February 2019 Edition

Columbus & Dayton

February 2019

7

FREE

Saint Jack and Saint Fred

9 15

By Tim Ahrens, DMin

Go Deeper and Wider to Learn and Live Black History

By Lisa Benton, MD, MPH

History of Pain Clinical Trials in America

By Charleta B. Tavares

BENJAMIN W. ARNETT

PASTOR, POLITICIAN & PROFESSOR

BLACK HISTORY. PASS IT ON.

Pass on your stories, your knowledge and your love.

AARP celebrates Black History Month. Learn more at aarp.org/blackcommunity.

Real Possibilities is a trademark of AARP

PUBLISHER’S PAGE Founder & Publisher Ray Miller

Layout & Design Ray Miller, III

Assistant Editor Ray Miller, III

Media Consultant Rod Harris Distribution Manager Ronald Burke Student Interns Jada Respress Olivia Deslandes

Lead Photographer Steve Harrison

Contributing Editors Tim Anderson Rev. Tim Ahrens, DMin Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Rodney Q. Blount, Jr., MA Marian Wright Edelman Eric Johnson, PhD Robin A. Jones, PhD Cecil Jones, MBA Philip A. Locke, MSA Darren Lundy, MBA William McCoy, MPA Yolanda Owens Clare Roth Charleta B. Tavares Donna Yarborough

Very kind words are often used to describe horrific events. In referencing slavery, it is not unusual for some authors to pen words, such as these: “The Negroes were fighting against their mistreatment and denial of opportunity.”

This kind of language ignores the pain, bitterness, rage, and seething inequality felt by those who are being “mistreated.”

More often than not, the violated individual(s) are abused mentally and physically. While they are very much aware of the injustice being applied or perpetrated against them; they are not always equipped to advocate effectively for themselves. Therein lies the seeds to explosion and retribution. I share these thoughts, as we are once again, enveloped by the eventfulness and celebratory engagement of Black History Month.

As I have stated consistently, the strength of our publication is our tremendous Contributing Writers. Please take the time to read each article presented in this Black History Month edition. I can assure you that you will learn something that you did not know or you will be prompted to engage in some activity to improve the quality of your life and/or our community.

While I am well aware that progress continues to be made by people of African descent in America; I am equally cognizant of the many injustices we are exposed to each day. Even a casual reading of African American History leaves one to question: When will the everincreasing racial murders be curtailed and equally prosecuted; when will blatant discrimination in housing, employment, banking, and healthcare seize to exist; when will “Liberty And Justice For All” become more than a pledge; and when will our elected leaders focus more on results and less on rhetoric.

To give these words a historical context, listen to the Honorable Benjamin Arnett, who graces the cover of this publication, as he spoke about the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on January 13th, 1865. Representative Arnett states, “I was present in the Hall of Congress when the great act was performed. Men ran, jumped, hugged, cried and hallooed; hats were thrown in the air, handkerchiefs were waved by the ladies, old men were young--dignity in men and women surrendered to their joy.

The death knell of slavery was sounded by the brazen notes of war. It was a grand day for the sons of Liberty and the daughters of Oppression. It is so far reaching in its results, so beneficent in its effects--the lifting of the burden from the millions, the closing of the gateway of Oppression, and the opening of the avenues of Universal Freedom for the hundred generations--and, as the years roll by and men appreciate the good deed of the fathers, this act will stand as the grandest in the calendar of legislation in the country.”

Hope! That is what Representative Arnett was expressing. Hope born out of pain, discrimination, abuse, and inequality. Our past leaders have done their part. They triumphed over slavery, enacted Civil Rights Laws, elevated the arts, science, entertainment, and athletics, took care of their families, and had relative success in every sphere of American life.

The question is: “Have We Done Our Part?” Rather than standing around applauding speeches and sermons, we need to be giving far more time to training our young people, educating ourselves as a lifetime pursuit, building profitable businesses, taking care of our health, hiring or at least helping ex-offenders to become gainfully employed, and reclaiming our communities. Our constant refrain should be, “Now What?” After every inspiring verbal presentation, we should ask ourselves this two-word question--”Now What?” And then proceed to answer it with the development and execution of a plan of action.

We should all commit to reading more. The history of African Americans is rich, painful, and inspiring. Great books have been written about our struggles and enormous achievements. We highlight at least six excellent books for your choosing every month. Educate yourself. Read to your children. Have them to read to you. Enjoy life and make a difference!

With Appreciation and Respect,

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

The Columbus & Dayton African American 503 S. High Street - Suite 102 Columbus, Ohio 43215

Ray Miller Founder & Publisher

Office: 614.826.2254 editor@columbusafricanamerican.com www.CAANJ.com

3

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

In This Issue

Cover Story – Page 19

23

Remembering Clarence D. Lumpkin

25

Black History, Political Realities and Community Development - The Struggle Continues

36

By: Eric Johnson, PhD

Bishop McKinley Young: Senior Bishop of the A.M.E. Church By: Rodney Blount, MA

5

Black Wall Street An

16

17 Stacey Abrams to Deliver

Democratic Response

to STOU 17 Black Lives Matter in

Black History 18 Legislative Update 19 COVER STORY 21 5TH Annual Valentines

Workshop at Second

Baptist Church 22 Miami Valley Regional

Commission Public

Meeting Notice 23 Remembering Clarence

D. Lumpkin

25 Black History, Political

Realities and Community

Development - The

Struggle Continues 26 Moving Forward to Prevent

Gun Violence 29 Book Bags & E-Readers 31 Justice Melody Stewart

Makes History on the Ohio

Supreme Court 31 Cory Booker Announces

2020 Run 33

Kamala Harris Is Running for President in 2020

34

The Riches of Ancient Babylon

35

Technology Education: Avoid Scams Artists Masquerading as Educational Institutions Bishop McKinley Young: Senior Bishop of the A.M.E. Church

10

From Plantation Nation

American Paradox of

to the Rise of Black

Hate and Hope

America: A Four

6

There’s No Me Without You

Hundred Year Movement

7

Saint Jack and Saint Fred

11

Substance Use Clinicians

36

8

Black History Struggles,

Able to Receive

37

Triumphs, Some Goals

Well-Deserved Assistance

Met, What Now?

15

History of Pain - Clinical

9

Go Deeper and Wider

Trials in America

to Learn and Live

16

Congresswoman Beatty to

Black History

Chair New Subcommittee

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

4

New Jersey Creates Bill to Teach Middle Schoolers Money Management

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.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BLACK WALL STREET AN AMERICAN PARADOX OF HATE AND HOPE

By Robin A. Jones, PhD What Happened to Black Wa l l S t r e e t – W a k u n d a before Wakunda The United States is approaching the 100 year anniversary of the burning of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Greenwood district. Greenwood was built based on an agreement between the Native Americans and the Freed Blacks along with a few slaves. They ventured to Tulsa, to set up housing and businesses to build financial wealth, and a better life. It was known as Black Wall Street, a thriving Black Mecca.

Ninety-eight years ago in May, the Whites, through a racially motivated act destroyed Greenwood, out of “PURE” envy. Reports indicated that the scope of the riotous attack was equal to a warfare of epic proportion. The slaughter (as it has come to be called) was all about wealth, power and financial greed.

While Greenwood claims to have regained their strength in today’s world, it continues to be a black eye and those who survived it, do not want to discuss it, (Pickens, 2013).

The Financial Success of the Black Community.

Tulsa was a boomtown. Petroleum was discovered in 1901 so there was an oil rush, which created instant wealth for many residents. The homes were elegant – a utopia.

It was Black economic success never yet achieved in the United States, just 60 years out of slavery. The White neighborhood was not as fortunate. There was a growing resentment within the White community in regards to the enormous wealth and over confidence of the Blacks.

It was the epicenter of entrepreneurship for Blacks to accumulate wealth in the 20th century. The homes were equipped with electricity, indoor plumbing, and a modern school system for a superior education.

Streets were lined with hotels, furriers, restaurants, churches, banks, and professional services: it was a dream with a symbol of Black success. The south offered additional progressive cities such as Richmond, Virginia, and Durham, North Carolina: none could hold a candle to the town of Tulsa.

The Thriving City of Tulsa Became a Dark Past.

On the night of May 31, 1921, a riot ensued.

A White woman made an accusation toward a young Black male of a sexual assault on a town elevator. Without a hearing or a trial, the local Sheriff deputized about 5,000 white men, which gave local mobs just cause to invade Greenwood. The National Guard were summoned in to help with the slaughter and detention. The Black World War I veterans stood tall unsuccessfully fighting for their community. The district of Greenwood transformed from a financially strong neighborhood to a war zone between blacks and whites in a matter of hours.

There were 1,200 homes and businesses looted or burned to the ground, residents dead. It was a heap of ashes. Businesses, all destroyed. Planes dropped bombs, machine guns fired at churches, and residents were shot down standing in their own yards with

arms straight-up. Children – massacred, while others recalled being cheated of their innocence. Bodies were stacked onto trucks and dumped into unmarked graves.

the odds. Today with the prospering society of Greenwood, the riot has been placed on the back end of history. Where is it in the books? Why is it forgotten in the schools?

The residents of Greenwood claimed $1.8 Up to 6,000 Blacks were held and were not million in damages ($25 million in 2018). released unless they had a White employer The insurance companies denied payments or someone (White) who could validate citing the attack was considered a riot. their well-being. The Blacks of Black Wall Street were left in ruins. Over 9,000 were L o o k i n g b a c k a t G r e e n w o o d w i t h a without housing. They lived in tents well comparison to today, we need to ask in the winter months. In a post-slavery era, ourselves, “What has changed?” Also, oppression continued to hold the hands of “What can I do to make a significant impact many Blacks (Coloreds). Any advancement in the financial world for Blacks?” Black towards wealth or the American dream, communities continue to face the backlash Blacks were met with resistance, threat and of acquiring wealth in today’s move of terrorism. All this fear was driven by those financial depravity. Why are we continuing whose legal obligation was to serve and to struggle? Having a job is good, but ask protect. yourself, what buying power do you have?

Do you have a strong purchase power? If you The Aftermath of the Slaughter. lost everything you have today, how would you survive and how would you rebuild?

Once word started to spread of the ensuing Are Blacks gaining or losing? The inequities slaughter, the White lady, Sarah Page of wealth and the disparities are considered recanted her statement of the assault. The a substance of this nation as we (Blacks) Whites who were prepared to go forth with continue an attempt to gain our foothold with their riot gear, defied her words and did not financial strength. Today, there are 19 Black justify her false claims. A gentleman named, owned banks as of October 31, 2018, totaling B.C. Franklin survived the attacked and approximately $4.7 billion in assets, which is wrote multiple articles. His grandson quoted far less than the 54 banks in 1994 according his writing (2018), “That a place could be to BankBlackUSA.org. destroyed and its destruction be hidden, is really remarkable. It seems like the white References: community for the most part won’t talk about this history. It is more than embarrassing. COWRIE (2018). BankBlack. https://www.

It is horrific. It is genocide. It is ethnic bankblackusa.org/ cleansing.” While Deborah Hunter (2018) claimed, “We had everything. Greenwood F r a n k l i n , B . & H u n t e r , D . ( 2 0 1 8 ) . was the heartbeat of North Tulsa. But when T h e R i n g e r . h t t p s : / / w w w . t h e r i n g e r .

I was growing up, no one discussed the riot, com/2018/6/28/17511818/black-wall-streetthe burnings, or the losses, it was as though oklahoma-greenwood-destruction-tulsa it never happened because it was all rebuilt.”

Hunter’s grandmother, when asked, refused Pickens, J (2013). Black Wall Street and the to speak openly about it due to a combination Destruction of an Institution. from https:// www.ebony.com/black-history/destructionof trauma and fear. of-black-wall-street/ The end of 1921, gave hope. Greenwood was rebuilding and more than 800 buildings and Dr. Jones has a commitment to a strong homes were standing. By June 1922, virtually work ethic, education and a passion for all of the area’s homes had been replaced. entrepreneurship. In her 40+ years of Slowly but surely the city was starting to employment, Robin spent 30 of those come together. The National Negro Business years gainfully employed with fortune 50 League held their annual conference in Tulsa. companies such as GE, IBM, Ashland Oil, the U.S. Department of Energy, and By the early 1940’s the city was starting to and Department Robin started her thrive. Musicians – (Louis Armstrong, Duke career path asofa Defense. database developer building Ellington, Nat. King Cole) scheduled their her first database for the F14 Aircraft Fighter acts at the neighborhood jazz clubs. planes and from there she catapulted her way to the position of Interim CIO. In her Is Wakunda Today’s Greenwood? most recent employment capacity, Robin is a retired Senior Manager PMO Director of the Greenwood has a parallel to Wakunda (Black Computer Center at University of California, Panther). It offers a setting of hope against Berkeley - Haas School of Business.

5

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

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

THERE’S NO ME WITHOUT YOU

By William McCoy, MPA Some Black Americans refer to “history” as “his-story.” This is rooted in the notion that history is not necessarily “our (collective) story” or “my (individual) story.” The implication is that important historical events, personalities, and facts have been distorted, deleted, and/ or ignored. The reference to history as “hisstory” suggests the historical narrative or record has been written and framed in a way that undermines, undervalues, and understates the contributions made by people of color and their allies.

Some simply say history has been “whitewashed.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online) says “whitewash” means to “whiten, gloss over, or cover up.” Relevant synonyms for “whitewash” include “wink at, brush aside or off, discount, disregard, excuse, ignore, pardon, pass over,” and so on. Whitewashing a wall with multiple coats paint will eventually cover most colors.

However, whitewashing a wall with white designs and writing will often cause them to be obscured absolutely and completely. So, it is no wonder that the contributions of White advocates, assisters, and allies are largely absent from Black History Month reflections, dialogue, and celebrations.

For instance, have you heard of Benjamin Lay? He was a 4’7” dwarf who was a giant among early abolitionists. In the 1720s, Benjamin Lay began a “crusade to convince his fellow Quakers that the ‘peculiar institution’ (slavery) was incompatible with their faith.” Lay interrupted Quaker gatherings with anti-slavery lectures, refused to eat food or wear clothes made by slave labor, and published a 278-page screed titled “All Slave-Keepers that Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates.”

Benjamin Lay staged bizarre pieces of antislavery theater. Once, he stood outside with one bare foot in the snow to highlight the suffering of slaves “who go all winter halfclad.” Another time, Benjamin Lay briefly kidnapped a slaveholding Quaker’s child to dramatize the injustice of separating Africans from their families. In 1738, Lay took the floor at annual Quaker meeting, drew a sword and stabbed a hollowed-out Bible filled with red-colored juice, spraying some of it on the crowd. “Thus shall God shed the blood of those who have enslaved their fellow creatures,” he proclaimed. Lay’s radicalism (and possibly physical stature) made him an outcast for much of his life. However, his antics ultimately led Quakers to vote in 1758 to exclude slaveholders from their business meetings.

Have you heard of Anthony Benezet? He was a Philadelphia school teacher, who laid the foundation for the trans-Atlantic abolitionist movement. This kind-hearted Quaker took up the cause in 1754, when he co-wrote “An Epistle of Caution and Advice, Concerning the Buying and Keeping

Anthony Benezet, an Abolitionist, taught African children at his school in the late 1700’s.

of Slaves.” He authored many anti-slavery tracts over the next 25 years, trying to make a case for emancipation. Anthony Benezet taught many African children at his school.

He even espoused the then-provocative idea that Blacks possessed the same intellectual capacity as Whites.

Anthony Benezet’s writings were widely distributed across both the United States and Europe. He corresponded with Benjamin Franklin and John Wesley, among others.

