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Volume 78 – Number 43
WHAT’S INSIDE Massive funds needed to save Bert’s (Page A-3) A GoFundMe page has been started to raise funds for Bert’s, the venerable jazz club owned by Bert Dearing that is scheduled to go on the auction block July 20-22 for a bid price of $700,000. Far less than needed has been raised thus far. Losing Bert’s would be a tremendous blow for Detroit, especially at a time when in many respects the city is resurging. See page A-3.
July 8-14, 2015
$5 million job training grant, …If Detroiters are serious about curbing crime perfect timing for Detroit
START SNITCHING
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
According to information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released its most recent data in June of this year, unemployment in the Detroit area has dropped dramatically between April 2014 and April 2015, from 7.8 percent to 5.1 percent. But there is a large gap between the Detroit area and Detroit proper, which is why the recent announcement of a $5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to bolster Detroit’s workforce development efforts is more than welcome news. It’s close to a blessing.
Paradise ValleyHarmonie Park transformation (Page B-1) The Carr Center, a multidisciplinary arts center, community house and cultural destination located in the Paradise Valley-Harmonie Park neighborhood, has commissioned the creation of an art installation that is making the area that much more of a destination for Detroiters and metro Detroiters.
Pastor E.L. Branch, Third New Hope Baptist Church, addresses the audience.– Jason Flowers photos
By Keith A. Owens For all of those who continue to trumpet the news that Detroit is coming back, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on all that progress that hasn’t yet arrived in Detroit outside of the downtown area.
Rewriting history (Page B-4) There are those who maintain that the Confederate flag is a symbol of White superiority. “No wonder the coward who was welcomed into Emanuel African Episcopal Church had draped himself in that heinous flag,” writes Julianne Malveaux. “No wonder racism is so intransient. No wonder the sale of Confederate paraphernalia rose with the election of President Barack Obama.”
Pastor Curtis C. Williams
Fr. Norman Paul Thomas
“If you report a crime to Crime Stoppers, no one, not us, not the police, no one will know your identity. At Crime Stoppers we are obsessive about being anonymous. Here are the precautions we take There are no caller IDs at Crime Stoppers, the 1-800 SPEAKUP number goes to a call center that is actually in Canada. They aren’t even handled in the U.S. Calls are never recorded.
Bishop James Williams II
“Callers are never asked for their name, or their phone number or any kind of identifying information. Pastors all over Detroit have been giving their word that 1 800 SPEAKUP is 100 percent anonymous,” said Broad. Added Pastor E.L. Branch: “This is important to all of us. If you won’t make it for
Pastor Darren Penson
See CURBING
CRIME page A-4
Pastor Brian Relford
At last week’s press conference when the announcement was made on the city’s east side, Eric Seleznow, deputy assistant secretary for employment and training for the US Department of Labor, joined Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Talent Investment agency Director Stephanie Comai to announce the deal that will specifically target those who have been most difficult to employ. The grant will help the city establish a new workforce initiative, which in this initial phase is expected to place 1,500 Detroiters in full-time employment, focusing on veterans, disabled, youth, returning citizens and the long-term unemployed. “Our success as a city depends on making sure all of our residents have the opportunity to participate in Detroit’s recovery,” said Mayor Duggan. “This grant will allow us to develop new strategies that have never been used before to employ our returning citizens and others and measure our results.” US Secretary of Labor Tomas E. Perez, who officially awarded the grant, said, “We cannot afford to ignore the challenges facing our young people today. We have a moral obligation to do all we can to ensure that opportunity
See GRANT page A-4
Gentrification
How it helps, but at what cost? By Steve Holsey The first apartment building I ever lived in, Cadillac Square Apartments in downtown Detroit, was basically ethnically balanced when I moved there in 1976. In fact, there may have been more Black tenants than White. It is a completely different situation now, as reported to me by a White friend who recently moved into the building. In addition to the Black tenants now being outnumbered, they mainly live on the lower floors where the rent is less. Not long ago I lived in the Lafayette Pavilion in Lafayette Park, also downtown. I moved out years ago because the rent increased to levels I could no longer afford. Since that time it,
$1.00
Patrice Young
“It is here that we can dismantle the code of silence that has had such a devastating effect. The code of silence has resulted in so many grieving families,” said John Broad, president of Crime Stoppers, at last week’s press conference when a group of Detroit religious leaders came together at the Greater Quinn AME Church in Detroit to publicly register their dismay at the rising level of violence in Detroit and to encourage Detroiters to come forward to help combat the epidemic.
Freedman’s Bank ongoing significance (Page C-1) The Freedman’s Bank 150th Anniversary Tour recently arrived at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The bank was founded shortly after the end of the Civil War. It closed in 1874, hurting the very people it was intended to help, but its significance remains.
That’s going in the right direction, but still ranks Detroit’s unemployment at twice the rate of the Detroit metropolitan area. Statewide, unemployment in Michigan dropped from 5.7 percent in March to 4.8 percent in April.
Snitching is no longer a bad word.
In the rest of Detroit, violence is still out of control and while no one really wants to say that the police are losing, it’s clear they aren’t winning. And one major reason for why is a lack of cooperation from too many of Detroit’s residents who are either afraid to report crimes to the police, or who flatout don’t trust the police and would prefer to honor a blood-drenched code of silence that is costing more and more Detroiters their lives.
In July 2009, the unemployment rate in Detroit was 27.8 percent. By April of this year, according to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, unemployment in Detroit dropped from 11.7 percent in March to 10.2 percent in April.
See GENTRIFICATION page A-4
news Weather: 7-day forecast
July 8-14, 2015
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE Wed.
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Thu.
71 / 59
AM Thunderstorms
Fri.
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Sat.
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Sun.
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Scattered Thunderstorms
Mon.
Construction Traffic Tips:
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• Keep a safe distance between your vehicle and traffic barriers, trucks, construction equipment, workers, and the vehicle ahead of you. • Watch out for tailgaters and do not force them to back off by slamming on your brakes or reducing your speed significantly.
81 / 60
Scattered Thunderstorms
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Forecasts provided by The Weather Channel, www.weather.com / Illustration by Jason Flowers
REGIONAL NEWS Macomb Opportunity knocks! Investment open house planned for downtown Mount Clemens New construction, growing enrollment at Oakland University’s Anton/Frankel Center and increasing demand for walkable spaces makes Mount Clemens a community ripe with opportunities. Macomb County Department of Planning & Economic Development is partnering with city officials and area business leaders to host a tour of available buildings in the downtown area. The event will take place from 2-4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15. It will begin at Bath City Bistro, 75 Macomb Place and end at Three Blind Mice, 101 N. Main Street. “Many people think of downtown Mount Clemens as a hub for dining and entertainment,” said Vicky Rad, deputy director of the department. “While that is still true, we are also seeing an infusion of technologically based businesses that are taking advantage of the city’s affordability and an ability to attract and retain talent that wants to work in a vibrant community.” Overall, more than a dozen properties suitable for office or retail space will be featured on the tour. Also offered is a rare opportunity to tour the Macomb Music Theater, one of the featured available properties. To register to attend or learn more about the event, visit www.ThinkMacomb.com or call 586-469- 5285
Oakland Magna Seating of America, Inc. to build new seating headquarters in Novi Pontiac — Magna Seating of America, Inc.’s $48 million investment to build a new seating headquarters in the city of Novi underscores how western Oakland County is becoming a corridor for companies looking to expand or relocate, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said today. The new investment is expected to create 164 new jobs. “The I-96 corridor in western Oakland County is booming,” Patterson said. “Magna is among many companies investing millions and creating hundreds of jobs and we still have room for growth.” Magna Seating will consolidate activities into a single facility to house its world headquarters, engineering, research and development, and sales and marketing teams. The company will construct a new 180,000-square-foot facility to house these operations in the city of Novi, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced in a press release. The new facility will be located on Cabot Drive north of 13 Mile Road, east of M5, with construction on the building expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. “As a valued member of the Novi business community, we are proud Magna chose to continue to call Novi a “home” in southwest Oakland County,” Novi Mayor Bob Gatt said. “We look forward to working with our friends at Magna and enhancing relationships throughout the community.” Less than a month ago, Magna International Inc. also announced plans to construct a $56 million manufacturing facility in Lyon Township. The facility will supply underbody structural components to the auto industry. Combined with today’s announcement by Magna Seating, that’s a total investment by Magna of $104 million in western Oakland County creating a total of 414 new jobs. “We want to thank Magna for its confidence in Oakland County,” Patterson said. “Building our future on the strength of companies such as Magna will enable Oakland County to continue to prosper.” For career opportunities with Magna Seating, visit www.magna.com/careers. For more information about locating and investing in Oakland County, go to www. AdvantageOakland.com. Magna International is a leading global automotive supplier with 316 manufacturing operations and 87 product development, engineering and sales centers in 29 countries. The company has approximately 133,000 employees focused on delivering superior value to our customers through innovative products, processes and World Class Manufacturing. Their product capabilities include producing body, chassis, interior, exterior, seating, powertrain, electronic, vision, closure and roof systems and modules, as well as complete vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing.
Page A-2
We know Attorney General Loretta Lynch is on the right track By Lynette Holloway
minors who were victims of sex trafficking. “Human traffickers prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our society to exploit them for labor, for sex and for servitude of all kinds,” she said in a statement released on Wednesday.
She’s only been with us for a short time, but if the last few months are any indication, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is definitely on the right track. And though controversy surrounds the newly crowned attorney general, we know that she’s built tough enough to withstand any political weather that comes her way. If you recall, she was unfazed by partisan politics that delayed her Senate confirmation for nearly five months. She hit the ground running upon taking office in April, heading straight to Baltimore, Maryland, to announce a Department of Justice probe into the death of Freddie Gray, who received a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody. And in just a few short months, Lynch has made it a priority to be vocal about every possible and definite civil rights injustice that has occurred since she’s been in charge. Besides Baltimore, Lynch has made other big moves since taking office. Take a look. She spearheaded the probe that led to the resignation of Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA, world soccer’s governing body for 17 years, and who was regarded as one of the most powerful
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Loretta Lynch ple in global sports, according to The New York Times. The move came as the United States confirmed that he was a focus of a federal corruption investigation. She built the case while serving as U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn in New York City from 2010 to 2015. She compared “human trafficking to modern-day slavery.” During a visit to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, North Carolina this week, she described human trafficking as modern-day slavery and said eradicating it is one of her priorities as attorney general. She noted that the Wake County, North Carolina Violent Crime Task Force brought together federal, state and local law enforcement officials for a two-night undercover operation that led to multiple arrests and the release of several
“Their crimes, appropriately described as modern-day slavery, have no place in this nation. One of my top priorities as Attorney General is to bring human traffickers to justice, assist trafficking survivors and secure the rights and dignity of anyone unable to do so for themselves.”
shooting that came amid an outcry over allegations of excessive force by police officers in the Black community. She used Frederick Douglass‘ Bible to take her oath to office. Congratulations and keep up the great work, Mrs. Lynch! This article first appeared on Chicago Defender.com.
She speaks out righteously — sometimes subtly — on important issues like whether the Confederate flag should fly at statehouses. During a trip last week to Birmingham, Alabama, Lynch said: “With respect to what states do with these confederate flags…if people want to commemorate that part of their history, museums are wonderful places to do that,” Lynch said. She immediately vowed to investigate John Crawford‘s death. Tw e n t y - t w o - y e a r- o l d Crawford was shot by police last summer as he held an air rifle inside a Walmart in Ohio; a
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July 8-14, 2015 Page A-3
The truth did not free Bill Cosby
Michigan Chronicle Staff
Comedy/acting icon Bill Cosby can stop lying now. And those who insisted on defending him even after being accused of sexual harassment by dozens of women, many of whom detailed nearly identical sordid experiences with the man that usually occurred when they were much younger women, can back up and bite their tongues as well. The truth is out, and
it comes from Cosby’s own mouth. Even though he and his pack of lawyers did everything within their power to put a muzzle on that truth so that it would not “embarrass” him. Imagine that.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Cosby admitted 10 years ago in 2005 that he had given Quaaludes to at least one woman – an unidentified woman employed by Temple University, Cosby’s alma mater where he also served on the board of trustees – in order to get her to have sex with him. Cosby’s admissions were part of a 2005 lawsuit. In that law-
suit he also admitted that he got drugs to give to other women he wanted to have sex with. The unidentified woman who was employed by Temple University alleged that Cosby had sexually assaulted her. In his testimony, Cosby admitted to giving the woman three half-pills of Benadryl, although her lawyers claimed this was not the drug involved. The lawsuit was later settled. Cosby has long said that he never raped women and never gave them drugs for sex, and he has never been criminally charged with sexual assault or rape.
Countdown for Bert’s equals countdown for Detroit culture By Keith A. Owens As part of an all-hands-on-deck approach to saving Bert’s, the historic jazz club located in Eastern Market, Bert Dearing’s daughter, Melba, started a GoFundMe page on June 15 committed to raising $1.5 million before the building goes up for auction July 20-22 for a bid price of $700,000. As of Sunday afternoon, 57 people have donated $2,035. Unless a (very) heavyweight fairy godmother or godfather knocks on the door in the next few days carrying bags of cash and gold, it is clear that not anywhere near enough money will be raised in time to allow Dearing to buy back his business. But giving up in the face of apparently insurmountable odds is one sure way to lose the fight, and this is not a fight that Bert intends to lose. It is also a fight that Detroit cannot afford to lose. Said Chris Collins, artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival and director of Jazz Studies at Wayne State University, “Well, we must be very careful not to intermingle the verbiage and nomenclature of the corporate world with that of art. Art, jazz, creative music, these are living things. They are not corporate structures to be reviewed and updated according to the times. “In fact, one of the things we should strive to do, as we develop to move forward in our corporate and structural ways, we have to make sure we make every effort, financially and otherwise, to provide the resources to sustain the parts of the legacy that shape us as human beings. Bert’s is a big part of that. Jazz is a big part of that.”
As a city that ranks second to no other municipality in the world as an overall music mecca, and as a city that has produced and/or developed more jazz giants per square inch than just about anywhere else except maybe New York, Detroit holds the troubling and perplexing distinction of the city with the most music that does hardly anything to promote or capitalize on it. “I definitely think it’s a cultural travesty,” what is happening to Bert’s said James Carter, a Detroit native and famed jazz saxophonist whose roots are planted deep in Bert’s fertile tradition. “Basically I kind of grew up musically in Bert’s when it was on Jefferson and Shelby back in 1983 when I was 14 years old. That’s how far I go back,” he said. It was there he met the great Motown drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen and Detroit saxophone powerhouse Larry Smith. They both took the young Carter under their wing and a musical apprenticeship began to take shape that molded him into one of the world’s most renowned jazz saxophonists. “It was like the tradition of Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt lived on,” he said. “The thing about it is, it brings all of us together. We need things like this that are our cultural identification. Bert’s has always been the constant in this. Other places have come and gone. He’s always had something in the mix, and if there’s anything I can do to help, regardless of schedule, I’m there. If Bert isn’t in there, it truly won’t represent a rebirth of Detroit.” To understand the full impact of what it would mean for Detroit to lose Bert’s to “progress,” it’s important to take a look back and see what and who Detroit
has already lost. Just this year we have lost jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, vocalist Ortheia Barnes, vocalist Alberta Adams, and just last week we lost drummer Terry “Thunder” Hughley. Hughley, whose packed funeral was held last Friday, followed by an equally packed memorial jam session at the Roostertail on Monday evening, was one of the best-known, most respected and beloved drummers in the city who has performed with a list of musical greats far too long to be mentioned here. Adams, whose career stretched back to the Paradise Valley Days and who toured with the likes of Duke Ellington, Eddie Vinson, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton and T-Bone Walker, was revered as the Queen of Detroit Blues (the coronation of her successor, Thornetta Davis, is a much-anticipated event coming up in August). Belgrave, along with being an internationally recognized talent, was a Detroit jazz institution. He was awarded the title of Detroit’s official Jazz Master Laureate, and in 2010 received a $50,000 Kresge Eminent Artist award for his nearly half-a century of service to young Detroit musicians. Barnes was a longtime Detroit favorite vocalist who, although she didn’t quite reach the national or international acclaim of some of her peers, was widely respected and revered and sang with the likes of Aretha Franklin, who was a close friend, and Stevie Wonder. This is what has been lost to the arts and culture of Detroit just this year alone. It is Detroit arts and culture that has long been the spiritual lifeblood of this city, and economically speaking as well, especially during the Paradise Valley Days, followed by the Motown era.
