So You Want to Sights & Scenes Supreme Court be a Star? Alpha Phi Ruling on the Kim Fields Pens Alpha Fraternity Discriminating Memoir on Celebrates Baker is Bigger Growing Up in Founders Day than Some Hollywood Weekend May Realize Page 7 Page 2 Page 4 FLYING WHILE BLACK PRST STD 75c U.S. Postage PAID American Airlines Jacksonville, FL Employees Permit No. 662 Must Take Anti- RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Racism Training Following NAACP Advisory Page 10 75 Cents Rep. John Conyers Retiring Amid Volume 31 No. 5 Jacksonville, Florida December 7 - 13, 2017 Sexual Misconduct Allegations Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has announced that he is retiring from Winners and Losers: Who Benefits from the GOP Tax Bill Congress following pressure from lawmakers to step down over multi- Many people are just getting their lowing out America’s middle class countries. Another benefit to corpo- other inheritance. ple allegations of sexual misconduct. first looks at the nearly 500-page & tearing down our democracy,” rations is that the bill would allow The bill also lowers taxes for Conyers, 88, the longest-serving current member of the House, has sweeping tax bill that Senate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) them to bring back revenue stored most middle-income American, at denied the allegations, which include touching female staffers inappro- Republicans pushed through on a tweeted after the passed in the overseas to the United States at a least until 2026. It keeps seven tax priately and propositioning them for sex. He repeated that denial on a party line vote of 51-49 over the Senate. low tax rate of 14.5 percent. The brackets while cutting the rates at recent radio show, calling the allegations “not accurate.” weekend. The proposed legislations The Senate Republican tax bill is bill is also a huge win for the every level and raises income “I can’t explain where they came from,” Conyers said. has far reaching implications for a major victory for big corpora- wealthiest Americans. Millionaires thresholds to qualify for some of He said his legacy “can’t be compromised or diminished in any way” large corporation and families. tions, according to The Washington would see their top tax rate reduced the higher bracket. The poorest by the allegations, arguing it will continue through his children. “This Congress doesn’t work for Post. Corporate giants would bene- from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. Americans are not losers in this “This too shall pass,” he said. working families. It works for cor- fit from a tax rate that decreases Wealthy families would also benefit deal. But at the same time, they’re Conyers endorsed his son, John Conyers III, to succeed him in porate lobbyists & campaign from 35 percent to 20 percent start- from changes that would exempt not winners either because the bill Congress. donors in backroom deals & 1:30 ing in 2019—placing the U.S. cor- many of them from paying the has hardly any effect on them, Conyers previously announced that he would temporarily step down as AM votes. This corruption is hol- porate tax rate below many other estate tax when giving property and according to Forbes. the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, pending the results of a House ethics investigation into the allegations. Local Author Debuts First Book on Women’s Role in Black Lives Matter Nike Just Came Out With Jacksonville based author Nikesha Set in Jacksonville between the Its First Sports Hijab Elise Williams held a book signing two trials of Michael Dunn, the for her debut novel, Four Women, man convicted of murder in Jordan Nike just launched a lightweight and breathable last weekend at WJCT studios. Davis's killing, Four Women focus- hijab for Muslim athletes to wear while competing. Williams was joined by Ron Davis, es on the plight of African- The Nike Pro Hijab recently went on sale global- a local activist and the father of American women in the Black ly with the tag line “sports is for everyone.” The ad slain Jacksonville teen Jordan Lives Matter movement, how campaign features American Olympic fencer Davis, for the novel release. At the Black women are depicted in Ibtihaj Muhammad, Emirati figure skater Zahra event the two discussed the themes media, and the strength of Black Lari and German boxer Zeina Nassar. Nike of the novel including domestic women that is tested in daily rela- revealed the hijab last winter when it was rolled out in stores in the violence, addiction, and Florida's tionships. Williams is an Emmy Middle East. Now, athletes can purchase the Nike Pro Hijab around the controversial Stand Your Ground Award winning news producer and world. Law. William's novel asks the works at local CBS/Fox affiliate The garment is now available in select stores. It is sold online by Nike