cny_081512_web

1 :: WWW.CNYVISION.COM - WEEK OF AUGUST 15 - 21, 2012 Syracuse, NYVOL 3. NO. 33 AUGUST 15 - 21, 2012

www.cnyvision.com

cny

wwwwww.w cncnyvvissioon.n coc m

visionSaundra Smokes

2 :: WWW.CNYVISION.COM - WEEK OF AUGUST 15 - 21, 2012

LOCAL OFFICE:2331 South Salina StreetSyracuse, NY 13205

PH: 315-849-2461

HEADQUARTERS: 17 East Main StreetRochester, NY 14614

TOLL-FREE: 1-888-792-9303 FAX: 1-888-796-6292 EMAIL: [email protected]: www.cnyvision.com

PUBLISHER/EDITORDave McCleary

[email protected]

BUSINESS MANAGERPauline McCleary

[email protected]

ART DIRECTORCatie Fiscus

[email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHERLa Vergne Harden

[email protected]

ADVERTISINGDave McClearyLucy Smith

[email protected]

REPORTERSSharlene McKenzie

CONTRIBUTORSKofi QuayeJames Haywood RollingEarl Ofari HutchinsonBoyce Watkins

CNY Vision is a publication of Minor-ity Reporter, Inc. We are a family of publications and other media formats committed to fostering self awareness, building community and empowering people of color to reach their greatest potential. Further, CNY Vision seeks to present a balanced view of relevant issues, utilizing its resources to build bridges among diverse populations; taking them from information to under-standing.

CNY Vision reserves the right to edit or reject content submitted. The opinions expressed are not nec-essarily those of the publisher.

CNY Vision does not assume respon-sibility concerning advertisers, their po-sitions, practices, services or products; nor does the publication of advertise-ments constitute or imply endorse-ment.

Deadline for all copy is Tuesday at noon.

CNY Vision invites news and story suggestions from readers.

Call 315-849-2461 or email

[email protected]

In This Issue

COVER: Pgs 6 - 7- Remembering Saundra Smokes

CALENDAR Pg 2 LOCAL Pgs 3-4- Syracuse Company Wins $100M Contract to Fight Drug Smuggling- Appointees to Landband Board- More Cameras for Syracuse- SCSD Former Teacher Enters Plea- Wonder Works Opening at Destiny USA in Syracuse

STATE Pgs 4 - 5

- 7-Eleven to Sell 30 Ex-Wilson Farms Stores in NY- NY Thruway Toll Increases Questioned- Man Pleads Not Guilty in NYC Death of Upstate Grad

NATIONAL Pg 5

- Romney VP Choice Among Fs on NAACP Report Card

SU NEWS Pg 8

- Syracuse Training at Army Base

COLUMNS: Pg 10

- The Davis Family Gives Back to Syracuse By Kofi Quaye

-Worrying About My Black Boy’s Future in America

By Allison R. Brown

- Did White Supremacist Music Cause the Sikh Temple Massacre? By Boyce Watkins

Syracuse, NYVOL 3. NO. 33 AUGUST 15 - 21, 2012

Without a Vision The People PerishWWithout a Vision The People PerishshWWWWithout a VissiioWithout a VisiosionWithout a Vision The People PeriThe People PeriThe Peopleeople PeriThe PeopleThe Peopleee PerishshshshhhhhW VWithout a Visio T PT PP PWithout a Vishout a VisioWithout a Visiooonononon The PeopThe PeoplThe PeoplThe PeoplThe PeopleThe People PerieThe Peopl PeriThe PeThe Peopl shshshh

Saundra Smokes

CALENDARAUGUST

GED ClassesMonday thru FridayTime: 9:00am–11:30amLoca on: Beauchamp Branch Library - 2111 South Salina St.Free study sessions designed to help those who are interested in obtaining their GED. Must Sign-Up. Contact Pat Booker 435-6376.

15 and 16GED ClassesTime: 9:00 amLoca on: White Branch Library - 763 Bu ernut StreetCatch these free study sessions designed to help those who are interested in obtaining their General Equivalency Diploma, the equivalent to a high school diploma. No registra on required, just come in and get started on your new future.

15Teen Hip Hop Dance Time: 2:00 pmLoca on: White Branch Library - 763 Bu ernut StreetTeens are invited to learn hip-hop dance at this free class with Pulse Fitness. Bring your freestylin’skills or learn new ones. No dance experience necessary. Fun for all!

15, 22 and 29Beginning YogaTime: 4:00 pmLoca on: White Branch Library - 763 Bu ernut StreetWhite Branch Library is off ering an adult weekly Yoga program for beginners: basic yoga, breathing, stretching, and medita on, facilitated by Dil Dahal, who has two cer fi cates in yoga from Nepal. Please bring your own yoga mat or small blanket and remember to wear loose clothing.

15 and 16English for Speakers of Other Languages - ESOL ClassesTime: 12:30 pm Loca on: White Branch Library - 763 Bu ernut Street These free English language classes will teach grammar, vocabulary, reading and wri ng so that non-na ve speakers will learn to more clearly and eff ec vely communicate in everyday situa ons.

17, 24 and 31Wii & Game Fun

Time: 3:00 pmLoca on: Beauchamp Branch Library - 2111 South Salina St.Test your skills on the Nintendo Wii and enjoy an assortment of games. And while you’re wai ng to play the Wii, enjoy a range of diff erent board games. Ages 6-12.

