1 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.

ER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012 EPORTER NET WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012 ORTE RTE RTE RTE RT RRRR NE .NE .NE NETT - T T WE WE WE WEEK EK EK EK OF OF OF F JUL JUL JU JU J
Rochester, NY VOL 5. NO. 37
july 16 - 22, 2012
www.MinorityReporter.net w t
From Information to Understanding
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F I U
MinorityReporter
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A STEADY PACE TO HEALTHY LIVING
2 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
Minority
Reporter
Ofce Address:
17 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14614
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PH: 585-301-4199 Toll-free: 1-888-792-9303
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Dave McCleary
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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Todd Elliott
COLUMNISTS
Gloria Winston Al-Sarag
C. Michael Tillman
Rev. Michael Vaughn
Vincent Felder
Diane Watkins
Mike Dulaney
Davy Vara
Ayesha Kreutz
Minority Reporter, Inc. is a family of publications
and other media formats committed to fostering self
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ther, Minority Reporter, Inc. seeks to present a bal-
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In This Issue:
COVER Pg 8
- Conkey Cruisers: A Steady Pace
to Healthy Living

By Dave McCleary

LOCAL Pgs 4 - 5
- Rochester Man Recieve Stay of
Eviction, For Now
- Slaughter Raises More Than
$530,000 in Second Quarter
- Conkey Cruisers
STATE Pgs 6 - 7
- Avon Moratorium Prompts Gas
Company to Shut Wells
- Report: Syracuse Sex-Abuse
Probe Prompt but Flawed
- ICE Director, in NY, Deatils Loan
Fraud
HEALTH Pg 11
- FDA Approves First New Weight-
Loss Pill in Decades
COLUMNS: Pg 14-15
- What to The Slave is the Fourth of
July?
By Gloria Winston Al-Sarag
- A Good Solution
By Michael Vaughn
- Rochester Police Use Intimidation
Tactics to Stop Me From Exposing
Them
By Davy Vara
1 :: WWW.0,125,7<5(3257(5.NET - WEEK OF JULY16 - 22, 2012 (3257(5 NET WEEK OF JULY16 - 22, 20122 257(5 257(5 57(5 57(5 57 NET NET - .NET - .NET WWWWEEK OF JUL EEK OF JUL EEK OF JUL EEK OF JUU EEK OF JU Rochester, NY VOL 5. NO. 37 july 16 - 22, 2012
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From Information to Understanding
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4 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
Rochester Man Receive Stay of Evicon, for Now
Sta
Rochester resident Leonard Spears will
be able to stay in his home, at least
unl August according to a court order.
Spears, 56, has been facing evicon
from his home at 26 Ries Street aer
an illness that caused him to fall
behind on his mortgage payments.
State Supreme Court Judge Elma
Bellini adjourned the case unl August
1st and temporarily halted the evicon
of Spears from his home when lawyers
from the mortgage company failed to
show up in court.
Spears originally bought the home for
$1 in 2002 from the city of Rochester
and rehabilitated it through a grant
from the city.
Spears says he later took out a $22,100
mortgage from Wells Fargo and bought
the house next door with the intenon
of renovang it and renng it out. His
plans did not work out and he was
forced to sell the house for a loss.
When he became ill he led for
disability but his claim was delayed.
Spears has received support from
community organizaons like Take
Back the Land Rochester, accusing
the mortgage company of fraudulent
pracces. Despite 10-12 aempts at
a mortgage modicaon, Wells Fargo
refused to negoate with Leonard
and instead asked him to connually
resubmit the same paperwork, the
organizaon said in a statement.
To add insult to injury, when Wells
Fargo foreclosed on Mr. Spears, they
sold his house to Freddie Mac for
$500. Now Wells Fargo has to jusfy
its foreclosure pracces in court.
Take Back the Land Rochester say
they are demanding that Wells Fargo
withdraw the foreclosure and for
Freddie Mac to donate the house to
the Rochester Community Land Trust,
where Mr. Spears can stay in his house
and keep it permanently aordable.
Leonard Spears
Slaughter Raises More Than $530,000 in Second Quarter
Rochester, NY Louise Slaughters
campaign, July 9, announced it had
raised more than $530,000 in the
second quarter of 2012. Slaughters
FEC ling will be formally released on
July 15, 2012.
Louise Slaughter received
overwhelming support because
of her eecve work and reless
energy on jobs and the economy
in the Rochester area, Slaughters
campaign said in a statement. In the
second quarter, Slaughter received
3,532 grassroots contribuons with
an average individual contribuon
of less than $82. In the rst quarter,
Slaughters opponent led 136
individual contribuons with an
average donaon of $1,570.
Klein Fine With Punishment Against Bullies
NEW YORK The Greece, NY school
bus monitor who was bullied by four
seventh-graders says shes sased
that theyre being suspended for a
year.
Karen Klein that she wants to meet
with the boys who tormented her.
Oh yes, I would like to talk to them!
said the 68-year-old, speaking from
her home in Rochester. I want to ask
them why they did it.
What the four boys did was captured
on video, mercilessly taunng Klein as
she sat on the bus, gradually breaking
down in tears.
Last Friday, the Greece school system
suspended the four middle school
students for a year, keeping them from
regular bus transportaon.
How does Klein feel about this
punishment?
Its ne with me, she said.
Klein said theyll sll be going to an
alternave school they wont be
just si ng at home doing nothing.
But the best part of her ordeal going
public, and the resulng school acon,
is that they have to do community
service for senior cizens, she said,
her voice rising with emoon.
Im so glad everyone out there knows
about this, she added.
Klein, who is hard of hearing, spoke
by telephone with the help of her
adult son and daughter, who repeated
quesons that she then answered
herself.
Another benet of the video of the
incident going viral, she said, is that
its pu ng people into acon, making
them talk to their children, making
them teach them what they should
not do.
The cellphone video posted online
by a fellow student drew millions
of viewers. The video shows Klein
trying her best to ignore a stream of
profanity, insults and outright threats.
One student taunted: You dont
have a family because they all killed
themselves because they dont want
to be near you. Kleins oldest son
killed himself 10 years ago.
Among the mounds of messages she
received this week were leers of
apology from three of the boys and
their families.
She said earlier in the week that she
didnt feel the youths were sincere.
But on Saturday, Klein said she accepts
the newest leer she received several
days ago from the fourth boy.
