August 2019 Edition

Columbus & Dayton

August 2019

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Civility As A Weapon of Oppression

By Eric Johnson, PhD

Phoenixes Rise: 1619-2019 Four Hundred Years of Innovation and Invention

By Frederic Bertley, PhD

Before 1619 to Today

By Cecil Jones, MBA

1619 - 2019

OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OHIO.

To find out more about what we’re doing in the community and how you can get involved visit aarp.org/oh.

PUBLISHER’S PAGE Founder & Publisher Ray Miller

Layout & Design Ray Miller, III

Assistant Editor Ray Miller, III

Distribution Manager Ronald Burke Student Interns Jada Respress Olivia Deslandes

Lead Photographer Steve Harrison

Contributing Editors Tim Anderson Tim Ahrens, D.Min Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Frederic Bertley, PhD Rodney Q. Blount, Jr., MA Michael Coard Alethea E. Gaddis, MBA Shannon Hardin Eric Johnson, PhD Cecil Jones, MBA Robin A. Jones, PhD Jaqueline Lewis-Lyons, PsyD Darren Lundy, MBA Vanessa Mbonu William McCoy, MPA Ray Miller, III Bill Payne Cheryl Smith Charleta B. Tavares

The Columbus African American news journal was founded by Ray Miller on January 10, 2011

The Columbus & Dayton African American

It is 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning, August 2, 2019, and I can’t begin to tell you how overjoyed I feel at this very moment. Not simply because we have put one more edition of The Columbus & Dayton African American to bed. But because I have dined on the main course and now I can enjoy the literary dessert. To say that I love African American history would be an understatement of manifold proportions. At this very moment, a childish smile has come over my face and I feel as though I am enveloped by an all-encompassing freedom which protects, gives comfort, and inspires me to unearth treasures of knowledge about my ancestors and their awe-inspiring achievements.

First, however, I must give thanks to all of the contributing writers who took the time to present such useful knowledge in analytic prose and sound research. Please take as much time as you need to consume and digest their work. You will be made better for doing so.

Equally, I want to give thankful recognition to my family, Ray III and Marty, and my dudes Steve Harrison, Rod Harris, and Ronald Burke for their consistent and diligent contribution to the exacting standards we have all established. We will sleep well tonight!

The brilliant scholar, author, sociologist, civil rights activist, and political philosopher--W. E. B. DuBois, in writing about “His Double Self” in the book The Souls of Black Folk, written in 1903, states: “The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife--this longing to attain selfconscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of opportunity closed roughly in his face.”

I have long studied this double-consciousness which DuBois proferred more than one hundred years ago. This twoness. The waring ideals wrapped in one dark body. The schizoid mentality which one is forced to live with to an extent which they may not even be aware. Consider the following: On August 25, 1619, an English Privateer ship, the White Lion, brought the first “20 and odd” enslaved Africans to the continent. The captured Africans aboard that first ship were masters of their trades--skilled and knowledgeable farmers, blacksmiths, and tradesmen.

Their expertise and innovations in food production and crop cultivation were understood to be valuable. This marked the start of 246 years of slavery that began in Great Britain’s North American colonies and continued through into the newly formed United States of America.

When Virginia seceded from the Union in May of 1861, Union Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler, who had recently taken command of Fort Monroe, was confronted with a difficult decision. The day after Virginia’s secession, three enslaved men--Frank Baker, James Townsend, And Shepard Mallory--escaped and sought sanctuary at Fort Monroe.

According to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, any enslaved person caught must be returned to their “owner” regardless of where they were apprehended. Using his experience as a lawyer, Major General Butler was able to protect these men as confiscated “contraband” under the rules of war. This decision made Fort Monroe a space of hope and changed the fates of the thousands of African Americans seeking freedom. Why do I share this with you? It is not just good history, it is my history. Eighty-eight years after Virginia seceded from the union, I was born at the Fort Monroe Hospital in Hampton, Virginia. I spent the first seven years of my life growing up in the immediate vicinity where the first “20 and odd” enslaved Africans were brought to this country. For me, this gives new meaning to the verse, “This land is your land. This land is my land.”

Within this edition of the news journal, you will learn what brought the Africans to America, the concerted acts to destroy their family structure, Drapetomania, Negrophobia, major laws, court decisions, and Constitutional amendments. In addition, you will learn how our ancestors survived, thrived, built America, achieved at high levels, and became leaders in every field of endeavor. Questions which challenge the race will also be addressed--homicide, morbid obesity, infant mortality, poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment, just to name a few.

Read, learn, and act upon your expanded knowledge.

With Respect and Appreciation,

503 S. High Street - Suite 102 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Office: 614.826.2254 editor@columbusafricanamerican.com www.CAANJ.com

Ray Miller Founder & Publisher 3

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

In This Issue

24

Editorial: Marijuana Reform

24

City Council Passes

Marijuana Reform

25

Legislative Update

26

College Bound: Support

for HBCUs

27

UNCF Celebrates 75 Years

of Service

28

We Cannot Look Away:

Volunteer Changes

Child’s Story

29

Book Bags & E-Readers

31

A 400 Year History of

Courage, Bravery,

Leadership and Sacrifice

- Our Military Service

32

DLR Group Welcomes New

Education Planning

400 Years of Progress

Expert in Ohio

By: William McCoy, MPA

33

Drapetomania: Compliant

Blacks Sane, Resisting

Blacks Insane

34

Commentary: Tough

Black Union Soldiers - Civil War Undated Photo

10 15 17 5

HBCU’s: Not Just Then, But Now Too By: Alethea Gaddis, MBA

400 Years: A Health Journey of Inequity By: Charleta B. Tavares

Civility as a Weapon

Decision

16

Jamestown to Jamestown:

of Oppression

Commemorating 400 Years

6

Phoenixes Rise: 1619-2019

of the African Diaspora

Four Hundred Years of

Experience

Innovation and Invention

17

400 Years: A Health

7

Before 1619 to Today

Journey of Inequity

9

400 Years - Five Generations:

18

Mindfulness: What, Why

Still Fighting White Supremacy

and How, Part I

10

HBCU’s: Not Just Then,

20

COVER STORY

But Now Too

23

400 Years to Remember

15

400 Years of Progress

How Beautiful You

Really Are

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

4

35

Why the ROTH IRA Works

for Most Savers.

36

Jack Ford: First Black

Mayor of Toleo

37

Community Events

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.

CIVILITY AS A WEAPON OF OPPRESSION

By Eric Johnson, PhD The effort to realize equality and justice has always required bold responses to policy, law, costumes, and practices that benefit some at the expense of others. Frederick Douglass famously uttered the potent words “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” To the contrary, there are those who would have us believe that change is possible in circumstances that comfort powerful and maintain the status quo. Civility, while certainly a worthy and necessary element for the tenuous bonds required to maintain a society diverse in thought, representation, religion or any other methods of truth construction. Civility under those circumstances is predicated on mutual trust, respect, and good will. By the very definition of inequality, discrimination, and bigotry each of those concepts are violated on principle. How does civility work when it aides a condition that benefits some to your detriment? Zora Neal Hurston’s quote “if you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you liked it” captures the point well.

The recent calls for civility by people who have nothing to say about the bigoted and racist tweets by the President and the unequivocally xenophobic chants by his supporters’ ring hollow and empty. Moreover, when civility becomes a mechanism to stifle dissent and present roadblocks to equality and justice it becomes an efficient weapon. A weapon that uses the pain of victims against them. It requires that they filter their pain through a lens that gives benefits to the perpetuators of it. While victims are often subjugated by “civil norms,” perpetrators are not. So, while Boko Haram’s uncivil behavior to steal 200 girls from their families and the civil attempts to return them has resulted in the rescue of only 80 girls, and the civil attempts to retrieve the rest have been futile thus far.

The Chinese government’s attempt to civilly roll back many of the freedoms that Hong Kong citizens had before the British returned the island back to Chinese control have resulted in many skirmishes with Chinese authorities and injuries of Chinese citizens who only wish to maintain the agreement signed between the Chinese and British governments’ about how the island would be governed for the next 50 years. While many Black communities civilly demonstrate and peacefully protest the violence of the police officers (Black, White or otherwise) to members of the Black community, there seems to be no end to the videos that display uncivil and violent behavior that continues to defy the mutual trust, respect and good will necessary to effectuate an authentic civility that represents the possibility of progress.

Moreover, the President of the United States seems not to be constrained by any such civil norms in his newest attacks targeting

Photo - TIME Magazine

Representative Elijah Cummings calling his district “a rodent infested mess” Where “no human being would want to live.” While it would seem that the President either doesn’t understand or does not care that as President his is a representative of every district in the country, and that his obligation should be to set and create policy to help respond to the conditions his reckless language attempts to describe.

Alexander Hamilton once said “A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one.”

Mr. Hamilton’s point is that if policy, law, custom, or norm offends the notion of Democracy and you present no challenge because it matters not to you, then you are only waiting your turn and when it happens you deserve it. Freedom should not be reevaluated and interpreted differently because of the race, creed, religion, or any other particular characteristic. Every time we do, we invite the very circumstances that represent an end to democracy. When we allow the basic principles of democracy to benefit some citizens and not others in effect, we have no democracy. When civil discourse is used as a method to avoid discrimination and bigotry it becomes a weapon of the powerful to justify actions that are unjust.

Thomas Paine once said “he who dares not to offend cannot be honest.” Civil dialogue should not mean that one cannot speak truth to power and in fact according to the framers of the constitution it is the obligation of the citizenry to do so. So, while there are those who would have separate standards for the powerful, they indeed represent the greatest threat to democracy because they would in affect accept disgrace rather than the danger necessary to oppose it.

There is nothing happening now that has never happened before, this country has endured slaving holding Presidents and Presidents such as Jackson, Reagan, Eisenhower, or even Wilson all had at the very least controversial views about race.

In that way, it is difficult to identify the actions and statements of President Trump in any way as remarkable and certainly not 5

unprecedented. Nonetheless, no one should be discouraged by the actions and statements of 45th President of the United States, in fact quite the opposite should be true. This current climate requires a resurgence of true patriots.

Those folks who believe in the principles espoused by the framers of the constitution who described the national journey as an “endeavor to create a more perfect union.”

Central to this notion is the effort to make government more accountable to the people who are governed by it and “they are us.”

The tree of liberty from time to time has to be refreshed by the blood of patriots and tyrants it acts as a natural manure.

The use of civility as a weapon is not a new tactic, in all the times it has been tried before patriots have boldly responded by speaking truth to power. The Black community’s national contribution in the form of blood, sweat and tears is in many ways unmatched.

No single group has done more to force this nation to aspire to the principles codified in the constitution. Additionally, the Black community’s legacy of the patriots who have sought to realize the American dream one and for all is nothing short of extraordinary.

We hold these truths to be self-evident that progress is not possible without struggle.

Be not tricked by oppressors who would use civility as a ploy to hide evident injustice for the purpose of adding the powerful against powerless. A patriot is not one who would demagogue the disenfranchised and politically underrepresented, but rather a true patriot would seek to provide opportunity to those who have been denied it. It matters not the situation whenever and wherever civility is used as a weapon to curb or restrain progress, it is the responsibility of true patriots to set the record straight and when necessary speak truth to power. It is the only path forward worthy for the home of the brave and the land of the free.

Dr. Eric L. Johnson currently serves as the Chief Consultant with Strategies to Succeed and is on the faculty at Virginia International University. He is the former Chief of Research Publications for the United States Air Force Academy.

The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

PHOENIXES RISE: 1619 - 2019 FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF INNOVATION AND INVENTION

By Frederic Bertley, PhD Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and slowly breathe it out.

Now, imagine a world with no lights. It is dark, and you want to do some work, but in this world, there are no desktop computers which, of course, led to the computers we all have in our pockets, so imagine no cell phones. Your family member who is sick, has little chance of recovery because the most prescribed drug in human history, steroids, was never discovered. You have a heart attack because your pacemaker was never invented, and you cannot get a blood transfusion because a method to store blood has yet to be discovered. You somehow recover, just in time for a job interview, but your clothes appear tattered and dirty because dry cleaning does not exist. Because there are no cell phones, you cannot request an Uber, so you choose to ride your bike to the interview. But wait, bicycles as we know them are also not available.

Can you imagine such a world? A dark, scary proposition for sure, but this would truly be our world without African American scientists and engineers. The contributions of Black inventors are formidable, and indeed have contributed to many of the privileges we take for granted today.

1619. The first cargo of chattel slaves arrived in the United States of America. It was Virginia, and the “new world” would never be the same. The process of chattel slavery robbed its subjects not only of freedom, but it stripped away language, ancestral culture, religion, and other traditions in favor of that which was thrust upon them. Despite such a difficult microcosm, an environment replete in immoral, inhuman behavior, creativity still found a way. Brilliance, genius, discovery, and invention all found their nexus in, albeit, a deplorable situation. Much like a proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes, African American discovery, invention, and innovation leached out and positively impacted these United States.

Unfortunately, record keeping from 1619, and in particular, record keeping of African American contributions to science and technology, was lacking to say the least, but by the mid nineteenth century, we have better data, information, patents and records showing the place African Americans stood on the stage of U.S. discovery, invention, and transformation.

The following exposition highlights just a small fraction of these amazing individuals and their incredible inventions. By no means a complete list, the names below and their contributions have had an indelible impact not just in the U.S. but throughout the

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1.) Dr. Betty Pace - Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, 2.) George Washington Carver - Agricultural Scientist/Inventor, 3.) Janet Emerson Bashen - Software Inventor, 4.) Elijah McCoy - Inventor of Self-Lubricating Steam Engine, 5.) Dr. Shirley Jackson - First Black Woman to receive PhD from MIT, 6.) Dr. Charles Drew - Inventor of Large Scale Blood Banks world, painting a multi-century narrative of African American genius and innovation.

In no particular ranking, these unparalleled geniuses include: Thomas L. Jennings – Born in 1791, Jennings holds the esteemed position of being the first African-American to receive a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1821. A prominent abolitionist, inventor and tradesman, Jennings’ patent described a technique called “dry scouring”, which formed the basis for modern-day dry cleaning.

Benjamin Banneker – Banneker was a scientist, mathematician, inventor and selftaught astronomer. Born in 1731, Banneker created one of the nation’s first almanacs, is credited with creating the first clock in the U.S. and was responsible for laying out the city of Washington D.C., including many of the streets, buildings and monuments we see today. Banneker was also a statesman, corresponding for several years with Thomas Jefferson, appealing to the equal intellects of Blacks and Whites.

Lewis Latimer – A brilliant inventor and draftsman, Latimer holds numerous patents ranging multiple technical disciplines. Born as a slave in 1848, Latimer escaped, and later became an important voice in the abolitionist movement. Latimer’s best invention was a carbon filament for light, which significantly prolonged the life of a light bulb. Thomas Edison hired Latimer, who was one of his best technical experts at the Edison Electric Company. Here, Latimer wrote the first definitive boon on lighting. Latimer is credited with laying out the electric lighting grids for Washington D.C. and Paris.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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Madame C.J. Walker – Madame Walker was an inventor, entrepreneur, activist and philanthropist. She was born in Louisiana in 1867 from slave parents. A gifted child, Walker went on to develop numerous haircare products which formed the basis for one of the most successful businesses of its day. This made C. J. Walker not only the wealthiest African-American woman of the time, but also the first female self-made millionaire in America of any race.

Garrett Morgan – Morgan invented many revolutionary products and held numerous patents. Two of his most famous inventions are: 1. The traffic light’s three color system, which significantly reduced motor vehicle related accidents; and 2. The gas mask, called a “smoke hood,” which saved countless lives from noxious and lethal fumes, including fireman, military personal and industrial workers. Born in 1877, Morgan was a successful businessman and prominent leader in the African American community.

Elijah McCoy – McCoy was a prolific engineer with over 50 patents to his name.

Born in 1844 in Ontario, Canada, (his parents escaped from Kentucky via the Underground Railroad) McCoy focused on making mechanical instruments and devices more dependable and long-lived. His specific contributions revolve around lubrication for metal and moving parts and in 1783, he received the industry setting patent for the “Lubricator Cup”. This device provided consistent lubrication for machines including steam engine trains and revolutionized their performing by reducing stops or pauses for maintenance. His products were so dependable that engineers and machinists

from around the world began asking for the “Real McCoy” a phrase now commonly known to this day to mean wanting the best!

