February 2016 Edition

FREE

5 9 15

CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF EXCELLENCE 2011 - 2016

The Health Ecosystem

By Tim Anderson

African Americans and Mental Health - Past, Present, Future

By Elizabeth Joy, MBA

There Are Too Many Flints

By Hillary Clinton

Wil Haygood “Our Native Son” February 2016

YOUR ARE INVITED TO A CONCERT TO CELEBRATE THE 10TH PASTORAL ANIVERSARY OF

DR. HOWARD WASHINGTON PASTOR OF THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH

MUSICAL GUEST INCLUDE

GEOFFREY GOLDEN

WINNER SEASON 7 OF BET’S “SUNDAY BEST”

MALCOM MORGAN & WAR

APOSTLE RONNIE HOARD & SHINNING

SUNDAY MARCH 6, 2016 AT 5:OOPM SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH 186 N. 17TH STREET, COLUMBUS, OH 43203 o: 614.253.4313 f: 614.253.9610 www.secondbaptistcolumbus.com

ADMISSION FREE

Publisher’s Page Founder & Publisher Ray Miller Layout & Design Ray Miller, III Assistant Editor Ray Miller, III Staff Jannerys Hernandez Photographer Steve Harrison

Contributing Editors

Tim Ahrens, D.Min Tim Anderson Lisa Benton, MD Roderick Q. Blount, Jr. M.A. Stephanie R. Bridges Marian Wright Edelman Layden Hayle Cecil Jones, MBA Elizabeth Joy, MBA Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons, Psy.D William McCoy, MPA Ambrose Moses, III Ojala Ani Mwalimu Charleta B. Tavares

The Columbus African American News Journal was founded by Ray Miller on January 10, 2011 The Columbus African American News Journal 750 East Long Street Columbus, Ohio 43203 Office: 614.340.4891 editor@columbusafricanamerican.com

It’s one o’clock on Friday morning, as I write this last article for the February 2016 edition of The Columbus African American. I should be stressing,given that the files for the news journal must be sent to the printer within six hours. Publishing is all about deadlines, editing, proofreading, distribution, finding the angles, telling the story, and selling enough advertisements to pay the bills and do the same thing, all over again, next month. I amaze myself by the thought of doing this.

Just five short years ago, I could not type, knew nothing about a keyboard, and had never turned on a computer in my life. When I announced to a packed auditorium at the Lincoln Theatre, on the occasion of my retirement from the Ohio Senate, that I would be publishing a news journal, I had only the faintest idea what it actually took to do so. Now, within two short months, we will celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of The Columbus African American being in circulation.

I must admit that with our excellent staff, outstanding team of contributing writers, consistent advertisers, loyal subscribers, and overwhelming support from throughout Central Ohio, I am ebullient about our success and our prospects for a continuing bright future.

I have grown fond of telling my friends that serving in the Ohio General Assembly was a piece of cake, as compared to what it takes to publish a major news journal. I am clearly working harder than I ever have in my entire life--and I’m lovin’ it! God clearly has me on this path for a reason. I have learned so much about the publishing industry, all of the nuances of the business, and most importantly, the essential and awesome role of the Black press. I wait in anticipation of how these new skills and knowledge will be used in my future business endeavors, and in my continuing service to our community.

The reason that I am later than normal in penning this column is because, I can’t stop viewing the photographs of Marion Richardson, Kojo Kamau, Steve Harrison and others found on pages 18-19 of this edition. The remarkable photographic restoration done

by James Reid, and the absolutely essential contextualizing of the exhibit by William Richardson, now being housed at the King Arts Complex is absolutely amazing. This is our Black history! It allows us to remember what was, value and appreciate what is, and work arduously for what will be.

One of the great benefits which inures from being a journalist, is the opportunity to build new relationships and develop endearing and lasting friendships; but only if one is living in the moment and not simply traveling through life, in search of their next paycheck.

Month after month, as we publish each successive edition of the news journal, I am blessed to become more closely acquainted with talented, ingenious people, living within our City and throughout the world. Such is the case, this month, with William Richardson and James Reid. I could sit and listen to these two men “teach”, not just talk, for hours on end. Both of them know and appreciate our history, the psychology of America, and what it means to build and enduring legacy.

The cover story for our publication is reserved for the best of the best--as it should be.

This month is no exception. We are honored and highly favored to be able to present “Our Native Son”--Wil Haygood to our readers (pages 20-21). Wil grew up in Columbus and is well known and respected throughout the City. I am addicted to reading! And, I have a deep appreciation for those who can frame the essence of a life or a situation-and present it in prose that is captivating and educational, at once. Such is the case with my good friend, Wil Haygood. Though I am an avid reader, I have never read the works of any writer, who has the ability to “Paint a picture with words” so eloquently, as does our featured leader this month. Wil’s portraiture is phenomenal and his life experiences allow him to see, in, around, and through his subjects and the beauty of their lives.

Please acquaint yourself with the Fellows in Cycle VIII of the Progressive Leadership Academy found on pages 28-29. The graduates of the Academy are rapidly moving into positions of influence within our community and our faculty is doing all that we can to help them to become effective leaders, rather than sanitized placeholders with important sounding titles. They are being taught that they have a responsibility to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who are too often marginalized, mistreated and denied an equal opportunity to achieve success.

Thank you for your support of The Columbus African American and we look forward to seeing you at our Five Year Anniversary to be held at the Boat House at Confluence Park on Thursday, April 21, 2016, from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. We will honor our contributing writers, advertisers, and seven outstanding community leaders with our inaugural “Grace Awards.” You will not want to miss this powerful event!

With Respect and Appreciation,

Ray Miller Founder & Publisher 3

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

In This Issue

24

Black History 18th & Oak:The Birth of

Glory Foods

25

Technologies for your

Business

26

Black Wall Street

Wil Haygood Cover Story – Page 20

24

Black History 18th and Oak: The Birth of Glory Foods

By Iris Cooper

Progressive Leadership Academy Cycle VIII

31

The Inaugural Pan African Colloquium

Income Tax Refunds:

Your Personal Powerball

28

Meet PLA Cycle VIII

30 31

28 5

27

7

Celebrating Our History Makers In Medicine

African Colloquium Aminah Robinson:

Artist of the People

35

Mother of all Humanity

There Are Too Many Flints

36

Community Events

16

Legislative Update

38

Distribution List

17

President Obama Pledges $4 Billion Towards

Computer Science In Schools

11 Uncle Toms, Race Traitors, And The Black 15 Experience

Flint Can Happen Anywhere

The Inaugural Pan

34

By Ojala Ani Mwalimu

6

Book Bags & E Readers

Rebirth of a Nation

8

The Health EcoSystem

9

African Americans and Mental Health, Past, Present and Future

20

COVER STORY

10

Are You In A Winter Season

23

(Spiritually)?

Education Inequality Struggle

18

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

Black History in Columbus: The Near

Eastside

4

All contents of this news journal are copyrighted © 2015; all rights reserved. Title registration with the U.S. Patent Office pending. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.

Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and illustrations will not be returned unless accompanied by a properly addresses envelope bearing sufficient postage. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials.

CAANJ

1 BLACK HISTORY MONTH

UNCLE TOMS, RACE TRAITORS, AND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE

By William McCoy, MPA True Black history does not just celebrate heroes, heroic events, and success. It also looks at the infamous, villainous, and reviled.

One of the groups that many Africans-Americans despise is Black people that work against others within their racial group.

The list of African-Americans that shortcircuited slave revolts, spied on and sold out Black leaders, contributed to the demise of movements, and helped sustain White supremacy on the backs of people of color is too long to recite. It began with Africans who cooperated with slave traders, slaves that snitched on their freedom-seeking peers, and those whose individual efforts contributed to the subjugation of other slaves. Today, there are far too many African-American celebrities, politicians, and everyday people working within business, government, media, schools, and elsewhere that thwart the aspirations of other Black people and/ or put them in jeopardy. Perhaps, no group is more disliked, disrespected, and despised in the Black community than these people.

Someone once said, “No race of people has been rewarded for turning on one another like Black people.” Indeed, since the foundation of America, interpersonal and institutional benefits have been conferred on African-Americans for turning on and turning in their own. On slave plantations, Blacks who told their White overlords about planned or pending attempts by slaves to escape or revolt were rewarded. On an interpersonal level, race traitors were lifted up as examples of ‘good Negroes’ by the White power structure and publicly showered with praise and/ or material benefits.

On an institutional level, the State of Virginia

canonized the concept of Blacks working against one another by passing the Meritorious Manumissions Act of 1710, which made it legal to free a slave for ‘good deeds’ such as saving the life of a White master or his property, inventing something from which a slave master could make a profit, or ‘snitching’ on a fellow slave who was planning a slave rebellion or to run away, according to Wikipedia. This law rewarded slaves for selling out another Black person or helping a slave master in other ways.

Three hundred years later, Blacks are still dealing with sell-outs. Many African-Americans have encountered Black folks that have worked against them in one way or another. There are individuals who take delight in getting other Black people in trouble with White authority, denying them access and opportunity, and, otherwise, making their lives more difficult.

Some of these people believe they are protecting and, sometimes, advancing their standing in the eyes of their White supervisors, colleagues, or ‘friends’ by adopting anti-Black attitudes, rhetoric, or behavior. James Clingman’s article, “Blacks Still Dealing with Sell-outs” (Daytona Times, November 7, 2013), says, “Some of our prominent Black spokespersons are very well off financially because they sold-out . . . I have been often told that everyone has a number, a price they would accept to sell-out.” What’s your price?

According to Dr. Umar Johnson, oppressed (Black) people: (1) aspire to identify with their oppressor; (2) refuse to accept responsibility for the role they play in their oppression; (3) look up to members of their own group, who have been able to join forces with their oppressor; and (4) are terrified, scared to death, of their oppressor (see “Sellout Negroes, Coons, and Traitors” on YouTube). Many of these confused, conflicted individuals suffer from ‘internalized oppression’ or self-hate. A good number of them are tormented, miserable souls, suffering from stress and mental illness, disguised by an outward appearance that suggests they are happy.

Speaking of mental illness, did you know that slaves who wanted to escape or obtain their freedom were considered to be mentally ill? In 1851, a physician named Samuel Cartwright said that Blacks who were ‘addicted to escaping slavery’ suffered from a ‘disease’ he called “Drapetomania” (Wikipedia). The ‘cure’ for this disease was to treat these Blacks mkindly, feed them well, clothe them, give them a warm house, and punish them if one or more raised their head to a level with their master or overseer.

If this did not work, the prescribed treatment was to ‘cut off their toes.’ In the case of slaves acting ‘sulky and dissatisfied without cause’- a warning sign of imminent flight- Cartwright prescribed ‘whipping the devil out of them’ as a ‘preventative measure’ (Wikipedia). If these ‘cures’ were administered properly, Blacks were said to be ‘very easily governed- more so than any people in the world’ (Cartwright, 1851).

In closing, remember the lyrical warning of Gary Byrd, who released a 1971 rap entitled, “Every Brother Ain’t a Brother.” In it, Byrd said, “Every brother ain’t a brother. Every sister ain’t a sister. Everything Black just ain’t Black, and Brother that’s a fact” (you can listen to this on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=KzAUybUj9so).

William McCoy is founder and president of The McCoy Company- a world-class, personal services consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, community economic development, and training that helps clients articulate and achieve their visions, solve problems, and capitalize on their opportunities. His Violence Interruption Experience is a high-impact, experiential training intervention that confronts the explosive issues of power, violence, racism, sexism, and other “isms,” while bringing people closer together. Mr. McCoy is a soughtafter speaker, trainer, and technical assistance provider. William McCoy can be reached at (614) 785-8497 or via e-mail at wmccoy2@ themccoycompany.com. You can also visit his website at www.themccoycompany.com.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson (December 19, 1875 - April 3, 1950) was an African American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Woodson was one of the first scholars to study African American history. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1915, Woodson has been cited as the father of black history. In 1926 he announced the celebration of “Negro History Week”, considered the precursor of Black History Month.

Dr. Woodson was educated at The University of Chicago where he was awarded an AB and AM. He graduated from Havard in 1912, where he was he second African American (W.E.B. DuBois was the first) to earn a doctorate. He taught in various schools around the country before ending up at Howard University as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Today we honor his vision to pay homage to our history and our culture by celebrating Black History Month.

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2015 The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

2 HEALTH

FLINT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE WHY PUBLIC HEALTH MATTERS

By Lisa D. Benton, M.D., M.P.H. It’s unbelievable that a system of checks and balances to protect the public’s drinking water can somehow break down such that water so corrosive and contaminated that car manufacturers refused to use it and no commercial water filter can purify it enough even to wash your dog in it, somehow got into people’s home throughout a whole community in a “first world country”.

Depending on where you’ve lived you can tell the difference in taste of the water you’re drinking.

The different “flavors” of public drinking water come from treating it to rid it of bacteria, toxic metals and other contaminants, as well as give children enough fluoride to protect their teeth as they grow.

The standards for decontamination and monitoring are very strict and tight to make and keep drinking water safe. To better understand the complexity of water monitoring in place in central Ohio, please visit the websites included with this article.

Because the water contamination in Flint is truly a public health disaster of epic proportion, part of the answer to what happened and why is understanding what is public health and what is it good for?

Some of the most fascinating parts of my training as a doctor were the lessons I learned in public health. That’s saying a lot because I didn’t really know what public health was beyond giving restaurants bad grades for dirty kitchens.

I came to public health years after training in surgery because of wanting to do more to fight cancer, prevent kids and elderly patients from getting poisoned, shot and stabbed. Also, I thought there must be a better way to break up gang violence and to keep drivers safer in car crashes before they ended up in the trauma room, operating room or the morgue.

Although as a trauma surgeon you get really good at putting broken pieces back together, as someone looking to work smarter and get more done, I was motivated to look at the bigger picture and try to get to the root causes of illnesses, solve problems that helped a person get well, and get a better or quicker result for more than one person at the same time.

One of my professors at that time, Dr. Howard Koh former Massachusetts Commissioner for Public Health, began our first lecture describing public health as everything about the air we breathe, water we drink and the food we eat every day from the time you open your eyes in

the morning until you close them to go to sleep at night.

At this point, a light should be going on for you somewhere—yes, public health gets involved for more than the food contamination that happened at Chipotle or Jenis ice cream or the fungus infections that happened when the nail and hair salons weren’t properly washing their equipment.

Public health helps keep the public from getting sick and works to keep a whole population healthy. In a lot of ways, public health can be thought of as the family doctor or surgeon for your whole neighborhood or community.

For example, when there is an outbreak of the flu, measles, sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis, tuberculosis or cancers, public health and the health department set up clinics for screening and treating people on a larger scale and in greater numbers than your doctor’s office.

These skills are most valuable after a natural disaster—earthquake, tornado, hurricane, forest fire, or a chemical spill, train derailment or a terrorist attack. Their screening and disease investigation is also important in the cases of a new or unusual infection that shows up in a doctor’s office or emergency room.

Public health helps answer the question “is this only the tip of an iceberg, or are we about to uncover a problem bigger than the Titanic hitting an iceberg?”

Public health departments also have power to collect very specialized data about unusual or mystery illness or larger than normal numbers of common illness. They also can go beyond the screening and treatment steps to isolate and even quarantine people in emergencies to stop the spread of diseases and infections to wider groups of people or larger geographic areas to keep the population safe.

More recently we’ve seen public health in action for Ebola, Bird flu, West Nile Virus, seasonal influenza and now for the Zika Virus.

Once again public health is in action responding to the water crisis in Flint, and this is a crisis of

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

6

epic proportions that will stretch public health capacity to new limits. The flood of contaminated water pours over and runs through just about every aspect of life for residents in Flint and the effects of exposure to this magnitude of contamination will stretch to generations.

Making sure you know how water stays safe and how to access your public health department for a “community check-up” before and during an emergency will best prepare you to whatever public health emergency comes next.

Helpful Links Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Hotline toll free at 1-800-426-4791 http://www.epa.gov/your-drinking-water/safedrinking-water-hotline Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Public Water Systems http://epa.ohio.gov/ddagw/pws. a s p x # 11 6 9 0 9 0 3 5 - t h e - m u l t i p l e - b a r r i e rapproach-to-protecting-public-health Water Safety and What Can Be Learned From the Crisis in Flint, Michigan http://radio.wosu.org/post/water-safety-andwhat-can-be-learned-crisis-flint-michigan Columbus Small Business Raises Money for Flint, MI http://radio.wosu.org/post/columbus-smallbusiness-raises-water-flint-mi#stream/0 Ohio Department of Health https://www.odh.ohio.gov/default.aspx Contact Info: Lisa D. Benton, MD, MPH (The Doctor is In) breastsurgeonlb@gmail.com Twitter:@DctrLisa (415) 746-0627

CAANJ

CELEBRATING OUR HISTORY MAKERS IN MEDICINE

By Charleta B. Tavares Racism in medicine, a problem with roots over 2,500 years old, is a historical continuum that continuously affects African-American health and the way they receive healthcare. Racism is, at least in part, responsible for the fact African Americans, since arriving as slaves, have had the worst health care, the worst health status, and the worst health outcome of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. Many famous doctors, philosophers, and scientists of each historical era were involved in creating and perpetuating racial inferiority mythology and stereotypes. Such theories were routinely taught in U.S. medical schools in the 18th, 19th, and first half of the 20th centuries.

