those demands are entwined with continued political
organizing work to change the
system,” said Isaac Ontiveros,
with the Prisoner Hunger Strike
Solidarity Coalition and Critical
Resistance, in an interview with
Common Dreams. “It is the minimum of human decency to not
retaliate against people who participated in the peaceful protest.”
Prisoners who participated in
the California-wide prisoner hunger strike, launched July 8, have
been slammed with what are called
a ‘115 write-ups.’ The penalty
accuses the prisoners “of committing a serious rule violation”
for participation in the hunger
strike, according to a statement
from the Prisoner Hunger Strike
Solidarity Coalition.
The write-ups have serious
consequences for inmates who
can face years-long extensions of
their solitary confinement and de-
nial of parole as a result. “It is
something that goes into your
record, so that when you are reviewed for whatever reason
around parole, moving from one
place to another, it affects the nature of your imprisonment,”
Ontiveros explains.
“People perceived as supporting the strike, whether refusing
meals, refusing work, or supporting the strike with other action
faced retaliation,” said attorney
Caitlin Kelly-Henry in an interview
with Common Dreams. “As many
as 30,000 people are documented
as refusing meals at the time the
strike was declared. We don’t
have numbers of people who refused work. It could be as many
as hundreds or thousands of
people who faced 115 and other
write-ups.”
The 115 write-ups are part of
broad retaliatory measures inflicted against prisoners who participated in the hunger strike, including searching cells, obstructing inmates’ communications with
the outside world—including lawyers—punishing strikers with
more severe solitary confinement,
and intimidating inmates to prevent them from appealing the
harsh measures. Prisons were also
given the green light to force-feed
hunger striking prisoners—a
move that human rights advocates slammed as a gross viola-
tion of human rights.
Much retaliation is informal, in an
environment where prison guards
hold staggering power over the lives
of inmates. “We’ve received letters
around individual guards or groups
of guards targeting people who participated in the strike,” explains
Ontiveros. “This is highly racialized,
with high incidence of targeting of
black prisoners who participated in
the strike.”
In a legislative hearing last month
with the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation—
won by the prisoner hunger strikes
and outside support—prison authorities admitted they retaliated
against inmates who participated in
the hunger strikes, says Ontiveros.
Supporters of the inmates are demanding that Michael Stainer, director of the Division of Adult Institutions at CDCR, use his authority to
immediately reverse the retaliatory
measure.
Stainer’s office did not immediately respond to repeated requests
from Common Dreams for an interview.
Ontiveros says that as supporters on the outside demand an end
for retaliation, and push for legislative hearings, they also work to “end
the CDCR’s repression that leads
to solitary confinement.
“This is an important moment to
act in very strong solidarity,” he
added.
Marilyn Kim Oliver
Soprano Marilyn Kim Oliver
to perform in concert in Bklyn
Soprano, Marilyn Kim Oliver,
will give a concert of sacred classical arias and songs on Sunday,
Nov. 17, 2013 at South Oxford
Space in Fort Green Brooklyn.
The performance, scheduled to
take place at 4 p.m., is titled “Celebrating His Grace,” a Thanksgiving tribute to God.
Ms. Oliver has performed with
prominent choirs in New York
City including New York Grand
Opera, New York Oratorio Society and Operesque Classical Concerts. She has also given recitals
and sung at various churches and
cultural events in the New York
Metropolitan area.
The Nov. 17 concert will include
notable pieces such as Mozart’s
Alleluia from Exsultate Jubilate as
well as familiar songs such as Amazing Grace. Guest artistes include
tenor/baritone Anderson Clarke,
alto Pearl-Cyrene Morton-Scott and
poet Ingrid Rizzolo. Brooklyn Italian Opera artistic director, Thomas
Siklos will be the accompanist.
To purchase tickets, send an
email to [email protected]
VETERANS BRIDGE TO CIVILIAN LIFE — The Greater New York Link, Inc. Eastern Chapter has
implemented a program to help women in the military adjust to civilian life when they retire On Women’s
History Month 2014 a special programming recommendations will host a special Career Resource
Development Affair to introduce women veterans to corporations and private sector opportunities. Committee members include (standing Rear) -Gina Bolden Rivera, Victoria James, Links chair, Ruth Cookie,
Jean, Gerri Warren Merrick, president NY Links, Marcella Maxwell, and Linda Zango Haley
3 things every patient should know dealing with the health-care system
With 11,000 people becoming
eligible for Medicare every day
and an estimated 25 million
Americans expected to gain
health insurance through
Obamacare on Jan. 1, access to
doctors and hospitals will skyrocket.
And while that’s a positive, patient advocate Ruth Fenner
Barash warns that the U.S. health
care system is not the benevolent
safety net many people believe it
to be. It can be abusive, incompetent, callous toward patients –
and worse.
“Patients and their loved ones
cannot blindly turn themselves
over to this massive, technologybased system and trust that it will
care – or take care of them,” says
Barash, who shares her healthcare experiences in a new book,
“For Better or Worse: Lurching
from Crisis to Crisis in America’s
Medical Morass,” (http://
forbetterorworsebook.com/). The
cautionary tale traces the long death
of her husband, Philip, through a
medical journey fraught with mismanagement and excess, useless
interventions and a sometimes complete disregard for pain – even when
there was no hope of healing.
“We did experience some wonderful health-care professionals –
brilliant, compassionate and helpful people – but they were not the
rule,” says Barash. “I learned a great
deal from our experience, and with
so many people now gaining access
to health care, I want others to benefit from what I’ve learned. You can
navigate the system; you just have
to know how.”
Barash offers these suggestions
for patients and their loved ones,
whether it’s a trip to the doctor for a
checkup or a diagnosis of a catastrophic illness.
• Avoid the emergency room.
Emergency rooms were developed with the idea that few
people would use them – most
people would see their physician.
But as health care costs rose, they
became a primary care facility for
those without insurance or the
money to pay for services out of
pocket. “Patients and their families were not expected to spend a
long time in the E.R. – presumably, they would be seen quickly
and either admitted to the hospital or treated and released – so
they’re not designed for comfort,” Barash says. “They’ve become very crowded, especially in
cities, and patients might wait for
hours sitting in hard plastic
chairs in the waiting room. For
someone who’s sick or injured,
this can be torture.”
Sick people usually are not isolated, so waiting rooms also teem
with germs, she notes.
• Be skeptical – question everything. Too often, we take the first
thing we’re told as gospel, Barash
says. “If you have the luxury of
time, take some of that time to think
things through, to research and
get second opinions,” she says.
Research your physician’s connections. When you’re referred to
a specialist, ask why that particular person. If you live in an area
with a large academic community,
ask around about the physicians
and health-care providers with the
best reputations. Who has the
most experience in a particular
niche? Who’s doing the most
promising research? How many
times have you performed this procedure and what is your success
rate?
• Ask what it costs – no matter
who’s paying. Our health-care
system is absurd in the number of
useless consultations, diagnostic
procedures and interventions it
foists on patients, Barash says.
Whether our hospital bills are fully
covered by Medicare, Medicaid or
private insurance, or we’re paying
a portion ourselves, we must all include cost in our discussions with
health-care providers. “Part of the
blame for having the most expensive health-care system in the world
goes to us, the individuals, who
don’t question purchases or shop
for prices as we would for groceries, clothing, or furniture,” Barash
says. “If a test or consultation is
ordered, understand why. Is it really necessary? You can say no!”
Finally, Barash says, we all must
come to terms with the fact that
death is a given. “My husband’s
problem, and the problem many of
us may be doomed to face, is the
seemingly endless getting there – a
dying we don’t want.”
11
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
When prisons retaliate: Calif. inmates
still paying price for demanding rights
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
12
Memorial Scholarships
presented on home grounds
Christine B. Burke had a bright smile. It
would have been brighter still after two
scholarships in her memory were recently
presented in the manicured, autumn-colored courtyard of Kips Bay Towers in MidManhattan where she lived for more than
40 years.
“I thought this an ideal location because
she loved these grounds, and as a psychiatric social worker, the success of our
young people was her passion,” said Eric
Coleman, Burke’s life partner and the underwriter of the annual benefit luncheon.
Champagne, gourmet sandwiches,
Lucia potato salad, hors d’oeuvres and assorted desserts were plentiful and enjoyed
by the many in attendance. However, the
menu’s main attraction was the recognition of two academically achieving young
students, Dashawn Hendricks, a ( junior
majoring in Industrial Engineering Technology at Farmingdale State College), and
Gerald Bryan, a (Sociology major and gifted
writer in his sophomore year at Concordia
College), were recipients of awards of
$1,000 each.