18 and 25Beginning YogaTime: 9:30amLoca on: White Branch Library - 763 Bu ernut StreetWhite Branch Library is off ering an adult weekly Yoga program for beginners: basic yoga, breathing, stretching, and medita on, facilitated by Dil Dahal, who has two cer fi cates in yoga from Nepal. Please bring your own yoga mat or small blanket and remember to wear loose clothing.

19The Syracuse Ci zen Review Board will hold a community outreach eventTime: 2:00pmLoca on: Westmoreland ParkThe event is designed to give the public an opportunity to learn more about the new CRB’s processes and procedures and to ask any ques ons.

21 and 28One-on-One Job & Career AssistanceTime: 1:00-2:00 pmLoca on: Central Library - 447 South Salina St.Schedule an appointment with the Job & Career Librarian to help you explore career resources, use resume templates, set up an email, navigate through an online applica on and more! Tuesdays – By Appointment OnlyCall 315.435.1900 to register or for more details.

23 Sept. 3Great New York State FairLoca on: State Fairgrounds, SyracuseThe State Fair is New York State’s largest annual event; an exci ng mix of big-name entertainment, mouth-watering food, cap va ng exhibits and thrilling a rac ons that draws nearly 1 million people every summer. For more informa on, visit h p://www.nysfair.org”>www.nysfair.org


Syracuse Company Wins $100M Contract to Fight Drug SmugglingA suburban Syracuse company has been awarded a federal contract worth nearly $100 million to build a radar system designed to detect low-fl ying planes that smuggle drugs across the U.S. border.

The Department of Homeland Security awarded a contract worth up to $99.9 million SRCTec, a unit of North Syracuse-based SRC Inc.

During an appearance Monday in Syracuse, Sen. Charles Schumer of

New York said the deal could add hundreds of high-tech jobs over the next decade.

Schumer says the contract calls for SRCTec to build nine radar systems in the fi rst phase of a deal that has

op ons to extend for 10 years. The systems are due to be delivered in February.

SRC employs about 1,100 people na onwide, including 850 in central New York.

Seven Syracuse city residents were recently nominated to serve on a board that gives advise to the Greater Syracuse Property Development Corp., (GSPDC).

GSPDC is a land bank organized to

deal with tax-delinquent proper es in Onondaga County. They are one of fi ve land banks in New York state, established to acquire liens on tax-delinquent proper es from the city or county. They then either collect the overdue taxes or sell the proper es.

Nominies are Bethaida Gonzalez, Donna Miller, Winthrop Thurlow, Patricia Body, Raymond Wentworth Jr., El-Java Abdul-Qadir and Sharon Sherman.

The Syracuse Common Council is

expected to vote Monday on their appointment to the board.

Appointees to Landband Board

More Surveilance Cameras to Be Installed in City of SyracuseSyracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler, Monday announced he intends to ads 19 more surveilance cameras throughout the city.

Fowler stated last year that if the 9 cameras currently installed in the city’s Near Westside worked he would be

adding more.

Fowler requested the addi onal cameras Monday at the common council mee ng and was approved.

Fowler says residents overwhelmingly approves of the camera program so

he expects less resistance this me around.

The chief says crime has decreased 25 percent since installing the cameras and drug calls have reduced drama cally.

Fowler says he will con nue to add cameras as long as shots are being fi red, crimes are being commi ed and he is able to fi nd grant money to pay for the cameras.

SCSD Former Teacher Enters Guilty PleaJesus Rolon, a former Syracuse teacher plead guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

Rolon, 34, is alleged to have had sexual

contact with a minor and was originally charged earlier this year when he was fi rst arrested.

Rolon had been working as a teacher at

the Onondaga County Jus ce Center. According to reports, he was arrested when two inmates recognized him. Both young men said they had a sexual encounter with Rolan.

Rolon is expected to be sentenced to three years proba on in October and will give up his teacher’s license.

Offi cials of Des ny USA, the former Carousel Mall, announced Friday they will bringing a new entertainment venue, WonderWorks, to the Syracuse mall.

WonderWorks features more than 100 hands-on exhibits including things like extreme mo on rides, a “bed of nails,” an inversion tunnel and exhibits on tornadoes, an -gravity chamber, hurricane shack and laser tag.

WonderWorks calls themselves "an amusement park for the mind" and are located in several US ci es including Orlando, FL; Pigeon Forge, TN; Panana City Beach, FL; and Myrtle Beach, SC.

Local offi cials say it will help them posi on Central New York as a family vaca on des na on.

WonderWorks Opening at Des ny USA in Syracuse


7-Eleven to Sell 30 Ex-Wilson Farm Stores in NYBUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Convenience store giant 7-Eleven plans to sell 30 of its former Wilson Farms stores in upstate New York.

The Buff alo News reports that the Dallas-based company has hired a Chicago-based realty fi rm to sell the stores through a sealed-bid process that starts Wednesday and ends Oct. 18.

7-Eleven announced the auc on in a news release from NRC Realty and Capital Advisors LLC. Company offi cials didn’t elaborate on the reasons for the sale.

7-Eleven bought Buff alo-based Wilson Farm’s 188-store New York network last year from a private equity fi rm and the Nanula family.

The 30 stores to be sold are located from Fredonia south of Buff alo to Chazy (CHAY’-zee), near the Canadian border in northern New York. Six of loca ons are convenience stores only, while the other 24 also sell gasoline.

