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Above: Frank James II, coordinator of Racine’s Community Re-Entry Program, an agency that helps recently released inmatestransition back into society, makes remarks during the 11x15campaign press conference at the courthouse steps onTuesday, February 21, 2012. The campaign is a statewideeffort that seeks to reduce the state’s prison population in halfby the year 2015. James, who is a local pastor, joined RacineInterfaith Coalition and other ministers from various congrega-tions throughout the city to rally for this worthy cause. Right:Cora William, whose son is an inmate in the Racine Countyjail, held up a sign with a picture of her granddaughter thatread, “I love my daddy. He needs help.” Read story on page 3

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The Racine Interfaith Coalitionand the faith based communityin Racine have joined astatewide effort to launch the“11x15” campaign, which is aneffort to reduce the prison popu-lation in half by the end of 2015.

Pastor Frank James II, SeniorPastor of Changing LivesMinistries Non-DenominationalChurch, one of the presenterssaid, “Rather than build a sys-tem that simply punishes anddiminishes people, we believethat the justice system mustwork to restore to wholenessand help those who haveoffended to be restored to a pro-ductive role in society.

Some may wonder why weshould even care about theprison population. Jamesshared that one of the reasonswe should be concerned is theprice tag attached to incarcera-tion. The cost of corrections inWisconsin has risen from under200 million per year in 1990 tomore than 1.3 billion in 2011.

In addition, he pointed out thatthere are disparities within thejustice system. The majority ofinmates in our prisons sufferfrom mental illness and/oraddictions. Middle class peoplewith drug problems or mentalhealth issues can get treatment.Poor people or black people

with the same issues go toprison.

James further stated that themajority of inmates in our pris-ons have no history of violence.Many suffer from mental illnessand/or addictions. Researchhas shown that incarceratinglow risk/non-violent offenderswith high risk/violent offendersschools no-violent offenders tobecome high risk. Ninety Fivepercent of offenders in our jailswill return to our community. Ifthey are not helped, they willnot be prepared to be a betterneighbor, which will create abigger problem.

Due to the recent decision by the Racine Policeand Fire Commission to re-open the interviewprocess after a finalist withdrew his application,Gloria Rogers, president of Racine NAACP com-mented that the local chapter is concerned aboutthe integrity of the process. “The NAACP remainsvigilant about the selection of the next Chief ofPolice for the City of Racine, and is interested in afair and impartial decision by the Police and FireCommission,” explained Rogers.

Recent events have greatly diminished the pub-lic's trust and confidence in the PFC, she said. “Weare likewise concerned that elements of unfairness,perhaps even bias and discrimination, have creptinto the selection process,” she acknowledges.

The NAACP questioned whether it is fair toeither candidate to go forward with interviews thatthe Racine Police and Fire Commission wishes to

conduct in secret. “To simply continue forward in the selection process without anysafeguards is not fair to the applicants or the community.,” explained Rogers.

In order to restore public trust and confidence in the selection process, the branchwants an independent observer appointed by the mayor to monitor the interviews forthe selection of the next police chief. “We believe the final round of interviews shouldbe conducted under a watchful public eye.”

In a letter to Mayor Dickert, Rev. FredRichmond, who heads the SoutheasternWisconsin Baptist Fellowship, said, “In lightof recent events affecting the City of Racine,my colleagues and I would like to request ameeting with you. We hope this meetingwill allow us to have a frank and open dis-cussion with you concerning the presentstate of the Police and Fire Commission,” hestated in the letter.

He went on to explain, “We would alsolike the discussion to include the types ofpractices or polices that can be put in placeto ensure that promotional opportunities andappointments will not be marred by inconsis-tencies.”

A dozen Pastors held a press conferencethis week and vowed to continue efforts tohave the Police and Fire Commission reformthe hiring and promotions practice as far asit relates to minority officers.

NAACP Advocates A Monitored Selection Process

Pastor Requests Meeting With Racine Mayor

James Shares Benefits of 11x15 Campaign


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Julie Dash and Black Hollywood Educationand Resource Center (BHERC) have obtainedthe rights to One Woman’s Army, a book,which tells the little known story of MajorCharity Adams, World War II’s highest-rank-ing African-American woman. Adams headedthe 6888th Postal Battalion’s nearly one thou-sand women, who moved mountains of mailfor millions of American service members andcivilians in Europe during the wa

Dash will direct and produce the OneWoman’s Army project in association withproducers Kimberly Ogletree and BHERC’sJohn Forbes. They plan to make an 8-hourmini-series, which is inspired by Adams’ bookwith a teleplay by Dash.

The story will begin with the 6888th’sdeployment, which was made possible byMary McLeod Bethune, educator and civilrights activist in alliance with EleanorRoosevelt, former First Lady of the UnitedStates. In the tradition of Band of Brothers, the story will follow three women, whoboarded the war ship in New York Harbor and made the dangerous crossing over theAtlantic Ocean during the height of WWII. Arriving in Birmingham, England, in thedead of winter, they found letters sent to American troops stacked to the ceiling in afrigid railroad station and an even colder military warehouse. Much of the frosty mailhad been there for as long as two years waiting to be sent to soldiers in the field.While rodents and other vermin are feasting on boxes of home baked cookies, thewomen of the 6888th were charged with clearing, sorting and delivering the mail. Toaccomplish this Herculean task they were forced to work three shifts, seven days aweek.

