MINORITYREPORTER

from information to understanding

vol. 6 no. 14

1 11 - 17 2013 www. march 11 -17 | 2013 march www.minorityreporter.net |minorityreporter.net

What Does

Rochester Museum of Science asks

Mean to You?

also inside...

RCSD Receives

competitive education grant pg 6

2 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

In This Issue:

CALENDAR

MINORITYREPORTER
from information to understanding

vol. 6 no. 14

1 11 - 17 2013 www. march 11 -17 | 2013 march www.minorityreporter.net |minorityreporter.net

What Does

Rochester Museum of Science asks

march
Location: Reformation Lutheran Church 111 N Chestnut St Everyones Theatre Company, Inc. proudly announces Open Auditions for 9 to 5 the Musical (may begin arriving at the church at 7:15pm). Preparation: Appropriately dressed and prepared to dance, sing and read a short selection. Callbacks: Thurs. 3/21/13 at 7:30pm Performance Dates: June 22nd, 23rd, 27th, 29th & 30th Visit http:// everyonestheatre.com/index.php/ Shows/9to5 for more information and character descriptions! April 6 Red Wings Opening Weekend Time: 4:00pm Location: Frontier Field - 333 N. Plymouth Ave. Bring the whole family to the Rochester Red Wings Season Opener! Contact: Red Wings 585-423-9464. 7 4th Annual Edible Books Festival And Competition County Time: 2:00pmto4:00pm Location: Kate Gleason Auditorium, Central Library, 115 South Ave Imagine an event where books look good enough to eat and can be! Participants select favorite books and create 3-d sculptures based on the titles or themes of those books. They are made from cakes, sculpted fruits and vegetables, chocolate, macaroni and any other edible items. The results will amaze you! Contact: Linda Rock 428-8350, linda.rock@libraryweb.org 14 Awardwinning Vocalist Jessye Norman to Perform Benefit Concert Time: 5:00pm Location: Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre Concert includes the Garth Fagan Dance Company and pianist, Mark Markham Jessye Norman will perform a benefit concert for Action for a Better Community, Inc. (ABC). The concert, entitled The African American Cultural Legacy, features special guests, The Garth Fagan Dance Company and pianist, Mark Markham. All proceeds from the concert benefit ABC, a community action agency that provides programs and services to help lowincome families and individuals achieve greater self-sufficiency. Tickets available at: www.rpo.org and at the Eastman Theatre Box Office on East Avenue. Tickets also can be purchased by phone at (585) 454-2100.

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also inside...

RCSD Receives

competitive education grant pg 6

{COVER

Pg 8

Rochester Museum of Science Asks What Does RACE Mean to You?

{LOCAL

Pg 4 - 6 Brooks announces Harris RF Communications is March Business of the Month borinquen dance awarded Arts in Interest grant city of rochester issues requests for proposals on Elm street property congresswoman slaughter fights to redcue reckless behavior rcsd receives competitive Education grant Mayor richards, city council support ny sAFE act city announces homeless resolutions strategy Pg 10

16 RCSD Health and Wellness Fair Time: 9:00am-12;00pm Location: East High School- 1801 E. Main St. The RCSD 2nd Annual Health and Wellness Fair is open to students, parents, families, staff and community members. There will be over 80 local organizations offering information about their programs and services. The goals is to create connections between the organizations and the RCSD community in order to address and improve overall health and wellness which positively affects students academic success. There will be performances by local youth and students groups, samples from organizations, a raffle, handouts, give aways and much more! 17 City Living Sundays 2013 Westside Time: 12:00pm-4:00pm Location: Theodore Roosevelt School #43 -1305 Lyell Avenue Realize your dream of homeownership. Learn how easy and truly affordable it is to own a home. Join us for seminars, counseling, neighborhood information, and Open Houses.For additional information, please call (585)428-CITY or TDD (585)4286054 18,19 Open Auditions for 9 to 5 the Musical Time: 7:00 PM

PubLIsHEr

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busInEss MAnAgEr cOPy EdItOr

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PHOtOgrAPHy cOLuMnIsts

{STATE

NYS breaks state record for contunuous private sector job growth FAA lists NY airport towers facing budget cuts Gun business soars after NY gun laws enacted NY school boards group hosting safety conference

Gloria Winston Al-Sarag C. Michael Tillman Rev. Michael Vaughn Vincent Felder Diane Watkins Mike Dulaney Davy Vara Ayesha Kreutz

{NATIONAL

Pg 12-13

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Minority Reporter, Inc. is a family of publications and other media formats committed to fostering self awareness, building community and empowering people of color to reach their greatest potential. Further, Minority Reporter, Inc. seeks to present a balanced view of relevant issues, utilizing its resources to build bridges among diverse populations; taking them from information to understanding. Minority Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject content submitted. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Minority Reporter does not assume responsibility concerning advertisers, their positions, practices, services or products; nor does the publication of advertisements constitute or imply endorsement. Minority Reporter invites news and story suggestions from readers. Deadline for all copy is Tuesday at noon. Call 585-301-4199 or email info@minorityreporter.net.

March to protect vote: Challenge to preserve section 5 of voting rights act NAACP-LDF leader calls for civil rights focus on new economy

Debt Counselors

{COLUMNS:

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Editor@MinorityReporter.net
Send us your

Why Condoms in the schools?