In 1775, he helped establish America’s first abolitionist group- The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage.

Benezet lobbied Quakers to denounce slavery and open a school for Blacks. He was instrumental in winning passage of a law that gradually abolished slavery in Pennsylvania.

When Anthony Benezet died in 1784, 400 Black Philadelphians turned out to march in his funeral procession.

Have you heard of Benjamin Rush? He was the most prominent American physician of the late-18th century, and a Declaration of Independence signatory. In the early 1770s, Rush got involved in the abolitionist movement, when he published a critique of slavery titled, “An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, upon Slave-Keeping.” Approaching the subject with a scientist’s eye, Rush stressed that Blacks had the same natural intelligence as their White counterparts. He believed education and emancipation were needed to undo the damage done to African-Americans by slavery.

When the American Revolution ended, Rush was among the many patriots who believed the principles of the new republic left no room for slavery. “It would be useless for us to denounce the servitude to which the Parliament of Great Britain wishes to reduce us,” he once wrote, “while we continue to keep our fellow creatures in slavery just

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

6

because their color is different.” He joined the Pennsylvania Abolition Society in the 1780s, serving first as its secretary and then its president. He later made arrangements to free his lone slave. Rush also took steps to lift up Philadelphia’s free Black community, including raising money for African churches and enlisting the help of Black nurses during a 1793 yellow fever epidemic.

In conclusion, the celebration of Black History Month ought to include a recognition that “his-story” and “our-story” are not complete without including “their-story”i.e. the story of those White Americans who helped advance the cause and condition of Black Americans. Time and attention should be devoted to illuminating the individuals and organizations that advocated for, assisted, and allied themselves with the Black struggle before American Independence up to and including present day. On behalf of the millions of people that benefitted from their efforts, thank you. I know, as the Manhattans once sang, “There’s no me without you.”

Acknowledgement: The biographical information presented herein was excerpted, quoted, and adapted from Evan Andrews, “6 Early Abolitionists,” May 3, 2016.

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.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

SAINT JACK AND SAINT FRED

By Rev. Tim Ahrens, D.Min Saint Jack and Saint Fred.

Their names do not come to mind when remembering Christian saints, but they should. Each man, in his generation, was God’s thread of hope for generations of slaves and slavery survivors. They were witnesses to God’s light and love for our entire nation.

“Uncle Jack,” also known as the “African Preacher,” was a native of Africa. Jack is said to have arrived on one of the last slave ships to enter Virginia. Although his biographer says that he was seven years old at the time, it is more likely that he was twelve to sixteen. An obscure planter named Charles Stewart bought him from a slave trader docked at Osborne’s Landing on the James River (most likely between 1770 and 1772) and took him to Nottoway County, where he lived his entire life. For twenty years, that life was probably little different from those of hundreds of other Nottoway slaves. However, in his mid-thirties, Jack accepted Christianity, was taught to read

by Stewart’s children, and was licensed to preach by the Baptist Church. Stewart died in 1801, and four years later, Jack’s neighbors raised enough money both to purchase his freedom from Stewart’s heirs and to establish him in a modest cabin of his own. From that cabin, he conducted his ministry for another thirty-five years.

Known as the “African Preacher,” Uncle Jack was recognized throughout the region both for his work in Nottoway and as an inspiration to his white Presbyterian friends. He died in 1843, close to ninety years of age.

Uncle Jack’s enlightened values, his biblical theology, practical insights, kindness in the face of the horrors of slavery and his saintly interaction with people of all colors prompted a book about him in 1849 titled, The African Preacher: An Authentic Narrative. It was said that Uncle Jack influenced Booker T. Washington and a whole generation of African-American teachers and preachers -- free men and slave alike -- by the way he lived his life and witnessed to Jesus Christ.

Fast forward 80 years to a sharecropper’s farm in Alabama.

Fred Shuttlesworth, originally named Freddie Lee Robinson, is born in in Mount Meigs, Alabama March 18, 1922.

Shuttlesworth, the eldest child of a large family, grew up poor on his stepfather’s farm in rural Alabama. Following his high school graduation, he worked as a truck driver until he was inspired to pursue the Christian ministry. While studying at Selma University (B.A., 1951) and Alabama State College (now Alabama State University; B.S., 1952), Shuttlesworth began preaching

1963, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth confronts “Bull” Conner The Commissioner of Publich Safety at a protest in Alabama.

at the First Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama. He left Selma in 1952 to take over as pastor of Birmingham’s Bethel Baptist Church. Fred went on to become a great American pastor, preacher and civil rights activist who established, with Martin Luther King, Jr., and others, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and who worked to end segregation in the South.

While in Birmingham, Fred Shuttlesworth became increasingly involved with the civil rights movement. He worked with such organizations as the Civic League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on efforts that included increased voter registration among African Americans. In 1956 he founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, which sought to overturn Birmingham’s segregation laws. The following year he helped establish the SCLC. For his efforts—which included challenging the city’s segregated schools, buses, and businesses and participating in sit-ins and in the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s— Shuttlesworth experienced at least 18 physical attacks, he was jailed over 30 times and his home was blown up by the Ku Klux Klan on Christmas Day in 1956. Through all the abuse, the arrests and the attacks, Fred championed seven legal cases that made it all the way to the US Supreme Court. He won every case the court heard.

In 1961 Shuttlesworth moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he founded the Greater New Light Baptist Church in 1966. He helped

7

organize the historic march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

In an effort to provide a source of low-income housing, he established the Shuttlesworth Housing Foundation in Cincinnati in the 1980s.

He received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the country’s second highest civilian award, from U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton in 2001. Fred died October 5, 2011. The Birmingham Airport is now named for Fred Shuttlesworth. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama.

Fred was my mentor and friend over the last seven years of his life. I preached at his Homegoing. He once said to me as we walked together through Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park, “My blood is in this ground. But I feel no bitterness. I keep moving forward. The fight for social justice is always in front of us, not behind us.”

Saint Jack and Saint Fred.

In each generation, God sends us angels of faith and love. They take human form and our God uses them as bold witnesses for mercy and justice. They are God’s thread of hope in troubled times. Please add Saint Jack and Saint Fred to your prayer list of saints. Through their witness, we find strength to become witnesses to the light. We, too, can become God’s thread of hope in our generation.

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 2019 The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BLACK HISTORY STRUGGLES, TRIUMPHS, SOME GOALS MET, WHAT NOW?

By Donna M. Yarborough February is dedicated as Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African-Americans throughout the U. S history including the civil rights movement and their artistic, cultural and political achievements. Black History Month was initiated by Carter G. Woodson who had virtually no education before high school he was heavily involved in the field of education and Black History. It was because of Carter’s pioneering efforts in the field of Black History that we now observe Black History Month. February, 1626, Dr. Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week which grew into Black History Month which is observed every February with various events and activities through the country focused on Black History.

Convinced that the role of his own people in American history and in the history of other cultures was being ignored or misrepresented among scholars, Woodson realized the need for research into the neglected past of African Americans. Along with William D. Hartgrove, George Cleveland Hall, Alexander L. Jackson, and James E. Stamps, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History on September 9, 1915, in Chicago. That was the year Woodson published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861. His other books followed: A Century of Negro Migration (1918) and The History of the Negro Church (1927). His work The Negro in Our History has been reprinted in numerous editions and was revised by Charles H. Wesley after Woodson’s death in 1950.

Carter G. Woodson was born in Buckingham County, Virginia on December 19, 1875, the son of former slaves, James and Eliza Riddle Woodson. His father helped Union soldiers during the Civil War and moved his family to West Virginia when he heard that Huntington was building a high school for blacks.

Coming from a large, poor family, Carter Woodson could not regularly attend school.

Through self-instruction, he mastered the fundamentals of common school subjects by the age of 17. Wanting more education, he went to Fayette County to earn a living as a miner in the coal fields, and was able to devote only a few months each year to his schooling.

We have been called Colored, Negro, African American and Black and other names not fit to include, but no matter the name, we are proud Americans who work hard and deserve the same respect as everyone else. The names of the people whose shoulders we stand are numerous. They were strong, determined, proud, hard working, focused on succeeding as they taught, wrote, invented, sang, danced, worked the fields, raised the children, cooked the food, did the laundry, cleaned the house, and worked as told in a variety of other areas they were respectful in leaving a legacy for future generations. Their own children were told to obey and learn so their futures would be better. Even though they were not in the cotton picking generation, some of our own relatives can tell us how they and their

relatives slaved and were abused to please plantation owners and their families.

When author, Alex Haley, wrote the book “Roots” tracing his family which grew into a TV series in the 70s, almost everyone watched every episode and learned about the Black struggle as we watched Kunta Kinte being whipped and bleeding and the other characters in the movie being disrespected in a variety of ways but showing respect and not fighting back verbally or physically. It was very difficult for the men to give in to this treatment since they needed to strong and proud for their families and other men.

This started a lot of us researching our family backgrounds to find out more about who we are and where we came from. This affects what happens in our future. Unfortunately some of the information we found was not what we hoped to see, but we learned and had to accept the truth about our families and other Black families as they fought to get past the glass ceilings and move on to a place of accomplishment to show that we can do it with class and pride. Freedom was the reason for the fight for as we wanted and deserved respect and kindness. We knew we could and would do it and do our best to make a path easier and clear for future generations to follow and lead others. After all, that path

The Columbus African & Dayton American African American News Journal • February • February 20192015

8

led Barack Obama to the White House as President of the United States.

Blacks have been fighting for centuries to get where are now but even with that, we still have a long way to go. Now in 2019, we need to respect each other and be at peace in all situations. We need to get closer to our spiritual leaders and listen closely to their message then live it since this is what brought our relatives through. Things work out if you are correct, honest, proud and strong.

Enough blood was shed in the past to get us to this point and we need to lead and fight with pride, dignity and peace since we will be the examples of Black history for future generations There are heroes in your own families who you can ask questions and be open to learn from what they share with you. Yes, some things have changed, but the things that work will never change. Remember what your mother, father, grandparents and other older relatives told you as they advised and showed you how to act and what to say so you will keep your pride and honor in order. They did it without a cell phone and did not need to be charged since they were charged with pride, focus, dignity and hope. Love everyone, God will sort them out later.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

GO DEEPER AND WIDER TO LEARN AND LIVE BLACK HISTORY

By Lisa Benton, MD, MPH One thing my parents always did was connect whatever piece of history that was happening nationally to what it meant for us where and how we lived.

It gave the moment greater meaning and us greater understanding.

For example, everyone heard about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycotts.

Well, my dad, Kenneth, made sure we knew that our grandmother, Willie Dean, boycotted the Woolworth’s five and dime store right down the street. And our dad also let us know about how he participated in a sit in at a lunch counter as a college student down in Winston Salem, NC while attending a historically black college.

Even though these protests weren’t always national and headline news, they were no less important moments in Black history.

Our dad made sure we knew how much the personal cost and sacrifice was for our grandparents and elders who risked the threats of arrests, beatings, being spit upon, having dogs and firehoses turned on them.

Learning the living history and its high costs challenged us kids to think of what we would fight and die for. Their words never let us forget how knowing your history was priceless.

Another example of how our parents showed us the importance of knowing black history was teaching us about the experiment with the black and white dolls.

Because Vera, my mom majored in behavioral health she knew all about the thesis done in the 1940s by psychologists Kenneth Bancroft Clark and his wife, Mamie Phipps Clark. They examined how black children played and interacted with dolls that only differed in skin color. My mom had successfully replicated their study for her masters’ thesis.

In the study the black children preferred to play with the white dolls. The black children were reported to have a lower self-esteem because of associating themselves with the black dolls which they described with negative terms such as ‘ugly” and “bad”.

Without the benefit of subsequent years of analyzing the study’s findings, my mom came to the conclusion on her own that infusing your children with a positive sense of self and who you were would counter those negative thoughts. This recommendation indeed turned out to be a conclusion from further review of the study decades later.

Even though my siblings and I joked that we were her “guinea pigs”, Vera was right on with her hypothesis about teaching us how beautiful being black was. While we had a few white dolls, my mom made sure we had a lot more black dolls. We had Chrissy and Dancerina instead of Barbie and we learned to love them just as much, if not more.

For every past generation of our family, our parents, aunts, uncles and cousins made sure we knew something of our family history whether it was Black History Month or not.

Whether it was sports, entertainment, politics, religion, education there were Blacks blazing trails everywhere we looked growing up.

For example, we learned about and experienced the activities of Black Panther movement from the accounts our Aunt Wilmette who left the East Coast and went out to live, work and struggle in Oakland and Berkeley California. It gave us a bigger perspective of the “movement” beyond the free breakfast and lunch programs, or the violence that was always highlighted on the evening news. We were grateful to hear the My mom was able to successfully argue the expanded stories behind the soundbites and merits of bussing us to a school further away the incomplete news reports. in this case did not offer a superior education or support their plan for integration since Also hearing about how our Auntie Dr. communities across the state were quite Chinosole (Patricia Thorton), who sat at our segregated almost everywhere. dinner table and is now an ancestor, was imprisoned in Angola during their revolution Based on the lack of diversity in most of the taught us the power in thinking globally state’s neighborhoods, Vera’s kids would about the struggles for racial and economic still be integrating a school by attending one justice and equality. We learned more about closest to where we lived. Then through her this African country than just its location on non-stop involvement in the school district the map. It was a privilege to learn firsthand where we lived, she assured we got a quality about the deprivation of personal freedoms education. and human rights can break your spirit and why it was important to help rebuild lives of Those were only a few lessons to us as people re-entering society and the workforce future parents. Mom taught us to get and after serving time in jail. stay involved in what, where and how your children learn and not to settle for the status As we learned about the small and rural quo. Today, we all still remain grateful that towns in Georgia where my dad spent years she did. as a child, we could also trace our great, great grandmother Danielette, on our mother’s side Additionally, Vera made sure we knew back to Charleston, South Carolina. She lived about our African lineage, using any Black there until she was one of the freed slaves History month project or program we were sent to colonize Liberia. The 100-year land in as an opportunity to find and share some knowledge that wasn’t covered in our Continued on Page 10 school’s curriculum or textbooks.

Vera also made sure we went to the public school closer to home during the time the state of New Jersey had a mandate to “bus” us across town. Bussing was the attempt to integrate the public schools and not necessarily designed with the intent to give students a chance to attend the best school they could.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

9

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

and the Diaspora must give voice and recount all that our people have overcome. We hold in us the DNA of survivors of the everything from the Doors of No Return to the Middle Passage to the Great Migration to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. We are left with the legacy of keeping and living beyond the dreams of our ancestors. Don’t let them and yourself down.

Continued from Page 9

leases of rubber plantations for Firestone in Liberia were the world’s largest, and a major economic interest for the United States dating back to the 1920s.

We learned about great great grandma’s marriage to a king of the Vi tribe. We also learned about the Christian missionaries that saved my great, great grandfather, Theophilus Momolu Firah Gardiner and raised him in an orphanage to become Liberia’s first African and first Black Episcopal Bishop in the Anglican Church. We even learned that Whoopi Goldberg was helping shop a screenplay that includes some of his life story around Hollywood during the late 1990s, but it didn’t get funded. Perhaps his story will be for a future generation of my family to tell on the big screen.

We grew up knowing how Black and African American history was very much alive, breathing and still in the making with the understanding that we succeeded from greatness. We were expected to also make history and just had to figure out how.

The lessons from my family taught me to build my library by looking for the books on Black and African American history that aren’t on your school’s reading list. Doing this will make you much wiser and richer for the knowledge. (I’ve included a picture of some of my library selections. Tweet or email me any books you think are worth a read.)

