Florida Sentinel Bulletin

ATLANTA – A young, idealistic and dedicated professor, at Emory University has launched a nationwide grassroots campaign to empower African-American men.

Dr. Gregory Ellison, 36, an assistant professor in the theology faculty, kicked off the initiative on Saturday in Emory’s Center for Ethics. The program, titled Fearless Dialogues, included live music, spoken word poetry, and Dr. Ellison reading extracts from his new book to a packed audience. The event, which was free and open to the public, brought together a team of experts from parents, ministers, educators, counselors, elected officials and community activists.

“There is nothing like this that supports this type of conversation with thought leaders in the community,” says scholar and first-time author Dr. Ellison. As part of the program, participants were divided into smaller groups to grapple with pressing issues facing Black American youth.

The main focus for their conversations was excerpts from Dr. Ellison’s Cut Dead but Still Alive: Caring for African American Young Men. The book chronicles the real life stories of six young African-American men Ellison encountered working as a counselor. He charts their development from a sense of feeling invisible to gaining understanding about themselves and the world around them.

“The crux of my work is serving those who are invisible and giving a voice to the muted,” he says.

After Rachel Jeantel‘s primetime appearance as a witness in the killing of her friend, Trayvon Martin, the 19-year-old says the experience has inspired her to pursue a law career.

Jeantel spoke exclusively to The Rickey Smiley Morning Show last week when she spoke about how the George Zimmerman trial affected her. She said the not guilty verdict truly surprised her.

“And after the verdict justice did not serve,” Jeantel said. “Um, I worked so hard and so focused to this case and this happened and I was upset, so. It’s what it is. So I got to still keep fighting for justice for Trayvon.”

She also said Trayvon was nothing like the young thug many in the conservative media made him out to be. “He was a family guy,” Jeantel said. “A family guy. Smiley told Jeantel that he would pay for her books during her first semester of college.

“We don’t have Tom Joyner money, but we’ll get them books for you though,” he said. She has not finished high school yet, but plans on earning her diploma eventually.

WASHINGTON — In unscheduled and unusually personal remarks, President Barack Obama tried Friday to explain why African-Americans were upset about last week’s acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin while lowering expectations for federal charges in the case.

“Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” Pres. Obama told White House reporters in a surprise appearance at the daily briefing. His remarks, which lasted about 20 minutes, escalated a nationwide debate on the verdict that has prompted protests, including some that turned violent.

A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman last Saturday in Martin’s February 26, 2012, shooting death, inciting anger among many who considered the incident racially motivated murder. Pres. Obama issued a written statement on Sunday, noting that the jury had spoken and urging calm and reflection. Despite some calls for him to speak about the case, the nation’s first African-American president had made no further public comment until Friday.

DETROIT – Amid loud chants of “No Justice, No Peace,” thousands of protesters gathered outside of Detroit’s federal building on Saturday to demand the U.S. Justice Department bring federal hate crime charges against George Zimmerman.

The rally, organized by the National Action Network and led by many of the city’s religious leaders, was one of 100 to take place across the country. “This movement for Trayvon Martin – for justice for Trayvon – has brought in a lot of first-time activists,” said Rev. Charles Williams, III, the head of the National Action Network’s Detroit chapter.

Williams, who said during the rally that the state of Florida failed to get justice for Martin, said that the verdict was bigger than Trayvon Martin’s death. “It’s also about voting rights and affirmative action and women’s rights and so many other things that has caused people to say that they’re ready to stand up and fight and be willing to speak up,” Williams added.

Like the rallies in other cities such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and Philadelphia, the rally attracted a racially and culturally diverse crowd. Martin, along with Marissa Alexander, was held up as an example of the Stand Your Ground laws being a mockery of justice.

HOUSTON – A 31-year-old man was charged Saturday in connection with the discovery of four malnourished men being held against their will in a dungeon-like Houston home.

Walter Renard Jones faces two counts of injury to the elderly.

He is being held without bond in the Harris County Jail and set to appear in court Monday. Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi Silva said it’s possible additional charges will be filed as the investigation continues. The exact charges are decided by the district attorney’s office.

Police said Friday that the men told investigators they were forced to live in the garage — which had one chair, no bed and a possibly malfunctioning air conditioner — so their captor could cash their public assistance checks.

“We’re still in the beginning in the investigation,” Silva said. “We still need to determine things like where the money was going.”

Staunch Black Conservative Republican, Allen West, has been outspoken for years on the subject of social services, and the need for them to be eradicated.

