Chicago Crusader 09/21/13 E-Edition

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Blacks Must Control Their Own Community

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VOLUME LXXIII NUMBER 22—SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013

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Parkway basking in $100 million makeover

By Glenn Reedus A $100-million capital infusion has transformed Parkway Gardens from a severely blighted complex to a sprawling development, reminiscent of it early years as an enclave for the Black middle class.

When it was built six decades ago, Parkway Gardens attracted well heeled Black residents, but over the years has suffered from neglect and economic downturns.

The Related Companies is leading the redevelopment of the 694-unit site spanning three blocks from 66th to 63rd street along Martin Luther King Drive, and from King Drive to Calumet Avenue. The announcement of the renovation was made during a recent news conference that included Related executives, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Twentieth Ward Alderman Willie Cochran, Illinois Housing Development Authorities, and Kesa Thurman, principal of Dulles Elementary School, which is adjacent to the apartments.

Besides an overhaul of the apartments, Related transformed what Thurman termed “a concrete jungle” into “a field of dreams.” The 8,410-square-foot field will accommodate

CURT BAILEY, PRESIDENT of The Related Companies Midwest operations tells the audience at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony why the company invested in the Parkway Gardens in the 6400 block of King Dr. (All photos by Worsom Robinson)

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, who was credited with helping broker the deal that brought a $100-million investment to Parkway Gardens, talks with students from the neighboring Dulles Elementary School. mostly Dulles students, as 90 percent of them for the first time in the school’s history.”

He added, “As a direct result of this private live in Parkway Gardens. Joining Thurman were members of the Dulles Tigers football partnership, here at the Parkway Gardens we team as well as some of the school’s cheerlead- are investing in a path to a brighter future for ing squad. The backdrop of the news confer- our children that starts with a supportive ence was peppered with students’ shouts, gig- home and continues into a challenging classgles and playful banter which Emanuel room. Before this green field, the area where referenced several times driving home the we are standing now used to be asphalt and point that the Parkway/Dulles investment the principal was spending thousands of dollars every year on Band-Aids because it wasn’t changed lives.

According to Emanuel, “This is an opportu- safe. Thousands of dollars can be spent better, nity to have recess and sporting events outside and we don’t need Band-Aid solutions for our

PARKWAY GARDENS RESIDENTS and Dulles Elementary School have a new state-of-the-art football and soccer field. The Related Companies included the field as part of its renovation of the neighboring Parkway Gardens Apartments. kids – we need relentless standards for educaThe Related Companies, according to Curt tion and a positive environment that pro- Bailey, president of the corporation’s Midwest motes safety,” the mayor explained. operations, “saw an opportunity to make a reIn 1946 the units, designed by the former al difference in the landscape of the city.” BaiHolsman, Holsman, Klekamp & Taylor ar- ley explained Related manages a range of chitectural firm, opened on the idyllic 13-acre properties from North Lake Shore Drive luxsite and was soon housing some of the city’s ury accommodations to other affordable sites most well heeled Black residents. Time, ne(Continued on page 3) glect and several sour local and national economic downward spirals morphed Parkway Gardens into an eyesore festering with out-ofcontrol crime.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

The Modern Slavery and Apartheid (See story on page 2)

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NEWS

Congresswoman promises more resources for Roseland

By Wendell Hutson U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) paid a visit to Roseland recently and promised community stakeholders like Diane Latiker that she would work harder in Congress to bring much needed resources to the community. About 50 community leaders and residents joined Kelly and Latiker at a news conference to talk about how a great economic commitment to the area could provide positive outlets for youths.

“I really want the Congress people who may not live in urban environments to really hear the plight that people are going through,” said Kelly. “We need to make sure that the urban voices are heard, because we have many massacres all too often in the urban streets in Chicago.”

Kelly added that she plans to speak to her colleagues in Washington, D.C. about helping her bring more jobs and economic development to the far South Side. She also plans on sponsoring a trip to the nation’s capital for a few Roseland parents so lawmakers could hear directly from those affected by a lack of resources. “We need to invest in

Roseland and communities like it, so we don’t continue to lose a generation of our young people.”

Kelly said.

For Latiker, founder and executive director of Kids Off the Block Inc., a nonprofit organization in Roseland that provides free after school programs to youths, it is a familiar promise for politicians but one “I will take Kelly at her word.”

Roseland has more than its fair share of abandoned buildings, failing schools, empty lots, high crime, and unemployment that makes the area that more challenging for residents, explained Latiker. “As residents of Roseland, we should be held accountable. We’ve got to make our neighborhoods safe, livable and

Diane Latiker

enjoyable for our kids,” Latiker said. “If we are ever going to clean up Roseland it will take more than what we have been offering for the last 10 years.”

Gun violence, said Latiker, is one of the key reasons so many youth have become extinct in Roseland, whose residents are predominately Black, according to census data. “Reducing guns on the streets would definitely have an impact on violence,” Kelly said. “(But) we have to do something regarding our community.” So far this year, according to Chicago police, 10 homicides have occurred in Roseland.

But violence in Roseland is not the only thing residents are dealing with. The community also is facing the closure of Roseland Community Hospital, 45 W. 111th St., as it continues to struggle to keep its doors open.

In June, the 162-bed hospital was on the verge on closing until Gov. Pat Quinn stepped in to award the facility a $350,000 grant so it could meet its payroll another two weeks. Since then a monitor has been brought in to manage the 89-year-old hospital’s finances, 68 employees were laid off and the executive manage-

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly

ment had to take a temporary pay cut.

Kelly said she is also working to keep the hospital open. “An independent assessment of Roseland’s operations is necessary to determine the appropriate course of action to prevent closure,” said Kelly. “I will continue to work to help devise a long-term plan for restructuring Roseland that will allow the hospital to operate in a financially efficient manner while serving a critical need in the community.”

The only good news that Roseland residents said they are excit-

ed about is the Sept. 11 opening of a Walmart supercenter at 10900 S. Doty Ave. The new, 149,000 square-foot store includes a full-service grocery store, which addresses the food desert that currently exist in Roseland.

“We may not have much here in Roseland but having a Walmart is a great start to what is expected to come,” said Joseph Bradley, 57, a 23-year resident. “Maybe now more “name brand” stores will consider opening up here. Roseland is not a bad place to live. It just have some bad places to avoid going.”

The Modern Slavery and Apartheid

Pass laws used against two African Americans for practicing Pan Africanism

By Shaka Barak, President The Marcus Garvey Institute Part II The United States opposition to the brand of Pan Africanism that Prince Asiel Ben Israel and Gregory Turner have promoted for a combined 60 years, was opposed in the Zbigniew Brezinski National Security Council Memorandum-46, of March 17, 1978, which reads, “Appropriate steps to be taken inside and outside the country in order to inhibit any pressure by radical African leaders and organizations in the Black community for the latter to exert influence on the policy of the Administration toward Africa.” It goes on to read, “Special clandestine operations should be launched by the CIA to generate mistrust and hostility in America and world opinion against joint activity of the two forces, and to cause division among Black African radical national groups and their leaders.”

Therefore, the United States government has imposed sanctions (pass laws) on specially designated nationals of Zimbabwe that incudes key people from Zimbabwe. Number one is His Excellency President Robert 2

Prince Asiel Ben Israel Gabriel Mugabe. He is not only the leader that returned the land back to the Africans in Zimbabwe, and is defying global white supremacy, but is interested in building a relationship at his government’s highest level with the African Diaspora especially African Americans.

The next Zimbabwean target for sanctions (pass laws) is Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. He is important because whatever business deals, African Americans can think up and design business plans for, like a one-man Shark Tank, Mr. Gono can find the finances

Saturday, September 21, 2013

for it. Mr. Gono himself is a Chicken Magnate, and has been in the chicken business for 40 years, and wrote, “I must be the first chicken billionaire in Africa.” Describing his vision, Mr. Gono says, “Within those visions is a desire to see Africa being self-sufficient in terms of its food production.”

The next Zimbabwean attacked with United States sanctions (pass laws) is Simon Khaya Moyo, who is Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa. Also included among those sanctioned is Samuel Simbarashe Simbanenduko Mumbengegwi, who was Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister. Without going into details of what all the men do and the various enterprises they are connected to, let me appeal to the readers for support of the two African Americans, Prince Asiel Ben Israel and Gregory Turner.

For these African American men to make friends in Zimbabwe, this high up in government, and various businesses, they ought to be rewarded and not punished.

At this level the stakes are high, and the players are sharp, which means Prince Asiel Ben Israel and Gregory Turner are of leadership and of hero statures. In spite of how some whites refer to President Mugabe as blood-thirsty and a dictator, this 89-year-old man,

Gregory Turner that overthrew colonialism, has held hero status among many Blacks for over a half century. If no other African head of state can, Mugabe should eliminate any doubt as to whether continental Africans have a genuine interest in working with African Americans for mutual benefits.

Lastly, the United States government did not like Prince Asiel leading any discussions about the following: the effects of the sanctions on Zimbabwe and on African Americans; about efforts for lifting the sanctions; about developing any strategies to have the sanctions lifted; to advocate for

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

the removal and ending of the sanctions; about the United States policy related to Zimbabwe; to host any economic development meetings in Illinois between Zimbabweans and African Americans; to lead discussion regarding tourism, banking or commerce; about obtaining visas for traveling to Africa or from Africa; to discuss joint ventures; to discuss mining, production or marketing of diamonds; to discuss organizing trips to Zimbabwe to observe the effects of the sanctions; and to speak to any elected officials including the Congressional Black Caucus about the effects of the sanctions.

Prince Asiel Ben Israel and Gregory Turner after practicing Pan Africanism that has brought together thousands of Africans at home in Africa and abroad, they are being indicted for not having a license/pass from the Attorney General’s office first.

In conclusion, Africans and people of African descent must see that slavery passes, apartheid passes and licenses for Africans to talk to other Africans are modern forms of anti-Africanism, and attempts to divide and rob Africans, and are the same no matter what the name they’re called by.

To read both parts of this story visit www.chicagocrusader.com. www.chicagocrusader.com

NEWS

Perspective Charter High School Hosts Career Day

By Wendell Hutson More than 30 professionals from various careers, such as education, psychology and construction, participated in an annual Career Day recently at Perspective Charter High School.

About 100 juniors at Perspective Charter, 8131 S. May St., listened to panelists as they explained their career paths and offered advice about how best to achieve their goals in life.

Erica Thomas is a child psychologist whose patients include foster children and those that have been removed from their parents by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services due to abuse or neglect.

“Every day I see a different child but with similar problems as the kid I saw before him,” Thomas told stu-

dents. “It is my job to evaluate children and identify issues they are having that sometimes lead to misbehavior. Mental problems are usually the root of their problems.”

Rather than clap to show their approval students snapped their fingers as a gesture that they liked what a panelist said. So after Thomas explained her profession she received lots of “snaps.”

Alison Hardin was another panelist, and works as a financial advisor for Ernst & Young LLP in Chicago.

“I have always been good with numbers and giving advice to people, so I paired those two skills up to make a career for myself,” Hardin said. “It is so important that you first find out what you like and what you are good at before deciding on a career. Never choose a career for money because too often

PERSPECTIVE CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL students listen to panelists at a Career Day program at the school recently. The students were provided information on a wide range of educational and career opportunities. when you do you will not be happy from salaries to how many hours or successful at it.” per week panelists typically work.

And Kevin Henning took a differ“I mean, like do you work nine to ent route to his career in the con- five every day for five days or do you struction industry. He first earned have to work more than that?,” an associate’s degree at a trade asked Tracy Williams, a junior. school before deciding to pursue a Byron Waller, a career counselor at bachelor’s degree.

