sfltimes.com “Elevating the Dialogue” SERVING MIAMI-DADE, BROWARD, PALM BEACH AND MONROE COUNTIES JANUARY 22 — 28, 2015 | 50¢ IN THIS ISSUE MIAMI-DADE Monestime heads Commission SOFLO LIVE/1C ZAP MAMA Afro Beats and Rhythm PRAYERFUL LIVING/4B PHOTO COURTESY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY Don’t we all have Miami-Dade County made history when Jean Monestime, became the fi rst Haitian-American to serve on the Board of County Commissioners, and again one father when he took the oath as Chairman. PLEASE TURN TO MONESTIME/1B MIAMI-DADE Martin Luther King III, panel discusses justice By MICHELLE HOLLINGER views on the health of the criminal “It should be crystal clear in this Special to South Florida Times justice system were shared. nation that the system of justice that According to O’Meara, the system we call a criminal justice system is On the holiday established nearly works as it should. “I don’t think the broken, surely for many blacks, and 30 years ago to honor Martin Luther system is completely broken. I still browns and poor whites…when 13 King Jr., the son of the late Civil Rights think it’s the best system that we have percent of African Americans in the leader joined a group of panelists at and that ever has existed in the world. population make up 40, 50, 60 per- the Miami Beach Loew’s Hotel to dis- I truly believe that. We do a good job cent of the jail population,” he said. cuss the ‘State of Justice in America.’ of attempting to protect the rights that “Richard Pryor used to say that if you Joining King on the panel were attor- we’re supposed to protect,” he said. go down to the courthouse looking for neys Gloria Allred, Mark Geragos and Crump said the system is broken justice all that you’ll find is ‘just us,’” a Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the because it fails to hold prosecutors reference to black people. parents of Trayvon Martin. and the police accountable and that “There is something called profil- Also present on the panel was there are different standards depend- ing. Systematically it’s been structured Mark O’Meara, the attorney who rep- ing on who is victimized. that way. I call it a criminal system be- resented George Zimmerman, the “Why do the rules change when cause it’s not justice,” King added. Florida man acquitted in the shoot- there’s a little black or brown boy Providing perhaps the most com- ing death of unarmed teenager Tra- dead on the street? I think it’s because pelling example of why he said the von Martin. Standing in the rear of the we try to make exceptions for others,” system is “irretrievably broken” was room observing the panel’s session, he said. “For example, when Mike Geragos, who said the population of were Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, Brown or Eric Garner, we see [Garner California’s prison system is 85 per- and his brother, Javaris Fulton; who being choked] in that video and we cent “people of color,” by design. were invited guests. The session was automatically say, ‘well what did they “It is primarily populated by peo- a part of the National Trial Lawyers do to deserve that?’ We don’t say that ple of color because that is what the summit occurring this week. when a white person is killed. We say criminal justice system is designed Attorney Hezekiah Sistrunk, Na- ‘we’re going to get justice.’” to do, process people of color, ware- tional Partner of The Cochran Firm King, who was ten when his father house them and do it quite effectively. and incoming President of the Na- was assassinated in 1968, took excep- That’s why it’s irretrievably broken,” PHOTO COURTESY OF CJONES PUBLIC RELATIONS tional Trial Lawyers Association, mod- tion to O’Meara’s assertions that the Gloria Allred, Benjamin Crump and Martin Luther King III erated the session where divergent system is not broken. PLEASE TURN TO PANEL/2A PALM BEACH MIAMI-DADE MLK Breakfast reaffi rms the legacy PHOTO COURTESY OF OFFICE OF U.S. REP. FREDERICA WILSON C.B.HANIFF/FOR SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES MLK BREAKFAST: Edith Bush (at podium) honors community members who upllift the mission of MLK. MLK, 5000 Role Models of By KYOTO WALKER Bush said that the breakfast, sponsored by the Special to South Florida Times MLK Coordinating Committee, is a culmination of a week of free events involving young people fea- Excellence Project Breakfast WEST PALM BEACH — For nearly three and a turing poster and oratorical contests, poetry, pho- half decades, Edith C. Bush, the executive director tography and a unity service, all centered around WILSON SCHOLARS: U.S. Rep. Glenda A. Hatchett, who delivered of the Martin Luther King Jr. Coordinating Com- honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Frederica