Ex-NY Jail Offi cial Admits Assaul ng InmateA former upstate New York jail offi cial who was caught on video assaul ng an inmate cuff ed to a bench has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

U.S. A orney Richard Hartunian says David Monell, who was a lieutenant at

the Tioga County Jail, admi ed Friday that he deprived inmate David Coff ey of his civil rights during the June 21, 2010 a ack.

Monell is shown on video punching Coff ey and pushing him against a wall.

Coff ey suff ered scrapes, a swollen jaw and vision problems. The county se led a lawsuit by Coff ey for $62,000.

The 52-year-old Monell resigned two days a er the bea ng and a day a er being honored as the state Senate

“2010 Correc ons Offi cer of the Year.”

He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fi ne up to $250,000 when he is sentenced December 18.

NY Thruway Toll Increase for Trucks Ques onedALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The state Thruway Authority’s proposal for what it calls a “modest” 45 percent increase in truck tolls faces angry New Yorkers this week in o en li le no ced summer hearings while a na onal TV ad blitz tries to sell a business-friendly “new New York.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week he is trying to fi nd a way to reduce the toll increase proposed by the Thruway Authority controlled by his appointees. But Cuomo defends the need for an increase to keep the Thruway Authority fi scally sound as it reports double-digit increases in maintenance costs partly from tropical storm damage and increases in health care costs.

“The Thruway Authority has to be

fi nancially capable,” Cuomo said in an interview Friday on public radio’s “Capitol Connec on.” He said the authority created to operate the statewide system decades ago must be able to meet its debt payments from capital borrowing. Compared to other states, Cuomo said, truck tolls “are not that high.”

The toll for a three-axle truck traveling from Buff alo to New York City is about $88. That could increase to $127. In June, the Standard & Poor’s ra ng agency said “aggressive” toll increases for truckers and eventually all drivers may be needed, even though a mul -year phase in of toll increases for car drivers ended in 2010.

“Businesses are righ ully fuming,” a recent Syracuse Post-Standard editorial says. “The ming of the toll increase couldn’t be worse. The economic recovery is fragile. Gas prices are rising again. And it fl ies in the face of the state’s new business-friendly a tude.”

The editorial cites a Central New York retail fi xture and major employer, Byrne Dairy, which es mates the toll would cost it $198,500 more a year.

Public hearings are scheduled for Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Buff alo-Erie Public Library in Buff alo; from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in the Hilton Hotel in East Syracuse; and from 10 a.m. to noon at the Hilton Garden Inn in Newburgh in a rare Saturday hearing. A detailed regula on to enact the toll increase was published in June that includes the hearings for August, a notoriously poor me to a ract a endance.

“You have to ask, ‘Why are they holding hearings?’” said Brian Sampson of the Unshackle Upstate coali on of private businesses that supported Cuomo’s 2010 campaign. He noted summer hearings are notoriously poorly a ended and Saturday hearings are rare.

“Are you holding them because you care what people think or just because the law requires it?” Sampson said.

Sampson disputes the Cuomo administra on’s claim that the truck tolls will be raised to make them comparable to tolls in other states, saying that other states are catching up to New York.

Assembly Republican leader Brian Kolb is pushing Facebook and Twi er campaigns to stop the toll increase and drum up a endance at the hearings. The toll hike will “hurt trucking businesses, drive up prices for consumers and send a message that New York isn’t open for business,” Kolb said.

The proposal comes as he says Cuomo is also trying to get the Thruway Authority to reduce his administra on’s proposal to nearly triple the toll on the Tappan Zee Bridge to pay for Cuomo’s proposed $5.2 billion replacement project. The proposed toll increases come as actor Robert De Niro and musicians Alicia Keys and Jay-Z proclaim in TV ads that New York is once again “open for business.”

“I don’t buy that past administra ons are to blame,” said E.J. McMahon of the fi scally conserva ve Manha an Ins tute. “Those are refl ec ons of policy ... All the bills are coming due for an era of signifi cant borrowing.”


Romney VP Choice Among Fs on NAACP Report CardBy Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - U. S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has received consistent Fs on the NAACP Civil Rights report card, is Republican Mi Romney’s pick for vice president.

Vo ng in agreement with NAACP civil rights issues only 10 percent of the me according to the Report Card for

the fi rst year of the 112th Congress, Ryan opposed NAACP-supported issues, including funding support for the Special Supplemental Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children; con nued funding to se le the “Pigford II” racial discrimina on lawsuit between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Black Farmers; and support for the Elec on Assistance Commission.

According to the Report Card, released in April, every Republican in Congress got an F, failing on what the NAACP calls “bread and bu er issues” for African-Americans.

Billing themselves as “America’s

Comeback Team”, Romney and Ryan fi rst appeared together on Saturday, Aug. 11 in a Norfolk, Va. shipyard.

“His leadership begins with character and values. Paul is a man of tremendous character,” Romney told the cheering audience in front of the USS Wisconsin. “In a city that’s far too o en characterized by pe ness and personal a acks, Paul Ryan is a shining excep on. He doesn’t demonize his opponents. He understands that honorable people can have honest diff erences. He appeals to the be er angels of our nature.”

Ryan, a seven-term congressman, is known as “an intellectual leader” in the Republican Party, largely due to his fi scal conserva sm as chairman of the House Budget Commi ee and as a senior member of the House Ways and Means Commi ee, which oversees tax policy, Social Security, health care and trade laws.

In his ini al speeches over the weekend, he mostly promoted Romney as “a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at this crucial me in its history” and cri cized President Obama.

“Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim. They need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment.”

Preparing to fi re back, President Obama, Saturday, quieted a Chicago crowd that booed his fi rst men on of Ryan as Romney’s vice presiden al candidate. Obama congratulated Ryan and described him as “a decent man” and “a family man” who will serve as an “ar culate spokesman for Governor Romney’s vision.”

But, Obama - who, as a U. S. senator,

made straight As on the NAACP Report Card - contrasted his record, explaining to the audience, “It’s a vision that I fundamentally disagree with. My opponent and Congressman Ryan and their allies in Congress, they all believe that if we just get rid of more regula ons on big corpora ons and we give more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, it will lead to jobs and prosperity for everybody else. That’s what they’re proposing. That’s where they’ll take us if they win.”

Obama con nued, “The centerpiece of Governor Romney’s en re economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it going to the wealthiest Americans. This is on top of the Bush tax cuts. Last week we found out that to pay for this $5 trillion tax cut, not only would we see them gut educa on investments; gut investments in science and research, gut investments in things like rebuilding our roads and our bridges, but it turns out that Governor Romney’s tax plan would also raise taxes on middle-class families by an average of $2,000 each.”

The introduc on of Ryan is widely viewed as the fi ring shot for the last 80 days before the Nov. 6 elec on in which voters will choose between the Romney-Ryan or the Obama-Biden cket. Though many African-Americans are disgruntled due to high unemployment rates, President Obama has off set much dissa sfac on with the success of his Aff ordable Health Care Act, which Romney s ll vows to repeal despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of it.

The historicity of his fi rst Black presidency will likely also play a role in the Black vote. This is coupled with the fact that ac vists are aggressively arguing that despite economic woes that remain, the conserva ve fi scal policies of a Romney-Ryan administra on would make life worse for African-Americans.

Obama is running slightly ahead of Romney in most polls. But, Democrats are pulling out all stops, including the announcement that former President Bill Clinton, s ll extremely popular among Blacks, will introduce President Obama at the Democra c Na onal Conven on.

Meanwhile, as Ryan’s introduc on has apparently revved up the Romney campaign and his conserva ve Republican base, President Obama is strategically hammering his successes in contrast with Romney’s views:

“And when we saved the auto industry, Mr. Romney said, let’s ‘let Detroit go bankrupt.’ I said let’s bet on American workers. And now the American auto industry has come roaring back. And I believe that manufacturing can come roaring back here in America if we make good choices,” the President said in a private campaign event in Chicago on Sunday, Aug. 12.

Obama con nued, “Mr. Romney says, ‘my top priority - the fi rst thing I’ll do is kill Obamacare.’ Well, let me say this. We’ve got 6.5 million young people already who have got health insurance on their parent’s plan because of Obamacare. Seniors are paying lower prescrip on drug costs now because of Obamacare. Children with preexis ng condi ons can’t be refused insurance because of Obamacare. And soon, all adults will be able to get health insurance even if they’ve got a preexis ng condi on, because of Obamacare. We’ve got preven ve care for everybody. Insurances can’t drop you. And women are having more control over their health care choices. That was the right thing to do. We’re not going backwards. We’re going forward.”

Man Pleads Not Guilty in NYC Death of Upstate Grad A man charged with shoo ng a recent college graduate dead as he fl ed from gunfi re on a New York City street has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Khalid Rahman entered his plea Tuesday in the death of Ma Shaw. Defense lawyer Daniel Sco says Rahman was misiden fi ed as the gunman.

The 21-year-old Shaw was killed in Harlem July 5. He graduated in May from Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

The Manha an district a orney’s offi ce says Rahman opened fi re and hit a parked car while approaching a group of people on a street. Prosecutors say the 20-year-old Rahman then shot Shaw in the back as the graduate started to run.

Sco says Rahman had no quarrel with Shaw and mourns his loss.

Shaw planned to go to graduate school in economics

21-Year-Old Ma Shaw shown right


Saundra SmokesShe was wi y and op mis c; a devout Chris an who always pushed you to think outside the box. She was never sa sfi ed with the status quo.That’s how many will remember Saundra Smokes.

“She was a beloved sister, and an important voice in the community,

and a dear friend that Kathy and I cherished personally for many, many years…,” said Frank Malfi tano, founder of the annual Syracuse Jazz Fes val. “I’ll miss her spirit and her intellect and her voice and her vibe, and I’m heartbroken.... but I know she’s in Grandma’s Hands.”

More than 600 family members, friends, community leaders and others who knew her gathered at Abundant Life Chris an Center on Saturday, Aug. 11, to celebrate her life.

Smokes, 57, worked for the Syracuse Post-Standard Newspapers for more than 30 years.

“She was an award-winning columnist and editorial writer whose ar cles spurred debate across Central New York and the na on,” writes Post-Standard Reporter Paul Riede.

Smokes, 57, who had ba led diabetes for several years, collapsed in her Eastwood home August 6. She died

two days later at Crouse Hospital – the same hospital where she was born.

Smokes a ended Charles Andrews Elementary School, Edward Smith Jr. High, and William No ngham High School where she was a varsity cheerleader, and on the gymnas c and track teams.

She later studied at Buff alo State College and then lived in Albany for several years before moving back to Syracuse.

Smokes started her career at the Herald-Journal as a copy person and clerk/typist and went on to hold a variety of repor ng and edi ng posi ons with the organiza on.

In 1985, she became the fi rst person of color in the history of the Syracuse newspapers to sit on the Herald-Journal’s editorial board. She was also the fi rst person of color to write a full- me opinion column for the newspapers.

