July 16, 2011

Edit ion Number 42 VOL. 3

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The Power of Everyday People

Cover Page Photo: Haiti after the earthquake

Haiti Seventeen Months Later pg. 2

Get up! Let’s Go! pg. 3 (New Writer Alicia Redmond)

The Growing number of Published Black Authors pg. 4

Alabama State University pg. 5

My Family pg. 6 (Publisher Patrick Sellers’ family in Ruleville, MS)

The Populace Now Page 1

Patrick A. Sellers

Publisher

Bobbie Collins

Editor-In-Chief

Jeremi Baker

Technology

Demetra Robinson

Public Relations

What’s Inside This Issue?

Hosted by Miss Bobbie “B.J.” Collins Tune in every 4th Tuesday of the month to AM 1570 WFRL from 12:30—1:00pm or listen on

the world-wide web

At: http://www.wekz.com/stationplayer/player.cfm?station=freeport

Sponsored By: Big Radio & The Sellers Media Group

Contributors

Bill Quigley, Alicia Red-

mond, Buffy Griffin, William

Vann III, Patrick Sellers

Page 2

Haiti experienced a major earthquake

January 12, 2010. Tens of thousands

died, estimates range from 65,000 to

230,000 people killed. About 2 million

more people were displaced. Haiti was

already the poorest country in the West-

ern Hemisphere with a per capita income

of about $2 a day. Seventeen months

later, Haiti remains deeply

wounded. The numbers below give an

indication of some of the challenges that

remain for the Haitian people.

Housing

570,000 people in Haiti have moved

back into 84,000 buildings which

are heavily damaged and marked by

engineers as “yellow” because they

may collapse in foul weather or in

the event of another tremor. USAID

Draft Report 2011. “I see little chil-

dren sleeping next to the heavily

cracked walls every day,” said one of

the experts quoted in the USAID

report.

465,000 people have moved back

into 73,000 buildings that are so

terribly damaged they are desig-

nated for demolition and are catego-

rized as “red” because they may fall at

any moment. USAID Draft Report

2011.

Homeless

250,000 to 800,000 people in and

around Port au Prince Haiti are still

living under flimsy tents or tarps where

water and electricity are scarce, secu-

rity is poor and people are exposed to

diseases. UN Report – January 2011

and USAID Draft Report 2011.

166,000 people living in tents have

been threatened with evictions, nearly

one in four of the people living under

tarps and tents. International Organi-

zation for Migration, April 2011.

1000 people were illegally evicted at

gunpoint from three tent camps in the

Delmas suburb of Port au Prince dur-

ing one week in May 2011. They are

part of a series of illegal evictions of

over 50,000 homeless people in Haiti

in the last several months. June 16,

2011 human rights complaint filed

with the Inter American Commission

on Human Rights by IJDH, CCR, BAI

and Trans Africa.

Health

320,000 cases of cholera have

been reported in the epidemic in

Haiti since the earthquake. Cen-

ter for Economic Policy and Re-

search (CEPR) Haiti Reconstruc-

tion Watch.

170,000 people with cholera have

been seen at hospitals. CEPR.

5335 people have died from chol-

era since the epidemic

started. CEPR.

172 temporary toilets serve the

approximately 30,000 people

living in tents in downtown Port au

Prince around the National Pal-

ace . That is one toilet for every

174 people. Haiti Grassroots

Watch June 9 2011 report.

Zero is the number of people who

died of cholera in Haiti before the

earthquake. The epidemic origi-

nated with UN troops brought into

Haiti whose waste was inade-

quately treated and

(Continued on page 8)

The Populace Now

By Bill Quigley, a Louisiana Correspondent

Haiti Seventeen Months Later

We want to know what you are thinking, please email us at : www.thepopulacenow@yahoo.com or comment on our website at: www.thepopulacenow.com and let us know

what’s on your mind.

Page 3

Get Up! Let’s Go!

By: Alicia Redmond

Listen…Can you hear that? It’s the

sound of success! One of the defini-

tions for success is “the accomplish-

ment of an aim or purpose”. So, the

sound I’m hearing is one of you moving

forward in your purpose!

The last 3 years have been a rough

time for most of us; a time of transition,

loss, and/or change, on personal, pro-

fessional, and even spiritual levels.

Whether what has taken place in your

life was induced by you, or induced by

God, He will use it for your good…if you

are one that loves Him (Romans 8:28).

There is a story in Judges, chapter

19, about a Levite (a servant of God),

and his concubine (a secondary wife). I

encourage you to read it. Although it is

a little harrowing, deep within it is a

word from the Lord for you.

