2018-04-27

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ writers say the
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p.2
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From page 1

Apr 27 - May 3, 2018| Orlando Advocate 3
Helping you
is what we
love to do.
That’s why there’s always an experienced bread
baker on hand in your Publix Bakery. And an expert
cake decorator, too, ready to customize beautiful
cakes to your every whim, for any occasion.
See how we serve you at publix.com/service.
Memorial to Victims of Lynching Forces Reckoning
On America’s Racist Legacies
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice honors over 4,000 victims of lynching in America.
By Antonia Blumberg
A memorial honoring
thousands of black people
who were lynched in the
United States in the decades
following the Civil
War opened on Thursday in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Dubbed the nation’s first,
The National Memorial for
Peace and Justice pays longoverdue
respect to the more
than 4,400 victims of lynchings
and thousands of others
who were terrorized during a
period of virulent racism and
white supremacism.
The memorial, and an
accompanying museum that
also opened Thursday, are
the work of The Equal Justice
Initiative, a nonprofit
focused on challenging mass
incarceration and racial and
economic disparities in the
U.S.
EJI, founded by criminal
defense attorney Bryan Stevenson,
offers legal services
to people who are poor and
incarcerated.
In recent years, Stevenson
and other lawyers
working with EJI immersed
themselves in archives to
document the extent of the
U.S. lynchings. Their research
uncovered more than
4,400 victims from 1877 to
1950, including 800 previously
unknown cases.
Stevenson drew inspiration
for the Montgomery
memorial from the Apartheid
Museum in Johannesburg,
South Africa, and the Holocaust
Memorial in Berlin,
Germany, to create a singular
monument that would illustrate
the racist violence of
lynchings and the dark stain
on America’s past.
The memorial sits atop a
hill overlooking the Alabama
State Capitol. More than 800
steel columns hang from a
roof, each one representing
a U.S. county where the
racial terror of lynchings
took place. The names of
the 4,400 victims, some of
which are listed simply as
“unknown,” are marked on
the columns.
Along a walkway are
markers describing in harrowing
detail the individual
stories of some of the
killings, including a man
lynched for writing letters to
a white woman and a pregnant
woman hung upside
down and killed along with
her child.
Stevenson said his intent
with the memorial isn’t to
shame the country but rather
to bring awareness where
there has been denial.
“I’m not interested in
talking about America’s history
because I want to punish
America,” the attorney told
The New York Times. “I
want to liberate America.
And I think it’s important
for us to do this as an organization
that has created
an identity that is as disassociated
from punishment as
possible.”
The country has a long
way to go. Racial terrorism
and violence against black
lives have not gone away,
and Stevenson argues that
slavery merely evolved into
an era of mass incarceration
of black people witnessed
today.
“Now we live in a landscape
where you see young
black boys and men being
rounded up,” he told Oprah
Winfrey in a “60 Minutes”
interview this month. Black
Americans are incarcerated
at over five times the rate
of white Americans, according
to the NAACP. And
black and Latino people
continue to be killed by
police at a disproportionate
rate compared with their
white counterparts.
The Confederate era also
remains a prominent feature
in Southern culture. The
lynching memorial opened
just days after Alabama celebrated
Confederate Memorial
Day, a reminder of the
South’s continued struggle
to extricate itself from the
cultural legacies of slavery.
“America can be a great
nation, even though there
was slavery, even though
there was lynching, even
though there was segregation,”
Stevenson said in the
“60 Minutes” interview.
“But if we don’t talk about
those things we did, we
don’t acknowledge those
things, we’re not going to
get there.”
Sarah Ruiz-Grossman
contributed to this report.

6
Orlando Advocate | Apr 27 - May 3, 2018
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over $33 billion and counting to our public
education system and has sent over 775,000
students to college and beyond on Bright
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Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Cannabis Advocates Blame Fla.
