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Nebraska’s Only Black Owned Newspaper Vol. 82 - No. 2 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, January 24, 2020
Gladys Harrison Cooks Up a Run For Congress By Tanya Cooper
After the beloved Patricia “Big Mama” Barron passed in 2018, her daughter Gladys Harrison needed her “can do” attitude to lead her family and business out of that dark time. Today, Big Mama’s Kitchen and Catering is serving up its signature dishes at Highlander’s new Dining Room, 2112 N. 30th St. Along with oven-fried chicken and sweet potato pie, pudding and cheesecake, the family’s soul food kitchen continues to serve quality and community to its guests. As Big Mama’s legacy lives on, Gladys has time to consider what she wants, what her dreams are and her next move in creating her own legacy. The true definition of a “formidable woman,” Gladys has decided to make a political move and run for Nebraska’s 2nd District congressional seat now held by Republican Don Bacon. “I want people to know that we all do better when we ALL do better!” she says. “We have to find a way to look past our differences and work together, no matter what color we are, no matter who we love or our political differences. In order to do what is best for everyone, we have to work together.” Her three legislative platforms are healthcare, education and economic equality for working people. “When I talk about representing ‘US’ I am talking about representing anyone who gets up and goes to work every single Gladys Harrison day,” she says. “I am running for Congress because I want to represent those who have to make decisions about which bills they can afford to pay while still working more than one job. Currently no one is representing working people. Big businesses have lobbyists that speak to their interests, but there is a gap when it comes to the interest of the worker. I want to fill that gap.” Gladys wants people to know she is fair and concerned with local issues and those that affect our country. Growing up around other cultures increased her capacity to get along, communicate and maneuver in different environments. “If you are blessed enough to have a good job with great benefits, you don’t have to worry about how to pay your rent, your lights, your gas, and your phone bill. If you don’t get exposed to people who don’t have those concerns, you will believe that everyone is living like you,” she says. “The truth is most people are not!” She wants people to know that she is not excluding the voice of the 1%, but that everyone’s concerns need to See Gladys Harrison continued on page 3
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UNMC’s Sheritta Strong Named Interim Director of Inclusion The University of Nebraska Medical Center has announced that Sheritta Strong, M.D., will become the interim director of inclusion effective Feb. 1. “We are delighted that Dr. Strong has agreed to serve UNMC in this very important role,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “She has just the right complement of skills, experiences and connections to our communities to be the ideal candidate to help UNMC meet our goals in the areas of inclusion and to collaborate with our sister campuses and our central administration leaders in the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) areas.” “As announced last week, the UNMC and UNO campuses expressed aspirations that each campus will pursue its own unique challenges and opportunities in its commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Dr. Gold said. “Therefore, we decided to end the search for a combined position of assistant vice chancellor for inclusion serving UNO/UNMC and build upon the strengths of each campus, our sister campuses and our central administration DEI areas of excellence.” “I am honored to be appointed the interim director of inclusion,” said Dr. Strong, who was recently honored by being designated a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, its highest recognition. “With my work in mental health and higher education, I bring a unique perspective regarding the emotional health aspects of further cultivating an inclusive and diverse campus.” Dele Davies, M.D., senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, applauded the news of Dr. Strong’s appointment. “I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Dr. Strong for the past eight years,” Dr. Davies said. “She is clearly devoted to a welcoming culture at UNMC and will be invaluable to us as we continue toward our strategic goals of diversity, inclusion and equity for our faculty, staff and students.” An Omaha native and an 11-year faculty member in the department of psychiatry, Dr. Strong is an adult psychiatrist with primary interests in the treatment of chronic and persistent mental illness. She is an advocate for those affected by mental illness and is passionate about reducing barriers to quality care by increasing community awareness of mental illness and its impact on our society. Dr. Strong is a leader in undergraduate medical education at UNMC. She is co-director of medical
