1. law, govt and politics
2. legal issues
3. civil rights

New York’s
Beacon
website:
NewYorkBeacon.net
Vol. 20 No. 20
Showing the Way to Truth and Justice
E-Mail
newyorkbeacon@yahoo.com
75 Cents
May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013
SLAMMER TOLL
O.J.
Simpson
returns
to Vegas
courtroom
to seek
new trail
(See Story On Page 3)
O.J. Simpson talks with his attorney Patricia Palm during his retrial in Clark County District Court on May 13 in Las Vegas.
Simpson seeks a new trial for a conviction in 2008 for robbery and kidnapping, claiming he had bad legal representation and his
conviction should be reversed. (Pool photo by Julie Jacobson)
Mexico police arrest two in Malcolm Shabazz death
(See Story On Page 3)
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
2
Phony spiritual guru pleads
guilty after stealing $650K
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the guilty plea of
Janet Miller, 39, for stealing
more than $650,000 from a
woman whom she claimed she
could help spiritually. The
defendant pleaded guilty to
grand larceny in the third degree, and is expected to be
sentenced on June 12, 2013.
“Larceny is larceny, no matter what form it takes – fraud
by a spiritual advisor is no
different than fraud committed by an attorney, an accountant, or any other person
who gains an individual’s
trust in order to steal from him
or her,” said District Attorney
Vance. “My Office’s Special
Prosecutions Bureau handles
all manner of cases involving
defendants who prey upon
those in a vulnerable state,
from immigrants to the elderly.”
As admitted in her guilty
plea, and according to court
records, Miller first met the
victim, a business owner, in
July 2011 at an apartment on
East 41 st Street in Manhattan.
At this meeting, Miller
claimed to possess spiritual
powers, and told the victim
that people were cheating, deceiving, and stealing money
from her, and that the defendant could help. Miller also
told the victim that she could
see the victim’s dead grandmother crying. The defendant
requested $900 from the victim in order to purchase materials to make a shield to block
the devil; the victim paid her
$400. Miller gave the woman
water that was purported to be
holy, as well as oils, salt, and
crystals, and then began communicating with the victim on a
near-daily basis.
Between July 2011 and August 2012, the victim, at the direction of the defendant, repeatedly gave Miller money for items
she claimed were needed to protect the victim and ward off the
devil. She also gave Miller numerous items of jewelry the victim owned and purchased, at the
defendant’s direction, two Rolex
watches to give to the defendant.
Over the course of the period
charged in the indictment, Miller
became the victim’s confidante.
The victim’s father developed
cancer, which Miller claimed she
could help cure. Miller also persuaded the victim that her money
was cursed and unclean, and
that the defendant was capable
of cleansing it. She asked the
victim to withdraw more than
$600,000 from her bank account
in cash and give it to Miller,
claiming she would take the
money to a mountain to perform
cleansing procedures. Miller
was expected to return the
money within a matter of weeks,
but returned only a small portion of it.
Assistant District Attorney
Om Gillett handled the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant Districts
Judy Salwen, Deputy Chief of
the Special Prosecutions Bureau, and Thomas Wornom,
Chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau. Trial Preparation
Assistant Colleen MacPhee assisted with the case.
District Attorney Vance
thanked Detective Daniel Casey
of the 17 th Precinct’s Detective
Squad.
President Obama praises officer hero
Obama praises hero NYPD cop,
girlfriend at White House gala
An impressed President
Obama singled out courageous
NYPD cop Ivan Marcano - and
his surprised girlfriend - at a
White House ceremony Saturday
for heroic cops from around the
country.
Marcano, one of two of the 43
officers honored Saturday who
Obama cited by name, was off
duty, driving through the Bronx
with his girlfriend, Hilda Miolan,
on Oct. 24 when he spotted two
armed suspects robbing a 60year-old cabbie.
When Marcano stopped and
identified himself as a police officer, one suspect immediately
opened fire, wounding the officer
in the arm and chest, inches from
his heart.
As Miolan, who Obama joked
was probably “not very happy
with” Marcano, drove him to the
hospital, he saw the suspects
and an accomplice. They had just
crashed into a livery cab, jumped
a curb on Burnside Ave. and
ditched the car. Clutching his
chest to keep pressure on his
wound, Marcano jumped out of
his car and approached them. As
one, 18-year-old Prince James, reportedly fired again, Marcano, a
righty shooting left-handed, fatally shot James in the head.
“He wasn’t on the clock when
any of this happened,” Obama
said. “This was his date night. It’s
unbelievable.”
The President then asked
Miolan to stand for applause.
Miolan was not expecting to be
called out by the president during
her first ever visit to Washington,
‘but I got into it,’ she said.
“She deserves a really nice dinner,” he said to laughter.
Miolan, 24, said after the ceremony that she was not expecting
“to be called out like that” by the
President. She said it was her first
visit to Washington.
“I thought it was really cool,”
she told the Daily News. “I was a
little shy and embarrassed but I
got into it.”
She was not laughing at the
time of the shooting, she noted.
“It brought back a lot of memories
from the incident, but other than
that, the outcome has been great,”
Miolan said.
Marcano, then 27, was promoted
to detective while recovering in the
hospital during a visit by Mayor
Bloomberg and Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelly.
The White House event honored
the National Association of Police
Organizations 2013 TOP COPS
awardees. The group includes NYPD
Detectives Terence Munnelly and
Steven Smith, who found the gun
that shot Marcano and caught the
surviving suspects within 36 hours.
“They’ll tell you they’re not heroes,” Obama said of the full
group. “They’ll say they were
just doing their job. And today
we honor them as top cops because they are half right. It’s true,
they were just doing their jobs.
From the moment they swore an
oath to serve with honor, from the
first time they put on a uniform and
put on a badge, they knew they
might be called upon to do some really tough stuff.
“But I think that makes them more
heroic, not less heroic, because they
signed up for this,” Obama said.
“They volunteered.”
Celebrating the legacies of Malcolm X and Sonny Carson
By Amadi Ajamu
During the month of May,
African people on the continent and in the Diaspora celebrate African Liberation
Month. Black nationalist and
Pan African leadership are
honored for their tremendous
contribution to our struggle
for self-determination.
In the United States, El Hajj
Malik El Shabazz - Malcolm X
and Sonny Abubadika Carson
represent this loving, selfless
commitment to the freedom of
African people. These honorable men will be commemorated on the anniversary of
their births May 19 and May
20 respectively.
On Sunday, May 19t the 25th
annual Black Power – Shut
Em’ Down march and rally will
be held in Harlem. The march
will assemble on the corner of
125 th Street and Adam Clayton
Powell Jr. Blvd in front of the
Adam Clayton Powell Jr State
Office Building at 12 p.m..
“This year is critical for Africans in the United States
and throughout the world,”
states organizer, Omowale Clay
of the December 12th Movement. “First, it is the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the
Organization of African Unity /
African Union. We must remember the important role Malcolm
X played in taking our freedom
struggle into the international
arena and establishing political
links with our brothers and sisters in Africa fighting for their
liberation.
“For Africans in the United
States the issue of self-determination and Pan Africanism must
be put on top of our agenda.
The collapse of U.S. economy
and the deteriorating conditions
in our communities in health,
jobs, education, and housing,
demand a conscious move toward self reliance now more than
ever. The Black Power March is
an example of Black peoples
strength and control of politics
and economics in our community.
Every year for the past 25
years on May 19 we have demanded a ‘Commercial Moment
of Silence’ and all stores on 125th
St are shut down from 1pm to
Malcolm X
Sonny Carson
4pm in honor of our national
hero, Malcolm X.”
On Monday, May 20 the
African Brotherhood for Self
Determination – an outgrowth
of the Black Men’s Movement
founded by Sonny Abubadika
Carson 27 years ago, will honor
the legacy of Sonny Carson and
Malcolm X. The African Brotherhood will hold a Cultural Celebration at Sistas’ Place at 456
Nostrand Ave in Brooklyn at 7
p.m..
Spokesman Vernon Verdree
said, “Black people have a history of resisting racism and exploitation of our community since
we were kidnapped and brought
to this land over 400 years ago.
Two leaders from our struggle,
Malcolm X and Sonny Abubadika
Carson have shown how Black
men must stand up and represent
our nation. We must understand
that everything that happens inside of our communities must be
controlled by Black people; this
is the only way we can ever be
free. Malcolm and Sonny practiced this on the local, national,
and international level.
We must look back and learn
from our heroic freedom fighters.
Conscious, committed, and disciplined Black men must fight for
our Black nation - from hood to
hood”
The African Brotherhood for
Self Determination’s Celebration
will feature music by R&B sensation Blue Salim, culture, politics,
reflections and refreshments.
For more information call (718)
398-1766.
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O.J. Simpson’s former lawyer’s
work is expected to again draw
withering criticism Tuesday in a
Las Vegas courtroom where the
imprisoned former football star and
his new attorneys are trying to
convince a Nevada judge that
Simpson deserves a new trial.
The 65-year-old Simpson arrived in court Monday in shackles and prison clothing — grayer
and heavier than when he was
hauled off to prison in 2008 to
serve a minimum nine-year sentence. But he briefly flashed a
smile for family members and
friends in the second row.
The focus on the first day of
the five-day hearing was on promises and performance by
Simpson’s Miami-based lawyer
Yale Galanter during the 2008 trial
and conviction that got Simpson
nine to 33 years in prison for armed
robbery and kidnapping for a hoMalcolm Shabazz was found fatally wounded outside a bar in Mexico tel room confrontation with two
sports memorabilia dealers.
City
Galanter’s trial co-counsel,
Gabriel Grasso, testified that
Galanter took money for himself,
didn’t pay Grasso, and refused to
pay for experts to analyze crucial
audio recordings that helped conPolice in Mexico have detained
The bar owner later demanded vict Simpson.
two men suspected of involvement they pay $1,200 for drinks and
in the murder of Malcolm Shabazz, female companionship, accordthe grandson of US political activ- ing to Mr Suarez.
ist Malcolm X.
He said he had escaped as a
The suspects work at the bar where fight broke out, before returning
Mr Shabazz, 29, was beaten on to find his friend seriously inMay 9, 2013.
jured on the ground outside the
He was found with fatal wounds bar.
in Plaza Garibaldi, a popular tourMalcolm Shabazz sustained a
ist area packed with bars and res- beating in a bar on the second By J. Zamgba Browne
Special to NY Beacon
taurants, and taken to a Mexico floor of this building
City hospital, where he died of his
Mr Suarez said he had taken
Chances of Brooklyn electing
injuries a day later.
him to a hospital where he died
its first African-American borPolice said they were still search- of “blunt-force injuries”.
ing for three more suspects.
Malcolm Shabazz was the son ough president in the upcoming
The two detainees have been of one of Malcolm X’s six daugh- Democratic Primary could be derailed if front runner Sen. Eric
charged with murder and robbery. ters, Qubilah Shabazz.
All five suspects work at The PalWhen he was 12, he was in- Adams is caught up in the web of
ace Bar, where Malcolm Shabazz volved in a fire that killed his systemic political corruption that
was beaten.
grandmother, Betty Shabazz, the is sweeping Albany.
Sen. Adams is among nearly a
Miguel Suarez, a union activist widow of Malcolm X.
who was travelling with Malcolm
Convicted of manslaughter dozen Albany lawmakers whose
Shabazz, said they had been in and arson, he was sentenced to names appeared on an FBI stink
Mexico as part of their efforts to time in a juvenile detention cen- operation executed by former
State Sen. Shirley Huntley.
advocate more rights for Mexican ter.
The Senator reportedly agreed
construction workers in the United
Malcolm X, a black power acStates.
tivist and prominent figure in the to carry out the FBI stint after she
Mr Suarez said he and Malcolm militant Nation of Islam move- was accused of stealing over
Shabazz had been invited to a bar ment, was shot dead at a politi- $88,000 from a taxpayer charity
fund which she controlled. Hunton Wednesday night by a woman. cal rally
Mexico police arrest two in
Malcolm’s grandson’s death
O.J. Simpson
“Hey Gabe. Wanna be famous?” represent Simpson and split an exGrasso recalled Galanter asking as pected $750,000 in legal fees onethe two embarked on a relationship third for Grasso and two-thirds for
that has since deteriorated into law(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
suits over a handshake agreement
Sen. Adams says he is innocent
of any political corruption charge
ley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and one day in jail.
Sen. Huntley’s home in Queens
was wired by the FBI to help her
trap as many political figures as possible. Sen. Adam said as far as he
was concerned he has nothing to
fear,
“I have not been contacted about
any investigation. I believe deeply
in transparency and the pursuit of
justice and that is why I committed
20 years of my life to law enforcement,” said Sen. Adams. “I am more
than willing to help with any investigation,” he added.
Sen. Adams even e-mailed to several of his supporters to reassure
them. “I want to assure that there is
Sen. Eric Adams
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
Council pondering whether to allow non-citizens to vote
By J. Zamgba Browne
Special to NY Beacon
The New York City Council is
currently reviewing a proposal for
consideration that would allow
non-citizens, including illegal immigrants granted amnesty, to vote
in local elections.
While non-citizen voting is allowed in some small municipalities
across the country, in Maryland
and Massachusetts, New York
City would be the largest city to
take such bold action.
“It’s going to be huge and just
imagine the implications that are
involved here,” said Councilman
Daniel Dromm, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation.
But not all is on board with the
plan. Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
for example, is vehemently opposed. He said he doesn’t think
the measure is acceptable under
current New York State law.
A Bloomberg spokeswoman,
Evelyn Erskine said the Mayor
“believes that voting is the most
important right we are granted as
citizens and we should have to
go through the process of becoming a citizen and declaring
allegiance to this country before
being given that right.”
The proposal currently has a
veto-proof majority of supporters on the City Council with 34
of 51 members pledging to vote
in favor, the amount required to
block a veto. The New York Beacon leaned that the plan has been
in the works since 2010 when
only eight members supported it.
A public hearing on the issue
is being planned by the Council
to allow people who are in the
country legally, but are not citi-
Aldofo Carrion
zens, to vote. Advocates estimate
that could be more than 800,000
people.
Supporters say immigrants who
pay taxes deserve to decide who
spends them. Opponents who disagree sharply say that voting
should be reserved for bone fide
citizens in the country.
New York State election law prohibits immigrants from voting, but
supporters say the city has the
right to set its own policies for local elections.
“When all contributing members
of our society can participate, democracy is better served and everyone
benefits,”
said
Councilmember Dromm.
Council Speaker Christine
Quinn, a mayoral candidate and
who exercises considerable control
over what measures come to a
vote, has yet to take a position on
the proposed plan. She told reporters that she was trying to find out
more about the proposed measure.
Former Bronx Borough President
Adolfo Carrion, Jr., who is running
for mayor as an Independent,
slammed the proposed legislation.
He called the idea offensive, illegal
and just plain dumb.”
“There are very few things that
bring me to the point of being almost speechless. This is one of
them. Being a citizen of the United
States is a privilege that carries with
it an awesome and sacred responsibility- the right to vote,” said Carrion.
Former MTA Chief Joe Lhota, a
Republican mayoral candidate expressed his opposition to the proposal as follows: “No matter how
well-intentioned, voting is a right
reserved for citizens,” said Lhota.
State Sen. Martin Golden and
City Councilmembers James Oddo,
Vincent Ignizio and Eric Ulrich are
also opposed. They all agree that
“to extend voting privilege to noncitizens not only devalues U.S. citizenship but is inconsistent with
New York State Election Law.”
3
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
O.J. Simpson returns to Vegas
court in an effort for new trial
Gov. Cuomo unveils resort gaming
plan to bring tourism, jobs to upstate
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
4
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
ha unveiled a comprehensive
resort gaming destination plan
to create jobs and boost tourism in Upstate New York. The
Governor’s plan capitalizes on
the economic gains that other
states have made through resort
gaming which would increase
revenue for localities and provide new economic opportunity
for Upstate local businesses
through increased tourism.