The conceptualization of race moved from the biological to the sociological sphere with the march of science. The atmosphere created by racial inferiority theories and stereotypes, 246 years of black chattel slavery, along with biased educational processes, almost inevitably led to medical and scientific abuse, unethical experimentation, and overutilization of AfricanAmericans as subjects for teaching and training purposes.1 This is an abstract of the work done

by Linda A. Clayton, MD, MPH and W. Michael Byrd, MD, MPH which speaks to the history of health disparities, racism, and discrimination in health care and the need for culturally competent medical providers, service professionals and staff in health and human services.

Our history of being torn away from our land, culture, language and familial/ethnic tribes along with the more than two and one-half centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, segregation, and etc. has contributed to the mistreatment and

trauma passed down to our children today. If we look back at our history in medicine we can see that we have not allowed our circumstances to dictate our future nor the contributions of our people in advancing health care for African Americans specifically, and for all people generally. We have continued to rise and accomplish significant achievements in health in spite of and not because of racism, prejudice and discrimination.

Notable achievements in Health Care: • Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831-1895), was recognized as the first African American female to earn a medical degree in 1863 • James Derham (1762-1802), was the first recognized African American physician although not formally trained at a Medical school • Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950), was a leading researcher in blood plasma and its use in transfusions in developing blood banks.

• Dr. William Augustus Hinton (18831959), pioneering work in the detection of syphilis and was the first African American physician to write a textbook.

in 1893.

As we celebrate Black History Month, let us remember that our early health care professionals made advancements for us in spite of the challenges. Our nurses, physicians, counselors and care givers provided services for their people when no one else would and used their skills and talents to address our diseases and illnesses along with those of other Americans. They educated themselves through formal and informal channels to provide the care and services for those that needed them most and provided care that was respectful, appropriate and with cultural understanding. We have African American health care professionals today who are carrying on this tradition of excellence; caring for their people when others either do not want to or who do not provide appropriate care to people of African descent. While we celebrate the accomplishments of our health care pioneers, let us not forget to recognize our African American health care providers who continue to serve our community with dignity, respect and love. We should support and patronize those who are committed to serving their people because we love ourselves and we love our people.

Race, medicine, and health care in the United States: a historical survey. W. Michael Byrd, MD, • Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926), was MPH and Linda A. Clayton, MD, MPH J Nat’l Med the first African American professional nurse in Assoc. 2001 March; 93(3 Suppl): 11S–34S.

the United States (1879).

• Dr. James McCune Smith (1813-1865), was the first African American to earn a medical degree; he received it in 1837 from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

• Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931), was the founder of the first black-owned hospital in America, Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses in 1891. He also performed the first open heart surgery in the United States

7

1

Charleta B. Tavares is the Chief Executive Officer at PrimaryOne Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system providing comprehensive primary care, OB-GYN, pediatric, vision, dental, behavioral health and specialty care at 10 locations in Central Ohio.

The mission is to provide access to services that improve the health status of families including people experiencing financial, social, or cultural barriers to health care. www.primaryonehealth. org.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

CAANJ

THE HEALTH ECOSYSTEM

A NEW LANDSCAPE FOR IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES

By Tim Anderson We have believed that health is synonymous with healthcare and that healthcare is practiced within a clinical framework. The general scenario, we visit a healthcare provider when ill, get diagnosed and prescribed medication and/ or receive treatment followed by recovery, and return to a “healthy” status. This is essentially the practice of healthcare in the United States to screen/test, diagnose and treatment.

Unfortunately, this practice yields very low results among those who are chronically ill, yet have become dependent upon this model of sickcare for managing their illnesses. In sick-care, prevention of diseases and their complications are largely omitted from the model. In essence, the relationship between the practice of sick-care to healthcare is a fragmented approach towards prevention.

Healthcare is a multi-faceted approach towards improving and maintaining wellness, with the primary objective of preventing diseases, illnesses, accidents and premature deaths.

To practice healthcare you must consider those major influencers which impact health outcomes. These influencers include behavior/ lifestyle, clinical services, community resources, social conditions, and environmental factors. A broader definition of healthcare means to focus upon a systemic approach to health through the dynamics of the health ecosystem.

In a 2010 report, commissioned by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, the University of Wisconsin College of Public Health cited four factors impacting health outcomes. The report determined that clinical services effected twentypercent (20%) of health outcomes. Yet, clinical services expenditures accounted for nearly ninety percent (90%) of every dollar spent on the sick-care model. Leaving approximately ten percent (10%) of every sick-care dollar to cover the other three factors; social, behavioral and environmental. The report did not consider community influencers as a separate factor, however the designed health ecosystem considers community resources significance as a contributor in health outcomes. Of the four factors impacting health outcomes in the 2010 report, social factors ranked the highest effecting forty percent (40%) of health outcomes. With the components of social influencers consisting of; education, employment, housing, genetics, race and ethnicity, nutrition and other societal elements, it is a complex matrix of conditions which impacts our daily lives. With the most

such as, expanding the role of community health navigators to healthcare navigators. As part of the healthcare system’s investment in the healthcare ecosystem, healthcare organizations could provide clinical services located in nontraditional sites, such as libraries and schools within at risk communities; and recruit and employ entry level positions through workforce development programs by offering health and wellness education (i.e. nutritional and weight loss counseling, smoking cessation classes) as part of job readiness and training. In addition, healthcare organizations could provide intervention services at senior citizen living complex to reduce falls and other preventable significant impact on health outcomes being accidents that may pose a life-ending threat. social influencers this becomes the health ecosystem point of entry along with clinical The health ecosystem’s primary objective services. is to keep people healthy, both physically and mentally by identifying and removing The healthcare ecosystem delivers improved obstacles and connecting them to valuable health outcomes by navigating to the appropriate resources within the community. The model resource to address the needs of the patient/ serves as a broad base prevention and wellness individual. Successful navigation within the intervention design that promotes the adoption health ecosystem is the key in achieving improved and sustaining of healthy behavior. Through outcomes. The healthcare industry is developing investments by healthcare organizations in the and implementing community health navigators, healthcare ecosystem; and expanding the role they primarily serve as community outreach for of community health navigators to healthcare clinical service, connecting an individual with navigators; connecting social service agencies the appropriate medical services. Expanding into the healthcare ecosystem; and strengthening these navigators’ role into the healthcare the capability of community based organizations ecosystem, broadens their reach into all aspects to support their role in the healthcare ecosystem, of healthcare. Healthcare navigators would not only then will patients, individuals and families only serve as a referral source, but assist the achieve improved health outcomes. patient with addressing challenges by accessing and providing information on job training and The healthcare ecosystem requires a seismic shift educational initiatives, housing services, legal and visionary leadership within the healthcare matters, nutritional assistance, as well as a industry to move from the current model of sickconduit for clinical services. Social workers and care to a prevention based approach which keeps others outside of the clinical framework would people out of the hospital as long as possible connect their clients with healthcare navigators. and connects clinical based services with a fully For example, workforce development staff integrated healthcare ecosystem model. Those during the client assessment phase could provide in leadership positions within the healthcare referral to a healthcare navigator for a client system who embrace such a model and realign who has not seen a medical provider in the last their organization’s resources accordingly, will 12 months or who requires follow-up medical lead the pack towards improving patients’ health services. Clinical wellness services could also include nutritional education; smoking cessation outcomes. Those who fail to or are slow to move courses; addressing mental illness, such as from a sick-care/clinical services-only model anxiety disorder or depression; and assessing to a prevention based healthcare ecosystem other health risk through screenings. Housing approach, may risk finding themselves obsolete initiatives could also serve as the entry point for in addressing patient health outcomes in a highly clinical services, by connecting tenants with a competitive healthcare industry. healthcare navigator.

Tim Anderson is a contributing columnist for One way to evaluate the effectiveness of the The Columbus African American with a focus on intervention is to focus on reducing repeated healthcare. He is the founder of In My Backyard emergency room/department (ER/ED) visits Health and Wellness, providing health education for ongoing chronic illnesses. By reducing and wellness activities within the urban recurring ER admissions, hospitals realize community. To reach Tim directly, contact him significant savings, then invest a portion of those at 614-402-2089 or by email: timanderson@ saving into other health services and resources; inmybackyardhope.com.

DID YOU KNOW? That Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) are the top producer of African American

doctors in the US. In fact, graduates of HBCUs make up over 90% of all current medical doctors and health specialists in the country. The top five HBCUs that have excellent pre-med programs are: 1) Howard University, 2) Xavier University of Louisiana, 3) Dillard University, 4) Morehouse College and Hampton University. Hampton also has one of the top nursing programs and cancer research facilities in the country. Both Howard and Morehouse have medical schools on campus.

MeHarry Medical College is the only black independent medical school in the US.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

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CAANJ

3 MENTAL HEALTH 6

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND MENTAL HEALTH...PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

By Elizabeth Joy, MBA, LSW, LCDC III Past Pursuit of historical content regarding African Americans and their experience with mental health quickly leaves one with more questions than answers. In addition to the fact that there are limited references to the African American experience, “professional” assessments of Negroes undoubtedly highlight the racism our ancestors endured.

Two prominent examples of this scientific racism include an alleged affliction called Negritude and the diagnosis of Drapetomia. Introduced by Benjamin Rush, MD, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Dean of the Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania, and “Father of American Psychiatry,” Negritude (having dark skin) was considered to be a congenital disease derived from leprosy, cured only by becoming white. Dr. Samuel Cartwright identified Drapetomia as a mental disorder which explained the otherwise inexplicable tendency of Negro slaves to run away.

Many of these Negroes “diagnosed” with mental health disorders were held in insane asylums and endured inhumane conditions. In many cases, the patients were also used for labor within these facilities. “They are contented, are the healthiest class of patients under this management and by their farm labor contribute to the support of the institution (1897, Dr. Powell, The Alabama Insane Hospital).”

with being labeled as mentally ill. Two common them. Compassion and empathy are necessary themes that emerged in her interviews were and are maximized when we understand what we’re dealing with. spirituality and family.

• How can we get better if we don’t seek The roots of spirituality in the African-American help? We go to the doctor when we are sick, we community are well documented. Interviewees seek out a mechanic when our car isn’t running, not only spoke of the role spirituality as a key yet when we are having difficulty emotionally support in overcoming challenges but of the we suffer in silence. A better understanding of “spiritual wounding” that can occur when one’s what mental health is, how it affects us, and how religious community is not supportive and common many challenges are will help correct uses religion to condemn behaviors related to myths and empower us to seek help without shame. symptoms of mental health.

Similar to spirituality, family is also a wellknown core element of African American 3. Connected to point #2, our faith-based leaders culture. Interviewees shared a desire to tap must begin to educate themselves and other into this valuable source for support but cited clergy regarding mental health and what it looks difficulty doing so as a result of estrangement like so that better support can be offered to those due to “embarrassment and shame about their in the congregation with mental health needs.

The church is often the first and only place we mental health diagnosis.” seek out for help. It is critical that religion does not overshadow the foundation of our beliefs to Future extend help to those in need.

Present

A reflection of our past and present provides 4. There is significant need to see more African informed focus point to consider moving Americans in the role of social worker, counselor, Unfortunately, many African Americans with forward: therapist, and psychiatrist so that those seeking mental health challenges still find themselves mental health services can see people who look incarcerated today and we are still being used 1. Continued efforts to address the detrimental like them. In addition, we must increase efforts for labor within those institutions. Although and unequal impacts the “War on Drugs” have to ensure that staff of all ethnicities are culturally addiction is a diagnosable mental health disease, had on African Americans are critical. Mandatory and linguistically competent. This increases the many have been incarcerated for “crimes” minimums attached to drug classifications which level of comfort expressed by those seeking help related to drug use. Issues of insufficient and disproportionately negatively impact African and decreases misdiagnosis and over medicating. inconsistent medication and mental health Americans must be amended.

Elizabeth Joy is founder of Survivors To Alivers, therapy plague a system that is progressing a non-profit organization focused on empowering toward complete privatization.

2. We must begin efforts to overcome fear, trauma survivors to overcome challenges and shame, and embarrassment and begin to educate achieve restoration. Her organization offers In a 2003 project titled, “In Our Own Voice: ourselves regarding mental health. online support groups and a space for trauma African-American Stories of Oppression, • How can we support one another if survivors to connect and support one another.

Survival and Recovery in Mental Health we don’t understand our experiences? Many Elizabeth is a speaker, life coach, and author Systems,” Vanessa Jackson shares insights symptoms of mental health are misconceived of “You Survived… Now What? A Road Map revealed in interviews she conducted with twelve as disrespect and lack of effort or motivation to to Reclaiming Life.” For more information African-Americans ranging in age from thirty- name a few. As a result, we shut loved ones out, visit www.survivorstoalivers.org, email ejoy@ three to seventy-five regarding their experience speak of them in a negative manner, and shun survivorstoalivers.org, or call 614-332-1592.

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ARE YOU IN A WINTER SEASON (SPIRITUALLY)?

By Jaqueline Lyons, Psy.D

Lewis-

One of my favorite Bible verses is Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Looking at life according to the seasons, I am reminded that there are periods of growth, bloom, harvest, and waiting. The winter season is one where we are all usually waiting. People who love to garden spend the cold, frosty days dreaming as they page through seed catalogs. People who enjoy the outdoors are counting the days until they can throw off heavy coats and boots and run freely through the parks or go fishing at the lakes.

Having lived my entire life in Ohio, I have always enjoyed the variety of four different seasons. That is the main reason why I have never seriously contemplated living anywhere else. However, winter can be a challenge for most of us. We become more home-bound, cozy up in sweaters and blankets while we make our favorite comfort foods. This wouldn’t be so bad except for those pesky resolutions that many people made a few weeks ago. You know what I mean. Those plans to get in shape, such as running or working out at the gym have been forgotten. Some intended to work on home improvements but who wants to lug supplies in ten degree weather?

We cannot afford to waste any of the days allotted to us. Life is short and there is much to do. Why not make new goals that you can accomplish over the next six to eight weeks? Just like shoveling the snow and ice from your driveway, let’s shovel out some negative habits and old fears from your mind. This could be a time when you focus on developing a new, positive mindset.

Actively practice forgiveness – of others as well as yourself. Maybe it is time to cultivate a new hobby or interest. Have you thought about learning to knit or play an instrument? Maybe Even if your original ideas for personal you love to read; have you ever considered improvement this year have gone off track, checking out the 100 Best Books list or possibly it’s not too late. We have to allow ourselves writing your own? opportunities to switch gears or pick different goals. Winter is a time when we can focus more I challenge you to make good use of this season to on our inner lives. The days are short and the put you in a position where you won’t emerge in temperatures are cold, which often make the spring, like the brown bear, completely surprised outside landscape look barren and dead. Is that a by the new signs of life. Do what you can to be reflection of how you are feeling inside? What if one of those new shoots, sending roots down we change our attitude from hiding from winter deep to ground you while stretch up towards the to using this season as a time for preparation for spring sunshine. the spring and summer?

***Sidebar announcement: Interested in learning how to make this year your best? Consider joining Dr Lewis-Lyons for an afternoon of personal growth, goal-setting, and fun. She will be offering two workshops on Saturday, February 27th at her office. The topics are “Goal Setting Made Simple” (1-2:30pm) and “Creating a Vision (Board) for your Life” (3-5pm). The cost for one workshop is $25.00, to attend both, the fee is $40.00. Please contact Dr. Lewis-Lyons at 614-433-7040 for more information.

Dr. Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons’ office is located in North Columbus. Her practice centers on helping clients with depression and anxiety related disorders. In recent years, after discovering a love for running, she expanded her practice to include services related to Sport Psychology for athletes of all ages and levels. To reach her, call 614-443-7040 or email her at Jaqui@ DrLewisLyons.com

HOW MIGRATING MILLENNIALS WILL CHANGE RETAIL LANDSCAPE BY 2020 By the year 2020, the retail and manufacturer landscape will undoubtedly change. But despite the myriad ways trends could shift, one thing will become increasingly salient for retailers: They need to pay attention to Millennials.

find it – and that means finding Millennials.

When it comes to tracking Millennials down, many seem poised to make a move in the near term. In fact, only 25% of Millennial respondents to a 2015 Nielsen survey said they plan to live in the same area they live in now over the next five years. That means 75% of up-and-coming spenders plan to relocate, mainly to large cities and college towns.

That’s because not only does this generation now account for about one-quarter of the U.S. population, its buying power will grow as these consumers get older. So as members of this group mature into a main consumer group, retailers and manufacturers alike will need to account for their As Millennials age, like previous generations, needs, buying preferences, changing geographic they’ll seek refuge in the suburbs with homes of locations and increasing spending power. their own. The Demand Institute’s “Tale of 2,000 Cities” study forecasts home prices in the large Nielsen projects that U.S. consumer spending will metropolitan areas could increase up to 33% hit $5.7 billion by 2020 in retail and on-premise above 2012 prices. This increase in home value eating and drinking locations. That’s a figure will likely be driven by Millennials as they seek retailers and manufacturers should be focused on to put down roots. if they’re interested in claiming a piece of that growth. And the first step is knowing where to To market to these rapidly growing cities, retailers The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

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and manufacturers will also need to focus on future food consumption habits. For example, it may seem like restaurants have cornered the out-of-home food game, but grocery stores are already beginning to respond to this trend with their own offering – the “grocerant.” Offering more than just your typical hot and salad bar, grocerants span the dining gambit, featuring everything from prepared meals to eat-on-thego to in-store dining with a particular ethnic food slant. According to the Food Marketing Institute’s 2015 Grocery Shopper Trend Study, 34% of survey respondents find retail grab-andgo even easier than going to a restaurant.

