Colors Winter Edition 2023

winter Edition

COLORS

$1.50

Inside this Issue Colors talks with Boss Not Bangers founder, Demetrius McDowell, and introduces the "Beloved Buttaflies", a group pf African American males who have started their own local nonprofits.

Charging Into The New Year

COLORS

Winter 2023 PUBLISHER

COLORS NEWSPAPER, I NC.

.

E DI T OR I N CH I E F

T. SEMAKULA

GR A P H I C DE S I GN/ L A Y OU T

MAHOGANY LIVERS

.

Colors Distribution Sites West Louisville Administrative Office- 2900 West Broadway, Suite 206, Lou, KY 40211 Sweet Peaches-1800 West Muhammad Ali, Lou, KY 40211 Downtown Louisville Nulu Administrative Office- 806 1/2 Market Street, Lou, KY 40206 East Louisville #BCHeadquarters- 1939 Goldsmith Lane, Suite 226, Lou,KY 40218

Advertise with us/Contact SALES/ADS REVEREND GEROME SUTTON 2900 West Broadway, Suite 206 Louisville, KY 40211 Ph. 502-712-8902 Email. colorsmediaoutlet@gmail.com http://www.colorslouisville.com

VISION To restore a healthy, vibrant and secure Louisville, full of opportunity extended from East to West.

MISSION Seeking to #RESET 5 major problems in Louisville, Colors Newspaper & The Think Tank are calling for a complete restructuring of how the city protects and provides for lower -income communities such as in the West end. COVID-19 revealed 5 major disparities in our community that need to be RESET. The flaws in themselves aren't anything that we're not already aware of, the real issue is in the fact that these issues, due to current conditions in our community, will not survive another crisis situation, without an actionable plan! We have detailed steps in which we can " RESET LOUISVILLE" starting with each one of these 5 disparities.

HEALTHCARE

FINANCIAL RECOVERY & EDUCATION

HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES /OWNERSHIP

FRESH FOOD SUPPLY

ENDING GUN VIOLENCE

CONTRIBUTORS

@mindful_momentsllc/ Mahogany Livers (Graphic Designer/Photo Journalist/, cofounder of Soul Sisters, and a Health and Wellness Socialprenuer).

Beth Ackerman is a registered dietitian and a certified diabetes educator at the UofL Physicians – Diabetes and Obesity Center. Beth is on the team of educators of the ADA-approved diabetes education team at UofL Physicians. She has counseled people with diabetes for more than 25 years. Ackerman serves as the Diabetes Prevention Program Workgroup co-chair for the Kentucky Diabetes Network and volunteers at Camp Hendon, a diabetes camp for children.

@reed_my_words/ Jasemine Reed (Writer, Poet,Socialprenuer, and founder of Reedmywords, Inc and Chozen,Inc.)

@buttafly100/Tarsha Semakula, (Writer, Poet, CEO and founder The Buttafly Group/Editor in Chief (Colors).

CONTENTS 8 While Alma's Away

17 Health and Wellness

12 Waterfront Park

Letter from the Editor: 6

Contributors: 4

Culture: While Alma's Away: 7 Fatherhood From Scratch

Featured Book: 10 He-Motions Vegetable of the Month:11 Brussel Sprouts

Kamal Wells, Mark Pence, LeBron Seay.Brandon Hill, Dee Garrett "Beloved Buttaflies"

Health and Wellness: 16 Prioritizing your health while enjoying the winter and spring holidays

Photo Essay: 17 Beloved Buttaflies Community: 20 Bossess Not Bangers Resources:25

Float... like a Buttafly The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights latest report states that there are currently around 317,653 African Americans in the state of Kentucky and 48% of that total is composed of African American males. The plight of black males in our local community is a discussion that elicits much debate, introspection, and acknowledgement.

In this issue, our focus was to highlight the achievement of black male leadership within our community, with an emphasis on nonprofit leadership and community programs. Due to the after effects of the pandemic , which brought to the forefront the disparities that exist within communities of color; there has now been a surge to cultivate black business as well as address social issues with new innovative nonprofits that are led by people of color.

