Challenger Community News December 12, 2018

SERVING BUFFALO, ROCHESTER, NIAGARA FALLS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

December 12, 2018 | FREE |

Kelly Diane Galloway

Human Trafficking SHEro Founder of Project Mona’s House for victims of “modern day slavery,” amazing young Buffalo trailblazer is a true “citizen of the world.” Page 3

INSIDE ROCHESTER

Award Winning Filmmaker Inspires Free Workshops for Assault Victims Page 2

SPORTS

Profile: Bryant & Stratton Bobcats Head Coach Damone Brown Page 12

Niagara Falls Hidden Figures: The Story of Terry Lee Hamilton Page 10

VOICES

Marc Lamont Hill and the Legacy of Punishing Black Internationalists Page 11

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BUFFALO, N.Y. PERMIT NO. 164

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INSIDE ROCHESTER

At The Baobab...

728 University Ave. 585-563-2145

UP COMING EVENTS Saturday, Dec. 15th - Art Show and reception for Damali Ahsaki Damali Ahsaki "Reclaiming My Crown" African World History Class with Dr. Kiah E. Nyame December 13th - Class 7: The African Slave Trade (Stolen From Home) European Colonial Domination, The African Slave Trade (Slaves in a Foreign Land) The Struggle to Survive (Chattel Slavery) -------------------------Friday 14th -Ghana's PILOLO FESTIVAL W/Abraham Steiner --------------------------Friday, Dec. 21 FRIDAY NIGHT FILMS Dialogues "The Black Candle"

Ujamaa Marketplace

When: First Saturday of every month, 1-5 p.m.

Ujamaa Marketplace is a cooperative of Afrikan centered businesses. facebokk.com/ baobabculturalcenter Baobab Cultural Center 728 University Ave. 585- 563-2145

Black Inventions

•Three-Signal Traffic Light After he saw a carriage crash in a Cleveland intersection, Garrett Morgan created a version of the modern three-way traffic signal in 1923. He was also the first Black man to own a car in his city.

•Closed Circuit TV Marie Van Brittan Brown created a device in 1966 that would be the precursor to home surveillance as we know it.

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

Filmmakers Film “Tenacidad" Inspires Janson McNair Sworn in as First African American Bureau Chief in Free Workshops Giving A Space & Voice the History of Monroe County Sheriff's Office ROCHESTER, NY (WHAM) -- Janson McNair, a 22-year-veteran with the Monroe County To Sexual Assault Survivors Sheriff's Office, was sworn in recently as the new jail commander of staff service, becoming the

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or over a year award winning filmmaker, Nicholle La Vann has been in research and development with her film Tenacidad. Last year she came forward publicly to speak about her own rape she endured at the age of 15 which led to a pregnancy and her keeping the child.

La Vann shared publicly at her photo exhibit at Flower City Arts Center in May 2017, where she completed an Artist in Residency in Photography.

Through activism and filmmaking La Vann’s documentaries have received awards and Proclamations for her service and dedication of giving voices to under represented people who are rarely heard behind narrow representations in today’s popular culture.

“My goal is to use my skills to assist less fortunate people that society has forgotten and give them a platform to build themselves up and make conscious decisions. My passion for this story is to lift the veil that covered my mind mentally and healing so other women can heal as well as myself.” — Nicholle La Vann According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center one in five women will be raped at some point in their lives and 81% report significant short-term or long-term impacts such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Every eleven minutes child protective services substantiates, or finds evidence for, a claim of child sexual abuse. Of all victims under 18 years of age, 2 out of 3 are ages 12-17. 34% are under age 12 66% age 12-17. RAINN.ORG Nicholle La Vann will host a FREE workshop and discussion sexual assault awareness and the progress with her ongoing new film “Tenacidad” Saturday, December 22, 2018, January 26, 2019 from 12:30 P.M. to 2 P.M. at the Phillis Wheatley Library 33 Dr. Samuel McCree Way Rochester, NY 14608.

Councilmember Spaull Encourages All to Attend Arts and Culture Meeting Councilmember and Chair of the Arts and Culture Committee Elaine M. Spaull (East District) will be convening a meeting of arts groups within the City of Rochester. The meeting will take place on Friday, December 14th at 4:00 p.m. at the Arts & Cultural Council Center, located at 31 Prince St., Rochester, NY 14607.

first African American Bureau Chief in the history of the Sheriff's Office.

“It means a lot to me and my family. It’s been a long road of working hard and doing a lot of things," McNair says. Coming up through the ranks, McNair, an Army veteran, says he's humbled by the position - but credits others for paving the way.

“It’s special to me, but I want to say that I’m not the first African-American that’s worthy of being here," he says. "I just think I’m lucky and worked hard to get here. But there are many folks that came before me that could have done this job." Sheriff Todd Baxter says it's about time.

“Diversity is what makes the world tick," Baxter says. "Different ideas, different mindsets.”

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Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

AREA BRIEFS

Kelly Diane Galloway

Human Trafficking SHEro

K

Eva Doyle

Eva Doyle Thanks Community!

Columnist Eva M. Doyle would like to thank the community for the many cards, messages of support, prayers, flowers, telephone calls and offers to just be there for her during her recent illness.. It was greatly appreciated. She is doing well and taking one day at a time, relaxing, and resting. She looks forward to being present during Kwanzaa. To God Be the Glory!

Criminal Record Sealing Clinic A Criminal Record Sealing Clinic Civil Rights Workshop will be held on Thursday Dec. 13 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at True Bethel Baptist Church 907 East Ferry St. The special guest will be Rev. Kevin McCall, NAN National Crisis Director.

LEGAL NOTICE RFP County of Erie Request for Proposals Rental Equipment and Work Force Development The Erie County Department of Public Works, Division of Highways is seeking proposals from organizations for rental equipment and work force development. The RFP# Rental Equipment and Training 2018 can be found at: http://www2.erie. gov/dpw/. All correspondence, communications and/or contact with the County in regard to this proposal shall be in writing to Melissa.Anderson@erie.gov.

Sealed proposals are due to the Department of Public Works at 95 Franklin Street, Suite 1400, Buffalo, NY 14202 by 4:00 pm EST on December 20, 2018.

Erie County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and waive any informality.

“The Book To Buy” Out of the children's books that were reviewed by Buffalo Spree magazine this season, "Puddinhead & the Christmas Poem" by Marilynn Foote, was chosen with a few other books to be “the book to buy.” It can purchase it by e-mailing the author at Puddinhead.

Club2017@gmail.com It is also available at Barnes & Noble, or amazon.com.

Back to Basics Ministries Mentoring Graduation Ceremony

Back to Basics Outreach Ministries will host its Reentry Mentoring Department graduation ceremony, December 19 from 3-5p.m. at Arthur O. Eve UB Educational Opportunity Center, 555 Ellicott Street.

RSVP to Pastor Charles H. Walker II at 716-854-1086 or walkerbuffalo@aol.com

Public Input Meeting on Indoor Fieldhouse Study CannonDesign invites the public to attend a community meeting about a potential indoor fieldhouse within the City of Buffalo on Wednesday, Dec. 12 rom 5-7 p.m. at The Makowski Early Childhood center, 1095 Jefferson Ave. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about a planning and feasibility study being conducted by Cannon Design.

By Jennifer Earle Strickland

elly Diane Galloway, missionary, visionary, and trailblazer, is affectionately referred to as “mom” by nearly 300 orphans and street children who’ve found refuge in one of the orphanages she’s developed in India, Nepal, and Guatemala. They were once the innocents of a deplorable culture based in illegal transport, and total defiance of laws and considerations of child labor and sexual consciousness.

“When I saw all the need (among the children), I was moved. I think that we all should be moved ... and I had to do something about it,” Galloway recalls.

She was ignited to become an active agent in the quest to end human trafficking after viewing the movie, “Taken.” Ever since, she’s been on her mission to help victims of this offense. Her work began with children who needed restoration after their rescue from human trafficking. Describing all of her adventures as “blessings,” her journey has included living among the “broken,” in huts and tents; dressing in their culturally accepted attire; and enduring pestilences, including lice and fleas, and even an attempted kidnapping by traffickers. Her countenance shifts from joyful to solemn as she shares one of her most heart-wrenching experiences, when a desperate mother begged her to take in her daughters, who were being prostituted by their father in exchange for the best pickings from a garbage dump. The youngest child was just 4 years old. Thankfully, all are survivors, adopted, and safe.

While fulfilling her God-ordered assignment to serve others, she worked in a safe-house for female victims of the human trafficking trade. That’s where she met Ramona, a native of the Dominican Republic, who escaped what was meant to be the inevitable, and who always disKelly Diane Galloway played hope, as a survivor. When Kelly Diane asked her what made her so happy; what brought her joy every day, she quoted a Bible verse, Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” From that moment, Galloway knew Mona’s House would be the safe place where human trafficking victims could be restored and made whole through holistic programs and services that foster the healing of the entire woman: emotionally, financially, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

It’s said that love is what love does, and Galloway says that “My way of showing God’s Love is to serve them, love them, and to be light to them.” This describes the culture of her organization, Project Mona’s House, a safe haven for women, 18 and older, who have been victims of the heinous crime of human trafficking.

The U.S. Office of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as modern-day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.