Millennials will be on the move by 2020 – both with their home location and their busy schedules.

In order for retailers and manufactures to capture the rise of Gen Y, they’ll need to look for solutions that satisfy their need for convenience and locality.

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RENOWNED DANCER ARTHUR MITCHELL COMES TO COLUMBUS Renowned Arthur Mitchell, First African American Lead Dancer with New York City Ballet under George Balanchine and Founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, is coming to Columbus Ohio February 18th - 20th to scout for dancers.

Arthur Mitchell is looking for trained dancers and/or “raw” talent between 11 and 13 years of age. He is also interested in seeing what talent exists in the region. Therefore, he is looking for dancers between 14 and 24 years of age also. Dancers who have been traditionally underrepresented in ballet are of particular interest to him.

Mitchell will be in Columbus February 18th

-20th and hosted by Theatre Street Dance Academy (TSDA) and Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center (FHMEC) with collaborating partner The Ohio State University Department of Dance. Columbus auditions are open to dancers from Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, and surrounding Ohio regions. Mr. Mitchell is also slated to hold auditions in Buffalo, New York, and Miami, Florida this year.

Arthur Mitchell is an inspirational speaker and will host a question and answer session for parents and dancers. His objective is to promote a wider range of interest and participation in classical ballet across the country, especially among ethnic communities. The School of American Ballet/New York City Ballet, is supporting Mitchell’s visit.

He will speak at The Ohio State University Department of Dance, Friday February 19th at 3pm in Barnett Theatre, 3rd Floor, Sullivant Hall. The talk is co-sponsored by The Ohio State

Department of Dance and the Ohio Arts Council.

Send an email to TSDA.ArturMitchell.audition@ gmail.com to request pre-audition requirements and deadlines.

THE REBIRTH OF A NATION: HOLLYWOOD NEEDS A REBOOT

By Rev. Dr., Tim Ahrens While the sad old nine white letters on the mountain above Hollywood, CA were tilting to the right, a new star was born in the mountains of Park City, Utah in the last days of January. With a record breaking sale of $17.5 million to Fox Searchlight of his award-winning film The Birth of a Nation, writer, director, producer and rising star Nate Parker led a revolt over the predominantly white power houses of Hollywood. Using the same title of the 1915 film that many call the most racism film in history – one which incited lynchings and open attacks on Black Americans across the country – Nate Parker brings Nat Turner back to life to give us a true story of slave rebellion in 1831. Some historians call Nat Turner’s revolt the first shots fired in the Civil War. So, The Birth of a Nation is an appropriate title for this fiery biopic.

For seven years Nate Parker toiled in obscurity to bring his film project to life. In this end, his project and his spirit swept through The Sundance Film Festival. Record crowds showed up for Parker’s new film. On Saturday, January 30th the film won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize – a path to excellence that has matched the last four years of Sundance winners.

Nate Parker grew up in Virginia, 40 miles from the site of Nat Turner’s “Southampton Insurrection.” The August 1831 uprising was the largest slave rebellion in the history of the South and claimed the lives of between 55-65 white people. Suppressed within days, white militias the organized a retaliation which claimed between 100-200 black lives. The state executed 56 slaves accused of being part of the rebellion.

Other Blacks suspected of participating in

the rebellion were beheaded by the militia.

“Their severed heads were mounted on poles at crossroads as a grisly form of intimidation.”

A section of Virginia State Route 658 remains labeled as “Blackhead Signpost Road” in reference to these events. In the aftermath of Turner’s rebellion, White lawmakers across the South passed new laws prohibiting education of slaves and free black people, restricting the rights of assembly and other civil rights for free black people and requiring white ministers to be present at all worship services.

Nat Turner was called “the Prophet” by slaves in Virginia. He believed God had laid it upon his heart to preach the truth of freedom and lead his people in revolt. To that end, he bought guns, hid them and prepared for the right time to strike.

Originally he planned for a July 4, 1831 revolt.

But, he became ill and had to postpone the rebellion until August 22nd when the he led at least 70 men from plantation to plantation killing every white person but leaving their homes to stand. While the rebellion was repelled almost immediately, Turner avoided capture for another two months. When he was finally captured, he was quickly tried, convicted and hanged.

In an interview before Sundance, Nate Parker tells how he identified with Nat Turner from early age. When people would ask him in college who his heroes were, he would always say Nat Turner first. His identification with his fellow Virginian became a driving force behind 11

his quadruple success on this project as writer, director, producer and star of the film. At 36, Nate Parker has a bright future in film in all four areas of achievement.

Meanwhile, Hollywood has shown its true colors through its failure to bring even one AfricanAmerican actor, director, or film to the forefront of Academy Award nominations for the second consecutive year (remember the shutout of Selma except for “best new song” in 2015?). Although a Lifetime Achievement Award has been offered to Spike Lee, he is boycotting the Oscars along with others.

Clearly, we need to get behind Mr. Parker as he marches from the mountains to the sea with his new project. Perhaps he will rise to be a “new prophet” for a rising generation of African-Americans in the film industry. As we turn to the Oscars later in February, we need to hear Oscar and Emmy Award winner Viola Davis’ words, “The problem is not with the Oscars,” she explained. “The problem is with the Hollywood movie-making system.” Ms. Davis goes on to say what she has said over and over. Roles have to be written and granted to men and women of color first and foremost.

Without actors in leading roles, the thought of nominations become impossible. The question is – do we boycott the Oscars or do we boycott participating in a movie-making system which continue to be written, produced, directed and acted without African-Americans? A rebirth in our nation needs to happen in film and in life.

Perhaps in bringing us Mr. Turner, Mr. Parker has offered a new way to revolt and change what is all messed up.

Rev. Dr. Tim Ahrens is the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in downtown Columbus. A church known for its witness to social justice since its birth as an abolitionist congregation in 1852. Rev. Ahrens is the fifth consecutive senior minister from Yale Divinity School and is a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ.

Photo courtesy of Collider.com

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Please UNITE behind our TRUSTED COUNTYWIDE OFFICE HOLDERS and AWARD-WINNING DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS!

RE-ELECT COMMISSIONER

PAULA BROOKS

RE-ELECT SHERIFF

ZACH SCOTT

RE-ELECT RECORDER

TERRY J. BROWN

Commissioner Paula Brooks, Sheriff Zach Scott, and Recorder Terry Brown have earned our votes for re-election on March 15th.

Friends of Zach Scott

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Let’s celebrate Black History Month!

*Hon. Shirley Chisholm

As your Democratic Incumbent Franklin County Commissioner, Paula Brooks has long served the African American community: As a volunteer investigator for the NAACP for the first Ohio desegregation case brought in Youngstown, Ohio; Member of Columbus Urban League Board and “Urban Pioneer” when the new building site on Mt. Vernon Avenue was selected, serving on that committee; For Governor Richard Celeste, Paula put together the first ever Ohio Governor’s National Affirmative Action Conference, featuring Eleanor Holmes Norton and others, to bring attention to employment and procurement rights and issues; When elected in 2005, Commissioner Brooks’ seat turned the county government “BLUE”, leading to a continuous upswing in African American county leadership appointments, from hiring the first African American Director for the largest county department, to the her historic appointment of Ken Wilson as the first County Budget Director… and now…her vote to place him in charge of all of the County’s entire $1.4 Billion enterprise…as the FIRST African American Franklin County Administrator…and the ONLY African American County Administrator in Ohio; And, she was humbled to accept the privilege of serving on President Barack Obama’s historic White House Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.

Paula has always stated and acted to ensure, “We are ALL Franklin County!” just as our beloved, departed Columbus City Council President Jerry Hammond asked of her.

Commissioner Paula Brooks led the county investment in the historic Lincoln Theatre in 2006, then the $7 million funding to reduce premature birth and infant mortality in 2009, along with prenatal care funding of $500,000 also in 2009.

Vote to re-elect Paula Brooks, your DEMOCRATIC County Commissioner-- for a tried, tested, true…and “UNBOSSED AND UNBOUGHT” leader, who has always worked for YOU! *Paula’s “sheroe”, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, First ever female African American member of Congress and first Democratic Female Candidate for US President who wrote, “Unbought and Unbossed!”

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Paid for by the Paula Brooks Committee

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THERE ARE TOO MANY FLINTS

By Hillary Clinton What’s happening in Flint, Michigan, is unconscionable.

A city of 99,000 people — 56 percent African-American, 40 percent living below the poverty line — has spent nearly two years with poisoned water.

Nearly two years of boil orders, foul smells and false reassurances that the water was safe to drink.

Nearly two years of having residents’ concerns dismissed and belittled by the state government.

Now, thousands of kids may have been exposed to harmful levels of lead, which can irreparably harm brain development and cause learning and behavioral problems. The rate of lead poisoning among children has nearly doubled since Flint approved a state-appointed emergency manager’s plan to switch their water source.

And even now that the state is finally launching a belated response, Flint’s undocumented immigrant community is reportedly afraid to get the help they need.

Flint isn’t alone. There are a lot more Flints out there — overwhelmingly low-income communities of color where pollution, toxic chemicals and staggering neglect adds to families’ burdens.

We need to face some hard truths about race and justice in America. After 250 years of slavery, 90 years of Jim Crow, and decades of “separate but equal,” our country’s struggle with racism is far from over. That’s true in our criminal justice system. In our education system. In employment, housing, and transit. And tragically, it’s true in the very air our children breathe and in the water they drink.

What’s happening in Flint today happened 10 years ago in predominantly low-income, AfricanAmerican and Latino areas of Washington, D.C. Lead leached into the water there for four years.

In high-risk neighborhoods, the number of toddlers and infants with lead poisoning more than doubled.

In Baltimore, families have received settlements for the lifelong health effects of childhood lead poisoning. And now private companies are going around getting people, many of whom are permanently disabled, to sign away hundreds of thousands of dollars in future payments in exchange for a few thousand dollars right away.

It’s an outright abuse of vulnerable people who have been hurt too many times already.

Near San Francisco, where housing prices have skyrocketed, many low-income families live in more-affordable Richmond, California.

Richmond is 26 percent African-American and 40 percent Latino, and the housing prices are low for a reason—because the city is surrounded by oil refineries, chemical companies and eight Superfund sites. It’s no surprise that the city has the highest hospitalization rate for asthma in all of Contra Costa County.

Twenty seven schools are within 1 mile of a high-risk chemical facility in the Manchester neighborhood of Houston — a neighborhood that is 85 percent Latino. In Manchester, rates of childhood leukemia, asthma and bronchitis are all above average. The children who go to public schools there are 56 percent more likely to get leukemia than kids who live 10 miles away.

And low-income white communities are by no means immune. In 2008, 525 million gallons of toxic coal ash, which contains lead and thallium, among other toxins, spilled in Tennessee, covering 3,000 acres of land, destroying 12 homes and flowing into the Tennessee River, which provides drinking water. The long legacy of coal mining has left Appalachia and other coal regions pockmarked with toxic sites in need of cleanup.

Environmental justice can’t just be a slogan — it has to be a central goal. Cities are full of lead paint in low-income housing, lead embedded in the very soil from the days of leaded gasoline.

Already, African-American children are twice as likely to suffer from asthma as white children — and climate change will put vulnerable populations at even greater risk.

I’m not new to this fight. As first lady, I worked with the EPA to bring attention to the link between air pollution and child asthma. In the Senate, I made this a central issue, fighting for more support for lead paint and soil remediation in New York and across the country, pushing the EPA to establish indoor air quality standards for schools, and working across the aisle to call for a national program tracking the health effects of pollution. At the State Department, I took the fight for environmental justice worldwide with the Clean Cookstoves Initiative.

And as president, I will make environmental justice a central part of my comprehensive commitment to low-income communities of color — by pursuing cleaner transportation; ambitious steps to reduce air pollution; dedicated efforts to clean up toxic sites; more resources for lead remediation; and greener, more resilient infrastructure. Because clean air and clean water are basic human rights — and our rights shouldn’t change between ZIP codes.

Communities and kids across our country have been bearing the burden of environmental racism for too long. It’s harming their health, their educations, every aspect of their lives and futures. We can no longer accept the status quo — and as president, I never will.

Editorial from MSNBC Editor’s note: This is an op-ed and should not be taken as an endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy or views. MSNBC reached out to Bernie Sanders’s campaign to see if he too wishes to contribute an op-ed.

DID YOU KNOW? The water issue in Flint is an example of environmental racism. The definition of environmental

racism is placement of low-income or minority communities in proximity of environmentally hazardous or degraded environments, such as toxic waste, pollution and urban decay. A significant factor in creation of effective environmental segregation is the fact that low-income communities lack the organization and political power to resist introduction of dangerous technologies, as well as greater mobility of richer citizens away from areas falling into industrial and environmental decline. One of the greatest examples of environmental racism in the US is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

By Charleta B. Tavares The members of the Ohio General Assembly received the final report and recommendations of the Governor’s commissioned Ohio Task Force on Community-Police Relations in April 2015.

The Ohio Task Force on Community-Police Relations was formed by Governor on December 12, 2014, and was co-chaired by Nina Turner, former Ohio Senator and John Born, Director, Ohio Department of Public Safety to address the fractured relationships that exist between some communities and the police dedicated to serving them. The Task Force was formed after the tragic deaths of Tamir Rice in Cleveland and John Crawford, III in Beavercreek. The deaths of these two Ohioans along with a number of other events from across the country served as the impetus for the creation of the Task Force.

These events collectively, and the protests and public reaction that followed, also serve as a reminder of the difficult past that many people, have experienced with law enforcement.1 The Task Force held four hearings at Cleveland State University; Central State University; University of Toledo; and the University of Cincinnati and heard from community members, law enforcement and community/faith-based organizations. The recommendations are summarized into the seven themes listed below however; there are more detailed descriptions and additional recommendations submitted by individual members of the Task Force and members of the community. A number of the recommendations have been or are being developed into legislation to be deliberated in the Ohio General Assembly.

Accountability and oversight: Action must be taken to ensure that agencies and officers will be

held accountable by the communities they serve. the Task Force’s recommendations and actions contact the Governor’s office at http://www.

Community education: Create methods to governor.ohio.gov/ or Phone: (614) 466-3555. establish the public’s understanding of police policies and procedures and recognition of The full report and recommendations can be exceptional service in an effort to foster support accessed online at: http://publicsafety.ohio.gov/ for the police. Police officers and community otfcpr/links/ohtfcpr_final_report.pdf members must become proactive partners in community problem solving.

Additional Contacts Community involvement: There must be ongoing The committee schedules, full membership rosters efforts by law enforcement and the community to and contact information for the Ohio House and build trust and strengthen relationships.

Senate can be found at: www.ohiohouse.gov and www.ohiosenate.gov respectively. If you Grand jury process: The grand jury process shall are interested in getting the House Calendar be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ohio, the each week of the General Assembly, contact Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, or appropriate governmental authority, as it the House Clerk, http://www.ohiohouse.gov/ housecalendar/house_calendar.pdf or your state applies to the use of force.

Representative. Senate calendars are available at Recruiting and hiring: The State of Ohio shall www.ohiosenate.gov; contact the Senate Clerk’s require all law enforcement agencies to adopt, office at (614) 466-4900 or your state Senator. at a minimum, hiring policies. The State will develop a model policy on hiring to be used by The Ohio General Assembly sessions and the law enforcement agencies.

House and Senate Finance Committee hearings can be viewed live on WOSU/WPBO and replays Standards: The State of Ohio shall require all law can be viewed at ohiochannel.gov (specific House enforcement agencies to adopt, at a minimum, and Senate sessions can be searched in the video policies including, but not limited to, the use archives). If you would like to receive updated of deadly force, with the goal of enhancing the protection of all lives. The State will develop information on the Ohio General Assembly and a model policy to be used by law enforcement policy initiatives introduced, call or email my office at 614.466.5131 or tavares@ohiosenate. agencies. com to receive the Tavares Times News monthly Training: In order to allow officers to do their legislative newsletter. jobs safely and effectively, and to protect the public, the State of Ohio shall require a greater Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus, is proud emphasis on, and investment in, training. to serve and represent the 15th District, including the historic neighborhoods of Columbus and the One of the goals of the Task Force is to build cities of Bexley and Grandview Heights in the trust, understanding, mutual respect and Ohio Senate. appreciation of the communities and her people throughout Ohio and the members of Ohio’s 1 Ohio Task Force on Community-Police law enforcement entities. If you are interested Relations Report, April 29, 2015 in receiving more information on the status of

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5 EDUCATION

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DARREL GIBSON ACCEPTS NEW POSITION AT GEORGETOWN Darrel Gibson is twentyfive year veteran of the nonprofit fundraising industry has accepted a new role in the nation’s Capital with Georgetown University as Senior Director of Development.

