S E P T E M B E R 2020 E D I T I O N
Mike
MADEN American Novelist
AMIKA ADAMS I Invents from the Heart
GARY D. HINES
Music Is A Cultural Institution
EDITORIAL
From The Desk of The Editor Reginald Kearney Editor
Corretta L. Doctor
Brandon J. Jolly
Business Manager
Layout Designer
Yvonne Medley
C. NaTasha Richburg
Writer
Writer
Musa Bangura
Anita Davis-DeFoe
Writer
Writer
Stacey Henry-Carr
Bridgette Alfred
Writer
Writer
The Urban Sentinel Magazine Address: 102 Discovery Ct. La Plata, Maryland 20646 Phone: 301-661-3989 Editor Reginald Kearney Advertising Inquiries Phone: 301-661-3989 E-mail: reginald.kearney@marylanddailyexaminer.com Website: www.urbansentinel.com
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Where did the month of August go? It is now September and I am sure that some of you are thinking about the holidays. The country is still faced with some major issues as the Covid-19 virus continues to grip the country, along with issues such as joblessness and the economy. The staff and I continue to pray for those families and individuals who are being affected by the Covid-19 virus. The cover story for this month features Mike Maden who is an American novelist. He is well known for the Jack Ryan novels, which are part of the Tom Clancy universe, as well as for the Drone series of techno-thrillers. We are also featuring Gary Dennis Hines who is the Music Director and Producer of the 3-time, Grammy Award-Winning Sounds of Blackness. Gary shares his story with us as he discusses his journey as a career musican over the last 50 years. Finally for the ladies, we have a story on the inventor of the “Purse for Heels,” Amika Adams l. We are striving to be a favorite magazine to readers around the world. We are reaching homes across nations and sharing stories of empowerment, inspiration and entertainment from the film, music and literary industries. In keeping with our broad approach to bringing you the very best information in a highly professional manner, we are striving to be the best. We value the feedback from our readers because it helps us to grow. Please email me at reginald.kearney@marylanddailyexaminer. com with your feedback. If you would like to advertise with us, send an email with the word ‘Advertise’ in the subject line. Like us on Facebook at The Urban Sentinel, follow us on Twitter at @ UrbanSentinel and you may follow us on Instagram at www. theurbansentinel. Thank you for continuing to support Urban Sentinel magazine, tell your friends about us and enjoy this month’s edition.
SUMMARY
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Saving Your Dancing Heels
From Paris to New York with Ingrid
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Racquetball Revival
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4
Music from the Heart of A Man
7
House Calls
9
Building A Legacy Through Words
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Sara - A Writing Coach With Soul
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Be An Impactful Entrepreneur - Create Purposeful Profits
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Mike Maden - American Novelist
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Staying Together In Marriage
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A True Technologist and Serial Entrepreneur
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Project Faith
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I Am Brown
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Your Gifts Will Make Room
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Spiritual Nourishment
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Her Love for Handbags
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Seizing Each Day
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Racial Profiling and Police Brutality
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Tips for Parents, Effectively Communicate with Your Children
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Roderick T. Miller, CEO - Invest Puerto Rico
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Wash Corona Virus Away
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Lord God
URBAN SENTINEL MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER
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importantly, the writer has to convey ‘why’ the characters want what they want, since in every story the bad guy thinks they are right. Thus the story has to explore that truth. As long as the story is told in the political and historical context of the cultural truth, the fictional story will be authentic. Ultimately, the story is to do what it can do for the reader.” Noteworthy quotes from Maden include: “You have to learn how to write but nobody can teach you.” “I have learned how to write by writing.” “All writing is rewriting.” “Learn how storytelling works.” “Your first novel will be the worst book you will ever write. Get the second book done. It will be better.” “If you want to be a writer, just get over yourself.” “It is better to be lucky than good. It is also true that the harder you work, the luckier you get.” “The purpose of writing is to bless other people.” The fear of failure is not what drives Maden, as he makes it very clear that if you want to become a writer, “get over yourself.” Maden emphatically explains that knowing and telling the truth about culture and history in the context of the story location is necessary to become a great novelist. Maden’s greatest is evidenced by the work put into his novels. Follow Mike Maden at: www.mikemaden.com
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WWW.MIKEMADEN.COM “THE PURPOSE OF WRITING IS TO BLESS OTHER PEOPLE.”