Hendricks and Bryan expressed appreciation for the show of support and stated
that they now felt even more motivated in
pursuing their goals. Music for the affair
was provided by the world-class flutist
Sherry Winston. All proceeds went to
benefit the IMANI Group: Network for Children and Families (Dr. Esther Hyatt, president), one of several civic organizations (L-R) Eric Coleman (host), Gerald Byran (honoree), Dashawn Hendricks (honoree) and Dr. Ester Hyatt (President IMANI Group)
(Photo: Gideon Manasseh)
in which Christine Burke actively served.
Ms. Chin’s a safe contestant
13
By Vinette K. Pryce
Special Assignment
There is fierce competition being waged on television. It involves four chairs, four judges
and music. Allegedly the weekly
contest pits the best of the best
singers selected by music experts
who sit in judgment each Monday and Tuesday on a program
called “The Voice.”
During this season, Jamaican
Tessanne Chin is testing her
mettle as one of the select few
and a finalist for a recording contract. She recently competed
against teammate Ashley
DuBose during the knockout
round singing Kelly Clarkson’s
“Stronger.” And indeed when her
coach Adam Levine judged the
better of his team, the immigrant
contestant was stronger. He gave
her a standing ovation after her
performance.
“Tessanne, you made it sound
so easy and then you took it to
another level,” judge Christina
Aguilera said. Cee-Lo Green commented that Chin had a “lioness
kind of quality.” He added that
her talent could take her to the
top of the competition.
“I’ve just scratched the surface of what I can become,” Chin
said. She won more than cool
points on the first episode when
she sang Pink’s “Try Me.” Her
vocal ability caused four judges
to reverse their backward facing
chairs to face her forward. Ma-
Songbird Tessanne Chinn
roon Five singer Adam Levine
scooped her up and his coaching
has helped her to return votes from
the viewing audience as well as his
colleagues.
Since Chin’s first victory, Jamaicans at home and abroad have
dominated social media networks
soliciting participation. Ratings
for the program in Jamaica have
been overwhelmingly in favor of
“The Voice.” Previously, Chin
faced-off against another of her
teammates Donna Allen during
“The Voice” 5 Battle Round por-
tion of the contest.
Also coached by Levine, Allen
is reputedly a full-force, explosion
of sounds. “I’m not trying to outsing Donna, it’s not gonna happen,”
Chin reportedly stated. “I want to
win this for anyone who has a
dream and wants to make something
of themself.”
After both singers completed
their renditions of Emeli Sande’s
“Next To Me,” this is what the
judges said: Christina Aguilera:
“You brought it. My choice would
be Tessanne.” Ceelo Green: “If I
had to give it to someone, I would
say Tess. It was epic. I wish I had
something to be critical about but
I’ll have to go with Donna,” Blake
Shelton.
At two to one, it was up to
Levine to cast the deciding vote.
“You both know how I feel about
you. Tess, you make everything so
effortless. Donna, you were pretty
astonishing. You each have something the other doesn’t,” Levine
said.
However, he named Chin his winner. Chin’s victory qualifies her to
move to the Knockout Round.
Allen praised her challenger, calling her “A phenomenal vocalist.”
The Jamaican import is now on
her way to the live performance segment of the show. Chin received
kudos from fellow national achievers Damian Marley, poet Mutabaruka,
Olympians Shelly Fraser Pryce and
Usain Bolt and virtually every Jamaican who watched the competition.
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
‘Voice’ of Jamaica scores knockout victory
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
14
Private student loans no better than using a credit card for college
By Charlene Crowell
NNPA Columnist
An analysis of the recent
Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman report concluded
that private student loans
(PSLs) are a risky and highcost method to pay for a college education. PSLs comprised 7 percent of student
loans taken out last year and
are 15 percent of the nation’s
total outstanding student loan
debt.
American consumers currently owe approximately $165
billion on PSLs.
“Choosing to pay for college through a private student
loan is no better than paying
for it on a credit card. Private
student loans are generally
more expensive and risky for
consumers than more-common
federal student loans, and dealing with private student lenders can be a tremendous
hassle,” states the PIRG analysis.
PIRG also found that high
debt borrowers are also disproportionately PSL borrowers, often with $40,000 or more in total
debt.
Even worse, PSL repayment
was the subject of nearly 65
percent of the more than 4,300
complaints received by CFPB
from October 1, 2012 through
September 30, 2013. Repayment concerns included fees,
billing, deferment, forbearance,
fraud and credit reporting. Additionally the inability to repay
was found to a pivotal factor in
default, debt collection and
bankruptcy.
How borrowers incurred
these PSL debts is also addressed by PIRG.
“In 2008, a majority of PSL
borrowers took out less in federal student loans than they
could have. Of these borrowers, a full quarter took out no
federal student aid whatsoever.
In large part, private student
borrowers fell prey to a range
of unsavory marketing tactics.
Some lenders deliberately misled borrowers into believing
that their private student loan
products were superior to federal loans.”
These kinds of financial
abuses are among the reasons
why the Center for Responsible
Lending and other consumer
and civil rights allies pushed
for and won historic reforms
with enactment of the Dodd –
Frank Wall Street Reform Act
Protest planned to support Walmart
workers on ‘Black Friday’
By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
NNPA Columnist
The day after Thanksgiving,
so-called “Black Friday,” will
be a moment for national protests over the conditions faced
b y t h o u s a n d s o f Wa l m a r t
workers. You may be one of
many who go regularly or periodically to Walmart, looking
for the good deals. Well, this
November 29, things will be a
bit exciting and informative
outside of Walmart facilities.
If you have any questions
regarding why these protests
have been happening; why
they will take place on November 29; and why they will continue to unfold, just consider
the following: almost twot h i r d s o f t h e Wa l m a r t ’s
workforce of approximately
825,000 earn poverty-level
wages (less than $25,000/
year). Now, contrast this fact
with another fact: six of the
Waltons, the major shareholders in the company, are collectively worth more than $144.7
billion, putting them ahead of
the combined worth of 42 percent of the people of the
United States.
In other words, for all of their
platitudes we regularly hear on
television and radio commercials, Walmart stands as a stark
example of the wealth polarization that we have been witnessing in this country, a wealth
polarization unlike anything
that we have seen since 1929.
The conditions of Walmart
workers are insulting, not only
to the Walmart workers but to
the rest of us. Workers find it
difficult to obtain full-time
schedules, thus making it impossible for them to earn the
sort of wages needed to survive. Like many other retail
workers, they are then forced to
either try to assemble more than
one part-time job and/or depend
on governmental assistance.
The Walmart workers, joined
together through an organization known as OUR Walmart (Organization United for Respect
at Walmart), seek public support. They are seeking justice
in their workplace and they
know that the attitude of the
Walmart customer is critical in
that regard. The message that
you, as a customer and consumer, convey to the Walmart
management; your willingness
to stand with the Walmart workers; and the attitude elected officials in our cities and towns
take towards the expansion of
and requests for assistance by
the corporate owners of
Walmart, will all make a world
of a difference.
If you think of nothing else,
just stop for a moment and remember that $25,000/year does
not take anyone very far these
days. How can a family worth
more than $144.7 billion not
believe that improving the
wages, benefits and working
conditions of those who make
it possible for their family to
be so wealthy is a burdensome
request?
Just asking…
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the
chairman of the Retail Justice
Alliance which supports retail
workers fighting for economic
justice. He is also a Senior
Scholar with the Institute for
Policy Studies, the immediate
past president of TransAfrica
Forum, and the author
of “They’re Bankrupting Us”
– And Twenty Other Myths
about Unions. Follow him on
Facebook and at:
www.billfletcherjr.com.
Colin L. Powell School at CCCNY announces
new board of visitors
(From page 4)
Charles B. Wang, owner, New
York Islanders
Beatrice Welters, philanthropist
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace laureate
Fareed Zakaria, editor-at-large,
Time Inc.
The City University of New
York Board of Trustees established the Powell School on April
29, 2013. The school is home to
City College’s Departments of
Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. It also houses the Graduate Center, CUNY, Ph.D. program
in clinical psychology and the
CUNY Dominican Studies Insti-
tute.
The Powell School offers a wide
variety of traditional and interdisciplinary undergraduate and
graduate degrees, and its students
earn nearly one-third of all degrees
awarded at City College. The hallmark values of service and leadership permeate every aspect of the
school’s work and animate City
College’s unflagging and historic
commitment to access and excellence.
Since 1847, The City College of
New York has provided low-cost,
high-quality education for New
Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000 students
pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bernard
and Anne Spitzer School of Archi-
tecture; the School of Education;
the Grove School of Engineering;
the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the Colin
L. Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
Set on a striking, 35-acre hilltop
campus in upper Manhattan,
CCNY has produced more Nobel
laureates than any other public institution in the United States.
The College has been touted as
one of “America’s Top Colleges”
by Forbes, one of the “Best Colleges in the United States” as well
as one of the “Best Value Colleges” by the Princeton Review,
and ranks among U.S. News &
World Report’s top regional universities. For additional information, please visit:
www.ccny.cuny.edu.