Annually, the ‘industry’ generates billions in profits, second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable transnational crime.

2017 statistics reported by the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH), an organization funded by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, include 8,759 cases; 10,000 victims; nearly 5,000 potential traffickers, and more than 1,500 businesses involved in the buying and selling of ‘human resources. Eightyn percent were women and girls and 1,822 reported as African American and Latino. New York State’s data, through June 30, 2018, already reported 206 cases of human trafficking.

Kelly Diane’s journey to Project Mona’s House has been adventurous and dangerous; rewarding and encouraging. Though her story seems like it’s encompassed her young 33 year lifetime, the Buffalo native and graduate of Hutch Tech H.S., and Liberty University, admits that it’s a bit less than five years since the onset of her pursuit to restore dignity and positivity to as many victims as she and her team of about 40 volunteers, both in Lynchburg, Va. and Buffalo, NY, can embrace.

Galloway’s experience includes being a youth leader in nearly every capacity at St. John Baptist Church, before moving to Lynchburg where she joined, and currently serves as an ordained Elder at The RAMP (Reaching As Many as Possible) Church International. As organizer of RAMP Global Missions, this devout servant’s personal mission is to preach the Gospel; do whatever she can to help the broken, those hurting, and those exploited by human trafficking; and to fulfill her Earthly assignment. Her social media profile plainly states that, “I’m just a girl that’s trying to share Jesus with everybody”.

Mona’s House is at undisclosed locations in Buffalo and Lynchburg, and its volunteers are committed to showering its residents with love, an experience that many are encountering for the first time in their lives. Women enter Mona’s House as victims; are transformed to survivors; and

Montana legend Mary Fields, also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary (1832–1914), was the first African-American woman employed as a mail carrier in the United States and the second woman to work for the United States Postal Service. Fields stood 6 feet tall and weighed about 200 lbs., liked to smoke cigars, and was once said to be as "black as a burnt-over prairie." She usually had a pistol strapped under her apron and a jug of whiskey by her side.

Born a slave in Hickman County, Tennessee, around 1832, Fields was freed when American slavery was outlawed in 1865. She lived in Toledo, Ohio before moving to Cascade, Montana where she worked in a Catholic convent. before being kicked out.

In 1895, although approximately 60 years old, Fields was hired as a mail carrier because she was the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses.

She drove the route with horses and a mule named Moses.

She never missed a day, and her reliability earned her the nickname "Stagecoach." If the snow was too deep for her horses, Fields delivered the mail on snowshoes, carrying the sacks on her shoulders.

“Stagecoach Mary” carried a rifle and a revolver. She met trains with mail, then drove her stagecoach over rocky, rough roads and through snow and inclement weather. And

Continued Page 7

Continued Page 13

Stagecoach Mary: First Black Woman Employed as a US Mail Carrier

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Radford Reflects on Coalition Report Citing High Rate of Suspensions of Black Students in Buffalo Schools

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report released this week by the New York Equity Coalition cited Buffalo as suspending students at a higher rate than any of the large big 5 urban districts in New York State – and Black male students in particular .

Samuel L. Radford III, president of the District Parent Coordinating Council parent group, said he was not necessarily surprised to know that suspension rates were disproportionate. After all, he pointed out, the Parent Council sounded the alarm about Black male suspensions before the 2010 death of Jawaan Daniels. Jawaan was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2010 while suspended from his high school for roaming the hallways, The suspension rate at that time, said Radford, was around 15% . "Now it’s ridiculous at around 20-22%“ he noted, “and so I was surprised that it was really as bad as it is,” he told the Challenger.

Another shocker, he said, was to learn that although Buffalo suspends students at a higher rate than any of the large urban district schools, of all the school disricts period, Niagara Falls is number one with 37% of its African American students suspended from school.

-High Praise for Dr. CashRadford, who has been working to empower parents of public school students for the past 28 years, had high praise for the efforts of Buffalo School Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash.

“Dr. Cash has done more than any superintendent to keep the suspension issue in the forefront,” he said.

His core approach, Radford explained, includes on going training programs for teachers, Culturally Linguistic Responsive Teaching, and trying to bring more teachers of color in the system.

He pointed to one school that has been very successful in curtailing its suspension rate.

“Principal Ces Owens has a great program at West Hertel,” he noted. "It’s keeping the kids in school and ultimately sending them back into the classroom."

He said the biggest push back to Dr. Cash’s efforts has been from the Buffalo Teachers Federation union and many teachers in the schools.

“The union won’t partner with Cash to help him….his priority has been reducing suspensions, reducing the number of Black and Brown children referred to special education, increasing attendance, and having the curriculum reflecting the classroom – he’s been doing all that for the last 3 years.

“The bigger issue is that we are in an urban school district and 75% of the kids are Black, Brown and immigrant, but 86 % of the teachers in city schools are White,” and live in the suburbs.

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

Dr. Cash applauded the efforts of the watchdog group, pointing out that reducing the disproportionate suspension rate in schools was one of his top four big priorities when he took the helm in 2015. He said that his administration was addressing the issue on a number of fronts.

Radford said this is his last year serving as president of the Parent Council, but assured that it will be left in capable hands. “I’ll still be around to support them.”

He also pointed out that this is a pivotal year for Buffalo schools: *Dr. Cash’s contract is up; *The teachers contact is up; *All 9 school board seats are up for election at the same time.

Five current board members, he noted, are reportedly not running for re-election, including President and Member-at-Large Dr. Barbara Nevergold and Dr. Theresa Harris-Tigg , East District Board Member.

NATIONAL

Abram Supporters Take Georgia to Court ATLANTA — Allies of Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who narrowly lost the Georgia governor’s race, have filed a federal lawsuit calling for sweeping changes to the state’s election procedures, and accusing Brian Kemp, the Republican victor, of systematically disenfranchising poor and minority voters when he was secretary of state.

The bitter and close-fought election caused many Democrats to believe Mr. Kemp had rigged it for his own benefit, while many Republicans considered Ms. Abrams a sore loser.

Lauren Groh-Wargo, Ms. Abrams’s campaign manager, said the lawsuit would “describe, and then prove in court, how the constitutional rights of Georgians were trampled in the 2018 general election..” Ms. Groh-Wargo acknowledged that the governor’s race was over, even as she described Mr. Kemp as Georgia’s “secretary of suppression.”

The lawsuit, she said, would seek “wide, large-scale reforms” to improve future elections." One of its demands is for renewed federal oversight to protect minority voting rights.

Ms. Abrams finally acknowledged defeat on Nov. 16, declaring in a speech that there had been an “erosion of democracy” in Georgia under Mr. Kemp.

HEALTH MATTERS

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

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Echinacea, Vitamin C and Other Proven Flu Fighters Echinacea This popular herb can cut your chances of catching a cold by up to 60 percent. When taken with vitamin C, it can reduce the number of colds even further-by 85 percent. Not only that, but for those already sick, Echinacea shortens the duration of the cold by one and a half days on average, according to a report in the journal The Lancet Infections Diseases.

“Echinacea is credited with stimulating the production of white blood cells and improving the lymph glands to boost your resistance to colds, flu and infection,” says Brad Jacobs, MD. He recommends 250 to 500 mg of Echinacea three times a day at the first signs of a cold, during a cold, or when you think you’ve been exposed to a bug.

Dementia support and resources close to home.

Call Erie County

Senior Services:

858-8526

24/7 Helpline: 800.272.3900

Vitamin C If you’re worn down or are exercising strenuously (think marathon runners), taking vitamin C, as a preventive can cut your risk of getting a cold up to 50 percent, according to

Programs and services are funded in part through a grant from the New York State Department of Health.

a recent study conducted]at the Australian National University that examined 60 years worth of research on the vitamin. Shoot for 500 to 1,000 mg a day. “If your stomach in sensitive to acid, then ester-C works better than regular vitamin C,” says Mark Moyad, MD. Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) Native to China and a popular Eastern remedy, astragalus helps fight colds, particularly respiratory infections, and strengthens the immune system. It’s often taken as a liquid extract and added to soups or teas. Fifteen to 30 drops up to three times daily during cold season (use the upper range if you already have a cold should do the trick).

Garlic. “Although garlic hasn’t definitively been proven as an anticold remedy, traditionally, it is used to fight colds,” says Jacobs. Eating one clove of raw garlic or taking garlic supplements daily at the first sign of a cold or the flu can also shorten the time

you’re sick.” And if you do catch a cold, brew a bedtime elixir of four smashed garlic cloves steeped in 8 ounces of hot water and flavored with the juice of half a lemon to help your immune system recharge overnight.

White Tea. According to studies conducted at Pace University, white tea destroys pathogenic bacteria in your body more effectively than green tea. Drinking one cup in the morning and one before bed helps defend against sore throats and sniffles. When you’re already ill, teas made with lemongrass, ginger, lemon balm, sage, or lemon verbena serve as antiviral sorethroat soothers.

Aconite. Elizabeth Yarnell, a certified nutritional consultant in Denver, says this homeopathic herb halts colds that develop without warning.

“Take four pellets under you tongue at least 10 minutes before and after meals, up to three times a day,” she says.

