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Vol. 84 - No. 23 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, November 4, 2022
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Family of the Week: The Robbins Family
1st Black Broadcaster Inducted into Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame Has Omaha Connections Freddie Bell, now with KMOJ-FM the People’s Station in Minneapolis, is the first Black Broadcaster in radio to be inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place Saturday, September 17, 2022, at the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in Saint Louis Park, MN.
By Asia Nared The Robbins family came to Nebraska at separate times. Malcolm Robbins Sr. came to Nebraska, without his family, as a final resort in search of a heart. “I overheard my wife and my youngest daughter talking. I could hear them talking but they didn’t know I could. [From then,] I didn’t want them to make their worlds about me.” Robbins shared. He was on the transplant list for some time in the St. Louis area, but he learned that Nebraska was out of his transplant region. Robbins had to complete the process over at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Robbins was in Nebraska for two years before he got a heart. Although the waiting was long, it did not stop Malcolm Sr. from getting in as much exercise as possible. Different members of his medical team would wave and speak to him as he passed by. In the summer of 2020, Malcolm Robbin’s heart function level was at 5%. He was nearly admitted to the hospital. At this point, the waiting game almost got the best of Malcolm. He was ready to go home to his wife Jackie. Jackie Robbins floated between three cities during those two years. From working as a hospitality specialist in Birmingham, to assisting her stepmother after the loss of her father in Atlanta, to coming to Omaha to visit Malcolm when permitted by COVID-19 regulations. “They weren’t doing a lot of major surgeries because of the pandemic. His mind was all over the place. [I told him to] be calm, be still. You waited this long. Just see what happens. If we have to come get you, we will definitely come get you.” That same day, Robbins was on the phone with his wife when he received the call that he was waiting for. There was a heart available. Jackie and her daughter Ameera Robbins returned to Omaha a little over 24 hours after their departure. “I drove 14 hours, I just got home. We got some rest, an oil change, and I turned right back around. We have been here ever since. It wasn’t in the plan but God has his own plan.” July. 11, 2020, he received that heart. After the surgery Malcolm’s doctor told Jackie ‘Malcolm is not allowed to go back into an RV, he needs somewhere to stay.’ Jackie began to put in the work using trust, networking, and prayer to led her through. With the help of family, friends and the Furniture Project, Jackie was able to find a home and furnish it just in time for Malcolm to come home from the hospital in August 2020. In January of 2022, The Robbins’ lost their son, Malcolm Jr. Such a loss impacted the family so deeply and their restaurant, Rib Shack, had to shut down. The future was uncertain. Losing a child is a grief that is unimaginable. The family is able to get through this process with each other. Combined in total, Malcolm Sr. and Jackie have nine children. Tyree P. Robbins, Paul Mierisch, Malcolm P. Robbins Jr (deceased), Malaika Robbins, Brittanie Polite, Aliza Johnson, Naeem Robbins, and Ameera Robbins. Ameera is currently enrolled in an Iowa college. Leaving everything behind to embark on a journey for a better quality of life is not easy. It is the love for what they do that keeps them moving. There has been a tremendous amount of support from friends, family, and a new community that they have entered. This family has shown what faith, resilience, and commitment to choosing each other looks like. It is a personal hope that the community continues to support this family.
In this political climate Rev. Jesse Jackson said: “If you run you might lose. If you don’t run, you’re guaranteed to lose.”
The inductees are chosen based on their unique and outstanding contributions to broadcasting in Minnesota. Bell was raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended Omaha’s Creighton University. Students there were among the first to hear his voice on the school’s campus radio station, KOCU. The Hall of Famer spent a few years at KOWH-FM, the first Black radio station in Omaha, while simultaneously working at KETV as a Broadcast journalist in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to Bell’s role as KMOJ’s General Manager, he
finds time to host three radio programs. One is KMOJ’s Morning Show with Freddie Bell and Chantel Sings and his two syndicated shows, New Beginnings, a talk show, and the music-based, Freddie Bell Show. Bell is also a speaker and author, with a recent publication of motivational quotes entitled “Words to the Wise: Guide for Daily Living.” He and his wife Francine (Ashby) Evans, an Omaha native, live in Woodbury, Minnesota. They have two daughters, Jasmine Rhody and Jahreya Evans, and a granddaughter, Zoey Beck.
Read More In Woodbury Magazine https://woodburymag.com/local-radio-broadcaster-hon Purchase Book https://www.amazon.com/Words-Wise-Guide-Daily-Living
Publisher’s Pen By Terri D. Sanders
Three respiratory viruses will be plaguing us this winter. COVID-19 being just one of them. Viruses that usually do not show up until January are here NOW. Get vaccinated. Who elects to be sick when it is preventable? Time is winding down to get out and vote. Do you know the local candidates? Do you know how the ballot issues will impact you? Do you know your polling place if you are voting in person? The Supreme Court this week is looking at AFFIRMATIVE ACTION at the University level. Holding seats for minorities to increase diversity and inclusion at institutions of higher learning…What do you think about that? Should it be upheld or should that practice be abolished and WHY? Opera Omaha is presenting The Life and Times of Malcolm X… do you have your tickets? This production is only touring five cities. Omaha is in an exclusive lineup of culture. We have been so honored because Malcolm (Little)
X was born in our city. A proud fact that someone of such international recognition and influence was birthed in our community. Now that is something to celebrate and not to be taken lightly. This opera is a buffet with not only opera but also chorography and an acclaimed cast. The cast has been in our city for a few weeks and are ready to grace the stage of the Orpheum for a cultural experience, make sure you are in the audience. Speaking of Brother Malcolm are you ware that The two men whose convictions for the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X were overturned last year will receive $36m from the city and state of New York, their lawyer confirmed. “The tragedy of Malcolm X’s murder was felt all over the world, and compounded by the fact that it led to the convictions and imprisonment of two innocent, young, Black men in America,” their lawyer David Shanies said in an emailed statement to AFP on Sunday night. Muhammad Aziz, 83, was exonerated last month by
Credit: Eric Robinson, Atlanta
a judge who apologized and acknowledged that the case had been a “violation of the law and the public trust”. “While I do not dwell on what my life might have been like had this travesty of justice never occurred, the deep and lasting trauma it caused cannot be overstated,” Aziz said in a statement on Tuesday announcing the lawsuit. “Those responsible for depriving me of my liberty and for depriving my family of a husband, a father, and a grandfather should be held accountable,” he said. This is extended food for thought as you experience the opera and think on the reality of 2022. Until we chat again, stay medically safe…
“If you don’t dream, you might as well be dead.” ~ George Foreman