1 www.cnyvision.

com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013

syracuse ny vol. 3 no. 52 mar 28 - apr 3 2013
cover p6
local p4
Common Councilor Khalid Bey
Seeking the True Path
State Awards Syracuse Schools
$31.5 million to Support iZone Redesign
state p5
NY to open Dept. of Motor
Vehicles on Saturdays
2 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
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CALENDAR
march
{COVER P 6 - 7
Common Councilor Khalid Bey Seeking
the True Path
{local P 3 - 5
Syracuse Gun Rally Drew Hundreds
of Gun Enthusiasts
Stop the Violence
State Awards Syracuse Schools
$31.5M to Support iZone Redesign
County Executive and Mayor to Take
Part in Greeting USAs Annual Meeting
April 18
{STATE P 5
NY to Open Dept. of Motor Vehicles on
Saturdays
Yogurt Production Growing in NY but
Not Cow Herd
{NATIONAL P 8
Nearly Three Centuries Later, Black
Press Still Pleading Cause
{OPINIONS/EDITORIAL P 10-11
Catholic Women

By E. Faye Williams
Dr. Ben Carson, Great Surgeon but a
Bad Icon for the Politcal Collective
By Dr. William J. Leon, III
In This Issue:
1 www.cnyvision.com| mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013 syracuse ny vol. 3 no. 52 mar 28 - apr 3 2013
cover p6
local p4
Common Councilor Khalid Bey
Seeking the True Path
State Awards Syracuse Schools
$31.5 million to Support iZone Redesign
state p5
NY to open Dept. of Motor
Vehicles on Saturdays
vision
cny
without a vision
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30
2013 SUMMER CAMPS/CLINICS
Registraton forms will be made available
online on Saturday, March 30, 2013.
Registraton forms will also be available at
the Parks Main Ofce on Monday, April 1,
2013. Registraton forms will be processed
on a frst come, space available basis for
City Residents, beginning APRIL 1, 2013
at 8:00 a.m. Confrmatons will be sent
out within two weeks of handing in a
complete registraton form. Please note
that only complete registraton forms will
be processed and camp slots will not be
held for incomplete forms. In the case that
a camp is closed, complete registraton
forms will contnue to be processed and
a refund will be issued for the closed
camps (this could take up 4-6 weeks to
receive). Please review our refund policy
below. htp://www.syracuse.ny.us/parks/
summerCamps.html
30
West Side Litle Laxers Clinics
Time: 9:00am-10:15pm
Locaton: Burnet Park
Instructonal youth lacrosse returns to
Burnet Park on Saturdays this spring!
Join us for a six week program, focusing
on the fundamentals of catching,
throwing, shootng, stck handling, and
age appropriate small sided games! No
helmet, goggles, or pads are required, only
a lacrosse stck, mouth guard and a smile!
All exercises and games are played with a
sof lacrosse ball for a safe and enjoyable
learning experience!
$35 per city resident. $55 per non-
city resident. On-site registraton also
accepted, if space is available
Pre-Register Online:
http://ultimategoalonline.ezleagues.
ezfacility.com/classes-clinics/15980/
Wes t s i de- L i t t l e- L axer s - %28Ci t y-
Resident%29-.aspx. 585-473-4330 for
more informaton!
April
2
Youth Sports Coach Certfcaton Course
Time: 6:00pm9:00pm
Locaton: Magnarelli Center at McChensey
Park
Syracuse Parks will be ofering a youth
sports coaching educaton and certfcaton
course. The 3-hour program will cover
all the essental components of making
youth sports coaching more enjoyable and
more manageable and conclude with a
certfcaton exam. The SUNY Youth Sports
Insttutes coaching credental is valid for
2 years! To register call 877-828-8811 or
go to htp://registraton.youthsportsny.
org and select the Syracuse Parks and
Recreaton session. The cost for the
certfcaton course is $25 per coach For
More Informaton on the SUNY Youth
Sports Insttute, visit www.youthsportsny.
org
3 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
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OPINION/EDITORIAL
Chris Rock: For Blacks, College
Sports is No Different than Slavery
Ive always loved
Chris Rock. I
dont respect
him because
hes funny, rich
or famous,
e v e r y o n e
notces that. I
respect him
because he is
also intelligent,
progressive and
c o u r a g e o u s .
He doesnt just
give black people something to laugh
about. He also gives them something
to THINK about.
This week, while watching March
Madness, that mult-billion dollar
professional sports extravaganza that
pretends to be an amateur sports
league, Rock made some interestng
and powerful remarks about what he
was witnessing on television. Rock,
a man who clearly understands the
entertainment business, likely found
himself confused about how a show
can atract tens of millions of viewers
without paying its star performers.
Speaking from his Facebook page,
Rock had this to say:
So Im watching the Kansas North
Carolina game on tv .And I notce
there are 9 black players and 1 white
player btw the white player is amazing
. Anyway I look in the stands and
everybody is white .Since its known
that college sports is big money . One
could come to the conclusion that
the nine black and one white player
are playing to put 100 thousand
white kids though college. I know no
one is getng whipped or beaten but
economically college sports are no
diferent than slavery. I know a lot
of black intellectuals will say we can
do so much more than play ball and
we can .But that doesnt mean we
shouldnt reap the benefts from sports
.white kids that go to Syracuse and
Georgetown do . These kids should be
paid and allowed to get an educaton
for themselves and there familys for
the rest of there lives. Black people
not making money from college sports
is like Arabs not making money from
oil insane. We have our reparatons
lotery tcket right in our pocket and
were not smart enough to cash it in.
Everything that Rock says is right on
point. The truth about college sports is
that the exploitaton runs deep, along
with serious labor rights violatons, in
conjuncton with operatng practces
that would be illegal in nearly any
other industry in America. Whenever
this many fans watch something on
television, SOMEONE is getng rich.
