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From The Desk of The Editor
We have a great magazine for the June/July edition. A big effort was put forth as we are ready to give you the news that you have been looking for. We are hoping that you have visited the new website where we will be able to touch and reach people around the world. We are always looking for new writers and articles or suggestions on what you the reader may like to read. If you need additional information on the magazine and website, and if you would love to write for the magazine or pitch an article, you can reach us at contact@urbansentinelmagazine.com.
The world is changing and we need to focus on all the changes that are taking place in our government and our communities. There are those who are trying to remove Black History, people are losing their jobs for no reason, our rights to protest and speak are being denied in certain instances, and due process is being thrown out the window by our government. We must all stand up for justice.
In this edition of the magazine we are interviewing two dynamic authors and writers of Erotic fiction- Rodney “Yonder” Harrison & Troy L. Rawlings. We also have other great articles for you to read. Please like us on Instagram @theurbansentinel2.0 and join us live on Youtube, Roku and PODTV.TV at 8pm ET on Tuesday nights for the Urban Sentinel Live show. The Urban Sentinel staff is looking towards the future and what it has in store for us. As the Editor and Publisher, I would like to invite you to the Urban Sentinel Magazine website (www.urbansentinelmagazine.com). Enjoy our website and enjoy the magazine.
Thank you for the support, Reginald Kearney- Editor/Publisher
Lasheika
Keep Going
Lerrat Campbell
The Kings of Erotic Fiction Troy Rawlings How Highland Beach Became Maryland's First Black Town Lasheika Boyd
Celebrating Ruby Hurley, The Queen of Civil Rights Brandee Johnson
Letters to Lasheika Lasheika Boyd
KEEP GOING
by LERRAT CAMPBELL
Keep going. Those are two simple words that are used recurrently in the English language daily. Author Cobby M. Williams tells readers that those two specific words are the leading terms in his life journey. Cobby shares, “Too many people are on the verge of giving up on their dreams, and subsequently, without the proper motivation, they begin to give up on themselves. I have taken words of encouragement and testimony that reflect a snapshot of my own personal life trek and placed those words in a book titled, ‘I’m Not Done Yet’.
The book was released in March of this year, and I am committed to sharing this work of steadfast determination with readers around the world. The target age group for this book begins at the higher end of adolescence, age 18 and spans through the age groups accordingly.
Reflective of my global footprint, this book is a memoir that looks back at my near death experiences and focuses on my forward success as an achiever and inspiration to aspiring young individuals. Between those periods of my life, I met many challenges. I took note of the societal issues surrounding
me, and armed with a strong personal ambition I pressed ahead without fear nor fury, so that I could face a great number of circumstances thrown my way: some good, some not so good, but ALL things in my life led me to become a triumphant leader in my endeavors”.
As the world learns more about Author Cobby M. Williams, he wants his brand to be recognized as one of resilience, reinvention, and relentless pursuit. When people see the name COBBY M. WILLIAMS he wants everyone to know that no matter how many times life knocks you down, you have the
power to rise. Cobby says that he wants readers to believe that it is never too late to rewrite your story, in fact, he shares a great personal sentiment of my own, “You can have as many new beginnings as you want”!
How many times have you said, “I give up!” or “I quit” or “I’m sick and tired of this”? Well, here is a push towards changing your mindset. Look at the tumultuous road Cobby M. Williams walked. Look at the pain he endured and in some cases, caused. Look at the regrets and the sorrows he experienced. Look at the tears and the worry……. but don’t stop there. Keep looking at this great man of adaptability and strength. We can’t focus much on what happened, but we can’t discount it either. Cobby lives with his past and uses it as fuel for the fire in his heart to help others heal and mature past
their problems. Cobby’s book, ‘I’m Not Done Yet’, serves as a battle cry for those who refuse to settle. It will remind readers that they are not defined by their past or by any of their failures, and certainly not by labels that society places upon them. Cobby hails from deep within his soul that this book will help you create and maintain a positive shift in mindset. Cobby adds, “Stop waiting for permission to step into your power. It is about igniting the fire in those who have forgotten their own strength”.