First working in England, the 6888th later moved to Rouen, France. Although theirmission was to booster the moral of American troops by delivering letters from home,their work abroad was shrouded in secrecy. Because they were black, and they werewomen, they had to sleep in segregated barracks, and ate in segregated dining halls.Nevertheless, they made history by successfully delivering mail to over seven millionAmerican stations in Europe.

Sandra Varner’s Celebrity Profiles and Talk2SV.com

Filmmaker Julie Dash to direct “OneWoman’s Army”

With only 30 days before the Racine General Election Tuesday, April 3, SherrieLawson, a candidate for 4th District Alderman, says she wants to do more than just getelected. “One of my goals is to get as many young people as possible registered andshare with them the importance of voting,” she said.

With the new laws passed by Madison the major concern is that many young peoplewill be discouraged with the new voting process. “It is more important than ever toreaffirm the need to vote.’ She says “According to some statistics, the 4th district is

among the highest unemploymentrate in the city. This is where wemust start if we are going to bringabout significant change in the 4thdistrict which has been declining fora number of years,” she said.

Lawson, a former high schoolteacher, who now works as a substi-tute teacher for Racine UnifiedSchool District, says one of her majorgoals is improving of the 4th District,where she has lived for generations,and where my children have grownup.

Lawson a mother of a son, daugh-ter and the grandmother of two girlssays she want to be an active partnerin approving the 4th district. Anotherone of her goals is to work closelywith the county board supervisorKenneth Lumpkin, to bring countyservices to the 4th District. “Workingtogether, I believe we can convincemany of the small businesses toremain in the 4th District and hope-

fully invest and improve the area,” she said. In recent years several businesses thatwas located in the 4th District have pulled up stakes and relocated.

Lawson will be sharing her ideas at a “Meet and Greet” to be held Saturday, March10, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at Chubbie’s, 619 High Street.

4th District Candidate Sponsors Event At Chubbie’s

by Staff writerLocal African American pastors from

various denominations, vented their frus-trations over the city Police and FireCommission’s plan to reopen a nationalsearch after two minorities were left asfinalists.

Deputy Chief Art Howell and Lt.Carlos Lopez became the only tworemaining finalists when RonaldTeachman, former police chief of NewBedord, Mass., pulled out of the race.

The Racine Police and FireCommission announced that they weregoing back to review previous applicantsafter Teachman withdrew. Pastor MelvinHargrove, one of three minority members,was the first of the five member commis-sion to publicly announced that he disap-proved of the group’s decision. “I justthink that it was wrong for us to open itback up again”, he stated.

Hargrove, who is also pastor of aninner-city church, was in attendance withthe other pastors, but did not make anycomments during the press conference.

In a prepared statement, Rev. KeithEvans, pastor of Mount Eagle, said thatthey hope to work with the mayor’s officeto avert future problems.

They called for expansion and contin-ued diversity in the commission.“Confidence in the process and confi-dence in the commission has been weak-ened,” he said.

He also indicated that the groupthanked Mayor John Dickert, but saidadditional changes still need to be madein the commission and within the policedepartment regarding recruitment ofminorities. Members in attendance at themeeting applauded when Evans said thatsome members have been on the commis-sion for “too long.”

They singled out Commission VicePresident Van Wanggaard, a local statesenator, questioning his serving on a com-mission with authority over police offi-cers and firefighters who may have

signed the ongoing statewide recall peti-tions against him. “That conflict of inter-est is now magnified,” Evans said.

The daily paper said that Wanggaarddismissed the claims as “ridiculous.”

The newspaper quoted him as saying,“Just because I know how the departmentoperates or have specific knowledge onhow individuals conducted their lives onthe department does not preclude mefrom being a member of the PFC,” hesaid.

NAACPEarly in the week Gloria Rogers, presi-

dent of the local branch of the NAACP,said that a “dark cloud” has been castover the city due to the Racine Board ofPolice and Fire Commissioner’sannouncement that the PFC plans to re-open the selection process to hire a newChief.

“We see no need for commissioners tounravel a process that seems to have beenfair and transparent up to this point,” saidRogers. She added, “We fail to see thelogic of allowing the applications of pre-viously rejected candidates to bereviewed and considered again.”

Rogers asked the commissioners toreverse their decision and continue theoriginal process of selecting a new chief.“We would hate to think that the tworemaining officers were never reallyfinalists, but only included to create theappearance that the process was fair andtransparent,” she explained.

Members of the commission arePresident Charles Johnson; Vice PresidentVan Wanggaard, Marie Black, Rev.Melvin Hargrove, and Keith Rogers. Thecommission is an independent body thathas sole jurisdiction over hirings, promo-tions, and discipline of police officers andfirefighters, including the appointment ofa chief.