Governors State University, re“Every high school student who sponded by saying he works 40 graduates will not be ready or inter- hours a week. But Thomas and ested in attending a four-year col- Hardin both said they work belege and that’s fine because tradi- tween 50 to 70 hours a week. tional colleges are not for everyone,” explained Henning, president of “If you are self-employed, which is Smithfield Construction Group what I encourage you to do, then Inc. in Chicago. “There is nothing you are in control of your own wrong with going to a junior college schedule and destiny in life,” Waller or trade school to develop some told students. “The world we live in skills that could help you start your today is made up mostly of self-emcareer.” ployed people. Therefore, you After panelists, who were broken should think entrepreneurship up into groups of five, delivered when deciding what career paths their presentations, students re- you want to travel down. It will pay CAREER DAY PANELISTS discuss their career paths with Perspective Charter High School sponded with questions ranging off in the long run.” students.

Please visit www.chicagocrusader.com and answer our poll question of the week. This week the question regards Stony Island Avenue.

Parkway Gardens basking . . .

(Continued from page 1)

DULLES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL students enjoy the new playground equipment adjacent to a new football field that was installed as part of a $100 million overhaul of the nearby Parkway Gardens Apartment. www.chicagocrusader.com

such as Parkway. He explained the King Drive project created 300 local construction jobs.

Besides The Related Companies, the public-private partnership Emanuel cited includes Wells Fargo & Co., the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), and Fannie Mae. The collaboration meshed a $36.5 million equity investment and $59.5 million in bond financing from the IHDA. A representative of Gov. Pat Quinn and executive director of the IHDA, Mary R. Kenney said “Governor Quinn recognizes the

need to preserve safe and decent affordable rental housing for the people of Illinois, and quality jobs have been created as a direct result of his commitment.”

Matthew Finkle, president of the Related Affordable division, surprised the audience of about 100 with the announcement the company will provide an annual $5,000 scholarship to one Parkway resident. A company spokesperson elaborated later and said adult Parkway residents looking to return to school also will be considered for the scholarship.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

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Saturday, September 21, 2013 3

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL QUESTIONS WE SHOULD ASK OURSELVES There are certain questions that you just don’t ask about the status and condition of Black people, and especially African American people, in public. These are the “dirty laundry” questions that will enrage our militant brothers and sisters and embarrass those who have acquired substantial economic success. The fact of the matter, however, is that dirty laundry needs to be aired if it is to be cleaned.

One of the questions that we tend to avoid is this: why is it that wherever you find Black and white people together in the world, the white people dominate? When the colonists carved up the African continent like so much turkey, they controlled everything; although they were outnumbered by Black Africans. By the time those territories became “liberated,” the whites had left their imprimatur on them and the Blacks who took over carried on many of the practices exhibited by their former controllers.

Today, everywhere that you look, Blacks tend to be at the bottom of the economic heap and white people are on top. Everywhere. This is even true in Brazil, which reportedly has the largest number of Black people outside of Africa. Dark skin is seen as a liability almost everywhere you go. Of course, the usual answer given by most people is that “white supremacy” is the culprit.

The notion that whites feel entitled to the best of everything and feel superior to others on this planet is obvious. Actually, they manifest this destiny, and Black people are not the only ones bearing the brunt of this skewed philosophy.

On another note, Africans are not even controlling their own land and communities. African Blacks are sitting by today as the Chinese are moving in to control the lion’s share of resources on the African continent. If things continue as they are, we might wake up one day to witness an Africa that is an extension of China! And in the United States, a whole stream of foreigners has come into Black communities controlling the flow of resources.

Jews, Arabs, Koreans, and even Egyptians have carved a niche in Black communities, while Black businesses faltered. So, what is going on? What’s wrong?

We must remember that the idea of white supremacy is based on a mindset: it would not work if Black people realized their own self-worth on the one hand, and reinforced each other economically on the other. This has not been done because (and here is the really dirty laundry) too many Black people have accepted and internalized the notion of Black inferiority. This internalized selfhatred is evident when we make choices that idealize white values over Black values. It has been bought lock, stock and barrel, as the saying goes. One reason for this is that we still desire to be accepted as equal by the one with “superior technology.”

Historically, white people have used technology to first mesmerize, then subjugate and eventually exploit Black people. This started with the trinkets and beads used to lure them into self-destructive behavior that eventually resulted in slavery.

So, today people equate sophisticated technology with “superiority.” If technology is an indicator of “superiority,” then why is it that technology has been used to destroy and disrespect more and more people? After all, this so-called “advanced civilization” developed and utilized an atomic bomb on other humans. This is not the mark of superiority; this is insanity!

The true mark of superiority is that which honors the spiritual aspects of nature; that knows that being in harmony with the earth and with each other is what really counts. Black people must remember this and utilize this idea as an antidote to counter the liberal dose of white supremacist mind control that keeps us in its grasp and against one another. We must embrace values that create real community. This will ultimately translate into better conditions in spite of the current stranglehold of white supremacist thinking because, in the end, people are our greatest resource! Real talk!

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Millions are not enough Dear Editor: So the Chicago City Council just OKd another $12 million payout to two of Jon Burge’s torture victims. That means that the city has paid a whopping $83 million-plus to pay 18 settlements.

Everyone agrees that no one has a handle on how many more lawsuits will surface.

What seems to be missing from the discussion is what happens after these men are made instant millionaires. There is no doubt that they are besieged by family, (some probably unknown to him until he got paid), friends, and others with “investment opportunities,” all looking for a share of the new money, It seems that in most cases the excon is willing to meet those requests to some extent. The upshot is no one is really looking out for this individual and trying to help him make the money last as long as possible. Too many people are too willing to help him buy countless things that intrigue folk who have been locked up since former Mayor Daley took office.

But who is there for them to slow their spending roll? Who is there to remind them they can only drive one car at a time so it is pointless to buy three of them? Even though they can buy almost limitless quantities of their drug(s) of choice, is there someone close by who points out that it was that type of choice

that contributed to them being locked up in the first place.

For someone who has never managed more than a commissary account, millions of dollars can be mind-boggling. We see instant millionaires squander their lottery millions in a few short years; and these are people who have not been out of touch with society and its changes. So think of how daunting it must be if the whole world is vastly different than it was decades before, and that person has not been part of the changes.

Because the government agency is giving them the money that same agency should give/assign them some sort of financial management team. This could be a team that counsels the person on investing, saving and philanthropy. It would be a team that would do its best to help the ex-con from squandering his money.

I think it is criminal to toss the former criminal a boatload of money and expect him to be just fine after all of the emotional, psychological and in some instances physical damage the system has done to him.

voted for mayor just slapped us in the face by going to the city council and asking them to change the name of Stony Island. He wants to re-name it after Bishop Arthur Brazier.

There is no doubt that Brazier did a lot of good things, in addition to starting his church at 63rd and Dorchester. And like so many preachers who have preceded him he does deserve to have something named in his honor, but certainly not one of the longest streets in the Black community.

(Continued on page 17)

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Leave Stony Island alone Dear Editor: I wish it was possible to dislike Rahm Emanuel even more, but I found out I can’t despite his latest pat on the head to Black people.

The man who most Black folks

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

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COMMENTARY

Our Rotten Prison System

By Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist In the name of “full disclosure” let me say that I have a bachelor’s degree in Correctional Administration (School of Sociology, University of Wisconsin). During the summer of 1969, I did my required internship at the Wisconsin School for Girls located in Oregon, Wisconsin. These were underage offenders who were found guilty of petty crimes or “bad behavior.” My ambition was to change bad human behavior into honorable behavior. The curriculum I was reading promoted the best models of rehabilitation. I was so pumped but the internship showed me the reality of our system of corrections.

None, I really mean none, of the girls in the reform school were evil or bad. They all had a messed up family life. The overwhelming majority had no fathers and their mothers lacked a work ethic (welfare dependent). Role models were nowhere to be found. For those three months I basically became their father (whites, Hispanics and Blacks alike). The supervisors were elated as the girls quickly started changing from bad girls to nice girls with ambition. I enjoyed them and even named my oldest daugh-

Harry C. Alford ter after one of them. My lament was that they would eventually go back to those environments. I would go to Milwaukee and Chicago and visit their households. It was so depressing and showed that their progress would be short-lived. My ambition started to move towards a career in business.

Another reality was that the Correctional Industry, in comparison with my text books, had no ambition to rehabilitate anyone. Incarceration was a business and mass imprisonment meant business was good. What I didn’t know was that “business” was about to take off

northward at an exponential rate.

Various drugs were imported into poverty stricken communities. The epitome was the Crack invasion.

Drugs cause addiction and addiction leads to criminal behavior along with the trafficking of the drugs themselves. Prisons started to fill and recidivism (returning to incarceration) was rising at a hopeless rate. Rehabilitation had become a thing of the past.

It appears that the whole thing was a conspiracy. Prison guards unionized and the unions started lobbying for more prisons, stiffer sentencing and anything to grow the prison population. Some entrepreneurs saw a great opportunity and lobbied elected officials. Then President Ronald Reagan did a very awful thing. He announced the “War on Drugs.” As David Simon, the writer of HBO’s The Wire stated, “In effect this was a war on Blacks that evolved into a war on both Blacks and Hispanics.” This brought on a new form of slavery.

The first privately managed prison was established in Hamilton County, TN in 1984. The contract went to Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). CCA currently owns 65 facilities all over the nation. It is the largest prison management company and is traded on the

New York Stock Exchange (CXW) with revenue and assets totaling well over $1 billion. The industry continues to grow at a rapid rate and has much power in lobbying.

Things like “three strikes and out,” more funding for new prisons and the courting of judges who seem to be issuing longer sentences. The longer the sentence; the more the money for private prison companies. Obviously, the Crack Invasion was a financial boon for all of these private prisons.

With new fast and big cash comes corruption. An example is Pennsylvania Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. He and his partner Judge Michael Conahan received millions of dollars from a private prison management firm for their “Kids for Cash” sentencing. Over 5,000 youths received extreme sentences and were sent to a private prison in exchange for cash from the executives of the company. Judge Ciavarella sent a ten-year-old to two years incarceration for accidentally causing minor damage to his mother’s car. This was typical of these two judges.

Judge Ciavarella has been sentenced to 28 years. Judge Conahan has pled guilty and will be sentenced shortly. These 5,000 children’s lives will never be the same.

These victims were sent to PA

Child Care and Western PA Child Care detention centers. The company or companies have kept their names out of the press which shows you how sophisticated their crisis management firm is. This example is one of many and I am certain much corruption is taking place at all levels and in all geographies.

Their lobbying firms are powerful too. They got Congress in 1997 to dictate that the Department of Justice should do a test on privately run prisons. The new federal prison was located in Taft, CA. The contract went to Wackenhut (now called The GEO Group, Inc). The test was declared “successful” and federal prisons started becoming privatized ever since.

We have a rotten prison system. If we would legalize drugs perhaps the prison population (predominantly Black and Hispanic) would start to fade away and private prisons will be a thing of a horrible and ugly past. Next week – “Our Rotten Probation system.”

Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.

1963 was the Pivotal Year for Civil Rights

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist In the modern civil rights era, no year stands out in my memory more than 1963. I was a sophomore at Druid High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala. and living in McKenzie Court, the all-Black housing project on the west side of town. After a life of second-class citizenship, I finally saw the walls of segregation crumbling.

Tuscaloosa provided me with a front-row seat. My stepfather, William H. Polk, drove a dump truck at the University of Alabama. Although our taxes went to support what was even then a football factory, African Americans were barred from attending the state-supported school.

On Feb. 3, 1956, Autherine Lucy gained admission to the University of Alabama under a U.S. Supreme Court order. But a mob gathered on campus three days later. Instead of defending the Black graduate student, the university suspended Lucy, saying officials could not protect her. When she sued to gain readmission, Alabama officials used that suit to claim she had slandered the university and, therefore, could not continue as a student. www.chicagocrusader.com

But things would be different on June 11, 1963, which is not to say there wouldn’t be resistance.

Vivian Malone and James Hood, armed with a federal court order that the university admit them and segregationist Gov. George C. Wallace not interfere, sought to enter Foster Auditorium on campus to register for classes. They were accompanied by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach.

