75 CENTS
Omaha Star
The
Proudly Serving Our Community for Over 80 Years
Dedicated to the Service of the People that NO Good Cause Shall Lack a Champion and that Evil Shall Not Go Unopposed
Nebraska’s Only Black Owned Newspaper Vol. 82 - No. 24 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, November 27, 2020
75 cents
Family of the Week: The Adams Family
Row 1: Marlee, Traeson, Tucker Row 2: Titus II, Maranda, Titus, Tobias
By Terri D. Sanders
The Adams family believes in Omaha. Titus is a native of our city. Maranda is a Texas transplant to Nebraska. Married for thirteen years, this is home. Titus is a retired from the National Football League where he played for the Jets, Patriots, Giants and Browns. Maranda is the Vice President of Blair Freeman Construction, the only 100% Black owned female construction company in the state of Nebraska. Since coming to Nebraska they have been instrumental in several businesses in our community, one of which is THE COOLER. All of the Adams children are active in sports. Titus II, 9 years old, attends Jesuit Academy; Traeson, 8 years old, is a third grader at Nelson Mandela Elementary School; Tucker, 6 years old, is in first grade at Nelson Mandela Elementary School; 4 year old Marlee is in the Pre-K program at Nelson Mandela Early Childhood Development Center; and Tobias joined the family in August 2020. Titus and Maranda are diehard Cornhusker fans. They met while attending the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
The Publisher’s Pen
I am so excited! We have elected a President and the Vice President Elect is a woman of color. While I do not know what she will be doing, my offspring will be in the White House. I was reminded by a friend without me there would be no Symone Sanders and without my mother, Opal McAlister, there would be no me. Legacy is important. Acknowledgement of legacy is vital. Communication/ Entrepreneurship runs in our family. My mother was an entrepreneur. She and my father owned the FIRST Black Beauty Supply in the State of Nebraska—McAlister Beauty Supply. I worked there as a child, running the cash register and filling orders for the local barbers and cosmetologists. I learned a work ethic from my parents. That work ethic I passed on to my children. That work ethic is personified in what Symone is doing now. Keep your eye on the prize of what is happening in our community. The wheels of progress turn slow, but the wheels are moving. With the creation of the 24th Street Business Improvement District (BID) under the leadership of LaVonya Goodwin and the property owners along 24th Street, we are experiencing growth and change. The development of the Carver Savings and Loan building into a financial institution is economic change. There is a vibe blowing through North Omaha, I would advise you to catch the wave. Tuesday, December 1, 2020, is Giving Tuesday. This opportunity to give replaces Omaha Gives that is traditionally held in May. Giving Tuesday is sponsored through SHARE OMAHA. There are a variety of ways to give. You can give monetary donations, giving volunteer time and you can even
Signed copy of “No You Shut Up” By Symone Sanders is on sale in The Omaha Star office
donate items through Amazon (Charity List provided by the noted 501c3). The Mildred D Brown Memorial Study Center is registered to participate in this giving event. What or Who is the Mildred D. Brown Memorial Study Center (MDBMSC)? David Turnbo Photography I am GLAD you asked. MDBMSC was organized in 2007 to promote the profession of journalism to African American High School students in the metropolitan area. The scope of the organization has grown since that time and has a four-fold purpose: • Junior Journalism (promoting the profession of journalism to students) • Providing higher education scholarships • Sharing the archives of the Omaha Star newspaper • Ownership of the Omaha Star Newspaper (The oldest Black Newspaper in the state of Nebraska – established in 1938) We would appreciate your donation anytime throughout the year. Donations can be sent via PayPal; CashApp ($MDBMSC) or a check, mailed to: PO Box 3393, Omaha, NE 68103. We are growing journalists in our community and we would appreciate your support. Are you a subscriber? Twenty-six weeks of news for $40.00. In 2021 our rates will increase. We look forward to serving you the GOOD news about our community.
Google News Initiative Fellow
Ilana Lewis, University of Nebraska Lincoln is the Google News Initiative Fellow is a part of the Omaha Star Newspaper Staff. An Omaha native, Ilana Lewis, graduated from Omaha Central High School in 2018 and is currently a rising junior at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She is pursuing a major in Advertising/ Public Relations and a minor in Communication Studies within the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ilana enjoys active involvement in the UNL Public Relations Students Society of America and can often be found working out at the Campus Recreation Center. Her fellowship with the Omaha Star began this fall. She writes a variety of articles and has specialized in persons who are
from Omaha in our section Our Community: There are Black People in Nebraska. We are pleased to have her as a writer on Staff. We encourage young people to contact the publisher for writing opportunities with the Omaha Star. Contact information: publisher@ omahastarinc.com, 402-346-4041.
MCC Dean Shedding Light On Organ Donation More than 400 Nebraskans are waiting for an organ donation. It could be a grandfather with diabetes, a teenage cystic fibrosis patient, or a mother of a child whose life has just begun. They’re all hoping for a voice on the other line to tell them it’s their turn. An organ match has been identified that could save their life. If you’re part of a minority population, chances are greater that you or someone in your family is on the list. In Nebraska, African Americans who are 5% of the population make up 12% of those who are waiting for an organ donation. Metro Community College Dean Art Brown knows first-hand what that’s like. He needs a kidney transplant. Art’s father had a kidney transplant, as did his uncle. Now he and his aunt both undergo dialysis treatments to help keep their kidneys functioning. Art began dialysis in May 2019 and has been on the donor list for three years. “I actually made it to the door and saw it open. My doctor called and said they had a donor. I was admitted to the hospital and went through the preop process. Then it was determined that the kidney was not as suitable as they had thought, and the door closed again,” said Art. It can be a stressful wait, but Art has a strong faith which helps put things into perspective. He also makes an effort to share how others can be a blessing to those who are in a situation like his. In partnership with Live On Nebraska, Nebraska’s organ and tissue procurement organization, Art is bringing awareness to the need for more Omaha residents of various racial backgrounds to become registered organ donors. “I’m a registered donor, myself,” said Art. “A single organ and tissue donor can impact dozens of people by checking the box at the DMV or going online to register. You can save eight lives through organ donation, plus benefit 100 people in need of tissue donation.” According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), transplants can be successful regardless of the race or ethnicity of the donor and recipient. The chance of longer-term survival, however, may be greater if the donor and recipient are closely matched in terms of their shared genetic background. “If you’re looking for an actionable way to serve God and love people today, register as an organ donor. Spending 5 minutes to register could mean adding 5, 10, 20 years to the life of someone like me.” To learn more about organ donation or register as a donor, visit LiveOnNebraska.org/register.
Giving Tuesday is December 1, 2020 Donate to: Mildred D. Brown Memorial Study Center
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