Cobby M. Williams asks all readers of his book to commit to reclaiming their narratives- especially those who feel unseen, unheard, or underestimated. “Whether it is advocating for mental resilience, women breaking barriers, or people finding the courage to start over, my mission is to remind the world that no setback is final. You are always a work in progress, and Y-O-U are not done yet.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Cobby now lives in the United Arab Emirates. He is an Educator in the local school system in Dubai. Along with a plethora of accomplishments, and a substantial number of awards and accolades, Cobby is a go-getter, a compassionate writer, and a scholar of life With a global perspective and a desire to teach and learn, Cobby plans to release several more books that will be resource driven and filled with blueprints for success for each of you. Urban Sentinel Magazine congratulates Cobby M. Williams on the upcoming release of his new book. Follow Cobby M. Williams at www.cobbymwilliams.com.
THE KINGS OF EROTIC FICTION:
Rodney “YONDER” Harrison & Troy L. Rawlings sit down to talk about their lifetime of love and lust for writing and launching the next generation of writers.
by TROY L. RAWLINGS
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT IN THIS YOUR 21ST YEAR OF BEING A PUBLISHED AUTHOR?
YONDER: “You know what I’m most excited about… NEW READERS!! I love when people find out I write books and I’ve been around for awhile and they’re like, “STOP PLAYING!? REALLY?! WOW! Where can I find your books…”
They make me feel the excitement I had 21 years ago! And what I’m really excited about is being a helper in this industry. When we came up there were no helpers. No one helped us out. Very few folks gave a hand out to assist let alone just information. We learned on our own. So I’m trying to help as many people as I can. From online placement and independent publishing, to finding a great editor and graphic designer. To buying and owning your own ISBN numbers,
marketing, promotion, AI… just the right information. Because if you get the wrong information about the business side at the beginning it can sour your creative process of writing.”
DYNAMIC DUO
To me, the best heroes have partners. Even Superman needed help at times. It was about 2003 when YONDER reached out to me after receiving my e-newsletter and taking notice of the marketing and promotion work I was doing for another author in the Maryland area.
“Hey man, I like what you’re doing! I’m a new author and I’d love to work with you. I have a book coming out…” Yonder went on to explain.
After about 2 hours of talking it seemed like these two guys from the DMV, him from Southeast DC and me from Northwest Baltimore were kindred spirits. But then, we lost touch for almost a year.
Just life life-ing. But when we reconnected in 2004, Yonder’s 1st Book “WHAT I DO IS TABOO Volume 1” was done and he had a truck full of boxes of books! The day he called me, and we reconnected, he drove from LaPlata Maryland to Baltimore where I took him on a mini promo tour, and he had his 1st book signing Downtown Baltimore. And we’ve been rolling ever since. With us it just clicked immediately. We both believe in ‘pulling the trigger’ and throwing caution to the wind. A bit too much at times, but definitely walking by faith and trying what feels right on this independent author journey helped us turn a book tour into a major event, turned radio show, turned TV pilot and tour!! Everyone needs a partner. Everyone needs a team!
true story you heard but never experienced.
THE DIRTY DOZEN & MORE
12 Books and 21 years later Yonder and I are more excited than ever to give the readers what they want, with no limits. We consider ourselves Genreless. Our books range from devotional and self-help, to poetry, murder mystery, and of
EROTIC FICTION: NA-STORIES
YONDER: “I Call them Nasty Stories or NA-STORIES!”
The misconception is that those of us who write EROTIC FICTION are the biggest whores in the world! Stone cold freaks, Hot-But-Naked sex lovers! And for some of us, that may be true… at least in our imaginations. It’s a gift when you can translate sexual sensual happenings, memories, and make believe into picturesque writings which invoke a feeling of intrigue and escapism for your audience. Even if it’s just lightly based on a
course erotic fiction. That’s the fun in having a partner and team that doesn’t box you in. And it’s one of the things we teach in our curriculums and conferences. This next decade is about LEGACY. Not just for our families, but for the culture as a whole.
And I’d be lying if I said this was new-found excitement. Though life has its ups and downs, I believe one of the reasons we became and remain best friends and business partners is because we always keep God and family at the core of all we do, then our art follows.
Feel free to connect with us anytime. We’ll see you soon…even if it’s through our imaginations.
CONNECT YONDER
Yondertaboo@gmail.com www.authoryonder.com Pictures by Freddi T. Lane
HOW HIGHLAND BEACH Became Maryland’s First Black Town
Image taken from https://preservationmaryland.org/walking-tourhistoric-highland-beach-maryland/
by BRANDEE JOHNSON
Home ownership is a goal that’s near and dear to me. Why? Because there is so much power in having a piece of land in your name. Something that you can pass down from generation to generation. And if you don’t believe me, take a look at the many Black-owned towns in Maryland.