When lenders of varying financial products and servicers
operated with scant – if any –
financial regulation, untold
abuses occurred.
Now with the CFPB at work
investigating complaints, it is
important for consumers to
share what is wrong or what is
not working in the marketplace.
The CFPB’s Student Loan
Ombudsman is a statutory office created within the bureau
to assist consumers in resolving private student loan problems.
Through this effort, the CFPB
assisted hundreds of borrowers to obtain relief from their
lenders.
The median monetary recovery is $700; the maximum
amount of relief granted thus
far is $75,000.
Geographically, PIRG found
that states with higher average
student debt also tended to
have borrowers who complained to the CFPB more frequently.
Overall, borrows from the
Northeast were much more
likely to file a CFPB complaint,
with consumers from the District of Columbia having the
highest complaint-to-borrower
ratio. Conversely, borrowers
from the South and Midwest
were the least likely to complain.
These regional variations
could warrant additional research, especially when one considers that the vast majority of
Historically Black Colleges and
Universities are located in the
South.
Further, How America Pays
for College, a 2012 research report from Sallie Mae, the nation’s
largest financial services company specializing in education,
found that among Black families,
51 percent borrow for college
costs and 35 percent of Black
students take out loans in their
own names to attend four-year
institutions, both public and private.
Consumers of color – those
hardest hit by student loan debt
– should not suffer in silence
with student loan problems.
If you or someone you know
has been harmed by financial
abuse, file a complaint with the
CFPB. A convenient online form
is available to take complaints on
student loans and other lending
areas at:
www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/.
The price of higher education
is too high and the multiple sacrifices to earn credentials too
dear to allow abusive financial
practices to go unchallenged.
Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the
Center for Responsible Len.
2nd Harlem Renaissance
(From page 2)
ous members of the local community. Many attendees expressed
their desire to see Harlem’s government representatives and tech
executives partner up to offer
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education programs for children.
“Silicon Harlem is not just hardware. It’s software and it begins
with ideas,” said Lucious Conway,
of Recovery Coaching Services of
New York. “Children envision and
imagine outside the box; they
think big naturally and we kill that
over time. I think the beginning of
this transformation starts with creating a space where we can reignite it.”
Rangel and Eun agreed that investing in STEM education and
gigabit infrastructure—necessary
for transmitting commercial bandwidth—is key to South Korea’s
achievements and crucial for local high-tech start-ups and small
businesses looking to compete
with other cities that foster innovation. “I am passionate about building a better life and future for my
constituents. I truly believe that we
can bring about a second Harlem Renaissance and transform Harlem
into America’s center of invention
and innovation,” said Rangel in his
closing remarks, as he thanked Eun
and the audience for their interests
and enthusiasm in his vision.
Rangel has long been a supporter
of tech incubators like Harlem Garage and its goal of transforming
Uptown New York into the new
hotspot for digital products and services. Harlem Garage is just one of
the many incubators that are beginning to pop up around the DUMBO
(Down Under Manhattan Bridge
Overpass) region and midtown
Manhattan. Samsung has similarly
launched Samsung’s Accelerator
program in Chelsea, New York,
geared to entrepreneurs who wish
to focus exclusively on product development, without the administrative distractions of building a company.
Tips for managing federal
student loan repayment
(From page 10)
servicer in writing if you change
your name, address or phone number. Keep copies of all correspondence in your financial aid file,
which should include all paperwork relating to your loan. What
if You Can’t Pay? Help is available
if you are unemployed or have
other extenuating circumstances
that make it difficult for you to repay your student loan. Ignoring
your student loans will create a
more serious situation later. Don’t
let payment problems get out-of-
hand…work with your servicer at
the first sign of difficulty. You may
be eligible for a deferment, which
delays payment, or a forbearance,
which may temporarily suspend or
reduce your payment.
Or you may qualify for an income
based repayment plan, which may
lower your monthly payment significantly.
Managing your student loan intelligently is an important step in
meeting your student loan obligations, establishing a good credit history and safeguarding your financial future.
NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch Freedom
Fund luncheon is twelve years strong
Geoffrey E. Eaton (branch leadership
award presented jointly by Congressman Charles E. Rangel and Hon. David
N. Dinkins); and “Mama I Want To
Sing” stars Ahmaya Knolle Higginsen
and Elijah Ahmad Lewis (arts & culture award presented by Geoffrey E.
Eaton).
President Eaton also received a medal
of honor from the NAACP National
Board presented by NAACP MidManhattan Branch Second Vice President J. Machelle Sweeting, Esq. as his
proud parents Delores and Don Eaton
looked on.
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political,
educational, social, and economic
equality of rights of all persons and to
eliminate race-based discrimination.
The NAACP Mid-Manhattan
Branch continues its important work
under the leadership of its distinguished officers and executive committee.
Mid-Manhattan Branch officers are:
President Geoffrey E. Eaton, First Vice
President Garry Anthony Johnson,
Second Vice President J. Machelle
Sweeting, Esq., Secretary Kristal
Theobalds, Assistant Secretary
Eleanor Jackson, Treasurer Claire
Theobalds, and Assistant Treasurer
Ulma Jones.
Mid-Manhattan executive committee members are: Reina Allen, Marion
Bondurant, Pauline Bostic, Monica
Brown, Rayna Clay-Cuffee, Joseph
Copeland, Rayne Dorsey, Hon. Carol
Edmead, Harriett Fortson, Marie
Hawkins Hon. Billie Holliday Hayes
(past president), Barbara Howard, Joseph L. Hughes, Hon. Tanya R.
Kennedy, M. Janielle Lattimore, Anna
Lewis, Esq., Edith Matthews, Ruther
D. Miller,Yolanda Payne, Edgar Ramsey,
Hon. Robert R. Reed, Dr. Dottye Seales,
Hon. George Silver, Jean Dixon West,
Sylvia White and Mary Louise Williams. (Photos by Gideon Manasseh
and Hubert Williams)
ByAudrey J. Bernard
Style & Society Editor
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) Mid-Manhattan Branch
hosted their Twelfth Annual Freedom
Fund Luncheon on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at the Marina del Rey,
One Marina Drive, Throgs Neck, New
York, hosted by National Action
Network’s executive Tamika Mallory.
Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Hon.
Keith L.T. Wright and Dr. Marcella
Maxwell served as honorary chairs.
The festive event began with a
cocktail reception followed by lunch
and a stellar program that featured a
musical tribute by Lauren Reilly and
an invocation by Rev. Dr. Thomas D.
Johnson, Sr. Entertainment and dance
music was provided by the soulful
sounds of the Warren Daniels Band.
Libations flowed freely throughout
the entire event. During the program,
the coveted Roy Wilkins Awards
were presented to individuals whose
“accomplishments embody the spirit
of the NAACP and its enduring
legacy that the fight for civil rights is
a lifetime commitment,” stated
Geoffrey E. Eaton, president, NAACP
Mid-Manhattan Branch and district
director for Congressman Charles B.
Rangel.
This year’s exemplary honorees included: Roy Wilkins award was presented to Voza Rivers, executive producer, New Heritage Theatre Group
(lifetime achievement award presented by Hon. Keith L.T. Wright);
Dawna Michelle Fields, national program manager, Colgate-Palmolive
Co.’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures
(corporate leadership award presented by Dr. Marcella Maxwell);
Hon. William Franc Perry, Civil Court
Judge, Civil Court of the City of New
York (community service award presented by Hon. Robert Reed); Denise
C. Soares, R.N., M.A., senior vice
president, Generations/Northern
Manhattan Health Network, executive director, Harlem Hospital Center/
The Renaissance Health Care Network (outstanding service award presented by Hon. Inez Dickens);
George Gresham, president, 1199SEIU
(outstanding leadership award presented by Hon. GaleA. Brewer); Betty
Park, president & owner, Mannas Restaurants (service award presented by
J. Machelle Sweeting, Esq.); Rayne
Dorsey (branch service award presented by Geoffrey E. Eaton);
Tamika Mallory, Hon. David N. Dinkins, Geoffrey Eaton, Hon. Charles Geoffrey Eaton, Voza Rivers, Hon. Keith L.T. Wright, Marion
B. Rangel, Marion Bondurant, Hon. Billie Holliday Hayes
Bondurant
J. Machelle Sweeting, Esq.
Geoffrey E. Eaton, Betty Park
Garry A. Johnson, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer,
Dawna Michelle Fields, Dr. Geoffrey Eaton, NYC Comptroller John Liu, J. Machelle Sweeting,
Esq., Claire Theobalds
Marcella Maxwell
Hon. David N. Dinkins, Hon.
