The Westside Gazette

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Black owned media and Black churches continue as legacies Let’s be ready to make, preach join together as one voice in Civil Rights movement and write our own history How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 (NASB)

"The preachers' preacher." -- Dr. Mack King Carter

By Derek Joy

Publisher Levi Henry, Jr., "From the Press to the Pulpit."

Black History Month is an occasion to focus on the contributions of Black people in America.

It is a month-long celebration of accomplishments that could not be complete without due consideration of the Black Media.

Obviously, education is a key to the survival and progress of American society. The Black church and Black Media are next in line for Black people.

History says as much.

“One supports the other,” said Bishop Victor T. Curry, senior pastor/teacher of New

Birth Cathedral of Faith in Opa Locka. Bishop Curry operates the only Black American owned radio station - WMBM, 1490 AM, in South Florida. “We read the Black newspapers and pass on the information. The Black media can print what goes on in the pulpit.”

The Black church has always been an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement,” Curry continued. Most of the Civil Rights leaders were clergy.

Most of the Civil Rights meetings were held in church. They couldn’t meet anywhere else.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

Mansfield: Black History began with the Black Press

MANSFIELD Author’s Note: A number of readers responded to sections of a recent article I wrote, expressing curiosity in regards to the Black Press, a subject I’m somewhat expert on. In the coming weeks I’ll share with readers my writings on this important institution. Some of the following I’ve published snippets of over the years in other articles.

It can rightfully be stated that until Freedom’s Journal, America’s first AfricanAmerican newspaper, was launched at No.6 Varick Street in lower Manhattan on March 16, 1827, Black History — for all means and purposes — did not exist in America. The publication was started by Samuel Eli Cornish, a free Black Presbyterian minister who was born in Delaware and raised in Philadelphia, and John Brown Russwurm, born in Jamaica and the third man of color to earn a college degree in the United States (from Bowdoin College in Maine).

True, Blacks had been mentioned in print in America since 1619 when Captain Jope’s ship brought the first Africans to these shores and advertised them for sale. And Blacks would be continually mentioned in terms of the auction block or in runaway slave notices for centuries after that. But if they were mentioned by name at all it was by the one name they had been given by their slave masters ….Toby, Missy or Buck, or some other sobriquet more fitting a pet than a person.

Indeed, the only records of Blacks’ existence in this country up until the launching of the Journal was in the ledgers and books kept by plantation owners, right on the pages listing livestock and other property.

It wasn’t until the first Black newspapers began to appear in America did any semblance of a recorded Black history be chronicled in the United States.

Only the Black Press mentioned if a Black person was

Pleading Our Own Cause

born, lived, died, got married, had children, graduated from school, or participated in any other human functions that are so critical to providing individuals and families with a sense of connectedness to their past, their roots, and a vision for who they are and what they hope their children are to become.

The first Black publishers knew that a race of people without a sense of history — without a knowledge of who they are, who their forebears were, and from whence they came — have little chance of navigating their way into a successful future.

This, then, is the importance of Black History… and by extension the critical importance of the Black Press which first chronicled and preserved that history. AlthoughFreedom’s Journal was to last only a few years it opened the journalistic door for other Black newspapers to follow in its footsteps soon after. The world of Black folks in America — or the world of the whites that wished to suppress them — would never again be the same due to the Black Press.

In the 19th century, even more than today, African-Americans were faced with a myriad of issues that had a direct and profound impact on the progress of the race … issues that needed to be addressed head on and forthrightly if a positive outcome was to be achieved. Primary among those issues was slavery (which Blacks could do little about at the time) and the issue of colonization, which they felt they had to do something about.

The Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, commonly called the American Colonization Society (ACS), was established in 1816 to ship free African-Americans to Liberia.

It was as an attempt to mollify two groups: The abolitionists who believed that the country would never allow free African-Americans to gain any sort of parity with whites and would be better off back in Africa, and slave owners who feared that free Blacks — just by their presence in the country — were a constant threat to the maintaining of slavery. Their mere presence gave slaves the notion that they too should one day be free. Any Blacks the slaveholders couldn’t own, they wanted gone from the country.

Liberia, which means “Land of the Free,” a colony on the coast of West Africa, was founded in 1817 by the ACS (with the assistance of the United States government) and the process of transporting free Blacks to the newly formed nation began soon thereafter. Mordecai M. Noah, the racist editor of the New York Enquirer was a strong supporter of the ACS and the “Back to Africa” movement and began a rabid campaign in his newspaper to encourage the forced removal of free Blacks from New York City, which, at the time, had over 40,000 free African-American citizens; the vast majority of whom did not want to leave America.

(Cont'd on Page 13)

By Charles Moseley and Bobby R. Henry, Sr. Historically, Black journalists have been at the forefront of the struggle for equal rights. Recording the accurate account alongside the freedom fighters in America’s history has been their cross to bear. Without Black journalists, the Black Press and the Black church, who could African Americans rely on to tell their story with truth, passion and integrity? From the Exodus in 1786, from white, St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia by Black parishioners to the very first Black owned newspaper, Freedom’s Journal founded by free born African Americans John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish on March 16, 1827 in New York City; we have been championed to “Pleading our own cause “ and telling our own stories by preaching liberation from the pulpits of our own churches.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

The Naked Truth: Marvelyn Brown in her very own words

BROWN The surprisingly hopeful story of how a straight, nonpromiscuous, everyday girl contracted HIV and how she manages to stay upbeat, inspired, and more positive about life than ever before.

At 19 years of age, Marvelyn Brown was lying in a stark white hospital bed at Tennessee Christian Medical Center, feeling hopeless. A former top track and basketball athlete, she was in the best shape of her life, but she was battling a sudden illness in the intensive care unit. Doctors had no idea what was going on. It never occurred to Brown that she might be HIV positive.

Having unprotected sex with her Prince Charming had set into swift motion a set of circumstances that not only landed her in the fight of her life, but also alienated her from her community. Rather than give up, however, Brown found a reason to fight and a reason to live.

The Naked Truth is an inspirational memoir that

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shares how an everyday teen refused to give up on herself, even as others would forsake her. More, it’s a cautionary tale that every parent, guidance counselor, and young adult should read.

Her humanitarian work earned her a 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding National PSA, BET’s Rap It Up campaign named Brown one of the 25 “HEROES” in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2009 she won the Do Something Award which resulted in her face and story on the back of millions of Nacho Cheese Doritos bags nationwide, and in 2010, she was inducted into The Heroes In The Struggle Photo Exhibit by The Magic Johnson Foundation and The Black AIDS Institute. She was named a Modern Day Black History month hero by BET and was honored by the New Jersey NETS in 2011 as part of their Black History Month honoring influential people initiative.

(Cont'd on Page 13) MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)

Page 2 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • February 19 - February 25, 2015

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

NNPA to observe 75th Anniversary From Tommy Wyatt, The Villager Planning is now underway for a big celebration to observe the founding of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) 75th anniversary. The NNPA was founded in 1940 when John H. Sengstacke of the Chicago Defender organized a meeting with other African American publishers designed for “harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism.”

The group decided to form the National Negro Publishers Association. In 1956 the trade association was renamed the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Today the NNPA VITAS COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS -- The Sickle Cell Disease Association of Broward County Inc. (SCDABC), held the first meeting of their newly elected Executive Board today(2-17-15) at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center. SCDABC Inc. was started in 1977 and continues to serve the needs of the residents of Broward County troubled with Sickle Cell Disease. Karen Smalls, immediate past president thanked the past board members for their support and commitment to SCDABC. She welcomed and thanked newly elected President/ Chairman Mike D. Payne for staying committed to the Sickle Cell cause, and for his willingness to serve. Payne previously served 12 years as Vice President of the Association. “We, the board members are so excited with the direction that President Payne’s leadership will take the association,” said Smalls. VITAS Community Connections, a division of VITAS Healthcare presents a check in the amount of $2,500 to Sickle Cell Disease Association of Broward County. VITAS Community Connections is a non-profit charitable organization. VITAS Community Connections extends support to community partners, local non-profits and organizations that share their mission of assisting patients and families. Pictured are: Mike D. Payne, President; Karen Smalls, Past President (Executive Director); Rosalind Pinder, Vice President; Rosetta B. Change, Treasurer; Sallie Burks-Finlayson, Recording Secretary; Bernadette Jefferson, Assistant Secretary; Mamie B. Smith, Chaplin; Donna Borland, General Manager-VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, Deborah Mizell, Community Liaison VITAS Innovative Hospice Care; Bobby R. Henry, Sr. Publisher/ CEO of the Westside Gazette newspaper whose parents Levi and Yvonne Henry were two of the founders of SCDABC; not present: Viola Linder, Lorraine Branker and Adrienne Williams. (Photo by Steve Vinik)

is composed of more than 200 Black Newspapers in the United States and the Virgin Islands.

It has a combined readership of 15 million and the organization has created an electronic news service, BlackPress USA (http:/ /www.Black PressUSA.com) web site, which enables newspapers to provide real-time news and information to its national and international constituency.

I was fortunate enough to meet Publisher Sengstacke and several of the founders of the organization who are no longer with us. But, I am honored to be following in their footsteps.

The Villager and The Nokoa newspapers of Austin are longtime members of the organization and will be participating

in the anniversary celebration.

While there will be a large, formal celebration at our June convention in Detroit, Mich., there will be several things going on leading up to that meeting.

As we celebrate Black History Month 2015, we will focus our attention on local history makers, but we also will focus on some of our national organizations.

South Florida meet Miguel Pilgram, entrepreneur extraordinaire

RECOGNIZING OUR GLORIOUS BLACK HISTORY ALL YEAR LONG Miguel, Esmeralda and Samuel Pilgram.

By Charles Moseley Any successful business person will attest that success in business results when preparedness meets opportunity.

Businesses use certain barometers to determine whether or not their business is heading in the right direction. In today’s uncertain economy, small businesses face a never ending battle to stay afloat, let alone flourish.

With those thoughts in mind, the Westside Gazette newspaper reached out to business owner Miguel Pilgram, the man behind The Pilgram Group, to learn more about one man’s journey into the business world.

In turn, he consented to an interview. Pilgram readily shared some insight into the path he’d traveled to ultimately become successful in a highly competitive real estate business arena.

Westside Gazette (WG): What were your formative years like growing up from a family perspective and also educationally?

Miguel Pilgram (MP): I was raised in a Navy family, father, sister, brother and I all did stints in the USN or are currently enlisted. My Dad was the very hardworking breadwinner; he always had two or three types of income. My mom was a strict academic and believed strongly in faith and education. They divorced when I was nine but my father was always in my life and available to me and my siblings.

WG: Would you care to add in more detail about yourself regarding family, professional endeavors, and things you enjoy doing aside from running a business?

MP: I am single with two children, Maya and Wesley, 15 and 20 respectively. Wesley has chosen the Navy as a career path. After leaving the Navy, I attended Tennessee State University, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering but left school to work in the cruise industry where I worked my way up to second in Command of Norwegian Cruise Lines Global Security and Compliance. I was there until we started the Pilgram Group in

2010 by purchasing our first properties at bottom of the real estate bubble. which has led us to a sizeable portfolio for such a small family owned entity. My hobbies include a high level of physical and mental fitness and preparedness. Boot Camp beach training, boxing, real estate - specifically making acquisitions operable and profitable; mentoring veterans and youth; Boys and Girls Clubs of America, rebuilding together Broward County, to name a few.

My role model are my parents, Matthew Lewis (Retired Navy Seal) and God. WG: Who would you say has been the greatest influence in your life?

MP: The greatest influence on my life would be my parents and my faith.

WG: What path has life taken you professionally?

MP: I went from a military environment to the global cruise industry then into real estate which encompasses what is now Pilgram Group, a family owned investment entity. The experiences have led me to run the family business according to strict guidelines from both financial and business perspectives. That global experience made me very appreciative of a variety of cultures and beliefs as well as giving me a global advantage in the direction of growing this business.

WG: What has been the most challenging aspect of your professional career?

MP: Understanding that drive and ambition are qualities we all have but to unlock these traits, will require a dif-

ferent motivation specific to each person.

WG: What do you consider your proudest moment so far professionally?

MP: Wow, proudest? I would say starting the Pilgram Group and continuing to see its growth makes me proud.

WG: How did you come to relocate to South Florida from Memphis, Tenn.?

MP: Previously, I served as head of Fleet Security program for Norwegian Cruise Lines globally and was appointed to a corporate management position in Miami in 2007. That appointment led to the move to South Florida. My career knowledge and opportunities multiplied exponentially upon my moving here, specifically from a professional and personal aspect.

WG: Reflecting back on your life, what have been your cornerstones to success?

MP: Simple, believe in something greater than you.

Believe in you. If you don’t go after what you want you’ll never get it. Closed mouths don’t get fed. Train your body and mind.

And finally, never forget no matter how tough the circumstances you can make it happen, today.

WG: What advice can you share on starting your own business?

MP: If money is the motivation it won’t last. If there is passion, then work towards an educated financial strategy to get it started and sustained.

Working with family is powerful if they are an asset to your business. Have an exit strategy.

Most importantly, never forget - pay success forward.

WG: As you continue your career are there some goals or future projects on the horizon?

MP: We’re very excited about a joint venture with Mercede Realty, in developing an old boat warehouse acquisition into a multi-use property at 100 S.W. Sixth St. in Fort Lauderdale next to Publix. The new-building will feature retail/office space and residential lofts as well as our second location for New York Subs & Wings. The development will be the first of its kind in that area and will further illustrate to the community the passion, quality, detail and commitment the Pilgram Group has become known for.