That’s right. As small as Maryland is, it’s home to several Black-owned towns that are still thriving today. One of those towns is Highland Beach, a summer resort founded by Frederick Douglass’s youngest son.
Power from Segregation
The foundation of Maryland’s first Black town arose from an act of prejudice. Major Charles Remond Douglass was a retired military officer who served during the Civil War. He and his wife Laura were turned away from a restaurant at the Bay Ridge Resort and Amusement Park because of their race.
After this incident, Major Douglass decided to buy beachfront property directly south of Bay Ridge and sell the lots to his family and friends.
For several months, Major Douglass worked out an arrangement to purchase land from the Brashears family, a prominent Black family in Anne Arundel County. With financial assistance from his father, he was able to purchase twenty-six and two-thirds acres of land from Daniel Brashears in 1893.
Maryland’s First Black-Owned Summer Resort
Image taken from https://preservationmaryland.org/walking-tour-historichighland-beach-maryland/
By 1894, Charles had built two homes – one for himself and his immediate family, and one for Frederick Douglass to retire to. Sadly, he passed away in 1895 before the home was completed. What started out as an enclave for friends and family soon transitioned into a town of Black influential residents. Some of its guests and residents included Paul Robeson, Dr. Mary Church Terrell, Booker T. Washington, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B. DuBois.
Throughout the early 1900s, several renovations like a hotel, tennis courts, and a horse stable were added into the community to encompass the growing number of residents. Despite its growing population, Highland Beach maintained an exclusivity that still exists today. When Charles passed away in 1920, his son Haley Douglass took charge of the development of the area.
On May 12, 1922, Highland Beach became incorporated, making it the first Black municipality in Maryland.
Highland Beach Today
What makes Highland Beach special is that the descendants of the original founders still own homes in the town. As of today, there are 80 homes in the town that are still owned by descendants of Douglass and other former residents.
It’s also powerful to know that the descendants are just as interested as protecting the town as their ancestors. Even though the town has year-round and summer residents, they choose not to permit commercial establishments.
Towns like Highland Beach give me hope. Major Charles Douglass took a prejudiced situation that happened to him and created a safe haven for several generations in his family.
And that’s something I want not just for myself, but for my community. A place that we can all be proud of and protect.
Image taken from https://preservationmaryland.org/walking-tour-historichighland-beach-maryland/
Image taken from
Ruby Hurley,Celebrating The Queen of Civil Rights
Imagine a woman that dedicated nearly four decades of her life to achieving civil rights for her people. Imagine that this woman was involved in every aspect of the fight for civil rights, from organizing various chapters of the NAACP to investigating the murders of Emmitt Till and Reverend George W. Lee. Imagine that this woman, who was a Washington, D.C. native, traveled throughout the Deep South to help set up chapters of the NAACP in five of the most hostile states, putting her mental and physical health on the line. Fortunately, we do not have to imagine that such a woman could exist, because she did – and continues to live on due to her legacy. Her name was Ruby Hurley, a Civil Rights pioneer who earned the deserved title of “Queen of Civil Rights” through her leadership skills and bravery.
The future Civil Rights activist was born Ruby Ruffin on November 7, 1909, to Alice and Edward Ruffin in Washington, D.C.
Although little is known about Ruby’s parents, by 1920 she was living with her teachers Emma and Perey Ray. Ruby attended the prestigious Dunbar High School
in Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1926. After graduation, Ruby attended Miner Teachers College, an institution designed to train AfricanAmerican educators. After college, Ruby briefly worked in the federal government before being employed by the Industrial Bank of Washington, one of the nation’s African-American owned financial institutions. It was while working at the Industrial Bank that she also married her husband William L. Hurley, who was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
While working at Industrial Bank, Ruby was also attending law courses at the Robert H. Terrell Law School in the evenings. Even though Ruby would not complete her degree with the institution, she had the opportunity to learn more about the legislative process, and would use this information during her career with the NAACP. Ruby’s first prominent role in the NAACP was in 1939, and involved the celebrated African-American opera singer
Marian Anderson. What some people may know is that Marian Anderson was scheduled to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. in front of an integrated audience; however, she was refused permission to enter by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). What many people may not know is that Ruby and a formed committee of NAACP advocates moved the performance to the Lincoln Memorial for Anderson. The rescheduled concert was held on April 9, 1939, and Anderson performed in front of thousands of people.
After the success of this event, Ruby’s career as an active member of the NAACP took off. She was named the organization’s Youth Secretary in 1943, and increased membership for the youth and college chapters of the organization. By the time Ruby left her position in 1952, over
200 new groups were formed and 25,000 young members were intermingled into the NAACP.