The plan also details a nonpolitical independent process
for the siting of resort gaming
destinations, new specific criteria for selecting the gaming operators, and a breakdown on the
distribution of revenue in a way
Gregory Woods
Obama nominates Harlem jurist
to serve on U.S. District bench
U.S. Senator Charles E.
Schumer has announced
that President Obama has
nominated Gregory Howard
Woods III to serve on the
bench of the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Schumer recommended Mr.
Woods to President Obama
in February and today
praised the President for
this nomination. Mr. Woods
is a resident of Harlem and
was born April of 1969.
“I am pleased that President Obama has nominated
M r. Wo o d s t o t h e D i s t r i c t
Court, “said Schumer. “Mr.
Woods is an accomplished
attorney and is dedicated to
public service. I have every
confidence that his years of
experience in both the public and private sectors will
translate into a very successful career as a judge.”
Mr. Woods is of African
American descent and a
graduate of Williams College and Yale Law School.
Mr. Woods received his J.D.
f r o m Ya l e L a w S c h o o l i n
1995. At Yale, Mr. Woods
was Essays Editor on the
Yale Law Journal and was
awarded prizes for best brief
and best oralist in the
school’s moot court competition. Mr. Woods received
his B.A. magna cum laude
f r o m Wi l l i a m s C o l l e g e i n
1991.
Mr. Woods currently serves
as General Counsel at the U.S.
Department of Energy. Prior, he
served as Deputy General
Counsel at the U.S. Department
of Transportation and was appointed by Secretary Ray
LaHood in 2009. As Deputy
General Counsel, Mr. Woods
was awarded the “Secretary’s
Partnering for Excellence
Aw a r d ” a n d t h e “ G e n e r a l
Counsel’s Team Award.”
Mr. Woods was also an associate and then partner at
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP,
working on a variety of financial and corporate matters
and focusing on both the
United States and Latin
America. Mr. Woods was a
member of the firm’s corporate practice, focused primarily on corporate finance, and
advised a variety of corporations, banks and investors in
domestic and cross-border
mergers, acquisitions and
joint ventures.
Mr. Woods was a member
of the firm’s hiring committee, diversity committee
and pro bono committee.
M r. Wo o d s ’ p r a c t i c e a n d
client service led him to be
recognized by Chambers
USA as a leading lawyer in
New York in Banking and
Finance, among other hono r s . M r. Wo o d s e n t e r e d
public service in 1995 as a
trial attorney for the Department of Justice. There,
he practiced as a civil litigator until 1998, primarily
litigating cases around
fraud and fraud-related activities.
Mr. Woods has also done a
large amount of pro bono
work with Practicing Attorneys for Law Students
(PALS), an organization devoted to serving the needs of
minority law students in the
New York area. In addition to
h i s t i m e w i t h PA L S , M r.
Woods is a board member for
the Union Settlement Association – a social services organization serving East
Harlem – and previously
worked pro bono as counsel
to the New York City Investment Fund.
that benefits multiple localities,
counties and the State. Under
the Governor’s plan, upstate
New York would be divided into
six regions, and three resorts
would be bid out with only one
resort eligible to be located
within a region.
“Our state has a unique opportunity to revitalize the local
economies of communities in
Upstate New York and create
thousands of new jobs where
they are needed most,” Gov.
Cuomo said. “For years neighboring states like Connecticut
and New Jersey have benefited
from New Yorkers leaving our
state to visit their gaming facilities. We want to reverse this
trend by putting new resort
destinations in Upstate New
York, a strategy that will attract
more tourists and visitors to
come and shop at our local businesses, visit regional attractions, and help create new jobs
in our communities. This proposal sites gaming resorts
through an independent, nonpolitical process, to fairly and
strategically capitalize on the
enormous potential gaming has
for growing our state’s
economy.”
Tourism is already a major
economic driver in New York
State, placing as the state’s fifth
largest industry, employing
more than 700,000 people, generating $57 billion in spending
and accounting for more than
$7 billion in local and state tax
revenue. Resort destinations
with enhanced gaming pose an
opportunity to supercharge the
state’s tourism efforts, especially in Upstate New York.
The economic impact and jobs
potential of resort gaming is
significant:
· In New Jersey, an estimated
35,500 direct jobs are associated
with gaming, and a Rutgers
Study estimated over 100,000
indirect jobs.· In Connecticut,
there are an estimated 14,600
direct jobs, and more than
16,400 in Pennsylvania.· The
Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut alone employs more than
8,200 people and generates
$165.5 million in revenue to the
State. · Here in New York, Resorts
World, which does not offer full
gaming and has no hotel, generates $306 million in revenue to the
State while employing 1,750
people.· The impact crosses over
to the many small businesses supported by gaming resorts. In New
Jersey, gaming resorts spend an
average of $2.3 billion annually
with over 2,000 independent vendors operating in every county in
the state – including transportation companies, food vendors,
and professional services.
Heather Briccetti, president
and CEO at The Business Council of New York, said, “Governor
Cuomo’s gaming and destination
resort proposal will transform regions in upstate New York into
world class vacation destinations. As the fifth largest employment sector in New York, tourism
plays a crucial role in expanding
our economy. The Governor ’s
plan will attract more tourists to
our struggling economies upstate, which will breathe new life
into small business, helping them
grow and thrive in New York. I
thank the Governor for his leadership and look forward to working his administration as we continue to build a new, business
friendly New York.
Mario Cilento, president at
NewYork State AFL-CIO, said,
“This gaming proposal will generate tens of thousands of stable,
good paying jobs that will help
middle class families who have
been struggling for far too long.
The New York State AFL-CIO is
proud to partner with the state in
making casino gaming a reality.
With this proposal, Governor
Cuomo is delivering for New
York’s hardworking families.”
Steve Acquario, executive director at NYS Association of
Counties, said, “The plan outlined by the Governor today will
help our communities prepare for
this new industry. There are economic development, law enforcement, infrastructure and human
service needs that will accompany this gaming plan and our
regional governments will be critical to ensuring its success.”
Gerri Warren-Merrick appointed to key leadership role with AARP New York
AARP New York announced
the appointment of Gerri WarrenMerrick to its executive council,
the organization’s highest level
volunteer advisory body for New
York State. Warren-Merrick will
serve in an advisory role to set
state priorities and represent
AARP’s 2.5 million members and
more than 5,000 volunteers in
New York State. She will play a
key role in AARP’s strategic planning activities, as well as assist
with a variety of advocacy, communications and community outreach work in the state.
“Gerri brings a wealth of experience on policy issues and state
and city-wide civic engagement
to AARP – we’re excited to appoint someone of her caliber to
play a key role in directing AARP
New York’s work, ” said Beth
Finkel, AARP New York State di-
rector. “Her work in New York’s
African American communities is
commendable and her background
will serve an excellent addition to
AARP New York.”
AARP New York is widely recognized for enriching the lives of
senior adults who have a quest for
adventure, life-long learning and
productive-healthy lives,”” said
Warren-Merrick. “I look forward
to adding my experience to the excellent work being done by AARP,
especially the focus on growth of
the organization through diversity
and inclusion initiatives related to
women and families in New York.”
Warren-Merrick’s commitment
to community service has resulted
in placement on organizational
boards of directors with a focus
on enriching lives and strengthening communities. They have included Big Brothers and Big Sis-
Gerri Warren-Merrick
ters, Harlem YMCA, Aaron Davis
Hall, New York Women’s Foundation, New York Women’s Agenda,
Friends of Education at MOMA,
Harlem Arts Alliance and the Abyssinian Development Corporation. She was a New York City
Partnership David Rockefeller Fellow and is a trustee of the State
University of New York (SUNY)
and president of the Greater New
York Chapter, Links Incorporated.
Warren-Merrick has received
several awards including the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations prestigious Ellis Island
Medal of Honor; New York
Women’s Agenda Star Award, the
Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction
Award and the Abyssinian Baptist Church Unsung Heroine
Award. A graduate of Penn State
University, she was honored with
the University’s College of Com-
munications’ Alumni of the Year
Award.
During almost three decades of
dedicated tenure at Time Warner
Inc. companies, Gerri WarrenMerrick served in several executive
positions in global public policy,
cable strategy, social responsibility,
philanthropy, and corporate communications. After completing a successful corporate career, she
launched WarrenMerrick Communications, a consulting firm, which
helps community organizations and
corporations improve their effectiveness in communications strategy and social responsibility.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gerri and her husband Dr.
Leon Merrick live in New York City.
They are both dedicated members
of the Abyssinian Baptist Church
where they were ordained as Deacons in 2010.
5
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
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Editorial
The end of America’s dominance
Beacon
By William Reed
NNPA Columnist
Walter Smith: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Miatta Haj Smith: Co-Publisher & Executive Editor
William Egyir: Managing Editor
Cleveland’s Charles Ramsey:
Hood or hero?
By George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist
When some of us saw the first
video of Charles Ramsey, the colorful Black dishwasher in Cleveland who is being celebrated as a
hero for rescuing three White
women captives from horrid conditions in a Cleveland house, we
had a flashback to Antoine
Dodson, who became a flamboyant Internet sensation after saving his sister from a would-be rapist in their Huntsville, Ala. housing apartment, and Sweet Brown,
who barely escaped a fire in her
Oklahoma City complex.
But more than any other famous
“hilarious Black neighbor”
Internet sensation, the coverage
of Ramsey – and his criminal past
– raises serious questions about
how we treat a hero with a
troubled past and, yes, how
Blacks and Whites look at the
same event through different
prisms of race.
First, as they say in TV news,
let’s go to the videotape.
“I’ve been here a year,”
Ramsey said in an interview with
WEWS, a local television station.
Referring to Ariel Castro, the suspect arrested for holding the
women against their will, Ramsey
said, “You see where I’m coming
from? I barbeque with this dude.
We eat ribs and whatnot and listen to salsa music…
“He just comes out in his backyard, plays with the dogs, tinkers
with his cars and motorcycles,
goes back in the house. So he’s
somebody you look, then look
away. He’s not doing anything but
the average stuff. You see what
I’m saying? There’s nothing exciting about him. Well, until today.”
Ramsey explained that Castro
“got some big testicles to pull this
off, bro.”
He added, “I knew something
was wrong when a little, pretty
White girl ran into a Black man’s
arms. Something wrong here. Dead
giveaway.”
There was plenty wrong, as
Ramsey learned when he put down
his McDonald’s Big Mac and answered a call for help from Amanda
Berry, who had been last seen in
2002 on the eve of her 17th birthday. The two other women were
Georgina “Gina” DeJesus, who
had been missing since 2004 at the
age of 14, and Michelle Knight,
who disappeared in 2002 at the age
of 21.
While being hailed as a hero,
Ramsey was the object of both
racism and ridicule.
Though we’re reluctant to publicly admit it, some African-Americans cringed at the sight of
Ramsey. His hair, curled in the back
like Al Sharpton’s do and as slick
as Chuck Berry’s, is interspersed
with what we once called post office hair – each nap has its own
route. This is one of the few cases
where a person’s mug shot looks
better than his real life photo.
To put this in context, think
back to when Black civil rights protesters dressed up in their
Sunday’s best, knowing they were
going to get physically assaulted
by police and White supremacists.
Then, as now, image matters. Es-
pecially when one of us appears
on TV. Still, there are plenty of
people in our community who
look like Ramsey and their speech
and appearance make them no less
valuable than the best dressed and
most articulate among us.
Some have suggested than
many Whites take delight in seeing Blacks caricatured in the image of Charles Ramsey and
Antoine Dodson.
“Perhaps it’s time for the
world’s meme artists to stop assuming that any black dude getting interviewed on local news
about a crime he helped to foil can
be reduced to some catch-phrase
or in-joke,” Miles Klee wrote on
Blackbookmag.com. “It’s just baffling that we’re trying to find a way
to laugh about what is, in itself, a
harrowing turn of events.”
Most of us knew, or at least
suspected deep down, that something about Ramsey’s past would
surface, causing further embarrassment.
The Smoking Gun website disclosed on May 8 that Ramsey “is
a convicted felon whose rap sheet
includes three separate domestic
violence convictions that resulted
in prison terms.”
Blacks instantly asked: Why is
something that happened a decade ago – and had nothing to do
with Ramsey’s heroism – relevant
today? Cleveland’s WEWS-TV,
facing a backlash from viewers,
apologized for reporting on
Ramsey’s criminal past.
“While the story was factually
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
The sequester is but a bump on
the road to America’s real ruin. For
those who don’t know, the U.S. is
no longer “the greatest nation.”
Nor does it even make the list of
the 10 most prosperous countries
in the world.
Whether Black or White, middle
to upper class, urban, rural or suburban, most Americans operate
under the assumption that the
U.S. still ranks as No. 1 in the
world. Yes, the U.S. remains the
world’s largest economy, and we
have the largest military by far, the
most dynamic technology companies and a highly entrepreneurial
climate.
However, Blacks who still preen
at the thought of Obama being the
“commander in chief” are going to
have a rude awakening when it’s
all over. A sobering 2012 index
analyzed 142 countries in eight
categories: economy, education,
entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, health, personal
freedom, safety and security and
social capital. The index shows
that the U.S. is no longer the top
dog. Rather, 12th in prosperity; 3rd
in oil production; 7th in literacy;
27th in math; 22nd in science; 49th
in life expectancy; 178th in infant
mortality; 3rd in median household
income; 4th in exports and 39th in
income inequality.
The first step in solving any
problem is to recognize there is
one. As we move toward the future, it’s important that we note
that the decisions that created
today’s growth – decisions about
education, infrastructure and the
like – were made decades ago.
What we see today is an American economy that has boomed
because of policies and developments of the 1950s and ’60s: the
interstate-highway system, massive funding for science and technology, a public-education system
that was once the envy of the
world and generous immigration
policies.
The economic bottom is falling
out while the Black middle class
waddles down discount aisles at
Walmart. We are the group at the
highest risk of economic downturns,
but over the past 50 years, Blacks
have bought into a mindset of
dependency. Ninety-three percent
of Black Americans recently voted
for a continuation of that dependency on government for handouts
from
food
stamps
to
welfare. Democratic leadership has
caused Blacks to collectively accept
the fact that America has become a
debtor nation.
Suck it up. Let’s acknowledge that
the big government agenda the
Democrats have pursued over past
years has stunted economic growth
and led to staggering levels of
wealth
decline
among
Blacks. Cartoon character Pogo provides great insight: “We’ve met the
enemy and they is us.” Our plight
today is based on our past practices
to “go along to get along.”
Much of America’s forward
growth depends on the results of
the 2014 congressional elections
and 2016 presidential campaign.
What kind of decisions will the
masses of Blacks make about being
open to the messages of Republicans? In his book, America the
Beautiful, fiscally and socially conservative figure, Dr. Benjamin
Solomon “Ben” Carson, Sr., an African-American neurosurgeon and
director of pediatric neurosurgery at
Johns Hopkins Hospital, pushed
himself into the forefront of the
public’s attention. In his book,
Carson provides new perspectives
on our educational system, capitalism versus socialism and our moral
fabric, to which people should be
attentive. America the Beautiful is
an incisive manifesto of the values
that shaped America’s past and must
shape her future, the book calls
upon us all to use our God-given
talents to lead and improve our lives,
communities, nation, and our world.
America can be great again. Good
leadership is what we need. All
that’s required is leadership that will
fight for moral values, stand up for
what is right, and strike down the
wrong laws for the right
reasons. Maybe it’s “mainstream”
Blacks have adopted that cause
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
Giving students the gift of a prosperous professional future
By Keith Peden
Every spring, Americans celebrate volunteerism during National Volunteer Week. So now is
precisely the time to ask ourselves how we can best donate
our time and talents.
Of course, there is no shortage
of worthy causes. But one area
where volunteer work is particularly impactful is educational programs that help young Americans
develop an interest in science,
technology, engineering and
math — the so-called “STEM”
fields. Developing proficiency in
these subjects can set students
up for a career in some of the
nation’s most promising industries.