Grand opening of New York Subs and Wings.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

February 19 - February 25, 2015 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 3

Black History Month – Atime to know who you are

By Kevin P. Chavous As a very young boy, I would love to wake up on Saturday mornings and watch Tarzan starring Johnny Weissmuller. The programs were all reruns from the 1930’s and 40’s and they featured the main character leading, outsmarting and outfighting the savage native Africans as he roamed the jungle swinging from tree to tree.

One day, while watching Tarzan, my father said to me, “Son, you know that all Africans aren’t like that. In fact, mankind started in Africa and many African kings and queens ruled the world. We need to talk about real Africa.”

My father then took the time to talk about Egypt, the pyramids, how arithmetic and libraries were pioneered in Africa and that Ethiopia was the birthplace of man. My young mind was blown away. Up to that point, my entire perspec-

tive of Africa was based on Tarzan’s manipulation of all those dumb native Africans.

As I listened to my father and later thought about his words, I remember the feeling of desire to identify with African people - a feeling that I had never had. Before that moment, I had always wanted to identify with Tarzan, even though he didn’t look like me.

Little did I know that my world view had permanently changed on that day. My sense of who I was and where I came from had taken on new meaning: Pride. I was proud of my ancestry, though I didn’t quite know all of it. On that day, for me, a little bit of history went a long way. It also helped to spark my own desire to learn.

My Tarzan story has direct relevance to the importance of Black History and education.

Certainly, my belief in myself was nurtured by my parents.

But that nurturing was buttressed by learning about the

contributions made to the world by my ancestors and people who looked like me.

Today, far too many children of African descent living in America have no idea of the rich heritage associated with AfricanAmerican culture. Nor do they really know who they are. Their sense of history and identity extends about as far back as Jay Z’s first album or the dress that Rihanna wore last week. This lack of knowledge of one’s history is further complicated by the fact that nearly half the kids of color in our cities are dropping out of school and most that do graduate from high school are not proficient in reading and math.

It is hard to learn about one’s history when you are a challenged reader or writer. The link between education and knowing our history is inextricable. On the other hand, as happened with me, learning one’s history can be a powerful motivator to become even more educated.

CHAVOUS In my experience, the true value of Black History Month is that it gives us all an opportunity to learn and appreciate the rich and robust legacy of our forbearers; and, in the process, better understand ourselves. As historian John Henrik Clarke said, “History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day.

It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography. History tells a people where they have been and what they have been, where they are and what they are. Most important, history tells a people where they still must go, what they still must be. The relationship of history to the people is the same as the relationship of a mother to her child.”

At a time when so many of our kids are dealing with their identity, self worth and learning struggles, let’s find ways to ensure that the lessons learned during Black History Month help to transform people’s perceptions of themselves, the world around them and their place in that world.

Page 4 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • February 19 - February 25, 2015

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Some faith leaders victimize rape survivors again

By Jazelle Hunt, NNPA Washington Correspondent (Part Three) WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNPA) – Simone Oliver had always been called, as they say in the religious community. She was active in the Baptist church throughout her youth, playing piano for the youth choir and even ghostwriting sermons for several pastors as a teen. She loved Scripture, loved preaching, and loved God. For her, church was heaven-on-earth.

But it was also hell. At 15 years old, Oliver’s then-pastor called her into his church office, grabbed her, put his tongue in her mouth, and fondled her until she broke away. It was the third time in her life she had been sexually assaulted, already a rape survivor at 12 years old at the hands of her sister’s first husband, and again

Minister and full-time seminary student Simone Oliver turned her ministry to women and sexual assault in the church after being attacked by a fellow clergy member. at 13 by a family friend staying in her home.

Still, her faith did not waver.

In fact, it grew stronger as Oliver transitioned from being a public school teacher to a minister.

In the mid-2000s, she took on an associate pastor’s role at a non-denominational church in New Jersey. The founding pastor tried to court her for years until she finally acquiesced and the two began a secret relationship. However, a year later, he decided to marry someone else. Still, the affair continued.

“I couldn’t get out. It was almost like sinking into an abyss,” she remembered. “I had gone to someone in the church to let them know this was going on.

And they pretty much turned on me.”

And no group leans on the church more than Blacks.

“While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious

nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion’s importance in life,” according to a report titled, “A Religious Portrait of AfricanAmericans” by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Retired pastor and survivor, Sharon Ellis Davis now teaches seminary classes on race, gender, class, and sexual assault and abuse.

David Ruggles (1810-1849)

David Ruggles, abolitionist, businessman, journalist and hydrotherapist, was born in 1810 in Norwich, Conn. He attended the Sabbath School for the poor which admitted people of color starting in 1815. In 1827 he left Connecticut for New York City where he operated a grocery store for the next four years. He then quit the grocery business to open his own bookshop in early 1834.

Ruggles is generally known as the first African American

bookseller. While working at the bookstore he extended many publications and prints promoting the abolition of slavery and in opposition to the efforts of the American Colonization Society which promoted black settlement in Liberia. Ruggles also took on job printing, letterpress work, picture framing, and bookbinding to augment his income. In September 1835, a white anti-abolitionist mob burned his store.

In 1833 Ruggles began to travel across the Northeast promoting the Emancipator and Journal of Public Morals, an abolitionist weekly. Ruggles, who wrote articles and pamphlets and gave lectures denouncing slavery and Liberian colonization, made him a figure of rising prominence in abolitionist circles in the late 1830s.

Ruggles was also active on the Underground Railroad from 1835 to 1838. In 1835 when the New York Vigilance Committee was organized, Ruggles

Black Women are the Most Religious And among the most religiously committed, no segment is more committed than African-American women. The report found that 84 percent of Black women say religion is very important to them and 59 percent say they attend religious services at least once a week.

(Cont'd on Page 12) became the secretary of this rare interracial organization.

His work with the committee led to his involvement in numerous court cases where he helped organize the legal defense against fugitive slaves who had fled to the North.

The New York Vigilance Committee with the help of Ruggles intervened in over 300 cases of fugitive slaves in 1836, the first year of its existence. In September 1838 Ruggles took on the case of an escaped Maryland slave, Frederick Washington Bailey. Later Bailey changed his name to Frederick Douglas.

By 1842 David Ruggles was in such poor health that he was almost completely blind and his physician didn’t think he would live more than a few more weeks. Lydia Maria Child, a prominent white abolitionist, learned about Ruggles’ health and had him brought to Northampton, Massachusetts where the Northampton As-sociation of Education and Industry, composed of abolitionists, accepted him as a member.

(Cont'd on Page 12)

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

February 19 - February 25, 2015 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 5

Community Digest

Publix is Proud to Support Community News WHERE SHOPPING IS A PLEASURE

Celebration

Rock Road Restoration Historical Group, Inc., is hosting its Seventh Annual Black History Event; this event will be in conjunction with Broward County 100th Year Celebration, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 from 4 to 8 p.m., at E. Pat Larkins Center, 20 MLK Blvd., Pompano Beach, Fla. Mr. Bill Clark, Broward County First African American Florida House of Representative, is the keynote speaker. For ticket info call (954) 943-6511.

Classes Reigns and Pours Creations Company to host two free classes, Monday, Feb. 23 and Monday, March 30, 2015 from 5 to 6 p.m. and/or 6 to 7 p.m., at West Regional Library, 8601 W. Broward Blvd., Plantation, Fla. For additional info call Ms. Gresham at debra.gresham1@gmail.com or (954) 604-1155.

Luncheon

South Broward Alumnae Chapter’s Real Shoe Luncheon, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at 11 a.m., at Hillcrest Golf & Country Club, 4600 Hillcrest Dr., Hollywood, Fla. Attire: Red shoes with Black and/or white attire requested. For more info (954) 303-3585 or info@dstouthbroward.org/ h t t p : / / www.dstsouthbroward.org

Meeting

Dillard High School of 1966 Meeting the Third of each month, from 7 to 8 p.m., at Oswald Park 2220 N.W. 21 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info contact Marralyn Davus at (954) 587-7472 or Hattie Eckford at (954) 7350404.

Happenings at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderale, Fla. · Saturday, Feb. 21 – at 1 p.m., a Book Signing, Holocaust · Thursday, Feb. 19 – from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Resume writing · Saturday, Feb. 21 – from 2 to 5 p.m., Participants will discuss Hidden Colors 2 in the context of To Kill a Mockingbird. · Saturday, Feb. 21 – from 2 to 4 p.m., A Spoken Word Explosion/Poetry Slam.

Poetry Workshop and performance for teens. Pre-registration required, call (954) 3576209 or inquire in the Youth Service section on the 2nd floor. · Thursday, Feb. 26- from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Job Resources · Saturday, Feb. 28 – from 2 to 5 p.m., participants will discuss Hidden Color 3 · Saturday, Feb. 28 – at 3 p.m., informative and entertaining program in recognition of Black History Month. Reflecting different cultures both in person and in subject matter, Rabbi Henry of Temple Haim and Pastor Henry Green of Mount Hermon Church will discuss slavery in Egypt and America. Bishop/Dr. George Peart, a published author on slavery, will add his insights to the presentation. Pastor Gene Townsel of the Source Christian Fellowship will sing several uplifting and spiritual songs at the program. The joyful Mount Hermon Church Choir will perform and Alexander Mikchaylovsky will play haunting Holocaust melodies on his violin.

This is event Free. · Free Homework Help: After school help with homework for grades K-12, from 3 to 5 p.m. For more info call (954) 357-657. (Only homework and educational games are allowed on Children’s and Teen computers during homework help hours.

For additional info for Free classes being offered at the other library locations call (954) 3576236.

The City of Fort Lauderdale Black History Events

The City of Fort Lauderdale invites the community to celebrate Black History Month with the following events: · Kijiji Moja, Saturday, Feb. 21, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Carter Park, 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 828-5411. · Sistrunk Parade & Festival, Saturday, Feb. 28 – Parade starts from 9-11 a.m., on Sistrunk Blvd., from N.W. Ninth to N.W. 22 Ave., the Festival starts at noon to 9 p.m., at Mills Ponds Park, 2201 N.W. Ninth Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 687-3477 or www.sistrunkfestival.org · Relax at Friday Night Tunes, enjoy a Free concert with a broad range of musical varieties featuring a different live performance each month.

Friday Night Tunes takes place on the third Friday of each of month from 7 to 10 p.m., at Joseph C. Carter Park, 1450 Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Randy Corinathian kicks off Friday Night Tunes, Friday, Feb. 20. Bring your chairs and blankets and snacks to relax under the stars. For more info call (954) 828-5363

Seminar

BrightStar Credit Union’s Free financial and investment monthly seminars Credit Matters – Understanding Your Credit Score, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at 2400 Davie Rd., Davie, Fla. and Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at 1600 S. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach, Fla. For more info call (945) 487-2728 ext. 5017.

Broward College Celebrates Black History Month

Throughout February, Broward College will celebrate Black History Month with several events on its campuses. · The Middle Passage and Beyond, Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m., at Broward College N. Campus, 1000 Coconut Creek Blvd., Coconut Creek, Omni Auditorium. For more info call Oluyinka Tella at (954) 2012033. · African Skylore, Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m., at A Huge Adams Central Campus, 3501 Davie Rd., Davie Buehler Planetarium and Observatory.

For more info call Susan Barnett at (954) 201-6681. · Black is Beautiful with Stan Pearson, Wednesday, Feb. 25, from noon to 2 p.m., at A. Hugh Adams Central Campus, 3501 Davie Rd. Davie, Bldg. 3, Room 100. For more info call Jose Lopez at (954) 201-6236 or jlopez1@broward.edu. · Herbs, Drums and Witch Doctors: Traditional African Medicine and Contemporary Black Practices, Thursday, Feb. 26, at 11 a.m., at Judson A. Samuels S. Campus, 7200 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, Student Activity Center. For more info contact Carlos Parra at (954) 201-8997 or cparra@broward.edu. · African Continent Festival, Thursday, Feb. 26, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., at Broward College N. Campus, 1000 Coconut Creek, Omni Auditorium. For more info contact Oluyinka Tella at (954) 201-2033 or otella@broward.edu. · Afro Diaries, Thursday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m., at Judson A. Samuels S. Campus, 7200 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, Performing Cultural Arts Theater (PCAT), Building 68b. For tickets info call (954) 201-8243 or visit http://www/bspca.org.

For additional info contact Angela Nicoletti at (954) 2017939 or anicolet@broward.edu.

ATTENTION RADIO LISTENERS

We have free gifts for everybody who calls into the show and shares their opinion. Listen every Saturday at 4 p.m. to Spiritual Downloads with Anna Stephenson on WWNN Radio AM 1470. It’s a live Call in talk show that discusses everything from Spiritual Matters to what matters to you. The show can also be heard on the Internet at wwnnradio.com; just click on the listen live button.

Your voice is the most important part of the show. So call in and let us hear what you have to say. The toll free call in number is 1888-565-1470. Also e-mail Anna Stephenson at annasmiami@aol.com with a subject you want to hear dis-cussed on the show. The show al-so interviews special guests Like Jessica Reedy from Sunday Best. Shelia Raye Charles, Melba Moore and different preachers and gospel musical artists and politicians.

Black History Month Events

· Village Dialogue: Miami’s Black World Community’s Pre sence and Future Thursday, Feb. 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at South Dade Library, 10750 S.W. 211th St., Cutler Bay · Ankara Miami presents Africa Fashion Week, Thursday, Feb. 19 - Sunday, Feb. 22 - various locations. Tickets can be purchase at AnkaraMiamiFashionWeek.com.