Its amazing that those individuals are
not the ones actually doing the work.
What I also love about Rocks remark
is that he wasnt afraid to address the
racial elephant in the middle of the
room. Many conversatons about the
unethical nature of collegiate athletcs
are watered down, focusing solely on
graduaton rates in a race-neutral sort
of way. But the fact is that anyone who
follows college sports knows, without
a doubt, that black men are typically
running the show.
The wealth extracton from the
black community by the NCAA easily
exceeds one billion dollars per year.
This money could help address failing
schools, black unemployment, urban
violence and many of the other issues
that plague our community as a result
of unchecked poverty and very few
economic/educatonal opportunites.
At the very least, it would get a few
families out of the projects.
Sonny Vaccaro, the former Nike
executve who conceptualized the
Air Jordan sneaker, called to tell me
about a mult-billion dollar class acton
lawsuit being fled against the NCAA.
The atorneys were licking their chops
over the numerous ant-trust violatons
being commited by the league, which
has greedily taken athletes images and
sold them to video game companies
without compensatng the players.
The lawsuit, should Vaccaro emerge
victorious, could strike a tremendous
blow to the toxic cash cow known as
the NCAA. But an even faster route
to liberaton lies right in the hands of
players and their families. Should blue
chip athletes simply refuse to play
without being compensated, then the
show (and the money) will all come to
a halt. As Chris Rock said, the power is
in our hands.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the
Your Black World Coaliton and author
of the book, Black American Money.
DR. BOYCE wATKINS
FROM THE BoYce BLOG
4 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
LOCAL
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SYRACUSE gun rally drew hundreds of gun enthusiasts
to the Inner Harbor Saturday seeking a repeal of New Yorks Safe Act
Natonally known gun advocate,
former Graham County, Arizona Sherif
Richard Macks appearance drew
1,500 pro-gun enthusiasts to the Inner
Harbor.
While in Syracuse Sherif Mack
called gun control legislaton proposed
and/or supported by Gov. Andrew
Cuomo, President Barack Obama, Vice
President Joseph Biden and New York
City Mayor Michael Bloomberg illegal.
Ill tell Cuomo, Ill tell Obama, and
Biden and Bloomberg. Ill tell all of
you, fat out, you are breaking the law,
said Mack. Gun control in America is
against the law, and you dont get to
choose what kind of gun I own. As an
American free citzen, I do.
Mack and the other speakers, called on
atendees to call their State Assembly
and Senate members.
Mack has been setng up rallies
like the one in Syracuse around the
country. Mack said he plans to spread
the message untl he believes civil
libertes across America are restored.
County executive and
mayor to take part in Greening
USAs annual meeting April 18
SYRACUSE Onondaga County
Executve Joanne M. Mahoney,
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner,
and GreeningUSA Board Member
Chris Carrick, will headline the 2013
Greening USA Annual Meetng.
The public is invited to atend this free
event, which will be held from 7:30
a.m.to 10 a.m. on Thurs., April 18,
from at The Spa, 500 West Onondaga
St., Syracuse.
Because of limited seatng, advance
registraton is required.
The ninth Annual Meetng is a forum
on the directon of community
sustainability planning in Central New
York.
The City of Syracuse and Onondaga
County have used GreeningUSAs
Sustainable Communites Ratng
System in developing their respectve
sustainability plans.
This years forum will celebrate
the progress made in creatng those
local sustainability plans, says Diane
Brandli, GreeningUSA president.
Leaders and citzens are invited to
discuss how we can collaborate to
coordinate these plans in order for
all CNY communites to beneft. It is
our hope that this session will start a
thoughtul and respectul discussion,
which will contnue well past our
annual meetng.
Each panelist will give a short
presentaton on their sustainability
plan, with a discussion and questons
from the audience to follow.
Syracuse Mayor Miner and Actor Khalil Kain
Khalil Kain (center) with members of the community
Stop the Violence
The City of Syracuse, Mothers Against
Gun Violence, Trauma Response
Team, and 1199SEIU presented Stop
the Violence: A discussion on guns in
our community.
The event was aimed at teens and
adolescents but was open to the
public. The keynote speaker was Khalil
Kain, an actor and advocate known
for the movie Juice and TV show
Girlfriends, who spoke about his
experiences with gun violence in his
own life as well as in the role he played
in Juice. This was followed by a
panel discussion and Q&A session that
featured law enforcement ofcials,
community advocates, and victms of
gun violence.
5 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
STATE
NY to open Dept. of Motor Vehicles on Saturdays
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ New York is test
driving a proposal to keep some
Department of Motor Vehicles ofces
open in the evenings and on Saturdays,
which could reduce hectc lunch hours
spent waitng in a DMV line.
The states tentatve budget would
amend the Vehicle and Trafc Law to
allow the DMV to open on Saturdays
as a convenience for New Yorkers.
The Cuomo administraton plans to
choose some DMV ofces for the
pilot program. If it works in selected
countes, the longer hours could be
extended to other ofces statewide.
The new DMV program will also include
self-serve kiosks for transactons
without waitng in line. New Yorkers
will also be able to use their smart
phone to reserve a place in line before
they go to the DMV ofce.
Yogurt production growing in NY but not cow herd
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) The recent yogurt
boom in upstate New York has meant
more jobs and more economic actvity.
But it has not led to many more dairy
cows in the state, even as Greek yogurt
leader Chobani reaches beyond New
York for some of its milk.
There are a number of reasons for
the statc herd numbers, including
struggling dairy farmers leery about
making long-term investments in
more cows. And while the Greek
yogurt market grows like gangbusters,
Americans have been drinking less
milk over the years.
We would be swimming in milk if the
yogurt guys werent here, said farmer
Ben Simons, who keeps 80 milking
cows in Remsen, north of Utca.
