The Westside Gazette

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THE WESTSIDE GAZETTE POST OFFICE 5304 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33310

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33310

PERMIT NO. 1179

Spoon’ Spoon’ss Continues To Stir Up Goodness In Their Pots P AGE 2 PAGE

Lawmakers Consider Treating Prison Inmates Like Human Beings With Pell Grants For Education

Flakka Kills! PAGE 6

PAGE 5

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper VOL. 44 NO. 23 50¢ A Pr oud PPaper aper ffor or a Pr oud PPeople...Sinc eople...Sinc Proud Proud eople...Sincee 1971 THURSDA THURSDAYY, JUL JULYY 16 - WEDNESDA WEDNESDAYY, JUL JULYY 22 22,, 2015

New NNPAChair: ‘We’re going to flex our muscles’ Where is the answer to what color is the truth?

New NNPA Chair Denise Rolark Barnes responds to audience after the June 19 election. Standing behind her is NNPA President/CEO Ben Chavis. Photo: Roy Lewis/ Trice Edney News wire By Hazel Trice Edney TriceEdneyWire.com - When America’s first Black newspaper was published on March 16, 1827, Black people were still enslaved. Nearly two centuries

later, the issues of Black America - though not as severe as human bondage - are still urgent and continue to undermine America’s promise of freedom and justice for all. This is the reason that 21st

century Black newspapers remain focused on “pleading our own cause” as was expressed in the first editorial by abolitionists Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm in the Freedom’s Journal. The edi-

torial concluded, “Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations, in things which concern us dearly.” In this regard, Denise Rolark Barnes, the new chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, says the federation of more than 200 Black-owned newspapers will continue to not only thrive but grow as it begins its 75th year. With most newspapers in an economic struggle industry wide and Black newspapers enthralled in a historic battle against advertising discrimination, Barnes says NNPA’s new leadership team will encourage a keen focus on issues that continually plague Black communities, while initiating strategies to expand. “Housing, the large foreclosure rate, the issue of the lack of police-community relations, the unwarranted deaths of young Black men at the hands of police, the big issue of Black on Black crime, we need to take responsible positions on all of these issues because this is what our community looks for, but this is also what I think our advertisers will be looking for.”

Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. (Isaiah 59:15 (NIV) By Bobby R. Henry, Sr. As a country we’ve been called the ‘the melting pot of the world’, because of our diverse cultures and how wonderfully blessed we are due to the exposure of all of our differences - and for that we live in our diverse but separated communities, suburbs and the hood, the haves and the have-nots. Some call us mutts, a stronger breed due to the mixing of our bloods thereby enabling us to endure hardships better; a breed more suitable for hard work without pay for over 400 years. With the subtle nuances and the pleasing ventilating herbs and spices that arouse the taste buds, from a connoisseur’s standpoint you can call us Heinz 57; we go on smooth and velvety to mask the flavor of stench that fills our nostrils with the lies perpetrated against the lesser ones. (Cont'd on Page 3)

Woman gets library card 73 years after she was denied book Make-A-Wish Foundation helps make local teen’s wish come true in North Carolina

By Charles Moseley There’s a line in the movie, The Wiz, when Dorothy, the role played by Diana Ross, exclaims, “Dreams do come true, if only you BELIEVE.” In May of this year, Teresa Brown did some research to learn more about the MakeA-Wish Foundation (MAWF).

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Then, on a whim, she decided to share her heartbreaking story of overcoming the loss of loved ones and almost losing her new born child with representatives of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Apparently Brown’s story did not fall upon deaf ears. On the contrary, about a month later Brown heard back from the Make-A-Wish Foun-

RALEIGH, N.C. — More than seven decades ago, Pearl Thompson wanted to check out a book from a North Carolina library. But she was told no, because she is Black. A county library official changed that Thursday, years after the 1942 incident during the days of racial segregation. Thompson, now 93, was a student at Shaw University when she went to the Olivia Rainey Library in Raleigh to borrow a book for a report. “She came to the library in 1942 to use a book for a paper she was writing, and she was denied access because she was

Congestive heart failure striking African Americans at a younger age

By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO Congestive heart failure remains one of the most taxing but preventable heart conditions in the U.S. and is increasingly linked to heart disease caused by poor diet. Consequently, African Americans are disproportionately affected by heart failure and the disparity has been attributed in many cases to modifiable risk factors such as uncontrolled hypertension and inadequate health care. While previous medical trends target middle-aged Black populations in awareness efforts, increasingly diagnosis of heart failure is occurring earlier among African Americans.

In fact, a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that congestive heart failure is hitting African Americans in their 30s and 40s at the same rate as Caucasians in their 50s and 60s. “These findings illustrate the importance of identifying solutions to the social, economic, environmental, and health care-related factors that contribute to persistent health disparities,” said Risa LavizzoMourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “The study results also highlight the urgency of reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. Today’s unhealthy children are tomorrow’s unhealthy adults. We know that obese children are being diagnosed with conditions previously considered adult illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and they’re at higher lifetime risk for a host of serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma and some forms of cancer.” (Cont'd on on Page Page 5) 9) (Cont'd

Pleading Our Own Cause

ceremony at the Cameron Village Regional Library. “It’s going to take me a while to get to you,” she told the library staff as she walked toward them to get the card with the help of a walker, according to The News & Observer. “But it’s been a long journey anyway.” The Olivia Rainey Library was the first public library in Raleigh, according to the paper. When Thompson was turned away, the city had separate libraries for whites and African Americans, which later merged in the 1960s.

Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation Yahshua Holland, 16, got to fulfill a lifetime dream when he recently met comedian Steve Harvey. dation, which had some good news. Her 16-year-old son Yahshua Holland’s wish to meet Comedic Actor Steve Harvey was granted. The next thing she knew she and her son were on a jet headed west to Dallas, Texas where Yahsua met Actor/Comedian Steve Harvey in person. “The Make-A-Wish Southern Florida grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. A fulfilled wish transports a child from the routine of doctors and hospitals into a world of carefree fun and excitement. It creates an indomitable spirit within the child to help sustain him or her through difficult

WWW.

times. A wish is more than just a nice thing; a wish experience can be a game-changer for a child with a life-threatening medical condition,” said Richard Kelly, executive vice-president of Brand Advancement and Chapter Operations MakeA-Wish Southern Florida. MAWF granted Yahshua the dream of a lifetime by sending him to Dallas, Tex.; the location of a mentoring summer camp sponsored by Harvey, the host of the popular TV game show, Family Feud. “One day I just went online and contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation to share my son’s story, and a month later they granted him his wish to meet his idol Steve Harvey!” (Cont'd on Page 9)

Westside Gazette Newspaper

Ninety-three year-old Pearl Thompson gets library card 73 years after she was denied a book in North Carolina. an African American,” said Ann Burlingame, deputy director for Wake County Public Libraries. Instead of checking out the book, she was sent to the basement, where she sat among piles of old newspapers. She read the book under dim lighting, took notes and handed it back, Burlingame said. When local librarians were told her story, they reached out to her in Cincinnati, where she now lives, Burlingame said. And after a wait that spanned generations, an elated Thompson finally got a Wake County library card Thursday during a

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The library director said she was honored to finally right a wrong. “I just feel like this woman was denied access to a library and a book,” Burlingame told the newspaper. “I just wanted the opportunity to rectify that, not just for her but for us as the library system.” A teary Thompson said she did not hold any grudges and was honored to get her wish fulfilled 73 years later. With a signature and a big smile, she showed it’s never too late to start a new chapter. MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)


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