Martha Jones – While little is known about Martha Jones, her invention transformed the corn farming industry by significantly improving harvesting by removing the husk, shell and corn all in one step. For this invention, in 1868, Ms. Jones became first known African-American woman to receive a patent from The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office – for “Improvement to The Corn Husker”.

George Washington Carver – Known affectionately as the “Peanut Man”, George Washington Carver was a true polymath, inventor, scientist, botanist, professor and humanitarian. His discovery of over 300 uses for peanuts revolutionized botany and chemistry, and paved the way for industry development in oils, paint, inks, grease, and many more. Carver also significantly impacted our understanding of farming, nitrogen cycles and crop rotation. While his exact birthdate is unknown, it is estimated to be between 1860 and 1865. What is definitive is that Carver received a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences in 1894, followed by a Master’s in 1896. In 1896, Carver joined Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (Tuskegee University) where he remained on faculty for the rest of his career. George Washington Carver received the 1923 Spingarn Medal and

was later inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Granville T. Woods – Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1856, Granville Woods began his career at a young age as a blacksmith and machinist. After working in various roles in the transportation industry, he established his own machine shop in 1880. This eventually became the Woods Electrical Company.

Woods invented the first electric railway to be powered by electrical lines above the train rather than beside the track. He also created the first telegraph service able to send messages from moving trains. Throughout his career, Woods received over 60 patents.

Dr. Charles Drew – Born in 1904 and living just 46 years, Dr. Charles Drew changed humanity forever. A McGill University alum and surgeon, Dr. Drew worked tirelessly in hematology and through his genius, developed the process by which to preserve and store blood long-term. His discovery forever changed the field of medicine and the Red Cross was born shortly thereafter. Blood transfusions are the cornerstone for surgeries, hospitalized persons and soldiers in wartime settings - Dr. Drew’s discovery made blood transfusions more available, accessible and routine, and in doing so, saved millions of lives.

While recognizing and celebrating the amazing and societal benefiting inventions and contributions by African Americans of yesteryear, it is absolutely imperative to

recognize that today we continue to have phenomenal African American men and women scientists, mathematicians, engineers and inventors.

Again, a non-comprehensive list, but some modern-day innovators and innovators that need recognition include: Dr. Betty Wright, Chemist; Professor James West, Engineer; Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Physicist; Lonnie G. Johnson, Engineer; Marian R. Croak, Software Engineer; Lisa Gelobter, Computer Scientist; Dr. Arlie Petters, Physicist; Dr. Marc Dean, Software Engineer; Dr. Betty Pace, Molecular Biologist; Janet Emerson Bashen, Software Engineer; Will Burris, Computer Scientist; Dr. Mae Jemison, MD, Engineer, Astronaut; Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist; Dr. Edward Tunstel, NASA Engineer; Noel Mayo, Product Designer.

Indeed, from 1619 to 2019, African Americans have much to celebrate when peering through the lens of scientific discovery, innovation and invention. Let us recognize these modern day Phoenixes and all the other African American science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals that continue to impact our world through their irrepressible genius, unbridled creativity and steadfast passion to continue to make America, and in fact the world, great.

Dr. Frederic Bertley is the President and CEO of COSI in Columbus, Ohio. He obtained his PhD in Immunology from McGill University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

BEFORE 1619 TO TODAY

By Cecil Jones, MBA 1619 is a well-documented year but was not the first time Africans could be found in what developed into the United States of America (https:// www.aaihs.org/the-fallacy-of-1619rethinking-the-history-of-africans-in-earlyamerica/). Think about exploring in general.

It is not the best documented discipline.

1619 certainly wasn’t the first time people of African descent made their mark and imposed their will on the land that would someday be part of the United States. As early as May 1616, Blacks from the West Indies were already at work in Bermuda providing expert knowledge about the cultivation of tobacco.

There is also suggestive evidence that scores of Africans plundered from the Spanish were aboard a fleet under the command of Sir Francis Drake when he arrived at Roanoke Island in 1586. In 1526, enslaved Africans were part of a Spanish expedition to establish an outpost on the North American coast in present-day South Carolina. Those Africans launched a rebellion in November 1526 and effectively destroyed the Spanish settlers’

ability to sustain the settlement, which they Africans Helped Establish America’s Oldest City abandoned a year later.

John Hawkins was behind four slave-trading expeditions during the 1560s suggests the degree to which England may have been more invested in African slavery than we typically recall. Tens of thousands of English men and women had meaningful contact with African peoples throughout North and South American before Jamestown. In this light, the events of 1619 were follow-on events.

Think about the documented history of Africans, Spanish and St. Augustine Florida.

Think about the early and continuing relationships between newly arrived African slaves and the Native Americans in Florida.

My roots are part of the Georgia, Alabama and Florida panhandle. My basic research and verbal anecdotal sharing from my previous generations include the escape from slavery to Native American reservations, include swamp lands in Florida. They were moving!

Nearly 100 years before Jamestown, Africans enabled American colonies to survive, and they were equally able to destroy European colonial ventures.

“When the Spanish conquistador Pedro Menendez arrived in St. Augustine in 1565, not only were there black members of his crew, but he noted that his arrival had been preceded by free Africans in the French settlement at Fort Caroline, just a few miles north.” (https://www.visitstaugustine.com/ history/black_history/introduction/index.php) The first recorded birth of a Black child in that city was 1606. Fort Mose, a national historic landmark, a city of ex-slaves who had fought to gain their freedom. An underground railroad from Fort Mose to Spanish Florida was established an as escape from British slavery.

Blacks were close friends with the Seminole Indians. A free black man named Antonio Proctor served as Indian interpreter for the first American governor of Florida. Henry Twine, one of Antonio Proctor’s descendants was active in the civil rights movement and became the first black vice mayor of St. Augustine, Florida.

Continued on Page 8

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

Other blacks lived within the Seminole nation, and rose to high position there. A black man named Abraham became the prime minister of the Seminoles. Another Black Seminole, John Horse, won battles for the Seminoles in the Indian wars of the 1830s.

More Slaves in South American than in the United States (think Brazil) Histories of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade describe the tragic slave trade in the Unites Stated and often overlook its Southern counterpart. (https://manchesterhistorian. com/2014/south-american-slave-trade/).

“However, those enslaved in North America during the colonial period were a minority; only 6% of Africans were taken to the East Coast of North America between 1500 and 1870.” Slave imports from Africa were overwhelmingly sent to South America and the Caribbean. Although the Southern United States is renowned for its past brutality towards the slave population, those enslaved in areas such as Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia experienced harsh treatment.

mortality during this period. It has been estimated that in the Americas as a whole, the native Indians were numbered at 50 million in 1500. By 1600, after 100 years of forced labor and disease, they numbered a mere 8 million. By 1650, some estimate that 90% of the native population had died.

This was devastating to Indian inhabitants, and this loss has been described as one of the largest demographic disasters in human history. It was then when the Europeans of South America turned to Africa for a new expendable labor force to be the new backbone of their agricultural economy.

exists in these countries today. This can be seen most clearly when looking at religion.

Religious faiths that emerged from Africa and that still exist today – for example, Shango in Venezuela and Brazil – are no longer just confined to people of African origin. Literature music and the arts have also experienced great influence from Africa.

Many poems and novels of Latin America show elements of African styles or concepts, which further demonstrates a far reaching cultural exchange.

With the majority of Africans being placed in the South American Spanish and Portuguese colonies, they largely transformed the societies they were enslaved in. Treatment and conditions of the newly imported African slaves varied from place to place but, as aforementioned, in places such as Brazil they experienced a level of brutality even worse than in the Southern states of North America. This was due to the view that slaves were expendable and replaceable. For instance, in Bolivia, the life expectancy of an African slave working the mines as a mule was a mere two months. Yet, contrastingly, Africans in Latin America were very diverse in their economic, social and demographic conditions. Not all Africans arriving in South America were enslaved, and some experienced greater freedoms than those in the North American Colonies. For example, some areas allowed slaves to marry, and in others they were even taught to read and write. Paradoxically, Brazil, whilst holding a reputation for brutality, also had the highest number of slave marriages in the Colonial period.

Again, think about the Afro-Cuban music and arts. Think about the Cardi Bs, hiphop, and the melting and melding of African, African/American and Latino culture on TV programming, in New York, Philadelphia, Columbus and Dayton. One of my Latino buddies shared that he ‘hung’ with ‘the brothers’ from elementary school on and that his parents did not encourage the speaking of Spanish in their home.

Yet, not unlike North America, slavery existed in South America even before African slave importation transformed the region’s landscape. After Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas in 1492, much of South America was divided between Spain and Portugal by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. When the Europeans arrived in South America, they enslaved the native inhabitants and used them as free labor to work on their mines and the cotton, sugar, coffee and tobacco plantations that were being developed. Moreover, shortly after the Europeans arrived, natives of these regions rapidly decreased in number. Diseases from the Europeans killed many of the native Today, the descendants of the Africans enslaved during this period still have a South Americans. profound effect on the landscape of Latin The Europeans that came to America brought America. Indeed, the largest African with them diseases that the natives were population outside of Africa exists in Brazil. unaccustomed to, which has been described They have had considerable influence in by some as the ‘Columbian Exchange’. shaping the societies of Latin America. As Diseases such as measles, influenza, mumps, in the United States, the Africans shipped to typhus and small pox were detrimental to the South America in the colonial period brought Indian inhabitants of South America. Such with them many customs, religions, and diseases had a profound effect on native traditions which contribute to the culture that The Columbus African & Dayton American African American News Journal • August • February 2019 2015

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Today

Are Latinos and African-Americans moving in the same direction politically? (https:// www.pewhispanic.org/2018/10/25/hispanicvoters-and-the-2018-midterm-elections/).

Have you talked or exchange views with any Latinos recently? Around 30% of Latinos nationally identify as conservative.

Would you have guessed that? There are more Latinos in this country than AfricanAmericans. If the two groups combined on any issue, the two groups win.

The world is watching…

Know Your History!

Are you looking for a technology networking group to help you get smarter? What new technology or process have you learned this month? Need advice on how to look for that technology position? Are you considering technology education (courses, certificates or degrees) and need information? Do you have a business, process, project management, personnel or technology question? Please let me know. admin@accelerationservices.net Cecil Jones MBA, ABD, PMP, CCP, SCPM, FLMI, Lean Professional, 614-726-1925.

400 YEARS - FIVE GENERATIONS: STILL FIGHTING WHITE SUPREMACY

By Robin A. Jones, PhD Black America and a Just Future – 400 Years Later after Bondage Looking back over our lessons for Black History, which we learned in school. In your mind how much information was either omitted or misrepresented? Blacks are facing the injustice as connected to the struggle for rights of oppression as a people by Whites.

In the United States we identify with the term Civil Rights. In parts of Africa, it is referred to Apartheid.

Apartheid was (to some – still is) a system of institutionalized racial segregation in parts of Africa. It was characterized by a white supremacy that we see as an uprising in our (United States) society. White Supremacy encouraged repression of any persons of color, immigrants and specifically Blacks for the benefit of the White population (which is currently at a minority).

The 400 Year Mark in History The story of inequality and our fight for equality has spanned decades over 400 years. Our memories need to include stories of strikes, sit-ins, elections, sanctuary, and those who paved the way before us such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, and many others. Some we do not know such as Nathan “Nearest” Green, a slave of whom taught Jack Daniel’s how to make whiskey. You may read more about Nathan Green at the Nearest Green Foundation.

For every story that we can tell, there are many more that we as Blacks cannot tell.

History was erased, purged, or simply, did not capture the lives of the slaves and more importantly, for some of whom were free.

So what is Black History over the past 400 years? In 2017 the United States Congress voted to establish a commission through a rare bipartisanship move to review the Black History in America for the past 400 years (Gantt, 2018).

400 Years of African America History Commission Act (AAHCA: H.R. 1242) The Commission as it is now Law, will consist of 15 members, to serve without pay.

The AAHCA is symbolic of the chains that we as Blacks have endured over the years and continue to endure with the current criminal justice system, from one chain master to the next. Whether we are chained by slave owners 400 years ago or the modern day criminal justice system. Chains need to be broken and the system needs a reform. The perpetual struggle for equality is real for us to

Latimer and his contribution of carbon filament for Thomas Edison and the light bulb, or Katherine Johnson and her mathematical computations that propelled the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Without the accomplishments of Blacks, the United States as a Country could not boast the ingenuity We need to make progress by moving forward and cultural richness that we cherish. beyond 400 years. To make this happen, the Commission may provide: (1) grants to Our Differences between Challenges and communities and nonprofit organizations Injustices for the development of programs; (2) grants to research and scholarly organizations to Putting it all into perspective, let us see the research, publish, or distribute information glass as half full rather than half empty. We should draw inspiration from the heroes and relating to the arrival of Africans in the trailblazers who fought under our country’s United States; and (3) technical assistance to principle that all people are created equal. states, localities, and nonprofit organizations With our forefathers molding our national to further the commemoration, (Lucero, character with their influence and experience 2019), see link below for more information through opportunities albeit, taken or given, the sacrifices that were made, have brought on Grant funding.

Blacks to where they are today.

The 400 Mark in History is Important for Our songs and hymnals, whether they were Black Americans meant to stow away in the night, or move us though the paths of freedom to a better place, Each founding group of colonists has been still ‘ring’ today: “Swing Down Chariot, marked in the history of America, steeped Stop and Ride.” They sang when they had in tradition. In 2007, it was noted the 400th nothing else to give, and still sing today. anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Our music artistry ‘blows’ beyond measure VA by the English colonists. In 2015, the and continues to topple the box office charts English and Spanish commemorations many years later. Let us not remember the included activities for the founding of St. tragic way in which African American history Augustine, Florida, each were sponsored by began, let us think about how we want it to move forward. What do we want for the federal legislation. next generation? How should we prepare our children and their children to handle Now in August of 2019, Black Americans and understand why White Supremacy is so w i l l m a r k 4 0 0 y e a r s s i n c e t h e f i r s t important to this day? Let us teach them less documented arrival of Africans to America is more with their cumulative experience. by way of Point Comfort, Virginia. The difference between the first and second group References as noted above and the third group (Blacks) is the historically significant Africans were Lucero, C. (2019). Retrieved on June 27, from https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1892/ the first recorded peoples sold as involuntary 2019 africanamericanhistorycommission.htm laborers or indentured servants in the English colonies. So, in other words, the first and Gantt, D. (2018). Retrieved on June 27, 2019 second groups, were not considered slaves. from https://theblackunicornproject.com/ The Tragedies that Shaped the Black index.php/2018/09/27/after-400-years-ofamerican-oppression-get-ready-for-the-yearExperience in America of-return/ Some would harken that the Black experience has been abbreviated for inclusion should be remembered as moral catastrophes Content into the African American Journal. For because history was full of tragedies. On the additional details, please contact the other hand there were crowning achievements references noted in the article. Thank you for because African Americans gave many reading my article. contributions to America. Without many of the books that were authored by Maya Dr. Jones has a commitment to a strong Angelou, the patents that were developed by work ethic, education and a passion for Dr. Patricia Bath for ophthalmology, and the entrepreneurship. In her 40+ years of building of economic development in banking employment, Robin spent 30 of those years gainfully employed with fortune 50 with Citizens Trust Bank - would Blacks companies such as GE, IBM, Ashland Oil, have the right to say, “Our contributions to and the U.S. Department of Energy, and America are significant in the growth of the Department of Defense. Robin started her Country?” career path as a database developer building her first database for the F14 Aircraft Fighter America is noted as he most innovative planes and from there she catapulted her Nation on earth. However, we probably, way to the position of Interim CIO. In her recent employment capacity, Robin is a without a doubt, would not have made it most retired Senior Manager PMO Director of the without Garrett Morgan who invented the Computer Center at University of California, modern traffic light. What about Lewis Berkeley - Haas School of Business. break the chains from the cycle we are faced.

In our minds we need to deem equality as a race, in our wealth, through education, and our lives, so we are not continuing down a broken and beaten pathway.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

HBCU’S: NOT JUST THEN, BUT NOW TOO

By Alethea Eunice Gaddis, MBA This edition of the news journal focuses on the 400year experience of people of African descent in America (1619 - 2019).

Some argue, though, that emphasis on the year 1619 is a misplaced historical marker.

The African Diaspora, slavery, and Black history as a whole did not appear on the syllabus taught in my school district. As a result, my thirst for truth and knowledge landed me in the library every weekend.

While the period for our time of reflection is 1619-2019, I am conflicted knowing the African Diaspora, the mass dispersion of Africans from their homeland occurred from the 1500s to the 1800s. During the Transatlantic Slave Trades, reportedly 9.4 million to 12 million people from South-east, West-Central, West and North Africa were sold as slaves in the Western Hemisphere.

