C E L E B R AT I N G B L AC K AC H I E V E M E N T T H RO U G H O U T F L O R I DA
VOLUME 26 ISSUE 3 MAY/JUNE 2023
$7.99 onyxmagazine.com
CONTENTS 6
From the Publisher
7
Black History: Legend Betty Wright
8
Travel: Trips to Make a Wish Upon
10 Music & Entertainment: Hip-Hop Enhances Classrooms for 50 Years 12 Leadership: Women on the Move Honored 15 Smart Tips: Shop Better at the Grocery Store 16 Mother's Day: Five Reasons Mom is So Important 17 Father's Day: Black Fathers are More Involved 18 Workplace: The Value of Teamwork 19 International: Bahamian Businesses Recognized
COVER STORY
KHRISTIAN DENTLEY Letting God Sing Lead
Cover story photos Khristian Dentley courtesy of JCS Communications, LLC
for Energy Strategies 21 Family: Plan a Low-tech Summer to Connect With Your Kids 22 Art & Culture: Asserting Identity—Black Seminoles 25 Education: Top Ways To Win a College Scholarship 26 Holiday: How to Celebrate Juneteenth 27 ONYX Reads: Mothers & Fathers: Books to Read with Our Parents 28 SAGE: Never to Late - Starting a Business After 50 30 Cover: Khristian Dentley 33 Community: For some, Marijuana is Trouble 34 Small Business: Four Tips to Grow Cash for Your Small Business 36 Medically Speaking: Stroke Awareness Month: 37 Florida Scope - Tampa is Among Best How Black people are impacted 38 Health & Wellness: Health & Wellness stories 41 Real Estate: Many Options to Buy A Home 42 The Quad: Stories from campus 44 Wealth & Finance: Talk to Your Kids About Money 46 Wine & Food: Wineries in Florida
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COVER
SONG & SERVICE
KHRISTIAN DENTLEY OF TAKE 6 LETS GOD SING LEAD BY JOEL STALEY
Khristian Dentley
K
hristian Dentley, the baritone voice of the multi-Grammy Award winning vocal group Take 6, has always lived his life by the principle of faith. He said faith helps him not to worry about what he doesn’t have. “I just take what I have and put it to work in the best way I know how. God takes care of the rest.” Born to pastor parents in Columbia, South Carolina, Dentley has been immersed since birth in a musical environment that not only includes gospel greats like Commissioned, the Winans and the Clark Sisters, but artists from a variety of genres including Barbara Streisand; Earth, Wind & Fire; Barry Manilow; and more. “I’m grateful my parents exposed me to many types of music,” said Dentley. “It gave me many colors to paint with later in life.” Dentley has been drawn to the stage from an early age. He graduated from the Dillard Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2000, and began to look for opportunities to find his musical place in life. When musical heroes Fred Hammond and Take 6 brought their show to town, Dentley saw his chance. Undeterred by not having a ticket, he simply did what he always does: he went to work with what he had. And what he had was a Fred Hammond t-shirt. So, he put it on, drove to the venue, and sat in the parking lot wondering how he might get into the show. He thought it might take a miracle, but he had no idea how big the miracle would be. When local stage workers began arriving to set up the sound equipment and staging for the show, they saw Dentley’s Fred Hammond T-shirt and assumed he was the singer’s roadie. They invited him into the venue for 30 ONYX MAGAZINE
breakfast and began asking him how to stage the show. His quick and clever reply was, “Let’s check the fax machine.” Hammond’s tech rider or set-up page was on the fax machine waiting with all the load-in instructions. Halfway through the equipment load-in, Hammond’s band walked in and saw Dentley wearing his T-shirt, so they invited him to lunch. Upon their return to the venue, Take 6 arrived and Dentley seized an opportunity to introduce himself to one of the group, Mark Kibble. He took an interest in Dentley and exchanged contact information. Dentley said it was an amazing experience to meet his heroes, but fast forward to four years later, and he hadn’t yet left Fort Lauderdale. In fact, he was working at a call center and not in the music industry at all. “I was grateful for the job, but I didn’t feel I was fulfilling my purpose in life,” Dentley said. “I was restlessly seeking more.” Dentley didn’t know what “more” was or how to find it, but he did have Kibble’s email address. So, he sent a song he wrote and recorded and asked if Kibble would critique it. Dentley’s timing was perfect. Take 6 member Cedric Dent had just accepted an offer from Middle Tennessee State University to join their faculty as a professor and couldn’t make all the group’s tour dates. “Mark called me and asked if I wrote and performed the song I emailed to him, and I said yes. He then invited me to work with him on one of his songs and to fill in for Cedric on a couple of tour dates,” said Dentley. It was the moment he had been hoping for! Dentley impressed Kibble and the rest of Take 6 with his fill-in performances and eventually became a full-fledged member of the group in 2011.
