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Omaha Star
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Proudly Serving Our Community for Over 80 Years
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Nebraska’s Only Black Owned Newspaper Vol. 85 - No. 16 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, April 21, 2023
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Tamara Franklin Elected to Mutual of Omaha Board of Directors Franklin has more than 25 years of experience leading digital businesses, with a focus on strategic planning, digital transformation, data analytics, business development and customer acquisition. In addition to her role at Marsh & McClennan, she held senior leadership positions at IBM, Scripps Network Interactive (now Discovery, Inc.) and Time Warner, Inc.
Tamara Franklin, who served as Chief Digital, Data and Analytics Officer at global professional services firm Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., has been elected to the Mutual of Omaha Board of Directors, Chairman and CEO James Blackledge announced.
“Tamara Franklin brings a wealth of experience in digital business development, data analytics, digital transformation and strategic planning that will add a valuable dimension to the Mutual of Omaha Board of Directors,” Blackledge said. “We will rely on her perspective, as well as that of our other distinguished directors, as we work to serve our customers and grow our business in an increasingly competitive and highly regulated environment.” Franklin earned her master’s in business administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Genpact, Ltd. ★
2023 Juneteenth Events Calendar
Board of Education Approves Superintendent Search Firm In March, our Board of Education approved a contract with GR Recruiting to assist with the Omaha Public Schools superintendent search. Our district received six submissions from search firms nationwide. After reviewing the proposals, the Board Accountability Committee interviewed three firms and recommended GR Recruiting.
The USPS® has proposed new prices for July 2023. These changes include a rise in First-Class Mail®, which would increase from $0.63 to $0.66. It will be the second increase of the First-Class Mail® this year.
Taking our newspaper into the future
OMAHA STAR MORNING NEWS BYTES A PODCAST “If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission.”
The Juneteenth SteamPunk TeaParty innovation and inventiveness of the Black Victorian era of excellence often overlooked. We will examine the intersectionality of history, technology, and the future. Open to the community, participants are invited to dress in Victorian era or steampunk modified Victorian era clothing, enjoy delicious bites and participate in a multitude of activities. Professional photographs will be taken Information on the costume workshops for all and STEAM workshop for youth 5th-12th will be announced on afroscapescurls.com.
The House of Afros, Capes & Curls provides a safe space for Black & BIPOC people to connect, and explore geek culture, and Black cultures past, present and future.
This year’s event will be held on June 10, 2023 at NOMA at 2219 N. 24th Street, from 3pm-7pm. Tickets are available at afroscapescurls.com. For more information contact info@afroscapescurls.org. ★
The Juneteenth Steam
Punk TeaParty is an immersive, multidisciplinary experience that explores the
Publisher’s Pen Terri D. Sanders
of memories and racism. The father, actor Delroy Lindo is looking for his birth certificate in his birthplace, Union Springs, Alabama. There were so many meanings and thoughts in this episode, and not to be a spoiler let me leave you with this… Reflection time… I am a binge television watcher. Internet television apps are a wonderful way to do this. I can watch a whole season of a show in an evening sitting. We “invest” in HULU, NETFLIX, STARZ, YOUTUBETV, MAX, DISCOVERY, DISNEY, SHOWTIME, PEACOCK and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC just to name a few. All of these are investments not only in dollars but also an investment of your time.
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Once finalized, the dates and times of community engagement opportunities will be emailed directly to staff and families and posted here to ops.org/superintendentsearch. ★
Board of Education Vice President and Accountability Committee Chair Ricky Smith highlighted Omaha Public Schools
This week I watched Unprisoned starring Kerry Washington. If you are a Kerry fan, then check this out, it is not a role like Scandal. My specific interest was peaked in episode 5. This episode spoke
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Board President Spencer Head echoed Smith’s remarks, adding, “We want feedback from our entire community to make the most informed decision. This will be a thorough search for such an important role.”
GR Recruiting has more than 40 years of experience with superintendent searches. GR Recruiting will organize and manage feedback meetings with families and community members as a part of the superintendent search process.
There will be a calendar of events created for 2023 Juneteenth Events. Please complete this form: https://bit.ly/2023JUNETEE NTHEVENTSUBMISSIONFORM so that your organization will be on the calendar of events for Juneteenth. Please submit ASAP.
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commitment to engaging with students, staff, families and community members through the process.
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While society has embraced DEI fundamentally, in the real world, people are struggling with the for real for real, that we, Black people have made progress. When a community begins to function and make progress that is where the problem begins. Remember the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma? A self-sufficient community that met the needs of its members. This was during Jim Crow South and segregation was the rule. To some people when one is self-sufficient and moving forward a person or people are considered “uppity” this can be found to be offensive and some think this attitude needs to be stopped or shut down. People are no longer being lynched physically, but mentally they are
being blocked sometimes professionally, by being let go or resigning. I am not pro or con, but pointing out that this could be considered in 2023 away to stop progress. The TennesseeThree is a prime example. Students protesting the use of automatic weapons, joined by legislators was not an acceptable move for the legislative body, so the three members were removed from their duties. Please note that the legislators were supporting their constituents, and standing in solidarity. That did not last long… While we are not subject to the injustices that people in the South faced overtly, we can and do still receive that covert treatment here in the Midwestern United States. We live well but the undercurrents are there. Remember that this column is about MY opinion of what I see and hear… As old song says, Watch Cha Self … Uppity is still a problem on both sides of the fence. ★
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt