Househusbands All grown up "Cosby" stars / joining reality TV mania Page 11 HBCU's First White Cheerleader Recalls His Role in Integration Page 9 Supreme Court Grants Troy Davis a New Hearing For Troy Davis, convicted of killing Savannah off-duty police officer in 1989, his home has been a been a cell on Death Row since 1991. With the murder weapon never found, and with no DNA and no fingerprints, Davis was still found guilty. But since then, seven of the nine witnesses against him have retracted or changed their testi- mony. 1- Davis started his appeals, but in 1993, the Georgia Supreme Court turned him down and affirmed the conviction and death sentence. Later appeals were brought in the federal courts were also denied, one just this past April. His execution has been postponed three times. In ordering a new hearing -- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said in part, that it would be an "atrocious violation of our Constitution and the principles upon which it is based" not to hear all of the new evi- dence and possibly execute an innocent person. No date has yet been set for Davis to appear in federal court to hear the testimony of the nine witnesses. Bolt Breaks 100-meter World Record BERLIN Usain Bolt has captured another world record, winning the 100- meter race in 9.58 seconds at the world championships. Bolt shaved 0.11 seconds off the record he set at the Beijing Olympics, beating defend- ' Adm ica ing champion Tyson Gay on Sunday, who B ' set a U.S. record of 9.71 seconds. .. In the fastest 100 ever, Asafa Powell earned a bronze with a time of 9.84 in- - Berlin. The race had been the most anticipated event of the world championships and lived up to its billing. Bolt won the Olympic gold in Beijing last year with a world record per- formance of 9.69. Doll Pulled as Racially Insensitive Discount supermat chain Costco is pulling some "Cuddle With Me" baby dolls from its store shelves because some people find the dolls offensive. The chain is apologizing for stocking the dolls that some cus- tomers have said are racially insensi- tive. The brown-skinned doll is sur- rounded by monkeys, and wears a A J v hat labeled 'lil monkey.' The white t vi, f doll counterpart on store shelves is surrounded by pandas, with a hat that reads 'pretty panda.' A Costco corporate employee said that John Taylor, of Greensboro, N.C., initiated complaints calling the doll racially offensive. He recently purchased the black doll at a North Carolina Costco store. Arthur Jackson, vice president of general administration for Costcsaid that all versions of the doll were immediately yanked from store shelves about a week and a half ago, as they began to receive other complaints. A chain letter circulated that encouraged consumers to call Costco and have product number "404860" removed from stores. Jackson stated, "We offer our sincere apology to anyone who was offended. That was surely never our intent." Jesse Jackson Named Chief of African Tribe Replacing MiJack SANWI The Rev. Jesse Jackson was honored at a ceremony with Amon N'Douffou V, king, " of the Agni people of the Krindjabo kingdom . along the Ivory Coast. The king rules over a million members of his tribe, which venerates Michael Jackson after making him their prince after he visited the L' kingdom in 1992. B > : Villagers deep in the rainforest launched a * search for a successor to the singer who was crowned prince of the Agni people 17 years ago. The tribe held an extravagent two-day royal funeral for Michael Jackson. Traditional dancers and lookalikes of the dead singer paraded before the king and 2,000 mourners. Tribal chiefs appealed to the US embassy to press Jackson's family to bring his body to the west African country for a burial in accordance with the local tradition of the Sanwi kingdom. Jesse Jackson was on a three-day visit to the Ivory Coast, invited by the association of "Young Patriots", who are supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo. He found himself feted by the tribe and has now inherited the the title of prince or son of the Agni from the late star, who was not a relation. Krindjabo lies deep in the tropical rainforest in the southeast of Ivory Coast. Most people survive by subsistence farming or hand-panning for gold. COLORSTRUCK Does skin complexion still matter in the Black community? Page 5 Michael Vick Deserves a Chance at Redemption Page 4 50 Cents Volume 23 No.47 Jacksonville, Florida August 20-26, 2009 C 0 M M I T T E D Veteran educator Gloria Dean Belton offers ideas about literacy initiatives to Candace Thompson, Marjoria Manning, Betty Davis, Wanda Montgomery, Anest McCarthy and Jimminda Thompson. M Latimer photo At a time when social service programs are being cut and community outreach options are decreas- ing, the Jacksonville Chapter of Links is working to ensure the community is being served especial- ly children on the First Coast. The industrious organization comprised of women of color recently held their annual retreat to plan how they will continue to make inroads in transforming the community. For more on their 2010 plan and to see who is included, see page 7 KNOW THE FACTS HIV/Aids Is Not A Black Disease The HIV/Aids epidemic, although very sad for all those involved has nothing to do with race. Over 98% of all cases are due to lifestyle choices. Race has noth- ing to do with whether a person engages in risky sexual behavior or shares IV needles with someone else. That is simply bad decision making. Sickle cell anemia, on the other hand, could be considered a black disease. One third of all peo- ple that live in Sub-Saharan Africa carry the gene for sickle cell. Sickle cell is genetically inherited. HIV is acquired overwhelmingly through lifestyle choices. The Center for Disease Control gives the following statistics con- cerning methods of transmission. - 487,695 a result of male to male sexual contact - 255,859 from injection drug use - 71,242 from male to male sexu- al contact and injection drug use - 176,157from high risk heterosex- ual contacts - 18,266 are tagged as other The best way to cut the growing HIV/Aids rate is to deal with the core behaviors that cause the dis- ease to spread. Growing Population Provided a "Re-entry" into Life with Opening of New Center by M. Latimer " With America's Black men dis- : proportionately filling America's prisons, they often return to their communities disenfranchised, underskilled and overwhelmed with the responsibilities of taking care of themselves. Without the education to attain a decent job and a criminal background, the cycle is constant. In an effort to readjust the former offenders back to society. The city of Jacksonville recently opened the i i The Jacksonville Re-entry Center, a . component of The Jacksonville I Journey.i With the doors opening just last week, the Center is already off and running with a client base utilizing their services. .. ' Martin Loftin spent more than a - decade behind bars and sought to *. .: change his life through the Jacksonville Re-Entry Center (JREC). "I've made some serious ' mistakes, but I've worked hard to pay my debt to society and hope Marion Loftin, an ex-offender released in June 2009, discusses his future with his counselor, Leola that JREC can provide me with the Williams, a re-entry specialist with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Williams recognized Loftin's talent as opportunity for a productive an artist and has encouraged him to pursue education and a career in the field of graphic/commercial art. future," he said. Loftin, also trained as an electrician and dental lab technician, hopes he will be one the Jacksonville Re- Entry Center's success stories and will develop a viable vocation. MLatimerphoto PRSTSTD U.S. Postage PAID - Jacksonville, FL Perinit No. 662 ,