By state statute, a police and fire com-mission is an independent body. It musthave five members, who serve five-year

terms, that are annually appointed by themayor and confirmed by the CityCouncil. The city commissioners serve ona voluntary basis and are not paid. Black,who is serving her second term, is theonly commissioner coming up for reap-pointment in May.

State statutes do allow for the removal

of commissioners. They may be removedfor “cause,” statutorily defined as “ineffi-ciency, neglect of duty, official miscon-duct or malfeasance in office” After ahearing by the council, three-fourths ofthe council must vote for the removal —that would be 12 of the 15 city aldermen.in Racine.


Pastor Elliott Cohen, Pastor Willie Scott, and Bishop Lawrence L. Kirby, were among adozen local pastors who vented their anger over the recent Police and Fire Commissiondecision to re-open a national search after a finalist withdrew from the process. The twominority candiates that remained were Deputy Chief Art Howell and Lt. Carlos Lopez.

Rev. Keith Evans, pastor of Greater Mt. Eagle Baptist Church, expresses the ministers’demands and called for total reform to the Police and Fire Commission at a pressconference held at the Greater Mt. Eagle Baptist Church, Monday, Feb. 23, shorlybefore noon.

Local Black Pastors Challenge Decision By Police and Fire Commission


Surrounded by her grandchildren, Nancy Ruth Cole, center, was givena surprise birthday party Saturday, February 25, by over 100 friendsand relative at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center. Cole, 76, came to Racine in 1987 from Tupelo, Mississippi. She is amember of Greater Hope Church in Racine and is the mother of 13children, 34 grand children, 39 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

Great-great grandmother

celebrates 76th Birthday


Sunday Worship Services8:00am & 10:00am

Sunday School - 9:00amWednesday Bible Study - Noon

Family Life - 5:30pmSaturday Prayer - 10:00am

Washington, DC (February 23, 2012) --Soaring gasoline prices are threatening toundercut President Barack Obama‘s re-election prospects and offering

Republicans an easy target. With pricespushingÂ $4 a gallonÂ and threatening togo even higher, Obama sought Thursdayto confront rising public anxiety andstrike back at his GOP critics.

Obama said dismissively that all theRepublicans can talk about is moredrilling - "a bumper sticker ... a strategyto get politicians through an election" -when the nation’s energy challengesdemand much more. In a speech inMiami, he promoted the expansion ofÂdomestic oilÂ andÂ gas explorationÂ butalso the development of new forms ofenergy.

For all the political claims, economistssay there’s not much a president of eitherparty can do about gasoline prices.Certainly not in the short term. But it’sclear that people are concerned - a newAssociated Press-GfK poll says seven in10 find the issue deeply important - so it’ssure to be a political issue through thesummer.

"Right now, we’re experiencing yetanother painful reminder of why develop-ing new energy is so critical to our

future," the president said. At an averageof $3.58 a gallon, prices are already up 25cents since Jan. 1, and experts say theycould reach a record $4.25 a gallon by

Memorial Day.Those higher prices could

hurt consumer spending andunravel some of the recentimprovements in the economy.And they could also be a dailyreminder to voters to questionObama’s contention that he’smaking the nation - and them -more secure.

While motorists are alreadystarting to complain, manyeconomists see the $4-a-gallonmark as a breaking point abovewhich the economy starts tosuffer real pain. Analysts esti-mate that every one-centincrease is roughly a $1.4 bil-lon drain on the economy.

Obama’s Republican chal-lengers aren’t letting it all slideby. They have stepped up theirattacks on his energy policies,including his rejection last

month of a pipeline to carry oil fromCanada to refineries on the U.S. GulfCoast. And they’re full of promises.

"I’ve developed a program forAmerican energy so no future presidentwill ever bow to a Saudi king again, andso every American can look forward to$2.50-a-gallon gasoline," former HouseSpeaker Newt Gingrich said in theWednesday night GOP debate in Mesa,Ariz. He calls his strategy "Drill Here,Drill Now."

At the same event, former Sen. RickSantorum of Pennsylvania - who haswarned of $5-a-gallon gas - asserted that"we have a lot of troubles around theworld, as you see the Middle East inflames and what’s going on in this coun-try with gas prices and the economy."And former Massachusetts Gov. MittRomney suggested that even more trou-bling than rising gasoline prices wasIranian President Mahmoud"Ahmadinejad with nuclear weapons.

In his speech at the University ofMiami, Obama sought to draw a contrastwith his GOP challengers and made a

pointed reference to what he suggestedwas Republican glee at rising gas prices.

"And you can bet that since it’s anelection year, they’re already dusting offtheir three-point plans for $2 gas," Obamasaid. "I’ll save you the suspense. Step oneis drill, step two is drill, and step three iskeep drilling... We’ve heard the samething for 30 years. Well, the Americanpeople aren’t stupid."

Addressing the rising public anxiety,Obama said, "There are no quick fixes tothis problem, and you know we can’t justdrill our way to lower gas prices."Anyone suggesting otherwise was notbeing honest, he said.

Still, Obama said he had ordered hisadministration to search for every possi-ble area to help consumers in the comingmonths. He said his administration’s "all-of-the-above strategy," one that includesoil, gas, wind and solar power, is the"only real solution" to the nation’s energychallenges.