Officials for ‘Reefer Madness’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -
Florida’s Medical Cannabis
Registry reached a milestone
recently with more than
100,000 patients signed up
for treatment.
Advocates of cannabis
use s ay that number
would’ve been four times as
much if it weren’t for state
officials searching for ways
to restrict use. Nearly two
years after voters approved
medical marijuana, Florida’s
Department of Health
has been slow to publish
regulations for patients,
doctors and suppliers.
Regulators are fighting a
series of legal challenges
about the new law.
Christopher Cano,
executive director of Central
Florida NORML, a local
chapter of the National
Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws, said
patients are also discouraged
by excessive costs.
“You have dispensaries
charging people $700 to
buy a vaporizer that could
vape those flower-based
medicines,” Cano said. “I
mean, the cost is probably
the biggest hindrance of
why there aren’t 400,000
patients in the registry right
now.”
Florida law says the state
is supposed to be issuing
new licenses to growers
and entrepreneurs based
on the number of patients
in the system. However,
the department requires
each patient to be active,
and so far, just over 75,000
registered patients have
been issued IDs to receive
treatment.
According to Cano, the
By Trimmel Gomes
limited number of suppliers
in the market is causing prices
to stay high. He described
Florida as nowhere near
being on par compared with
other states when it comes
to successfully regulating
use.
“All in all, the issues
that we see in the Florida
medical marijuana system
are due to poor regulations,
and a poor job by the Office
of Medical Marijuana Use,”
he said, “and that really does
fall back on the executive
branch.”
The state is appealing
a decision by Leon County
Circuit Judge Karen Gievers
to allow a cancer survivor,
Joe Redner, to grow his
own marijuana. His doctors
argued that juicing marijuana
plants was the best source of
treatment for his cancer.
Gievers also reminded
the Department of Health
that it has a duty to enable
“the availability and safe
use of medical marijuana by
qualifying patients.”
Prison Reform Group Calls for
Full Restoration of Felon’s Rights
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
- The Reverend Al Sharpton
and other local and national
church and civic leaders rallied
in Tallahassee Thursday,
calling for the restoration of
voting rights for ex-felons.
The issue of felons’ rights
has long been controversial
but in recent weeks a judge
struck down the state’s current
system of restoring
voting rights to felons and
ordered a new system to be
instituted by April 26.
Gov. Rick Scott and the
Cabinet had a month to
revamp the rules, but it was
only last night that he called
on the Cabinet to have an
emergency meeting to address
the issue after failed
attempts to challenge the
ruling in court.
Lakey Love, spokesperson
with the Campaign for
Prison Reform, is advocating
for the complete restoration
of rights to former felons.
She takes offense that the
governor and Cabinet waited
until the last minute to address
the issue.
“It is a strategic attack
on the community that’s directly
impacted,” says Love,
“so not just people who are
formerly incarcerated but
their mothers and sisters
and wives and daughters and
husbands and brothers and
uncles and aunts.”
The governor’s office
called the judge’s ruling haphazard
and had requested a
stay. Hundreds of millennials
By Trimmel Gomes
are expected to join religious
and civil-rights leaders in
a march and ending with a
rally on the state Capitol.
When Scott called for
an emergency clemency
board meeting for 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Love said she
scrambled to get families,
faith groups and civil-rights
leaders to show up and speak
out at the public meeting.
“And I think it’s really
important that he understands
that the restriction of
rights affects us every hour
of every day,” says Love.
The current legal battle
could all be changed come
November when voters
will get to decide whether
ex-felons should automatically
have their voting rights
restored. Floridians for a
Fair Democracy, a political
committee, was able to collect
enough petitions to put
a constitutional amendment
on the ballot that would
automatically restore voting
rights to felons who
have served their sentences,
completed parole and paid
restitution.

April 27 - May 3, 2018 | Orlando Advocate 7
Lifestyle
A n Angel Fel l
Idris Ackamoor and his
jazz ensemble The Pyramids
began performing together in the
1970s when they were students
at Antioch College under the
mentorship of renowned pianist
Cecil Taylor. After releasing several
widely acclaimed “spaceage”
or “spiritual” jazz albums,
the group disbanded in 1977.