Instead of complying with the federal order, Gov. Wallace, who had pledged “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” in his inaugural address, staged his “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” to block the two students from entering.

Katzenbach left with the students and placed a call to President John F. Kennedy. The president nationalized the Alabama National Guard. When Malone, Hood and Katzenbach returned to Foster Auditorium that afternoon, Gen. Henry Graham told Wallace, “Sir, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside under orders of the president of the United States.”

After uttering a few words, Wallace stepped to the side and Malone and Hood walked inside and registered.

It was exciting to see the drama

George E. Curry being played out on our black and white TV. At last, I thought, the walls of segregation would be forever shattered.

President Kennedy gave an eloquent televised speech to the nation that night. He said, “Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. And when Americans are sent to Viet Nam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.”

The euphoria of a victory in my hometown was short lived. With-

in hours of Kennedy’s speech, Medgar Evers, who headed NAACP field operations in Mississippi, was shot to death in Jackson, Miss. after parking his car in his driveway and exiting to enter his home. Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was arrested for the crime. However, he was acquitted by an all-white, all male jury. It wasn’t until 30 years later, when new evidence surfaced, that Beckwith was finally convicted for murdering Evers.

Of course, 250,000 gathered Aug. 28, 1963 for the March on Washington. Much has been written about the March as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, so I won’t devote much space here except to note that the news media was fixated on the possibility of the March turning violent. But, as the Baltimore Sun noted, only three people were arrested that day and “not one was a Negro.”

Like the desegregation of the University of Alabama, white racists were eager to “send a message” that the March on Washington would not change their world.

In the wee hours of Sunday, Sept. 15, four Klansmen – Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton, Herman Frank and Robert Chambliss, planted a box of dynamite with a time delay under the steps of the Sixteenth Street Bap-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

tist Church in Birmingham, Ala., a rallying point in the city for civil rights activities. At 10:22 a.m., the bomb went off, killing four young girls – Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair – and injuring 22 others.

Although the violent message was supposed to remind Blacks that there were no safe places for them, not even church, Blacks sent a more lasting message by continuing to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham and across the South.

The enormous sacrifices of 1963 were not in vain. They provided the groundwork for passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. It was a year worth remembering.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www-.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

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COMMENTARY

REFLECTIONS ON THE DURBAN 400 (Dr. Conrad Worrill, National Chairman Emeritus of the National Black United Front (NBUF), located at 1809 East 71st Street, Suite 211, Chicago, Illinois, 60649, 773-493-0900, Fax# 773-493-9819, E-mail: nbufchic@sbcglobal.net, Web site: nbufront.org)

Dr. Conrad Worrill

It has been twelve years since the historic United Nations World Conference Against Racism took place in Durban, South Africa. We should always remember the role the Durban 400 played in impacting the outcome of this most important event in history.

The Durban 400 was made up of the December 12th Movement International Secretariat and the National Black United Front (NBUF) that were leading participants in the United Nations World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) that was held in Durban, South Africa from August 31st through September 7, 2001. Because the United States did not agree with many of the issues being raised at this conference, particularly, the push by African people worldwide to declare that the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery are a Crime Against Humanity and that Reparations are owed to African people in the Diaspora and on the continent of Africa, the United States withdrew their low level delegation and left only the Ambassador to South Africa to represent them.

The role of the United States and Western Europe (WEO) to subvert the agenda “provided the indisputable proof” that the issues we fought for, to be included in the Durban Declaration, went to the “heart of the World Conference Against Racism.” For over two years, representatives from the Durban 400 traveled throughout the world attending the various preparatory meetings for the WCAR, advocating our agenda that was simple and focused: 1) Declaration of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, Slavery, and Colonialism as Crimes Against Humanity; 2) Reparations for African people on the continent and in the Diaspora; 3) Recognition of the Economic Base of Racism.

As the (Non Governmental Organization) International Association Against Torture pointed out in their intervention at the WCAR, “From the beginning they were clear (The U.S. and the WEO Group) that a conference which addressed racism and racial discrimination could only have one outcome— to subject them to the same hu-

man rights standards which they imperiously demand that the developing world uncomplainingly submit to and to identify them as perpetrators of history’s greatest crime against humanity, the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery.”

How mighty can the United States be without acknowledging, apologizing, and paying reparations to African people for the Greatest Crime Against Humanity they participated in, the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, Slavery, and Colonialism?

As researched by the UNESCO Slave Trade Project, the Museum of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and the Harvard Database on Slave Voyages, twenty-eight to fortytwo million African people were captured and enslaved between 1441 and 1888…Four to six million Africans, 40% of all captives and slaves, were murdered or died along the entire “way of death…”

Just as other people never forget their history and the tragedies and crimes committed against them, neither should African people.

Therefore, the Durban 400 de-

NO FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist Steven and Laurie, a white married couple that live near Richmond, Virginia, work at a big box store. She as a cashier; he in the storeroom. Each earn about $9 an hour but neither works 40 hours a week. Indeed, they are lucky to pull 40 hours a week combined. Some weeks they are fortunate enough to pull 45 hours a week between them. Some weeks their combined hours are just 30. I met Steven and Laurie (not their real names) on a telephone press conference back in April. They said they had three children and also mentioned that they were white because “everybody thinks only Black people get these benefits.”

Steven and Laurie were troopers. They talked about buying clothes at thrift shops, searching for food bargains and planning menus around coupons, and managing to occasionally eke out a few pennies to buy occasional new things for their children. They didn’t complain, but spoke matter-of-factly about their financial situation. They also spoke of looking for new jobs, but finding little available in their community.

Because neither work enough hours, Steven nor Laurie qualified for health insurance. Their combined incomes are so low – between about $16,000 and $21,000, that 6

they are officially poor (the poverty line for a family of five is $27,540). They qualify for food stamps, (called SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and they consider them the blessing that helps them make ends meet.

Sometime this month, though, Congress will come up from the Syria conversation to, perhaps, cut allocations for SNAP. The cut of $40 billion would deny between four and six million people food stamps. The new legislation would also allow states to require SNAP recipients to work. Some of the 12 million unemployed may not qualify for SNAP assistance, nor will childless adults who do not have work. Some restrictions may also limit SNAP assistance to three months every three years.

While some states have waived SNAP requirements because of their high unemployment rates, federal legislation may prevent such waivers.

The proposed cuts in SNAP is twice those proposed back in May. These cuts are being driven by Republicans who, in their budget cutting frenzy, have been indifference to poverty. After all, the “p” word is used too infrequently in political debate, that one might think that poverty has magically gone away. Or, perhaps our legislators just don’t care.

The people who receive SNAP as-

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Dr. Julianne Malveaux sistance don’t conform to any stereotypes. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, about twenty percent of those receiving SNAP have college degrees. Half of the recipients are white. A third of the women who get help from SNAP are over 40. Fifty thousand of those who receive SNAP assistance are veterans.

So many families are food insecure because of the employment situation. The unemployment rate dropped just a tick in August, slipping from 7.4 to 7.3 percent. Still, there are 11.3 million unemployed people. More than 4.3 million people have been unemployed for more than half a year. These folks, still

looking for work after more than 27 weeks, would be no longer eligible for SNAP assistance.

The unemployment rates, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, clearly understate unemployment. When we count people who work part-time but want full-time work, those who are marginally attached to the labor force, the overall unemployment rate rises from 7.3 percent to 14.6 percent. The Black unemployment, reported at 13 percent, soars to 26 percent, a depression level of unemployment. It is undeniable that the unemployment rate is improving, with overall unemployment dropping from 8.1 percent a year ago to 7.3 percent today. But the downward pace has been glacial, with the level of job creation (169,000) too slow to keep up with job loss. Millions will remain unemployed for the next six months or so.

Against this backdrop Congress has the temerity to propose legislation that will deny millions of families SNAP benefits. Their indifference to joblessness and poverty is amazing. They’ve not exhibited similar indifference for those at the top, maintaining tax breaks for them.

Steve and Laurie struggle to make ends meet. They are good, hardworking, and people just like millions of others. They work part-time for economic reasons, preferring full-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

clared a victory in contributing to the final outcome of the Durban Declaration that reflects the interests of African people by citing: “We acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade, including the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude, organized nature and especially their negation of the essence of the victims and further acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so…”

Although the language of the Durban Declaration did not specifically call for reparations for African people, it is now our duty to intensify our organizing in demanding the United States Government and U. S. Corporations pay reparations. We must continue to educate the African Community of America on the continued need to organize and revitalize the Reparations Movement.

time work. They need food stamps, and it is not clear, under proposed legislation, whether they will qualify for them. I worry about Steve and Laurie, and I also worry about the 11.3 million unemployed people, the 4.3 million who have not worked in half a year, and the two to four million families who will not qualify for SNAP. Worry is not enough, though. This is yet another reason why a people’s uprising is necessary. The uprising must transcend race lines – it ought to reflect Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign. Congress won’t change its indifference to the poor unless somebody makes them.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.

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GOSSIPTARY

By Ima Gontellit EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is published as political satire, street gossip and humor, and therefore should not be considered as fact but rather as matter of opinion. None of the items therein are collected by the news gathering staff of the Crusader Newspaper Group. Items forwarded to The Chatterbox are kept confidential unless otherwise requested by the author in writing. For submissions please forward to: AChicagoCrusader@aol.com. Original photography and artwork are permitted.

Thank you for reading!

to keep both of their expensive homes and those giant elk heads?

All of this is silly and suspect at the same time.

People all over Illinois are cheering the news that Bill “Foreclosure King” Daley has bowed out of the Illinois governor’s race. No one believed his fake campaign was going anywhere in the first place. Ever’body knew he was playing tar baby for the Democrats and the only reason he jumped in there was to make sure Lisa Madigan stayed her tail out.

Bill Daley Now that he’s not running no mo,’ folk can go back to pretending they don’t remember what he done while he was the head of that large bank that foreclosed on mo’ Black folks houses than all of Jim Crow. And people down the state line can breathe a sigh of relief that Obammy’s former chief of staff won’t be running the entire state in the ground lak his brother Richie did to the City of Chicago. We now hear folk in the Daley camp is trying to figure out how to support that crazy billionaire Bruce “Arch SuperVillian” Rauner who is running on the Republican ticket.

-Imawww.chicagocrusader.com

HOLLYWOOD ED SMITH

Did you know that operatives in the second congressional district are working very hard to lay the groundwork for Jesse Jackson JUNIOR’s political comeback after he gets through playing harmonica in a South Carolina federal prison? Folks in de know say they got placeholders ready to get that 7th Ward aldermanic seat, and folks is “watching Robin Kelly” real close for any slip up because when de time come (six years down the pike) Jesse is gonna come back crying to the people, preaching lak his daddy, saying he done repented and if de people just give him one mo’ chance he gone do them good.

The operatives on the Far South Side have recruited some players in the defunct Abraham Lincoln Airport Society that was created by the desposed congressman to run game on the public about that Peotone Airport that will probably get built in 2055. Keep yo’ eyes peeled.

There’s this little Black woman running all over America denouncing Louis Farrakhan and his nation of Muslims as fronts for the Scientology church—and folks is getting scared. People say this woman, who used to be in the nation, must have forgotten that the FOI are trained in judo and she may get a karate chop to the back of the neck if they catches her in public. Seem like she got some kind of word that De Minister done sold out to white folk and somehow he is down with brain audits and other stuff that L. Ron Hubbard made up to combat the pharmaceutical industry crazy pills. Now, we ain’t seen no John Travolta eating bean pies and Will Smith ain’t been seen in no bow tie, so we can’t tell how deep the Nation has gone in with this Scientology stuff. But this woman has been all over the internet, radio, TV and radio telling Farrakhan’s business because she’s says she’s angry that he done turned his back on “De Messenger,” and has embraced a white folks religion. In de meantime, peoples be saying keep this gurl in your prayers because she might wind up in one of those audit pods if she keep it up.