Darryl Bundrige, an up and coming black leader who is currently the executive director and vice president of a nonprofit in Philadelphia states that it is time that… we acknowledge the countless men of color who are giving back and advancing our communities, whether they have formal titles or not.

Colors had the opportunity to host a photo shoot for the “Beloved Buttaflies,” which is a growing group of mainly African American males who are forging their own way toward community development by establishing their own community agencies. Beloved Buttaflies is result of a collaboration between Interfaith Paths To Peace and Buttafly (two community based entities) that are committed to cultivating black social innovation within the city of Louisville. In addition, Colors highlights a local activist, Demetrius McDowell, who is starting to make headway with his new non profit “Boss Not Bangers,”, whose mission is focused on providing mentoring and entreprenurtial resources to improve the quality of life for local black youth.

Colors Photo Shoot with the Beloved Buttaflies

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

T. Semakula

Monthly Column

By: Jazzy da Hope Deala

While Alma’s Away

fatherhood from scratch

Today we are going to give some thought to contemporary fatherhood. Meet Martez Reed, some know him as Tez. His loved ones know him as Marty. He’s a thirty four year old black male who is the father of three children.

He grew up with hoop dreams as deep as the ebony in his eyes and he longed for a chance to share his gift of playing ball while showing kindness to others. He became a husband and father during his career at Berea College, where he graduated with a bachelors in Industrial Technology.

Coming from Clarksdale community in Louisville, he would move away from home for the first time, to attend college, and begin his journey with fatherhood during a time when he was ripe with potential. Since then he's added two more children to his tribe, post graduation and has developed himself in the world as a family man who devotes his time and energy into creating the hood he will always be the king of, Fatherhood.

IG: REED_MY_WORDS

When it comes down to it; no one has ever gotten a manual that they could refer to that will lay out every single solitary phenomena associated with raising children. You almost immediately have to rely on your own personal experience, or piece of experience, if you’ve ever been parented at all in your life. Even with all of that, there will be things you are never truly ready for. However some let their hearts guide them and when you lead with that, children can be saved every minute of every day.

While Alma’s Away What was your understanding and or experience of being a father before you had your own?

“I had male figures in my life, some who’s experience had a bigger impact that others” What were your goals before you graduated college?

“My goals at the time were to try and find out who I was because before then I was playing ball and that was all I was doing, so when that stopped I set out to figure out what else I wanted to do.”

Whom were examples of fathers whom you wanted to mimic?

Keiven Booker What about him did you see that you wanted to mimic?

The sacrifices he made despite his health condition. He was a man who came into my life before I was one years old. He had only one kidney; which affected his ability to work. But what I remember most is that he made sure I had the things I needed, whether it was a ride to practice or buying shoes for the upcoming season. I remembered how much he supported me in doing what I loved and that’s basketball.

What is something you learned after becoming a father you didn’t know before?

I didn’t fully understand the worry that went along with the security of raising a child.

What’s your favorite thing about fatherhood?

Seeing them smile and enjoy their lives.

What’s one bit of advice you would give your children?

Know who you are before you bring children into this world.

What’s your least favorite thing about fatherhood?

Not having the time I felt I needed to think about who I am. I also want to say that it’s not going to be perfect and nobody really cares if it is or not.

FATHERHOOD IG: REED_MY_WORDS

Featured Book

APRIL EDITION

VEGETABLE OF THE MONTH

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Source- WebMd

EATING A LOT OF BRUSSEL SPROUTS AND OTHER CRUCIFEROUS VEGGIES MAY HELP PROTECT AGAINST CANCERS OF THE STOMACH, LUNGS, KIDNEY, BREAST, BLADDER, AND PROSTATE. CRUNCHY VEGGIES LIKE BRUSSELS SPROUTS MAY ALSO HELP YOU STAVE OFF OTHER HEALTH ISSUES, SUCH AS HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HIGH CHOLESTEROL, HEART DISEASE, AND DIABETES.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

PRIORITIZING YOUR HEALTH WHILE ENJOYING THE WINTER AND SPRING HOLIDAYS

By Beth Ackerman, R.D.