“When I fi rst met Saundra, I was celebrity struck… a er all, she was a ‘na onally syndicated columnist’, and that’s how I introduced her to people: ‘This is my friend, Saundra Smokes, na onally syndicated columnist,” remembers friend Sharron Pearson. “But, as I grew to know her, I discovered that tles and accolades (other than Chris an) meant very li le to her. I discovered what having a really good friend was. I appreciated most of all that Sandi accepted me for who I am. She didn’t ques on my quirks, even though she would challenge my opinions on things that she might consider not quite Christ-like.”

Smokes worked part- me as editor for CNY Vision Newspaper for seven months prior to going back to the Post-Standard to write a guest column.

“She helped our rela vely new publica on gain some momentum in the Syracuse community,” notes Publisher Dave McCleary. “More people began to take no ce of


Financial Aid Confusion?

Walk Ins Welcome

Syracuse Say Yes to Education109 Otisco St., 2nd fl.Syracuse, NY [email protected]

Say Yes Office109 Otisco St., 2nd floor

Saturday Mornings10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

April 7 – September 8, 2012**FACC closed on 5/26, 7/7 and 9/1

Find Direction at the Say Yes Financial Aid

Counseling Center

us because of her notoriety and reputa on in the community.”

This past June, Smokes started a weekly radio show on WHEN-AM, Power 620, “Saundra Smokes Speaks on Venus.”

“She had great promise as a radio show host,” said Sta on Manager Joel Delmonico. “We are all very disheartened that she is gone.”

Eight years ago Smokes took legal guardianship of her two nieces and her nephew who without her interven on would have ended up in the foster care system.

“She did it against the urging of me and others,” said Venita her lifelong

best friend.

“She didn’t want them to get caught up in the system, so that’s why she did it,” Venita said. “That’s just the kind of person she was. She had a big heart; she always put others before herself.”

Smokes was buried Saturday at Oakwood Cemetery in a plot not far from that of her mother and father.

“Whenever I fi nd my intolerance of others building up inside my chest and fast approaching my mouth,” notes Pearson, “I hope to hear her ny voice whispering in my ear, ‘What would Jesus do, Sharron-parron?’ I’ll then smile and think to myself, ‘Thanks for the reminder, Sandi-pandi’.”

“She was a beloved sister, and an important voice in the community...“ Frank Malfi tano


Syracuse Training at Army Base to Build TeamworkFORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) - From the end of the fi ring line made up of Syracuse football players, Captain Zach Johnson of the 10th Mountain Division shouted at them to keep talking to each other to maintain the communica on needed to take out the enemy.

As the Orange shot their fake weapons into the virtual screen in front of them, aiming at the enemy soldiers appearing from behind hills in a vast desert, the main purpose of the ac vity translates to the football fi eld.

“They were telling us communica on is key, and I believe we’re doing the same thing out here,’’ running back Prince-Tyson Gulley said. “Learning how to communicate with each other and stuff like this. This is working out for us.’’

The Orange are spending the week at Form Drum, a U.S. Army post about 80 miles north of Syracuse. Aside from the daily rou ne of prac cing football, Syracuse’s players are training with members of the military and par cipa ng in team-building ac vi es.

Coming off a 5-7 season, the Orange are trying everything they can to improve and take a step forward. The team is hoping a week away to focus solely on football and teamwork makes that happen.

The players live in barracks and every

night eat dinner with the soldiers on base to connect with them and learn about their lives in the military.

On Wednesday, the defense par cipated in physical training, and ran through several drills intended to build communica on and teamwork. One involved the players having to move logs a distance of about 20 feet while only stepping on res.

In another, the players had to move a dummy using three li ers, and only an even number of players could be on each li er at once.

In each drill, the players shouted words of encouragement and con nuously reminded each other of the instruc ons and rules.

“It’s a very big help. Coach brought us here for a reason,’’ defensive tackle Davon Walls said. “He really wanted us to come together as a unit and be accountable for whatever we do. I believe we’re going to do what we had to do.’’

The off ense went through simulated combat ac vi es. In the virtual fi ring line, the soldiers running it repeatedly reminded them to communicate.

The connec on to football was evident. The fi ring line of Syracuse players was the off ensive line trying to protect the quarterback from the enemy troops coming at them.

“We were lined up in diff erent spots and we had targets,’’ guard Zach Chibane said. “So there’s defi nitely a football rela on there.’’

The drills were both physically and mentally trying. And they might have taken a toll on the players for prac ce in the a ernoon.

Coach Doug Marrone said the team had to repeat a period because it wasn’t up to standard.

“Today was a challenging day. As coaches, you’re always challenged. You try and push the players and get the most out of them,’’ Marrone said. “Like I told the players, everyone in the country is going through this type of working environment, and camp is tough.’’

S ll, this week has given Marrone and the Orange a chance to experience a

world they’ve never been a part of before, much like the basketball team did a few years ago in the preseason.

Marrone said he’s been amazed at the structure of Fort Drum and the way it func ons. He met soldiers the same age as his players who have le their jobs and their lives at home because of their desire to serve their country.

On Sunday, the players return to Syracuse to fi nish training camp before the season opener against Northwestern at home on Sept. 1. But they’ll leave Fort Drum with a whole new outlook on the military, and a new apprecia on for the importance of teamwork.

“You never know if you can get this experience again, and for us to have this, this is good,’’ Gulley said. “And it allows us to see the life they’re living and give them a taste of how we’re living, too. It’s a big thing for us.’’