Author Michael Guasco says blacks from the West Indies were in Bermuda as early as May 1616, “providing expert knowledge about the cultivation of tobacco.” He goes on to claim there is evidence that Africans arrived at Roanoke Island in 1586 aboard a ship commandeered by the English admiral Sir Francis Drake. Moreover, prior to that, he asserts that around 1526, “enslaved Africans were part of a Spanish expedition to establish an outpost on the North American coast in present-day South Carolina.” Timeline consistency or not, the horrific and demonic act of slavery was not only devasting to slaves physically but also mentally: The brilliant minds of those in bondage experienced a crushing blow to the genius within.

Carter G. Woodson, in his book The Education of the Negro prior to 1861, details the history of blacks in the United States from the beginning of slavery to the Civil War. The book provides an educational and thought-provoking examination of the controversy surrounding educating slaves. For example, Woodson writes that advocates for abolishing slavery and education argued that it was cruel, demoralizing, and inhumane. Reformers believed that slavery offered no opportunity for mental improvement. In a speech given

by Rev. David Rice at the Constitutional Convention of Kentucky, he advocated for educating Negroes, saying, “Slavery, therefore, must be abolished because it infringes upon the natural right of men to be enlightened.” Another, Rev. McLeod denounced slavery because “it debases a part of the human race [and tends] to destroy their intellectual powers. The slave from his infancy is obliged implicitly to obey the will of another. There is no circumstance which can stimulate him to exercise his intellectual power.” Many believed that Negroes, upon being free, needed preparation for citizenship and education to gain self-respect and be able to live productive lives.

Jump Start U4 College Youth Crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge

The wheels of justice grind slow, but the abolitionist and Quakers were instrumental in providing opportunities for African Americans to advance academically. Freedom Schools were created by abolitionists to educate the newly emancipated slaves, and historically black colleges were founded.

The Cheyney University of Pennsylvania was founded first in 1867.

Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) founded by former slaves and abolitionists to provide options to people barred from other schools. Following the founding of Cheyney was: University of the District of Columbia (1851) Lincoln University - PA (1866) Wilberforce University - OH (1856) Harris Stowe State University - MO (1857) LeMoyne-Owen College - TN (1862) Virginia Union University - VA (1865) Bowie State University - MD (1865) Clark Atlanta University Note: Clark Atlanta is a merger of Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869).

Shaw University (1865) These first ten were joined by at one time, 121 institutions established so that people of African descent could help their communities by possessing an education. The genius was already there, and formal education was an enhancement.

In the early days, former slaves came after being beaten for having a book and wanting to read. They came after being called stupid, ignorant, and inferior. The colleges and universities provided a nurturing environment rooted in faith, community, and service. Even now, the HBCU offers the same nature as in days past to students at risk of not entering or completing college due to socioeconomic and achievement barriers. The HBCU also attracts first-generation college students and scholars. The best and the brightest flock to

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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HBCU campuses around the county to connect, and in some instances reconnect with our rich legacy of genius, tenancy, and perseverance.

Annually in June, I lace up my walking shoes and climb aboard a chartered bus to expose students to the treasure of our HBCU’s. We visit historical sites along the way that reinforce why education is essential and to immerse them in our rich history. All of the planning, preparation, and struggling for resources dissipates when I see a new awareness in the eyes of young people, walking silently two by two, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I forget about my aching back when I witness a new level of comprehension as we view the National Memorial of Peace and Justice. And this year, my hope and strength were bolstered when after traveling 2,171 miles in six days, visiting eight campuses in six cities, three states; a majority of the students declared, “Ms. G. I found my home!” Finally, just when I am contemplating if 2020 is a go, a parent calls expressing gratitude that their student came home focused with a new determination.

All Aboard!

Footnotes: 1 “10 Facts about Diaspora,” Fact File, last modified August 31, 2016, accessed July 26, 2019, https://factfile.org/10-facts-aboutdiaspora.

2 Guasco, Michael. “The Misguided Focus on 1619 as the Beginning of Slavery in the U.S. Damages Our Understanding of American History,” Smithsonian.com, last modified September 13, 2017, accessed July 26, 2019. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ misguided-focus-1619-beginning-slaveryus-damages-our-understanding-americanhistory-180964873/#EjQVkoPtB0KOtC2k.99, [4].

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Carter G. Woodson, The Education of the Negro prior to 1861 (Washington, DC: Associated Publishers, 1919.), 55, https:// babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39076006 056191&view=1up&seq=7.

6 Ibid.

For information about the Jump Start U4 College 2020 Tour sponsored by The Willie & Vivian Gaddis Foundation for K.I.D.S. (Kids Inspired and Destined for Success), contact Alethea E. Gaddis, Co-Founder, at 614-439-2719, agaddis@gaddis4kids. org or www.gaddis4kids.org Our message: #DontDreamOfSucceeding #PlanToSucceed Alethea is passionate about creating opportunities to help others thrive. As former Executive Director of New Beginnings Christian Revitalization Corporation for First Church of God, she developed youth leadership development and educational programs for youth and created clean, safe, affordable housing for low-to-moderate income families.

She and her brother Randal are co-founders of the Willie and Vivian Gaddis Foundation for KIDS, offering the Jump Start U4 College Tour and scholarships. As a licensed, independent insurance broker, she works with individuals, families, and churches to protect their assets.

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

NATIONAL SKILLED TRADES NETWORK WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT “CHANGING PERSPECTIVE CHANGING LIFE”

National Skilled Trades Network creates job opportunities in the community through NCCER accredited construction training. We prepare young men and women for lucrative skilled craft jobs of the future, like Solar Photovoltaic Installation (pictured). Possible tuition assistance available through the VTAC construction training program at IMPACT Community Action.

VISIT: http://www.nstnetwork.org | EMAIL: nstnetwork@nstnetwork.org

Construction Trades Training Center: 1994-1996 Britains Lane Columbus, Ohio 43224 Michael Watkins: NSTN Executive Director, NCCER Certified Master Trainer and Master Electrician

The Columbus African & Dayton American African American News Journal • August • February 2019 2015

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

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The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

400 YEARS OF PROGRESS

By William McCoy, MPA The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….” Sadly, this passage has been often repeated- but rarely, if ever, realized.

For generations of African-Americans, these words have been and remain empty rhetoric.

Even more troubling, the U.S. Constitution of 1787 refused to acknowledge AfricanAmericans’ humanity by counting them as “three-fifths of a person” for purposes of Congressional representation (see U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 2). The Constitution also prohibited Congress from outlawing slavery until 1808. The glaring contradiction of slavery in the so-called “land of the free” was further exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision, which said Congress could not ban slavery in states and that slaves were not citizens of the United States. Did someone say, “all men are created equal?”

In 1863, the prayers of enslaved AfricanAmericans were thought to be answered with President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which declared “all persons held as slaves” within the Confederate states “are and henceforward shall be free.” Two years later, in 1865, the Civil War ended (April 9), Lincoln was assassinated (April 14), the Ku Klux Klan was formed (May), and Southern states started enacting the Black Codes- all of which drastically restricted the rights of newly freed slaves. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting slavery, was also ratified (December 6). On February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting African-Americans the right to vote.

When slavery ended, the African-American struggle for equality and enfranchisement, simply, entered a new phase. In 1877, Reconstruction ended in the South and Southern states and localities immediately began chipping away at African-Americans’ basic civil rights. “Jim Crow” laws legalized racial segregation and African-American disenfranchisement (especially voting rights).

In legal theory, Blacks received “separate but equal” treatment. In reality, public facilities for Black people were almost always inferior to those for Whites.

Those who advanced and embraced Jim Crow used the notion of “separate but equal” treatment to justify racial segregation, the mistreatment of, and substandard public facilities for Black people. In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld and established the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v.

Ferguson. Local government officials and White vigilantes, such as the Ku Klux Klan, enforced Jim Crow laws through institutional and individual acts of domestic terror and violence.

Legalized apartheid (i.e. Jim Crow) remained the law of the land, until 1954, when the Supreme Court outlawed public school segregation in the landmark Brown v. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education case. The “Little Rock Nine” drew national and international attention when they integrated Little Rock (AK) Central High School on September 4, 1957 with the aid of 1,200 federal soldiers. The integration of the University of Mississippi (1962) and University of Alabama (1963) also attracted worldwide attention, in part, because of the presence of 5,000 federal troops in the first case and images of Governor George Wallace’s personally blocking the entrance to the school in the second.

When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (August 10), it was the most sweeping civil rights legislation in 100 years. The next year, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern Blacks to vote by outlawing literacy tests, poll taxes, and other impediments. These developments fostered a sense of hope and expectation among African-Americans.

This social and political progress inflamed, agitated, and energized the opponents of Black progress, however. Those who opposed school busing for integration, housing desegregation, and civil rights and affirmative action fought back with a vengeance. In 1978, the attack on affirmative action gained traction when the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action, but placed limits on it, saying providing greater opportunities for minorities could not come at the expense of the majority in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. In 2006, the Supreme Court dealt affirmative action another setback when a bitterly divided court (5-4 vote) ruled in Grutter v. Bollinger that programs in Seattle (WA) and Louisville (KY) used to maintain diversity in schools were unconstitutional.

Few, if any, could anticipate what would happen next. Democratic Senator Barack

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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Obama became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States in 2008. President Obama was re-elected in 2012. President Obama appointed and the Senate confirmed Eric Holder as the nation’s first African-American Attorney General.

Unfortunately, the political pendulum reversed course with the 2016 election of Donald Trump and a Supreme Court that allowed gerrymandering- thereby allowing state and local officials can draw electoral districts to disadvantage African-American voters. Two steps forward and one step backwards.

In conclusion, in 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in America with 20 African slaves aboard.

Today, 400 years later, roughly 40 million African-Americans live in the United States.

From the first to die in the Revolutionary War (Chrispus Attucks) to the 44th President (Barack Obama) and beyond, AfricanAmericans have truly traveled a long and winding road from America’s outhouse to its White House. Along the way, AfricanAmericans have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and unimaginable obstacles, while changing laws, attitudes, and society- bringing America closer to the ideals espoused by its Founding Fathers with each progressive step.

“William McCoy is founder and president of The McCoy Company- a world-class, personal services consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, economic development, and training that helps its clients articulate and achieve their visions, solve problems, and capitalize on their opportunities. He has worked with national think tanks, held two White House appointments, and consulted with every level of government, foundations, and the private sector. Mr. McCoy holds a BA in economics and a MPA in finance, and is profiled in Who’s Who in the World and elsewhere. You can reach William McCoy at (614) 785-8497 or via e-mail wmccoy2@ themccoycompany.com. His website can be found at www.themccoycompany.com.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

JAMESTOWN TO JAMESTOWN: COMMEMORATING 400 YEARS OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA EXPERIENCE

By Vanessa Mbonu

NAACP — History commonly points to late August in the year 1619 when some “20 and odd Negroes” originating from Angola arrived in the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia as the first documented enslaved Africans to land in what is now The United States of America. Fast forward to 2019 through the continued metamorphosis of the African American, we mark the 400th anniversary of our arrival as men and women still fighting for equal rights, justice and freedom. Our resilience is unmatched.

To commemorate the 400-year anniversary of the first enslaved Africans’ arrival in the United States, NAACP leaders, activists and entertainers will travel from Jamestown, Virginia, to Jamestown, Accra, as part of Ghana’s “Year of Return” initiative.

Jamestown to Jamestown represents one of the most powerful moments in the history of the Black Experience. We are now able to actualize the healing and collective unity so many generations have worked to achieve in ways which bring power to our communities in America, Africa and throughout our Diaspora.

This once in a lifetime opportunity begins on August 18 in Washington, D.C. where participants will travel via bus to Jamestown,

Virginia for a prayer vigil and candle lighting ceremony marking the African “Maafa,” a term describing the horrific suffering embedded in the past four centuries related to the enslavement process. They will then travel back to D.C. for a special gathering at the National Museum of African American History and Culture designed by Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, prior to departing to Ghana on a direct flight for 7 to 10 days of rich cultural, spiritual and cathartic experiences designed to connect our present to our African past. Together, we will empower and invigorate the continued struggle for full liberation and justice worldwide.

For more information and itinerary details, visit Jamestown2Jamestown.com.

To Advertise in The Columbus - Dayton African American contact us at: editor@columbusafricanamerican.com Ray Miller, 503 S. High StreetPublisher - Suite 102 750 East Long Street, Suite Columbus, OH 43215 3000 614-571-9340 Columbus, Ohio 43203

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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HEALTH 400 YEARS: A HEALTH JOURNEY OF INEQUITY

By Charleta B. Tavares In last month’s edition of the Columbus/Dayton African American news journal, I referenced that there were few studies comparing the health and wellbeing of Africans who were captured and enslaved by European slave traders when they entered the colonies in 1619. History has documented the poor and neglected health of our African ancestors during and after slavery some 400 years since arriving in what was known as America. One such researcher, Dr. Stephen Kenny PhD FHEA, stated in his study titled, Slavery, Health, and Medicine: “Considerations of health and well-being as fundamental human rights have always been at the heart of serious attempts to understand the experience and history of enslavement in the Atlantic world. As a profoundly oppressive, destabilizing, and deeply exploitative social system—and a toxic method of utilizing human labor—slavery in the Americas guaranteed negative health outcomes and enduring health problems in all of its geopolitical and historical contexts. Breaking down core elements of the enslavement process and the oppressive governance and exploitation of slave life and labor highlights how the system relentlessly undermined physical, psychological, and emotional health. The initial acts of capture, incarceration, human commodification, and forced transportation all weakened health. So too did the separation of families and disruption of communities and being held in captivity under constant surveillance, with labor coerced and closely supervised. Indeed, the health of the enslaved was constantly threatened by the rigid regulation of all aspects of daily life.

Slave health was also vulnerable to the use and constant threat of violent punishment, dangerous and debilitating occupations, as well as environmental exposure. Sexual interference and abuse were major assaults on slave health.

Poor housing and sanitation and inadequate food, water, and clothing also put enslaved people at risk of a range of debilitating diseases.”

A Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series titled, Africans in America documents the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and European slave trade with Africa fifty years prior to Columbus’ initial voyage to the Americas in 1492. Portugal began constructing a trading outpost on Africa’s Guinea coast, near a region that had been mined by natives for many years.

The post was called “São Jorge da Mina” (Saint George’s of the mine), or simply “Elmina” (the mine). Elmina was the first permanent structure south of the Sahara built by Europeans -- it was the largest for centuries. It also had

the distinction of being the first of many permanent “slave factories” (trading posts that dealt in slaves) that would be built along Africa’s western coast. This is important to know as we learn the history and influence of the slave trade and traders on the Africans and their culture and traditions.1 The four part series highlights America’s journey through slavery.

Unfortunately, the series does not delve deeply or substantively into the health and well-being of the Africans prior to boarding the slave ship. We do know however, that the captors and slave traders valued young, healthy men and fertile women who could better survive the voyage and command higher value in trade or sales. We can also extrapolate and surmise based on the conditions on the ship, that diseases like malaria, diphtheria and smallpox were prevalent. These diseases, along with the fear of the unknown and anger due to the cramped and unclean conditions, communicable nature of the diseases and lack of medicines, clean and sanitary water, food and hygiene ensured that the Africans would suffer from physical as well as mental illnesses. There are journals and autobiographies that have documented the significant number of Africans who attempted or completed suicides on the journey to the unknown.

We can continue this narrative through the next 400-years…with the lack of safe, clean water, unsanitary living conditions, lack of healthy foods, unemployment or unsafe working conditions, inaccessible and poor healthcare, poor education, substandard, unsafe and unaffordable housing, toxic environmental exposures stress etc. These issues and conditions have plagued the first Africans and their descendants since the first 20 or so slaves landed in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. (Fort Monroe or Hampton, Virginia).

We have now even identified Post Traumatic Slave Disorder and Trauma as conditions carried through the generations.

Our 400- year journey to health equity is real. It has evaded us as African/Black Americans for many reasons. We are still not prioritized in health policies, programs, and funding. We are still competing with the majority Caucasian populations who are also the majority of the legislators, administrators, healthcare executives, and board members that determine how much funding, where services are located, who receives care/ services, when care/services are provided and what policies are going to be supported.

