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. 84 - No. 9 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, April 29, 2022
75 cents
Family of the Week:
SYMONE airs May 7th
Ruth Thomas celebrates 102nd birthday
Ruth Thomas celebrated her 102nd birthday with the members of the local AKA Chapter. She was presented with 102 pink roses. Mrs. Thomas is a legend in our community. Her family is the founder and owner of the Thomas Funeral Home and she was a long time Social Worker in our community. She has three children: Janet, Judith and James “Jimmy,” and a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Another centenarian in our community. Best wishes for many more birthdays from the Omaha Star.
Symone Sanders, the former chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, will debut on MSNBC’s weekend lineup on May 7at 3:00 Central Standard Time. Her show, Symone, will air on Saturdays and Sunday, and will stream on Mondays and Tuesdays on MSNBC’s “hub” on Peacock. Catherine Snyder will serve as executive producer of the show. Snyder is currently the managing editor of WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington. Symone “will explore issues at the intersection of politics, culture and race and feature interviews with the nation’s top government officials, scholars, and thought leaders,” according to MSNBC. Symone is a product of North Omaha and received her education at Sacred Heart Elementary, Mercy High School and Creighton University. She is proud of her Omaha roots and many times refers to herself as a bald black woman from Omaha, Nebraska. We are looking forward to yet another Omaha Native to make us proud on the national stage.
The Women of Color Nebraska Caucus Luncheon
S Collins Rudolph and T Mickels The Women of Color Nebraska Caucus (WOCN) 2nd Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy Luncheon at the downtown Double Tree by Hilton Hotel and provided a special occasion on several levels. WOCN, a movement not an organization, open to any voting-age woman regardless of party affiliation, religion, race, identification, or sexual orientation offered an afternoon of community strength. It was fitting because the Women of Color Nebraska Caucus focuses on empowering women of color through voter education,
the voting process, and issues concerning women of color. WOCN Founder LaVon StennisWilliams warmly welcomed a large excited group gathered to honor nine outstanding women: Nellie Mae Webb (posthumously), Edwardene Taylor Armstrong, Sammye Jackson, Phyllis Stone, Marianna Cruz, Melanie WilliamsSmotherman, Gina Miller, Laura McCormick, and Brenda Vosik. The nine Legacy Award recipients were selected for their efforts to eradicate injustice, address racial bias and emulate the values and dedication of activist Fannie Lou Hamer. After each woman or family member accepted a beautiful circular glass mounted plaque on their behalf, luncheon participants watched a short documentary film. The footage began with a date, September 15, 1963, a day that a mere 18 days prior witnessed the March on Washington protest at which Martin Luther King, Jr. declared he had a dream. The film then shifted to showing the façade of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama after three members of the KKK detonated the dynamite they planted in the
Information due: 5/6/22 Publish date: 5/13/22 send to: publisher@ omahastarinc.com WE HAD THE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE VACCINE. IT WORKS. Facts at: douglascountyhealth.com/covid-19
building’s basement. Sarah Collins Rudolph, a twelve-year-old teenage at that time, then made her appearance in the scratchy imagery shown laying in a hospital bed. Eyes bandaged, Collins Rudolph was the lone survivor and sister to one of the 4 Little Girls murdered in the basement church bathroom as they adjusted their dress sashes before climbing the stairs for choir practice. As the documentary film ended, the lights in the room adjusted and Sarah Collins Rudolph, now 71 years old, stood and spoke with those assembled at the luncheon. As the keynote speaker, Collins Rudolph talked about losing her right eye, the years of PTSD that followed, and the fact that she had received no counseling nor restitution for the crime. September 15, 1963, she noted was a day she will never forget, but she travels throughout the United States to physically demonstrate that Love does indeed defeat Hate. Collins Rudolph’s two co-authored books, The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing and the young adult’s Introduction of Sarah Collins-Rudolph: The story of the fifth little girl who survived the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing are available on Amazon.
Publisher’s Pen
By Terri D. Sanders
Yep, you got it COVID-19 is still with us. I was recently on a flight and had on my mask while many others did not. I was once told by a medical Dotcom Studios professional that the airport is one of the germiest place on the planet. I have had influenza A after an international flight so I believe it! I have had the opportunity to be in the room with some amazing women over the past week. The stories that they told were priceless. Just goes to show you that everyone has a story and you cannot judge a book by the cover, but you have to open it and read the pages. For the past two years we have all limited our activities and travel, but in 2022 the cat is out of the bag and we are on the road again. Weddings, graduations, family celebrations, and more are calling our names and we are answering the call. Please be careful as you travel. We will be putting Omaha Star on the map and going out and about and spreading our good news so stay tuned.
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come, get up and make them.” ~ Madame C. J. Walker