When a new generation of music
lovers discovered The Pyramids
recordings and began clamoring
for more, Ackamoor decided to
reconstitute the group in 2012.
An Angel Fell is the third release
from this new ensemble, led by
Ackamoor on alto, tenor sax and
keytar, with Sandra Poindexter
on violin and sharing lead vocals
with Ackamoor. Other group
members (at least on this album)
include David Molina on guitar,
Skyler Stover on double bass,
Bradie Speller on congas, and
Johann Polzer on drums.
Explaining the choice of
album title and overall theme,
Ackamoor said “I wanted to use
folklore, fantasy and drama as a
warning bell. The songs explore
global themes that are important
to me and to us all: the rise of
catastrophic climate change
and our lack of concern for our
planet, loss of innocence and
separation… but positive themes
too, the healing power of music,
collective action and the simple
beauty of nature.”
The album opens with
“Tinoge,” which seems to be
a reinterpretation of The Pyramids’
previously released single,
“Tinoge Ya Ta’a Ba,” the latter
recorded in Ghana with Kologo
artist Guy One. “Tinoge” is a
compelling track that features
the same driving rhythm and
percussion, with guitars replacing
kologo and an extended
free jazz sax solo replacing the
vocals. Next up, the title track
“An Angel Fell” capitalizes on
the “cosmic jazz” theme, with
distorted vocals punctuated by
spacey, electronic riffs. The Sun
Ra tribute, “The Land of Ra,”
follows in a similar vein, as distorted
call and response vocals
segue into a steady Afrobeat
groove over which Ackamoor
seductively blows his horn.
Suddenly, their celestial universe
is disrupted by what might be described
as a magnetic storm (i.e.,
all hell breaks loose), but as the
piece progresses and harmonies
resolve, equilibrium returns.
Two message songs are included
on the album. The first and
most emotional is “Soliloquy For
Michael Brown.” Ackamoor’s
sax literally screams in anguish
over an underlying conga
rhythm. As anguish turn to grief,
the bass riffs on a melody reminiscent
of the spiritual “Joshua
Fought the Battle of Jerico,” then
intertwines with violin and guitar
as the track draws to a close—but
there’s no closure. “Message to
My People” is a warning about
climate change and global warming,
with Ackamoor sounding
the alarm on the alto sax and the
group responding as if their life
is imperiled. “All I wanted was
a chance, to live my life like
anyone” chants the chorus, but
the raucous conclusion leaves
little doubt the world has come
to an end.
Concluding with the uplifting
song “Sunset,” the Pyramids
provide a glimmer of hope and
“a prayer to save our world.”
The struggle is still very much
present, with Ackamoor’s sax
sounding another warning as the
chorus sings, “The sunset is on
the way.” End of the world or
just the close of another evening,
you decide.
An Angel Fell is a brilliant
and intense album, with wild
bursts of sound. The socially
conscious project takes the concept
of spiritual jazz to the next
level, but in a manner that is still
very approachable.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss

April 27 - May 3, 2018 | Orlando Advocate 8
Food
Health & Wellness
Baked French Toast Casserole
Wanna know something? For
the longest time, I thought I didn’t
like French Toast Casserole. I
never understood what the fuss
was about when this dish started
making its rounds across the
internet years ago.
I wanted to love it. I really did
yall. It seemed like such the perfect
addition to a Christmas morning
breakfast or Mother’s Day Brunch.
I’d tried several recipes. Some
I made myself and others I tasted
at different events.
They all were soggy, blah or
slightly rubbery.
I figured it was just me since
people around me were raving
about it. I mean, I’m not one for
“wet” bready items anyway so….
yeah it was me.
But then one day when I had
some homemade challah bread
about to go bad on me, I decided
to try french toast casserole again.
