The Urban Voice September/October 2023 Edition

September/October 2023 Edition

The Wake Up Call With Rev. Sheffield

NEW NAME, NEW STATION

In celebration of Rev. Horace Sheffield’s 30th Anniversary of being a Radio Talk

Show DABO has moved the new show “The Wake Up Call” to WLQV 1500 AM & 92.7 FM. The show still airs every Saturdays from 8-10 AM live in the Sheffield Center, 12048 Grand River at Wyoming, and will continue to serve free “biscuits, grits, and salmon croquettes.

Over the last thirty years Rev. Sheffield’s previous show, “OTL W/Sheffield”, was given birth through the efforts of Choya Jordan and first aired on WGPR 107.5, and then subsequently on WCHB 1200 AM, and most recently on 910 AM.

“It’s really a dream come true for us at Faithtalk Detroit to partner with Pastor Sheffield and his team. There’s no one more connected to our city and to our Christian purpose than he and his team. We look forward to working together to build the city and the Church.”

Chris MacCourtney, VP and General Manager.

The Wake Up Call features David Felton, Stephanie Bennett, and Ed Collins as Rev. Sheffield’s Co-host, and is produced by award winning journalist Gerald Smith. The broadcast is also simulcast on WTVCDETROIT.COM, YouTube(@WTVC DETROIT and YouTube(@ THEWAKEUPCALLDETROIT), and on FaceBook Live at THEWAKEUPCALLDETROIT.

This broadcast is made possible by DivDak, DMC, DTE, Huron Clinton Metro Parks, The Aretha, and Wayne County Treasurer’s Office.

DABO’s Community Empowerment Speakers Series Welcomed Attorney Ben Crump

The Dr. LaVonne M. Sheffield Bridge Center was filled to capacity to hear Att. Ben Crump address the theme “No Justice, No Peace”. The crowd was comprised of laymen, laborers, lawyers, and leaders. The conversation was moderated by Atty. Robin McCoy, immediate past president of the Black Women’s Lawyer Association.

The DABO Staff, who always assist with the administration and support of our Community Empowerment Speakers Series was glad to be personally greeted by Atty. Crump and to receive an autograph copy of this book.

DABO - Since 1979, the Detroit Association of Black Organizations (DABO) has uplifted, unified, and empowered Detroit’s African American community through various programs, initiatives, and events. DABO is a 501c3 charitable organization with a federation of over 130 black, and non-black organizations working to build community unity. Help

Attorney Robin McCoy and Attorney Ben Crump

DABO Staff and Board Members with Attorney Ben Crump

2023 Community Empowerment Speakers Series

We invite you to attend DABO’s Monthly Community Empowerment Speakers Series held monthly in The Bridge Center located at 9928 Grand River Avenue near Livernois. This series is sponsored by Bedrock, the Detroit Pistons, and Priority Waste. Here are the remaining speakers scheduled for the remaining months of 2023.

DABO’S 2024 Community

Empowerment Speakers Series

DABO’S 45 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND

Friday, April 19 – Sunday, April 21, 2024

The Detroit Association of Black Organizations, Inc., which was founded in April 1979, is currently planning its 45th Anniversary Observation. The Anniversary Observance will begin on Friday April 19, 2024 at 7pm in the Brodge Center with an Awards Gala featuring superb violinist Ezinma. On Saturday April 20, 2023 at 12 Noon

DABO will host a community empowerment forum and events will conclude on Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 7:00 pm with a 45th Anniversary Benefit Concert at the Music Hall featuring Atlantic Star, the SOS Band, and Evelyn “Champagne” King.

If you, or someone you know, would like to support our anniversary celebration or would like to share some of your dabo history please contact Nancy Jamerson at njameson@dabodetroitinc.com. In honors of our 45th year we have also commissioned a new DABO logo as seen on the cover.

Ezinma

Evelyn Champagne King

Atlantic Starr

The SOS Band

Rev. Sheffield to Speak at the 5-Year Tobacco Free Portfolio Anniversary Event at The

United Nations

DABO’s CEO, Rev. Horace Sheffield, will be speaking at the United Nations on September 19, 2023 in support of tobacco-free advocacy for the national Tobacco Free Portfolio. As indicated in a Detroit Free Press article on August 25, 2022, Rev. Sheffield explained why he turned down the money stated that, “We shouldn’t be lured into doing things which are contradictory to our calling and to our public posture simply because we need money to continue to operate.” .