(From Alternative Medicine, by Gina

Roberts-Grey)

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FAITH & FAMILY

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

DR. MLK Breakfast Lincoln Memorial UM Annual Holiday Concert “The Night the Angels Sang” A Christmas Cantata Musical Set

The Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church will sponsor Save-the Date! collaboration of churches presents "The Night The Angels Sang" where musical giants its Annual Holiday Concert on Thursday, December 13 at 6 p.m.

The 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast, hosted by New Hope Baptist Church Christian Education Scholarship Committee will be held on Monday, January 21, 2019 at 8:30 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, 153 Franklin Street.

This year’s Keynote speaker is the Honorable Mayor Byron Brown. Tickets are $35 per person.

For additional information please contact New Hope Baptist Church at (716)8830821 or the program Chair, Retta Billingslea at The MLK Scholarship (716)835-4737) .

WORSHIP THIS WEEK WORSHIP THIS WEEK

The event is free and all are welcome to attend an evening of great songs and beautiful music.

Please join us and our guests, Buffalo's finest singers and musicians: the George Caldwell Trio, Carol Milhouse, Carol Young, Lincoln Memorial Dance Ministry, the Joel Nicholas Trio, Lincoln Chorale and more.

Lincoln Memorial UM Church is located at 641 Masten Avenue. Ms. Janet Barnes is minister of music, Joel Nicholas, assistant minister of music and Pastor George F. Nicholas is the senior pastor.

The Love Youth Ministry A.L.I.V.E. Love Youth Ministry will be hosting a Free movie night on Friday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. at Love Alive Church, 141 Lewis Street, in the Fellowship Hall. The title of the movie to be shown is "I'm not Ashamed," based upon a true story of the life of a teenager whose life was taken in the Columbine high school shooting in 1999. For more information, please contact The Love Alive Church office at 716-856-1670.

We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the LORD. Trusting in His Holy Word, He never failed me yet!

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from Western New York bring a musical message to Buffalo.

At a time when many churches have abandoned many genres of Christian music, a group of churches have come together to celebrate and introduce a forgotten style of sacred musical style. “The Night the Angels Sang,” published in 1964, by John W. Peterson, is a Christmas Cantata that draws our attention to the true meaning of Christmas. This elegant evening of musical delight for the entire community will take place, Saturday, December 15, at 5 p.m., at First Shiloh Baptist Church, 15 Pine Street. Tickets are $20; Student tickets $10.

To purchase tickets call First Shiloh Baptist Church, 817-6555; Durham Memorial AME Zion Church, 856-1913; and Mrs. Martha Connor, 713-3128. Seating for this event is first come first served.

CELEBRATE THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! The Emmanuel Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church Choir cordially invites all to attend its annual Christmas musical at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 22 at 179 E. Ferry, Buffalo, NY. Mary Gresham, Director, Michelle Thomas, organist.

Bishop Bronner Celebrates 25th Anniversary Rev. T. Anthony Bronner celebrated his 25th Pastoral Anniversary in November. The anniversary celebration included a banquet and special worship service. Bishop Bronner has pastored in the WNY region over 25 years, including Calvary Baptist Church, before birthing Elim Christian Ministries in the Central Park Plaza. Bishop Bronner, in addition to Elim, presides over sister and associate churches in Buffalo and Rochester.

FAITH & FAMILY

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

Watch Night Services And The Black Church: Celebrating “How We Got Over” Many people go to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But, for me while growing up it was Watch Night Services. If you live or grew up in a Black community in the United States, you have heard of "Watch Night Services," the gathering of the faithful in church on New Year's Eve. The service usually begins anywhere from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and ends at midnight with the entrance of the New Year. Some folks come to church first, before going out to celebrate. For others, church is the only New Year's Eve event. We would sing the old year out and sing the new year in. When you are young that's a long time to be up clapping, running and singing.

Many people assume that Watch Night is a fairly standard Christian religious service -- made a bit more Afrocentric because that's what happens when elements of Christianity become linked with the Black Church. And yes! There is a history of Watch Night in the Methodist tradition also. However it seemed that most White Christian churches did not participate in Watch Night services but focused instead on Christmas Eve programs. In fact, there were instances where some in Mainline denominations wondered aloud about the idea of linking religious services with a secular holiday like New Year's Eve. However there are two essential reasons for the importance of New Year's Eve services in African American congregations.

Many of the Watch Night Services in Black communities that we celebrate today can be traced back to gatherings on December 31, 1862, also known as "Freedom's Eve." On that night, Americans of African descent came together in churches, gathering places and private homes throughout the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had become law. Then, at the stroke of midnight, it was January 1, 1863, and according to Lincoln's promise, all slaves in the Confederate States were legally free. People remained in churches and other gathering places, eagerly awaiting word that Emancipation had been declared. When the actual news of freedom was received later that day, there were prayers, shouts and songs of joy as people fell to their knees and thanked God. But even before 1862 and the possibility of a Presidential Emancipation, African people had gathered on New Year's Eve on plantations across the South.

That is because many owners of enslaved Africans tallied up their business accounts on the first day of each new year. Human property was sold along with land and furnishings to satisfy debts.

Families and friends were separated. Often they never saw each other again in this earthly world.

Thus coming together on December 31 might be the last time for enslaved and free Africans to be together with loved ones.

So, Black folks in North America have gathered annually on New Year's Eve since the earliest days, praising God for bringing us safely through another year and praying for the future. Certainly, those traditional gatherings were made even more poignant by the events of 1863 which brought freedom to the slaves and the Year of Jubilee.

Many generations have passed since and most of us were never taught the African American history of Watch Night. Yet our traditions and our faith still bring us together at the end of every year to celebrate once again "how we got over."

(From “The Old Black Church” Blog. True Bethel Baptist Church will hold Watch Night services on December 31 at 907 E. Ferry St. and in their Niagara Falls loation 1112 South Ave. See their ad this page).

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Kelly Diane Galloway Human Trafficking SHEro continued from page 3

by the time they leave, they’re overcomers…”We have failed if we leave a woman in survival mode,” declares Galloway, “Our goal is to restore survivors to being happy, healed, and whole functioning members of society.”

Project Mona’s House has plans to expand the ministry to the Congo in 2020; to boost its active volunteers to 100; to increase numbers educated on human trafficking from 4,000, this year, to 19,000, and to have 19 new Mona’s Houses established by the end of 2019; to acquire property that will accommodate up to 50 residents; and a Mona’s House in every state over the next few years.

These efforts require both faith and funds, and while her biggest boosters are her parents, Warren and Lynette Galloway, who’ve made many sacrifices to support God’s call on Kelly Diane’s life (including becoming the guardians of her dog, Amen, during her mission trips), her faith cancels every obstacle that may attempt to hinder the success of Project Mona’s House. Kelly’s and her parents’ financial input, as well as that donated by supporters of her vision keep RAMP Global Ministries and Project Mona’s House, and its initiatives, operating as humanitarian services to so many.

On the www.projectmonashouse.com website, Galloway states that “We must not allow ourselves to be found guilty of “waiting too long to care…”. Her God-given strength and tenacity empowers her to be a leader in the charge to restore all exploited victims, “until there are no more”. Her greatest concern on her mission journey is that she avoids wasting time; that she gives her all to what God has called her to do. She doesn’t want His report of her life to say, “You didn’t do enough.” It’s hard to believe that could happen to this multi-dimensional woman and self-described “midwife” to dreams and potential, who is divinely-directed, and has countless testimonies of how her faith in God has carried her to and through so much.

For more info on Kelly Diane Galloway and Project Mona’s House, visit the website at www. projectmonashouse.com. Peace and Love!

Entertainment

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Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

Shemekia Copeland: America’s Child Black Nominees For

W

by Matt Bauer

hile Western New York was getting its first winter blast, the one and only Shemekia Copeland was heating up “The Howling At The Tralf” series at the distinguished venue recently.

Being the daughter of the late-legendary guitarist Johnny Copeland, blues is in the 39-year old vocalist’s blood, not to mention her soul. And boy, does she have blues and soul to spare, with a little funk and gospel on the side.

Drawing heavily from her recent album “America’s Child,” Copeland and her four piece band wasted no time getting down to business with “Ain’t Got Time For Hate,” its message of tolerance driven by a chugging groove and socially conscious selections like “Would You Take My Blood” and “Somebody Else’s Jesus” resonated with stinging truth given recent events.

After 25 years of touring, Copeland is no doubt a consummate performer in total command of her stellar voice ranging from the soaring down home heartbreak of “The Other Woman,” the funky assurance of “Never Going Back To Memphis” and the rootsy tenderness of “Smoked Ham and Peaches” while also paying tribute to Koko Taylor on “Has Anybody Seen My Man.” “I know that singing these songs aren’t going to make me popular but it feels damn good singing them,” she told the audience.

Every note rang true and that heartfelt connection to her material was at its most potent with “In The Blood Of The Blues” and her father’s “Ghetto Child,” the latter she sang sans microphone at times, giving everyone a taste of the raw power of her vocal.

Copeland closed the show with the rousing rocker “It’s 2 AM” nicely warming up the crowd before they headed out into the cold night.

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The Golden Globes: “Wakanda Forever!"