Greek yogurt has gone from being
a niche product to a $1 billion-plus
seller in a short tme, and New York
has been a big benefciary. Chobani
has increased producton at its Central
New York plant, and the Fage plant less
than 60 miles away in the Mohawk
Valley also is growing.
South American yogurt maker Alpina
Foods opened a plant in Batavia in
western New York in September, and
Muller Quaker Dairy, a joint venture
between PepsiCo, Inc. and the Theo
Muller Group, is building a yogurt
plant in Batavia that is expe.cted to be
in producton this summer.
It takes about four gallons of milk to
make a gallon of Greek yogurt, which is
thicker than traditonal yogurt, and the
Chobani and Fage plants are voracious
consumers. The Chobani plant alone
used 1.26 billion pounds of milk last
year, a 48 percent increase from 2011.
The plant in New Berlin takes in about
70 tanker loads a day.
As weve grown, so has our demand
for milk. More than 90 percent of our
milk comes from New York farms,
but we are having to reach out to
neighboring states for the remainder,
Chobani spokeswoman Lindsay Kos
said in an email. Chobani recently
built another plant in Idaho. While
we contnue to invest and expand our
New Berlin facility, we are actvely
looking into ways that will allow us to
contnue to add capacity at the site
despite the constraints of the current
milk supply.
Even as more tankers ofoad at yogurt
plants in New York, the number of
milking cows in New York has held
steady since 2010 at an average of
around 610,000, according to federal
agricultural statstcs. Farmers and
dairy experts explain that the path
from the farm to the supermarket
shelf is complex and an increased
demand in one area can be ofset in
other areas, such as the long-term
drop in milk consumpton.
The fact that were seeing this growth
in these yogurt plants is valuable and
is important, but you have to keep in
mind it is within a dynamic system,
said Andrew Novakovic, a professor
of agricultural economics at Cornell
University. So for example, the big
ofset is the reducton in milk that is
being used in beverages.
Wholesale milk prices are not a
simple mater of supply and demand.
Dairy farmers typically belong to
cooperatves and do not sell directly
to yogurt makers. Federal marketng
orders set minimum wholesale prices
under a complicated system that
farmers complain is volatle and can
leave them producing milk at a loss.
Dairy farmers, already dealing with
high feed costs, think long and hard
before spending money on more cows.
Do we want to go back into debt
and expand the dairy to double the
size? ... The general consensus of the
family is no, said Simons, treasurer
of Boonville Farms Milk Cooperatve.
And the reason that decision was
made was because of the insecurity ...
the price of milk is never stable.
Stll, New York farmers produced
3 percent more milk in January
compared to a year before thanks to
more producton per cow, a long-term
trend related to how cows are bred,
fed and treated.
David Fisher, a dairy farmer in Madrid
near the Canadian border, said its not
uncommon for dairy farmers to use
nutritonists who balance the cows
food down to each amino acid.
High-producing cows are getng
almost like a fnely tuned athlete,
Fisher said.
Stll unclear is how the herd will handle
any future uptck in demand in milk
related to yogurt. Fage spokesman
Russell Evans said New York dairy
farmers have been very fexible so far
and they do not expect a problem.
Some farmers hope help will come
from regulatons pending before the
Cuomo administraton designed to
lif burdens for small dairy farmers
who increase their herd. Currently,
farms with up to 200 cows are exempt
from regulatons requiring extra steps
to prevent polluton from waste. The
administraton has proposed raising
the limit to 300 cows.
State Awards Syracuse Schools $31.5 million to Support iZone Redesign
The Syracuse City School District has
been awarded $31.5 million to support
whole-school redesign eforts in the
districts seven lowest performing
schools.
Each of seven $4.5 million School
Improvement Grants, through the
state Educaton Departments Ofce
of School Turnaround, will support
whole-school redesign eforts in
the SCSDs seven Innovaton Zone
(iZone) Schools: Bellevue Elementary,
Danforth Middle, Frazer K-8, Porter
Elementary, Seymour Dual Language
Academy, Van Duyn Elementary and
Westside Academy at Blodget.
The iZone, which is co-sponsored by
the Syracuse Teachers Associaton will
target seven of the lowest-performing
schools in the Syracuse City School
District.
They will be provided the resources,
autonomy, fexibility, and support
needed to produce widespread, rapid
and sustainable gains in student
achievement.
I am pleased that the NYSED
recognizes our commitment to whole
school reform and has awarded
the district SIG funds for all seven
applicatons submited. These grants
put us frmly on the road to ofering
a high-quality educaton for all
students, said Superintendent Sharon
L. Contreras.
Schools in the iZone will implement
interventon strategies including an
extended school day (an additonal
one hour of instructon with students
and an additonal half hour for
team planning and collaboraton);
ongoing, job-embedded professional
development for teachers; and
new collaboratons with external
partners such as Rochester Insttute
of Technology to enhance Science,
Technology, Engineering and
Mathematcs (STEM) educaton.
Superintendent Contreras, along with
Central Ofce staf, worked trelessly
throughout this process, said Stephen
Swif, president of the Syracuse City
School District Board of Educaton.
The superintendent felt strongly that
she, and her staf, could produce seven
award-winning grant applicatons in a
very short period of tme and that is
exactly what they did. This money
will beneft so many of our students
and will be used to transform seven
struggling schools into seven high-
performing schools.
The Syracuse Innovaton Zone will
be overseen by an external Advisory
Council, which will include parents,
community representatves and
district and STA leadership.
LOCAL
6 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
COVER
By Lisa Dumas
Khalid Bey never really thought about
leaving a long-standing legacy afer his
frst term on Syracuses city council,
but hes defnitely focused on making
the city a beter place in the present
instead.
Im not really concerned, he said.
You get a lot of people who really
want to leave a legacy. Im alive in
the moment. I dont have tme to be
thinking about the end.