As we take the time to study the contributions, challenges and triumphs of our people of African descent this year of the 400-Year Anniversary of our arrival in

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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America, we must celebrate our resiliency, our connectedness to our homeland and its people on the Continent of Africa and her people across the world. We must lift up our treasured contributions to medicine, health discoveries of new procedures, medicines and technologies to improve the health and wellbeing of our people and the broader communities. We must encourage our youth and young adults to use their talents to become healthcare professionals to address the healthcare needs of their people. We must advocate and demand that we are at the policy, program and funding decision tables.

There are advocacy efforts to raise awareness, provide education and policy recommendations at the local, state and federal levels to address healthcare and life expectancy issues for African/Black Americans. We need more African/Black advocates and health professionals to be the voice and activists to demand the change we need to eliminate the inequities, premature deaths, and chronic diseases/illnesses among our people. PrimaryOne Health will continue to work with those who are serious about eliminating health disparities and promoting health equity by providing information, identifying trends, developing and sharing promising practices and clinical experts. We look forward to working with and for you to improve our health status over the coming years.

Footnotes: 1 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html PrimaryOne Health Community Health Forum The next Quarterly Community Health Forum will be held on August 24, 2019 from 9:30 – 11:30am at the Dr. Martin Luther King Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 1467 E. Long Street, Columbus, OH 43203.

“Our goal is to inform, educate and empower our residents to advocate for the healthcare needs of our community,” stated Charleta B. Tavares, CEO, PrimaryOne Health. For more information visit www.primaryonehealth.org , Facebook @primaryonehealth or Twitter @ primary1health.

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 & Dayton African American • August 2019

HEALTH

MINDFULNESS: WHAT, WHY AND HOW? PART 1

By Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons, Psy.d If you stood in line at any grocery store during the past year, you probably noticed that practically every magazine had an article about mindfulness. In fact, some publications focused solely on the topic of mindfulness.

You may have been curious and peeked in at a few pages or maybe you just wondered what is this all about? Mindfulness is not a new idea – in fact, it has been practiced for centuries primarily in other parts of the world. Many people associate it with yoga or meditation or Eastern religions. So what is it? Mindfulness is simply a choice to develop the capacity to be present with whatever is happening, without giving any judgment.

Being present is one of the activities that we busy, on-the-go Americans typically skip. As a result, we invite more stress into our lives daily and constantly wonder if or when we will ever get a break. Sadly, there will be no break until we plan and take it for ourselves.

Mindfulness is one way that we can practice positive self-care and help to reduce the daily buildup of anxiety, depression, frustration, and hatred. The practice of Mindfulness gives us an opportunity to look at our existence and see it for what it is rather that through our stress-tinted lenses. We all have unhealthy habits, and the degree to which we give in to them affects our entire being. For example, there are four types of unhealthy habits: 1. Wanting – whether it is the next new version of some technology or a chocolate chip cookie, we all want something.

2. Resistance – we all gravitate to avoiding things that we regard as unpleasant 3. Distraction – using those fancy devices to ‘check out’ of the daily grind 4. Doing – always being on the go, frenetic paced lifestyle, being disconnected from the present.

Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman identified two modes of executive functioning: Intuitive which refers to how automatic judgments and decisions become habits, and Controlled which describes a slower, more deliberate and flexible style seen as intentional. Mindfulness can assist us in choosing a different way to respond (thought or action) when life happens. We learn to be less judgmental, evaluating the effect of old patterns, and making conscious decisions rather than letting habits rule our behavior.

Why should we consider a practice of Mindfulness? Well, as we know, chronic stress has a negative impact on our physical and mental health. The Mind-Body

interaction has shown us that inflammation due to high levels of cortisol is related to many of the current health concerns we have including cancer, hypertension, asthma/allergies, and diabetes. By making a commitment to change how you look at the world and at yourself, you can choose a healthier, more positive mental state that will greatly benefit your physical state. This is what got my attention – I have asthma and I very interested in what I can do to reduce my need for medications. In addition, in my work I am focused on helping my clients make positive changes but I don’t always listen to my own advice. I felt it was truly a sign when I was attending a conference a few years ago on a different subject and was given a handout on “Mindfulness and Meditation” by mistake!

Since then I have started incorporating more of these techniques in my work and in my own personal development. The benefits of mindfulness are many – including reduced rumination, stress reduction, increased focus, less emotional reactivity, more cognitive flexibility, and increased relationship satisfaction. I have seen many positive changes in my clients who have chosen to * include some mindfulness activities in their

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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self-care. It may look different for each person – some may practice meditation, another may choose to walk in nature more often, while a few focus on various breathing techniques.

My point is that we truly have the power to control many aspects of our lives – if we make the choice. In “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Dr. Viktor Frankl, he described losing his entire family in the Holocaust. He said to himself, “You can take my wife, you can take away my children, you can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but the is one thing no person can ever take away from me – that is my freedom to choose how I will react to what happens to me!”

Next month we will look at some ways to help us choose to react to life on our own terms so that we can benefit our own physical and mental health through a practice of Mindfulness.

Dr. Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons’s 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 of running, she expanded her practice to include servces related to Sports Psychology for athletes of all ages and levels. To reach her, call 614-443-7040 or email her at Jacqui@DrLewisLyons.com.

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

COVER STORY 400 YEARS OF AFRICANS IN AMERICA

By Rev. Tim Ahrens, D.Min Antonio and Isabella came to America on August 25, 1619.

They landed at Point Comfort (now Fort Monroe), in the settlement that would become Virginia.

They arrived on the English Privateer ship, the White Lion. They were among the “20 and odd” Africans (as it was recorded) who had been captured from the slave ship San Juan Bautista in a fierce battle in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico. Along with the White Lion, the English privateer ship, the Treasurer, also took enslaved Africans north to the colonies arriving a few days later.

Antonio and Isabella and the other Africans who arrived that day in August 1619 were slaves. This was not Ellis Island. This was not Plymouth Rock. These were not free men and women landing in the new world filled with hope and ready to begin their adventure in freedom and exploration.

population were African-Americans and 98% of them were slaves.

For those who argue that slavery was not the cause of the Civil War, I always say “follow the color of money.” All the Confederate paper currency had pictures of happy slaves picking cotton, serving their masters in the big house, and dancing for joy around campfires. If the economics of slavery didn’t matter, why did the war start in South Carolina, the state with the most slaves, and the first seven states to secede were the ones I just mentioned? The states with the most to lose economically fomented and fought the Civil War. The painful and evil truth of the economics of slavery meant that the men and women pictured on the money would never see a penny of it.

And now we live in a nation where the first American currency intended to right the wrong of exploitation with the picture of Harriet Tubman, leader and liberator in the Underground Railroad movement, who was scheduled to replace the face of proud slave president Andrew Jackson on the $20 this year has been postponed until 2025 by the current administration. Following the color of money is not just an old truth, it still holds sway today in so many ways.

They were arriving in exploitation. They were called human cargo. They had been captured in Kabasa, in the Angolan region of Africa, chained and then sold as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While the Portuguese had started taking and selling slaves from Africa in the late 16th Century, it The first generation of slaves arriving, along had not reached the colonies until that August with Isabella and Antonio, were Africans captured and brought to Virginia from the day. villages of Kabasa in Angola (as mentioned) Over the next 246 years, the slave population and Ndongo, Kongo. Those first enslaved in the United States would grow to over 3.9 Africans were skilled farmers, herders, million by the 1860 Census. There were blacksmiths and artisans. They had the perfect also another 500,000 free blacks in America skill set needed for the colonies to survive. by 1860. By the outbreak of the Civil War, Along with their culture, they also brought 57% of the population of South Carolina many ideas and innovations including were slaves. In Mississippi, 55% were floodways, crop cultivation, music and dance. slaves. In Louisiana, 47%; in Alabama, It was their intelligence and ingenuity which 45%; in Georgia and Florida, 44%. In terms saved the colonies from dying out in the of absolute numbers, Virginia had the most 1600s. It was their unbridled spirit and labor slaves with 490,865. Across the south, by the that helped build Hampton, Fort Monroe, outbreak of the Civil War, 33% of the total America, and the White House. They toiled The & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 The Columbus Columbus African American News Journal • February

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through many generations of unpaid bondage and servitude, civil unrest, and the march for civil rights, before their descendants became legal citizens.

Those first “20 and odd” enslaved Africans who arrived at Point Comfort, Virginia marked the beginning of 246 years of slavery in this nation. For the first two generations from 1619 until 1661 some of the enslaved Africans were granted their freedom and in some cases were able to purchase the freedom of their relatives, start their own homesteads, and employ indentured servants. Yet others were held in bondage for life or until 1661 when Virginia established a law legalizing lifelong servitude of all un-free Africans.

Other colonies followed Virginia’s example and established laws in the early 1700’s which legalized lifelong servitude of ALL un-free Africans. There was seemingly no way out of slavery except escape or death.

Slavery is an indelible stain on America’s soul. Slavery is truly our nation’s original sin and it has in place deep-seeded racism which prevails to this day. While our nation was not the first and will not be the last to enslave others, the African slave trade which chained and packed 12.5 million people on ships much too small to safely hold such loads, cost the lives of 20% of those packed below deck for centuries. The bones of the dead, 2.5 million or more, are on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. If the ocean were dredged, you could find your way from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States by following the trail of bones.

Slavery is the worst human transgression perpetrated by one human being on another – whether in 1619 or 2019. When multiplied by the millions, it is evil beyond belief. In his book, Adventures of an African Slaver, published in 1854, Captain Theodore Canot wrote:

COVER STORY

I have no hesitation in sayings that threefourths of the slaves sent abroad from Africa are the fruit of wars fomented by the avarice of (white people). We stimulate the negro’s passions by the introduction of wants and fancies never dreamed of by the simple native, while slavery (in Africa) was an institution of domestic need and custom alone. But what was once a luxury has now ripened into an absolute necessity; so that man, in truth has become the coin of Africa.

Canot goes on to describe the packing of people on the ships that he commanded: “As I crawled between decks, I could not imagine how this little army was to be packed or draw breath in a hold but twenty-two inches high!

We made them lie down in each other’s laps, like sardines in a can, and this way obtained space for the entire cargo.”

Elsewhere he writes in the chronicles of his role in this evil institution: “We created conditions for a smallpox epidemic aboard the ship. At length death was satisfied but not until 800 beings we had shipped in high health had dwindled to 497 skeletons.”

But, the chains of slavery have not gone away.

In time, Isabella and Antonio were among the few slaves across the generations who The chains of slavery have now become the were able to stay together. They had a unfair prison sentences for minor crimes son, William. William was the first child where other ethnic groups receive less or of African ancestry we know was born in no prison time. The chains of slavery have America. William was baptized on January 4, now become racial profiling where you can 1624. From William, the generations of slaves get stopped merely because the color of born on our soil extends through history. your skin or arrested for a crime you did not Most, like William, were baptized Christians. commit. The chains of slavery are now the Slavery was justified and rationalized in the disparity of young Brown and Black people name of Jesus in the heinous twists and turns not being able to get a quality education or a of theology and history. job because of the socioeconomic, financial conditions of their living environment. The The sin of slavery and the deep and abiding chains of slavery are now people are being effects of this original American sin are a moved out of urban communities because stain on our soul as a nation. of gentrification. The chains of slavery are young Black and Brown girls being captured The words of the prophet Jeremiah 31:15 and forced into human trafficking and the keep haunting me. “A Voice is heard in sex slave industry. The chains of slavery are Ramah. Lamentations and bitter weeping. young people hooked on crack; heroin and Rachel is weeping for her children; she opioids as a way to deal with the deck of refuses to be comforted for her children, cards they have been dealt by these chains because they are no more.” of slavery.

I keep seeing the faces of mothers of Isabella and Antonio (obviously not their native Angolan names) weeping hysterically on the beaches of Angola watching their son and daughter sail away in chains, their lives stolen from them, their freedom stolen from them.

I can see them refusing to be comforted for their lost children, because “they are no more.” My heart breaks over and over and over again as I see this trauma induced millions of times over the hundreds of years that ensue. Mothers giving birth to babies who are taken from them and sold to God knows who and God knows where– carried away from them forever. I have no capacity whatsoever to conceive of this and hold this image in my heart and mind. This is the root of evil writ large. It is also the root of outrage, pain, trauma, distress and struggle of 400 years of Africans in America.

When will it all end?

The Transatlantic slave trade, just like the systematic elimination of the Native American Indian in the United States, and the Holocaust of the Jews in Nazi Germany are human tragedies and mammoth acts of inhumanity that changed the world. We cannot change history or the impact that it had on past generations. But we should always recognize and learn from the perils and transgressions of humankind’s inhumanity against one another. And while we must fully acknowledge, lament, mourn and grieve the history of African Americans and the experience filled with too much tragedy that has shaped black experience in America, we also need to ALWAYS remember this is not the whole story of African American history.

African Americans have contributed to the economic, academic, social, cultural and Through it all, the descendants of Antonio, moral well-being of this nation. Without Isabella and William have endured with African Americans some of America’s dignity the cruelest barbaric acts of crowning achievements would never have enslavement. They have endured through the been possible. Would American moral Jim Crow era, segregation, and the disparity leadership be as strong without Frederick of basic human rights.

Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr. or Thurgood Marshall? Would American literature be 21

as prolific without the giants of the Harlem Renaissance and the writers and poets of our generation? Would American music have conquered the world without pioneers like Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Marian Anderson and James Brown?

Could we claim America as the most innovative nation on earth without the invention of the modern traffic light, the perfection of the carbon filament or the use of the mathematics delivered by women that propelled Apollo astronauts to the moon? – to name only a few inventions.

In government, law, science, industry, the arts and entertainment and more, African Americans have transformed our nation with their gifts and brilliance. African American culture is American culture, and African American discoveries are American discoveries. Without the accomplishments of African Americans, the United States could not boast the ingenuity and cultural richness that we cherish. As we contemplate the challenges and injustices that African Americans still face, we remember the tragic way in which African American history began and draw inspiration from the heroes and trailblazers who fought under our country’s principle that all people are created equal. These heroes and trailblazers, along with the millions of African Americans who have worked, created, invented, discovered, lived, aged and died over the past 400 years, have molded our national character such that the United States would be unrecognizable and, indeed, lesser without their cumulative presence.

400 years in America. Let us always remember Isabella, Antonio, William and the millions who came as slaves and rose through the tears and the pain to challenge and change the face and the faith of this nation forever.

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.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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PUBLIC INVITED TO REVIEW CANDIDATE PROJECTS FOR 2020-2050 METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN (MTP) ON INTERACTIVE MAP JULY 15, 2019

An interactive map has been developed to gather public input on the candidate projects being considered for the 20202050 MTP. It can be accessed at morpc.org/mtp2050. The 2020-2050 MTP is for the MORPC transportation planning area of Delaware and Franklin counties; Bloom and Violet townships in Fairfield County; New Albany, Pataskala and Etna Township in Licking County; and Jerome Township in Union County. The map provides ways for the public to submit or follow comments on projects already being considered. The public can also suggest their own projects either by drawing on the map or sending an email.

The types of projects include: • • • • •

New roadway or widening of a roadway Intersection or freeway interchange improvement Multi-use trail or on-street bicycle facility New sidewalk New or improved transit service, such as bus or rail

If you do not have access to the internet, visit your nearest library to view the projects online. Comments may be submitted on the interactive map by email to mtp@morpc.org or via U.S. mail to: Attn: Thea Walsh MORPC 111 Liberty St., Suite 100 Columbus, OH 43215 The deadline to submit comments is Friday, August 30, 2019 by 5 p.m.

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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HEALTH

400 YEARS TO REMEMBER HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU REALLY ARE A study just out confirmed again that where you have fat on your body really, really matters especially as we get older. Holding and storing fat around your midsection rather than in your thighs and hips places you at greater risk for heart attacks, strokes and cancer. You must keep track of your waist circumference and ask your doctor, health care provider or fitness instructor what you can do to lower it.

By Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Back when we were in high school my sister Leah took a day and took the trains and buses to go to New York City. She loved modeling and wanted to become one. At school and local events, Leah had posed for pictures and ads. Now she was ready for the big-time.

But Leah didn’t just pack up and head for New York or Los Angeles like they do in the movies. She had done her homework, because our parents were busy teaching us how, besides getting good grades, it was just as important to plan and prepare for whatever next step you made in life. Thus, Leah did her homework on becoming a model back in the day.

