State program, ministry unites inmates with their children

By D.A. Robin, Writer. Photo provided by Living Stones Ministry. Video by Ofeunf

A Wakulla Correctional Institution inmate smiles for a photo with his sons at a recent Children of Inmates gathering at the prison. Living Stones Ministry International runs the program for North Florida inmates and their families. The faith-based organization refused to release the inmate's name to protect his children.

Living Stones International outreach ministry has hosted many faith-based community projects in its five-year history.

But one of the founders' proudest achievements is reconnecting children with their incarcerated fathers, said co-founder Josephine Gamboa-Montgomery.

The program is called “Children of Inmates,” a statewide initiative to bring families together that is run by various churches and faith organizations.

“Most children of inmates follow their parents to prison,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery said she hopes the inmates program will bring children and their fathers closer and help build relationships which may be strained by incarceration. Montgomery said that soon the program will venture into women’s prisons, but couldn’t say when this would happen.

“It’s about them keeping contact with the children,” said Montgomery, who runs Living Stones with her husband, Gary.

Since August, Living Stones ministry has hosted two visits to the Wakulla Correctional Institution Annex.

Twenty-two fathers, children and caregivers gather in a  group setting, but each parent gets an individual table, which, Montgomery says, allows them to satisfy their “need to connect” with relative privacy.

Gary Montgomery said despite early apprehension from parents and children, the first two trips went well. 

“There’s some awkwardness in the beginning,” Gary Montgomery said, but, “We have seen brokenness in families, and we have seen the beginning of restoration.”

Other Children of Inmates programs run throughout South Florida. Hope for Miami, a faith-based non-profit, runs a program that serves a large swath of the Miami-Dade community. 

Project Director Orlando Liscano said both the children and parents in his community revel in 

the opportunity to spend time together.

“Definitely, you see the kids’ expression, you do see some positive results,” Liscano said.

Wakulla Correctional is a faith and character-based prison that aims to reduce recidivism and promote focuses on personal growth. Lawtey Correctional Institute in Bradford County is the only other FCBI in the state.

There are seven other faith-based, self-improvement dorms in the state, with 3,500 total beds between the two of types of inmate improvement programs.  

Florida Department of Corrections Program Administrator Nichole Landrum called the Children of Inmates program “wonderful.” She said the moods of these families ranged from “reluctant, to scared, to happy” and “not just the children” were emotional. 

“You had several different dynamics,” Landrum said. “Some had good relationships [with their children] and some of them, it was the first time they saw them,”  

The third trip to Wakulla Correctional Institute is scheduled for March.

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Florida Faith and Character-based Institutions

Florida Recidivism Report

Fewer Felons Back Behind Bars, Tallahassee Democrat

Florida Department of Corrections on Twitter

Florida Initiatives on Crime

Florida State University study of Cost/Benefit of Florida Jails and Alternatives to Jails

Man arrested for possession of firearm in FAMU residence hall

By Karl Etters, Editor. Photo provided by Leon County Sheriff's Department.

A man was arrested Tuesday at Florida A&M University after a firearm was discovered in a dorm room.

Housing staff at Sampson Hall notified the FAMU Police Department of a possible weapon after a health and safety inspection allegedly revealed a .380 caliber weapon, which had a round in the chamber and a full magazine, in a room in the residence hall according to the police report.

FAMU spokesperson Sharon Saunders said the discovery was part of weekly routine inspections in on-campus residences. "This was part of a proactive safety measure," she said.

Nathan G. Rivner

Nathan G. Rivner was charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds and was released following first appearance before a judge Wednesday morning on pretrial release.

The police report states that Rivner, 20, is a FAMU student, but FAMU spokesperson Pamela Tolson was still trying to confirm that at press time.

A call to the Sampson Hall resident director was not immediately returned.

Arresting officer Derrick Folson wrote in the report that Rivner admitted the weapon was his, which he said he possessed “to protect himself and the woman he loves.”  

Rivner also told Folson he had “seen first- hand the violence of the streets,” but had no intent of harming anyone and possessed the weapon for self defense.

According to the Campus Security Annual Report for the 2012- 2013 school year, only five arrests related to possession of weapons on campus have been made in on-campus residential facilities since 2009. 

It does not indicate what types of weapons were connected to those arrests.