A Syracuse natve and long-tme
advocate for economic development
on the South Side, Bey said improving
community life for the citys residents
has always been his primary
motvaton.
Its not about me, he said. You
know, Im not doing it for any ribbons
or trophies. I just want to make it
[Syracuse] beter. I mean, I have kids
here. So I want a beter school system;
I want safer streets. I want economic
opportunity; I want to improve housing
stock. You know, and I want them to
feel like they live in a community thats
viable and has value. So, to me, my kids
and anybody elses kids coming up and
not facing the same type of obstacles
that we faced, thats a victory. So, if I
do it and dont get one ribbon for it,
thats ok. It doesnt mater. Its like
this one quote I try to live by. To work
hard throughout life, while ultmately
knowing theres no reward, is the true
path of a master.
And working hard to make Syracuse
government work hard for its people
is exactly what Bey said he plans to do.
As a result, since coming into ofce
in 2012, hes either supported or
opposed several diferent pieces of
legislaton based on what he said is
both his personal and professional
philosophy of empowerment.
This is where the greatest amount
of work is required, I think, said Bey.
Empowering people, while it sounds
absolutely noble and it is noble; it
is certainly not an easy thing to do.
Empowerment suggests that the
person at some point can stand up
on their own two, and become self-
sufcient in any respect. Unfortunately,
weve been conditoned in a lot of ways.
Youre talking to people who might be
challenged by unemployment, and
have goten conditoned in a way with
that struggle. Or people who may be
dependent on public help, whether its
in the way of money or other services,
and communites that have become
accustomed to asking for things
instead of doing things. You know,
that is a struggle, and thats a struggle
Im interested in trying to eliminate.
And so, you know, it is absolutely the
perfect platorm for the passion I have.
Its the one thing that I appreciate
about the job more than anything else;
that you actually have the opportunity
to empower people.
Through actually implementng
his policy of empowerment, Bey
said he tries to work in the spirit
of compromise, never separatng
his partys platorm from actual
consttuent concerns or from issues
in the business community, because,
somewhere in there, theres a hidden
principle thats relatve to all sides, he
said. According to Bey, its one he will
not stop seeking out.
Its that partcular principle that I
atempt to identfy and stand on in the
hopes of satsfying both, he said. The
one thing I wont do is sacrifce actual
consttuent concerns for party politcs.
That I wont do, and Ive made that
clear numerous tmes. Fortunately,
you really dont have to create any
separaton or any wedges. You only do
that, and I hate to say it this way, but
when you dont have the sight to see
the connecton. You know so I always
look to try to fnd the silver lining
between the opposing issues and
try to make that the more important
thing. You know, and hopefully by sort
of exploitng the middle, those other
additonal concerns that lie on the
outside can in some way be satsfed.
In efect, Beys strategy of fnding the
middle ground on controversial issues
has been partcularly evident as of
late, especially concerning proposed
legislaton he supports to improve
local employment opportunites for
people with criminal backgrounds.
The bill, part of a natonal movement
called Ban the Box legislaton, was
initally introduced by Councilor Jean
Kessner in collaboraton with the
Center for Community Alternatves
in February, and would make it illegal
for any Syracuse employer to ask a
job applicant whether he or she has
been convicted of a crime, unless
the employer was ready to ofer that
applicant a job.
But afer an outcry from local business
leaders, CenterState CEO president
Rob Simpson in partcular, Bey said the
bill has now been delayed in an efort
to fnd a co-operatve soluton that is
satsfying to the businesses, but one
that also stll serves the purpose of the
legislaton.
I was brought in on that legislaton,
he said. I cant take credit for the
inital idea. It was Jean Kessner who
was approached by CCA to look at
this issue and then they brought me
in. And really, not only knowing our
circumstances in our community in
regards to re-entry, but also the lack
of workforce development initatves
and the like, I saw value in it from that
perspectve; and so I joined on. There
is dialogue happening now between
CCA, Councilor Kessner, myself and the
business community, and Rob Simpson
of CenterState CEO.
As for whether he has any indicaton
about what the fnal agreement will
look like; Bey said its not yet clear.
I dont have any notons of what that
may look like, he said. I dont want
to put the horse before the cart on this
one. I have ideas about what could
be discussed but Im not sure. I cant
yet qualify what would be acceptable
by the business community or by the
CCA.
In regards to other potental
legislaton currently on the table, Bey
said he is also in support of a recent
bill introduced for the regulaton of
student housing.
The proposed legislaton, if passed,
would defne a student residence in
the city zoning code as any residental
dwelling occupied by three to fve
students. It would then require
landlords to annually license these
residences with the city through a
registry applicaton that includes
renters names and the university they
atend, according to reports. The law
would apply to student residences
only in the Special Neighborhood
District, said Bey.
Theres what I believe to be upwards of
a 20-year feud, unfortunately, between
the residents and the university
neighborhoods; and the landlords
who buy, renovate and essentally rent
out apartments or rooms to students,
he said. The concern of one of
the organizatons, called Southeast
University Neighborhood Associaton,
is that the breaking up of single-family
homes into these mult-unit facilites,
in their argument, tends to bring
down the overall property value in the
neighborhood and it efects quality of
life. You know, students, they tend to
party a bit. Theyre rentng, theyre
students, so theyre not really that
cognizant of the existng quality of life
in the neighborhood. They may not be
paying atenton to how they afect it
positvely or not. And so this has been
a long issue.
Bey said currently the legislaton
proposes specifcally designatng
propertes for a certain use, such
as student housing, which would
hopefully bring the discussion to a
close. And, due to the increase in
the number of propertes bought by
landlords for student-living purposes,
they would essentally pay a fee to
register those allowed to be used as
such.