He has also been outspoken about food stamp aid, and once again, he’s gone on the attack. West, who represented a Florida district for one term, sent a tweet recently that once again raised a theme used by Mitt Romney and others during the 2012 Presidential campaign that there are makers and takers in America. West tweeted, “More Americans receive food aid than work in the private sector.”

The tweet was linked to an article in the conservative website CNSNEWS that provided data to support his claim. The article cited a report by the Inspector General of the Agriculture Department, who operates most federal food assistance programs, as well as employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The IG report said that a total of 101 million people currently participate in at least one of its programs. The article compared that figure to data showing there were 97,180,000 full-time private-sector workers in 2012. However, there is a problem with this comparison, and how West framed it.

According to BLS, 113.6 million Americans had a private-sector job during April 2013. That’s more than the 101 million figure for food assistance. As far as the food assistance number, it’s probably lower than the 101 million West cited. That’s because an individual who qualifies for one program may also qualify for another. It would be different if at least some fraction of children qualifying for a free or reduced school breakfast wouldn’t also qualify for a free or reduced school lunch, and if some of these same children didn’t also qualify for food stamps at home. West said studying overlap was actually the whole purpose of the inspector general’s report. It concluded that the potential for overlap and duplication does exist among the department’s nutrition programs.

It should be noted that participation in all of these categories is counted separate, and no steps were taken to avoid double or triple counting people who receive more than one type of food assistance when the 101 million figure was calculated. It was also pointed out that the point West was trying to make isn’t especially enlightening.

This week, the NAACP is holding its Annual NationalConvention in Orlando. As of Tuesday morning, one million people had signed an NAACP petition asking the Department of Justice to pursue federal and civil rights charges against George Zimmerman after he was founded not guilty in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Benjamin Jealous, National President and CEO of the NAACP said, “I knew I was not alone in my outrage, anger, and heartbreak over this decision. When a teenager’s life is taken, and there is no accountability for the man who killed him, nothing seems right in the world. But we cannot let these emotions rule us.

“The first step is clear: we must make sure that George Zimmerman is held accountable for his actions. He further said that the trial judge’s decision to discount debate about race or racial profiling in the courtroom leaves open questions about Zimmerman’s motivation and intent.

The Department of Justice has the power to investigate whether Zimmerman’s actions constitute a hate crime under federal law. The Department has closely monitored the case since March, and only put their investigation on hold to respect the state’s trial. Anyone wishing to sign the NAACP’s petition can visit the website at www.naacp.org.

Holder Address Convention

Eric H. Holder, Jr.

U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. was among those who addressed the convention. Attorney General Holder said, “Even as this convention proceeds, we are all mindful of the tragic and unnecessary shooting death of Trayvon Martin last year in Sanford, just a short distance from here, and the state trial that reached its conclusion last Saturday evening.

“I’d like to join President (Barack) Obama in urging all Americans to recognize that – as he said – we are a nation of laws, and the jury has spoken. I know the NAACP and its members are deeply, and rightly, concerned about this case – as passionate civil rights leaders, as engaged citizens, and – most of all – as parents.

“This afternoon, I want to assure you of two things:  I am concerned about this case and as we confirmed last spring, the Justice Department has an open investigation into it.

As killer Michael Dunn, 45, prepares to face 1st-degree murder charges in September for the November 23, 2012 slaying of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, in an exclusive interview with Jet Magazine, the teen’s parents, Ron Davis and Lucia McBath, share the difficulties in keeping their son’s story alive and how they’ve bonded with Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin.

Davis was gunned down by Dunn at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida. Dunn claims that he felt threatened by the teen — who was sitting inside of an SUV with friends — and loud music coming from the vehicle, so he shot inside of it 8 or 9 times before driving away leaving Davis to die in a friend’s arms. None of the teens had weapons.

The fact that Dunn was carrying a legal concealed weapon, and is counting on Florida’s controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law to justify his actions, has drawn attention to the racial implications of the law in a state where Black manhood is consistently criminalized.

Late Saturday evening, George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The issue of self-defense played a central role in Zimmerman’s not guilty plea and his defense’s argument against the second-degree murder charges, and his acquittal is drawing comparisons in the media to the verdict of another high-profile Florida shooting incident: the case of Marissa Alexander.

Alexander, an African-American Florida woman, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 for shooting what she described as warning shots into a wall during a confrontation with her husband. Alexander’s lawyers claimed self-defense in the case, and said her husband had a history of abuse in their relationship. They invoked Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which gives people the right to use lethal force if they feel their life is threatened.

The jury ultimately sided with prosecutors in deciding Alexander’s actions were not in self-defense. Her sentencing fell under the guidelines of what’s known in Florida as the “10-20-Life” law, which set certain mandatory minimum sentences for crimes committed with a firearm.