Learn A Little More…

How Dolls Helped Win Brown v. Board of Education by Erin Blakemore, History Channel, March 27, 2018 Retrieved from: https://www.history.com/news/brown-vboard-of-education-doll-experiment Woolworth’s Lunch Counter Sit-In Marks Anniversary by Carrie Steler in Rutgers Today, July 20, 2015 Retrieved from: https://news.rutgers.edu/ feature/woolworths-lunch-counter-sit-marksanniversary/20150719#.XE4ACfZFxPY Having read beyond the history stories that The Right Reverend Theophilus Momolu are usually recounted at this time of year, I Fikah Gardiner, 1870-1941, The Church learned much more than what was shared on Awakens. Retrieved from: https://www. the Black History month calendars. episcopalarchives.org/church-awakens/ exhibits/show/leadership/clergy/gardiner Yes, use the calendars as a starting place, but go deeper and wider in your search. It’s easier Dr. Chinosole Joins the Ancestors, Bay today than it ever was with the Internet. You View National Newspaper, December 30, have all the tools you need at your fingertips 2014. Retrieved from: https://sfbayview. to push yourself to learn and share something com/2014/12/dr-chinosole-joins-thenew about your history and the history of the ancestors/ African diaspora.

Because so much of history is the version told Lisa D. Benton, MD, MPH (The Doctor is from the survivors and winner’s perspective, In) breastsurgeonlb@gmail.com, Twitter:@ we as Blacks, Africans, African Americans DctrLisa (415) 746-0627

FROM PLANTATION NATION TO THE RISE OF BLACK AMERICA: A FOUR HUNDRED YEAR MOVEMENT the world’s largest human trafficking event.

For more than three centuries nearly thirteen million Africans were captured, shipped and T h i s y e a r, 2 0 1 9 m a r k s a sold into slavery as part of the middle passage significant milestone in our to the Americas (the Caribbean, North and history. Four hundred years South America). ago in August of 1619, the first twenty African slaves arrived in Jamestown, Folklore in place of actual historical events Virginia. Captured in Angola by Portuguese would have us to accept that this country colonialists, their place in colonial America was founded by Europeans seeking refuge and American history marks the beginning from religious persecution. It is folklore that of slavery in colonial America. A year proports that the indigenousness tribes of before the first Pilgrims arrived onto the Manhattan traded the island (their homeland) shores of what is now known as Plymouth, for beads and trinkets with white settlers.

Massachusetts, slavery had taken root in What is not debated, is that European nations Jamestown a year before. However, more sought to make the “new world” an extension than a hundred years earlier, the Dutch, the of their global dominance and slavery would Spanish, the French, the Portuguese and be a key commodity to perpetuating that the British sent ships on expeditions to the dominance.

Americas with African slaves aboard. These Africans were captured and forced into The British empire viewed the colonization slavery by their European colonial captors as of America as an extension and expansion part of the transatlantic expeditions to the new of their aristocratic society. Creating greater world. The Angolans in Jamestown were not wealth and revenue for the British empire the first Africans to reach the Americas, but prompted King James I to commissioned by all accounts, they were the first place in expeditions to north America. England’s bondage in colonial America. first settlement would be Jamestown and the captured Angolans ensured that those The capture of millions of Africans and their colonists would survive the hardship. What transatlantic passage into slavery would be followed over the next one hundred plus years

By Tim Anderson

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • February 20192015 American News Journal • February

10

was the colonization of the eastern coast by England’s aristocrats. Plantations were built and crops raised, like tobacco and cotton which required tremendous amount of labor and slavery became a foundational footing of Plantation Nation. Before the founders of the U. s. Constitution were born, slavery was a key economic infrastructure. Slavery prominence during the colonial era anchored Plantation Nation resolve in expanding slavery in the new nation, which by then had fought for and won its independence from England. Slavery was now an institutional element moving the United States of America onto the world stage for global dominance.

The cash crop of cotton became the leading commodity to be exported. The slave economy established the base for wealth and land ownership in all of the established British colonies and subsequent United States.

The timeline for the past four hundred years of Africans and their descendants in America is a perspective in the rise of Black America. From 1619 to 1865, two-hundred and forty-six years of slavery had existed.

A nation would be created, go to war for its

HEALTH

SUBSTANCE USE CLINICIANS ABLE TO RECEIVE WELL-DESERVED ASSISTANCE

By Yolanda Owens

“This 3-year grant allows us to continue our framework and programming to meet this critical need,” said PrimaryOne Health CEO, Charleta B. Tavares, “Our mission has always focused on providing healthcare and resources at the local level and this grant allows us to continue to fight this national epidemic in our own community.”

With 39 overdose fatalities per 100,000 residents, Ohio is second in leading the country in overdose deaths. Not a title that is to be boasted about. According to the Ohio Department of Health, on average eight people per day die from overdose. For the In an additional effort to combat the epidemic, ninth year in a row, unintentional drug Health Resource and Services Administration overdose remains the leading cause of injury(HRSA), National Health Service Corp related death for Ohioans.

(NHSC) is offering a Substance Use Disorder Workforce Repayment Program. Eligible Reducing access to prescribed opioids has clinicians are able to receive up to $75,000 given rise to more dangerous illicit drugs in student loan repayment in return for three such as fentanyl and heroin, increasing the years of full-time service at NHSC-approved overdose deaths by 71% in the last five years. sites, like PrimaryOne Health. Clincians are This problem is prolific is communities that encouraged to apply until February 21. are largely African American as well, with 43211 (South Linden), 43232 (Southeast) “We are eager to expand our integrated and 43207 (South Side) seeing some of the behavioral health services to address this highest deaths in Franklin County. crisis that is affecting our most vulnerable communities,” said PrimaryOne Health In August 2018, PrimaryOne Health was Director of Behavioral Health and Social awarded nearly $2 Million from Substance Work, Staci Swenson, MA, MSW, LISW-S, Abuse and Mental Health Services “By connecting our patients to these much Administration (SAMHSA) to fight the needed services and training medical opioid crisis. PrimaryOne Health looks to providers to screen for OUD, we can increase provide more intensive services in rural access to care and address other health Appalachia in Pickaway County, as well conditions.” as in the three health centers located in the 43207 zip code, which has the highest rates of PrimaryOne Health has a strategic and opioid, heroin, and fentanyl overdose deaths targeted focus to fight the opioid crisis in Franklin County. which fits within the HHS 5-point strategy to

combat the opioids crisis: 1. Better addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery services 2. Better data 3. Better pain management 4.

Better targeting of overdose reversing drugs 5. Better research.

PrimaryOne Health is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) serving central Ohio through 10 strategically placed clinical sites since 1997. Working to provide access to services to improve the health status of families, PrimaryOne Health offers primary care, vision and dental health services. PrimaryOne Health is a proud member of the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC) and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). For more information about PrimaryOne Health and its programs, go to www.primaryonehealth.org.

Yolanda Owens is the Associate Director of Marketing and Development for PrimaryOne Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system providing comprehensive primary care, ob-gyn, pediatrics, vision, dental, behavioral health and specialty care at 10 locations. Owens is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and currently serves as Vice President of the Alumni Society Board. She is also a founding member of Black Lactation Circle of Central Ohio, providing lactation and maternal support for Black Women in Central Ohio.

It’s American Heart Month

Comprehensive.

Show your some love.

Schedule an appointment today!

Convenient. ®

Caring.

Serving Central Ohio’s healthcare needs since 1997 with 10 convenient locations offering:

Primary Care • Ob/Gyn • Pediatrics Behavioral Health • Physical Therapy • Internal Medicine Weight Management • Vision • Dental

An� n�� Sa��rd�� h��r�! primaryonehealth.org • 2780 Airport Drive, Ste. 100 • Columbus, OH 43219 • 614.645.5500 11

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

The Columbus African & Dayton American African American News Journal • February • February 20192015

12

13

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

RICHARD OCTOBER ‘80 – MAY ‘ 12

Life didn’t end for Marla. It got better. At ADAMH – and the 30+ not-for-profit agencies we partner with – our mission is to change lives in our community for the better. By helping people recovering from addiction and mental illness get the help they need to start living happier, healthier, fuller lives. So, they can get better.

ADAMH – Where better begins. adamhf ranklin.org

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

14

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

HEALTH

HISTORY OF PAIN - CLINICAL TRIALS IN AMERICA MAKING MEDICINE WORK FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

By Charleta B. Tavares It has been forty-seven years since the conclusion of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study – an experiment on unsuspecting African American/Black males who were given inaccurate information and therefore, could not give knowledgeable consent to the study. Many African Americans are distrustful and avoid not just the participation in what is known as clinical trials to research new treatment modalities, the discovery of new chemical compounds and/or uses of existing pharmaceuticals but also shun seeking healthcare within public and private healthcare systems.

According to a post by Nigel Roberts with NewsOne titled, Scientists Conduct Consent-Free Experiments Disproportionately on Blacks, Study Says The Tuskegee Experiment gave Black people a good reason to distrust what’s happening.1 Roberts references the Annals of Internal Medicine® report released in June 2018.2 The study of the 2013 guidelines for cardiovascular risks underscored the serious consequences for the underrepresentation of African-Americans in medical research which inaccurately determined cardiovascular risks, which helped them to decide which treatments individual patients needed.

“Dr. Sanjay Basu, one of researchers in the study, decided to examine the 2013 guidelines that doctors had been using to determine treatment—which could range from prescribing a statin to the need to take aspirin, CNN reported.

The doctor of internal medicine who teaches at Stanford University was prompted to question the guidelines while treating an African-American patient. The man was an older smoker with high cholesterol—clearly at risk for stroke or a heart attack. Yet a calculator used to determine a person’s cardiovascular risk based on the 2013 guidelines determined that the patient was low-risk.

A significant part of the problem with the guidelines, the researchers found, was that African-Americans were underrepresented in the initial sample of people used to create the 2013 guidelines.” 3 Bioethical standards for experimentation and research on human subjects have changed over time in America. Unfortunately, this change has not been swift nor has it been without appalling and tragic outcomes for the victims and their families. The Tuskegee Experiment was not the first or is it the last experiment conducted on African American/Black populations in America and Africa, prisoners and disabled U.S citizens.

However; this horrific experiment which ran from 1932 to 1972 in Macron, Alabama, a small, rural African American/Black community when brought to light shocked the world.

The Associated Press in 2018 conducted an exhaustive study of press clippings and medical journal reports on U.S. public and

private health experiments and research.

What they found in more than forty studies is that many at best were trying to discover a cure or medicine that would improve the health condition studied and at worst curiosity experiments with no tangible results or benefit to the subjects. This goes counter to the concept of American principles of medicine which goes back centuries of “first do no harm” particularly, when there were medicines such as penicillin available in the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment that could have been given to save the lives and painful symptoms for the male subject, their wives and families.

These repulsing experiments are still being conducted across the African Continent and other nations of color by private and unfortunately, public entities due to little international oversight and laws to protect these communities. These experiments were not unlike the Nazi doctors in the 1940’s who conducted similar atrocities on Jewish people and were brought to light during the Nuremburg Trials. The Nuremburg Code was developed out of these trials as a set of international codes to protect human subjects.

Regrettably, many doctors and institutions felt that this code was for the Jewish atrocities in Germany only and continued to conduct tests on prisoners and vulnerable populations.

So what is the solution? How are we going to ensure that African American/Black people are being enrolled in ethical, peer-reviewed and potential life-saving clinical trials?

What can we do to ensure that the public and private healthcare systems are developing treatment modalities and pharmaceuticals that are appropriately tested and the results published?

There are multiple answers to these and many other questions to help to save the lives and morbidity of African American/Black people in America and around the world.  Recruit more African American/Black students to Medical, Nursing, Psychology and other health professional colleges and schools;  Increase the number of African American/ Black Biologists, Chemists and Research Scientists conducting original research for and with the communities;  Support Historically Black (African American) Colleges and Universities’(HBCUs) in developing

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

15

research centers with funding from national foundations, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Mental Health, CMS, Institutes of Medicine, etc. to conduct original African/Black research;  Increase the number of African American/ Black clinicians in the healthcare systems and institutions, health centers and private practices who are engaged, respected and supported by the African American/Black communities;  Create an African American/Black PeerReview and Bioethics Panel to analyze and make recommendations to the community on the clinical trials seeking participation to validate ethical standards, research dissemination and implementation; and  Require public and private pharmaceutical, healthcare and research institutions have board, advisory and clinical trial panels which include African American/Black representatives from the communities who are engaged, respected and supported by same.

These are some suggestions to get us started in developing solutions for us and by us to save the lives and improve the health and well-being of our communities. I stand ready and willing…will you join us?

Footnotes: 1 October 2018 2 “Clinical Implications of Revised Pooled Cohort Equations for Estimating Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk” Steve Yadlowsky, MS; Rodney A. Hayward, MD; Jeremy B. Sussman, MD, MS; Robyn L. McClelland, PhD; Yuan-I Min, PhD; Sanjay Basu, MD, PhD – June 3, 2018 3 The Atlanta Voice – June 2018 https:// www.theatlantavoice.com/articles/blacksunderrepresented-in-life-and-death-clinicalresearch-study-finds/ 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 • February 2019

POLITICS CONGRESSWOMAN BEATTY TO CHAIR FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SUBCOMMITTEE WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) was officially named Chairwoman of the new Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Subcommittee.

In this role, Beatty will lead the powerful Financial Services Committee’s work to bring diversity and inclusion out of the shadows and to the forefront of the conversation on how to make the financial services industry meet the needs of and work better for the middle-class, at-risk Americans, and all hardworking families.

“In order for the economy to work for everyone, we must embrace and harness the skills and talents of individuals from every background,” Beatty said. “Diversity and inclusion can no longer be buzzwords, rather they need to become part of the overall fabric of the companies and industries that are the engines and lifeblood of our economy—it is not only the right thing to do, but it benefits the bottom line.”

According to the McKinsey Global Institute’s 2018 “Delivering Through Diversity” report, companies in the top-quartile (25 percent) for gender and ethnic/cultural diversity on executive teams were 21 percent and 33 percent more likely respectively to outperform their peers on profitability. On the other hand, that same report found companies in the bottom-quartile were 29 percent less

likely to achieve above-average profitability.

“While the statistics clearly illustrate the economic impact of diversity and inclusion, we need to look beyond just the numbers—the Subcommittee needs to look at partnerships and engagement, and make changes when necessary.” Beatty continued, “As Chairwoman of the Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee, I look forward to working with my fellow members, government entities, and the entire financial

services industry to help create more ladders of opportunity and safeguard against artificial barriers and ceilings.”

In the 116th Congress, the exclusive Financial Services Committee will be made up of 60 Members of Congress, of which 34 are Democrats and 26 are Republicans.

The Committee’s work will be handled by 6 subcommittees. The D&I Subcommittee will be comprised of 21 Members of Congress, 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans.

NEW JERSEY CREATES BILL TO TEACH MIDDLE SCHOOLERS MONEY MANAGEMENT

By Lori Lakin Hutcherson According to hellobeautiful.com, middle school students in New Jersey are about to get some much-needed education about finances thanks in part to two women determined to make sure they learn how to understand and handle money.

Financial educator Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche and Assemblywoman Angela McKnight worked in tandem to draft and advocate a financial literacy bill that would give growing children a fighting chance at the future.

Financial Literacy Bill A1414 instructs the New Jersey State Board of Education to require school districts to incorporate financial literacy instruction into curriculums for enrolled students in grades 6 through 8.

Middle schoolers will be presented with vital information that has the potential to change the course of their lives by preparing them to properly evaluate their finances and deal with debt as adults.