In this new role he will be responsible for leading a team of fundraising professionals to secure funding for the Georgetown University Medical Center, its Medical School and School of Nursing. Under Darrel’s guidance the fundraising team will be responsible for developing relationships with alumni, friends and parents of the University to secure gifts in support of endowment, research funding, facility enhancement and faculty chairs.

He is uniquely qualified for this role, having spent time in leadership roles with Ohio

Wesleyan University, The Ohio State University and American Heart Association. Prior to accepting this new role with Georgetown, Darrel was principal in his own fundraising consulting firm, Paradigm Philanthropic Consultants, LLc. In managing his firm, he primarily targeted his consulting services to assist nonprofits with the redesign of their fundraising programs targeting corporations, foundation and individuals. Some of his past clients include Mount Carmel Hospital Foundation, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s Alpha Rho Lambda Education Foundation, Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and Community For New Direction.

that worked to design a national endowment program, including creation of a spending plan model and process to determine asset allocation standards for American Heart Association in the early part of the 2000’s.

A more recent special project Darrel lead for his church, New Salem Missionary Baptist, was the development of an endowment to support the church’s various ministries through legacy gifts.

These are gifts church members pledge as part of their estate planning (wills, trusts, insurance, retirement plans) that are received by New Salem at their deaths to support the Logos Endowment Fund. Gifts made to the Logos Endowment are held and managed in perpetuity by the Columbus Foundation. Annually, only the income from the endowment earnings is given to New Salem to support the church as directed by the member in their gift agreement.

Some highlights throughout Darrel’s career include the successful solicitation of a $10M gift while at The Ohio State University for the now Knowlton School of Architecture. At the time this gift commitment was secured, it was the single largest gift ever to an Architecture School A Toledo native, Darrel is a graduate of Ohio in the country. Other career accomplishments Wesleyan University and a member of Alpha included his role in a senior management group Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

PRESIDENT OBAMA PLEDGES $4 BILLION TOWARD COMPUTER SCIENCE IN SCHOOLS The White House isn’t just relying on legislation to make computer science education a priority in the US. President Obama has launched a Computer Science for All initiative that gives states $4 billion in funding to expand computer science in K-12 schools through a mix of better course materials, partnerships and teacher training. The move also sends another $100 million directly to school districts, unlocks $135 million in funding from government organizations and gets further cooperation from both local governments as well as tech leaders.

Throwing cash at a problem won’t make it go away, of course, and there aren’t any guarantees that the money will make a difference. However, the effort at least tackles one of the core issues head-on: getting computer science into schools in the first place. Roughly three quarters of schools go without any CS programs, and 22 states don’t accept these classes as credit toward a high school diploma. If the extra funding works as planned, it’ll get CS courses into more schools and help create a generation of kids that know how to code before they reach college.

Some of those leaders include companies that have already promised support for the President’s educational initiatives. Apple, Cartoon Network, Code.org, Facebook, Microsoft, Salesforce and Qualcomm are all widening their education efforts, investing in programs or both to help improve computer science in the country.

Article provided by GoodBlackNews.org Photo By Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

BILLIONAIRE ROBERT F. SMITH GIVES $50 MILLION TO CORNELL ENGINEERING SCHOOL Robert F. Smith, the founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, made a $50 million commitment to Cornell University’s School Of Engineering, his alma mater.

His gift is being reciprocated. The school will be renamed the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell. The donation will also fund the Robert Frederick Smith Tech Scholars Program. The program will focus on providing financial aid,

particularly for minority and female students.

Smith, who is No. 1 on the BE100s Private Equity list, was also recently listed on the Forbes 400—the magazine’s yearly list of the 400 richest Americans. He is the only African American male on the list. Under his leadership, Vista Equity Partners has become one of the world’s most successful investment houses. He received a degree in chemical engineering from Cornell in 1985.

“Robert’s generosity will not only elevate our School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, but it will ensure it becomes more accessible than ever,” said Lance Collins, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Cornell Engineering.

“I believe an affordable educational path from engineering in Ithaca to Cornell Tech in New York City, for those who wouldn’t otherwise be offered such an opportunity, will produce Article provided by GoodBlackNews.org some of the sharpest minds in engineering and technology. I’m thankful Robert shares this Photo by Black Enterprise vision and is making it a reality.”

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BLACK HISTORY IN COLUMBUS: THE NEAR EAST SIDE The Near-East Side of Columbus is rich in tradition, culture and places that have shaped many who grew up in the area. We invite you to join us as we pay homage to the area with a small collection of photos taken over the years. This collection is presented by Marion Richardson, Kojo Kamau, and Steve Harrison. The remarkable photographic restoration done by James Reid, and the absolutely essential contexualizing of the exhibit by William Richardson, now being housed at the King Arts Complex is amazing. This is our Black History! It allows us to remember what was, value and appreciate what it, and work arduously for what will be.

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Top Left Photo - Championship Bowling Team, Middle Photo - Jim Brown, Top Right - Two Police Officers Bottom Left - The Cavalier’s Club 1965, Bottom Right - Stardettes Club 1965

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6 COVER STORY

WIL HAYGOOD: OUR NATIVE SON

Times Notable Book of the Year; In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., a multiple award winner; and Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson, named a Best Book of the Year by Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, Parade and Mosaic. Acclaimed British actor and Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo (Selma) has signed on to play Sugar Ray Robinson in the film adaptation of Sweet Thunder. Audiences attending his talks come away with a new perspective on not only historical events, but also on their own lives.

By Ray Miller Best known as the author of the New York Times bestseller The Butler: A Witness to History, Wil Haygood is a distinguished writer whose career has spanned decades. He was an associate producer on the film adaptation of his book, The Butler, which was sparked from his Washington Post article, starred Academy Award winners Forest Whittaker, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Robin Williams, Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda, as well as the incomparable Oprah Winfrey. He worked for 30 years at two of the most premiere papers in America (The Boston Globe and The Washington Post); during that time, he witnessed Nelson Mandela’s release after 27 years of imprisonment, was taken hostage

by Somalian rebels, covered New Orleans postHurricane Katrina for 33 straight days without a break, traveled with Barack Obama and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Haygood’s newest book is Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America, a sweeping epic about the tumultuous, real-life events surrounding the heated appointment of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, in 1967. The New York Time’s front page Sunday book review of Showdown said, “Haygood is passionate and eloquent. [He] has done a great service by reminding us of an extraordinary man at an extraordinary moment.”

Kirkus Reviews praised Haygood’s account as an “intensely readable, fully explored account of what the New York Times called an ‘ordeal by committee,’ an important hinge in American history.” Publishers Weekly said that “Haygood provides details of [Thurgood Marshall’s] legal triumphs in an accessible way, along with a moving account of his upbringing in Baltimore,” and that “this is the definitive account of the life of a major American hero who deserves wider recognition.” Renowned historian Michael Beschloss applauded Showdown, saying “Wil Haygood has brought us an elegant, fascinating and important tale, rendered with relentless originality and the author’s superb gift of portraiture…the essence of the great Thurgood Marshall, as well as the historical forces and often surprising backstage mechanics that enabled him to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.”

Haygood speaks on a variety of topics in his presentations; his long career as a reporter covering both national and global affairs make him an authority on addressing any complex issue.

For instance, audiences attending Haygood’s programs will hear a first-hand account of surviving a hostage situation, as well as the life

While Haygood was recently appointed as the Karl and Helen Wiepking Visiting Distinguished Professor at his alma mater Miami University, and will continue his appointment as Distinguished Scholar. He’s won a slew of other awards and recognitions, and has been named as an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow and was given the prestigious Ella Baker Award (named after the Civil Rights pioneer). Much like the content of Haygood’s judges have cited Haygood’s literary career “for shedding a light on those who give much, but are little noticed.” lessons learned from the butler that served eight presidents, from pre-Civil Rights era through the election of President Obama. Translated into over a dozen languages, The Butler: A Witness to History, is the story of Eugene Allen, the White House butler who served U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan—and in doing so, became a “discreet stage hand who for three decades helped keep the show running in the most important political theatre of all.” The film garnered two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Forest Whitaker) and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (David Oyelowo). President Obama said: “I teared up thinking about not just the butlers who worked here in the White House, but an entire generation of people...

I thought Forest Whitaker was wonderful and Oprah is a wonderful actress.” President Jimmy Carter described the film as: “...one of the best dramatizations of the Civil Rights Movement I have seen.” Additionally, Oyelowo credited The Butler (and 12 Years a Slave) as changed the narrative in Hollywood for African Americans. He stated: “I know for a fact that Selma got greenlit after both of those films made almost $200 million each. I know that because Paramount said to us, ‘Well, that means that Selma will probably make around $98 million, so let’s make it!’”

Determined, talented and persuasive, it’s no wonder that Haygood has come so far. He was the first of his family to attend college and escape poverty; he went on to become a renowned reporter and the author of several nonfiction books, including biographies hailed as “culturally important” by The Los Angeles Times, including King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a New York

The The Columbus Columbus African African American American News News Journal Journal •• February February 2016 2015

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The Columbus African American was granted the privilege to interview Haygood for the cover story in this, our February 2016 Black History Month edition of the news journal. The following responses to our questions reflect the depth of knowledge and humility of this son of Columbus, Ohio.

You are one of the great writers in America today. To whom and to what do you attribute your love of writing?

Wil: Writing to me is painting with words. When I was a kid growing up in Columbus, my mother allowed me to send away for a painting set. It came with large pieces of art paper and paint brushes and guidebooks. I painted. And that evolved into a recognition that art - the act of writing - could emotionally move people, the same as painting with a paintbrush.

In my humble opinion, you are a great writer because of your research skills, commitment to your work, love of history, and your ability to paint a picture with words. How essential are each of these attributes to the success of any author?

Wil: In the arena of research, I’ll use an example from my latest book, SHOWDOWN. An array of US senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1967 sat in judgement of Thurgood Marshall to become a Supreme Court justice. Several senators were segregationists. Arkansas Sen. John McClellan, a former prosecutor, prepared to do all he could to thwart the Marshall nomination. I wanted to know as much as I could about McClellan. I found out his personal papers were housed at a small college library in Arkansas. I got on a plane and flew there,

CAANJ the story is now in your hands; you try to honor the subject by doing the best you can.

You did not grow up in a pristine, priveleged, environment. What advice would you give to any young person, from a similar background as yours, about achieving at the highest possible level?

spending a week combing through those archives.

It was a riveting experience. I discovered McClellan’s strategy to ruin the nomination; I studied the correspondence between McClellan and the other segregationist senators. I had no idea what I would find when I went there. The papers themselves were only made accessible to the public a few weeks before I got there! And there was this treasure trove.

Wil: Poverty is a hard thing to forget. It does leave a mark. But it also gives you an edge.

I think this is especially so for writers. A professional writers only needs a pen and paper, things a poor person can get their hands on. Now a professional skier is going to need skies and boots and other equipment. That’s expensive. I remember living in the Bolivar Arms Housing Project in Columbus and one night talking to a friend of mine and feeling very poor and marginalized because of the poverty. And my friend Steve said, “Maybe someday you’ll write about this.” I was 17 years old and I hadn’t mentioned to him any love of writing just yet.

I eventually wrote a book about growing up in Columbus. It’s a mystery to this day why he said that.

Wil: I’m reading “A Long Way Gone,”

by Ishmael Beah, a searing memoir of his How has your family and your upbringing experiences as a boy soldier in Africa. been an inspiration to you?

You have written some great biographies -- Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., The Haygoods of Columbus, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, The Butler, and Showdown: Thurgood Marshal and the Supremec Court What is your process for determining how Nomination That Changed America. What you will “Tell the story?” What steps do you is it about biographies and non-fiction that go through to find the story angle? moves you?

Wil: Again, back to SHOWDOWN. I knew I didn’t want to write a traditional biography of Thurgood Marshall. I wanted to pick out a particular slice of drama from his life. And his 1967 hearings - which no one had ever written about - fit that calling. Previous hearings for all other nominees had lasted less than six hours. Marshall’s hearings lasted five days, and those days were stretched over 12 days! This was unprecedented. So the southern senators wanted to rattle both President Johnson and Louis Martin - an LBJ confidant and one of the instrumental figures in the Marshall nomination - in hopes that the nomination might be pulled.

But Johnson - who had gotten the 1964 Civil 100 Rights Bill passed and the 1965 Voting Rights 95 Act passed - told himself that the Marshall nomination would be “the final nail” in the 75 push toward representational equality. Now, as LBJ said to himself in the White House after Marshall’s battle had been won, a black mother 25 can look across her kitchen room table at her 5 black son or daughter and know to that they can be a Supreme Court justice.

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Wil: I’ve chosen to write biographies because they exhaust me. They demand every bit of my writerly concentration. In biography you are pulling from so many strands: history, political science, cultural affairs. You have to travel to nearly every corner of the writerly ballpark, and I like that. To tell a life is also a daunting task, and ultimately you have to have the confidence to employ an authoritative voice: It’s your book;

Wil: My mother and grandparents, all from Selma, Alabama, were huge influences. They believed in me. They had very little money, but they had faith in me. Thatre could be a Sugar Ray Robinson movie moving into motion based on my book SWEET THUNDER. And I will be preparing for another book tour when the paperback of SHOWDOWN is published in August.

Finally, what has been your greatest honor?

Wil: I have to say my greatest honor was helping my niece, Faness, make her way through Miami University of Ohio, my alma mater. I was the first in my family to graduated college. She became the second.

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Name a few of the authors whose work you 100 greatly admire and why?

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95

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Wil: I’d say the authors who have inspired 75 me the most have been James Baldwin, David Halberstam, Richard Rhodes, Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. My career 25 has bounced between literary journalism and 5 nonfiction book writing. Writers who have excelled in those genres mean a lot to me.

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25 5 0

What book(s) are you reading right now?

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FCCS_Advertising-5X7_Volunteer-Mentor-Color Thursday, September 18, 2014 9:23:38 AM

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

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Annual Day of Action

“State of Black Ohioans” Wednesday, February 24 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Riffe Center - Capitol Theatre Lobby 77 S. High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 Event brought to you by: State Rep. Alicia Reece, OLBC President State Rep. Janine Boyd, event co-chair State Rep. Emilia Sykes event co-chair RSVP to Dominic Paretti @ Dominic.Paretti@ohiohouse.gov or 614-644-5079

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus is holding their Annual Day of Action on Feb. 24. Your state lawmakers will be leading discussions on Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Justice, Voting Rights, and more. Plus, learn how to lobby your legislators! This event is free and open to the public.

Office of OLBC President and State Rep. Alicia Reece - 33rd Ohio House District 77 S. High Street | Columbus, Ohio 43215 | Phone: (614) 466-1308

COTA is proud to celebrate Black History Month.

To hear from the people we move and the people who move us visit whatmovesyou.COTA.com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

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CAANJ

KEEPING CHILDREN HEALTHY, IN SCHOOL, AND LEARNING

By Marian Wright Edelman Brandon, a six-year-old in the Houston Independent School District, had two working parents until his father was laid off.

Brandon lost his health insurance when his father lost his job. Brandon’s mother quickly scrambled to try to enroll her son who has asthma in new coverage, but met some obstacles and didn’t know where to turn. Then the school district, which had been working with the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) and AASA (The School Superintendents Association), through a partnership supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies, stepped in and helped her find coverage for Brandon under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). With his new health coverage, doctors discovered Brandon also had high blood pressure and prescribed medicine to control it. Now the school nurse monitors his blood pressure every day and Brandon is healthy and happy to be in school learning.

This morning, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Deputy Secretary Mary Wakefield on behalf of HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Acting U.S. Department of Education Secretary John King spoke from Brandon’s school district to encourage other districts across our country to take important steps to ensure children everywhere are in school each day healthy and ready to learn. They called on school districts to recognize the strong link between children’s health and academic performance and to forge deeper connections between health and education for students and families by increasing access to health insurance coverage and health care, creating school environments with physical and mental health supports to help students succeed, and strengthening coordination between health and education systems at the local and state levels.

The Secretaries urged state and local health and education entities to collaborate around five action items: 1. Helping eligible students and family members enroll in health insurance; 2.Providing and expanding Medicaid reimbursable health services in schools, including immunizations, health screenings and others; 3. Providing or expanding services that support at-risk students, including through Medicaidfunded case management; 4. Promoting healthy school practices through nutrition, physical activity, and health education; and 5. Building local partnerships and participating in hospital community needs assessments.

The Departments of Health and Human Services and Education have created a toolkit of existing resources to support real action in states and communities to strengthen the link between health and education. CDF and AASA’s schoolbased child health outreach and enrollment model that links health enrollment to school enrollment

is one the Secretaries highlight as a best practice to increase enrollment in health coverage for students and their families. After five years of piloting school-based child health outreach and enrollment in Texas, in 2007 CDF began working in partnership with AASA to introduce and expand health enrollment as a routine and ongoing part of school district operations. The model provides a basic question for districts to add to their school registration materials: “What type of medical insurance do you have for this child?” Parents who answer “none” are noted and able to receive information from school district staff on Medicaid, CHIP or other health coverage options. But it doesn’t stop there. Parents can receive help applying for or renewing coverage for their children and for themselves and are introduced to community partners who can help them successfully navigate the process.