Event lineup: · Thursday, Feb. 19, VIP Meet & Greet, private location · Friday, Feb. 20, Runway Showcase, Toyota of North Miami (ticketed event) · Saturday, Feb. 21, Runway Showcase, Kovens Conference Center (ticketed event) · Sunday, Feb. 22, Ankara Miami Pop-Up Shop, Alessandra Gold Concept Store · Miami Dade College’s African-American Closing Celebration Thursday, Feb. 26, from 5:40 to 7 p.m., at MDC W. Campus, 3800 N.W. 115th Ave, Room 1102, Miami, Fla. Black Tech Week · February 23 - 28 - Miami Dade College North Campus, 11380 N.W. 27th Ave., Miami, Fla. For info and registration details, visit BlackTechWeek.com. · Black History Month Heritage Tour, Saturday, Feb. 28, from 8 a.m. and at 1 p.m., at The Historic Lyric Theater, 819 N.W. Second Ave, Miami the Black Archives History & for info, call (786) 708-4610.

Tickets can be purchased at miamiblackhistorytours.eventbrite.com. · An Evening of Praise: Our Story Through Song · Saturday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m., at Mt. Hermon Missionary Baptist Church, 17800 N.W. 25th Ave., Miami Gardens. Fla. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com/e/ evening-of-praise-our-storythrough-song-tickets15524530288. · Caribe Film Fest February 27 - 28 - Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 N.E. 59th Terr, Miami.

Visit CaribFilmFest.com for more info. · Art of Haiti and Quebec at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. More than 20 artists from Quebec and Haiti are featured in an exhibit showcasing paintings and sculptures of great cultural diversity.

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Classes

Free SAT & ACT Prep at Regional Libraries program schedule 2015 All Sessions mandatory attendance · Session 1: SAT/ACT Grammar and Reading Techniques and Strategies · Session 2: SAT/ACT Grammar and Reading Practice · Session 3: SAT/ACT Math Techniques and Strategies · Session 4: SAT/ACT Math Practice and Science Techniques and Strategies · Session 5: SAT/ACT Science Practice and Essay Techniques and Strategies North Regional Library – (954) 201-2600 Session 3: from 5 to 7 p.m. · Saturday, Feb. 21 – Session 4: from 12 to 2:30 p.m. · Tuesday, Feb. 24 – Session 5: from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Carnival

The City of Lauderdale Lakes will host its Seventh Annual Black History Month Parade & Community Carnival, “Who We Are”, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015 at 9 a.m., at Willie Webb Sr. Park, Northwest 37th Ave., and Northwest 23rd St., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. If you would like to participate in the parade visit our website at www.lauderdalelakes.org or (954) 535-2785.

Event

Spring Party, Run & Rally for Teen Dating Violence Awareness, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at 1901 N.W. 49 Ave., Lauderhill, Fla. For more info contact Mizanne Laud at (954) 7609800 x 1215. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, please join Lauderhill 6-12 to help spread awareness to our community.

Voter Registration Drive

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Chi Psi Omega Chapter’s Connection Committee will sponsor a voter registration drive Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lincoln Park, 1800 N.W. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale. For additional information, call (954) 410-6673,visit the chapter’s website, Chipsiomega@info.org or on Face Book.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Page 6 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • February 19 - February 25, 2015

Opinion

The Westside Gazette, under the Management of BI-ADs, Inc., reserves the right to publish Views and Opinions by Contributing Writers may not necessarily reflect those of the Staff and Management of The Westside Gazette Newspaper and are solely the product of the responsible individual(s) who submit comments published in this newspaper.

“Harmonies of Hope”

By Pastor Rasheed Z Baaith “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” (Psalm 31:24) Black History Month should be one in which there is inspiration as we look back on our past and anticipation as we look into our future. We need to understand that our past has not anchored us, our present situations are not permanent and we hold the determination of our future.

To that end it is my intention to bring attention to folks, events and organizations that we are not ordinarily aware of but focused on recognizing the usually untapped talents of our children, the capacity we have to better our community and who have decided to do what needs to be done even if they have to do it alone.

The leaders of Harmonies of Hope are part of the new vanguard. Harmonies of Hope is a school of music and performing arts but one different from most. I think their website tells us what they understand that many of

Carrying the burden of history

By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA Columnist In observance of Black History Month, I believe it is important to highlight some of those long lasting institutions and entities that have continued to serve the empowerment interests of Black America for over the past 200 years. Too often some of us forget too quickly about the historical groups and social bridges that have helped to bring Black America across troubled and perilous waters during the last two centuries.

One group that immediately comes to mind is known today as the Grand Lodge of Prince Hall Masons. They have grown exponenCHAVIS tially from their first lodge in Boston in 1787 to numerous masonic lodges throughout the United States.

Without a lot of external fanfare or public boasting about the accomplishments of Prince Hall Masons, the facts are that this organization of skilled and talented “Brothers” have been consistent in contributing to the long protracted progress of Black America.

The living legacy of Prince Hall is still focused on the mission of providing leadership of high moral character, charitable assistance to those in need, and steadfast support of freedom, justice, equality and empowerment for Black Americans and all people.

Who was Prince Hall? He was one of the earliest Black abolitionists against the slavery of African people in America in the mid-1700s. He was a Free Black leader in Boston who was proud of his African ancestry and committed to improve the quality of life of African people during the early founding years of the United States. Prince Hall was a Black American freedom fighter who, like Crispus Attucks, fought bravely in the Revolutionary War. Prince Hall was one of the first Black Americans to be made a mason in America on March 6, 1775 in Boston. Interestingly, he and 14 other Black men initially established and named their first lodge: African Lodge #1 on July 3, 1776, one day before the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted and issued on July 4, 1776.

Once again this was a bold historic move by Hall and his masonic brothers with the clear unambiguous intention to stand up and work for African liberation and empowerment as a sacred fraternity.

us do not. We read: “There is a resource of undiscovered talent that exists within the economically disBAAITH advantaged community. Those resources that enable children to excel must not be lost. Harmonies of Hope, Inc. is reaching into those communities to provided an opportunity that otherwise might not have been available to them.”

I could not agree more. Harmonies of Hope is under the leadership of Seraetha Berry-Virtanen, who is the president of the school and her husband Lance Virtanen, who is program director. Their vision is a compelling one. They believe there is a need for “harmony.” “There has to be a blend of people, cultures, and music. Our purpose to provide arts for young people ages seven-18 and do it regardless of an ability to pay. We believe music is a help and our school provides avenues for expression and development to children,” Ms. Berry-Virtanen said.

The school is three years old and is in Joseph C. Carter Park, holding classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. There are classes in instruments, dance, vocals, drama but the vision of the school is for it to be a “complete performing arts school.” One of the school’s hopes is to have classes in violin, piano, woodwinds, jazz, commercial music, engineering, and the recording process.

And at some point adding the visual arts.

The vision sounds expensive and it is but the leadership of Harmonies of Hope are determined to bring the vision to a reality despite the cost. To help make the dream real, the Virtanens have started their own coffee company, the proceeds of which will go to underwriting the costs of the school. The company is named “Harmonies Brew.” How many Black people do we know that own a coffee company? How many of us even imagine owning a coffee company?

Harmonies of Hope and “Harmonies Brew” are an expression of is the shift in thinking that today’s social realities require. Not only do we have to recognize and analyze our problems but evolve financial strategies to impact them. But even as we value this thoughtful appraisal, we need to understand there should be a collective effort. At some point Black people need to understand that anything of value must be paid for in time and in money. We need to begin to support efforts like the Harmonies of Hope School even if we give just 10 dollars a month. After all if 100 of us gave 10 dollars a month, the school would have an additional $1,000.00 for the students. If we don’t value each other’s labors no one else will. And no one else should.

Take your children over to Harmonies of Hope for the classes and please take $10 with you. Think about it.

More evidence of Obama’s hostility toward HBCUs

By George E. Curry, NNPA Columnist As if we needed any more evidence, President Obama’s recent meeting with members of the ConCURRY gressional Black Caucus revealed a deep-seated hostility toward the plight of struggling Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

According to Lauren Victoria Burke’s Black Caucus blog, CrewOf42.com, “President Obama was critical of Historically Black Colleges and Universities during a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus this week according to several in attendance. The February 10 meeting was the first group gathering with the Black Caucus and the President since June 2013.”

It continued, “Several who attended the meeting indicated that President Obama felt that the focus of HBCU’s needs to be on the schools changing their ways of doing business rather [than] on changes in federal policy.

Those who attended said he was specifically critical of graduation rates and loan policies. The President also spoke to CBC members on his free community college plan which some HBCU advocates believe will hurt HBCUs.” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), a graduate of Clark Atlanta University, told Burke, “He [Obama] said there were some HBCUs that were not good at graduating students and if they did not improve they’d have to go by the wayside. In other words he didn’t show much empathy for struggling HBCUs. It was like show me the numbers and if the numbers aren’t where they need to be, that’s it. It was a somewhat callous view of the unique niche HBCUs fill.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) said, “I was concerned about what the President said because it feeds into a narrative about the value of these institutions and whether they are [equipped] to educate our students and what the cost is for doing so.

“Many of these institutions have not had a maintenance of effort on the part of states or the federal government and over time that wears on their ability to maintain standards or even advance beyond a certain level.

It was very clear that he doesn’t have the same level of appreciation for what these institutions have done and could do in the future given the right support systems.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Will Florida’s tax-credit voucher system hurt public schools?

By Roger Caldwell In the African American community, a quality education is a challenge, and, in certain lo- CALDWELL cations, non-existent. Black and minority schools are battlegrounds, and many of the students are so far behind that teachers don’t care because they will never catch up. As a result, schools operate as holding centers to keep the children off the streets while their parents go to work.

The Florida school system has many problems, and Governor Scott is a proponent of choice, and an advocate for the tax-credit voucher system. There are many different components to the Florida’s tax-credit voucher system, and many Black church schools, charter schools, home schools and online schools support the voucher system.

The public schools are not teaching the students in certain locations, and it makes sense for parents to choose a different system.

At the present time, there is a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s Tax-Credit Scholarship Program, and being heard in front of Leon County Circuit Judge, George Reynolds. The lawsuit against the program was filed in August by the Florida Education Association, the Florida League of Women Voters, and other school groups.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Don’t forget Malcolm X in 50th anniversary celebrations

By Ron Daniels, NNPA Columnist The 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the Selma to Montgom- DANIELS ery March, and the passage of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s role in these events is correctly capturing the imagination of Black America. However, there is another set of events that should also receive attention of our people. This year also marks the 50th memorial of the assassination of Malcolm X; it is also the year of his 90th birthday.

It seems odd that very little attention is being devoted to the anniversary dates of the life and legacy of such an extraordinary leader. It is as if Black America is gripped by a case of historical amnesia. But this is not the first time we’ve suffered from the disorder.

On Feb. 21, 1990, more than 3,000 people jammed into the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem for the 25th memorial of the assassination of ElHajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X. (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

To Be Equal Are there answers to History exposes the politics of discrimination in law reconnect the divide From Malcolm X to El-Hajj between the police and Malik El-Shabazz the United States of America.

By Derek Joy Behind the manipulation of South

By Marc H. Morial, Carolina’s Congressional Delegation, the Black communities?

Black History Month NNPA Columnist (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

noted the last of three Holidays - President’s Day. Next year will be the eighth and final time Black History Month JOY will be celebrated with the first Black American President in office.

That’s right. It took from 1787 to 2008 - 221 years - for America to elect its first Black American President. And the devil got extra busy as racism took all sorts of twists and turns.

Sure. The twists and turns are historical, some legendary.

For instance, members of the 13 Colonies formed the Continental Army to fight for its freedom from England.

Defied the premise of “Divine Right To Rule.” Didn’t want to be subjects of The Crown and that went with it.

After winning that freedom with a victory in the Revolutionary War, first thing the Farmers did was draft and approve the Constitution as the governing document of the Republic of

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES The Westside Gazette welcomes your letters. Letters must be signed with name clearly legible along with a phone number and complete address. No unsigned or anonymous letters will be considered for publication. The Westside Gazette reserves the right to edit letters. The letters should be 500 words or less.

the Three-Fifths Clause was duly included to, not only legalize slavery, but award slave-owners three votes for every five slaves they owned.

Precisely the way the politics of discrimination in law is blatant. The Jim Crow Laws simply made the blatant acts more obvious.

The blatant acts of discrimination was also obvious in religion, where Black Americans were first denied the opportunity to worship, then allowed too as second-class children of God. A much worse example is reflected in the reign of terror perpetrated against Black Americans by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). They operated under the guise of Christian soldiers.

“Christianity is the reason for racism and injustice. What you see with the KKK is the sanctification of racism. They wrapped up racism in the American flag in the name of Christianity,” said Rev. Dr. Zachary Royal, pastor of St. Mary’s First Missionary Baptist Church in Coconut Grove.

A step further, you see even more discrimination in the as perpetrated by those who make the laws.

Take a look at the First Amendment, which covers freedom of speech. . .

Contrary to what is implied, freedom of speech has severe restrictions in the public and private sectors.

The Florida State Legislature shackles its members. They are not allowed to make statements to the media without first being cleared by the pecking order. Those who dare make uncensored statements to the media face dire consequences.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Written by Dr. Phillip L. Wright Ph.D. There is a serious race devide in education, jobs, housing and other social opportunities for African AWRIGHT mericans. Whenever there are less well trained or educated minorities, it creates disperities in those who are less fortunate by not having the opportunities to improve and empower themselves. This is one reason for crime and murder in many African American communities.

It will take some time and efforts to begin to solve these type of problems.

First, we must recognize and admit there are double standards between Blacks, whites and Hispanics that need serious dialog between their leaders and the communities. Blacks, whites, Hispanics and others included need to work together. A problem cannot be solved without the participation of those who are the less fortunate or poor and due to institutionalized racism perpetuating the problems.

Those who are victimized have lost their hope of any accomplishments to improve their lives for the better. We all see what the problems are, but we all must admit and agree openly about what problems we have that are effecting all of us. We must make the effort to begin creating solutions to solve the problems that are deviding our communities and the police.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

“You may be shocked by these words coming MORIAL from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it.” – Malcolm X, Letter from Mecca, April 1964 There is perhaps no American civil rights leader who generated as many divergent opinions as Malcolm X. As we near the 50th anniversary of his assassination on Feb. 21, 1965, our nation will inevitably scrutinize his life, his work and his lasting impact on our country and our continuous struggle to address racial inequality and its heinous consequences.