In the verses preceding the ones

below, the concubine has been turned

over, with the permission of her hus-

band, and possibly even at his hand, to

an angry mob of men who raped and

abused her “until dawn”. At

“daybreak”, she arrived at the home

where she and the Levite were guests.

The verses I want to focus on are the

following…27 and 28:

27When her master got up in

the morning and opened the

door of the house and

stepped out to continue on his

way, there lay his concubine,

fallen in the doorway of the

house, with her hands on the

threshold. 28 He said to her,

“Get up; let’s go.” But there

was no an-

swer. Then

the man put

her on his

donkey and

set out for

home.

The message I re-

ceived is this…that

many of us of have

been through the fire;

tossed out into the

world and abused

and/or taken advan-

tage of by its’ systems,

(government, credit,

legal, etc..) and many times because we

are simply ignorant of how they operate;

or as I said before by our own hand, i.e.

lack of discipline in certain areas. Also

many of us have been abused and/or

taken advantage of, by those in authority

over us, our employers, husbands, pas-

tors, etc. Well…I’m here to let you know

that “DAYBREAK” IS HERE.

Now, the word says that “her hands

(were) on the threshold”. Hands symbol-

ize the work that God has given YOU to

do. Your “personal” work or your PUR-

POSED work. What are you gifted to do?

What do you have a burden for? It’s TIME

to start MOVING TOWARDS, and WALK-

ING IN, your purpose.

And guess what? A threshold is de-

fined as the “beginning”, or “point of en-

try”, NOT the end!

So while you may feel like you are at

the end of your rope, you are JUST BEGIN-

NING! And there may be those in your life

who are saying to you “Get up…Let’s go”

but they don’t have the POWER to HELP

you do it! But God is speaking to your

spirit today and saying to you by the

POWER of the Holy Spirit…GET UP! LET’S

GO! It’s time for you to arise from the

“dead place” you are in and MOVE!

Start (or start again) your business! Your

ministry! Your product idea! Your song!

Your movie! Your book! He is saying if

you will call on HIS name (again), believe

on HIS name (again), trust in HIS name

(again)…HE will answer and show you

the way!!!

Go forth and be encouraged! God is

with you AND for you. And if He is for

you, who can be against you?

Living in Purpose,

Alicia Redmond

The Populace Now

Page 4

The Populace Now

But, how did they get their start? It's sim-

ple, deciding to take their writing both seri-

ously and to the next level, choosing the

way of E-Publishing and Indie Publishing. In

many cases, this takes place as the writer

continues

to submit

queries

with the

hopes of

being

picked up

by an

agent and publishing firm. Others have

decided to start their own publication firms

as a way to publish in a traditional manner.

To establish themselves as a writer –

soon-to-be author, platform building by

word-of-mouth, online networks and web-

sites are used as a way to keep down

expense. Sending teasers of written

projects and release dates keeps their

audience interested and wanting to

purchase the finished product.

Of course there is more that goes on

behind the scenes but, I'm just grateful

to see more representation from Afri-

can Americans in print.

By Buffy Griffin, A North Carolina Correspondent

The Growing Number of Published

Black Authors

Growing up, I found that I loved reading

mystery novels and because my mom cen-

sored what I watched on TV and read in

books, I was limited to what my eyes could

view. Sadly, I was limited even more, due to

the lack of black author representation on

the shelves of libraries and book stores

accept for some poetry and other material I

viewed as boring lit at that time. So like

many, I grew up on VC Andrews and Nancy

Drew mysteries. Secretly, I still enjoy a

good VC Andrews novel.

I've noticed a rise of black authors in

print over the last two decades and I must

say that I like what I see from those who

have gone the traditional publishing route

as-well-as Indie, POD publishing and those

that have dared to start his/her own pub-

lishing firms.

Many of these authors are not best-

sellers per se, at least not according to

traditional publishing standards. Instead,

these writers are referred to as mid-listers

(the equivalent to a

B lister in Holly-

wood). Yet, they are

considered the

backbone of the

publishing industry

as they are respon-

sible for the major-

ity of published

titles. They are able to do this because they

know how to change with the market, use

pen names and a few other tricks of the

trade to publish various works. Often, these

works are in a variety of genres and in-

cludes ghost writing (for those with great

ideas but, can seem to put the story to-

gether).

- Sadly, I was limited even more, due to the

lack of black author representation on the

shelves of libraries and book stores accept

for some poetry and other material I

viewed as boring lit at that time.-

Page 5

The Populace Now

Just recently The University of Michi-

gan was summoned by a federal court

to rescind a law called Proposition 2

and ordered to support affirmative ac-

tion and to admit students on the basis

of race and gender. This sends a mes-

sage to many minorities that there are

still many challenges with respect to

equality here in the United States.

Now that the University of Michigan

is forced to uphold affirmative action, it

will be no surprise if tactics that were

practiced more than 60 years ago are

still being implemented on the U of M

campus today and some minority stu-

dents get left in a state of arrested de-

velopment in terms of identity and how

to deal with the serpent called racism.

Symbolically speaking, would a king

cobra snake teach a young mongoose

what it really is and what it can do. No!

Sym-bolically speaking, a King Cobra

would not tell a young Mongoose that

he or she is immune to snake bites.

The same concept can apply to minority

students attending one of the 101 His-

torically Black Colleges or Universities

for undergraduate studies for the first

time, and learning about the

“Mongoose Concept” as opposed

to attending a Big 10 College where

they may just be considered a number

and possibly never learn who they

really are in the midst of being gainfully

employed.

Years after the “I have a Dream

Speech,” many minorities have at-

tained the right to attend expensive Big

10 undergraduate colleges and universi-

ties getting good-paying jobs. But after a

period of time, these students may not

feel connected to that particular under-

graduate college or university. Historical

Black Colleges and Universities may have

a different effect.

Whether you get a higher paying job or

an average paying job, HBCU Alumni are

on a mission to recruit future students to

their undergraduate alma mater because

they understand that the “HBCU concept”

is more than just a school. It is a spiritual

experience. Alabama State University has

just that effect.

At ASU you are taught that the purpose

of going to college is not just to get a high

-paying job. When entering ASU you are

entering into a sacred band or Society of

Friends. A high-paying job is a benefit, as

you grow into a highly sought af-

ter candidate for a "particular time."

Sooner or later you may own your own

business.

Henceforth, Alabama State University

teaches her offspring that the students

presently attending Alabama State Uni-

versity are reaping the benefits of former

slaves who started a teacher's college

that originated from a church called Beu-

lah Baptist. The reason the name

changed is because of government fund-

ing. In essence, when students attend

Alabama State, they are symbolically at-

tending Beulah Baptist Church.

It must be known that Alabama State

University was in many ways the secret

headquarters of the Civil Rights Move-

ment. Because hotel accommodations

were practically non-existent, civil rights

leaders, including Dr. King secretly

camped out at the "President’s Man-

sion" on campus to plan, strategizing

and negotiating the challenges that lay

ahead.

Moreover, Alabama State University

continues to produce some of the fin-

est graduates, some include; former

Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks, Illinois

Secretary of State Jessie White, and

Former Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer.

With these and other great people in

mind we must continue to support

HBCUs and in particular, Alabama State

University.

By William Vann III, a Michigan Correspondent

Alabama State University

The Populace Now Page 6

MY Family I spent a week with my family in Ruleville, MS (Go Tigers!!!!). This page is not big enough to capture

every one of my family members, because we have a BIG family. Each person that you see in these

photos represent the true meaning of Family and I love them. I really had a magnificent time during my

stay and I will return there again real soon. Thank you family for all your love and encouragement.

Thank you Aunt May, I Love

YOU!!!!

My Father

Cousin Kim

Cousin Dexter

Cousin Kenard Cousin Willie

Cousin Vanessa

Cousin Francis

Cousin Linda

Cousin Paige

“PRICE!”

Cousin Frank

Uncle Johnny

My Mother

Doggie Fingers

discharged by UN subcontractors into

rivers used by people for washing,

cooking and bathing.

US Funds for Reconstruction of Haiti

$918 million is the amount allo-

cated by Congress for US recon-

struction development in Haiti in

July 2010. May 2011 GAO Report

on Haiti Reconstruction.

$184 million was actually obligated as

of March 2011. May 2011 GAO Re-

port on Haiti Reconstruction.

Another $63 million was allocated

to emergency services. May 2011

GAO Report on Haiti Reconstruc-

tion. (Another $1 billion was allo-

cated for relief funds to reimburse

US emergency and humanitarian

activities).

Human Rights

In 1998, the United Nation Commis-

sion on Human Rights received the

Guiding Principles on Internal Dis-

placement which guarantee human

dignity and human rights to many

groups of people including all people

displaced by natural disasters. On a

visit to Haiti , the UN expert on inter-

nal displacement said, “ Haiti is liv-

ing through a profound humanitar-

ian crisis that affects the human

rights of those displaced by the dis-

aster.”

The people of Haiti are our sisters

and brothers. The systematic violation

of their human rights is a violation that

must push us to greater solidarity and

action. Do what you can.

To donate please fill out the form below and

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Populace Now .

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Haiti Seventeen Months Later