Even during this period of high
unemployment, the demand for
qualified STEM workers vastly
outpaces supply. A recent report
from the non-profit Change the
Equation found that, in the
broader economy, unemployed
Americans outnumber job
postings by three to one. However,
for STEM professions, there are
about two open jobs per jobless
American.
The demand for well-trained
professionals in fields such as
biotechnology, aerospace, and
software development won’t wane
anytime soon. A recent report from
the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
found that for the United States
to remain a dominant force in sci-
ence-based industries, we will
need to produce roughly 1 million
more STEM professionals over
the next decade.
Achieving this goal starts with
motivating young Americans to
pursue STEM degrees. Today, a
mere 300,000 Americans earn a
bachelor or associate degree in a
STEM subject each year. More
troubling still, only 40 percent of
students who intend to major in
one of these areas actually completes a degree.
Students who end up pursuing
a STEM education often developed an interest in science and
technology at an early age. A
single formative experience can
provide a lifetime’s worth of motivation. That’s why helping young
Americans discover their passion
for these subjects is such a worthwhile volunteer opportunity.
Executives in technology and
science-driven industries have an
enormous role to play in sparking
an early enthusiasm for STEM
subjects.
Already, some industry leaders
are doing their part to generate
STEM excitement in our schools.
For example, tech giant Google
uses its talented workforce to help
spark student interest in science.
In collaboration with the Citizen
Schools initiative, Google volunteers have participated in 139 apprenticeship courses. These educational programs expose middle
school students to technical subjects like software engineering and
robotics. Students in these courses
receive hands-on instruction from
some of the most talented minds in
the tech world.
Last year, Altria gave a sizeable
donation to the Thurgood Marshall
College Fund to help new middle
school teachers learn hands-on approaches to making math and science instruction interesting, relevant and fun.
Here at Raytheon, we have a rich
culture of STEM-related philanthropy. For instance, firm employees give their time to initiatives like
MATHCOUNTS, which inspires interest in math among middle school
students through competitions,
clubs, and other enrichment pro(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
7
Black empowerment ‘at last’ – or last?
By Julianne Malveaux
NNPA Columnist
When Beyonce Knowles
sang the Etta James song
“At Last” at President
Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, the song could
have had several meanings.
At last we have an African
American president? At
last, the muscle of the Black
vote has been flexed? At
last, there is some hope for
our country to come together with the mantra “Yes,
We Can”.
Watching the President
and First Lady Michelle
Obama slow dance to the
romantic standard reminded
us that African American
families have not often been
positively depicted. This
attractive image of an intact
Black family had come “At
Last”. Thus, the song was
symbolic of what many
folks, and especially African
Americans, believed about
the Obama presidency.
Some of us blindly believed that with an African
American president opportunity had come “At Last.”
Some believed it so fervently that the least criticism of President Obama, no
matter how mild and how
lovingly conveyed, could
cause you to be run out of
the race. An alumnus of
M o r e h o u s e C o l l e g e , R e v.
Kevin Johnson, the selected
baccalaureate speaker at his
alma mater, wrote an opinion
piece that was mildly critical
of President Obama. As a
result, the former director of
the White House Initiative
on
HBCUs
and
new
Morehouse President John S.
Wilson, Jr. changed the format of baccalaureate to a
panel, not one speaker, as is
customary.
The purpose of baccalaureate is to have one speaker
to focus on the spiritual dimensions of graduation.
There is no way that Rev.
Johnson would deliver a political speech. Still, he was
essentially disinvited from
the baccalaureate because of
his views.
President Obama is the
president of the United
States of American, not the
president of Black America,
we are often reminded. Yet,
it seems that African Americans have been kicked to the
curb in terms of focus and
attention. Other groups – the
LGBT community, the Latino
community – have been mentioned explicitly. However,
on African American issues,
our president has been silent.
Now, some African American people are crooning “At
Last.” Charlotte Mayor An-
thony Foxx has been nominated to serve as Secretary
of Transportation. If confirmed, Mayor Foxx, an outstanding an eminently qualified candidate would join
Attorney General Eric
Holder as the second African American to serve in a
regular cabinet post.
Similarly, the nomination
of Congressman Mel Watt to
lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency is a step forward.
F H FA r e g u l a t e s
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
and allows Congressman
Wa t t t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o
implement some of the
Obama initiatives on homeowner recovery from the
Great Recession. The raging
right has already come after
C o n g r e s s m a n Wa t t . T h e
Daily Caller (a political blog)
has reported an unsubstantiated claim by former presidential candidate Ralph
Nader that the Congressman
disrespected him in a letter.
Nader has never produced
t h e l e t t e r. T h u s , t h e p u rpose of the claim is to besmirch FHFA nominee Congressman Mel Watt.
If Watt is confirmed, this
represents a step forward for
both President Obama and
for African American people,
and for the entire nation.
The issue is, of course, conf i r m a t i o n . Wi l l t h e W h i t e
House Congressman, be able
t o g a r n e r t h e v o t e s Wa t t
needs to be confirmed?
What does the White
House gain or lose if Watt is
not confirmed. The “At
Last” segment of the African
American community will
credit the president for making the nomination, even if
not confirmed. The more
critical segment of the African American community will
view the ways the White
House embraces this nominee, and question commitment. Ask UN Ambassador
Susan Rice knows what it
feels like to be dropped,
when Senate confirmation
seemed unlikely.
During President Obama’s
first term, his inattention to
the African American community was understandable,
though not acceptable. He
was busy straddling lines,
seeking compromise, and
leaving a legacy of health
care reform. African Americans were patient in the hope
that “as last” African Americans would get recognition
in his second term. After all,
as a lame duck president, he
has much to gain, and little
to lose in rewarding his most
loyal constituency. At last
some of us have our disappointment confirmed. Our
president’s inaugural speech
mentioned every community
except the African American
community.
President Obama and his
supporters should not be
t h i n - s k i n n e d .
P h i l a d e l p h i a ’s R e v. K e v i n
Johnson should not be
“disinvited” from the
Morehouse baccalaureate.
Nor should a panel dilute
his message, when the tradition is to have a sole
s p e a k e r. J o h n s o n i s a P h i
Beta Kappa graduate of
Morehouse College, who
deserves to be treated with
respect.
His column pointed out realities – President Clinton appointed seven African Americans to his cabinet, President
B u s h , f o u r, a n d P r e s i d e n t
Obama, just one. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who
leads the Congressional Black
Caucus, in a letter to President
Obama, wrote, “The people
you have chosen to appoint
in this new term have hardly
been reflective of this
country’s diversity.
Are the Foxx and Watt appointments a response to criticism? Based on their appointments, should Black folks sing
“at last” or “not yet”?
Julianne Malveaux is a
Wa s h i n g t o n ,
D.C.-based
economist and writer. She is
President Emerita of Bennett
College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.
Our era of political extremism
By Lee A. Daniels
NNPA Columnist
Last year, James Porter, the
recently-elected president of
the National Rifle Association,
declared that President Obama
was a “fake president
…[whose] entire administration is anti-gun, anti-freedom,
anti-Second Amendment.”
Earlier this month, Adam
Kokesh, a failed Republican
candidate for Congress from
Arizona and Internet talk show
host, declared he would lead a
July 4 march in Washington,
D.C. of thousands of followers
with loaded rifles slung across
their backs as a demonstration
against “tyranny.”
District law bars private citizens from carrying firearms in
public, and city police officials
have said they won’t permit
such a march. Kokesh said
such action would show that
“free people are not welcome
in Washington, adding that
“we would rather die on our
feet than live on our knees.”
The bipartisan Congressional effort to craft an immigration bill exploded in controversy last week when it was
revealed that, Jason Richwine,
a co-author of a heavily-criticized study on the subject submitted by the conservative Heritage Foundation, had previously asserted it was unlikely
“Hispanics will ever reach IQ
parity with whites” and that,
despite their long existence in
America, Black Americans have
yet to adapt properly to American culture.
You can believe that these
three expressions of conservative political opinion – and
scores of other similar ones –
are unconnected. But that
would be exactly the wrong
analysis.
If the first term of the Obama
presidency proved anything
about today’s American political culture, it showed conclusively that we live in an era of
conservative extremism.
The assertion of extreme
ideas and actions spewing from
conservative elected officials,
office-seekers, political operatives, talk show hosts and donors has become so commonplace that it’s sometimes difficult to gauge the depth of this
GOP-led corrupting of the traditional practice of politics.
But this is how Thomas E.
Mann and Norman J. Ornstein,
two longtime and respected
students of Washington governance, put it in an April 27,
2012 op-ed column for the Washington Post:
“The GOP has
become an insurgent outlier in
American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of
compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of
facts, evidence and science;
and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.”
The “old” American political
tradition enshrined the “winsome-lose-some” notion of
compromise as the only way a
nation full of competing political, social and business interests (a nation that was from the
beginning multiracial) could
continue to exist.
Of course, no one knows
better than Black Americans
that for most of American history the White majority’s adherence to compromise cost
them and other people of color
dearly – because their rights
were often “compromised” out
of existence.
But they bore that burden
for centuries because of their
faith in the ultimate triumph of
the American Ideal. Albeit
slowly, the fruit of their labors
and patience was that a critical
segment of White Americans
came to understand what democracy means.
It’s long been clear, however,
that not all Americans – especially those on the right – want
to accept that lesson.
There’s seemingly no end to
the bizarre notions and toughguy posturing and outright racism, sexism and homophobia
that represent conservatism
today. This nihilistic politics
has underscored that conservatism is rooted in callousness,
and the more it comes under
pressure from the movement
toward greater equality of opportunity, the more deranged it
becomes.
Thus, as the three examples
above show: The resort to conspiracy theories, especially
those involving federal government “tyranny.”
Concomitantly, the indulgence in fantasy notions of the
lone-hero super White man,
armed to the teeth and ready to
preserve his I-made-it-all-my-
self “independence.” And, most
of all, the designation of “enemies” who are, first, dehumanized – so they can be dealt with
without mercy.
This perspective on the conservative movement’s unyielding obstructionism to anything
President Obama proposes,
whether it be legislative policies
or appointees to the cabinet and
federal judgeships, makes his
achievements in office all the
more impressive.
But it also indicates what
grievous damage has been
done to the president’s program – and to the American
political tradition. In their
Wa s h i n g t o n P o s t o p - e d c o l umn of last year, Mann and
Ornstein looked ahead to the
November presidential election and ruefully predicted
that no matter who won, “If
anything, Washington’s ideological divide will probably
grow after the 2012 elections.”
Unfortunately, they were right
about that, too.
Lee A. Daniels is a longtime
journalist based in New York
City. His latest book is Last
Chance: The Political Threat to
Black America
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
Opinion
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
8
African Scene
Kofi Annan: African countries are
plundered by secret mining deals
Sudan's gold mining industry
Gold rush leads to mine
collapse in North Sudan
(GIN) – Efforts to ramp up
Sudan’s gold mining industry
came to a disastrous end this
week as the 131 foot deep Jebel
Amir mine collapsed taking 100
lives.
Sudan had hoped to turn the
country’s small-scale gold mining
in the region to a major
moneymaker, replacing the
oilfields now claimed by the
newly-independent nation of
South Sudan. Some $2 billion was
earned last year from gold exports.
Hopes were to produce about
50 tonnes of gold this year, making Sudan the 3d-largest gold
miner in Africa, according to
Reuters.
Thousands of artisanal miners
began digging for gold until the
mine collapse that also took the
lives of 9 rescuers.
Local officials dispute the number of fatalities which were allegedly confirmed by an African
Union / U.N. peacekeeping delegation (UNAMID) that has been
attempting to keep peace in the
still hotly-contested region
among local ethnic groups, bandits and rebels.
At press time, responsibility for
the condition of the mine or the
welfare of the widows was not
determined.
Meanwhile, in Khartoum,
Sudan’s national assembly ratified
the African Charter on Democracy,
Elections, and Governance,
adopted by the African Union
Assembly in 2007.
The charter contains controversial provisions which allow the AU
to intervene in member states to
restore democracy.
Samia Habbani, a member of
parliament, warned that the charter could be another “rope
wrapped around Sudan’s neck”,
while MP Ahmed Hassan Kambal
stressed that signing the charter
into law requires the country to
have a “clean” human rights
record which does not apply to
Sudan.
A third minister, Mustafa
Osman Ismail, called the charter an opportunity that should
not be missed adding that this
step means African leaders
have begun reform by themselves, mentioning that if Arab
leaders took the same step,
they could have prevented the
eruption of the Arab Spring. w/
pix of gold bars
Tax avoidance, secret mining
deals and financial transfers are
depriving Africa of the benefits
of its resources boom, ex-UN
chief Kofi Annan has said.
Firms that shift profits to lower
tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn
(£25bn) a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads.
“Africa loses twice as much
money through these loopholes
as it gets from donors,” Mr Annan
told the BBC.
It was like taking food off the
tables of the poor, he said.
The Africa Progress Report is
released every May - produced
by a panel of 10 prominent figures, including former Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo
and Graca Machel, the wife of
South African ex-President
Nelson Mandela.
African countries needed to
improve governance and the
world’s richest nations should
help introduce global rules on
transparency and taxation, Mr
Annan said.
The report gave the Democratic Republic of Congo as an
example, where between 2010 and
2012 five under-priced mining
concessions were sold in “highly
opaque and secretive deals”.
This cost the country, which
the charity Save the Children said
earlier this week was the world’s
worst place to be a mother, $1.3bn
in revenues.
Kofi Annan
This figure was equivalent to ing firms.
Africa loses more through what it
double DR Congo’s health and
education budgets combined, the calls “illicit outflows” than it gets in
aid and foreign direct investment, it
report said.
DR Congo’s mining minister dis- explains.
“We are not getting the revenues
puted the findings, saying the
we deserve often because of either
country had “lost nothing”.
“These assets were ceded in to- corrupt practices, transfer pricing,
tal transparency,” Martin tax evasion and all sorts of activiKabwelulu told Reuters news ties that deprive us of our due,” Mr
Annan told the BBC’s Newsday proagency.
The report added that many min- gram..
“Transparency is a powerful
eral-rich countries needed “urgently to review the design of their tool,” he said, adding that the retax regimes”, which were designed port was urging African leaders to
to attract foreign investment when put “accountability centre stage”.
Mr Annan said African governcommodity prices were low.
It quotes a review in Zambia ments needed to insist that local
which found that between 2005 companies became involved in minand 2009, 500,000 copper mine ing deals and manage them in “such
workers were paying a higher rate a way that it also creates employof tax than major multinational min- ment”.
“This Africa cannot do alone.
The tax evasion, avoidance, secret
bank accounts are problems for the
world… so we all need to work together particularly the G8, as they
meet next month, to work to ensure
we have a multilateral solution to
this crisis,” he said.
For richer nations “if a company
avoids tax or transfers the money to
offshore account what they lose is
revenues”, Mr Annan said.
“Here on our continent, it affects
the life of women and children - in
effect in some situations it is like
taking food off the table for the
poor.”
Under-pricing deprives Africa of much-needed money, the report says
Central African U.S. ally survives coup attempt
(GIN) – A coup attempt against
the President of Chad, Idriss
Deby, a close U.S. ally in the socalled ‘war on terror,’ was
thwarted by government security
forces who arrested the coup plotters in a shoot-out in the Chadian
capital N’Djamena on May 1.
Those arrested included highranking army officers, military personnel and civilians, and an opposition lawmaker. It was the latest in several attempts to remove
the four-term President.
A U.S. State Dept report for 2012
links Deby to atrocious human
rights abuses. “The most significant human rights problems were
security force abuse, including
torture and rape; harsh and lifethreatening prison conditions; and
discrimination and violence
against women and children.
“Other human rights abuses included arbitrary arrest and detention, including incommunicado
detention; lengthy pretrial detention; denial of fair public trial; and
property seizures. The government restricted freedom of speech,
press, assembly, and movement.”