Charles B. Rangel
Geoffrey Eaton, William F. Perry, George Gresham’s assistant,
Esq., Judge Robert Reed
Gale A. Brewer
Geoffrey Eaton, Rayne Dorsey,
Marion Bondurant
Geoffey Eaton, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Ahmaya Knoelle Higginsen, Vy
Higginsen, Felicia Lewis, Marion Bondurant, Tamika Mallory
Don Eaton, Delores Eaton,
Geoffrey Eaton
NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch fundraising Geraldine Cobbs, Jean Dixon West, Dawna Michelle Fields,
committee
Lavanie Brinkley, Edith Matthews (back)
Ruth Clark, Vy Higgingen
Geoffrey Eaton, Denise C. Soares, Hon. Inez Dickens, Marion
Bondurant, Tamika Mallory
15
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
AUDREY'S
SOCIETY
WHIRL
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
16
Macy’s top executive denies retailer is coming to Harlem
day night that was attended by
hundreds of angry residents.
“I don’t know where that information came from,” he added.
“It is absolutely not true.” Kazan
declined to comment about business negotiations but said the
store is “always interested in
looking at opportunities by developers to grow our business
and serve the community.”
Harlem business leaders say
that Macy’s has looked at locations here for a possible store for
the last several years. Macy’s
passed on the site of what is now a
Pathmark at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue because it wasn’t
centrally located and also could
not strike a deal for a site on Lenox
Avenue and 125th Street where
Whole Foods is now slated to rise.
The idea of the store coming to
Harlem is not far fetched as several national retailers have taken to
125th Street in recent years. In
addition to existing stores such as
Old Navy, Gap and Marshalls,
Whole Foods
and Burlington Coat Factory are
scheduled for the corner of Lenox
Avenue and 125th Street.
Further west, a Red Lobster will
soon open between Adam Clayton
Powell Jr. Boulevard and Frederick
Douglass Boulevard, and a retail
complex on Frederick Douglass
Boulevard has a Joe’s Crab Shack
and DSW among other stores.
There is $1 billion in new development scheduled for 125th Street
that will bring 1 million square feet
of new space, according to the
125th Street Business Improvement District. That development
is increasingly pushing out the
mom and pop stores that dominated 125th Street before it became
a destination for national retailers.
Nubian Society
(From page 9)
workers who continue to invest
in people while seeking nothing
in return. By the gathering of community organizations and people
such as the Bedford Stuyvesant
Family Health Center, Black Solidarity Education Committee
(BSEC); Association of Black
Educators of New York ( ABENY);
NAACP: Judge Robin Shears;
Rev. C.Herbert Oliver and others,
it is obvious that the Nubian has
established a partnership with
other community of organizations
whose history of service is nationwide. The Nubian Society is
a proven asset to the Transit
Union.
“Fifteen years ago there was
unoccupied space on both sides
of the building. Night and day I
was out there chasing the rats,”
said Ron Waltin, a Golden Krust
franchisee. Angry Harlem residents at Thursday night’s meeting said they weren’t against the
National Urban League redeveloping the site but that they
wanted to make sure the merchants who came to Harlem in less
opportune times were also allowed to benefit.
Gary Johnson of the NAACP
Steel company spreads
the pain from Zimbabwe
(From page 8)
made, but nothing has been fulfilled, and in the meantime, we are
suffering,” said Thomas
Ngulube, who worked at ZISCO
steel for 24 years. An artisan
blacksmith by trade, Ngulube
said most workers left the steel
plant at midday to “look for food
and water”, although the official
knock-off time was 4pm.
“It’s been very, very hard,”
said Benedict Moyo, chair of the
Collective Empowerment Group, in such a way that they will not ZISCO Joint Workers Union.
(From page 7)
conducts a daily prayer teleconfer- make the same mistakes we made
about how little they pay.” Our ence (712-432-0255; access code when it comes to handling money. “We’ve got families to look afeconomic empowerment will 372536#). In a recent session, Pas- Maybe we can gain a new and dif- ter. There is nothing to sustain
never come from spending alone; tor Weaver stated, “Know the dif- ferent perspective on ourselves as
it will come from ownership of ference between needs and wants. a people and as individual consumproduction capacity, distribution You need transportation to get to ers. And, maybe, just maybe, we
channels, real estate, and busi- work or your business, but it will take that first giant step toward
nesses through which we circu- doesn’t mean you need to buy a economic self-reliance and achieve
late our dollars among ourselves. $50,000 car. What you need is a a proportional level of ownership
Our lifestyles are definitely re- ticket to get on the metro or sub- and control of income-producing
flective of our penchant for pur- way or bus fare. You need to have assets in this country.
(From page 6)
chasing “top shelf” items and, some clothes, but you don’t need
After all, we have been here
thus, illuminate our need to im- a $10,000 mink coat.”
since it began, yet we lag far be- him in the eye and asked him very
press others with those items.
Weaver went on to add some hind where we should be economi- bluntly if he was serious or just
For instance, the television com- very important tips, such as, avoid- cally, slavery and mistreatment blowing smoke at me? He litermercials featuring various brands ing the use of credit cards, and re- notwithstanding.
ally pulled me nose to nose with
of alcohol being promoted by fraining from “window-shopping,”
I believe those of us who have him and said, “Brother, I got you.
Black icons of the rap music in- because you may be drawn into the been through some “stuff” and I don’t BS. Now I want to introdustry carry the subliminal mes- store and buy something you did made poor decisions in our lives duce you to my campaign chairsage of being accepted and af- not consider until you saw it. have an obligation to at least share man, Bill Palatucci. The two of
fluent. Clothing and shoe com- (“Turn away my eyes from looking our experiences and use them to you should get together and dismercials lull many of us into a at worthless things…” Psalm help others. I know I have been cuss this.” Within 30 days, the
continuous state of “I gotta have 119:37). Marketers, to their credit, down a few economically dead-end meeting took place.
that.” The automobile ads, es- know how to turn a consumer’s roads, and I do not want to see our
Priebus can provide all the bapecially the high- priced autos, wants into needs. So, beware of children go down those same sic research in the world, but it’s
feature all kinds of reasons for all the ways to get your money out roads. I am sure many of you feel up to the candidate to take adgoing into debt for seven years of your pocket and into someone the same way. So don’t be vantage of what the chairman is
to drive them. And it goes on and else’s.
ashamed to admit you messed up doing.
on.
It all boils down to what Brooke a few times – or a lot of times, for
So, to all the pundits who are
When do we get off this train Stephens said about how we view that matter. When it comes to our trying to discredit Priebus and
of consumption? How do we ourselves. We have been so pro- money, we simply must change.
Christie, stop. They devised and
begin to establish self-control grammed to believe that having
The Bible says, “For where your executed a winning strategy. If
when it comes to how we handle “things,” especially the best and treasure is, there your heart will be you have a better way of putting
our money? How do we immu- highest priced things, is the key to also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV). Where together the coalition that Priebus
nize ourselves against the dis- our personal value. We are mes- is your heart these days? When and Christie did, then I am all ears.
ease of allowing our wants to merized by luxury and excess and will you derail the madness of shopBlacks will vote for a Republimorph into needs simply because have become obedient consumers ping ‘till you drop?
of a commercial, a billboard, or a who will rush out, sleep out, and
Jim Clingman, founder of the
cute jingle or saying recited by even knockout someone else just Greater Cincinnati African Amerisome superstar? A lot of our to have the latest fashion, gadget, can Chamber of Commerce, is the
purchasing habits really do reflect or whatever anyone is selling.
nation’s most prolific writer on
the saying, “We buy what we
Maybe we can change our tenu- economic empowerment for Black
want and beg for what we need.” ous and abbreviated relationship people. He is an adjunct profes(From page 6)
Jonathan Weaver, pastor at with our money by holding on to it sor at the University of Cincinnati
Greater Mt. Nebo A.M.E. Church, a little longer. Maybe we can edu- and can be reached through his mum wage of $9.
in Bowie, Md. and founder of the cate our children and guide them Web site, blackonomics.com.
The EPI study stated. “When
describing who would see a raise
if the minimum wage were increased, it is important to look at
everyone who earns between the
current minimum wage and the
proposed new one, as well as
workers earning just above the
new minimum wage (who would
237 W. 37th Street,
likely also see a small pay inSuite 203 New York, New York 10018
crease as employers move to preserve internal wage ladders). The
Tel: (212) 213-8585
typical worker who would be affected by an increase in the miniNubian recognizes individuals
whose contributions to youths
and society are aligned with his
vision and purpose.
The Nubian Society must be
commended for seeking out
those dedicated community
Exiting the train of consumption
said the remaining merchants at the
site should be bought out of there
leases and helped to return to the
new site.
“We want to make sure this is done
in a way that is respectful to this
community,” said Brian Benjamin,
second vice-chair of Community
Board 10 where the project is located. Morial said no deal has been
cut with any retailers but he believes
whoever is chosen will please the
community.
“What we want to do at the site is
something exciting,” said Morial.
the children. It’s been hell.”