Gingrich quickly dismissed Obama’senergy speech as "excuses and fantasies."

Presidents often get blamed for risinggas prices, but there’s not much they cando about them. The current increases atthe pump have been driven by tensions inIran and by higher demand in the U.S. aswell as in China, India and other quicklygrowing nations.

"Obviously, people go to the pump allthe time, so it’s something that really hitshome with the voters," said FredGreenstein, a Princeton University profes-sor emeritus of politics. "It’s an easy issueto talk about, and not an easy issue toaccomplish very much on."

In his Miami remarks, Obama said thatdespite political criticism of his policies"America is producing more oil todaythan at any time in the last eight years.He also noted that, for the first time in 30years, the United States is now exportingmore petroleum products than it imports.

But Jack Gerard, the president of theAmerican Petroleum Institute, challengedObama’s apparent effort to take credit.

"While oil production is up, theincrease relates almost entirely to invest-ment and leasing decisions made before,sometimes long before, this administra-tion came into office," Gerard said. "The

increase is also due to oil and gas devel-opment on private and state lands overwhich the administration has little or nocontrol at all.

Though Obama’s approval rating onthe economy has climbed, his negativerating on handling gas prices is stagnant.Just 39 percent approve of what he’sdoing there, and 58 percent disapprove,according to the new AP-GFK survey.

Mark Zandi, chief economist atMoody’s Analytics, said gasoline pricesare likely to keep rising as the summerdriving season approaches. "Increasingly,it’s becoming the biggest threat to theeconomy," he said. "And there is littlepresidents can do to influence gasolineprices in the near term."

Some lawmakers have called forObama to release oil from the nation’sÂStrategic Petroleum Reserve.

"Rising gas prices could be the differ-ence between an economy that continuesto recover and an economy that sinksback into recession," said Rep. EdwardMarkey, D-Mass., among those callingfor such a move.

The emergency reserve is kept in saltcaverns in Texas and Louisiana and con-tains about 700 million barrels of oil.There are 42 gallons in each barrel. Lastyear, as prices rose, Obama authorized thesale of 30 million barrels of oil from thereserve.

However, economists suggest thatÂtapping the reserve to increase the amountof oil on the market has only a modestand temporary effect on gas prices.

Will Obama take that step? WhiteHouse spokesman Jay Carney says, "Wenever take options off the table."

Obama may just have to get used tothe criticism, because it probably isn’tgoing away anytime soon, said JamesThurber, an American University politicalscience professor. "Republicans will hithim with anything that comes up whichmakes him look bad," he said.

Still, as long as the economy seems tokeep improving, Obama probably won’tbe hurt too much by the attacks "unlessgas goes over $5 a gallon," Thurber said.


OLIVE GARDEN PROVIDED DINNER FOR RIDGEWOOD RESIDENTS

Racine – For the second time,the Olive Garden of Racine gaveresidents of Ridgewood CareCenter a special treat. At noon onWednesday, February 29, 2012,the Olive Garden served approxi-mately 200 Ridgewood residentsand family members a deliciousItalian dinner.

Olive Garden employees pre-pared the meals on site and servedthe residents as if they were actu-ally at the restaurant. The menuincluded soup or salad, bread-sticks, penne pasta with a choiceof meat or Alfredo sauce, freshlygrated Romano cheese, and canno-li. To create a genuine Italianexperience, Frank Germinaro

played authentic Italian music onhis accordion.

Olive Garden is provided themeals for Ridgewood residents atno charge. Family members aswell as employees enjoyed thesame meal for a nominal cost. Asan additional gift, Olive Gardendonated these funds back toRidgewood for special events andresident outings. Said RidgewoodAdministrator Michelle Putz,“Everyone at Ridgewood is over-whelmed by this generous gift anddeeply grateful for the OliveGarden team's compassion andkindness.”

Will Gas Prices Hurt President Obama's Re-Election?


By Charing BallThere is a video floating around the

internet of a man calling for a boycott ofNicki Minaj, mainly because of heralleged disparaging lyrics andthe

potential effect it may have on Blackwomen and girls.

According to this nameless guy, whoposted this sevenminute compila-tion video ofvarious Minajlyrics combinedwith his owncommentary,Minaj shouldbe boycottedbecause of theanti-blackwomanthemes pres-ent in hermusic.Minaj callsBlackwomenbanana-eat-ing chim-panzeesand“nappy-headedhos,”which heequatesto theracistrhetoricof DonImusand

the ease of mainstream society to treatblack features as unattractive. The name-less petitioner says that the point of theboycott is to “teach our sisters, our moth-ers, our girlfriends, our daughters, whathave you, to love themselves.”

I can certainly understand and appreci-ate the sentiment of this video. I’ve beenpretty much boycotting Minaj since shefirst hit the scene. Not so much for herquestionable libretto but because I havebeen unable to grasp how she went fromhood chick, spitting straight up street lyri-cism to raunchy Lil’ Kim knockoff toLady Gaga protege in the matter of onealbum. Seriously, either she has perfectedthe crossover in ways that M.C. Hammercould only dream or she is one hell of anactress and someone needs to get her anOscar.