Déby, who himself came to
power in a coup in 1990, is a regional powerbroker. During the
recent troubles in Mali he provided some 2,000 troops to drive
out Islamist fighters, saving western countries from committing
Iddriss Derby, Chad president
their own “boots on the ground.”
Chad is a significant source of
oil to the U.S. with much of its
150,000 barrels per day sold to U.S.
markets. U.S. companies Chevron
and ExxonMobil work with
Malaysia’s Petronas to extract the
crude.
Last year, in a lavish ceremony,
President Deby tied the knot with
the daughter of Sudan’s
Janjaweed militia leader, Musa
Hilal. The wedding, at a five star
hotel in Khartoum, was attended
by Sudanese President Omar alBashir and over 400 VIPs.
According to press reports,
Deby paid a $26 million dowry of
which $25 million was paid to
Musa Hilal and the rest to his daughter Amani in the form of gold and
jewellery.
The Janjaweed Arab militias
were mobilized by the Sudanese
government to put down an insurgency in Sudan’s western region of Darfur in 2003. That
counter-insurgency campaign,
which mainly targeted African
ethnic groups, led to the death
of approximately 300,000 people
and the displacement of more
than 2.7 million, according to
United Nation figures.
Despite its great oil wealth, Chad
remains one of the most impoverished countries in the world. w/pix
of Pres. I. Deby
9
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
The dawg days are over: Randy
Jackson leaving ‘American Idol’
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
10
John Liu
Comptroller Liu slams
mayor’s homeless policies
By J. Zamgba Browne
Special to NY Beacon
City Comptroller John Liu is
highly critical of Mayor Michael
Bloomberg’s homeless policies.
He said the policies have failed
homeless people. The Comptroller asks that communities across
the five boroughs accept homeless shelters.
“It is a disgrace that in a city
where luxury abounds nearly
21,000 children go to sleep in a
shelter each night,” said Comptroller Liu.
“The Mayor ’s disastrous
homeless policies exclude communities from having a real voice in
the shelter sitting process waste
millions of taxpayer dollars each
year,” he added.
A report released by the
Comptroller’s office, “Down and
Out: How New York City Places
its Homeless Shelters,” details
how the City is not meeting the
goal of early and open public consultation required by the socalled Fair Share sitting process,
and makes recommendations for
making the process fairer and
more transparent.
In an accompanying brief,
Comptroller Liu recommends the
creation of a Strong Families Rental
Voucher Program that would provide housing vouchers for up to
10,000 families living in the city’s
shelters at a substantial budgetary saving to taxpayers.
“Our report found that homeless shelters tend to be clustered
in the poorest neighborhoods.
The sitting of the shelters in these
neighborhoods may permanently
condemn these areas to poverty,” said Comptroller Liu.
“Moreover, there needs to be
complete transparency and significant community involvement in this process. That is not
happening.
“Homeless families need concrete rental assistance that will
enable them to have stable residences and join their communities.
Our proposal is a win-win for
homeless and taxpayers alike,”
said Comptroller Liu.
The Comptroller also said that
struggling families will be empowered and given an opportunity to
start over, and, at the same time,
taxpayers could save as much as
$237.5 million annually,
After a dozen seasons of
faithful dawgged) service,
“American Idol’s” only constant judge, Randy Jackson, is
no longer in it to win it. Randy
has confirmed to E! News that
he will be leaving “Idol” after
Season 12.
“Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the
speculation to the rest, after 12
years of judging on ‘American
Idol’ I have decided it is time to
leave after this season,” Randy
announced in his characteristically colorful manner. “I am very
proud of how we forever
changed television and the music industry. It’s been a lifechanging opportunity, but I am
looking forward to focusing on
my company Dream Merchant
21 and other business ventures.”
R a n d y ’s a n n o u n c e m e n t
comes the day after The Wrap
reported that Fox supposedly
intends to fire all of the current
judges (and maybe even longtime producer Nigel Lythgoe)
next season—so it’s possible
that this is a case of Randy
jumping before he is pushed.
This news also comes right after Yahoo!’s Reality Rocks reported that Randy is no longer
managing the career of fellow
judge Mariah Carey.
I have mixed feelings about
this news. It can be argued—
and it has been argued, by me,
many times in the past—that
Randy was often a useless
judge, reducing his critiques to
catchphrases and clichés
(“dawg,” “yo,” “in it to win it,”
“for me for you for me,” “she’s
gotta have it!”) and obnoxious
celebrity name-dropping, rather
than drawing on his years of
actual experience working and
playing with everyone from
Carlos Santana and Jerry Garcia
to grand divas like Whitney
Houston, Celine Dion, Fergie,
Aretha Franklin, Madonna, and
of course Mariah. Knowing the
impressive background Randy
had as a record label executive,
artist manager, and session musician, it was at times downright
frustrating for me to sit back and
watch him just play the fool for
Randy Jackson
laughs (or for ratings).
But still. Randy may have been
a buffoon sometimes, but he was
always part of the “Idol” family—
outlasting Simon Cowell, Paula
Abdul, Kara DioGuardi, Ellen
DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez,
Steven Tyler, and, lest we forget, Brian Dunkleman. There
was a certain comfort that came
from having Randy around and
hearing him reliably hash out the
same critiques over and over and
over again. “Idol” just won’t be
the same without the Dawg. For
me for you for me.
A representative for Fox declined to comment.
Court denies govt. motion to stay order that morning-after pill be made available
In a scathing decision, U.S. District Court Judge Edward R.
Korman has denied the Obama
administration’s Motion to Stay
his Order from April 5, 2013, requiring that emergency contraception be made available without age and point-of-sale restrictions.
Calling the government’s appeal of his order “frivolous and ...
taken for the purpose of delay,”
Judge Korman rejected the
government’s efforts to continue
to deprive women and girls in the
United States access to MorningAfter contraceptives. His Memorandum and Order calls the conduct of Secretary of Health and
Human Services Kathleen
Sebelius in blocking access “politically motivated, sicentifically
unjustified, and contrary to
agency precedent” and a decision
“so unpersurasive as to call into
question her good faith.”
The Opinion calls the Obama
administration’s argument “largely
an insult to the intelligence of
women.”
The court’s opinion details the
“barriers to all women” that the
government is creating for access
to emergency contraception, including the high cost of the drug
that the government is allowing
Teva Pharmaceuticals to charge
through a “sweetheart” exclusivity arrangement with the FDA and
the fact that the government’s proposal will delay the ability of
women to obtain a time-sensitive
contraceptive despite the fact that
the label for the drug states that it
should be taken “as soon as possible ... after unprotected sex.”
The Court details the harmful
impact of photo identification requirements that will disproportionately affect African American
women, poor women and immigrant women, and notes the
Obama administration’s own hypocrisy in challenging Voter ID
laws while simultaneously demanding ID requirements of all women
and girls for access to medication.
He calls the invocation of the use
of the drug by younger adolescents “a red herring to justify the
continued burden suffered by
older women who seek access to
the drug.”
“President Obama is seeking to
sacrifice the reproductive rights of
women of all ages at the altar of his
political strategy,” stated Mara
Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil
Justice Fund. “He wants to placate
the political right wing at the expense of the health needs and reproductive rights of women. It is
as plain as day that the Obama administration has used deception
and distraction as a tactic to avoid
complying with the Court Order to
make the Morning After Pill available without age restriction or identification barriers.”
“This is politics at its worst and
the administration should be
ashamed of its duplicitous
conduct,” stated
Andrea
Costello, Senior Staff Attorney at
the Partnership for Civil Justice
Fund and counsel for the plaintiffs in the litigation.
The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) represents the
plaintiffs, grassroots feminists
activists with National Women’s
Liberation (NWL) and 15-yearold Anaya Kelly in Tummino v.
Hamburg. The lawsuit was filed
along with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Southern Legal Counsel against the Food and
Drug administration and Health
and Human Services.
On April 5, the Court ruled
in the plaintiffs’ favor that
there was no scientific basis
for the Obama administration
to continue to restrict access
to emergency contraception.
Judge Korman ordered that it
be made available to women
and girls “without a prescription
and without point-of-sale or age
restrictions within thirty days.”
The Court found that the FDA
had improperly restricted this
safe and effective contraceptive
after “political interference” from
the White House, and had done
so against the medical and scientific evidence recommending
the drug be made readily available.
Instead of complying with the
Court’s Order, the government
announced Tuesday, April 30
that it would force all women and
girls to present government-issued ID to store clerks in order
to obtain emergency contraceptives, and that it would continue
to deprive over-the-counter access to young teenagers. In its
Opinion, the Court called this
agreement an effort to “sugarcoat” the appeal that the Obama
administration filed the next day,
Wednesday, May 1st.
11
Fashion, Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .& Stuff
By Audrey Adams
Celebrating bonds
Audrey Adams
Celebrations always bring
relationships to mind.
On Mother’s Day I took a
walk and I couldn’t help but
notice people and their
groupings.
There were, of course
mothers and their children,
husbands and significant
others. So, I sat down on a
bench to people watch and as
folks walked by I could catch
snippets of their conversations and “dissect” each
group as they passed. One
such group consisted of two
couples, “banker type” husbands, their wives, children
and pets. The husbands were
pushing the strollers and talking shop. Part of the conversation centered on bonds—
fixed income securities with
fixed interest. People who
typically buy bonds want
protection of their principal
investment, security, guarantees and consistency . . . all
stable elements. It was the
word “bonds” that caught my
attention because it summed
up Mother’s Day!
The groups of people were
re-enforcing their bonds with
their moms. Although the
bonds are emotional, every-
one was in a sense protecting
their investment oflove, time and
commitment. We tend to look for
security within our family unit.
Guarantees are hard to come by
these days; so nurturing and
maintaining our bonds is important to us. By consistently providing our own form of fixed interest, we keep our principal intact, allowing us to build upon
the future of the bond. The result: Security; which stabilizes
us.
I thought that the premise of
fixed income securities representing all of our relationships
was intriguing. The bankers
were talking about money in the
bank, but you can’t even achieve
that goal if your personal, professional and spiritual relationships don’t provide you with the
security and sense of well-being
you need to excel. Bonds are
important alright, they represent
a lifetime of interest compounded
daily. You can bank on that.
Think about it. See you next
week.
I invite you to visit my
website, TheAdamsReport.com
and checkout my online radio
show, Talk! with Audrey for a
series of 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.
Listen for FREE Anytime: This
week, I decided to go back to
into my archives for Mother’s
Day, I thought my exclusive in-
terviews with celebrity
moms might be of interest to
you. These interviews were
recorded in 2007 to promote
the National Association of
Black Female Executives in
Music and Entertainment’s
( NABFEME) Annual Conference. Founded by former
entertainment executive,
JOHNNIE WALKER, NABFEME promotes the entry,
development and advancement of women of color in
music and entertainment.
During each conference,
Johnnie held a luncheon to
honor the mother’s of the
industry. There wasn’t a dry
eye in the house!
I spoke with Dr. Mahalia
Hines, mother of Common;
Sharon Benjamin Hodo,
mother of Andre 3000; and
Will Smith’s mom Carolyn
Bright Smith! Hear what they
have to say about their life
and famous sons! To listen
visit:
talkwithaudrey.com.
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. E-mail your
fashion,
beauty
and
lifestyle questions or comments to her at:
Audrey@THEADAMSREPORT.com
THE ADAMS REPORT©
Census report shows Blacks voted
at higher rates than whites in 2012
Melanie L. Campbell, president
and CEO of The National
Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and convener of Black
Women’s Roundtable said last
week that according to a U. S.
Census Bureau report Black
women votes surpassed all others in the 2012 election.
The report said about two in
three eligible blacks (66.2 percent)
voted in the 2012 presidential election, higher than the 64.1 percent
of non-Hispanic whites. This
marks the first time that blacks
have voted at a higher rate than
whites since the Census Bureau
started publishing statistics on
voting.
Campbell said, “Let me first say
it’s a great day in America for Black
People - especially Black women.
It is extremely gratifying to see
Census data that reinforces what
we already knew: despite rigorous
systematic efforts to suppress our
vote, Blacks voted at higher rates
than whites in 2012. Black women
outdistanced every demographic
in America and made a difference
Melanie Campbell
in the outcome of the election.
“Given the enormous challenges facing our community, The
National Coalition’s Board of directors, members and affiliates are
proud to have played an integral
role in a historic turnout. Working in partnership with A. Philip
Randolph Institute and other coalition members, our Black
Women’s Roundtable unified
women in our communities to help
us organize, educate, mobilize
and protect the Black vote in
2012. Black women delivered in a
powerful way.
“Fifty years after the historic
March on Washington - when the
Black vote was suppressed across
the country - there is no better
tribute to the leadership of A.
Philip Randolph, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Dr. Dorothy I.
Height and other civil rights leaders.
“So, today we celebrate the
power of the sister vote as we
continue to organize and mobilize
to push our elected officials to act
in our best interest.”
Brandon Victor Dixon
LOVING IT!
By Tony Felton
Imitation of life
Brandon Victor Dixon portrays
the life of Berry Gordy, JR. in
Motown The MusicaL on Broadway. Diana Ross did not have Billie
Holiday to consult, to ask for advice (‘Lady Sings The Blues’).
Barbra Streisand and Fanny Brice
(‘Funny Girl’) did not spend two
weeks together in Los Angeles to
get to know one another. Dixon
was blessed to pick the brain of a
living legend in order to get it
right!
“I argued with the man,” Dixon
recalls laughingly. “He would say
to me, ‘No, but I wasn’t that angry when I said that.’ So I had to
remind him, I read your book. And
the script says ‘emphatically.’
Blessing? Yes, it was. But at times
it was also a curse (smiling). He
was right there. All the time.
Watching me. Correcting me. Imitation? It was hard putting myself
on stage night after night and to
be objective. I would call it more
of a representation than an imitation.”
Motown,: an enormous caldron
of melodic history in popular music that has been categorized as
good, great, and the best.
MOTOWN music, after decades
of changing tastes and trends, embodies them all with particular emphasis on being the best! Some
might even say, the absolutely
very best! MGM/Metro Goldwyn
Mayer studios used to boast that
they had more motion picture stars
than the stars in heaven.
MOTOWN could have declared
the same: The Andantes, Ashford
& Simpson, Bobby Taylor, The
Contours, The Commodores,
Diana Ross, David Ruffin, Eddie
Kendricks, The Four Tops, Gladys
Knight & The Pips, The Isley
Brothers, Jr. Walker & The All
Stars.
“Berry Gordy,” Dixon reflects,
“made it all happen. He had a
dream. He had a desire to want to
see all that talent, those young
people, to fulfill their dreams. He
literally changed the face of
America. He changed how
America viewed and thought of
Black people. I was born in 1981.
Was introduced to Motown
through the Jackson Five. I’ve
been told that back then, they had
never seen Black people like
Motown; had never heard people
sing like Motown. Berry Gordy
was just as important to the Civil
Rights movement as Martin
Luther King.”
Motown The Musical opens with
the character Berry Gordy, Jr. displaying the personality antithesis
to his hit recording for the flamboyant Jackie Wilson entitled ‘To Be
Loved.’ He felt anything but being
loved as he contemplated whether
or not to participate in the television production celebrating
Motown’s 25 years of greatness.
Pressured by his long-time friend
and Motown legend, Smokey
Robinson, he reluctantly gave in to
the pressure. What followed was a
rags to riches, blood, sweat and
tears rise theatrical display, set to
the most popular-popular music the
world has ever witnessed. And of
all places, it took place in Detroit?
Jimmy Ruffin, The Jackson 5, Kim
Weston, Lionel Richie, Mary Wells,
The Marvelettes, Martha Reeves &
The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The
Originals, Rick James The Supremes,
The Spinners, Stevie Wonder,
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles,
Syretta Wright, Teena Marie, Tammi
Terrell, Tata Vega, The Temptations.
All born/raised or migrating to Detroit to find stardom. Not in New
York. Not in Los Angeles. Or Paris.
Or even Philadelphia. But Detroit?
“Detroit produced more than just
cars,” historian Dixon explains.