I wasnt there to participate in the discussion regarding condoms in the schools. I wasnt there when the reasons were given and the statistics were graphed out saying this or that. However, I recently read an article on this topic and it was mentioned that 45% of new cases of HIV and aids are occurring with people under the age of 25. My first question was Why are we talking about cases under the age of 25? Most 19-25 year olds are not in High School, so why are they factored in statistic about teen pregnancy and the spread of disease among teenagers? But again, I wasnt there. If the results of passing out clean needles to addicts or condoms to prostitutes were given as support to having condoms available in school; I would have said the situations are not similar! The addict is already familiar with the activity and has access to the drugs and the clean needle only makes the activity safer and the same goes for the prostitutethe primary decision of engagement has already been made. I believe when we are passing out clean needles and condoms; we are just trying to make it collectively less costly by reducing some of the negative impact on life and community. In the school, our girls are already facing so much peer pressure, why are we adding to the stress by making condoms readily available? In some situations the school is the last place of refuge to learn what is and is not appropriate behavior. In reading about the vote I am reminded of when my kids were teenagers and we were riding in the car and an inappropriate song comes on the radio and I would change the channel. My kids would say something like Dad, weve heard that stuff before. My response would be but you havent heard it with Dad! Im also reminded of discussions with other parents on the importance of teaching your child the meaning of the word No the FIRST time you say it. It seems to me, that for many parents teaching their child the meaning of the word No is tough but its vital in their development. When you tell your child no, you have your reasons but all too often we let our childs persistent whining win out and all you are left with is a child that has grown up into an adult unable to follow directions, respect authority and probably living at home or worst.

Do you work for a company? Belong to an organization or association?

Instead of the Board assisting in premature sexual activities, lets help build dreams our children can believe in. Lets have a conversation about the importance of self-esteem and self-respect. Lets create a beam of hope that will blind them from the attraction of life-damaging activities! Again, I wasnt there but I would like to believe that if I were, my vote would have been NO! --Tim McCauley, a parent and concerned member of our community.

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4 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

LOCAL

BROOKS ANNOUNCES HARRIS RF COMMUNICATIONS IS MARCH BUSINESS OF THE MONTH

County Executive Maggie Brooks today announced that Harris RF Communications has been named Monroe County Business of the Month for March of 2013 and is now featured on the Monroe County website at monroecounty.gov. Harris RF Communications is a company that puts our community on the map and Im proud to name Harris as Monroe Countys Business of the Month, said Brooks. I recently had the opportunity to tour the companys facilities in Rochester and see firsthand the important work done here. Harris is recognized as a leader in the defense and public safety markets, producing products that are used by our troops around the world and first responders across the nation. That is something our entire community can and should be very proud of. Harris RF is the leading global supplier of secure radio communications and embedded high-grade encryption solutions for military, government and commercial organizations. RF is also a leading supplier of secure communications systems and equipment for public safety, utility, and transportation markets, with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks to portable and mobile radios. Every day, our employees focus on the mission of our defense and public safety customers and how we can bring them home safely, said Dana Mehnert, group President, Harris RF Communications. We appreciate the continued support from this community in all areas, especially those in academia and public office. In Monroe County, Harris had maintained manufacturing operations in four separate buildings. In order to integrate its production at a single location, Harris worked with the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency in 2010 to acquire and redevelop an 84-acre former Xerox campus located at 1350 Jefferson Rd., in the Town of Henrietta. Its state-of-the-art manufacturing center opened on September 20, 2011. Harris now uses the center to manufacture the world as most advanced tactical communication products for military, public safety, and government agencies. Harris currently employs more than 2,000 in Monroe County. For more information on Harris RF Communications, visit their website at http://rf.harris.com/about.asp.

Borinquen Dance Awarded Arts Interest Grant

Borinquen Dance Theatre has received a $3000 grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation. The dance theatre will use these funds to provide instructors for the self-development and dance program. The program serves nearly 65 youth participants and provides positive role models, cultural and dance education, and professional development classes. Dancers ages 14 and up meet three times per week to develop their skills; some members are also invited to become peer instructors for younger students. Company members are paid to perform for the Rochester community and at venues in the United States and Canada. Dance influences include the indigenous Taino Arawak Indian, African, and Spanish traditions. In addition to recognition by the Rochester Area Community Foundation, Borinquen Dance has been recognized by the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and the Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. Recent performances include the mayors inauguration and the City of Rochesters Latino Heritage Month celebration. Borinquen Dance Theatre, which is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, helps youth build the desire to succeed through the discipline of dance. Since 1981, it has provided atrisk Hispanic and other youth in the Rochester region with cultural opportunities that broaden their educational, artistic, career and personal horizons. More information can be found at www.borinquendance. org.

City of Rochester Issues Request for Proposals for Elm Street Property
The City of Rochester has issued a Request for Proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of a large cityowned property at 88 and 94 Elm Street. Rochester Mayor Thomas S. Richards has announced that the City is seeking proposals from qualified development teams for the redevelopment of the approximately .14-acre parcel with an existing, vacant 83,000 square foot, 13-story steel and concrete structure. This property presents a significant redevelopment opportunity in the heart of Downtown Rochester adjacent to the transformative Midtown Rising project. The redevelopment of this property is a critical and timely piece to the repositioning of Downtown, said Mayor Richards, With more than $120 million in investment, the momentum of the adjacent Midtown Rising project is essentially reinventing the surrounding real estate market. The redevelopment of the 88-94 Elm Street property will build off of and continue that momentum. The City intends to select a redevelopment proposal that: * renovates and reuses the existing structure on the site; * increases the tax base through a reuse that is not exempt from real estate taxes; * includes uses that are compatible to and complementary with existing surrounding development; * stabilizes land values and encourages investment in the surrounding neighborhood; * employs construction and development methods that promote environmental sensitivity and sustainability; and * includes high quality design that accentuates the public realm. The deadline for submitting proposals is 4:30 p.m., Monday, May 20. Proposals should be sent to: Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, 30 Church St. Room 005A, Rochester, N.Y., 14614. An informational meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 28, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 30 Church St. City staff will be available at the meeting to answer questions. Property showings are scheduled for 10 a.m. on both Thursday, April 4 and Tuesday April 9. Visit www.cityofrochester.gov/8894elmstreet to view the RFP and associated exhibits.