My personalized annoyance at hermusic aside, I do get and appreciate thepoint the brother was making in thevideo. Personally I don’t like the wholeBarbie doll persona nor the hyper-sexual-ized representations in her music, espe-cially since her entire Barbie doll aesthet-ic, with its bright color and whimsicalstyling, is only attractive to youngimpressionable girls, who are trying tomake sense of their budding bodies andminds. Not to mention being in the com-pany of Scaffbreezy aka Safaree, her littleside kick/hype man/possible boyfriend,who has a song out called KKK (I Don’tLike N****s).

It could be the one-day-mother in mebut the whole vibe around those two per-formers reeks of all the things I want tokeep away from children. But whileMinaj’s lyricism and overall persona isquestionable and worthy of further scruti-ny, I want to know where was this con-cerned brother with the YouTube videofor the last 20 years or so when the fellaswere smearing black women and girls intheir songs?

You know the rappers like Lil Wayne,who says in that Drake collab, “BeautifulBlack woman I bet that [insert b wordhere] look better red.” And rappers likeSlim Thug, who once spoke about hisadmiration for the white side of his bira-cial girlfriend. And rappers like Eminem,who prior to signing on to Aftermathrecords, freestyled about his hatred ofBlack women. There isn’t enough spacein this column to point out examples ofways in which countless rappers pro-fessed their love for light-skin and “exot-ic” women while making disparagingremarks about dark skinned or womenwith African features.

In essence, self-hate, misogyny andcolorism have long been given the wel-come mat in the hip-hop community andin that sense, Minaj is not original to theoppressive themes that are part of ourpopular music. So how can we lay thisprimarily at the feet of Minaj? Is itbecause she is a woman?

Should We Boycott Nicki Minaj?

2012 is shaping up to be a busy yearfor Tyler Perry. The film mogul is slatedto produce and/or act in four movies overthe next 10 months. But with so manystarring roles, not to mention his TVshows and entertainment empire, doesPerry risk overexposing himself andexhausting his fans?Today, Perry willrelease Good Deeds, a film in which hestars as an upper-class businessman whogets involved with an impoverishedcleaning woman (played by ThandieNewton). In July, Perry will releaseanother film he wrote, produced anddirected -- The Marriage Counselor,whose cast includes the infamous KimKardashian. Perry is also currently film-ing Madea's Witness Protection, in whichhe reprises his trademark Madea role, thistime hosting a wealthy white businessmanin a witness protection program. That filmis expected to come out later this year.

theGrio opinion: How Tyler Perryexposes a divide in black America

Finally, there's I, Alex Cross, a filmadaptation of the James Patterson novel,and the only film that doesn't ofiiciallyfall under the Perry brand -- he's simplystarring as the title character originallyplayed by Morgan Freeman, neitherdirecting nor producing.

For any artist this would be a very

ambitious schedule, but for the ubiquitousPerry, it seems to be the norm -- not onlydoes he have two shows currently on tele-vision, now he's acting and/or directingfour films in one year.

He's obviously pay-ing his bills and main-taining a healthy fran-chise with the Madeamovie and TheMarriage Counselor, butwith Good Deeds and I,Alex Cross, it's clearthat Perry is trying toexpand his personabeyond the guy whoplays the funny grannyin drag, into that of alegitimate and respectedactor.

Unfortunately forPerry, inundating audi-ences with your workisn't necessarily the bestway to earn theirrespect. The first strikeagainst Perry is that he'stoo prominent of a per-sonality himself to con-vince audiences to seehim as a character.Every time he's onscreen he's Tyler Perry -

- not a character struggling with his mar-riage, or a Starfleet Academy admiral.

He'll definitely have to work hard toconvince audiences to show up for his

Alex Cross film, not only because it's out-side his comfort zone, but also because ofthe outrage expressed by many whenPerry got the part over Idris Elba.

There's also the issue of too much of agood thing going wrong. Perry's theaterbusiness has already suffered from oversaturation via his film franchises -- whygo see a low-budget stage play whenthere's a much higher quality film of thesame ilk showing in theaters?

Now his films run the risk of qualitydepletion.

The Madea films seem to be nearingthe end of their run (though this latest onestars a white cast in pursuit of crossoversuccess, which should irritate his core fanbase to no end) and churning out threefilms in one year doesn't exactly screamquality production. Eventually audiencesmay tire of Perry's signature plot line -- aprotagonist fallen from grace whobecomes redeemed by some outside force-- and three films in one year could speedthe process.

Ambition is key to success, but Perry'ssingle-minded focus on increasing hismedia presence could unhinge everythinghe's worked so hard to establish. A pieceof advice for Perry: Sometimes you haveto let audiences miss you.

'Good Deeds' plus three more films in 2012: IsTyler Perry overexposing himself?