“Jerry Bruckheimer, the film/television producer (‘Glory Road,’
Beverly Hills Cop, Crimson Tide,
Remember the Titans, Top Gun/
Amazing Race, CSI anthologies)
came from Detroit. Allee Wilson who
wrote ‘September’ for Earth, Wind,
& Fire, used to sit outside of
HITSVILLE (Motown landmark recording studio building), listening
to the sounds coming from those
walls. She listened. She learned how
to write hits. She sold millions of
records. How ironic it is that as this
writer prepares this column for
publication, that the movie, ‘Glory
Road’ is on television which features, notwithstanding a few Negro spirituals, mainly Motown music.
“I am a very confident, low-keyed
person,” Dixon shares. “I don’t usually get wrapped up into all of the
glitter and glamour of show business. Not into the frills. I am the
same man I was before Motown. I’m
more about the work. Let’s talk
about the craft. Let’s talk about how
we can make this thing work? How
can I do the best thing possible for
the project. It took my two weeks in
L.A. for this Motown experience, the
reality of it all, to really hit me. I remember Family Night, seeing most
of the people who have worked for
Motown over the years. Those who
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
THE ADAMS REPORT
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
12
Beacon On The Scene
Gloriously gifted stars of Ailey perform
on Apollo Stage at spring gala benefit
Ailey at the Apollo
By Audrey J. Bernard
Lifestyles & Society Editor
The Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater (AAADT) —
founded by Alvin Ailey in 1958
to carry out his vision of a company dedicated to enriching the
American modern dance heritage and preserving the uniqueness of the African American
cultural experience — hosted its
2013 spring gala featuring dancers from the entire company
dancing in tandem in front of
over 900 festively dressed
guests on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC. Ailey, who
died on December 1, 1989, presence could be felt when it was
announced that the benefit was
the most successful event in
Ailey’s history having raised a
record breaking one million dollars to benefit student scholarships to The Ailey School and
the organization’s Arts In Education & Community Programs,
including AileyCamp.
The dazzling dance program
featured a spectacular onenight-only performance starring
Ailey’s future and present stars
in performances by all tiers of
AAADT: rising stars of Ailey II,
gifted young dancers from The
Ailey School, and talented students from AileyCamp. Stellar
performances included excerpts
from Virtues (Ailey II); Grace
(AAADT); Rennie Harris’s
Home (AileyCamp New York);
Synthesis (The Ailey School);
Strange Humors (AAADT);
and culminated in excerpts from
Revelations (“Take Me to the
Water” and “Move, Members,
Move”).
The benefit honored Ailey
Board of Trustees member Robert Kissane. AAADT’s Artistic
Director Robert Battle and Associate Artistic Director
Masazumi Chaya welcomed
Honorary Chair Kimberly Chandler, Honorary Co-Chairs Lynne
& Anthony M. Carvette, Leslie
& Tom Maheras, David E.
Monn, Almaz & Marc Strachan;
and Vice Chairs Michele & Timothy Barakett, Judith Byrd, Eboni
Marshall Turman & Rossie E.
Turman III and Yelberton R.
Watkins.
The newly appointed Executive Director Bennett Rink acknowledged the attendance of
Artistic Director Emerita Judith
Jamison and extended special
thanks to the evening’s generous benefactors; the benefit
committee; Ailey at the Apollo
ambassadors committee chaired
by John Campbell, JCINTIME
Events; and the Artistic
Director’s Circle Co-Chairs Simin
& Herb Allison. The Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater also
wishes to thank Diageo for providing the wine and spirits for
the gala reception; David E.
Students from The Ailey School perfoming Synthesis
Ailey at The Apollo under the glamorous tent decor
designed by David E. Monn
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform Alvin
Ailey's Revelations
Honoary Chair Kimberly Chandler and
daughter Sacha-Marie Chandler
Event Co-Chairs with Artistic Director Robert Battle and Event
Honoree Robert Kissane and wife Angela Kissane
Herb & Simin Allison, Ailey Artistic
Director Robert Battle
Bennett Rink, Robert & Angela Kissane, Robert Battle, Judith Jamison
Veronica & Police Commissioner Khephra Burns,Terry McMillan Gala Vice Chairs Eboni Marshall
Ray Kelly (Photo by Freddie Rankin) (Photo by Dario Calmese)
Turman, PhD, Rossie Turman III
(Photo by Freddie Rankin)
Monn for providing the concept and
design of the gala reception; printing of the programs and inserts that
were kindly donated by BlueOcean
Worldwide, a division of Peeq Media; and special thanks to gift bag
donors American Airlines, The
Araca Group, BET Networks, CS,
FOX Audience Strategy, L’Oreal
USA, Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
and the Upper West Side Whole
Foods Market. Also, kudos to
lighting by Al Crawford, catering
by Sonnier & Castle and sound
equipment provided by PSL Productions.
At the conclusion of the exhilarating show, guests were pumped
Gala Vice Chair Judith Byrd
(Photo by Freddie Rankin)
up to the max as they cheerfully filed
out of the theater to the adjacent
Apollo Tent to attend the pumping
post party with dance driven music
by DJ Kiss.
(Photos by Christopher Duggan)
13
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
14
NAACP mourns the passing of Bishop Roy A. Holmes
(from Page 16)
Missouri, Indiana and Central
Africa
(Malawi
and
Mozambique).
In July of 2012, Bishop
Holmes was assigned to serve
the North Eastern Episcopal
District which includes: New
York, New England, Western
New York, Bahamas Islands and
London-Midland. In December
2012 he was appointed presiding
prelate of the Cape Fear Conference upon the death of the late
Bishop James E. McCoy.
Bishop Holmes has served the
A. M. E. Zion Church as a mem-
ber of the Connectional Budget
Board; Department of Ministerial Relief; delegate to the General Conference; delegate to the
World Methodist Conference;
former assistant secretary to the
Board of Trustees of Hood Theological Seminary; former president and secretary of the Hood
South Korean president thanks Rangel, others for service during Korean War
(from Page 16)
Koremains steadfast in solidifying our blood-shed alliance, as we
stand strong together against the
threats by North Korea and continue to work on strengthening
our economic and cultural ties.”
Rangel added: “I send my best
wishes to President Park and applaud the people and country
that will always hold a special
place in my heart.”
Rangel enlisted in the United
States Army, and served from 1948
to 1952. During the Korean War,
he was an artillery operations specialist in the all-black 503rd Field
Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division. He received a
Purple Heart and Bronze Star
award for leading his comrades out
of a deadly Chinese Army encirclement during the Battle of Kunu-ri
in 1950. The Korean War was one
of the bloodiest wars fought in the
coldest winters, in which the
United States suffered 54,246 casualties and 8,176 POW/MIAs
and unaccounted for in just three
years (1950-1953).
Rangel was also a VIP guest at
the Commemorative Dinner hosted
by Korean President Park Geunhye at Smithsonian American Art
Museum and Nationl Portrait Gallery on Tuesday evening.
Sen. Adams says he is innocent
of any political corruption charge
(from Page 3)
nothing on those tapes that will
implicate in any wrongdoing,”
the Senator wrote.
Adams recalled the chat he had
with Sen. Huntley at her home.
“Our brief encounter was normal
conversations regarding our
work in Albany,”
he explained. He also remembered the Senator brought up her
problems and how it was affecting her family.
Adams emphasized that his
meeting with Sen. Huntley fo-
cused on legislative and government affairs.
Among the politicians who were
secretly recorded by Sen. Huntley
include Sens. John Sampson, Ruth
Hassel-Thompson, Jose Peralta
and Velmanette Montgomery; City
Councilman Rubin Willis; former
political consultant Melvin Lowe
and Curtis Taylor, a former press
advisor.
Legal experts said only three
yielded evidence useful to law enforcement authorities. In addition
to the tapes’ audio, Brooklyn attorney Howard Schwartz said “the
subject of an investigation is someone who may or may not involve
in criminal activity.
“The target on the other hand,
is the person or persons are after,”
said Schwartz. When an individual is the target of an investigation,
according
to
Schwartz, “law enforcement officials have already made the
determination about said person or persons have committed a crime and are seeking evidence to support an indictment,”
O.J. Simpson returns to Vegas
court in an effort for new trial
(from Page 3)
Galanter.
Grasso said he was only paid
$15,000 while the weight of pretrial work fell to him.
He said Galanter kept telling
him that he didn’t have money to
hire investigators or an expert to
analyze crucial audio recordings
that were later played for the
Simpson jury.
“I don’t think it was in Mr.
Simpson’s best interest,” Grasso
testified.” In a case of this magnitude, we had no help. The state
had a jury consultant. Did we? No.”
Galanter is expected to take the
witness stand on Friday. He declined comment Monday.
Attorneys for the state, H. Leon
Simon and Leah Beverly, are ex-
pected to cross-examine Grasso
on Tuesday.
Simpson attorney Patricia Palm
played a videotape of Galanter telling the trial judge he wouldn’t oppose the use of the recordings because, “We looked at them. We
had experts look at every word.
We had maybe six or seven words
we objected to.”
(Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP)
Alumni Association.
At the time of his death he
served as the secretary of the
Board of Trustees for
Livingstone College and vice
chairman Board of Trustees,
Hood Theological Seminary;
Visiting Member at Chicago
Theological Seminary, Life
Member and member of the National Board of Directors for the
NAACP serving as first vice
chair of the Religious Affairs
Committee and member of the
Image Awards Committee; and
member of the Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, Inc.
He was the recipient of several awards including: UNCF
Alumni of the Year Award Morris Brown College; Hood Theological Seminary Recognition
Award; Personalities of the South
the Eleventh Edition; Former
President of the Pasquotank
County NAACP (Elizabeth City,
NC); Member of the Pittsburgh
Branch NAACP Executive Committee; Champion of Justice
Award – Redistricting of Pittsburgh, PA; City of Chicago Honorary Street sign, June 2000 (Rev.
Roy A. Holmes Blvd.) at corner of
84th and Damen, Chicago, IL; and
Who’s Who in Executive and
Businesses 2001-2002, and the
2003 Monarch Award in the category of Religion from the Xi Nu
Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority, Inc., Chicago, IL,
and the Outstanding Leadership
Award from MAADD (Ministerial
Alliance Against the Digital Divide), Chicago, IL.
LOVING IT!
(from Page 11)
were there from the beginning. Our
first preview performance really let
me know that this production was
and is of incredible significance.”
Brandon Victor Dixon’s professional resume, B/M, is a plethora
of outstanding achievements:
Color Purple The Musical (Tony
nomination),
Rent,
The
Scottsboro Boys, The Lion King.
Numerous television and theatrical awards. (He is now this year’s
Best Actor Drama League Award
Nominee.) “I’ve known, or at least
my mother told me, that I’ve
wanted to be an entertainer since
I was three years old. I know no
other life. I don’t feel lost or adrift.
If not an entertainer? Perhaps a
lawyer. Knowing what you want
to do is very important. Unless
you know, it will be very difficult
to move in any direction.”
And the LORD said to Samuel,
“Behold, I will do a new thing in
Israel, at which both the ears of
every one that hears it shall
tingle.” (I SAMUEL 3:10-12)
MOTOWN: the artists, all the song
writers (Holland Dozier Holland/
Ashford & Simpson), the musicians
(The FUNK Brothers), the secretaries (Martha Reeves & Diana Ross),
the maintenance people, and all the
other contributories helping to create/support the tingling SOUND OF
ALL AGES! The world has never
and will never experience anything
like MOTOWN ever again. Still
STRONG after more than 50 years!
There will be dancing in the streets
for millenniums to come!
“I am an artist,’ Dixon concludes.
“I know where I’m going in terms of
my goals. I want to be able to pick
and choose my work and spread
that love. Working with people I
admire in this business is a wonderful thing. How can you not love it?
Yeah, it makes me tingle.”
The end of America’s dominance
(from Page 6)
them to accept leadership
that has followed the same
path of profligate spending
and reckless disregard of the
long-term economic drain for
short-term economic gains.
We have opted for mediocrity and self-indulgence and
we have reaped the harvest
that we have sown.
We become great again by becoming an informed and educated
electorate, making the right decisions to go forward.
William Reed is head of the Business Exchange Network and available for speaking/seminar projects
through the Bailey Group.org.
Cleveland’s Charles Ramsey: Hood or hero? Giving students the gift of a
(from page 6)
“was raised to help women in dis- Facebook page. She told the
tress.”
Smoking Gun, “For my daughter’s prosperous professional future
In view of that assertion, sake I show he didn’t always look
sound, the timing of it and publication of such information was
not in good taste, and we regret
it,” the station said on its
Facebook page.
Normally, I would agree that
Ramsey’s criminal past, certainly
in this situation, should be irrelevant. But there’s nothing normal about this case. Unfortunately, Ramsey invited the scrutiny when he said he suspected
domestic violence because he
Ramsey’s domestic violence convictions – hardly a record of helping women in distress – became
fair game and should have been
reported by the news media. But
the reporting should not end there.
Ramsey’s ex-wife, since remarried,
said Ramsey eventually apologized
for battering her and they now interact on “an okay basis.”
In addition, she posted two earlier photos of Ramsey on her
hood.”
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.
Subscribe and Advertise in the New York Beacon
237 W. 37th Street,
Suite 203 New York, New York 10018
Tel: (212) 213-8585
(from Page 6)
grams. Firm employees also give
their time to initiatives like the
FIRST program, which engages
high school students in robotics
competitions nationwide.
Volunteerism is strongly encouraged at Raytheon. In fact,
during 2011 and 2012, company
employees donated nearly 400,000
hours to serving their communities.
The emphasis we place on
volunteerism is in line with a
broader national trend. In 2011,
the number of American volunteers reached a five-year high of
6.4 million. And more than 18 percent of those volunteers spent
their time teaching or tutoring.
These efforts to encourage student achievement in the STEM
fields are extremely important when
it comes to preparing young Americans for the jobs of tomorrow. If the
United States is going to produce
the kind of qualified professionals
that the job market demands, industry leaders must continue to donate
their time to cultivating STEM passions in local student bodies.
National Volunteer Week is the
perfect opportunity to redouble our
efforts to improve the lives of young
Americans and set them on a path
to professional success.
Keith J. Peden is senior vice president of Human Resources and Security for Raytheon Company.
Lifestyles & Society Editor
Celebrated children’s book author Robie H. Harris is this year’s
recipient of the coveted Mills
Tannenbaum Award for Children’s
Literacy presented by Reach Out
and Read of Greater New York
(ROR GNY) at its annual benefit
and auction on Monday, May 6,
2013 at the Helen Mills Event
Space and Theater on West 26th
Street, NYC. Sponsored by Scholastic and The Morrison Foerster
Foundation and emceed by Emmy
Award-winning correspondent,
NBC4 New York’s Lynda Baquero,
the event featured a cocktail re-
gram.
“Our Annual Benefit, Where
Great Stories Begin, was a great
success,” exclaimed Traci Lester,
executive director, ROR GNY. In
presenting the inaugural Mills
Tannenbaum Award for Children’s
Literacy to Harris, Lester stated,
“This award was created in honor
of the commitment and long-time
support of Gary Tannenbaum and
Helen Mills, and is being presented to Harris, a children’s book
author dedicated to promoting a
lifelong love of reading in young
children.”
Harris is a master storyteller
whose books fearlessly tackle the
daily lives with great sensitivity.
Her books engage young readers
with delightful characters and humor, while allowing children to explore strong feelings and difficult
situations within the safety of the
written word. Her work exemplifies the kind of creative effort
Reach Out and Read families need
to help spark and sustain a lifelong love of reading in their children.
Event chair and ROR GNY’s
Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Katinka Domotorffy, introduced the organization’s newest campaign The Prescription
For Childhood Literacy.
New York is excited to launch its
new initiative: The Prescription
For Childhood Literacy to expand the number of hospitals,
clinics and pediatricians who
help us level the playing field
for preschool children.”
Reach Out and Read prepares
America’s youngest children to
succeed in school by partnering
with doctors to prescribe books
and encourage families to read
together. In the Greater New
York Region ROR GNY provides
new, age-appropriate books and
literacy guidance to over a quarter of a million children.