I didn’t have time to let it sit
overnight again as recommended,
nor did I have eight eggs or enough
milk. Oh well. What do I have to
lose right?
I mixed everything up and
got it ready to go into the fridge.
It sat on the counter for about 30
minutes before I made the topping
and threw it in the oven.
What happened next? Out
came the perfect french toast
casserole. I let it cool off a bit
and drizzled it with the glaze. The
inside texture was fluffy & yet still
slightly custardy. I loved it!
So if you like this kind of
texture keep reading!
Two VERY IMPORTANT
things to remember when making
French Toast Casserole:
1. Different bread requires
different things. Seriously, I’d
only recommend using sourdough,
challah or French bread for this
recipe. You might not need all of
the egg mixture, not unless you
want a really wet inside texture.
LET YOUR EYES BE THE
GUIDE FOR HOW MUCH EGG
MIXTURE TO USE. YOU JUST
WANNA COAT THE BREAD IN
EGG MIXTURE AND LET IT
SOAK IN A BIT IF YOU WANT
THAT FLUFFY, BREADY YET
SLIGHTLY CUSTARDY TEX-
TURE. Make sure your bread is
a few days old. This DOES NOT
work with fresh bread. You’ll have
soggy mush on your hand’s sister.
2. To sit overnight or not to
sit overnight? I prefer the texture
when this hasn’t sat overnight. 1
hour is plenty. Heck, I’ve even
done 15-minutes before.
Also, if this is your first time
having French Toast Casserole,
please remember that it is French
Toast and not coffee cake. It’s
bread.
You may choose to add syrup
or add the glaze. Or do both!
Whatever makes your heart smile.
This recipe makes A LOT!!!
So if you don’t have a big crowd
to feed you might want to reduce
it or you’ll be eating french toast
casserole for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner!
My boys and I don’t eat reheated
bread, so after that first
serving, it was up to my husband
to finish off the entire pan.
He did well!
Ok I’m gonna hush now because
I feel like I’m talking your
head off.
Happy french toast casserole
making!
Cook time
55 mins
Total time
55 mins
Author: Divas Can Cook
Serves: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
FOR THE FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf dry, French Bread (about 14-16 cups when cubed. MUST be a bit dry.)
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups half n half
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
FOR THE BROWN SUGAR TOPPING
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, cut into pieces
FOR THE GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons half n half (or enough to make a thick glaze)
½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 glass casserole dish.
Cut bread into cubes and place in casserole dish. Set aside.
In a saucepan, melt butter.
Add half n half, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Stir until sugar is dissolved, do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until uniform in color.
Stir warm half n half mixture into the eggs.
Add vanilla extract if using.
Pour just enough egg mixture ( YOU MAY NOT NEED IT ALL) *see note* over the bread cubes.
Toss the bread cubes gently so that all of them are covered in the egg mixture.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Make the crumb topping by combining flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
Cut in the butter until crumbly.
When all or at least most of the egg mixture has been absorbed into the bread, remove it from the fridge
and sprinkle with the crumb topping.
Bake for 55-60 minutes (check on it at the 45-minute mark since different breads seem to cook differently)
Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.
Prepare the glaze by combining powdered sugar, half n half and vanilla until smooth.
Drizzle glaze over french toast casserole.
Serve hot!
Notes
When using challah or sourdough bread, you made need two loaves if they are on the smaller side.