- MIKE MADEN URBAN SENTINEL MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER
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ball, you lose the point. If you lose enough points, you will
You have a dedication to racquetball that revivals the
eventually lose the game. If you get to the ball, you have a
enthusiasm of any sports lover. What does racquetball mean
chance of winning. If you lose, it’s all on you. When you win,
to you? Racquetball is the coolest sport that many have never
it’s all you too.
heard of. You don’t see it on TV, and there are few places to play. Most courts are in private clubs with expensive monthly
Second, racquetball teaches preparation. Example: Court
memberships. One of the goals of my business venture
positioning is important in racquetball. Being in the right
Racquetball Revival is to make racquetball more accessible
place greatly increases the chances of getting to the ball.
to all people, especially our youth. It is my experience that
In life, one has to be
when
prepared,
when
onto the court to try
present
racquetball, it opens
themselves you are in
up a new world of
position to seize them.
attainable achievement,
In racquetball, center
and they learn to LOVE
court
racquetball.
so
opportunities
is
positioning
key.
When
youth
walk
you
maintain center court
Racquetball Revival is
positioning, you will be
in its foundational early
ready to get to any shot
stage. Thus, there are
your opponent makes.
ample opportunities for corporate sponsors to
racquetball
help in our mission of
teaches communication
“being a different way
and problem solving.
to make a difference in
Example:
the lives of youth and
Third,
When in
the communities they
open play in a pick-up
live in.” We want to
game
change and revive lives
playing
singles
environment,
sometimes
through racquetball.
players
will disagree about the outcome of a volley
Our corporate sponsors
or the interpretation
will play a vital role
of a rule.
Those
by donating money to
players must quickly
our facility and thus
communicate
helping us achieve our
and
make a decision as to how the dispute will be handled.
mission goals. For example, corporate sponsors can have
We don’t have time for lengthy debate. Sometimes players
their logos and company names on the court front wall. So
agree to a replay. Sometimes, one player simply says “Your
instead of us calling it “Court 1” we’ll call it “The [Company
point-don’t worry about it.” Sometimes, players agree to ask
Name] Court.” Sponsorship can take many different forms.
someone watching to make the call.
If you want more information, please visit http://www. racquetballrevival.com/ .
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URBAN SENTINEL MAGAZINE |
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SEIZING EACH DAY by catherine tyson, msw for the urban sentinel
Every day we have to GET UP, DRESS UP and SHOW Up to get what the world has for us. Get up out of that bed early enough to seize the hours that you are blessed with. Dress Up to make sure that you are looking your best so that you feel your best. And Show up because unless you are in the line, you cannot be counted, and lines are everywhere in this life that we will have to encounter and join to get through. Life should be approached as if there are no closed doors because with the right attitude, those doors do not exist. Some steps to consider as we get on our road to success. Close the past to open your future ALL yesterdays become the past and all tomorrows become the future; grasp the future and prepare to live it better than yesterday. Bring the good parts of the bad experiences with you and let the rest stay in the past. If your current circle refuses to allow you to forget or get on with things, then you might just need to change your circle to move forward. Anyone who is interested in you succeeding will allow you the space to grow and be better. Remember that your opinion of you is all that really matters and the rest is just
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background noise. Make a decision to bounce back This sounds so simple but the truth is, deciding to bounce back is where it all starts. Everything you do next can be traced back to that fateful decision of when you decided to do something. Remember that not making a decision is a decision-- a decision to do nothing. . It is okay to acknowledge that something went wrong but it is not okay to hold onto it for dear life. Dwelling on the setback and overanalyzing it will amplify its negative effects so just make peace with it, breathe and just let it go. Put your mind on the positives in your life and dwell on those and bounce back as quickly as possible. Be positive This is an important step in getting past negative outcomes. Remember the saying "Where a door closes... a window opens." Move on. Get over it. You need to acknowledge that the door has closed and no matter how difficult that may be, you need to also look around for that window that has opened. As long as you have life, you still have hope.