His parents dropped it o with owers.
He said he was sorry, and that he
didnt mean to do it, Klein said. And I
think he means it.
Sounding relieved, she said that none
of the students will be showing up on
her school bus in the fall should she
choose to return to work.
The support shes received wasnt only
verbal.
A fund drive that began with a goal
of $5,000 to help Klein take a nice
vacaon raised more than $667,000 as
of last week.
She hasnt decided yet whether to
return to her job.
I dont know, I just dont know, she
said, adding, Im going to invest and I
dont need to work.
But Klein, a grandmother of eight,
including one with Down syndrome,
said shell donate part of the money to
support research.
And she wants to pay o all her bills.
Source: Associated Press
5 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012
Bryant & Straon College Breaking Ground for New Campus
O cials including Monroe County
Execuve Maggie Brooks, New York
State Senator Joe Robach and Greece
Town Supervisor John Auberger
celebrated the ground breaking
ceremony for Bryant & Straons (B&S)
new Greece campus at 846 Long Pond
Road, Thursday, July 5.
The new campus will mean relocaon
from 150 Bellwood Drive (Canal Ponds
Park) where the College has been since
July 1998
We are excited about the move to
our new locaon and the opportunity
to deliver a quality educaonn to
more students in the heart of Greece,
a community that we have proudly
become a part of over the past decade.
Our new campus will be well suited to
help us meet the needs to our student
body noted Anne Loria, Director of
Strategic Planning and Instuonal
Assessment.
B&S o cials say the move to the
32,611 square feet facility on 8.91
acres is necessary given the growth of
student enrollment.
The new facility will feature a medical
lab, crime lab and several computer
labs, in addion to a larger library and
learning center.
Bryant & Straon College plans to
start classes at their new locaon
in January 2013. The campus will
oer AAS degrees in Accounng,
Business, Criminal Jusce, Human
Resource Specialist, Medical Assisng,
Medical Administrave Assistant,
Networking and Security Technology
and the Colleges newest programs,
O ce Informaon Technology and
Informaon Technology with a focus
on Mobile Applicaon Development
which is an AOS degree.
Bryant & Straon College remains the
only college in the town of Greece.
Man Finds $8K Along Road, Returns it to Owner
BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. A New York man
who found a bag with $8,000 in cash
along a road has returned the money
to its owner.
Nick Ops, of Mendon, N.Y., came
across a money bag Monday morning
in Bloomeld, south of Rochester. Aer
nding the cash and checks made out
to nearby Whites Farm Market, he
brought the bag to the farm stand.
Its owner, Chip White, told the
Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester
the money was the weekends
revenue. An employee had apparently
lost it on the way to the bank when he
opened and closed his car door aer
seeing it was parally ajar.
The employee realized at the bank the
money was gone and raced back to the
farm stand. Ops had already dropped
it o.
Rochester Man Sentenced in Child Pornography Case
ROCHESTER, NYU.S. Aorney
William J. Hochul, Jr. announced July 2
that Don MacIntyre, 33, of Rochester,
New York, who was convicted of
possession of child pornography, was
sentenced to 36 months in prison and
15 years supervised release by U.S.
District Judge David G. Larimer.
Assistant U.S. Aorney Marisa J.
Miller, who handled the case, stated
that during the execuon of a search
warrant by the Federal Bureau of
Invesgaons Cyber Task Force at
a residence MacIntyre shared with
co-defendant Robert Vogler, law
enforcement o cers found devices
containing child pornography.
Macintyre admied to downloading
images and videos of child
pornography using a peer-to-peer le
sharing program.
Robert Vogler was also convicted of
possession of child pornography and
will be sentenced on August 20, 2012
by Judge Larimer.
This case was brought as part of Project
Safe Childhood, a naonwide iniave
to combat the growing epidemic
of child sexual exploitaon and
abuse launched in May 2006 by the
Department of Jusce. Led by United
States Aorneys O ces and the
Criminal Divisions Child Exploitaon
and Obscenity Secon (CEOS), Project
Safe Childhood marshals federal, state,
and local resources to beer locate,
apprehend, and prosecute individuals
who exploit children via the Internet,
as well as to idenfy and rescue
vicms. For more informaon about
Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The sentencing is the culminaon
of an invesgaon on the part of
Special Agents of the Federal Bureau
of Invesgaon, under the direcon
of Special Agent in Charge Christopher
M. Piehota.
(L to R) Je Tredo- Director of NY Campuses, B&S; Rich LeSrois- President and CEO of LeSrois Development; Anne
Loria- Director of Strategic Planning and Instuonal Assessment, B&S; Monroe County Execuve Maggie Brooks, John
Scaschak- President and CEO, B&S; NYS Senator Joe Robach; Cheryl DiNolfo- Monroe County Clerk; John Auberger-
Greece Town Supervisor
6 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
Avon Moratorium Prompts Gas Company to Shut Wells
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) In the latest
salvo in local bales over gas drilling,
a company said Monday its shu ng
down wells and turning o the free
gas to landowners in the town of Avon
because of a moratorium the town
recently passed.
The town of Avon, 20 miles southwest
of Rochester, passed a one-year
moratorium on gas drilling and
hydraulic fracturing on June 28. Lenape
Resources has more than 5,000 acres
under lease and 16 wells in producon
in the town. None used the horizontal
drilling and high-volume hydraulic
fracturing that would be covered by
regulaons now under development.
The company sent a leer over the
weekend to landowners saying Lenape
was shu ng down its wells in Avon
and that royalty checks and free gas
provided under leases would cease.
The company said the acon was
required under the towns moratorium
and listed the town supervisors home
phone and street address for any
quesons.
Town Supervisor David LeFeber said
Lenapes shutdown wasnt required by
the moratorium.
We were very careful to word our
moratorium to protect exisng gas
wells, LeFeber said Monday. This is
only a moratorium, its not a ban. We
wanted to take some me to study the
issue and put in place any things that
would help make sure we protect the
health, safety and well-being of our
local residents.
Lenape also has a lot of acreage
under lease in the nearby town of
Caledonia, where town o cials are
considering a similar moratorium, said
aorney Michael Joy, who represents
Lenape. John Holko, owner of Lenape
Resources, is lobbying against the
moratorium in Caledonia and other
towns.