By Kia Miakka Natisse


Greater Mt. Eagle Baptist Church

“A God Glorifying, ChristCentered, Spirit-Filled

Church”

Rev. Keith EvansPastor

Sunday School • 9:00 aMSunday Worship Service • 10:45 aM

Bible Study (Wed.) • 6:00 PMWord of Life (Youth Program) (Thur..) • 6:30 PM

Christian Faith Fellowship

ChurchRacine, Wisconsin

Pastors Willie & Patri cia Scott

262-631-01969:00am - Sunday School

10:00am - Sunday Service

New location:3001 Carpenter, Racine, WI

(off Durand Ave - West of Memorial Dr.)

631-0196

PO Box085576 • Racine, WI 53408

Sunday School 9:15 AMSunday Worship Service

7:45 AM & 10:40 AM

Wednesday Prayer &

Bible Class11:00 AM and 6:00 PM Dinner - 5:30 PM

ST. PaUL MISSIOnaRYBaPTIST CHURCH

1120 Grand Ave.Racine, Wis.

262-632-1467www.stpmbc.org

Bishop Lawrence L.

KIRBYSenior Pastor

262.635.1994

email:[email protected]

Rev. Buddy VinsonSenior Pastor

306-5th Street, Racine, WI

Trinity United Missionary Baptist Church

Sunday School - 9:30 AMSunday Worship 10:30 AM

Prayer Service - (Wed.) 5:00 PMBible Class & Prayer (Wed.) - 6:00 PM

CHURCH DIRECTORYOctavia Spencer Wins Oscar For Best

Supporting Actress For "The Help"Octavia Spencer inspired her formidable character in “The Help,” but the actress

turned into a softy Sunday as she accepted an Oscar for the role.“Oh, thank you,” a tearful Spencer said as many in the audience rose to their feet.

She expressed gratitude to her family, her colleagues from “The Help” and her native“state of Alabama” as she received the best supporting actress trophy.

The actress played tart-tongued maid Minny Jackson in the movie, which depictedSouthern life as the 1960s civil rightsmovement unfolded. The film isbased on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel “The Help,” and theauthor drew on her friendship withSpencer in creating Minny.

The two were introduced by amutual pal, “The Help” writer-direc-tor Tate Taylor.

After playing a nurse in the film“A Time to Kill,” Spencer was castas a nurse in several different TVseries including “City of Angels” and“Chicago Hope,” and played thesame medical role in films including“Halloween II” and “Seven Pounds.”

Spencer, 39, who was favored towin the Oscar, was composed enoughto enjoy the company of ChristianBale, who presented the award to her.

“Thank you, academy, for putting me with the hottest guy in the room,” she said.She also thanked Steven Spielberg for “changing my life.” Spielberg’s DreamWorks

is the studio behind “The Help.”Spencer is one of just a half-dozen black actresses to have won an Oscar in the

awards’ 84-year history. In the supporting actress category, Hattie McDaniel won for“Gone with the Wind,” Whoopi Goldberg for “Ghost,” Jennifer Hudson for“Dreamgirls,” and Mo’Nique for “Precious,” while Halle Berry won best actress for“Monster’s Ball.”

Wanted: Married Black men

providing community stabilityby Eloise Anderson—Secretary of the Wisconsin Dept. ofChildren and Families

February is Black History Month; a time to recognize the achievements and contri-butions of African-Americans and their role in our nation’s history.

February is also a time when we celebrate Valentine’s Day; a day to celebrate loveand ideally, marriage.

It is, therefore a bit disconcerting that at a time when we honor both AfricanAmericans and the institution of marriage a report in June 2011 by the NCAAP showsthat only 28% of Milwaukee’s black families had two parents in 2000, down from64% in 1970.

It is rather alarming that since the modern civil rights movement of the 1950’s and60’s, the family structure for Americans of African descent has crumbled more than atany time in the generations following slavery.

In the 1890’s, things were really tough for Americans of African descent. At thattime we (blacks) were poorer; less educated and had fewer opportunities. We need toremember and understand that through the struggles of slavery and Jim Crow, we havealways been a people who tried very hard to keep our families intact. Family meant afather, mother and children and often included extended family members as well.During those times the marriage rate was approximately 80%.

Today we see a large population of people in Milwaukee living in poverty, mostlyAmericans of African descent.

Within this population is a very high rate of unemployment, low marriage rates anda high rate of children living in households without their fathers. I believe a major con-tributing factor to the poverty and high unemployment is the low rate of marriage.

So, what’s so good about marriage for men? Higher income; married men earn morethan single men with the similar education and job histories. Longer life expectancy;married men have longer life expectancies than single men.

Better relationships; marriage increases the likelihood that fathers will have a rela-tionship (a good one) with their children and married men have more, better and safersex. Married men are also more likely to be faithful.

This means the father’s resources are devoted to one household rather than havingresources spread across many households.

What about women and marriage?Continued on page 14

Sunday School - 8:45 a.m.Sunday Worship Service - 10:00 a.m.

Sunday na Meeting 6:30 PMCommunity Dinner 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday: Midweek Worship

6:15 a.m.- 8:15 p.m.Thursday na Meeting 6:00 PM

ZOE

OUTREACH

Ministries2130 Racine Street

Racine, WI

619-3027

825 21st Street • RacineSunday School Worship Service 9:00 a.m.Mid Morning Worship Service 10:30 a.m.Wednesday Afternoon Bible Study 12:00 noon

Wednesday Dinner 5:30-6:30p.m.Wednesday Evening Bible Study 6:30 p.m.