There is no reason why that can’t happen again. Just look at the resurgence of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that has occurred under the seven-year tenure of musical director Leonard Slatkin. And look what that has done for Detroit, both economically and culturally. Prior to Slatkin’s arrival, the DSO was wheezing and on financial life support, barely able to keep the lights on, before enough people decided it was worth saving and the money started flowing back in. In an article that appeared in the June, 2014 edition of Model D Detroit (full disclosure, yes, I wrote the article), Slatkin said: “We are called the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The name of the city is in our title. If we can continue to project positive energy, positive image, a sign that we are helping the city to bounce back, then that’s all to the good. And we can do that. “Whatever we perceive in the recent upturn in the fortunes of Detroit, part of it is due to the fact that the orchestra, the leading cultural institution, stuck it out and wanted to become part of the solution in the city.” But now, on the cusp of what is being heralded as a (this time for real) Detroit revitalization and comeback, Bert’s is being put on the auction block. And, for the record, Bert’s is a leading cultural institution too. Those who were worried about the devil coming to town? Gisele Caver, a spokesperson for Bert’s, has confirmed that the planned (and controversial) unveiling of the Pagan goat-headed statue by the Satanic Temple, which was to be held at Bert’s on July 25, has been cancelled.
Detroiters to arrive in Flint, Lansing for water justice rally CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
On Friday, July 10, the rally that began one week ago at the Spirit of Detroit statue as the “Detroit to Flint Water Justice Journey for Safe Affordable Water” will conclude this portion of the ongoing water justice movement in Flint where there will be another rally at Flint City Hall on Friday morning. Following the rally, a delegation representing the cities of Detroit, Highland Park and Flint will travel to Lansing to deliver their message that all of Michigan is entitled to safe and affordable water. The Detroit People’s Water Board Coalition is spearheading the movement to demand that water bills be based on income for all Michigan families and, as demanded by Flint residents, that Flint “return to the safe water of the Detroit Water Department.” According to a press release promoting the event, “Despite Mayor Mike Duggan’s payment plan, $1 million was recently added to the effort to shut off the water to thousands of Detroit families. The increase in funding for shutoff operations is
proof that the mayor’s payment plan is not working.” The issue of water affordability in Detroit has been drawing worldwide scrutiny for more than a year when the city began water shutoffs to delinquent accounts for non-payment in March of 2014. Between March and October of 2014, Detroit’s water department shut off service to homes nearly 26,000 times. Within two days, 85 percent of the delinquencies received a partial payment. By October there were 2,300 homes without water and the United Nations had intervened to pressure the City to cease the shutoffs, which it eventually did until May of this year when shutoff notices resumed. According to the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit water department has delivered at least 3,000 shutoff notices to households with delinquent bills since May 11, giving those customers 10 business days to make arrangements to pay their bill or have their service cut off. In May there were nearly 65,000 delinquent residential accounts owing nearly $50 million, according to the water department. A year ago there were more than
79,000 delinquent accounts owing $42 million. The recent crackdown has reignited fears of the potential for a health crisis. However Mayor Duggan has directed the department to proceed with shutoffs against the wishes of the City Council, which passed a resolution on May 12 for a shutoff moratorium until the current financial assistance programs can be better evaluated. From the People’s Water Board website: “The focus is on connecting caring communities at these public events and sharing our collective concern for clean, affordable water upheld as a human right and to affirm that water is a sacred trust that should be held as a common rather than a commodity. “Weeks ago, members of the State legislature were invited to a public hearing on water that involved testimony from these communities. Now concerned citizens will return to Lansing via bus after the Flint rally to call for clean and affordable water at the State Capitol.”
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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
July 8-14, 2015 Page A-4
Gentrification From page A-1 too, has become overwhelmingly White, due in large part to the influx of Whites, mostly young professionals who work at Quicken Loans and elsewhere in the downtown area. A few weeks ago I had to drive through downtown on my way to someplace else. It was about noon and there were people all over the place, including boys on skateboards, and they were predominantly White. There was something almost surreal about it, and the transformation happened so fast. Restaurants, bars and other business establishments are opening up all over downtown and Midtown, patronized almost exclusively by Whites. But it should be noted, too, that there is nothing preventing African Americans from being customers.
Curbing crime your own sake, make it for the sake of those families who are still suffering, who lost loved ones through these waves of crime. Do it for the sake of these children that are still coming along that have to live in this community. “Do it for the sake of our elders who have to get to the bank and back and forth. Do it for the community at large, because unless we say something, unless we do something, this wave of crime will continue.” That’s why we need to start snitching, although it must be said that not everyone is convinced Crime Stoppers is the answer. “I went to 23 murder trials in the last year and a half. I have been in courtrooms and seen the families of victims being intimidated and threatened by suspects and the judges are just standing by. I wholly endorse Crime Stoppers, but honestly, most people still don’t trust it. They’re still afraid.” said Barry Ross, president of the Detroit Coalition Against Violence. “I don’t see much changing. I think Mayor Duggan’s great, I think the police chief is great, but until we can get the neighborhoods excited and willing to come out with us, I just don’t see it changing.” Two weekends ago, the city was traumatized once again, with the news that 27 people were shot, resulting in three deaths. At a neighborhood basketball court, 12 people were shot and one of them was killed. One week later, between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday, there were 10 homicides and 20 shootings. Yet another “party” was the center of activity at a car wash when five people were injured due to gunfire. Just the day before, on Saturday, four more were shot at another “party.” For neighborhood residents to protect the murderers and criminals in their own neighborhoods, the same murders and criminals who may very well show up on the doorstep of those who kept silent and add them to the list of those already killed, simply makes no sense. This isn’t about making Detroit safer and more appealing to those who may consider moving here, although we
From page A-1 certainly welcome new residents and anyone who wants to claim Detroit as home and make the city a better place. This is about making Detroit safe and livable for those of us who have been living here day in and day out since the days when Detroit was not the hot attraction that it is right now. And for Minister Malik Shabazz of the Marcus Garvey Movement-Black Panther Nation, it is about paying attention to the fact that the violence Detroit saw just two weekends ago may be a precursor of what’s to come. “Detroit could blow up, the conditions are ripe. Look at Ferguson. Look at Baltimore. We’ve got more people, we’re poor, we have lower education. The lack of opportunities is perceived and real,” he said. “The hopelessness, the poverty of spirit. I don’t think (some of our leaders) take it seriously. Some don’t care, others can’t see it. We’re on the edge. The events that broke out in the last few weeks is a microcosm of the coming storm unless elected officials, business leaders, preachers, religious leaders, the press, the police, the people unite. Unless we all unite expeditiously, Detroit is going to go the way of Baltimore.” Since so many Detroiters have been suffering under identical conditons of poverty and frustration as the Black communities in Baltimore, Ferguson and elsewhere, why hasn’t Detroit “blown up” already? Shabazz believes that has a lot to do with the city’s relatively new power structure having “inherited a cesspool” not totally of Detroit’s own making, saying, “We didn’t just mess up. We had a lot of help (from the Republican dominated leadership in Lansing),” he said. “We had help in becoming what we are today. I give some credit to the mayor, to the DPD, I give the chief credit and also community organizations and those block club members who only have four to five members with an average age of 79, who struggle every day to make it a little bit safer. These are the reasons why Detroit has not blown up, but we are so close. I have personally talked kids out of setting it off.” Barry Ross agrees with Shabazz that
the situation could easily get much worse, but he stresses that it will take much more than hiring more police officers although that will certainly help. “If we put 1,000 more cops in the city, we’ll only stop a few more murders. A lot of these murders are random and we can’t stop them,” he said. “Do you know where most guns come from? They’re stolen. The guns are making it into the hands of the mentally unstable. A lot of these young men are so full of rage and anger that it has to come out somewhere.” Stephanie Davis, who serves in Detroit in the capacity of executive assistant to the U.S. Attorney, said, "Summertime usually has an uptick in violence. One reason is not enough structured activity for younger people. There is also a lot more social interaction during the summer. We need to work on some alternative dispute resolutions." Davis was instrumental in helping set up the Detroit One Partnership 2013, a collaborative effort between her office, Mayor Duggan and the Detroit Police Department that she says has let to a noticeable decrease in violent crime overall. "Crime Stoppers is an excellent partner for law enforcement," she said. "What we've done is try to build community trust, try to engage the community, law enforement's best asset." Ross believes there are relatively simple remedies that could go a long way towards making Detroit safer and engaging the community, For example, if Mayor Mike Duggan could get together with Detroit Police Chief James Craig and also with a community activist such as Minister Malik Shabazz, and record a Public Service Announcement (PSA) that could be broadcast each night letting Detroiters know steps they could take to stay safe in their neighborhoods and homes, that would help. Also, according to Ross, “If we can get everybody involved in starting a block club. Most of the folks in block clubs have each other’s phone numbers and can let each other know what’s going on.”
Burning Black churches and flying Confederate flags By Robert T. Starks
bama and five in nearby Bibb County, Mississippi. Twenty-Ten recorded the conviction of two White terrorists who burned Black churches, one in Ohio, the other in Texas. Both were members of White nationalist groups.
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
After Dylann Roof’s rampage in Charleston, South Carolina, Blacks called to remove the Confederate flag from government buildings and other public places. We were reminded of the bloodstained history of racial violence that has defined this nation. We were not surprised to learn that Roof identified himself as a White nationalist with hated for Black people. Thus, he chose the most historic Black institution in the state to start a civil war. All of Roof’s actions were verified through ramblings on his social media outlets where we find that he had wrapped himself in the Confederate flag and denounced federal government as illegitimate. While some have branded Roof a terrorist extremist, many believe that he reflects the beliefs of too many White Americans. The horrific violence by Whites against Blacks began with the capture and enslavement of Africans and continues today. The recent terrorism of police brutality and murders of unarmed Black men is a continuation of that violence. Black churches became a prime target of slave owners because they saw them as places where the enslaved would organize to liberate themselves. In an article published by Mashable titled "America’s Long, Ugly History of Burning Black Churches," this history is detailed. We are reminded that in 1822 Demark Vesey, one of the founders of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. who led a revolt against slavery in Charleston, was hanged and the original building was burned to the ground. Philadelphia was the city in which Richard Allen and Absalom Jones founded the A.M.E. Church in 1787. And because of the White resentment of Blacks in that city, between 1825 and 1850 six Black churches were burned and at least four people died in these attacks. Because Cincinnati, Ohio (a
non-slave holding state) had attracted many free Blacks in the early the 1800s, between August 15 and August 22 of 1829 White resentment sparked massacres of Black neighborhoods and destroyed Black churches, homes and businesses. Reportedly, some 1000 Blacks left the city as a result. In 1863 in the midst of the Civil War during the socalled Draft Riots in New York City White terrorists because of their refusal to fight in a war to end slavery, burned a Black orphanage killing and injuring Black children. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Americans witnessed more church burnings. According to historian Taylor Branch ("Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65,"), The greatest terrorist attack in this period occurred in 1963 when KKK members bombed 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama and killed four little Black girls.In 1995, during the presidency of Bill Clinton, there were reports of almost 60 Black churches being burned. President Clinton passed a Federal Advisory Commission to study these burnings and by 1996 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (A.T.F.) investigated some 37 cases of arson in the South. In 1996, Congress passed the Arson Prevention Act that gave protection against church burnings. From 1997 and 2000, some 945 churches were set afire, mostly in the South. In 2006, four churches burned down in one day in rural Ala-
Therefore, when we witness the six Black churches that have been burned since the massacre on June 17 at Mother Emanuel, we cannot be surprised. Again, White violence against Blacks is endemic to the history of the nation. At the Civil War’s end, the KKK was established in 1866 and had membership in all of the South by 1870. This organized terrorist group, founded by Nathan Bedford Forrest in Pulaski, Tennessee, was an outgrowth of the slave patrollers who were men hired by plantation owners to patrol the plantation to prevent enslaved Blacks from escaping slavery and if they were successful, capture them and bring them back to the plantation. The most interesting correlation in this history is that of Christianity (the church, the cross and the philosophy of White supremacy) and violence. It has been said that more violence and slaughter has been committed in the name of religion than in any other cause. Slavery was justified by the White supremacist interpretation of the Bible and subsequently, the beating, torture, rape and murder of enslaved African people because they were the “chosen ones” and Blacks were “cursed” by that same God. The current spate of church burnings emerged as a direct reaction to the renewed call for the removal of the Confederate flag. To be sure, the defenders of the Confederate flag will continue to fight with the triangle of terrorism that they have used since the inception of the nation. More Black churches will be burned and more Black people will be murdered. However, the Black community is determined to do everything in its power to make sure that the perpetrators are caught and punished and these dastardly deeds stop.
I now live in an apartment building in New Center and the new owners say they will be making many improvements. A good thing, for sure, but will rents soar? Will the tenant population morph from predominantly Black to predominantly White? It seems possible. Maybe it’s going to turn out to be something wonderful. I sure hope so. In fact, I dare to believe so. But if not, of course, most us are blessed to have the option of changing locations. Gentrification has been defined as “the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by companies and wealthier individuals, which improves property values but also can displace low-income families and individuals and small businesses. This a common and widespread controversial subject and term in urban planning.” I fairly recently watched a documentary about a neighborhood (not in Michigan) that had undergone gentrification. The original (Black) residents, of course, had mixed emotions, but most had decided to make an effort to develop a cordial relationship with the new residents. However, they were for the most part given the cold shoulder, as though being at a lower income and social level made being even casually neighborly out of the realm of possibility. I hope that doesn’t happen in downtown Detroit, Midtown Detroit or anyplace else there is a population transformation or augmentation. In their book, “The Gentrification Reader,” Loretta Lees, Tom Slater and Elvin Wyly accurately and with clarity listed the positives and negatives of gentrification. The positives include stabilization of declining areas; increased property values; reduced vacancy rates; encouragement and increased viability of further development; reduced strain on local infrastructure and services; reduction of suburban sprawl; high incentive for property owners to increase/improve housing; reduction in crime. But, on the negative side, displacement through rent/price increases; community resentment and conflict; loss of affordable housing; increased cost and changes to local services; housing demand pressures on surrounding poor areas; commercial/industrial displacement; homelessness. Can a “new Detroit” be fully realized if there is improvement, growth and stabilization only in certain areas? Without question, neighborhoods can benefit in many ways from gentrification, but is the cost of it being thoroughly examined and plans being developed to “soften the blow,” so to speak? These are questions that need to be answered, and no place is that more true than in Detroit.
Grants
From page A-1
is available to all. The grant we are announcing today will offer young people in Detroit, who are at risk of falling off the economic ladder, a chance to chart a new course, gain job skills and find stable, meaningful careers.” Governor Rick Snyder also voiced support for the new program. “The state of Michigan is pleased to be a key partner in this initiative,” he said. “As Detroit continues to grow, more opportunities will become available, and this program will equip residents who face challenges to have opportunities, succeed in the work place and enhance their quality of life.” Mayor Duggan said the grant will allow Detroit to initiate a major new job training initiative based on three principles: 1) The city will only train people for jobs that are open and available immediately. If the citizens complete the training, they know there is a job available. 2) Every time an applicant is interviewed and doesn’t get a job, the city will follow up with the employer and find out why the applicant wasn’t hired. The city will then do follow up support or training to help the applicant succeed the next time. 3) The city will partner with the State Department of Corrections in an unprecedented effort to train and prepare returning citizens for jobs upon release from prison. Re-entry programs will be started a year or more before prisoners’ scheduled release dates. “We are very thankful to the Department of Labor for recognizing this need in Detroit and trusting our administration to follow through on the commitment to employ Detroiters,” said Duggan.
news
July 8-14, 2015
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Page A-5
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6 ways to stay safe and cool By Paul Bridgewater
to wear bug repellent to prevent dangerous bug bites, and a hat and sunscreen to prevent damage to your skin.
