GARY CRUSADER 02-06-2016.qxp_Sheriff 1/8/13 2013 2/4/16 2:35 AM Page 1
Marquette Park Pavillion presents new exclusive caterer
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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IU Northwest’s HR assistant is ‘Pretty, Raised Ugly’ (See page 8)
Blacks Must Control Their Own Community
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VOLUME LIV NUMBER 41 —SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2016
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Gary churches step up to help Flint residents Businesses respond with donations to purchase cases of bottled water By Louise Scott Rev. Charles Emery, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church is leading a group of Gary residents who are collecting donations to purchase bottled water that will be donated to the residents of Flint, Michigan. The city’s problems started two years ago when the state decided to save money by switching Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, a notorious tributary that runs through a city known for its filth. It was supposed to be temporary while a new state-run supply line to Lake Huron was being made ready for connection. Soon after the switch, the water started to look, smell and taste funny. According to Pastor Emery, donations from various churches, businesses and individuals have allowed them to purchase bottled water in large quantities from County Market Grocers. The store owner participated by giving a significant discount to the group. The store owner told Pastor Emery that he would be placing an order with his supplier for bottled water to be delivered over the weekend because he did not have a sufficient supply to fill their request. Emery said they requested 10 pallets of bottled water, which equals 60 cases per pallet for a total of 600 cases of water. According to Emery, a number of churches in Gary have donated funds. The other participants include funeral homes Smith, Bizzell and Warner, Guy & Allen and Manuel Memorial Funeral Home. In addition, Liberty Baptist Church has plenty of bottles in storage they are donating thanks to some of their members. “We are anticipating that we will have an 18-wheeler ready to transport the water to Flint,” he said. A pastor of a church in Flint, who is part of the operation, will receive the water for distribution. Emery said people in Gary came together for the effort to support Flint’s majority of Black residents, who accused city and state officials of ignoring initial concerns about
LEADERS WHO ARE helping with Flint’s crisis: Pastors Lee Gilliam, New 2nd Baptist Church; Charles Emory, Pilgrim Baptist; Kelvin J. Pennington, owner Smith and Bizzell; and Bishop Tavis Grant, Greater First Baptist Church. the water. Some community leaders in Flint suburbs of Flint, Michigan do not have the said residents’ concerns would have been ad- same problem that the urban citizens have. dressed if they were white or affluent. Many of us are in the same National Baptist He said, “The majority of the people are Convention. The pastors we are working Black people. I understand the people in the through are Baptist pastors in Flint, Michi-
gan. We feel it is our responsibility to reach out and aid and assist people that we know need help, especially churches. The bible says to do good to all men especially those of the household of faith.” Smith, Bizzell and Warner Funeral Home was one of the first businesses to respond to Emery’s request for funds to purchase bottled water for Flint residents. Sandi Cogan, the funeral home’s director of Community Affairs and Public Relations, said her employer was more than pleased to be a part of this initiative. She said, “It is a national disaster. We did the same thing for Hurricane Katrina when the National Council of Negro Women asked us to make a donation towards their truck load of water to go to New Orleans.” Rev. Emery said they will make sure that this water will get into the housing developments in Flint because they hear that the people there are not getting their fair share of the water being donated. He said, “We were told not to give our donation to the Red Cross or to the Police Departments because (Continued on page 3)
Decades later, a secret finally revealed Who nominated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for the Nobel Peace Prize? It’s a true story you’ll find hard to believe By Erick Johnson It’s a known fact that in 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the third Black leader to win the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. Across the nation, the achievement by America’s most prominent Civil Rights leader has been mentioned in countless documents, school history books and newspaper articles. But, the story behind King’s Nobel Peace Prize remained a secret for more than 50 years…until now. Who nominated Dr. King for this honor? Was it his closest friend and adviser, Minister Ralph Abernathy, or A. Phillip Randolph, the “Dean of Negro Leaders,” who helped initiate the March on Washington, where King delivered his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech? Or could it have been Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., the Civil Rights leader, who was with King when he was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. The answer is none of them. In fact, no one from the racially-charged South or the Civil Rights Movement nominated King for the Nobel Peace Prize.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. gives his acceptance speech in Oslo Norway after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 The nomination came from a tight-knit or- state of Pennsylvania. An organization that, to this day, idolizes ganization of white religious residents in King with celebrations, the Quakers nomiPhiladelphia whose members included Betsy nated the slain Civil Rights leader for the NoRoss and other influential Quakers who bel Peace Prize based on a letter dated Jan. 31, viewed King on the same level as William (Continued on page 2) Penn, a Quaker who is also the founder of the