Saturday Morning Prayer 8:00 a.m.

Rev. Willie Riley, Senior Pastor262.633.4421

Pastor Tommie KnucklesChristian

Tabernacle

Baptist Church

1201 Center Street

Racine, Wis. 53403

(262) 880-6521

Come Worship with us at:

Sunday Worship Service

11:00 AM

Bible Study

Wednesday

6:00 Pm - 8:00 PM

SeArChiNg TogeTher

MiSSioNAry BAPTiST ChurCh

Pastor Joseph L. & First

Lady Thomas

Joseph L. Thomas, PastorSunday School - 9:00 a.m.

- Sunday Worship Service - 10:30 a.m.Tuesday Prayer Service - 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study - Tuesday 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

New Brighter Day Baptist Church1225 25th Ave., Kenosha, WI

262-552-8090


Melvin HargovePastor

The Insider News Wisconsin is a community based newspaper published inRacine, Wisconsin. The newspaper covers a variety of events that highlightlifestyles in the African-American comunities in Southeastern Wisconsin. TheInsider News Wisconsin is a free publication, printed on the 1st and 15th ofeach month and is distributed in over 100 locations. All inquiries about adver-tisement or news should be made five to seven days before the 1st and 15thof each month.

Yolanda James, President/CEOaneillo Lindsey - account RepresentativeJared Edwards - account RepresentativeC-Moe Vision Photography - Photographer

3001 Douglas, Avenue • Racine, Wisconsin(262).681.2345

Visit our website: www.insiderwisconsin.com

CHURCH DIRECTORY

by Tonyaa Weathersbee, BlackAmericaWeb.com

A while back, when ABC’s Diane Sawyer asked Whitney Houston what she wanted10 years from now, the pop diva rattled off a list of simple desires.

“Retired … sitting down … seeing my daughter grow up … grandchildren,”Houston said, smiling with that perfect, piano-key smile of hers.

No wishes to be in anyone’s Hall of Fame. No wishes for another Grammy. She justwanted to be Whitney, the woman.

Hearing that interview saddens me even more about her death.I guess it’s because Houston was a woman blessed with gifts that fill the dreams of

everyday women; dreams of being beautiful, talented and adored by millions. Yet, itwas that talent – and all the complexities that go along with it – that got in the way ofher living to fulfill common dreams that are, for many of us, a given.

And we’ll always be left to wonder what might have been.Beverly Hills police say that Houston, whose body was found in a Beverly Hills

hotel room this past weekend, was “underwater and unconscious” in the bathtub. The48-year-old had battled a drug addiction for many years, and prescription drug bottleswere in the room.

So far, though, there’s no evidence of foul play, and the cause of Houston’s deathhas yet to be determined.

But regardless of how she died, to many women like me, women who had seen hergrow from girlish singer in the video “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who LovesMe)” to sultry actress in the movie, “Waiting to Exhale,” the loss still stings.

I didn’t expect for her to go out like that. I still believed there was a lot of magicleft in Houston, enough magic to propel her past the addictions that had hobbled herlife and career. I wanted to see her use her talent to beat down her demons.

And whenever Houston did retire, I wanted to see her end her career with an excla-mation point. Instead, her life ended as a somber footnote.

It’s pointless to blame anyone for the destructive choices that Houston made in herlife. I just wish that there was a way to take that same comfort and enjoyment that hergifts brought to people like me and turn it back on her so that she could draw the samecomfort and fulfillment from it.

So much so that she wouldn’t feel the need to use drugs, or so much so that shecould find the strength to shun them.

I just wish I knew of a way that Houston could have used that same power that keptus spellbound over her voice to control the things that hobbled her life.

And I wish that maybe one of her gospel songs, or her early hit, “The Greatest Loveof All,” could have saved her in the way that they likely inspired others to save them-selves.

I guess that in the end, Houston, for all her superhuman talent and beauty, was alltoo human. Her interview with Sawyer tells us that – that at the end of the day, shewanted what many other women want: To see their children grow up, to have grand-children, to be able to marvel over the circle of life that they had a hand in creating.

This Saturday, when Houston is laid to rest in her native New Jersey, everyone willbe struggling to remember her life, not her death. I’ll be struggling to do that too, toremember the beauty and talent that she brought to the world.

But I’ll also be mourning the fact that Houston’s extraordinary life ended waybefore she got a chance to see her ordinary, 10-year plan become real.

And that she didn’t intend for things to turn out that way.

Houston Wanted to Be Whitney, the Woman


Married mothers have lower rates of depression than single or cohabitating mothersand married women appear to have lower risk of domestic violence than cohabitatingor dating women. Raising a child in poverty and in a potentially violent situation is notgood for the child.

The list of reasons why marriage benefits both men and women is impressive, butfor children having parents who are married is equally important.

Statistics show that marriage reduces the risk that children will be either a perpetra-tor or a victim of crime and boys raised in a single-parent home are almost twice aslikely to have committed a crime that leads to incarceration by the time they reachtheir early thirties.

