Another Positive Friday

L-R: Members of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. Bergen/Passaic Chapter: Kym Moye, Gail Baskerville-Norris, Hazel Skeete, and Jaclyn Durant L-R: Janice Griffith Johnson and Yvonne Garrett Patterson L-R: Fitness Doctor Kahlil Carmichael and Minister Jackie Lopez

Jack and Jill of America, Bergen Passaic NJ Chapter Legacy

The Patterson Foundation of South Orange and The Positive Community came together to host another Positive Friday Social Mixer with Associates of the Bergen Passaic Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. The associates —former Jack & Jill members whose children leaving high school have graduated from the Jack & Jill program—looked fantastic in blue denim and white. Sumptuous food from Two Fish, Five Loaves; a message from TPC Columnist “The Fitness Doctor” Rev. Kahlil Carmuchael; DJ Grace on the turntables; and everyone on the dance floor added up to a truly wonderful evening.

L-R: Aida Skeete, Yvonne Garrett Patterson of the Patterson Foundation, Pamela Murphy Lewis, Hazel Skeete, and Eloise Terry

Collected by Leslie Nash

Pint-Sized Picassos in Piscataway

Chosen Vessel of God (CVG), a 501c3 nonprofit, launched its first-ever after-school workshop for kids and teens on September 30, 2022 at the YMCA Piscataway NJ Community Center. The “Ssips and PaintWorkshop,” facilitated by Merle Art Productions Art Instructor Perthea Brown Saunders and Eddie Saunders, required more “will” than “skill.” Inspired by adult “Sip and Paint” classes, students were given an art piece to recreate in acrylic paint on canvas. Some parents joined in the classroom fun while assisting their little ones with their projects. The event presented after school work that did not feel like homework, but provided an opportunity to learn, express, and bond. Parents and children experienced therapeutic and calming feelings. Students began to focus their creative energy, becoming one with the paintbrush. A global nonprofit organization, CVG’s mission to help underserved communities of children begins with its founders, Apostle Fedora Elie and Prophet Elijah Ndovie, pastors of Chosen Vessel of God International Ministry in Malawi, Africa. The organization creates educational workshop programs and assists in finding transitional homes for orphans while sharing the Word of God. For more information visit Chosen Vessel of God on Facebook. Black is Beautiful

Harlem Arts Alliance and the community honored the work of photographer Kwame Brathwaite at the “Black Is Beautiful” Exhibition at the New York Historical Society Museum. The Alliance’s Ademola Olugebefola and Voza Rivers presented a plaque to Brathwaite’s son, Kwame II, at the Museum recognizing his work. This important exhibition will be seen nation- and world-wide. Braithwaite is noted for his photographs of “The Grandassa Models”—a positive image of people of African descent. The exhibition is on view at the New York Historical Society Museum until January 15, 2023.

HBCU Homecoming 2022 Boosts Local Economies

Homecoming for HBCUs means something special every year, but this year’s celebrations felt more significant—people were just glad to be able to come together. Students and alums celebrated this past fall with a spirit of true family reunions. The return of in-person homecoming events for students and alums post-COVID19 also meant a boost for local and collegiate-based businesses and the economy in general. Though prices were higher, due to the rise in inflation, the opportunity to support HBCU football and HBCUs could not be denied. “Guests filled hotels, frequented restaurants, and patronized a multitude of businesses, all in the name of Jackson State University,” the school’s President Thomas Hudson said in a statement on its website. “This further punctuates that JSU is not only an academic powerhouse but an economic driver of this city. Homecoming also reminds me of why JSU is so deeply cherished.”

After two years of canceled or virtual homecomings, everyone is glad to be coming home to HBCUs. thegrio.com