Multi-Grammy Award-Winning Take 6
Dentley no longer lives in South Florida. He’s currently a resident of Ocoee, Florida. Many ask why he doesn’t live closer to the action like Atlanta or Los Angeles. Dentley explains that his family is based in Ocoee, so there’s no way he would live anywhere else. “Taking care of my family is always the priority. I pride myself on being a present father and husband,” Dentley said. “I fly a lot and have a busy schedule. Some entertain tens of thousands and give everything on stage, but phone it in with their families. You win the crowd, but you lose your family. I can never allow myself to be guilty of that.” In addition to the silky smooth vocals he delivers on Take 6 recordings and in live performances, Dentley also plays keyboards, drums and bass guitar. “My father taught my brother and I to play these instruments. He said you might walk into a church service one day where they need an extra hand. He insisted that we always be available to serve the Lord with our musical gifts,” said Dentley. Dentley’s about 10 years younger than the other members of the group and has had different influences in his life. He feels this allows him to bring new ideas to the group that helps keep their collective artistry and performances fresh. For example, though the group is best known for its acapella
delivery, at Dentley’s encouragement, they are now adding a band behind them from time to time. “Once you’ve been blessed with great success, it’s easy to relax and become comfortable,” said Dentley. “If our group is going to progress, we have to be willing to be uncomfortable.” They debuted their new show format including the backing band in a show earlier this year and hope to share it in other venues soon. The group also recently headlined “This is Jesus,” at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando. It’s a show many have called the Christian music event of the year. They shared the stage with Jordan Smith, winner of “The Voice” season 9 and Tecla Award winner Blanca. Other recent performances include a Beach Boys tribute where they sang “Don’t Worry Baby” with R&B legend Michael McDonald at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, Calf. It was taped and aired on CBS on Easter Sunday, April 9. Despite all the achievements and stars he’s performed with, Dentley insists humility is the key. “The level of humility we choose is critical to our success in life,” said Dentley. “Jesus made himself in the form of a servant. I don’t mind serving those around me, either.” Joel Staley is the founder/CEO of JCS Communications, LLC. ONYX MAGAZINE 31
M E D I C A L LY S P E A K I N G
STROKE AWARENESS MAY BRINGS ATTENTION TO A SERIOUS SILENT KILLER. BY PENNY DICKERSON
T
he American Stroke Association reports that someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies from a stroke every four minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability, with more than 6.5 million stroke survivors currently living in the U.S. In Florida—stroke is the fifth leading cause of death while the state’s death rate is 38.9 per 100,000 population. To amplify the severity of the cardiovascular disease, May is Stroke Awareness Month—a purposed time to define stroke, share root cause and overall impact on individuals and families. While stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, its warning signs and risk factors are often asymptomatic. A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted, either due to a clot blocking a blood vessel (ischemic stroke) or due to bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). When the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen, brain cells start to die within minutes. This can lead to permanent brain damage, disability, or even death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that a stroke is sometimes called a “brain attack” but terminology aside, a stroke is a medical emergency that can threaten an individual’s ability to live long and lead healthy lifestyles.
BLACKS AT DISPROPORTIONATE RISK In some Black communities, loose fodder incites a jolt of humor in the contrast that violence isn’t the biggest threat to Black lives—it’s table salt. There is an unfortunate truth in the latter and physicians have consistently warned against consuming unhealthy foods high in fat and sodium like smoked meats and fried chicken doused with hot sauce. Obesity, smoking, diabetes and refraining from being physically active are also stroke risks. The National Stroke Association (NSA) reports the risk of Blacks having a first stroke is nearly twice as high compared to whites. Strokes occur earlier in life for Blacks compared to racial counterparts and Black stroke survivors are also more likely to die, become disabled and experience difficulties with daily living and activities. High blood pressure is the top risk factor for stroke, and one in three Blacks not only suffer from disease but is less likely to have it under control than other ethnic and racial groups. Additionally, a record of previous strokes or transient ischemic attack (TIA, or “mini-stroke”) increases the disproportionate risk for Blacks as illustrated below: • Overweight and obesity – almost 70% of Black men and over 80% of Black women are overweight or obese. • Diabetes – Blacks are more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. • High cholesterol – nearly 30% of Black Americans have high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. • Sickle cell anemia – this common genetic disorder in Blacks is a risk factor for stroke. 36 ONYX MAGAZINE
HEALTH EQUITY AND RACIAL DISPARITIES HEADS UP is an acronym for Health Equity and Actionable Disparities in Stroke: Understanding and Problem Solving. In a 2020 multidisciplinary symposium held in Los Angeles, HEADS UP attendees placed a focused lens on racial and ethnic disparities in cerebrovascular disease with a goal to apply research toward the reduction of stroke disparities and identify positive health outcomes in racial minorities. Some of the symposium’s final report summarized the following: “To achieve the goal of equity in the care of patients with or at risk for stroke, we need to identify and disseminate additional cost-effective interventions to further reduce racial/ethnic disparities, improve the control of stroke risk factors, increase stroke awareness, and improve access and quality of stroke care.” Identified interventions included health insurance noting that copayment reductions have improved access to care for minority patients with or at risk for stroke; however, the persistence of racial/ethnic disparities in stroke health care and health across the United States still requires, “a need to train and mentor a new generation of stroke disparities researchers who can perform implementation science.” Penny Dickerson is a 2023 Health Equity Fellow in partnership with the Jacksonville Business Journal and ONYX Magazine. The fellowship is sponsored by The Commonwealth Fund and the Association for Health Care Journalists.