Enjoy the sights and smells of the holidays while keeping sight of your health targets!

Need help getting your diabetes under control? Let the UofL Physicians – Diabetes and Obesity Center help. Request an appointment online or call 502-588-4600.

Heading into the holidays can be a difficult season for someone who is trying to manage their health by keeping blood sugars on target and/ or accomplishing managing weight. It’s also a busy season in which sometimes health goals lose priority.

Here are some suggestions that might help you stay on track: Choosing something lower calorie instead of a high calorie food. For example, instead of cherry pie for dessert, warm up either fresh or frozen fruit, add some lite Greek yogurt and top with a couple of crushed pecans to give the dessert some crunch. You will be decreasing added sugars and saturated fats while adding some calcium (from the yogurt) and healthy fats (from the pecans).

Eat less of it. Only make enough for what you need during the holidays! The question always comes up on what to do with the leftover holiday food!

A quick recipe is a turkey enchilada. Choose a high fiber tortilla, add skinless turkey, add enchilada sauce, top with a modest portion of a reduced fat shredded cheese, sprinkle with cilantro. Cover and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Eat high calorie food less often. Having multiple casserole dishes is a lot of work to prepare and deal with leftovers.

Change out a couple of casseroles for some lower calorie roasted vegetables! Cut vegetables in small pieces, lay flat on a pan, drizzle with a modest amount of olive and roast in an oven (temperature at 375-425 degrees) until vegetables are able to cut with a fork (or preferred desired doneness).

Colors had the opportunity to host a photo shoot for the “Beloved Buttaflies,” which is a growing group of mainly African American males who are forging their own way toward community development by establishing their own community agencies.

MEET THE BELOVED BUTTAFLIES Photography by Olivia jade

X Hate Ministries , Inc.

Gloves Not Gunz, Inc.

Men Against Gun Violence

Beloved Buttaflies is result of a collaboration between Interfaith Paths To Peace and Buttafly (two community based entities) that are committed to cultivating black social innovation within the city of Louisville.

Photography by Olivia jade

Reviving Urban Neighborhoods Change, Inc.

INTERVIEW WITH

BOSS, NOT BANGERS, INC. “I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.” – Muhammad Ali

By T. Semakula

A leader, black, a Louisvillian, and unforgettable

Embracing Black Agency Models...

I challenge any agency that is new and black led to trust the nexus of ”your model." especially if it involves an anti universal “cultural approach ” to providing services , products, and or programs to marginalized communities.

A recent social media post that I published stated that …When it comes to black led agency, it is almost expected that we should follow a “traditional model”, in order for us to be eligible for funding and or be eligible to receive any validation as a real business and or service.

We should not be supported just because we are “black”, and we have been marginalized , we should be supported because we are “black “ and ingenious in our “intellectual “ approach to business and or services.

We know how to get things done differently…. Look at our models, ask us about them… they work…

Think back over the pantheon of 20thcentury corporate leaders and thinkers you learned about in business school and you’ll likely conjure up figures like Frederick Winslow Taylor, Peter Drucker, Jack Welch, or Clayton Christensen. It’s hardly a surprise that these canonical giants are largely male and white. What’s less well known is that the same century in the U.S. saw a golden age of Black business and Black business thinkers.

Deeply rooted systemic prejudices meant that these individuals and their thinking were omitted from most textbooks, leadership workshops, and from public consciousness.i

So now let's introduce Demetrius McDowell, a former drug dealer turned socialpreneur. Mr. McDowell has entered this “game”, with his own brand of “community work,” with the establishment of his non profit, Boss Not Bangers in 2022. His agency was inspired by the loss of his beloved mother; as well as by the need to tend to his own mental health; as he found himself plunging into the depths of emotional anguish; once he experienced this grievous loss.

