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Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •October 27, 2022
AREA BRIEFS
Roland Martin Speaks Truth to Power at NAACP Awards Dinner
F It's A Community Celebration
The community is invited to join Cariol (#Cariol's Law), John and Darryl (#Buffalo 5) for a celebration of thanks for the community support they received during their years of struggle for justice. The event will be held this Friday Oct. 28 from 6-10 p.m. at the Wiley Pavilion at Jefferson and Best from 6-10 p.m. Come and enjoy food, family, community fun and love!
WNY Peace Center to Host 55th Annual Dinner Leah Penniman, author, co-director and manager of Soul Fire Farm, will be the. Keynote speaker at the WNY Peace Center’s 55th Annual dinner Friday, November 11 from 5-9 p.m. in Hayes Hall on the UB Main street Campus. For more information about the event, which is in collaboration with UB’s Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, visit bit.ly/ wnypc for details.
School Superintendent, Tops Executive Guests on Upcoming “Truth” The upcoming edition of The Truth on October 29 on WUFO 1080 AM-96.5 FM will air from 1 to 2 p.m. Hosted by Samuel A. Herbert, the guest for the first half of the show will be the Superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools Dr. Williams. The second half of show will feature Tops Markets Public and Media Relations Manager Mrs. Kathleen Sautter. The Truth is currently being sponsored by Tops Market.
Council Member Wyatt
Wyatt Calls for Traffic Study at Kensington and Bailey in Response to Hopewell Opioid Treatment Center University District Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt is calling on the City of Buffalo Department of Public Works to conduct a traffic study at Kensington Ave and Bailey Ave where the proposed Hopewell Opioid Treatment Center is prepared to open despite push back from the community. The resolution “Wyatt Traffic Study at Kensington and Bailey Near Cleve Hill Plaza” was adopted at the Buffalo Common Council Meeting held on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. “Our University District community, the University District Block Club Coalition, and throughout the City of Buffalo have shown their opposition to the opening of this center, by circulating petitions, organizing peaceful protests, as well as calling on their local officials in the State Senate and Assembly to take action,” said Wyatt. The resolution states that the location of the center on Kensington and Eggert Rd., already has traffic problems that causes traffic congestion at all hours of the day. According to documents published by the Hopewell Center it has stated that they plan to service about 300 patients once they are fully operational, with many patients traveling via personal vehicles and vans transported to and from this location.
See "Voices" Page 11
ive months after one of this nation’s worst racist fueled massacres at the hands of a young White supremacist took the lives of 10 of Buffalo East side’s most beloved citizens, award-winning journalist Roland Martin delivered a message at the 54th Annual NAACP Awards Dinner unlike any we’ve had the opportunity to hear in a very long time. His words – plain and straight to the point - echoed Malcolm and Martin, Fannie Lou and Frederick, and placed the madness in historical perspective. And for those of us who had become weary of the political grandstanding, the truths and confirmations he shared left us reenergized and hopeful. His address was, in essence, a call to action. -What’s Going On?“We’re living in a time in this country where folks are operating on ‘White fear' of a changing America,” he said in his opening statement. “Twenty-one years from now we will be a nation of color and there is a segment of White America who cannot handle the fact they won’t be in full control of this country. “We need to understand what is literally happening right now politically … and really what the blowback is all about,” Martin continued, “It’s all about power. Power means resources. It means control.” Throughout his talk he touched upon every oppressive condition Blacks have suffered since we reached these shores from enslavement and lynching to Jim crow and voter suppression. “We’ve been hopping over hurtles and dodging bullets trying to vote – Don't act like we’ve had a free pass...." He pointed out that not only are the Red states “in the wrong” – but even New York State "had some of the worse voting laws” until recently. "When I talk about changes that should be made there are also some Blue states and Democrats that need to be gut checked,” he said to applause. He continued: “If you are standing in the way of Black progress – Democrat or Republican – trust me I will try to mow you down because I don’t care if you have a D or R or elephant or donkey - I do understand that there are some folks… who are Democrat and progressive who are actually more of an obstacle to our progress than some folks who are Republican.” He said that the next step after having a clear understanding of what we’re up against is to look at public policy in a different way and basically ask, “how are things changing” and if you want to understand what is happening economically “you should always follow the money.” “What you should be asking here in Buffalo is how much money are we getting from the state, county, city etc. We've got to challenge political leaders and say if you want Black votes then I need to see Black dollars, because our communities cannot and will not be rebuilt if based upon White philanthropy.” “I can guarantee you if you start having money conversations in Buffalo its going to be a whole different attitude the way People look at you…" -StrategyMartin reminded us that Dr. King in his classic book “Where Do We Go From Here” cited four institutions that are key to Black liberation: The Black church, the Black press, Black fraternities and sororities and Black professional organizations. "What are we doing with all these organizations? Are we simply having meetings and talking among ourselves, feeling good talking about the same old stuff ? “The only way we are going to literally change our communities is if we are willing to use the collective power that is in this room – not individual power - to change it. "Now the question is what kind of America do you want your children to grow up in …and their children’s children? So your focus should not be trying to hold on to the America of the past but embrace the America of the future. "I’m warning everybody in here – this is going to be a fight we’re going to have to deal with. January 6 was not an aberration. We see election deniers running for office as we speak. We’re seeing folk who want to rewrite the constitution to limit access to the ballot,… who want to hold on to power as much as they can and the only way we’re going to stop them is if we get down, dirty, and grimy and fight and it's not going to happen over night….this is literally going to be a multigenerational battle. "My suggestion to everyone…you’ve got to be willing to fight…this is a battle that we have been prepared for; that our ancestors have fought for us. Now its our time to step up in battle and if anybody understands how serious this is tell them exactly what my Alpha brother Vertner Woodson Tandy said, 'We will fight till hell freezes over and then we will fight on the ice!' " (Roland S. Martin, renowned journalist, is the host and managing editor of #RolandMartinUnfiltered, the first daily online show in history focused on news and analysis of politics, entertainment, sports and culture from an explicitly African American perspective. His latest book, “White Fear: How The Browning Of America Is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds" is available at Zawadi. Books .
BLACK BUFFALO
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PART 2
fter escaping slavery and working on steam ships in Cleveland, Wells-Brown William Wells Brown moved to Buffalo. He helped more than 70 Blacks escape on boats he navigated across the Niagara River at Black Rock Ferry. He became the first African American to publish a book, Clotell; or, The President’s Daughter, and traveled the world speaking on abolitionism. His homesite is Shiloh Baptist Church today. •Vine Street AME Church (Bethel AME) hosted a national convention with the purpose of discussing how to end slavery. Speakers included Samuel H. Davis, George Weir, Frederick Douglass, and Henry Highland Garnet. Garnet called for Southern slaves to refuse to work and resist their oppressors by any means necessary. The gatherings exceeded the church’s capacity and are moved outdoors, where 5,000 attend. •During the 1891 Dock Worker Riot During the 1800s fights broke out between laborers and scabs, a mob was formed and hundreds of Irish and German dock workers attacked Blacks who were regularly employed to break up union organizing efforts at random. One Black was shot, at least two were murdered, and dozens beaten. Rioters turned their attention to the Union Block, where a mob surrounded the building. Police rescued a large number of Black men at Dug’s Dive.
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