CLASSIFIEDS

Gary Morris, Sr., MBALicensed Real Estate Broker/Owner

Regina E. MorrisOffi ce Manager/Owner

G&R Real Estate 2007, LLC761 North Salina StreetSyracuse, New York 13208

Email: [email protected] ce: 315.399.5183Fax: 315.399.5191

SERVICES

Learn the Branch’s Method• NY 5 Hour Pre-Licensing Course• National Safety Council (NSC)

Defensive Driving Course• Private or Group Driving Lessons• NSC - “Alive at 25” Class• Road Test Assessment & Rental• Driver’s Education NOW Available

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

Register Onlinewww.Branchsinc.com

NOW “8” ConvenientCentral New York Locations!

Call...478-2446

Hueber-Breuer is currently seeking subcontractor quota ons for SUNY Cortland Student Life Center. This work included the construc on of a 148,000 SF, two-story student life center. Included within the facility will be (3) court gyms, free weight rooms, running tracks, 300 seat dining area. The building will incorporate green features and will qualify for a minimum rate of LEED Gold.

Hueber-Breuer strongly encourages MBE and WBE subcontractors to quote. SUBMISSION: Bids will be accepted at Hueber-Breuer’s offi ce un l 10 a.m. on August 21, 2012 via Fax: 315-476-7990, Phone: 315-476-7917, or delivered to 148 Berwyn Ave., Syracuse, NY. Bid documents are available for viewing at Hueber-Breuer’s offi ce by appointment; Reed Construc on Data, Dodge Reports and for purchase at Syracuse Blue.

PUBLIC NOTICE


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

The Davis Family Gives Back to Syracuse The Davis family is similar to other families in many ways. They’re like any family you know. They are what may be described as a typical family in the neighborhood, not much diff erent from

the rest.

If anything sets them part, it may be the fact that one of them became something of a local celebrity for all the wrong reasons, which to a certain degree made him not just popular but notorious. His name is General Davis.

Most anyone who has lived in Syracuse for an extended period, would be familiar with the Davis family now, knowing that General is one of them.

As a result of the media publicity he has received over the years, par cularly in the 1980s and 1990s, he is quite well known in Syracuse’s African-American community, and to some extent, in the larger community.

Very few African-Americans have had that kind of media hype in the past or today: at least, not for the reasons General Davis was considered newsworthy - not even poli cians.

He made it all the way to the front page of the Herald American, the leading and most widely circulated Sunday newspaper in this region.

I know two members of the Davis family quite well. Why am I focusing on the Davis family? What makes them so special or newsworthy?

General, as already alluded to, made news as a result of the crimes he was alleged to have commi ed and the role he played as the reputed leader of

a local gang called the Corleones.

Based on the South Side of Syracuse, the Corleones gang was accused of perpetra ng all kinds of crimes. They managed to evade law enforcement un l the media began to focus on their misdeeds and the havoc they wrought on innocent ci zens.

Public outcry and outrage from vic ms galvanized law enforcement into ac on. It took a combina on of the feds and local law enforcement to dismantle the group.

Craig Davis is the owner and manager of a convenience and grocery store in one of the toughest neighborhoods on the South Side of Syracuse, and has succeeded in crea ng a name and a reputa on for himself as a no nonsense type, who refuses to be in midated by neighborhood thugs or gangs, the police or other law enforcement authori es, or anyone else.

Craig Davis is the fi rst to admit that his a tude has been as much a factor in his success as well as an impediment in the rapid growth and expansion expected of the kind of business he operates.

He has also been in the news in the past and claims he was given a bad rap by the media.

A year ago, he became involved in an incident that had him facing prosecu on from law enforcement.

But these are not the main reasons why I am wri ng about General and Craig Davis. The decision was based on what the two brothers are doing now in the community and the ac vi es and programs they are involved with that seem to me to be newsworthy.

If all goes as planned, Craig Davis’ store will be one of the major a rac ons in the Mary Nelson event taking place on August 18.

KOFI QUAYE

Did White Supremacist Music Cause the Sikh Temple Massacre?Scholar John McWhorter wrote a piece for “The New Republic” about the recent Sikh Temple massacre and the man who caused it, Michael Wade Page. Wade Page was one of the few white supremacists who turned his anger toward people of color

into real violence, killing six and wounding four others.

Some have pointed to White Supremacist music as part of what mo vated Wade Page to go out and kill innocent people that day. McWhorter doesn’t agree and thinks that those who feel that music caused him to kill are grasping for straws. According to McWhorter:

“It has been fashionable in the wake of Wade Michael Page’s tragic acts in Wisconsin to speculate on whether the White Power music he listened to helped stoke him into the senseless murders he commi ed. Such specula ons, however, are as incoherent as they are pointless—and they are marked, above all, by a cloying air of self-congratula on.”

Interes ngly enough, McWhorter compares White Supremacist music to hip hop music, which also has a set of nasty and violent messages of its own. One

interes ng case-in-point is the song “We Be Steady Mobbin,” where Lil Wayne says that he will take your girlfriend, turn her into a hooker, have sex with her and then “murder that b*tch and send her body back to yo ass.”

Oddly enough, there’s a lot more where that came from.

McWhorter’s argument isn’t en rely off -base. You can’t say that music alone causes anyone to do anything. You could play the most violent music and movies in front of me and I wouldn’t kill anyone, most of us wouldn’t. But McWhorter and others might want to reconsider their arguments in two key areas:

1) Hip hop itself is not the source of violent music. It is actually the commercialized, bastardized form of hip hop we hear on the radio that serves as the source of shameful lyrical content that teaches young black children to worship material possessions, to disrespect women, to stay high on drugs and alcohol all day, to engage in massive amounts of sexual promiscuity and to celebrate killing one another.