The Essar Group, based in
Mumbai, India, has investments in
minerals, energy, telecom, shipping and business outsourcing, although it frequently pleads poverty. If successful, the purchase
of ZISCO would comprise 70 per
cent of all foreign direct investment in Zimbabwe over three
years.
The Essar group is currently
consolidating all its businesses in
India and worldwide under a Cayman Islands based global holding
company, Essar Global. w/pix of
Essar finance director A. Agarwal
Chris Christie provided
model for GOP success
can, but they want to be listened to
and not talked to.
They want to feel like their concerns are important to the Republican Party.
The election in New Jersey sent a
message to Republican candidates
who want to broaden their voting
base: Take Christie model, personalize and adapt it as needed. Those
who copy the New Jersey model
can be victorious. Those who insist
on going the Tea Party route are
likely to suffer the same fate as state
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ,
who lost his bid to become governor.
Raynard Jackson is president &
CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.based public relations/government
affairs firm. He can be reached
through
his
Web
site,
www.raynardjackson.com. You can
also follow him on Twitter at
raynard1223.
Time to raise minimum wage
Subscribe and Advertise in the New York Beacon
mum wage to $10.10 per hour by
2015 looks nothing like the parttime, teen stereotype: She is in her
early thirties, works full-time, and
may have a family to support.”
George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association
News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached
through his Web site:
www.georgecurry.com. You can
also follow him at www.twitter.com/
currygeorge and George E. Curry
Fan Page on Facebook.
By Victoria Horsford
Harlem, America and Beyond
NEW YORK CITY
Last week, the NYC electorate
voted for change with strongly
progressive accents. The the
Democrats enjoyed a clean sweep
of all top posts and won by landslides. Bill de Blasio, the Germanic/Italian American public advocate, is the mayor-elect; African-American Letitia James is
public advocate-elect, a post next
in line of succession to the mayoralty. Scott Stringer is comptroller-elect. Other election day victors include newcomer Kenneth
Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney elect; and four new borough presidents elect: Gale
Brewer, Manhattan; Eric Adams
in Brooklyn; Melinda Katz in
Queens; and James Oddo , Staten
Island. Bronx Boro president
Ruben Diaz was re-elected. Oddo
is only GOP boro prexy. The 2014
NYC political landscape resembles Mayor David Dinkins
“beautiful mosaic.”
What sets NYC apart from
the rest of the nation? Well, the
NYC mayor’s job is often referenced as the second hardest job
in America. Come January, 2014,
NYC can boast its first interracial
First Family. De Blasio is married
to an African-American woman
Chirlane McCray; and they have
two children, Chiara and Dante. A
pre-election NY Magazine cover
projected a winsome Xmas card
picture of the de Blasio first family. The NY Times 11/10 Metro
section’s cover story
“Bill de Blasio’s Circle of
Power” was instructive. It identified an ethnically motley mix of 24
people, who could function as de
Blasio’s kitchen cabinet, including Bertha Lewis, ACORN alum
and a founder of the Working
Families Party; John H. Banks III,
a Con Ed executive; Patrick
Gespard, US Ambassador to
South Africa, who allegedly the
first once called by de Blasio during a crisis; Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito; George
Gresham, President of 1199 SEIU;
Dominic Williams, chief of staff
public advocate office, Harold
Ickes, mentor to DeBlasio since
the Dinkins Era and Clinton White
House deputy chief of staff.
Oh, I forgot to mention that
Mayor elect de Blasio has close
ties political operatives with close
ties to campaigns strategies for
President Barack Obama. Now for
Bill de Blasio’s big challenge: governing this NYC ethnic, specialinterest mosaic..
New Yorkers eagerly await the
results of one of the first matters
of business for the new City
Council. Who becomes its
Speaker? More on than later.
should be a year-round practice.
The Christian Science Monitor
published a story, More Iraq and
Afghanistan US vets Going From
Service Member to Member of
Congress.” Their numbers total 16
in the 113th Congress, which is the
largest group of vets since the 80s.
They are ostensibly influential in
veterans affairs and are among the
loudest critics of costly, inefficient
Pentagon weapons systems and of
US intervention in Syria. However,
the media did not offer muscular
coverage of the twin plagues of
homelessness and unemployment,
so common to Iraq/Afghanistan
US vets returning from those
Middle Eastern killing fields. Black
veterans, especially women, top
the nation’s list of homelessness.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, uber
accounting giant has agreed to buy
iconic consulting firm Booz Company. Both companies will review
client roosters and Booz will drop
consulting assignments which
conflict with extant auditing clients. Booz in addition to its far
reaching international tentacles
coveted federal government intelligence surveillance contracts, if
we can trust the media. Wasn’t
Snowden a Booz employee/contractor.
American football, the National
Football League and American
dysfunction took a nosedive recently, as the story unfolded about
the Dolphins locker room culture
and its players Black Jonathan
Martin and white Richie Incognito
and the team’s values. Richie likes
to bully, harass, use the N word,
and malign Martin who ostensibly
does not act/sound ghetto, whose
parents are Harvard grads. And the
Dolphins coach encouraged this
Incognito behavior advising him
to help “man-up” Martin. The
story is unreal! Dolphin teammates
say that Incognito is “Blacker”
than Martin! Huh? According to
people familiar with NFL culture,
this locker room behavior is rampant throughout the League. During the 2011 to 2012 season, NFL
revenues exceeded $9.5 billion.
About 70% of NFL players are African American. NFL has named
Attorney Ted Wells special counsel on the Dolphins harassment
case. To be continued.
out denizens can feast on its tastelike-some- more menu staples like lobster mac and cheese, crab meat grits,
buffalo wings, grilled garlic shrimp.
REQUIRED READING:
Bill de Blasio and family
Will lightning strike twice for political journalists, Messrs Mark
Halperin and John Heilemann are at it
again with their new gossipy book,
DOUBLE DOWN: Game Change 2012.
Beltway insider stories are the centerpiece of this tome. They says that
Hillary Clinton was being considered
as a replacement for Joe Biden on the
Obama 2012 ticket until polls indicated that her name did not bring any
added value. Some other items which
probably makes the White House
blanche is that apart from Congressmen John Lewis and Jim Clyburn,
President Obama holds as much contempt for the Congressional Black
Caucus as he does for the Tea Party
Caucus. Wonder who has been dishing that dirt. DOUBLEDOWN also
reveals President Obama’s tolerance
for Bill Clinton is small doses.
New Yorker Magazine culture
editor cum author HILTON ALS’ new
book of essays, WHITE GIRLS, which
was reviewed 11/10 NY Times, will be
the subject of many of the autumn
cocktail parties. Culture war agent
provocateur Als’ book of essays explores the cultural and racial implications of white womanhood, using
celebrities to illustrate his points.
Prominent among Als’ galaxy of white
girls across Western history are
Louise Brooks, Michael Jackson,
Truman Compote, and former Vogue
editor Andre Leon Talley. Review
makes book sound like a delicious mix
of bitchiness and provocative
thoughts and conceptualizations.
NEWSMAKERS
Rev. Eugene Callender
RIP: Reverend Dr Eugene
Callender, died on November 2 in
NYC. A renaissance man, he was also
prominent civic and religious leader
who headed Harlem’s Church of the
Masters and served as Haryou-Act’s
Board Chairman. He was an inner
circle adviser to NYS governors and
mayors.
A management consultant,
Victoria Horsford is a New York
based journalist who can be contacted at:
[email protected]
HARLEM UPDATES
Black America’s favorite commercial strip 125 Street is beginning
to start looking like Times Square.
National retailers are coming out
of the woodwork for this busy corridor. Joe’s Crab hit the ground running into instant profits at the new
mini mall on NW corner of 125
Street at Eighth Avenue. Mall
neighbors include The Party Store
and Designer Shoe Warehouse.
Red Lobster has taken up residency next door to the Apollo and
will be open for business this week
after its many soft openings for the
community and media, mainstream
Black.
The Cove Lounge, located at
325 Lenox Avenue, got its sidewalk
café license and it will soon present
USA: NATIONALHEALTH
serious restaurant competition to
An inordinate amount of me- its neighbors like Lenox Social,
dia attention centered on US ser- Chez Lucienne, the Red Rooster
vicemen on Veterans’ Day, which and Sylvia’s. Discriminating dine-
Jonathan Martin
Andre Leon Talley
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
WHAT’S GOING ON
17
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
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NNPA Award Winner
Enter tainment
By Don Thomas
The 41st Annual
2012-2013 Vivian Robinson The VIV
AUDELCO Awards at Symphony Space
AUDELCO (Audience
Development Committee,
Inc.) announces the nominees for the 2012-2013
Vivian Robinson The VIV
AUDELCO Recognition
Awards for Excellence In
Black Theatre.
AUDELCO was established in 1973 by the late
great Vivian Robinson, to
generate more recognition, understanding and
awareness of the arts in
African-American communities; to provide better public relations and to
build new audiences for
non-profit theatre and
dance companies.
For the past 41 years
AUDELCO has promoted
and celebrated African-
Carmen de Lavallade
Roscoe Orman
American involvement in
American Theatre.
The awards known as
the VIV has become the
pre-eminent recognition
for African-American Theatre Artists.
This year’s awards will
be held on Monday, November 25 th, 7pm, at the
Symphony Space/Peter
Jay Sharp Theatre, 2537
Broadway at 95th Street.
Serving as Co-Chairpersons are dancer and choreographer Carmen de
Lavallade, actor and comedian Roscoe Orman, playwright, producer and director Aduke Aremu and
actor Jerome Preston
B a t e s . Vi s i t w e b s i t e :
www.audelco.net
Review
Fantasia is fantastic in After Midnight
By Vinette K. Pryce
Special Assignment
Fantasia Barrino returned to
Broadway to reprise a quartet of
classic standards that amplify
Harlem’s indelible signature on
America’s music legacy in the musical After Midnight.
The American Idol winner who
previously appeared on the Great
White Way in “The Color Purple”
unleashed music compiled by
award-winning artistic director
Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at
Lincoln Center Orchestra that reminisce the hey-days of two landmark
showplaces — The Savoy and The
Cotton Club.
Portraying one of the celebrated
characters regularly invited to perform at the Cotton Club on “Celebrity Nights,” Barrino propelled her
guesting role to illuminate the tradition. She looked and sounded
fantastic as she rendered “Stormy
Weather,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” Cab Calloway’s
“Zaz Zuh Zaz” and “On The Sunny
Side of the Street.”
Narrated by TV-famous actor
Dule Hill, a revue by the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars amplified how
music lured enthusiasts to the Village of Harlem. Marsalis handpicked the world-class 17-member
orchestra and their renditions are set
against narratives by Langston
Hughes.(CONTINUED on page20)
Fantasia Barrino belts out “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”
Dule Hill (center), the Jazz At Lincoln Center All Stars and the ensemble perform “Daybreak Express”
(Photo: Ronnie Wright)
(Photo: Ronnie Wright)
AUDREY’S REEL WHIRL with film reviewer Audrey J. Bernard
Atmosphere
Here comes Santa Claus and
he’s a little early this year! Maestro director/writer Malcolm D.
Lee is giving us an early Christmas present – and lots to be
thankful about — with the preThanksgiving release of his
highly anticipated film The Best
Man Holiday — a sequel to his
hit movie The Best Man released
by Universal Pictures in October,
1999. The “feel good” movie is a
must see film that is not just for
African Americans as there are
life lessons that anyone could
benefit from.
That said, what’s really amazing about this film is that those
who saw the original are able to
follow the same characters and
experience the changes in their
lives whether or not they saw the
original as this is just an easy,
cozy film to follow and the viewer
(new or a fan) is able to join in
the fun and changes without
missing a beat. What I particularly liked about the film is that
the characters in the movie resemble someone we all know –
perhaps even a family member.
Girlfriends, bring your tissues
as you’ll laugh, cry and go
through the changes that women
go through whether it’s a health
related matter, infidelity, family
crisis, etc. It hits home. And men,
you’re not getting off the hook
either as there are many relatable
issues for you to deal with. The
men will particularly get a big kick
out of the male bond that resonates throughout the film. These
guys were the best of friends and
they had each other ’s back
throughout their ordeals. And,
my girls, what can I say. If you
have a BFF, share this picture with
her as it will only bring you closer
together. The chemistry is off the
hook! I’ll share one of my most
intimate pleasures of the film
when buffed Morris Chesnut
takes his shirt off — it’s all she
wrote!
Produced by Sean Daniel and
Malcolm D. Lee based on characters created by Lee, The Best
Man Holiday stars Morris
Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina
Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa
Lathan, Nia Long, Harold
Perrineau, Monica Calhoun and
Melissa de Sousa. Universal Pictures presents A Blackmailed/
Sean Daniel Company Production, A Malcolm D. Lee Film, will
be released nationwide on Friday,
November 15, 2013.
The New York premiere was
hosted by director Lee at The
Bow Tie Chelsea Cinema in tony
Chelsea, New York and was attended by Lee and cast members
Morris Chestnut, Harold
Perrineau, Nia Long, Sanaa
Melissa De Sousa, Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs, Nia Long
Sean Daniel, Harold Perrineau, Malcolm D. Lee, Nia Long, Sanaa
Lathan, Taye Diggs, Melissa de Sousa, Terrence Howard
Morris Chestnut autographs
magnum bottle of Martini Asti at
party
Sean Daniel (producer), Malcolm
D. Lee (director-writer)
Malcolm D. Lee, Sanaa Lathan, Sanaa Lathan, R. Kelly, Nia
Michael Strahan, Melissa de Sousa Long, Melissa de Sousa
Lathan, Taye Diggs, Melissa de
Sousa and Terrence Howard.
Before the movie, the stellar cast
walked the red carpet where fans
and paparazzi yelled out their
names. And when R&B legend R
Kelly made an unexpected carpet
arrival the female cast members lost
their cool for just a hot second and
ran to greet him and pose for pictures. Other luminous guests walking the red carpet included Michael
Strahan of the popular ABC-TV
daytime chat fest “Kelly & Michael,
who said, “I loved the first movie
and I’m very excited about the sequel.” Handsome scene stealer
Morris Chestnut arrived just in the
nick of time to greet fans and sign a
magnum bottle of Martini Asti, bedazzled in crystals with the movie
title.
When asked what he admires
about Malcolm D. Lee as a film
maker, jokester Terrence Howard
grinned, “I admire that he’s hired
me twice, other than that he
sucks! Cause he did like 15 movies, but he hired me twice.” Nia
Long commented that it was great
to reunite with the cast almost 15
years later. She said “I think it’s
wonderful. I’m hoping the sequel
lives up to the first one.”
In the film, the cast sipped on
Martini sparkling wine, which
they also enjoyed at the after party
held at Studio XXI in Chelsea.
Party goers, including actor Kevin
Chapman, Sportscaster Pam
Oliver, who made an appearance
in the movie, and DC restaurateur
Lance London enjoyed mini size
bottles of Martini Rosé, Asti and
Prosecco as they celebrated the
film and congratulated the cast.
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
The Best Man Holiday is the first feel
good movie of the Yuletide Season
19
Off Broadway
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
20
‘Luce’— puzzles within puzzles!
By Ernece B. Kelly
Drama Critic
What a gift to see fine drama
for $20 and that bargain’s available at Lincoln Center thru midNovember. The 90-minute play,
“Luce,” centers on a teenager
from the Republic of the Congo,
who’s adopted by a white couple.
Luce, the title character, is a
bright, well-liked high school student, (solidly portrayed by young
Okieriete Onaodowan). To all
appearances, he’s well adjusted.
Although when he first came to
America, he slept on the floor and
needed much maternal comforting.
His mom, Amy (Marin Hinkle) and
father, Peter (Neal Huff) have high
expectations for his getting college scholarships and going on
to a comfortable life.
Challenged by negative feedback from the school, the parents
talk of the need to change “their
parenting frequency”, while
Harriet (Sharon Washington)
Luce’s World Curriculum teacher,
has expectations also, but they
confuse both her students and
ultimately, the audience.
In class, Harriet singles out the
one Afghan student and treats
Luce as a poster child. When she
violates school policy in an effort
to support a hunch, issues of privacy, stereotyping, and parental
obligations are set spinning. That
spin becomes a spiral, never ending even when the play does—
leaving audiences with challenging questions about who— if anyone—is standing on firm ethical
ground.
“We can’t or don’t want to
know each other,” Luce says in his
speech to the Celebrating Cultural
Diversity Assembly. And much of
the drama plays around with this
idea of identity in the contexts of
parents, teachers, and even among
peers.
Stephanie (Olivia Oguma) is
Luce’s ex-girlfriend, and her story
about a party fueled by alcohol,
while raising new and unanswered
questions about him, is so expertly
written and directed that audiences
appeared to be holding their collective breath.
“You don’t know your son,”
she says. And playwright JC Lee
and Director May Adrales have
collaborated in a seamless manner
to fashion a drama which simultaneously reveals and hides the layered relationships between a teen,
parents, and high schools as an institution. (This is the only play I
know of which deals so succinctly,
yet effectively, with the issue of
what rights students forsake
within schools!)
The technical work of Timothy
R. Mackabee (Set design), Kaye
Voyce (Costumes) and Jill BC Du
Boff (Sound) further bolsters the
play’s impact. “Luce” is at the
Lincoln Center Claire Tow Theatre, West 65 th Street, Manhattan through November 17 th.
Bookin’ It
‘Harlem Street Portraits’ couldn’t be more timely
of this city’s inhabitants.