By Defender News Services: There is a lot of diversity in this year’s Golden Globe nominees. Announced live

by Terry Crews and Danai Gurira, films like Spike Lee‘s “BlacKkKlansman,” “Green Book,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Black Panther” — the first comic book movie nominated for Best Picture — racked up nominations. Even Kendrick Lamar and SZA got some love.

Other nominees include Mahershala Ali, John David Washington (Denzel’s son!), Regina King, Billy Porter, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Spike Lee and more.

The 76th Golden Globe Awards will be hosted by Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh. The show airs on Jan. 6.

Check out the Black nominees below: 1. Best Motion Picture – Drama: ‘Black Panther’, ‘BlacKkKlansman’, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, and ‘Green Book’ 2. Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Green Book’ 3. Regina King for ‘Seven Seconds’ and ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ 4. Thandie Newton for ‘Westworld’ for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television 5. Donald Glover in ‘Atlanta’ For Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy 6. Spike Lee for Best Director for ‘BlacKkKlansman’ 7. Kendirck Lamar and SZA for “All the Stars,” Black Panther for Best Original Song – Motion Picture 8. John David Washington for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for ‘BlacKkKlansman’ 9. Billy Porter for ‘Pose’ for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama. Pose’ was also nominated for Best Television Series, Drama.

10. Stephan James for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama In ‘Homecoming’

Events *The Albright Family Christmas Tour featuring Gerald Albright and Selina Albright, Friday, December 14, 8 p.m., Buffalo State College Performing Arts Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave. Tickets available online at buffalostatepac.org or call 716-8783005.

Morning Entertainment Creative Mornings Buffalo and Beau Fleuve present poet Bianca L. McGraw performing during the segment Friday December 15, 8 a.m.

10 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Hallwalls 341 Delaware Ave.

Links Holiday Gala

Swing into the holidays with the Buffalo Chapter of the Links, Incorporated on December 14, from 6-10 p.m. at the Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave. Donation is $45. Refreshments, cash bar and silent auction. Please bring an unwrapped gift or reading book to support our community toy drive. Entertainment by Larry Salter Soul Orchestra, local and regional vendors, Links, Desma ReidColeman, St. John Knits. For ticket information contact Link, Carolyn Coles Benton at 716-832-0326.

Black Monarchy and Femi Secrets Present: A Slumber Night & Holiday Event

Friday December 14 7:30 p.m., 527 W. Utica Come Dressed in Your Favorite P.J.’s

That Brown Bag Holiday Bazaar & Expo Saturday December 15 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

East Community High School 820 Northhampton Street. Free

A sparkling tradition of the holiday season for music and dance lovers of all ages.

Sat Dec 22, 7pm | Sun Dec 23, 2pm

Presented in collaboration with The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Shea’s Performing Arts Center

Tickets on sale Now!

(800) 745-3000 or sheas.org SUPPORT THE ARTS!

Shows, dates, times, and artists subject to change.

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

183414

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

Entertainment

Burchfield Penney's Annual Art Party:

Marvin Gaye, Gregory Hines Honored with U.S. Postal Stamps

Friday December 14

Two new stamps planned in 2019 for the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage and Music Icons series honor R&B singer Marvin Gaye and tap dancer Gregory Hines, two of the most influential performers of their generations.

The commemorative stamp design for Gaye, who died at age 45 in 1984, was inspired by historic photographs, the stamp pane resembling a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the pane includes the stamps, brief text about Gaye’s legacy and the image of a sliver record peeking out the top of the sleeve. Another portrait of Gaye, also inspired by historic photographs, appears on the reverse along with the music icons series logo.

Art director Derry Noyes designed the Gaye stamp pane with original art by Kadir Nelson.

Hines’ stamp, designed by Derry Noyes, is the 42nd in the postal system Black Heritage Series.

Hines, a versatile performer who danced, acted and sang on Broadway, TV and in movies, died in 2003 at age 57.

STAY GOLD

FREE cultural happening with site-specific installations, live music, workshops, and wide-ranging creativity in galleries, hallways, stairwells, and secret nooks and crannies of the entire building The Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State will present its annual community art party Friday, December 14, as part of its M&T sponsored Second Fridays.

Each year Stay Gold marks the Center’s anniversary celebrating the incredible breadth of talented artists and musicians in Buffalo featuring site-specific installations and musical performances The public is invited to an evening of the unexpected.

The galleries, open 10 am - 9 pm, are free all day. Special programs run 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm, with a special dance party starting at 9:30 pm.

All ages are welcome, the event is free and open to the public.

For more information, go to www.burchfieldpenney.org

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A Dinner Dance for Mature Adults The Gloria J. Parks Senior Program announces its Holiday Party, a dinner dance for adults 55 or better, on Friday, December 14, from 5 – 9p.m. at the Gloria J. Parks Community Center, 3242 Main Street on the corner of Heath Street. Parking for the event is free and available behind the Gloria J. Parks Community Center and across Main Street behind St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Admission is $20.00 which includes a full-course dinner.

Tickets can be purchased at the Center’s reception desk.

For more information, call Phyllis Caver, Senior Director at 832-1010 ext. 206.

Rihanna Unbothered Unbossed Rihanna remains unbothered as reports surface that claim the megastar declined to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show slot in Atlanta next February.

An insider source told Us Weekly. "... she said no because of the kneeling controversy and she doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance." The 30 year-old decided to stand with Colin Kaepernick in solidarity.

The Fenty Effect: Only a year after launching her revolutionary Fenty Beauty (world renowned for its 40 shades of full-spectrum shade foundation), Rihanna’s beauty line has made Time magazine’s "Genius Companies” list for 2018. The brand reportedly made $100 million in sales in its first 40 days which sent competitors rushing to widen their offerings, in what some have termed the ‘Fenty Effect."

SUPPORT THE ARTS!

10

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

Niagara Falls Hidden Figures: The Story of Terry Lee Hamilton

By Saladin Allah

B

Terry Lee Hamilton

ased upon the non-fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly, the movie Hidden Figures tells the story of African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA in 1961. Although NASA’s first American astronaut in orbit and two-time US Senator John Glenn is the one who became a national hero, the mathematicians who helped put him in space, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, were virtually unknown until Hidden Figures revealed them to the world.

The more that I’ve researched the back story of many national heroes, sheroes, inventions and historical landmarks, the more I began to see this narrative of hidden figures as fundamental part of American History and its establishment of wealth. For example, consider how the Patent Act of 1793 and 1836 restricted enslaved Blacks from obtaining patents because we were not citizens. Because we were the property of others, whatever we invented was also the property of the slave masters who owned us. Although the U.S. government passed a patent law giving all American men, including Blacks, the right to patent their inventions, the lack of non-disclosure agreements, legal protection and basic capital to invent still created a scenario where Blacks become hidden uncompensated figures behind some of America’s greatest heroes, sheroes, inventions and historical landmarks.

I recently had the privilege of interviewing one of our more contemporary hidden figures by the name of Terry Lee Hamilton; a self-taught Scientist/Inventor from Western New York who designed the antennae and coupler interface system for Stico Industries that resolved Homeland Security's communications issues on 9/11 and was used during Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and other disasters in the U.S. While employed at a company named Nanodynamics he was also responsible for helping design the fuel cell technology to sustain and stabilize jet propulsion packs. I had the pleasure of having Terry Lee Hamilton on Atlantis Build Talk Radio.

Hamilton was born and raised in Niagara Falls, NY and began his formal journey into science at Trott Vocational High School in the electronics trade. I say “formal” because his earliest memories of scientific investigation began at the age of 4 and continued through adolescence. He recalled an experience with his father teaching him to tell the time and him realizing a sequence in the numbers that added up to twelve. Hamilton also shared that he would often ask his father questions such as, “If a car is driving at sixty miles per hour and a fly is flying around inside of the car while it’s moving why doesn’t it hit the walls?” Once he entered high school he was able to direct his sense of curiosity into a vocational program that offered him an opportunity to grow and develop.

After graduation Hamilton continued his education at various institutions of higher learning such as the Ohio Institute of Technology, Niagara University, Erie Community College and the University of Buffalo where he studied everything from electrical and mechanical engineering, biochemistry, physics and chemistry. It was after this formal journey that Hamilton became employed with the above tech companies where he made his initial mark as a hidden figure. Although Stico Industries

and Nanodynamics gave him an opportunity to share his knowledge and gain experience, upon accepting employment Hamilton signed a non-disclosure agreement similar to a rap artist record contract where the label owns his masters. Like other hidden figures of the past and present, his contributions to science and technology are the property of the companies he worked for. While many would be discouraged by this, Hamilton continued in his journey and founded Hamilton & Eades; a genetic research and development company.

Through Hamilton & Eades, Hamilton has developed reliable methods to analyze nutrients, other dietary components and their metabolites in foods, body fluids and tissues. This involves the latest tools in nano-technology, biochemistry, physics, computer software development and electronics. Most recently, Hamilton has developed a series of Anusha serums designed from a molecular level for removing wrinkles, reversing the aging process, hair growth, balding, skin rashes, herpes 1 and 2 and shingles.