In 1951, Ruby was sent to Birmingham, Alabama to help expand the NAACP’s membership in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee. She was also sent to help strengthen the ties between the local NAACP branches and the primary branch of the NAACP in New York City. Not only did Ruby’s leadership abilities lead to the expansion of new membership in North and South Carolina, she was also designated as the Regional Secretary and then Director of the new Southeast Regional branch of the NAACP. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Ruby was able to increase this branch’s membership by over 90,000 members.
It was serving as Director of the Southeast Regional branch that Ruby’s advocacy reached a new level. In addition to increasing membership, Ruby’s responsibilities consisted of representing the NAACP at several events and investigating various murders and racial incidents in the Deep South. The reports that Ruby compiled were sent to the FBI, particularly in reference to the murders of Reverend George W. Lee, Emmitt Till, and Medgar Evers. While collecting witness statements in reference to Emmitt Till’s murder, Ruby went undercover and dressed as a cotton picker to be able to travel to different plantations and speak openly with eyewitnesses about Till’s murder.
Just like many Civil Rights activists, Ruby sacrificed her safety and sanity to fight against racial injustice. When the local authorities and residents caught wind of Ruby’s activities, her home was bombed and she was constantly threatened with
death threats. Numerous people drove past her home, and she was threatened over the phone by anonymous callers. Because Ruby refused to eat at segregated restaurants, she would often go without food for long periods of time once she ran out of Hershey’s chocolate bars. The longest she would typically go without eating would be 24 hours! It was no surprise that Ruby was later diagnosed by her doctor as having situational stress disorder after all she had endured in her four decades of advocacy.
Towards the end of the 1950s, Alabama passed an injunction against the NAACP that banned the organization from recruiting new members. Despite this setback, Ruby relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, and continued to lead as the Director of the NAACP’s Southeast region. After dedicating nearly forty years of her life to the NAACP, Ruby was able to retire from the organization on March 31, 1978. She left the organization as one of the few women who rose to the top of the organization and held one of its key positions. Sadly, she passed away on August 9, 1980. However, Ruby’s legacy as a Civil Rights activist extends to more than just her commemorative stamp with the United States Post Office. Similar to the men of the Civil Rights Movement, Ruby Hurley was able to rise as a leader and lead an organization to fight against racial injustice and make life better for her people.
A RELATIONSHIP ADVICE COLUMN
The Question: Letters to Lasheika
I turned fifty a few months ago and I feel like trying some new things and doing more for myself again. I have been married for fifteen years and we have two children, one is grown and out of the house and the other one is in college but still lives at home. My husband works out of town a couple of days a week, when he’s gone, I usually will go get dinner with a friend or just stay around the house and talk o him on the phone when he finishes his work. (I work from home).
Lately he hasn’t been calling like he usually does and when I call him, he doesn’t answer. I have a feeling that he is stepping out on me. I have never caught him cheating on me and I have never really suspected him of cheating on me. I have asked him about his sudden changes but it’s always an excuse or he will ask me why I am so paranoid. He acts different when he’s at home now. He tells little lies; he stays out later, and he is less affectionate. I keep my appearance up and I stay in the gym, young men hit on me all the time. That attention feels good, but I would rather get it from my husband. I don’t know what to do. Am I paranoid because I just turned fifty or do I have a reason to be suspicious?
My Response:
Each year that we get older is a blessing, as we grow older as women, we feel freer to do and try new things without caring if we are being judged. When you have a feeling that your husband is cheating on you never feels good. It can bring on unwanted stress, insecurities, and paranoia. The best thing to do in these types of situations is to communicate with your husband. Tell your husband that you need to talk to him and that it will be great if you both could set aside some time to talk about what you have been feeling and thinking. When you ask him, the hard questions make sure you listen to what he has to say without interrupting and make sure that he gives you the same respect when you are speaking.
When people’s patterns start to change in a negative way that is a red flag that you should not ignore, and you did not. Getting attention from someone younger can be very flattering but like you said you would rather get that attention from your husband. What you want are answers from your husband not problems on your end from younger men. If you and your husband have a hard time communicating about his actions lately then a mediator such as a marriage counselor or a marriage coach could be helpful in a situation like this. Communication is key in ALL successful relationships but remember to ALWAYS be true to yourself.
Please send questions or comments for Letters to Lasheika to lasheika32@gmail.com