(Photos by Gerald Peart)
15
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
AUDREY'S Robie H. Harris recipient of Reach Out and Read’s
SOCIETY Mills Tannenbaum Award for Children’s Literacy
WHIRL
By Audrey J. Bernard
ception, auction and awards pro- big questions children face in their “Reach Out and Read of Greater
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
16
South Korean president thanks Rangel, others for service during Korean War
Congressman Charles B.
Rangel was acknowledged for his
service in the Korean War by the
recently-inaugurated South Korean President, Park Geun-hye,
during her address to a Joint Session of Congress regarding U.S.South Korean relations. Rangel
is among the four remaining
Members of Congress who
served in the Korean War from
1950-1953.
At the beginning of her
speech, President Park referenced
her visit to the National Korean
War Memorial and thanked
America’s Korean War veterans:
“Let me express on behalf of the
people of the Republic of Korea
our profound gratitude to
America’s veterans. Their blood,
sweat and tears helped safeguard freedom and democracy. I
also offer my heartfelt appreciation to four men in particular.
They served in that war and now
serve in this chamber. Their
names are Congressman John
Conyers, Charles Rangel, Sam
Johnson, and Howard Coble.”
“I am deeply honored that
President Park thanked me and
my fellow comrades for our service. I have never seen a head of
state receive the standing ovation that she received today,”
said Rangel. “As a Korean War
veteran, I was proud to join millions of people across the world
in congratulating the Madam
President as she ascended to the
presidency. This historic occasion of swearing in a female to
the head of government reflects
the tremendous leaps that The
Republic of Korea has made to
become a shining example of one
of the most successful democracies in the world.”
President Park’s visit to the
United States, her first abroad
since becoming president in February, marks the 60th anniversary
of the U.S.-South Korean alliance
and comes amid increasing
provocations by North Korea.
The United States still maintains
28,500 troops in South Korea.
President Park, who is also
daughter of the late South Korean President Park Chung-hee,
made history when she become
the first female to be elected as
President in December 2012. She
Rangel (second from left) acknowledges thank from South Korean president
became the sixth South Korean
leader to address a joint meeting
of Congress.
“South Korea has emerged from
the ashes of war into a vibrant democracy, a dynamic economy, and
a true world leader in the 21st century. Seoul’s skyscrapers, booming
businesses and rising apartment
buildings are a testament to the
resiliency and determination of the
Korean people,” said Rangel.
“The United States remains steadfast in solidifying our blood-shed
alliance, as we stand strong together against the threats by North
Korea and continue to work on
strengthening our economic and
cultural ties.”
Rangel added: “I send my best
wishes to President Park and applaud the people and country that
will always hold a special place in
my heart.”
Rangel enlisted in the United
States Army, and served from 1948
to 1952. During the Korean War,
he was an artillery operations spe-
cialist in the all-black 503rd Field
Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division. He received a
Purple Heart and Bronze Star
award for leading his comrades out
of a deadly Chinese Army encirclement during the Battle of Kunu-ri
in 1950. The Korean War was one
of the bloodiest wars fought in the
coldest winters, in which the
United States suffered 54,246 casualties and 8,176 POW/MIAs and
unaccounted for in just three years
(1950-1953).
Rangel was also a VIP guest at
the commemorative dinner hosted
by Korean President Park Geunhye at Smithsonian American Art
Museum and Nationl Portrait Gallery on Tuesday evening.
###
Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Charles B. Rangel was
acknowledged for his service in
the Korean War by the recentlyinaugurated South Korean Presi-
dent, Park Geun-hye, during her
address to a Joint Session of Congress regarding U.S.-South Korean relations. Rangel is among
the four remaining Members of
Congress who served in the Korean War from 1950-1953.
At the beginning of her speech,
President Park referenced her visit
to the National Korean War Memorial and thanked America’s
Korean War veterans: “Let me
express on behalf of the people
of the Republic of Korea our profound gratitude to America’s veterans. Their blood, sweat and
tears helped safeguard freedom
and democracy.I also offer my
heartfelt appreciation to four men
in particular. They served in that
war and now serve in this chamber. Their names are Congressman
John Conyers, Charles Rangel,
Sam Johnson, and Howard
Coble.”
“I am deeply honored that President Park thanked me and my fel-
low comrades for our service. I have
never seen a Head of State receive
the standing ovation that she received today,” said Rangel. “As a
Korean War veteran, I was proud to
join millions of people across the
world in congratulating the Madam
President as she ascended to the
Presidency. This historic occasion
of swearing in a female to the head
of government reflects the tremendous leaps that The Republic of
Korea has made to become a shining example of one of the most successful democracies in the world.”
President Park’s visit to the
United States, her first abroad since
becoming president in February,
marks the 60th anniversary of the
U.S.-South Korean alliance and
comes amid increasing provocations
by North Korea. The United States
still maintains 28,500 troops in South
Korea. President Park, who is also
daughter of the late South Korean
President Park Chung-hee, made
history when she become the first
female to be elected as President in
December 2012. She became the
sixth South Korean leader to address a joint meeting of Congress.
“South Korea has emerged from
the ashes of war into a vibrant democracy, a dynamic economy, and a
true world leader in the 21st century.
Seoul’s skyscrapers, booming businesses and rising apartment buildings are a testament to the resiliency
and determination of the Korean
people,” said Rangel. “The United
States remains steadfast in solidifying our blood-shed alliance, as we
stand strong together against the
threats by North Korea and continue to work on strengthening our
economic and cultural ties.”
Rangel added: “I send my best
wishes to President Park and applaud the people and country that
will always hold a special place in
my heart.”
Rangel enlisted in the United
States Army, and served from 1948
to 1952. During the Korean War, he
was an artillery operations specialist in the all-black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry
Division. He received a Purple Heart
and Bronze Star award for leading
his comrades out of a deadly Chinese Army encirclement during the
Battle of Kunu-ri in 1950. The
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
NAACP mourns the passing of Bishop Roy A. Holmes
The NAACP mourns the loss
of Bishop Roy A. Holmes, member of the NAACP Board of Directors and its Religious Affairs
Committee. Bishop Holmes is
survived by his wife, two
daughters and two grandchildren.
Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman
of the NAACP Board of Directors, said in a tribute:: “Bishop
Holmes was a true man of service, He was always ready to
answer the call to duty, whether
in the NAACP or in the A.M.E.
Zion Church, where his leadership extended over two continents. He was devoted to his
family and to educating the next
generation of leaders. His passing is a terrible loss for the
NAACP and the faith community.”
Benjamin Todd Jealous,
president & CEO of the
NAACP: “Bishop Holmes was
an inspired steward of the longstanding bond between the AME
Zion denomination and the
NAACP,” stated Jealous. “I valued and relied upon his wise
counsel and will sorely miss
him.”
Bishop Holmes was a lifetime
member of the NAACP and a
member of the NAACP Board of
Directors. His ministry began at
the age of 13, and he received his
first pastorate at the age of 15.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1974 from Morris
Brown College, Atlanta, Ga; his
Master of Divinity from Hood
Theological Seminary, Salisbury,
NC; and his Doctor of Ministry
in 2002 from the Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, Ill..
His first pastorate was St.
Matthew A. M. E. Zion Church
in Whitmire, South Carolina
(1975-78), followed by Mt. Lebanon A. M. E. Zion Church in Eliza-
beth City, North Carolina (197882), Wesley Center A. M. E. Zion
Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1982-88), and the Greater
Walters A. M. E. Zion Church in
Chicago, Illinois (1988 - 2004).
Bishop Holmes was consecrated the 92nd Bishop of the A.
M. E. Zion Church on August 3,
2004 during the 47th General Conference. He was assigned to the
Western Episcopal District, which
includes the Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon-Washington and the South West Rocky
Mountain Conferences. Upon the
untimely death of Bishop Milton
A. Williams, he was assigned the
Michigan Annual Conference and
Central Africa (Malawi and
Mozambique). In 2008, he was assigned to the Mid-West Episcopal District which includes;
Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Bishop Roy A Holmes
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
By Victoria Horsford
HOT TOPICS
THE USA: How do I hate
thee, let me count the ways is
the Congressional GOP strategy to derail the Obama Presidency. Scores of Obama’s nominees are stalled in the US Senate while the US Congress
boasts a pretty consistent
record of budget intransigence,
repeated calls to dismantle
Obamacare, which should be
fully operational in 2014. Last
week the emergence of three socalled Obama White House missteps have dominated media, all
aimed at the threat of impeachment. The GOP anti-Obama attack dogs have invoked the
Benghazi, Libya tragedy again,
accusing the White House of
cover-ups and altering Susan
Rice’s talking points as she
prepped for Sunday morning
TV last year. The Benghazi attack it two-pronged. It is also
to thwart “Hillary Clinton 2016”
momentum. The GOP blames
the Obama IRS for special surveillance of right-wing groups
and tax filings. Is there any
American president who does
not have IRS monitor their detractors. At press time, the
White House was being maligned for monitoring phone
records of AP employees…but
failed to say that it was probably related to 2012 Associated
Press leaks which compromised
the CIA and national security
matters. What a racist American congress!
Our GOP Congress is adept
in distracting the American public from the greater evil, their inability to work and compromise
with the President Obama and
the Democrats, and to work towards the best interests of their
constituents.
NEW YORK: NY Magazine,
the NY Times, the tabloids and
alternative newspapers and the
pollsters keep sending the message to New Yorkers that Christine Quinn is the Democratic favorite for the 2013 NYC mayoral
race. It was encouraging to read
in NY Daily News Sunday story
about African American candidate Bill Thompson, 59, who is
operating under the radar
screen with a strategy which is
based on a coalition of Blacks,
Latinos and Orthodox Jews.
That’s good but not inclusive
enough. It is important to bring
ethnics in the outer boroughs
into that coalition. Thompson
also enjoys support from NY
elites like Reverend Floyd Flake,
of the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Queens; Merryl Tisch,
NYS Board Of Regents Chancellor; and former Senator
Alphonse D’Amato! Disgraced
congressman Andy Weiner is
covetously eying the NYC mayoral race, but friends Bill and
Hillary informed him that they
could not support him.
INTERNATIONALAFFAIRS
NY/AFRICA: The Center for
Media and Peace Initiatives
(CMPI) convenes AFRICA @50
INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT on
May 28 at the AU Mission to the
UN, which is located at 305 East
47 Street, Manhattan. The daylong Summit, which coincides
with the Africa Union’s, (AU) formerly the OAU, Golden Jubilee,
will examine the waves of democracy in Africa during the past 50
years of self rule and democratization. Some of the confirmed
speakers, include
Palan
Mulonda, Zambia Ambassador
to the US; Jennifer Dunham,
Freedom in the World, Freedom
House; Dr. Cyril Obi, African
Peace Building Network, Social
Science Research Council; and
Dr. Uchenna Ekwo, CMPI. The
Event fee is $29. Pre-registration
is
required.
Visit
www.cmpimedia.org or call
917.803.5540
CARIBBEAN: The Women
With Purpose: Mind, Body &
Soul Global Summit convenes
June 18-22 in St. Martin/St.
Maarten, on the Dutch side of
the Dutch/French island in the
Caribbean. The WWP SUMMIT
will be attended by upwards of
300 professionals – entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, bankers, techies - from North and
South America Europe, Africa,
and Asia, who eagerly anticipate
this distinct distaff experience
which will include a series of
seminars, workshops, day trips
and more. CNN producer/host
Soledad O’Brien and OWN TV’s
Iyanla Vanzant are among the
media execs on the WWP calendar. Valerie Norman Gammon,
who has produced Essence
Awards and the Essence Music
Festival is WWP event producer.
For
more
info,
visit
womanwithpurposeglobalsummit.com
or call 754 300.7594.
NEWSMAKERS
NY Governor Cuomo nominated a Black jurist Sheila
Abdus-Salaam as associate justice of the NY Appellate Division,
the state’s highest court. She
was unanimously confirmed by
the NYS Senate. Associate
Judge Abdus-Salaam is the first
Black woman on state’s Court of
Appeals.
The Peebles Corporation, a
Black-owned real estate firm,
purchase a NYC office building
located at 346 Broadway, in
Tribeca, Manhattan for $160 million. According to R. Donahue
Peebles, it is the first time that
an African American owned company has acquired a major commercial property outside of
Harlem. Peeble plans to convert the 13-story 419,000 SF
building to a mixed used site to
include a 170-room boutique hotel and to residential condos.
Clem Richardson, 58, a NY
Daily News writer since 1993,
who kept the paper’s fingers on
the pulse of the city’s Black
population and the UPTOWN
section, was a pink slip casualty
as was writer Albor Ruiz, who
kept pace with Latino affairs. NY
Daily News is nation’s fifth most
widely read newspaper.
Bill Thompson
Floyd Flake
Judge Sheila Abdus Salaam
Naomi Campbell
Gladys Knight
GEMINI BIRTHDAYS: Sonia
Braja, Wayne Brady, Naomi
Campbell, Ice Cube, Keith David,
Morgan Freeman, Pam Grier, Naomi
Horsford, Gladys Knight, Patti
LaBelle, Bob Tate, Dr. Sandra Epps,
Nikki Giovanni, Ronald Grant,
Lauren Hill, LaToya Jackson,
,Karen Soltau, Mamadou Niang,
PRINCE, Lional Richie, Salmon
Rushdie, Zoe Saldona, Kai
Sidberry, Sandra Williams, Venus
Williams, Roslyn Woods, Simone
White,
Roslyn
Woods
Cabbagestalk.
Former NYS Governor David
Paterson keeps a few day jobs. He
did seminars at New York University, hosted a WOR-AM Radio
show and he consults to Touro
College of Medicine in Harlem.
RIP: Malcolm Shabazz, 28,
grandson of Betty Shabazz and
Malcolm X and the father of two
children, was killed on Thursday,
May 10 in Mexico City. The Black
Star News, an internet news service,
runs an interesting piece “Malcolm
Shabazz’s Suspicious Violent
Death: Some Questions for Miguel
Suarez, Too.” Mexican authorities
have arrested two men on 5/13 in
connection with the murder. Our
thoughts, love and prayers are
with the Shabazz family during the
bereavement and beyond. .
RIP: Jamaica-born Winifred
(Winnie) Dozier Davis, 78, died. A
Harlem real estate denizen, who
owned the luxe apartment building, the Dorrence Brooks, located
at 337 West 138 Street, on St. Nicholas and Edgecombe Avenues,
which she sold about 6 six year
ago. Dozier Davis is survived by
loving sisters and brothers, their
children and grandchildren.
SPRING/SUMMER EVENTS
The Galleries at the Interchurch
Center presents “ART OF THE 5:
Queens represents” a group show,
the second in a series of five annual exhibitions at the Interchurch
Center located at 475 Riverside
Drive at 120 Street, Harlem. The Art
Of The 5 exhibition showcases
works by professional and emerging fine artists, one borough at a
time. The series 2012 launch exhibited the works of Bronx artists.
There are twelve borough of
Queens artists, including Tania
Alvarez, Yanka Cantor, Indrajeet
Chandra Chud and Roy Steele, on
the 2013 exhibition calendar. Guest
curator Debra Vanderburg Spenser
says “That this is not a thematic
show is intentional as it encompasses each artists individual practice rather than looking for links
between them. The ART OF THE 5
opening reception will be held on
May 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Gallery hours are M-F, 9 am to 5 pm.
For more info, call 917.703.3196.
THREE ON 3 and the Mt. Morris Park Community Improvement
Association present jazz renaissance saxophonist Oliver Lake and
his Trio at the Mt. Morris
Ascencion Church, located at 15
Mt. Morris Park West at 122 Street,
Harlem, on Sunday May 19 at 3
pm…..
212.289.8096.