CDF and AASA over the years have partnered with school districts in Texas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi including urban, rural and suburban school systems serving elementary through high schools and hundreds of thousands of Black, Latino, Asian and White students. This work has gotten many children health coverage and led to an increased awareness among school superintendents, staff and parents about the important and positive connection between health and academic success.

Many now see a link between chronic absences, poor health and lack of health coverage. When children with chronic conditions like asthma have health insurance allowing them regular access to doctors and needed treatment, they come back to school healthier just as Brandon has.

In one of these districts, the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (ECISD) in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, health coverage screening has been built into the daily operations of Parental Involvement Assistants, or PIAs. Each of the district’s 41 school campuses has a PIA who, among other responsibilities, calls absent students’ homes every morning to ask why students are missing school. The PIAs make a home visit that same day if they don’t reach anyone, about 80 visits each day. If a child is home sick, the PIA asks about their insurance

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status and, if the student lacks coverage, offers the parent assistance filling out the application.

During a recent phone call, a mother told the PIA all three of her children were previously enrolled in Medicaid but were no longer covered. The mother, whose native language was not English, had received three notices about renewing coverage but hadn’t understood them, and had not been able to renew. The PIA helped her navigate the process to reenroll the children in Medicaid.

Sandra Rodriguez, the district’s PIA Coordinator, is especially excited they have a new school-based health center attached to the district headquarters to refer families to through a partnership with the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance. The clinic serves all students regardless of ability to pay and served about 2,000 children, parents, and school district staff in its first four months of operation. For many Edinburg families this is the first time they can receive care near their home, school, and work, and regardless of their immigration status.

Thanks to additional support from another local health system, the 945-square-mile district will soon have two mobile clinics making scheduled visits to school campuses farther from the clinic site.

More students and families need these kinds of supports. It is critically important that school districts and community partners across the country respond to Acting Secretary King’s and Secretary Burwell’s call to action to connect children to needed health coverage and ensure they’re in school and ready to learn. As Superintendent Lillian Maldonado French of the Mountain View School District in El Monte, California puts it, “Being in school matters and if we can do something to make sure our kids are in school every day, then that’s what we need to do.”

Marian Wright Edelman is President of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind (R) mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www.

ChildrensDefense.org

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

CAANJ

7 BUSINESS

BLACK HISTORY 18TH AND OAK: THE BIRTH OF GLORY FOODS

By Iris Cooper, MBA Every holiday, friends tell me their family meals are better and easier with Glory Foods. Twenty five years ago, the Kroger Company partnered with Glory Foods to launch the first line of African-American grocery products in the nation. If that wasn’t a miracle, the way it all came to be certainly is.

Bill Williams and I worked together at Lazarus Department Stores in the late 70’s. Bill was the food service director and I was the restaurant marketing manager. I had no food experience, but had an MBA degree in Marketing from Indiana University where the one and only Charles Lazarus was a visiting professor. I was young, eager, and ready to set the world on fire when Mr. Charles hired me to join his firm in Columbus, Ohio. Bill and I worked closely together on food and marketing promotions and became good friends. A few years later, we both left Lazarus to pursue other aspirations.

In 1989, Bill and I met at the bank where I worked, to discuss a business idea. Although we often disagreed at Lazarus, there was a mutual respect for each other’s expertise. Bill wanted to start an African-American food company, offering generic soul food products. He needed my creativity to develop a marketable brand.

I strongly rejected the generic products. I was a busy working mom with a limited amount of “me” time. I didn’t cook well and hated housework.

I insisted that our best chance for success was appealing to Black working women, who didn’t have the time or skills to cook like “Big Mama”, and needed some help in the kitchen. “Give me some soul food that is pre-seasoned and ready to heat-and-eat. Add a meat and I have a complete meal in less than 30 minutes. I KNOW this will be a success!”

I was all-in and wrote the business plan on maternity leave with my 2nd child. I named the company Glory, symbolic of Black spirituality as well as the popular movie about Black civil war heroes, Glory. I wanted the Glory brand to suggest prosperity, hope, and favor, like the dawning of a new day. A sunrise would embellish the labels, and the radio jingle would remind listeners of Sam Cook or Lou Rawls. “When you’re in the mood for some home-cooked food …Get Glory Foods, Just About the Best!” The first product line would include greens, peas, beans, sweet potatoes, corn bread, and condiments.

We had some contacts at Kroger and Bill and I paid them a visit in 1990. We knew that if anyone would listen to our idea, it would be Kroger due to its commitment to urban neighborhoods. As Bill sat quietly, I introduced the Glory “baby”: the market research, branding, product line, and our desire to launch the first African-American grocery product line in America with Kroger.

Rod Gordon, one of the executives and the only Black person in the group, smiled warmly at me as I spoke. When I finished, I asked for any questions.

Rod said “Great idea. Just what we are looking for. We’ll be sending you our first order very soon.”

We were dumbfounded! We didn’t expect a sale yet; we hadn’t even created the product! No other vegetable firm had ever proposed to change the processing method for vegetables; this was a true market disruption for the times. We knew we had to deliver now.

During the next year, we leaped over one hurdle after the other, learning as we forged ahead.

Finally, our delivery date was announced for the Kroger store in the neighborhood near the Glory offices. Kroger waited for us, and we didn’t let them down. We both celebrated a true Black History moment at Parsons and Livingston that Saturday morning!

Kroger has remained a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and still features Glory’s line of fresh and canned products on its shelves nationally. Glory is now a subsidiary of the 5th largest vegetable producer in the nation, thanks to Kroger and Rod Gordon. I am grateful that they

believed in our “baby” and kept their promise to help us birth Glory Foods, the first AfricanAmerican grocery product line in America.

FROM JUSTASKIRIS: GLORIFY YOUR BUSINESS PLAN SEMINAR! MARCH 5, 2016 4 Hour Workshop to develop and complete your Food Business Plan.

Details at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ finish-your-business-plan-food-editiontickets-20932376301 Iris Ann Cooper hails from Evansville, Indiana.

She worked in the financial service arena for over twenty-five years, providing funding for housing, commercial real estate, nonprofits, and small businesses.

She is the owner of “JustAskIris” an entreprenerurial coaching firm. Iris is one of the founders of Glory Foods, Inc., a national food marketing company, among several other enterprises. She is the former Director of the Ohio Division of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, featuring the Small Business Development Centers, under Governor Ted Strickland. In 2011, she was appointed to the US Small Business Administration Regulatory Fairness Board. Iris obtained a BA degree in Journalism from Indiana University. She is “ABD” in the DBA program at Walden University, majoring in Entrepreneurship.

She teaches marketing courses at Franklin University and provides content guidance for its entrepreneurship program.

DID YOU KNOW? Soul Food is a variety of cuisine that originated in African American culture. It is closely related

to the cuisine of the South (U.S.) The origins of soul food can be traced back to Africa. Foods such as rice, guinea corn and okra are all common elements of West African cuisine. Combined with corn and cassava, turnips from Morocco and cabbage from Portugal, all of which played an important part of in the history of African American cooking.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

CAANJ

TECHNOLOGIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS

By Cecil Jones, MBA True or False?

- “I don’t need technology – my business is small, personal and customized for each customer”.

- “Technology requires hiring expensive people – I don’t have the money” - “Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Constant Contact? I don’t understand all of this social media, customer relationship management tools and technology stuff”…

You have heard business owners and managers say all of the above, plus more. Before we consider that discussion, consider this scenario:

* Young students log on from home, libraries recreational centers (or anywhere) to take a class, interact with other students and interact with their teacher. All that is needed is a computer/tablet or other device that is connected to the internet.

* Waiters at restaurants look at their phones or a tablet to ensure that the food orders placed via mobile apps are moving along appropriately.

* Home contractors (carpenter, plumber, etc.) respond via text or email with an estimated quote AFTER you have emailed a picture of the problem at your home that needs to be fixed.

This is the world in which we live. Why would we expect that small or large businesses would NOT work with customers all of the time in a similar fashion? Technology has ‘changed the game’. Huge insurance companies were losing market share (percentage of customers) to smaller insurance companies in automobile insurance. Why? Some of the smaller insurance companies allowed customers to get a quote and issue a policy for car and other insurance via the web, first. Basic technology allowed small companies to ‘leapfrog’.

Some web-based technology is free or very inexpensive. The 39 year old and younger customer typically uses technology (phone, apps, and web applications) first and do face-toface transactions, second. A result of web-based transaction ability: Christmas online purchases increased so dramatically such that all of the delivery services (Postal, UPS, FedEx, etc.) struggled and some deliveries did not arrive by Christmas. Analysis and predictions say online purchases are increasing monthly. People of all generations are comparing prices online, ordering the products online and having them delivered to their homes, instead of going to stores.

Where Do I Start?

Businesses from the part-time landscaper to large Fortune 100 companies can use webbased technology. You want to have a searchable web presence (web site) to let customer know about your products and services. Every business can utilize web-based technology, no matter how smart you are. The ‘Internet of Everything’ points to the connectivity of a lot of information and connectivity of people (http://www.businessinsider.com/internet-ofeverything-2015-bi-2014-12). This reference to IOT (Internet of Things) talks about even the

construction of roads and bridges being subject to IOT (http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/11/ the-internet-of-things-bigger/). Related, every business has information that they want potential and existing customers to know. Let’s start with the basics.

developer had moved or in one case, they had a bad relationship with their website developer and the website developer was holding the website hostage until they paid more money.

Also, ensure that the URL is listed in your company’s name (or your name). Otherwise, the Facebook web developer has likely put the website in their own name and only that developer (not you) can Take the time to set up a Facebook page. Your make changes or even communicate with the contact information is key. Include all of your company that is actually hosting the website. products and services and links to any other information that your customers should know Social and other Media (example: website that says you received an award, etc.). So, you are not comfortable setting Consider using some tools to store and up a Facebook page? You have relatives, friends communicate with customers, even if you have and other people that you know are comfortable. a business like a food truck. Tools include If you can’t think of someone, call the local Constantcontact.com and even a basic electronic community college’s Chair of Computer/ address book; even an Excel spreadsheet is a Information Sciences. Call the Columbus College good start. When inventory get high or sales get of Arts & Design. They often have students slow, you have customer contact information to that are looking for no-salary internships or are alert customers of sales or any other information. willing to put up Facebook or web sites very You want to periodically communicate with your inexpensively. There are companies that will customers. build your Facebook page or allow you to build it, for free or inexpensively. See the vendors Monthly (or more often) tweeting, emailing or listed under ‘Your Website’ below. using some other communication keeps your brand in front of your customers. Videos from Your Website your phone about your business can be uploaded to Youtube. If your videos are longer than 15 A few years ago, customers expected business minutes, consider a $40 Vimeo account for cards. Now, the expectation is that a business has longer videos. a website. Levels of website functionality follow.

Entry Level - An entry level basic function of Surveymonkey, Evite.com and Doodle.com a website is to provide information about your allow you to survey customers (Surveymonkey), company. invite them to a special promotion (Evite) and schedule meetings with multiple people (Doodle) Web 2.0 Level - The next level is Web 2.0, at no cost. which is interactivity that allows your customers to communicate with you directly from your There are many other equivalent tools that are website. At minimum, the ‘Contact Us’ link available for free. Look at the reviews for the allows the customer to send information to you ones in which you are interested. Be creative. and for you to respond.

A furniture repair company asks potential customers to text/email a picture of the furniture Customer Relationship Level – A higher level to be repaired. This may save a trip to the is the Customer Relationship Level where your customer to see the furniture to provide an customers can order your services and products estimate; or it may allow the furniture company and get additional information (example, status to tell the customer that the furniture repair will of an order placed). Knowledge giving the cost more than replacing the furniture. number of hits (accesses) and where the people are that are accessing your sight, is available.

Help Us to Help You There are many vendors that can provide you the ability to build your own website by pointing, The purpose of this column is to provide useful clicking, typing and including any pictures, information and knowledge that you can use, graphics, logos and more. The cost is low, today. If you have a techonology question (how sometimes $99 per year. Some are free. The free to get something done, what business, process ones run a banner of ads on your website – that or software solution might be available for your is how they make money. You likely don’t want situation, etc.), please email the question or that, unless you have zero budget for a website. comment to admin@accelerationservices.net for Most will walk you through getting your own response. website name (Unique Reference Locator – URL, example AccelerationServices.Net). Some of these companies include Buildyourownsite. Having managed technology, communications com, Ehost.com.

Godaddy.com, Ipage. com, Networksolutions.com, Register.com, and business functionality for multiple Fortune Simplesite.com, web.com, Weebly.com, Wix. 100 companies, Cecil is a technology and com and others. Of course, you can always hire management leader. He teaches technology, someone else to build your website. business and communications courses. He is a Cautions past president of many organizations including BDPA (Technology group), and Columbus If someone other than yourself builds your Association of Black Journalists. He serves on website, be sure to get the userid and password the Executive Committee of boards including the for changing the website. I have received many calls from companies of many sizes that wanted Vice-Chairman of IMPACT Community Action to make a change to their website but they Agency. could not. They could not because they did not have the userid and password. Their website Visit his website at www.accerationservices.net

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

CAANJ

BLACK WALL STREET: MBE + CF = A2C

By Ambrose Moses, III Black History Month . . .

Black Wall Street . . . 1926 . . . They did our people wrong . . . [Fill in the blanks with the endless list of racial atrocities.]. Well, this is not that type of article.

It is time to get angry, take action, and bring about significant positive change. Are you ready for May 16, 2016? If not, you might want to ask somebody about it. (MBE + CF = A2C) Consider this.

I was just an infant on December 20, 1964 when Fannie Lou Hamer and Malcolm X shared a stage in Harlem, New York. They were educating and mobilizing folks to action concerning the Democratic Party leadership’s refusal to recognize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party as legitimate delegates representing Mississippi.

During Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech, she told the crowd, “And you can always hear this long sob story: “You know it takes time.” For three hundred years, we’ve given them time. And I’ve been tired so long, now I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we want a change.”

Brother Malcolm stepped to the podium and spoke about the only way to get through to someone is to speak their language. Malcolm also stated that people make change happen after they get angry and take action. Sad people sit around crying and complaining. Angry people take action.

Years earlier, Frederick Douglass said, “If there is no struggle, there is no pro-gress. . . . Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

Steven Biko, said, “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

I submit to you that the imposition of, and the suffering under, economic injus-tice follows the same pattern. If the economically oppressed do nothing, they will continue to get what they have always gotten (or worse).

Jesse Jackson once said, “If my mind can conceive it, my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”

I submit to you that we can and must conceive the possibility of economic suc-cess individually and as a Black community. We can and must conceive the idea of a new Black Wall Street for the Black community.

The “Black community” is not limited to a single geographical area. Black folks are all over the place. Technology (websites, social media, mobile devices, etc.) has allowed us physically to be spread about, yet unified in mind, spirit, and action. We can and must conceive the idea of Black-owned businesses. We can and must conceive ourselves as individual investors who are willing to invest $500 into a Black-owned business.

We can and must believe in ourselves individually and as a people. We can and must believe in our worth, our value, our contribution to society.

We can and must believe in the power of Blackowned businesses and the new Black Wall Street.

We can and must achieve our economic independence and success . . . via the new Black Wall Street.

What is the current wealth gap between Black Americans and White Ameri-cans? How many Black-owned businesses are there in the United States or your town? What is the unemployment rate for Black Americans (adults and teens)?

What is the underemployment rate for Black Americans? How many Black Amer-icans are no longer even counted in the employment numbers? How many Black Americans would Black-owned businesses hire? How many vacant, abandoned, or under-used commercial buildings

and land are there in Black neighborhoods? The answers to these questions are known. You can find them online, at your local li-brary, or at your local department of development.

Does this look like economic violence and economic inequality to you? Are you angry yet? Are you willing to suffer just a little bit longer? Are you willing to al-low your children to watch you suffer? Are you willing to allow your children to accept economic violence and economic inequality as simply the way it is? Are you angry enough to take action? What are you going to do about it?

I don’t have all the answers, but I am convinced that May 16, 2016 will usher in a new era of opportunity for economic growth and access to capital for Black Americans as investors and business owners. The New Black Wall Street can be a real thing. Are you angry enough to learn more about it? www.BlackAmericaCrowdfunding. com. (MBE + CF = A2C) Ambrose Moses, III is a lawyer and writer whose mission is to promote and obtain “. . . legal, social, and economic justice for all.” His primary areas of practice are business, 501(c) (3)/nonprofits, and crowdfunding. Ambrose regularly presents with community and business development organizations on business and lawrelated topics.

Email: info@MosesLaw.pro • Website: www.

MosesLaw.pro • Telephone: (614) 418-7898

DID YOU KNOW? The first African American elected to Columbus City Council was Reverend James Poindexter who was elected in 1880 and re-elected in 1882. He served until 1884 when he was named to the Board of Trustees at the Ohio School for the Blind. In that same year, he was appointed to the Columbus Board of Education and was re-elected four times. Rev. Poindexter also served as the first pastor of Second Baptist Church, the oldest African American Baptist Church in Central Ohio. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the first public housing project in the country in an area of Columbus known as the Blackberry Patch. The facility was named Poindexter Village in his honor.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

8 HOUSING

CAANJ

INCOME TAX REFUNDS: YOUR PERSONAL POWERBALL

By Layden Hale My favorite saying is people don’t plan to fail. They fail to plan.

You always hear about people who win the lottery and 10 years later they are broke.