Hamilton, like many others who came before him and present today, represents some of the greatest stories never told. At a time when youth were taught by American parents that college or the military were their only options towards living a successful life, Hamilton chose an uncharted path by not finishing his formal college career. Yes, he experienced challenges and adversity being a self-taught scientist with experience credentials, yet he also represents the morning star of a millennial movement that no longer views college and the military as its narrow options. With the proliferation of technology and the expansion of the World Wide Web via social media, now more than ever before we are seeing young people seeking entrepreneurialism, skilled trades, professional development and company branding as a means to control their intellectual property and creative rights. If it wasn’t for the sacrifices and lessons learned by trailblazers like Hamilton, the paved way that we see today would still be uncharted.

Saladin Allah is an Author [S. Quanaah], Preschool Teacher, Human Rights Commissioner in the City of Niagara Falls and Founder of the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters.

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS! Holiday Bazaar

On Friday, December 14th from 10pm until 1 am and Saturday December 15, 2018 from 10am to 7pm. Johnnie B Wiley will be hosting a Holiday Bazaar. Come join us for gifts, crafts, music, food, and fun! For more information contact Theresa Land at (716)444-2179.

Northland Workforce Holiday Celebration

The Northland Workforce Training Center will host its 1st Annual Holiday Celebration, December 18, from 4-7p.m., 683 Northland Ave. Take a picture with Santa, enter to win up to $500 in cash and prizes. WUFO Broadcasting Live at 4p.m.

Mittens, hats, and activities for all children. Pre-enrollment session and tour begins at 6p.m.

Fruitbelt Coalition Christmas In The City

Fruit of the City aka Fruitbelt Coalition will host the annual Christmas In The City, Saturday, December 15, from 12- 39.m.. at the Pratt Willard Community Center, 422 Pratt St. The event is free to everyone and will feature carriage rides, ugly sweater contest, Dodo the clown, cookie decoration, toys, goody bags, caroling, Santa/ Elf, food, fun and other activities. WContact Dr. Cashaw at the Fruitbelt Coalition office for more information 716-893-6428.

Free Holiday Party The Resource Council of WNY will host its 3rd Annual Community Holiday Party on Thursday, December 13, from 6-8p.m. at 347 E. Ferry Street. The free event will feature holiday crafts, story time with Santa, refreshments, raffles and more. Call 716-259-9844 or email Jerrica.DeLaney@resourcecouncilwny.org to RSVP by December 10.

VOICES

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

Marc Lamont Hill and the Legacy of Punishing Black Internationalists

By Noura Erakat

Hill’s bold statement to the UN is part of the internationalist Black radical tradition, exemplified by Paul Robeson, the Black Panther Party, and today’s Black Lives Matter movement.

R

ecently, Marc Lamont Hill, academic, activist and media personality, addressed the United Nations at its commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People .

Hill’s speech was a bold call because it countered U.S.-led orthodoxy clinging to a two-state solution despite a one-state reality in which Palestinians are neither sovereigns of their own state nor citizens of Israel. Hill’s closing words, imploring international actors to support Palestinian freedom “from the river to the sea,” effectively demanded the dismantlement of an apartheid regime and the establishment of a bi-national state. In that sense, Marc Lamont Hill his views are commensurate with leading voices critical of the status quo in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet apologists for Israeli policies quickly mobilized a vicious smear and harassment campaign. CNN responded by firing Hill, and the chairman of Temple University’s board of trustees said he was searching for ways to essentially punish Hill, a media studies professor there.

“Hill’s speech echoed a discourse and vibrancy once emblematic of diplomatic revolutionary efforts at the United Nations.”

Understanding the significance of Hill’s address and the motivations of his detractors requires us to move beyond the immediate question of Palestine and issues of academic freedom and free speech. His speech forms an important part of a renewed manifestation of Black-Palestinian solidarity, itself a component of a longer legacy of Black internationalism and Third Worldism.

In this sense, his speech echoed a discourse and vibrancy once emblematic of diplomatic revolutionary efforts at the United Nations that had receded in the folds of a collapsed internationalism.

The U.N. General Assembly established the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 1977 in the wake of systematic U.S. efforts to undermine an international resolution to the question of Palestine. This U.S. intransigence formed part of its imperial global role, ranging from military interventions in Vietnam to its diplomatic protection of apartheid South Africa in the U.N. Security Council. In the context of decolonization and the groundswell of newly admitted states, the General Assembly emerged as the primary expression of the preferences of the international community. An overwhelming majority of these states, constituting the self-described Third World, considered Palestinian liberation as central to its agenda for challenging Western dominance and establishing a new international order. A key example is the passing in 1975 of UNGA Resolution 3379 describing Zionism as a form of racism.

“American Black radical thinkers and organizations considered racism and colonialism as coconstitutive systems of domination and articulated an internationalist vision for liberation.”

American Black radical thinkers and organizations identified with Third World movements and helped shape this global uprising. They considered Black communities in the United States as the Third World within the First World. Organizations, including the Black Panther Party and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, as well as individuals such as Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Robert F. Williams and Harold Cruse , considered racism and colonialism as co-constitutive systems of domination and articulated an internationalist vision for liberation.

This vision aligned Black radicals with revolutions in China and Cuba as well as anti-colonial struggles across the African continent, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The U.S. government, together with liberal foundations, universities and media outlets, might have tolerated Black calls for integration into the existing U.S. system. But Black internationalists believed true liberation necessitated a radical reordering of U.S. politics and international relations. So the U.S. government sought to systematically discipline them with unmitigated force.

In 1956, the House Un-American Activities Committee interrogated Paul Robeson, acclaimed theater and screen actor, all-American football player and activist, for his communist affinities.

The committee blacklisted him, the State Department stripped him of his passport for eight years, and professional concert halls refused to book him. Robeson was not deterred. In 1951 and on behalf of the Civil Rights Congress, he submitted an anti-lynching petition to the United Nations charging the United States with genocide of Black people. In 1967, the U.S. government blacklisted Muhammad Ali from professional sports, stripped him of his heavyweight boxing title and fined him $10,000 as punishment for his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War . The Supreme Court would not overturn his conviction until 1971. In the late 1960s, the FBI launched the Counterin-

“We wish to plead our own cause.

Too long have others spoken for us.”

- John Russwurm, Freedom’s Journal.

1827 America’s 1st Black Newspaper

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P: 716 881.1051 F: 716 881.1053

Missed Opportunity Dear Editor: It’s almost amusing – if it were not so sad – to hear folks complain about Sheriff Tim Howard. Clearly the chickens have come home to roost and no community can escape his deplorable mis-leadership. This area had the opportunity to replace him in the 2017 election with one of the most qualified, capable, stellar candidates to ever seek the position and someone who would have brought integrity back to the Sheriff’s office – Bernard Tolbert. The bottom line? Voters racist instincts won.

And Erie County lost. Bernard Tolbert, an African American with impeccable credentials, would be sheriff today, but he was the wrong color…

Jackie Dixon

telligence Program to decimate Black radical movements. The program was premised on surveillance, infiltration, politicized trials, forced exile and assassinations.

Within this context, disdain for advocacy on behalf of Palestine was particularly acute and targeted even moderate Black leaders. In 1979, the first Black U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young, informally met with a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative at the United Nations. The United States had excluded the PLO from the Middle East peace process inaugurated in late 1973.

It sought to subvert the establishment of a Palestinian state by first creating bilateral peace treaties between Israel and several Arab states and then to impose a solution upon the Palestinians. Young’s meeting with the PLO representative was a bold attempt to achieve a breakthrough. Israeli representatives responded harshly and called for Young’s immediate removal.

The first Black U.N. ambassador resigned over the incident.

James Baldwin, acclaimed novelist, thinker and activist, said Young was “betrayed by cowards.”

“Black Lives Matter (BLM) member groups published a platform squarely endorsed solidarity with Palestinians.”

This history is alive and well. Contemporary renewals of Black-Palestinian solidarity have faced aggressive attacks by the U.S. liberal establishment. In 2016, Black Lives Matter (BLM) member groups published a platform outlining domestic and international policy toward the advancement of Black freedom. It squarely endorsed solidarity with Palestinians. In the section on U.S. foreign policy, it described Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as tantamount to genocide and endorsed the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel. The backlash was severe and included funding cuts for several groups as well as applying pressure to cancel Black Lives Matter events that were unrelated to Palestine. BLM member groups understood the backlash as an attempt to dictate the scope and vision of black freedom. Tolerating none of it, they made no amendments to the platform and reiterated their solidarity.

The concerted attacks on Hill not only represent a liberal heterodoxy and double standard on the question of Palestine.

They also fit into a legacy of repressing Black internationalists and the Black radical tradition in the United States. Ironically, this episode is making vividly clear what a transnational movement has proclaimed for decades: Black and Palestinian struggles are entwined and represent a joint struggle for freedom. In its attempt to squash this trend, the liberal establishment, led

by CNN, has inadvertently made this movement even stronger.

Noura Erakat is a Palestinian American human rights attorney and assistant professor at George Mason University.

She is the author of “Justice for Some: Law as Politics in the Question of Palestine ,” which will be published next year by Stanford University Press.This article originally appeared in blackagendareports

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We respectfully submit that the opinions expressed on the editorial pages of this newspaper are not necessairly those of Challenger Community News Corporation or its advertisers.

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dear editor Justice Denied Dear Editor: In response to the article in the Dec. 5 edition, “Justice Denied,” I totally agree with the viewpoint.