With Rickey Hendon wiped off the face of de earth, it seems former West Side alderman Ed Smith has taken over as the new king of “Negro Hollywood,” and is going around talking about how he is working in the Illinois film industry. Folks was chattering about this over a bowl of poke salad and fatback de other day somewhere in Lawndale.

They say Smith don’t know nothing about the film industry

-Ima-

-Ima-

(Continued on page 16)

-ImaSPEAKING OF STRANGE

Sandi and Jesse Jackson Jr. TWO FUR COATS & A BRUCE LEE SIGN

GOOD RIDDANCE

ANGRY BLACK WOMAN

The federal government was deprived the opportunity to completely destroy the image of Jesse JUNIOR and his elf, we mean wife, because the duo quickly pleaded guilty to their criminal acts and started crying on the TV. Normally the alphabet people like to drag folk through the mud that they can never show dey head again in the public sphere.

Because JUNIOR had the help of the lady from Scandal, he was told to play crazy, cry and plead, and keep his head bowed down at all times so he could get the light sentence promised to him given his great work as an aide to federal agents in 2006. While the federal po-leece held dey nostrils and went along with “the deal,” they don’t seem to have taken too kindly to JUNIOR rubbin’ dey face in it all. You see, Triple Jay was spotted getting a sun tan and sipping mint juleps at a high-class resort a few weeks ago, just days after the judge told him how many days he was gonna be living in the big house. The federales would have preferred for the mean-spirited former congressman to at least pretend like he’s despondent. So because that photo been flying all over Washington’s White House, the feds have decided to make JUNIOR and his elf look very silly by releasing pictures of all of the silly crap he bought with his campaign money. Now de public can dress like an alderman by purchasing one of several furs Sandi Jackson owned during her “criminal crime spree,” and also own a bunch of junk like Bruce Lee posters, Jesse JUNIOR picked up during one of his bi-polar shopping escapades. What folk can’t figure out is, if these two owe nearly a $1 million to the government, how come they are getting

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Ed Smith and he could be doing nothing but acting as a c-blocker to real colored folks who is being played like Sambo and Aunt Jemima by the Illinois Film Office. They say the only Blacks in the new Trans-

Saturday, September 21, 2013

7

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

NEW EXHIBIT AT BRIDGEPORT ART CENTER: A new exhibit opens on Saturday, September 21, 6 pm – 10 pm, at the Bridgeport Art Center, 1200 W. 35th Street (35th and Racine). The 2013 Chicago Sculpture International (CSI) exhibit in the 4th floor Bridgeport Art Center Gallery will showcase an enormous range of works, complementing the additional works by CSI members newly installed outside in the Art Center’s Sculpture Garden.

FRONT & CENTER AT THE HYDE PARK ART CENTER: On Saturday, September 21 from 2 pm to 5 pm, the Hyde Park Art Center invites the public to an open critique of Front & Center. The exhibition features work from 26 emerging Chicago artists accepted into the Art Center’s professional development initiative, The Center Program. The Hyde Park Art Center is located at 5020 South Cornell Avenue in Chicago. For more information call 773-324-5520 or visit www.hydeparkart.org.

CHICAGO GRAPHIC NOVELIST JEFFREY BROWN: On Saturday, September 21 at 11 am, Chicago graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown, author of Vader’s Little Princess and Darth Vader and Son reads from his new book Star Wars: Jedi Academy. Jeff demonstrates how he illustrates his books and signs copies provided by the Book Cellar.

This promises to be a fun event for all ages! It will be held at the Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue.

For more information, visit chicagopubliclibrary.org.

MARQUETTE BANK EVENTS: Switch to Neighborhood Banking Day – On Saturday, September 21, Marquette Bank will host a Switch to Neighborhood Banking at all 23 branch locations. Neighbors are encouraged to join the movement and help strengthen the local economy by switching to a local bank. Stop by any Marquette Bank location for new customer specials and free credit history reports. For more information, visit www.emarquettebank.com or call 1-888-254-9500. Free Neighborhood Appreciation Party – On Saturday, September 21, Marquette Bank will host a free neighborhood appreciation party at the Marquette Bank located at 3030 W. Cermak Road in Chicago. Enjoy family fun, games, prizes and refreshments between noon and 2 pm. The event is open to the public. For more information, call 773-476-5100 ext.

3348. Neighborhood Bank Open House – Also on Saturday, September 21, Marquette Bank will host a free neighborhood bank open house at the Marquette Bank located at 8

2500 S. Eola Road in Aurora. Come meet your neighborhood banker between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm and discover a better way to bank. The event is open to the public. For more information, call 708-364-2691.

ART LIVES EXTRAVAGANZA FOR OUR YOUTH: Join Daylight Media’s “Art Lives Extravaganza for our Youth” on Sunday, September 22nd, 6 pm – 11 pm, at the Lacuna Artist Lofts, 2150 S. Canalport, Chicago, IL. Let’s take a stand against guns, gangs, & violence in honor of Hadiya Pendleton! Come out to this charity event hosted by MC “Lisa E’l featuring fashion, live art, comedy, poetry, dance troop, entertainment, vendors, cocktails, guest speakers, celebrities, VIP invited guests, media, networking, and more! For more information, please call Jennifer Day at 773-294-5476 or send email to JDay@DaylightMediaCorp.com.

IDA MAE GLADNEY AND THE GREAT MIGRATION: Ida Mae Gladney and the Great Migration, will be the topic of a brief lecture and theatrical reading sponsored by the Chicago Public Library in partnership with the Chicago Urban League on Monday, September 23 at 6 pm at the Chicago Urban League, 4510 S. Michigan Avenue. This brief lecture and theatrical reading will provide a closer, more Chicago-centric look at the Great Migration. First, hear from historianAdam Greenas he gives a general overview of this era. Next, Congo Square Theatre Company reads from The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, focusing on Chicagoan Ida Mae Gladney, whose story of leaving Mississippi is told in the book. Ida Mae Gladney’s Chicago family will be on hand at the reception following the event. This program is part of CPL’s One Book, One Chicago series. For more information, please call 312-747-4050 or visit chicagopubliclibrary.org.

HCBA KICKS-OFF AN ENTIRE FALL SEASON OF SEMINARS FOR HOMEOWNERS: The Historic Chicago Bungalow Association (HCBA) has released its entire Fall 2013 Seminar Series schedule, featuring a wide variety of topics designed to help owners of any Chicago home-whether you’re a home repair expert or rehab rookieimprove the beauty, sustainability and safety of your home through simple and affordable repair projects.

Bungalow 101: The Unique History of Your Chicago Bungalow will be the topic on Tuesday, September 24th, 6:30 pm, at Chicago Ornamental Plastering, 505 Harvester Court, Unit B, Wheeling, IL. HCBA’s preservationists, Faith Rack-

Saturday, September 21, 2013

ow and Emily Wallrath, will discuss Chicago’s bungalow history. Learn about bungalow origins and the development of the unique Chicago bungalow style, the Arts and Crafts Movement, the growth of Chicago’s bungalow neighborhoods and why bungalows will be around for another 100 years.

BLACK VOCALITY SYMPOSIUM EXPLORES SINGING AS SOCIAL/POLITICAL ACTION: Leading international, national, and local performers, scholars, composers and poets will converge at Columbia College Chicago September 24-25 to share insights into the creative power and political necessity of the African-American singing voice. The two-day event will explore the multiple ways in which the voice has been used and perceived within AfricanAmerican cultures, and will examine the influence of vocal styles and musical genres in reshaping new cultural identities. Hosted by the Center for Black Music Research, the symposium sessions include both performance and discussion, and will conclude with a joint performance

by Pamela Z and Mankwe Ndosi at

CHICAGO NATIVE U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Ryne Larson, a team leader with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, applies camouflage paint to his face before participating in a simulated amphibious training raid as part of exercise Tropic Thunder 2013 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Christopher O’Quin) 7:30 pm on Wednesday, September 25, at the Columbia College Concert Hall, 1014 South Michigan Avenue. The symposium and concluding performance are free and open to

the public. For more information, visit: www.colum.edu/CBMR. To RSVP, email afrovocality@gmail. com.

(Continued on page 17)

Extended Coverage More and more folks are considering high-deductible health insurance to help limit medical costs. Indeed, many employers are encouraging their use.

***

*** What makes them extra-attractive is that they can be paired with a health savings account (HSA). *** These accounts offer several tax advantages: contributions (up to certain limits) are sheltered from income taxes; the money grows taxdeferred and can be used tax-free for medical expenses, and to pay for much Medicare coverage after age 65.

Milton E. Moses

Looking for your best deal in health insurance? You’ll find the answers to your questions at Community Insurance Center, Inc., 526 E. 87th Street, your insurance headquarters. We have been serving the community since 1962. For more information about the services we provide, call (773) 651-6200. You can also reach us via email at: sales@communityinsurance.com or visit the website at www.communityins.com.

*** In many cases, when employers offer this kind of health insurance, they also contribute to the HSA. *** This year, HSA owners can make pretax contributions of up to $3,250 a year with individual coverage and as much as $6,450 with family coverage. Those age 55 or older can save an extra $1,000 a year. Add money to the account until tax-filing time.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

BUSINESS

African-American Consumers Remain Strong Supporters of Dodd-Frank Consumer Survey includes Credit Cards, Student and Payday Loans

By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist A recent consumer survey shows that support for financial regulation including the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is strong.

Nearly five years after America’s financial meltdown, a nationwide summer survey of likely 2014 voters found that voters trust the CFPB more than banks and credit card companies by a 3-1 margin. Further, support for financial regulation spans across age groups, racial lines and partisan preferences.

The strongest support for financial regulation rests with consumers of color. Among AfricanAmericans, these findings show the CFPB is viewed as protection from dangerous financial products and its cop-on-the-beat monitoring by 72 percent.

Among Latino respondents, this same support was found with 78 percent of respondents.

Considering that communities of color have lost the most finan-

www.chicagocrusader.com

cial ground during the greatest recession since that of the 1930s, racial variations in responding to the poll are understandable.

African-Americans are also the same consumers who heavily invested more in their homes than in stocks or bonds to chart a personal course to build family wealth. According to research by the Center for Responsible Lending, $1 trillion of lost wealth from the recession was borne by people of color.

It is equally true that communities of color are also the unfortunate targets of predatory lenders offering a range of high-cost products that often leave consumers in worse financial shape than before. Perhaps that truism explains why poll respondents named payday loans, credit cards and student loans as the top three areas in need of tougher regulations.

Payday lending’s small-dollar loans with high interest rates were viewed as their best option for a loan by only one percent of respondents. This unfavorable finding was also evidenced across

Charlene Crowell all demographics. For example, respondents with household incomes in excess of $75,000 had the highest unfavorable rating at 82 percent, followed by 75 percent of Republicans. Even 72 percent of households earning less than $30,000 view these lenders unfavorably, despite these consumers tending to be more likely to borrow payday loans. Negative

views of payday lenders were held by 68 percent of African-Americans surveyed and 59 percent of Latinos.

Although many respondents were unaware of specific provisions of the Credit CARD Act, better than 90 percent supported three of its key requirements: • Card issuers cannot retroactively change interest rates on existing balances; • Disclosure of the time required to fully repay with only the minimum amounts; and • Lender obligation to tell consumers their credit scores if this measure was the basis used to deny or charge more for a loan or credit.

As for student loans, nearly 90 percent of respondents felt borrowers should be able to repay their loans based on their incomes. Student loan debt was also cited as a cause for the nation’s lingering economic problems.

Consumers viewed this indebtedness as reasons affecting the growth of new businesses as well as a deterrent to first-time home ownership.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

The survey by Lake Research Partners was supported by the Ford Foundation and commissioned by Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending.

More importantly, however, this recent survey found that broad and intense support exists for more and tougher regulation of the financial industry. Voters view regulation as the best protection against lingering and wide mistrust of banks and Wall Street.

