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OMAHA STAR
THE
Celebrating 80 Years
March is Women’s History Month. Who is your Shero?
1938 2018
Dedicated to the Service of the People that NO Good Cause Shall Lack a Champion and that Evil Shall Not Go Unopposed
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Nebraska’s Only Black Owned Newspaper Vol. 80 - No. 6 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, March 23, 2018
EMILY’s List Endorses Deidre DeJear for Iowa Secretary of State
Deidre DeJear
WASHINGTON, D.C. – EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has endorsed Deidre DeJear for Iowa Secretary of State. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List, released the following statement: “Deidre DeJear has spent her career helping Iowa’s small business owners and making sure Iowans’ voices are heard at the ballot box. She started her own business that provides marketing tools and strategies to help boost local businesses and nonprofits. Deidre also spearheaded efforts to provide financial education to more than 100,000 Iowans with the United Way of Central Iowa’s Financial Capability Project. And as Iowa African American Vote Director for the campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama in 2012, she registered thousands of new voters and increased turnout in the African American community.” “At a time when it’s critical we elect secretaries of state who understand the importance of fair, wellrun elections and responding to the needs of small businesses, EMILY’s List could not be prouder to endorse an experienced leader like Deidre DeJear for Iowa Secretary of State.” Last summer, EMILY’s List placed Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate “On Notice” for his record of creating onerous and unnecessary voting restrictions and his failure to defend the voters of his state against President Trump’s sham ‘voting commission.’
Students Nationwide Use Their Voices to Protest Gun Violence Students across the country, including metropolitan Omaha, spilled out of classrooms by the tens of thousands on March 14, chanting slogans like “No more silence” and “We want change” as part of a coast-to-coast protest over gun violence prompted by last month’s massacre at a Florida high school. The #ENOUGH National School Walkout was intended to pressure federal and state lawmakers to tighten laws on gun ownership despite opposition by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the powerful gun rights advocacy group. With some students dressed in orange, the color adopted by the gun control movement, the walkouts began at 10 a.m. local time in each time zone and were scheduled to last 17 minutes. Many rallies went longer. The duration was a tribute to the 17 students and staff killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. It was the latest in a series of shootings that have plagued U.S. schools and colleges over the past two decades. While many school districts gave their blessings to the walkouts, others said anyone who participated would face discipline. Many students defied the warnings and left REUTERS school anyway. They included over two dozen at Lindenhurst High School on New York state’s Long Island, who were at first suspended, then had their punishment reduced to detentions, according to a senior and the school superintendent. In Parkland, thousands of students slowly filed onto the Stoneman Douglas school football field to the applause of families and supporters beyond the fences as law enforcement officers
Public Opinion in Nebraska Maps Clear Direction for Lawmakers
The Nebraska Values Project, a public opinion research initiative of the Holland Children’s Institute, reveals Nebraskans’ support differs from that of state lawmakers. “The ‘Nebraska Values Project’ public opinion research results draw clear conclusions – Nebraskans overwhelmingly support more state attention on building the middle class through investing in healthcare and education at every level, and providing better opportunities for good paying jobs, retirement and benefits,” said Holland Children’s Institute CEO Hadley Richters. “A broad agreement exists that state elected officials should be more focused on giving families the tools they need to succeed, instead of eliminating community programs and reckless cuts to spending.” “The research reveals itself as a guide for state lawmakers.” said Richters. “Nebraskans make clear they believe the state should focus more investment to support families in Nebraska and build the middle class.” Richters continued. “Lawmakers may also take note that the majority of Nebraskans believe that currently the legislature and governor are solely focused on helping only big corporations and the wealthy.” What Nebraskans believe the state’s
priorities should be: • Nebraskans placed the highest level of importance on career and vocational training expressing near unanimity (96%) who believe it should be a focus of investment in the state budget and a large majority (67%) saying it should be of major or largest focus. • Nebraskans believe that providing incentives to businesses to create quality jobs with benefits, are key components to building a stronger middle class (78%). Paid family leave (71%) and paid sick leave (77%) were also strongly supported. • A vast majority of Nebraskans believe expanding after school and voluntary pre-kindergarten will help build a stronger middle class (71%), and free community college classes (69%), and it should be noted that a majority of conservatives favor free community college (60%), and providing parents with state tax credits for early childhood programs (62%). • Access to affordable child care is incredibly popular across the board. Among those with children under age 18 at home, nearly all favor expanding access to affordable child care (93%), and of those without children at home are also in favor (69%). • Almost unanimously Nebraskans See Public Opinion continued on page 3
“We Brunch Together” – March 25. See In the Village for Details.