She found every magazine she could that featured Black models. They were mostly Ebony and Jet but on rare occasion, you saw a beautiful brown face in Glamour or Life Magazine. She learned everything she could about Beverly Johnson, Peggy Dillard, Pat Cleveland, Pam Grier, Naomi Sims and even Grace Jones. She also spent time talking to Marsha Matthews, a neighbor who was a model, wife and busy working mother.

Leah lived in the mirror, trying just about any new hair or clothing style. She didn’t dare try dieting because our mom would have literally killed us for throwing away food that she bought with “her hard-earned money” and “slave over a stove to make”.

Our dad, mom, uncles, aunties and grandparents spent a lot of time reminding us that we were beautiful children and how much our brown and black skin, round noses, full lips and wonderful hips and thighs made us even prettier. We were growing up after the 60’s and the Era of Civil Rights where our parents reminded us in the big and little ways how we were “Black and Proud” and how much “Success runs in our race.” Yes, we also had to be “twice as good”, but that just meant we started out great.

We as children, teen and young adults got our positive affirmation from the people who knew and loved us the most. Looking back, I see centuries of wisdom in our elders who know that our young spirits could not be affirmed by what we watched and heard on television, radio or in the movies. If you recall, I had written for an earlier article that my mom had done her masters’ thesis on children’s reaction to the skin color black versus white dolls.

Our elders knew that Hollywood and the media still had a long way to go before it recognized and acknowledged that Black was not only light to near white or monochromatic, but also instead living in fuller and richer shades of color than they could ever imagine. Just ask an older black or brown woman about her struggle to find

Reducing stress and deconstructing the “angry black woman” will go a long way toward improving our health as black women.

It will also lead to us getting more appropriate health and medical care when we need it.

a matching shade of foundation when she switched her make-up to or from Maybelle or Covergirl to hear her story.

Armed with this foundation, Leah trekked to the big city and went to just about every top name modeling agency in New York at the time. At every mostly all white agency, they remarked that she had raw potential.

That sounded positive until they followed the comment with “you should follow up with the agencies looking for ethnic models”.

Their agencies were not into that yet. Some even suggested that she have her nose and lips done and then follow up.

Leah also reminded her contemporaries and the young ones coming up behind her of the importance of having a plan B. Much like a professional athlete, you need to prepare for what comes next or instead of in your finances, job choices and your health. A lot of her model friends waited tables, struggled to make ends meet and were homeless waiting for their next big break or any break. That seemed so sad and unnecessary because everyone can do better.

Everyone needs to know you how to take care of your physical self, be a lifelong learner, know how to plan for an emergency and save for a rainy day. Even though your great looks won’t last forever or others ma underestimate your worth, know and remind yourself that you have a greater than 400-year old legacy of Blackness that has “groomed you for greatness” and blazed trails for you to Ouch! That hurt! Even though the modeling follow and step up into in every area of your business can be vicious in its search for the personal, family and professional life. next star, that feedback and those words can devastate almost any teenager or adult for Learn a Little More that matter.

Artifacts of the Slave Trade, Reuters Pictures.

Yes, Leah was discouraged and down after Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/ that trip, but her spirit wasn’t crushed. I know news/picture/artifacts-of-the-slave-tradethat because she kept on modeling. Leah also idUSRTX70YYW went to college and got a degree. Modeling became her number one side hustle.

Body Shape vs BMI as Risk Predictor in Women— Bathroom scale “is not She may have not been walking the runway everything,” experts say by Kristen Monaco, in Paris, but she discovered the whole Staff Writer, MedPage Today July 24, 2019 world of modeling. She was in national ads, retrieved from: https://www.medpagetoday. commercials, modeled in window displays com/endocrinology/obesity/81193 and even 30 years later was walking the runway in San Francisco. She mentored Natural Characteristics That Influence younger aspiring models of color and stressed Environment: How Physical Appearance to them how much their self-worth matters. Affects Personality by Nathan C. Popkins, Northwestern University. Retrieved from: There are studies show when you feel better http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/ about yourself and how you look, your health popkins2.html improves. The exterior of your package matters too. Maybe not as much as how you You are Judged by Your Appearance. By Ty eat, sleep and exercise, but it all makes a Kisel, Forbes Magazine online, March 20, difference.

2013. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes. com/sites/tykiisel/2013/03/20/you-areThere are studies that show for Black women judged-by-your-appearance/#6f9f1f6d6d50 you need to take care of your health more deliberately than our white counterparts since Lisa D. Benton, MD, MPH (The Doctor is we’re at risk to get diseases such as heart In) breastsurgeonlb@gmail.com, Twitter:@ attacks, strokes and cancer almost 10 years DctrLisa (415) 746-0627 earlier.

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

POLITICS EDITORIAL: MARIJUANA REFORM

By Council President Shannon Hardin Last year, I shared a story in the Columbus Dispatch about meeting students at Beechcroft High School and their call for marijuana reforms to protect them against a system they fear might block their shot at jobs and an education. Sadly, the evidence supports their concern. A young, black man caught smoking marijuana is four times more likely to be arrested, creating an escalating series of long-term negative consequences. Meanwhile, across town, medical dispensaries sold almost $3 million of marijuana with the State’s blessing. Some folks are stacking pot profits while others lose their job over a dime bag of weed.

This duality shouldn’t exist.

On July 22, Council passed a first round of reforms to get people back to work or back to school. We lowered penalties for marijuana and paraphernalia possession, so that those who are convicted of these offenses could face far lower fines. In addition, with the support of my Council colleagues, we are

providing additional funding to The Legal Aid Society of Columbus to expand access to lawyers who can assist with record-sealing to help people get jobs or into college. I want to especially thank Councilmember Favor for her leadership and advocacy on these reforms. With the creation of our new Criminal Justice & Judiciary Committee, Councilmember Favor has proved to be a tireless advocate for equity and fairness.

As we advance these and future local reforms, we’re encouraging the Columbus Division of Police to think differently about marijuana enforcement. Generations of evidence show criminal punishment does nothing to reduce marijuana use across race or class.

In Columbus, over the past three years, over 1,400 residents have been charged with possession of misdemeanor amounts of marijuana. Sixty-two percent of those arrests were of young black men. Charges filed for simple possession without a companion crime can take valuable time away from a police officer whose time would be better spent on other duties. We appreciate the openness of Interim Police Chief Thomas Quinlan in considering this issue. I believe Police Officers generally share our goal to focus on fighting serious crime and neighborhood

violence, not social misdemeanors.

While smoking marijuana shouldn’t be encouraged, especially for young people, we cannot sit idly by as lives are upended over misdemeanor offenses. Drug issues are a health issue and should be addressed with treatment, not criminal convictions. That is why we stand with Mayor Ginther and City Attorney Klein to encourage the State of Ohio to take action on the proposals before the legislature. Senate Bill 3 will go a long way toward preventing addicts of harder drugs, who need treatment, from becoming felons.

While the first ordinances at Council will be huge for some Columbus residents, this cannot be the end of the conversation.

The next time I stand before curious and concerned students, worried that they were being targeted, I want to be able to show we listened and acted. Major policy shifts take time and research, and I thank my colleagues, especially Councilmembers Shayla Favor and Rob Dorans for these first steps to criminal justice reform in Columbus.

We will continue to work with the Mayor, City Attorney and Columbus Police to help keep folks out of the criminal justice system and on the path to good-paying jobs.

CITY COUNCIL PASSES MARIJUANA REFORM July 22, 2019, Columbus City Council made a declarative statement – inequities relating to medical and recreational marijuana in the criminal justice system must end.

Ordinances 2032-2019 and 2084-2019, passed unanimously, reduces penalties for marijuana and paraphernalia possession while funding a new record-sealing program to be serviced by the Legal Aid Society of Columbus.

“This legislative package aims to create a more fair Columbus, especially for black residents disproportionately impacted by past drug policies,” said Council President Shannon G. Hardin. “We are not endorsing drug use. But while folks in some parts of town can legally profit from medical marijuana, it’s important we do what we can to help those folks in other parts of Columbus who face criminal charges, hefty fines, and barriers to employment for marijuana possession.”

Under the new law, penalties for low-level marijuana possession are $10 for less than 100 grams; and $25 for less than 200 grams, but greater than or equal to 100 grams.

“We’re taking an important first step to help remove barriers to employment for folks in our community,” Hardin continued.

In Columbus, 62 percent of residents charged with possession of marijuana or paraphernalia are black men, and nearly half of all defendants were 25 years old or younger. Studies have shown that those with criminal records, even for minor offenses, earn far less and are unemployed at higher rates. These are life-altering situations that can impact future employment, housing and college opportunities for thousands of people in our community.

One of the key components of the new legislation is that an arrest or conviction for a minor misdemeanor violation does not constitute a criminal record. Therefore, residents do not need to include the violations on applications for employment, license, or other right or privilege, or made in connection with the person’s appearance.

“These changes can be transformative,” said Councilmember Shayla Favor. “Criminal records impact employment, housing and college opportunities for thousands of people in our community. I am proud that we listened to community feedback and changed the code to keep people out of the criminal justice system unnecessarily, and help those already there.”

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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As a result of the legislation, residents who currently have a criminal record because of low-level possession and other offenses can apply to have their records sealed by contacting Legal Aid Society of Columbus.

For more information, call 1-888-246-4420 or visit www.columbuslegalaid.org.

Columbus residents agree with these changes. Council conducted two public hearings, dozens of stakeholder engagement sessions and a survey which garnered 4,086 responses to ascertain locally-based insight.

THE SURVEY FINDINGS: • 4,086 responses to the marijuana survey.

• 97% of residents surveyed believe medical marijuana should be legal.

• 93% of residents surveyed believe marijuana for recreational/personal use should be legal • 96% of residents surveyed believe the City of Columbus should reduce criminal penalties for low-level marijuana possession.

• 94% of residents surveyed believe the City of Columbus should eliminate criminal penalties for low-level marijuana possession • 95% of residents surveyed support the City funding a program to help residents convicted of low-level offenses having their records sealed to increase access to housing and employment opportunities.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

By Senator Charleta B. Tavares (Ret.) Ohio’s 2-Year Operating Budget Passes: Some Wins and Losses For Our Community Amend. Substitute House Bill 166 passed both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate on July 17, seventeen days late and the Governor signed it on July 18, 2019. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed by its statutory deadline of June 30. The members of the Ohio General Assembly had to pass resolutions extending the timeframe to pass the budget. Although both Democrats and Republicans supported the bill, which funds state, county and local government, as well as community services, it did not have the near unanimous support originally received in each Chamber. The vote in the Ohio House of Representatives was 75 to 17 with fourteen Democrats (four Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) members) and three Republicans voting against the bill.

The bill passed the Ohio Senate with a vote of 29 to 1 (Democrat Sen. Teresa Fedor).

House Bill 166 provides $70 billion over two years in revenue – the largest state budget in Ohio’s history.

Key Provisions: The presidential primary moves to March 17 (AKA St. Patrick’s Day) A joint legislative body that provides oversight for education was abolished, charter school regulations were reduced, and more taxpayer money will go to private, mostly religious schools via vouchers.

Provided $675 million over two years for schools - $275 million for this school year (2019-20) and $400 million for the 2020-21 year for “student wellness and success” services (wrap around services) for schoolchildren.

Establishes new graduation requirements for the class of 2023 (20 credits, earn two diploma “seals” and score competent on the Algebra I and English II state exams) unless they enlist in the military, show careertech/apprenticeship documentation or earn college math and English credits.

Eliminates taxes for people in Ohio’s lowest two tax brackets and cuts other tax rates by 4% Requires the Department of Medicaid to cut out the managed care plans and contract directly with a single pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, to administer the drug benefits.

Provides $100 million for pharmacies — targeting those with the highest shares of Medicaid business in an effort to make up for low reimbursements that have forced many to close in recent years.

A summary of the budget can be found at https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/ legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA133HB-166.

House Bill 6 – Bailout of Nuclear Energy Minority Leader Emilia S. Sykes: Companies (First Energy) Passes “The state budget is our promise to invest House Bill 6 will raise the price of energy in Ohio and give children and families the supplied to all residents throughout Ohio, tools they need to get ahead. In this budget, I not just those with nuclear power plants was pleased to see many of the amendments in their portfolio. That means regardless I sponsored become law. if your energy company let’s say AEP in Central Ohio, which does not have a Funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs and nuclear power plant in Ohio, you will pay immersive college internship programs this “tax or fee” in perpetuity (forever). invest in our future, and additional funding for The bill was signed into law on Tuesday, local rape crisis centers and a Food Farmacy July 23, after Speaker Larry Householder pilot project keeps our promise of safety was able to find 51 lawmakers willing to and security for all. Though we did not get return to Columbus from summer break everything we wanted, these amendments, to vote to enact the Senate version of the working together with dozens of other wins nuclear and coal plant bailout legislation. for working people and families in this The bill will also dismantle Ohio’s green budget, expand opportunity and renew our energy standards, making ours the first promise of better lives and brighter futures state in the nation to revoke a previously right here in Ohio. enacted renewable portfolio standard. The bill included provisions to keep the other Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron): energy companies such as AEP, DP & L and Duke to stay neutral by including language Secure an increase to the Local Government to extend the Ohio customers’ subsidies (set Fund and the Public Library Fund; to expire in four to six years) for two coalburning power plants – one in Ohio (Gallia Expansion on the Governor’s original County) and the other in Indiana. These proposal to the Student Wellness and subsidies are bailing out failing companies Support funding from the $550 million to who have not been innovative or savvy in $675 million over the biennium; their business models.

Doubled the appropriation to the Ohio House Bill 6 is a bailout of FirstEnergy Public Defender from $66 million to $163 Solutions and its Wall Street creditors million; and Increased the allocation to at the taxpayer’s expense – residential, Ohio’s foodbanks to over $24 million over commercial and manufacturing customers. the biennium.

This is robbing the public to prop up and pay an obsolete, poorly run business. Opponents Specific provisions Senator Sykes was able announced that they would attempt to repeal to secure for his district (the greater Akron the law at the ballot, a task that requires the area): collection of nearly 275,000 valid signatures in 44 counties in just under 90 days. If $600,000 for the Battered Women’s Shelter organizers succeed, the law would be put of Summit and Medina Counties – going to on hold until November 2020 when voters victims of domestic violence would be asked to weigh in at the ballot box. $500,000 for the Food Farmacy Pilot Project The Ohio House vote was 51 to 38 with – nutrition and wellness partnership to help twenty-three Democrats voting against those with type II diabetes the bill and nine voting for it including OLBC members, Reps. Galonski, Ingram, $500,000 for the Adaptive Sports Program – Upchurch, and West. The Ohio Senate vote supports programing for wheelchair bound was 19 to 12 with three Democrats Minority athletes Leader Yuko, Sen. Williams* and Sen. Teresa will keep you informed on the progress Fedor voting for it and six Democrats, Sens. We of the bills sponsored and passed by the Antonio, Craig*, Thomas*, Maharath*, members of OLBC over the next two years of O’Brien and Sykes* voting against it. rd the 133 General Assembly that specifically *OLBC members and H.B. 6 speak to the needs, opportunities and facing Ohio’s African American Ohio Legislative Black Caucus: Members challenges and communities of color.

Priorities *There are currently nineteen (18) members In an effort to bring the Ohio Legislative Black including one Asian American member Caucus’ priorities and legislative agenda to participating in OLBC. For additional the Columbus/Dayton African American information on the Ohio Legislative news journals’ readers, we have outlined Black Caucus, contact Chris Scott, some of the members and their proposals Executive Director OLBC at cscott@ included in the state’s 2-year Operating ohiolegislativeblackcaucus.org Budget (HB 166), and other initiatives introduced. We are starting with Ohio House Former Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, Minority Leader Emilia S. Sykes and Senator D-Columbus, is the 1st Democrat and Vernon Sykes who is the Ranking Democrat African American woman to serve in the on the Ohio Senate Finance Committee and Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio one of the Conferees on the Conference Senate from Franklin County. She is also Committee. The Conference Committee is the first African American woman to serve in the committee charged with working out the leadership in the history of Ohio and the 1st differences between the Governor’s, House Democrat woman to serve in leadership in of Representatives and Ohio Senate versions both the Ohio House of Representatives and of the Budget. the Ohio Senate (House Minority Whip and Senate Assistant Minority Leader).

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

EDUCATION

COLLEGE BOUND: SUPPORT FOR HBCUS

By Ray Miller, III “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Morehouse College, Class of 1948) The road to success in life starts with primary and secondary education: get good grades, take the right classes, get involved in extra-curricular activities, do your community service and go to college.

Simple? Not really.