A management consultant,
Victoria Horsford is a NY based
writer and pop culture historian
who is reachable at:
vhorsford@aol.com
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
WHAT’S GOING ON
17
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
18
NNPA Award Winner
Enter tainment
By Don Thomas
At MIST in the Village of Harlem
Vaughn Harper’s ‘First Friday’s’ is an
AWESOME R&B/Jazzy-nite experience
Vaughn Harper and Walter Edwards
Living Legend and former
popular WBLS Radio “Quiet
Storm” air personality Vaughn
Harper kicked-off the month
of May by presenting “First
Friday’s” at the trendy MIST,
located on the lobby level of
the Luxury Kalaharari Apartments, 46W, 116 th Street in the
Village of Harlem.
The awesome opening night
experience and moving forward
is aimed at reviving the ballroom and entertainment atmosphere of the Harlem Renaissance.
“First Friday’s” will bring
back the atmosphere of the legendary Savoy Ballroom with a
universal entertainment lineup including R&B, Jazz, comedy, poetry and fashion shows.
On the first Friday of each
month the evening will present
a wide range of established
and community entertainment.
No longer will adult partyminded individuals have to go
to dinner at a restaurant, head
to another venue to watch a
concert, drive to a nightclub to
dance. Vaughn Harper presents “First Friday’s” brings it
all together, in one place.
“When I hosted the “Quiet
Storm” it was always about delivering a 360 degree music experience from R&B to Jazz all
the way up to today’s NeoSoul,” says Harper, who has the
penchant to embraces it all.
Since Harper’s retirement
from “The Quiet Storm” in 2009
at least 20-30 people everyday
has asked him to do something
that would be an extension of
the his radio program. Though
many projects have crossed his
desk, the “First Friday’s” at
MIST seemed like the best fit.
Providing Harper an opportunity to do something different each month with a smoothgroove R&B/Jazzy favored live
band specifically geared to the
40 and older crowd, Harper
along with Developer Walter J.
Edwards/CEO Full Spectrum NY
decided that “First Friday’s”
would attract a mature crowd
and judging from the opening
night fashionably attired crowd
that attended that is exactly
what’s happening.
There is nowhere else in
Manhattan to satisfy a night
out in one location like MIST.
It’s the only entertainment facility of its kind that includes a
restaurant, bar, movie theatre
and sound stage that converts
into a ballroom with the latest
technology.
The establishment accommodates 500 guests making it the
perfect setting to revive the entertainment era of the Harlem Renaissance. Guests can dine,
dance, be humored by a comedian all while being welcomed by
host Vaughn Harper. “First
Friday’s” comes complete with
an amazing DJ mixing the best
sounds of R&B, Jazz, Reggae,
Latin and Hip Hop.
“First Friday’s” allows
Harper to do what he does best.
Introduce new acts. On opening night newly signed recording artist Shaliek thrilled the
crowd with tracks from his soonto-be released CD titled The Past.
Music legends like the late
great Luther Vandross, to the
still popular R&B recorders
Regina Belle, Keith Sweat and
others have boast about sitting
with Vaughn Harper during his
WBLS radio years, when he interviewed and introduced their
songs to millions via the airways.
Now “First Friday’s” will redefine how adults are entertained.
Doors open at 8pm, showtime
begins promptly at 9pm.
Vaughn Harper and his lovely wife Sandra (center) are surrounded by well wishers M. Morton Hall, Bob Tate, Debi B. Jackson, Marita Monroe, Shaliek, guest, Joyce Harding,
Ruben Rodriguez, LaVerne Perry, Marc Dorsey and Robin Downs at the opening night of “First Friday’s” at the MIST in the Village of Harlem.
(Photos: Ronnie Wright)
By Audrey J. Bernard
Lifestyles & Society Editor
Byron E. Lewis, Sr., chairman
emeritus and founder of
UniWorld Group, Inc. (UWG), the
longest-standing full-service
multicultural advertising and
communications agency in the
U.S., was honored Tuesday, April
30, 2013, at 7pm at The
Schomburg Center, 515 Malcolm
X Boulevard, Harlem, New York.
Entitled “A Tribute to Byron
E. Lewis, Sr. — Celebrating an
Industry Icon,” the event featured a host of industry, community and political leaders who
gathered to pay tribute to a revered industry giant who
changed the course of advertising. “A Tribute to Byron E.
Lewis, Sr.” took place on the
evening following his induction
into the 64th Advertising Hall of
Fame — the advertising
industry’s most distinguished
honor. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies & gala dinner
was held in the Grand Ballroom
of New York’s historic Waldorf
Astoria hotel.
“UniWorld Group treasures
the legacy built by our founder,
and we are overjoyed to pause
and honor him for his contributions to the industry and to the
community,” said Monique L.
Nelson, chairman and CEO,
UniWorld Group. “Byron’s induction into the Advertising Hall
of Fame, complemented by this
tribute, indicates not only how
he has changed advertising, but
how he has influenced the way
businesses see people of color.”
Known as one of the “founding fathers of multicultural advertising and marketing” in the
United States, Lewis built a company out of necessity and ended
up changing an entire industry
in the process. The evening will
include a roast as well as a video
tribute to the advertising pioneer.
The distinguished co-chairs
for the evening included Tom
Joyner, Richard D. Parsons, Robert Townsend and Monique L.
Nelson. The host committee
members included Len Burnett,
Jeff Friday, Don Jackson, Linda
Johnson Rice, Earvin “Magic”
Johnson, Debra Lee, Ed Lewis,
Voza Rivers and Alfred Liggins.
George Fraser was the evening’s
host.
“A Tribute to Byron E. Lewis,
Sr.” served as a fundraiser benefit for the Long Island University Byron Lewis Entrepreneurial Institute.
Lewis founded UWG in 1969
at a time when minorities were not
represented in a positive manner
in mainstream media. Nor were
minorities employed in major Fortune 500 companies or Madison
Avenue advertising agencies.
Centuries of negative and stereotypical portrayals of minorities
severely damaged minority and
mainstream audiences alike. During the late 1960s and ’70s, the
federal government initiated a
series of Affirmative Action mandates for major corporations and
communications companies to
hire minorities to help offset
Rev. Al Sharpton, Byron & Sylvia Lewis being entertained by host George
Byron at podium
Fraser
these negative social conditions. Kodak, AT&T, Burger King, airs in 100 markets; Sounds of the
Lewis was able to take advantage Colgate-Palmolive, Pepsi-Cola City, a nationally syndicated raof these mandates and launch and The Home Depot, to name a dio program created for Quaker
UWG.
few. Lewis retired as UWG’s Oats; and the highly successful
Headquartered in Brooklyn, chairman emeritus in May 2012 American Black Film Festival.
UWG has satellite offices in At- when Monique L. Nelson became
Founded in 1969 by Byron
lanta, Georgia, and Dearborn, the new chairman and CEO.
Lewis, UniWorld Group, Inc., is
Michigan. Throughout the years,
Lewis is also known for creat- the longest-standing full-service
the agency has created award-win- ing successful media properties, multicultural marketing agency in
ning and pivotal campaigns for including the nationally syndi- the United States. The agency
such clients as the Ford Motor Com- cated television news program continues to be a trendsetter,
pany, U.S. Marine Corps, Eastman America’s Black Forum, which poised to connect forward-think-
Byron Lewis, Debra Lee
George Graser, Byron Lewis, Monique Nelson
Monique Nelson, chairman &
CEO, UniWorld Group makes remarks before introducing the
evening's honoree
ing brands to the $2 trillion spending power of multicultural consumers while pushing the envelope with
innovative ideas and fresh solutions for the general market as well.
UniWorld Group also has a strategic alliance with WPP, one of the
world’s largest communications services groups. For more information
on UniWorld Group, Inc., visit
www.uniworldgroup.com. (Photos
by Terrance Jennings)
Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Byron Lewis, Hon. David N. Dinkins
Richard Parsons, Jeff Friday, Byron Lewis
19
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
Advertising Industry pays moving
tribute to Byron Lewis at Schomburg
Review
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
20
‘Benefits’ is a intriguing one-act drama
Yusef Salaam
Contributing Scribe
The Harlem-based
H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players in association with Voza Rivers/ New Heritage Theatre Group are offering
an intriguing one-act drama,
“Benefits”, by Martha J. Thomas.
Astutely directed by Ward Nixon
and playing at the Harlem School
of the Arts, the drama presents
an incisive perception of the
troubles middle-age workers and
senior citizens encounter when
working for years without retirement benefits.
The play focuses on divorced
Alma Fields, 40 years old. She
recognizes that she’s been laboring at a pharmaceutical company
The cast of “Benefits” (photo: Seitu Oronde)
for decades without a retirement
plan; quite unlike her mother who
lives very comfortably off her deceased husband’s (Alma’s dad)
social security and retirement benefits.
Never mind, Alma, played by
Valarie Tekosky, has a plan. She’ll
ask her longtime lover to marry her
and secure benefits by way of his
job. After all, he has asked her to
marry him twice. Tekosky brings
humor and passion to her role
whether it’s confronting her man
Award Winning
Take 6 celebrates amazing 25
Takes 6 greets Debi B. Jackson (her mother) Bernice White,
Sandra “Sam” Harper (her mother) Allice Ross at Blue Note media luncheon, celebrating the group’s 25 th anniversary
(Photo: Ronnie Wright)
By Don Thomas
Switzerland, France, Japan, Australia, Norway, eastern Europe
The most awarded a and South America.
cappella vocal group in hisDuring the special Blue Note
tory, Take 6, are celebrating media meet and greet luncheon,
their 25th Anniversary. The the gents treated the audience
multi-platinum recording by belting out a few tracks from
group, made up of Claude their Take 6 Special 25th AnniverMcKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel sary Moments CD, including
Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin “One,” and “Family Of God/
Chea and Khristian Dentley, Love.” The gents also delivered
have thus far earned 10 an awesome a cappella rendition
Grammy Awards with 24 nomi- of “Spread Love,” which was renations, 10 Dove Awards, a quested by Ronnie “The PhotogSoul Train Award, 2 NAACP rapher to the Stars” Wright, who
let it be known that he is a direImage Awards, and more.
The gents kicked off their hard Take 6 loyal fan.
The gents also announced
25 years of performing at the
legendary Blue Note supper they are currently working on a
club in the tony West Village new collaboration with megastar
of Manhattan, thrilling sold- Stevie Wonder on his millionout audiences from May 7-12. sellers “My Sheri-Amore” and “I
This was the beginning of the Just Call To Say I Love You.”
American leg of a year-long They will also perform on an upworld tour that takes them to coming PBS- Great Performances
Germany, England, Sweden, 40th Anniversary Special in Fall
2013 and will be featured in
Voice Of American documentary. The 1 st Annual Take 6 A
Cappella Competition will be
held February 15-16, 2014 at the
University of Florida Performing Arts in Gainesville, Florida
With recognition in musical
genres from Gospel, Jazz and
R&B to Pop, the sextet is recognized as the pre-eminent a
capella group in the world, and
have earned praise from such
luminaries as Stevie Wonder,
Brian Wilson, and Quincy
Jones, who calls them the
“baddest vocal cats on the
planet!.”
A group that knows no musical bounds, Take 6 has come
a long way from their days at
Huntsville,
Alabama’s
Oakwood College where
McKnight formed the group as
The Gentleman’s Estate Quartet in 1980. When they signed
their first record deal eight
years later, with Reprise
Records/Warner Bros., they
became Take 6.
Their self-titled debut CD
won over jazz and pop critics
and the public alike, scored two
1988 Grammy Awards, landed in
the Top 10 Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary
Christian Charts, and they’ve
never slowed down. Their 15
subsequent albums received
the same warm reception and
sales success.
The members of Take 6 are
not only men whose tenets include faith, friendship, respect,
and love of music, they put
their support and energy behind their beliefs. The gents
are advocates for music education, supporting the efforts
of the National Association of
Music Merchants (NAMM)
and others on that mission.
friend, Rudy Townsend, who’s
shaky about her marriage proposal,
checking her sassy and “hot behind” teenage daughter, Ebony
(Chaunice Chapman), or teasing
her mother, Cookie Winborn.
Albert Eggleston effectively
communicates Rudy as well-meaning man who loves Alma, but marriage phobia blocks him from walking up the big “I do” aisle again
after a bitter first marriage that has
left him scarred. Colette Bryce features Delores, a successful, single
career (no children) woman and
Alma’s friend. Bryce capably chisels Delores as adventurous, independent, and cursed with a Mother
Teresa personality that leaves her
open to be used by men.
Chapman skillfully spreads
Ebony with various colors from silly
to mature, disciplined and impulsive regarding the call of her sexual
inclinations. The guy that Ebony
sticks with like a stamp to a letter is
an aspiring rapper, Akeem, a first-
class performance by Donnell E.
Smith.
Cookie Winborn’s image of Inez
Browne is comically brazen, has an
assured self-esteem, and is nosey.
She commits the maximum of her creativity to her Inez character, and in
doing so, illuminates the stage.
Kimberlee Monroe is Vera Flood, a
humble soul, who can barely sustain herself off of her social security
benefits.
Monroe robes her character in
clothes of a seemingly simple mind,
one who’s willing to go along to get
along, but Inez concocts a scheme
to get a fellow church member’s retirement benefits, that exposes a
surprising side of Vera.
The technical crew should take a
bow for their roles in making “Benefits” a success. Ward Nixon, set
design; Fulton Hodges, stage manager, Katherine Roberson, costumes
that matched the characters’ personalities; Derrick Minter, sound and
light design.
21
Matilda The Musical – Broadway’s latest
tour de force — receives 12 Tony Nods
Matilda The Musical at Sam
S. Shubert Theatre Marquee
Matilda The Musical, directed by Matthew Warchus,
with a book by Dennis Kelly and
music and lyrics by Tim Minchin
opened on Thursday, April 11,
2013 at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th Street, NYC
followed by a swinging soiree at
the Marriott Marquis in Times
Square. The play which is produced
by
The
Royal
Shakespeare Company and the
Dodgers received 12 Tony
Award nominations! The play is
already a box office hit and the
producers are doing a slow calypso dance to the bank. Like
Harry Belafonte sings, “Matilda,
she takes me money and run
Venezuela.”
The dark musical is like a female version of Harry Potter filled
with wonderment, wit, a hapless
start but an auspicious ending.
The production stars four young
starlets who share the title role:
Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly
Shapiro. The other principal
players who hold their own are
Karen Aldridge, Bertie Carvel,
Gabriel Ebert, Lesli Margherita, and Lauren Ward. Special mention to Aldridge who
teaches Matilda the importance
of books. Her poignant role as a
Caribbean-flavored local librarian leaves a lasting impression.
Also, Carvel is deserving of every accolade he’s the recipient
of. He’s awesome!
Matilda The Musical is the
story of an extraordinary 5-year
old genius who dreams of a better life. Unfortunately, she’s living in a live nightmare staring
two lame idiotic parents and
brother who drop her off at a
school where she’s terrorized by
an abusive headmistress who
calls the kids “maggots” and
believes that only harsh punishment can teach a child. Armed
with a vivid imagination and a
sharp mind, Matilda dares to take
a stand and change her destiny.
Good triumphs over evil as
Matilda uses magical powers she
did not know she had to end her
bad dream.
The child-friendly favorite is
setting Broadway on fire —
stealing the hearts of young
theatergoers and their parents
who start the excitement from
outside the theatre as they line
up on long lines that snakes
around the corner making it hard
for other theatergoers to get into
neighboring plays. However,
once inside the theater, the hype
is contagious – just like the cast.