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5 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

LOCAL

Mayor Richards, City Council Support NY SAFE Act

Mayor Thomas S. Richards and City Council President Lovely A. Warren announced last week that the Mayors Office and City Council have submitted a joint letter of support for the Governors and the Legislatures actions to approve the New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act. The letter is signed by Mayor Richards and all nine members of the City Council. It has been delivered to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo; Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly; Dean Skelos, Temporary President and Majority Coalition Leader of the New York State Senate; and Jeffrey Klein, Temporary President and Independent Democratic Conference Coalition Leader, officials said. The new law includes the strongest assault weapons ban in the nation and we not only endorse this, we have acted upon it, Mayor Richards and the Council Members wrote in the letter. Rochester has had an assault weapons ban on the books since 1993. The NY SAFE Act also includes additional safeguards to prevent guns from falling into the hands of societys most dangerous individuals, they continued. While we support the right to bear arms, we feel that this law takes the necessary steps to ensure that gun ownership is done in a responsible manner. The mayor and council members also praised the governor and state leaders for including the Webster Provision, which mandates a life sentence for anyone who murders a first responder. In response, this week majority members of the Monroe County Legislature are drafting a memorializing resolution to state government leaders in Albany against the controversial new gun restrictions. The letter will likely be released early next week, and sent next month, said Majority Leader Anthony Daniele, R-Pittsford. According to reports, dozens of counties and local governments have passed resolutions opposing the law, however, a poll from Siena College released Feb. 6 shows that two-thirds of New Yorkers support the law. In addition, of the upstate population surveyed, 50 percent supported the law.

RCSD Receives Competitive Education Grant

Rochester is one of four districts that have been awarded a competitive education grant, Governor Andrew Cuomos office said Tuesday. Twelve million dollars will be awarded over three years, which will give the districts $21 million per year in efficiency savings, the governor said. Specifically, Rochester City School District will receive $4.5 million of the bonus over the next three years. The grant was awarded in recognition of $9.5 million in cost reductions since 2011. The simple truth is that New York State spends more money per pupil than any other state in the nation, yet continually lags behind in student performance, Gov. Cuomo said. We cannot continue to ask taxpayers for more and more money; rather our education system must become more efficient and focus spending on student achievement. We must pay for performance, and the four districts we are awarding today stand out as leading examples of where innovation and bold action can reduce inefficiency and unnecessary costs. According to Superintendent Bolgen Vargas, the funds will be used to support a new pre-kindergarten program for three-year-old children at Audubon School No. 33; expanded-day learning for more students in 201314; and a new textbook management system. The state grant will also allow the district to hire a staff member who can focus on continuing to improve the efficiency of administration and operations, Vargas said. The other districts receiving the grant include Newburgh; Queensbury, Warren County; and KenmoreTonawanda, Erie County. In addition, RCSD is one of five districts that have been invited to apply for an educational priorities grant.

Congresswoman Slaughter Fights To Reduce Reckless Behavior On Wall Street Proposal Would Raise $352 Billion In New Revenues To Reduce Deficit
WASHINGTON Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has co-sponsored legislation that would introduce a small tax on Wall Street trades designed to cut down on risky speculative trading while significantly reducing the countrys budget deficit. The Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act (H.R. 880) will place a surcharge of three cents on every $100 in value (0.03%) on common financial trades. The bill would generate $352 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, according to an estimate by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation. Transactions of financial securities, including stocks, bonds and other debt securities, and derivative contracts would be subject to the transaction tax. By applying such a low tax rate, the measure is unlikely to discourage ordinary investors from engaging in productive economic activity. The application of the tax to each transaction, however, will provide a disincentive to engage in certain speculative activities like high-speed computer trading and oil speculation that raises the price of gasoline at the pump. Americans want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, and they want a financial sector that grows our economy instead of wrecking it this legislation will help achieve both, said Congresswoman Slaughter. Instead of enacting foolhardy acrossthe-board budget cuts like the sequester, we need a combination of targeted cuts and revenues to reduce our deficit responsibly. Instead of allowing Wall Street to continue playing Russian roulette with our economy, we need to have reforms that will encourage responsible investing over speculative wheeling-and-dealing. Arguments that a transaction tax would drive investors to Europe or other countries are overblown. There are currently 30 countries with a transaction tax, and the European Union has proposed a 0.1 percent tax more than three times higher than the proposed U.S. rate to take effect in 2014. The existence today of Financial Transaction Taxes in other major global financial markets, including in the United Kingdom, belies the argument that FTTs in the U.S. would cause transactions to move abroad, said Leo Hindery Jr., chair of the U.S. Economy/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation and co-chair of the independent Task Force on Jobs Creation.

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Photograph by Zach Thomas

If youre interested in learning more about Joshua or other waiting children, visit: www.childrenAwaitingParents.org or call 585-232-5110.

6 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

LOCAL
City Announces Homeless Resolution Strategy
The city of Rochester, representatives from Monroe County, and nonprofit agencies came together and completed the Homeless Resolution Strategy, a study organized by the city in 2010 to help guide the communitys efforts to address homelessness, officials said in a statement. According to reports, the new approach includes a five-year, $25.6 million plan that will address housing, albeit not prevention, for adults. The study recommends the development of a Coordinated Access System to help better identify and meet the needs of those who are threatened with homelessness, the city stated. The plan calls for implementing Housing First, or permanent housing options for the most difficult-to-serve homeless populations, which often includes individuals suffering from chronic chemical dependency and/or mental illness. In addition, the study advises discontinuing the use of the Cadillac Hotel for homeless placements. "This report will help the community better serve those that are the hardest to serve," said Mayor Thomas Richards. "It is about time that we seek to provide emergency shelter in a mission based organization instead of using hotels." The city said it worked in partnership with Monroe County and a host of area service providers on the study to help identify the community's unmet needs for emergency placement facilities, safe haven shelters and permanent housing for the homeless. Additional information on the new strategy, as well as existing programs for the homeless, can be found at www. cityofrochester.gov/homelessness.