Summertime is a time for lemonade, sweet watermelon slices, cookouts and other warm-weather treats. For many people, summer is the best season of the year, but it also can be a dangerous time for seniors if precautions aren’t taken for severe heat and sun. Here are some precautions you can take to stay safe when it’s too hot. Drink Plenty of Water. Seniors can easily get dehydrated. As we get older, we often lost our ability to adjust to temperature changes. In summer, seniors may not sweat as much, which helps cool the body, and they also can become less aware of thirst. That’s why it’s important to drink water often, and take some along when running errands or on outings. In addition to water, it also may be help to drink sweat replacement beverages that have potassium and salt such as Gatorade or Vitamin Water. Discussion with Your Doctor. Check in with your doctor to ensure your prescriptions won’t make you more susceptible to conditions affected by heat, especially if your home is not air conditioned. Some medications don’t work as well in temperatures higher than 78 degree Fahrenheit. So be sure to avoid a medical condition that can be aggravated because it’s hot.
Paul Bridgewater Keep in Contact. It’s important to communicate with friends and loved ones to let them know you’ll be spending time outside when you’re gardening or participating in other outdoor activities. It also is a good idea to have a list of emergency telephone numbers for people who can quickly be reached if you are not feeling well because of the heat. Dress Properly. In heat, natural fibers such as cotton and lightweight linen are cooler than synthetics. Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing will help you stay cooler and more comfortable. Protect Yourself. Vision loss is common among seniors, and too much sun can cause damage. That’s why it’s important to wear sunglasses with UV ray protection to protect your eyes. Also, be sure
1919-2015
Be Cool. Even a small rise in temperature can be life-threatening for seniors living with chronic health conditions. Malls, movie theaters and libraries are good place to stay cool if your home isn’t air conditioned. They also provide a reason to get out of the house and socialize. Meanwhile, call the Detroit Area on Agency to get resources to help you survive the heat. If you need somewhere to stay for most of the day, the City of Detroit offers these free cooling centers: • Crowell Recreation Center 16130 Lahser. Open from8 a.m. to 8 p.m. • Farwell Recreation Center 2781 E. Outer Drive. Open from11 a.m. – 7 p.m. • Heilmann Recreation Center -19601 Crusade St. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. • Coleman Young Center- 2751 Robert Bradby Drive. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Paul Bridgewater, President and CEO, Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA), hosts “The Senior Solution” on WCHB Newstalk 1200AM, Saturdays at 10 a.m. DAAA is located at 1333 Brewery Park Blvd., Suite 200, Detroit, MI 48207; (313) 446-4444; www.daaa1a.org.
Together, We Can
SAVE LIVES. LUNG CANCER
SCREENING
PEACE OF MIND IS PRICELESS. Henry Ford was part of a groundbreaking national study that proved lung cancer screenings save lives. Currently, just 16 percent of people survive 5 years after being diagnosed. Together, we can dramatically improve survival rates – and deliver treatment options that get you back to living life to the fullest. Coverage varies by insurance plan and payer. Some plans require a physician referral for this screening. If your screening is not covered by insurance, you can get this life-saving test for just $99. *To be eligible for the lung cancer screening, you must: • Be age 55 or older. • Currently smoke, or have quit less than 15 years ago. • Have smoked a pack a day for at least 30 years or equivalent packs in fewer years. CHOOSE A LOCATION NEAR YOU: Brownstown Clinton Township Dearborn
Detroit Grosse Pointe Farms Shelby Township
Sterling Heights West Bloomfield Wyandotte
*If covered, your insurance provider may have specific requirements related to eligibility
Take the first step toward a healthier future. Visit henryford.com/lungscreening to make an appointment.
Page A-6 • THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE • July 8-14, 2015
Black Family Development, Inc. Board of Directors (seated l to r) Taylor L. Nelson, Dr. Ingrid Draper; Elaine Lewis; Alice G. Thompson, CEO; Dee Dee McKinney Odom; Nestelynn L. Garrett; Sharon Banks, retiring Board Member (standing l to r) Stefen J. Welch; Lysa D. Davis; Rosie Reebel; Eric W. Ayers, MD; Rev. Larry L. Simmons, Sr.; and Charles Beckham
Alice G. Thompson, CEO, Black Family Development, Inc. and Sue Hamilton Smith, BFDI Promise Neighborhoods Board Member.
Black Family Development, Inc. Celebrates Another Year of Community Service & Announces Major Initiative
Kenyatta Stephens, Sharon Banks, retiring BFDI Board Member, and Alice G. Thompson.
Pamela Moore, President and CEO, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, Community Champion Award Recipient; Alice G. Thompson; and Kenyatta Stephens
C
elebrating the organization’s accomplishments, progress and milestones achieved, Black Family Development, Inc. hosted its Annual Meeting on June 25, 2015 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
“2014 was another banner year, as we continued to advance the mission of the organization, which is ‘To strengthen and enhance the lives of children, youth and families through partnerships that support safe, nurturing, vibrant homes and communities’, and implement strategies to advance our commitment to: improving the well-being of children, improving academic results, expanding positive youth development, improving support to families, building community capacity, improving neighborhood safety, and achieving Promise Neighborhoods results”, states Alice G. Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Black Family Development, Inc. During the official Black Family Development, Inc. Board of Directors meeting, the Board received and approved the Nominating Committee’s recommendations and welcomed the following new Board members: Lysa D. Davis, Associate Managing Director & Community Reinvestment Act Officer, Talmer Bank and Trust; Byna Elliot, Senior Vice President, Community Development, Fifth Third Bank; Nestelynn L. Garrett, Administrator, Dealer Profitability Plan (POP), General Motors Company; Taylor L. Nelson, Executive Programs Coordinator, City of Detroit, Mayor’s Office; and, Rosie Reebel, Director, Marketing & Community Outreach, United Healthcare Community Plan. DAPCEP (Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program) & Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) each received Black Family Development, Inc.’s Community Champion Award for their dedication to education, youth engagement in workforce development, and support of BFDI’s commitment to Improving Academic Results, Support to Families, and the Well-Being of Children. “As evident in our annual program evaluation, we continue to improve consumer access to services, increase consumer satisfaction, yield measurable and planned outcomes, and scale up the impact of quality of life indicators,” states Alice G. Thompson. MAJOR INITIATIVE: BFDI continues to build collaborative partnerships in the Osborn area. Along with Life Remodeled, Osborn Neighborhood Alliance, and a grant from the Kresge Foundation, a major and exciting Osborn community clean-up effort will take place during the week of August 3, 2015 through August 8, 2015. For volunteer opportunities, and to register, please visit the Life Remodeled website at www. liferemodeled.com or contact Margo Smith @ 313- 758-0150.
Jason D. Lee, Executive Director, DAPCEP, BFDI Community Champion Award Recipient; Kenyatta Stephens, COO, BFDI, and Alice G. Thompson.
BFDI staff Lori Thurman, Tanya Traylor, Margo Smith, Cynthia McDaniel, and Cynthia Williams.
Black Family Development, Inc. Administrative Team, Heaster Wheeler, CIO; Kenyatta Stephens, COO; Alice G. Thompson, CEO; and Jane Fernanders, CFO.
Reginald Kirkland, COO, BFDI Educational Services; Dee Dee McKinney Odom, BFDI Board President; Alice G. Thompson, and Dr. Ronald Williams, Superintendent, Hope Academy.
Alice G. Thompson, Dee Dee McKinney Odom; Pamela Moore, President and CEO, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, Community Champion Award Recipient; and Arthur Dudley, II, Butzel Long.
Alice G. Thompson; Heaster Wheeler, CIO, BFDI; Elaine Lewis, Board Vice President, BFDI Board; and Jane Fernanders, BFDI CFO.
Black Family Development, Inc. Board of Directors, Elaine Lewis, Board Vice President; and Dee Dee McKinney Odom, Board President.
David Gamlin, New Detroit, Inc.; Robert Cole, DTE Energy; Stefen J. Welch, BFDI Board Member.
SECTION B
COMMUNITY Powered by Real Times Media
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The Carr Center transforms Paradise Valley-Harmonie Park The Carr Center, a multidisciplinary arts center, community house and cultural destination located in Detroit’s Paradise Valley-Harmonie Park neighborhood, commissioned a collaborative installation by Detroit’s African Bead Museum curator and famed artist Olayami Dabls and Anya Sirota of the Akoaki design studio. Support was also given from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
coming and inviting to all. “As a storyteller, I used materials to create and dress these figures; in the process, I internalize how my ancestors would have worked in a non-con-
trived way,” said Olayami Dabls, the Detroit-based artist, curator, visual storyteller, and founder of the African Bead Museum. “The result is an entourage, with a powerful narrative to tell.”
All photos by Roy Feldman Dabls’ sculptural works and installations connect African narratives and material culture through the interpretation of ancestral histories, mythologies, and philosophy. His artistic techniques have earned him local and international accolades. “Our concept was to invert the orientation of the park and to create a series of markers that animate the perimeter of the park’s performance spaces,” said designer Anya Sirota, director of the Metropolitan Observatory of Digital Culture Representation (MOADCaR). “In the process, we’ve had the unique opportunity to work in collaboration with renowned artist Olayami Dabls, to make the project truly exceptional.”
The installation entitled “Nice Outfit,” consists of 9 painted and reflective sculptures and an interactive environment. The art sculptures are on display at Paradise Valley-Harmonie Park. On July 2 the ribbon cutting ceremony for the art installation took place followed by a concert by Detroit’s own legendary bass player, T. Money Green. And the commissioned installation will run through September 30, 2015. Nice Outfit is a group of figures that forms an imaginary collective and a friendly crowd. Alluding to themes from the African diaspora, the project introduces a family of wooden forms that engage visitors in a dynamic, collective experience. The sculptures define the Beatrice Buck Park’s performance spaces and pathways, creating inspiring spatial and social effects that are wel-
July 8-14, 2015
Nice Outfit continues the Carr Center’s commitment to innovative and catalytic programming that brings together music, design, art, and education. The commission is made possible by a grant from Quicken Loans to the Carr Center.
Pictured from left: Oliver Ragsdale, president, The Carr Clenter; Olayami Dabls, artist and curator, Detroit African Bead Museum; Anya Sirota, principal, Akoaki; Barry Blackwell, representative, Detroit Councilwoman Mary Sheffield’s office; Stepahanie Chang, District 6 state representative; and Leslie Andrews, director of Community Relations & Corporate Philanthropy, Quicken Loans.
The Carr Center is an organization that brings high quality arts, cultural and education experiences to metro-Detroit and provides global transmission of the city’s growing artist community. For more information, call The Carr Center at 313-965-8430, Ext. 221 or visit www.thecarrcenter.org.
Reading and Rhythm on the Riverfront General Motors Foundation and Detroit Riverfront Conservancy present its six-week reading program General Motors Foundation and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy are again enlisting leaders and celebrities from throughout Metro Detroit to help promote the love of reading to local children during the fifth annual Reading & Rhythm on the Riverfront (R3) program, which kicks of July 9 at Rivard Plaza. This annual interactive and family-orientated summer program promotes literacy throughout Southeastern Michigan while giving children ages 3 to 10 and their families a chance to experience the vibrancy of the Detroit riverfront. A preview of the R3 program was given during the recent 9th annual GM River Days festival in June. Last year, R3 served more than 3,900 participants. “We’re passionate about Detroit and keeping our youth engaged and active during the summer months,” said Karen Nicklin, manager of Educational Initiatives for the GM Foundation. “And we’re thrilled to celebrate R3’s 5th anniversary with thousands of local kids and so many community leaders who have committed to
popular programs,” said Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy. “The kids love hearing the stories read to them, and their eyes light up when we give them a book to take home.”
reading with them.” The R3 program, now in its fifth year, is presented by the GM Foundation and hosted by the Conservancy. It stretches six weeks and features readings by local celebrities, as well as business and community leaders. The program also boasts live and interactive family entertainment, healthy treats, free rides on the Cullen Family Carousel and free books provided by the GM Foundation in partnership with the Detroit Public Library’s “Library on Wheels.” R3 runs each Thursday and Friday starting July 9 through August 14 with programs each day at 11 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. “Reading & Rhythm on the Riverfront is one of our most
Each R3 program begins at Rivard Plaza with exciting live entertainment provided by a variety of artists and groups each week to encourage audience participation and dancing. Guy Louis will delight all ages with a journey through time with folk music, rock, jazz, Motown, reggae and more. The R3 program is open to all children and families. In addition, a number of Metro Detroit area non-profit organizations and groups, which focus on children ages 3 to 10, have been invited to attend various sessions throughout the summer. These groups include Southwest Solutions, Franklin Wright Settlements, Starfish Family Services and Boll Family YMCA. Other organizations interested in registering their group for a program session should contact Rachel Frierson at 313.566.8234 or rachel.frierson@detroitriverfront.org.
community
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Tackle childhood obesity with #MIKidsCan Play Like a Lion Challenge Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is teaming up with the Detroit Lions to tackle childhood obesity by partnering on the Lions “Play 60” campaign, an initiative to encourage kids to get 60 minutes of physical activity each day. To celebrate the partnership and get kids active this summer, Blue Cross has created the #MIKidsCan Play Like a Lion Challenge. As part of Blue Cross’s ongoing #MIKidsCan initiative, kids across the state can pledge to “Play like a Lion” for a chance to earn one of 10 VIP experiences at Ford Field when the Lions take on the New York Jets Thursday, Aug. 13. “Blue Cross is a natural and proud partner with the Lions’ Play 60 campaign,” said Andy Hetzel, vice president of corporate communications for Blue Cross. “It highlights our shared goal of improving kids’ health and is a natural extension of Blue Cross’ ongoing efforts in the community to engage kids around daily exercise and healthy food choices. The #MIKidsCan Play Like a Lion Challenge is a great way to kickoff this collaboration by letting kids know that practicing healthy habits can be a lot of fun.” Challenge details • Kids ages 6-12 are eligible to participate. • Each participant will pledge to complete four, weekly health activities during July, with the permission of their parents/guardians. • Upon completion of the challenge, 10 grand prize winners will be selected to participate in a VIP experience, along with a friend, which includes on-field activities and a player meet and greet at the Lions’ Aug. 13 game at Ford Field. • Each winner receives four tickets to attend the game. • Winners will be announced Aug. 6.
“Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s continued investment and dedication to improved health and wellness aligns perfectly with the core values of the Detroit Lions Play 60 initiative,” said Senior Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships Elizabeth Parkinson. “The #MIKidsCan Play Like a Lion Challenge is another great example of how both the Lions and Blue Cross can leverage our partnership to aid Michigan’s youth in forming healthy habits to last a lifetime.” Upon registration for the challenge, parents have the option of creating a customized Play 60 trading card with their child’s photo. Parents can also share photos of their kids completing the four challenges for an opportunity to win weekly, prize giveaways of autographed Matthew Stafford gear. One winner will be randomly selected each week from photo submissions using the hashtags #MIKidsCan and #Contest. #MIKidsCan Play like a Lion supports Blue Cross’s ongoing commitment to children’s health and its #MIKidsCan campaign – an initiative focused on encouraging kids to adopt healthy habits early in life that are more likely to be carried into adulthood. Over the last 10 years, Blue Cross has given more than $6 million in support of kids’ health and wellness initiatives across the state, reaching more than 100,000 children. For more information on the #MIKidsCan Play Like a Lion Challenge and Blue Cross’s ongoing efforts to help improve childhood health, visit AHealthierMichigan.org/mikidscan or follow #MIKidsCan on Twitter. Parents can get more information on the challenge and register their kids to participate at AHealthierMichigan.org/ mikidscan.
July 8-14, 2015
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community
July 8-14, 2015
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Page B-3
July 16 Jazz in the Garden Meadowbrook Hall 480 S. Adams Road Rochester Hear live jazz by local musicians in Meadow Brook’s beautiful garden as visitors enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a hall tour as a part of the summer concert series. For more information call 248.364.6252.
July 17-19
July 7
Quake-on-the-Lake APBA Summer Nationals
Mud Day Nankin Mills Park Hines Dr. east of Ann Arbor Trail Westland Playing in wet dirt is taken to the next level. The pit is 75 by 150 feet. The size of the fun for kids is even bigger and better than that. Bring a towel and a change of clothes. A kids-only event. For more information call 734.261.1993 or visit parks.waynecounty.com.
July 8-12
July 8 Senior Power Days On Belle Isle: Senior Safety Summit
The concert schedule for the Downtown Auburn Hills Friday Nights Music Series at Riverside Park (3311 Squirrel Court) is:
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area 2201 N. Williams Lake Road Waterford Inboard hydroplanes take over Pontiac Lake. It’s fast, loud and exciting.