Usually it is because they fail to plan.

Try to avoid making that same mistake with your 2015 income tax refund. Handled correctly, that check from the Treasury can be your personal Powerball – no luck necessary.

Do you remember how much you got back from your 2014 income tax filing?

And do you remember what you did with the money?

People often answer, “Well, I got ‘about’ $1,000 and I paid bills.”

Rather than just paying bills, you should think about how to save and spend your tax refund as part of an overall plan to budget and manage your income.

The average income tax refund for 2014 was $2,701. Assuming that figure for 2015, you may

wish to place half ($1,350) in an “emergency” savings account.

I often hear “I don’t have enough to open a savings account.” This type of planning will allow you to open and fund it.

Once you open the emergency account you can continue to add to it with a goal of saving an amount equal to three to four months of your salary. This would cover expenses if you lose your job, experience a medical emergency or incur an unexpected major repair.

From the original $2,701 refund you could also place $400 in your sock drawer. Call it your “mad money.” This takes care of some of your wants and prevents you from robbing that emergency savings account.

Finally, develop a debt repayment plan with the remaining $950. Try to stretch it to your best advantage. You may wish to pay off the smallest balances on credit cards. If two are of close amount, say $450 and $500, pay them both -and focus on a third credit card or loan.

Your goal is to think ahead a year, to be able to say in early 2017 what you did specifically with your refund – how much you got and where did it go.

One note of caution: people often are lured at the prospect of receiving their refund sooner -- for

WHO DOES

a fee. Third party entities offer to advance your expected refund for a percentage of the amount.

It may not be wise if your payment comes only a week to 10 days early.

Several organizations in Central Ohio offer free tax preparation and filing, or leads to both. You may wish to consider contacting The Ohio Benefit Bank, calling 2-1-1 on your phone, or going on line to www.unitedway.org/myfreetaxes.com In summary, the key in all of this is to have a plan. We don’t want you to become one of those individuals who in frustration choose not to file a tax return. You don’t want the IRS coming after you. You want to pay your taxes, save, and reduce your debt.

By attending Homeport’s financial fitness courses you can learn about financial products to stretch your dollars. We can’t make you the next Powerball winner but we can help you achieve winning strategies to meet your financial goals.

Layden Hale is Senior Counseling Advisor for Homeport. Contact Homeport at 614 221-8889, ext. 134, to register for a financial fitness course, schedule a credit/budget counseling session or design a debt repayment plan. All of these services are free.

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Homeport is a HUD Certified Housing Counseling Agency offering 10 hours of financial fitness workshops to improve your money management skills. Topics covered include: Budgeting, Financial Planning, Savings, Banking, Credit, Taxes and Insurance. The class is covered over (2) Saturday’s each month.

It’s an honor to care for and support the good things local organizations and local people are making happen.

We invite you to join us in 2016 and find a way you can help build your community. Every little bit counts.

After you complete Financial Fitness please ask about Financial Coaching opportunities to continue your education.

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

CAANJ

9 PLA CYCLE VIII PROGRESSIVE

Leadership Academy Spring 2016 Brooke Brown is a Career Services Advisor and recruiter at New Horizons Computer Learning Center. She is an active member and volunteer with WELD and Columbus Young Professionals. In addition, Brooke serves on the board of YP 360, a local nonprofit and is a Certified Tourism Ambassador for the great city of Columbus. Her passion for the development of our youth is the driving force behind the countless hours dedicated to them as a mentor, tutor, counselor, coach and friend. She obtained a Bachelors of Arts from Duquesne University and a Master’s of Arts from West Virginia University.

Kaneeka Dalton-Paul is a native of Columbus and graduate of Columbus City Schools. She received her Bachelors from The Ohio State University. A non-profit expert with a passion for advocacy, Kaneeka has made uplifting our nation’s young her mission. What differentiates Kaneeka is her recognition of the importance of meeting youth where they are and empowering them to raise expectations, advance social causes and change the world. Developing programs for multiple non-profits, Kaneeka boasts a number of outcome successes. As the Program Director for LeaderSpark, Kaneeka led a team that more than doubled programming numbers in her first six months.

Rodirick Dye is an emerging young professional with a passion for educating on the importance of financial literacy. Presently, Rodirick works as a Registered Representative for New York Life Insurance Company. As a native of Columbus, OH, Mr. Dye also serves as a mentor to young African-American males in his community. In addition to mentoring, Rodirick also serves as the Marketing Director of NuLief Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness to the prevalence of mental illness and its impact on chronic homelessness. Mr. Dye earned his Bachelors of Science in Marketing from Wright State University.

Yaves Ellis is the Public Affairs Director for Radio One Columbus where he oversees all cause-marketing operations for the 4 station cluster. As the Youth/Young Adult Pastor of New Birth Christian Ministries, he currently heads an initiative focused on getting over 500 young people enrolled into higher education.

The Columbus Dispatch ranked Yaves as a top young professional under 40, as an artist he has released a number of Billboard charting projects. With a Masters in Crisis Management and Counseling, Yaves has been referred to as a concentrated genius, focused on empowering people of all ages.

Camren J. Harris, a native of Columbus, Ohio

Elizabeth Joy is founder of Survivors To Alivers, a non-profit organization focused on empowering trauma survivors to overcome challenges and achieve restoration. Her organization offers online support groups and a space for trauma survivors to connect and support one another. Elizabeth is a speaker, life coach, and author of “You Survived… Now What? A Road Map to Reclaiming Life.” Elizabeth has a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Strayer University. She is currently working on her Master’s in Social Work.

Dr. Rhonda Knight is President of The Knight Consulting Group, LLC. She is passionate about creating cultural understanding, awareness and sensitivity in order to help others be advocates for themselves and others. Dr. Knight also values creating cultural understanding and global awareness and has spent time in Eskişehir, Turkey at Anadolu University. Dr. Knight holds a Masters Degree in Education and a Doctoral Degree in Social Studies and Global Education, both from The Ohio State University. She resides in Canal Winchester with her husband, Damon, and their two daughters, Alexis and Alia.

Quiess Muhammad spends much of her

and a graduate of Capital University, received a BA in Criminology and Sociology. Camren worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Intern for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation where he was fueled with a passion for public service while interning for Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11). Currently, Camren is a Legislative Fellow for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Camren serves in various leadership positions within his community and is an active member of the Central Ohio Young Black Democrats, Columbus Urban League Young Professionals and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

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time volunteering with youth based nonprofits, Quiess recognized she had a passion for mentoring black youth and making a difference in the community. This passion led Quiess to focus on Financial Advising and Insurance, a shift from her established career in the field of IT Audit and Compliance. While she is still in the infancy stages, Quiess is in the process of starting her own practice focusing on building wealth for Black Families, while staying closer to the community. Quiess is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she received a BA in Business Administration.

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CAANJ Jaiza Page is a member of Columbus City

Antwan Steward is a native of Columbus,

Helen Stewart was born and raised in Cleveland,

David Lonzo Swoope, III was born and

Council and of Counsel with Eastman and Smith, Ltd. Prior to joining Columbus City Council, Jaiza worked in the Columbus City Attorney’s office where her passion to serve and help others grew. She was born and raised in Columbus and remains committed to her community. Jaiza is a member of Christ Memorial Missionary Baptist Church and loves working with the children and youth in the congregation. Jaiza received her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Georgetown University and her Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Ohio. A graduate of Brookhaven High School, Antwan received his Bachelor’s degree from DeVry University in Technical Management and an MBA from Ohio Dominican University.

Antwan currently serves as Operations Director for ViaQuest Inc. His company specializes in providing quality care to individuals with developmental disabilities. His future goals are to become an entrepreneur and a real estate mogul. David is currently engaged to his fiancée Angela whom he will marry in September 2016. Together they have three children Malik, Nazhaya, and Kaliyah.

raised in Columbus, Ohio. He is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration in Finance at The Ohio State University. David is the founder of nonprofit organization, B2B (Blessed To Bless), that provides resources for the homeless and lower income families. B2B recently provided over 10,000 clothing items for the community. David’s destined purpose is to lead by serving; and strives to fulfill his motto, “live to be remembered”, daily.

Ohio. While in high school, she took AP courses in government and history where she developed a love for Political Science. Helen matriculated to Denison University where she majored in Political Science and minored in Spanish graduating with honors. Since graduation, she moved to Columbus where she is very active in the community. Helen has volunteered at local food, clothing and furniture banks, the Suicide Prevention Line, the LGBT adult and youth centers, several political campaigns, and various grassroots movements. Helen currently works as a specialist for Nationwide Insurance.

Brenna Travis has enhanced communication

skills particularly related project management and facilitation. Originally from Cincinnati, she is an Alum of the University of Cincinnati. Brenna currently works at Honda where she supports and manages the functions of learning and leadership development. She has a passion for youth, personal and professional development, which led her to start her own mentoring organization called “Ladies 1st”. In the coming year she hopes to do more community outreach and leadership cultivation with youth based outreach programs.

In her spare time, she enjoys adventures with her son Ezra.

Honorable Charleta B. Tavares State Senator - District 15

Charles Noble, III The Kirwan Institute

Lonnie Miles - Principal/CEO Miles McClellan Construction

Jonathan Beard Columbus Compact Corp.

The fellows of Cycle VIII had the opportunity to hear lectures from State Senator Charleta B. Tavares, Charles Noble, III The Kirwan Institute for The Study of Race and Ethinicity, Lonnie Miles - Miles McClellan Construction, and Jonathan Beard - CEO of the Columbus Compact Corporation. The fellows have completed nine weeks of the program and will present their class projects on March 23, followed by graduation on March 25, 2016.

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By Ray Miller, MPA Under Our Skin - Getting Real about

Race and Getting Free from the Fears and Frustrations that Divide Us

The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act

By Charles S. Bullock, III, Ronald Keith

By Benjamin Watson

Gaddie and Justin J. Wert

Can it ever get better? This is the question Benjamin Watson is asking. In a country aflame with the fallout from the racial divide - in which Ferguson, Charleston, and the Confederate flag dominate the national news, daily seeming to rip the wounds open even wider - is there hope for honest and healing conversation? For finally coming to understand each other on issues that are ultimately about so much more than black and white?

An NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints and widely read and followed commentator on social media, Watson has taken the internet by storm with his remarkable insights about some of the most sensitve and charged topics of our day. Now, in Under Our Skin, Watson draws from his own life, his family legacay, and his role as a husband and father to sensitively examine both sides of race debate and appeal to the power and possibility of faith as a step toward healing.

On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, invalidating a key provision of voting rights law. The decision - the culmination of an eight-year battle over the power of Congress to regulate state conduct of elections - marked the closing of a chapter in American politics. That chapter had opened a century earlier in the case of Guinn v. United States, which ushered in national efforts to knock down racial barries to the ballot. A detailed and timely history, The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act analyzes changing legislation and the future of voting rights in the United States. Rigorous in its scholarship and thoroughly readable, this book goes beyond history and analysis to provide compelling and much needed insight into the ways voting rights legislation has shaped the United States. This book illuminates the historical roots - and the human consequences - of a critical chapter in U.S. legal history.

The Chicago Freedom Movement Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North

By Mary Lou Finley and Benard

The Black Presidency - Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America

By Michael Eric Dyson

LaFayette Jr.

Michael Eric Dyson explores the powerful, suprising way the politics of race have shaped Barack Obama’s identity and groundbreaking presidency. How has President Obama dealt publicly with race - as the national traumas of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and Walter Scott have played out during his tenure? What can we learn from Obama’s major race speeches about his approach to racil conflict and the black criticism it provokes? Dyson explores whether Obama’s use of his own biracialism as a radiant symbol has been driven by the president’s desire to avoid a painful moral reckoning on race. And he sheds light on identity issues within the black power structure, telling the fascinating story of how Obama has spurned traditional black power brokers, significantly reducing their leverage.

Six months afther the Selma to Montgomery marches and just weeks after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a group from Martin Luther King Jr.’s staff arrived in Chicago, eager to apply his nonviolent approach to social change in a northern city. Once there, King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined the locally based Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) to form the Chicago Freedom Movement. The open housing demonstrations they organized eventually resulted in a controversial agreement with Mayor Richard J. Daley and other city leaders, the fallout of which has historically led some to conclude that the movement was largely ineffective.

Clean and White - A History of Environmental Racism in the United States

First Class - The Legacy of Dunbar, America’s First Black Public High School

By Alison Stewart

By Carl A. Zimring

In the first half of the twentieth century, Dunbar was an academically elite public school despite being racially segregated by law and existing at the mercy of racist congressmen who held the school’s purse strings. These enormous challenges did not stop the local community from rallying for the cause of educating its children. Dunbar attracted extraordinary faculty: one early principal was the first black graduate of Harvard, almost all of the teachers had graduate degrees, and several earned PhDs - all extraordinary achievements given the Jim Crow laws of the times. Over the school’s first eighty years, these teachers developed generations of highly educated, high-achieving African Americans, groundbreakers that included the first black member of a presidential cabinet, first black graduate of the US Naval Academy, first black army general, the legal mastermind behind school desegregation and hundreds of educators.

When Joe Biden attempted to compliment Barack Obama by calling him “clean and articulate,” he unwittingly tapped into one of the most destructive racial stereotypes in American history. This book tells the history of the corrosive idea that whites are clean and those who are not white are dirty. From the age of Thomas Jefferson to the Mephis Public Workers strike of 1968 through the present day, ideas about race and waste have shaped where people have lived, where people have worked and how American society’s wastes have been managed. Carl A. Zimring draws on the historical evidence of statesmen, scholars, sanitarians, novelists, activits, advertisements and the United States Census of Population to revel changing constructions of environmental racism.

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CAANJ

10 PAN AFRICAN AFFAIRS

THE INAUGURAL PAN AFRICAN COLLOQUIUM

By Ojala Ani Mwalimu The Place For the uninitiated, Barbados is a small, calm, English speaking Caribbean island just north of Trinidad and Tobago near Guyana in South America. Her beaches, all of which are public, boast a standard clear blue water where colorful fish, coral reef, and sea turtles are regular sights. The island, which is a mere 166 square miles, is extremely easy to navigate via inexpensive public transportation. Many tourists and Bajans enjoy catamaran sunset sails as well as one of its most popularized land activities, the Friday night open air community fish fry parties at Oistins. Its Carnival, another major international draw, is locally and historically called Crop-Over signifying the annual end of the sugarcane harvest. It therefore occurs in early August, unlike in Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago, where Carnival is celebrated after the Lent season in February.

For the culturally and scholarly inclined, this island’s historical importance, particularly the ports and forts in its capital city Bridgetown, is as intriguing a draw as its breathtaking panoramic ocean vistas. As the prolific Sir Hilary Beckles wrote in his History of Barbados, “It was in Barbados between 1627 and 1660 that the English first triumphed as slave owners, and from where they proceeded to globalise the science of managing profitable slave plantations in farflung colonies.” It was the first colony in the Americas to be a slavery dominated society and the first to have a majority African population.

As Haiti was to the French, Barbados was to the British: the crown jewel of the colonial crown. Barbados was at one point the English Caribbean’s highest tobacco and sugar exporter.

Many of these notables have to do with Barbados being the easternmost Caribbean island. Indeed, it is often noted by local Africanists that if you go to the easternmost beach in Barbados, you are the closest one can possible be to Africa in the Caribbean.

The Bajan flag contains a broken trident, a direct symbol of its proud break with the British, whose flag bears a full trident. Its colors are yellow and blue, a nod to the ocean and sun which have played and continue to play a vital role in the nation’s economic and political development.

This is supported by the fact that roughly 65% of Barbadian jobs are in tourist related industries.

Another major element of the island is its Cavehill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Cavehill boasts an academic program of solid repute and relates to the recognition of the island as having a particularly highly formally educated population. Moreover, the Pan African sensibility of the people and its University leadership are very concretely demonstrated in the school’s administration building being constructed in the shape of the golden stool of the Asantehene, the purest representation of the royal house of the Ashanti empire and people.

Such politicized aesthetic decision making is based, at least partially, upon the well-known reality that a sizable portion of Bajans were Akan peoples upon arrival to the island, being stolen from modern day Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Togo.

The Conference The conference was billed as The Inaugural Pan African Colloquium which carried the theme of “Heroines and heroes of the back to Africa movements, Pan Africanism, African nationalism and global Africanism: Their philosophies, activities, and legacies.” Delegates came from Europe, Africa, South America, The U.S. and of course several nations within the Caribbean. The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG), in association with the Barbadian Commission for Pan African Affairs, hosted the event.

Members of the local Organizing Committee include Prof. Frederick Ochieng-Odhiambo, Dr. Tennyson Joseph, Dr. Sandra Ochieng-Springer, Dr. Rodney Worrell, Ms. Teresacita Cox, and Ms. Joy Prime.

This was undoubtedly an academic style conference with presenters being pre-selected based upon papers they submitted in advance. It was also clearly an activist conference as there did not pretend to be, as do most other academic fields of study, a false notion of political or social neutrality in the topic matters presented. In each of the eight presentation sessions, three scholars presented together and each had 15 minutes to present their thesis and outline of their respective papers. Afterward, the audience, comprised mainly of other professors, researchers, practitioners, and organizers, asked questions or commented on the ideas and claims made. Some audience responses were complimentary and others challenged presenters to either sharpen their research angles or even boldly urged them to reconsider some of their basic premises. The following are just a sample of the some of the people and concepts focused upon: Amidst the nearly 56 presentations listed on the program as well as the conversations and questions these presentations provoked, there emerged roughly three major themes. Unless otherwise stated, the wording of the themes is that of the author and not of those presenting in the conference.