Complete poll results are available on CRL’s web: http://rspnsb.li/16kYb4D. If you share the sentiments of survey participants, be sure to tell your Members of Congress. Constituent voices, added to efforts of mobilized advocates can together provide enough pressure to ensure that real financial reforms continue.

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached atCharlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

9

EDUCATION

14 Families receive Laptops during H.O.P.E. TEC Celebration Fourteen families received laptop computers during the H.O.P.E. TEC Youth Violence Prevention Celebration on August 12, 2013 at H.O.P.E. Technology and Education Center, 1354 W. 61st St. in Chicago. The families each had children who are enrolled in H.O.P.E. TEC’s Youth Violence Prevention Empowerment Program, which is funded through a collaboration between the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA) and Chicago Area Pro-

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D3).

The H.O.P.E. TEC Celebration featured youth presentations including messages about violence prevention, a video presentation of art projects and dance performances. In addition to the laptop computer distribution, there was also a book bag and school supply distribution by the First Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, Illinois.

“I’m in a room full of dreamers,”

A YOUNG MAN gives a strong non-violent message during the H.O.P.E. TEC celebration on August 12, 2013. He is part of H.O.P.E. TEC’s Youth Violence Prevention Empowerment Program, funded through collaboration between the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA) and Chicago Area Project's Bridges to the Future/Special Projects grant program. ject’s Bridges to the Future/Special Cheryl Francis, Chicago Area Projects grant program. This pro- Project Associate Executive Digram uses the Computer Literacy rector and manager of the Bridges Lab and workshops to teach young to the Future program told the people about violence prevention. young people and their families.

Funding for Bridges to the Future “You have seen a dream come was secured through the efforts of true right before your eyes. It is

TWO CHILDREN IN the Clark/Taylor family participated in H.O.P.E. TEC’s Youth Violence Prevention Empowerment Program, however, everyone came out for the celebration.

the dream of Rev. Leslie Sanders and of Ms. Julie Collier. “And this is not just a dream, but a solution to the violence in this community.”

H.O.P.E TEC was founded by Rev. Leslie Sanders Sr., pastor of the H.O.P.E. Presbyterian Church, where the center is housed. He points out the strong connection between computer literacy and learning about violence prevention. “ If people continue to see violence,” he says, “they will continue to repeat that cycle, so it was our concept that we should start early trying to help these young people break that cycle.”

The importance of providing free laptops is emphasized by H.O.P.E TEC ExecutiveDirector, Julie Collier. “It’s great for us to give them this computer training.

It’s great for them to be here for this nine-month program,” she states. “But, how about if at the end of the program, they are able to take a computer home per household and have a computer then in their house where they’re able to do some of the same things that we’re doing here; where they’re able to compete with some of the other children in school who already have the advantage.”

H.O.P.E. TEC’s Youth Violence Prevention Empowerment Program is one of several programs funded through Chicago Area Project’s Bridges to the Future Program. In collaboration with the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA), Chicago Area Project’s Bridges to the Future/Special Projects grant program makes funds helps to fund H.O.P.E. Tech and twenty-eight [28] grass-roots community and faith-based organizations. This funding supports a wide range of community-driven solutions that address the underlying causes of violence in twelve [12] targeted Chicago neighborhoods.

The solutions that these Alliance Partners offer include strengthening families, providing food and other vital services and making positive development activities

OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE, who are also part of H.O.P.E. TEC’s Youth Violence Prevention Empowerment Program, line up to give their non-violence messages during the celebration.

MEMBERS OF THE Anderson/Hunter family are pictured as they receive their brand new laptop with HOPE TEC Vice Chair Fred Lebed, Rev. Leslie Sanders Sr. (holding computer) and Chicago Area Project’s Cheryl Francis.

THE NEAL FAMILY children receive assistance from their mother holding their new laptop computer. Pictured (l-r) with the family is HOPE TEC Vice Chair Fred Lebed, Rev. Leslie Sanders Sr. and Chicago Area Project’s Cheryl Francis (far right). available for children and youth related to promoting safer comduring in-school and out-of-school munities, increasing jobs and ditime. Each of these Alliance Part- minishing the effects of poverty ners identifies program outcomes for their target populations.

Four SSC students receive OMD scholarships One Million Degrees (OMD) announces four students from South Suburban College (SSC) who were selected for the 20132014 Class of OMD scholars.

SSC students Brandon Lilly of Glenwood, Brittany Vernon of South Holland, Pamela Watkins of Calumet City, and Hammed Sorunke of Harvey were chosen among the 51 highly motivated community college students selected from hundreds of applicants to receive financial assistance and student support services. OMD empowers students to excel academi10

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Brandon Lily

cally, and ensures that they are well prepared to enter the workforce in diverse and meaningful careers.

“We are thrilled to welcome our newest cohort of scholars into our program,” said OMD CEO Paige Ponder. “One Million Degrees looks forward to supporting them academically, professionally, and personally as they pursue their dreams.”

These students have demonstrated drive, resilience and incredible potential. Hammed Sorunke is a shining example of the spirit of the OMD scholars. Sorunke left his

Brittany Vernon

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

native Nigeria to move to Harvey, Illinois, with his father. The first thing his father told him upon arrival was that the best way to succeed was through determination.

Sorunke chose to begin his education at a community college in order to become acquainted with the educational system. He is enjoying his classes at SSC and his ultimate goal is to become a medical doctor. Sorunke’s determination and work ethic will certainly help him succeed.

OMD scholars graduate at three (Continued on page 17) www.chicagocrusader.com

COMMUNITY

More than 200 supporters turn out for eta gala The menu was all the rage at eta’s annual benefit gala Saturday, September 7. Catered by Fanfares Catering, Inc., the evening began with butlered hors d’oeuvres that included catfish on a stick, plum

tomato bruschetta and the piece de resistance, mouth-watering turkey meatloaf served in petite cast iron skillets with mashed potatoes and sweet corn kernels and drizzled with Gramma’s gravy.

And that was only the beginning.

Nancy McKeever, eta board chairman, event co-chair Les Bond, Jr., CEO, Attucks Asset Management and Phillip Thomas, president of eta, greeted over 200

guests who came to support eta Creative Arts Foundation and to ‘Give Honor to Those Who Give,’ the theme of the annual fundraiser. Among them were Dr. Carol Adams, eta board member and president of the DuSable Museum; Henry English, president, Black United Fund of Illinois and Lester McKeever of Washington, Pittman & McKeever.

ABC Meteorologist Steve Baskerville kept the program lively and moving along at a comfortable clip.

Esteemed businessman Edward Gardner accompanied by his wife, Bettiann, accepted honors in person despite recent health challenges.

Spencer Leak, Sr. and his wife Henrietta along with Dee Robinson Reid graciously accepted their awards along with WVON Radio,

represented by popular on-air personalities Cliff Kelley, Matt McGill and Perri Small. Shirley Jaco, the mother of Lupe Fiasco, accepted on his behalf.

Following dinner and the program, guests moved freely between the auction table bidding on an array of high tech, high fashion, fun items; the Gallery where the Jazz- Latin-inspired group Crosswind held sway; and the tent which was transformed into a cabaret-style showcase for singers, comedy and a dynamic performance by drummer Taylor Moore.

Proceeds from the gala go towards operating expenses. For more information, call 773-7523955 or visit wwwetacreativearts.org.

(L TO R) -- LANA CROMWELL, guest of WVON Radio on-air personality Cliff Kelley with honoree Spencer Leak, Sr. and wife, Henrietta.

HONOREE DEE ROBINSON Reid (center) is flanked by (l) Shirley Jaco, mother of Lupe Fiasco, and Nancy McKeever (r), chairman of the board of eta Creative Arts Foundation

LES BOND, JR., Gala co-chair and CEO, Attucks Asset Management and guest.

HONOREE BUSINESSMAN EDWARD Gardner and wife, Bettiann.

PHILLIP THOMAS, PRESIDENT, eta Creative Arts Foundation and visual artist Dorian Sylvain.

MORE THAN 200 supporters of eta were entertained during the gala by members of Muntu Dance Theatre. www.chicagocrusader.com

HONOREE DEE ROBINSON REID and eta board member Raullo M. Eanes.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, September 21, 2013

11

ENTERTAINMENT

By Elaine Hegwood Bowen, MSJ

By Raymond Ward AWARDS SEASON: Most of you know that The John F. Kennedy Center Honors is my absolute favorite awards show. Well, the Honorees for the 2013 event have been announced and its a stellar line-up.

Herbie Hancock, Shirley MacLaine, Billy Joel, Carlos Santana and Martina Arroyo are the luminaries for the nation’s highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts.

As always, top entertainers will salute the group duping a blacktie gala event on Sunday, December 8th, at The Kennedy Center, which will be broadcast on CBSTV on December 29th. The Gala will be preceded by a Reception at The White House, hosted by President and Mrs. Barack Obama. In addition, each of the Herbie Hancock Honorees will “officially” receive their award during a dinner at the State Department, hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Carlos Santana is probably the most unique of those receiving the prize. He began learning English by watching American television from Tijuana, Mexico and picked up the guitar after hearing blues and rock an’ roll on the radio.

In an interview, Carlos Santana said he was grateful to receive an award he remembers watching others receive almost every year on television with his family.

“I guess people understand that Santana is not just a Mexican guitar player—I bring a collective consciousness awareness agenda with me,” he said. “I grew up with the generation of Woodstock and Bob Marley, ‘One Love,’ and ‘Imagine,’ John Lennon. I am one of them and we don’t do what we do to be commercial or to be popular, or to be Carlos Santana cute. It’s not entertainment or show business for us. For us, it’s a calling.”

Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago and became a classical music prodigy after his parents bought him a piano as a boy. By age 11, he was playing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and in High School he discovered jazz and began learning by listening. In 1963, Hancock joined the Miles Davis Quintet and has gone on to embrace electronic music and collaborate with Christina Aguilera, Annie Lennox and John Mayer.

Hancock said he is overwhelmed “to be on that list of people whose work I’ve respected for so many years during my lifetime.”

Martina Arroyo, was born and raised in Harlem as the daughter of a Puerto Rican father and an African American mother. She has said that her voice was discovered by accident in high school when she was heard imitating the singers outside an opera workshop. She went on to star in the great opera houses of the world, including London, Paris and Vienna, and has performed 199 times at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City after her breakthrough performance in “Aida” in 1966.

Arroyo said, “We go around the world singing and people say, oh, there’s an American singer. But this (The Kennedy Center Honors) is your government saying yeah, we like you too. There’s no higher group for me than my country. That makes it extremely special.”

Billy Joel said in a written statement that it is meaningful to join the (Continued on page 13) 12

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Roosevelt U alum Adrienne Walker leads awesome cast in The Color Purple I recently went to see a re-staging of the Broadway musical The Color Purple: The Musical About Love and later learned that the role of Shug Avery was performed by a fellow Roosevelt University alum named Adrienne Walker.

Walker shines in this production of a play that many have seen but many more would be entranced by the staging and musical numbers that go along with this version being shown at the Mercury Theater, located at 3745 N. Southport Ave. The show runs through October 27, and it is not to be missed.

I view The Color Purple at turns as a love story and as a story of renewed strength and inspiration for women folk. However, the love story isn’t of the traditional oppositesex kind, but between sisters and family members. Now, when I first saw the movie and later the play years ago, I didn’t have this viewpoint. But watching this production anew and through a lens of maturity and experience, so to speak, was so powerful and the musical accompaniments were so rousing and uplifting that this came to mind.

Walker is such an elegant Shug Avery, even though Shug’s charac-

CELIE (TRISHA JEFFREY) surrounded by Ninah Snipes, Jasondra Johnson, Adrienne Walker, Sydney Charles, Carrie Abernathy, and Brittany Bradshaw star in the Broadway musical The Color Purple.

Photo Credit: Brett Beiner.

Performing Arts. And she can sing tionally, Keithon Gipson stars as Mister, Evan Tyrone Martin stars as her assets off!

Walker, who received a Bachelor Harpo and Trisha Jeffrey stars as of Arts from Spelman College, has Celie.