Belle Isle Casino 1 Casino Way Belle Isle Park Detroit
For more information visit quakeonthelake.org.
Senior Power Days on Belle Isle is a new program that will provide recreational and educational programs for seniors from Detroit, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties amidst the natural beauty of Belle Isle.
July 24 Lynn LaPlante Seven (Latin Jazz)
July 23-25
July 31 Cadillac West (Country) August 7 Motor Honey (Rock & Roll)
July 10-12
August 14 The Bel Airs (‘50s & ‘60s)
Detroit Paradise Valley Festival
August 21 Cancel Monday (Dance)
Sterlingfest Art & Music Fair The streets of Sterling Heights, 48310
A handful of Detroit’s most popular venues (the Detroit Insititute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of Afriecan American History, the Max M. Fisher Center and others) play host to Concert of Colors, an all-genre/ all-cultures show from around the globe.
Detroit’s original Paradise Valley was comprised of 66 blocks where African Americans, lived, worked and played. Night clubs hosted talented musicians who made significant contributions to the word of music. This event honors this rich tradition by hosting many greats. Also includes food, shopping and art.
For more information call 313.582.2266 or visit www.concertofcolors.com.
For more information visit www. dpvmfestival.com or call 313.877.8057.
For more information call 586.446.2489 or sterlingheights.net.
Various venues around downtown Detroit
July 10 Annabelle Road (Country) July 17 The Dan Rafferty Band (Variety)
For more information call 313.872.2022.
1 Hart Plaza Detroit
“The City of Auburn Hills has put together a spectacular concert schedule this summer to appeal to fans of all musical genres,” said Mayor Kevin McDaniel. “These outdoor performances provide the perfect opportunity for people of all ages to come together to relax, unwind and enjoy their favorite music.”
Local bands provide the soundtrack for a few days of good food (a dozen local restuarants partake), art (hundreds of booths) and a real summer fair experience. The Kidzfest tent features clowns and jugglers and the family midway has games of skill.
The concert schedule for the 28th Annual Sounds of Summer Music Series at the Auburn Hills Community Center (1827 North Squirrel Road) features: July 9 Swing Shift (Jazz/Swing)
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July 8-14, 2015
Page B-4
You better tell somebody
By Keith A. Owens
Imagine if it was your mother who got shot, Or your child. Would you have a problem with snitching then? Certainly it’s understandable, at least to some degree, why Detroiters in certain neighborhoods are too frightened to risk reporting the criminals in their midst for fear of retaliation. These fears don’t come out of thin air, nor does their mistrust of the police. There is a long, painful history at work here, combined with some aspects of that history that still have not changed.
Keith A. Owens
For example, Barry Ross, president of the Detroit Coalition Against Violence, commented in today’s Michigan Chronicle that he has seen witness intimidation in action while visiting murder trials in Detroit on numerous occasions. If what Ross is saying is correct, namely that there didn’t appear to be much effort to make those witnesses feel any safer in the face of that intimidation which was going on in plain view in a Detroit courtroom, then it’s not hard to imagine why some Detroiters reflexively don’t trust Crime Stoppers when they are told that all calls made to 1-800-SPEAK-UP are 100 percent confidential, even though they are. But at some point, we as Detroiters are going to have to start trusting again. We can start with small steps. But when we’re allowing the incessant murder of our own children, friends and family members to continue unchallenged, what we’re doing is effectively trusting the criminals to be nice to us for not keeping our mouths shut and not reporting them to the police. Or at least
to not shoot us in the back or crack us over the head with a tire iron just for the fun of it. We need to start trusting the right people, and we need to recognize that if we’re not willing to take at least some amount of risk in our own defense, or in defense of our neighbors, then it never gets better. And pretty soon it’s your turn to get got. A quick stroll down memory lane (and don’t mind the blood): Remember in 2012 when that six-yearold boy was shot with an AK-47 during a carjacking committed by two 15-yearolds? Or when that 12-year-old boy was hit by gunfire when a traffic accident involving several “men” (term used loosely) turned into a shootout? Remember hearing about how little Kade’jah Davis was finishing up her homework when she was mowed down by bullets aimed through the front door of her home in January? Do you remember how police said the shooter’s motive stemmed from an argument over a cell phone? If you can believe that. Or the nine-month-old infant named Delric Miller who lost his life in February of that year when an assailant pepper sprayed the front of his house with rounds shot from an AK-47? Do you remember how in January of that year several of the city’s funeral directors were so upset by how many children they had to keep putting in the ground that they decided to hold a hearse parade through several crime-riddled neighborhoods? This year, according to the Detroit Free Press, as of June 21, Detroit police have recorded 129 homicides this year to date. By this time in 2014, there had been 116 homicides reported and in 2013, there had been 146. There were 440 non-fatal shootings as of June 21, which is slightly down from 448 in 2014 and about a 15 percent drop from 520 in 2013.
Time to remove partisan politics from redistricting By Nancy L. Quarles The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that independent commissions may draw electoral district lines. In the majority opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the elections clause of the U.S. Constitution does not disallow such commissions from being created. In her opinion the clause “doubly empower the people” for redistrictNancy L. Quarles ing purposes. “They may control the State’s lawmaking processes in the first instance, as Arizona voters have done, and they may seek Congress’ correction of regulations prescribed by state legislatures.” Justices Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, joined Ginsburg on the majority side. Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, John Roberts and Clarence Thomas dissented. Here’s how we got here: In 2000, Arizona voters adopted Proposition 106, an initiative aimed at tackling gerrymandering, which is manipulating legislative boundaries of state so as to favor one party or class. The high court case arose after Arizona voters opposed to congressional gerrymandering had taken the power away from state legislators. State voters there amended the state constitution to
allow an independent commission power boundaries for federal congressional districts. The Arizona legislature cried foul and challenged the effort. Meanwhile, in Michigan, Democratic Party leaning voters have outpaced Republican Party leaning voters in the 2014 general election last fall. State voters have cast a majority of their ballots for Democratic U.S. presidential nominees going back to Bill Clinton in 1992. What we are saddled with, however, are congressional and state legislative districts that disproportionally favor the other party. We need to take a hard look at creating an independent commission to carry out the important redistricting process in Michigan because what we have doesn’t work. So, what is a redistricting commission? Simply put, it is a body, other than the usual state legislative bodies, designated to draw electoral district lines. The intent is to avoid gerrymandering, or at least the appearance of gerrymandering, by specifying a nonpartisan or bipartisan body to comprise the commission drawing district lines. Currently, 21 states currently use some form of non-partisan or bipartisan redistricting commission. Thirteen states use these commissions to draw exclusively electoral district lines. As a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and current first vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, I enthusiastically encourage either our state legislature or residents through a ballot initiative form an independent redistricting commission.
Imagine how much that number could drop if you just told somebody.
Neutralizing the right wing agenda By George E. Curry There’s a lesson to be learned from the Confederate flag quickly and unexpectedly falling into disfavor following the murder of nine Bible-studying African Americans, including the pastor, at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. The lesson is that the economic clout of African Americans and their progressive allies can be used to pressure George E. Curry businesses to do the right thing, which in turn can keep the far right wing in check. With every Southern governor’s mansion, Senate seat and 12 of the 13 Southern State Houses controlled by Republicans (the Kentucky House is the lone exception), a corrosive sense of helplessness had begun to set in among some Blacks. After all, the majority of Blacks live in the South and once powerful Black Democratic state legislators have been politically neutered now that they are in the minority. The tragedy in Charleston may have provided us with a blueprint for improving our predicament. First, it’s necessary to understand the role businesses played before and after Nikki Haley, the Republican governor of South Carolina, reversed her long-held position and advocated for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol in Columbia. According to the New York Times, “The chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, an old friend of Ms. Haley’s named Mikee Johnson, polled his 56 board members about the future of the flag. Everyone who responded was of the same opinion. He called Ms. Haley and told her: If she was ready to bring down the Confederate banner, they were behind her. “So was the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, the muscular association that represents giant international companies like BMW and Bridgestone Tire. Over the weekend after the shootings, its president, Mr. Gossett, urged members to draw up a strategy for finally ridding the State House of the flag.” There were business reasons that motivated this change. “They were tired of explaining why a symbol of the American Confederacy lingered at the capitol of a state that wanted to lure workers from all over the world,” the Times explained. “To many of them, it was a source of embarrassment that the N.C.A.A. would not pick South Carolina to host championship events because of the flag, and in the
college-sports-crazy state, coaches said it was an obstacle to recruiting.” To be clear, African Americans were at the forefront of this movement long before the business community belatedly flexed its muscles. On July 15, 1999, the NAACP announced a boycott of South Carolina because it refused to remove the racially offensive flag from the Capitol. Five days later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s old organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), voted to move its 2000 national convention from Charleston. The group “Black Lives Matter,” which grew out of the movement to protest the death of African Americans who died at the hands of police, organized an online petition at Moveon.org, collecting signatures at a rate of 5,000 signatures per hour. And social media, especially Black Twitter, was ablaze. The floodgates were opened when Gov. Haley pronounced on June 22, “Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state without ill will, to say it’s time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds. A hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, the time has come.” Within hours, a stampede of businesses, led by Walmart and Sears, announced they would no longer sell Confederate memorabilia. Other retailers fell in line, including Amazon, eBay, Target and Etsy.com. Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe decided Virginia will no longer sell license plates that honor the Old Confederacy. Alabama Republican Gov. Robert Bentley ordered four different Confederate flags at the state Capitol be promptly removed. In Mississippi, House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican, called for changing the state flag, which incorporates the Confederate insignia. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence asked state legislators to “clarify” the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that he had already signed into law. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson threatened to veto similar legislation unless it, too, was “clarified” to say that it could not be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. In both the Confederate flag and religious freedom controversies, we have seen the clout of business leaders. Black spending power reached $1.1 trillion in 2014, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. It’s time to exercise that clout by putting pressure on businesses, compelling them to apply pressure on Republican lawmakers who work against our interests. George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com.
Rewriting history By Julianne Malveaux If you drive south on US 95, you can see some version of the so-called Confederate flag (there are maybe seven iterations of the flag, parts of which are still the official flag of Mississippi) is used to advertise everything from hot dogs to automobiles, some say as a tribute to their ancestors (hot dogs, really?). The history of the Confederacy, as embodied in the Stephens speech, suggests that the flag, instead, is a symbol of White superiority. No wonder the coward who was welcomed into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church had draped himself in Julianne Malveaux that heinous flag. No wonder racism is so intransient. No wonder the sale of Confederate paraphernalia rose with the election of President Barack Obama. The implicit message — a Black man may be President of the United States, but this flag reminds us that White superiority still reigns.
the Cold War” and to increase tourism in the South, turned into a separate and unequal set of events. In his book, Troubled Commemoration: The American Civil War Centennial, 1961-1965 (Making the Modern South), Robert J. Cook describes the tensions that emerged when Southerners wanted to “celebrate” secession and the attack on Fort Sumter, while others wanted to celebrate emancipation. Southern Whites saw the centennial as a way to fight to preserve segregation, while African Americans and some liberal Whites wanted to celebrate the end of the civil war, and the government wanted to celebrate our nation’s “triumph” over division and strife. Those who embrace the Confederacy seem to forget that the Confederacy lost. The cornerstone principle of White supremacy was defeated when the Confederacy lost the war, but the continued sop to the losing Confederacy left us with all kinds of tributes to United States traitors. I cringe whenever I drive down “Jefferson Davis Highway,” named after the Confederate president.
I am flooded with annoyance when I refer to Fort Bragg, named after ConfedSouth Carolina didn’t always fly their erate General Braxton Bragg. The Penversion of the Confederate flag above its tagon says they won’t change the names statehouse or display it on statehouse of the ten military bases that lift up Congrounds. To “commemorate” the 100th federate leaders. I wonder why these anniversary of the beginning of the Civil bases were named after these traitors in War, the flag went up on April 11, 1961. the first place. Was it a coincidence that sit-ins were Taking the Confederate flag down is taking place all over the country, with but the first step in defeating the White one of the most successful taking place supremacy that the odious flag stands in Greensboro, North Carolina, where for. Now, in the name of the Emanuel Bennett College and North Carolina A&T Nine, we need to investigate the reparaState University students began sit-ins tory justice (reparations) needed to reat the local Woolworth’s? duce the wealth gap. We need to take Incidentally, the Civil War Centennial the traumatic massacre of the Emanuel Commission, established as a federally Nine and use it as a way to accelerate funded agency inside the Department the struggle for freedom and justice. of Interior, (why?) could not overcome If the Sons of Confederate Veterans persistent racism. The Kennedy ad- are really about history, then they need ministration was forced to replace con- to read the Cornerstone Speech and reservative commission leadership (that pudiate it with as much vigor as they wanted to meet in segregated facilities), embrace the flag. Otherwise they are with a group that included historians. disingenuous liars who would distort The activities, envisioned to “celebrate history in order to celebrate their ignoAmerican patriotism at the height of rance.
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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Remembering Lions legend Charlie Sanders
Pastor Michael G. Cunningham celebrated 30 years with a banquet at the Detroit Yacht Club and
In Memoriam
Widely recognized for an uncanny knack for hauling in passes from Lions quarterbacks, Hallof-Fame tight end Charlie Sanders died July 2 at the age of 68. Sanders played 10 seasons with the Lions, amassing numbers worthy enough for his induction into the Pro Football League Hall of Fame in 2007. The blue and silver icon battled cancer while continuously bringing hope and support to students and athletes through the work of his foundation. The Charlie Sanders Foundation provided scholarships to high school students in Michigan and North Carolina.
“We lost one of the greatest Detroit Lions of all time,” Lions president Tom Lewand said in a statement. “Charlie was a special person to the entire Lions family for nearly a half century. While never forgetting his North Carolina roots, ‘Satch’ became the consummate Detroit Lion on and off the field.” Retiring in 1977, Sanders led the Lions organization in receptions from the tight end position. He is credited with revolutionizing the position and served as a member of the organization in the personnel department. “He was a perfect ambassador for our organization and, more important, was a true friend, colleague and mentor to so many of us,” said Lewand.
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O’ Neil Swanson celebrates pastoral anniversaries
Pictured from left (seated) First Lady Vera K. Cunningham and Pastor Michael G. Cunningham. Back row: Jessie B. Horton (left), O’ Neil D. Swanson Sr., president/CEO of Swanson Funeral Homes Inc., and Deacon Petter Mattic of Eastlake Baptist Church.
By Daniel Washington
July 8-14, 2015
On Thursday, June 18, services were held for Donald Hurt, Sr. at Third New Hope Baptist Church with Joy Challenger, associate pastor, officiating. Mr. Hurt passed away on June 11, 2015. Donald Hurt, Sr. was born on July 4, 1934 in Detroit to John Henry and Estelle Hurt, the seventh of 10 children. He was educated in the Detroit Public Schools. He and Mayola Hoggrove were married on Jan. 22, 1955 and were blessed with three sons, Donald, Jr., Derek Alan and Marcel. Mr. Hurt was employed as a truck driver and worked for the H.J. Oldencamp Company for 33 years. He enjoyed reading and had a gift for storytelling. Left behind to cherish the memory of Donald Hurt, Sr. are his wife, Mayola; three sons, Donald, Jr., Derek Alan and Marcel; sisters, Mildred Sanders, Geraldine Holcomb and Doris Ann Webb; 13 grandchildren and many other relatives and friends. Arrangements were handled by Swanson Funeral Home. Interment took place at Elmwood Cemetery.
Rev. Dr. William E. Revely Jr. celebrated 50 years serving as a pastor with an event held at Byblos Banquet Center. The event was hosted by Holy Hope Heritage Baptist Church where Rev. Dr. Revely is pastor and was attended by many community leaders including Linda E. Swanson, vice president/ executive director of Swanson Funeral Homes, Inc.
Pictured from left: Yvonne Pitts, Obbie Woods, Linda E. Swanson, Rev. Dr. William E. Revely, Patricia Harrell, Dorothy Petty and Bonnie Flewellyn.