S. Wilson, ( D. FL) (cen- the keynote address, was joined mittee, has helped organize events in Palm Beach The only event in which the group charged ad- ter,) announces scholarships for 84 by several South Florida judges to County in an effort to continue the legacy of the mission was the breakfast in order to fund schol- students in the 5000 Role Models recognize the Wilson Scholarship civil rights leader. arships for local youth, she said. of Excellence Project on Monday Recipients. The sold-out breakfast The 34th annual Martin Luther King Jr. scholar- “We try to empower our community through at the 22nd annual breakfast in was at Jungle Island in Miami. The ship breakfast was held Monday, Jan. 19 in down- arts and culture and the youth,” Bush said. “We’ve honor of Dr. Martin Luther King program has awarded more than town West Palm Beach at the Palm Beach County Jr. Television personality Judge $10 million in scholarships to date. Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd. PLEASE TURN TO BUSH/2A SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL 3A NATION | 4A HEALTH | 5A CARIBBEAN | 6A OPINION | 7A BUSINESS | 8A SPORTS | 2B AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA | 3B CLASSIFIEDS/OBITUARIES | 4B PRAYERFUL LIVING | 1C SOFLO LIVE SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES ©2015 • VOL. 25 ISSUE NO. 4 • A BEATTY MEDIA, LLC PUBLICATION 2A | JANUARY 22 — 28, 2015 | SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES | SFLTIMES.COM Scholarships are the designated goal C.B. HANIF/FOR SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES State Rep. Bobby Powell with Edith Bush at the podium at the MLK Coordinating Commitee Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 19. BUSH, FROM 1A Princeton University and some of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as well. had some children go to some prestigious colleges The breakfast’s theme this year was, “Pursue a pos- from the (proceeds) raised from our breakfast.” itive dream, believe it, achieve it.” Keynote speaker She said that some scholarship recipients have Elvin J. Dowling said that King’s legacy should include attended highly regarded educational institu- a new wave of leadership as civil unrest sweeps the PHOTO COURTESY OF CWJONES PUBLIC RELATIONS tions such as Hampton University, Yale University, nation as a result of young black males being killed by white law enforcers. “The value of a black man’s Martin Luther King III engages the audience on the plight of black men. life has diminished in this country,” he said. “The act of simply trying to get home can be met with deadly force for little black boys and girls.” Dowling added that peaceful protests can effect change greatly and The ‘criminal’ system drove the point home by using this quote from King, “The measure of a man is where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” is devoid of justice Riviera Beach mayor Thomas Masters said he thinks a way of continuing with King’s legacy would PANEL, FROM 1A be to honor the current and first African-American president by renaming a major road in the city after said Geragos, a criminal defense lawyer whose clients have in- the leader of this country. cluded Michael Jackson, and Chris Brown. “I am going to propose to rename Old Dixie “In terms of the politics of crime, for years in California it was a Highway in Riviera Beach, ‘Barack Obama,’” he said. state prison mandatory offense for possession of cocaine that dis- “What will be profound about it is (that) it will in- proportionately fell upon the African-American community…until tersect with Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., which cocaine crossed over and started to get into the white areas,” he used to be Eighth Street.” Masters said that Old Di- shared. xie Highway is a county road so the proposal has Geragos explained that when many of his white friends’ chil- to be cleared by the Palm Beach County Commis- dren began facing mandatory state prison, then-legislator and fu- sion if it moves forward. But he is going to start a ture governor, George Deukmejian, intervened. petition online and with a hardcopy of the petition “All of a sudden, [Deukmejian] provided for diversion in DEJ to be circulated in the community to see if the pro- which was deferred entry of judgment, so that we would have a spective proposal is supported by the city’s resi- safety valve for when the white kids got busted for what the black dents. Rep. Bobby Powell Jr. - Riviera Beach, who kids were going to state prison for.” was master of ceremony at the breakfast, said the Another example of the system’s brokenness was evident dur- event was not just a celebration of King’s legacy, ing George Zimmerman’s trial, according to Geragos.