Spanning four decades and two also appeared in other regional theatre productions, including Porgy continents, The Color Purple is an and Bess (Court Theatre), Dream- epic, profoundly uplifting family girls (Marriott Theatre), Hair (Para- saga that tells the unforgettable stomount Theatre) and Brooklyn the ry of a woman who finds the Musical (The Towle Theater). At- strength to triumph over adversity lanta credits include Porgy and Bess and discover her unique voice in the

ADRIENNE WALKER STARS as “Shug” and Trisha Jeffrey stars as “Celie” in the Broadway musical The Color Purple. ter—on its face—can be described (Atlanta Opera Company), and world. With a joyous Grammyas a loose woman who has her way opera scenes of The Consul, Car- nominated score featuring gospel, with men (and women) simply by men, and A Midsummer Night’s jazz, pop and the blues, The Color entering the room. But Walker Dream (Harrower Opera Work- Purple is also a hopeful testament to brings a quiet sophistication to this shop). the healing power of love and a trirole, and she is just outstanding. I Other outstanding roles were Ja- umphant celebration of life—for didn’t even read the stage bill much sondra Johnson Crowns (Good- both the women and eventually the while at the theater and only later man Theatre) as Sofia, and the main male character, Mister. found out that Walker and I both church ladies—Carrie Louise AberThe costumes were just incrediattended Roosevelt and that she re- nathy, Brittany L. Bradshaw and ble, and notable musical selections ceived a Masters of Music from the Sydney Charles—who all “brought (Continued on page 13) school’s Chicago Conservatory of the church to the theater.” AddiBLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

ENTERTAINMENT

Chicago Flair TV Host Launching New Talk Show

By Andrea V. Watson Media mogul Chundria Stanback is a name recognized well by the Chicago entertainment industry. Her name will no longer be local once her new talk show, The Chundria Stanback Show airs in October.

The Chicago native made a name for herself when she and a friend created Flair TV, an entertainment show that welcomed both new and old talent. Having the opportunity to interview top artists, actors and athletes such as Chrisette Michele, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson, Angela Bassett and Dwyane Wade were opportunities the host/producer enjoyed.

“For me the best part was just taking an idea and seeing it come

to life and then see it grow beyond my wildest dreams,” she said. From 2007 through 2011, Stanback attended events and conducted interviews to give Flair TV more buzz. After a great four years, she said it was time to move to the next chapter of her career.

“Even though I’m grateful for a platform like that,” she said, referring to the entertainment show, “ the talk show segment is a really big deal; it was something I’ve wanted for some time now.”

The new show will have a live studio audience and focus on music, fashion, beauty, inspiration and relationships.

Stanback said she shot the pilot last month and as she’s filming other episodes, there are already a good number of stations across the

country interested in the show.

Her goal is to have the first episode air in mid-October.

The young host said she was fascinated with media even as a child.

After graduating Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Television, she couldn’t find a job doing what she loved so she created Flair TV. At 31-years-old she considers herself successful, but isn’t stopping anytime soon. Her next goal is to become an international TV personality.

Her advice to aspiring television hosts: “It’s all in your mind. You need to almost psyche yourself into believing that there is no such thing as an obstacle or limitations.” People can visit her website at WWW.ChundriaShow.Com to stay in the up-to-date.

FORMER FLAIR TV co-host, Chundria Stanback is preparing for the launch of her new talk show. The Chundria Stanback Show airs in mid October. The date will be released by the end of the month, she says. (Photo Credit-Chundria Stanback)

B-SIDE STUDIO Join a live studio audience on the set of a ‘70s-style sitcom as The Inconvenience, The New Colony and the University of Chicago’s Theater and Performance Studies Program team up to co-produce the world premiere of B-SIDE STUDIO, co-written

by Inconvenience Resident Writer Ike Holter and New Colony CoArtistic Director Evan Linder and directed by Nicholas J. Carroll, Andrew Hobgood and Gus Menary. B-SIDE STUDIO is performed on Fridays and Saturdays at 9/8c (that’s 8 p.m. in Chicago, meathead!) from Sep-

tember 13 – October 12, 2013 at The Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. in Chicago.

B-SIDE STUDIO stars Daeshawna Cook, Missi Davis, Mikey Harnichar, Wes Needham, Brad Smith and Kevin Stangler.

Each week’s performances of BSIDE STUDIO will feature a new episode performed in front of a live studio audience. The Monday following each performance weekend, the most recently taped episode will be made available for online viewing at www.thenewcolony.org and www.theinconvenience.org, allowing

(Continued from page 12) among many included Big Dog, Hell No, What About Love and Push Da Button.

Don’t miss this great play in the

intimate confines of the Mercury Theater. Group discounts of up to 50% are available for groups of ten or more. For more information, call 773.325.1700.

audiences to stay current with the latest antics of their B-Side friends. Season subscriptions for all four episodes of B-SIDE STUDIO are available at http://ticketsweb.uchicago.edu/subscriptions or by calling 773-702-ARTS (2787). Tickets for individual episodes are available at http:/ticketsweb.uchicago.edu or by calling 773-702-ARTS (2787).

The episodic story of B-SIDE STUDIO focuses on Gary and Felix McNamara and their failing Chicago recording studio. Despite Felix’s get-rich-quick schemes, it seems that B-Side is never going to reach the heights of success that the once-promising McNamara brothers always dreamed of.

When Felix decides to use the studio to record “Song Poems” with the help of their assistant Janice

and in-house musicians Butch and Marvin, there might be hope yet to save the studio. They just have to convince Lady, the overbearing trophy wife of their absentee landlord. Tune in to find out what happens next at B-Side Studio.

In a joint statement, co-writers Linder and Holter said “B-Side Studio has been a long time in the works, so we’re excited to finally be working together. This blending of creative mediums comes naturally to all three artistic partners, allowing each group to play off their own strengths while working together to build a unique performance experience that harkens back to the sitcoms of the 1970s while simultaneously revealing a glimpse into the future of the arts.”

Both writers have seen recent success and accolades. Linder’s 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche made its move to the off-Broadway Soho Playhouse after taking home the Best Overall Production prize at the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival. Similarly, Holter’s Hit The Wall received raves at the Steppenwolf Garage and played a subsequent run off-Broadway at New York’s Barrow Street Theater.

Regular run: Friday, September 27 – Saturday, October 12, 2013; Curtain Times: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Please note: there will not be performances on Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21.

Tickets: Subscription pass $40/$20 students (all four episodes, one per week); Single episodes $20/$10 students.

(Continued from page 12) roster of outstanding musicians who came before. But to be chosen for this special award essentially for doing what I love most amazes me more than anything.

The Honors stand apart from other awards and feel almost like a homecoming, said Shirley MacLaine, who grew up in nearby Arlington, Virginia. “It’s a more global kind of recognition...not just Hollywood or New York,” she told The Associated Press. “The people who get these awards are contributing to the world’s art and I feel privileged to be one of them.”

Get yourself something FABULOUS to wear and meet me in Washington D.C. I’ll see you there! www.chicagocrusader.com

DANIEL HOULE (left) and Robert Wilson (right) in Step Up Productions’ play “The BenchMark,” written by Richard A. Roberts and directed by Tara Branham. “The BenchMark” is playing at the Anthenaeum Theatre, 2936 N.Southport Ave. (Photo by Liz Lauren)

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

Saturday, September 21, 2013

13

ARTS AND CULTURE

Chicago chamber choir announces 2013-2014 concert season The Chicago Chamber Choir announces its 18th season. A highlyskilled choral ensemble of 40 singers, Chicago Chamber Choir presents three concert programs during its 2013-2014 season. Artistic Director Timm Adams, who has led the organization since 2000, will lead the group as it performs: • Nocturne: Music of the Night • An Old-Fashioned American Christmas • Where the Wild Songs Are Each program will be performed at multiple locations throughout the Chicago area.

Fall Concert – Nocturne: Music of the Night In celebration of the fall season, the Chicago Chamber Choir presents an evening of night music, featuring strings and voices in haunting harmony. The Choir will take its audience on a journey through the veil of night, from dusk to dawn. The program features three of Brahms’ exquisite “Evening Songs,” with the cinematic “Dark Night of the Soul” by Ola Gjeilo, the haunting “Nox Aurumque” by Eric Whitacre as well as Morton Lauridsen’s evocative “Nocturnes,” including “Sure on the Shining Night.” This luxurious music will soothe the audience’s senses as the Choir explores the darkness of the Fall season.

Saturday, October 26, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., Unity Lutheran Church, 1212 Balmoral Avenue, Chicago.

Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 7:00 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1509 Ridge Avenue, Evanston.

Christmas Concert – An OldFashioned American Christmas In December, Chicago Chamber Choir returns home for “An OldFashioned American Christmas,” the fifth installment of our Christmas Around the World series. This joyous and inspiring program will feature three generations of Burt family carols and stories. Rarely performed treasures by the Rev. Bates Burt, the popular Alfred Burt carols, and newer music by Abbie Betinis, Alfred Burt’s great-niece, will create a living Christmas card for the whole family. Beloved American carols and spirituals will round out this festive holiday offering including “Caroling, Caroling,” “Some Children See Him,” “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” “Deck the Halls,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and more.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., St. Matthias Church, 2310 Ainslie Street, Chicago.

Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 3:00 p.m., St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard Street, Chicago.

Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 3:00 p.m., Our Lady of the Brook Church, 3700 Dundee Road, Northbrook.

Spring Concert – Where the Wild Songs Are For spring, the Chicago Chamber Choir takes a humorous and slightly zany look at the animal kingdom!

Benjamin Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb,” Eric Whitacre’s “Animal Crackers,” and Ivor Davies’ “Prayers from the Ark” will create the framework for this entertaining program about all creatures great and small. Collaborating for the

THE CHICAGO CHAMBER CHOIR announces its current concert season under the artistic direction of Timm Adams, who has conducted the 40 singers ensemble since January 2000. first time with Pro Musica Youth scriptions are $60. Individual ad- Midwest. In its 18th season, ChicaChorus, conducted by Carling vance tickets are $20. Same day go Chamber Choir has a broad FitzSimmons, Chicago Chamber tickets may be purchased at the repertoire of musical selections, Choir’s spring program is certain to door for $25. Students with a valid from classical to contemporary. entertain and amuse the entire fam- student ID may purchase tickets for They are led, for the 13th year, by ily! $10. A discount is available for Artistic Director Timm Adams.

Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 3:00 groups of 10 or more.

The Chicago Chamber Choir is p.m., Our Lady of the Brook available for hire to help celebrate Church, 3700 Dundee Road, About the Chicago weddings and other special events.

Northbrook.

Chamber Choir Anyone interested in using the serSaturday, April 5, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., Music Institute of Chicago, The Chicago Chamber Choir is a vices of the Chicago Chamber 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. group of 40 highly-skilled, a cappel- Choir should contact Chicago Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 3:00 la singers who perform seasonal Chamber Choir General Manager p.m., Augustana Chapel, Luther- concerts for the public as well as pri- Kayleigh Dudevoir at 617-201an School of Theology at Chica- vate, corporate, charitable and edu- 2607 or via email at CCCSings@go, 1100 E. 55th Street, Chicago. cational programs throughout the gmail.com.

Season subscriptions and individual tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.Chicago ChamberChoir.org. Season sub-

Tony winner Audra McDonald in concert The incomparable Audra McDonald, winner of five Tony Awards and two Grammys, makes her first appearance at Symphony Center since 2001 for an intimate evening with her trio on Saturday, October 12 at 8 p.m.

The concert features selections from her new album, Go Back Home, which was released by Nonesuch Records on May 21. Go Back Home is McDonald’s first solo recording in seven years and her most personal album to date. The disc features songs by composers with whom she has long been associated, including Stephen Sondheim, Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, and Rodgers & Hammerstein, as well as selections that are relatively new to her repertoire, including the title track by Kander and Ebb. She also continues her long-standing tradition of championing new works by up-and-coming musical theater composers, represented on this album

by Adam Gwon, Heisler and Goldrich, and Will Reynolds.