The FAMU student handbook states that possession of a firearm on campus can result in punishment as small as a letter of reprimand up to suspension. 

Friday, a booklet designed by the Department of Homeland Security, "Active Shooter: How to Respond" was distributed across FAMU's campus. It promotes enhanced preparedness, identifying potential shooters and training tips for employees.

  

Check back with Ink and Fangs for updates on this story.

McCurdy Quartet sets the mood with Hughes inspired jazz performance 

By Dionne Cargill, Writer. Photos by Dionne Cargill and FAMUaly Affair. Video by gailpker 

Florida A&M University’s Lee Hall Auditorium seated over 600 jazzy, tapping feet Friday night for the Lyceum Series presentation of Langston Hughes’ Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz featuring sitcom actor Malcolm Jamal Warner.

Sabine Poithier (piano), Delorean Fullington (bass) and Ron McCurdy (trumpet)
perform Langston Hughes' 12 Moods for Jazz at Florida A&M university Friday. Dionne Cargill

The program is a riveting 12-part poem navigating listeners through the African- American social  upheaval of the 1960s. 

Spoken word is melded with the sounds of progressive jazz, gospel, boogie woogie, bebop , Latin, Afro-Cuban, German and Jewish sounds as well as West Indian calypso and African drumming.

Interim President Larry Robinson and wife Sharon , left,
 Malcolm Jamal Warner, center,
 and Interim Provost Rodner Wright, right, pose
 for a photo. The name of
the woman in orange is not known.
FAMUly Affair 

Setting all twelve moods of the night was Ron McCurdy Quartet. FAMU alumnus, Ron McCurdy serves as the musical director of the project. He is a professor in the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California and is also a consultant to several Grammy Foundation educational programs.

The multimedia presentation attuned both eyes and ears of Friday night’s audience as images projected on a screen of African-American life and African culture abroad, accompanied the narrative rhythmic tale told by Warner.

Elissa Carrington said seeing culture from a different perspective was unexpectedly pleasant.    

“To be honest, I was here to see Malcolm, but happy I got to experience everything else tonight,” said the 19 year-old FAMU education student  from West Palm Beach. “It opened my eyes to see our history told in a different way.”

Interim president Larry Robinson and wife Sharon Robinson bobbed heads along with 450 or so students who took advantage of the free tickets for the event.

Audience members rose to their feet to applauded musicians Delorean Fullington on bass, Ben Adkins on drums, Russian pianist Sabine Pothier, Ron Mccurdy on trumpet and Malcolm Jamal Warner narrating.

Fullington said there was significance for him in the author who's words accompany the musical scores. 

“For me this is not another gig or opportunity to play because of the meaning and who wrote the play his show means a little bit more to me than other shows I perform,” said bass player Fullington.

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Ron McCurdy's website
FAMU Lyceum Series
Malcolm Jamal Warner on Twitter
Langston Hughes' poems
Langston Hughes' childhood

Obama's second inauguration draws Americans from all corners

By Clarece Polke, Writer. Photos by Doug Mills, The New York Times. Video by The New York Times

President Barack Obama takes his second oath of office with Chief Justice John G. Roberts  

WASHINGTON- There’s nothing like being thrown into an environment as crowded and chaotic as the presidential inauguration to test every single journalistic lesson I've learned.

Clarece Polke

The overarching theme on Inauguration Day: Unity. 

The general public has spoken, and President Barack Obama has been sworn back into office for the next four years. For one day, Americans set aside political partisanship, petty arguments, talks of debt ceilings and gun regulations and celebrate the fact that we live in one of the greatest countries on Earth.

I met people from all over the country (and a surprisingly large number of Floridians, too.) I met people who were avid Obama supporters, decked out in presidential swag from head to toe, and people who didn’t even vote for him.

But the highlight of my day was meeting the father from Orlando who brought his young son to see Obama sworn in.

“We were here four years ago for the first inauguration, and that was a great experience,” Florida attorney Earnest DeLoach said. “But, being here now means even more to me as an African-American father, to have a young son knows that the President is a black man who looks like him.”

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama
walk in the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Being part of something bigger than yourself, and watching history in the making, will help you forget about the fact that you can no longer feel your toes, have been up since 3 a.m., and can’t take two steps without bumping into someone. 

America was fully represented, with every size, shape, color and culture crowded into one small district to participate in their little piece of history.