First introduced by McKnight in 2016, the bill gained co-sponsorship from Assembly

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • February 20192015 American News Journal • February

16

Democrats Nicholas Chiaravalloti, Eliana Pintor Marin, Jamel Holley, Benjie Wimberly and Annette Quijano. A1414 was signed into law by the state’s Acting Governor (and first ever black Lieutenant Governor) Sheila Oliver at Jersey City’s PS 34 President Barack Obama School.

“Early financial literacy should be an essential part of every school curriculum, because it’s a critical skill needed for success in adulthood,” said Aliche via press release.

“Today New Jersey took a historic leap forward in helping our children secure a brighter future. Today was a manifestation of why I started The Budgetnista; to help give people the tools the need to live richer lives,” she continued.

Regarding the bill, McKnight said, “One of the most important lessons a person can learn is how to manage their money. Many young people go into adulthood knowing little about finances, and end up making decisions that cost them in the long run.”

McKnight added, “Teaching our kids early about the importance of managing their money and making sound financial decisions can prevent them from making costly mistakes and set them on the right financial path.”

Article from GoodBlackNews.org

POLITICS

STACEY ABRAMS TO GIVE DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE TO SOTU Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday afternoon that Stacey Abrams will give the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union (SOTU) address next week.

“She is just a great spokesperson, Schumer said. “She is an incredible leader.”

“I plan to deliver a vision for prosperity and equality, where everyone in our nation has a voice and where each of those voices is heard,” Abrams said.

Abrams’ gubernatorial race in Georgia gained national attention. If she was elected, she would have been the first Black female governor in the country. She accused her opponent Brian Kemp of voter suppression during the midterm elections.

Kemp, who served as the Secretary of State, had more than 85,000 registrations canceled under his watch— most of them Black voters.

Abrams, a longtime voter-rights advocate, would not concede until every vote was counted.

“This is not a speech of concession,” she said when ending her campaign. “Because concession means to acknowledge an action that’s right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that.”

But what has made Abrams even more unique, and perhaps the choice to go toe to toe with Trump, is her hold on progressives that caused major voter turnout.

She condemned white supremacist Confederate monuments, and aligned herself with LGBTQ groups, labor unions, prochoice groups, and gun-control advocates.

According to Steve Phillips, author of “Brown Is the New White,” “The significance of Abrams’ candidacy is that she has provided empirical evidence about how to win in a

highly polarized, racially charged political environment.”

Trump and his SOTU address will most likely give Abrams that same environment to shine in: Rumors have circulated post midterms that she may be considering the governorship, the Senate and even the presidency in 2020.

She didn’t clarify, saying she was “open to all options.”

Article from DiversityInc.com

BLACK LIVES MATTER IN BLACK HISTORY

By Philip A. Locke To appreciate the concept of Black Lives Matter within a historical context we must consider when Black Lives Did Not Matter.

On August 20, 1619, twenty Africans were brought to North America landing in Jamestown, Virginia to work as slaves. There are some accounts that will claim sooner dates but August 20, 1619 is documented for North America which was 157 years prior to 1776 when the Founders declared independence from Great Britain. From that date until 2018 millions of the descendants of Africa remain on this continent in an inferior status. Next year 2019 will mark 400 years of the African presence this continent. Because Black Lives did not matter our ancestors were raped, beaten, lynched, mass incarcerated, subject to Jim Crow segregation, murdered in the streets unarmed, denied education, infected with syphilis, profiled, denied the right to vote as well as other injustices, and too many other indignities too numerous to list.

From May 2 to May 10, 1963, the nation bore witness as police in Birmingham, Ala., aimed high-powered hoses and sicced snarling dogs on black men, women and even children who wanted just one thing — to be treated the same as white Americans.

As recorded in the pictures above Black Lives Mattered before the slogan. There was a line in the movie “Black Panther” spoken

by Killmonger, “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage.” Fortunately, death was only one solution that my ancestors obviously chose not to make. Many of the Black slaves chose not to jump even if not jumping would result in a lifetime of slavery. If they had jumped we would not know Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Hearcel F. Craig, Joyce Beatty, Amos Lynch, Judge Kimberly Cocroft, or Mr. Ray Miller. Black Lives Did Matter and jumping is/was not the solution regardless to how heroic it may sound. I voted on the 6th today because my Not long ago teenagers, some too young to ancesters did not jump. It is because Black vote in May 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama Lives Matter that voting is an option. demonstrated for Civil Rights and in Selma, Alabama 1965 to gain the right to vote. In his poem MOTHER TO SON, Langston These unsung heroes and sheroes: Hughes shares other options to consider: They were eight days that tore at America’s Don’t you set down on the steps. conscience.

‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

17

Don’t you fall now— For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, ...Don’t jump And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

What Blacks do with their lives is proof they matter. Blacks must develop to a life that matters. I will be keeping track of the candidates I voted for to determine if they believe Black Lives Matter as in Black History Month. How they vote, the bills they will write, the sentences they will mandate for those men and women convicted of crimes, how they conduct themselves in their private lives, and representing all citizens without forgetting that in doing so Black Lives Matter. Generalities only matter when they do not cause harm to individuals.

Since Black Lives are a significant segment of “All Lives” it is impossible for All Lives to Matter until Black Lives Matter first along with all marginalized peoples. Since the right to vote was achieved, we must do more than simply give a verbal or some other perfunctory act to appreciate those persons who sacrificed so much, historically, for it to become a reality. We must demonstrate our appreciation by our behaviors for how we treat our right. I was given a bicycle from Continued on Page 23

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

POLITICS

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

By Senator Charleta B. Tavares (Ret.) The new members of the Ohio General Assembly were sworn in on January 7, 2019.

Five new Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) members were seated in the Ohio House of Representatives and one OLBC House member was elected to the Ohio Senate (see boxes below). The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus members were instrumental in electing the new Ohio House Speaker, Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford) in an unprecedented opportunity due to division among the Republican Majority Caucus (see Jan. 2019 CAANJ article titled, House – Holding and Howse –Holding the cards).

Although the majority of the OLBC members in the Ohio House of Representatives supported the now Speaker, Rep. Larry Householder, the Minority Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton), Reps. Bernadine K. Kent (D-Cols.) and Cathy Ingram (D-Cinc.) did not.

OLBC President Stephanie Howse held the overwhelming majority of her members in the House in supporting Householder including the recently elected (Nov.) House Assistant Minority Leader, Emilia S. Sykes (D-Akron). As mentioned in the January, 2019 CAANJ, the members of OLBC interviewed both candidates to ascertain their willingness to work with the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, support their increased roles in committee leadership, legislative priorities, live streaming and taping of committee hearings and professionalizing the Human Resources functions of the House to address racial and sexual harassment complaints. Householder came strong and open to working with OLBC. A little more than a week after the Swearing In of the new Speaker and members of the House, Minority Leader Fred Strahorn and the recently elected Minority Whip, Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cinc.) resigned from their leadership posts. Both had supported Rep. Ryan Smith in the Speaker’s race for the 133rd General Assembly. Strahorn and Kelly were in the minority of the members of the Democratic Caucus who supported Smith (14-24), as well as the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (3-10). The Democratic Caucus has elected a new leadership team and for the first time in history will be led by a majority of women. Two of the four leaders are African American, Reps. Sykes and Hicks-Hudson. The new leadership team members elected are: Rep. Emilia S. Sykes (D-Akron) – Minority Leader Rep. Kristen Boggs (D-Cols.) -Assistant Minority Leader

Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) – Minority Whip Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) – Assistant Minority Whip

Sen. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) Sen. Hearcel Craig (District 15-Columbus) * * Newly Elected Members

If you are interested in testifying on any of the bills introduced in either the House The Ohio House of Representatives will or Senate, please contact the chair of the officially vote on the Minority Leadership committee who can be found at www. team and the remaining members of the ohiosenate.gov or www.ohr.gov.

Majority Leadership team when they return in February.

Additional Contacts UPDATE: The Ohio General Assembly The Ohio Senate elected their leadership sessions and the House and Senate Finance teams who were sworn in on January 7, Committees are televised live on WOSU/ 2019. Two OLBC members were elected to WPBO and replays can be viewed at www. the Democratic Leadership Team in the Ohio ohiochannel.org (specific House and Senate Senate: Senator Cecil Thomas (D-Cinc.) was sessions and committee hearings can be elected as Assistant Minority Leader and Sen. searched in the video archives).

Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) was elected as Assistant Minority Whip. Sen. Kenny If you would like to receive updated Yuko (D-Cleve.) remains Minority Leader information on the Ohio General Assembly and Sen. Sean O’Brien (D-Ashtabula) was and policy initiatives introduced, call or elected Minority Whip. email your state Representative or Senator.

The committee schedules, full membership For additional information on the Ohio rosters and contact information for the Legislative Black Caucus contact Chris Ohio House and Senate can be found at: Scott, Executive Director OLBC at cscott. www.ohiohouse.gov and www.ohiosenate. olbc@gmail.com gov respectively. Former Senator Charleta B. Tavares will continue to host Quarterly Ohio House Leadership Forums and send out the Tavares Janine R. Boyd (D – Cleveland) Times News monthly newsletter. To receive Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) information on the Quarterly Leadership Glen W. Holmes (D-McDonald) Forums and/or to receive the Tavares Time Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati) News, email tavarescrossfire2015@gmail.

Bernadine K. Kent (D-Columbus) com.

Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) Emilia S. Sykes (D-Akron) Former Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, Thomas West (D-Canton) D-Columbus, is the 1st Democrat and Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) * African American woman to serve in the Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) * Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Erica Crawley (D-Columbus) * Senate from Franklin County. She is also Terrance Upchurch (D-Cleveland) * the first African American woman to serve in Sedrick Denson (D-Cincinnati) * leadership in the history of Ohio and the 1st Democrat woman to serve in leadership in Ohio Senate both the Ohio House of Representatives and Sen. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) the Ohio Senate (House Minority Whip and Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) Senate Assistant Minority Leader).

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • February 20192015 American News Journal • February

18

COVER STORY BENJAMIN W. ARNETT: PASTOR, POLITICIAN AND PROFESSOR

By Ray Miller Benjamin W. Arnett was born a free man March 6, 1838, in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where he taught school from 1859 to 1867.

Arnett married Mary Louise Gordon from Uniontown, Pennsylvania. They had seven children: Alonzo T., Benjamin W., Henry T., Annie L., Alphonso Taft, Flossy Gordon, and Daniel Payne.

As a Pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Arnett served congregations in Toledo, Cincinnati, and Columbus. Under his leadership, St. Pauls Church in Urbana was completed. It has been designated as a historical landmark. In 1888, Arnett was elected Bishop, a position he held until his death in 1906.

In 1885, Arnett was elected to the Ohio General Assembly from a district with an 85% white majority. In 1886, as a Republican Representative from Greene County, Arnette introduced legislation to repeal the State’s “Black Laws,” which limited the freedom and rights of African American residents. Arnett was particularly concerned that state law did not ensure that Black children had the same educational opportunities as white children.

In 1887, statues regarding education were changed; the state was thereafter required to provide equal opportunities to all children regardless of race. A forceful and compelling speaker, Arnett was influential in Republican

Benjamin W. Arnett (Front row, 2nd left) and Board of Trustees at Wilberforce University, 1893

politics, thanks, in part, to his friendship with fellow legislator (and later President) William McKinley.

In speaking on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives regarding the need to repeal Ohio’s “Black Codes” Arnett stated, “What is there for the race to do. If we abolish these laws that discriminate against them what is expected and what must we do to save the coming generation? Must we abandon all organized efforts, or what must we do to be saved, for we must save ourselves or be lost in the great sea of humanity?

Representative Arnett went on to say, the general analysis of the duty of the hour for the individual members of the race is to: 1st. Get an education of the head, hands and heart.

2nd. Get the religion that will enable him to love God with all of his heart, mind, and soul, and his neighbor as himself.

3rd.Get integrity, which will enable all men to control themselves and to keep themselves in due bounds.

4th. Get money, which will give the race a commercial standing, and then they will become a factor in the great work of saving men and influencing them on their way to the better land, hoping all the time to make this world better by reason of the life of each individual and each family, so that the best influences will form an arch of glory for the race that will guard the pathway of the coming generations.

Representative Arnett went on to say: 1) I am in favor of the bill because it is in accordance with the genius of our institutions.

2) I am in favor of the bill because it is demanded on the broad principles of common humanity.

3) I am in favor of the bill because it is just to those who are deprived of human rights.

4) I am in favor of the repeal because we have to share in the responsibility of the government.

5) I am in favor of the repeal because we owe 19

it to the men who fought for the Constitution and the Union.

6) We owe it to the children of the men who laid down their lives for the sacred cause of humanity.

7) We ought to pass this bill, that Ohio might keep abreast with the demands of the age, and lead the other states in doing justice to all of her children.

8) I am in favor of the repeal because we promised the men who stood by our standard bearers last Fall that we would allow no party to do more for the equal rights of men than this grand old political party of righteousness.......................

Now, in the name of the intelligence of the race, I give notice to all concerned that we do not intend to go unless it is of our own free will and accord. We cannot go without taking some of the glory of this country with us. We cannot go unless we have a settlement with this nation. We cannot go unless we receive indemnity at the hands of the government.

Finally, Arnett said, we are willing to go to the cornfield or to the cotton field, and there do our duty as men. We have toiled in the canebrakes of Alabama, and waded in the rice swamps of the Carolinas; we have dug in the lead mines of Missouri without pay or hope of reward. But now we have the same aspirations that other men have. If they live in the City, so can we. If they prosper on the farm, so can we. If they hold office, so can we, if we get votes enough. If they go to Church, so will we. If they are on the grand or petit jury, one of us will be there to find a true bill or to bring in a verdict.......................We are united in life, and shall not be separated in death.

Representative Arnett added, If we must go, we would desire to take everything that belongs to us: and therefore, we must have the bones of our fathers, the tears of our mothers, the sighs of our sisters, the groans of our brothers, the blood of the wounded and the life of the dead, in order that we may be able to carry our memories with us, and forget the wrongs of the years and the sufferings of the centuries. We must have a settlement for the years of unpaid labor in the South. We want to collect in some huge cask the tears wrung from the hearts of the bondsmen by the lash.

Ask us to go from this land with the record of the soldiers of the three great wars shining with glory to our race! No, sir, you might as well understand it first as last, we are NOT going.

Seeing then that we are so intimately connected with each other as men and citizens, what wicked prejudice it is to have laws separating our children while learning their duty to themselves, their neighbor, to society, to country and their God; let us do our duty, and in doing this the walls of separation will crumble and fall.

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

quality,

Preserving central Ohio communities through affordable housing.

Proud recipient,

Housing Visionary Award ITALIAN VILLAGE

KING-LINCOLN DISTRICT

WEINLAND PARK

UNIVERSITY DISTRICT

Our organizations fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial status, military status or disability.

The & Dayton African American • February 20192015 The Columbus Columbus African American News Journal • February

OCCH: 88 East Broad Street, Suite 1800 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Phone: 614.224.8446 www.occh.org

20

CPO Management & CPO Impact: 910 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43205 Phone: 614.253.0984 www.cpoms.org | www.cpoimpact.org

COMMUNITY 5TH ANNUAL VALENTINES DAY WORKSHOP AT SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH

By Troy A. Glover Columbus, Ohio – If you are struggling with growth in your relationship and desire to positively change your situation, you are invited to attend our 5th Annual Valentine’s event. The Men’s Ministry of Second Baptist Church will sponsor this event on Saturday, February 9, 2019 beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 12 Noon. The church is located at 186 N.17th Street, Columbus, Ohio 43203.

This year’s theme is, “How Couples Can Grow Together, Not Apart.” A panel of Christian thought leaders and counselors will lead an engaging session designed for married and single attendees.