question: What happens to four Action News Jax. Four Women is in black and obsidian, but will be available in more colors come January. strangers when the present meets her first novel and is available for While Nike is not the first company to create hijabs for athletes, it is the the past and the whole world is purchase at both Chamblin's first large-scale global corporation to prioritize the needs of Muslim ath- watching? Uptown locations in Jacksonville. letes. Shown is Ron Davis with author Nikesha Williams Wisconsin’s Governor Renews Effort To Drug Test Welfare Recipients Chi Eta Phi Signs Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker has submitted a plan to the state legislature that would require drug testing for food stamp recipi- on Three for Service ents—supposedly to encourage able-bodied adults to work—even though there are question about whether the program is legal under fed- eral law, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The governor and lawmakers added the rule to their 2015 budget and sued the federal government for the right to enact the program, The Wisconsin State Journal reported. Wisconsin disputed the Obama administration’s argument that federal law bans the program. A judge, however, dismissed the case because Wisconsin had not implemented the plan. Under the program, those who fail their drug test must under- go treatment or lose their benefits. It’s estimated that the state would screen roughly 68,400 applicants each year and require about 3 percent of them, approximately 2,100 people, to take a drug test. Officials esti- mate that about 224 of them will fail. The price tag for the program is $867,000 annually. Opponents of the program argue that it has failed in other states where governments spent lots of money but found relatively few drug users. They also point out that the program would face a mountain of litigation Shown above is volunteer Mia Jones spinning the “Healthy even if the Trump administration doesn’t block implementation. If law- Wheel of Fortune” with students eager to exercise for prizes makers fail to object to the renewed program, it will go into effect in the spring, with the first tests by the fall. I’m a Star Join Volunteers to Engage Community to Let’s Move Johnson Publishing Company This past weekend Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority Incorporated Sigma The community turned out by the hundreds for the I'm A Star Chapter welcomed new members Christinanna Wilkerson, Cherlynn Foundation's 7th Annual Let’s Move Jacksonville event held last weekend Iconic Building Sells for $10M Fields and Shaunice Johnson into the organization. Chi Eta Phi, at the Henry Klutho Park in Springfield. The Communities in Schools The vacant Johnson Publishing Company head- Sorority, Incorporated is an international organization of registered nurs- organization brought the most attendees, claiming the coveted $1000 prize. quarters, once the home of Ebony and Jet maga- es whose motto is “Service for Humanity.” More than 8,000 Registered Participants had the opportunity to learn about community programs, par- zines on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, has been Nurses and student nurses hold membership in Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. ticipate in exercise relays and receive fresh local fruits and vegetables in a sold for $10 million to developer 3L Real Estate. The Sorority was organized on October 16, 1932 with the assistance of free farmer's market. The I’m A Star Foundation plans the event annually The announcement coincided with the news that 11 other courageous registered nurses. the 46-year-old building was designated a to engage their peer group and combat childhood obesity. Chicago landmark after a 10-month process. The developer plans to spend $20 million to convert Judge Deals Former Congresswoman a Harsh Sentence the 11-story building into 150 apartments to be rented for $1,200 to $2,700 a month. Following completion, the apartment building will The 17 month legal ordeal of for- of her term, she will also serve three have a fitness center and a laundry room on every floor. It will retain the mer local U.S. Representative years of supervised release and underground parking garage that Johnson Publishing Company founder Corrine Brown ended this week in a must pay $250 a month in restitu- John H. Johnson built. The new owner also pledged to keep the historic Jacksonville Federal Courthouse. tion once she's released from Ebony/Jet sign at the top of the building, located at 820 S. Michigan The beloved politician was sen- prison. She was ordered to pay a Ave. tenced to five years in prison for her total of $515,166.86 in restitution to For decades it was the only Black-owned building on Michigan role in helping raise more than her victims, including $62,650.99 Avenue.