Depending on one’s perspective or politics, Malcolm X was a hatemonger filled with a blind, race-based rage.

Another view paints him as an inspiring figure, pulling himself up from a life of crime to become a leading human rights figure. I would put forth the view that Malcolm X was much more than any one-dimensional interpretation of his life or its seminal moments and that he was a man who literally and figuratively journeyed far in his short 39 years – reinventing himself countless times along the way.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

AF amily T hat Prays T ogether, Stays T ogether Family That Together, Together

Church Directory

Worship T his and Every Sunday at the Church of Your Choice This

Bethel Missionary Baptist Church 2211 N.W. 7th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33061 Church: (954) 583-9368 Email: bethelmbchurchfl@att.net

Reverend Jimmy L. English

February 19 - February 25, 2015 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 7

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1161 NW 29th Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33311 (954) 581-0455 ● Fax: (954) 581-4350 www.mtzionmissionarybapt.com

WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Worship Service .............................................................................. 8:00 & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ............................................................................................................... 10:00 a.m.

Communion Service (1st Sunday) ......................................................................... 11:00 a.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting ........................................................................... 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study ................................................................................... 7:00 p.m.

Saturday (2nd & 4th) Growth & Orientation ........................................................... 9 a.m.

But be doers of the Word - James 1:22 nkjv - “A Safe Haven, and you can get to Heaven from here”

St. Ruth Missionary Baptist Church 145 NW 5th Avenue Dania Beach, FL 33004 Office: (954) 922-2529

WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Worship ............................................................. 8 a.m. & 11 a.m.

Sunday School ........................................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday (Prayer Service & Bible Study) ............................... 7:30 a.m.

Saturday (Women Bible Study) ............................................................ 8 a.m.

"Baptized Believers working together to do the will of God"

Bishop Victor T. Curry Senior Pastor/Teacher WORSHIP SERVICES

6201 NW 57 Street Tamarac, FL 33319 954-721-1232 uccfaith@bellsouth.net faithbroward.org "Historically the First Church in the City of Tamarac!”

Rev. Dr. Ileana Bosenbark, Senior Pastor WEEKLY SERVICES & EVENTS SUNDAY Worship Service (Communion 1st & 3rd Sunday) ........................................................... 10 a.m.

F.A.I.T.H. Academy for Children (Spiritual Formation) K-12 ................................ 10 a.m.

TUESDAY F.A.I.T.H. Academy for Adults (Spiritual Formation) - Office Complex ...... 10:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY Worship & Arts Ministry Rehearsals (Open Auditions) - Sanctuary .............................. 7 p.m.

First Baptist Church Piney Grove, Inc. 4699 West Oakland Park Blvd.

Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33313 Office: (954) 735-1500 Fax: (954) 735-1939 fbcpg@bellsouth.net

Rev. Dr. Derrick J. Hughes, Pastor SUNDAY SERVICES Worship Services .......................................................... 7:30 & 10:45 a.m.

Children's Church ........................................................ 7:30 & 10:45 a.m.

Communion (First Sunday) ......................................... 7:30 & 10:45 a.m.

New Members' Class .................................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Church School .............................................................................. 9:30 a.m.

Baptist Training Union (BTU) .................................................... 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ...................................... 11:15 a.m.. & 7:00 p.m.

Harris Chapel United Methodist Church Rev. Juana Jordan, M.Div E-MAIL:juana.jordan@flumc.org 2351 N.W. 26th Street Oakland Park, Florida 33311 Church Telephone: (954) 731-0520 Church Fax: (954) 731-6290

SERVICES Sunday Worship ................................................. 7:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday School .............................................................................. 9:00 a.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ........................................... 11a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mount Calvary Baptist Church

800 N.W. 8th Avenue Pompano Beach, Florida 33060 Church Telephone: (954) 943-2422 Church Fax: (954) 943-2186 E-mail Address: Mtcalvarypompano@bellsouth.net

Reverend Anthony Burrell, Pastor SCHEDULE OF SERVICES SUNDAY

New Member Orientation ........................... 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School ................................................ 9:30 a.m.

Worship Service ........................................ 11:00 a.m.

WEDNESDAY Prayer Meeting ............................................... 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study ..................................................... 7:00 p.m.

Bible Study (Wednesday Night) ...................................................... 6:45 p.m.

Sunday School .............................................................................. 8:45 a.m.

Sunday Morning Service ............................................................. 10:00 a.m.

Obituaries Evangelist Kathleen Simmons offi-

A Good Shepherd's ciating.

Funeral Home Roy Mizell & Kurtz INGRAM Funeral Home Funeral services for the late Larry Darnell Ingram – 63 were held Feb. 3 at New Mount Olive Baptist Church with Dr. Marcus D. Davidson officiating. Interment: South Florida National Cemetery, Lake Worth, Fla.

James C. Boyd Funeral Home LORDEUS Funeral services for the late Princess Sherlanda Lordeus – 14 were held Feb. 15 at Shekina Seventh-Day Adventist Church with Pastor Bienvenu Theodore officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

MATHURN Funeral services for the late Jeanne Mathurn - 55 were held Feb. 15 at Shekina Seventh-Day Adventist Church with Pastor Bienvenu Theodore officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

McWhite's Funeral Home

"Doing God's Business God's Way, With a Spirit of Excellence"

New Birth Baptist Church The Cathedral of Faith International Bishop Victor T. Curry, M.Min., D.Div. Senior Pastor/Teacher 2300 N.W. 135th Street Miami, Florida 33167

ORDER OF SERVICES Sunday Worship ........................................................ 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Sunday School ....................................................................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday (Bible Study) ......................................................................................... 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ............................................................................... 10:45 a.m.

1-800-254-NBBC * (305) 685-3700 (o) *(305) 685-0705 (f) www.newbirthbaptistmiami.org

New Mount Olive Baptist Church 400 N.W. 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale 33311 (954) 463-5126 ● Fax: (954) 525-9454 CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Monday - Friday 8:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Marcus D. Davidson, Senior Pastor WORSHIP SERVICES & BIBLE STUDY Sunday .................................................... 7:15 a.m. 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ............................................................................ 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday Noonday Service .................................. 12:00-12:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting ............................................ 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study ................................................... 7:00 p.m.

Where the kingdom of God is increased through Fellowship.

Leadership, Ownership and Worship F.L.O.W. To Greatness!

WORSHIP THIS AND EVERY SUNDAY AT THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE

“PRAYER IS THE ANSWER” 644-646 NW 13th Terrace Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 (954) 462-5711(Ministry Office Line) (954) 462-8222(Pastor’s Direct Line) Email: wm_cme@bellsouth.net (Church} pastorCal50@yahoo.com (Pastor)

Rev. Cal Hopkins.

M.Div) Senior Pastor/Teacher

Rev. Dr. James B. Darling, Senior Pastor

PASTOR

Faith United Church of Christ

Williams Memorial CME

BETHEL Funeral services for the late David Roosevelt Bethel - 91 were held Feb. 12 at Friendship Baptist Church with Rev. Robert Ingram officiating. Interment: West Lawn Memorial Park.

EFIONAYI Funeral services for the late Kathleen M. Efionayi 85 were held Feb. 14 McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Kenneth Ferguson officiating.

HARRIS Funeral services for the late Erma Lorraine Harris 85 were held Feb. 14 at New Bethel Primitive Baptist Church with Elder J.R. Monney officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

THOMAS Funeral services for the late Mattie Mae Thomas - 72 were held Feb. 14 at Friendship Baptist Church with

HUGHES Funeral services for the late Deacon Bernice Brown Hughes - 83 were held Feb. 14 at First Baptist Church Piney Grove.

ROBINS Funeral services for the late Veronica Marie Gray – Robins - 54 were held Feb. 14 at The House of God Church with Trial Bishop Charlene M. Jaminson officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Announce Obituaries * Memoriams * Services

The WITNESS of “The WILL” Sunday Worship Experiences ................................................................ 7:45 and 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ................................................................................................................. 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday Night Triumph {Prayer, Praise and Power} Prayer Meeting ................................................................................................................ 7:00 p.m.

Bible Study ........................................................................................................................ 7:30 p.m.

We STRIVE to PROVIDE Ministries that matter TODAY to Whole Body of Christ, not only the Believers, but also for those stranded on the “Jericho Road”!

“Celebrating over 85 Years of FAITH and FAVOR! Come to the WILL ... We’ll show You the WAY: Jesus the Christ!”

RichardAllenBiography Civil Rights Activist, Minister, Journalist (1760–1831) Minister, educator and writer Richard Allen was born into slavery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 14, 1760. He converted to Methodism at age 17, and bought his freedom in 1783. In 1816, he founded the first national Black church in the United States, the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

He became an activist and abolitionist whose writings inspired Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. He died in 1831.

Younger Years Known as “Negro Richard,” Allen and his family were sold Allen to a Delaware farmer, Stokeley Sturgis, in 1767.

Allen converted to Metho- Railroad” for Blacks fleeing sladism at the age of 17, after very. hearing a white itinerant Founding the African MetMethodist preacher rail against hodist Episcopal Church In 1799, Allen became the slavery. His owner, who had already sold Richard’s mother first African American to be and three siblings, also con- ordained in the ministry of the verted and eventually allowed Methodist Episcopal Church.

Richard and his brother to pur- Then, in 1816, with support chase their freedom for $2,000 from representatives from other Black Methodist each.

After attaining his freedom, churches, Allen founded the Richard took the last name “Al- first national Black church in len” and returned to Philadel- the United States, the African phia. There, he worked at odd Methodist Episcopal Church, jobs, as a shoemaker and as and became its first bishop. Tomanager of a chimney-sweep- day, the AME Church boasts more than 2.5 million meming company.

Early Religious and Social bers.

Understanding the power of Work Allen soon joined St. an economic boycott, Allen George’s Methodist Episcopal went on to form the Free ProChurch, where Blacks and duce Society, where members whites worshiped together. would only purchase products There, he became an assistant from non-slave labor, in 1830. minister and conducted prayer With a vision of equal treatmeetings for Blacks. Frustrated ment for all, he railed against with the limitations the church slavery, influencing civil rights placed on him and Black pa- leaders such as Frederick Dourishioners, in 1787 Allen left glass and Martin Luther King the church with the intention Jr. of creating an independent Methodist church.

That same year, along with the Reverend Absalom Jones, Allen helped found the Free African Society, a non-denominational religious mutual-aid society dedicated to helping the Black community. A century later, NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois called the FAS “the first wavering step of a people toward organized social life.”

In 1794, Allen and 10 other Black Methodists founded the February 11 - Today in Bethel Church, a Black Episcopal meeting, in an old Black1996, Penn’s Bacsmith’s shop. Bethel Church calaureate Speaker was became known as “Mother Betthe Right Reverend Barhel” because it birthed the Afbara Clementine Harris, rican Methodist Episcopal a Philadelphian who was Church (1816). Helped by his wife, Sarah, Allen helped to the first woman ever to hide escaped slaves. The basebecome a bishop in the ment of the Bethel Church was Anglican Communion. a stop on the “Underground

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

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Having worked with organizations for a long time we know that nonprofits are often overwhelmed by the information funders want to see in a proposal. We could feel their pain, and almost read their minds, “What??##@@?!??”

And yet we thought it was an important question: funders want to know the extent to which an organization invests in its people, and builds the capacity to address community needs in an ever-changing environment. People are at the core of the nonprofit sector, and investments in people are a sign of organizational health. Exposing employees and volunteers to best practices encourages each to grow to their highest level.

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WASHINGTON (NNPA) – In a system that is often overlooked by the public and misused by law enforcement, Blacks account for more than one-third (36 percent) of the jail population, according to a new report from the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonpartisan research and policy group.

The report titled, Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America, details the practices and policies that funnel a disproportionate number of Black men and women in and out and back into jails.

In the introduction to the report, Nicholas Turner, the president and director of the Vera Institute, wrote that jails are necessary for some people, but too often ordinary people are “held for minor violations such as driving with a suspended license, public intoxication, or shoplifting because they cannot afford bail as low as $500.”

The report said that roughly 75 percent of sentenced offenders and those awaiting trial in jail were there on nonviolent traffic, property, drug, or public order offenses. And while they sit, life goes on without them. Bills pile up, rent goes unpaid and hourly wage workers watch paychecks shrink or they just get fired.

Turner added: “Single parents may lose custody of their children, sole wage-earners in families, their jobs – while all of

African Americans account for 25 percent of the 12 million jail admissions every year. (Wikimedia Commons) us, the taxpayers, pay for them to stay in jail.”

In everyday dialogue, people often use “jails” and “prisons” interchangeably, but these tools of the criminal justice system serve distinct purposes.

“Unlike state prisons, which almost exclusively hold people serving state sentences, jail populations are heterogeneous, making them particularly challenging to manage,” the report said.

Pretrial detainees, locally and state sentenced inmates, apprehended pretrial or sentenced inmates from other jurisdictions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees all bunk in local jails, while local jurisdictions collect fees. Sentences can range from a few hours to months for more serious offenses or overcrowding at other facilities.

But just like mass incarceration in prisons was sparked by the War on Drugs, the growth in the jail population also soared because of drug arrests.

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February 19 - February 25, 2015 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 9

Jayne Kennedy sportscaster James Arthur Baldwin, the grandson of slaves and roles in seven movies. In 1978, she was one of the first women to infiltrate the maledominated world of sports announcing with a role on The NFL Today.

In the early 1980s, she produced exercise videos; however, she was later diagnosed with Jayne Kennedy (born Jane Harrison on Oct. 27, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is an American actress, model and sportscaster.