Theres a fee I think they would pay
thats a registraton fee, said Bey. I
think its a minimal fee of $50. But its
really a mater of the city keeping track
of how many propertes are there. The
area where this is happening has been
zoned a special neighborhood district,
and, you know, that happened before
me, but I think that was the frst atempt
to try to fnd some balance between
the increasing number of propertes
Common Councilor Khalid Bey
Seeking the
True Path
khalid bey
syracuse city council member
7 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
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bought and owned by landlords, as
opposed to people who actually live
in the neighborhood. And so now you
have a second atempt to try to fnd
a message for maybe bringing the
concept to close, hopefully for a long
tme, if not permanently. But even
in that, theres discussions going on
between corporate counsel in the city,
lawyers for the landlords and the like
to try to see if we can fnd a middle
ground in that respect.
Recently, the aforementoned
landlords have been willing to
compromise in the mater, he said,
and hopefully the legislaton will be
able to produce satsfacton for both
sides.
Another recent issue, which Bey
contemplated but opposed, involved
allocatng $484,000 in funds for 22
unmarked police vehicles to the
Syracuse Police Department. He said
he would have been in support of the
bill initally, but voted against it due to
a last-minute amendment.
There was legislaton introduced by
the ofcers to receive a litle over a
million dollars for a certain number
of marked and unmarked cars, he
stated. Now, that legislaton I would
have been in support of. But, on the
spot, one of the Councilors introduced
an amendment to give them only half
the money. So, myself and Councilor
Hudson, we did not vote for the
amendment. And that is essentally
what was voted on, so for that reason,
we voted no. You know, and the
chief, they preferred a no vote rather
than half the money themselves. You
know, because they need it. My issue
is simply this. Lets say that we pass
legislaton or approve funding for the
medical feld. Im not a doctor no more
than I am a police ofcer. And, while we
can research and compare research,
our greatest source of informaton in
regards to our police department, is
our police department. So, they have
an understanding, even beter than
we do, on whats required to do their
job. We dont know.
Overall, Bey said the situaton had
been slightly blown out of proporton,
and that there had been too much
bickering over what he deemed to be
basic overhead costs.
No stranger to controversy, Bey has
faced other contentous maters in
the past as well. The one he labeled as
being the most controversial, however,
came in the form of a request from the
LGBT community to amend the local
fair-practce law by adding transgender
to the list.
According to Bey, the purpose of the
amendment was supposed to be
to protect the rights of all citzens
regardless of gender identty or
gender expression, but it was the fne
print of the law that became a cause
for concern.
The LGBT community wanted to make
an amendment to the local fair-practce
law to add transgender to the list, he
said. Fair-practce law protects people
against discriminaton. In my opinion,
theyre already protected as members
of the LGBT community by that law.
Now, thats not the reason why I voted
against it. I told the people who I
talked to, that nobody, and I dont care
what they do, should be discriminated
against. But then, there was what I
referred to as a word of art that was
used in the legislaton. They wanted
rights to certain public amenites.
Now, a lot of legislators dont read the
small print. And, my concern was that
this thing was a purposeful atempt
to slide it by without telling anybody
what they meant by that. So, I knew
what it meant. What it meant was
that persons who were transgendered
had the right to choose which public
bathroom they wanted to use. That
means that a person who is by anatomy
male, but by identty is female, can
choose to use the womens bathroom
and vice versa. So, frst I conducted my
own survey. Probably about 51 people
at that tme. Fify people were against
it, only one person didnt care. My
concern was specifcally for womens
comfort and their right to privacy. I
made the public statement at that
tme that its not a right if it infringes
on the rights of another person.
And, although he was the only
Councilor in oppositon to the law, Bey
said, if he had to re-visit the situaton,
he would do it over again.
If the vote came up tomorrow, I would
vote the same way, he said.
In additon, relatve to the possible
terminaton of Interstate 81, Bey said
he was equally as sure of his convicton
in the mater.
Lets knock it down, he said. My
interests in regards to tearing it down
are more so because of the costs that
it will take to keep it up. At this point, it
will cost more in the future to maintain
it than it would to tear it down.
Bey also said he is not bothered by
the idea of a split through the city
like some, but suggested the city
look at the interstates removal as
an opportunity to increase revenue
through added businesses in the area.
A lot of people have mixed feelings
about segregated neighborhoods,
he stated. Certainly it could be seen
as a negatve, but I think it is equally
valuable because culture is preserved;
and it adds to the character of the city.
But, I would like to see a boulevard or
something similar with commercial
spaces for businesses or ofces for
retail. Im very pro density, Im pro
business. I would love to see, even if
its not a boulevard, something where
you have businesses and living spaces
on both sides of the street, something
for the entre length of Route 81. It
produces more money for the city on
the ground, and we need to generate
as much revenue as we can locally to
sustain ourselves.
In the end, according to Bey, the fnal
decision will be lef to the state.
As for the Southside Community
Coalitons new food co-operatve on
the Southside, Bey said the co-op will
not infuence his decision to support
the planned neighborhood store
by Walt Dixie, executve director of
Jubilee Homes of Syracuse Inc., in the
same area.
The food co-operatve is relatvely
small, he stated. So it wont provide
all that a full-scale supermarket would.
Quite frankly we need both in the
area. Its been that way before. No,
it will not change or alter the efort.
You have people around the food co-
operatve who may never go to South
Ave. and those people on South Ave.,
and beyond, who may never come to
the food co-operatve. So they each
have their own markets. And I think
that theyre much needed. But Ill re-
iterate the fact that we may stll look
for another full-scale supermarket on
South Salina St.
On the whole, Bey said so far hes
happy with the directon hes taken
during his frst term in ofce. Through
it all, he said hes managed to maintain
an objectve and transparent
relatonship with the mayor and his
biggest accomplishment has been re-
establishing his consttuents faith in
city government.
That is bigger, I think, than any
legislaton that could be writen, he
said. That we, as citzens, pay into
this machine to allow it to functon.
The one thing that people fail to try to
re-establish for the consttuents is the
faith and the belief or the knowledge
that government actually works for
them.
Lastly, its important, Bey said, for the
people of Syracuse to be aware of the
ways government decides to use their
money.
People have to follow their money,
he said. If I came and asked you for
$500 to make an investment on your
behalf, youd be calling me tomorrow
to ask me what I did with your money.
Theres no way youd give me $500
and not check up on me at least within
a week or so. But we pump thousands
of dollars into this system every year,
and we dont partcipate. Nobodys
checking on their money. Nobodys
making sure its invested right. Not
as many people as there should be.
Not only in communites of color, but
in all communites. People are just
not following their money, and they
should.
For current informaton on the
Common Council Agenda visit htp://
www.syracuse.ny.us/Council_Agenda.
aspx
8 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
NATIONAL
Nearly Three Centuries Later, Black Press Still Pleading Cause
By Deniqua Campbell
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Wendell
Allens life came to an abrupt end on
March 7 last year as he died shirtless,
standing on a staircase, at his Gentlly
home in New Orleans, La.
Unarmed, the 20-year-old basketball
star was shot in his back by New
Orleans Police Department ofcer
Josh Colclough. For six weeks the Allen
family believed their child was shot in
his chest untl the embalmer revealed
that Allen was actually shot in his back.
Yet, newspaper readers in New
Orleans notced two starkly diferent
news priorites on the stands and in
the streets. Louisiana Weekly, a Black-
owned paper, had the Wendell Allen
shootng on the front cover. Right
beside it, was the Times-Picayune, a
White daily newspaper that had no
menton of the Allen shootng. Instead,
the cover featured a Black male being
charged with multple counts of
murder.
In interviews over the past year,
seasoned journalists say the
diferences in coverage between
White and Black-owned media -
whether print or broadcast - contnue
to be clear.
News outlets like CNN, MSNBC, BBC
and Fox News, all cover certain types
of stories from a certain perspectve.
Black press is the voice of the Black
community, said Ingrid Sturgis,
journalism professor of new media
and multmedia expert at Howard
University. Our story doesnt always
get heard in mainstream media.
Award-winning Black press reporter
Hazel Trice Edney agrees. Both of
these stories are important, said
Edney, editor/publisher of the Trice
Edney News Wire. It is typical across
America that when Black newspapers
come out they have distnctly diferent
stories than White newspapers.
On August 13, 1977 an artcle
headlined A litle About A lotThe
Need for the Black Press, was featured
in the Baltmore Afro-American that
detailed former dean of the School
of Communicatons, Dr. Lionel C.
Barrows four reasons for Black press.
According to Barrow the Black press
functoned as a watch dog, answered
atacks published in the White press,
presented a view point diferent even
from that of liberal whites and, the
black press also served as the carrier
and preserver of Black culture.
Marrow did not deny that there were
stll improvements that needed to be
made, improvements on producton,
in investgatng and in reportng,
writng and editng. But considering
other issues Black media has faced, its
survival is incredible.
The strength of the Black press would
be that it always relied on context and
providing perspectve, said George
Curry, award-winning journalist who
is editor-in-chief of the Natonal
Newspaper Publishers Associaton
News Service.
Curry refected on when he
interviewed the family of Trayvon
Martn, the Florida teen shot dead by
Neighborhood Watch captain George
Zimmerman on Feb. 28, 2012, a highly
publicized court case now set for court
June 10.
No one was doing a story on how the
news broke to Martns father, Curry
said.
While reporters of White publicatons
were stcking to the basics and
investgatng the case, Curry went for
an intmate and personal story.
Urgency is not such a big problem,
Curry said. Its worth the wait
because we dont come out with the
same frequency as other newspapers.
Today the Black press faces issues
within its own agencies. Perhaps the
biggest is technological advancement.
According to the State of the News
Media in 2007, an annual report by
the Pew Research Center on American
journalism, the black press has been
slow to technology, and its audience
appears to be aging.
Pews State of the Media 2013 reports
a new Black press hurdle how to
atract the atenton of new, younger
readers.
One of the broader challenges
for African-American news media
in general, and most notably the
newspaper sector, is striking a balance
between appealing to a younger
generaton with a contemporary
product and fulflling a mission to
honor a history that includes the
defning civil rights struggle of a half-
century ago, the report states.
History has got to be a defnitve
weave in what we do, said John J.
(Jake) Oliver Jr., the publisher and
chief executve of the Afro-American
newspapers in Baltmore and
Washington, D.C., was quoted in the
Pew Study. Weve got to redefne
our personality from just a straight
delivery of community news to helping
people really educate themselves.
The Black press has an extensive
history datng back to March 16, 1827.
That is when the frst Black newspaper,
Freedoms Journal, was founded in
New York City by John B. Russwurm,
a journalist, and Samuel Cornish, a
minister. Its frst editorial stated, We
wish to plead our own cause. For too
long have others spoken for us.
Because of its longevity, now 186 years
old, some fnd it hard to fathom why
the Black press isnt the biggest and
most advanced among all media in the
U.S. But, there are many reasons its
numeric growth has been stunted.
Technological advancement is an
issue and it remains an issue, Edney
said. But were working on that.
There are many black newspapers that
are online and there are many that are
not.
According to Sturgis, it has a lot to do
with resources. A lack of resources,
reporters, funding to do in depth
pieces, and training in new media
hampers the ability to cover what
needs to be covered as well as the
ability to grow, Sturgis said.
Financial struggles due to racial
discriminaton in advertsing have
also been a complaint by NNPA, a
federaton of more than 200 Black-
owned newspapers, founded in
1940. The organizaton has launched
many strategic campaigns calling on
fair share in advertsing from major
corporatons.