Every time I think I want to hang up my reporter’s pad and switch my major, I have a day like today. Being given the opportunity to report on the presidential inauguration in Washington reminded of why I love journalism so much.

One of the most important characteristics of a good journalist is being observant and intuitive: noticing everything going on around you, filling in the blanks, and asking questions about things no one else even noticed was there. 

It’s about being unafraid to reach out to people, again and again, and ask them to trust you with telling their stories.

This was my second time attending a presidential inauguration, but I went into this one with brand new eyes.  I was more realistic about the challenges facing Obama, while also appreciating what a major milestone his re-appointment is for the country.

By the time the sun rises on Tuesday, Jan. 22, the magic will have faded from the city. But, for the night, let’s celebrate the momentary calm that’s settled here, and cherish our roles in this little piece of history.  

                                       

                                  2013 Inaugural address

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White House petition for Florida to secede from the Union

President Obama's plan to curb gun violence

President Barack Obama on Twitter

Lupe Fiasco kicked off stage after anti-Obama performance

President Obama's policy snapshot

Obamalies.net

Writer and educator Nikki Giovanni talks school controversy, Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.'s cadence

By Donovan Harrell, writer. Photo by Zachary Goldstein, FSView. 

Video by albertsiegel

Nikki Giovanni speaks to college and high school students at Florida State University Wednesday

The “Princess of Black Poetry” Nikki Giovanni visited Florida State University Wednesday to speak at its 25^th annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative celebration.

Giovanni gave an outspoken, no-holds-barred speech to a room of college and high school students where she shared her views on gun control, sex and relationships, economics, politics, drug addictions and hip-hop in addition to honoring King’s legacy.

She described King as a poet with “beautiful words” but said his actions were what really made him so influential.

A high school student participates in a march with the FSU
 NAACP chapter. Writer Nikki Giovanni spoke after the march.

“He didn’t send just people to war,” she said. “He went to war.”

The event featured student performances by FSU’s Gospel Choir and school of dance choreography. Seven recipients of MLK Book Stipend scholarships and the recipient of 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award were also announced at the Commemorative Celebration. The book stipend awardees received $300 a piece while the distinguished service award recipient earned a $1,000 dollar stipend.

She also paid homage to other civil rights legends, including Rosa Parks and recited a poem titled “In the spirit of Martin.” Giovanni displayed a copy of her Caldecott Honors winning children’s book, “Rosa,” and explained the weight of her actions in the civil rights movement.

“If we didn’t have Rosa Parks, we wouldn’t have Martin,” she said.

Giovanni has a “great fondness” for college-aged students and said it was the “smartest generation.” 
She is a major advocate for study abroad programs, urging people to take advantage of it while young. It brings “truth” to the minds of college students she said.

Giovanni, however, reminded the crowd that the election of President Barack Obama  does not necessarily mean that all of King’s visions have become reality.

“I want to remind the kids there’s still something to be done,” she said.  “I don’t know what it’s done for poor people. I don’t know what it’s done for people who are in need. It clearly hasn’t done anything for inner-city people because the inner cities are in really bad shape.”

Giovanni, who has experience with school controversies, said a few words about Florida A&M University's  hazing situation.

“FAMU isn’t the only place where hazing occurs. You can’t beat a dead horse like that,” she said.

The poet was a professor of the Virginia Tech shooter before removing him from her class in 2007 because she felt that something wasn’t quite right with him.

“Right now you’re the whipping boy for hazing, she said. “Virginia tech is the whipping boy for guns.”

She also advises FAMU to apply what they’ve learned from the tragedy.

Derrick Showers, a second-year FSU graduate student majoring in food science from Ft. Lauderdale, attended the event and was captivated by Giovanni’s speech.

“It’s great to have the opportunity see her in person and have the opportunity to speak to a legend like her. I’ll probably never get to see her again,” he said.

Breauna Roach, a senior FAMU English student from Detroit, had a copy of one of Giovanni’s books signed.

“She said everything she needed to say including the things people may have not wanted her to say,” Roach said. “I always admire her for her fearlessness and bravery while speaking.”

Speaking on a lighter note about King’s legacy near the end, she described what she thought King would be like if he were alive today.

 “I’m sure he’d be a rapper,” she said. “He had a great cadence.”