STUDENT ENROLLMENT MOVES TO RCSDs CENTRAL OFFICE

Rochester City School District, Superintendent Bolgen Vargas, announced that the districts placement office will move to the Central Office located at 131 West Broad Street. Vargas says that parents will find the new downtown placement offices more accessible, convenient and comfortable than the previous location at 17 Martin Street. We are working urgently to improve both the quality of our schools and the quality of customer service our families receive, Dr. Vargas said. Moving our placement office to a more convenient location is one of many steps we are taking to make it easier for parents to enroll their children in Rochester schools. The Office of Parent Engagement and most other departments that serve parents are in the same location now, providing a one-stop shop for parents to access the services they need outside their childs school. District officials say this strategy will make it easier for families to enroll their children in Rochester schools and work with the district Parents who are enrolling their children in Pre-K or kindergarten, who want to choose a new school or are moving from another district, can visit the office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays to meet with one of the Districts placement specialists: Mr. Kittelberger at 262-8390 or Mr. Colon at 262-8225 and complete the process. In January, Vargas announced the RCSD Home School Guarantee, which assures families that children who live within a half-mile of a neighborhood elementary school can attend that school if they choose. Students entering kindergarten from one of the Districts school-based pre-K programs will receive top priority for placement after families who live within one-half mile.

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7 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

8 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

What Does
By Delani Weaver

Rochester Museum of Science asks

COVER STORY

Mean to You?
The Rochester Museum & Science Center has opened an exhibit that may get the community talking: Race: Are We So Different? is a traveling exhibit that was opened to the public on January 19. Its an interactive exhibit exposing the truth about the origins of the human race. Its been extremely popular. It exceeded our expectations with visitors, said Debra Jacobson, director of marketing and community affairs for the Rochester Museum and Science Center, who also explained how the exhibit can help Rochester. Using the exhibit as a springboard, we can get a conversation started about race. The whole concept behind it is to help get difficult conversations started. A lot of people dont know how to talk about race, or the feelings theyre having, or the difficulties theyre having, or how to voice to someone of a different race. President of the RMSC, Kate Bennett partnered with the CEO of Action for a Better Community, James Norman to bring the exhibit to Rochester and then applied for a grant with the Rochester Area Community Foundation to start an initiative in the community. Facing Race, Embracing Equity is the initiative in the community. We got a $200,000 grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation to do some local community initiatives before the exhibit got there, while its there, and after its gone to look at disparities and racism in Rochester, Jacobson said. Faceraceroc.org is a website you can visit to find out about the exhibit, calendar of events, anything going on around Rochester that relates to the exhibit. Robert Ulin, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, was involved with the exhibit when it was in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the community initiative that started there. Since being here, RIT, the University of Rochester, WXXI and the Democrat and Chronicle have been in partnership with the initiative and are using the exhibit as a foundation to get it started. The exhibit was created by the Minnesota Museum of Science and the Anthropological Association. Its been traveling since 2007. The exhibit features a mural asking the visitors to describe what living with race means to them in six words. It also includes several videos of men and women of different ethnicities saying what the word race means to them. Theres a display of the U.S Census as Jacobson explained, A U.S. Census goes around and you have to check off whether you are AfricanAmerican, or Caucasian. You can look back and see that in 1792, there were only three categories which were, Indian, slave or white. In 2010, there are so many more categories. There are pictures of men, women, and children who are explaining what they think in writing.

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9 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

NATIONAL
Looking at the pictures, one would not be able to tell what the persons ethnicities are based on look alone. Theres no biological evidence that supports racial categories. These categories were man made, Jacobson said. Theres an area where you can look at your skin called Why Do We Come in Different Colors? It explains that your ancestors lived in a certain climate or a certain geographic area and thats why your skin is a certain color. It goes into sunlight, vitamin D; the anatomy of your skin. The origin of everyone is from Africa and weve been moving and mixing, so to speak ever since. Your ancestors climate made you look like the person you are today. Race is a man made concept. Judgments and assumptions are made by skin color. This shows that were not that different. Its very powerful, Jacobson said. James Murray, minister at Mount Vernon Baptist Church said: Ive always been someone who comes to the museum. If we look at todays society, we as a country are becoming more and more lost historically. Were not focused on our history, where we come from. Were focused on right now. I had to come from someone to get where I am now. Martin Luther King called race Americas schizophrenia. Im not a conspiracy theorist. But it seems like theres a plot for people not to talk about race. A lack of dialogue. Things like this exhibit are important to get people talking. Jacobson said: Its like people say sometimes. Lets talk about the elephant in the room. There is a section that explains inventing whiteness or white TV that goes into the history of things such as the Barbie doll. It first came out as a white Barbie doll for many years actually. The television shows that were out in the fifties through the seventies had all white families. Things have changed now, where seeing more of wider scope of ethnicities, Jacobson said. Theres a medical section with data. Jacobsen said, the life expectancy for white is 78. For black or AfricanAmerican, its 73. There are diseases that are known to be more dominating in certain ethnicities. There are assumptions that are made such as only blacks get diabetes or only this get sickle cell. Thats not true. According to the display, certain medications are said to be more effective in certain races. For me, it raises the question of should doctors take in consideration their patients race when prescribing medication. On the display, theres some debates of yes and no. Diet, health, genetics, blood types are all explained here. Theres health disparities here in Rochester, Jacobson said. There is also a voice recognition game. A computer screen displays six photos. The listener will hear a voice explaining what race means and the listener has to choose a photo on the screen that they think the voice belongs to. It shows how accents and speech patterns cannot determine someones race or ethnicity.

10 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

STATE
NYS Breaks State Record for Continuous Private Sector Job Growth -- 17 Months of Job Growth with 29,600 Jobs Added in January
Nearly 1 in 5 Jobs in the Nation were Created in New York New York States economy has added 29,600 jobs in January, breaking a record with 17 consecutive months of private sector jobs added, the State Department of Labor reported today. Januarys job count, as compared to the national figure of 166,000 jobs added for the same month, means that nearly one out of every five jobs added in the nation were created in New York. Between December 2012 and January2013, New York States unemployment rate rose from 8.2 to 8.4 percent. The rate in New York City increased from 8.8 to 9.1 percent, and the rate in the balance of state region (New York State outside of New York City) rose from 7.8 to 7.9 percent. The private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Due to the sample size, this survey is considered a reliable gauge of the states economy for any given month. In contrast, the unemployment rate as determined by BLS is calculated primarily on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households in New York State. Due to the small sample size, this survey is not comprehensive. New York States strong economy continues to grow in 2013 and is setting records for consecutive job growth. In January, the states private sector job count increased by 29,600, accounting for nearly one in five jobs created in the nation, said Boyden M. Winy, deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics. Monthly labor force data, including unemployment rates, are also revised at the end of each year, using methods established by the BLS. The revised data show that New Yorks labor force climbed by 59,000 between 2011 and 2012 as more state residents had renewed confidence about finding a job in the state. Reflecting New Yorks growing labor force, the states annual average unemployment rate rose from 8.3 percent in 2011 to 8.5 percent in 2012.