Jayne was crowned Miss Ohio USA 1970 (she was the first African American woman to win the title), and was one of the 10 semi-finalists in the 1970 Miss USA pageant. It was rare for an African American woman at that time to be in the contest.

While starting her modeling career, she met Leon Isaac Kennedy, who was a DJ and a struggling actor/writer. They fell in love and married in 1970. Motown’s Smokey Robinson served as best man at the wedding.

They moved to California to pursue careers in acting. During the 1970s, she had over 10 notable TV guest appearances

“I knew I was Black, of course, but I also knew I was smart.

I didn’t know how I would use my mind, or even if I could, but that was the only thing I had to use." -- James Baldwin Endometriosis. She and Kennedy were divorced in 1982; she married actor Bill Overton in 1985.

In spite of the prior problem with endometriosis, they have three daughters, Savannah Re (b. Nov. 20, 1985), Kopper Joi (b. May 17, 1989) and Zaire Ollyea (b. Sept. 15, 1995).

Stanley Crouch, music critic, author, Notes of a Hanging Judge

Stanley Crouch is a toughminded and controversial jazz critic, playwright, essayist, novelist, and percussionist. After a personal intellectual transformation in the late 1970s, Crouch became the contemporary champion of traditionalist jazz – an identity which he has defined with both powerful cultural criticisms and outbursts of intellectual and physical combativeness.

Stanley Crouch was born in Los Angeles, California in 1945.

His mother, Emma Bea Crouch, supported his family financially and intellectually. Asthma kept Crouch confined to his home for much of his childhood, a period which he spent reading and listening. By the time of his high school graduation in 1963, Crouch had independently read the complete works of Hemingway, Twain, and Fitzgerald, while also founding a school jazz club which explored the works of artists Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Eric Dolphy, among others.

Crouch attended two separate junior colleges for the next three years, receiving a degree from neither. It was in this period, however, that Crouch became interested in poetry and drama, being particularly influenced by poet and playwright LeRoi Jones (later Amiri Baraka). After the eruption of the Watts riots of 1965, Crouch became informally involved in the Watts Writers Workshop, often performing at the Watts Happening Coffee House.

From 1965 until 1967 Crouch was a member of Studio Watts, a local repertory theater.

In 1968 Stanley Crouch began a seven-year-long relationship with the Claremont Colleges, entering as a poet-in-residence and eventually obtaining a position in the English Department of Pomona College.

By 1975, however, ever-restless Crouch ventured to New York City with friend and tenor

saxophonist David Murray, with whom Crouch would share a loft above the Tin Palace nightclub. After several years of booking and performing at the Tin Palace, Crouch grew disdainful of the limited reach and financial opportunities of his artist lifestyle. Further spurred by developing relationships with writers Albert Murray and Ralph Ellison, Crouch came to reject the ideologies of black nationalism and the jazz avant-garde, the movement upon which he had built his early career. Crouch solidified his political and cultural transformation as a staff writer at the Village Voice. After eight years at the Voice, in 1988, Crouch was fired following a fistfight with peer Harry Allen – the sort of violence for which Crouch has now become legendary in the jazz world.

Shortly thereafter, however, Crouch released the essay collection Notes of a Hanging Judge (1990) which was met with great critical approval and led to his being awarded both a Whiting Fellowship and a MacArthur Grant. In 1991 Crouch became the artistic consultant to the hugely successful Jazz at Lincoln Center program, working closely with protégé and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to help define jazz, if narrowly, for a new generation.

In 1995 Crouch released his National Book Award nominated collection The All-American Skin Game.

Throughout the 1990s Crouch’s hostile denunciations of the separatist “excesses” of hip-hop culture, Black radicalism, gay-rights, and feminism continued to draw controversy and exacerbate his many critics. More recently, Crouch has served as an artistic advisor to Ken Burns’s 2001 documentary series Jazz and continues to work, as he has for over two decades, on a definitive biography of Charlie Parker.

Although he spent a great deal of his life abroad, James Baldwin always remained a quintessentially American writer. Whether he was working in Paris or Istanbul, he never ceased to reflect on his experience as a Black man in white America. In numerous essays, novels, plays and public speeches, the eloquent voice of James Baldwin spoke of the pain and struggle of Black Americans and the saving power of brotherhood.

James Baldwin — the grandson of a slave — was born in Harlem in 1924. The oldest of nine children, he grew up in poverty, developing a troubled relationship with his strict, religious stepfather. As a child, he cast about for a way to escape his circumstances. As he recalls, “I knew I was Black, of course, but I also knew I was smart. I didn’t know how I would use my mind, or even if I could, but that was the only thing I had to use.” By the time he was 14, Baldwin was spending much of his time in libraries and had found his passion for writing.

During this early part of his life, he followed in his stepfather’s footsteps and became a preacher. Of those teen years, Baldwin recalled, “Those three years in the pulpit – I didn’t realize it then – that is what turned me into a writer, really, dealing with all that anguish and that despair and that beauty.” Many have noted the strong influence of the language of the church, the language of the Bible, on Baldwin’s style: its cadences and tone. Eager to move on, Baldwin knew that if he left the pulpit he must also leave home, so at eighteen he took a job working for the New Jersey railroad.

After working for a short while with the railroad, Baldwin moved to Greenwich Village, where he worked for a number of years as a freelance writer, working primarily on book reviews. He caught the attention of the well-known novelist, Richard Wright – and though Baldwin had not yet finished a novel, Wright helped him secure a grant with which he could support himself as a writer. In 1948, at age 24, Baldwin left for Paris, where he hoped to find enough distance from the American society he grew up in to write about it.

After writing a number of pieces for various magazines, Baldwin went to a small village in Switzerland to finish his first novel. Go Tell It on the Mountain, published in 1953, was an autobiographical work about growing up in Harlem.

The passion and depth with which he described the struggles of Black Americans were unlike anything that had been

February 4 - Today in 1986, a stamp of Sojourner Truth is issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

written. Though not instantly recognized as such, Go Tell It on the Mountain has long been considered an American classic.

Over the next 10 years, Baldwin moved from Paris to New York to Istanbul, writing two books of essays, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), as well as two novels, Giovanni’s Room (1956) and Another Country (1962).

The essays explored racial tension with eloquence and unprecedented honesty; the novels dealt with taboo themes (homosexuality and interracial relationships). By describing life as he knew it, Baldwin created socially relevant, psychologically penetrating literature … and readers responded.

Both Nobody Knows My Name and Another Country became immediate bestsellers.

Being abroad gave Baldwin a perspective on the life he’d left behind and a solitary freedom to pursue his craft. “Once you find yourself in another civilization,” he notes, “you’re

forced to examine your own.”

In a sense, Baldwin’s travels brought him even closer to the social concerns of contemporary America. In the early 1960s, overwhelmed by a sense of responsibility to the times, Baldwin returned to take part in the civil rights movement. Traveling throughout the South, he began work on an explosive work about Black identity and the state of racial struggle, The Fire Next Time (1963). This, too, was a bestseller: so incendiary that it put Baldwin on the cover of Time Magazine. For many, Baldwin’s clarion call for human equality – in the essays of Notes of a Native Son, Nobody Knows My Name and The Fire Next Time – became an early and essential voice in the civil rights movement. Though at times criticized for his pacifist stance, Baldwin remained an important figure in that struggle throughout the 1960s.

After the assassinations of his friends Medgar Evers, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, Baldwin

returned to St. Paul de Vence, France, where he worked on a book about the disillusionment of the times, If Beale Street Could Talk (1974). Many responded to the harsh tone of If Beale Street Could Talk with accusations of bitterness – but even though Baldwin had encapsulated much of the anger of the times in his book, he always remained a constant advocate for universal love and brotherhood.

During the last 10 years of his life, he produced a number of important works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. He also turned to teaching as a new way of connecting with the young.

By 1987, when he died of stomach cancer at age 63, James Baldwin had become one of the most important and vocal advocates for equality. From Go Tell It on the Mountain to The Evidence of Things Not Seen (1985), James Baldwin created works of literary beauty and depth that will remain essential parts of the American canon.

Page 10 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • February 19 - February 25, 2015

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Black owned media and Black churches continue as legacies join together as one voice in Civil Rights movement derdale, added: Without a but what are you going to do (Cont' from FP) The clergy is involved because they are paid by the church and not subject to losing their jobs or being sanctioned.”

By and large, it has been clergymen at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Politicians were never overly vocal. Nor were leaders of business and industry.

Despite having had the Constitution add Amendments 13, 14 and 15, African Americans were still discriminated against and denied fundamental Civil Rights. Hence, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., rose to prominence with his NonViolent Civil Rights Movement.

“In an unlikely way we found an unlikely ally. We unleashed a generation of freedom fighters in children,” said the Rev. Dr. Zachary Royal, pastor of St. Mary’s First Missionary Baptist Church in Coconut Grove.

“Children became the new freedom fighters because the adult leaders were in jail, had been terrorized, sprayed with water hoses and attacked by police dogs. The Civil Rights Movement was fast becoming a disaster. So, children rose to the front.”

Interestingly enough, the first Black American newspaper - Freedom’s Journal - was published in 1822 in New York

by Samuel Cornish and John Brown Russwurm.

Samuel Cornish (1795 1858), was born in Sussex County, Del. He was a Presbyterian minister, journalist and educator. John Brown Russwurm (1799-1851), a journalist, collector and abolitionist, was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

“The AME Church started one of the first Black owned printing presses in the country, known as the Christian Recorder,” said Rev. Dr. Henry

Green, pastor of Mount Hermon AME Church in Fort Lauderdale.

After years of discrimination, and only being allowed to worship in the balconies of Anglo churches, African Americans revolted.

Richard Allen (Feb. 14, 1760 - Mar. 26, 1831) and Absalom Jones (Nov. 11, 1746 - Feb.13, 1818) led African American worshippers from the balcony of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia to formed founded the Free African Society (FAS).

Jones would serve as lay reader, and, after a period of study, would be ordained and serve as rector. Allen, a minister, journalist and abolitionist, wanted the group to remain Methodist, and in 1793 he left to form a Methodist congregation. Allen, then founded the first African American Church congregation in America as the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

“The partnership between church and Black media has helped bring about the many accomplishments made throughout the Civil Rights Era. Both the church and the media have provided a voice to the struggle that otherwise would have been silenced without the freedom of expression provided by both of these mediums.

“The historical alliance between the Black Media and the church rest in the many famous publishers and writers that come out of the Black Church tradition and received their inspiration in the church.”

There is an undeniable value in having the alternative perspectives and untold stories that Black American newspapers publish. Stories that mainstream media overlook are often told in Black American newspapers.

The Rev. Dr. Marcus Davidson, pastor of New Mount Olive Baptist Church in Fort Lau-

doubt, the Black church and the Black Press have been instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement. “They have been the voice when the political powers have been silent. The church must continue to be a voice that won’t waver, an agent of change and a light of hope for the people.”

On the link between the Black church and Black media, St. Mary’s First Missionary Baptist Church in Coconut Grove Pastor, Rev. Dr. Zachary Royal said: “The two are connected.

“The Black Church is always instrumental in offering opportunities for Black people. The Black Press is an apparatus of independent thought.”

From Cornish and Russwurm’s publication, Freedom’s Journal in 1822, to the AME Church’s Christian Recorder, to the present day National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA), the Black Media has been, and remains, a key instrument in the Civil Rights struggle.

NNPA, an organization of some 205 member newspapers across America, celebrates its 75th Anniversary later this year.

Unlike mainstream American newspapers, the Black Press has not suffered a debilitating hit as a result of the rise of internet publishing and social media.

Rev. Joe Johnson, pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Hallandale, sees the role of the Black Church in the civil rights movement as absolute necessary.

“I see it as imperative,” said Johnson. “The church must be proactive. We must educate and advocate and do all the things necessary to strengthen us. Racism has raised its ugly head in a more mean way since Barack Obama was elected President.

“The church has to take a stand and not go back. We can’t let our voices be silent. We can’t just speak; we got to go into action and address all the pertinent issues that are in the gospel message. It’s alright to shout,

after the shouting is over?

“The Black church must support and defend Black owned media. It is necessary to our survival. It’s a monumental task. We need everything we can get to get our message out.”

The racism and discrimination that has haunted Black Americans has taken its toll on Black media, especially among newspapers. NNPA hit a high point some 20 years ago with nearly 300 member newspapers. Now, that membership is at 205.

So, as Black media continues its struggle for equality, the battle for advertisers persists, almost as if governmental entities and Corporate America make concerted individual, yet seemingly collective efforts, to discriminate with its advertising dollars.

There is a struggle in the Black church to survive as well, as young people search for their place in the church and in the struggle.

“The Black church from 1787 until today impacts the Civil Rights Movement with the assistance of the Black Media,” said Rev. Henry Green.

“The Black church is the matrix of the Civil Rights Movement. It houses the righteous and discontent and the conscience of America. It is the only institution in North America that provides a theological accounting for human actions,” said Royal.

“Christianity is the reason for racism and injustice. With the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), what you see is the sanctification of racism all in the name of Christianity all wrapped up in the American flag. We must continue to deal with racism and injustice.”

What’s more is the damage that was done to children, who were also sprayed with water hoses, in the Civil Rights Movement.

“I think we can do a lot better.

Those of us on the outside have to speak up,” said Curry.

Let’s be ready to make, preach and write our own history (Cont'd from FP) From the Free African Society founded by Jones and Allen in 1787 to aid in the emancipation of slaves to The Freedoms’ Journal to abolitionists Frederick Douglas ‘s The North Star, championing the cause to end slavery which reverberated all the way to President Abraham Lincoln in the White House; as they say, the rest is history.

From the early years until today, The Black Press and the Black Church have played an integral part in making sure “Our own soldiers without swords will plead our own cause and tell our own Story.”