The bastardized form of hip hop grew out of the emergence of gangsta rap on the west coast, with groups like NWA. Much of their music was a refl ec on of the Post Trauma c Stress disorder and other ailments suff ered by young children forced to grow up in a war zone created by the allowance of massive amounts of

drugs and guns into black communi es. They were rapping about what they saw, but they also spread a toxic message that helped promote gang culture throughout the en re United States. As Terri Williams says in her book, “Black Pain,” “Hurt people hurt people,” meaning that those who’ve been trauma zed can spread this trauma to others.

2) While violent music doesn’t make anyone violent, it can certainly accelerate and enhance emo ons that already lie in the soul. If a child has grown up with very li le mentorship or parental guidance (as too many children already do), this music might impact the moral code of the young man who could choose to rob, steal or kill if it will help him fi nd a way to eat or get whatever he wants. Violent music has as much impact on the outlook of a teenager as a sad love song has on a woman who just lost her boyfriend. Anyone who spends me around black teenagers will no ce that their style of dress, language and all-around demeanor tends to evolve with whatever their favorite hip hop ar sts are doing.

There is a correla on between the promo on of drug/alcohol consump on and the fact that so many young black men are being busted for marijuana possession. A lot of young black men have dreadlocks in their hair, not because of some kind of complex spiritual awakening, but because they saw that Lil Wayne was rocking dreads in his last video. Not that there is anything wrong with dreadlocks, but the

point is that music does infl uence who we are, especially if we don’t already know who we are. For young, impressionable minds, it can make all the diff erence.

So, it seems that in his ar cle, McWhorter, who I’ve always thought to be a conserva ve, is le ng white folks off the hook by le ng rappers off the hook. This eff ec vely makes him a conserva ve using a liberal argument to do what conserva ves tend to do (defend other conserva ve white people). While his argument isn’t en rely off -mark, we cannot presume that hip hop music somehow defi es the logic of nearly any psychologist, who would agree that messages and mantras being consistently absorbed by our subconscious do have an impact on our thinking.

Music alone can’t drive an innocent person to kill, but it might certainly cause a misguided criminal to go ahead and do what he was thinking about doing in the fi rst place. As my misguided late uncle/older brother used to say me, “I don’t want to hear music about smoking weed because it reminds me of how much I miss it.” Music is not the alpha and omega of cause and eff ect; rather, it can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Violent music does have a very real impact on our society.

----------------------------------Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coali on.

DR. BOYCE WATKINS

FROM THE BOYCE BLOG…

Con nued on bo om of next page


--------------------------Kofi Quaye has been a Syracuse resident for more than 30 years. He is a writer, author and publisher. Over the years, he has been involved with the publication of several African American focused newspapers in Syracuse.

Worrying about My Black Boy’s Future in America(TriceEdneyWire.com) - My husband and I fuss and fret over our Black boy.

Like other parents, we worry about a lot. We want him to use his smarts for good. Do we coddle him too much? We want him to be tough and kind, but asser ve and

gentle, and not mean. His boundaries of independent explora on are radia ng outward, concentric circles growing farther and farther from us.

We wring our hands and pretend to look away in acknowledgment that he’s ready to claim his freedom, even as we cast fur ve glances his way. We’re beginners in the worry department. He’s only 9 years old.

Our angst certainly isn’t unique among parents of Black boys. What’s unique for us and for other such parents is that when we peek inside the matrix, we panic. Agents out there are bearing down on our son — bloodthirsty for his dignity, his humanity — as if he were the one. We feel outnumbered, but we hunker down for ba le.

This is not a paranoid conspiracy rant. Recent data from the Offi ce for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Educa on reveals that black boys are the most likely group of students to be suspended or expelled from school. Black men and boys are more likely than any demographic group to be targeted — hunted, really — and arrested by police.

Meanwhile, the number of Black males taking advanced courses in elementary, middle and high schools and entering college remains dispropor onately low. Suicide among black boys is increasing. Media imagery and indiff erence have locked Black boys in their sights. Prisons have become corporate behemoths with insa able appe tes for Black and brown

boys and men.

My husband and I righ ully agonize about our boy. We agonize alongside many who are working to help, including the federal government. I know fi rsthand the work that the federal government has done and is doing to improve circumstances for Black boys. This includes internal memos and mee ngs, interagency planning sessions, public conferences, community mee ngs and listening sessions, and now a White House ini a ve.

I also know that the federal government is accountable to numerous cons tuencies that some mes have confl ic ng needs. Federal government workers must walk a fi ne line among varying public interests, which occasionally has meant unintended consequences for black boys.

For instance, in 1994, the federal priority of “zero tolerance” for anyone bringing a weapon to school was signed into law as the Gun-Free Schools Act. That priority reached fever pitch a er the Columbine school massacre in 1999 and subsequent copycat slayings and a empts to kill. Federal requirements were overshadowed by local authori es and school administrators who stretched the parameters of “zero tolerance” in schools beyond logical measure to include, for instance, spoons as weapons and Tylenol as an illegal drug, and to suspend and expel students as a result.

“Zero tolerance” has entered the realm of the ridiculous. Many schools have removed teacher and administrator discre on and meted out harsh punishment for school uniform viola ons, schoolyard fi ghts without injury and various undefi ned and indefi nable categories of off ense such as “defi ance” and “disrespect.”