The town (Avon) has put a
grandfathering provision in for exisng
wells, but the town knows full well
that the terms of the provision cause
Lenape to operate at a loss, Joy said.
They dont understand the need to
bring new wells into producon.
Local senment for or against
gas drilling has taken on greater
signicance in New York since the
Cuomo administraon said the
state Department of Environmental
Conservaon will consider local
ordinances when it starts granng
permits for shale drilling and hydraulic
fracturing. The agency hasnt issued
new permits since it started an
environmental review in 2008; the
review and new regulaons are
expected to be completed by the end
of summer.
The New York Times quoted unnamed
state o cials last month as saying that
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is likely to allow
shale drilling only in towns that have
proclaimed their support, in the ve
counes near the Pennsylvania state
line where gas is considered to be
most plenful.
More than 100 communies have
enacted moratoriums or bans similar
to the one put in place by the town of
Avon. Dozens of others have passed
resoluons stang support for gas
drilling.
The main concern of opponents
relates to high-volume hydraulic
fracturing, which injects millions of
gallons of chemically treated water
at high pressure into horizontally
drilled wells to fracture surrounding
shale and allow trapped gas to ow.
Environmental and health groups say it
could contaminate drinking water. The
industry says that fear is unsupported
by scienc data.
Certainly John Holkos company
has been aggressively trying to stop
moratoriums not only in Avon but in
other towns where it has land under
lease, Joy said. They just weathered
through four years of DEC not allowing
them to drill cost-eecve wells. Now
they have the town telling them they
cant drill here. Lenape doesnt know
where its future operaons are going
to stand.
In Vestal, near Binghamton in the prime
shale gas region, Vestal Residents for
Safe Energy will present more than 500
new an-drilling peon signatures
to the town board on Wednesday,
bringing the total to more than 2,000,
said Sue Rapp, a member of the group.
We want the right to the quiet
enjoyment of where we live, Rapp
said in a statement. The peon
represents residents who want
to guard themselves against the
dangers of air and water polluon,
the industrializaon of their
neighborhoods and the degradaon of
the value of their homes, Rapp said.
The town also faces pressure from
landowners seeking gas leases, who
want the board to pass a resoluon in
favor of drilling.
Two local ordinances against gas
drilling, in Middleeld and Dryden,
were challenged in court but upheld
by local judges. The gas industry is
appealing the decisions, arguing that
state law specically says that local
ordinances are trumped by state
regulaons in the case of oil and gas
drilling.
Report: Syracuse Sex-Abuse Probe Prompt but Flawed
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Syracuse
Universitys prompt response to
allegaons of sexual abuse against an
assistant basketball coach was done
in good faith but was awed because,
among other things, there was no
direct contact with law enforcement,
a special commiee of the universitys
board of trustees said in a report
released Thursday.
Although the 52-page document states
there was no aempt to cover up any
conduct, it reiterates a cricism voiced
by Onondaga County District Aorney
William Fitzpatrick that police and the
district aorney should have been
noed immediately so they could
conduct the invesgaon with all the
experience and tools available to law
enforcement.
The commiee assessed the
universitys response to allegaons
that Bernie Fine had sexually abused
former ball boy Bobby Davis. It said
Davis allegaons should have been
viewed from the outset as involving
serious alleged crimes.
Davis, now 41, claims Fine molested
him for years beginning when he was
around 12 years old. He took the claims
to university o cials in September
2005.
Fine, in his 36th year on the basketball
sta, was red in November 2011 aer
the allegaons were made public.
Fine, 66, has not been charged, and he
denies the accusaons.
The claims by Davis and his step-
brother, Michael Lang, happened too
long ago to be invesgated, but the
U.S. aorneys o ce is invesgang
the claims of a third man who said
Fine abused him. That third accuser,
23-year-old Zach Tomaselli, of
Lewiston, Maine, has since said he
lied.
The abuse allegaons threw into
turmoil what was then the naons
top-ranked mens basketball team
and seemed to threaten the career
of Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim,
who staunchly defended his longme
assistant before soening his stance.
The university invesgated the
allegaons with the aid of its longme
law rm, Bond, Schoeneck & King, and
took no acon aer the invesgaon
concluded that Davis claims could not
be substanated.
The report, which does not reach any
conclusion about the validity of Davis
claims, also said the schools counsel
should have alerted Chancellor
Nancy Cantor to allegaons that
student athletes may have had sexual
encounters with Bernie Fines wife,
Laurie Fine, and that Cantor should
have informed the board of trustees of
the allegaons.
Laurie Fine has said she was the vicm
of lies.
Among other ndings in the report:
- The invesgaon didnt talk to
enough witnesses or failed to interview
witnesses thoroughly.
- No sexual abuse expert was called in
to help.
- Bernie Fine was allowed to change
his original statement but lawyers
who did the invesgaon did not
note the change in their nal report.
Fine originally said Davis might have
stayed alone with him in Fines hotel
room during a road trip, but that was
deleted at the request of Fines lawyer.
- Lawyers didnt talk to two people who
Davis said might have been potenal
abuse vicms.
Aorney Gloria Allred, who represents
Davis, said she would review the report
and discuss it with him before issuing
a response on Monday. Davis did not
return a call seeking comment.
The university did not respond to
a request for comment, but in a
statement to students, faculty and
sta, Cantor outlined steps it has taken
to address campus interacon with
minors. A working group has wrien
new rules regarding programs in which
minors are involved, and the athlecs
department has new policies regarding
supervision of minors.
The most important things now
are that we connue to learn from
these events over the long term and
that anyone impacted by abuse or
harassment is able to come forward
in a supporve environment, Cantor
said.
A judge in May threw out a defamaon
lawsuit Davis and Lang brought in
December against Syracuse University
and Boeheim. Davis and Lang, who
also served as a ball boy and said he
was sexually abused by Fine, claimed
Boeheim slandered them by saying
they were out for money aer their
allegaons against Fine became public.
7 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012
ICE Director, in NY, Details Loan Fraud Scheme
CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated
Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) An elaborate
loan scheme bilked 2,000 known
vicms out of more than $2.7 million
before ps from two wary grocery
store employees led to its unraveling
by invesgators, federal authories
said Tuesday.
This case was a big fat fraud, U.S.
Immigraon and Customs Enforcement
Director John Morton said Tuesday in
Bualo, where a 62-count grand jury
indictment was unsealed charging 32
people from the United States and
Canada.