ADDRESSING HOW RACIAL
INEQUTIES IMPACT
DEMENTIA
By Colleen O’Day, bloackdoctor.org
sional for psychological reasons
Due to multiple historical has become taboo in the Black
and socioeconomic factors, Black American community. People are
Americans are twice as likely afraid ofbeing judged by family
as white Americans to develop members, friends, and possibly
late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, even their spiritual leaders.
yet significantly less likely to be The key to bridging the gap
diagnosed with the condition. between patients being more open
In a recent blog post, The to medical research and assistance
Family Institute at Northwestern may be counseling. Counseling
University’s online Master of Arts takes the time to build the trust
in Counseling program addressed between patient and professional
how counselors who deal with that may be required to break
dementia in the Black American the stigma surrounding medical
community must consider multiple
factors that can contribute to According to Dr. Davis, “Psy-
treatment.
poor mental health among Black choeducation provided alongside
people.
the various aspects of the counseling
process can make room for
“It takes counselors to get out
there to advocate for the needs of emotional and mental support as
our communities,” said Dr. Tonya clients and their families work to
Davis, a licensed clinical professional
counselor (LCPC) and core It will take a long time to
make sense of this diagnosis.”
faculty member for Counseling@ change the mindset of the entire
community, but the process
Northwestern.
Dr. Davis recommends counselors
assess client needs, identify gradually spread. Dr. Davis calls
must begin with individuals and
potential barriers, and determine it “boots on the ground and grassroots
type of stuff.”
if resource access is equitable:
“For someone who may have just Other Factors
gotten an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, The imbalance of development
imagine the difficulty of grasping and diagnosis of dementia also
this new information and all that correlates to the fact that Black
it might mean for the patient and Americans are more likely to have
family alike.”
grown up in stressful environments,
according to the Journal of
So, if professional counselors
and researchers are aware Black the Alzheimer’s Association.
Americans are at a higher risk of Recent research has linked
contracting dementia, why are the early-childhood stress with dementia
in older adults. Histori-
diagnosis rates so low? There are
multiple factors, including distrust cally, Black people in the United
of the U.S. medical research system,
the stigma of mental health and segregation that led many
States have faced racial oppression
issues, and lack of access to proper to live in low-income areas with
healthcare.
poor conditions. As published
Sources of Distrust
on Counseling@Northwestern’s
In 1932, the Public Health Service
Institute began working with experience over 60 percent more
blog, Black men and women
the Tuskegee Institute to research major stressors than Hispanic and
syphilis in Black Americans white people over their lifetimes.
males. In return for participating, According to the Health and
hundreds of Black American men, Human Services Office of Minority
Health, Black Americans are 20
the majority of whom were diagnosed
with syphilis, were given percent more likely to experience
free medical exams, free meals, serious mental health problems
and burial insurance. They were than the general population. According
to the National Alliance
led to believe they were being
treated for their ailments when, in on Mental Health (NAMI), common
mental health disorders
fact, they were not receiving the
proper treatment –– even after an among Black Americans include:
official cure was published.
Major depression
These institutions used the Attention deficit hyperactivity
innocent lives of Black people to disorder
advance their research. Many of Suicide
them died believing a treatment Post-traumatic stress disorder
they had never truly received Counseling is an important
failed them. Since this occurred, part of building individual patientprofessional
relationships in order
Black American distrust of the
medical research field has been to serve communities as a whole.
consistently affecting those who Counselors can be a valuable
would otherwise participate in resource and drive those affected
research for the improvement of by dementia to the assistance they
their community. Since this study, need.
going to see a medical profes-

9
Faith
Orlando Advocate | April 27 - May 3, 2018
DO STRONG RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
HELP CANCER PATIENTS BATTLE
THE DISEASE BETTER?
by Urban Faith Staff
Do Strong Religious
Beliefs Help Cancer
Patients Battle the Disease
Better?
Belief can make the
difference for a life in transition.
During difficult times
when an individual must
prioritize their health, a
spiritual or religious faith
can ease tensions, boost
attitude and support overall
improved health. Research
strongly suggests that individuals
with religious and
spiritual beliefs cope better
during their battle with
cancer.
Prayer also leads to optimism,
reduces stress and
can bolster the immune system,
studies say. According
to a Women’s Heath Initiative
study conducted by the
U.S National Institute of
Health, those who regularly
attend religious services
reduce their risk of death
by 20 percent. In the book
“God Changes Your Brain,”
Dr. Andrew Newburg found
that those who prayed and
meditated have a highly
developed parietal lobe,
which improves memory
and improves wellbeing.