The “emotional state of black youth” became a top priority for McDowell, and he adopted it as his number one mission. He soon realized that a lot of lethargy and anguish was connected to a lack of opportunity for local black youth who were struggling to be aspirational in a city that is wrought with stark racial segregation and poverty.

Boss Not Bangers, "Who's Next? sports mentorship program at the Louisville Chestnut Street YMCA

i/How 20th-Century Black Business Leaders Envisioned a More Just Capitalism

The successful Black businesses and agencies of the past and present era engender a spirit of care, meaningful dialogue, and consensus building for the benefit of employees, customers, and the community. We call this approach cooperative advantage and see its roots in African traditions of cooperation such as Ubuntu, which means “I am, because we are." iii As we further emphasize characteristics of black led agency models, there is one thing that stands out and that is what I call the “community component.” Successful agencies with folks of color at the helm are more apt to integrate policies, structures, systems, and practices that uplift and empower marginalized individuals. These agencies act more like “change agents'' for the community, and less like entities that are only established to extract profits. iii Harvard Business Review

SEMAKULA: WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE A BOSS AND NOT A BANGER, AS WE LOOK AT THE BLACK LED APPROACH AND OR AGENCY MODEL?

MCDOWELL: To be a boss,within the urban community, comes with the responsibility of possessing a certain level of morals and integrity. Being a boss can motivate youth to be successful, so that they can work on important things like money management. However, as a gang banger you will find yourself running with a pack of misfits and unfortunates. Also, as a gang banger, it doesn’t matter what you do as an individual, if one person in the crew does something wrong, then everyone goes down with the ship. Therefore it's best to think as an individual… and that’s what bosses do.

Cultivating black male leadership and identity, Boss Not Bangers

SEMAKULA: So , how do you feel about black men leading nonprofit agencies; what is your take on it?

MCDOWELL: I think that it is a positive effect , if it is implemented by black men. The many different opinions that we have “as black men '', provides a better outlook on life; due to our varied experiences and expertise. You see, us as black men have a lot of issues when it comes to following; because we have our own visions. When we are able to establish and facilitate our own agencies (which is rare), then we are able to play out our own visions and ideas within these agencies.

Demetrius McDowell, President of Boss Not Bangers

BLACK MALE LEADERSHIP

This conversation leads to the issue of wielding true authority, with the power to make impactful decisions. There is a desire to push up against this culture that celebrates those who are selected to represent the population being served. There is a desire to push up against a facade that supports a selected representative; while final decisions are being made by mostly white boards and executive staff.

Final decisions should include the voices of individuals of color who are products of the very communities that they have been selected to “represent.”

MCDOWELL: When we lead our own entities, we get to pick and choose our own models; instead of existing under the decisions of another “leader.” For some strange reason, we as black people are defined a leaders, only if we serve under a bigger “non culturally inclusive” umbrella.

AUTHORITY, AND IMPACT MCDOWELL:

Demetrius McDowell and Community Leader Bishop Steven M. Kelsey

WHAT NEEDS TO BE "COMMON"

There is a struggle for these older established agencies to welcome and embrace new ideas and innovations. We see a community that is still trying to promote change within old models and programming. There is a certain level of push back when it comes to accepting new ways of promoting community development. However, when change is welcomed, then we can establish a new local culture that makes it “common” to celebrate black male leadership and authority.

LOUISVILLE

COMMUNITY Resources

Capital for Black-Led Agency Development Community Loan Fund/ Republic Bank-Wende Cosby/502-588-1479 Community Ventures/ www.cvky.org FAHE/ www.fahe.org IFF/www.iff.org LHOME/ www.lhomeky.org Liberty Bank/ www.libertybank.com LISC Louisville/ www.lisc.org/louisville Park Community Credit Union/ www.parkcommunity.com Financial Management/Resources La'Keta Bobbitt & Associates/ 502-609-2933 Association of African American Financial; Advisors//aaafainc.com

Louisville Water

Quality Water. Quality Life.