FAA lists NY airport towers facing budget cuts

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Federal authorities have released a list of New York airports where control towers may be closed or lose overnight operations because of automatic federal budget cuts. The Federal Aviation Administration has said theyll take comments from airport executives and others about the proposal until March 13 and issue a final list on March 18. Air traffic controller and TSA worker furloughs are expected to begin about April 7, unless negotiations in Washington head off the cuts. The facilities that could close are Binghamton Tower in Johnson City, Francis S. Gabreski in Westhampton Beach, Niagara Falls International, Ithaca Tomkins Regional, Dutchess County in Wappingers Falls and Griffiss International in Rome. There are 238 airports across the country on the tower closing list. Among 72 towers that could lose midnight shifts are Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

Gun business soars after NY gun laws enacted

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) _ Gun shops, shooting ranges and county clerks offices have seen an upsurge in business since the state Legislature rushed through Gov. Andrew Cuomos sweeping set of gun laws in December. Dennis Deasy, owner of Niagara Gun Range in North Tonawanda, tells The Buffalo News (that pistol permit classes are booked through May. He says his store can hardly keep up with demand for guns that hold 10-round magazines ahead of the April 15 ban on them. The FBI reports there were 76,001 firearm purchase background checks for New Yorkers in January and February of 2013. That compares to about 51,000 for the same months last year. Some county clerks say theyre overwhelmed with pistol permit applications and paperwork resulting from a new provision allowing permit holders to keep their permit status private. The Erie County Clerks office received 852 applications from residents seeking their first pistol permit in January and February, nearly double the number during those months last year. Nationally, gun sales have soared since the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings Dec. 14 that killed 20 children, six teachers and staff members, and the gunmans mother. Last year marked the highest number of background checks the FBI has run since starting the program - more than 19.5 million. In the Hudson Valley, several counties have passed resolutions opposing the hasty process by which the new gun law was adopted as well as some of its provisions. Dutchess County Clerk Bradford Kendall said the laws provision that

the county process all the forms from permit holders seeking to opt out of having their status public could bog down his staff and cost county taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

NY school boards group hosting safety conference

LBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Law enforcement officials are joining school counselors and board members from across the state at a conference in downtown Albany focusing on ways to prevent violence in New Yorks schools. The New York State School Boards Association says Saturdays ``Safe Schools, Safe Students conference at the Hotel Albany will feature experts from across the nation participating in panel discussions on school safety issues from both a law enforcement and mental health perspective. The New York State Police, FBI and U.S. Secret Service are among the law enforcement agencies that will be represented at the conference. The state School Boards Association represents more than 700 boards of education across New York.

11 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

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12 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

March to Protect Vote: Challenge to Preserve Section 5 of Voting Rights Act

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - We will never give up or give in. Congressman John Lewis made that vow as he and Vice President Joe Biden led 5,000 people across Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge to re-enact Bloody Sunday, the heroic, historymaking voting rights march that the Georgia Democrat headed 48 years ago. In March 1965, the youthful John Lewis and others were nearly beaten to death when Alabama state troopers brutally attacked peaceful freedom marchers as they crossed the bridge on the way to the state capital in Montgomery. That attack galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and pushed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act the same year, finally opening Southern polling places to millions of African-Americans and bringing an end to all-white rule. Congressman Lewis used Sundays pilgrimage across the bridge to call for new determination to uphold the hard-won law. Biden, the first sitting vice president to participate in the annual re-enactment, joined in that call. He said nothing shaped his consciousness in 1965 more than watching TV footage of the police assault on Congressman Lewis and the other marchers for daring to seek the right to vote. We saw in stark relief the rank hatred, discrimination and violence that still existed in large parts of the nation, he said in recalling the horror he watched. While those 1965 marchers broke the back of the forces of evil, the vice president said that challenges to voting rights continue in the largely Republican-backed push to restrict early voting and voter registration drives and the enactment of voter ID laws where no voter fraud has been shown. The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Sundays event had a sense of urgency because the U.S. Supreme Court had just heard a request from a mostly white Alabama county to strike down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act. Weve had the right to vote 48 years, but theyve never stopped trying to diminish the impact of the votes, said Rev. Jackson before taking part in the march. Referring to the Voting Rights Act, another veteran civil rights leader, the Rev. Al Sharpton, said: We are not here for a commemoration. We are here for a continuation. One surprising participant in the march was archconservative House Majority Leader Eric I. Cantor, R-Henrico, who said he was proud to march alongside Congressman Lewis, who courageously paved the way for a better life for future generations. A supporter of many of the new restrictions such as voter ID, Congressman Cantor also has been a supporter of the Voting Rights Act. He joined Congressman Lewis in voting to renew the act in 2006, and last year Congressman Cantor pushed to have the House historian collect video testimony from Congressman Lewis and other congressional participants in the voting march to create a record of their experiences. The march was held just four days after the Voting Rights Act came under scrutiny from the Supreme Court. Alabamas Shelby County is asking the court to throw out Section 5 of the act, the requirement that federal approval be sought for election law changes in Alabama and Virginia and seven other states with histories of suppressing the African-American vote. Attorney General Eric Holder, the defendant in Shelby Countys suit, told marchers that the South is far different than it was in 1965 but is not yet at the point where the most important part of the Voting Rights Act can be dismissed as unnecessary. Rev. Jackson decried the attempt to throw out Section 5, which he called the key enforcement mechanism to protect voting rights. An unenforced law is no law, the Rev. Jackson said in expressing concern that the Supreme Court could do something terribly damaging to democracy when it decides the case. He predicted that if Section 5 is lost, the South would employ more gerrymandering and at-large voting to dilute the African-American vote.