Invesgators said vicms, drawn in
by newspaper ads or Internet sites
promising loans to people with poor
credit, paid upfront fees for loans
that never materialized. Invesgators
believe the scheme operated from
around 2005 to 2011 under the
direcon of a Canadian woman, Sheila
Oor of Ontario.
Oor had not been arrested as of
Tuesday aernoon, authories said.
She could not be reached by phone for
comment.
The whole thing was a shell game,
Morton said during a press conference
with U.S. Aorney William Hochul.
The organizaon maintained 67
cous companies online which
would show up in Internet searches
for loans for people with poor
credit, Hochul said. Some of the fake
companies had names similar to real
nancial instuons. One legimate-
looking web page highlighted by
prosecutors included a picture of a
glass, high-rise o ce building and
glowing customer tesmonials.
Phone calls would ring to the
defendants, who instructed vicms
to wire a security or insurance fee to
money couriers through a service like
Western Union, invesgators said.
Well you can probably guess the rest
of the story, Hochul said. No sooner
had the vicms sent their inial security
deposit when they would ulmately
learn that the loan would not be
forthcoming. And when the vicms
tried to follow up by contacng these
cous internet sites, somemes
they would learn those sites had been
closed.
In 2008, two employees at two
separate grocery stores in Bualo
grew suspicious of some of the money
transfers they were seeing and alerted
authories, touching o the four-year
invesgaon.
What we know about Western Union
is you usually send money to your
family, a few hundred dollars. These
were larger amounts, several thousand
dollars, to people who were seemingly
unrelated, said Assistant U.S.
Aorney Fauzia Ma ngly, the cases
lead prosecutor, and so that raised
the suspicions of these individuals.
The defendants include 23 Canadians
and 10 Americans from Michigan and
New York City. All but one was charged
in the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The other was named in a separate
criminal complaint.
All are charged with conspiracy to
commit wire fraud and conspiracy to
launder money and could face up to
40 years in prison if convicted.
All of the Americans had been arrested
by Tuesday. Prosecutors said they
would seek the extradion of the
Canadian suspects, who had yet to be
arrested.
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Howmany
youthneed
mentors?
Just one
theonewho
needs you.
A message from the Boomer Mentor Project of Rochester Mentors at Lifespan.
Youve got what it takes
tomake a difference in
the life of a child.
Call 271-4050 or visit www.RochesterMentors.org
8 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
9 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012
A STEADY PACE TO HEALTHY LIVING
Theresa Bowick lost 75 pounds and is
determined to stay healthy and help
other do the same.
Bowick, last year, founded the Conkey
Cruisers, a bicycling club staoned in
the Conkey-Cliord neighborhood.
The group celebrated a milestone
Saturday when more than y area
bicyclists and tricyclists ages 6-74
began President Obamas Acve
Lifestyle Challenge with an inaugural
ride.
They plan to bike 1 and 1/2 miles along
the El Camino Trail, ve mes a week
for the next six weeks to qualify for the
presidenal award.
Parcipants include City Council
President Lovely Warren and
Assemblyman David Gan, both area
residents.
We call ourselves the Conkey Cruisers
because were actually taking a bicycle
cruise, Bowick said. Im encouraging
people to keep a slow steady pace to
weight loss and healthy living.
Our use of colorful tricycles for health
promoon with children and adults
has become a community wonder
drug with the most amazing side
eects. The success of our program
is evidenced by an overwhelming
interest in physical acvity, healthy
eang, neighborhood rebuilding, and
the potenal for crime reducon.
Bowick says she is looking for more
men to get to get involved and be
mentors for some of the young people.
I have a group of young men between
the age of 10 and 15. Theyre very
talented riders, she said. But
because theyre so talented they want
to ride fast and do tricks. They dont
like riding with us because they say we
cant keep up with them.
Bowick, an avid exerciser, says she
started the group aer ge ng some
negave aenon one day while
jogging through the neighborhood.
A young man yelled out to me--Hey
lady are you on probaon? Bowick
said.
Then I was accused of being
an undercover Police, with a
neighbor stang, She is the Police
because nobody exercises in this
neighborhood.
Bowick, determined to change the
negave image of exercise, created the
Conkey Cruisers with help from local
organizaons, community leaders
and lots of bicycle donaons, she
notes.
Since starng the group, Bowick
has received local and naonal
aenon, including recognion from
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.
Slaughter congratulated the Conkey
Cruisers and Bowick on the oor of the
House of Representaves last month.
I am proud that such dedicated
individuals call my district home, and
that they have commied themselves
to improving their neighborhoods,
increasing safety, and pursuing health
for all of our residents, Slaughter
said. The Conkey Cruisers has
singlehandedly unied an inner city
neighborhood by addressing two
important factors: crime and health.
Im excited that our program has
received overwhelming community
support, local and naonal
recognion, Bowick said. Our
Vision is that neighbors will inspire
neighbors to stay acve, make healthy
food choices, decrease obesity rates,
and create a posive image of our
neighborhood.
Bowicks personal journey to a healthy
lifestyle is quite noteworthy. She beat
the odds to drop about 75 pounds,
while gaining much more than a
smaller waistline. The biggest thing I
found through the weight loss is self-
condence, she said.
Bowick says that the boost in self-
condence her weight loss gave her
helped her become a registered
nurse, and propel her into print. Three
naonal magazines have featured her
quest for a healthier, life-changing
lifestyle. Her ability to keep o the
pounds, plus her essay, From Buets to
Bikinis, helped her become one of six
grand prizewinners in the 2009 Weight
Watchers Inspiring Story of Change
Contest. The win put Bowick on the
cover of the January 2010 edion of
Weight Watchers magazine.
I want to help others achieve their
opmum level of tness, whatever
that means to them, Bowick said.
(L to R) Jacynta Harris, Assemblyman David Gan, and Theresa Bowick
10 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.s Mood Disorder
Likely Raising More Quesons About Hushed Absence
By Associated Press
CHICAGO U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson
Jr.s disclosure that he is suering from
a mood disorder sll leaves many
quesons about his secreve medical
leave and whether the the son of
the prominent civil rights leader has
sased mounng calls to be more
open about his monthlong absence.
Just hours aer Democrac leaders
in Congress ratcheted up pressure on
Jackson to reveal more informaon,
his o ce released a brief statement
from his doctor on Wednesday saying
the Chicago Democrat was receiving
intensive medical treatment at a
residenal treatment facility for a
mood disorder.