An article in “Critical Care
Clinics” states that prayer
is the second most common
form of pain management,
next to oral medicine.
Because of these and
other findings, increasingly,
the medical community
seeks to boost health by
understanding and encouraging
practices of belief.
Tapping into strong spiritual
practices/beliefs during a
healthcare threat are the
“X” factor in many cases
of survival. Therefore, one
cannot and must not, ignore
the profound opportunities
that spiritual beliefs bring
to the table of hope.
Part of my work with
Our Journey of Hope
(OJOH) is to encourage
the use of faith, religious
or spiritual practices, to
promote wellness and facilitate
an infrastructure
of clergy and others with
strong spiritual beliefs to
provide a network to help
patients and their families
to restore health.
OJOH is a seven-hour
training session for pastors,
and lay members to equip
them with the tools and
ideology to empower them
to address and respond to
the needs of individuals
who are dealing with cancer.
We teach caretakers as well.
They are empowered by the
belief that they too have access
to a source greater than
themselves to call upon for
strength and help!
Our program was created
by the Cancer Treatment
Centers of America
(CTCA) largely because
of a suggestion from a patient
and her husband. They
asked if I would be willing
to meet with local clergy
persons that they knew for
an informal discussion on
cancer care and support
from a faith perspective!
The importance of
OJOH to the treatment centers
continues to position
the organization as one of
the leaders in the healthcare
arena. We truly value and
encourage the faith community
to marshal the strength
of its value system to fight
back against cancer.
Faith works.
I have seen the power
of faith and communities
to change the lives of
patients struggling with
cancer. Thirteen years ago,
Gloria, fell into a comma.
Family members asked if I
would pray for her to regain
consciousness. Soon after
I prayed over her, Gloria
opened her eyes and indeed
regained consciousness. She
is still living 13 years later.
A faith or spiritual belief
assures cancer patients that
it is possible to live through
challenging health threats,
regardless of the odds of
long-term survival and
overcome the challenge.
We don’t disavow science.
However, those who rely on
science alone often wrestle
with the limitations of humanity’s
knowledge. God
has no limits. Faith and
a spiritual belief are not
rooted in limitation.
The best part of my
work is providing a platform
for genuine discussion
for a topic that typically is
ignored. The church and
faith community in general
lacks healthcare-related
ministries organized in a
meaningful way to address
the very relevant issues surrounding
this community of
people. OJOH has equipped
thousands to broach the
subject of cancer with confidence
and fearlessness.
We have the opportunity to
provide a meaningful relationship
with pastors and
their members concerning
healthcare.
Ultimately, faith and
spiritual beliefs equip individuals
with the mental
and emotional fortitude to
withstand the travails and
challenges of treatment and
forge ahead in the effort to
keep cancer at bay by tapping
into a “power source”
greater than themselves.
With engaged spirituality,
informed clergy,
caretakers and family we
can support all patients as
they brace themselves to
live their lives, overcome
obstacles and seek hope in
their darkest hours.

10
Orlando Advocate | Apr 27 - May 3, 2018
Parkland Shooting Survivors Charge Hypocrisy
After NRA Bans Guns During Pence Speech
The National Rifle Association (NRA)
has announced that guns will be barred when
Vice President Mike Pence delivers a speech
at its upcoming leadership conference in
Dallas, and survivors of the Parkland school
shooting are calling them out on it.
“Due to the attendance of the Vice
President of the United States, the U.S.
Secret Service will be responsible for event
security at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum.
As a result, firearms and firearm accessories,
knives or weapons of any kind will be prohibited
in the forum prior to and during his
attendance,” the NRA wrote on the website
for the event, which is scheduled to take place
next month.
Survivors of the February 14 Parkland,
Florida school shooting wasted no time calling
out the organization out for hypocrisy, taking
to Twitter to voice their frustrations against
the NRA’s apparent double standard.