Panelists include: Elder Dale Tucker, Sr., Senior Pastor of Triedstone Missionary Baptist Church and his wife Mrs. Tammie Tucker; Mr. Carlos and Mrs. Seneca Bing, counselors and members of Faith Ministries Church; Mr. Eric Terry, associate minister at Second Baptist Church; and Dr. Linda Trautman, professor of political science at Ohio University and a member of First Church of God. The event will provide married and single participants with biblical understanding, strategies, and tools for growing together.

The panel will address the theme and share personal experiences (inclusive of techniques) that have worked in their growth process. The session will be engaging and interactive.

Dr. Howard Washington, Pastor of Second Baptist Church stated, “In a relationship,

(Top Row) Elder Dale Tucker, Sr., Senior Pastor of Triedstone Missionary Baptist Church and his wife Mrs. Tammie Tucker, Minister Eric Terry, Associate Minister at Second Baptist Church.

(Bottom Row) Mr. Carlos and Mrs. Seneca Bing of Faith Ministries Church and Dr. Linda Trautman, Professor of Political Science at Ohio University and member of First Church of God.

growing together increases the chances for a shared vision, mutual goals, and clarity of expectations of each other. It assures connectivity and commonality while respecting the uniqueness that each person brings into the relationship.”

21

For additional information about the event schedule, logistics, and updates, visit the church’s website at www. secondbaptistcolumbus.com. You may also contact Troy Glover via phone at 614-2534313 or email, Troyg1906@wowway.com.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

COMMUNITY

MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE Dayton, OH - The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) is updating the Miami Valley Coordinated Public TransitHuman Services Transportation Plan for the Region. A series of public meetings will be held to review a DRAFT of the updated plan and make comments.

The drop-in open house style meetings will include your opportunity to review public outreach and needs assessment results, and the prioritized goals and strategies for improving transportation and mobility throughout the Region. The meeting will include stations with display boards that provide information, staff to answer questions and collect input, and a rolling presentation displayed throughout the meeting. The public is encouraged to attend any of the following three (3) meetings to review the plan and provide input:

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • February 20192015 American News Journal • February

22

COMMUNITY

REMEMBERING CLARENCE D. LUMPKIN Clarence D. Lumpkin, 94, finished his race on earth and received his heavenly reward on Monday, January 28, 2019. Until his health started to fail, he lived in the same house on 20th Avenue in Linden since 1961 and was active in strengthening the Linden community and protecting its institutions.

Earning the title “Mayor of South Linden” from then Mayor Michael B. Coleman. Mr. Lumpkin garnered the respect of residents and government officials for his work in business development in the community.

Clarence was the son of Mattie Lee McCrae Lumpkin and was born on a turpentine plantation on September 12, 1924 in the small town of Nashville, GA. His mother died when he was 10 years old and Clarence lived on a share-cropper’s farm with any family member that could afford to let him live with them.

At the age of 12, he moved to live with his aunt, Melba McRae and her husband. He was a veteran of the US Army where he served in New Guinea and the Philippines. After he was injured, he received an honorable discharge.

In 1951, Clarence became involved in the Civil Rights activities when he lived in OpaLocka, Florida. He joined the Columbus NAACP in 1962 and became the vice chairman of the NAACP education committee and played a major role in the desegregation of the Columbus Public Schools.

Since the 1980s Mr. Lumpkin worked especially close with government officials on an effort to save the United States Post Office at 1979 Cleveland Avenue in the heart of Linden. In 2010, the United States Congress bestowed the honor of naming the post office

in South Linden the Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office.

Clarence started four community organizations: The South Linden Community Council, The South Linden Leadership Council, The South Linden Area Commission and The Greater Linden Development Corporation. The organizations all had missions to eliminate the deteriorating conditions in the community and improve the quality of life for Linden residents. This was done by creating opportunities for economic development within the community, fighting crime and closing drug houses. Some of his major accomplishments were: • Led the effort to change the route of I-670 from being built down 17th Ave. • Persuaded the City of Columbus to separate the storm sewers from the sanitation sewer stopping the flooding of resident’s basements.

• Persuaded the city to provide residential

street lighting for every street in South Linden. This was the first inner city community to get lighted streets and alleys.

• He was instrumental in stopping the closing of Linden McKinley High School.

• Successfully persuaded Columbus City Council to zone the residential section from multi-family homes to single-family homes.

• Obtained over five million dollars for low interest loans (3%) and grants for Linden residents to rehab their homes.

• He was a member of Mayor Coleman’s Neighborhood Safety Working group to combat violent crime.

• Led drug marches throughout the community and city to show citizens how to get rid of drug dealers and crack houses.

• Persuaded then Mayor Michael B. Coleman to support his plan for the development of the Four Corners at 11th & Cleveland Ave. The Clarence D. Lumpkin Point of Pride building now stands as the anchor for the City Office of Neighborhood. This was the first step in revitalizing the community and eliminating a major drug and crime location.

Clarence retired from the state of Ohio where he served 22 years as Chief of Enforcement Division for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

He was a dedicated member of Bethel AME Church in South Linden.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 72 years, Willa Marie Lumpkin, four children: Betty (Aaron) Kennedy, Carolyn Bethel, Linda Kent and Douglas Lumpkin. Six grandchildren: Kevin Mitchell, Jason (Anna) Kent, Kniaka Bethel, Kedada Bethel, Douglas (Monique) Lumpkin and Jamil Hester. Seven great-grandchildren and a host of relatives, family and friends.

Story Continued from Page 17

Walter Gadsden, 10th grade student of Ullman High School Bill Hudson/AP

An organizer, (female in picture, Mamie King-Chalmers, 21 years old), she was at Kelly Ingram Park daily, protesting, always in the forefront leading the way. She was targeted by Eugene “Bull” Connor, who gave orders to the police and fire departments, for her leadership, determination, courage, and bravery. She was chased by dogs, beaten, and spent five days in jail under horrible conditions. She was hosed at Bull Connor’s command.

Black Star photographer Charles Moore captured these events. He took hundreds of photos and many of them were of Mamie. One particular photo of Mamie being hosed, with two unidentified young men, became a famous iconic photo. This photo gained national attention, rallying the civil rights movement and alerting the world to the horrors that Blacks faced in Birmingham. Article taken from KIDS IN BIRMINGHAM 1963, Photo by Charles Moore

23

Bobby Simmons and flag bearer Lewis Marshall walked in the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama (Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos)

Story Continues on Page 24

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

BLACK HISTORY MONTH Story Continued from Page 23

by mother and uncle as a youngster. I was overjoyed on that Christmas morning. I took it outdoors, even though there was snow on the ground, to ride it. However, after a few months had passed I continued to express my appreciation for it by washing it, keeping it indoors, I did not leave it in places where it could be stolen, and I performed regular maintenance.

On November 6, 2018, I acted within my right to vote in appreciation to Black History.

As I stood in front of the voting machine I felt as the most significant man in the country because today a Black Life Mattered. I considered that I would contribute to the victory of Black candidates, as well as, all who were nominated and included on the ballot. I considered that Issue #1 could affect thousands of Black Lives if it passed perspective states. Black lives have mattered or failed. historically and we must demonstrate our appreciation for those who did not jump Black Representatives from across the by being wise, knowledgeable, consistent, United States would be elected to ensure keeping our elected officials accountable to Black Lives Matter. Two (2) candidates in the responsibilities of their office. According the Southern States of Florida and Georgia to The Detroit Free Press (May 28, 2014), were nominated to be the Governor of their “Voting is about more than just politics. The

Continued from Page 10

independence and institutionalize slavery for the sole purpose of creating and sustaining wealth.

During these 246 years of slavery, freedom did not mean free. There were no African Americans. For those who were held in bondage and later set free by their slave owners, they would not become U. S. citizens. There were no rights guaranteed under the Constitution and many faced great risk of being captured and placed back into slavery. The U. s. Constitution did not grant citizenship to former slaves until the enactment of the 13th 14th and 15th Amendments; abolishing slavery, granting citizenship and the right to own land and vote for black men. Commonly referred to as the Civil War Amendments which past in 1865.

Between 1865-1877, the enactment of the Reconstruction Act gave black citizens in the south economic and political standing.

Arguably, it is the most significant period in black history giving rise to the establishment of Black America. Certainly, with challenges and racial barriers the Reconstruction era set forth the significant contributions of blacks in all areas of society. Unfortunately, the presidential election of 1876 and the election of Rutherford B. Hayes (a former Ohio Governor) who promised southern whites an end to Reconstruction for their support in his presidential bid.

Eighty-eight years after Reconstruction era had ended, and 100 years since blacks had been guaranteed rights under the Constitution; the vestiges’ of slavery still remained. Free but not free. Black America

became a second class status of citizenship.

Institutional racism, Jim Crow laws, bigotry and segregation were the backdrop of black citizenship. Not until the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act would Black America citizenship be protected.

The timeline is remarkable, slavery existed for more than 246 years in this country.

Another hundred years would pass before black citizenship would be protected under the law. The last fifty-four years, since passage of the Civil Rights Act, Black America has realized significant social changes. Such changes that connect slavery and second class citizenship era to todays’ Black America.

right to vote is the wellspring of all other civil rights.” Therefore, we must be vigilant to vote, march, sing, fight, publish, as well as, watch, instead of apathy, violence, ignorance, or indifference, but rather, as proclaimed by the prophet Amos, “…let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream” until Black Live Matter as they have historically, must matter in the present, and will matter in the future.

Philip A. Locke has been actively involved in community events, churches, and organizations. He was a primary organizer for 12 concerts featuring the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Gospel Choir.

He was the primary founder and organizer for the Gospel Music Excellence Awards of Columbus. He has earned academic degrees: an AAS in Social Services (CSCC); a BS, Organizational Management, Wilberforce University; (3) Master’s degrees: MSA, Human Resources, Central Michigan University; MTS, Theory & MACM, Counseling both from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

of black America. By the second World War, blacks would once again prove themselves not only as proven fighters on the ground, but in the air as well. The Tuskegee Airmen who served in a segregated military were credited with extraordinary service in escorting Allied bombers to German targets. Those Tuskegee pilots’ actions resulted in no losses of U.S. bombers from German warplanes.

The significant of Tuskegee Air Group is not only in their heroic air campaign, but their service was a key element which lead to the desegregation of the United States Military.

Since 1865 to today, Black America continues to be the preeminent driving force for social change in America. Modern day achievements in civil rights and voting rights during the 1960’s civil rights era and the election of the first black president are significant milestones over the last fiftyfive years. However, significant challenges remain, and new social movements are formed to address persistent and chronic conditions to the wellbeing of Black America, like Black Lives Matter.

Blacks in America served and fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Their service guaranteed them no assurance of being set free after their service. Their only certainty would be that in death on the battlefield they would finally be free. Both freed and enslaved blacks throughout slavery rebelled and fought against their oppressors. For those Africans who were captured and placed onboard vessels in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, they too fought their captors onboard Regardless of the social and economic ships that would see many die before reaching backdrop, the four-hundred-year history from the new world of Plantation Nation.

Jamestown to Black America has proven to be an testament not based on folklore, but by The backdrop of slavery did not weaken the will to fight against oppression; becoming the spirit of black people it only served to self-determined, breaking down barriers and fortify black people’s determination. For creating achievements. It is uniquely a Black after slavery, Black America took shape. America experience, and yet it connects us Although challenges and barriers persisted, to the diaspora of black experiences and Black America began to construct institutions existence from the Caribbean to South for higher learning and trade. A black middle America and back to Africa. class emerged, albeit socially isolated from white society but self-determined and Tim Anderson is a columnist and essayist productive. By the 1920’s the Harlem featured in the Columbus African American Renaissance had taken shape promoting News Journal. To reach Tim directly; contact intellectual, artistic and cultural engagement him via email: tim.anderson614@gmail.com.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

24

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BLACK HISTORY, POLITICAL REALITIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

By Eric Johnson, PhD Each year during the month of February The Black Co m munity, and to some degree the broader society, collectively participates in a superficial ritual that is rarely connected to any discernable collective effort at widespread community development. However, superficial does not necessarily imply irrelevant or useless, it more specifically often indicates surface level or lacking substance. There is no necessary contradiction between superficial and true, in fact very often both are applicable to many situations, political and otherwise. While no investigation of history inescapably leads to a lesson learned, that does not mean the effort is without merit. Complicatedly, Black history month has become little more than a yearly socio-political pastime, where superficial and random facts are used to provide a skin-deep resolution to a considerable multi-layered predicament.

The yearly visitation of Black History promises to provide potential instruction in every aspect of the lives of Black people but only if we are studious and committed to community betterment. The history of people of African descent is replete with victories and messages that are relevant to every current circumstance in which we find ourselves. Hannibal an African General from Tunisia who crossed the alps and defeated the Roman Empire in a series of battles around 200 BCE that resulted in his army controlling northern Italy for the better part of 15 years. Toussaint Louverture the former Haitian slave who led a revolt in Haiti and defeated France, the most powerful army in the world at that time. The year was 1803 and the accomplishment makes Haiti the oldest Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere.

Moreover, the Moors ruled in Europe for nearly 800 years, beginning around 700 AD to the 15 century. During that time Moors introduced paved and lamp lit streets, libraries, and universal education. In addition, there is some evidence that the Moors created more than 900 baths houses across Spain during their rule, making common the practice of daily bathing. Carter G. Woodson the father of Black history set out to chronicle the effort of Black community’s struggle both before and after slavery to educate their children. They often double taxed themselves, meaning they paid state required taxes for education for schools their children could not attend then paid volunteer community taxes to build schools they paid for that their children could attend.

The list of accomplishments for Black people in medicine, law, politics, engineering and education are simply too numerous for any one publication. However, in the effort to be seen as full citizens Black people have

sought reconciliation as members of both the Republican and Democratic parties. For nearly 80 years Black people sought political redress from the republican party with far too little results. For the last 90 years the Black community has looked to the Democratic party for full political participation, but the results have been mixed at best. Certainly, electing the first African American President is no small accomplishment but Black poverty rates increased during the Obama Presidency. From the years 1899 to 1965 it is estimated that a Black person was lynched nearly once a week. A time span that covers our membership in both political parties. It should not be ignored that the current candidates for the Presidency in the Democratic party includes a diversity that in many ways is unprecedented, but I am reminded of the old saying “Just because the ax has a wooden handle that don’t make it one of the trees.” The lessons learned from history are complex because each time period has its own context and circumstances that are often unique to the moment. Therefore, Black history month is not simply a time to say because this happened that could happen.

The point here is; any progress in the struggle to see a better day has and always will be the result of Black people’s efforts.

The political reality of Black people today and any other day in the future will always be connected to the belief we have in our own ability to change our circumstances.

The history of Black people informs us that there is no situation in which we find ourselves that we can not change. Black history month is less productive when we utilize it as a nostalgic tool to examine times gone by and more productive when we use history to feed the imagination in way to productively impact the future. Our current political and social reality is best addressed

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

25

when we use Black history as tool to adjust current conditions with informed methods of progress development. There have been those that came before who accomplished a lot more with considerably less resources.

The struggle continues not because we have made no progress, it continues because we operate in a political system that constantly generates inequality. We must be diligent in our efforts to run the race and pass the baton. Any progress we experience is forever in peril and every moment we spend in comfort escalates the threat to succeeding generations. Our path to progress is cemented with the coagulated blood of those who came before. Our political realities are less clear when we lose focus on the fact that we are solely responsible for the what happens in our communities. The African proverb “ The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people” can not be more appropriate. We should not advocate Black History Month for some collective narcissistic effort to make ourselves feel good, it should be a tool that we use to assess our current reality and inform our collective trajectory. It should not be unstated that the struggle also continues in part because we tend to not learn from the past but instead subscribe to a shared twopart delusion. The first part of the delusion is that we are better off then we are, and the second is that there is little we can do to change our reality, both are unequivocally untrue. Black History month provides annual opportunity to assess the meaning of the struggle and a measurement of its progress.