But it oered no details about Jacksons
whereabouts or even the name of the
doctor, cing federal privacy laws.
Several experts said that based on
the doctors use of the term mood
disorder, they believed Jackson might
be suering from depression. But the
statement did not elaborate on his
condion and rejected claims that the
47-year-old congressman was being
treated for alcohol or substance
abuse.
When Jacksons medical leave was
rst announced two weeks aer it
began on June 10 his o ce said he
was being treated for exhauson. Last
week his sta said his condion was
worse than previously thought and
required inpaent treatment, saying
Jackson had been privately baling
emoonal problems. The o ce has
remained mum on details.
The ming of the leave has invited
scruny, coming as Jackson faces an
ethics invesgaon in the U.S. House
connected to imprisoned former
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Days
before Jacksons o ce announced his
leave, a fundraiser and family friend
also involved in the probe was arrested
and charged with unrelated medical
fraud charges.
----
Associated Press writers Donna
Cassata in Washington and Jason
Keyser in Chicago contributed to this
report.
Baden Street
485 N. Clinton Ave.
Wednesdays, Thursdays,
Fridays: 4-8 PM
Project HOPE
Conkey Corner Park
(Cliord and Conkey)
Sundays: 12-3 PM
Community Place
500 Carter St.
Tuesdays: 2-6 PM
441 Ministries
441 Parsells Ave.
Wednesdays: 2-6 PM
St. Marks and St. Johns
Episcopal Church
1245 Culver Rd.
Saturdays: 9-12 PM
NEADs Freedom Market
359 Webster Ave.
Saturdays: 12-3 PM
Charles Settlement House
676 Jay St.
Thursdays: 4-7 PM
Southwest Area Neighborhood
Association (SWAN)
270 McCree Way
Fridays: 4-6 PM
Rochester Recreation Club
for the Deaf
1564 Lyell Ave.
Saturdays: 9-12 PM
Liberty Temple
144 Reynolds St.
Thursdays: 3-6 PM
URBAN FARM STANDS
Increasing access to fresh fruits & vegetables
URBAN FARM STANDS
Farm Stands are a collaboration
between Foodlink and the community
organizations listed. They are generously
funded through grants from the NYS
Fresh Connect Program, the Gannett
Foundation, and H.E.A.R.T. (a CDC
Community Transformation Grant).
All stands accept EBT and are
open to the public.
For more information, contact Mitch
Gruber at mgruber@foodlinkny.org
Increasing access to fresh fruits & vegetables
U.S. Rep Jesse Jackson Jr.
11 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012
Lawmakers List Issues That Would Mobilize Black Voters
By Hazel Trice Edney
(TriceEdneyWire.com) Now that the
Aordable Health Care Act has been
upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court a
major win for President Barack Obama
other key issues of importance to
Black voters must also be espoused by
the Obama campaign say members of
the Congressional Black Caucus.
In some naonal polls, President
Obama is slightly ahead of Republican
candidate Mi Romney. In others,
they are neck-in-neck. With African-
American voters as a dominant base
of the Democrac vote, many predict
Blacks will once again be a major
deciding factor in who wins the race.
In recent interviews, CBC members
listed numerous issues that would
incite African-Americans to the polls.
I think African-Americans want to hear
an agenda thats going to really speak
to closing the economic disparies and
how the American dream is going to
be aorded for all of us what weve
been about historically and were going
to connue to ght unl that dream
is real, says U. S. Rep. Barbara Lee
(D-Calif.) When you look, for instance,
at the unemployment rate, sll over 13
percent unacceptable; when you look
at health disparies, when you look at
the disparies in educaon, when you
look at environmental injusce, when
you look at the foreclosure crisis, when
you look at all of the systemic and
structural issues that are sll prevalent
in the African-American community,
weve come a long way and have a
long way to go.
So far, civil rights leaders have leaned
heavily on the voter suppression
issue to draw a disncve line
between Republican Mi Romney and
President Obama. A record number of
states across the naon are engaged in
changes to vong laws, many of which
rights leaders believe are intended to
diminish or discourage the Black vote.
The queson is will this be enough to
inspire African-Americans to return to
the polls to vote in record numbers as
they did in 2008 during the historic
elecon of Obama, the naons
rst Black President. CBC Chairman
Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) doesnt
seem to think so.
Make no mistake we do have an
enthusiasm gap that was not present
in 2008. And all of the polling data
suggests that while African-Americans
are commied to supporng President
Obama in the November elecon, the
queson is how many will come out?
Cleaver said. Many think that the
president will get 95 percent of the
Black vote, but the issue is 95 percent
of what?
To mobilize the maximum Black vote,
Cleaver says strategy will be just
as important as topic. Interviewed
during a Washington, D.C. convening
of the Conference of Naonal Black
Churches, he says the Black church will
be key in coming months.
The only way to get that turned
around is for the clergy to go back to
their congregaons and let them know
that there is a concerted eort to try
to discourage them from coming out
to vote, Cleaver said. I think when
ministers lay out to them whats going
on in terms of governments aempt
to push them away from the ballot
box, theyre going to be infuriated and
we want that furor to propel them to
come out and vote.
But, U. S. Rep. Bobby Sco (D-Va.), says
despite the fact that the Republican
voter iniaves are discouraging
people from vong, other issues of
equal or more importance are being
ignored.
Unfortunately all of this voter ID
stu and voter registraon has
diverted aenon from the fact that
Republicans want to repeal Medicare,
that they want to have tax care for the
wealthy and pay for it with important
programs, Sco says. The Agriculture
Commiee was tasked with nding
savings. Rather than cut back on
subsidies to millionaire farmers, they
cut food stamps and WIC nutrion to
pregnant women and children. Theyre
coming up with mandatory minimum
sentences Were trying to repeal the
ones on the books and Republicans are
trying to pass new ones. Those are the
kinds of things we need to be talking
about, but here we are talking about
how to vote.
The Supreme Court decision in favor
of the health care law last month was
viewed as a uke in that it was the rst
me that conservave Chief Jusce
John Roberts actually voted 5-4 with
the liberal members of the court.