“What may at first appear to
be a casual encounter becomes a
personal, intimate record, a meaningful collaboration between phoBy Kam Williams
tographer and subject. Stein’s
Book Review
photographs capture and cel“With a population of nearly ebrate the Harlem spirit.”
half a million people, Harlem is
Excerpted from book jacket
America’s most celebrated African-American neighborhood. Its
Harlem has been a predomirich past and historical importance have made a unique contri- nantly African-American neigh-th
bution to our national popular borhood since the dawn of the 20
Century, when the mass migration
culture.
“Photographer Harvey Stein by descendants of slaves from the
documents the humanity and rural South flooded many a mespirit of the people of Harlem in tropolis above the Mason-Dixon
166 beautiful photographs taken Line. By the ‘20s, this section of
over 22 years. The images are Manhattan had blossomed into
mostly close-up portraits that re- an artistic mecca and home to
veal the friendliness and warmth many Black intellectuals, writers,
Harvey Stein
painters, musicians and dancers.
Spanning that decade, the
Harlem Renaissance marked a period of explosive creativity aborted
only by the onset of the Great Depression. Nevertheless, in the
wake of World War II, the region
was resurrected as a hub of cultural, religious and commercial activity, and continued to play that
pivotal role over the intervening
decades.
Today, however, Harlem is at
risk of losing its identity because
of the influx of whites as a consequence of the gentrification which
has accompanied skyrocketing real
estate prices. For this reason,
Harvey Stein’s “Harlem Street Portraits” couldn’t be more timely. The
book is basically a collection of
striking, black and white photo-
graphs which the talented
shutterbug took of residents between 1990 and 2012. His impromptu
snapshots capture colorful subjects
with a tremendous range in terms of
fashion tastes, personal interests
and even emotions.
From a Freemason rocking a
funky fez, to a flag-waving patriot,
to a boy hugging his basketball, to
an aspiring ballerina in a tutu, to
churchgoers strutting in their Sunday best, this visual history of a
rapidly-disappearing demographic
weaves a telling tapestry of a oncecohesive community.
“Harlem Street Portraits” by
Harvey Stein. Foreword by Herb
Boyd. Afterword by Miss Rosen.
Schiffer Publishing. Hardcover,
$45.00. 192 pages, Illustrated,
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4487-9.
(From page 18)
Fantasia is fantastic in After Midnight
Performing timeless tunes the
spectacular big band creation musically envelopes Tony-winning
sounds to solo, duet, and dance
the conceptions of Jack Valerie.
Renditions of “The Mooche” and
“The Skrontch” are standouts.
During the capacity filled after
party held at the Copacabana
singer Valerie Simpson appeared
enamored by the cadence and
sustainability of singer/dancers
who strutted the stuff stars are
made of. She lauded the variety of
standards selected to make Harlem
come alive inside the Brooks
Atkinson Theatre.
Simpson, a songwriter whose
collaboration with her late husband
Nick Ashford gleaned numerous
hits including Diana Ross’ winning
“Reach Out and Touch” was one
of the judges when Barrino competed to win Simon Cowell’s most
popular talent show.
On that episode Barrino beat
out Jennifer Hudson to become the
chosen “American Idol.” On this
stage outing, along with a stellar
cast of singers and dancers Barrino
takes audiences on a journey uptown for a glimpse into Harlem’s
club scene After Midnight. Slated
to carry on the tradition – K.D.
Lang, Tony Braxton and Kenneth
“Babyface” Edmonds will make appearance from February to March
2014.
With a catalog of hit songs that have served as the soundtrack to the
lives of legions of music fans worldwide, the incomparable Valerie
Simpson will grace the stage at Queens College’s LeFrak Concert Hall
on Saturday, December 14th at 8pm. Kupferberg Presents hosts the
legendary singer and songwriter as she performs the music of her hitmaking duo, Ashford and Simpson, which created such classics as “Ain’t
No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” “Reach
Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand,” and many more. Tickets are on sale
now! PICTURED: Journalist Vinette K. Pryce (l) and Valerie Simpson
chick-chat at After Midnight after party held at the
Copacabana.
(Photo: Don Thomas)
21
Scintillating After Midnight brings
famed Cotton Club Revue to B’way
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
After Midnight Marquee
The brightest new bulbs on
Broadway radiate from the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256
West 47th Street, NYC) where the
bubbly After Midnight opened
Sunday, November 3, 2013 to laudable reviews followed by a fabulous after-party at the Copacabana
nightclub. Jazz at Lincoln
Center’s Artistic Director Wynton
Marsalis told you what you
could expect from the very start.
“In the Swing Era, jazz dominated the music charts for a reason: it’s sophisticated yet downhome, and people can get down
for a profoundly good time while
still being uplifted. Those things
have never left our music, and
Broadway is the perfect place to
showcase to the world the contemporary relevance of swing.
Come on down, to get down and
be lifted up.” And that’s just what
happens after seeing After Midnight!
The spectacular extravaganza
oozes glitz, glamour, grit and gyrations that will have you running
home to see if your mojo could
make the same moves. This erotic
version of Cotton Club Parade,
conceived by Jack Viertel, which
played two smash-hit, sold-out
engagements at City Center), is
contagious and theatergoers are
rushing to get their dose of energy. Since its swanky opening,
the play has been doing blockbuster business.
Led by nine-time Grammy
Award and Pulitzer Prize winner
Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz
at Lincoln Center All-Stars — an
orchestra of 17 world-class musicians hand-picked by Marsalis —
perform a vast repertoire of Duke
Ellington’s original arrangements. The show brings back to
life the extravagant shows of the
iconic Harlem nightclub that has
already garnered the attention of
the social media generation who
are nightly filling seats and causing phenomenal pandemonium
on Broadway as they dance in
their seats and wait after the performance to get an up close and
personal look at the cast.
After Midnight stars Grammy
Award winner Fantasia Barrino
who is the first special guest star
bringing her star power and high
octave voice to her stellar performances to timeless songs of Duke
Ellington, Harold Arlen, Cab
Calloway and their contemporaries. The American Idol alum is
joined by 25 amazing vocalists
and dancers who will leave you
Ensemble cast of After Midnight (Photo by Joseph Marzullo)
Producer Candy Spelling, K.D. Lang
Isabel Toledo (costumes),
husband Ruben
The Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars
Wynton Marsalis, Producer Scott
Sanders
Music supervisor & conductor Daryl Waters (c),
(l) Monique Smith, (r) Allysa Shorte
Dancers Christopher Broughton, Dormeshia After Midnight female ensemble
Sumbry-Edwards, Desmond Richardson
Cedric Neal, Everett
Crystal Joy, Adriane Desmond Richardson, Fantasia Barrino, Dule Hill
Bahiyah Hibah, T. Oliver
Bradley
Lenox, Zane Mark
Karine Plantadit
Reed
breathless.
Hughes poetry provide the perfect additional arranger/conductor). Call”) and Cab Calloway (“Zaz Zuh
Emmy Award nominee Dulé Hill setting for some of the best styled Their joint collaboration makes Zaz”).
whose swagger is titillating as the song and dance numbers on the stage dance!
After Midnight is produced by
host of the show and Tony Award Broadway that will have you jumpAfter Midnight explodes with Scott Sanders Productions (lead
winner Adriane Lenox (who ing out of your seat. When you masterpieces by the greatest jazz producer), Wynton Marsalis, Roy
knocks it out of the park with two leave the theater, you’re ex- composers of the time, including Furman, Candy Spelling, Starry
stunning numbers) headline with hausted but you leave with les- Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Night Entertainment, Hal Newman,
Karine Plantadit, Dormeshia sons learned about a historical Fields (“I Can’t Give You Any- Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon,
Sumbry-Edwards,
Julius place in time.
thing But Love” and “Digga James L. Nederlander, Robert K.
“iGlide” Chisolm, Virgil “Lil
Director/choreographer War- Digga Doo”), a young Harold Kraft, Catherine & Fred Adler,
‘O” Gadson and Jared Grimes. ren Carlyle and superstar fashion Arlen (“Stormy Weather,” “I’ve Robert Appel, Jeffrey Bolton, Scott
K.D. Lang steps in from February duo Isabel & Ruben Toledo head Got the World on a String,” “Be- M. Delman, James Fantaci, Ted
11-March 9, 2014; and Toni up an enviable design team con- tween the Devil and the Deep Liebowitz, Stephanie P. McClelland,
Braxton and Kenny “Babyface” sisting of Peter Hylenski (sound), Blue Sea,”), and of course, the Sandy Black and Carol Fineman in
Edmonds appear March 18-30, Tony Award-winners John Lee legendary Duke Ellington association with Marks-Moore2014.