Gender analysis in Pan African Movements and Global Africanist Societies From the start of the conference, presenters and

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participants alike, both men and women, posed commentary and questions regarding the role of gender in historical and present Pan Africanism as well as the impact that gender plays on how scholars and activists discuss, study, and lead within Pan Africanist frameworks. By examining the high number of women presenters, nearly 40%, and an even higher audience ratio, as well as the number of presentation topics that included women Pan Africanist leaders or gender analysis, one can already gather that this colloquium possessed greater numerical and content gender diversity than many other academic conferences.

Beyond the titles and representation in the room, was the degree of substantive gender analysis.

Notable among presenters who raised substantial concern about a need to maintain a gender analysis central in Pan African frameworks were Dr. Sandra Richards, Dr. Aurora BergaraFigueroa of Colombia, and Dr. Chenzira Davis Kahina of the Virgin Islands. One of the main issues was the apparent lack of women in current leadership roles and at decision making tables within the international reparations movement outside the U.S. It was noted that historically, in the U.S., many women spearheaded the civil society movement.

Another critical concern raised by an audience member, speaking on the role of religion in the Pan Africanist movement as well as for Global Africans in general, took to task the absence of the feminine spirit within the Christian world view of the Holy Trinity. With Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the audience member remarked, “where is there room for women?” Another participant offered an even more direct critique stating that “part of our fundamental problem as African people is that we have removed the black woman as divine,” and he argued that this led to our disunity and lack of ability to live according to divine intention and purpose. He gave reference to Kemetic cosmology and other indigenous African religions as having preserved divine authority and energy within the realm of black womanhood. Another contribution which drew support from the audience attacked the way in which “Christianity has demonized women and left little space for them to contribute.” Not Continued on next page.

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much defense of Christianity or Islam, in terms of their oppressive impact on African women, was given at the conference.

Similar to prior criticisms, more esoteric and theoretical postulations included questioning “if Western feminism has any validity and more importantly, usefulness in constructing or resurrecting positive frameworks for Global Africans?” Western feminism was critiqued, principally because of its grounding in whiteness and white supremacist ideology, which would not only misunderstand non-European societies but would, by its destructive nature, distort and seek to subvert non-European peoples. Some in the conference did identify as feminist and surprisingly little, if anything, was publically mentioned of womynist structures of analysis.

Given the intentional inclusion of “heroines” in the official title of the colloquium, it makes sense that there was a solid degree of direct, official discourse involving gender analysis and critique. Certainly, presentations were not always as sharp and self-reflective, on behalf of the men, as one might expect, this includes the apparent directionless analysis of “Marcus Garvey’s Ashleys” which was not the official title of one presentation, but based on its substance, could have very easily been. This was obviously problematic, despite the presenter’s acknowledged attempt to portray both Amy Ashwood Garvey and Amy Jacques Garvey as empowered women leaders contributing immensely to the UNIAA. Unfortunately, the talk slid into an almost soap-operaesque account, clothed in academic language. Additionally, it was noted by a presenter that the conference did not escape the ever exhausting “bladdatory competitions,” of men “hogging the mic” with long theoretical postulations guised as eventual questions. Such occurrences tend to plague many spaces, but especially spaces where ideas and intellect are supposed to be central. Even with this critique, the conference organizers were overall very successful in ensuring that nearly equitable numbers of women were present, their ideas and contributions voiced and valued, and their historical and present role in Pan Africanist development as well as within Global African society in general, documented and respected.

The Global African Reparations Movement Reparations movements and their theoretical underpinnings were a common conversational thread throughout the Colloquium. A general consensus was that the movement, if we can say there is one dominant reparations movement, is not as robust as it has been and has rewarded less return than many belief it should have at this point. In fact, some argued justly that reverse reparations have been far greater than actual reparations to peoples of African descent or

African dominant governments. For example, Haiti, and several other colonies were made to pay the colonizing countries exorbitant amounts of money for both their independence and for the human beings who were regarded as property that Europeans no longer could count as their possessions. There is also the distinction between reparations in mass, to be delivered to people of African descent because of what was stolen during and after enslavement, and reparations to former colonies whose resources were pilfered during the formal colonial period, not to mention during the present era of neocolonial exploitation. Another, more paradigm focused postulation, centered on the notion of reparations as needing to first and fundamentally be about repairing the psycho-emotional trauma of past and present exploitation. This was not meant as a critique or replacement of institutional or international reparations, but rather as a caution of over narrowing the lens of reparations to simply connote monetary or external processes.

With regards to progress of monetary reparations, Sir Hilary Beckles reminded the conference of past tensions that needed to be worked out, between Global Africans in the Americas and African governments. He noted the lack of formal African governmental support for the Diasporan calls for reparations, attributing this to African governmental leader’s pragmatic political approaches in the face of potential economic sabotage by Europe if continental Africans were to support the Diaspora’s call for reparations. This came to a painful head at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa when official government votes of African leaders in favor of prioritizing reparations language in resolutions, resulted in near nil support, Nigeria and Zimbabwe being notable exceptions. Lastly, one delegate made an impassioned call to not settle at comparing the Global African movement for Reparations with other reparations movements or crimes against humanity. The appeal was for Global Africa to recognize the unique nature of the multicentury time frame as well as the psychological, economic, political, physical, spiritual, historical and present day effects of the Maafa.

The Soul of Pan Africanism The irrepressible self-taught Black scholar and activist, John Henrik Clarke, defined Pan Africanism as “any effort on the part of African people to reclaim any portion of Africa that has been taken away, mutilated, misunderstood, or misinterpreted by a non-African to the detriment of Africa.” Some call it a philosophy, a political ideology, a movement, and some refer to it simply by its tenets of unity, liberation, development, and social governance. Whatever definitions people use for Pan Africanism, there are very concrete

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writings and actions that have shaped our world, which can be attributed to Pan Africanism.

There are the Pan African Conferences, the 5th of which, is credited with giving the final moral and collective push to begin the decolonization of Africa. There is Rastafarianism, a religion, culture, and worldview that is global in its reach and explicit about its central charge being African unity. There was Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the largest black organization in the history of the world, whose movement informed human rights struggles for black people on the continent, Europe, and in the Americas. Some may recall that Malcolm X’s father was a member of the UNIA. But what is Pan Africanism now? What is its relevance? Many people even rightfully ask, if it is useful? Though these questions were not all satisfactorily answered at the conference, other questions were asked and observations were made that help us get closer to the answer.

One participant honestly remarked that Pan Africanism, speaking of it as if it were a person, “has never fully known what to do with Arab North Africa”, particularly with Arab Islamic Africa. This becomes an increasingly relevant question when one considers the tragically assassinated Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his recent role in continental Pan Africanism.

Before his murder, he had arguably done more in his last decade, than any other African head of state to breathe life into Pan Africanism and attempt to champion its causes.

Others pondered, although a very slim minority, if ancient Kemetic spiritual and knowledge forms were necessary to forge the intellectual and religious backdrop of the Pan African framework or if sub-Saharan Africa should stand on its own as sufficient enough with its own spiritualties, resources, civilization, people, and culture. Relatedly, a participant very clearly asserted that no idea foreign to Africa, particularly from Europe could ever lend itself to effective Pan Africanism. This argument was articulated within a discussion about Marxism and its significant presence among the breadth of Pan African philosophies.

Marxism was and is central to the ideology of a range of Africanist leaders from heads of state to NGO representatives. C.L.R. James was mentioned as a revered Pan Africanist leader who incorporated a Marxist analysis in his larger outlook. In fact, many independence leaders and black revolutionaries were Marxists or included Marxian structures in their larger ideology. To some at the Conference, Marxism was taken in the same vein as feminism, that is as a foreign construct that only serves to privilege Europe, whiteness, and the furtherance of Africans from themselves. Relatedly, although not articulated as a specific theory of counteraction, some suggested that Kemetic and other indigenous African spiritualties were an answer to European sexism and modes of male domination as they often hold women as central to divine power.

Another current within Conference conversation was the drastically changing Global African scenario since the 1960’s and 1970’s that Pan Africanists must account for. In the U.S. Pan Africanists must find ways to jointly engage generations old U.S. based black folk and the steady surge of African brothers and sisters, mainly from the continent. Indeed, since 1990, more Africans from the continent have entered the U.S. than in the nearly 200 years prior. This has profound impacts on what it means to be black, African, and African in America. In the present European context, particularly in England, as opposed to the mid 20thcenteury, many Caribbean folk are not relating as easily with their continental African brothers and sisters given the shifts from West

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

CAANJ Africa to North East Africa as the source of immigration in Europe. Additionally, few could have predicted that the post-apartheid land of Mandela and Biko would suffer such intense anti-African immigrant protests and brutality, as was recently witnessed. All of these changing dynamics present challenges to a seemingly once more unified Africanist approach to political struggles. The term Diaspora was even in question as it is potentially seen as privileging continental Africans with more of an authentic or more important Africanness than Africans abroad. “Global Africans” was suggested as a term for all Africans regardless of their recent origin or current home.

Some may see the number of changing dynamics and fundamental questions as a threat to Pan Africanism. Others point to recent developments as evidence that there is some balance to the aforementioned concerns. Brazil’s rising global importance as seen in its BRIC affiliation, its massive African population, the second largest of any country in the world except Nigeria, and more importantly the momentum of their changing black consciousness, offers hope and examples to Pan Africanist everywhere. Many

are encouraged by the fact that for the first time in its history a majority of Brazil’s population now identify as black. To contextualize this change in self-identification, one must understand that a strong majority of Brazilians, at least 70% are of at least partial African descent, however, due to the success of the dominant white narrative of Brazil being a non-racial society, most of its citizens didn’t identify as their cultural equivalent of black. Relatedly, the children of recent African immigrants in the U.S., although not always fully embracing their ethnic roots, are interacting at unprecedented rates with more centuries-old established communities of Africans in America and their relationships, many of which are formed in schools, are fertile soil from which to harvest a new Pan Africanism.

African based music and social media offer, perhaps the best hope at resurrecting and guiding a 21st centuries Pan African discourse. As the Arab Spring and Black Lives Matter Movement were largely facilitated through the internet and social media, so to can it be used to further Pan Africanism. This ties in significantly with the hope of the inter-African youth discourse in the U.S. as these demographics are the drivers

of much of the social media technology. Of course, just as music for Global Africans, whether consciously or not, has often been a unifier of peoples, it has the strong potential to perform the same function today. In such a globalized culture, the phenomenon of the 1990’s U.S. Hip Hop export, is gradually shifting from a primarily one way flow model, to a much more dynamic back and forth musical conversation among Global African youth. It is becoming increasingly common for individuals, institutions and social gatherings to incorporate a much higher percentage of Global African music today in their rotations. This goes beyond the megatrends of Afro-Latin, Afro Beat, and Reggae but also includes other diverse African based musical forms. In the era of non-stop ubiquitous digital imagery, many across Global Africa are now seeing the diverse and beautiful blackness of the people making this music and as well as the black communities they represent.

If properly contextualized and harnessed, social media and art present one of the easiest and strongest ways to revitalized 21st century Pan Africanism.

NADJA WEST BECOMES FIRST 3-STAR GENERAL On Tuesday, February 9, Lt. Gen Nadja West will be honored in an official ceremony formalizing her promotion to threestar general, making her the first AfricanAmerican woman to achieve that rank in the United States Army. She is also the highest-ranking woman of any race to have graduated from West Point.

General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as of December. As such, West will be assisting and advising the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff in relation to all health care matters in the Army, in addition to overseeing development, organization, policy direction, and other matters relative to the Armywide health care systems.

“I was once an orphan with an uncertain future,” said West of the promotion and the new responsibilities facing her in the future.

“And I am incredibly honored and humbled to lead such a distinguished team of dedicated The promotion and ceremony follows the professionals who are entrusted with the care 54-year-old’s confirmation by the Senate as the of our nation’s sons and daughters, veterans new Army Surgeon General and Commanding and family members. While our Army and our

nation face tough challenges in the future, I am confident that collectively we have the right skills, commitment, and talent to meet those challenges with mission success,” she added.

The Washington D.C. area-native holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Doctorate of Medicine from George Washington University School of Medicine. She has held previous assignments as Commanding General, Europe Regional Medical Command; Commander of Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, N.C.; and Division Surgeon, 1st Armored Division, Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany.

Story by GoodBlackNews.org

ADIDAS CELEBRATES JESSE OWENS WITH NEW FOOTWARE COLLECTION Inspired by the triumph of an American sports and cultural hero, adidas celebrates Jesse Owens with its Black History Month footwear collection.

The facts are simple, Jesse Owens was the most famous track and field athlete of all time, and in 1950 when the Associated Press conducted a poll to determine the greatest track and field athlete of the first half of the twentieth century, the results didn’t even come close –

Owens by a landslide.

Raised in Ohio with Alabama roots, it was in the span of 45 minutes on one single afternoon on May 25, 1935, at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan that Owens electrified the sports world with the greatest one-man, oneday performance the sport had ever known – breaking three world records and tying a fourth.

One year later, at the 1936 Berlin summer games, Owens became a groundbreaking athlete and symbol for social justice and equality after a historic performance where he became the first American track & field athlete to win four gold medals in a single games, all while under tremendous global tension.

Owens accomplished the feat in track spikes hand-crafted by adidas founder Adi Dassler, 33

who carried the glove leather spikes from his workshop in Herzogenaurach, a Bavarian village just 300 miles to the South. Owens’ athletic performance, wearing the spikes of adidas, marked one of the most significant sports and cultural moments of the 20th century.

“The Owens family is pleased to partner with adidas for Black History Month with a commemorative basketball shoe. On the feet of athletes who compete in the spirit of Jesse’s historic accomplishments, these shoes encompass the significance of one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.”

Concurrently, the Focus Features Jesse Owens biopic “Race” will hit theaters on February 19.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

CAANJ

11 HISTORY

AMINAH ROBINSON: ARTIST OF THE PEOPLE

By Rodney Q. Blount, M.A. Recently, I had the opportunity and pleasure to talk to a community leader, Reita Smith, who is a staunch advocate of historical preservation and has been a leader in the fight to save what remains of Poindexter Village, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority’s first public affordable housing project which was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Oct. 12, 1940. She talked about the tight knit communities among African Americans in all corners of Columbus, including the Blackberry Patch. Her passion to keep the memories from our past alive along with sharing some photos and articles reminded me of some prolific paintings I have seen in various books, in/on buildings and a larger than life mural that graces the center staircase of Columbus’s main library.

The images that came to mind were from none other than the beloved and brilliant artist Aminah Robinson. Her outstanding work has been recognized internationally, but her connection to Columbus and its citizens were a lifelong inspiration to Aminah Robinson and her art.

Born Brenda Lynn Robinson in Columbus, Ohio, on February 18, 1940, she changed her name to Aminah after visiting Africa in 1979.

Her parents were Leroy E.W. Robinson and Helen E. (Zimmerman) Robinson and they passed down their own creative skills to their daughter. Leroy Robinson was a public school custodian and he taught Aminah how to draw and how to make books. Remarkably, some of those books would be made from “hogmawg,” a collection of mud, clay, twigs, leaves, lime, animal grease, and glue. Her mother, Helen Robinson, taught her weaving, needlework, and button work. Robinson said of her own early artistic experience, “I began drawing at the age of three. My father would give me wood to paint on and paint in little enamel tins. My studio was under my bed...I never had any doubt in my mind about being an artist.”

The Robinson family were among the earliest residents of Poindexter Village, named after Rev. James M. Poindexter, the pastor of Second Baptist Church from 1862 to 1898. It was built on part of the neighborhood that preceded it, the Blackberry Patch, an area between Long Street and Mount Vernon Avenue where many lowincome African-American families lived, often in deteriorating houses without indoor plumbing.

A large number of the homes did not have electricity and relied on potbellied stoves for heat and did not have indoor plumbing. Poindexter Village was a great opportunity for advancement because it provided safe and sanitary housing,

which included electricity, natural gas, heat, hot and cold water and a modern gas range. Both the Blackberry Patch and Poindexter Village had tight knit communities full of activity. A lot of Aminah Robinson’s artwork was based on her community experiences and the people she watched or heard about like the Chickenfoot Woman and the Crowman, who carried a pet crow on his head. She also gained a lot of inspiration from local artist Elijah Pierce and said, “Elijah Pierce was my spiritual mentor and friend. He was a great person, a great artist, and a person who walked with integrity, and he passed on so much of that wisdom to me.”

Aminah Robinson’s talent was impressive and she excelled in the classroom graduating from East High School in 1957 and graduating magna cum laude from the Columbus Art School (now the Columbus College of Art and Design) in 1960. She also studied at Bliss College, Franklin University, and The Ohio State University. She worked for the Columbus Department of Parks and Recreation for 19 years teaching art, starting in 1972.