Students are suspended, expelled and even arrested for such conduct without inves ga on or inquiry. There is no evidence to support use of exclusionary discipline prac ces as tools for preven on, and they have no educa onal benefi t. The brunt of this insanity has fallen on Black boys.

Recent federal priori es have targeted harassment and bullying in school to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students from peer-on-peer discrimina on dismissed by, and in many cases encouraged by, school administra on. Again, understandable.

The goal is praiseworthy — to protect, fi nally, a popula on of students and segment of society that has long been a whipping post for every poli cal party, ignored in poli cal discussions except to condemn. While my husband and I have ardently supported federal protec ons for LGBT students, prac cally speaking, we con nue to lose sleep over our Black boy.

Another peek inside the matrix tells me that the fever pitch around this latest federal agenda item will mean a signifi cant cost to Black boys when new categories of off ense are created, new ways to characterize them as criminals unworthy of par cipa ng in mainstream educa on or society.

It’s one thing for educators to guide student conduct and educate students about how to care for and respect one another, which is a primary focus of the federal move against harassment and bullying. It’s quite another to change mindsets of adults who run the system, too many of whom believe and speak nega vely about Black boys and what they cannot accomplish or should not do.

To speak and think affi rma vely, to affi rm behavior and black boys as people, is to relish the silly jokes they tell within their context, to compliment them on their haircuts or groomed and styled dreadlocks and cornrows, to adopt lingo they create and add it to classroom repertoire, and to invite their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, cousins to par cipate in the educa onal experience.

To support Black boys is to celebrate their physical playfulness and the unique ways in which they may support and affi rm one another. As with any other children, we must teach Black boys through instruc on

and by example how to read and write, and how to conduct themselves without erasing their iden ty and a emp ng to subs tute another. We must hone their ins ncts, whims and knowledge base so they can be empowered to exhibit all the good in themselves. We must be willing to show them our human frail es so they know how to get up and carry on a er falling down. Yes, these things can benefi t all children, but many children receive them by default. Black boys do not.

To love Black boys is to refuse to be an agent of forces clamoring for their souls and instead to be their Morpheus, their god of dreams, to help them believe in their power to save all of us and to train them to step into their greatness. Those agents in the matrix are real. If everyone combines forces and uses common sense, we can declare victory for Black boys and eventually all of us.

But without a change in mindset, federal ini a ves, no ma er their good inten ons or the incredible talents that give them life, will con nue to leave Black boys by the wayside as collateral damage.

My husband and I will con nue to fret, knowing the formidable challenges our son faces. We hope that if he has a son, that boy can be just a boy.

----------------------------------Brown is a former trial a orney for the U.S. Department of Jus ce, Civil Rights Division, Educa onal Opportuni es Sec on. She is president of Allison Brown Consul ng, which works with educators, students, families and other key stakeholders to improve the quality of educa on, especially for black boys. America’s Wire is an independent, nonprofi t news service run by the Maynard Ins tute for Journalism Educa on and funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Founda on. Our stories can be republished free of charge by newspapers, websites and other media sources. For more informa on, visit www.americaswire.org or contact Michael K. Frisby at [email protected].

ALLISON R.BROWN

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

As is already well-known in the Syracuse metropolitan area, the Mary Nelson Center organizes an annual event during which backpacks, clothes and other school materials are distributed free to school children from all over Syracuse. It has become the event of the year on the South Side of Syracuse. The loca on is where South Salina intersects Colvin Street.

The convenience store owned by Craig Davis is in the immediate vicinity, which places him in the midst of the ac on every year.

And this year, Craig plans to be

an ac ve par cipant, not just as a business owner in the area, but as a concerned parent also.

He showed me three cases of books he will donate to kids that day. They came from his collec on of books he had bought for himself and for his children. He also plans to set up a table to donate food and other items to those in need.General will be at the event, suppor ng his brother, but will be a major a rac on on his own merit; he will do a book signing. It is part of a marke ng and promo on strategy of a book en tled Dead Boys Walking that was recently published. The book is

about youth gangs, youth violence and the impact they have on America and the world.

Both General and Craig give much credit to their mother, Genell Davis for ins lling in them the drive to succeed, and to con nue striving in spite of setbacks and diffi cul es.

She projected the image of a strong and fearless Black woman who would not be easily scared. Today, her stature is lessened only by age, but she remains the central fi gure in the family. They take pride in their abiding love for their mother.

Several years ago, I became something of a father fi gure to a playmate of my then pre-teen son, Trey. His name is Andrew Branch. He lived around the corner from us on Tully Street, on the West Side. I grew to like the kid immensely.

Years later, I co-wrote the fi rst and a second book with General Davis and found out that Andrew is his nephew. What a small world.


Subscribe to cnyvisionand Recieveweekly Deliveries to Your Mailbox

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESSAND GET A 20% DISCOUNT!

Syracuse, NY

VOL 3. NO. 26

Yard Kids

OpinionColumns

CALL US AT 585.301.4199 OR VISIT:

WWW.CNYVISION.COM/SUBSCRIBE

Use Code: cny-2012

A

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

YEAR!

ONLY

CA

W

Syracuse, NY

VOL 3. NO. 26

june 14 - 20, 2012www.cnyvision.com

wwww.cnyvision.com

www.cnyvision.c

ww

Yard Kids

OpinionColumns

cny_081512_web

Documents