Beatty (set design) and Howell (“Rockin’ in Rhythm,” “Cotton Turnbull Group, Stephen & Ruth
The timeless tunes juxtaposed Binkley (lighting design), and Club Stomp,” “Black and Tan Hendel and Tom Kirdahy. (Photos
against a narrative of Langston Daryl Waters (music supervisor, Fantasy,” and “Creole Love by Bruce Glikas/Broadway.com)
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
THEATER WHIRL
CLASSIFIED
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
22
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LEGAL NOTICES
S
PORTS
When the victim becomes the villain
Marc Rasbury
By Marc Rasbury
In today’s society two of the
worse things a person can be labeled are a bully and bigot. In the
world of sports no one wants be
labeled as a quitter. Unfortunately,
the Miami Dolphins organization
has found itself thrust deep into
a controversy around bullying
and bigotry with the drama associated with the Ritchie Incognito
and Jonathan Martin saga. This
story is like an onion, with so
many layers, and the more you
look into it or peel back the layers, the deeper it becomes.
Two weeks ago Martin abruptly
walked out of the Dolphins training facility citing that he could not
no longer take the way he was
being treated by his fellow teammates, especially Incognito. Some
speculated that he could not deal
with the “rookie hazing” that he
was being subjected to. One problem with that was Martin was no
longer a rookie. He was in midst
of his second season with the
team and one would have thought
that he had graduated from such
treatment.
As the story developed, there
were reports that Martin felt isolated from the rest of the clubhouse and was fed up with being
unfairly ridiculed, teased and even
threatened physically. The first
thing that popped into most
people’s minds was how can a
football player playing at the
sport’s highest level be so thinskinned and afraid to stand up for
himself. After all we are talking
about a 320-pound offensive linemen who spent most of his entire
life preparing for the rigors of professional football. Therefore, a
little razzing from his coworkers
should not have sent him into a
mental shell. However, reports surfaced that we were not talking
about a little razzing. Martin was
allegedly the target of constant
verbal abuse and even physical
threats. Then the word extortion
was brought into the fold when reports surfaced that Incognito
forced Martin and other younger
players to buy the veterans expensive gifts. We are talking lavish jewelry, jet skies and pricey electronic
items such as Hi-Def flat screen
TVs and stereo equipment. It is
well known that NFL rookies traditionally go through an initiation
period where they are told to bring
in donuts to the team meetings,
carry the veterans’ equipment and
bags or sing their school’s fight
song. It may get even physical
where the young pups have their
hair shaved off, are taped to goal
posts, shoved into a stinky locker
or all of the above. This has gone
on in all sports since the time of
the first Olympiad and is generally
considered a Right of Passage for
younger players and considered a
part of the team building process.
Then you have reports of hazing that make most people cringe. I
heard one ex-NFL player state that
during his rookie year he and the
rest of the first year players that
made his squad’s final cuts had to
go through a line of veterans on
each side where some vets hit them
violently with their fists while others pelted them with socks filled
with coins. The player in question
missed the season opener with a
broken eye-socket and nearly detached retina.
There is fun loving hazing and
there is abuse. I remember during
my basketball and football days, I
had Icy Hot rubbed in my practice
Jonathan Martin
gear and other tricks played on physically abused Martin, who is
black. And as a matter of fact he
me by some of my teammates.
I took it in good stride and kept considered Martin to be his
it moving but the stories that are younger brother. Then a text mesallegedly coming out of the Mi- sage Incognito sent to Martin was
ami crossed the line. Incognito, released. This message contained
who is white and has a history of the “N word” and suggested that
violence and ill-behavior, vehe- Incognito was going to “Blank” in
mently denied that he verbally or Martin’s mouth, “Blank” Martin’s
real mother and made derogatory remarks regarding the young player’s
bi-racial make up.
The media immediately branded
Incognito a racist with a vile and sick
mind. The Dolphins suspended the
offensive guard indefinitely and are
awaiting the results of an NFL investigation by an independent
agent to determine their next move.
The one thing that struck most
people as odd is that a majority of
the two players’ teammates stood
up for and defended Incognito, especially the African-Americans, citing that was the atmosphere in their
locker room and that is how everybody addressed each other.
I can attest that in sports locker
rooms those words are sputtered
and no one bats an eye. Sometimes
things go on within the confines of
some of those walls that would make
the general public squirm should
they be openly known. These occurrences fall under the heading,
“Boys Will Be Boys”. I’m not trying
to say that all locker rooms are like
that and are similar to the Sons of
Anarchy Clubhouse, but that type
of behavior does exist whether we
want to believe it or not. Now the
question remains, how come no one
is coming to Martin’s defense or
supporting the despondent player?
Some have speculated that Martin
is not like most members of the NFL.
Martin comes from an affluent family where both of his parents are
lawyers with Harvard degrees. He
went to Stanford, a school known
more for producing Rhode Scholars
than grid iron professionals. But
there are Stanford grads throughout the NFL, including one of the
best defensive players in Seattle’s
Richard Sherman and one the best
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
Knicks and Nets struggle at the beginning of the season
By Derrel “Jazz” Johnson
The New York Knicks and
Brooklyn Nets both got off to fast
starts last season, and the Knicks,
helped by getting out of the gates
strong, won the Atlantic Division,
with the Nets finishing second.
Both teams finished with the second and fourth seeds, respectively, in the Eastern Conference
at the end of the 2012-2013 season. Unfortunately for both teams
and their fan bases, they have
struggled to begin the 2013-2014
NBA campaign, resulting in both
teams having sub-.500, 2-4
records.
It appears clear to anyone and
everyone who has watched the
Knicks this season that they will
not get off to the 18-5 start of a
year ago. While 1-1 away from
the newly transformed Madison
Square Garden, the blue and orange are only 1-3 at the World’s
Most Famous Arena, including
two games in which they trailed
by 20+ points in the first half, most
recently a 31-point loss to the San
Antonio Spurs Sunday afternoon.
Knicks head coach Mike
Woodson stated what was obvious to anyone who viewed the
game. “We didn’t compete tonight
and that’s just unacceptable,” he
said after the blowout loss. “You
should feel good about playing at
home in front of your fans…people
spend their hard-earned money”,
he continued, possibly alluding to
the many boos the team heard
throughout the game for what appeared to be a lack of effort.
With Tyson Chandler, the only
legitimate center on the team, out
for at least another three weeks,
and limited minutes for both
Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon
Martin due to injuries, the Knicks
are forced to play newly acquired
Andrea Bargnani more minutes at
the five. This severely decreases
the efficiency of the team’s defense
and rebounding, while increasing
its offense versatility. Unfortunately, the team isn’t in sync offensively.
The Knicks need to gel, and it
needs to happen quickly, or the
season could be lost before it is
even a month old. Owner James
Dolan guaranteed a win versus
Atlanta while performing with his
band, which indicates that he expecting more. Knicks fans want
more as well.
In Brooklyn, the Nets made the
biggest moves of the offseason
with the acquisitions of Kevin
Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry
and Andrei Kirenlinko, but after
six games, they also sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference
with a record of 2-4. The only
bright spot on the short season
was a home victory over the defending NBA champion Miami
Heat, who themselves have
struggled to open the season.
Why are the Nets struggling?
Deron Williams, a former threetime All-Star and arguably the best
player on the team, has battled
health issues to start the season.
He has struggled from the field,
shooting 42% while averaging
only 10.8 points per game through
the first six. Joe Johnson touched
on this after the loss to the Pacers
Saturday. “Having (Williams) basically being out until the season
opener…it’s been a little tough. I
think us starting a little rocky was
kind of expected, but we’ll get it
together.” Hope Nets owner
Mikhail Prokhorov feels the same
way too. Williams did have his
best performance of the season
against Indiana, with 17 points and
10 assists, and if he continues to
improve, the Nets will as well.
This team also is finding its identity. Though they have veterans
with championship experience, the
best players on the team, namely
Williams and center Brook Lopez,
do not, and they need to emerge
as leaders on and off the court for
this team to succeed.
Some might look at rookie head
coach Jason Kidd as part of the
issue, but it is still too early to
know what type of leader Kidd will
be on the sidelines. In the final
seconds of the game against the
Indiana Pacers, Kidd drew up a good
play that got Johnson a pretty good
look from three-point range, a shot
that Johnson has made in clutch situations many times during his career.
If that shot falls, and the Nets win,
3-3 with wins over Miami and Indiana puts a completely different spin
on the start of the season.
Pacers head coach Frank Vogel
likes what he saw out of Brooklyn.
“They’re going to be there down the
stretch. They’re just beginning to
gel, it’s a long season.” I agree with
Vogel. The Nets will improve as the
season continues, and should be a
dangerous team by the 2014 NBA
Playoffs. The Knicks are a different
story. Their lack of effort at home
games is troubling, and needs to be
corrected immediately. They are
short on talent because of injuries,
but there is no excuse for being
short on desire. New York basketball fans were treated to three thrilling playoffs series with the Knicks
and Nets last season, but if both
teams continue to struggle, that will
certainly not happen this May.
BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
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BEACON, November 14, 2013 - November 20, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net