While on occasion the process may appear to be superficial, it is never useless, irrelevant or meaningless. We move forward because the struggle continues…

Dr. Eric L. Johnson currently serves as the Chief Consultant with Strategies to Succeed and he 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 American • February 2019

EDUCATION MOVING FORWARD TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE

By Marian Wright Edelman When 26-year-old Stockton, California councilmember Michael Tubbs was elected in 2016 as Stockton’s first Black mayor, its youngest mayor ever, and the youngest mayor in U.S. history of a city with a population of at least 100,000, he had a mission to make positive change in his hometown. Last year the city made progress towards a key goal: reducing gun violence. Stockton police reported 40 percent fewer homicides and 31 percent fewer shootings between 2017 and 2018 and said increased police resources and community involvement are making a difference. Mayor Tubbs shared his thanks in a social media post: “The murder of my cousin is what brought me back to Stockton after college and I’ve spent the last 6 years as an elected official focused on reducing shootings and homicides and making our community safer…I want to thank Stockton Police Department, the Office of Violence Prevention and community partners like Friends Outside, Fathers & Families of San Joaquin and Advance Peace for the amazing work they did in 2018.” He added: “Let’s continue in 2019.”

Stockton isn’t the only place making progress on gun violence. Across our nation, state leaders have responded to our children’s cries and advanced common sense gun violence prevention measures to keep them safe. Last year more than half of all states passed at least one gun violence prevention measure:

Eleven states enacted laws to keep

guns out of the hands of those

convicted of domestic abuse.

Nine states banned bump stocks or

strengthened existing bans.

Eight states and D.C. enacted

Extreme Risk Protection Order

laws which empower families

and law enforcement

officers to temporarily limit gun

access for those who pose a danger

to themselves or others.

Seven states added new background

check requirements or strengthened

existing requirements. In total,

20 states and D.C. currently extend

background checks beyond

federal requirements.

The majority of these laws were enacted in the months after the Parkland shooting—a testament to the courageous children and youths who organized and demanded leaders protect children, not guns.

There have also been signs of positive progress at the federal level. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

(ATF) issued a ban on bump stocks which will take effect on March 26 and remove these dangerous devices which can be attached to semiautomatic rifles to mimic machine guns. Bump stocks were used by the gunman who killed 58 people at a Las Vegas country music concert in 2017. The ban prohibits future sales of bump stocks and requires current bump stock owners to destroy the devices or turn them in.

The midterm elections ushered a “Gun Sense” majority into Congress and established gun violence prevention as a national moral imperative and top legislative priority. Most notably, on January 8 Congress introduced The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R.8) which would require universal background checks for all gun sales, not just sales by licensed gun dealers, which is what current law requires. In the most recent Quinnipiac University poll, 92 percent of American voters supported these checks. This bill is a critical step towards keeping guns out of the hands of those who would use them to harm our children. While background checks don’t prevent legal gun purchases, they could prevent child and teen gun deaths.

H.R.8 was introduced on the eighth anniversary of the mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona that killed six people and injured 13 others, including Rep. Gabby Giffords (DAZ), and Rep. Giffords joined the members of Congress at the bill’s introduction. In a statement she said: “Last year millions of Americans spoke up, marched, and voted for new leaders who would make a safer future for all families a priority. Now, for the first time in decades, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives are coming together to take action. Congress will be silent no more. Regardless of party, we

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

26

must fight to stop this heartbreaking public safety threat from becoming a new normal, and we must do it together. The introduction of the bipartisan background checks bill in the House today marks a critical first step toward strengthening America’s gun laws and making our country a better place to live, work, study, worship and play. When lives are at stake, we make progress by never giving up.”

In 2017, 3,410 children and teens were killed with a gun. How many more senseless child and teen deaths will we allow before we enact common sense gun safety measures? While we are encouraged by these modest first steps, the fact that more preschoolers were killed by guns in 2017 than law enforcement officers in the line of duty reinforces that this is still an urgent crisis and we still have a long way to go. Every 2 hours and 48 minutes we fail to act, a child or teen is killed with a gun. We cannot afford to wait—our children’s lives are at stake. We must continue making progress and never give up. All of us must stand up and demand our elected officials pass H.R.8 with urgency and act to keep the momentum going. Every child and every person should be able to walk our nation’s streets without fear. With the anniversary of the tragedy in Parkland only a few weeks away let’s show our children they can finally count on us to protect them not guns.

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

For more information go to www. childrensdefense.org.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

Come Home to a

GREAT RATE!

Great Home.

Great Life.

MYOHIOHOME .ORG OHIO HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

Bank local with Heartland and we’ll give you a competitive rate and a quick, local decision.

Financing homes with as little as

$0 down

A great life starts with a great foundation. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency believes that includes owning the home of your dreams.

All mortgage applications are subject to credit review and approval. Actual rates may vary based on credit history.

Loans with a loan-to-value ratio over 80% may require mortgage insurance.

With programs like Your Choice! Down Payment Assistance designed to help with the financial burden of purchasing a home, that dream can become a reality.

Heartland.Bank

For more information and eligibility requirements visit www.myohiohome.org or speak with your lender or real estate agent today.

Proudly serving Central Ohio since 1911

#FeelGoodBanking Member FDIC

NMLS# 440231

Equal Housing Lender

57 E Main Street Columbus OH 43215 toll free 888.362.6432 fax 614.644.5393 The Ohio Housing Finance Agency is an Equal Opportunity Housing entity. Loans are available on a fair and equal basis regardless of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, military status, disability or ancestry. Please visit www.ohiohome.org for more information.

African American Journal Ad Heartland Bank November 20, 2018 2:57 PM

1/4 Page 5” x 8.25” CMYK

Contact Jonathan Heberline (614) 392-5156 x1025

Honoring the legacy of

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MARTIN LUTHER KING BRANCH 1467 E. Long St. Hours of Service Monday through Thursday – 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday and Saturday – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday – 1 to 5 p.m.

23 Locations Serving Franklin County

columbuslibrary.org

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

27

|

614-645-2275

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

Take the next step to homeownership with our Community Home Loan Buying a home is one of the biggest financial commitments you’ll ever undertake. Let our team of experts help guide you along the way.

State Bank has been a trusted community banking partner since 1902. Contact JacQui or Dan today and see why so many homeowners choose State Bank for their financial needs.

JacQuelon C. Wilson Community Development Mortgage Loan Originator C 419.508.0806 NMLS 1638079 JacQui.Wilson@YourStateBank.com

Daniel R. Prond Community Development Residential Sales Team Manager P 614.760.9841 NMLS 608043 Daniel.Prond@YourStateBank.com

YourStateBank.com

4080 W. Dublin-Granville Road Dublin, OH 43017 94 Granville Street Gahanna, OH 43230

Commercial . Mortgage . Private Banking

Subject to credit approval.

COTA’s proud to celebrate Black History Month

@COTAbus | cota.com

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

28

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

By Ray Miller Barracoon - The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”

Good Kids, Bad City - A Story of Race and Wrongful Conviction in America

By Kyle Swenson

By Zora Neale Hurston In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside of Mobile, interview eighty-sixyear-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men and women, and children transported from Africa, to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only perse to tell the story.

Hurston later returned in 1931 and spent three months there talking in dept to Cudjo about the details of his life. Based on those interviews, featuring Cudjo’s unique vernacular, and written from Hurston’s perspective with the compassion and singular style that have made her one of the preeminent American authors of the 20th century, Barraccon masterfully illustrates the tragedy of slavery and of one life forever defined by it.

In the early 1970s, three African American men, Wiley Bridgeman, Kwame Ajamu, and Rickey Jackson were accused and convicted of the brutal robbery and murder of a man outside of a convenience store in Cleveland, Ohio.

The prosecution’s case, which resulted in a combined 106 years in prison for the three men, rested on the more-thanquestionable testimony of a pre-teen, Ed Vernon.

The actual murderer was never found.

Almost four decades later, Vernon recanted his testimony, and Wiley, Kwame, and Rickey were released. But while their exoneration may have ended one of American history’s most disgraceful miscarriages of justice, the corruption and decay of the city responsible for their imprionment remain on trial.

Trevor Noah: Born A Crime

By Trevor Noah

Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

By Ibram X. Kendi

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. He uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to drive this history: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis.As Kendi shows, racist ideas did not arise from ignorance or hatred. They were created to justify and rationalize deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and the nation’s racial inequities.

Stamped From the Beginning is the winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction, a New York Times Bestseller, a Washington Post Bestseller, a finalist for Best Books of the Year by the Boston Globe and numerous others.

Uncivil Warriors - The Lawyers’ Civil War

By Peter Charles Hoffer Comprehensive in coverage, Uncivil Warriors’ focus on the central role of lawyers and the law in America’s worst conflict will transform how we think about the Civil War itself.

Many of the political leaders of both the North and the South were lawyers, including Abraham Lincoln, who found themselves at the center of this violent maelstrom.

For these men, as for their countrymen in the years following the conflict, the sacrifices of the war gave legitimacy to new kinds of laws defining citizenship and civil rights. The eminent legal historian Peter Charles Hoffer’s Uncivil Warriors focuses on these lawyers’ civil war: on the legal professionals who plotted the course of the war from seats of power, the scenes of battle, and the home front. Both the North and the South had their complement of lawyers, and Hoffer provides coverage of each side’s leading lawyers. In positions of leadership, they struggled to make sense of the conflict, and in the course of that struggle, began to glimpse of new world of law.

Between The World and Me

By Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me is TaNehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward. Between the World and Me is a #1 New York Times Bestseller, National Book Award Winner, NAACP Image Award Winner, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist

29

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

10

95

75

25 5 0

10

95

75

25 5 0

FCCS_Advertising-5X7_Volunteer-Mentor_Bsktbl-1 Wednesday, October 10, 2018 3:45:22 PM

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • February 20192015 American News Journal • February

30

POLITICS

JUSTICE MELODY STEWART MAKES HISTORY ON OHIO SUPREME COURT

By Clare Roth After taking the bench early in January, Justice Melody Stewart will be ceremonially sworn in to the Ohio Supreme Court on the 31st.

Stewart previously served as a judge on Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals.

Other hats she’s worn include a professor of law at Cleveland Marshall, a music major at the University of Cincinnati, and a Ph.D. in Case Western Reserve University’s Social Sciences school. She says the variety of her background influences her actions behind the bench.

“I consider myself a lifelong learner, so the more you learn about different things, I think the better informed your decisions are,” Stewart says.

Stewart takes that circumspect, professorial approach to thinking about the influence she possesses as a judge.

“Every case that’s in front of me is the most important case that’s in front of me,” Stewart says. “Because the decisions we make are going to affect people’s lives: impact them directly from that decision, but then impact globally going forward on people in similarly situated situations.”

Statistics from the American Bar Association show that as of 2018, only 36 percent of lawyers are women, and only 5 percent are

African American. That means those making decisions in the judicial system often don’t reflect the demographics of the communities they exist in.

Stewart says that can create a gap.

“There currently is the appearance of impropriety at times, or a lack of confidence, in the judicial system, if it appears that the system doesn’t treat certain groups fairly,” she says.

Stewart says better representation in the judicial system on every level can be one step towards building that trust.

“It’s not necessarily always tied to ethnic

background, it’s applied to socioeconomic status, it’s appled to educational background,it can be applied to a lot of different things,” she says. “So I believe in a great deal of diversity in every aspect of our life.”

And she recognizes her own role in that.

In November, she became the first AfricanAmerican woman to be elected to the state’s highest court.

“For me, being the sole African American on the court,” Stewart says, “it is probably important for a lot of students to see that, ‘That is a job I too can have one day.’”

Article from Radio.WOSU.org

CORY BOOKER ANNOUNCES 2020 RUN

Photo by Dailybeast.com

By Nick Corasaniti & Shane Goldmacher Senator Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark who has projected an upbeat political presence at a deeply polarized time, entered the 2020 race for president on Friday, February 1, embarking on a campaign to become the second black president in American history.

Mr. Booker, in a morning email sent to supporters, drew on the spirit of the civil rights movement as he laid out his vision for a country that will “channel our common pain back into our common purpose.”

“The history of our nation is defined by collective action; by interwoven destinies of slaves and abolitionists; of those born here and those who chose America as home; of those who took up arms to defend our country, and those who linked arms to challenge and change it,” Mr. Booker said in an accompanying video.

He announced his candidacy on the first day of Black History Month and planned to spend the morning offering his first three media interviews to national radio shows anchored by black and Latino hosts.

“We’ve got to get away from reflexive

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

31

partisanship,” Mr. Booker said on the Joe Madison radio show.

He is scheduled to appear on the television show “The View” with his mother in the audience.

Mr. Booker ’s announcement had long been anticipated. He was among the most conspicuous campaigners for other Democrats during the 2018 midterm election, making 39 trips to 24 states as he honed a central message — that this was a “moral moment in America” — that is likely to frame his future critiques of the Trump administration.

Mr. Booker’s gift for idealistic oratory made him an in-demand surrogate throughout his career and will likely help set him apart from the growing Democratic field.

But even with his unique mix of soaring crescendos and soft-spoken anecdotes, his unbridled optimism and appeals across party lines could fall flat in a Democratic electorate energized by seething anger toward President Trump and his agenda. Mr. Booker also has a lengthy record of moderate, pro-business stances that could be toxic for the party’s ascendant progressive wing.

Continued on Page 32

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

POLITICS Continued from Page 33

For example, he defended the investment firm Bain Capital against attacks from the Obama campaign during the 2012 presidential election, and he had a chummy relationship with Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, for most of his tenure.

And his continued embrace of charter schools, long a favorite of wealthy donors but currently out of favor among the Democratic grass roots, could create still more problems.

Mr. Booker, 49, enters the most diverse presidential primary field in history. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Tulsi Gabbard have officially announced their candidacies.

Julián Castro, the former Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Barack Obama, and Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., have also announced bids.

With Ms. Harris announcing her candidacy last month, Mr. Booker’s entry amounts to a presidential first: offering black voters, who have been crucial in determining the last two Democratic nominees, a choice between two black candidates as well as other contenders.

Numerous other Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders, former Representative Beto O’Rourke and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., are also mulling runs.

In announcing his bid for president, Mr. Booker is seeking to fulfill the promise that many have seen in his future for two decades, ever since he moved from Yale Law School to the blighted Brick Towers of Newark, the symbolic launching pad for his career as an inner-city politician.

His first electoral victory was for the City Council in Newark, ousting an incumbent Democrat. He failed in his first bid for mayor, in 2002, against another entrenched Democrat, Sharpe James. But the loss made Mr. Booker famous as he raised millions of dollars, and his political profile, in a race that drew national attention.

A documentary about his failed run, “Street Fight,” was nominated for an Oscar. Mr. Booker won the mayoralty four years later when Mr. James, who would eventually land in federal prison on charges of fraud, opted against a rematch.

As mayor, Mr. Booker crafted celebrity status through his early adoption of Twitter. He drew attention and money to the struggling city, including a $100 million check from Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, to be injected into Newark’s schools. The gift was announced with much fanfare on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” but brought mixed results to the troubled school system.

Mr. Booker’s connections to financial titans, on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, have also lifted him throughout his career, generating money for campaigns and for the

city he ran. Those connections could power a presidential bid: One California donor, Steve Phillips, created a super PAC with a goal to raise $10 million in the coming months to support Mr. Booker’s bid — even before he announced his candidacy.