FLORIDA SCOPE
TAMPA HIGHLIGHTED AMONG WORLD’S BEST TIME MAGAZINE: TAMPA AMONG “WORLD’S GREATEST PLACES” TIME Magazine released its list of 50 "World’s Greatest Places" for 2023, and Tampa made the list. For a lot of people, it’s the climate that makes it such a desirable place to live. But for TIME Magazine, it’s more than just the weather. Tampa is booming, and developments like Water Street, destinations like Sparkman Wharf, Armature Works, and the 2.6-mile Riverwalk really got TIME Magazine’s attention. Not to mention new businesses coming in and local businesses expanding. "We used to be the retirement state, and I don’t think we’re that anymore," said Lynda Remund, the president and CEO of Tampa Downtown Part-
nership. "You can walk around here, you can see all the young people walking around, there’s a lot of energy here, there’s a lot of innovation going on." The list of the world’s greatest places also includes Barcelona, Spain, Naples, Italy, Medellín, Colombia, and Phuket, Thailand. American cities on the list include Washington, D.C.; Bozeman, MT; and Tucson, Arizona. Most places were picked because of their positive growth and change, sustainable tourism practices, and accessibility. For instance, TIME Magazine cited the soon-to-be double daily non-stop flights from Tampa to London (Heathrow and Gatwick). Fox 13
TAMPA HOTEL NAMED AMONG BEST IN THE WORLD
FLORIDA BLACK FARMERS COULD GET MEDICAL-MARIJUANA LICENSES Black farmers who didn’t make the cut last year could have another opportunity to vie for medical-marijuana licenses, under a bill approved by lawmakers in the final days of the 2023 legislative session. The bill, which awaits a decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is part of years-long efforts aimed at giving Black farmers an entry into Florida’s now-flourishing medical-marijuana industry. Legislators first attempted to loop Black farmers into the industry as part of a broader law carrying out a 2016 constitutional amendment that authorized medical marijuana. Part of a 2017 law required state health officials to grant a license to an appli-
cant who was a participant in decades-old litigation, known as “Pigford” cases, addressing racial discrimination against Black farmers by federal agriculture officials. To be eligible for the license, Black farmers also had to show they had been in business in Florida for at least five years. In October 2021, the Florida Department of Health rolled out a process for Black farmers to apply for the license. The bill (HB 387) would require the health department to issue licenses to Black farmers whose applications did not have any identified deficiencies, regardless of what scores they received from evaluators. Sun Sentinel
Travel + Leisure has released their list of the best new hotels in the world and the Tampa EDITION, Tampa’s first five-star hotel, made the cut. On the list are hotels in Istanbul, Paris, Thailand, Zambia, Brazil and yes, Tampa. The Tampa EDITION came in at #41 on their list of 100. The magazine says about The Tampa EDITION “You’ll know you’re in Florida the minute you step into the lobby’s verdant forest of palm fronds. And you’ll know you’re at the white-hot Tampa EDITION because, as a guest, you just breezed past a line of locals hoping to get in at one of the hotel’s seven dining spots, now among the city’s most coveted bookings.” The Tampa EDITION is located in the Water Street district close to the Florida Aquarium, the Riverwalk, Sparkman’s Wharf and the Tampa Bay History Center. In addition to the great location, Travel + Leisure mentions the hotel’s large gym and spa, as well as their “super spacious” rooms. The hotel also features Lilac, a restaurant just added to the Michelin Guide in 2023. ESPN Florida, photo courtesy of Tampa EDITION ONYX MAGAZINE 37