Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 8-21-15 Edition

Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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Donald Plays His Trump Card
onald Trump’s run
for the presidency is filled by him criticizing other presidential candidates, say- ing silly things and just talking loud and saying nothing.
He is the brunt of every co- median’s jokes. Nobody took what he said or did seriously. Not even his own political party considered him to be no more than a bag of hot air.
President Barack Obama is about to conclude his final term in office. The time to elect the next Presi- dent is upon us. True to form, guess who is running for the presidency. If you said Don- ald Trump, you are correct. The comedians got out their papers and pens. The rest of us put on laughing shoes and are prepared to laugh.
All of a sudden ole Don- ald is funny, but not in the way we are used to seeing him. He is saying things, but the funny stuff seems to have sub- stance.
Apparently, somebody be-
lieves him, because he has shot to the lead in most every political poll in this country. How can that be, you might ask? There are serious candi- dates like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Ben Carson and John Kasich in the race.
Yet, Mr. Trump is ahead of these presidential scholars in the polls. It can’t be. The media brats who know it all, are scrambling to find an- swers because they are at a lost to explain or understand this phenom. All they say now is it won’t last.
This election cycle “The Donald” played his Trump card right out the gate. What he did, was confuse political pundits, stunned the candi- dates and he appeals to voters who flat out say what he feels about the United States gov- ernment and the people who run it. He also exercises the freedom to insult the other candidates at will.
He said one of his com-
petitors was so dumb that he would need instructions on how to punch his way out of a paper bag.
He doesn’t need to cater to demanding donors because he has his own money. He does not need to buy advertise- ment. He dominates the news every day.
He is a rock star without a hit message. Everybody wants him on his or her show. “The Donald” says as president, he is going to solve all the problems of America. He ei- ther doesn’t know how he in- tends to solve these problems, or he isn’t saying. When ques- tioned, he tries to dodge an- swering the question.
According to the news, Donald Trump can’t do or say anything right. Yet, he is leading in most polls and most of his presidential opponents are trying to sneak aboard the Trump band wagon. The candidates and the media need to understand that it is not what Mr. Trump says or does. Oh no, it goes much deeper than that.
Donald is guided by his Ace of Trump card in his say- ings and doings. The only hope for the rest of the oppo- sition is to find their own Trump card.
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School Is A Family Affair
s you would imagine, parents are busily preparing
their children for school, which begins next week. And as they make certain their young ones are ready to sport crisp new uniforms, name-brand sneakers, cre- atively unique hairdos, and the latest fashions, we trust parents will make sure their future generations are dressed with the proper attitudes for a positive school ex- perience.
We truly hope parents will commit to making sure their children spend time each day reviewing school work or completing homework or reading before plunging into the bottomless pit of computer games, outside sports or other extra-curricular time consumers.
School is a family affair, and as such requires active participation by each child’s parents. Therefore, parents should encourage their children to conduct themselves in a respectful and courteous manner and to respect their teachers. For, too many of our children are being sus- pended from school or otherwise disciplined for their fail- ure to listen to or respect people of authority.
Indeed, our children need to be held accountable for their behavior and their serious pursuit of obtaining a quality education should be their concern. Mathematics and science courses should be key subjects that every child selects. However, art, music, history, and physical education should rate also high among a well-rounded school experience.
‘Blacks Will Shop Here Even If We Don’t Advertise’
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer (An Analysis)
he success of any busi-
ness is to be located close to its customer base. Whatever products you’re sell- ing, you want to make it as convenient as possible for your customers to spend their money in your place.
In many communities, businesses sell products and services to one ethnic group, and in no area is that more ev- ident than East Tampa.
Beginning at Nebraska Av- enue and going east on Hills- borough Avenue as far as 40th Street, you will find an abun- dance of businesses that exclu- sively sell products for African American consumers.
When you locate your business close to African American communities, it’s smart to keep up with trends to keep the customers coming through the doors.
The problem with that sce- nario is these businesses feel they don’t have to adver- tise to draw more African Americans into their stores, because we will spend our money there anyway.
Even if that’s true, it would only be fitting that these busi- nesses give something back to the community. They don’t hire African Americans, and for decades they rotate family members to keep the dollars flowing. These business own- ers don’t live anywhere near the communities they serve, so the money we spend in their businesses is collected by them and spent somewhere else.
It’s time these business owners be made to oblige their patrons with more respect, and to allow various media outlets an opportunity to pros- per. However, it’s also the re- sponsibility of the consumers to demand more from these businesses.
Consumers don’t know what specials these businesses offer, nor are they aware of the schedules of the businesses as far as when they close on spe- cial days. Most of them don’t acknowledge holidays anyway, so they very seldom are closed.
It’s a fact that these busi- nesses have earned the owners millions of dollars, and the mindset that we will shop there even if they don’t advertise is supported by the rush they get every
month, especially the first two weeks.
We must educate African American consumers to de- mand more from these busi- nesses, and we must put them in a position to advertise as a necessity.
With the communities changing, the big profits these businesses enjoy will be al- tered by a different racial dy- namic, and that means these businesses will either be shut down or downsized.
It’s important for every community to have a support- ing infrastructure of busi- nesses that cater strictly to the people of that area. It’s also important these busi- nesses understand that by advertising their products and services, it will only help to increase their sales, and give them an opportunity to expand.
For these businesses to continue to operate on the notion that no matter what they do or don’t do will have no affect on their bottom line is disre- spectful to the people they serve.
Several people have called to ask the Florida Sentinel Bulletin why certain busi- nesses aren’t advertising.
Julian Bond: Farewell To ‘Papa-Cool’
et the straight-laced, straight-faced media speak
about him in sober tones. But as for us, we shall sing about a Brother of a bag-brown color, who was Black and Proud way before Black and Proud was a James Brown anthem, and who along with Muhammad Ali was uncon- testably one of the handsomest Brothers on the face of the earth, along with the fact that like Ali, Bond would be re- membered world-wide for a two line poem that went, “Look at that girl shake that thing! We can’t all be Martin Luther King!”
Now, print that in your obituary, New York Times. Talk about the time a handsome, hungry Julian Bond found himself at the West Tampa dinner table of one of Tampa’s most popular DJ’s who was also a civil rights ac- tivist, and how Julian forgot all about his manners and ate food with his fingers. For, these are the things that need remembering . . .the frat-man from Morehouse who was not above loving college life... the young race-man whose ideas about equality and humanity helped build an organization called SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinat- ing Committee).
But, then tell about the time a knock came on the office door of a Julian Bond some years later, when he found himself having slept on his sofa in his boxer shorts in his office in the Georgia Legislature, and how he had to scramble to find his trousers, recoup his mind, pick out his Afro, then open the door and greet his colleagues in
that deep news anchor drawl that made people sit on the edges of their seats every time he said “A-hem!”
Yes, we will miss Julian Bond, who died not a week ago. But we will miss him for rea- sons other than historians will lament. A Black rendition of Dennis-without-the Menace; a tall and eloquent warrior, who never split a verb or lost his nerve. “Rumble, Black Man, rumble!” Let the Gates of Heaven open wide. For, Julian Bond, our brother, is on his way inside!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A
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