But the Black press isnt losing its older
audience. Curry admits that the older
audience is a lot more appreciatve of
news and Edney agrees that there are
faithful readers of Black newspapers
that have strong contngencies within
the community. The biggest concern
Edney has with the black press is
getng online and becoming more
technology savvy.
Because of the urgency of our issues,
we must use every opportunity
available to get our message out,
Edney said.
According to the Pew Research
Centers Internet and American Life
Project, 83 percent of U.S. adults
own a cell phone. Of these adults, 35
percent of them own a smart phone
and one quarter of them use their
phone as their main source of internet
access. This is a trend that is especially
found among 18 to 29-year-old adults
who identfy themselves as Black.
Pew Internet research shows that
when someone has a mobile device
connected to the internet, they are
more likely to share, to forward,
to create and to consume online
informaton, from text to photos to
videos.
Curry said, Youre not going to reach
the younger audience through print
You have to reach them through a
mobile platorm.
The Black press, aiming to play a vital
role in the lives of African-Americans,
has been serving the community to
bring perspectve and context for
over 100 years. Black press contnues
to do its part in telling the story and
keeping its readers loyal. You have to
give them something they cant get
anywhere else, Curry said.
Two months into Wendell Allens death,
the Allen family remained outraged at
the slowness of the investgaton.
They feel that because their son
is African-American, the police
department is taking its tme
investgatng the incident, said the
Rev. Raymond Brown, president and
founder of Natonal Acton Now during
a press conference at the Allen home.
According to Louisiana Weekly, the
shootng took place inside the Allens
home during an executon of a search
warrant for marijuana. Since the
shootng, Allen has not been linked to
the marijuana allegedly sold in or near
the home.
Eventually, Colclough was indicted by
a state grand jury on one account of
man slaughter regarding Allens death.
A year afer the shootng Colclough
awaits trial and no date has yet been
set. Meanwhile, the family, early
this month, fled a federal wrongful
death lawsuit against the City of New
Orleans, accusing the New Orleans
Police department of several civil
rights violatons.
Though the Times-Picayune has done
extensive reportng on the case, the
Louisiana Weekly in keeping with the
Black Press mission has not only lead
the way, but agitated for justce, Edney
says.
The White press [stll] criminalizes
and stereotypes us, Edney said. We
need to bring a sense of fairness and
balance to the media consciousness.

Unarmed Wendell Allen was shot
in the back, killed by a New Orleans
Police ofcer.
9 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
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10 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
OPINION/EDITORIAL
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of MRMG or CNY Vision
DR. E. FAYE wILLIAMS,
ESq.
POSITIVE! POWERFuL! CONVINCING!
(TriceEdneyWire.
com) Ive
lived through
the electon of
several Popes. I
can honestly say
that, although I
am not a Catholic,
Ive always been
fascinated by
the antcipaton,
p o m p ,
c i r c ums t a nc e
and ceremony
related to the change of leadership
of the Catholic Church. The electon
of the current Pope was even more
intriguing because it wasnt preceded
by the death of a Pope. Im eager to
see the potental impact on church
doctrine with the co-existence of a
sitng Pope and a Pope Emeritus.
Not since the resignaton of Pope
Gregory XII in 1415 has the Catholic
Church had to deal with the resignaton
of a Pope. The Papacy or line of
succession was much diferent then
with politcs and natonalism impactng
The Church more signifcantly than
theology. Pope Gregorys resignaton
was a part of a plan to resolve the
Papal Schism. This Schism was a split
within the Catholic Church from 1378
to 1417. Two men simultaneously
claimed to be the true Pope. Driven
by politcs rather than any theological
discord, The Schism was ended by
the Council of Constance (1414-1418)
which resulted in the resignaton of
Pope Gregory and Antpope Benedict
XIII, the rival Pope. Although dramatc,
church doctrine was litle changed
afer these resignatons and the
electon of the new Pope, Martn V.
Like many, the practcality of Pope
Benedicts resignaton gave me
signifcant cause to ponder The Churchs
future. Although the uncertainty
associated with his resignaton was
incalculable, it was refreshing to see a
leader of the stature of Pope Benedict
XVI acknowledge that age and health
consideratons precluded his ability
to successfully perform the dutes of
his ofce. I was hopeful that The
Resignaton would signal the dawn
of a new era in the history of The
Church - a new era that, consistent
with our contemporary reality, would
allow for greater and more signifcant
partcipaton of women in the afairs
of The Church.
For years, the stereotypical Catholic
woman was characterized by the nun
or the devout female parishioner.
Normally, we would see the nun placed
in the role of the self-sacrifcing nurse
in a Catholic hospital or as the stern
disciplinarian with a ruler managing
a classroom of youthful miscreants.
My frst year of school was spent
with one of those nuns! The devout
female parishioner is ofen portrayed
on television and in movies as a guilt-
ridden believer who is caught in the
throes of a theological challenge and is
seeking absoluton in the confessional.
Pope Benedicts resignaton brought
hope that wed see these stereotypes
dissolve into obsolescence. It appears
as though the electon of Pope Francis
is confrmaton of the perpetuaton of
a theological status quo.
Lest my readers see my last sentence
as a lead-in to critcism of the new
Pope, Im not critcal of him as a man,
cleric or theologian. His track-record
appears on frst glance to demonstrate
a human being of immense humanity
and humility. Hes shown a desire and
a practce to abandon the trappings
of status while emphasizing the
commonality between us all. However,
his public pronouncements seemingly
indicate his personal leaning toward
maintaining traditonalist limits on
womens partcipaton in the hierarchy
of the church and a traditonal
approach to the questons of aborton
and birth control.
If Pope Francis holds to the traditonal
theology that has existed for centuries,
we all lose a meaningful opportunity
to redefne the role of Catholic women
in The Church and society at-large.
Wed lose an opportunity to reframe
the role of women in the context as
equals in the Christan experience and
spiritual expressions. It is my sincere
belief that a revision of the value
that The Church places in women will
initate a redefniton of the acceptable
treatment of women as members of
the human family.