Children in single parent households are: five times more likely to be poor; twotimes more likely to drop out of school; 150% more likely to experience a non-maritalteen pregnancy.

Seventy percent of juveniles in state institutions grew up in single parent homes andseventy two percent of adolescent murderers grew up without their fathers. Fathers area big deal, their children need them, and society needs them in the household partner-ing in raising their children. Fathers need to view parenting skills as important, or evenmore important, as job skills.

Society as a whole also benefits from marriage. Neighborhoods have lower crimerates when they have more married families living in them.

Neighborhoods with a high concentration of Americans of African descent with lit-tle or no married families have higher rates of assaults by males. These communitiesneed married men invested in the community providing stability.

It is vitally important that our community reconnects with the concept of marriage.We need to encourage young people to graduate from high school and either get a job,any job, or pursue post-secondary education and then look at marriage and children (inthat order). A dedicated and nurturing father and mother who are united in marriageare the backbone of a healthy and stable family and the foundation of a strong andprosperous community.

Governor Scott Walker appointed Eloise Anderson as the Secretary of the WisconsinDepartment of Children and Families effective January 3, 2011. Secretary Anderson isnationally and internationally known as a leader in public policy creation and imple-mentation. She has extensive experience in child welfare and work support issues.

Dr. Bethel Cager, right, Area Superintendent of Racine Unified, addresses members atthe Racine NAACP forum on education. The forum was held last Saturday at the Dr.John Bryant Community Center. The event addressed a variety of issues that concernsthe civil rights organization. Speaking before about 20 NAACP members was Dr. AnnLaing, RUSD Superintendent, Christopher Thompson, Westridge Elementary SchoolPrincipal, and Sherrie Kulland, School Improvement and Student Achievement.

Wanted from page 12


The Greater Racine Collaborative forHealthy Birth Outcomes (GR4HBO)announced today that it has partneredwith text4baby – the first free textingservice to provide health information topregnant women and new moms frompregnancy through a baby’s first year.

The Greater Racine Collaborative forHealthy Birth Outcomes will promotetext4baby on its website, www.healthyba-biesracine.org, Healthy Babies RacineFacebook page,@ Racine LIHF Twitteraccount and will display posters and mar-keting information at various locationsthroughout the community including butnot limited to local community centers,hospitals, clinics etc.

"We believe this partnership withtext4baby is an effective way for us touse technology to reach this critical popu-lation," said Samantha Perry, GR4HBOProject Manager. "Our vision is to serveas a driving force for change that con-nects resources, organizations and indi-viduals to those most affected by this cri-sis, working with text4baby we canaccomplish this goal."

Text4baby is a free mobile informa-tion service designed to promote maternaland child health. An educational programof the National Healthy Mothers, HealthyBabies Coalition (HMHB), text4babyprovides pregnant women and new momswith information to help them care fortheir health and give their babies the bestpossible start in life. Women who sign upfor the service by texting BABY to511411 (or BEBE in Spanish) will receivefree SMS text messages each week, timedto their due date or baby’s date of birth.

Text4baby is made possible through abroad, public-private partnership thatincludes government, corporations, aca-demic institutions, professional associa-tions, non-profit organizations, and more.Founding partners include NationalHealthy Mothers, Healthy BabiesCoalition, Voxiva, CTIA - The WirelessFoundation, and Grey Healthcare Group(a WPP company) and text4baby’sFounding Sponsor, Johnson & Johnson.Federal government partners include theWhite House Office of Science andTechnology Policy, the U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services, the U.S.Department of Defense Military HealthSystem, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, and the U.S. Consumer

Product Safety Commission. Free mes-saging services are generously providedby participating mobile operators, includ-ing Alltel, Assurance Wireless, AT&T,Bluegrass Cellular, Boost Mobile,Cellular South, Cellcom, CentennialCellular, Cincinnati Bell, Cricket, MetroPCS, nTelos, Nex-Tech Wireless, Sprint

Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, VerizonWireless, and Virgin Mobile USA.

About the Greater RacineCollaborative for Healthy Birth Outcomes

The Greater Racine Collaborative forHealthy Birth Outcomes is a community-wide initiative committed to reducing theAfrican American infant mortality rate

and improving the health and well beingof African American women, children andfamilies in the Racine community. Tolearn more about the problem andplanned solutions visit the www.healthy-babiesracine.org website or contact theProject Manager at 262-637-8377

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GREACOLLABORA

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GREACOLLABORA

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GREATIVE FOR HEALCOLLABORACOLLABORATIVE FOR HEAL

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GREATHY BIRTH OUTCOMESTIVE FOR HEALTIVE FOR HEALTHY BIRTH OUTCOMES

TER RACINEBROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GREABROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GREATER RACINETHY BIRTH OUTCOMES

TER RACINETHY BIRTH OUTCOMES

THY BIRTH OUTCOMES

www

.healthybabiesracine.orgw

.healthybabiesracine.org



Greater Racine Collaborative Partners with New Text4babyTo Reach Pregnant Women and New Moms

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