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13 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

NATIONAL
NAACP-LDF Leader Calls for Civil Rights Focus on New Economy
By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) Americas continuous struggle with economic woes that have disparately impacted African-Americans and other people of color must signal to the civil rights community a need to not only expand its focus but change its strategy. This according to Sherrilyn Ifill, the new director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who received rousing applause during a welcoming reception late last month. And so we have to figure out how were going to deal with this issue of the new economy. Where do we fall in that? Where do the people that we represent fall in the new credit realm, in the new mortgage lending realm? How are we going to deal with the loss of African-American wealth by the foreclosure crisis that has really decimated the Black middle class? Ifill grilled an audience of hundreds of lawyers, civil rights activists and leaders of non-profits. So, weve got to step out and begin to take on those issues for our future and thats my desire as I take up this position at the Legal Defense Fund. Ifill started at the New York office of the LDF in 1988 as a voting rights lawyer before leaving to teach at the University of Maryland School of Law five years later. After more than 20 years of teaching, legal consulting and continuing to litigate, the veteran lawyer has returned to her first love. As her civil rights colleagues listened intently during the Downtown D.C. reception, she reminded them of the Educational Fund part of the LDF, which too often gets lost in the name. That is one part that strategically must now become a priority, she said. Part of our charge is to engage in a conversation with the American public about whats really happening to African-Americans. We love that theyre able to see a president and his wife get off Marine One with their kids. Without question, thats a tremendous success, due in some part to LDF. But there is another America - another African-America, she stressed. And our job is to make sure that the picture of that African-America stays at the forefront of the vision of people in this country. And we only do that by committing to show them that AfricanAmerica and that Latino America and that Asian America and that elderly America and that poor America and all of the people who are living under the margin and behind the veil of American success and prosperity. Reaction to her 20-minute talk ranged from energetic applause to hearty chuckles. Perhaps the most humorous line was her use of the Super Bowl to make her point about the need for a greater offense. Im from Baltimore, home of the Super Bowl champions and were known for our defense I had to get that in, she said to laughter from the audience. But the lessons of the Ravens is that although were known for a great defense we did recognize that we had to lift our offenseWe recognized that we had to have a quarter back who could throw, that we had to have people who could block, that we needed a runner that we needed what we call depth on our offenseAnd Ive come back to the Legal Defense Fund in pursuit of depth on our offense. Though she encouraged her colleagues to defend the wins that have been made, such as the then pending arguments in the Shelby vs. Holder voting rights case, she stressed that there must now come a shift in the strategy. Im not interested in just defending what we have already been able to establish. Im really interested in our pushing ourselves forward to try and realize an America that does not yet exist, she said, continuing the football analogy. Its the perfect time for me because I feel so powerfully and so passionately about the issue of voting rights; because I believe that we really have to be on the offense on this issueWe have to continue to advance the ball. The wins have been many, she pointed out. As the seventh in a line of NAACPLDF director-counsels, she praised the work of her predecessors. In the audience were former directorcounsels Ted Shaw and Elaine Jones. Ifill succeeds John Payton who died suddenly last year. Preceding them were founder Thurgood Marshall in 1940, Jack Greenberg and Julius Chambers consecutively. They created this world in which we have statutes that theoretically protect us from employment discrimination and protect us in the voting realm and protect us from educational segregation and so forth. And we have to defend those winds and the Supreme Court now has put us in the position where we are pretty regularly defending them. Even after theyve been upheld, were back defending them again. But we cannot allow ourselves to only play a defense game, she said. She named a string of economicsrelated issues plaguing Black America that must be studied and must be documented in order to educate America. Those issues include the school to prison pipeline, the impact of the new economy on people of color, the housing crisis and safe quality education.

Sherrilyn Ifill Though she described herself as energetic, she stressed the need for the civil rights community to pull together as a united front because no one person can do it alone. The job is enormous, the work is huge and I am mortal, she said. It only happens when we are linked together and when were working in partnership. All of the gains of the civil rights legal community have been rendered by us standing close together, communicating with each other, determining what we want and going for it with tenacity. And thats why Im happy to see so many of you here tonight because its an expression of your commitment to continue doing that.

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14 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

strAIgHtNO CHASER

OPINION/EDITORIAL
now turned lawyer who represented him in a failed attempt to appeal his case; my mind quickly revisited the local events that led up to the killing of Alicia McCuller, the incarceration of Michael Florence, and the Rufus Fairwell case. Somewhere there is a scripture that speaks to a child paying for the sins of the father. I dont know this to be the case, or if any of what I am sharing to be fact, but it sure is plenty of food for thought. Nothing is new. Christopher Dorner to me is no more than the re-incarnated spirit of Huey P. Newton co-founder of the Black Panther Party or American Indians Russell Means and Dennis Banks just to mention a few I find to be true modern day revolutionaries. Those familiar with history may recall how Russell and Dennis held the federal government at bay for 72 days, refusing to surrender. Any revolution that is successful is led only by those unafraid to die for what they believe in. That fact alone I am confident has the LAPD concerned about who and what they are dealing with. Not only have they trained Christopher Dorner, he states emphatically he plans to use everything they taught him against them. Sounds like a modern day Spook Who Sat By The Door, (a 1973 film which satirizes the civil rights struggle in the United States of the late 1960 and attempts to focus on the issue of black militancy). Christopher Dorner is considered a hero to many. Some are playfully calling him Rambo, the Dark Knight and other pet names that suggest they would join his army if he was recruiting. Historically, unrest has spawned civil wars. Christopher Dorner has touched some mighty big nerves, and exposed the raw pain that exists in those who have bad experiences or treated unjustly by law enforcement. Most people dont have the means, the courage or the vehicle by which they even feel comfortable complaining. We all know that complaining could easily constitute harassment against you or your family. Just ask Davy Vara, a consistent advocate

The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.