Aminah Robinson was also an activist. She participated in the historic March on Washington in 1963. Twenty six years later she created a dynamic depiction, Unwritten Love Letter: March on Washington, 1989, to commemorate the event. She also had a life changing experience when she visited Africa in 1979. Remembering her experience, Aminah mentioned, “I made paper before going to Africa... I made a leather pack to hold my drawing paper and a leather pack to hold my pencils and ink. All I wanted to do was draw and capture the spirit of the people.” It was during this trip that she was given the name

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

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Aminah by an Egyptian holy man. She also gained motivation from visiting Sapelo Island, Georgia, where her ancestors were enslaved before and during the Civil War. Aminah Robinson was a recipient of many awards including the Governor’s Award for the Visual Arts from the Ohio Arts Council (1983), Minority Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ohio Arts Council residency in Herzilya, Israel (1998), an honorary doctor of fine arts degree from Ohio Dominican University (2002), and a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship (2004). She has major commissioned works at the Columbus Metropolitan Library (Life in Sellsville and Life in the Blackberry Patch, 1990) and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Journeys, 2003).

Aminah Robinson lived a full life and had a beautiful spirit. Her artwork was so impressive, a traveling exhibition of her work, Symphonic Poem, was assembled by the Columbus Museum of Art in 2002, and was shown worldwide. The exhibit consisted of “grand collages on fabric, sculptures, drawings, paintings, carvings, quilts and books weave memory into works that document her own and her community’s history.”

She passed away on May 22, 2015. Her only child, her beloved son Sydney Edward Robinson, preceded her in death in 1994. Unfortunately, I do not have enough space to talk about all of the things that Aminah Robinson did or created, but I am so glad she shared her gifts with the community. Robinson’s artwork, like her legacy, is invaluable and I believe it is important for parents and the whole community to encourage youth to find and use their gifts so they can excel like Aminah Robinson.

Works Cited h t t p : / / w w w. d i s p a t c h . c o m / c o n t e n t / s t o r i e s / local/2015/05/23/aminah-robinson-obit.html http://library.cscc.edu/ld.php?content_id=13152782 http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-PoemAminah-Brenda-Robinson/dp/0810945053 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr &GSvcid=501230&GRid=146991583& http://www.aminahsworld.org/download/biotimeline.pdf h t t p : / / w w w. d i s p a t c h . c o m / c o n t e n t / s t o r i e s / local/2013/02/04/blighted-but-once-a-godsend.html

Roderick Blount is an Educator and Historian.

He received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Ball State University and a Masters of Arts degree from The Ohio State University. His work has been featured in several publications.

Roderick is a native of Columbus, Ohio and is a member of several organizations.

Photo courtesy of by Black Art In America.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

CAANJ

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MOTHER OF ALL HUMANITY

By Stephanie Bridges It has been historically, biblically, and scientifically proven that the African Woman is the “Mother of All Humanity.” The original woman birthed the diaspora spread far and wide and from Black; brown, red, yellow and white were extracted. This is cause for celebration!

Even if we have to celebrate ourselves, by ourselves, with ourselves! Happy Black History Month to Creation’s first. As an African Woman born in America, I say to humanity, “You are welcome.”

It isn’t easy being the Mother of All Humanity.

My blood is liquid empathy, because I have been through it all. I have had my future ripped from my bosom only to have the Misses babe latch on for dear life. I have watched my man emasculated, castrated, humiliated, hanged. Oh, please Massa don’t sell my seed – I have bravely borne each child conceived - in love and in rape.

I have bred, birthed, and nursed with no say into what horror my spring would be delivered. I know rocking and wailing and praying for death.

I have the faith of a mustard seed staid in my Spirit. It tells hope not to abandon my Soul.

While I encourage my husband, brother, son and father to fight in war – soldier up for a nation that spits in his face, calls him nigger, puts him

on the front line and denies him opportunity, if survival is his to be known; I don’t do it for us. For us, emancipation is just a big word. I do it for the future, my future dispersed – my country. I know you do not believe this is my country. But today I declare it. I am American.

I am more American than you. This nation was birthed on my back literally and spiritually. I am the Prayer Warrior that keeps you. And before you can wash your hands clean. I am African.

Black and deep and resilient. So bright I swallow the sun and mere mortals can’t see my shine. I may never step foot on my native land, or speak her tongue, or feel her warmth, but I am she. I am the Mother of All Humanity, and empathy catches in my throat and streams down my face wondering why compassion had to die.

Wondering why I have to count marbles, and recite preambles in order for my voice to be counted. Wondering why I have to go through the door in the back, sit in the back, and just back back when my presence is your nuisance.

Wondering why my face can’t represent my song; why my invention garners no dollar in my favor. I wonder why I am invisible. So, I march and boycott and sit in. I get arrested, hosed and bitten. I makeshift my own college, business, pageant, and magazine still based on your model and standard so my esteem can only go but so high. My towns beautiful and bright you incinerate out of pure unadulterated hate.

And you wonder why there are HBCUs, black fraternities, sororities, panthers, and NAACPs.

Now we’re uppity and it’s not fair that Black Girls Rock. Oh, poor Becky. I still ride with you and your fight for equality. You conflate your struggle to own land, vote, choose and be compensated with mine. Even though your husband, brother, son and father have everything necessary to keep you on high and mine has none; so he too, turns to you for a giggle. But I still ride because each step you take; I lead the way. I raised you while your mother hosted polite society and swooned in the garden that I toiled. I ride, we ride, and I will pat your tears and sing your praises whenever your turn comes before mine to preside in the highest office.

I am the Mother of All Humanity, so I await prison gates to swing wide and free black bodies carrying the guilt of being black bodies thanks to men in black bodies who wonder. Wonder why people fight so hard for others to remain sick.

Wonder why people fight so hard for others to remain poor. Wonder why people fight so hard for others to remain in the shadows. Wonder why people fight so hard for others to remain apart.

Wonder why our mere desire for freedom gnaws at your traveling carnival pursuit of cannibalistic liberty. But I already know the answer. It is precisely because I Am the Mother of All Humanity. Liquid empathy pumps through my veins and still to this day remains the only reason you exist.

Stephanie Bridges is an author and active writer.

A native of Columbus, she is a contributing writer for The Columbus African American.

THE DIVERCITY PROJECT TO PRESENT AUTHENTIC BEGINNINGS: A DIALOGUE THROUGH MOVEMENT

Evening to showcase five local visionary performance dance companies The DiverCity Project, an artistic collaboration between five local dance companies: Oyo Dance Company, NOMEL Inspirational Dance Theater, Judah Performing Arts Company, Goree Drum Dance and Stafford Barry Jr., will

feature an exciting evening of dance on February 27, 2016 at 7 p.m. This highly anticipated event will take place at the Lincoln Theater, 769 E. Long Street.

The evening will feature artistic dance expression spanning ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, and indigenous African movement with inspiration from various dance masters and pioneers including Alvin Ailey, James Truitte, Dr. Chuck Davis, Abdou Kounta, Margarita and John White, just to name a few.

“Our vision in coming together was to share our love and passion for artistic dance and expression to the community, “ said Gamal Brown, founder of Oyo Dance Company. “For all of us, dance represents a bountiful pallet of color, culture and experience. We want to weave a tapestry of movement, that carefully spins a story of triumph, lamentation, conquest 35

and jubilation that ultimately inspires all who attend.”

This is the second year for the DiverCity Project.

The group hopes to expand the production into an annual event. The collaboration was inspired by the lack of representation and access to funding for and on main stages and theater houses in Columbus. The DiverCity Project hopes to bring greater exposure and standards of dance to the Columbus market. Proceeds from the event will benefit ongoing programming and scholarships for aspiring and professional dancers.

Tickets are now available for purchase through ticketmaster.com or through the CAPA ticket office at 614.469.0939. Prices for general seating start at $20 and VIP packages, which includes entry into a private reception are $50. For more information, contact Shelly Ridley-Steward at 614.595.3709 or judahperformaingartscompany. com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

CAANJ

COMMUNITYEVENTS February 6, 2016 Exploring the African Origins of Humankind Lecture will focus on finding the epicenter of human origins in Africa by following the guide of the human genetic map, and incorporating the principles of Henikian Netseric science. The lecture will be led by Shifferaw Enkubahire, Ethiopian Sage and researcher of the ancient African history of Nile Valley.

Location: OSU African, African American Extension Center Address: 905 Mt. Vernon Ave., 43203 Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.aaascec.osu.edu

February 17, 2016 Comedian Faizon Love For one night only, enjoy the comedic genius of Faizon Love. Having appeared in over 30 films, including Friday, Elf and a recent guest apperance on ABC’s Blackish, Love is dominating the comedy industry.

For ticket prices call 614-471-5653.

Location: The Funny Bone Address: 145 Easton Town Center, 43219 Time: 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM Admission: Call for prices.

Web: www.Columbus.FunnyBone.com

February 9, 2016 A Conversation and Coffee JContributions of Africana Studies to Productive Dialogue and Solutions presents “A Conversation and Coffee” to discuss how the Humanities and Arts via Africana Studies can help address real world issues and concerns with solutions to make us healthier, wiser and sustainable. Featuring Dr. Linda James-Myers and guest faculty. To RSVP, please call 614-292-3922

February 17, 2016 Black History Month Celebration Join Columbus State Community College as they celebrate Black History Month with special presentation from award-winning author and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. She is a writer for The New York Times and author of Living Apart - How The Government Betrayed A Landmark Civil Rights Law. For more information, visit the website below.

Location: OSU African, African American Extension Center Address: 905 Mt. Vernon Ave., 43203 Time: Noon - 1:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.aaascec.osu.edu

Location: Lincoln Theatre Address: 769 E. Long St., 43203 Time:10:00 AM - Noon Admission: Free Web: www.CSCC.edu

February 10, 2016 The Love Tones Join The JazzHop Movement as they present an evening of soulful music and poetry, hosted by national R&B recording artist, Eric Roberson. Additional artist include: Roxie Soul Butterfly & The Tryangles, Wali and special guest Rayzak. For tickets call 614745-6807

February 17, 2016 Courageous Conversations - Community Forum on Education Come out and join the conversation about the education system in Central Ohio. This event, sponsored by Columbus State Community College deals with the issue of race and ethinicity in Columbus. For more information, visit the website below.

Location: Columbus Performing Arts Center Address: 549 Franklin Avenue, 43215 Time: Doors Open at 6:30 PM, Show Starts at 7:00 PM Admission: $30 in advance, $50 at the door.

February 13, 2016 2nd Annual Valentine’s Day Program Celebrate the Valentine’s Weekend with a special panel discussion at Second Baptist Church on the theme “Keys to Developing and Maintaining a Healthy Christian Relationship.” This workshop is open to all, married, single or dating. For more information call 614-253-4313.

Location: Second Baptist Church Address: 186 N. 17th Street, 43203 Time: 9:00 AM - Noon Admission: Free Web: www.SecondBaptistColumbus.com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016 2015

Location: Downtown High School Address: 364 S. 4th Street, 43215 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.CourageousConvos.com February 17, 2016 Black Lives Matter - The Personal is Political Join in the dialogue on the political landscape of Black America and the implications of current issues such as Tamir Rice, Anthony Hill, University of Missouri and more. Featured panelists include Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York and OSU’s Dr. Hasan Jeffries. For more information call 614-688-8449.

Location: Mortiz College of Law - Saxbe Auditorium Address: 55 W. 12th Ave, 43210 Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.Multiculturalcenter.OSU.edu

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COMMUNITYEVENTS

February 18, 2016 A Legacy of Art - Honoring Aminah Robinson & Kojo Kamau The 9th Annual Eldon and Elsie Ward Family YMCA Legacy Celebration will honor the legacy and artistic contributions of Aminah Robinson and Kojo Kamau. Enjoy an evening of live music, food and culture. For tickets call 614-252-3166.

Location: Franklin Park Conservatory Address: 1777 E. Broad St., 43203 Time: 6:00 PM Admission: Call for prices.

Web: www.YMCAcolumbus.org/ward February 20, 2016 A Tribute to African Americans Events by APJ presents A Tribute to African Americans: You’re A Shining Star. Honorees include: Jerry Revish, Sheri-Lynn Flowers Wynn, Bryan O’Steward, Esq., Min. Tanikka Sheppard, Jenca Reshawn Harvison, Dee Miller and Shannon Jones. For tickets, call 614-504-3110.

Location: Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church Address: 1636 Graham Rd., 43068 Time: Doors Open at 1:00 PM, Program at 2:00 PM Admission: $25.00 per person Web: www.aTributeToAfricanAmericans.com

February 27, 2016 The DiverCity Project: A Dialogue Through Music An artistic collaboration between five local dance companies: Oyo Dance Company, NOMEL Inspirational Dance Theater, Judah Performing Arts Company, Goree Drum Dance and Stafford Barry Jr., will feature an exciting evening of dance ranging from Hip Hop to Ballet, African to Modern Alvin Ailey style. For tickets call 614-4690939.

Location: The Lincoln Theatre Address: 769 E. Long St., 43203 Time: 7:00 PM Admission: General Admission $20, VIP Reception $50

February 27, 2016 18th Annual Kenneth L. Howard Scholarship Brunch The Columbus Kappa Foundation cordially invites the community and fellow Greeks to attend this annual scholarship brunch. Money raised from this event provides college scholarships for young men in Central Ohio. This year’s keynote speaker is Maurice Clarett. For tickets call 614-313-0433.

Location: The Lincoln Theatre Address: 769 E. Long St., 43203 Time: 11:00 AM Admission: Call for ticket prices.

February 24, 2016 Ohio Legislative Black Caucus - Celebrate Black History Join the members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus as they celebrate Black History Month on this “Day of Action 2016.” This is a great way to meet with your elected officials and to participate in building an agenda for the African American community. To RSVP for this event, please call 614-466-1308

February 28, 2016 Al Jarreau in Concert Al Jarreau’s unique vocal style is one of the world’s most precious treasures. His innovative musical expressions have made him one of the most excitig and critically acclaimed performers of our time, earning him seven Grammy Awards, scores of international music awards, and popular accolades worldwide.

Location:Vern Riffe Center, 3rd Floor Address: 77 S. High Street, 43215 Time:10:00 AM - Noon Admission: Free

Location: The Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts Address: 100 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., 43054 Time: 8:00 PM Admission: $31.00 - $56.00 Web: www.MccoyCenter.org

February 24-28, 2016 Motown The Musical Motown The Musical is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and many more.

Now experience it live on stage in the record-breaking smash hit Motown The Musical!

March 3, 2016 Author Kwame Anthony Appiah at OSU A well-renowned philosopher, cultural theorist and author, Kwame Anthony Appiah has published widely on moral philosophy, political theory, ethics and African American literature and culture. A professor at New York University’s Department of Philosophy and 2012 National Humanities Medal recipient presented by President Obama, he is considered one of the most powerful thought leaders in the world.

Location: The Ohio Theatre Address: 39 E. State Street, 43215 Time: 7:30 PM Admission: $33.00 - $103.00 Web: www.Capa.com

Location: The Ohio State University - Great Hall - Ohio Union Address: 1739 N. High St., 43215 Time: 5:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.odi.osu.edu

Please note: Information for this section is gathered from multiple commnuity sources. The Columbus African American is not responsible for the accuracy and content of information. Times, dates and locations are subject to change. If you have an event that you would like to feature in this section, please call 614-340-4891 or email us at editor@columbusafricanamerican.com. Submissions are due by the last Friday of each month.

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2016

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2016 The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

SENIOR CARE ORGANIZATIONS

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Canal Winchester YMCA E.E. Ward Family YMCA Hilltop YMCA North YMCA Barnett Recreation Center Beatty Recreation Center Driving Park Recreation Center Marion Franklin Recreation Center

Mt. Carmel Hospital East & West 22 Newstands Downtown

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

OPEN ENROLLMENT STARTS

You Have a Choice!

Now!

Serving Grades

K-8

CHALLENGING CURRICULUM AND DAILY SPORTS INSTRUCTION! 3 ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN 3 Small Class Sizes 3 Extended School Day from 8 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

3 Daily Fitness Instruction in Martial Arts, Soccer, and Tennis 3 No Tuition!

3 All Students Wear Uniforms 3 Teachers and Staff Who Care!

3 Individualized Instruction to Meet the Needs of the Whole Child 3 LIMITED SPACE. UNLIMITED POTENTIAL!

Strong Academics—2 hours of reading/language arts, 1.5 hours of math, 1 hour each of science and social studies daily 3 Daily Character Education

Choose from 1 of 5 conveniently located campuses!

1258 Demorest Rd. • Columbus OH 43204 E-mail: ssantos@performanceacademies.com Phone: 614-318-0606

1875 Morse Rd. • Columbus OH 43229 E-mail: medwards@performanceacademies.com Phone: 614-318-0600

3474 Livingston Ave. • Columbus OH 43227 E-mail: wconnick@performanceacademies.com Phone: 614-324-4585

Information Meetings will be held at each school for interested parents.

Please check the websites for dates and times.

2220 South Hamilton Rd. • Columbus OH 43232 E-mail: ntate@performanceacademies.com (Grade 4-8) jpammer@performanceacademies.com (Grade K-3) Phone: 614-314-6301

274 E. 1st Avenue, Suite 200 • Columbus, Ohio 43201 E-mail: ahaman@performanceacademies.com Phone: 614-318-0720

www.performanceacademies.com 40

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015