The year 2015 marks the 75th Anniversary of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (#ourvoice75), our nation’s oldest Black Press organization. February also marks the 44th Anniversary of the Westside Gazette Newspaper, Broward County’s oldest and largest Black owned and operated newspaper. Join as we pay tribute to The Black Journalists of the Black Press: Paving the Path Toward Freedom.

When I use the term I in this piece, I am referring to all of the families of the Westside Gazette, those who are here now and those who have crossed over to eternity. All of us who toil every day to do the best that we can with what God has allowed us to carry on in the foot steps and on the shoulders of those that came before us- to which we will always be most humble, grateful and exuberantly proud to accept that honor, and most importantly, the favor from God. I never knew of but one thing that could give so much pleasure and pain at the same time while drawing you to it like a hungry baby to a full breast of mother’s milk. That is love and the joy of doing that which you love.

It is with this love that I/we passionately put our shoulders to the grinding stone every day to carry on the legacy of the Black Press.

For 44 years, the Westside Gazette has tried to hold fast to the precepts and fundamental strengths and tenets of the Black Press while standing in the gap “Pleading our own cause.”

That gap will forever increase as long as we allow advertising dollars from those businesses that take from our readers their hard earned dollars and spend those dollars to advertise with the “Other” newspapers.

That gap increases when our own try to destroy us. That gap continues to increase as long as the church and the Black Press fail to communicate on common ground.

But like David, we understand that it all belongs to God. We know that everything is divinely provided; it is incumbent on us then to practice proper stewardship by giving back in all areas of our lives.

We continue to do as the Credo for the Negro Press states: I Shall Be A Crusader... I Shall Be An Advocate... I Shall Be A Herald... I Shall Be A Mirror And A Record... I Shall Have Integrity... I Shall be a crusader and an advocate, a mirror and a record, a herald and a spotlight, and I Shall not falter.

So help me God. “and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.” Ephesians 6:15 (NASB)

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

February 19 - February 25, 2015 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 11

Xernona Clayton civil rights leader and pioneering between Turner Broadcasting broadcasting executive and local as well as national

As a journalist, Clayton wrote a column for the Atlanta Voice, and in 1967, she became the first Black person in the South to host a regularly scheduled prime-time television talk show.

Xernona Clayton is a civil rights leader and pioneering broadcasting executive best known as the founder and CEO of the Trumpet Awards (1993), an annual awards program televised by the TBS network and distributed internationally to over 185 countries.

The program features the accomplishments of African Americans in a variety of fields.

Clayton also is the driving force behind the complementary project, the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta.

Clayton worked undercover for the Chicago Urban League investigating employment discrimination before moving to Atlanta in 1965 to organize events for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

She developed a deep friendship with Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

In 1966, Clayton also coordinated the activities of Atlanta’s African American physicians in Doctors’ Committee for Implementation. That project helped force the desegregation of all hospital facilities in Atlanta.

As a journalist, Clayton wrote a column for the Atlanta Voice, and in 1967, she became the first Black person in the South to host a regularly scheduled prime-time television talk show. The program initially called Variations became The Xernona Clayton Show. She also produced documentaries for TBS. In the early 1980s, Clayton became the first Black woman corporate executive at TBS when Ted Turner appointed her director and vice-president of public affairs. She became the media giant’s assistant corporate vice-president for urban affairs in 1988. In that capacity, she served as a liaison

community organizations.

Xernona and her twin sister Xenobia were the daughters of Rev. and Mrs. James Brewster, administrators of Indian affairs in Muskogee, Okla. In 1952, Clayton earned her undergraduate degree with honors from Tennessee State Agricultural and Industrial College (now Tennessee State University). She pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago. She was married to fellow civil rights activist Ed Clayton (1957-1966) until his death. She also co-authored a revised edition of her late husband’s biography of Martin Luther King Jr. called The Peaceful Warrior.

Clayton is currently married to retired jurist Paul L. Brady, the first African-American appointed a Federal Administrative Law Judge.

In 1991 Clayton published her autobiography I’ve Been Marching All The Time.

Clayton has received numerous awards for her activism, including the SCLC Drum Major for Justice Award; the National Association of Minorities in Cable’s Mickey Leland Award; the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education’s Distinguished Leadership Award; and the State of Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity’s Leadership and Dedication in Civil Rights Award.

February 7 Negro History week originated by Carter G. Woodson is observed for the first time in 1926.

Page 12 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • February 19 - February 25, 2015

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Robert SengstackeAbbott (1870-1940) newspaper Some faith leaders victimize rape survivors again (Cont'd from Page 4) publisher and editor As the newspaper prospered Abbott became one of America’s first Black millionaires, and he was often dubbed “the colored William Randolph Hearst.”

He purchased a new home as a gift for the landlady who had saved the paper years earlier, and according to legend he provided a small stipend to the white family that had owned his father, but had since fallen on hard times.

In the 1920s, the Defender added a special page just for kids, called the Bud Billiken Page, which led to the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, a huge family-oriented progression.

Still held in Chicago on the second Saturday of every August, the parade now has tens of thousands of participants every year, is viewed in person by hundreds of thousands, and is aired live on television.

The Chicago Defender is now published daily, but with nowhere near the circulation and influence it once had.

As the newspaper prospered, Abbott became one of America’s first Black millionaires.

Robert S. Abbott’s parents had been slaves, freed by the Civil War. As a young man he worked as a printer and school teacher before attending law school, but after graduating he was unable to earn much of a living — few Blacks were able to pay an attorney, and fewer whites willing to hire a Black lawyer.

In 1905 he started the Chicago Defender, a weekly newspaper with Abbott as its only staff member, laid out on his kitchen table for a press run of only 300 copies. The paper struggled during its early years, and probably only survived because Abbott’s landlady, Henrietta Lee, shared his vision for the newspaper’s success — she allowed him to expand its offices into a second room, even as he fell far into arrears on the rent.

After several years the paper was being widely distributed in the South, carried by Black railroad porters, and after about 15 years it became the first paper for African-Americans to surpass 100,000 in circulation.

Numerous well-respected Black writers wrote for the Defender, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, and Walter White.

Published in Chicago but distributed nationwide, Abbott’s Defender spoke forcefully against lynching, racism, and segregation, and urged Southern Blacks to migrate north, where racism was less blatant and job opportunities more plentiful.

Largely due to the Defender, Chicago’s Black population more than tripled in the 1910s and ’20s. Its coverage eschewed terms like “negro”, “colored”, or “Black”, instead simply referring to African-Americans as “the race”.

During World War I the newspaper called for equal rights for “the race” in the U.S. military, a position so radical it led to an investigation of Abbott for unfounded allegations of sedition.

Under the motto “Carries more live news of racial interest than any 10 weeklies”, the Defender had half a million readers at its peak.

February 1 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, was adopted by the 38th Congress.

Ratification was completed December 6, 1865. Also in 1870, Jonathan Jasper Wright was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

David Ruggles (Cont'd from Page 4) While there trying to recover he learned about hydrotherapy. After 18 months of hydrotherapy his health was restored. That recovery convinced others of the effectiveness of hydrotherapy. He was said to have the ability to diagnose ailments by his sense of touch, called “cutaneous electricity.” Ruggles’ first patients included wealthy members of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, which further enhanced his reputation as a healer.

On Jan. 1, 1846, Ruggles purchased land and a building to conduct his hydropathic treatments. Ruggles became famous in the field and modestly wealthy, offering a cure for ailments that were claimed by conventional medicine to be incurable. His most famous patient was the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.

Ruggles worked as a hydropathist until a recurrence of an inflamed optic nerve in his left eye in September 1849, placed him in the care of his mother and sister. Three months later on Dec. 26, 1849, David Ruggles died in Northampton, Mass. of a severe case of inflammation of the bowels.

Sources: Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston, eds., Dictionary of American Negro Biography (New York: W. W. Norton, 1982).

Contributor: Larsen, Julia Henning - See more at: http:// www.blackpast.org/aah/ ruggles-david-18101849#sthash.PwzSSO0n.dpuf.

As committed as she was, Oliver eventually left that church, broke off the affair with the pastor, began dating the man who would become her husband, and was accepted into Princeton Theological Seminary. As her life got better, her former co-pastor’s behavior grew worse. He sent threats to her regularly, and began stalking her and her then-fiancé.

She recalled, “He said to me – not of himself – but he said, ‘A man can commit murder, do his time, put on a suit, and still be a man. But when a woman’s reputation is ruined, she is ruined.’

Those were his threats to me.”

In 2011, five days before her wedding, the pastor’s behavior moved beyond idle threats.

“It’s a miracle story I’m here and alive, because this man stabbed me 30 times. I was paralyzed from the waist down,” Oliver recounted. Years later, she still remembers his final threat, prior to the day of the attack: “‘When I’m finished with you, you will not get married, you will not have a ministry, and Princeton will never have you.’ That was the last thing he said to me.”

Oliver was stabbed mostly in her abdomen and back, damaging her spinal cord and liver. Her former co-pastor was arrested walking down the street covered in her blood, still holding his hunting knife.

Survivors Need More than Prayer Sharon Ellis Davis, a former criminalist in the Chicago Police Department and retired pastor, knows a bit about crime from more than one perspective.

She said, “I was married to a police officer, and there was a domestic abuse issue and sexual abuse. It was dismissed all the time. It was a matter of, ‘You all stop,’ or ‘Don’t be so bad,’ or ‘It’ll be okay.’ But never ‘I hear you, I understand you, I believe you.’ Even if [the department] knew the abuser was guilty, there was that code where you don’t rat on other police officers.”

So Davis channeled her frustration into something useful. She successfully lobbied for an internal domestic violence advocate, a civilian who would support and speak for domestic violence victims in police officers’ homes and became a full-time police chaplain.

But in Davis’ own church experience – first in the Pentecostal church as a child, then in the United Church of Christ as an adult – she saw parallels to the way she was treated by the police department.

“The church was nice to me, but they didn’t know what to do with me,” she said. “I need more than prayer; I need more than a hug. In fact, sometimes [sur-

vivors] don’t even want to be touched. I need more than a deliverance service; I need more than a Band-Aid on what forgiveness might look like.

“The two very important institutions that I was involved with – the church and the criminal justice system – both in the time that I needed them, failed me. Now they didn’t know they did, because they were not conscious of it.”

Davis feels that lack of consciousness grew from the problematic messages about women coming from the pulpit.

For example she points out the Biblical stories that are emphasized, such as the false rape accusation of Joseph, and the ones that are largely ignored, such as the actual rapes of Dinah and Tamar as well as David’s coercion of Bathsheba.

To her, they all sent the message that the burden of sexual trauma is not welcome in the sanctuary.

“The church has not become the safe place it needs to be that would give some women in church permission to disclose,” Davis said. “The consequences of not having church as a safe place… you can kill the souls of the people that are there. People can lose their faith.”

Sex and sexuality remain taboo in many faith communities.

“How is it that the church is going to really be advocates for victims of rape in the Black church when even having normal conversations of sexuality can’t happen? How can we talk about pathosexuality if we haven’t talked about normal sexuality?” she asked. “We’re still stuck in many way on the thou-shalt-nots. We spend more time judging the behavior than helping someone understand this was not their fault.”

Even worse than a lack of knowledge among leadership is that perpetrators often exist within the church, their violence and damage unchecked and even covered up.

Oliver said, “I had a woman call me – I thought she was calling to check on me and see how I was – but she called to tell me her own story, about a pastor. Someone [else] told me a story. She was invited out to another church to preach, and was raped by the pastor who had invited her. When the third

person, and fourth person, and the fifth time you hear these stories…. I’m like okay. Something is going on here.”

After more than three months of physical rehab, Oliver overcame her paralysis and learned to walk again. She testified in court against her attacker, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

For all their silences and inadequacies, many Black faith centers are adept at serving their communities and fostering communal solutions and cooperation. Both Davis and Oliver assert that Black faith centers have also made great strides toward addressing domestic violence, with permanent ministries and pastor trainings becoming more common.

“We’re better in the Black church at caring for people,” Davis explained. “But we’re not as good at having a model of pastoral care for people who have been sexually abused.

We’re not having clergy exposed to the education that they need to understand these dynamics.”

Some outside the faith community recognize this as well, including Sherelle Hessell-Gordon, executive director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center.

“The Word says faith without works is dead,” she says. “There has to be fruit, there has to be action, there has to be community… there has to be active justice,” she said. “The rhetoric of ‘It’ll get better by and by’ – nah.

That’s just spirituals to move our souls. When you leave that room, you’re still carrying that cross.”

Oliver, now a full-time seminary student, said, “I’m a rape survivor, but I’m also a gender-based violence survivor, and it took the violence for me to really reckon with the rape,” she acknowledged. “In telling my story…I started to realize how many horror stories are in church.”

NEXT WEEK: Breaking the silence.

(The project was made possible by a grant from the National Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.)

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

February 19 - February 25, 2015 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 13

Belva Davis, an African American television and radio journalist William Edward Burghardt DuBois Belva Davis (born Belvagene Melton; Oct. 13, 1932) is an African-American television and radio journalist. She is the first African-American woman to become a television reporter on the U.S. West Coast. She has won eight Emmy Awards and been recognized by the American Women in Radio and Television and National Association of Black Journalists.

After growing up in Oakland, Calif., Davis began writing freelance articles for magazines in 1957. Within a few years, she began reporting on radio and television. As a reporter, Davis covered many important events of the day, including issues of race, gender, and politics. She became an anchor-

woman and hosted her own talk show, before retiring in 2012.

Belvagene Melton was born on Oct. 13, 1932, to John and Florence Melton in Monroe, La. She is the oldest of four children.