                                                               Giovanni talks Condolezza Rice

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Nikki Giovanni, Ego Tripping

Nikki Giovanni on Twitter

"The Story of White People." A poem by Tony Hoagland

Nikki Giovanni reflects on Virginia Tech shooting

"Django" should have unchained the close-minded

Jasmine Mitchell. Writer   January 18, 2013. 
Videos, in order, by Terry Swoope and simonkruus

Director Quentin Tarantino made leaps and bounds in the film industry with the release of “Django Unchained.”

Jasmine Mitchell

 Unfortunately, his revolutionary efforts were not as televised as I would have hoped. 

 After being snubbed by the coveted Academy Awards, the film managed to scrape up a win at this year’s Golden Globes for Best Screenplay. It’s obvious society is not ready to accept alternate forms of history that don’t have a dash of that G-rated Disney magic.

 Maybe, just maybe, there really were more rebellious slaves besides Nat Turner and the members of his infamous revolt in 1831. But, that’s way too much for society to handle right now while America is still trying to figure out the purpose of guns.

 It wasn’t until I came to college that I realized how devoid my grade school education was when it came to world history. I couldn’t put my finger on it then, but it is definitely at the forefront now.

 The history curriculums taught in most public grade schools are extremely Euro-centric, which is funny because Europe is the second smallest continent on earth. Perhaps, capitalistic society is not ready to acknowledge the true injustices waged on various cultures by “civilizing” them.

 “Django” was a movie that challenged what the majority of pale-faced Americans view as a hero or protagonist. Instead of the “great white hope,” Tarantino presented something darker, no pun intended, and realer.

 Then again, this is the central theme in almost every Tarantino film.

 Look at the “Kill Bill” movies. The protagonist, “Beatrix Kiddo,” was a revenge-seeking assassin who escaped death and began a quest to kill her elusive ex-fiancé “Bill.” So, it’s not your typical romantic comedy.

 When someone or something challenges societal norms, it’s human nature to reject the unfamiliar.

 On the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website, it says, “Dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures.”

 But how advanced is an organization if it only recognizes the contributions of minorities every so often?

 It seems that society needs to advance their close-minded ways of thinking before throwing such an enlightened word around.

                                    

                                                     Is "Django" racist?

                                            

 Tarantino talks "Django" with Howard Stern

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Everything Tarantino
Is Quentin Tarantino overrated?

Perry plants the seed of leadership, education at FAMU's MLK Convocation

By Evan Miles, Editor. Photos by Karl Etters. Video by SearcyLawVideo

Keynote speaker Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry receives a standing ovation from Florida A&M University Interim President Larry Robinson and
FAMU faculty Tuesday atthe university's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation 

In remembrance of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of leadership, Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry encouraged Florida A&M University students Tuesday to become leaders themselves, despite the odds.

“I’m trying to plant the seed to let you know that you don’t have to have a fabulous pedigree to achieve things,” Perry said.

Perry recalled the announcement of King’s assassination in 1968 while he was a lieutenant in the army.

Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry

“King is dead. Whitney Young is dead. Malcolm is dead,” the news anchor he was watching said. He continued to ask the rhetorical question, “Who will lead them now (African-Americans)?”

That was the moment Perry knew he wanted to become a lawyer.

The former attorney was the first African-American appointed to Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit. A man of many accolades and achievements, Perry said he owes his success to taking leaps of faith and not being afraid of greatness.

“I never expected to be on the Supreme Court Judge,” he said. “Life has a way of doors opening, but you have to be able to recognize it when it happens.”

Perry also briefly referenced FAMU’s recent public controversy in his speech.

“Bad thing are going to happen to you,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that has to define this institution. It means that you have to work a little harder.”

The speech resonated with students such as Diliesha Bryant, a fourth-year occupational therapy student and president of the FAMU chapter of NAACP.

“You first have to follow to be a leader,” Bryant said. “ I've been with NAACP since I was a freshman, and I followed before I got the opportunity to lead. “

Other students, including Ciera Reed, a fourth-year social work and psychology student, were motivated by Perry’s urge for leadership among African-Americans.

“His speech was very uplifting and encouraging for a lot of people and made us rethink the significance of us coming to college,“ the 24-year-old from Marietta, Ga., said.

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In Florida Separation of powers under attack, By James E.C. Perry

Supreme Court on Twitter

Innocence Project Twitter

Florida Supreme Court high profile cases