Don't ever let one disappointment discourage you from moving forward. It does not brand you as a failure but backing down or quitting is a losing attitude. You might not be able to change what has already occurred but you can change how you deal with it and you can build on what you learn from the experience. Failure is not an option When you decide that come hell or highwater you will not fail, you are telling the universe what you want. But often we do have those selfdeprecating moments or thoughts where we utter words of negativity and nonsense to ourselves that only serve to bruise our inner beings and souls. Make sure to utter words that we want to believe about ourselves. Even if you do not truly believe them yet, say them enough that one day they become the truth. Because failure is not an option, always walk with the attitude of success. Until next time. Look me up on Facebook at Catherine Tyson and follow me on Instagram @realcatherinetyson Catherine Tyson, MSW
Know that you will succeed
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RACIAL PROFILING POLICE BRUTALITY by dr. sharon h. porter for the urban sentinel I spent approximately the first 25 years of my life in North Carolina and about the same amount of time in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. My experiences in both states have been quite different. Most differences are due to perspective, age, and knowledge gained and lived experiences over the years. Just in the last few years though, I have become keenly aware of the injustices against people of color. I credit completing my research and earning a doctoral degree at Howard University as my eye opener to these injustices. As racial profiling and police brutality remain in the forefront of our minds with the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others, I see a need for improved conversations around the topics of race, racial justice/injustice, and racism. I do believe that open and honest conversations are imperative and a necessary first step to addressing and eventually ending the senseless killings at the hand of law enforcement, the very agency that has sworn to “protect and serve” us…. All of us! Make no mistake about it, the conversation must lead to positive action. Just talking about it, simply is not enough. It is the first step. We, as a society, will first need to identify and acknowledge how we see ourselves before we even think about how others view and identify us. I acknowledge, own, and celebrate that I am a black
woman that happens to be a Christian, an educator, entrepreneur, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and member of a sorority. Each of those identifiers are attached to relationships and experiences. Many have brought me proud moments, but some have led to moments of pain. I have experienced systemic obstacles to “equal opportunity” and “equal justice” in many spaces as a black female in educational leadership. Bias, whether conscious, unconscious, or implicit, racial disparities, inequities, an injustice need to be exposed at all levels. It exists in law enforcement because it exists in our schools, workplaces, and criminal justice systems across this nation. We all have a role to play in addressing it. Sometimes equality is the answer, other times it is equity that is needed. We certainly know by now, they are not one in the same. We have witnessed and learned about injustices from all over the U.S., black men, women, boys, and girls, treated unfairly, and yes many even killed at the hand URBAN SENTINEL MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER
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Schools have since reopened with final year tertiary students reporting on the 15th of June, final year High school students on the 22nd of June and final year Junior High students on the 29th of June. With schools reopened, there is a realistic chance that we might see an increase in cases among the students at the initial stages mostly due to inadequate hygiene facilities and PPEs. Some schools have already started complaining about the lack of handwashing facilities and PPEs and as such, have requested support from the government and organizations like ours.
ups for the schools to educate their students on the virus and how to keep themselves safe and reduce the spread. To make the above goals practical, SCEF’s project officer Anthony Kojo Bosomtwe on the 8th July 2020 presented the following items to five clusters of public schools in Accra Metropolitan area : 1. 20 handwashing set: comprising veronica buckets, rising bowls, stands, and liquid soap) 2. 425 face masks 3. 60 educational stickers
It’s in view of the above reasons SCEF in collaboration with its partner, Send a Smile e.v has seen the need to step up our COVID-19 community initiatives by supplying Veronica bucket sets and some masks to the 8 schools that we work with as well as the ones that SCEF beneficiaries attend. About 14 SCEF scholarship recipients have reported back to school and, some schools that SCEF is currently working with have also reopened their doors for the first time in three months to these students. We hope that by so doing, we are contributing to the fight against COVID-19 as we have done previously and continue to do. The goals of the initiative are; 1. Supply about 680 reusable face masks to be distributed to students who don’t have it. 2. Supply 32 branded Veronica bucket sets to the schools. Including; a bucket, bucket stand, rinsing bowl and liquid soap. 3. Supply 100 COVID-19 education stickers and write-
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The Items were shared according to the population of students in each school. The schools that benefit from this kind gesture are Accra Royal JHS, Bishop Girls JHS, Independence Avenue Cluster, John Wesley Methodist JHS, and Akotolante cluster of schools. Speaking to the media, Kojo stated: “This kind gesture is meant to supplement the government’s effort in protecting students, teaching and non-teaching staff against the novel COVID-19. We hope that as final year students are back to the classroom to prepare for their final exams other well-meaning Ghanaians will be motivated by our action to also set up interventions in schools to keep our children safe and learning.” The headteachers in receiving these items thanked SCEF and used the opportunity to invite more support from the general public. Education indeed cannot wait!
LORD GOD, FORGIVE OUR SINS, CHANGE OUR HEARTS AND HEAL OUR WORLD FROM COVID-19 AND FROM EVERYTHING BAD I got this idea from a story I wrote in my book; the book is called Thank You America - Book One, it was published by Page Publishing in New York in 2017, and it is worldwide online and in the stores. the story is that; in my native country the RDC, Congo, we had a severe drought in my Tribe Yombe in the early 80's. lots of people were dying each day for lack of food and water, it was so scary, we did not know what to do. One Sunday in our Church, when we all were mourning for the lost, our Pastor asked us to fast and pray for one day, to ask God to forgive us and to heal our land, and we did and God heard our prayers and touched people here in the USA who send us lots of food that stopped people for dying. Then God gave us rain and allowed food to grow all over our forest also God gave us twice the harvest that year!!! We can do the same with this COVID-19, fast and pray worldwide and God will hear our prayers and heal our world.
humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. So, let us pray and God will heal our Nation and our world. If you or your business, or your church or your family, or your Country want to be a Sponsor, know that God will bless you more. You can Sponsor these Nationwide and Worldwide Events from $5. and more, see more information in our website, thank you and stay blessed.
It is written in the Holy Bible in 2 Chronicles 7; 13-15 13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will
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