The Revolution is Computerized on Social Networks

For those of you sitting around waiting for a revolution perhaps you need to know you are in the middle of one. Thanks to Christopher Dorner, former Los Angeles GLORIA WINSTON AL-SARAG Police Department officer some of the injustices that have occurred within the law enforcement community are about to be corrected. If you have not had your head in the sand then you know by now that Christopher Dorner, an alleged killer was sought and killed by LAPD in connection with the murder of two civilians, and one police officer. My intent is not to revisit information that is available everywhere you look. My intent is to discuss how a man who is accused of murdering innocent people by some becomes a folk hero to others. I have monitored and read with great interest over 50 Facebook pages, alone, that have been created either by Christopher Dorner, his supporters, and in very few cases his haters. I have calculated thousands of supporters and those who choose to like him. My first reaction was that law enforcement will never capture this man. He has too may people willing to hide him and support him. Many are unafraid to state why. Their tone is not new, their concerns either. Enough is enough. Law enforcement in most major cities in the U.S. has had their share of complaints, charges of corruption, brutality and racism. For years I supported the concerns of leadership like Rev. Raymond Graves and others, who tried to keep in the forefront the concerns of the Rochester Police Department. After digesting Christopher Dorners Manifesto a sixpage letter he wrote and published online in an attempt to clear his name I became closer to understanding the events we are now witnessing. When I discovered one of the victims allegedly murdered by him was the daughter of the former LAPD policemen who shines a spotlight on any appearance of injustice by law enforcement. Fear silences man, but someone like Christopher Dorner has seemingly put in place a legitimate forum by which much stands to be corrected. And I suspect some wrongs will be righted above and beyond the confines of the LAPD. I understand Christopher Dorner. I personally know how it feels when folks lie on you to get you removed from their presence, when you dont support their agenda. Even though I was trained effectively to handle firearms as a Black Panther, my Christian values tend to kick in when pushed to consider taking someone elses life. But, when folks reach out to destroy your life and hurt your family, to me, it is only human nature to want to strike back. Some liars truly need to be more than thankful that God keeps his hand on me. Christopher Dorner said in a note to Anderson Cooper, he did not lie. Christopher Dorner in response to those who question his alleged killing of innocent folks, clearly states sometimes you have to close some eyes to open others. As callous as it may sound, the truth is revolutions seldom occur without blood shed. Jesus bled for all of us. Does this mean I condone what he has done, if in fact he killed anyone? No, but I do understand what is driving him. To me regardless of how the media tries to make him look like a mad man, I aint buying it. Christopher appears to have been planning and strategically calculating his every move. It appears he has been working the plan since 2008, including the false trail he left by a truck he set afire leading folks to search a mountain in the cold for him all night while he may have been in Mexico. He does not come across like some of the lunatics who have barged up into schools killing innocent children and in theaters and just opened fire. I dont perceive him to be suicidal or think he will turn a gun on himself. He is truly a home grown terrorist, a warrior on a mission. He has vowed to clear the only thing a man truly possesses in this world and that is his name. I believe him. His court case has already been revisited and the flaws have been highlighted in the media. God only knows how this will end. But, I suspect when and before it ends, revolution will have prevailed in the law enforcement arena, nation wide. He has put the fear of God in the LAPD and at least 40 offices he named as target in his manifesto. The $1 million reward recently posted suggests to me he will never make it to court, if captured. I am personally suspect of the way the criteria for the reward is worded. The offer is contingent on his arrest and conviction. So in fact, if one of his supporters decides to collect, and if he is killed at anytime before he gets to court, that reward will never be paid. Charlie Sheen and Rev. Jesse Jackson, among others, know it and have reached out to Christopher attempting to get him to surrender. They both personally know the harm that lies can do to someones life. It is unfortunate it is taking all of this for a man to clear his name just because others allegedly used him as a pawn in their game of deceit, corruption and injustice. The revolution is computerized on social networks, and this movement is ironically being led by Christopher Jordan Dorner, a former cop.

---------------------------------Gloria Winston Al-Sarag is a Community Activist, Writer, Communicator, Political Activist. She is a native Rochesterian and has been involved with numerous community orgainzations in Rochester. Contact Gloria at: JazzyG4202@aol.com

Our Health
My name is Twylla Dillion and I am a local doctoral student in public health, a researcher, advocate and active volunteer for several health and equity organizations. I TWYLLA DILLION am happy to bring you Our Health, a bi-monthly column focused on health education, health improvement and conversations about health for the Black community in Rochester, NY. The goal of this column is to provide clarity about many topics including health reform, health disparities, healthy lifestyles and other topics. You are my motivation for writing this column, I see the health challenges in our community from two perspectives that of a researcher and as a member of the affected group and I am compelled to promote change. The Rochesters Black community is facing serious health disparities when compared to whites. Some of the most pronounced differences are in: Overweight & Obesity Cardiovascular Diseases High Cholesterol Diabetes Cancer Poor Birth Outcomes Infant Mortality Homicide HIV/AIDS Sexually Transmitted Infections Teen Pregnancy Primary Care Access Emergency Hospitalization Over the next year, I will cover these health disparities in addition to providing up to date information about the Obama administrations health reform bill known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This column will feature relevant information regarding all topics, as well as interviews with local experts who are doing the work necessary to help improve health outcomes for the community. I am hopeful that readers do not hesitate to ask questions and provide feedback because the role of this column is to be informative and interactive. I look forward to developing a longstanding relationship with Minority Reporter readers.

SOMETHING TO tHInK ABOUT

OPINION/EDITORIAL
R e c e n t l y, Rochester City School District Superintendent Dr. Bolgen Vargas provided a state of the schools address. In that address he mentioned that one of his recommendations was to lengthen We say that over and over again in the sports world, at the end of every football, baseball, basketball, etc. season, coaches that do not do well, repeatedly, get fired. In the business world, executives that do not turn a profit for a period of time typically get moved out of their jobs. However, when it comes to politics, folks that do a horrible job keep getting re-elected. Isnt it interesting how folks that keep voting for politicians that raise more taxes and increase regulations here in New York, complain about their being no jobs here and look to move to states where republicans govern and where taxes and regulations are lower and jobs more plentiful? The point here is why would we want the Rochester City School District to hang onto our children longer when in the amount of time they currently have them, they are failing them? I do realize that teaching is a difficult career and I would never minimize the job that teachers do, however, the Rochester City School District is failing our students.