Sheritta Strong, M.D. student education for the department of psychiatry, coordinating all aspects of pre-clinical psychiatry training at UNMC. Dr. Strong said she believes that by continuing to build a culture of kindness, teamwork and accountability within our campus, we can welcome more diversity in our students, staff and faculty. She said she recognizes the importance of diversity of thought in creating a more inclusive and diverse environment through relationship building within the organization and the greater Nebraska community. “An environment based on individuals feeling comfortable to be themselves, regardless of their background or experiences, is a place where we all want to work and prosper,” she said. “As we recruit and retain the finest learners and graduates, I understand that tapping into an amazing sphere that desires a space to grow and hear from a variety of perspectives is integral to our success as a unit. I invite everyone to engage in UNMC’s strategy of being an exemplary culturally sensitive, diverse and inclusive organization.” Dr. Strong has been the recipient of several awards locally and nationally including the Women in Medicine Award from the National Coalition of Negro Women, the UNMC Alumni Early Career Achievement Award, and the American Psychiatric Association’s Nancy C.A. Roeske, M.D. Award, which is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding and sustaining contributions to medical student education. Dr. Strong is a member of the Nebraska Psychiatric Society, the National Medical Association, the Omaha Chapter of the Links Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Preston Love Jr. Is as Busy as Ever Advancing MLK’s Dream election year and he runs the Black Votes Matter Institute of Community Engagement, a The white-haired man is nonprofit organization that aims seated at the crowded desk in a to educate and mobilize voters. He’s busy because this is the crammed office, jam-packed with books, plaques, flyers, photos, third year he is hosting Omaha boxes, duct-taped chairs and youths on a bus tour of historic somewhere, an empty coffee cup civil rights stops in the American South, and this time Love has for the full pot in the corner. This is the workspace of a booked a second bus for adults. He’s busy because he teaches busy man, and Preston Love Jr. is quite busy. He’s too busy for a class on the African American lunch at noon. He is almost too experience in politics at the busy to talk to a columnist who University of Nebraska at showed up to discuss Martin Omaha. He and his wife, Martha, Luther King Jr. and the ticking also do a weekly radio program. clock on firsthand memories of Love writes a twice-a-month newspaper column for the Omaha the civil rights icon. Love is busy because it’s an Star. He has selfpublished two nonfiction books and a children’s book on civil rights with a Spanish translation that’s set to come out this spring. He holds press conferences about issues of race and economic justice and speaks Preston Love Jr. is preparing to lead his third publicly and bus tour for Omaha youths of historic civil conducts tours of rights locations in the South. his native North Brendan Sullivan/World-Herald Omaha. By Erin Grace World-Herald staff writer
Hungry Club – Jan 31. See In the Village
Most of all, Love is busy because he’s 77, one year past a stroke and knows that time is all too short. He is burying contemporaries, like photographer Rudy Smith, who died Dec. 5 after a career devoted to capturing what Love calls “the struggle” in Omaha for The World-Herald. He is preparing to mourn civil rights giants like his friend John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights hero diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Though Love is mostly recovered from his stroke, he hears the clock ticking more loudly these days. He still has so much to do, especially in educating the young. And now he’s got this duty – talking to me about MLK and the slipping away of a generation with firsthand knowledge of the civil rights era. But before we can get to King, Love grabs a piece of paper off the stacks on his desk and says, triumphantly, “Look!” It’s a summary of a recent meeting Love had with Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts over their shared concerns about the state’s beleaguered prison system. Ricketts is a conservative Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump. Love, an ardent Democrat, has a poster
Preston Love Jr. didn’t know Martin Luther King Jr. But he is close with some of his contemporaries, such as Rep. John Lewis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Brendan Sullivan/World-Herald
on his wall that shows Trump and the words: “When you don’t vote, THIS happens.” The governor decided to open the issue to the public for discussion. Corrections Director Scott Frakes is on the calendar for two upcoming events in North Omaha, and Love is thrilled that he achieved his goal of opening a communications channel, which he says brings “awesome potential.” A Ricketts spokesman said the governor looked forward to
hearing from the North Omaha community. So back to King. He would be 91 today. Some of the cadre of civil rights warriors like Lewis, who was arrested, jailed and beaten numerous times, notably during the “Bloody Sunday” march in 1965 in Selma, Alabama, are still alive, and Love knows them personally. Love is clear that he wasn’t See Preston Love Jr. continued on page 2
Out of Omaha Screening at UNO – Feb. 13
Black College Tour Meeting – Feb. 6.
See In the Village
See In the Village