But in a Democratic Party where a backlash to the sway of billionaires and financiers is strong, Mr. Booker’s ties to both Wall Street and Silicon Valley risk harming his campaign as much as helping it.

His campaign, which will be called “Cory 2020,” said it would not accept contributions from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists.

His campaign also said it would oppose any supportive super PAC, even though Mr. Phillips’s already exists.

For all the attention drawn to Newark by Mr. Booker’s national celebrity, recovery in the city has been mixed. Though crime is currently on a downward trend and development is booming, murders and robberies were on the rise when Mr. Booker left office in 2013.

In the Senate, Mr. Booker has been one of the most aggressive critics of the Trump administration, breaking with Senate precedent and testifying against the nomination of a fellow senator, Jeff Sessions, for attorney general. He also vigorously criticized a top Trump official, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, for concealing a racist comment made by Mr. Trump.

Using his perch on the Judiciary Committee, he has been a forceful opposing voice to many of Mr. Trump’s key nominations, releasing confidential emails during the confirmation hearing of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and, more recently, questioning the attorney general nominee William P. Barr’s record and past statements on race and criminal justice.

Having served in the Senate since 2013, Mr. Booker has been around long enough to earn a spot on some powerful committees, but he has a relatively thin record of signature

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

32

legislative accomplishments. He did notch a major victory in co-sponsoring and pushing for a bipartisan criminal justice bill signed by Mr. Trump at the end of 2018, capping a long effort of advocating criminal justice reform in the Senate.

For more than a decade, Mr. Booker has been carefully cultivating a national presence, particularly through social media. At times whimsical, at others effusive and reflective, Mr. Booker was one of the first politicians to fully embrace the direct reach of social media, tweeting out direct responses to Newark residents complaining of potholes and broken heaters. Stories of him shoveling out residents of Newark in snowstorms, rescuing a shivering dog or darting into a burning building to save his neighbor went viral. He was invited to the annual South

by Southwest festival in Austin in 2012 to pontificate about Twitter, and said he joined the social media network thanks to a tip from the actor Ashton Kutcher.

Though he has been courting political operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire for months, and was one of the first potential candidates to visit either state last year, Mr. Booker will likely focus heavily on South Carolina and other southeastern states with large black voting populations.

His first campaign events as a candidate will be a two-day swing through Iowa on Feb. 8, followed by two days in South Carolina.

He plans to visit New Hampshire over Presidents’ Day weekend.

Though his announcement video was punctuated by the percussive beats of a drum line, Mr. Booker, who visited a church in Newark Thursday night to pray before his announcement, said that he hadn’t quite settled on a campaign theme song, though Kirk Franklin’s “Stand” had been in heavy rotation.

“This last week, leading up to this day,” Mr. Booker said on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “All I’ve been listening to is gospel.”

Story from NYTimes.com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

KAMALA HARRIS ANNOUNCES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

By Maeve Reston Kamala Harris officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign Sunday in her birthplace of Oakland, promising to be a fighter “for the people” and stating that it is time to restore what she views as the loss of American values under President Donald Trump.

“We are here because the American Dream and our American democracy are under attack and on the line like never before,” the California senator said. “We are here at this moment in time because we must answer a fundamental question. Who are we? Who are we as Americans? So, let’s answer that question to the world and each other right here and right now. America: we are better than this.”

In an allusion to Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric, his policies at the border, and his decision to shut down the government in a failed attempt to get his wall, Harris said that “people in power are trying to convince us that the villain in our American story is each other.”

“But that is not our story. That is not who we are. That is not our America,” Harris said without mentioning Trump’s name. “The United States of America is not about us versus them ... I’m running to be a President of the people, by the people, for all the people.”

“If I have the honor of being your president, I will tell you this: I am not perfect. Lord knows, I am not perfect,” she said. “But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect.

I will lead with integrity. And I will speak the truth.”

She did not dwell on her own potential for a history-making candidacy with her background as a black woman seeking the Democratic nomination.

Instead she focused on the need for unity at a time when the nation is deeply polarized, arguing that while Americans have differences in ideology, race, and ethnicity, they should unite to tackle their common challenges.

Speaking before a giant American flag in front of Oakland’s City Hall, Harris was surrounded by giant screens that alternated images of the crowd with a picture of her campaign logo—”Kamala Harris for the People”—and a request that supporters text “Fearless” to a campaign number in order to show their support.

“My heart is full right now,” she said as she came on stage. “I am so proud to be a daughter of Oakland California,” she said referencing the Civil Rights activism of her parents -- immigrants from India and Jamaica who came in “pursuit of a dream.” “The fight for justice is everyone’s responsibility.”

Harris’ campaign held the rally at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Harris spent her childhood with her mother and sister in Berkeley. The family moved in her middle and high school years to Montreal after her mother got a medical research job there, but many of the speakers made allusions to her Oakland roots.

Among them was Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who said she decided to endorse the California senator because “she has the most incredible strong character.”

In an interview with CNN before the rally, Schaaf, who shares the same political consultants as the California senator, called Harris “the right candidate for this moment in American history.”

“Oakland is a place that definitely tests people,” Schaaf said. “But it also has the right values, values that honor diversity... When you come up in Oakland, you’re a fighter, and you’re a fighter for the right things.”

Early in her speech Sunday, Harris directly addressed some of the criticism she has faced from progressives about her record as district attorney of San Francisco and later attorney general of California.

As she did on her book tour in early January, Harris sought to introduce her record to voters as that of a “progressive prosecutor,” one who decided that she could do more to fix injustices, particularly against people of color, from within the system.

A week after facing a brutal dissembling of her record in a New York Times op-ed piece

by University of San Francisco associate law professor Lara Bazelon, who is the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent, Harris renewed her efforts to frame herself as someone who tried to fight for a “more fair criminal justice system” from within.

Harris noted that she began her career as a young prosecutor blocks from the spot where she was announcing her presidential campaign (and that it was there, at the Alameda County Courthouse, where she first spoke the words -- “Kamala Harris, for the people” -- words that are now her 2020 slogan).

“I knew our criminal justice system was deeply flawed,” she said. “I knew that the people in our society who are most often targeted by predators are also most often the voiceless and vulnerable. And I believed then as I do now, that no one should be left to fight alone.”

Despite recent passage of criminal justice reform legislation, she said the changes have come too slowly.

33

“Let’s speak the truth that too many unarmed black men and women are killed in America.

Too many black and brown Americans are locked up. From mass incarceration to cash bail to policing, our criminal justice system needs drastic repair.”

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, she also said that she prosecuted sexual assault cases as “a fight not just against predators, but a fight against silence and stigma.”

Referencing her work on recidivism, she said that “at a time when prevention and redemption were not in the vocabulary or mindset of most district attorneys. We created an initiative to get skills and job training instead of jail time for young people arrested for drugs.”

After Harris became attorney general of California, many criminal justice advocates in the state were disappointed that she did not take a more active role to advocate for ballot measures and legislation changing California’s three strikes law, even though she had been a strong critic of the harsh sentencing penalties before she was elected.

She also took heat for saying that she would defend California’s death penalty even though she was personally opposed to it.

Earlier in her career in 2004, Harris faced a strong blowback when she decided not to seek the death penalty for the killer of San Francisco police officer Isaac Espinoza.

While focusing on her plans for middle class tax credits and Medicare-for-All on Sunday, Harris was sharply critical of the Trump administration’s record in terms of helping average Americans and people of color.

“When American families are barely living paycheck to paycheck, what is this administration’s response?” the California senator asked. “Their response is to try to take away health care from millions of families. Their response is to give away a trillion dollars to the biggest corporations in this country. And their response is to blame immigrants as the source of all our problems.”

She added that there is a whole generation of Americans “living with the sinking fear that they won’t do as well as their parents.”

Article from CNN.com

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

BUSINESS THE RICHES OF ANCIENT BABYLON

By Darren Lundy, MBA Many years ago, my father introduced me to the word “Sankofa.” He explained it to me as follows: It expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present in order to make positive progress. He was teaching me the importance of knowing your history.

As an African descendent, I am truly grateful to learn about many of the contributions made by my ancestors throughout history. Black history month is an opportunity to showcase many of the accomplishments made by African Americans such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s renowned speech “I have a dream” or Carter G. Woodson’s perspective on the mis-education of the negro. I am very proud of the progress we have made since coming to American. In addition to the benefits from contributions made by Africans thousands of years ago. This great history has also given me the confidence, courage, and determination to persevere when faced with life’s challenges. Subsequently, I have decided to share a piece of ancient African history which has inspired and motivated me to continue pursuing my dreams of Wealth Management.

After the 2008, financial meltdown, I was abruptly let go from one of the major financial employers. If you recall, jobs were hard to find, especially in the financial services arena.

Thereafter, I pursued opportunities unrelated to my passion and profession. It was a situation of getting knocked off the horse and trying to decide whether or not to get back on it. My entrepreneurial spirit led me to start a cookie business. After approximately four years, I began wondering if I had made a mistake not getting back into the investment business (back on the horse).

Throughout my career, I have acquired a considerable amount of knowledge in the area of money and investing. Most of the information came from books I read in college or was provided while working in the financial services industry. Many of the authors were of European descent. I had not had the privilege of reading anything on finance or wealth creation written by someone of African ancestry. During an audition to appear on the game show Family Feud with Steve Harvey, my son found a book that someone left behind in the auditorium. It would turn out to be one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. The title was “The Richest Man in Babylon.” After I read The Richest Man in Babylon, I was blown away by what was revealed to me. What was so fascinating about this book was that although

it was published in 1926, the information obtained to write this magnificent book was discovered during British excavations in ancient Babylon which existed over 8000 years ago. Being a student of both history and finance, I began to internalize the contents of this book; the realization was truly amazing.

While many have attempted to rewrite history, my extensive reading reminds me of a powerful quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “truth crushed to the ground will rise.”

used to create your estate.

I was intrigued by the depiction of Babylon being a paradise on earth. Its’ treasures of gold and jewels were abundant. There was no city more glamorous. Babylon was located 60 miles south of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, the ancient city served for nearly two millennia as a center of Mesopotamian civilization. This area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew. It became the wealthiest city of the ancient world because its citizens were the richest people of their time. Some of you may remember the name Babylon, it is often referenced in the Bible. The latitude is about 30 degrees above the equator. Babylon was located in Africa 8000 years ago, which would make its inhabitants Africans.

Ironically after World War I, this area was transformed into what is now the Middle East.

Knowledge truly is power! The Richest Man in Babylon gave me insight into my history.

I was inspired and regained my confidence, courage, and determination and got back on the horse. Failure is only when you give up.

I am now successfully back in the financial arena doing what I love, teaching others and helping others to realize their financial goals.

I have a responsibility to share my knowledge and expertise with others. We were born to be rich; it is our inalienable right! Our ancestors left this valuable information for us and we have a responsibility to reclaim it. We just have to have access to the right information.

True history is very important. Always remember “Sankofa,” reaching back to move forward. I highly recommend this book, it changed my life and it may forever change yours. Oh, by the way, we never did make it onto Family Feud.

Many of the financial principles use today came from this area. Our African ancestors knew the importance of documenting these principles so they were transcribed onto clay tablets. Information on the use of interest, the art of acquiring and saving money and how to become wealthy were outlined on these tablets. I am very proud to know that many of the financial principles used today came from my ancestors. Below are some highlights from The Richest Man in Babylon: First and foremost, we must realize “A Part of All You Earn Is Yours to Keep,” a minimum of 10% of what we earn must be

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2019

34

The Seven Steps of Wealth Creation • START THY PURSE TO FATTENING • CONTROL THY EXPENDITURES • MAKE THY GOLD MULTIPLY • GUARD THY TREASURE FROM LOSS • MAKE OF THY DWELLING A PROFITABLE INVESTMENT • INSURE A FUTURE INCOME • INCREASE THY ABILITY TO EARN

Give us a call for a complimentary consultation.

Darren is a Columbus, Ohio native who has earned degrees in Business, Accounting, and an MBA. He has over twenty-five (25) years’ experience in financial services. The Ohio Company, First Union Securities, and Merrill Lynch were instrumental in his career prior to starting his own Wealth Management Firm, Money Consciousness LLC, (614) 776-4311. He holds his Series 65 and Life and Health licenses. Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Advisors, LLC an SEC registered investment advisor.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION: AVOID SCAM ARTIST MASQUERADING AS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

By Cecil Jones, MBA Education of any type takes finances, time and dedication.

As a mentor of many technology professionals, I am often asked “What education is good for me?” The answer depends upon what you want to do after receiving that degree or certification. There are some educational ‘shortcuts’ that you want to avoid. Yes, there are schools that are just scam artists. They advertise that you can make a lot of money with a 30, 90 day or 180 day certificate or a boot camp. Just pay them a position. We give you a list of companies that you then must figure out how to get a tens of thousands of $dollars$. position there.

Avoid Scam Schools Yes, there are some good technology boot camps that have direct relationships with good corporations and organizations. Their educational offerings are intense. In addition to several hours in schools each day, there is homework, after school hours. The attempt is to get you immersed in the technology (often web application development) and get you developing web and mobile (cellphone/ tablet) applications quickly. This educational method works for some. Obviously, you must have the time and you are not currently working. Some of these organizations charge over $10,000 for their short programs. Before you sign anything, ask to visit one of their current classes. Ask to talk with some of the people they have placed in corporations or other organizations.

The good news is that there are a few of these organizations that are indeed what they say; that is, they have aggressive, immersive programs and they work with corporations to quickly place students into jobs that are good positions. HOWEVER, there are a LOT of educational groups whose offering is really how to take your money and give you little for it.

Some of the shady schools pay their Admission counselors by commission.

They may call it bonuses, but it is really a commission job. When you are interviewed by the Admission counselor ask them how long they have been with the organization.

Many of these type of schools have very high turnover of employees (teachers and admission counselors). The high turnover is often directly due to the shady tactics used to attract and keep students. Ask them whether they are paid by commission (bonus).

Consider this conversation that could occur from a shady Admissions counselor at a shady school. “You can get loans to pay us and also have money left over to buy a car and get an apartment. Just sign right here.

I have several other students to get into our program, so if you could sign, we will get your money process started”. What the Admission counselor did not say may have been: ‘Our student dropout rate is 80%.

As soon as you stop attending classes, you must begin payment on this $20,000 loan.

We don’t really help with placing you into

Certifications There are certifications that add to your ability to get a position or get promoted if you currently have a position. Know whether you receive the certification by taking a few courses or whether there is an examination that you must take. For most well know certifications where there is an examination, there are short sample versions of the examination (free) that are online. You can look at those exams to see the difficulty level.

Degrees offer longer term versatility. For many positions, and particularly management positions, a bachelor’s degree is often required to obtain an interview.

Please earn a college degree if your aspirations are to lead in any organization.

You know that many employers will not look at your resume and will not bring you in as a candidate for a management position, if you do not have a degree. It is a screening mechanism that is almost universal (almost). Unless one is well known in the profession (author, in the media, etc.), a degree is needed for many professional and managerial positions.

Computer technology related degrees include Computer Science, Information Technology, Management Information Systems and other disciplines. Majors and focus areas include web application development, database development, data analytics, business information intelligence, information security, telecommunications and other areas.