Comcast NBCUniversal’s Voices of the Civil Rights Movement Platform Celebrates 10 years of Honoring the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s

As a past recipient of the Voices of the Civil Rights Movement award. Rev. Sheffield and Gerald Smith will be attending the celebration September 21, 2023 in Philadelphia at the Comcast corporate headquarters. The Voices of the Civil Rights Movement platform connects audiences to compelling programming that educates, informs, and inspires, with nearly 20 hours of gripping firsthand accounts, historical moments, and stories submitted by the public.

An Opt-Ed About Senate Bill 353

Written by Rev. Horace L. Sheffield, III

Speak Up for Those Struggling to Pay Their Bills

The plight of the working poor is a battle fought by people around us every day. We all know them – families earning barely enough to make ends meet – and struggling even more today after the past few years of rising prices for every necessity from food to rent to health care.

While there’s financial aid out there to help the most vulnerable among us, our population of working poor is stuck – earning too much to qualify for assistance, but not enough to pay the bills.

There is hope for these families in the form of Senate Bill 353, and we should urge all our elected officials to get behind it and make it a reality. While the Michigan Energy Assistance Program, or MEAP, is currently capped to help households earning up to 150% of the federal poverty threshold, Senate Bill 353 would lift that cap to 200%. This could be life-saving for many people, allowing families earning about $50,000 a year to keep their air conditioning on during the blistering summer and their heat on during the frigid winter. And with energy bills subsidized, that frees up money for groceries, school supplies, a fill-up at the gas station, and other things most of us take for granted.

We should thank State Senator Veronica Klinefelt for introducing this legislation. It’s heartening to know there is support among our elected leaders for those who are too-often forgotten, though Bill 353’s passage is far from certain. Everyone should pick up the phone and call their state senators and encourage all your friends, families and neighbors to do the same.

If passed, Bill 353 would make it possible for many more households to benefit from programs offered by energy companies to provide them with an affordable monthly payment that’s aligned with their income and usage, plus personal budget coaching that can lead to more self-reliance. DTE says about 27,000 of its customers benefit from this program each year, but many more could qualify for it if Bill 353 passes and raises the MEAP cap.

There’s also a growing groundswell of support for an increase in funding for repairing Detroit area homes in sore need of repair. This would help reverse a sad irony in our communities: some of our lowest-earning neighbors have the highest energy bills because their homes are so inefficient, wasting the heated or cooled air these folks struggle to afford.

So please lift your voice and speak out on behalf of Bill 353, as well as additional funds for home repairs which could provide even greater relief. Do it for those all around you too focused in their struggle to put food on the table, sometimes working multiple jobs to support their families, and not knowing how they will pay tomorrow’s bills. Do it for our next generations who will continue to better the communities we share. And do it for your own family, as more than ever before, there’s no telling who will be the next person to find themselves one economic hardship away from losing the necessities of life.

All About DABO

DABO’s Young Adult Events

Kash Doll Speaking for DABO’s STOP Violence and Gang Prevention Program

DABO

All About DABO

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation visit DABO, we are a finalist for their award.

DTE VP Evette Griffie and Mark Jones at the RWJF Meeting

Caroline Soloman and Karen Drew of WDIV at the RWJF Meeting

All About DABO

Monthly Food Distribution events at DABO

Jalen Rose and Leon Wilkinson, Phi Beta Sigma representing DABO at Jalen Rose’s Benefit Golf Outing

DABO Welcomes it’s Fifth President Ronald Lockett

Since 1979 DABO has only had five presidents who were William Copeland, James E. Trent, Cynthia R. Harris, Dr. William Revely, and now Ronald Lockett. Mr. Lockett has been supporting dabo for decades and has been on its board for the last ten years. Mr. Lockett once served at the chair of DABO’s Charter Management Board and oversaw the development of DABO’s Detroit Cares Alternative Academy and the Andrew Young Early College Academy. Mr. Lockett is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, which was a founding organizational member of DABO.

For the last several years Mr. Lockett was the administrator of the City of Detroit’s Northwest Activities Center, has been for over twenty years an employee with the City of Detroit. Mr. Lockett currently serves as a volunteer for many civic projects, and is presently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board Directors for Warrendale Charter Academy.

Given President Lockett’s experience with managing properties and community centers he will preside over DABO’s Physical Plant Management and property acquisition activities. Welcome President Lockett.