Author: Carma Henry

     With violence by organized criminal groups continuing to escalate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, South Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has joined two other members of Congress and representatives of several Haitian-led organizations to urge more federal action to address the situation.

      Miami Gardens Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones announced Tuesday that he is running for chairman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Executive Committee, following the removal of now-former party chair Robert Dempster last month. Jones says that, if elected, he intends to serve in that role only until the end of the year.

     “Yesterday ICE ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) conducted a repatriation flight of around 50 Haitian nationals to Haiti,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the Phoenix in an emailed statement on Friday afternoon. “Individuals are removed only if they were found to not have a legal basis to remain in the United States.”

     Borrowers with multiple federal student loans, such as Perkins Loans, Parent Plus Loans, and Federal Family Education Loans, have until April 30 to apply for consolidation. The process requires applicants to select an income-driven repayment plan, which could, in some situations, lead to total loan cancelation. 

   America finds itself facing a tumultuous event like the one depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster movie entitled, “High Noon,” starring Gary Cooper, as Marshall Will Kane. Marshall Kane who’s about to retire and leave town learns that a vicious outlaw, Frank Miller who he sent to prison, now released, is coming to kill him. Kane’s integrity compels him to stay despite the townsmen’s cowardness and his newly wed bride pleas for them to flee. Also, unable to flee, America’s voters face being terrorized by Trump at high noon, November 5, 2024, “Presidential Election Day.”

Peace on Earth Day

     The slavery of today is “Sophisticated Slavery”. The Blacks that roam the halls of the “government house” have no desire to interact with the brothers and sisters that may be in the poor house, the crack house, or the whore house.

     There is a generational divide between Black older voters and many of the young Black voters, who have no knowledge of civil rights, and why voting is sacred to older Black women. Many young Blacks don’t know the history of lynching, homes being bombed, and communities being massacred for the right to vote.

      Maybe there won’t be a copycat mass shooting to grotesquely mark the 25th anniversary of the Columbine massacre on April 20, 1999. But just as we can be certain there will be another solar eclipse, it’s only a matter of time before a hail of bullets will block out the sun for another community somewhere in America. What’s also true? Expect the shooter to be male, probably white. 

     April 15 – 21 is National Week of Conversation, created “for those seeking ways to turn down the heat of polarization, and … engage in activities that build bridges across differences.”