This is why Congresswoman Donna
Christensen (D-V.I.) says the issue of
Supreme Court appointments which
are conducted by the President and
conrmed by the U. S. Senate - should
also be on the minds of Black voters,
given the risks of the court overturning
key future cases that might aect laws
of importance to African-Americans,
such as a rmave acon and vong
rights.
Do we want to have another Roberts
or Scalia on the Supreme Court? she
quizzed. Their decisions, the Supreme
Court decisions, have not gone in favor
of African-Americans, of the poor
of any racial and ethnic minories
and even women in some cases. So,
this should scare you. The Supreme
Court has been our last refuge when
everything else has failed. And if it
is not there for us then were in real
trouble.
However, now that the Supreme Court
has voted in favor of the Aordable
Care Act, it would help for Black voters
to know the meaning of the law and
how it will help improve their lives;
therefore the need to elect Democrac
lawmakers including the President
who will keep it in place, says U. S.
Rep. Jim Clyburn. Clyburn is assistant
Democrac Caucus chair, making him
the highest ranking Black member in
Congress.
All of us need to be talking about
health care more than anything
else, Clyburn says. The fact of the
maer is that health care is not about
Obamacare. Health care is about those
children born with juvenile diabetes
being able to have insurance and they
cannot have it otherwise; its about
women with breast cancer, men with
prostate cancer not being denied
treatment. Its about children being
able to stay on their parents insurance
policies up unl their 27th birthday.
Clyburn adds that there are other
issues and Obama policies that should
inspire Black voters to the polls when
weighing the dierence between a
President Romney and a President
Obama.
One is the Lilly Ledbeer Fair Pay Act,
among the rst pieces of legislaon
signed by President Obama in late
January, 2009. It helps women more
easily le equal-pay lawsuits in
discriminaon cases.
Women, for the rst me in their
lives, got legislaon that allows them
to stand on equal foong when it
comes to wages with men. No other
president has done that. This president
did, Clyburn says. No other president
gave us access to health care. This
president has. No other president put
Osama Bin Laden where he needs to
be. This president hasWhat weve got
to decide is whether or not we want
to have four years of Mi Romney or
whether we want to connue with
Barack Obama. Thats the only issue
we ought to be thinking about.
minority reporter
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EEK OF MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2
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12 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
Your childs journey
starts here.
The Rochester City School Districts Universal Pre-K programs
start your child on the right path with classes that develop
creavity condence and the sills necessary or lielong
learning and success.
And with programs at schools and community centers
around the city UPK provides the choice o a locaon that is
most convenient or you and your child.
&
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FREE programs for city residents!
Register your child today for classes beginning this September.
13 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012
18 - August 8
Noonme Concert Series
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Locaon: queduct Park, Main St. at
the Genesse River
A FREE noonme concert series will
be held Wednesdays, July 11 - Aug.
8, from Noon to 1 p.m., at Aqueduct
Park.
Aqueduct Park is a lovely pocket park
(owned by Thomson Reuters Inc.)
located in the heart of downtown
at the southwest corner of the
Main Street Bridge (across from the
Convenon Center). A perfect spot to
enjoy some music during lunch hour.
18
Wednesday Aernoon at the Movies
- Tangled
Time:2:30PM-4:00PM
Locaon: Central Library 115 South
Ave.
Each Wednesday aernoon from
July 11 through August 29, 2012, the
Childrens Center will be showing a
movie at 2:30. This weeks movie is
Tangled, rated PG.
19 - August 9
Party in the Park
Time: 5:00PM-10:00PM
Locaon: Riverside Fesval Site Court
St. and Exchange Blvd
Citys dynamic Party in the Park
concert series to be held Thursday,
June 7 through August 9, 2012, from
5 p.m. to 10 p.m.. Cost: $2.00 per
person facility fee at entrance; 12 &
under free
21
Health Fair sponsored by Lifeme
Care
Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Locaon: Froner Field One Morrie
Silver Way Rochester, NY
Cost: FREE (once inside PR Fesval
premises)
In eorts to connue promong a
healthier lifestyle we will have: on-site
nurses, provide screening, workshops,
discuss results in private, tness
demos, and much more.
25
Wednesday Aernoon at the Movies
- Hugo
Time:2:30PM-4:00PM
Locaon: Central Library 115 South
Ave.
Each Wednesday aernoon from
July 11 through August 29, 2012, the
Childrens Center will be showing a
movie at 2:30.
28
Flower City Looking Good - Rose
Workshop
Time: 10:00AM-11:45AM
Locaon: Maplewood Park and Rose
Garden, corner of Lake and Driving
Park Avenues. Greater Rochester
Rose Society members will provide
expert advice on roses and hands-on
demonstraons. Meet by the fountain
at the Maplewood Rose Garden,
corner of Lake and Driving Park Aves.
This workshop will focus on insects
and fungal diseases.
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To include your event on this calendar email us at
Events@MinorityReporter.net
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record of results. EEO employer. Send resumes
to: humanresources@team.uwrochester.org
14 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
In my last arcle I
asked a queson:
What to Do?
This queson was
in reference to
the violence that
our city has seen
this year and what
our response,
as a community
should be. I am
glad to hear the
announcement
of Operaon Cool
Down made by Chief of Police James
Sheppard and Mayor Tom Richards.
I believe this soluon will help curb
the violence that our city has faced
this year. I should also point out that
even though it appears that there is
an epidemic of violence this year, the
fact is that our stascs are down from
years past.
For the past 13 years, excluding 2011,
there were the same number of
homicides by June 25 as there have
been this year and yes, we all agree
that even one homicide is too many.
However, the fact is that 2011 was a
year in which homicides and violence
was down, as a community we want to
make sure that the norm is maintained.
Some of the acons that the police will
be taking seem to make logical sense
to curb violence in the city. When
people are idle there is more of an
opportunity to get into trouble.
Therefore, one of the iniaves is to
target folks that are just hanging out.
While hanging out is not a problem
in itself, when were trying to stop
the violence, this is an appropriate
response. As long as the police will
treat everyone with respect, a win-win
can be worked.
I do know that there are some who
are concerned that this will become a
racial proling exercise. My response
is that somemes we need to drop the
polical correctness and do what is
right
within the connes of the law for the
populaon at large.
For example, I think it uerly strange
that our government would think
it oensive to take a closer look at
people of Middle Eastern descent
when it relates to terrorism; when the
fact is that the vast majority of people
that have been terrorists against the
United States, have been of Middle
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.