Her mother was 14-yearsold at Belva’s birth, and Belva spent her early years living with various relatives. When she was eight years old, Belva and her family, including aunts and cousins, moved to a twobedroom apartment in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, Calif. Eleven people lived in the apartment. Davis later said about her youth, “I learned to survive. And, as I moved from place to place, I learned to adapt. When I got older, I just

DAVIS figured I could become whatever it was that I needed to become.”

By the late 1940s, her

Mansfield: Black History began with the Black Press (Cont'd from FP) To further the movement he made all kinds of scurrilous accusations of crime and degeneracy against Black residents in an effort to turn public sentiment against them and thus force them out of the country.

The ACS also founded its own monthly newspaper, or journal, The African Repository and Colonial Journal, which purportedly was supported by a large number of free Blacks who were for colonization, but it was in actuality controlled by the same Whites that controlled the ACS. Both papers soon began to call into question Blacks’ right to citizenship. A group of free Black New York residents, angered at the unfair and inaccurate portrayal of their race, and fearful that the call to deny them citizenship might take hold among lawmakers if not challenged, came together and decided that the only way to fight fire was with fire … and thus the notion for the first Black newspaper in America was born and Black history was about to be made.

The Journal’s Prospectus read: “We shall ever regard the constitution of the United States as our polar star. Pledged to no party, we shall endeavor to urge our brethren to use their right to the elective franchise as free citizens … Daily slandered, we think that there ought to be some channel of communion between us and the public, through which a single voice may be heard, in defense of five hundred thousand free people of colour (sic). For often have injustices been heaped upon us, when our only defense was an appeal to the Almighty: but we

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“Education must not simply teach work – it must teach life.” – W.E.B. DuBois W.E.B. Du Bois was born during the term of President Andrew Johnson and died the year that Lyndon Johnson became president. Du Bois was born and raised in Massachusetts, and graduated in 1888 from Fisk University, a Black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tenn. During the summer, he taught in a rural school and later wrote about his experiences in his book The Souls of Black Folk.

In 1895, Du Bois became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in the subject of history from Harvard University. He

then studied in Germany but ran out of funds before he could earn a post-doctoral degree.

With the publication of The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study in 1899, the first case study of a Black community in the United States, as well as papers on Black farmers, businessmen, and Black life in Southern communities, Du Bois established himself as the first great scholar of Black life in America.

He taught sociology at Atlanta University between 1898 and 1910. Du Bois had hoped that social science could help eliminate segregation, but he eventually came to the conclusion that the only effective strategy against racism was agitation. He challenged the dominant ideology of Black accommodation as preached and practiced by Booker T. Washington, then the most influential Black man in America. Washington urged Blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and elevate themselves through hard work and economic gain to win the respect of whites.

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Roy Wilkins, managing editor of the Kansas City Call MANSFIELD believe that the time had now arrived when the calumnies of our enemies should be refuted by forcible arguments.”

However, the same issue that launched the Journal — colonization — became the issue that eventually led to its demise two years later. What transpired was this: Over time, Russwurm actually came to support the Back to Africa movement, but Cornish, along with all of the other Blacks that had provided the meager financial backing for the enterprise, opposed any movement that was to be forced on Black citizens.

They felt that free Blacks that wanted to remain in America should be able to do so without fear of being viciously slandered and constantly attacked in print. Cornish left the paper, but after Russwurm emigrated to Liberia to start a newspaper there, he returned to the Journal and changed the name to the briefly published Rights of All, the second Black newspaper to be published in America.

Newspapers of the early Colonial era were circulated through a network of “au-

thorized subscription agents” in various cities around the country and one of the first such agents for Freedom’s Journal had been David Walker, who was born a free Black in Wilmington, South Carolina in the late eighteenth century and owned a successful clothing store in Boston.

After the demise of the New York paper Walker took Black publishing to the next level by publishing three editions of his Appeal between September 1829 and June 1830. It has come to be regarded as the first Black Nationalist document authored by an African-American, in which he urged slaves to rise up against their slave masters and to “kill or be killed.”

While this sentiment had been secretly whispered in slave quarters in various Southern states almost from the very beginning of the pernicious institution, this was the first time anyone had dared to print the words, and it created a firestorm in the country.

Barbara Makeda Blake-Hannah

tion, Culture, Youth & Sports, during which she established the Jamaica Film Academy and initiated the first Reggae Film Festival.

She has made eight films including the world-famous documentary Race, Rhetoric, Rastafari produced for CHANNEL 4-UK in 1982, and Kids Paradise, a children’s TV drama that won an audience award at the 1994 Chicago Childrens’ Film Festival. Her latest documentary The Road through the Blue Mountains, is a spiritual journey through the most beautiful natural locales of Jamaica’s famous coffee region.

On a personal level, she is well-known in Jamaica as a pioneer of homeschooling, as her son Makonnen made international history in 1998 when he was appointed at age 13 years as the Government’s Youth Technology consultant.

Her book Home – The First School: A Guide to Early Childhood Education was published in 2009. Growing Out, her autobiography of her London years was published in August 2010.

From The West Indian Encyclopedia Barbara Makeda BlakeHannah is a Jamaican author, journalist, filmmaker, public speaker and managing director of Jamaica Media Productions.

Mrs. Blake-Hannah was the first Rastafarian to sit in the Jamaican Parliament, appointed an Independent Opposition Senator in 1984-1988.

She first made history in 1968, when she became the first Black TV journalist in Britain on THAMES-TV’s daily evening show, Today with Eamonn Andrews. She worked with BBCTV, ATV-Birmingham and CHANNEL 4-TV. Blake-Hannah is one of Jamaica’s most respected cultural historians and authors. Her book Rastafari – The New Crea-tion first published in 1982 is the first book about Rastafari written by a practicing member of the faith, now in its sixth edition.

Her novel Joseph: A Rasta Reggae Fable is inspired by the life of Bob Marley. She was presented with a Gold Centenary Adowa Award by the Ethiopian Crown Council for her work on behalf of the global Rastafari community. Her book, Home – The First School is a

parents were able to afford a house in Berkeley, Calif.. Davis graduated from Berkeley High School in 1951, becoming the first member of her family to graduate from high school. She applied and got accepted into San Francisco State University but couldn’t afford to attend college. She went to work as a typist at the Oakland Naval Supply Depot, earning $2,000 a year.

Davis accepted a freelance assignment in 1957 for Jet, a magazine focusing on African American issues, and became a stringer for the publication. She received five dollars per piece with no byline. Over the next few years, she began writing for other African American publications, including the Sun Reporter and Bay Area Independent. Davis edited the Sun Reporter from 1961 through 1968.

In 1961, Davis became an on-air interviewer for KSAN, an AM radio station broadcasting in San Francisco. She made her television debut in 1963 for KTVU, a Bay Area television station, covering an African American beauty pageant.

BLAKE-HANNAH home-schooling guide book based on her own parenting experience.

Blake-Hannah has spoken on Caribbean culture at several universities including NYU Graduate School of Cultural Anthropology; The University of Vienna, Austria; the University of the West Indies, Kingston and Guyana; the University of the Virgin Islands; Florida International University and she was a member of the Jamaican Delegation to the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism.

She has served in the Office of 3 Jamaican Prime Ministers: Michael Manley, Edward Seaga and Bruce Golding. Her most recent assignment was as Advisor/Consultant to the Jamaican Minister of Informa-

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Roy Wilkins, one of the leading US civil rights activists of the 20th century, was born in St. Louis, Mo. Wilkins’ mother died of tuberculosis when he was four; he and his siblings were then raised by an aunt and uncle in a poor but racially integrated neighborhood in St. Paul, Minn.

Wilkins enrolled in the University of Minnesota in 1919 and—despite working fulltime—graduated with a degree in sociology in 1923. He then became editor of the small African American newspaper the St. Paul Appeal. By the late 1920s, Wilkins became managing editor of the Kansas City Call, one of the larger Mid-west Black newspapers. In 1929 he married social worker Aminda ‘Minnie’ Badeau; the couple had no children.

Although a journalist during the 1920s, Wilkins was hired in 1934 by Walter White as the assistant secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He served in that post until 1934 when he was named editor of the NAACP’s official journal Crisis, suc-

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Wilkins ceeding W.E.B. DuBois, who abruptly resigned from the Association because of a policy dispute.

From 1949 to 1950 Wilkins led the National Emergency Civil Rights Mobilization, a coalition of more than 100 local and national groups. In 1950, A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Arnold Aron-

son of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council founded the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), which served for the next two decades as the major Washington D.C. lobby for civil rights legislation.

Marcus Garvey, a Civil Rights activist

ment, known as Garveyism.

Garveyism would eventually inspire others, from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement.

Social activist Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr. was born on Aug. 17, 1887, in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Self-educated, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, dedicated to promoting AfricanAmericans and resettlement in Africa. In the United States he launched several businesses to promote a separate Black nation. After he was convicted of mail fraud and deported back to Jamaica, he continued his work for Black repatriation to Africa.

Marcus Garvey was a proponent of the Black Nationalism

and Pan-Africanism movements, inspiring the Nation of Islam and the Rastafarian movement.

Marcus Garvey - Mini Biography (N/A; 04:04) Marcus Garvey was an orator for the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements. Garvey advanced a Pan-African philosophy which inspired a global mass movement, known as Garveyism.

Born in Jamaica, Marcus Garvey was an orator for the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. Garvey advanced a Pan-African philosophy which inspired a global mass move-

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The Naked Truth: Marvelyn Brown in her very own words (Cont'd from FP) Brown has also made a huge impact on television shows, radio programs and in print media as well. Some highlights include, appearing on CNN’s Black in America, Frontline’s ENDGAME, The Oprah Winfrey Show, America’s Next Top Model, America’s Best Dance Crew, CBS’s The Early Show, numerous BET’s Rap It Up episodes and MTV’s programming.

She has also appeared on the Tavis Smiley Show, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Michael Baisden Show, Steve Wilko’s Show, as well as the Tyra Banks Show. Articles including her story have appeared in Newsweek, U.S.

News and Report, Fortune 500, Ebony, Black Beat and Essence magazine. Brown has also had a tremendous affect on print in the United Kingdom with feature stories in Cosmo-

politan, Pride and Fabulous Magazine. Brown has also graced the covers A&U, POZ and The Ave. She is currently the CEO and an Independent HIV Consultant for, Marvelous Connections, which she founded in 2006. Brown now has an online boutique call ed, MARVSPIRATIONAL, with some of her own inspirational quotes.

In addition to being a motivational speaker, advocate, author and a CEO, Brown is also an avid fan of Simply Lemonade, Second Skin Jeans by seven for all mankind and has a slight addiction to Sour Patch Kids.

She resides in New York City, N.Y.

Page 14 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • February 19 - February 25, 2015

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Sing er Charlie W ilson talks a bo ut his jo urn ey fr om being h om eless to being back on top Singer Wilson abo bout journ urne from hom omeless

By G. Brown Legendary R&B singer Charlie Wilson is about to do it again. His new album Forever Charlie was just released and already receiving good press.

The New York Times says, “Mr. Wilson keeps it light. What a relief! A great singer who knows it’s not all about him.”

Wilson would be the first to tell you, he knows it’s not about him..

February 28 - In 1932, Richard Spikes invents the automatic gear shift. Also, musician and entertainer Michael Jackson wins eight Grammy Awards. His album, “Thriller”, broke all sales records to-date, and remains one of the top-grossing albums of all time.

CHARLIE WILSON

LEGAL NOTICES PUBLICATION OF BID SOLICITATIONS Broward County Board of County Commissioners is soliciting bids for a variety of goods and services, construction and professional services.

Interested vendors can view and download the solicitation documents via the Broward County Purchasing website at: www.broward.org/purchasing. current solicitations and results.

Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26, 2015

Corporate Resource & Materials Management 1608 S.E. 3rd Avenue, Second Floor Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 847-4200

INVITATION TO RESPOND FORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT SEALED PROPOSALS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THE FORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (“RFP”) MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 3:00 PM, THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015 FOR THE BELOW LISTED CATEGORY. A PUBLIC OPENING OF THE PROPOSALS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THE FORMAL RFP WILL BE HELD AT 09:30 A.M. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015.

VISITOR MANAGEMENT RFP Broward Health will receive sealed responses (“Response[s]”) to this RFP from persons or entities who wish to provide Visitor Management System for Broward Health.

SPECIFICATIONS MAY BE OBTAINED FROM WWW.BROWARDHEALTH.ORG (click on: “Quick Links-Business Opportunities”) AFTER 02:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 19, 2015.

“BROWARD HEALTH IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND PROCURER OF GOODS AND SERVICES.” BROWARD HEALTH/CORPORATE RESOURCES & MATERIALS MANAGEMENT Feb. 19, 2015

MISCELLANEOUS Mt. Pisgah MB Church of Pompano, Inc. at 891 NW 27th Ave, Pompano Beach, FL 33069 is now receiving resumes for the position of PASTOR.. Those interested must be called by God, meet the criteria of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and should meet the following criteria: 1. Must be a Baptist ordained member in good standings 2. Must serve in a Baptist church that will give letter of recommendation 3. Position will be bi-vocational 4. 5 years of church leadership experience 5. High school graduate or higher Must submit to background check and home visit. Resumes are accepted between July 27 – Aug 24. Please send resume, video or links to : Mt. Pisgah c/o Nathaniel Lowe - 2613 NW 8th Street, Pompano Beach, FL. 33069 or email to mtpisgahpompano@att.net

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS 3/3/15 KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

10:00 a.m.

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KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

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3/17/15 10:00 a.m.

10:15 a.m.

KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

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Regular School Board Meeting ± Public speakers listed on the agenda will be heard at 12 p.m. or as close to that time as possible.

Workshops ± Public speakers will be permitted three minutes each to address a topic at the conclusion of Board Members' discussion on the topic. The times for items on the agenda are only estimates.

The actual start times for these topics may vary up to an hour or more depending on the nature of the items and the length of the Board discussions and public comments.

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure, which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department, at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department, at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

Telephone conferencing or other telecommunications technology may be used in conducting this public meeting to permit absent Board Members to participate in discussions, to be heard by other School Board Members and the public, and to hear discussions taking place during the meeting.

Date 2/23/15 10a

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS MEETINGS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR CANCELLATION Meeting Place Negotiations Parameters KCW Bldg., Board Room rd Committee Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

(Purpose: To review the appraisals for one (1) School Board owned and declared surplus real property, and to establish a beginning offer and a maximum not-to-exceed offer for the property, for the purposes of marketing the property for sale.)

2/24/15 9:00a 3/3/15 9:30-11:30a 3/3/15 11:30a12:30p 3/4/15 6-8p 3/5/15 6:30-8:30p 3/5/15 4:45-5:30p 3/5/15 5:30-6:30p 3/5/15 7p 3/5/15 6-8p 3/5/15 1-3p 3/6/15 10a-1p 3/9/15 4:30-5:30p 3/9/15 10a-2p 3/9/15 2:30-4:30p 3/10/15 8:30-10:30a 3/11/15 6:30-9p 3/11/15 6:30-9p 3/11/15 8-10a 3/12/15 6p 3/12/15 12:30p 3/12/15 9a 3/12/15 10a-2p 3/12/15 7p 3/12/15 10a

Legal Services Committee ESE - ACE Board Meeting ESE - ACE Board Meeting Exec. Board Mtg

KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Baudhuin Preschool th 7600 SW 36 St., #2218, Davie Baudhuin Preschool th 7600 SW 36 St., #2218, Davie

ESE Adv. Exec. Board Mtg.

JAFCO 5100 Nob Hill Rd., Sunrise Diversity Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room rd -General Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Diversity Committee ± By-Laws KCW Bldg., Board Room rd Subcommittee Mtg 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Diversity Committee - School KCW Bldg., Board Room rd Site Visit Subcommittee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Facilities Task ForcePlantation High School, Library th General Mtg 6901 NW 16 St., Plantation Parent/Community Involvement Indian Ridge Middle School Task Force Conf Subcomm Mtg 1355 Nob Hill Rd, Davie th Wellness and Learning Supports KCW Bldg., 14 Fl. Conf. Rm rd Committee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

ESE Policy/By-Laws Committee Northwest Regional Library 3151 N. Univ. Dr., Coral Spgs Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th Site Visit Subcommittee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

ESE - Down Syndrome Task JAFCO Force Comm- Exec. Board Mtg 5100 Nob Hill Rd., Sunrise Technology Advisory BECON - MGM Room Committee (TAC) 6600 SW Nova Drive, Davie th Policy 6308 Instructional KCW Bldg., 13 Fl. Conf. Rm rd Materials Change Committee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

District Adv. Council (DAC) KCW Bldg., rd -General Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

ESE Advisory Council Meeting Piper High School, Sm.Aud. 8000 SW 44 Street, Sunrise th Policy 6000.1 Committee KCW Bldg., 13 Fl. Conf. Rm rd 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

North Area Advisory Council Pompano Beach High School th -Steering Committee 600 NE 13 Ave, Pompano Beach Audit Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Central Area Advisory Comm.

TSSC -Steering Meeting 7770 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise ESE - Down Syndrome Task West Regional Library Force Committee- Gen. Mtg. 8601 W. Broward Blvd, Plantation North Area Advisory Council Pompano Beach High School th - Gen. Mtg 600 NE 13 Ave, Pompano Beach Superintendent's Ins. & Wellness TSSC (Lobby) Advisory Committee (SIWAC) 7770 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise (Evaluate RFP for Retirement Plan Administration & Investment Management Services, as well as any other matter the Committee deems important. Telephone conferencing or other telecommunications technology may be used in the conduct of this public meeting to permit absent 6XSHULQWHQGHQW¶V ,QVXUDQFH

Wellness Advisory Committee Members to participate in discussions, to be heard by other Committee Members, and the public, and to hear discussions taking place during the meeting.)

3/13/15 10a-12p 3/13/15 10a-1p 3/16/15 6:30-8p 3/16/15 2:30-3:30p 3/16/15 4:30-5:30p 3/16/15 3:30-4:30p 3/16/15 10a-1p 3/18/15

ESE - ACE Board Meeting Exec. Board Mtg ESE Policy/By-Laws Committee District Adv. Council (DAC) -Steering Meeting Diversity Committee - Chair, Vice-Chair & Staff Mbr Mtg Diversity Committee ± By-Laws Subcommittee Mtg Diversity Committee - School Site Visit Subcommittee ESE ± Planning Task Force Committee Central Area Advisory Comm.

Dunkin Donuts 9740 Griffin Rd., Cooper City Northwest Regional Library 3151 N. Univ. Dr., Coral Spgs KCW Bldg., rd 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Arthur Ashe Campus, Rm. 177 rd 1701 NW 23 Ave., Ft. Laud.

Western High School

In a recent interview, Wilson shared the roller-coaster that has been his life for the last few years. At 62-years-old, Wilson has some of the biggest names in music like Kanye, Pharrell, Snoop calling him to record. Wilson says he’s been so busy the last couple of years it’s hard to catch him in one spot for more than eight hours. If that sounds like a brag, it’s not.

It’s gratitude.

He’s been here before, the fame, hit records, fortune. As

the front man for the Gap Band, Wilson had it all until 1986, when a bad deal with a shady manager left them broke and blackballed from the music industry. Wilson says ,“I couldn’t bounce back from that. Everywhere we went, he ran interference. He threatened people.

It was a sad situation.” The only thing flowing in Wilson’s life was drugs and alcohol. Wilson ended up homeless and sleeping in the alleys of Holly-

wood Boulevard for two years.

“It was horrifying… I tried my best to hide.”

Wilson says he cried, prayed and most importantly believed, “God is in the blessing business. God already gave me the voice.”

So now you see why Uncle Charlie believes. At his worst, Wilson was down to 130 pounds, addicted to drugs and homeless. He believes even in all that, God protected him and his voice and he knew it was for a reason.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

South Florida is among the top travel destinations among Black travelers

The National Urban League will hold its annual national conference in Fort Lauderdale this summer. National Urban League President Marc Morial Jr.

By Charles Moseley (Part Two) As a Black Baby Boomer growing up here in South Florida during the 1960’s, the face of tourism was far from that of Black people. Finding a needle in a haystack was more likely than finding a Black face amongst the crowd in any media marketing travel campaign. It was clear that the slogan “come on down” to sunny Fort Lauderdale was not directed at Black folks. It may sound cliché but today, things have changed

Four major American Tennis Association Championships have been held in Broward County including 1997 & 1998, and in 2013 & 2014, bringing thousands of Black tourists to Broward and generating millions in tourism dollars, to Broward County’s local economy. (Photos by David Muir) considerably in the travel industry. In fact the rate of travel among Black people is on par with that of the industry standard.

Black people don’t travel much: The Myth.

“I think the biggest myth was that Black people don’t travel much. A BIGGER surprise was that Black people are among the largest group of travelers. The issue was more where we go when we travel and how we travel. Studies showed that most travel by car so — no one in the air/cruise industry –, who lead the studies’ data, had a record. Secondly, they primarily traveled to family functions and organizational conventions. The destinations were repetitive in that they rotated among the locations of the group leaders etc.”

“In recent years, various organizations such as Meeting Makers Groups and Travel agencies and Convention and Visitors Bureaus took research and showed that if appealed to and marketed to aggressively that pattern could change. Thus we are seeing a dramatic change in the pattern. Another factor has been the change in local cities and towns on their

targeted audiences. As an example less emphasis on fun and frolic and more on family, cultural and diverse markets to include, older traveler, LGTB and Blacks,” said Meredith McCleary, a 20-year veteran in the local travel industry.

This all began to change on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement which promoted greater access to public accommodations for Blacks and other minorities, over the next 20 years.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Exclusive: Dean Smith’s Pardon letter for Wilmington Ten revealed

By Cash Michaels From The Carolinian Newspaper This week, as the world mourns the passing of legendary UNC Tar Heel Head Basketball Coach Dean Smith, he is being remembered as a trailblazer not only for his championship winning hardwood strategy, but also for standing

strong for social justice, and against racial discrimination.

“He pushed forward the Civil Rights movement, recruiting the first Black scholarship athlete to North Carolina and helping to integrate a restaurant and a neighborhood in Chapel Hill,” said President Barack Obama of Smith in tribute.

But while many know of how Coach Smith recruited Charlie

Scott as the first African American to play Atlantic Coast Conference basketball in the ‘60’s, and how he supported former Chapel Hill Mayor Howard Lee when the Black man tried against all odds to purchase a home in an all-white Chapel Hill neighborhood, it has never been revealed, until now, that Dean Smith also tried to use his considerable influence with then Gov. James B. Hunt

SMITH in 1977 to secure pardons for 10 wrongly convicted civil rights activists known as “the Wilmington Ten.” In July 2013, while doing research for the documentary,

Pardons of Innocence: The Wilmington Ten at the NC Archives, a Carolinian reporter discovered a previously unknown missive from Coach Smith to Gov. Hunt. Dated July 25, 1977 on “University of North Carolina” letterhead from Smith’s “Basketball Office,” a copy of the extraordinary letter was made for possible use in the film. However it was never used in the production, so the letter copy was held until this week, after Smith, at age 83, died at his home in Chapel Hill Saturday evening.

When Gov. Hunt first took office in 1977, the Wilmington Ten – nine young black males and one white female led by the fiery Rev. Benjamin Chavis – had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to a combined 282 years in prison in 1972. Defense attorneys were

unsuccessful appealing those convictions to state courts, and an appeal to the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was pending.

Upon taking office, Hunt indicated that he wanted to review the historic case, and once all of the state appeals ran out, he would step in if needed.

It was during this time that letters from literally all over the country and the world began pouring in to Gov. Hunt’s office, both pro and con.

One of them was from Dean Smith.

Addressed to “The Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr. – Governor,” Coach Smith wrote: “Lee Upperman, our former basketball manager and now one of the attorneys for the Wilmington 10, has allowed me to read the Petition for Pardon of these ten people,” Coach Smith wrote to Hunt. “Without knowing the full details, other than what I have carefully examined in the Petition for Pardon, I would still urge you as a citizen to truly pardon these ten who have already served what many would consider a just sentence for what they had been determined guilty.”

Smith continued, “Apparently there is no chance for a new trial and for them to serve the number of years given them in a rather strange way would seem to be excessive.”

Coach Smith concluded his letter to the governor with, “As a citizen who supported you for Governor in the November election, I would urge you to pardon the Wilmington 10 if you do have that right.”

“Most sincerely, Dean E. Smith.” The coach signed it simply “Dean.”

But the letter didn’t finish there.

In what apparently was Dean Smith’s handwriting, he adds a postscript: “Bob Seymour has provided me with some additional material on these 10 people which would lead one to believe injustice was done.”

Smith then initialed the handwritten notation.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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Plans for 2 separate Selma Marches cancelled as The end result is that groups unify President Obama will speak in

LAFAYETTE

SANDERS

By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A very public conflict between the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Inc., the local group that has been commemorating the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery March for more than four decades, and the largely White-run The Faith & Politics Institute, a Washington-based group that had organized competing marches in Selma and Montgomery on the weekend commemorating the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” has been resolved with both groups agreeing to participate in a single march in Selma, a coalition of organizations has announced.

“The organizations in the unified committee will sponsor one march, the sacred Bloody Sunday re-enactment march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday, March 8, 2015,” the 10 major organizations said in a joint press release. “No organizations in the unified committee will sponsor and or participate in any other march.”

The Faith & Politics Institute, which focuses on bringing people together to reflect on spiritual values and hold conversations across racial, religious, ideological and party lines, had announced plans to hold a march led by President Obama in Selma on Saturday,

the day before the big march, and a separate march and rally on Sunday in Montgomery that would have competed directly with the annual bridge-crossing ceremonies. Rep. Johns Lewis (D-Ga.), who was brutally beaten on “Bloody Sunday,” is closely affiliated with the Faith & Politics Institute.

In an “Open Letter” to the group, dated Feb. 11, Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders of Selma wrote, “It appears to me that Faith and Politics has set out to not only diminish but to destroy Bloody Sunday. You not only scheduled another march on Saturday in Selma but you scheduled a march and rally in Montgomery on Sunday during the afternoon when the sacred Bloody Sunday March takes place in Selma. It would have been so simple to hold your events in Montgomery on Saturday and join the events in Selma on Sunday. However, the arrogance of power has caused you to try to diminish the sacred Bloody Sunday March and Commemoration and chanehistory.”

After publication of Sanders’ letter, representatives from 10 organizations – including the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Rainbow PUSH, the National Action Network (NAN), The Faith in Politics Institute, and the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma – came together to resolve the conflict.

Selma on Saturday, March 7, the actual anniversary of the Bloody Sunday, but there will be no march in Selma that Saturday or in Montgomery on Sunday. The Faith in Politics Institute and local organizers have clashed before.

“This was not the first time I am sorry to say that the issue of who will be among those on the front lines has recently become a bone of contention. Faith and Politics has insisted that only members of the Faith and Politics delegation be on the front lines,” Sanders wrote. “We have insisted that some of the nearly 600 other individuals who were also on the Bridge on Bloody Sunday in 1965 be included.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Joseph L. McKinney, Sr., Sunrise: Jan. 29, 1950 Sunset: Feb. 9, 2015. Funeral service will be held Saturday, Feb. 21 at 11:30 a.m. and the viewing will be held Friday, Feb. 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. Both are at McWhite Funeral Home, 3501 Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The repast will be at Fortunes, 1451 N.W. 31st Ave. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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