On Nov, 20 the Zoning Board of Appeals met and reversed its September 24 denial to allow a Tim Horton's drive-thru on Michigan and William Streets in the Historic Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor.

It was a spiteful decision without community input and proves everything is political. As the article pointed out, the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor is promoted as a walkable tourist attraction in step with the new Green Code. The phone numbers given for citizens to express their opinions included contacting Councilman Pridgen at 716-851-5105 and John Fell of the Planning Division at 716-851-4533.

We absolutely have a right in determining how Michigan Avenue will look.

The irony is that the front page story in the same issue cited community builder Ahmed Selah, owner of Mandella Markets, and his struggle for the last four years to attract a Tim Horton’s in the inner city.

Here is a man who not only wants the franchise but built his new location at Broadway and Jefferson from the ground up to accommodate it! Why would Mr. Selah and the community he serves be denied the opportunity?

Where does our leadership stand on this issue?

-Royal St. Clair

Leaders are readers....

Advertising /News/ Information/Inquiries

adver tising@thechallengernews.com

Phone: 716-881-1051 Fax: 716-881-1053

12

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

Buffalo Native and Former NBA Standout Damone Brown Leads BENGALS Fly to DC Friday for Holiday Tourney the Way for Bryant and Stratton Bobcats!

AT THE POINT BY

GREGORY L. GAMBLE II

T

he famed name in all of Western New York, Damone Brown, is no stranger to success on the basketball court.

From being named 1st Team All-Yale Cup, to Yale Cup Player of the Year, to 1st Team All-WNY as a high school standout at Seneca Vocational, to four year letter winner at Syracuse University and being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Damone Brown has proven time and time again that basketball is not only a sport to be played with strategy and passion but has also shown that the game of basketball is to be used as a vehicle of transportation from one opportunity to another.

In the early portion of 2018, Bryant and Stratton College announced that it was in search of a Head Coach for it’s Men’s Basketball program. “In early February, a friend of mine was on Facebook and posed the question ‘Does anybody know of any coaches? So I in-boxed her and asked her if she was talking about Men’s Basketball, 30 minutes later, I got a phone call” said Damone.

Finishing up the 2017-2018 Men’s Basketball season at Villa Maria College where Damone Brown was an assistant coach, the talks between Bryant and Stratton College and Damone Brown were very preliminary. In March of 2018, Brown was officially named the Head Coach of the Bryant and Stratton College Bobcats, making him the first coach for the Bobcats since they won the National Little College Athletic Association (NLCAA) in 1974 under the leadership of head coach Tom Griffin, brother of Jimmy Griffin, former mayor of Buffalo.

Head Coach Brown’s most recent opportunity is one that has been in the works and was definitely an aspiration and goal of his. Says Brown, “Whenever you do something, you want to be the best at it. I want to work my way up that ladder, get back to the professional level and coach in the NBA. For right now, I want to start here. I want to learn my craft and move up the ladder to higher level collegiate coaching.”

Brown recently served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Villa Maria College. As an assistant, he helped guide Villa Maria with back-to-back trips to the national tournament, in 2017 making it to the Elite 8 and in 2018 making it to the championship game.

Having had a chance to watch the Bobcats in practice, you can easily understand why after 9 games in their first season, they shot out to a 6-3 record. The student-athletes for the Bobcats are tough, aggressive and hungry, and have a desire to learn and improve as basketball players.

Coach Brown described his elite knowledge of the game of basketball and coaching at an amateur level as a “delicate balance,” “Me as a player, I know what I want or know what it’s supposed to be and how it’s supposed to be done. When you’re coaching guys who aren’t as experienced, you have to break it down for them, explain to them and show them the reasoning as to why you want this or that done a certain way. You have to teach and that’s where the teaching and patience in trying to get these guys to understand comes into play.”

Also adding to Coach Brown’s early success is his support system. “A great staff is key, he said, If the chemistry is good, we can bounce different ideas off of each other in regard to what we are trying to accomplish. More times than not, we are thinking the same things, but we have different approaches of how to get there and you need that balance.”

Coach Brown’s assistants are well-known basketball minds, friends and colleagues, Al Parker and Phil Jones.

Parker, who has over 20 years of basketball experience both playing and coaching at the high school and college level, most recently worked alongside Coach Brown as assistants to Don Silveri for the Villa Maria Men’s Basketball team. Parker helped orchestrate back-to-back sectional championships and a state finals appearance during his tenure at Sweet Home High School.

Bryant & Stratton Bobcats Head Coach Damone Brown Strategizes with his team at the start of 2018 -2019 season .

Jones played basketball at Seneca Vocational High where he obtained two Yale Cup Championships, and was the All-Time leading scorer. He began his college career as a Point Guard at Monroe Community College and after two years, he led his team to a National Championship and finished in the “elite eight,” he played for University of Buffalo under the great Reggie Weatherspoon and also played at Daemen College where he again went to the National Championship finishing in the Final Four. Jones was inducted into the Daemen Athletics Hall of Fame and after his college career, played overseas professionally in Seoul, Korea, and Japan.

In describing how it feels to have the opportunity to develop a program from the ground up at the collegiate level, Head Coach Damone Brown responded by saying “Its new! Having the opportunity to run your own program is new. You’re nervous at first, but when you realize that it’s a brand new program with no players, no jerseys, and no basketballs, you realize that you’re starting and building your own program. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to do something like that.”

With the majority of the student-athletes on the team being veteran players having played at the college level in some fashion prior to their first season with the Bobcats, Head Coach Brown says, “I tell my players everyday, there are thousands and thousands of young players who wish they had the opportunity that you have right now. You have to take advantage of it.

Don’t take your opportunities for granted because it definitely can be here today and gone tomorrow. If you love the game, go out there and compete everyday and compete your hardest while leaving it all on the floor.”

The most important perspective that Head Coach Damone Brown possesses is a perspective of gratitude and paying it forward. “I coach because I love the game! I mean I really love the game. This game has shown me so much. It has taken me a lot of different places. I’ve met people who I probably would’ve never met in my lifetime, I’ve made lifetime friends, I love the competition, I love everything about it. Me giving that back to the players, and providing them an opportunity to travel outside of Buffalo and play this game, it’s all worth it.”

The Bryant and Stratton Bobcats have started out 6-3. They are currently ranked #3 in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division 1 Coaches Poll.

Congratulations Head Coach Damone Brown! The City of Buffalo and WNY is extremely proud of you and all of your accomplishments. As you strive for bigger and better we will be striving right with you! You’ve Got Odds2Beat!

Bobcats play their home games at the Erie Community College Burt Flickinger Athletic Center in downtown Buffalo.

Their next home game is Saturday December 15th at 2:00 p.m. against Southern State Community College. You can find the full Bobcats schedule on their school website at http://buffalo. bscbobcats.com.

Visit our sports writers online www.thechallengernews.com/sports

The BUFFALO STATE BENGALS look to finish off the 2018 part of their season with 2 victories in the Bridgewater State Don Glick tourney. The BENGALS take with them a team loaded with fire power averaging over 78 pts a game in their first 7 games.

Led in scoring by Sheldon Adams, Dom Grayer and Co-Capt Kay grant the BENGALS have had at least 7 players score in double figures this season. Coach Ansari has an extremely deep team that has seen at least 5 different starting lineups in their 1st 7 games. Names like Jordan Christopher, Yosh Bernandez, Zak “Machine gun” Cieski, Kareem Holmes, Zion Williamson, Co-Capt Ryniek “Doc” Holloway, and others, could easily appear at the top of any Buff State box score on a given game day.

Add the steady improvement of players like Delen Ramovic, Co-Capt Steve Clavo, Von Daniels, and freshmen Cam Otti, Mark Worthy , Ahmad Thomas and Kemron “KD”( because he reminds many of Kevin Durant) Fredericks to the mix and 2019 looks like a battle for SUNYAC supremacy with the BENGALS in the thick of that race.

Here’s to hoping that our Buffalo State BENGALS return home for the holidays with a nice tourney victory under their belts!

Next home game is on Tuesday Jan 8th versus long time rival Brockport golden eagles.

Coach Ansari going over game plan with his BENGALS

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

E M P L O Y M E N T / H E L P WA N T E D

LEGAL NOTICE RFP NOTICE Request for Proposal Temporary Staffing and Employer of Record Services December 10, 2018 The Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Investment Board, Inc. is accepting proposals from qualified staffing agencies to provide staffing services as the employer of record to participants in temporary paidwork experiences under the Workforce Innovative and Opportunity Act. Proposals clearly labeled RFP Temporary Staffing Services must be received at 726 Exchange Street, Suite 630, Buffalo, New York 14210, no later than 2 p.m. ET on December 27, 2018. Those interested in submitting a proposal may download this RFP at www.workforcebuffalo. org. Funding for this RFP is under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, 29 U.S.C. 3101 et. seq., (EEO/AAE).

ROOMS

ROOMS FOR RENT: Delavan-Humboldt area, Bailey-Delavan. $325$480. Everything included.

(716)818-3410.