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looked on. News helicopters hovered overhead. Ty Thompson, the principal, called for the “biggest group hug,” and the students obliged around the 50-yard line. “We want change!” students chanted on the sidewalks outside the school. “Can you hear the children screaming?” read one of the signs. But not all students in Florida were in favor of gun control. About 80 miles north of Parkland at Vero Beach High School, chants of “No more silence, end gun violence,” were countered by shouts of “Trump!” and “We want guns” from other students, according to video posted by local newspaper TCPalm. At New York City’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia
High School, crowds of students poured into the streets of Manhattan, many dressed in orange, symbolic of the bright color worn by hunters to avoid being shot by accident. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” read one sign at LaGuardia, a jab at a response often uttered by lawmakers after mass shootings. In Akron, Ohio, hundreds of students wearing orange t-shirts with black targets on the front
Important: Polling Place Changes in Wards 1 and 2 There are four polling places that will be affected in the North Omaha area for the 2018 May Gubernatorial Election. The polling place changes are as follows: Ward 2 - Precinct 2 – Those who voted at Florence Christian Church, 7300 North Ridge Drive, will now vote at Trinity Lutheran Church, 6340 N. 30th St. Ward 2 - Precinct 11 – Omaha Home for Boys was unable to be a polling place for this election cycle and those voters will now vote at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School, 5020 Grand Ave. Ward 2 - Precinct 23 – Florence Elementary is under construction. Therefore, people will now vote at Florence Christian Church, 7300 North Ridge Drive. Ward 1 - Precinct 31 – is a new polling place and these voters will vote at Joy of Life Ministries, 6401 N. 56th St. Voters whose polling place will be affected by these changes will be sent a postcard in April. Rather than going to their polling place on Election Day, voters have the option to request a ballot be mailed to them. Voters wishing to request an early voting ballot can visit www.votedouglascounty.com, and on the home page under Quick Links choose Vote Early and download the application. More information can be obtained on the Douglas County Election Commission website at www. votedouglascounty.com or by phoning 402-444VOTE (8683).
walked out of Firestone High School. At Granada Hills Charter High School in Los Angeles, students laid prone on the field of a football stadium to form a giant #ENOUGH, symbolizing the thousands of youth who die of gun violence every year in the United States. Although Omaha Public Schools and Papillion/ LaVista Community Schools students were on Spring break, many high school students from Bellevue East, Duchesne Academy, Millard East, Millard North and Millard South held various types of protests. Gross, Mercy and Skutt Catholic high schools held prayer services. Students at Columbine High in Colorado remembered the 1999 massacre at their school that began an era in which mass shootings became common in U.S. schools. “I grew up in a community still haunted by the tragedy from 19 years ago,” said 16-year-old sophomore Abigail Orton. The walkouts were part of a burgeoning, grassroots movement prompted by the Parkland attack and came 10 days before major protests planned in Washington and elsewhere. Survivors have lobbied lawmakers and President Donald Trump in a push for new restrictions on gun ownership, a right protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. “We don’t feel safe in schools anymore,” said Sarah Chatfield, a high school student from Maryland, standing with hundreds of other protesters outside the White House. Chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go!” students, many of whom will be able to vote in 2020, marched to the U.S. Capitol, where See Gun Violence continued on page 3
Black History Month Art Contest Winners Announced U.S. Cellular and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands recently hosted a celebration to recognize the first Black History Month Art Contest winners. The following artists were honored: First place: Aapril Boothe, age 13 of the North Omaha Club, won a $250 gift card for her Barack Obama portrait. Second place: Kennedy Grace, age 16 of the Westside Club, won a $150 gift card for her Beyonce Knowles portrait. Third place: Raheem Briggs, age 13 of the North Omaha Club, won a $100 gift card for his Kobe Bryant portrait. “U.S. Cellular is very excited to celebrate with staff and students from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Aapril Boothe with her Barack the Midlands for the initial Black Obama portrait. History Month Art Contest,” said Jonathan Thorndyke, U.S. Cellular’s area sales manager for eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. “At U.S. Cellular, we are committed to the education of young people in Omaha. This art contest gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the talent of our youth by commemorating African-American icons that have influenced the course of history, while celebrating the diversity of our country.” The contest invited Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands members to create an original 8.5-by-11-inch piece of artwork in commemoration of influential African-Americans. The public voted on the top 10 finalist entries throughout February at two Omaha U.S. Cellular stores.
Don’t Miss the Education Train the Trainer Special Section in the – April 6. April 6 Issue. See In the Village for Details.