By Etham Khatami
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime
was killed in the Parkland massacre, reiterated
one of the NRA’s own talking points to
highlight the organization’s insincerity.
“I thought giving everyone a gun was to
enhance safety. Am I missing something?”
he tweeted, referring to the “good guys with
guns” theory often touted by the NRA.
Some NRA members who plan to attend
the conference also questioned the policy,
while others advocated for background
checks to better monitor who can and cannot
have access to guns at the event. The NRA
opposes expanding firearm background check
systems.
While the NRA bans guns for Pence’s
speech, it has consistently advocated for
arming teachers in schools, a talking point
President Donald Trump agrees with, despite
the fact that research shows that more guns in
schools does not prevent school shootings.
Black Male Hero Disarms Man Who
Murdered Four with AR-15 Rifle
1700943
Tickets
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AMWAY CENTER
MAY 11 – 13
DisneyOnIce.com
James Shaw Jr. is suddenly
a national hero after
disarming a man with an automatic
rifle who had already
killed four people.
Special to the Trice Edney
News Wire from North-
StarNewsToday.com
(TriceEdneyWire.com)
- After watching WGN television
news in Chicago on
Sunday show mugshot after
mugshot of black men either
under arrest or wanted by
police, it was exciting to
see a photo, not a mugshot,
of James Shaw, Jr., a 29
year-old black man who successfully
wrestled away an
automatic rifle from a nearly
naked white man after he had
shot to death four individuals,
including three African
Americans, on Sunday at an
Antioch, Tennessee, Waffle
House restaurant.
The killer, later identified
by police as Travis Reinking,
29, who was raised in Morton,
Illinois, ran away but
police captured him without
incident in the woods behind
the restaurant on Monday.
Reinking shot to death
two people outside Waffle
House before walking inside
and firing his AR-15
rifle, then pausing to reload.
The dead were identified as
Taurean C. Sanderlin, Akilah
Dasilva, Joe R. Perez and
DeEbony Groves. Police
charged Reinking with four
counts of murder. No bond
was set.
Reinking also wounded
two others.
When Reinking paused
his firing, Shaw rushed him
and wrestled the gun away
from him before throwing it
over the restaurant’s counter.
Shaw had been hiding in
the bathroom when Reinking
fired a bullet through the
bathroom door.
“I think that’s when I
became alert about the situation
and was like, there’s kind
of no running from this. Kind
of like a fish in a barrel type
thing and I’m going to have
to try to find a flaw or a point
in time where I can make this
work for myself,” Shaw Jr.
explained on Good Morning
America on Monday
morning.
“I was completely doing
it just to save myself,”
Shaw Jr. told reporters at a
news conference, the BBC
reported. “I did save other
people, but I don’t want
people to think that I was the
Terminator or Superman or
anybody like that. I figured
if I was going to die, he was
gonna have to work for it.”
Reinking and Shaw then
ran in opposite directions.
Shaw created a GoFund-
Me campaign to help the
Waffle House victims and
their families. The fundraising
page, which GoFundMe
verified for MONEY as legitimate,
says simply:“My
name is James Shaw Jr. I am
By Frederick H. Lowe
creating this page to help the
families of the victims from
the shooting that took place
at Waffle House in Antioch,
TN. Please take the time to
donate as all of the proceeds
will be given to the families.
Thank you again for your
generosity and blessings!
Thus far, the website has
raised more than $109,000.
Shaw, who works for
AT&T, is being hailed as a
hero. The Tennessee Legislature
honored him today,
but President Donald Trump
hasn’t called him although
the White House in a press
briefing praised his courage.
Shaw did what Trump
said he would have done in
another situation.
Trump claimed he would
have rushed into Marjory
Stoneman High School in
Parkland, Florida, and disarmed
Nikolas Cruz who
fired an AR-15 rifle, murdering
17 students on February
14.

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