LEGAL NOTICE BIDS Bids will be received by RP Oak Hill Building Co., Inc. for the City Hall 9th Floor Renovation Project on December 13, 2018 at 11:00 am. Please fax bids (716-822-4367) or email (mcalway@rpoakhill.com) prior to 11:00 am. There will be no scheduled prebid meeting. The scope of work includes demolition, abatement, flooring, carpentry, painting, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc. The contract documents may be examined at Construction Exchange or can be purchased at Avalon Printing, (P: 716-995-7777). This project is prevailing wage. ***W/M/DBE participation is encouraged.

JOBS

Buffalo Employment and Training Center /BETC 716-856-5627

www.workforcebuffalo. org

Plan ahead for affordable senior living!

Call for a tour or to learn more.

Safe and maintenance-free apartments for independent older adults age 62 and up who are income eligible.

Some utilities included.

Locations: *Akron • Amherst • Angola • Blasdell • Cheektowaga Clarence • **Gowanda • Grand Island • Hamburg • Lackawanna • Lockport North and South Buffalo • Springville • West Seneca • Wheatfield *Our Akron apartments are for seniors age 62+ and for individuals age 18 or older with a qualified disability. Amenities vary. TTD/TTY: 1.800.421.1220. **Our Gowanda apartments provide HUD Section 202 Affordable Housing and NYS Tax Credit apartments for seniors age 62+. Amenities vary. TTD/TTY: 1.800.662.1220.

716.817.9090

Bills in Jet Lag Lose 27 - 23

13

B

ills rookie quarterback Josh Allen continued to run all over the field and scored on an early 7 yard TD run. Bills special teams were once again not so special against the jets. The Jets had 5 kickoff returns for a total of 176 yards. That’s totally unacceptable and helped contribute to the Bills 27-23 loss. They allowed a kickoff return of 86 yards as part of that total. The Bills offensive line still could not block an under- #16 Robert Frazier & defense gang tackling Jets receiver. manned Jets defensive Photo by Jerome Davis. front; it forced Josh Allen to run way too often.

Jets QB Sam Darnold continues to be a turnover machine with his NFL league leading 15th interception. Once again, the Bills front office has messed up our placekicker Stephen Hauschka with a new holder and his timing is completely off.

Josh Allen is the player we thought he would be due to the fact he has no touch and when the Jets defensive forced him to beat them with his arm, Josh was not up to the task. Josh Allen did not win one big game in college, turned the ball over in clutch time and is a career 50% or below passer. “He is who we thought he is,” as former the late Arizona Cardinal Head Coach Dennis Green once said after a heart breaking defeat. The Bills front office completely mis-managed the team by not keeping Tyrod Taylor as their starting QB and brought in Josh Allen behind an experienced QB who led the team to the playoffs and was part of a Super Bowl winning team. The experience Tyrod would have given Josh Allen as how to prepare for an NFL game, along with game day action, would have assisted him in his growth as a professional. Josh Allen has noone with winning experience on the roster coaching staff that can further his development.

Bills receiver Isaiah McKenzie said, “We left a lot of plays on the field, our misdirection plays were working and if I can help Shady ignite the running game than that’s what I will do.”

It’s a shame the Bills did not go back to misdirection plays and use bobble screen passes to McKenzie. He’s a game breaker and should be used more often on offensive side of the ball. This is where Josh Allen struggles with screen passes, quick short throws along with any type of touch passes. It’s still very hard to believe Bills drafted him at number seven overall. Josh Allen is not first round material and can’t make basic throws that average QB’s can make and will only give Bills fans hope and very few wins even with a top ranked defense.

Jets defensive back and former Dallas Cowboy Morris Claiborne said, “Our adjustments at halftime was key, we set good edges for Allen could not get out of the pocket and He’s a QB that will run the ball when everything breaks down and very good at it. We also made big plays by getting a key turnover or give up a field goal.”

Look for other teams to defend Josh Allen in the same manner and force him to complete passes. Bills must use more misdirection plays featuring wide receivers Robert Foster and Isiah McKenzie.

The Bills are home to Detroit Lions at new Era Field and I would recommend watching another game if possible because this one is shaping up to be a snooze fest. Matthew Stafford is an older version of Josh Allen and neither are worth watching, so I’m picking Bills defense to get turnovers (YES, there will be plenty of turnovers in this game) and win the game for the home faithful. Bills 20 – 13. Follow me on twitter: Georgeradman@georgeradney, Facebook, thechallengernews.com

BLACK HISTORY/STAGECOACH MARY continued from page 3

though she intimidated would-be thieves with her height and her tough demeanor, she became beloved by locals, who praised her generosity and her kindness to children.

For eight years, Fields protected and delivered the mail. Eventually age caught up to her and she retired. The community rallied to support her.. When she died on December 5, 1914, her funeral was one of the largest the town had ever seen.

Fields was a respected public figure in Cascade, and on her birthday each year the town closed its schools to celebrate. Fields was buried outside Cascade.

BETC JOBS 716-856-5627

*IQOR is coming Seeking: Customer Service Agents The Recruiter will be at BETC 77 Goodell Street 10:00 am – noon. Wednesday December 12. You may also apply on line while you are here. Dress for Success and Bring Resumes.

IQOR The job site location is 540 Dick Road, Depew. The 24 Genesee Bus is available to get there if traveling by bus.

*Steel production company currently reviewing candidates to begin working in January for entry level general labor. These positions are on bus routes. 3rd shift workers might need a ride to the job site as some buses do no run at the allotted time. $11.25 per hour all shifts.This company is looking to take on quite a large number of candidates. HR Partners Staffing 2560 Walden Ave, Suite 101 Cheektowaga, NY 14225 Phone: 716-391-1718 *110 Fax: 716-391-1721 http://www.hrpartnersstaffing.com/ Rate of Pay $11.25 per hour (all shifts) 1st Shift 7:00am-3:30pm 2nd Shift 3:30pm-12:00am 3rd Shift 10:30pm-7:00am or 11:0 *The Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Development Consortium, Inc. (WDC) seeks to fill the fol-lowing position: Business Services Specialist. Salary $45,000-$55,000 To apply and view the complete position description with REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, please visit https://www.indeed.com .

14

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

NEW YORK STATE LOTTERY NUMBERS SUN 12/2

MON 12/3

TUES 12/4

WED 12/5

THURS 12/6

EVE-0-0-8

EVE-4-2-9

EVE-3-4-8

EVE-2-5-9

EVE-2-0-8

WIN 4

MID-8-1-0-1 EVE-5-9-0-8

MID-1-8-5-3 EVE-2-0-9-4

MID-4-1-6-8 EVE-2-2-4-7

MID-5-0-2-5 EVE-5-4-1-5

TAKE 5

03-05-08-16-20

06-07-09-15-22

02-14-20-25-39

3-WAY advertising@thechallengernews.com

ATTORNEYS LAW OFFICE OF DARIA L. PRATCHER, PC “Everything Real Estate” 523 Main Street (716)541-8574 PRATCHER & ASSOCIATES Franklin Muhammad (Pratcher) Attorney 1133 Kensington Avenue (716) 838-4612

AUTO BEN’S Downtown Tire

50 Sycamore (cor. Elm) (716) 856-1066 or 894-1483

ART GALLERY Main Street Gallery Lodina Clyburn 515 Main Street Lodina@gmail.com (716) 578-1702

BAIL BONDS GIST BAIL BONDS

A-1 Bail Bonds 855-2514 or 854-2128

BARBER SHOPS MASTERS TOUCH 1283 E, Delavan (716) 322-5641

BARBERSHOPNY.COM

BOOKS ALIVE CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE 2275 Fillmore Ave. (716) 837-1118 ZAWADI BOOKS 1382 Jefferson Ave. 716-903-6740

CLEANING SERVICE

SISTER DIANE'S CLEANING SERVICE

(770 )256-3271 Diane.Shakir@gmail.com Independent Contractor

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ELECTRICAL EMPIRE ELECTRIC (716) 634-0330

MID-2-6-5

HOT TIPS

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02-23-24-26-27

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FLORISTS

GERMA'S HAIR BRAIDING (716) 238-2862

PEST CONTROL GOT A PEST PROBLEM?

*ROACHES *RODENTS *STINKBUGS *BEDBUGS (716) 606-0909 Call Edmund today and sleep better tonight!

TAILORS ANN RHOD’S Tailoring 3185 Bailey Ave. (716) 838-5633

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES MEREA WORLD Transportation Service Specializing in Round Trip & Over Night Trips Text or call 716 939-8892

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MID-6-8-9-2 EVE-2-0-7-2

MID-3-5-9-2 EVE -1-5-1-1

04-11-12-21-22

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11-13-18-31-38

EVE-9-7-5

15-17-30-31-33

02-26-30-31-38-59 #20

996

515

140

Challenger Hits

F& S Fashions

2372 Genesee St. (716) 894-3742

HAIR BRAIDING

SAT 12/8

01-11-24-37-44-50 #13

FASHION

MAUREEN’S Flower Market 441 Ellicott St. * 852-4600

FRI 12/7

986-247-853-578-052-468-054-365-768-981-852-679-254-728805-645-583-234-532-791-365-193-428-435-268-075-176-974257-350-659-486-625-967-806-079-657-236-671-678-340-726970-430-968-086-609-705-563-435-978-265-780-104-657-569478-630-359-763-946-019-757-684-908-695-785-959-678-219MA RUTH SPEAKS THE TRUTH! SURE HITS! 204-942-729-896-064-770512-253-092-856-462-151094-034-913-515-648-827086-414-045-400-202-203

December Vibes

854-214-894-190547-124

“It’s In The Stars”

Aquarius -496-235-165-579 Pisces - 056-362-237-694 Cancer - 482-372-895-718 Aries - 289-946-034-594 Taurus -258-231-026-695 Gemini-495-257-694-508 Leo-345-213-157-201 Virgo 385-291-431-170 Libra -247-723-179-501 Scorpio - 453-253-571-597 Sagittarius - 389-701-234-924 Capricorn:893-275-342-506

quick money 189-809-444 886-980-422 322-522-355 800-592-390 394-833-924 127-909-418 927-313-466 124-550-098 511-005/201

GAMMA’S DECEMBER PICKS

302-536-741-394-164-870 BEST DECEMBER DOUBLES 662-711-919-422 BEST TRIPLE 999

202

The universe is helping to boost your faith, because with faith everything is possible.

