Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 3-11-22

Editorial/Column
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months: $87.00-Per Year.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
Thoughts On Women
arch is celebrated as
the month to honor women. Indeed, the years 2020, 2021, and 2022 have been historic for Black women in America. Though I personally wish America would elect, select or appoint all of the First Blacks there will ever be so we can move on and take our rightful places in the human fabric of America. I know that if it has taken us 146 years to elect a Black President, 158 years to elect a Black Female Vice President, and 160 years to have a Black female named to the Supreme Court; it will probably take another 100 years before a Black person has held every position pos-
sible in the world.
Moreover, 2022 was the
year of the first Black female to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics for speed skating. We congratulate each of these women because there is no doubt that they are more than qualified for each of these positions to which they have been elected, selected, or ap- pointed.
Unfortunately, 2021 was the year of controlling women’s bodies by legisla- tors who were elected to of- fice by women. Women voters outnumbered and out- voted male voters by 4%-63% of women and 59% of men.
Sadly, more women tend to vote for male candidates who balked at passing the bill for Preventing Violence Against Women and legislation that prevented women from hav- ing abortions after 15 weeks. The notion that we as women vote for people who vote against the best interest of women is mind boggling.
In 2019, the Violence Against Women Act passed the House by a vote of 263 to 158, wherein only 33 Repub- licans voted for the bill. The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 passed the House onavoteof210to219,but failed to be considered by the Senate. Women would do well to research bills consid- ered by Congress and State legislators to see who and how legislators’ votes are cast on issues pertaining to women.
The COVID-19 Pandemic caused the incidence of do- mestic violence to rise. Do- mestic Violence was further “exacerbated by isolating people from family, friends and support systems, and created even deeper eco- nomic and emotional hard- ships. The controlling behavior of abusers – physi- cal, sexual, financial, emo- tional – increased by more than 8%.
“Factors such as unem- ployment, childcare stress,
poor coping strategies, in- creased use of alcohol and other substances accounted for an elevated risk of abuse.” Women are by far, the most frequent victims and men are the most frequent abusers.”
According to the Depart- ment of Justice, 95% of the assaults on partners or spouses were committed by men against women. Again, Black women face higher rates of physical violence, rape, psychological abuse, sexual violence, and death (twice the rate).
Research data shows that 40% of adults ages 25 to 54 (38%) were un-partnered – neither married or living with a partner, up 29% over 1990. Out of 11 million single par- ent families with children under the age of 18, 80% were headed by single moth- ers. Of the single parents, 42% were white, 28% were Black, and they are more than twice as likely to be Black as cohabiting parents. Parenting can be one of the most stressful jobs, especially for single female parents. Coping skills help us become better parents and handle stress better. Family mem- bers or friend support are ex- cellent for stress relief.
Finally, we extend our praise and gratitude to those sister and mother friends who stand in the gap offering hugs, encouragement, men- torship, support advice and love when most needed. In this life, none of us can find our way alone. Each one of you is my sister, for what you send into the lives of others, soon comes back to you on its own. Harrambee!
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
To Find A Perfect President
here is no doubt President Joe Biden has been
called everything that isn’t fit for print since he campaigned for the office of President... and called other names such as “weak,” “soft,” “ineffective,” “idiot,” “incompetent” and at least 43 other choice de- scriptive terms.
However, the Joe Biden we saw give the State of the Union speech last week was strong, confident, re- solved, diplomatic, and compassionate. In spite of his low approval rating (38%) Biden clearly showed his presidential demeanor for the whole world to see, and to cause his approval rating to jump to 47%. There is no doubt that Biden made America look strong domes- tically and internationally.
In case you missed the speech, here are a few of his key remarks. Biden clearly showed our support of the Ukrainians and disdain for Vladimir Putin. Biden committed to make America a “no fly zone” for Russia, to donate $1 billion to Ukrainians for support, to seize the yachts and property of Russian millionaires and billionaires, to stop access to funds by the Central Bank of Russia; and to place sanctions on Russia. Biden said that American troops would not be sent to the Ukraine, but that America has cemented our relationship with NATO to provide a united front against Russia invading other NATO countries.
On the domestic front, Biden promised to support the private investors who have committed to invest $50 billion for additional manufacturing jobs in Central America; to lower prescription costs for medicines (es- pecially for diabetics); to support 136 countries for a global tax rate of 15% to stop the flow of businesses re- locating to other countries; to protect voting rights and to implement higher standards for nursing homes.
Other goals shared by Biden include, paycheck fair- ness ($15 per hour), to extend child tax credits and to increase funding for childcare, and to fund Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), to reduce human trafficking, to increase the number of electric cars as a means to reduce global warning, to reduce ac-
cess to high capacity guns and implement universal gun background checks, and to allow citizens to file suits against gun manufacturers.
Women and LBGT citizens received a commitment of support and protection by Biden who asked American citizens to unite and work together to beat opioid addic- tions, a cancer reduction by 50% in twenty-five years and mental health prevention services.
We are inspired by Biden’s commitment, compassion, and ambitious goals. No, Biden is not perfect, but his goals are indeed perfect and achievable.
M
T
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022