McDonald received the 2013 Artist14

Audra McDonald of-the-Year Award by the Chicagobased Sarah Siddons Society on June 17, which has also been given to such acclaimed actresses as Helen Hayes, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and Barbara Cook. She also had the privilege of performing the closing number at the 2013 Tony Awards with host Neil Patrick Harris on June 9.

PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center aired Audra McDonald in Concert: Go Back Home on May 24, 2013; in November 2012, McDonald was named the first host of the series since Beverly

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sills.

Audra McDonald is known to audiences for her work on stage and screen as a singer and actress who is universally acclaimed for the breadth and depth of her artistry. She’s a versatile stage presence, equally at home in musicals and plays, having won Tony Awards for her performances in Carousel (1994), Master Class (1996), Ragtime (1998) and A Raisin in the Sun (2004). Her fifth Tony came in 2011 for her starring role in The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which tied her with Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris for the most performance awards. In addition to her two Grammy Awards—for the cast recording of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny—she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for her performances in the HBO production of Wit and the television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun. She starred as Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s hit television series Private Practice for four seasons.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

www.chicagocrusader.com

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

A Moment to Super Size Your Thinking

By Effie Rolfe Stop waiting to become great and realize you are even greater than you think you are. Right now- at this very moment! Take time each day to meditate on your greatness. This is neither arrogance nor exaggeration, but rather the God-given truth and the truth will set you free. Truth

Effie Rolfe

Congressional Staffer to Wed Danielle Kristin Perry and Jerrell Reginald Lewis will exchange wedding vows at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA on Saturday, October 12, 2013, at 2 p.m. The wedding ceremony will be officiated by the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Al-

and has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in business administration from Fayetteville State University.

Parents of the bride are Dr. LaMorris Perry, who specializes in pediatric medicine at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, and Dr. Carmella Perry, who specializes in pediatric dentistry at ETC Pedi-

approves and improves, liberates, motivates as well as validates an individual. “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6 NIV Now that you know your powerful position—from this day forward began to meditate on it. Speak it—think it—read it— write it and see it. It is so. Be un-

afraid to imagine—to believe— to receive—to speak up—to stand up—to do—to go and be your true self. Determine within your being that this world will be a better world because of your presence. Do not wait for anyone else—use what God has already given you to pursue a lifetime of excellence. You are great, make a

This weekend promises to be power packed beginning with Anointed to Press is this year’s theme for Sharon Graham Ministries 10th year anniversary ‘How to live the good life and leave the past behind’ on Saturday, September 21st at 12 p.m. Elder J. Shepherd, CPA will speak concerning the financial challenges facing our nation and what you need to know to thrive and survive. Guest speakers and psalmists include former Thompson Community Singer and Mrs. Tonex, Yvette Graham and Kim Stratton at the Lindner Conference Center, 610 East Butterfield Road in Lombard. “I am looking forward to this great gathering and what good things God is going to do in us, for us, and through us,” said Graham.

Trouble, the must see gospel play, is back by popular demand this Saturday, 3 p.m. at Prairie State College, 200 S. Halsted in Chicago Heights. The story deals

atric Dental Center, and they reside in Flossmoor. Parents of the groom are Lillie Hall, a retired sergeant major in the United States Army who resides in Raeford NC and Cornelius Lewis, a retired Army Reservist and currently a manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, who resides in Midwest City, OK. Following the wedding, the newlyweds will jet off to Honolulu, Hawaii for their honeymoon.

For more information contact: Danielle Perry at danielle.k.perry@gmail.com or Dr. LaMorris Perry at 312-320-1721.

Faith United offers mini recital The Jennifer M. Britton Scholarship Committee of Faith United Methodist Church presents Wendell Palfrey Weaver in a miniature piano recital to benefit the scholarship fund. The concert will be held Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the church, 335 W. 75th St. There will be a freewill offering.

Weaver reported he wants the www.chicagocrusader.com

concert to bring Glory to the Lord.

Weaver, who is also a poet, is featuring some of his poems to be read by his wife, Mrs. Frances Weaver, whom he calls his “Premier Dramatic Reader.” Also to be featured on the program will be a piano selection by their 13-year-old grandson, Aamir. For more information call 773-783-4202. The Rev. Audrey F. Nanabray is the pastor.

There’s greatness in you….? ©Effie Rolfe is the author of “Supersize Your Thinking,” a Media Personality and Motivational Speaker. You can visit my website: effierolfe.com or follow me at twitter.com/effiedrolfe.

The Crusader Gospel Corner Home Baptist Church, 4804 W. Polk. Guests will be Tim White, Travis Douglas, Johnell Nicholas and Inspirit Ministries, Pastor Anthony Spencer, Ryan Booker and Sunday Best finalist, Tasha Lockhart. McFarland promises to make a special announcement during the service.

Faith Howard, protégé of the late Dr. Albertina Walker invites

Donald Lawrence

Jerrell Reginald Lewis and Danielle Kristin Perry fred Street Church is located at 301 S. Alfred Street.

Perry, a native Chicagoan and avid White Sox fan, is a congressional staff liaison for Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Howard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Howard University.

Perry has also lived in South Holland and Flossmoor and has been an active member of the Illinois Bar Association since 2009. Lewis, a health management specialist for National Institutes of Health, is currently working on his Master’s degree at Howard Divinity School

difference!

Keshia McFarland with a young teenager obsessed with money and found herself doing any and everything to get it, The stage play promises to enlighten men and especially women of all ages on breaking the cycle of abuse. For tickets call 219-8143431 Happy Birthday to Chicago’s songbird, Keshia McFarland and former member of New Generation Chorale invites you to her anniversary party this Saturday, September 21st, 6 p.m. at New

Faith Howard you to an awesome worship experience as she shares songs of praise in a live concert this Saturday, September 21st, 7 p.m. at New Beginnings Church of Chicago, 6620 South King Drive. The gospel diva and first recipient of the Albertina Walker Scholarship also recently celebrated her birthday earlier this month, September 6th. For details concerning the free concert visit faithhowardministries.com Victory Cathedral Faith Church, 10441 S. Racine in Chicago invites you to Pastor Princella Brady Lee’s 24th year anniversary in ministry this Sunday, September 22nd. The month long celebratory services will climax this Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Recently, Lee received an award and was honored as one of Chicago’s top directors during the Bringing Back the Choirs tribute at Sweet Holy Spirit Church hosted by Bishop Trotter.

It was an evening to remember during ‘The Experience with Donald Lawrence 20 Years Cel-

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

ebration—Volume 1 Best for Last’ CD release this past Monday. Gospel music fans filled Trinity United Church of Christ for an intimate evening with the musical genius, I often refer to as ‘The Quincy Jones of Gospel.’

During the interview segment with Dedry Jones, Lawrence shared songs covering his 20 year journey as well as his stellar career, “I stand on the shoulders of Andre Crouch, Walter Hawkins and Luther Vandross.” Indeed the Grammy Award winner is one of the most prolific writers and sought after producer in gospel music today. “I just paint the picture. I believe in music and therapy—I hung out with Iyanla Vanzant, she called me to be her music director for her musical tour. Music is supposed to be healing. I was teaching at Columbia College and told my students that I didn’t understand the lyrics—what does that mean?

Music is not poetic anymore. I like my songs to be like a spiritual teacher and the lyrics to teach you,” said Lawrence. He continued, “Your grace is your gift.

Don’t spend your time trying to be someone else—Be you boo— speak over your life and be authentically true to your calling.

People will come to hear only what you have to sing,” he said.

Lawrence and the Company (Continued on page 17)

Saturday, September 21, 2013

15

COMMUNITY

“Drive 4 Pledges Day”

By Paul La Schiazza, President, AT&T Illinois

Pictured is Commissioner Barbara McGowan, Vice President of the MWRD and Commissioner Frank Avila.

MWRD sponsors Vendor Outreach event at UIC Commissioner Barbara McGowan, Chairman of the Affirmative Action Committee and Vice President of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Of Greater Chicago, recently hosted the second vendor outreach event at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over 200 contractors, consultants, subcontractors and potential vendors had the opportunity to network and possibly find new business.

Commissioner Frank Avila the MWRD, also participated along with other community organizations and businesses facilitated roundtable discussions to learn from or educate others about potential contract opportunities.

The event theme, “Meet and Greet: Preparation + Opportunity = Success,” was echoed throughout the program which was emceed by MWRD Vice President Barbara J. McGowan, Chairman of the Affirmative Ac-

tion Committee.

“The Board of Commissioners felt it would be helpful to invite other businesses and organizations to participate in this event,” said Vice President McGowan.

“These other organizations might have current or upcoming contract opportunities that could potentially be lucrative to minority, women and small business enterprises.”

(Continued from page 7)

CERAL KILLER

formers movie are the ones being stepped on by robots. A group of extras say they is going to go to Ed Smith and his buddy, an old camera man who is still developing film in an outhouse, and kick in de door of the West Side office they been occupying for a while now. They say they is going to ask Ed for his resume and if he can’t prove he know an iota about filmmaking and TV and stuff lak dat, they is going to take a baseball bat to his two big toes—one of which is bigger than de other.

Beware of the Save-A-Lot on 107th Street. Somebody going through the rows and is opening up all de boxes of Capt’n Crunch.

Can’t tell if they is eating out de box or putting something in it— like rat doo doo. Now folks say, the mice doo doo might be natural and FDA approved, since SaveA-Lot food is for low-income people only. Folks don’t know how many Black folks actually got cut into the city’s deal to open up 5 million Save-A-Lot grocery stores in Illinois food deserts, but it seems quite dismal in the City, if you get the point. Check your Rice Krispies before you swipe your Link.

-Ima16

Every one of us has seen a driver looking down to read a text message instead of watching the road.

It is all too common, and the consequences can be tragic. Texting while driving is extremely dangerous.

In fact, those who read and send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash.

In an instant, reading a text instead of watching the road puts the driver’s life at risk, plus the lives of innocent others. Today, as you go about your day, imagine that driver is speeding toward you on a two lane highway, or driving a loved one to school, or even sitting in the driver’s seat next to you. Unsettling, isn’t it?

At AT&T, we are committed to putting an end to texting while driving. We’re focused on educating the public especially teenagers about the dangers because no text message is worth dying for. Our goal is to save lives.

That’s why we launched the “It Can Wait” campaign to educate

the public. Our message is clear when it comes to texting while driving, it can wait.

The “It Can Wait” movement established today, Sept. 19, as “Drive 4 Pledges Day,” a national day to raise awareness and encourage drivers to take the pledge to never text and drive again. To date, more than 2 million people have taken the pledge and joined the movement to end texting while driving.

Today, we encourage you to take the pledge to never text while driving again. Each one of us bears responsibility for our own actions behind the wheel.

We can make the decision to drive more safely and we can even help change the behavior of others. Talk to your children especially if they are teen drivers and encourage them to take the pledge. It could save a life, even their own.

In Illinois, public officials are working to help end texting and driving. The General Assembly passed and Gov. Quinn signed into law this year a strengthened ban on texting while driving.

Now Gov. Quinn proclaimed September as “No Texting While Driving Awareness Month” in the state and proclaimed today as “Drive 4 Pledges Day” in Illinois to support the “It Can Wait” movement.

Secretary of State Jesse White, who initiated the 2009 legislation to ban texting while driving in Illinois, will add a link on the Secretary of State’s website to a chilling, new AT&T documentary on the consequences of texting while driving called “From One Second to the Next.”

On this day, AT&T and the “It Can Wait” campaign will participate in events throughout Illinois encouraging drivers to take the pledge at www.It CanWait.com.

Together, these efforts can make a real difference.

It only takes an instant to make a tragic mistake behind the wheel. Just the same, it only takes an instant to take the pledge to never text and drive. We each have a choice to make and the decision is easy: take the pledge today.