Unfortunately, for many African American youth today going to college seems about as attainable as a trip to Mars. What’s holding us back? First, it’s the cost of going; tuition and fees just seem to be as high and as unsurmountable as Mount Everest. But with scholarships and other funding, financing a college education whittles the mountain down to where it is manageable.

The second drawback to going to college is, unfortunately, something that America cannot seem to get past; i.e. race. Even in the 21st century, African Americans continue to receive unequal and inadequate education. The advances we have made as a people can be attributed to the unyielding commitment to delivering top shelf education by our Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs).

In order to recruit more students to attend HBCU’s we need to understand the history behind the higher education system in America. Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) have a history of discrimination when it comes to selecting and accepting students of color. In the book Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery and the Troubled History of America’s Universities, by Craig Steven Wilder, the author reveals how some of the earliest collegiate institutions in this country were funded through slavery.

Furthermore, PWIs often used slave labor to build their campuses and serve the students and faculty. This type of behavior was passed down from generation to generation until the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1863. But segregation continued even up until the Civil Rights movement almost 100 years later.

Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) were founded for the sole purpose of providing quality education for African Americans. When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, more than four million slaves were granted their freedom. As a result, the South was in disarray and the economic fabric of the country was falling apart. Congress convened to create the Freedman’s Bureau

in 1865, an organization designed to provide assistance to the newly freed slaves during their transition into citizenship. The bureau was responsible for creating jobs, setting up housing and providing education. That same year, Congress passed the Higher Education Act that included a clause to create federally funded schools for Negros.

Under the new legislation, abolitionists and supporters of the Freedman’s Bureau worked with the government and private donors to build schools around the country, particularly in the South where slavery was dominant.

In addition to teaching freed slaves, many of these schools also taught children and Native Americans how to read, write and basic trade skills. Many of those schools expanded and grew into what we know today as Florida A&M University (which stands for Agriculture and Mechanical), North Carolina A&T University (Agriculture and Technical) and others.

Prior to the Higher Education Act and before the Civil War, there were several institutions that were founded by abolitionists to educate free blacks. Cheyney University (1837) and Lincoln University (1854) both in Pennsylvania and Wilberforce University (1856) in Ohio were founded years before slavery ended. Many of the students who graduated from these schools migrated to the South to teach at the newly formed colleges.

Since the late 1800’s, more than 100 schools sprung up around the country, all of them dedicated to teaching and caring for African Americans. Since then, HBCUs have developed a tradition and culture for educating the black community. Some of the most prestigious and influential leaders of our history such as, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois (Fisk), Booker T. Washington (Hampton), Thurgood Marshall (Howard), Marian Wright Edelman (Spelman) and many others are all graduates of these great schools. The tradition of excellence has been passed down from generation to generation and today, that legacy is under attack.

The enrollment rate for Black students at HBCUs has dropped significantly over the past few years. One factor is that many students, particularly in Ohio, are simply not aware that HBCU’s exist and have resources to help them. Combined with an increase in poverty, single parent households, and the socalled “pipeline-to-prison” complex, young people are faced with more issues than ever before. For them, survival is the first priority and going to college is nothing more than a dream deferred.

I had the opportunity to study at two great schools, Hampton University in Virginia and Wilberforce University in Ohio. Both institutions opened my eyes to a world that I never knew existed. Going to college for most people can be intimidating, but for me,

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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it was like a second home. The education that I received is as good as or better than most Ivy League schools. However, the difference is that my professors cared about me. I was not a number, but they knew me by name and they took the time to make sure that I got the most out of my college experience. They believed in me and wanted me to succeed. To me, this is a significant difference between HBCUs and PWIs. Over the years I had the opportunity to work with youth from various backgrounds around the state. Everywhere I went, I ran into young people who had a passion for success. Most of them wanted to escape their worlds by going to college, but they could not afford it. Others were ignorant of the opportunities and resources that were available to them at various HBCUs. This was a wake-up call for me. I had to do something to help make a difference.

In 2009 I called upon several friends who were HBCU alumni and I asked them to help me put together a college fair. We had no money and no idea how to put on such an event, but we did it anyways. That year, we had 15 HBCUs that attended our fair and more than 500 people showed up. So many people were thankful for that event and as a result, several young people from Columbus enrolled and were accepted to various HBCUs that fall. Their lives changed for the better and now they are able to pass on the torch.

On Saturday, September 21, 2019 we will celebrate the ninth anniversary of the Central Ohio HBCU College Fair. This event has grown into the largest event of its kind in Ohio. We are expecting over 30 HBCUs and more than 2000 college-bound students, friends and family members. This event is free and open to the public with workshops, door prizes and more. There will be a special performance by our Black Greek organizations and live music. Students will have the opportunity to talk to local alumni and learn more about their history and why it is so important to attend a Historically Black College/University.

It is important to support our HBCUs, not out of obligation, but out of respect for those who paved the way for the freedoms and opportunities that we have today. Celebrate their legacies by helping our young people reach their dreams. Pay it forward.

Ray Miller, III is the Founder/Executive Director of the Ohio HBCU Foundation.

Miller started the HBCU College Fair in 2009 to educate young people about the lifestyle, education and cultural opportunites available at Historically Black Colleges around the country. For more inforamtion visit his website at www.ohiohbcucollegefair. com.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

EDUCATION

UNCF CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF SERVICE

By Ray Miller, III The of vision UNCF is that all American students have equal access to an affordable college education that prepares them for rich intellectual lives, competitive and fulfilling careers, engaged citizenship and service to the community.

The mission is to build a robust and nationally recognized pipeline of and highly qualified college graduates as a respected partner to help businesses and corporations increase their needed diverse talent pool. UNCF does this by sustaining and strengthening our member colleges and universities.

As a graduate of Wilberforce university, the oldest HBCU in the United States, and as a third generation graduate with my both of my grandfathers and both of my parents attending HBCU’s; I also know that many of you know someone who also attended, and wholeheartedly believe in these institutions, and want to see them sustained for decades and centuries to come!

UNCF is celebrating 75 years of service as the nation’s largest provider of educational support to minority students and intuitions.

Without the support of , many students would not realize their full potential. UNCF works to assure that organizations like Wilberforce University remain financially strong so young women and men can continue to make an impact in this nation and around the world.

The scholarship money stays with the student so that they can attend the school that best suits their needs wherever it is.

UNCF and the support from donors enables the future leaders of our communities and our great country; to remind them that they are so much bigger than their circumstances.

I can’t think of a more important organization than and the scholarship and internship opportunities that we provide for corporations to increase their workforce diversity with college educated students who have been introduced to and prepared to be successful through the student development program.

I am proud of the philanthropic spirit of our community and the corporate partners that are more committed than ever to help make a difference in the lives of young minority students looking to go to and through college. UNCF has raised more than $ 5

® VEARs

billion helping more than 60,000 low-income students across 1,100 colleges. UNCF annually awards 10,000 scholarships worth $100 million and administers more than 400 scholarships, fellowships, internships and faculty development programs , along with raising funds to provides operating support to the 37 private historically black colleges and universities. UNCF has been lighting the way for K-12 education advocacy to ensure African American students are college ready, while also championing federal policy on capitol hill that positively impacts .

UNCF each year more than 8,00 students graduate from prepared to enter the workforce that is in desperate need for more diversity. research shows that have a higher low- income student graduation rate than non – and scholarship recipients have a graduation rate that is twice that of non - recipients’ (PWI) Predominantly White Institutions. I want sincerely thank each and every one that had made a donation to UNCF and the students that we support. A mind is a terrible thing to waste…but a wonderful thing to invest in!

Please donate at UNCF.org/Columbus Steve Miller is the Area Development Director for the UNCF Columbus.

LIGHTING THE.WAY TO BETTER FUTURES SINCE 1944

A mind is a terrible thing to waste�

We would like to thank all of the donors and volunteers for helping the UNCF Columbus Area office reach its goal for the first time in 10 years. We appreciate all of your support for the students we are helping to attend and graduate from college.

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste"®... but a great thing to invest in.

Please donate at UNCF.org/Columbus DAYTON ' S

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SEVENTH

ANNUAL

MAYOR,' S

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UNCF

We look forward to you joining us at this significant event. For more information contact us at UNCF.org/DaytonMayorsluncheon

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

WE CANNOT LOOK AWAY: VOLUNTEER CHANGES CHILD’S STORY

By Bill Payne “One of the things in my life where I contribute, feel fulfilled and I am proud of, is being a CASA Volunteer, a Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children.”

Those are the words of Bill Payne, an individual who has dedicated his life to the betterment of our community and who now serves as a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Franklin County.

“I grew up on the east side in the 50’s and 60’s where we walked to the library and dressed up to go downtown. As I grew up, I saw more and more families impacted by economic hardships, domestic violence, drugs and alcohol and unstable housing; things that don’t determine but contribute to the abuse and neglect of children. It was overwhelming to witness and even more difficult to know how to respond. It’s easy to look away, but when we do, we don’t see the broader impact, including the impact on our kids.”

Bill has encountered these problems throughout his career in human services and teaching.

What he realized is that these issues exist but that each individual’s circumstance is different. “Although there are dedicated individuals and organizations who work on prevention and trying to improve the lives of all, my role now is to work with the child in front of me. I have learned through listening to individuals impacted by abuse and neglect that I can assist these kids in creating a future with stability and safety, and it begins with not looking away.”

Over the last three years, Bill has served as a CASA volunteer, advocating for children as young as 16 months and as old as 14 years.

These children have been white and AfricanAmerican and have come from homes where they were abused physically, emotionally and sexually. They have come from families whose ability to provide a stable environment for children was impaired by drug or alcohol abuse and domestic violence. They have come from families sometimes trapped in a cycle of abuse and neglect and from families who find themselves overwhelmed with caring for a child with a behavioral challenge or mental illness. They have come from families that are upper middle class, middle class and those struggling in poverty.

According to Bill, the kind of trauma these children experience knows no boundaries.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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Bill describes these kids’ common trauma: “They have been robbed of a sense of safety, stability and predictability. They have very few if any positive relationships with adults around them that create a sense of safety and well-being. These children have been overwhelmed by their experiences and can react by being hyper vigilant or withdrawn.”

Multiple studies have shown that children who’ve experienced trauma at this level are at increased risk for involvement with the juvenile justice system, drug and alcohol abuse and both physical and mental illness.

Often their behavior is simply seen as “bad” and not as the coping mechanism it is for dealing with the overwhelming trauma they have experienced.

What can make a difference in their lives?

According to Bill it is relationships. “Positive, stable, predictable adult relationships help create a sense of safety for children who have experienced trauma. Children can develop resiliency in response to those experiences.

They can learn new coping skills and, in turn, learn to focus on the future. The first step is to “be there.” We make a difference by being a positive influence in a child’s life, by not turning away… by becoming a voice for the voiceless.”

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

By Ray Miller UNSEEN - Unpublished Black History from the New York Times Photo Archives

By Dana Canedy

Negro Orators and Their Orations

By Carter G. Woodson Reprint of 1925 Edition. This book is exactly what its title purports it to be.

It contains orations from about fifty different black-American orators. A brief sketch of each orator appears along with his oration. The documentary source from which the oration was obtained is pointed out. The occasion of the delivery is given. The speakers represent practically every generation in American history. Woodson provides the material for a study in the development of the Black-American in his use of English. The orations also present a unique source for studying the history of Black-Americans. It is also well indexed and has become a standard publication.

It all started with Times photo editor Darcy Eveleigh discovering dozens of these photographs.

She and three colleagues, Dana Canedy, Damien Cave and Rachel L. Swarns, began exploring the history behind them, and subsequently chronicling them in a series entitled Unpublished Black History, that ran in print and online editions of The Times in February 2016. It garnered 1.7 million views on The Times website and thousands of comments from readers. UNSEEN dives deep into The Times photo archives--known as the Morgue--to showcase this extraordinary collection of photographs and the stories behind them.

History of the American Negro and His Institutions

By Arthur Bunyan Caldwell

A Century of Negro Migration

By Carter G. Woodson Carter G. Woodson’s A Century of Negro Migration documents the movement of African Americans from the South to the northern and western parts of the country, from the early 1800s to the early 1900s. This book gives an enlightening account of the obstacles and triumphs faced and experienced by African Americans who sought to better their lives.

First Published 1918.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public.

From Slavey to Freedom - A History of African Americans

By John Hope Franklin

Carter G. Woodson’s Appeal

By Carter G. Woodson In 1921, a dozen years before he wrote his provocative classic, The Mis-Education of the Negro, Carter G. Woodson authored another work of social criticism. A stinging critique of white racism and a sterling defense of the Black race from its detractors, the manuscript was undoubtedly too caustic for white society and the author opted not to publish it in his lifetime.

The work was rediscovered and edited

by Daryl Michael Scott, professor of History at Howard University.

The eighth edition of this best selling text has been thoroughly revised to include expanded material on the slave resistance, the recent history of African Americans in the United States, more on the history of women, and popular culture. The text has also been redesigned with new charts, maps, photographs, paintings, illustrations, and color inserts and an extensive package has been assembled, using technology and other multimedia to bring history to life. Written by distinguished and award-winning authors, retaining the same features that have made it the most popular text on African American History ever, and with fresh and appealing new features, “From Slavery to Freedom” remains the most revered, respected, honored text on the market.

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

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The Columbus African & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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A 400 YEAR HISTORY OF COURAGE, BRAVERY, LEADERSHIP AND SACRIFICE - OUR MILITARY SERVICE

By Tim Anderson I am the son of a career military parent. My father served in the United States Airforce for thirty years achieving the highest rank for a noncommissioned officer, Chief Master Sargent. His father, my grandfather, James D. Anderson Sr. (1915-2010) from Ruleville, Mississippi attended Jackson State and later attended the Tuskegee Army Pilot Training Center, where he became a pilot as a Tuskegee Airman during WWII. After the war he would resettle in the Los Angeles area and fly eleven years for the California Civil Air Patrol. My brothers have served in the military as well; one serving fifteen years in the United States Air Force and the other serving in the Ohio Air National Guard.

Finally, my oldest son John, served four years in the United States Army, where he was stationed in South Korea in the missile defense deployment unit. Four generations of black men from my family have served during war and peace time with honor and distinction.

In our four-hundred-year history military service was not initially a part of our experience. Although prior to August 1619, Africans were among earlier expeditions to North and South America, primarily as laborers on board European vessels. These expeditions were by and large, military expansions of colonial European monarch nations. Those nations included Spain, England, France, Portugal and the Dutch empires which were all heavily involved in the slave trade and the colonization of North and South America and the Caribbean. The first Africans not of an expedition, who came to colonized north American were from Angola. They were aboard a Portuguese slave ship which was pirated by other slave traders and sold to the British. Eventually these enslaved Africans would find themselves in Jamestown, Virginia in August of 1619.

Jamestown would become the epicenter for slavery, migrating the slave trade along the eastern seaboard colonies from Georgia to Massachusetts.

The slave traders, the European Monarchs along with their military brought slavery into what is commonly referred as the Middle Passage. In 1770, the descendant of an enslaved African and a former slave, Crispus Attucks would die at the hands of a British soldier at the Boston Massacre Rebellion in Boston Massachusetts. His death would be recognized as the first blood shed for America’s independence from England.

Both colonial states and the British military offered slaves their freedom if they chose to serve in their respective military. Slave owners would allow their slaves to enlist in

black soldiers to serve in peacetime in the western frontier. Known as the United States Colored Troops (USCT) they would later become known as the Buffalo Soldiers. A name given to them by an indigenous tribe of the western plains, the Cheyenne warriors.

There were a total of six authorized black regiments under the command of white officers. The Buffalo Soldiers, as a domestic peacekeeping military force did participate Douglas, pressured and persuaded President in fierce battles with indigenous tribes of the Lincoln to allow the formation of an all- plains. black military regiment. The Emancipation Proclamation set forth by Lincoln which The first black commissioned officer of the abolished slavery in all states, established United States military served in USCT. A the foundation for the recruitment of free former slave and West Point graduate, Henry blacks and enslaved blacks to become O. Flipper became this nation’s first black soldiers in the Union Army. The 1st Kansas commissioned officer as a Buffalo Soldiers.

Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment would He would later be court-martialed and be the first all-black regiment, the second lose his commission, only to have his case all black regiment would be the Fifty- appealed 118 years later, when then President Fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Bill Clinton exonerated his prior court martial Regiment, known as the Massachusetts conviction and restored his commission.

