The 44 Percent: Christine King, hostages released in Haiti & the Moores
The holiday season means many things to many people.
To some, it’s a time to give thanks for nearly making it to year’s end. To others, it’s a time to give and receive gifts. And to many, it’s just a time to cherish family.
The holiday season is also a time to remember Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, the first and only couple to be killed in the Civil Rights Movement. Their sacrifices, although not widely known or taught, provided a blueprint for revolutionary action here in Florida.
We’ll tell you more about that on Sunday.
INSIDE THE 305
Cleaning up trash and holding the gavel: Miami’s newest commissioner gets to work:
Need to know more about new District 5 Commissioner Christine King?
The Miami Herald’s Joey Flechas has you covered:
Tackling these sorts of street-level issues has occupied the first woman elected to the commission in a decade as she transitions into her new role as elected official. She’s also assembling a staff, formulating a legislative agenda and grappling with the demands of a newly public life despite her preference for privacy.
“I’m very shy and very media averse,” she told the Miami Herald in an interview Tuesday. “I have to get used to that.”
She’ll also have to get used to playing traffic cop on a City Commission known for vacillating between being cautiously cordial and outright combative. King said she was caught by surprise when on Dec. 7 Mayor Francis Suarez appointed her to be commission chairwoman, two days before the last commission meeting of the year. She passed the gavel to the vice chairman, Commissioner Joe Carollo, to give herself a month to prepare for the responsibility.
OUTSIDE THE 305
Haiti gang releases all 12 Christian missionaries held captive for two months:
After months of bad news coming out of Haiti, we’ve finally gotten something positive.
A Haitian gang released the final 12 hostages abducted in mid-October. Forever the source queen, Jacqueline Charles reported their release before the likes of CNN and New York Times:
The hostages were abducted just east of Port-au-Prince by a notorious gang, 400 Mawozo, and were among a group of 12 adults and five children, including an 8-month-old. Of the group of 17 missionaries, all but one was American. The other one is Canadian.
“Today, there is a feeling of contentment, not just for the hostages and the American and Canadian people but for Haiti,” said Gédéon Jean, director of the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights in Port-au-Prince, which monitors kidnappings.
Jean, however, noted that the last of the hostages were held for two months. That is highly usual and calls for the United States, which helps fund the Haitian National Police, to “provide effective support going forward,” Jean said.
In a statement, the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries that ran the missionary trip thanked the public for its “fervent prayers” over the past two months.
“We glorify God for answered prayer — the remaining twelve hostages are FREE!” the group said in a statement. “Join us in praising God that all seventeen of our loved ones are now safe.”
DeSantis amps up rhetoric against critical race theory, woke culture in school, at work:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis once again has taken aim at critical race theory, only this time attacking bias training in the workplace and classroom.
At a lectern displaying a “Stop Woke Act” sign, the Republican governor seeking reelection in 2022 told the heavily Republican Sumter County crowd that he will push legislation next year that will protect kids and workers against “very pernicious ideologies,” and enlisted Christopher Rufo, who spurred the national conservative movement against the theory, to fire up the crowd.
“In Florida, we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory,” DeSantis told attendees, who cheered and waved signs with “CRT” crossed out. “We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other.”
While the governor’s proposal drew praise in the room, critics who were watching the event unfold called the proposal a politically motivated effort that aims to “whitewash history” to avoid uncomfortable subjects about race.
“It was not all peaches and cream,” said Senate Education Vice Chair Shevrin Jones, a West Park Democrat. “Republicans know that we are stepping into very dangerous territory when you start messing with Black history and literally moving goalposts when it comes to what actually happened.”
HIGH CULTURE
Amid Miami Art Week, Virgil Abloh’s creativity felt in Wynwood, Design District:
Miami’s art community is still reeling from the loss of Virgil Abloh. Just the other day, I saw another mural in Wynwood that reads “Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself” in white type over a blacked-out background.
In the days following his passing, I tried to capture how wide his influence spanned during Miami Art Week. Although the situation was unfortunate, being able to give voice to Virgil’s legacy was definitely one of the highlights of my 2021.
Where does “The 44 Percent” name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter’s title.