“We are dedicated to achieving fairness, inclusion, transparency and diversity in our commitment to serving the residents of Cook County and in working with contractors and subcontractors,” said Vice President McGowan.

“The Board adopted its first affirmative action program almost 40 years ago to ensure minority participation on MWRD contracts, and awards since that time have been diligently vetted, we make sure of it.”

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BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

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The Crusader Gospel Corner (Cont’d from page 15) shared older favorites as well as select songs from the highly anticipated release including the hot single, The Gift. Another song destined to be favorite was There Remaineth a Rest featuring the Tri-City Singers. Earlier Jones compared the Company as the greatest background singers since the Hawkins Family. “We are connected.

They know what we are going to do. I travel the country and hear great singers all the time but I believe my singers have been assigned to me. They are there not just for me, but for where they are going,” said Lawrence. The

evening was a dual celebration as the church’s Senior Pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III celebrated birthday his 43rd birthday. Moss preceded, Dr. Jeremiah Wright, in February 2008 and officially became the pastor in May 2009. Meanwhile, expect the official release available for download and on shelves next week on Quiet Water and eOne Music.

Spread the word—scholarships are available to attend the Chicago Baptist Institute, 5120 S. King Drive in Chicago. The school’s Chairman, Dr. Willie Wilson made the announcement this past Saturday after the Back to

School Anti-Violence festival. The scholarship is for a 3 month time period to anyone interested in taking classes at the seminary each Monday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The TV Host of Singsation and philanthropist assumed responsibility of the struggling institution two years ago, “Basically, I’m trying to keep the school alive financially as well as recruit more students to the school so they’ll become men and women in Christ. Instead of listening to someone else talking about the scripture or Chris—when you come to school you know it for yourself. You study and

you will know it better. You can understand things better. When you go to church and you have already studied you know what that person is saying or you can help somebody clarify the word of God, shared Wilson. Also, the Louisiana native was unsure how long he would remain Chair-

HOUSES FOR SALE man of the seminary, “As long as the Lord allows me, I’m there. I’m here to serve—I’m a servant,” said Wilson. Stop by the school to register now.

Condolences to WBEZ Radio personality Richard Steele in loss of his mother, Sylvia Slaughter.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR (Cont’d from page 8) AUTHOR THOMAS KENEALLY: On Wednesday, September 25 at 6 pm, in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium of the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State Street, Thomas Keneally, the acclaimed author of “Schindl er’s List,” discusses his new

book “The Daughters of Mars.” It’s an epic, unforgettable story of two sisters from Australia, both trained nurses, whose lives are transformed by the cataclysm of the first World War. At once vast in scope and extraordinarily intimate, “The Daughters of

Mars” brings World War I to vivid, concrete life from an unusual perspective as it pays tribute to men and women of extraordinary moral resilience, even in the face of the incomprehensible horrors of modern war. For more information, please call 312-747-4050.

Four SSC students receive OMD Scholarships (Cont’d from page 10) times the national average, and transfer to four-year universities and colleges around the state or enter the workforce in high-demand fields. OMD will provide these scholars with financial assistance for up to three years at a community college, and offer scholars academic support, professional development, financial literacy training, civic engagement and leadership development opportunities, and coaching and mentoring around career readiness.

Hammed Sorunke

OMD has supported over 400 scholars to date in partnership with the seven City Colleges of Chicago, Prairie State College and South Suburban College. For more information about One Million Degrees, please call (312) 920-9605, email info@onemilliondegrees.org or visit www.onemilliondegrees.org.

The South Suburban College Foundation also provides hundreds of scholarship opportunities each year to qualified students attending SSC. For more informa-

tion about SSC programs or services, please call (708) 596-2000 or visit www.ssc.edu.

HOUSES FOR SALE

Pamela Watkins

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Cont’d from page 4) The mayor’s suggestion just doesn’t make sense.

Stony Island has a historical place not just in our community but in the city’s history as well. Stony Island also has a wealth of viable Black businesses, including many that are Black-owned.

I don’t see how the mayor can ignore the contributions of Jean DuSable, Elijah Muhammad, Lorraine Hansberry, Mahalia Jackson, Ernie Banks and several others who brought favorable long-term attention to the city.

In all of the talk about changing the name I didn’t hear the mayor talking about reimbursing the business owners along Stony Island for the changes they will have to make to business cards, company letterhead and envelopes, Yellow Pages ads, and updated Web sites.

If Emanuel wants to make some sort of significant contribution to the Black community as this Brazier idea suggests he needs to leave Stony Island alone and place some programs that will increase employment in

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our community, eliminate some of the blight, and increase job training opportunities. This is what is needed –not an empty gesture such as a street naming.

Emanuel has worked tirelessly to direct high-end businesses of all sorts to neighborhoods where the residents don’t look like us, or downtown. What about the West Side Rahm? When are we going to get the city pushing a multi-million development to our part of the city? Huh Rahm?

When? And the same holds true for the South Side.

Heaven knows both sides of town have enough vacant land to hold any size development the mayor could propose.

No doubt that when he is running for re-election he will tout the fact that he tried, or actually did get Stony Island re-named – like that is going to be a plus for us.

Speaking of re-election I am already tired of him and his lies. I sure hope that I am talking about a oneterm mayor.

Chester Lemke

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HOUSES FOR SALE HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on July 10, 2013, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on October 16, 2013, at the The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive 24th Floor, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 8334 S. INGLESIDE AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60619 Property Index No. 20-35-302-083, Property Index No. 20-35-302-038. The real estate is improved with a residence.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial sale fee for Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in “AS IS” condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information, examine the court file or contact Plaintiffʼs attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876.

Please refer to file number 14-12-04291.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE, IL 60527 (630) 794-5300 Attorney File No. 14-12-04291 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code.

21762 Case Number: 12 CH 011370 TJSC#: 33-16419 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiffʼs attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

I553393

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION F/K/A THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS SUCCESSOR TO JPMORGAN CHASE BANK N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR RAMP 2004RS3 Plaintiff, -v.RUFUS L. ALLEN, CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A. SUCCESSOR IN INTERST TO CAPITAL ONE BANK, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 12 CH 011370 8334 S. INGLESIDE AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60619 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS

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COMMUNITY

DEMI LOBO: Philanthropist, Media Mogul, & Entrepreneur “Most Talented Under 12” is just one component of Lobo’s foundation, which also conducts holiday giveaways. Last year, the foundation collaborated with a home furnishings company and provided furniture for 85 families. “That project was a lot of work,” said Lobo. “But it was definitely worth it because we were able to help so many families.

And the fact that we made the deliveries on Christmas Day made it even more special.”

By Alonda D. McCree

to record a song or two. As a child, Lobo wanted to be a forensic scientist, but had a strong desire to be a performer, although presently she has no plans to record a CD. “I’m working on a a collection of songs instead,” she said.

“I’ll have more control over my music that way.”

With all of these balls in the air, when does Lobo have time for

hands in multiple pots at all times.

I may not agree with everything they do or say, but they are two successful businesswomen, and that’s what I admire about them.”

Lobo’s mother, who is her manager, is another source of admiration and motivation. “She keeps me going,” said Lobo, who says self-motivation also pushes her to succeed. “I just have a burning de-

Media Mogul in the Making

DEMI LOBO POSES for photoshoot with Leland Jason.

Photography by Jason Conda, Make-Up Artist Sheena Marie, Hair Styling’s by Ms “V” and Styling’s Brandon Momon.

Giving back is something that Lobo. “We give them their first most people believe is the right start by giving them a kick start thing to do. After accomplishing into their careers.”

After the selection process is fisome form of success, lots of people provide opportunities for oth- nalized, the work begins. About a ers to achieve the same. One month before the event, the chilyoung up and coming celebrity is dren selected for the talent condefinitely giving back by offering test begin fine-tuning their pera variety of opportunities for formances, receive vocal coaching young people through her foun- and participate in ongoing netdation. The Demi Lobo 4 working opportunities. But the Dreams Foundation was created event is not just for the kids; it’s

by WGCI-FM radio personality for the parents as well. The event Demi Lobo in 2009 and offers is a two-day affair, with an children ages 7-12 a chance to “Industry Workshop” on the first jumpstart their dreams of becom- day and the actual contest on the second. The workshop is for children and their parents to learn how the music industry works.

Representatives from all aspects of the trade are on hand to provide advice, answer questions and hopefully create realistic expectations.

Originally, this event was for adults, but Lobo changed the focus to kids. “I saw a bigger need for kids,” she said. “I wanted to A GRAMMAR SCHOOL stu- give them something positive to dent with Demi Lobo. do, you know, keep them off the ing performing artists. The con- streets. What better way than to test is called “Most Talented bring the stage to them? I decided Under 12” and will be held to bring the arts to them.”

September 20-21, when approxi- Although the contest focuses on mately twenty-five kids will com- children under the age of 12, pete for cash and prizes. “The teens get to participate with the kids go through the audition foundation, too, by performing process and we select the most as opening acts for artists associattalented ones to compete,” said ed with the foundation. www.chicagocrusader.com

Running her foundation and being on the air at WGCI-FM definitely keep Lobo busy. But not busy enough. Lobo is a self proclaimed “media mogul in the making,” and is grinding out every chance to grow her enterprise. She owns The Lip Station, a full line of semi-matte lipsticks called Lip Felony’s. “I love lipstick and wanted a fun twist on my product,” said Lobo. “Each lipstick has a felony name like Black Mail, Code Blue and Testify. I’m like the lip police on the loose.”

The Lip Station also offers eye shadows, mascaras, blushes, and lip glosses. Lobo plans to introduce a new lipstick line called the Criminal Collection this fall. Lobo also owns Epique Steez, an online accessory shop that offers non-traditional jewelry, hats, frames, etc.

When she’s not coming up with new ideas for lipsticks and accessories, Lobo also writes a blog called LoboLatest.com, where she provides current ongoings happening in the music industry.

She’s planning to add a video component to her blog soon.

And if that’s not enough, Lobo just finished shooting the trailer for her reality television show called “Branding Demi Lobo.”

“The show follows me as I try to grow me, my brand,” said Lobo.

“It’s definitely real.” Lobo is also an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “Before I went to college, I had a lot of mentors who were also AKAs,” she said. “It was easy to decide

FUTURE MEDIA MOGUL Demi Lobo finishes interview with music group Mindless Behavior.

herself? “I get me time whenever it sire to win,” she said. “I wake up happens,” she said. “I’m trying to ready to go.” become the next media mogul.” Giving Back Lobo looks up to certain industry Clearly there’s no stopping superstars as her role models, using them as inspiration for the Demi Lobo from accomplishing same type of success she wants. “I her dreams. Whether it’s working

SPEAKING at the screening of the movie “Olympis Has Fallen.” look up to Wendy Williams who with her foundation, volunteering started on radio and is now on with her sorority, or working hard TV, Steve Harvey who flies coast at her job, Lobo believes that next to coast to run his businesses and to hard work, giving back is a Oprah, well, who’s Oprah,” she great way to guarantee success. “I said. “Five years from now, I want am definitely a philanthropist,” to be coast to coast.” she said. “You can never lose when Lobo also admires recording helping other people. What you artists Rhianna and Nikki Minaj, put into the universe always despite their sometimes contro- comes back. I’m definitely willing to sow some seeds.”

To make sure she stays focused, Lobo says she only keeps positive people in her circle, saying there’s no room for negative thinking.

“Some people think I should be doing something else but I don’t agree,” she said. “I only want to hang around people who want to win. I hang around people who soar. Negative people? I don’t know them.”

DEMI LOBO PREPARING to moderate a panel for the Young Lobo would love to see more of and Powerful Group during the 2013 Inauguration of President her peers giving back, saying there Obama in Washington D.C. is always a chance to help someone else. “The best I can do is lead versial choices.

“I admire them for which sorority I was going to by example,” she said. “So that’s their work ethic and their grind,” join.” And while she’s doing all what I’ll do.” said Lobo.

“They both have their these things, Lobo still finds time

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN COMMUNITY

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