54th (and made known in the 1989 film, Beyond, keeping the peace in the plains of Glory). Both regimens were commanded North America, Buffalo Soldiers have fought by white officers, blacks could not become outside of United States’ borders. Buffalo commissioned officers, but could obtain rank Soldiers have fought in the Spanish-American as noncommissioned officers. Both sons of War of 1898, The Philippine-American War Fredrick Douglas served in the Massachusetts (1899–1902) and World War I. Domestically, 54th as noncommissioned officers. One five hundred Buffalo Soldiers were among of Douglas’ sons was wounded during the our nation’s first national park rangers; failed assault against Confederate forces at patrolling Yosemite National Park, Sequoia Fort Wagner in Charleston South Carolina. National Park and the Sierra National Park.

Lincoln would later credit the recruitment and Their signature cavalry hats with the four service of black soldiers as the major turning indented side peaking at the top is still worn point in the outcome of the American Civil and coveted by the National Park Service Rangers of today. The seventy-five year old War. National Park Service pitch-bear, Smokey After the Civil War, the United States Continued on Page 32 Congress passed legislation that enabled the military during the Revolutionary War. With the promise that at the end of their enlistment, they would earn their freedom.

However, this was a promised not kept. Many of these black militiamen were killed in battle and those who survived were often placed back into slavery. Not until the American Civil War and at the urging of Fredrick Douglas would black serve in the military.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

the Bear wears a Buffalo Soldier cavalry hat.

Culminating their illustrious and significant military duties, one hundred noncommissioned Buffalo Soldier officers trained West Point Cadets in horsemanship until 1947. The Buffalo Soldiers earned a reputation for their excellence in riding, mounted drills and tactics. Their training activities at West Point, made them the nation’s first black instructors to teach battlefield tactics at the United States Military Academy.

Yet, the history and the contribution of the Buffalo Soldiers has been overshadowed by the attention given to the formation of Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. During World War II the Unites States bombers took on heavy losses over Europe

by Nazi German pilots. Although the U.S. did not have black aviators serving in WWII, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis a black graduate of West Point would lead the formation of what would be known as the Red Tail Angels. The Tuskegee Airmen consisted of two divisions, the 332nd Fighter Group and the Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Force. The 332nd primary responsibility was to escort Allied bombers to their target in Europe. They would engage in air combat with Nazi Germany’s pilots during their escort missions. The Red Tail pilots/Tuskegee Airmen would successfully prevent the German pilots from shooting down Allied planes under the escort of the Tuskegee Airmen. Their air combat mission performance had established the reputation

for their heroism and courage. Movies and documentaries have been made about the significance of the Tuskegee Airmen. As members of the “Greatest Generation”, these airmen also made significant contributions in their communities.

After World War II, Tuskegee Airmen were station at Lockbourne Army Air Base (now known as Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, located ½ hour south-east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. The Base was commanded

by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis and was the first base every commanded by a black officer within the United States. Tuskegee Airmen who left military service from Lockbourne remain in the area and purchase homes in Columbus, Ohio segregated white communities. One of those communities includes my neighborhood of Eastgate.

Eastgate was integrated by and the home to eight Tuskegee Airmen. A historic period that is often mentioned by Eastgate’s racially diverse residents today.

posthumously because the recipient’s heroic actions resulted in their death.

Black women have played a significant role in the military as well. My stepmother,, Colonel Silvia Signar-Anderson (United States Air Force, retired) has served as base commander at Warner Robbins (Georgia) Air Force Base and as the Chief Logistics Officer for entire United States’ military.

After her twenty-nine years of active military service, Her leadership is currently being utilized in Montgomery County, Ohio.

She leads a group of county workforce development professionals in developing and implementing strategies and programs to boost the employment readiness skills of the local labor market for technical and skilled positions with area employers.

Finally, It is possible, that within our lifetime, there will emerge from military service, a women or man becoming President of the United States who is black. That Commander in Chief will ad a powerful punctuation to the contributions and history of blacks in the From slavery, to free men, blacks have served U.S. military. and participated in every war for nearly Tim Anderson is a contributing columnist to our entire four hundred year history in this CAANJ with a focus on health, wellness and country. From colonial to modern day the social justice affecting the black community bravery, courage and heroism of the black and other communities of color. He is the soldier has been documented. founder of In My Backyard Health and Wellness and is the recipient of numerous There are eighty-nine black recipients of honors and awards, including The Ohio the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Governor’s MLK, Jr. award for Health Equity highest honor given to individuals serving and Awareness. Tim can be contacted via in the armed forces for their heroic action email. His email address is timanderson@ during battle. Often this award is given inmybackyardhope.com.

DLR GROUP WELCOMES NEW EDUCATION PLANNING EXPERT IN OHIO to younger generations of planners. He is on the Board of Directors for the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) and is chair of the A4LE Membership Steering Planning Committee, charged with growing the organization’s active membership.

(COLUMBUS, OHIO ― DLR Group welcomes education planner Troy Glover, ALEP, LE Fellow to the firm. As the newest member of the planning team, Glover will practice from the firm’s Columbus, Ohio location and will collaborate with higher education and K-12 education teams to deliver facility master planning services to clients and communities nationwide.

Glover’s expertise spans a variety of planning services, including facility master plans, strategic plans, facility evaluations and assessments, curriculum alignment, and educational specifications. A critical part of his work involves engaging internal and external client stakeholders through a proven community engagement process.

This process, which empowers participants to become decision-makers, oftentimes results in consensus of standards and guidelines for school improvements and future direction of “His passion for developing master plans that solve unique challenges faced by school school systems. districts and communities will benefit the “Troy is well respected by his peers, and clients we serve today and in the future.” we’re excited to welcome him to the firm,” said DLR Group Principal Jim French, FAIA. Glover remains active in the education planning industry and is a well-known mentor The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

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“I enjoy working with a diverse group of people to address complex educational and facility-related issues, and together, develop an environment that facilitates and inspires learning,” said Glover.

About DLR Group DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse. Our promise is to elevate the human experience through design. This promise inspires sustainable design for a diverse group of public and private sector clients; local communities; and our planet. DLR Group is 100 percent employee-owned and fully supports the initiatives and goals of the 2030 Challenge, and is an initial signatory to the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

DRAPETOMANIA: COMPLIANT BLACKS SANE, RESISTING BLACKS INSANE

By Michael Coard Exactly 168 years ago on March 17, 1851, Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright, a 58-year-old psychologist and surgeon who practiced in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi after having attended University of Penn Medical School, publicly announced the discovery of what he called “Drapetomania,” which he described as a disease that makes enslaved Blacks want to escape or otherwise resist.

As the chairman of a Louisiana State Medical Association committee that researched diseases purportedly unique to Black folks, Cartwright presented at the association’s annual convention a paper entitled, “A Report on the Diseases and Physical Peculiarities of the Negro Race.”

Shortly thereafter, the paper was published in the monthly DeBow’s Review, a widely circulated agricultural, commercial, and industrial resource magazine throughout the South. As reported by The Atlantic in its June 2014 edition, DeBow’s Review was known prior to the Civil War as the magazine that “recommended the best practices for the negro anything else than ‘the submissive knee-bender’ (which the Almighty declared wringing profits from slaves.” he should be) by trying to raise him to a level with himself..., the negro will run away; In Cartwright’s article, he claimed science but if he keeps him in the position that we proved Blacks had smaller brains, more learn from the Scriptures he was intended to sensitive skin, and overdeveloped nervous occupy, that is, the position of submission..., systems- all of which resulted in them being the negro is spell-bound, and cannot run naturally servile. Therefore, according to away.” science, he argued, the “negro is a slave by nature and can never be happy... in any other In addition to the aforementioned diseases, condition.”

Cartwright prescribed the cure, which consisted of sadistic whippings and toe He invented the term “drapetomania” after amputations. He said enslaved Blacks who combining the Greek words for “runaway” are “sulky and dissatisfied without cause” and “madness” to describe any Black man, are unconsciously displaying a warning of woman, or child who didn’t want to be their plan to escape. The way to stifle such bought, sold, traded, leased, and/or held plan, he declared, is by “whipping the devil in brutal bondage forever with no rights whatsoever. He continued by saying, “It is out of them” as a “preventive measure.” And unknown to our medical authorities, although in order to make any escape plan physically its diagnostic symptom, the absconding from impossible, he prescribed the amputation of service, is well known to our... overseers. The the big toe on both feet. He really did. How cause... that induces the negro to run away... fiendishly savage is that? And it happened is as much a disease of the mind as any other often. species of mental alienation, and much more You might say this racist pseudoscience curable....” was rejected outside Louisiana, Alabama, But he didn’t stop with “diagnosing” and Mississippi. But you’d be wrong. It was enslaved Blacks. He also created a term that widespread throughout the South and even applied primarily to so-called uppity free accepted in parts of the North.

Blacks by stating, “Dysaesthesia Aethiopica [basically meaning the abnormal and constant You might say it was only way back in the laziness of Ethiopians/Africans] is a disease... 19th century during the 1850s. But you’d affecting both mind and body... [and is] much be wrong. In the 20th century, as recently more prevalent among free Negroes living in as 1914, “Drapetomania” was included in a clusters by themselves than among slaves....” leading and well respected national textbook entitled, Thomas Lathrop’s Practical Medical In addition to a scientific justification for Dictionary, wherein it was defined as an these two diseases, there was, contended “insane impulsion to wander.”

Cartwright, a Biblical justification as well.

As he asserted, “If the white man attempts It gets worse. Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl, a to oppose the Deity’s will by trying to make woke white Vanderbilt University professor 33

and psychiatrist who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D., provides details in his 2010 book entitled, The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease. In it, he reveals that during the 20th century at the peak of the Civil Rights era in the 1960s, an updated version of drapetomania emerged when some white psychiatrists and psychologists began diagnosing Black civil rights activists with a subtype of schizophrenia, characterized as having an abnormal desire to advocate for equal treatment.

Think about that for a minute. You or your parents (or grandparents) were already born in the 1960s. So that wasn’t too long ago.

So I call myself “The Angriest Black Man in America” because James Baldwin said, “To be Black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage.”

So that’s why I’m constantly angry, constantly enraged, constantly defiant, and constantly resistant.

Therefore, the best way to diagnose and describe me- and hopefully you, too- is to paraphrase the great Richard Pryor by saying, “That Negro’s crazy.”

Crazy is a wonderful compliment for rebellious Black folks in racist America!

Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD 96.1-FM. and his “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCam/Verizon/ Comcast Article from www.phillytrib.com

The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

COMMENTARY: TOUGH DECISION

By Cheryl Smith It was a tough decision to make for some, and not so tough for others. But a decision had to be made.

The leadership of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority had about 16,000 registered attendees expected in New Orleans for the public service organization’s 54th National Convention. The weather looked like it could take a turn for the worse. Although Deltas have been to New Orleans since and everything was fine, many remember Hurricane Katrina 14 years ago.

When reports from the Weather Channel and meteorologists across the country focused on the threat of Tropical Storm Barry, sorority sisters, speakers, honorees, vendors, family members and loved ones begin rethinking their travel plans. Some canceled their trips altogether, while others who were already in route or had arrived, were faced with decisions.

New Orleans was ready for the Deltas, who were going to paint the town red. But New Orleans is always ready. It’s a beautiful destination and combines good food, good people, great entertainment, great customer service with a smile, good food, wonderful attractions, good people, serious programming, and, I might add, good food; well you have a formula for a successful gathering. Just ask Essence Festival-goers who were there just a week prior.

I smile just thinking of the wonderful times I have had in New Orleans, the city in the state with so many great HBCUs, and folks who act like they are glad, well actually honored, to have you there. But if you will recall, during Hurricane Katrina, folks asked, “Why, when the threat was issued, didn’t many citizens leave New Orleans?”

Truth is yes, there were many who thought things would blow over as they did in the past, and others, simply didn’t have anywhere to go. New Orleans was their home!

throughout the week with Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center leadership and a host of other local organizations who contributed to the production of the 54th National Convention.

“While the decision to conclude our convention was a decision we did not anticipate making, I am confident that the best choice was made to not only protect our members but also all those who have helped to make our time in New Orleans a success. Notwithstanding an abbreviated agenda we were able to handle the business of Delta; and our members are returning to their communities energized and committed to implementing programs to uplift their communities.”

And if one lesson was learned for many, especially the vendors; you must invest in an insurance policy. Also, this is not the first time the sorority has faced challenges during convention time.

Which brings me to my truth: Doing the right In 1985, Delta Airlines Flight #191, crashed thing can be challenging. in Dallas, TX, killing 137, including passengers, flight crew and a motorist on the Everyone can second guess, talk about what ground. Members of Delta Sigma Theta were should have happened or what they would among the fatalities. have done. You see, it’s difficult to make decisions that impact thousands, but that’s I still remember the tears, the praying, the what leaders have to do. That’s what Delta spirit of family as people from all walks of Sigma Theta Sorority president Beverly life came together, donating blood, food, and E. Smith did when she announced that the a shoulder; helping out, everywhere. convention would come to an end at noon on the third day of the five-day convention.

Although Barry did not do the anticipated damage to New Orleans, precautions “The safety and wellbeing of our members needed to be taken. Last week, what was and friends is our top priority,” she said. also appropriately lauded was the decision “We have been in regular communication to donate to local charities the food which

The Columbus & Dayton African American • August 2019

34

had been purchased by the Sorority through the convention center’s in-house catering service, Center Plate. The food, according to President Smith, would have been used for two food functions, the Sisterhood Luncheon and closing Soiree Celebration.

Imagine the thousands who will benefit from that one decision. And these are the stories I like to hear and spread. But guess what?

Sorority and fraternities are always doing positive deeds.

There are so many dedicated men and women who are committed to public service and making a difference in their communities.

I’m committed to sharing those stories of the great members of the Divine 9 (Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity).

We must work together, and I urge those charged with telling the stories of the great works of their organizations to step up. If they need help, I’m more than happy to assist.

Just like with the Black Press, our organizations have to tell our own stories.

We have to shape the narrative, or others will do the developing and many times we won’t like the results. Thanks President Smith for doing the right thing. I’m proud of you as the leader of our great sorority!

This too, shall pass.

Cheryl Smith is the publisher of the Texas Metro News.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS WHY THE ROTH IRA WORKS FOR MOST SAVERS

By Darren Lundy, MBA Retirement planning can be quite a daunting task when you are making decisions on your own. Consumers often have a difficult time selecting financial products, services, and/ or investment strategies. As an advisor, it still surprises me when clients tell me they do not understand the differences between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. Many investors do not realize the long-term impact they may experience if they make the wrong choice when it comes to selecting an IRA. In addition to deciding which stock, bond, or mutual fund to purchase, consumers must decide whether to invest in a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. These two main types of IRAs differ mainly in how and when your money is taxed. Several features make the Roth a better choice for most eligible retirement savers. Making the wrong choice can be very costly in retirement. Although this is a personal decision for every investor, below are some reasons why a Roth IRA is generally recommended over a Traditional IRA for those who qualify.

1. Early withdrawal rules are much more flexible with a Roth. Early withdrawals from retirement accounts are discouraged.

However, if you do have to dip into your nest egg, the Roth allows you to withdraw contributions — money you put into the account; not earnings — at any time without having to pay income taxes or an early withdrawal penalty.

If you tap into a Traditional IRA before retirement the IRS is not as understanding.

You will likely incur a hefty 10% early withdrawal penalty and be required to claim that withdrawal as earned income when filing annual taxes. There are a few exceptions to this rule — give us a call to learn more about Traditional IRA distribution rules — but you will need to proceed much more carefully than you would with a Roth.

3. Roth IRAs make it easier to pass money to your heirs. This is another bonus that the Traditional IRA does not offer. Unlike a Traditional IRA, which does not allow additional contributions past the age of 70½, the Roth allows you to continue contributing to the account at any age, as long as you still qualify.

The opportunity to continue to save, as well as let your money continue to grow, under the tax protection of the account makes the Roth IRA a better parking spot for cash you intend to leave to loved ones.

made on April 1, 2017, for your 2016 tax year. The five-year clock started ticking on Jan. 1, 2016, (the beginning of the tax year for which the contribution was made), and you will meet the five-year requirement on Jan. 1, 2021.

The sole advantage of a Traditional IRA for most people is the upfront tax break. We are not dismissing this benefit, it can be a huge advantage for high earners and a great incentive for people who might otherwise skip saving for retirement. In the short term, it effectively makes it “cheaper” to save for retirement, since the tax savings each year reduces the cost of your contributions.