Catholic women
11 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013
(TriceEdneyWire.com) -
Nobody is starving on the
streets (of America). We have
always taken care of them. We
have churches which actually
are much beter mechanisms
for taking care of the poor
because they are right there
with them. This is one of the
reasons we give tax breaks to
churches... Dr. Ben Carson
CPAC Speech 2013
In modern culture, an icon is a
symbol i.e. a name, face, picture, or even a person
readily recognized as having some well-known
signifcance or embodying certain qualites. That
face or person begins to represent something else
of greater signifcance through literal or fguratve
meaning. With his speech at the 2013 Natonal
Prayer Breakfast and his recent CPAC speech, Carson
has become the new Black conservatve darling.
Hes a great pediatric surgeon but a terrible icon for
the politcal collectve.
Dr. Ben Carson has an incredibly compelling and
motvatonal story. Born into poverty in Detroit in
1951 and raised by a single mother with a third-
grade educaton, Carson became the frst surgeon to
separate conjoined twins and the youngest to head
a surgical department. His focus, work ethic, and
commitment to excellence should be emulated by
as many as possible.
One problem with Dr. Carson and others like him
i.e. Justce Thomas, Michael Steele, Wardell Connerly
and Condoleezza Rice is how they have lent their
voices and their personal narratves to conservatves
in ways that allow them to undermine the social
safety net in America. The argument is that these
individuals have overachieved in spite of the odds;
therefore, the inability of the poor in America to rise
into the middle class or beyond is due to personal
failure, lack of drive, initatve, and dependence
upon the system. Carson, Rice, and Thomas made it;
why cant you?
Another problem with their realites is their failure
to recognize and/or admit how they benefted
from the system at some point in their struggle.
For example, Wardell Connerly grew his business in
part with assistance from the 8(a) Program. Justce
Thomas was a benefciary of Afrmatve Acton. I
dont know if Carsons mother ever received any
public assistance during his childhood but if she did
not I am certain some of his neighbors did. Is he
ready to cast them all as lazy and totally dependent
upon the government?
We love to hear stories about people overcoming
great odds to achieve success. What is ignored when
recitng the stories of the Carsons, Thomas, and
Rices of the world is depth of the chasm that lied
between Africans in America and later the African
American community and white America. There have
always been personal successes in the midst of the
collectve or group struggle. During the 18th century
while hundreds of thousands and later millions of
Africans in America where bound by the shackles
of slavery, individuals such as Olaudah Equiano
aka Equiano, the African and James Forten found
success on American shores. Did the success of
Equiano, Forten and others negate the sufering and
systemic oppression of those enslaved? Obviously
not.
Today, in spite of all of the disturbing data
documentng the disparity between the African
American community and Whites, such as eighteen
percent unemployment, African Americans being
ffy-three percent of those incarcerated and only
thirteen percent of the populaton, the wealth
disparity, high school drop-out rates, college
graduaton rates, home foreclosure rates, etc. the
likes of a Wardell Connerly, Shelby Steele, or Clarence
Thomas stand before conservatves and argue that
we no longer need Afrmatve Acton, Head Start,
and other social programs.
Individual success should never become the
standard of measure of success for the collectve.
It is only through group success that the African
American community will truly become politcally
and economically empowered.
Dr. Ben Carson made some very inaccurate and
dangerous statements during his CPAC speech that
cannot go unchallenged. He stated as referenced
above, Nobody is starving on the streets (of
America). According to Bread for the World, 14.5
percent of U.S. households struggle to put enough
food on the table. More than 48 million Americans
including 16.2 million childrenlive in these
householdsAmong African-Americans and Latnos,
nearly one in three children is at risk of hunger. Has
he forgoten that in 1951 he may have been one of
those hungry children?
He also stated, Many people dont know this but
socialism started as a reacton to America because
people in Europe, they looked at us and said,
wait a minute look at those Americanspeople
like Henry Ford, Kellogg, Vanderbilttheyve got
so much money it needs to be redistributed.
Actually, the term socialism is atributed to Pierre
Leroux and Robert Owen around 1827. Henry Ford
was not born untl 1863. Socialist models and ideas
espousing common or public ownership have existed
since antquity. Karl Marx, considered by many to
be the founder of modern socialism frst published
Das Kapital in 1847. Henry Ford was 4 years old.
Socialism was actually a reacton to the Industrial
Revoluton which started in Britain around 1760.
Carson said, People dont want to talk about God
lets let everybody believe what they want to believe.
Actually, the basis of the free exercise clause of the
First Amendment is the freedom to believe. It is one
of the few absolute protectons that the Consttuton
provides. There is a big diference between belief
and practce. If Carson understood the Consttuton
he would know that.
Dr. Ben Carson has a very motvatonal story but his
politcal analysis and message lack real understanding
of the issues necessary to be taken seriously. It is
dangerous to use the success of an individual(s) as
the basis of a sociological or economic indictment of
an entre class of individuals. A reporter once asked
Dr. Carson why he never talked about race to which
he responded, because Im a neurosurgeon.
Well, Dr. Carson, Ill make a deal with you, Ill stay
out of the operatng room if you leave the politcal
analysis and dialogue to trained professionals.
Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@
yahoo.com.
OPINION/EDITORIAL
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the position or viewpoint of MRMG or CNY Vision
Dr. Ben Carson, Great Surgeon but a Bad Icon for the Political Collective
no sweat
------------------------
Wilmer J. Leon, III, Ph.D. is a Political Scientist whose primary areas
of expertise are Black Politics and Public Policy. He is host of Inside
the Issues, a three hour, call-in, talk radio program that airs live on XM
Satellite Radio.
dr. WiLMer J.
Leon iii
12 www.cnyvision.com | mar 28 - apr 3 | 2013