Avoid the Scam

Yes, you must do your own investigation to ensure that you are not throwing your money away. Imagine spending 3 to 6 months of your time and receiving a notice that you Data Analytics provides certifications via owe $20,000 to a bank or to government examinations. The Project Management for a certificate that will help in securing a Institute provides certifications (www.pmi. position. How upset would you be? org). A certification in Information Security will amplify and support the career of an IT Security Analyst, IT Risk Management, The purpose of this column is to provide IT Project Manager and Web Application useful information and knowledge that you developer (yes, web developers absolutely can use, today. If you have a technology must be aware of security). With the question (how to get something done, what increasing amount of intense organized business, process or software solution might hacking, anyone who develops applications be available for your situation, how to secure to be placed on a website accessible by the that technology position, etc.), please email public must understand web security risks. the question or comment to the email address One of the more popular exams in this area Admin@Accelerationservices.net or call 614is the CISSP, Certified Informational Systems 726-1925 for a quick response.

Security Professional (www.isc2.org/cissp/ default.aspx). There are many different Help Us to Help You certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, the Institute for Certification of Computing The purpose of this column is to provide Professionals and many other certifications useful information and knowledge that you from other organizations for information can use, today. If you have a technology technology professionals. question (how to get something done, what business, process or software solution might Degrees be available for your situation, how to secure that technology position, etc.), please email Certifications also can help individuals who the question or comment to the email address may have the following profile and life Admin@Accelerationservices.net for a quick experience – several years of experience response. and no college degree. A certification for someone in that profile can show that while People, Process and Technology the person does not have a degree, they have documented and tested knowledge of the Are you looking for a technology networking standards in the profession and dedication to group to help you get smarter? What new the career interest. technology or process have you learned this month? Need advice on how to look for that Another group of people that are aided by technology position? Are you considering certifications are those with degrees, newly technology education (courses, certificates or graduated, but have little or no experience. degrees) and need information? Do you have This combination shows a broad background a business, process, project management, or technology question? Please from college studies and a deep background personnel let me know. admin@accelerationservices.net represented by studying for the certification. Cecil Jones MBA, ABD, PMP, CCP, SCPM, FLMI, Lean Professional, 614-726-1925.

35

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

HISTORY BISHOP MCKINLEY YOUNG: SENIOR BISHOP OF THE A.M.E. CHURCH

By Rodney Blount, Jr., MA February marks Black History Month in the United States and Canada. We should study and celebrate black history every day. However, February is a time of renewed interest in the subject among a wider audience and it encourages everyone to reflect on the critical contributions of people of African descent in America and around the world. Black History Month has its origins from “Negro History Week” created in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. “Negro History Week” occurred during the second week in February because it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14).

The emphasis of the week and its subsequent movement was to implement the teaching of history of African Americans in American schools. “Negro History Week” quickly gained popularity and by February 1969, black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University advocated for Black History Month. Black History Month has since been adopted all across the nation and beyond as Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom also share this celebration. The late Bishop McKinley Young was an advocate of African American history and he also became a historical figure. At the time of his death, he was the senior bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the culmination of decades of spiritual and community service.

Senior Bishop McKinley Young was born on November 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Rev. Lonnie C. Young and Nellie Cummings Young. His father was a pastor in the Sixth Episcopal District and his mother was a homemaker. He had two younger brothers and a sister: Lonnie, Rev. Roland, and Nellie Young. Bishop Young attended Atlanta public schools and graduated from David T. Howard High School in 1962. He attended Morris Brown College and while a student he received his first assignment to Fountain Temple A.M.E. Church in Clarkston, Georgia. Young graduated from Morris Brown in 1966 and in 1968, attended his first General Conference as the Connectional President of the Richard Allen Youth Council. In 1965, Senior Bishop Young met Dorothy Jackson at the Charles Street A.M.E. Church in Boston while he was a seminarian at Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, MA. They married September 23, 1967 where they began their ministry together at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Providence, Rhode Island. The Youngs moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Bishop Young attended the University of Chicago of Divinity School.

Bishop McKinley Young served as the pastor of several African Methodist Episcopal churches in the Chicago metro area before being appointed by Bishop Frederick H.

Talbot to be the Senior Pastor of Big Bethel A.M.E. Church in Atlanta in 1980. He served Big Bethel from 1980 to 1992 and the congregation grew to over 1,500 members.

Under his leadership, major repairs and upgrades were made at Big Bethel. In 1990, the late Nelson Mandela, recently released from 27 years of political imprisonment, spoke at Big Bethel as part of U.S. tour to raise money for the African National Congress.

In 1992, Bishop Young was elected and consecrated the 109th Bishop at the 44th Session of the General Conference of the A.M.E. Church. Bishop Young pastored churches in the 1st, 4th, and 6th Episcopal Districts being elected the 109th Bishop from Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta in 1992.

Bishop Young’s first Episcopal assignment was to the 15th District where he led in the Centennial Celebration of African Methodism in Southern Africa.

Bishop Young has provided leadership in the Ecumenical Community for over 40 years. From 1996-2000 Bishop Young served as the Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Officer for the AME Church. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, the Executive Committee of the National Council of Churches, USA, the World Methodist Council, the PanMethodist Commission, the Consultation on Church Union and the Conference of National Black Churches. Serving in the 10th District from 2000-2004, Bishop Young led the church in stabilizing Paul Quinn College which was fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

He served in the 11th District from 20042012 where Edward Waters College’s accreditation was sustained after taking SACS to Federal Court. Two million dollars was raised by the District to secure EWC’s fiscal solvency. Subsequently, the EWC Foundation was established. He focused on Christian Education, Ministerial Education, Continuing Education for Lay and Clergy and strengthening the component ministries of the District. He initiated a comprehensive voter

The Columbus African & Dayton African American - February 20192015 American News Journal • February

36

education, registration, and mobilization which included a Day at the Capitol. Under Bishop Young’s administration, the Eleventh District acquired through purchase the AME first property in Freeport, Grand Bahamas.

In 2012, Bishop McKinley Young was assigned to the Third Episcopal District which embraces churches throughout the states of Ohio, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania. He also served as Chancellor of Wilberforce University and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Payne Theological Seminary. At the 50th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bishop McKinley Young was elevated to the office of Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and reassigned to the Third Episcopal District for a second Quadrennium.

Bishop Young was involved with AME/ SADA for over 20 years and served as the Chair of the Board. He served as the President of the Council of Bishops and the General Board. He chaired the Commissions on Women In Ministry, Global Witness and Ministry, Annuity Investments and Insurance, and the Commission on Church Growth and Development. Bishop Young was also a Mason, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Iota chapter - 1964) for over 50 years, and a member of Sigma Pi Phi (Gamma Beta Boule).

Bishop Young passed away on January 16, 2019. Services were held at Wilberforce University and at Big Bethel AME Church, two institutions that he cherished. He is survived by his wife of over 50 years Dorothy Jackson; children: Karyn (Ron) YoungLowe, Deana (Julius) McAllister, Andrea (Roderick) Jones and Stephanie Lynn Young; and grandchildren: Jennifer Renee and Jessica Christina Lowe, Julius III, Colin and Dylan McAllister, Peyton, Noah, and Miles Jones. I had the privilege of meeting Bishop Young on several occasions and despite his busy schedule, he was always hospitable.

His presence commanded respect, but he remained humble and never lost the common touch. Senior Bishop Young’s dynamic leadership, sermons, fundraising, support of education and activism are a part of his honored legacy. I believe Bishop McKinley Young is the perfect person to recognize during this special month. Please take the time to learn more about this outstanding spiritual leader.

Works Cited www.legacy.com/ www.ame-church.com/ ame3.org/ Bishop McKinley Young funeral program 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.

COMMUNITYEVENTS Columbus, Ohio February 9, 2019 5th Annual Valentines Workshop at Second Baptist Church Join the Men’s Ministry of Second Baptist Church for their 5th Annual Valentines Workshop. This one-day event features a panel discussion and workshops. This year’s theme is, “How Couples Can Grow Together, and Not Apart.” The workshop is free and open to the public. For more information, call Location: Second Baptist Church Address: 186 N. 17th Street, 43203 Time: 9AM - Noon Admission: Free Website: www.SecondBaptistColumbus.com February 9, 2019 Annual Black History & Scholarship Luncheon The Columbus Realtist Association presents their annual Black History Luncheon at the Columbus Airport Marriott. The keynote speaker is G. Michael Payton, Executive Director of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Music and entertainment will be provided as well. For tickets or for more information, please call 614-881-1700.

Location: Columbus Airport Marriott Address: 1375 N Cassady Ave, 43219 Time: 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Admission: $50 Website: www.ColumbusRealtist.com

February 21, 2019 Good Kids, Bad City - Book Review and Conversation Join the Capital University Law School and the King Arts Complex for this powerful book review and discussion. Join Kyle Swenson, author of Good Kids, Bad City a true story of the longest wrongful imprisonment in the U.S. of three African American youth from Cleveland. The Honorable Judge Algenon Marbley, US District Court of Southern District of Ohio will discuss the historically significance of the book. For more information or for tickets call 614-645-5464.

Location: King Arts Complex Address: 867 Mt. Vernon Ave., 43203 Time: 7:00 PM Admission: $10 Website: www.KingArtsComplex.com February 23, 2019 From African to American 2019 - A Celebration of Dance Africa to America is a dance concert, which chronicles the evolution of African American dance from Africa to modern times. Set to music that compliments each style and era of dance. The cast includes children as young as 6 through college age, and seasoned and professional adults. For tickets or for more information, call 614365-8675.

Location: Columbus Africentric Early College Address: 3223 Allegheny Ave., 43209 Time: 7:00 PM Admission: $10-$20 Website: www.EventBrite.com/e/africa-to-america-2019

February 19, 2019 OSU - United Black World Month Keynote Address Join the Student Life Multicultural Center at The Ohio State University for their annual Black History Month Keynote address featuring Bakari Sellers, CNN political commentator and former state legislator from South Carolina. This event is free and open to the public.

February 24, 2019 Urban Strings Concert The Columbus Metropolitan Library celebrates Black History Month with a special performance by The Urban Strings Columbus Youth Orchestra. This group is made up of young students from local public and private schools in Central Ohio. Celebrate Black History month by celebrating their talents. This event is free and open to the public.

Location: The Ohio Union - Peformance Hall Address: 1739 N High Street, 43210 Time: 5:45 PM Admission: Free Website: www.MCC.OSU.edu/events-and-programs

Location: Columbus Metropolitan Library (Main Branch) Address: 96 S Grant Ave, 43215 Time: 2:00 PM Admission: Free Website: www.UrbanStrings.SqaureSpace.com

February 19, 2019 South African Choir - Ladysmith Black Mambazo Annointed “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world”

by Nelson Mandela, five-time Grammy Award-winning a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform for one-night only in Columbus, Ohio. Join them as they celebrate more than 50 years of peace, love and harmony. For tickets, visit the website below.

March 16, 2019 Scholarship Brunch The speaker for the 21st Annual Kenneth L. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund Brunch is Columbus native Brian Custer. The KLHESF Scholarship brunch is a twofold annual celebration of African American male achievement. First, we conduct a College Signing Program for seniors who have been in our Kappa League Program. Second, we offer scholarships to area students from the greater Columbus Area high schools. See the contact below for more an application and more information.

Location: The Lincoln Theatre Address: 769 E. Long Street, 43203 Time: 7:30 PM Admission: $36 Website: www.LincolnTheatreColumbus.com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

Location: Columbus Africentric Early College Auditorium Address: 3223 Allegheny Ave, Columbus, OH 43209 Time: TBA Admission: Contact for more information Contact: 1chair@sbcglobal.net

37

The Columbus & Dayton African American - February 2019

COMMUNITYEVENTS Dayton, Ohio February 8, 2019 Black History Lecture Union Institute & University is honored to host the first in a four-part series sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) entitled: Freedom Talks: Commemorating 400 Years of African American Perseverance. The kickoff of this lecture series will feature Dr. Prince Brown, Professor Emeritus, Northern Kentucky University.

Location: Union Institute & University’s Cincinnati Academic Center Address: 440 E. McMillian Street, Cincinnati 45206 Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Admission: Free Web: https://www.eventbrite.com February 9, 2019 MLK Youth Summit The City of Dayton’s Human Relations Council invites you to its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) World House Youth Summit on Saturday, February 9th! This FREE event commemorates Dr. King’s vision and includes breakout sessions, food, and music. This event is for youth ages 12 and up. The primary goals of the Summit are to (1) empower youth to explore innovative ideas for tackling social justice issues, (2) connect youth to diverse cultures ideals, and (3) promote dialogue between youth, the HRC, and other key stakeholders. This year’s topic is Understanding Social Equality.

Location: Grace United Methodist Church Address: 1001 Harvard Blvd. 45406 Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Admission: Free Web: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-house-youthFebruary 19, 2019 Business Symposium A small business symposium and networking is an event to provide entrepreneurs with a networking opportunity and resources to help their businesses thrive. Some topics to be covered are: access to capital, business planning, pros and cons of running a small business and marketing. This event is sponsored

by Woodforest National Bank.

Location: Hannah’s on Ludlow Address: 121 N. Ludlow Street 45402 Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Admission: Free Web: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dayton-small-businesssymposium-tickets-54649612462?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse February 16, 2019 Community Play The Dayton Playhouse is the venue for the encore productions of, “I Wish I Had A Daddy,” presented by Ministry Is Me, LLC. The play focuses on Amber, a young, accomplished African American woman who has failed to find success in relationships.

While totally focused on her career, she agrees to publicly discuss and process through the affects of being “daddy less.”

February 25, 2019 Speaking Contest The Rotary Club of Dayton is pleased to announce its annual Four-Way Test Speech Contest for high school students in the Dayton area. The purpose of the Four-Way Test Speech Contest is to foster ethics in everyday life, as well as, in business. Also, the contest is designed to introduce students to the Rotary principles of service, and to involve local Rotary Clubs with youth within our communities. Monetary awards are provided to the top three finalists.

Location: The Dayton Rotary Club Address: Sinclair College, Conference Center, Building 12, Charity Earley Auditorium Time: Noon – 1:15 p.m.

Admission: Contact: 937-228-3331; mtyler@nccigreaterdayton.org February 23, 2019 Black History Month Presentation The Harriet Beecher Stowe House Reading Series discusses issues that make up Beecher Stowe’s legacy from the 19th century until the present day. In keeping with her legacy, the Semi-Colon Club is hosting a documentary viewing and discussion on The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. No pre-reading is necessary to join the discussion. This event is open to the public.

Location: Harriet Beecher Stowe House Address: 2950 Gilbert Street, Cincinnati 45206 Time: Noon – 2 p.m.

Admission: Free for Members; $5 suggested donation for non-members Web: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/semi-colon-club-the-blackpanthers-vanguard-of-the-revolution-documentary-tickets54297098082?aff=ebdssbdestsearch March 1, 2019 10th Annual Nia Awards/Gospel Fest Join the Sinclair Community College Office of Diversity as they celebrate Black History Month with their 10th Annual Celebration of Purpose: Nia Awards/Gospel Fest. Enjoy music from the Sinclair Gospel Ensemble, Imani and other local guest performers. This event is free and open to the public, however, space is limited.

Please RSVP your attendance by calling 937-512-3883 or by visiting the website below.

Location: Sinclair College - Blair Hall Theatre Address: 444 W. Thirs Street, 45402 Time: 5:30 PM Admission: Free (Please RSVP due to space restrictions) Web: www.EventBrite.com/e/sinclair-college-10th-annual

Location: Dayton Playhouse Address: 1301 Siebenthair Ave. 45414 Time: 7 p.m.

Admission: $30-$40 Web: booking@ministryismine.com

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 call 614-826-2254 or email us at editor@columbusafricanamerican.com. Submissions are due the last Friday of each month.

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • February 20192015 American News Journal • February

38

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!

MARILYN BROWN

JOHN O’GRADY 39

KEVIN L. BOYCE

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

40

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015