STRAIGHTNO CHASER
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
When I was a child I
spoke as a child and
believed as a child,
but when I became
an adult I put away
childish things. 1
Corinthians 13:11
(paraphrase)
When I was a
child I believed
in Santa Claus,
the Easter Bunny,
the Tooth Fairy,
that Christopher Columbus discovered
America, and that the Fourth of July was a
day of independence in which I, too, had a
right to celebrate.
I have since discovered the fantasies I
engaged in as a child could not be further
from the truth.
I now ask myself, much like Frederick
Douglass did in his Independence Day
speech, in Rochester, N.Y. in 1852: What To
The Slave Is The 4th of July?
If you are black in America and have not
read or understand the infamous speech,
let me encourage you to take the me to
enlighten yourself. As you throw that slab
of ribs and chicken on the grill take the
me to ask yourself what it is you have to
celebrate on July Fourth.
On July 4, 1776 a total of 56 white men
from 13 various colonies established by
England that later became the 13 original
United States, signed a document called
the Declaraon of Independence. Three of
those men were from Delaware, nine from
Pennsylvania, ve from Massachuses,
three from New Hampshire, two from
Rhode Island, four from New York, three
from Georgia, seven from Virginia, three
from North Carolina, four from South
Carolina, ve from New Jersey, four from
Conneccut, and four from Maryland.
There were physicians and ministers at
the table. However, the majority of these
men were lawyers, many were merchants,
and more than a dozen were plantaon
owners and/or farmed or owned land.
What is important to note is the power
that lay in the hands of 56 white men who
in 1776 were the driving force behind
establishing a naon. Two of these men,
John Adams and Thomas Jeerson, later
became presidents.
The signing of the Declaraon of
Independence was historic and
monumental and though the date of
the signing was disputed, the date July
4 became a naonal holiday celebrang
freedom for those who were free.
My problem with celebrang freedom is I
dont really know what freedom is. I have
never been to England or places in Europe,
where I hear, one is not judged by the
color of their skin.
There are instances, issues, and
experiences that have arisen in my lifeme
that suggest to me, black folks were not
a consideraon when this land freed
itself from England and formed its own
government.
A careful reading of the Declaraon of
Independence will clearly depict to anyone
who has lived this life as a black man or
woman, that overall, the naon sll has a
mindset that refuses to believe that all
men are created equal.
A current example of this prevailing
mindset is how white men treat and refuse
to honor President Barack Obama.
A white president has never been called
into queson, humiliated, insulted,
berated, threatened or been subjected to
the kind of hatred this man has.
No white president has ever had states
go as far as to re-write legislaon, redraw
district lines and enact Jim Crow Laws to
ensure there will be no landslide victory in
2012 much like the one Barack Obama
experienced in 2008.
In 1776 my ancestors were sll being
vicmized and parcipang unwillingly in
what we call the Middle Passage.
The Atlanc Slave trade to North America,
South America and the Caribbean lasted
over 400 years, and the peculiar instuon
established because of it lasted just as
long.
The Middle Passage was so named
because the Americas were part of the
second or middle stop to unload and sell
slaves before the ships headed back to
Europe with the benets the trading and
sale of slaves aorded them.
Another concern of mine in celebrang
freedom on July Fourth stems from what
was happening to Nave Americans the
original inhabitants to the land Europeans
took control of.
Within 50 years of the signing of the
Declaraon of Independence, my Indian
ancestors were literally run, escorted,
massacred and tricked out of their land in
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and
more.
The betrayal and breaking of treaes they
experienced around 1836 is a part of the
black experience, which in my opinion,
gets swept under the rug.
The only me I am aware of honor being
paid to the ve civilized (Choctaw,
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole)
Nave American tribes pushed west at
that me, is the third week of September
in Alabama.
Over 100,000 motorcyclists on this
weekend ride the Trail of Tears in honor
of the Indians who were made to walk the
Trail of Tears, many of whom died along
the way. Its another blemish in American
history that makes it di cult to claim
freedom on the Fourth of July.
And where is the honor shown the black
soldiers who assisted in the removal of
Indians from their homes and land.
Known widely as the Bualo Soldiers,
they became escorts in some instances
because they could not serve, live or ght
alongside their white counterparts. And,
similarly, it was not so long ago that the
history of the black Tuskegee Airmen
who bravely served during World War II as
aerial escorts factored into freedom and
American History.
Why is it that Frederick Douglass
accomplishments dont stand alone?
Why is it that whenever we hear his
name menoned the name of Susan B.
Anthony seemingly qualies or validates
his existence?
Susan B. Anthony was historically a warrior
and champion for womens rights but the
fact that she had to wage a war to secure
the right to vote again makes me queson
who became free on July 4, 1776.
As a community, and as a people, when
are we going to stand together? We are
not free. What to the slave is the Fourth
of July?
GLORIA WINSTON
AL-SARAG
----------------------------------
Gloria Winston Al-Sarag is a Community Activist, Writer,
Communicator, Political Activist. She is a native Roches-
terian and has been involved with numerous community
orgainzations in Rochester.
Contact Gloria at: JazzyG4202@aol.com
A Good Soluon
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
C. MICHAEL
VAUGHN
15 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22, 2012
Rochester Police Use
Inmidaon Taccs to Stop Me from Exposing Them
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.
Almost a year
ago aer
Emily Good,
the Rochester
woman whose
story went
i nt er nat i onal
aer she was
arrested for
v i d e o t a p i n g
a tra c stop
of an African-
A m e r i c a n
motorist I aended a support
meeng for her at the Flying Squirrel
Community Center on Clarissa Street
in Rochesters historic Corn Hill
neighborhood.
While the meeng took place,
former Rochester Police Department
Westside Division Commander Samuel
Farina sent at least four police o cers
to retaliate against Goods supporters,
(myself included) by pulling out pink
childrens rulers and measuring the
distance that our vehicles were parked
from the curb.
The video, Davy V. Exposes Rochester,
N.Y. Police Inmidaon Taccs, can be
seen on YouTube.
It not only shows RPD o cers ckeng
cars, but it also shows Rochester police
parked across the street from where
the meeng was held, conducng
surveillance.
Much like Emily Goods arrest video
which shows an o cer shining his
ashlight in Goods face as he is heard
threatening to arrest her if she did not
go in her house and stop recording
the video I lmed of Rochester police
o cers retaliang against me and
others, also went viral on social media
sites, including YouTube.