However, you will eventually have to face that tax burden in retirement, which means unless you really need that upfront tax break, it’s hard to go wrong with a Roth IRA.

4. Tax-Free Withdrawals. Qualified Roth IRA withdrawals are federal-income-tax-free and usually state-income-tax-free too, unlike Traditional IRA withdrawals. What is a qualified withdrawal? It is a withdrawal that is taken after you, as the Roth IRA account 2. The Roth has fewer restrictions for owner, have met both of the following G i v e u s a c a l l f o r a c o m p l i m e n t a r y retirees. Traditional IRAs require you to requirements: consultation. start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 70½. This can create major 1. You have had at least one Roth IRA open African Americans have Darren is a problems for the retiree who has other for over five years.

Columbus, Ohio native who has earned sources of income and does not want or degrees in Business, Accounting, and an need to withdraw funds from their IRA. It 2. You have reached age 59½ or become MBA. He has over twenty-five (25) years’ can push you into a higher tax bracket and disabled. experience in financial services. The Ohio the increased income can adversely affect Company, First Union Securities, and Merrill Medicare premiums.

For the purpose of meeting the five-year Lynch were instrumental in his career prior requirement, the clock starts ticking on the to starting his own Wealth Management The Roth is much friendlier to retirees. first day of the tax year for which you make Firm, Money Consciousness LLC, (614) Unless you are inheriting the Roth IRA, it your initial contribution to your first Roth 776-4311. He holds his Series 65 and Life has no required minimum distribution rules. account. That initial contribution can be a and Health licenses. Investment advisory You are free to let your savings stay in place regular annual contribution, or it can be a services are offered through Foundations and allow the account to continue tax-free conversion contribution. For example, your Advisors, LLC an SEC registered investment growth as long as you live. initial Roth pay-in was an annual contribution advisor.

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The Columbus Dayton African • August 2015 2019 The Columbus African&American News American Journal • February

HISTORY JACK FORD: FIRST BLACK MAYOR OF TOLEDO

By Rodney Blount, Jr., MA Politics is one of the most important components of any government. Beginning in primary schools, American students learn about the different stages of government and how they interact. Students, particularly in secondary schools and college, take their political science education further by learning about how politics affects the everyday lives of all people. The local, state, and national levels of government are the key three stages of politics in America with varying levels of responsibility and impact. The politics that occur on the national level often are the most noticeable because of the scale of impact it has on citizens and the large number of news outlets that report on national issues.

The state and local governments do not get as much coverage, but their impact on the lives of their constituents is just as important as they affect such areas as gerrymandering, voting, abortion, drug laws, taxes, prisons/ jails, agriculture, zoning, and much more.

Jack Ford knew the importance of the local and state government. He was a committed politician who used his positions as a city councilman, mayor, school board member and state representative to improve Toledo and Ohio.

John Marshall “Jack” Ford was born on May 18, 1947 in Springfield, Ohio. He was the second son of Edna and Stanton Ford. Edna Ford later remarried to John Watkins and had another son. She worked as a cook in a fraternity house at Wittenberg University and started bringing home books that students had given her to share with her sons. Jack Ford quickly considered these books among his most cherished belongings. His ravenous reading habits earned him the nickname “The Professor” from some of his colleagues in the political arena and beyond.

At Springfield High School, Ford stood over six feet tall and was a standout player as a guard on their football team. He earned an athletic scholarship to Ohio State University, where he played on the football team, under the leadership of legendary coach Woody Hayes, until an injury in his sophomore year truncated his athletic career.

Ford completed his bachelor’s degree in social work at OSU in 1969 and accepted a job as a counselor with the Ohio Youth Commission in to Toledo, Ohio. He worked for the Ohio Youth Commission for eleven years. During his tenure there, he entered law school at the University of Toledo, where he completed his J.D. in 1975. Ford also earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Toledo. Ford married Claudia Worthy, an attorney, and the couple had one daughter, Jessica. In 1979, Ford began teaching an African-American politics course at the University of Toledo at the request of a former professor. Originally a one quarter experiment, the class made such a meaningful impact that he continued teaching

Honorable Jack Ford

the course on a regular basis for the next 21 years.

Ford served as an advisor in the Toledo city council and Ohio state legislature races of some of his colleagues in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987, Ford won a seat on the Toledo city council. He served four consecutive terms and was elected as the first African American president of the Toledo City Council in 1993. Ford was wellknown and recognized for his ability to build consensus and avoid open conflict on issues.

Donna Owens, a Republican and Toledo’s first female mayor said, “One of the things about Jack, he’s certainly strong for any cause he believes in. He really cared about people improving their lot in life. He always treated me with respect.”

Ford served Lucas County Substance Abuse Services, Inc. as director from 1980 to 1994.

In 1994, Ford replaced Casey Jones in the Ohio House of Representatives from the state’s 49th district. He later won reelection in 1996, 1998, and 2000, running unopposed in the latter two elections. Three of the legislative bills he introduced became laws.

In 1998, Ford became the Minority Leader of the Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives. Mr. Ford directed the effort to establish the J. Frank Troy Senior Center, helped revitalize the former Cordelia Martin Health Center board, and started Adelante, Inc., a social service center for the city’s Latino residents In 1992, Ford remarried to Cynthia Holmes Hall. The couple had a daughter, Jacqueline and included Hall’s son, Ryan, from a previous marriage. A substance-abuse counselor, Cynthia Ford had a particular interest in working with children. In 2002, Ford could not run again in the Ohio House of Representatives due to Ohio’s term limit law; consequently, he entered the Toledo mayoral race. He won against a strong Democratic candidate, Lucas County Treasurer Ray T. Kest, with 60.5% of the vote and became Toledo’s first African American mayor. As the mayor, one of his first priorities was to balance the budget. Ford acknowledged

The Columbus African & Dayton African American - August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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that fiscal responsibility had forced his administration to make some difficult choices but looked forward to implementing several major infrastructure projects, including a $450 million, fifteen-year water-treatment and sewer-construction project. Under his administration, Toledo voters passed an $800 million levy to upgrade the city’s public schools.

In 2006, Ford returned to Bowling Green State University as a practitioner-in-residence in the College of Arts and Sciences, primarily in the department of political science. In June 2007, Ford was selected to fill a vacancy on the Toledo Board of Education. Ford was the first awardee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission for the State of Ohio in 1990.

In 1993, he was the recipient of the Medical College of Ohio Citizen of the Year Award, and in 1998, the Minority Alumni of the Year Award from the University of Toledo. In 2000, Ford was awarded the Gold-T Award from the University of Toledo for outstanding service. He served on the Frederick Douglass Community Center Board, The David House Compassion Inc., the Greater Toledo Urban League, the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Board of Trustees for the Toledo Symphony. He was a member of Amazon Lodge #4, St. Matthews Consistory #24, Omega Psi Phi, and Sigma Pi Phi (Alpha Phi Boule).

Ford died on March 21, 2015 at the age of 67. In his public career as a legislator and city executive, Jack Ford was responsible for the creation of the Toledo Youth Commission, the lead abatement program, the medication education for the elderly program, the Toledo curfew law, and the drug paraphernalia law.

He founded two organizations dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. Mr. Ford’s family released a statement calling him “a pillar in the Toledo community and throughout the state of Ohio. He was a true public servant who served with distinction for nearly 50 years.” Ford knew the power of politics and used his political offices to uplift the poor, downtrodden, minorities and the entire community. When I think of the term community servant, I think of Jack Ford!

Works Cited www.toledoblade.com www.wikipedia.com www.encyclopedia.com www.legacy.com www.ci.toledo.oh.us/ Rodney 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. Rodney is a native of Columbus, Ohio and is a member of several organizations.

COMMUNITY EVENTS Columbus, Ohio August – September 28, 2019 Free Fitness Classes No contracts, no excuses! Among the park perks at Columbus Commons are free fitness classes. Sponsored

by UnitedHealthcare and coordinated by Seven Studios, you’ll find seven classes every week. Two sessions will be offered, so mark your calendars to enjoy a unique open-air experience. Note: No classes on August 10, August 17, August 24, September 10, September 11 or September 24.

Location: The Columbus Commons (Downtown) Address: 160 S. High Street 43215 Time: Check online schedule for times Admission: Free Contact: https://columbuscommons.org/ August 7, 2019 Networking Event The Black Employee Resource Group (BERC) is back with another engaging and exciting networking event. We want to continue the work to connect, strengthen and inspire Business/Employee Resource Group members and leaders to make substantial contributions to their organization’s diversity efforts. Don’t miss your chance to meet other professionals from across the city and various industries.

Enjoy special appetizers, drinks, games and prizes throughout the night.

Location: High Bank Distillery Address: 1051 Goodale Blvd. 43212 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Admission: Contact organizer for information Contact: www.blackerc.org or email central ohioblackerc@ gmail.com August 16 - 17, 2019 Food Truck Festival The Midwest’s largest food truck festival will take over Bicentennial Park, Scioto Mile and the Rich Street Bridge!

This is a two-day event featuring over 50-60 of the best food trucks from Ohio and surrounding areas. The festival will feature live music on the Bicentennial Park Stage and our Second Stage located on Washington street on the West side of the river along with family fun for all ages.

Location: Downtown Riverfront at the Scioto Mile Address: N/A Time: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/event/ columbus-food-truck-festival/58531/ August 17, 2019 9th Annual Fam Jam FCCS and Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s FamJam is a free family enrichment festival held each year. Entertainment will be provided by local youth acts on the pavilion stage.

More than 85 organizations will offer resources, giveaways and health screenings to the community at their booths. We will also be joined by safety forces from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus divisions of police and fire. Complimentary snacks will also be provided.

Location: Columbus Commons Address: 160 N High Street, 43215 Time:10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Admission: Free Contact: childrenservices.franklincountyohio.gov

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

August 24, 2019 Africans in America Discussion Africans 400 years in America: “I Am An Answered Prayer” hosted by the Spirituality Network recognizes the August 1619 arrival of 20 enslaved Africans at Point Comfort in the English colony of Virginia. Fashioned after traditional “Watch Night” services, the reception will feature spoken word, music and artifact displays from the National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center and the Ohio History Connection as well as speakers discussing the significance of African American history and culture, especially in Ohio.

Location: Ohio History Connection Address: 800 E. 17th Ave. 43211 Time: 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM Admission: Free (RSVP Required) Contact: 614-228-8867 or email info@spiritualitynetwork.org August 26, 2019 African American Male Wellness Walk The National African American Male Wellness Walk/Run Initiative is the largest health initiative for minorities in the state of Ohio. In recent years, the AAWalk in Columbus, Ohio hosted more than 20,000 people, and conducted more than 800 individual health screenings in one single day. The purpose of the National African American Male Wellness Walk Initiative is to raise awareness for preventable health diseases. The 5K is our signature event and is FREE to attend and to participate for all ages!

Location: Livingston Park Address: N/A Time: 7:00 AM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/african-americanmale-wellness-walk-team-marlon-anthony-events-tickets65742572805?aff=ebdssbdestsearch August 31, 2019 Linden Block Party Join families, friends and the neighbors of Linden for the 4th annual Linden Block Party 614. There will be food, games, bouncy houses, and a foam pit. This is an affair for all of Linden – north, south, and east!

Location: 1427 E. 18th Ave 43211 Address: N/A Time: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Contact: 614-402-6875 September 3, 2019 State of Black Mental Health, Part II Join the Columbus African Council, The African, and other community leaders as we continue our conversation on the stigma of mental health and substance use disorder in Black communities, how we can work together to break down these barriers and develop strategies to make prevention, treatment, and recovery supports a priority across the African Diaspora.

Location: Columbus Metropolitan Library Address: 96 S. Grant Ave. 43215 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/state-of-black-mentalhealth-part-ii-tickets-63525434284

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The Columbus & Dayton African American - August 2019

COMMUNITY EVENTS Dayton, Ohio August 8, 2019 State of the City Address Join us for the annual State of the City address delivered by City Manager Brian Riblett. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn what is happening in our community directly from “the horse’s mouth.” Sponsored by The City of Montgomery.

Location: Twin Lakes Clubhouse Address: 10 Brookstone Court, 45242 Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/state-of-the-citytickets-53482373218?aff=ebdssbdestsearch August 11, 2019 Funk Festival: Concert Funk Fest, celebrating Dayton’s best-known contribution to the world of popular music is happening in Downtown Dayton. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy!

Location: Levitt Pavilion Dayton Address: 134 S. Main St. 45402 Time: 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.daytonlocal.com/festivals/daytonfunk-festival.asp August 16, 2019 Recognizing Child Abuse Workshop The Montgomery County ADAMHS is sponsoring a free workshop on Recognizing & Reporting Child Abuse & Neglect. The class will discuss what is a mandated reporter, what are the guidelines for mandated reporting and what is the process of making a report. After this session you will be able to: define child abuse & neglect; identify three common signs of abuse & neglect; and, describe the mandated reporters role and duties. This training has been approved for 1.75 hours Counselor, Social Work, Chemical Dependency Counselor, & Prevention.

Location: Montgomery County Children Services Address: 3304 N. Main Street, 45402 Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/recognizingreporting-child-abuse-neglect-august-16-2019-tickets58388540697?aff=ebdssbdestsearch August 17-18, 2019 Arts & Music Festival This family event brings the richness of the African American experience to Dayton and its surrounding communities through culture, education and music. Come see an African Village, a pavilion of paintings and enjoy live R&B, Gospel and Jazz performances. Merchandise and food vendors will be on site. You won’t want to miss this citywide event where diverse people will be brought together in celebration.

Location: Aug 18 - Dayton Island Metro Park; Aug 19 Courthouse Square Address: 101 Helena Street; Corner Third & Main Time: Aug 18 Noon – 8:00 PM.; Aug 19 Noon – 6:00 PM Admission: Free Contact: https://www.daytonlocal.com/festivals/daytonafrican-american-cultural-festival.asp

August 21, 2019 Mental Health First Aid Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

This 8-hour training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to appropriate care. What it covers: • Common signs and symptoms of mental illness. • Common signs and symptoms of substance use. • How to interact with a person in crisis. • How to connect the person with help.

Location: Montgomery County ADAMHS Address: 409 E. Monument Ave. 45402 Time: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Admission: Free Contact: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adult-mental-health-firstaid-august-21-2019-tickets-54926776467?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse August 24, 2019 Community Unity Festival Wayman A.M.E. Church invites the entire community to their Community Unity Festival. This is a family fun event with games, including a game truck, food, prizes, giveaways and much more!

Entertainment will be provided by numerous local artists.

Location: Wayman A.M.E. Church Address: 3317 Hoover Ave. 45402 Time: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Admission: Free Contact: 937-268-6729 September 1, 2019 Reggae Concert Groove with the beat of the drums and be free to live in the life of the reggae moment. Food and merchandise vendors on site.

Bring a blanket or event seating, but no tents, pets, outside food or beverages, please.

Location: Levitt Pavilion Dayton Address: 134 S. Main 45402 Time: 1-8 p.m.

Admission: Free Contact: https://www.daytonlocal.com/festivals/dayton-reggaefestival.asp October 13, 2019 Lecture Series The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is sponsoring a lecture on Freedom, Citizenship, and Equality: The Story of the US Colored Troops. Almost 200,000 black soldiers fought for the Union during the Civil War. Their story is a unique chapter in the American conflict. These men were freedom fighters who fought for emancipation and for full citizenship rights. Mr. Gibbs discusses events significant to these men that led up to the Civil War, and what made these men different from the other thousands who fought and died in the War Between the States.

Location: Harriet Beecher Stowe House Address: 206950 Gilbert Ave. 452 Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Admission: $7 Contact: https://stowehousecincy.org/events-and-lectures.html

Please note: Information for this section is gathered from multiple commnuity sources. The Columbus & Dayton 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 email us at editor@columbusafricanamerican.com. Submissions are due the last Friday of each month.

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • August 2019 2015 American News Journal • February

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governmentjobs.com/careers/franklincounty

Franklin County employees help Central Ohio thrive Local government employees contribute to the community while being a part of a dynamic, fair and flexible environment. Visit our website today to see how you can make a difference!

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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Prostate cancer is a complex disease driven by molecules and genes that behave differently in every person. At The James, we bring together experts from a variety of disciplines to detect, diagnose and analyze your prostate cancer at the genetic level. These multidisciplinary teams are delivering the most advanced targeted treatments and minimally invasive surgeries for your prostate cancer, leading to better outcomes, faster responses, fewer side effects and more hope.

To learn more, visit cancer.osu.edu/prostate.

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015 4/16/19 8:57 AM