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. 83 - No. 7 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, April 2, 2021
75 cents
We would like to introduce you to our newest Deputy Chief
MEAC 50th Anniversary Annette (Lee) Durning is a 1990 Omaha North High Grad and former outstanding player on The Lady Vikings Basketball Team. Annette who played college basketball for Howard University in Washington in DC 1990-94, She was recently honored as one of The Top 50 Players All Time in the MEAC conference history (March 8, 2021). The MEAC (Med-Eastern Athletic Conference) consist of Annette Durning eleven HBCU Institution’s of higher learning who have NCAA division 1 affiliation. Howard U. is a member of the MEAC. The MEAC conference is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year. Annette enjoyed great success on the basketball court while playing for the Howard U. Lady Bisons’ team. During her freshman and sophomore years she was selected to All MEAC Conference Teams for both seasons. And during her junior and senior seasons, she was selected First Team All Conference for both years. In 1993 she was selected a First Team Black College All American by HBCU Sports Writers and The Sports Information Directors Association. During her senior year she averaged 19.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 52% Young Annette field goals and 1.3 blocks per game. During Annette’s junior and senior years, The Washington Post selected Annette to their Top Ten List of Area Women Players for both seasons for the Maryland, Virginia, and DC areas. The list comprised of a number of elite players; some of which were playing for NCAA women national championship caliber teams; such as Virginia University; a 1991 NCAA National Champion Runner-up and Maryland University; a 2006 NCAA Women’s National Champion. November 2005, Annette was inducted into The Howard University Hall of Fame. Her Jersey #45 now hangs from the ceiling of Howard’s Burr Athletic Arena. Annette and her husband Calvin have been married 12 years, and live in LaPlata, MD. She is employed with the Maryland Public Schools as an elementary educator since graduation from Howard University. Annette is a devout Christian Believer and attributes her success on the court and in life’s journey Basketball Jersey #45 to the grace and blessings of her Lord and savior Jesus Christ!
Publisher’s Pen
Thomas Promotion Ceremony
By Terri D. Sanders
In a promotional ceremony of the Omaha Police Dept. on March 19, 2021, Lieutenant Sherie Thomas was promoted to the rank of Captain. Sherie began her career with Omaha Police Dept. on October 5, 1998. As an officer, she worked in the Uniform Control Bureau in all four precincts. In March 2003, she was assigned in the Criminal Crime Prevention unit as a school resource officer then spent six years in the Criminal Capt. Sherie Thomas Investigation Bureau in the Domestic Violence Unit. Sherie was promoted to sergeant in October 2010. As a sergeant, she worked in the Police Services Bureau, Customer Services Unit, Internal Affairs, Training and Uniform Patrol. She was promoted to lieutenant in March 2017. As a lieutenant, Sherie worked in the Uniform Patrol Bureau in Internal Affairs and the Public Information office. Outside of her work with the Omaha Police Dept., Sherie gives back to the community by volunteering on a regular basis. She serves on the board of directors for Special Olympics Nebraska, Girls Inc., Youth Emergency Services, and Metropolitan Community College Foundation. Sherie is the president of the Nebraska Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Black Police Officers Association of Omaha. Sherie is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Sherie is married to Barry Thomas and they have three daughters.
Next Issue: April 16, 2021 Information due: April 9, 2021
Deputy Chief Colon began her career with OPD on October 18th , 1999. As an officer Anna worked in UPB in the Northeast and Northwest Precincts. In 2003 she was assigned to CIB and worked in the Gang Unit and Homicide Unit. Anna was promoted to Sergeant in April 2007. As a Sergeant she worked in UPB, and then in Internal Affairs, the Homicide Unit and Gang Deputy Chief Anna Colon Unit. In June 2015 Anna was promoted to Lieutenant and worked in UPB in the Northwest Precinct. Anna was promoted to Captain in March 2018. She was assigned to CIB as the administrative assistant to the Deputy Chief and then commanded the Special Investigations Section. Anna earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, a Master’s Degree in Management and an MBA degree in Management. Anna is the secretary for the Omaha FOP Lodge #1, the State FOP Lodge, the Black Police Officers Association, and the State Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NOBLE). She is a member of the FBI-LEEDA (Law Enforcement Executive Development Assoc), and International Association of Chiefs of Police. She is also very active in her church, Salem Baptist, with their military ministry. Anna retired from the United States Air Force after 24 years of service. During her tenure, she was stationed at several overseas bases and completed multiple humanitarian missions both stateside and overseas. She was deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and served as a medic treating frontline soldiers who were wounded in the field. Anna was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Living the Dream Award in 2020. Deputy Chief Colon commands the Police Oversight Bureau which oversees the Internal Affairs Unit.
Happy SPRING. COVID-19 is still with us and according to President Biden if we do not continue to wear our masks, wash our hands, and remain socially distant, it will take us longer to get out of these woods. David Turnbo Photography Let us not be like the children of Israel who took forty years to go what was like across the street due to attitude…let that sink in… Here at The Omaha Star we publish the good news and we also state that “EVIL Shall Not Go Unopposed.” I can not in good conscious remain silent about the state of our country…The trial of the police officer responsible for the death of Mr. George Floyd is a travesty. The account of the murder by the nine year old girl was heartbreaking. She no longer can lead a life of a little girl after seeing such with her innocent eyes. I refuse to speak that officer’s name. WE all know what he did and it was not right! Again I say, do not let the history of racism make a repeat performance in 2021 with the same old same old. Speaking of repeating history, VOTING rights are attempting to send us backwards with the law. In Georgia you cannot apply human kindness to hand a person a bottle of water or a half of sandwich while they wait in line to exercise their civil duty of vot-
Native Omaha Days July 26, 2021
August 2, 2021 CDC guidelines will be observed for this celebration. Mark your calendar.
ing. Let me just say Black folk were taking a bus from church services for SOULS TO THE POLES, and they are trying to put an end to THAT. As soon as we make a way out of no way, “the man” comes along with another “law”… We must be vigilant. We must vote. We must not be silent. We must watch out for our fellow man/ woman. We must communicate with our officials. We must have a vision for the young people of our community. We must have vision for our community, because there is a tomorrow. For the ancestors life was not a crystal stair (check out the poem by Langston Hughes). The beauty of the rose is not without thorns. Stand fast on the principles that YOU believe. The hottest kitchens have the best tasting food. Our leaders must be held accountable for the actions that they take or not…As a community we deserve the best and not the leftovers. I often refer to the documentary: A Street of Dreams, which is about our community. If you have not seen it, please watch. I can be found on YOUTUBE. It captures the “why” of our community. I believe the best is yet to come and it ain’t over. Do not give up what is ours, be steadfast and unmoveable and always abounding (yes, I am a churchgirl). NOTE: We will be celebrating our future the graduates (high school and higher education) the month of June. Please send your graduate’s name, school, and future plans, along with a photo to our offices. Deadline: May 28, 2021. The goal is to fill a page with our graduates, will you help us do that? Any questions, please call 402-346-4041. Until next issue…Keep HOPE alive…
VOTE:
April 6, 2021 and May 11, 2021