MIDDAY 2-6-5 ZR (straight) 1-4-5 Luckie Duckie (box) 1-6-4 Gamma’s Picks (Straight) 7-3-6 ZR (box) 9-8-4 Dec Vibes (box) EVENING 0-0-8 Quick Money, Lucky Duckie (box) 4-2-9 Quick Money, Sagittarius (box) 2-5-9 Quick Money (box) 4-4-9 Number Book (box) 9-7-5 Aquarius, Scorpio, Number Book (box) LUCKIE DUCKIE

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4 WAY YOUR WAY!

*1027 1590 1928 5711 - 6502 1342 0907 -3333 19711931-8938-16102001-6543

15

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12 2018

Wednesday Dec. 12

Tuesday December 18

Tuesday December 25

EM Tea Coffee Cup Café, 80 Oakgrove Ave, will present Open Mic Night, Tuesday, December 18. Come share your spoken word and music!

Doors open at 6p.m. For more info call 716-884-1444.

Buffalo Residents Invited to Public Input Meeting on Indoor Fieldhouse Study: 5:00 PM to 7 p.m. The Makowski Early Childhood Center (BPS #99), 1095 Jefferson Ave. Share your input at this meeting!

Open Mic Night: EM Tea Coffee Cup Café, 6 p.m., 80 Oakgrove. Share your spoken word & music. 884-1444 for more info.

Free Christmas Day Dinner for Families In Need: “Annual Lord’s Day Dinner,” VFW 917 LaSalle Griffin Post, 2435 Seneca Ave. Niagara Falls, 12 noon – 6 p.m. (716) 284-6973 for info.

SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES!

The Durham Central City Baby Café . Info and support for pregnant and breastfeeding moms 5:30 – 7:30 pm 200 Eagle St (716)427-0566.

Open Mic Night

“Dance is for everybody…”

-Alvin Ailey

On Going Community Dance Classes MONDAYS Hustle for Health Urban Line Dancing with Phyllis Caver at Gloria Parks: 3242 Main St. 12 noon – 1p.m.; FREE for ages 55+ 832 -1010 DJ Dave Urban Line Dancing, Martha Mitchell Center, 175 Oakmont, 5:307:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAYS Hustle for Health Urban Line Dancing with Phyllis Caver at Gloria Parks: 3242 Main St. 11 a.m. - 12 noon.

FREE for ages 55+ 832 -1010 Urban Line Dance Classes: St. Phillips, 15 Fernhill ; 6-8 p.m.; Cheri & Darel 200-9702.

DJ Dave Urban Line Dancing, Baptist Manor, 276 Linwood. 5:30-7:30 p.m.

THURSDAYS Line Dance Classes with Willa Jackson, Instructor, 10:30 -11:30 a.m.

Schiller Park Senior Center, 2057 Genesee st. 895-2727.

FRIDAYS Beginners/Intermediate Line Dance Classes Every Friday 6pm Bethel AME Church Hall 1525 Michigan @ E.Ferry Ernestine, Instructor Chicago Steppin’: Every Friday 7-8:30 p.m. The Pratt Center 422 Pratt St. HUSTLE FOR HEALTH AFTER CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, DEC. 28TH with Phyllis Caver at Gloria Parks: 3242 Main St. 12 noon – 1p.m.; FREE for ages 55+ 832 -1010 SATURDAYS Mike's Smooth Urban Ballroom Dance Classes: 11 to 1 PM, Saturdays, Delavan-Grider Community Center, 877 E. Delavan Ave. 716-380-5100 class is $5 DJ Dave Urban Line Dancing, Baptist Manor, 276 Linwood.10a.m.-12

Thursday Dec. 13 Fruit of the City/Fruitbelt Coalition Annual Christmas in the City: Pratt Willert Center, 422 Pratt Street; free carriage rides, toys, Santa, caroling, food and more. 893-6428 for info.

Small Business Bazaar Holiday Shopping: 907 E. Ferry St. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. For info Anita Sawyer 716-541-0683.

Criminal Record Sealing Clinic Civil Rights Workshop Thursday Dec. 13 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. True Bethel Baptist Church907 East Ferry St..

Free Community Holiday Party: 6-8 pm., Resource Council of WNY, 347 East Ferry St. To RSVP your family 259-9844 or Jerrica.DeLaney@resourcecouncilwny. org Friday Dec. 14 Links Swing Into the Holidays Gala: 6-10 p.m., Millennium Hotel, 20150 Walden $45; For ticket info 832-0326.

A Dinner Dance for Mature Adults: The Gloria J. Parks Senior Program Holiday Party, for adults 55 or better 5 – 9 p.m. 3242 Main Street).

Tuesday December 18 1st Annual Holiday Celebration /Northland Workforce Training Center: 4-7n p.m., free mittens, hats and activities for children; Power 96.5 live broadcast4 p.m.

Wednesday December 19 Tree of Life Ceremony: 6-8 p.m. Community Health Center, 34 Benwood. Raffles, free giveaways.986-9199 ext.4150 for more info.

Back To Basics Outreach Ministries Reentry Mentoring Graduation Ceremony: 3-5 p.m., UB’s EOC 5554 Ellicott St. RSVP to Pastor Charles H. Walker II, 854-1086 walkerbuffalo@aol.com HEAP Outreach: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Communty Health Center of Buffalo, 34 Benwood Ave. Sponsored by Legislator April Baskin and Dr. Lavone Ansari.

Wednesday December 26 FIRST DAY OF KWANZAA: Umoja-Unity 12 Noon: Black Liberation Flag Raising Niagara Square 7-9 p.m.: Opening Ceremony Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts 450 Masten Ave. Tribute to the Ancestors & Elders Tradition Keepers Storytellers, Access to A-Free-Ka, Art DisplayThe Kwanzaa Series

By Ari Moore

HOLIDAY PUBUSHING SCHEDULE The Challenger Community News Will Not Publish December 26 or January 3 However our office will remain open to the public. Our first issue for 2019 will be Wednesday, January 9.

Thank you!

SEE YOU AT THE EVENTS!

The Durham Central City Baby Café . Info and support for pregnant and breastfeeding moms 5:30 – 7:30 pm 200 Eagle St (716)427-0566.

Thursday December 20 Horse Drawn Carriage Ride & Celebration: 5:30-7:30 p.m., 80 Oakgrove Avenue, presented by EM Tea Coffee Cup Café & Hamlin Park Taxpayers Association. A free community event.

Yoga & Jembe Every Thursday at Juneteenth headquarters 1517 Genesee 5:30 p.m.

The Durham Central City Baby Café . Info and support for pregnant and breastfeeding moms 5:30 – 7:30 pm 200 Eagle St (716)427-0566.

Saturday December 22 A Soulful Christmas Celebration of African American Holiday Traditions: 12 noon – 4:30 p.m. Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor.

SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS!

16

IMAGES OF US

Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •December 12, 2018

TIS' THE SEASON!

A Free Cookies & Cocoa & Holiday Window Showcase was hosted by Erie County Legislator April Baskin, on Monday at her792 E. Delavan location for area families. There was plenty of goodies and the children had a great time! Happy Holidays! Challenger Photo

Become a teacher and shape a brighter future.

FIRST LEVEL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRADUATES: The

CAO/ WNY - Pathstone First Level Business Development Series Graduation Ceremony was held December 10 at 1423 Fillmore Avenue , The CAO Rafi Greenn Masten Resource Center where Pamela James is the Business Director. For more information call 332-3773 ext. 1407. Challenger Photo

WNY Teacher Residency The need for educators committed to addressing the challenges within our urban schools has never been greater. As the first program of its kind in our region, the Western New York Teacher Residency prepares you with the training to be effective in culturally and economically diverse classroom settings, including a full year as a resident teacher in an urban school. Designed for college graduates with no prior education training, the program provides the coursework and field experience you’ll need for master’s level teacher certifications in New York State – all in just 24 months.

Benefits: >

Earn dual teacher certifications in Childhood and Special Education (Gr. 1-6) and a master’s degree in 24 months

>

Be first in line for job openings with Canisius partner schools

>

Take advantage of the residency scholarship covering 30% of tuition

>

Receive a $20,000 living wage stipend during your residency year

Application deadline is February 15, 2019.

Learn more and apply at canisius.edu/TEACH