Based on the Roald Dahl
children’s classic, Matilda The
Musical picked up 12 Tony
Award nominations including:
Best Musical, Best Actor (Bertie
Carvel), Best Featured Actor
(Gabriel Ebert), Best Featured
Actress (Lauren Ward), Best Di-
Cast of Matilda The Musical
Opening Night Curtain Call of Cast with Matthew Warchus, Dennis Kelly, Tim Minchin
Ryan Steele, Ben Thompson, Tamika Sonja
Lawrence, Colin Israel, Betsy Struxness, John
Arthur Greene, Thayne Jasperson
Gabriel Ebert, Karen Aldridge
Tim Minchin, Rob Howell, Chris Nightingale, Hugh
Vanstone, Dennis Kelly
Karen Aldridge
Matilda young ensemble cast
Lauren Ward, Matthew Warchus
rector (Matthew Warchus), Best
Choreography (Peter Darling),
Best Book (Dennis Kelly), Best
Score (Tim Minchin), Best Orchestrations (Chris Nightingale),
Best Set Design (Rob Howell),
Best Costume Design (Rob
Howell), and Best Lighting Design (Hugh Vanstone). Also,
Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence,
Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro
Oona Laurence, Milly Shapiro, Bailey Ryon, Sophia Gennusa
will receive Tony Honors for Ex- sign, Rob Howell; Theatre
cellence in the Theatre for their World Awards for Best Debut
performances as “Matilda” in Performance, Bertie Carvel; and
Matilda The Musical.
Broadway.com Audience Choice
In addition, Matilda The Mu- Awards for Favorite Breaksical has already won the New through Performance, Bertie
York Drama Critics’ Circle Carvel, and Favorite Song,
Awards for Best Musical; Outer “When I Grow Up,” Music and
Critics Circle Awards for Out- Lyrics by Tim Minchin. The
standing Book of a Musical, Den- Musical is also up for several
nis Kelly; Outstanding Set De- Drama Desk Awards and Drama
Lesli Margherita
League Awards.
Matilda The Musical boasts
sets and costumes by Rob Howell,
with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional
music and musical supervision by
Christopher Nightingale, lighting
by Hugh Vanstone, and sound by
Simon Baker.
(Photo Credit: Walter McBride
for broadwayworld.com)
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
THEATER TALK
On Broadway
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
22
Our precious trip to Bountiful!
By Ernece B. Kelly
Drama Critic
Early in the first act of the
current revival of Horton
Foote’s sentimental drama,
“The Trip to Bountiful”,
(Vanessa Williams) as Jessie
Mae Watts barks at her motherin-law, Mrs. Carrie Watts (Cicely Tyson), “You’re gonna go
too far with me, old lady.”
That contentious relationship is one source of tension
throughout the two-act play,
along with other questions—
Will Mrs. Watt’s die suddenly?
Will she ever make her longedfor trip to Bountiful? Will her
son, Ludie (Cuba Gooding Jr.)
lose his job?
This trio lives in Jessie
Mae’s house in Houston, a city
Mrs. Watts is not comfortable
in, wanting instead to return to
rural Bountiful where she raised
Ludie in her father’s house.
These comforting memories are
resisted by her weak son who
repeats his wife’s mantra, “It
does no good to remember.”
Feeling her stre-ngth and dignity draining away from the
twin assaults of city life and
Jessie Mae’s harshness, her
l o n g i n g g r o w s u n t i l s h e ’s
driven to a desperate act.
Jeff Cowie’s handsome sets
are arranged so that audiences
can view multiple places and
one scene featuring a cut-out
of the bus interior suspended
in a massive black sky dotted
with stars is stunning. John
Gromada’s sound design with
its spare, incidental music,
makes judicious use of the
house band.
Other than the small but
memorable role of the white sheriff (Tom Wopat), the central
roles are played by AfricanAmericans. This makes two
scenes especially poignant. The
first is that beautiful one which
opens the play. Mrs. Watts sits
in a rocking chair quietly talking
with Ludie who sits at her elbow.
Rarely are audiences treated to
such a lovely domestic sight.
The other one, rivaling the
first—in its expression of Black
love and solidarity—introduces
veteran actor (Arthur French) in
the role of Roy, as a bus station
attendant,
and
includes
(Condola Rashad) in the role of
Thelma, a bus passenger.
The two take the older woman
under their wing as she discovers she’s at a way station, without money and with only a hairbrain scheme for getting to
Bountiful.
Although “The Trip to Bountiful” is set in 1953, it doesn’t
tackle the rampant racial segregation head-on. Instead it subtly hints at it. There are signs
for “Colored” and “White” in the
bus terminal, and the Blacks in
the waiting room are dressed as
if going to church with one
woman even wearing white
gloves.
In this manner, director
Michael Wilson shows sensitivity in re-conceiving the original
1953 teleplay which starred
Lillian Gish. (More recently,
Geraldine Page won an Oscar for
portraying Mrs. Watts in 1987.
Although primarily a serious
portrait of a strong and determined elderly woman, “The
Trip…” is liberally sprinkled
with humorous scenes such as
the hiding and search for Carrie
Actor Dule Hill who co-starred with Actress Condola Rashad in “Stick Fly” paid her a visit backstage
after her outstanding performance in Tony Award nominated “The Trip To Bountiful.” Rashad also
received nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play
(Photo: Duvet)
Watts’ pension check. (Cicely
Tyson holds her own as a comic
actor—stomping through the
house and singing morning
hymns, deliciously provoking
her daughter-in-law.)
But the drama has weaknesses. The casting of an
arrestingly beautiful Vanessa
Williams as a middle-class
Southern woman hooked on
Coca Cola’s is never convincing, and the final scenes in
Bountiful drag as awkward dialogue substitutes for action and
tension.
But with its fine overall acting, brisk direction and attractive sets, “The Trip to Bountiful” adds up to a rich, and sat-
Off-Broadway
A provocative Broken Fences
By Ernece B. Kelly
The poetic, well-acted play,
“Broken Fences” is sadly marooned on the 12 th floor of a
small theatre complex in the
West 50’s. It deserves to be
on Broadway and seen by
larger audiences.
With its small ensemble
cast, it takes on the big and
thorny question of what happens in single-race neighborhoods—in this case the historically African-American,
Garfield Park in Chicago—
when a white family moves in.
In “Broken Fences” the
taxes rise astronomically, the
police grow hostile toward old
residents and protective of the
white ones, and suspicions
grow on both sides of the literal fence separating the home
of white newcomers, April
(Krissy Shields) and her husband Czar (Brian J. Carter),
from the backyard of the Black
couple D (Erika Rose) and her
fiancé Hoody (Clinton Lowe)
who trace their home ownership
back two generations. Others
in the cast are Marz (Emilio
Aquino), Esto (Benjamin
Foronda), Spence (Scott Aiello)
and Barb (Lori Funk).
Lorraine Hansberry’s, “Raisin in the Sun” was the first
modern drama to look at the relationship between Blacks and
property. And in the 2012-2013
season alone, Manhattan audiences have experienced two
others on the subject:
“The Luck of the Irish”—
here a white couple acts as
ghost buyers for a Black
couple—and “Clybourne Park”
which re-visited the Hansberry
neighborhood two generations
later when whites want to move
back in.
Unlike those three dramas,
“Broken Fences” delves into
the psyches of the four main
characters, giving them gener-
ous monologues for lyrically
describing their lives. Unique
also, is the play’s frankness
about the Black community’s
hostility toward whites—expressed in (harmless) graffiti
and (potentially dangerous)
vandalism.
Director Alex Levy deftly
handles the eight-person cast
on this tiny stage surrounded
on three sides by audience
members, and Kathryn Kawecki’s spare set consisting of
little more than packing boxes
and lawn chairs—created by
set fabricator Lucas Lasky— is
cleverly augmented by chalk
lines on the stage floor showing Chicago streets and parks.
Big of heart, ambitious in
its sociological reach, and
consistently dramatic, “Broken
Fences” is worth the elevator
ride up to the 12 th floor! “Broken Fences” is at Theatre 54,
244 W. 54 th Street, NYC thru
May 19 th.
isfying theatrical experience.
“The Trip to Bountiful” is at
the Stephen Sondheim Theatre
in Manhattan’s Theatre District, closing July 1st. [EDITOR’S
NOTE: Congratulations to
“The Trip To Bountiful” cast
members Cicely Tyson and
Condola Rashad for their Tony
Award nominations. Ms. Tyson
as Best Actress in a Play. Ms.
Rashad as Best Featured Actress
in a Play. The production also
received Best Revival of a Play
and John Gromada received a
nomination for Best Sound Design of a Play. Don Thomas/entertainment editor]
Strindberg’s witty
Island prison
By Ernece B. Kelly
Despite its depressing title,
the play “The Dance of Death”
brims with wit and humor. Yes,
there’s plenty of talk of dying
and the pointlessness of life
(“Winter in our hearts”, one
character says.), but even the
performance of that dance of
death is more charming than
ominous.
Playwright August Strindberg, famous for breathing
psychological insights into
late 19 th /early 20 th century
drama, cleverly shows here
how light and dark co-exist.
Having sent their children
away, the handsome but monstrous couple, at the play’s
center, Edgar (Daniel Davis)
and his wife Alice (Laila Robins) are left alone—even the
last servant is running away—
to express their misery with
each other and life in general
by hurling insults, sarcasm and
threats at one another.
Edgar’s take-command behavior—influenced by his military training and his conviction
that people are “scum”—
keeps the townspeople at arm’s
length. And the setting, an island, keeps the couple apart
from the mainland. “The atmo-
sphere is poisonous,” Alice’s
cousin Gustav (Derek Smith)
says of their home.
And even Alice refers to herself as having a “poisonous pallor” which vividly contrasts with
the warmly hued oil portrait of
her dominating the sparsely furnished living room, making up
the single set.
Old wounds are rehashed—
Alice reminds him that she gave
up an acting career for marriage,
and Edgar complains of her constant need for money. “Women,
they bleed us white” he tells
G u s t a v, e v e n r e s e n t i n g h i s
young daughter ’s request for
funds.
Mike Poulton’s directing is
brisk, and Brandon Wolcott’s
sound design with its occasional
teletype tapping and wind unexpectedly swooping through the
parlor doors, adds dramatic interest.
But foremost is the superb
acting of the husband and wife
who also dominate with their
magnetic physical presence. In
the less showy role of Gustav—
their pawn—Derek Smith also
gets to show his considerable
acting chops. “The Dance of
Death” played at the Lucille
Lortel Theatre in the West Village thru May 4 th.
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LEGAL NOTICES
SUPREME COURT OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK-COUNTY
OF NEW YORK
Index No. 301411/13 — Date Summons Filed: 2/5/13 – SUMMONS
WITH NOTICEPlaintiff designates New York
County as the place of trial – Basis
of venue is Plaintiff’s residence –
Monique Soto, Plaintiff, -againstArinson Alexi Soto, Defendant.ACTION FOR DIVORCE- To the
above named Defendant: YOU ARE
HEREBY SUMMONED to serve a
notice of appearance on the
Plaintiff’s Attorneys within twenty
(20) days after the service of this
summons, exclusive of the day of
service (or within thirty (30) days
after the service is complete if this
summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New
York); and in case of your failure to
appear, judgment will be taken
against you by default for the relief
demanded in the notice set forth
below. Dated: January 18, 2013, Leta
Liou, Esq., The Law Firm of Liou &
Maisonet, PLLC, Attorneys for
Plaintiff, 124 Nassau Street, Suite 2,
New York, New York 10038, (646)
587-0188. NOTICE: The nature of
this action is to dissolve the marriage between the parties, on the
grounds: DRL Section 170 subd. (2)
- the abandonment of the Plaintiff
by the Defendant for a period of
more than one year. The relief
sought is a judgment of absolute
divorce in favor of the Plaintiff dissolving the marriage between the
parties in this action. The nature of
any ancillary or additional relief demanded is: That the Plaintiff shall
have sole custody of the child of
the marriage, Xiomara L. Soto, born
on July 7, 2006; That the Defendant
shall have reasonable rights of visitation with the child; That the Family Court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Court
with respect to any future issues of
maintenance, child support, custody and visitation; That the Defendant shall pay to the Plaintiff $163.00
per week for child support; That the
Plaintiff shall provide health insurance benefits to the child until the
age of 21 years; That the Court issue an appropriate Qualified Medical Child Support Order; That the
Plaintiff may resume use of her prior
surname, Rivera; That the Court
grant such other and further relief
as the Court may deem just and
proper; The parties have divided up
the marital property, and no claim
will be made by either party under
equitable distribution. NOTICE OF
AUTOMATIC ORDERS. Pursuant
to domestic relations law section 236
part b, sec. 2, the parties are bound
by certain automatic orders which
shall remain in full force and effect
during the pendencey of the action.
For further details you should contact the clerk of the matrimonial part,
Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street,
New York, NY 10007 Tel (646) 3863010. DRL 255 Notice. Please be advise that once the judgment of divorce is signed in this action, both
parties must be aware that he or she
will no longer be covered by the
other party’s health insurance plan
and that each party shall be responsible for his or her own health insurance coverage, and may be entitled
to purchase health insurance on his
or her own through a COBRA option, if available.
BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
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BEACON, May 16, 2013 - May 22, 2013 newyorkbeacon.net
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BEACON
Marc Rasbury
SPORTS
It’s man in the mirror time
By Marc Rasbury
As the Knicks head
into game 4, they are
backed in a corner not
only due to the fact that
they find themselves
down 2 games to one.
But they find themselves in the midst of a
little internal controversy brewing within
the locker room.
Shortly after Game 3,
82-71, defeat at the
hands of Indiana Pacers, Tyson Chandler indicated that the reason
why the Knicks lost
was because on offense the team was not
moving the ball and
they were depending
on too many isolation
plays. It was obvious
that he was directing his
comments towards
Carmelo Anthony and
perhaps JR Smith. The
sad thing is that he had
a point. I have said it all
along and as well as my
fellow colleagues in the
media and the fans
alike. But the timing has
me and many others
scratching our collective heads.
You cant play as
poorly as Chandler
played on Saturday
and then come out
pointing the blame at
others. Roy Hibbert
abused the Knicks’ center to the tune of 24
points and 12 rebounds. Hibbert looked
like Akeem “The
Dream” out there.
Hibbert has worked on
his game and has improved dramatically
since joining the league
but come on now.
If the Knicks are going to
advance to the Conference
Finals, Chandler is going to
have to do a better job on
Hibbert. Chandler must resemble the Defensive
Player of Year that they
signed last year. You are not
going to shut down Hibbert
completely but he cannot
have the success he experienced in Game 3. And that
means, Mr. Chandler you
must look in the mirror and
do your job, which means
holding down the fort. Anthony has his job and you
have your job. Do your job
especially before you start
looking elsewhere.
However, speaking of
Anthony he has to do his
job as well. 21 points on 16
shots is not going to cut it.
You are one of the more
gifted scorers of this generation. You were brought
here for moments like this
and this is what you
wanted. Now it is time for
you to stand and deliver. I
know that your teammates
are not showing up as well.
JR Smith cant buy a basket.
Steve Novak has been a
non factor. Jason Kidd has
not scored at all in this series. But Melo you are the
prolific scorer and you
must act like your childhood idol, Bernard King
and put this team on your
back and carry them to the
Conference Finals.
This is not the time to
point fingers. This is the
time for this team to come
together and everybody do
their job. Melo must score
and Chandler must defend.
Hopefully, the rest of the
team will relocate their jump
shots. It is time for everybody on this roster to look
at the man in the mirror.
Tyson Chandler
Matt Harvey soars
while Mets bats fizzle
By Derrel “Jazz” Johnson
Matt Harvey
With well over 120 games left
in the 2013 Major League Baseball season for the New York
Mets, it is clear that the biggest
bright spot for the franchise and
their Flushing faithful is secondyear pitcher Matt Harvey. With a
sparkling 1.44 ERA in eight starts
this season, Harvey is 4-0, and
the Mets are 6-2 in games he has
started. That means that the 1421 Mets are only 8-15 that Harvey
doesn’t start.
With an ERA below one and a
half runs per game and four no
decisions in eight starts, it is clear
that the Mets are not providing
Harvey, or any starter for that matter, adequate run support. Harvey
has pitched well enough to have
six or seven wins, but the offensively
challenged Mets make it necessary
for Harvey to pitch that well to
avoid a loss.
This will be a season of many
growing pains for the New York
Mets, who were picked universally
by baseball pundits to be among
baseball’s worst.
In Matt Harvey, Mets fans get to
see a glimmer of their bright future.