Jimmie Gordon departed this life on July 2, 2015. She was born June 8, 1920 in Columbus, Georgia to James and Elizabeth Hunt and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. A lover of education, she attended Parker High School in Birmingham and Tennessee State University where she was named Ms. Tennessee State. Her love for education turned into a celebrated career that spanned over four decades. Cherishing her memory are oldest son, Lionel Swan, Jr., from her marriage to Dr. Lionel Swan, Sr.; her youngest son, Edward Gordon, III, from her marriage to Edward Gordon, Jr.; daughter-inlaw Leslie Gordon; grandchildren Ariel Swan, Taylor Gordon and many other family members and friends. The funeral service will be held July 11 at 11 am at Mayflower Congregational Church, 7301 Curtis, Detroit. The family hour starts at 10 am. Visitation will be held on Friday, July 10, 1-8 pm at Swanson Funeral Home, 14751 W. McNichols Rd., Detroit. For more information call (313) 272- 9000.
Services for Dwight Darnell Holliday were held on Thursday, June 18, at Little Rock Baptist Church with Rev. James Hilliard officiating. Mr. Holliday passed away on June 9, 2015. Dwight Darnell Holliday was born in Detroit on May 27, 1958 to William and Evelyn Holliday. He and his wife, Lynette, were married on July 27, 1997. He worked at Flood’s Bar and Grill for over 25 years. Among other things, he enjoyed working out, traveling and entertaining friends. Mr. Holliday is survived by his wife, Lynette; his children, Dwight, Chantell, Darnell, Kisha, Van, Antoine and Andre; two brothers, William and Vincent; five sisters, Beatrice, Glenda, Elaine, Yvonne and Jacqueline; and many other relatives. Swanson Funeral Home handled arrangements. Interment took place at Woodlawn Cemetery.
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Freedman’s Bank has a message for Detroit By Keith A. Owens “This is about breaking generational poverty for our children.” — Tonya Allen, president/CEO, The Skillman Foundation Without a doubt, civil rights pioneer and legend Andrew Young was the star of the show last week when the Freedman’s Bank 150th Anniversary Tour rolled through Detroit at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. As always, his commentary, observations and reminiscences about the condition of African American people were spoken as one who really has seen it all. It was nothing short of an entertaining and educational seminar. But when it came to nailing down what is going on in Detroit, it was Tonya Allen, president and CEO of The Skillman Foundation and a member of the panel discussion that preceded Young’s arrival, who clearly walked away with the Gold Star Award for the evening. “People talk about how cities transform, and you look across the country at it, you look at Seattle, you look at New York, you look at Boston. All of them, at one point, people said ‘turn off the lights’ just like they said about Detroit. And now they’re the hotbed of our economy in this country. So what do you think Detroit is next? If we’re not preparing our children not to get a job but to create a job, then we are missing the boat. She also had much say about the improvements being made downtown, but noted that these changes come with a price. “I think what we have now is a city of poor folks with a broke peoples’ strategy. And what I mean by that is this: I’m a big fan of all that activity that’s going on in downtown Detroit, but I also know that it’s displacing a lot of the subsidized housing for the poor people that live in the city. And we’re replacing it for low-income folks,” she said. “But it’s not the folks that we think of when we think of low income. When we think about low-income folks, it’s broke people. But it’s young professionals that are coming into the community who are broke.”
Freedman’s Bank. And at its closure 61,000 depositors with $2 million. And you already heard the figures, what $2 million means now. We have a legacy and a heritage and it’s already in writing and we need to pick it up,” said community activist and former City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, also a member of the panel. Despite the eventual sad ending of the bank in June 1874, due to corruption that ruined the very lives of the people it was designed to help, the legacy of the Freedman’s Bank is still critical because it is a legacy of financial literacy for African Americans. In a capitalist society, he who does not possess and has no understanding of capital will always wind up losing. The failure of the Freedman’s Bank created a distrust of banks in the Black community that still ripples throughout that community to this day. But the lesson of learning about money, of learning about how to save and how to invest (intelligently) is a lesson that remains critical for the Black community, which is a major reason behind the Freedman’s Bank Tour, and a major reason why Detroit was chosen as one of the stops for the tour.
missing the opportunity of what could be? “And then we have new Detroiters that are coming into town and all they see is opportunity. They’re saying, ‘This is the land of milk and honey. Now it might not be as safe as I want it to be, but we’re going to make that happen. We’re going to figure this out, we’re going to put cameras up, we’re going figure it out.’” She continued, “But there’s a third Detroit, and that’s the young Detroiters who have never heard about the prosperity of Detroit and they’ve got no access to the opportunity of Detroit. And those young people are feeling hopeless, and we are not creating a path for them to figure out how they can get connected to the economy.” And that is the significance of the legacy of the Freedman’s Bank as it relates to Detroit.
“We talk a lot about there being two Detroits, but I actually think there’s three,” said Allen. “It’s the legacy of longtime Detroiters, the people who know what Detroit used to be like and what it could be. And we are upset about what we don’t have and
She continued, “They’re going to earn money, they’re going to get a certain salary, and they’re going be prosperous eventually. They’re on the path, and they’re going to get opportunities. And so we’re not looking at this and trying to figure out how we’re going to create a path.” The significance of the Freedman’s Bank is what it meant for newly freed slaves in America who, despite being deprived any access to education, were smart enough to realize the importance of putting away money for the future of their families. President Abraham Lincoln recognized this as well, which is why he established the bank, an act that was nearly as significant in many ways as his decision to fight the Civil War and put an end to slavery. By establishing the Freedman’s Bank, he was following up on an unspoken promise to the slaves that they were entitled to more than simply being free of their chains. They deserved a real chance at life. “At its height there were 480,000 depositors in the
Free tax help for Detroiters throughout the summer By AJ Williams MICHIGAN CHRONICLE WEB EDITOR
Have you missed the regular income tax filing deadline? Do you have tax returns that you need to file from previous years? Do you need to apply for the Home Heating Credit before the Sept. 30 deadline? If you answer yes to any one of these questions, you can receive free preparation assistance from Accounting Aid Society at four locations in Detroit. For those who do not owe taxes, which is often the case for the modest-income households served by Accounting Aid Society, there is no penalty for filing late. However, the Home Heating Credit, which helps families with the cost of heating their homes, expires at the end of September for the 2014 credit, and the deadline cannot be extended. Eligibility for free tax help is based on income and includes families with total household incomes up to $53,000, and individuals with incomes up to $35,000. Eligibility for the Home Heating Credit (a State of Michigan credit) is based on several variables including household income, number of exemptions and heating costs.
To make an appointment to file a tax return or apply for the Home Heating Credit, call AAS at 313-556-1920 and choose your location: North End (New Center) Neighborhood Tax Center 7700 Second Avenue, Detroit 48202 3 blocks north of Grand Blvd., just west of Woodward Southwest Neighborhood Tax Center 2826 Bagley and 21st, Detroit 48216 in Mexican Mercado/Ford Resource and Engagement Center Northwest Neighborhood Tax Center 19556 Grand River, Detroit 48223 between W. Outer Drive and Evergreen Osborn Neighborhood Tax Center 4777 E. Outer Drive, Detroit 48234 inside St. John Conner Creek Village
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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
July 8-14, 2015
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Black women represent fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in U.S. By Lynette Holloway A new report shows that the number of businesses owned by African American women has grown 332 percent since 1997, according to Fortune magazine. The recently published study, 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express Open, shows that the overall number of female-owned businesses grew by 74 percent between 1997 and 2015, which is 1.5 times the national average. Women now own 30 percent of all businesses in the U.S., accounting for some 9.4 million firms. And African American women control 14 percent of these companies, or an estimated 1.3 million businesses. That figure is larger
than the total number of firms owned by all minority women in 1997, the report found.
“The highest concentrations of Black
an economic development tool, a tiny nonprofit is making outsize efforts at helping Black women become business owners. Since it was formed in 2012, the Build Institute has graduated nearly 600 students from its eight-week courses, which teach the basics of starting and running a business, including such topics as money management and how to determine your break-even point. Nearly 70 percent of those students are women, and 60 percent of them identify as a member of a minority group.
“The only bright spot in recent years with respect to privately-held company job growth has been among women-owned firms,” according to the report. These businesses have added an estimated 340,000 jobs to the economy since 2007, while employment at companies owned by men (or with equally shared ownership) has declined.
woman-owned businesses are in Georgia, Maryland, and Illinois, but African American women are
The highest concentrations of black woman-owned businesses are in Georgia, Maryland, and Illinois, but African American women are launching companies in growing numbers across the country. In Detroit, where city leaders, foundations, and even President Obama have promoted entrepreneurship as
launching companies in growing numbers across the country.”
This is good news that comes at a time when America is awakening from the slumber that has long tried to subjugate women of color in the workplace, and as progress in the so-called post-recession era appears to elude Black women.
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July 8-14, 2015
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
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Fox Theatre’s marquee facelift
Photo by Mike Russell The marquee of the historic Fox Theatre, is being improved with upto-date digital capabilities. This multi-phase revitalization will preserve the historic integrity of the signature 1988 marquee design while adding modern LED reader boards, animations for the Theatre’s griffins and new audio capabilities. “When my parents, Mike and Marian Ilitch, purchased the Fox Theatre in 1987, they had a vision of restoring the theatre to its original splendor and making it a Detroit destination that created pride for our entire community,” said Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. “More than a quarter century later, the Fox Theatre continues to be one of the most beloved destinations in our city. We’re excited to renovate this important community icon as so many other exciting developments are taking place throughout Detroit and its main street, Woodward Ave-
nue.” The project began on Thursday, June 18, with the deconstruction of the existing marquee. The anticipated completion of the renovated marquee is slated for July. The renovation, which will preserve the historic integrity of the signature 1988 marquee design, will involve more than 7,000 sheets of aluminum, 342 square feet of video display and approximately 5,000 feet of new neon and 1,024 LED canopy lighting components. In addition to marrying the iconic look of the Fox Theatre with state-of-theart digital capabilities, the renovation will improve structural foundations for the marquee. The highlights of the renovation include new LED reader boards to show one large image or multiple windows for any combination of show information, graphics or sponsorship messaging. Also, new modular LED lighting with programmable lighting sequences and movements of the Fox Theatre’s 14-foot
griffins’ wings; four new speakers recessed within the canopy panels for venue announcements; and an improved structural foundation in steel and aluminum affording it with enhanced longevity and serviceability of the marquee’s framework. “The renovation of the Fox Theatre marquee will provide a new and exciting visual experience for the more than 12 million visitors to the sports and entertainment district each year,” said Tom Wilson, president and CEO of Olympia Entertainment. “This marquee will increase reach and visibility with our patrons and sponsors while also serving as one of the many developments, including the new Detroit Events Center, that continue to add momentum on Woodward Avenue.” Detroit-based contractors Fairmont Sign Company and Spectrum Neon Signs and Lighting will join with national leaders Daktronics and YESCO to complete the project.
Motown Museum on tap for donation
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ees of the Motown Museum.
Detroit’s historic Motown Museum is hoping customers of Batch Brewing Co., located in Corktown, are thirsty this month.
In hopes of giving back to non-profits in Detroit, cofounder of Batch Brewery Stephen Roginson created Feelgood Tap. It is a commitment by way of which Batch Brewery offers customers a unique beer and with the sale of that beer a portion of the proceeds are donated to a selected non-profit.
It was launched on July 1, and with every purchase of a Feelgood pint at the newly opened brewery, $2 will be donated to the Motown Museum. “Stephen Roginson is a great example of the entrepreneurial spirit that is alive and well in Detroit today that was a cornerstone of the success of Motown Records, evidenced by Berry Gordy’s groundbreaking vision and unwavering perseverance,” said Robin Terry, chairwoman and CEO of the Board of Trust-
“The Motown Museum is proud to partner with entrepreneurial businesses like Batch Brewery that are impacting Detroit’s bright future as a result of their focus and determination,” said Terry. “We are extremely grateful for the support this partnership will provide as we continue our mission to protect and preserve the Motown legacy.”
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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
July 8-14, 2015
Page C-4
Newly inducted National Association of Women Business Owners president
Tanya R. Allen Melvin Washington
Urban developer and historic preservationist extraordinaire By Donald James
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE As president and CEO of the Detroit-based Phoenix Group Companies, a cutting-edge group of real estate entities, Melvin Washington heads one of the city’s most progressive development/building conglomerations of affordable and market rate housing for urban neighborhoods. Additionally, Washington heads Castle Construction, a builder of affordable housing in Detroit through the utilization of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) financing. While Washington is one of the region’s most active urban planner, real estate developer/redeveloper, general contractor/builder, and property managers, he is also one of area’s most ardent historic preservationists, having acquired and preserved architecturally and historically significant buildings in the Motor City.
Washington and his award-winning companies are currently focused on rehabbing the historic Whittier Hotel through a project called River Park Village/Whittier Manor. The grand hotel, in its heyday, lodged such famous people as the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Eleanor Roosevelt. Located at Burns just south of Jefferson Avenue on the fringe of downtown Detroit, the project is divided into two phases. Phase one, which was completed several years ago, created 120 apartment units on eight floors that offer seniors affordable luxury living. He is now close to beginning the phase two of Whittier Manor, which will rehab the adjourning 15-story building, which was also a part of the Whittier Hotel. Once completed, the high-rise will feature 150 units for a diverse population of individuals looking for luxury living along the Detroit River. According to Washington, when all is said and done, the price tag for the rehabilitation/redevelopment of both phases of Whittier Manor will be in the neighborhood
of $120 million. “When I purchased the old Whittier Hotel in 2003, it was totally empty and had been neglected for years,” said Washington. “Now, it has become my signature project. A lot of the big guys wanted it, but by the grace of God, I have it. It will be an awesome place to live as this whole area will once again become vibrant.” Other historic preservation projects with Washington’s rehabilitation fingerprints attached include the nationally recognized historic Eighth Precinct Police Station in the Woodbridge neighborhood sector of the city. Built in 1901, based on the architectural vision of Louis Kamper, the former precinct, which looks like a medieval castle, now serves as the corporate headquarters of Washington’s Castle Construction and the Phoenix Group Companies. Washington also owns the historic National Theater in downtown Detroit, which opened in 1911 and is the last theater left standing from the city’s first theater district. While rehabbing and preserving historically significant buildings are major chapters in the Melvin Washington story, they do not totally define him professionally. For more than two decades, the native Detroiter, under the auspices of his companies, has perhaps been Detroit neighborhoods’ greatest and most inexhaustible urban planners, developer, redeveloper and builder of affordable housing. Washington’s companies have more than 35 affordable living facilities..
Whittier North, photo by Andrew Jameson.
“I consider myself a community or neighborhood builder,” said Washington, who holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Michigan State University. “I’m into more of a holistic approach of how to build not only affordable housing, but the auxiliary things that better support and empower the neighborhoods.”
The National Association of Women Business Owners – Greater Detroit Chapter has inducted Tanya R. Allen, founder and CEO of ForeverFresh, as chapter president. Allen becomes president after serving the organization as a board member for three years. She brings to the organization over 25 years of experience as a woman business owner and a strong commitment to the mission of NAWBO-GDC. “It is an honor to serve NAWBO-GDC as president,” said Allen. “Women business owners need access to capital, more business opportunities and favorable public policies to assist in these efforts. NAWBO has been advocating for women business owners for 40 years. I understand firsthand the issues women in business face and what solutions are needed to ensure their success. NAWBO has had a great impact on me as a business owner and I want to use this platform to further impact the lives of other women.” Allen will use her expertise to connect members to opportunities that will strengthen and grow their businesses and increase NAWBO GDC membership. She also intends to inform and engage members on national issues that relate to the viability of women in business. “NAWBO is not just a business organization, it is also a sisterhood of women who pride themselves on helping each other,” said Allen. “I will continue to encourage this as well as business-to-business amongst our membership.” Allen was initiated as NAWBO-GDC’s president at “Inspire the Change,” the organization’s annual business meeting in June 2015. To learn more about Allen and the other newly installed board members visit www.nawbogdc.org. Allen developed and patented ForeverFresh Disposable Undergarments and recently launched ToddiFresh, a children’s line of disposable underwear. She is also partner and vice president of HBF-APU, LLC, a joint venture between Hojeij Branded Foods and AP United. The company was recently awarded a contract to operate ten restaurants at DTW, PF Chang, Chick fil A, Long Horn steak house, Illy Coffee and several others. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C. the NAWBO has over 60 chapters in the U.S. with over 5000 members. In 1988, NAWBO played a key role in the passage of The Women’s Business Ownership Act, also known as H.R. 5050. This landmark legislation allowed women to receive business loans without the cosignature of a male relative. NAWBO GDC unifies women business owners in the Southeast region, ranging from sole proprietors to women who own companies with more 800 employees. Through events and other collaborative efforts, members are able to develop their professional and personal skills and leverage business relationships.