15 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.

The Problem is Not the Length of the School Day

Therefore, giving them more time is not going to solve the problem. It will only help the teachers union and do nothing to help the students. Indeed it appears that whenever there is a problem, there are those in our society who believe that more government is the answer. This is not the case. We need to work harder on working with parents, students and teachers in order to turn the dismal situation around that faces our young people in the Rochester City School District. Longer school days just mean more of the same failing ways and spending more money on a problem that is well funded already. The Rochester City School District spends as much per student ($9,665) as does the Brighton School District ($9,285) per student. The RCSD graduates 46 percent of its students. The Brighton School District graduates 76 percent of its students. As one can see with this data gathered from the New York State Department of

Education for year 2009-2010, the results are much, much different and Brighton does not have a longer school day. Maybe the money that would be needed for having a longer school day should be spent on studying the successes of school districts around us and try to implement what works for them. I realize that there are differences between the city and the suburbs, but the problem is not that the school days are too short. Therefore, the solution is not to have a longer school day. The system in the RCSD is broken and needs to be fixed and I believe that it can be fixed with the money that it already spends. More government will not solve this problem. Dr. Vargas needs to stop placating the teachers union and start focusing on what will help the students of Rochester.
------------------------------Michael Vaughn is Sr. Pastor, New Wineskin Church. You can contact him at mvaughn. seniorpastor@newwineskin.org

C. MICHAEL VAUGHN the school day.

I do believe that the Superintendents heart is right, but he is very wrong with this proposal. I hope that no one would support this proposal, but after what the school board did regarding condom distribution in schools, I do not hold out much hope. However, I will try and make my argument anyway. Usually when someone has been given a job to do and they fail at it, they typically do not get the chance to have the job again.

Creating a Living History through Better Education

When black people celebrate our history we nostalgically look back at the epic struggles of civil rights pioneers and their fight for equality, fairness and justice. Our students are managed and corralled in many of the same ways that newly freed black slaves were through policies, practices, and procedures. I can just hear the sucking of the breath from those who make and allow such policies and practices to remain in place. They say: Its for safety or, Weve got to teach them how it is in the real world. If this means dancing all over their rights, I disagree. I think that we can allow young people, especially high-schoolers some freedom, dignity and respect in their school. For some reason, very few parents vocally stand up and fight for their childrens rights in city schools. There are some of problematic policies, practices, and procedures in city schools that I think that Pittsford parents would be up in arms about. The first is the morning arrival. Everyday, children have their book bags and/ or purses searched. This policy was implemented in response to incidents like the Columbine tragedy but in practice, it allows adults, some whom are not security personnel to go through students belongings and confiscate them. Children complain about having their phones, electronics, food or drink items and even some articles of clothing taken from them as they enter school buildings in the morning. Ironically, there are no policies that explain how the student or family is compensated if and when those items are lost or damaged while in the possession of school personnel. Also, in the morning, children must walk through metal detectors. It seems that if this was a proven safety measure then suburban students would go through them also. According to the National School Safety and Security Services, metal detectors in schools are not common, and schools that use them are generally considered the exception, not the norm. So what points of equality, fairness and justice can be learned from how our children are treated every morning? Another set of bad policies, practices and procedures surround using the latrine. Using the bathroom is a really big deal in schools. Surely, we have heard the horror stories of children urinating on themselves because the school is on pass restriction and some overzealous teacher, simply following the rule, refused to let them go. The passing time (the time between classes or lessons) is when they should go, but some schools have a three minute passing time and students are told that this is not the appropriate time to go to the bathroom. Three minutes is not enough time to walk from one classroom to another when there is anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people in the hallways, let alone go to the bathroom or God forbid go to their locker to get class supplies. Passing time is important to students. It gives them a mental break, time to go to the bathroom, or a second to say hello to a friend. The policy that students get a pass to the bathroom after the first 10 minutes of class; the very time that most teachers are in direct instruction, is ill-conceived. In one building it was decided that since girls like to fix their hair when they leave the bathroom, they would remove all of the mirrors from the girls bathrooms! Other bad policies, practices, and procedures in schools are: academic planning that cause students to sit through courses that they have already passed; taking classes for which they receive no credit; not offering courses that students need to advance; and uniform policies that restrict children from putting on a jacket when they get cold or forbids classic teenager wear, jeans. How we allow our children to be treated is something worth thinking about. Do suburban children get treated in these ways? Adults must understand that when we allow childrens personal space and possessions to be violated daily, they learn to violate the personal space and property of others. When we allow rules to dictate bodily functions of children then we fail to protect their physical and mental health. When we dont protect against breaches in their academic progress, were showing them that there is no point in working to be an advanced student. When students complain to me about being mistreated, I tell them to tell their parents and way too many times, children respond back, They aint gonna do nothing. Now is a good time to do something.

And during Black History Month we traipse from community event to candle lightings, holding hands in prayer and singing joyful songs. After the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment the myth was that black people were free. Theoretically, we are free unless we are convicted of a crime, which is a common occurrence knowing how Jim Crow laws and work camps stole that freedom back. We also know that it is the policies, practices and procedures that choke the free out of freedom for black people. America tends to be a very legalistic society. We make laws against everything from drinking large sodas to creating a three-second rule to turn right on red. Rochester and the City School District which have higher populations of black and brown people than our suburban counterparts has more restrictive policies, practices and procedures, particularly in schools, than those in suburban communities. There are adults who operate as if the U.S. Constitution does not apply in city schools and there is no ACLU running in to challenge anything.

DIANE WATKINS

16 www.minorityreporter.net | march 11 -17 | 2013

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