And, much like Emily Goods story
of the Rochester Police Department
violang her rst amendment right
to videotape law enforcement from
her own yard, the RPDs, planned
and ordered retaliaon also made
internaonal news headlines,
including being reported by CNN.
In fact, shortly aer that incident, I was
in Miami, Fla., when I saw my video on
the television show Inside Edion.
And, aer an invesgaon by
Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard
into the departments retaliaon
against innocent cizens, Sheppard
called a news conference to announce
that indeed, his invesgaon revealed
that the incident was what he called
Selecve Targeng by several
Rochester police o cers.
He also announced that as a result of
this incident, there would be a change
in command in the RPDs Westside
Division.
This was the closest Sheppard would
come to saying that RPDs Westside
Division Commander Samuel Farina
had been ordered to resign for
ordering this retaliaon, or risk being
red and losing his pension.
Well, it seems that the Rochester
Police Department didnt learn too
much from their last aempt at
inmidang and coercing cizens in
this community with their well known
corrupt inmidaon taccs.
And, it seems as though once again as a
result of my relentless, consistent work
over the past 15-plus years exposing
the Rochester Police Department
and their long history of misconduct,
corrupon; and execung mentally-ill
persons such as Israel Izzy Andino,
who was killed by seven police o cers
on Thursday, June 21, I am a high
prole target for the RPD.
Its something that doesnt really
surprise me. I mean, who wouldnt
be a target when they have dedicated
themselves to exposing a corrupt
police force?
I will never forget an interesng
encounter I had with a Rochester
police o cer at a Tops Supermarket,
where he was working his second job
as in-store security.
At the me, The Source, a hip-
hop magazine, and a major music
publicaon distributed internaonally,
had just done a one page Q&A
interview on me and my work exposing
police misconduct.
As I was walking out of the store, the
African-American o cer, came up to
me, extended his hand, and said that
he wanted me to know that there
were Rochester police o cers, like
himself, who actually supported me
and my work.
He told me an interesng story. ...
He said that while in the locker room
at the RPDs former Goodman Secon
(this is before the RPD went to an east
and west division) that several RPD
o cers had the issue of The Source
magazine with my interview and
photo.
The o cer told me that one of the
o cers ripped it up and tossed it in
the garbage can. The o cer then told
me that he said the following to that
o cer: Its because of guys like you,
that he (meaning me) does what he
does.
The o cer then shook my hand and
told me that he belonged to a black
RPD o cers group, and told me to
keep doing what I was doing.
Unfortunately, this same o cer
was killed in an o-duty motorcycle
accident shortly aer.
In interviews, I am always asked: Where
do you get your passion for exposing
injusces, namely police misconduct,
on the part of the Rochester Police
Department?
My answer is I get it from my dad.
My father, Mario Vara was a very
outspoken cric of the Rochester
Police Department and a community
acvist against police misconduct here
in Rochester.
As a teenager in the 1980s I would tag
along with my dad to all the rallies and
marches he took part in. I remember
my dad meeng with Al Sharpton
when he would visit Rochester.
I recall my dad going to Rochester City
Council meengs and demanding that
the mayor and elected o cials do
their job, and hold police accountable.
My dad also fought hard for a true
independent civilian review board
with real subpoena power, something
that more than 25 years later, we sll
dont have.
As a result of my dads work, the
Rochester, Police Department made
his life miserable.
They would harass and inmidate him
all the me. Unfortunately, my Dad
fell into a very deep depression and
commied suicide while my mom and
I were home.
I remember my dads body was being
brought out in a body bag. I also
remember seeing several Rochester
police o cers standing in front of the
house I grew up in, at 184 Child Street,
and laughing while they smoked
cigarees.
I will never forget that.
Years ago, Rochester police o cer
Thomas Rodriguez, a Cuban like
myself, told my brother that he hated
my dad and he was glad that my dad
killed himself.
Rodriguez then placed his hands
around my brothers neck and tried to
choke him in a hospital room.
If it wasnt for a nurse who walked in
and saw Rodriguez trying to strangle
my brother, I hate to think what would
have happened.
So, you see, I wasnt really surprised
when I received this anonymous email
today.
It reads: Be careful with Rochester
police because they may go aer you
all Im hearing. City Council (is) ge ng
red of you and theyre trying to gure
out how to stop your protesng.
Its just another aempt by the
corrupt Rochester Police Department
to silence me like they did my dad.
But it wont work. It just tells me that
Im doing something right, and that my
work is ge ng to them, and that its
me to turn up the heat.
DAVY VARA
Eastern descent.
While we do not want to arbitrarily
oend the innocent, but we have to
acknowledge the facts and deal with
them accordingly.
I am one that looks at the move of
people when they are dealing with
me. I realize that in order to keep us
safe, there are some things that we
have to give up or be inconvenienced
by and I do not take oense at it.
The same thing applies here in the
Rochester area with Operaon Cool
Down. Some of the acons that are
taken may seem to target young
African-American men. However,
when we look at those that have been
vicms of the violence and those that
have perpetrated the violence, the
overwhelming percentage are young
African-American men.
I, for one, do not want to see my young
African-American men lying up in a
morgue or in the jail house. Beer
they be quesoned by the police and
temporarily inconvenienced if it will
save their life or the life of someone
else.
One of the worst things to happen
to America (and there are many) is
polical correctness. As an African-
American, I would not be oended if
I were hanging out on the corner and,
given the current environment an
o cer came up to me and asked me
what I was doing. We need to stop
carrying our feelings on our shoulder
and crying racism every chance we
get. African-Americans are a great
people, a strong people, a people full
of wisdom and purpose. We need to
look beyond those things that divide
us and concentrate on those things
that unite us. We can unite with the
city and the police department and
provide hope and purpose to the young
men that are most oen the target of
violence and work to see lives saved.
The chief of police and the mayor of
Rochester are not our enemies. Our
enemies are those that would rob our
young people of their future and their
life. So, thank you Chief Sheppard and
Mayor Richards, I support Operaon
Cool Down and pray for its success for
our young people and our community.
-------------------------------
Tell me what you think; e-mail me at
mvaughn.seniorpastor@newwineskin.org
16 :: WWW.MINORITYREPORTER.NET - WEEK OF JULY 16 - 22 , 2012
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