LaunchDETROIT seeks Detroit entrepreneuers mentoring are two of the key components that entrepreneurs seek.
Entrepreneur Willie Brake describes his business, All About Technology, Inc., during a LaunchDETROIT open house. Photos by Rotary International/Alyce Henson LaunchDETROIT is seeking entrepreneurs who live and work in Detroit to apply online at www.LaunchDetroit. org for this multifaceted program that offers a combination of free business training, micro loans of $1,000 to $2,500, assigned business mentors and networking opportunities. The mission of LaunchDETROIT is to support and develop en-
trepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities in the Detroit region. Since the program was introduced in 2013 by Rotary volunteers in District 6400, it has achieved national attention and international recognition from Rotary International, the world’s oldest service organization headquartered in Evanston, Illinois. “We awarded our first micro-loans in January
2014 and 2015 in a program that is still in its infancy,” said Rotarian Lawrence Wright, president of the LaunchDETROIT initiative. “We’ve learned a lot through the process, which is being well documented by Rotary International. Currently, we’re accepting applications for our third round of entrepreneurs.” LaunchDETROIT volunteers have learned that business training and
“We’re very fortunate to have Baker College of Allen Park as a partner to provide free business training classes,” said Wright. “During the first year of our program, entrepreneurs attended five weekly, three-hour classes at Baker’s Allen Park campus. It was Baker’s administration and instructors who encouraged us to increase the number of classes to ensure that entrepreneurs finish the coursework with a solid business plan. This year, we’re increasing the attendance requirement to eight classes.” The deadline to apply online for the LaunchDETROIT program is August 21, 2015, and qualifying candidates will be interviewed in September. Successful candidates must have a business product or service that will enable them to repay their loan within one year through regular installments. Upon completion of business training that begins in October and ends with business plan presentations in November,
the LaunchDETROIT selection committee will interview candidates for micro-loans to be awarded in January 2016. A business mentor is assigned to each qualifying candidate. Entrepreneur Willie Brake, owner of All About
timonials, are available on the LaunchDETROIT website. “The personal relationships that have formed between our entrepreneurs, their mentors and Rotary volunteers have
Instructor Leonard Hunter (right) works with entrepreneurs during a free business class provided by Baker College of Allen Park. Technology, Inc., was among the first group of entrepreneurs to participate in LaunchDETROIT and credited the program with allowing him to expand his business to a retail location on Michigan Avenue, west of Livernois Avenue, in Detroit. Brake’s testimonial, along with other entrepreneur photo and video tes-
been a wonderful extension of this program,” said Wright. “We feel like family.” LaunchDETROIT is a non-profit program powered by Rotary volunteers from District 6400, which serves southeast Michigan and southwest Ontario.
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Reflections By Steve Holsey
Amazing
Here we go again When it comes to the life of Fantasia (Barrino), it seems that for every joyous good thing — and there have been plenty of those — there is a disaster of one sort or another. The latest involves losing her beautiful (and large) home in North Carolina. The Internal Revenue Service hit the songstress with a tax lien for failing to pay the $92,837 the IRS says she owes. She also lost a home in 2012 for defaulting on a bank loan. But Fantasia is certainly not the first celebrity to lose a Fantasia home. Among the others are R. Kelly, Toni Braxton, Nicolas Cage and Nas. On the plus side — well, we hope it’s a plus side — Fantasia and her husband, Kendall Taylor, COO of a courier service, have decided to give it another try. JULY 23 is a special date for Kem (Owens) — his 25th anniversary of being drug-free or, to put it another way, he hasn’t used a dangerous substance, illegal or otherwise, since he was 20. During his worst years Kem spent time in jail, being homeless and being hospitalized. He has talked about his past Kem and, conversely, his present and he did so again with the Huffington Post. With typical honesty, he said, “My addiction brought me to my knees, so it was like, ‘Look, either you’re going to do this or you’re going to die out here in the streets.’ I could no longer continue living the way I was living, and I didn’t know how to stop.” That’s where turning to the Creator came in. “I’m not just clean and sober…my recovery is the foundation for everything in my life right now.” Kem says help is available to anyone who wants it and is in the right state of mind to receive it.
CHRIS BROWN, whose volatile temper and antics have gotten him into an incredible amount of well-publicized trouble with the law, just might have it together this time. (“Just might” are the key words.) We want to believe him when he says he is a changed man, or at least a changing man. Chris Brown Kudos to Brown for the multiple BET Awards he won. His as-yet-untitled seventh album will be released in the fall and his tour kicks off Aug. 12. Smokey Robinson has received a multitude of awards during his career, but he should also receive one for looking amazingly well at the hard-to-believe age of 75.
Unique singer/model/actress tells her story in forthcoming autobiography By Steve Holsey
B
efore there was Lady Gaga — or Madonna and Pink for that matter — there was Grace Jones. These are ladies who revel in presenting themselves in outrageous, often unimaginable attire and often hairstyles that defy description. Jones in particular has always had so much fun with the whole thing, enjoying the raised eyebrows, laughing on the outside and on the inside. Grace Jones had long maintained that she would not write an autobiography, but she changed her mind. Hence, the cleverly titled new book, “I’ll Never Write My Memoirs,” scheduled for late September release (Gallery Books). The enigmatic star’s thinking was that if she didn’t write a book, someone else would. (But let’s face it, someone still might.) JONES IS not a singer in the traditional sense, but the strange voice fits the image and presentation. Give another listen to some of her best known and most successful recordings, most notably “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You),” “Pull up to the Bumper” and “Slave to the Rhythm.” Considering her flamboyant sense of style and willingness to try just about anything — yes, including on occasion being nude — it comes as no surprise that Grace Jones began her long and expansive career as a model. (Interestingly, her father was a minister in a Pentecostal church.) “One creates one’s self,” said Jones. “I’ve always been a rebel. I never do things they way they’re supposed to be done. Either I go in the opposite direction or I create a new direction for myself, regardless of what the rules are or what society says.” A TRUE free spirit, Jones, who doesn’t like the idea of people feeling they have to “hide things,” allows others the right to be who they really are, say-
See Amazing Grace Page D-2 Smokey Robinson
Diana Ross
One would think that everything that could be known about Diana Ross is already known, but apparently that is not so. There is a new book titled “Diana Ross Reflections,” written by Ian Phillips, that is winning raves from fans who are also impressed with the never-before-seen pictures. In this paper recently there was a story about Ken Coleman’s new book, “Soul on Air,” an extensive history of African Americans on Black radio in Detroit, but there was no ordering information. The address is onthisdaydetroit.com, or you can pick up a copy at Spectacles, 230 E. Grand River, downtown. BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that when Anita Baker had her first baby, Roberta Flack came to Baker’s metro Detroit home to help wherever it was needed. (That’s what you call a friend.) MEMORIES: “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (Roberta Flack), “She Works Hard for the Money” (Donna Summer), “Baby Sitter” (Betty Wright), “Yes, I’m Ready” (Barbara Mason), “The Jam” (Graham Central Station), “Crazy” (the Boys),
See Reflections Page D-2
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Straight Ahead
Paradise Valley Music Festival
Hart Plaza will be the place to be for a lot of people Friday through Sunday, July 10-12, because that is when the Fourth Annual Paradise Valley Music Festival will take place. The event, presented by Washington Entertainment, is free until 2 p.m. and then only $5 after. Organizers say this year’s festival will be better than ever, featuring an impressive and diverse lineup of performers, delicious food and the opportunity to learn more about the history of Paradise Valley and Black Bottom by way of a short documentary film. These were thriving areas for African Americans, with clubs, drugstores, barbershops, law offices and more, all Black owned.
Thornetta Davis
On Friday night, things kick off with Blues Lady Champagne with special guest Thornetta Davis. On Saturday night, attendees will enjoy Switch, known for such hits as “There’ll Never Be” and “I Call Your Name,” as well as Carl Carlton, who had major national hits with “She’s a Bad Mama Jama,” “Everlasting Love” and others, Yancy, and the Ali Woodson Temptation Revue featuring Serieux.
Carl Carlton
Sunday starts out with a Sunday morning worship and praise fest featuring Pastor Burr and Second New Hope. Then that night, the nation’s foremost all female jazz band, Straight Ahead, will play, and Miki Howard will sing her biggest hits such as “Love Under New Management” and “Ain’t Nuthin’ in the World.”
UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS AN APATOW PRODUCTION A JUDD APATOW FILM “TRAINWRECK” AMY SCHUMER BILL HADER EXECUTIVE BRIE LARSON COLIN QUINPRODUCED N JOHN CENA WITH TILDA SWINTON ANDWRITTENLEBRON JAMES MUSIC BY JON BRION PRODUCER DAVID HOUSEHOLTER BY JUDD APATOW p.g.a. BARRY MENDEL p.g.a. BY AMY SCHUMER DIRECTED BY JUDD APATOW A UNIVERSAL PICTURE
Over 30 acts will perform in total. For more detailed information, visit detroitparadisevalleymusicfestival.com. For VIP seating, call 800.794.7503.
© 2015 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Miki Howard
Amazing Grace ing, “I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it’s up to them to find that quality and let it live.” She admits, however, that she might be “too vain.” When she arrived in the States (Syracuse, New York) from her native Jamaica at age 13, Jones envisioned herself on the runways at top-level fashion shows and appearing in all of the most prestigious fashion magazines. Success was forthcoming and Jones worked hard to make it so. She landed key jobs in New York State and later Paris, wearing the clothes of Yves St. Laurent, Kenzo Takada and others, and was seen in such highly regarded magazines as Vogue and Elle. BUT THAT wasn’t enough. Jones also wanted to sing, and that aspect of her career was given a boost when Island Records, recognizing her uniqueness and sales potential, signed her in 1977. At various times her music has been categorized as avant-garde, disco, new wave, R&B, reggae and more.
From page D-1 In some of her videos, as elsewhere, there was more than a small amount of “gender bending” implications. She is, in fact, the epitome of androgyny.
BLESSINGS to David Humphries, Karen Dumas, Alex Alexander, Craig Strong, Kim Trent Coleman, Ken Coleman, Michael “Tiger” Price, Ceil Stevenson, Aaron Foley and Montez Miller. WORDS OF THE WEEK, from Oprah
MICHIGAN CHRONICLE WEDNESDAY 07/08 3 COL. ( 4.94" ) X 10.5" ALL.TRW.0708.MCEmail
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ON THAT subject Jones, who never withholds truth when questions are put to her — and even when they are not — said, “I go feminine, I go masculine. I am both, actually. I’m not like a normal woman, that’s for sure.” Which, no doubt, is a key factor in the huge gay following Jones has maintained. Considering her odd looks, the movies seemed like a logical next step, although she did not forsake her recording career. After appearing in a series of low-budget films, Jones struck Hollywood gold when she landed the role of Zula (the Amazonian) in the 1984 film “Conan the Destroyer” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was also in “A View to a Kill” (1985), the James Bond movie starring Roger Moore, and “Boomerang” (1992) with Eddie Murphy as well as other, lesser films. There will never be another Grace Jones, or anyone remotely like her.
Reflections “Summertime” (D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince), “Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite” (the Spaniels), “Practice What You Preach” (Barry White), “Get Here” (Oleta Adams).
LOCAL LISTINGS STARTS FRIDAY, JULY 17 FOR CHECK THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES
From page D-1 Winfrey: “The naysayers can never be satisfied. Stop paying attention to them. Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are ignoring the owner’s manual your Creator gave you.” Let the music play! Steve Holsey can be reached at Svh517@aol.com and PO Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.
© 2014 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
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8. Type of salad
42. Basil-based sauce
1. Northern Scandinavians
48. Condition
9. Containing limestone
45. Rapid transit
6. To use a Singer
50. Someone ____
10. Former Montreal player
9. *Al Green: “____ Stay Together”
52. Tarzan’s adoptive mom
11. “Swan Lake” outfit
49. *”I’m Beginning to ___ the Light”
53. Found on a rosary
12. “I ____” guessing game
51. Scarier
13. Like unlucky straw
55. *”____ for Two”
54. Rome’s Colosseum
14. Paleontologist’s estimate
57. *Bette Midler: “Some say love is like a ____”
15. System used in most of world, except U.S.
56. In the past
20. Employer’s good news
57. Many focuses
15. Confusion
60. *Simple Minds: “Don’t you ____ about me”
22. Quaker Man’s cereal
58. Been in bed 59. Paella pot
17. *Beach Boys: “____ Only Knows”
63. Bear Down Under
24. Roofless, sideless truck 25. Metrical units in poetry
60. Wild West card game
18. Like worthless promise
66. Tiny amounts
26. Sheep + goat
61. Estimated arrivals
19. *Billy Joel: “... just the way ____ ____”
68. In an unfriendly manner
27. The press
62. London art museum
29. Additionally
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31. Colloquial British abbreviation for particular sweet
65. *____ Stewart: “Have I told you lately”
71. In 1492, it sailed the ocean blue
32. “Earth” to Virgil
72. “Much ____ About Nothing”
61. *Director of 1944’s “Laura”
34. *If he “could save time in a bottle”
16. Emotion at a funeral
21. *Sonny & Cher: “I ____ ____ Babe” 23. Type of evidence 24. “The Blair Witch Project” emotion 25. School of thought suffix 28. Obsolete phone feature 30. The 1 1/2 calorie breath mint 35. Throat-clearing sound 37. Lovers’ quarrel blow 39. *Deniece Williams: “I just wanna ____, let’s hear it for the boy” 40. *Depeche ____: “Just Can’t Get Enough”
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DOWN 1. Lysergic acid diethylamide 2. Call to a mate 3. Ralph Lauren’s inspiration
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6. Like Solomon
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
LEGAL NOTICE Covenant House Academy Detroit Attention: Food Service Vended Meal Companies
The Covenant House Academy Detroit is requesting proposals for school food service vended meals. The Vendor would provide meal services according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations and guidelines as well as State of Michigan Department of Education policies and guidelines. Vendors and/or their representatives may submit proposals to:
EDUCATION & TRAINING
The Covenant House Academy Detroit Board of Education reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all proposals or to accept the proposal that it finds, in its sole discretion, to be in the best interest of the school district. A mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for July 20, 2015, at 11:00 am at 1450 25th Street, Detroit, Michigan 48216. Attendance is mandatory. All proposals must be submitted no later than 2:00 pm on August 10, 2015. All proposals should be delivered in a sealed envelope and addressed to the Covenant House Academy Detroit, 1450 25th Street, Detroit, Michigan 48216 and be clearly marked: Food Service Vended Meal Proposal.
Qualifications necessary for an applicant to be considered are: 1. Must be 18 years of age or older. 2. Complete the application and return to the Pipefitting Industry Training Center with: a. A valid driver’s license. b. High School diploma or high school equivalency (GED) certificate. c. There is a $45.00 testing fee that will be assessed when applicants schedule their test with Macomb Community College. The Pipefitting Industry Training Center is located at 636 Executive Drive in Troy, MI between John R. and Dequindre north of E. 14 mile road. No resumes please. For more information please contact our web site at:
HELP WANTED
PRETRIAL SERVICES OFFICER United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan - Pretrial Services Officer Vacancy Announcement at http://www.mied.uscourts.gov. The position is located in Detroit, MI. The employee supervises defendants and performs duties that involve pretrial services cases. EOE Seeking
CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK
NOTIFICATION OF REQUEST FOR BIDS FOR REPAIRS TO: a. Police Station in basement of Robert Blackwell Building, and b. Interior of the Ernest T. Ford Rec Center The City of Highland Park is seeking Bids from qualified, licensed and bonded contractors to complete interior repairs to the Police Station in the basement of Robert B. Blackwell Building (“City Hall”), 12050 Woodward Avenue, and the Earnest T. Ford Rec Center, 10 Pitkin, both in Highland Park, MI. The City is looking for firms to perform the following services: • Experienced in insurance claims work and the “Exactimate” bid estimate format • Carpentry, drywall, finishes, hardware, painting, cabinetry • Walls, ceiling, flooring, asbestos removal The Contractor(s) and Subcontractor(s) must itemize bid estimates for the (a) the Police Station and (b) the Rec Center and (c) show the aggregate costs of both (a) and (b). In addition, Contractors must submit a 5% Bid Bond for the aggregate amount of their bid(s). Bid documents shall be available as of June 29, 2015 at the City of Highland Park’s Real Estate Office located at City Hall 12050 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, MI between the hours of 9:00am and 4:30pm Monday-Thursday and Friday from 9:00 am until 12:00pm. Walk-throughs must be coordinated with the Chief of Police and Director of Parks and Recreation, respectively. All proposals must be returned to the City of Highland Park Clerk’s Office in City Hall on or before Tuesday, July 14, 2015 at 12:00 pm, after which proposals will be publicly opened July 20, 2015. Proposals should be marked: City of Highland Park Flood Repairs: Police Department & Rec Center Attn: Clerk Brenda Green For additional information regarding the request for proposals/qualifications contact, Louis Starks, Director of Community and Economic Development, (313) 252-0050 ext. 257 or at lstarks@highlandparkcity.org Brenda Green, Clerk Publish: June 29, 2015 Disclaimer: The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive any irregularities herein and to make the award in any manner deemed to be in the best interest of the City.
