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Editorials/Columns
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Something Just Ain’t Right
ast week the State At-
torney's office an- nounced that they weren't going to pursue charges against Cody Quinn, the Bloomingdale High School student who shot and killed 17-year-old Jayquon John- son in a Valrico neighborhood back in January.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sherriff's Office, the agency handling the inves- tigation, the decision was based on a lack of evidence available to discredit Quinn's self-defense claim.
This unexpected course of action taken by the state attor- ney follows the acknowledge- ment by authorities that the shooting may have been drug- related, and after their discov- ery that the weapon used to kill Johnson, along with an- other firearm, believed to to be owned by Johnson, had been removed from the crime scene and buried by Quinn's mother, Heidi Quinn.
In spite of the questionable circumstances surrounding the incident, the state attorney still came to the conclusion
that a case against Quinn wasn't worth prosecuting. And the question I'm sure everyone is asking is why?
How does a suspected drug dealer shoot a child, have his mother tamper with evidence, and not be charged with at least some form of homicide? First degree murder? Second Degree murder? Manslaugh- ter?
Are they trying to convince us that none of these charges would stick?
Two years ago a woman in Jacksonville was given 20 years in prison for shooting into the roof of her garage while trying to scare off her abusive husband. Cody Quinn actually killed some- one in his garage and the only infraction they could come up with is the unlawful use of a firearm?
I am far from a law expert. But, even in my limited under- standing of how justice is sup- posed to be applied, it's easy to see that something is seriously wrong with what we're wit- nessing.
As much as no one likes to
bring up the issue of race when these kinds of situations arise, it's hard to imagine that Johnson's Blackness and Quinn's whiteness weren't key factors in how everything played out. I mean, if the situ- ation were reversed and Quinn was dead and John- son the one claiming self-de- fense, does anyone truly believe that Johnson would- n't be sitting in jail right now waiting for his day in court?
When I think about that scenario I don't know what's worse, the fact that we already know the answer to that ques- tion or that the individuals who took an oath to uphold the law know it also?
Unfortunately for the Johnson family, due to the blatant biasness of the system, they may never find out what actually happened to their loved one. But if the idea of Karma is as real as I believe, and Quinn is indeed lying, they can rest assured that the person who brought them such heartache won't escape unscathed. The, so-called, "powers that be" just helped him place his inevitable pun- ishment on a lay-away plan.
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Racism Can Make You Sick
ore than 10 years ago, researchers studying the link
between racism and health found that “Black women who pointed to racism as a source of stress in their lives developed more plaque in their carotid arteries – an early sign of heart disease – than Black women who did- n’t.”
Though the difference was small, researchers called this report the “first to link hardening of the arteries to discrimination”. At that time, more than 100 studies had documented the effects of racial discrimination on physi- cal health. Such studies must be brought to America’s na- tional awareness, and racism must be addressed as a public health and mental health issue.
In fact, sexism, religious intolerance and homophobia may have similar effects on its victims. The fact that preg- nant women in California with Arabic names became more likely “than any other group to deliver low birth- weight babies in the six months after 9/11” raised concern on this issue.
Indeed, Black Americans must lead the charge on this issue, because after more than 50 years of programs that supposedly addressed the economic, health and educa- tional disparities, Blacks are still at a greater risk than any other racial group of dying from strokes, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.
Interestingly, rich Blacks “suffer more health prob- lems than the poorest whites.”
The time is now for us to demand that racism be de- clared a national mental and physical health risk, lest we continue to die in silence on this issue.
Call and urge our congressional representatives to ad- dress this issue as a national health problem.
M
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
Clean Up, It’s Spring
“The day the Lord cre- ated hope was probably the same day he created spring.”
Ben Williams
Empowered Greetings. The sun is shining with a hint of a cool breeze. Birds are
chirping, singing songs of praise. Flowers will soon be in full bloom as the rain showers down from the sky to help new life rise up. This could only mean one thing. Spring has sprung.
Spring is generally the time of year reserved for a thorough cleaning of the house. Concur-
rently, while we are cleaning out our natural houses or habi- tats we need to also clean out our spiritual house.
II Chronicles 29:5 in- structs to sanctify yourself and sanctify the house of the Lord God and carry forth the filthi- ness out of this holy place. Your body is holy for it is the house of the Spirit of God, so it needs to be clean.
As we complete this first week of spring, designate time to “Set your spiritual house in order.” This should be your first priority. Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of
God...”
I challenge you to spring into action and ask God to...
Wash you thoroughly and cleanse you of your sins. (Psalm 51:2).
Create in you a clean heart and renew within you a right spirit. (Psalm 51:10)
Transform you by the re- newing of your mind. (Ro- mans 12:2)
Answering the above chal- lenge will position you to come into full bloom with the plan of God for you. He will shower down his love from heaven that will allow you to spring up to a new life in Him.
To contact Selphenia Nichols-Simmons, Email: selphenia@successcoach- towomen.com.
Follow her on twitter @queenofsuccess1; Face- book: Selphenia Nichols Success Coach To Women Instagram: Selphenia; or Call (813) 603-0088.
Tweedle-Dee And Tweedle-****!
s historians, we would love very much to slam yet
another pie at President Donald Trump for bluntly and blindly announcing to the world that Korea was once a territory of China (which it was NOT). Surely, such a lie deserves equal space with Press Secretary Spicer’s so- called alternative fact about Hitler and sarin gas. How- ever, time is fleeting and space is short. So, we’ll ignore the China-Korea connection for the moment for even big- ger, closer fish to fry.
For instance, have you heard the latest fluff from the Florida Senate when Republican Miami Senator Frank Ar- tiles (a cross between the late Don Rickles and stand-up race comedian Andrew Dice Clay) let loose with a salvo of “N”-words, “AH-le” words, and “B”-words that would even have rattled Redd Foxx’s teeth.
But this time, Artiles went too far. Maybe, it was be- cause Frank was born in Los Angeles (where people are known for “letting it all hang out”), or perhaps, it was his
A
Hispanic heritage which gave him an ethnic insight that allowed him to cross the cultural border in order to say “N-gga” instead of “N-gger” and thereby get away with it, or no doubt it was simply the fact that Frank assumed the people with whom he was speaking in private were friends of his (not realizing there are language limits even to friendship).
So, like so many other current VIPs, Frank closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and shoved his foot dead into it.
Yes, he apologized later. But later is a drink served stale and spit-warm. And now his buddies want his scalp. Even Governor Scott (who has no scalp) wants his scalp . . . only because Frank didn’t look before he leaped (er spoke).
So, we shall ignore Trump’s birther assumption that China is indeed, Korea’s daddy. After all, why cross the Pacific when we’ve got Miami’s Frank “Gran Torino” Artiles to keep us warm?