Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 8-29-17

National
Publisher’s Animating Of Black History Lessons Getting Rave Reviews
Hurricane Harvey: Thousands Have To Evacuate Because Of Flooding
Thousands of Texans have had to leave their homes due to the flooding. 3 prisons were evacuated too.
Washington, DC — Melanin Origins LLC, a children’s book company that writes biogra- phies of African-American pio- neers and other historical leaders throughout the world will be provided a full screen- ing of their latest animation project at the Global Impact Film Festival, Saturday, August 26th.
After receiving massive sup- port throughout the nation from parents and educators alike regarding the value and rich content provided in Melanin Origins’ learning ma- terials, the company’s execu- tive leadership decided it was time to create the concept of Cool Genes®.
Melanin Origins’ cartoon show, Cool Genes®, is the no- tion that every child is born with a unique ability embedded in their DNA to achieve a level of excellence and greatness.
The show features Melanin
Francis W. Minikon Jr., Chief Operations Officer at Melanin Originals, LLC and author, John W. Ensley II.
Origins’ version of Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, and many more historical fig- ures who operate in a fictional environment, yet embody the very same virtuous characteris- tics as their respective ances- tor.
For First Time In Florida History: White Man Is Executed For Killing A Black Person
Mark Asay, 53, convicted of racially-motivated murder of Robert Booker in 1987 was executed on last Thursday.
HOUSTON, TX — The rem- nants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pour- ing into the nation’s fourth- largest city Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed res- cuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help.
Helicopters, boats and high- water vehicles swarmed around inundated Houston neighborhoods, pulling people from their homes or from the turbid water, which was high enough in some places to gush
into second floors.
The flooding was so wide-
spread that authorities had trouble pinpointing the worst areas. They urged people to get on top of their homes to avoid becoming trapped in attics and to wave sheets or towels to draw attention to their loca- tion.
As the water rose, the Na- tional Weather Service offered another ominous forecast: Be- fore the storm passes, some parts of Houston and its sub- urbs could receive as much as 50 inches of rain. That would
be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas.
Three Texas prisons — in- cluding nearly 4,500 convicts — were evacuated because of Hurricane Harvey.
Prisoners at the Ramsey, Terrell and Stringfellow fa- cilities were loaded on to buses under heavy guard and shut- tled to corrections facilities in the east, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
The prisoners will tem- porarily lose visitation rights but will be able to phone home, authorities said.
The Florida man who was ex- ecuted on last Thursday, and be- came the first white Florida convict to be exe- cuted for killing a Black man said he was ready to die, in an interview last Wednesday.
Mark Asay, 53, was con- victed in 1987 of killing Robert Lee Booker, a Black man and Hispanic cross-dresser Robert ‘Rene’ McDowell, and has spent 30 years waiting to be ex- ecuted.
On the eve this Thursday ex- ecution, a tearful Asay talked about the killings, his newfound religion, and why he felt he should either go free or be exe- cuted immediately.
Asay was pronounced dead at 6:22pm local time (22:22 GMT) on last Thursday.
The then-23-year-old Asay was convicted of fatally shooting both men and was hauled in by police in July of that year after Booker's body was found under the porch of an aban- doned house in Jacksonville.
McDowell's body was found at a crossroads nearby.
Asay, admitted to killing McDowell, a former friend of his, but denies murdering Booker, who was linked to him
with ballistic evidence. Prosecutors said Asay
made racist comments in the 1987 fatal shooting of Booker,
34.
When asked if he had any-
thing he wanted to say in his final interview on Wednesday, Booker tearfully told the news channel: 'Well, really, just that I'm sorry and things just got out of control.'
Saying that McDowell's death came as he was 'having a meltdown,' Asay said they had been friendly until the man took money from him.
When asked whether he wanted to make a final state- ment on Thursday, Asay said, "No sir, I do not. Thank you".
The execution protocol began at 6:10pm local time (22:10 GMT). Within minutes he was motionless and was sub- sequently pronounced dead by a doctor.
At least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976, ac- cording to data from the Death Penalty Information Center.
A total of 92 Florida inmates had been executed previously in that time period.
Alphabet Book To Teach Kids About Hip Hop
On Oct. 10, kids across the world will have the opportu- nity to learn about hip-hop culture in a fun and inventive way.
Hip-Hop Alphabet, written by Howie Abrams and il- lustrated by Brooklyn graffiti artist Michael “Kaves” McLeer, will introduce a new generation to the rich and rewarding history of the genre, which turned 44 ear- lier this month.
All 26 letters of the alpha- bet touch upon different icons and elements of hip-hop cul- ture. In the world of Abrams and Kaves, “B” is for Beastie Boys and “J” is for JAY-Z. Children will read about the accomplishments and storied careers of rappers and groups like LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest, while also learning about pillars of hip-hop, like
The cover of the Hip Hop Alphabet Book.
DJing, vinyl, microphones and graffiti.
Hip-Hop Alphabet also in-
cludes a forward from Dar- ryl “DMC” Daniels of Run-DMC.
PAGE 20 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2017