SENIOR EXECUTIVE SECRETARY at OAKLAND UNIVERSITY Academic Affairs
This position will provide a high level of executive support of a confidential nature, requiring independent judgment and planning, for the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Minimum Qualifications: Associate’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience. Five years secretarial experience. Advanced word processing, database and spreadsheet skills as demonstrated by a skills assessment. Salary is up to the low $50’s annually. Some evenings and weekends may be required. Refer to online posting for additional requirements. First consideration will be given to those who apply by July 13, 2015. Must apply on line to: https://jobs.oakland.edu
THE DETROIT CITY COUNCIL IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE POSITION OF
OMBUDSMAN
FOR THE CITY OF DETROIT The Ombudsman is a ten-year appointed position with the power to receive complaints and initiate investigations of any agency within City government, with the exception of elective officers. At the time of appointment, the successful applicant must be at least 18 years of age and a citizen of the United States. The Ombudsman may not hold any office of trust or profit or engage in any occupation for profit outside the duties of the office. Current salary: $127,500 In addition to the Charter mandated requirements listed above, the candidate should also have: • Extensive experience in municipal or state government • Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration, Political Science, Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Human Services, or related field • Computer literacy • Mediation and negotiation experience • Demonstrated investigative and analytical skills • Excellent written and oral communication skills • Ability and willingness to work with both legislative and executive branches of government • Demonstrated ability and willingness to work with various ethnic, social and age groups • Strong professional, civic or community service background • Positive working relationships with the private sector, community or other governmental agencies • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks, investigations, or activities in a professional and timely manner • Ability and willingness to work long hours, attend evening and weekend meetings or travel if required • Highly motivated, creative and adaptable individual in seeking long term solutions or policy changes Successful applicants will be expected to operate within the position in accordance with United States Ombudsman Association Governmental Ombudsman Standards. APPLICATION PROCESS: A Formal Application Packet, including (1) a resume, (2) a writing sample (of at least 3 pages in length, and an application form MUST be submitted for consideration. Applications are available at www.detroitmi.gov/Government/City-Council or in the Legislative Policy Division’s office. Applications will be accepted via hand-delivery, mail and electronic mail at the following locations no later than 5:00 P.M. ON JULY 13, 2015.
City of Detroit City Council Legislative Policy Division Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Ste. 208 Detroit, MI 48226, or OmbudsmanApp@detroitmi.gov Phone calls, letters of interest, or other contacts will NOT BE CONSIDERED as a formal application.
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SECRETARY II at OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
Educational Resource Laboratory
Minimum Qualifications: High school graduation or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Two years secretarial experience. Ability to operate standard office equipment. Knowledge of proper grammar, spelling & punctuation, intermediate word processing, intermediate spreadsheet and beginning database applications. Ability to effectively interact with the public, students, faculty, and staff. This is a full time, clerical-technical position, with a salary of $35,106 annually. See online posting for additional position requirements. First consideration will be given to those who apply by July 17, 2015. Must apply on line to: https://jobs.oakland.edu
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Spice Up Your Summer Cocktails
(StatePoint) Whether grilling for neighbors, hosting a dinner party or relaxing on your deck with a drink, you can make the experience more refreshing by pairing your favorite spirit with ginger beer. While most people know that for cocktails like the famed Moscow Mule or Dark & Stormy to be truly great, inferior liquors just won’t do. However, many do not apply that principle to selecting mixers. “People today spend good money on artisanal and premium spirits only to dilute them with a poor
HELP WANTED
PIPEFITTER APPRENTICESHIP The JATC for the Pipefitting Industry and Pipefitters, Steamfitters, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Service Local Union #636 of the United Association will be accepting applications for our Apprenticeship Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, Tuesday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am – 11:00 am beginning July 20, 2015 through August 29, 2015.
www.pipefitters636tc.org.
Covenant House Academy Detroit
1450 25th Street, Detroit, Michigan 48216
Page D-4
quality mixer,” says Tim Warrillow, Co-Founder of Fever-Tree, the world’s first line of premium natural mixers. “Three-quarters of your cocktail is the mixer, so use a high quality one that enhances the flavors of the spirit, such as an all-natural ginger beer with a fresh, clean taste.” Superb on its own, ginger beer is a soft drink being used increasingly in cocktails around the world to add intense flavor to mixed drinks featuring whiskey, gin, rum, tequila, liqueurs and vodka.
Produced since the 1700s in the UK, ginger beer is made by brewing root ginger, resulting in a noticeably stronger ginger flavor than ginger ale. Interestingly, many mass producers of ginger beer no longer include real ginger, as it is an expensive ingredient. While nonalcoholic, ginger beer’s deep flavor makes it anything but innocent. Ginger beers vary greatly in flavor and sugar levels, but mixologists across the country are fans of Fever-Tree’s Ginger Beer, which is naturally brewed and uniquely fresh because it blends a trio of three gingers from around the globe harvested exclusively for them. Of note is a fresh, green ginger sourced from the Ivory Coast. With a zesty aroma, the oils are extracted immediately after the ginger is harvested rather than drying the ginger root first. Nigerian ginger, prized for its fragrant intensity, adds depth and complexity to the flavor profile with ginger from Cochin, India rounding out the group. With ginger beer as your base, mix up these classic cocktails. Dark & Stormy • 2oz, rum of choice • Fever-Tree Ginger Beer • Fresh ice – at least 4 big cubes • Fresh lime juice • Lime Method Fill a highball glass with fresh ice. Pour the dark rum (can be spiced) over the ice and add a generous squeeze of fresh lime
juice. Pour ginger beer, garnish with a couple of lime wedges. Moscow Mule • 2 oz, vodka of choice • Fever-Tree Ginger Beer • Fresh ice – at least 4 big cubes • Fresh lime juice • Fresh mint Method Pour vodka over stacks of ice in a tall glass. Add fresh lime juice and chilled ginger beer. Garnish with fresh mint sprig. For a lighter, low-calorie alternative with the same ginger taste, pair Fever-Tree Naturally Light Ginger Beer with other dark spirits. The brand also offers ginger ale and tonic waters, all with carbonation that carry the flavor of the botanicals in each mixer. Recipes and entertaining ideas are available at www. Fever-Tree.com. This summer, spice up cocktails with ginger beer, to enhance, not mask, the flavor of premium spirits.
praiseconnect.com
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
16 years of ministry
IN LOVING MEMORY
Louise “Rogers” Adams was born into the large, loving, and close knit family of John and Bertha Rogers in Ecorse, Michigan on Feb. 15, 1928. She attended Ecorse public schools, graduating with honors and demonstrating an early aptitude for art. She went on to complete her undergraduate degree in education at Wayne State University in 1950. She also earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling in 1954. Louise was a creative, passionate and dedicated teacher for Detroit Public Schools where she taught art classes and reading. She and her students planted trees on Belle Isle and she encouraged them to love reading while introducing them to African and Native American history. Her ability to welcome the most academically challenged students into her classroom and nurture them to perform beyond expectations, earned
Pastor Milton B. Pierce and First Lady Tammi Pierce celebrated 16 years of ministry with a banquet held at the 707 East Banquet Center, located at 707 East Lafayette Blvd. Detroit. Seated from left are First Lady Tamey Pierce Pastor, Milton B.. Pierce and O’ Neil D. Swanson Sr., president/CEO, Swanson Funeral Homes Inc. special guest of Pastor and Mrs. Pierce . Standing from left are Vanessa Evans, co-chair, Dorothy Keys, Rev. James Keys, Rev. Eunice Payne and Sharon Jenkins, event chair.
Second Baptist Church presents unique vacation Bible school
Second Baptist Church of Detroit is traveling back in time for the vacation Bible school adventure of a lifetime. Get ready to experience Bible stories like never before. Join them for “Wilderness Escape: Where God Guides and Provides.” here will be a a Holy Land Adventure Monday, July 28 - Friday, August 1, 2014 from 6-8:30 pm.
All are welcome to join in as “Moses” shares stories about crossing the Red Sea, being in the wilderness, receiving the Ten Commandments and more. There are classes for all ages, great lessons, immersive and engaging activities, music, fellow-
July 16-22, 2014 Page D-5
her the Arthur C. Stenius Memorial Award, Best of Class, and the designation of Master Teacher by the Detroit Board of Education. Louise’s religious foundation began at St. John A.M.E. Church in River Rouge through adulthood. It was as a child at St. John that she met her “soul mate” and life partner, Sylvester Adams. They married in 1951 and were blessed with two loving and devoted children, Marcus and Sylvia. After the family moved to Inkster, she became a member of St. Clements Episcopal Church where she worked with many auxiliaries and as the adult advisor for the church’s youth group, “Young People’s Fellowship” (YPF). She was an amazing seamstress often making dolls and clothing for children and friends of the family. Louise was initiated into Tau Chapter of Delta Sigma Sorority, Inc. in 1948 and later became an active member of the Inkster Alumnae Chapter where she was affectionately known as “Mz. Lou.” She was a Peppermint sponsor, May Week Chairperson, Nominating Committee Chairperson, a “Delta Dear” and served as Treasurer. Louise “Rogers” Adams quietly passed away on June 12, 2014 and will be missed by her children, Sylvia and Marcus, her sister, Christine Rogers, brother, Ulysses and many other relatives and friends.
Homegoing celebration services for LeKarroll McCrary ship, fun and more. Din- minds. ner will be served each Second Baptist Church evening. Volunteers and is located at 441 Monroe donations are needed. in Greektown. ValidatEveryone is welcome and ed parking is available we hope to see you as for attendees only. Bring we strive to allow God’s your ticket with you to THE to MICHIGAN CHRONICLE word to come life and church. THE MICHIGAN touch hearts and change
ainment community
««STAR ««« NewMusician Light CHART Baptistand Church presents teacher
Cole Funeral Home, 16100 Schaefer Hwy., Detroit Family hour, 3:00 pm., Memorial service, 3:30 pm, Saturday, July 19 July 30 - Aug. 5,more 2014information, Page D-2 please call Eddie McCrary For CHRONICLE June 25-July 1, 2014 Page B-5 at (313) 204-7099.
…A few of the
Ebenezer AME Church Celebrates 50 Years with Trilogy Service
2012 Sponsors Vacationmany Bible School 2014 touched generations
Summer Arts Academy
ing Solutions is a woman owned good reason to be optimistic. The mood nothing to do with Mars and everything ing and Solutions Company is expansive, hopeful and very much to do with Jupiter. The planet Jupiter is ust 22 red in Detroit with over about1,600 thinking big; thinking small just about expansion, growth, optimism and ced internationally. isn’t S3 provides Ruling relevant any more. It is common for empire-building, and as the weekend ervices: Information a Technology Jupiteryou transit “God …invited intolike this to manifest in draws closer, you will be in a position Staffing Augmentation, Vendor thatyour Ernie By R. English particular people and organisations,ily in man to have ownmay Eighthave Hour impacted Movement this wonderful friendPrograms, Customized Project most and deeply thesomething most lives. For some pe which case you must educator be dealing with pursue so much better ship with master His Son, Jesus When musician, Executive Search Services. Your 40 years, Ernie taught in Detroit Pubtake a lofty view of the world, and bigger. ally inhabiting The Christ ourthose Lordwho (1Corinand coach Ernie Rodgers passed away nology Community Partner heights. lic Schools - first at Miller Junior High, from extravagant Me andand this is far1:910, thians ) 2014, June the greater Detroit gthe over 20on years in Business. and then for most of his career at Northrather odd sitcommunity lost a leader Rev. Frederick L. whose exemAries Weekly Horoscope throughout ormation on 2013 Strategic Staffing and dedication to western High School. As his family has plary professionalism and New Weekly Light Horoscope 3 Brown Sr. Sagittarius his spirit andleave love your for music was ou were(Spractically you can DNA behind utions )young pleasepeople visit touched lives throughout said, Aries, Baptist Church present unwavering; his spirit, love and dedican or Invisible Man. It is known as thegenerations. Ninth House and in to those who come after you. Alternaww.strategicstaff.com the region through several Bible school tion to young people was your ownvacation sign, on old astrological textbooks it is associattively you can leave thephenomenal. stamp of your Ernest E. Jr. was born March In 1976, he wasand elected Swim Coach of 2014 titled “The Jesus m. From that point edRodgers with long sea voyages. These days, personality influence. Who inherits 31, 1934, into a family itofwith and flights en- and the Year for Detroit Public Schools. He Connection…What Aartists nashamedly focus we associate long-haul the legacy of your character, anyway? His parents, Ernest where and Lareputation,tertainers. person- It of coached thethe Northwestern for Friend.” will take the place course, internet, you can That’s big question forSea theColts weekend, ! isface a mobile outreach program le, and name. June Rodgers, were adagio and ballroom 10 years, leading to cityinchampicross thousands miles in your mind no matter if youthem are thinking terms of July 21-25 at 5240 W. Chi- of experiencing edividuals timeless dancers. nature of Ernie mademouse-click. his first apwith single Almost as soon children onshipsand ingodchildren, 1976 and or1977. He focussing cago Blvd. Detroit. urself as others see on the central business of asdistrict Mercury changes signs on Thursday afounded younger generation for an entirely pearance stage with them in at the Northwestern High pre-school up toonhigh 1111. Vacation Bible school your look. roit.best Homeless outreach you will become aware of theAges epic 3-17 na- as different reason.Jazz Band, which 8 months old. Later, he and school. wellSchool willtwo bebrothers, held Mon We repeat, “God …inture help ofon the discussion agreement to ect with those wanting and his Virgil and asoradults travelled throughout the and seniors are day-Thursday from 4 pm vited States, you into this woncome, this weekend. information and referral toalso Audlian (known as welcomed. United and in 1979, Transportacope to 7team pm derful friendship with His Taurus Weekly Horoscope e needs. The Rod) had and aprovides tapFriday dancefrom act tion is available. 1983 and 1985 performed 5 pm to 8 pm. Son, Jesus Christ our ransportation support toThere help will and throughout ext year you willtraveled be in Germany, France, Taurus, aspects in your horoscopeBelare Capricorn Weekly be classes, music, games, For more information, Lord.” ure stable housing and income. much you the achieved United States and Horoscope gium and at the speed Montreux like a snowball, gathering and and crafts for students (313) layers 931-as the o! relationships with thedevelops scenes, or op- performing Canada with you please Well, Capricorn, can now call make the days roll I am sure Festival in past. Switzerland. nd direct service to the universe is giving you, you were already very tempting toparents. beproviders most of what feeling quite hopeful their Because of his character nt and allow others and then use what you have to accumu- about yourand omelessness. house, his apartment, ability to family, posiMr. Rodgers attendand limelight. Alter- late more. There is nothing wrong with household,tively home influence town and/or young homeedpursue Garfieldthe Junior longing to naturalHigh flow of abundance, and the land anyway. That notion of belonging people, Northwestern’s and graduated from Cass of a classified na- On smart money is on letting the cash cir- to a place has beenMarion happily Sutton, on your ormation on 2-1-1 The Go!, principal, Technical High school. se visit are just culate – at least once the discussion, radar forinsisted around a he fortnight now. What www.uwsem.org relishing The Southwest Michibe appointed 1956, he served ime out, Drafted alone, toin paperwork or signatures are out of the comes to pass around Saturday when is just ganthe Agape Ecclesiastical assistant principal in 389th Army at bit an intoxicating way, from Band this weekend. Sometimes the confirmation. Jurisdiction Church Of that position opened, which Fort Monmouth, New the will gains youJersey. make on a Jupiter-MerGod Inthe Christ hold its he then remained until he reAfter Army, he earned decury conjunction are channelled through tired. After retirement, Mr. Rodannual Holy Convocation grees fromproperty, Wayne State University or precious possessions, or Gemini Weekly Horoscope continued toHere... teach as adjunct at Summit July 25 ope Your Logo (BA, 1963)Friday, and Eastern Michigan Univerbusiness assets (money on paper). gers It’sState unusual to see yourJazz ruler Studies Mercury Wayne University’s though Sunday, July 27, sity from (MA,1967), and later from Marygrove or you to gain in conjunction with Jupiter, the symbol Program, and as artist in residence at 2014. College hat you may well be (Education Administration, his Alma of abundance, growth, hope and exMater, Cass Tech. Aquarius Weekly Horoscope 1991). Supervisor Loretrything, just to hang pansion. It’s even more unusual to see the musical tribute June 16 ple power ta is aBecause real- Aquarius, Hogan Whitsett and you are about to experienceAt these two planets in theon area of your of his excellent musicianand the homegoing celebration on June ains. It also moves IRECTIONS a thunderbolt – and rather a good one horoscope associated with websites, the women of Agape will ship and character, Mr. Rodgers became cause at heart, youcall - musician 17, both at multimedia, New Hopethe Missionary BapwhichWomen’s will utterly the way you books, written word, the spearhead the a first for pitchange orchestras you circulate, a see starting tist Church Southfield, number of a former, current or potential partspoken in word and so on.aAll you really Day in services at entertainers and stage bands, backing is what energises ner. The world is about to become a bighave to do, is what comes naturally! former students of Rodgers’ said his 10 am on Friday. The eveand broadway musicals in the Fisher d, you must commit ger and better place, and this important This will bementoring big. and literally saved ning worship speaker Theater Orchestra, wellis as in orches- leadership just a verbal promman Walker – or crucial woman – is the agent their lives. Many would agree with the Pastor Willie of trasthese at the Fox theater, Birmingham will come from of change. What you hear, read or diswords of former students, such as guiLove Joy COGIC. theater, Meadowbrook, and Pine Knob. Bishop King Loretta Hogan e true friends – not cuss close to this weekend Cancer Horoscope is Isaac the turning taristJr. Oliver Weekly Nevels: “He wasWhitsett an amazThe performers appeared with The Sunday School point, he and it really is timeranged you relaxed ing person who wanted to help Now, you must talk facts and figures, pm. The evening worIsaac King, Jr., willpeople, bring from Al Green to Ziggy Johnson, and inthe new of hope and Departmentintowill be atmosphere in ship speaker not for the glory of Ernie Rodgers, but and try to get everything confirmed with is Administhe gospel message. The cluded Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and sessionElla onoptimism. Saturday, July because he wanted to help as much discussion as you possible. trative Assistant Vincent service will be succeed held The at Sinatra, and dozens upon dozoscope Frank 26, at 10 am. Classes will Mathews, Sr. ofatAll money, you the house, the business, the whatever were Cathedral trying to accomNation Bailey COGens of other headliners. He also could center on the convention COGIC. Services felt the momentous apartment or the precious possessions And Ralphe Armstrong: will be Bassist IC, 7045 Curtis Ave., Deheard thecalled orchestras for shows plish.” Pisces Weekly Horoscope almost as be soon as”Wein theme are to can be couched in pure mathematical “Mr. Rodgers was a great American, able held at Pentecostal Temtroit. The convocation’s such as Holiday on Ice and the Shrine You certainly have and minister witness to ple COGIC, Pisces, your horoscope this week30101 has terms. to build character and encourage young Parkpre-musical is Sunday
Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Our Six Summer Arts Academy Programs: Church, established in 1871, is one of the oldest enominational The Carr Center’s Summer Arts Academy is offering six different summerchurches arts and in Detroit. performance programs to get your student involved this summer!On Sunday, July 27, 2014, Ebenezer will hold a Trilogy Celebration Young Artist in Training Program: June 16th –July 19th – marking 50 years intotheir This visual arts class is for students 12 to 18 and gives students an opportunity present church home at make and sell their work at the Ann Arbor Art Fair. 5151 West Chicago Blvd.
Includes
Cost Per G Dinner O
Jazz Academy Program: June 23rd- July 18th Reverend Dr. Mickarl Students receive music lessons from professional jazz musicians, preparing for D. Thomas, who began his performances in Detroit parks and community centers. ministry at Ebenezer 45
Picture emerald fairways and meticulously manicured ago, and was reasgreens…with a challenge of risk and reward - The years signed to Pastor Ebenezer Inn at St. John’s course in Plymouth, MI offersin March of 2014, says this 13th Annual 14thgolf Annual celebration is special be27 challenging holes equaling a truly rewarding golf cause “In addition to celebrating the Jubilee of beexperience. This superb golfProgram: course has been Dance July 21st – August 1st ranked ing in our present church August 9, 2015 10, 2014 Students develop grace and precision as they explorehome the wonders of modern for 50 years,dance we among the finest Michigan golf resorts and presents and ballet in preparation for a final dance showcase. are rededicating our comth to the community an ideal golf destination.Art This will mark S3’s 12 mitment in the Studio, Art in the Park Program: July 21stwe – August serve 1st with a vision relartists ages 8it to 12, a portion the dayofin our Anniversary and we are Designed glad for toyounger celebrate atstudents St. spend evant to theofneeds our indoor studio receiving artistic instruction, followed by an and afternoon in outdoor people our city. John’s. studio, creating pieces from surrounding inspirations. At the end of the program,
Agape Jurisdiction Holy Convocation
students will display their work in a final exhibition. Pastor
Thomas labels this vision Operation BEST – Building affordPoetry n’ Print: August 4th – August 15th able housing in artwork the area, Housed on Wayne State’s campus, students learn printmaking and create in community collaboration with creative writing students. Their finalEmploying artwork will be displayed at residents for construction the Mid America Print Council Conference held at Wayne State in September. and upkeep, Supporting existing businesses and Broadway Workshop: August 4th- August 8th Training young acting people Students in this musical theatre Broadway program will receive professional with basic job skills take to lessons from top youth acting teacher of New York, Marc Tumminelli. All lessons maximize their employplace at Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit. ment Visitopportunities. The Trilogy celebration will be www.thecarrcenter.org a family and friends worto learn more about our academy programs, ship Service at Ebenezer upcoming dates and available scholarships. starting at 10:30 A.M. and will mark the dedication of the Dr. Garfield Johnson, Jr. Health Ministry- providing clinics and workshops on neo-natal care and preventative health care, which is vital to the well being of our community.
Located at 44115 Five Mile Rd. in Plymouth, MI
D
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Take I-96 WEST towards Lansing. Continue to M-14 WEST. Turn RIGHT on N. Sheldon Rd. towards Plymouth/Sheldon Rd. CLASSES BEGIN MONDAY
WORD PUZZLE: AWARDS AND TROPHIES
‘Aim High’
of colleagues, former students and adErnest E. Rodgers Jr. made his indel38. community *Winged woman 6. and Worshipped an- on the vanced students, in concerts for iblebymark as an exholding an atom cient Semitic peoples many civic and social events. emplary musician, educator and coach, but“Star also and most deeply on ahis fami 42.“Aim High,” motivaThe RAPA House in the 1960s and 70s of BBQ spot 7. ___-Wan ly as a loving leader. His brother, Audtional song by Anna Mawas literally a Victorian mini-mansion Wars” preceded 45.LaJune, In a tame manner rie, says, “When you him find at 96 East Fisher Freeway that housed lian, and sister, death. He leaves to celebrate his life 8. Zoroaster in follower the Rodgers Academy of Performing yourself in a struggle, 49. “miss” for Opposite 59 years, of Elaine; his Arts (RAPA). There the Rodgers family his loving wifejust look up. You should five children: Ernest III (Monique), Todd 9. Campus head and associates offered instruction in 51.Roger Ran to Vegas? still keepoff your expectaDavid (Jeanette), (Marcia), Keith the arts and provided space for 10. actors, Descriptive of pastions high because God his brother, 54. Peter and PaulVirgil, poets and musicians to practice and (April), and Helena; toral life is able.” The new song his sister, Rhonda; his sister-in-law, Deperform on its stage. There Ernie super56. Rain forest rumi-and nise, his brothers-in-law Gerome can be heard Saturdays vised weekend after-hours jam11. sessions North of Cleveland special daughters, nant 11 a.m.Diane and where professional and aspiring jazz Raymond; his between (Ronald) as well as1200. 13 grand*Broadway recog-and Audi; noon on AM For musicians could make music12. together 57. *Billie ____ King,sevtwo more great-grandchildren, for knowledgeable but appreciative information about nitionaudi- children, 1972’s Sports Illustratnieces, nephews, relaences, while his mother prepared Creole eral godchildren, thefriends. new single, please tives and special ed Sportsman of the 15. Alluvial deposit cuisine in the kitchen behind the stage.
Retirement celebration for 24. Entrenched strong22. Recipe amount
visit www. AnnamarYear iegospel.com.
58. Held by a clip 59. Super garb?
2014 2015
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Include: 8 g Company’s provided Tr Dinner Pro
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Turn RIGHT on Five Mile Rd. a date EnterMake the gate at 44115 Five Mile Rd. with Adventure. and proceed to guest parking.
Circus. In distressed addition, Heand played in Aretha a deeply people to learn, find20, their passions, and wood Ave. in Inkster. July 4 pm, at PenteFranklin’s Detroit orchestra, recorded troubled world.” (Acts develop work ethic.” Many of his peers costal Temple. and toured with many Motown stars, of as theformer students 26:15-18). The Pastors Official Day For additional who became and played regularly in many Detroit as wellJuly For in additional informaand Elders Council con- meeting is Sunday his peers performed tribute to to him. based jazz bands big and small, includThePruitt, juris- Willie tionMcAlester please734-414-0600 callJr. (734) venes at noon and Youth 27, at 4 pm. Ben and 722othing The New McKinney’s Cottonpickers, 34. *Swedish benefac4. Ovine sign of the dictional prelate, Bishopmusical 3060.educators performed Day services start at 7 er leading the Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra and the tor zodiac Johnny Trudell Orchestra. Ernie led his and testified to his leadership and mentoring in their own lives.station 36. Sub 5. Mad person own RAPA House ensembles, comprised
It was as an educator, coach and fam20. Minimum
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Sp
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directions, call The Inn at St. John’s at
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Your adventure begins with a one-day Canadian Wilderness rail excursion, then experience all that Sault Ste. Marie has to offer, including the ‘new’ Heritage Discovery Centre, Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, Art Gallery of Algoma, and Parks Canada Canal.
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Some people prefer traditional funeral services. Others prefer cremation. Some want an Your elaborate ceremony. Then there are others who don’t want any ceremony at all. When it Comp Packages start at just $158. comes toruns funerals, there are as13, many options as there are people. We take pride in being able Schedule: Train June 24 – Oct 2014. Table. Com to say we offer all funeral service options to fit all types of budgets. Inquire about our various service packages and our–complimentary benefits for veterans. 12:15 p.m. Registration/Lunch
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NOTICE OF REGISTRATION
Page D-6 • THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE • July 8-14, 2015
Mistress of Ceremony:
Rochelle Riley Columnist, Detroit Free Press
You are cordially invited to the Keynote Speaker:
Native Detroiter
Congressman Keith Ellison U.S. House of Representatives Minnesota 5th District
2 0 1 5 HONOREES Christopher Allen Vice President Health Plan Administration & Finance, Chief Financial Officer Detroit Medical Center / Harbor Health Plan Dr. John Barnwell Sr., MD Chief of General Surgery Detroit Medical Center / Sinai Grace Charlie Beckham Group Executive- Neighborhoods & Administration City of Detroit Dr. E.L. Branch Senior Pastor Third New Hope Baptist Church Reginald Braxton Senior Sales Executive McGraw Hill Education N.Z. Bryant President & Chief Executive Officer Patterson- Bryant, Inc. Forest Bryson Vice President of Store Delivery Faygo Beverage Co. Michael Cheatham Vice President /Michigan Community Reinvestment Act Manager Comerica Dr. Frank M. Clark Co-Owner Alsan Medical Clinic Scott Alan Davis Program Manager, Business Energy Consultation Program SEEL LLC
Reginald Hartsfield President & Co-Owner Advantage Management Group Bishop John Henry Sheard Senior Pastor Greater Mitchell Temple COGIC Rudy Hobbs Chief of Staff Wayne County Executive Office Lloyd Jackson Director of Communications Wayne County Rev. Alvin E. Jackson Sr. Senior Pastor Wings of Love Missionary Baptist Church Rev. Larry Jordan Founding Pastor, International Third World Leadership Association Family Victory Fellowship Dr. Darnell Kaigler Jr. Associate of Dentistry and Co-Owner Kaigler and Associates Harold Lasenby Chief Executive Officer, Managing Member Infinite Technologies, LLC Reginald Lee, FPHL Regional Chief Executive Vibra Healthcare LLC Ronald R. Lockett Chief Executive Officer / Executive Director Northwest Community Programs, Inc. Bertram L. Marks, Esq. Litigation Associations and Pastors First Community Baptist Church
Jamaine Dickens Principal DMC Strategies
Kirk Mayes Chief Executive Officer Forgotten Harvest
Dr. Galen R. Duncan Director of Player Development Detroit Lions
Richard McKay Global Sr. Purchasing Manager Renault Nissan North America
Darnell Earley Emergency Manager Detroit Public Schools
Warren Morgan Assistant Vice President Fifth Third Bank
Terence Edmondson President Exclusive Reality
Minister Victor Saadiq Abdul Muhammad Director of Prison Reform Ministry Nation of Islam, Michigan Chapter
Rogers Foster Photographer Rogers Williams Foster Freelance Photography Rev. Kenneth G. Giles Pastor Greater St. Mark Baptist Church Daryl Gilliam Agent State Farm Insurance Calvin Hart Lieutenant Michigan State Police Department
Ray Paige Attorney at Law City of Detroit Michael G. Perkins Corporate Sale Manager Wayne State University / WDET Public Radio Quentin Perry Chief Executive Officer / Founder Taurus Productions
Dr. Glenn R. Plummer Founder CTN, Senior Pastor WLPC TV 40 Detroit / Comcast 397, Ambassador for Christ Church Joseph Rochester, MPH Director / Market Community Relations HAP Midwest Dr. John Sealey, DO FACOS Osteopathic, Cardio Thoracic Surgeon Detroit Medical Center Bishop J. Drew Sheard Senior Pastor Greater Emmanuel Institutional COGIC Dr. Alton G. Smith, MD Diagnostic Radiologist William Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe & Associates Kevin Sweeney Market Director Urban Partnership Bank Jason Tinsley Executive Director JP Morgan Private Bank Raymond Waller Director Brighton Hospital, St. John Providence Health System Alvin Ward Executive Director Athletics Detroit Public Schools Franklin D. Warren Vice President Fossil Generation – DTE Electric Dr. David Wash Medical Director Professional Medical Center Brian White Chief of Staff City of Detroit – Council Member Mary Sheffield Dr. Kevin Whitlow, MD Internal Medicine Henry Ford Health System Maurice Wiggins Owner, Chief Executive Office Addison Eatery, International Hospitality Group Horatio Williams Founder Horatio Williams Foundation Danton Wilson Attorney Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office James Williamson Jr. Owner JKW Insurance Agency Jason Q. Wilson President, Managing Partner Wilson Law Group, St. Regis Hotel Shawn Wilson Multicultural Community Engagement Manager Ford Motor Company
Friday, July 10, 2015 at the MGM Grand Detroit
Reception 5 p.m.
| Awards Ceremony 6 p.m.
| 1777 Third Street, Detroit, MI 48226
#MCMOE2015
Sponsored by