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INSIDE ROCHESTER
AROUND TOWN *Wednesday, February 22 Wearing the Mask at Work & The Effects It Has On Your Life, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Strong Memorial Hospital , Free and open to public.Sponsored by the African American Network at the University of Rochester.
*Gospel Fridays end Feb. 24 , hosted by Black Heritage Committee City Hall Atrium, 30 Church Street Info: 428-9857 *10th Annual Black Heritage Gala 6 p.m., Hyatt Regency Hotel Ballroom, 125 East Main St. , tickets $50 per person, presented by Rochester’s Black Heritage Committee. Tickets available from City Youth Services Dept, 2nd Floor of Sibley Building or City Hall Rm. 202A; 585-4289857 for more information or visit www.blackheritage
*“Mamba Speaks” In honor of James Mamba McCuller,the Maafa Celebration Committee presents “Mamba Speaks!” a video program of his words, wisdom, and wit on Monday February 27 from 6 to 7:45 pm. at the Bausch and Lomb Library Building, Kate Gleason Auditorium 115 South Avenue in Rochester. A community dialogue will follow the presentation. Join us and hear Mamba speak for himself! For moe information contact us at : (585) 748-7727 or TheMaafa@yahoo.com or Facebook: “Maafa Rochester.”
Black Heritage Month In recognition of Black Heritage Month the Rochester Police Department in collaboration with the Rochester Area Minority Police, will host several events in February. All events will be held at the Public Safety Building, 185 Exchange Blvd. *Saturday Feb. 25: 4-6 pm, concert performances by youth and adult choirs. *Monday Feb. 27: 10am- noon ROC City Talent Show.
Michael Eric Dyson “Makes it Plain” During King Commemorative Address at U. of Rochester By Capucine Philson
A
ll I can say is that when I heard that Dr. Michael Eric Dyson was going to give a commemorative address at the University of Rochester, I knew I had to be there.
His talk, entitled “Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death and How it changed America,” took place on January 27. He told his attentive audience that Dr. King’s death was a catalyst to aggressive progression for African-Americans. As Dyson said, “King went from being a pariah to a prophet.” Michael Eric Dyson is powerful, but to experience him up close and personal as he was at University of Rochester, was priceless. Dyson’s dynamics in speaking and communicating to an audience half his Dr.Dyson/Photo Abubakar age proved to be successful beyond words and imagination. Correlating King’s dream and his diligent activism against inequality with hip hop’s contemporary artists, such as Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Nas, he pointed out how the young artists’ outspoken messages, like Dr. King, about being discouraged with our government etc., reflects activism in Dyson’s opinion. To illustrate his point, Dyson performed lyrics by Tupac, Nas and Biggie within the Strong auditorium, where a capacity crowd of students chanted and rapped along with him. He made it very clear how those lyrics were able come into existence because of King’s life, activism and his unfortunate death. Dyson was able to reflect on Kanye West’s behavior at the MTV awards when Taylor Swift was awarded ‘best choreography in a video’ over Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ and noted that, “how many Black and brown children have been Taylor Swifted?” Kanye’s behavior , he said, was just a natural reaction to the injustice that we, as a people, have had to endure. He also added that Kayne’s infamous statement, “President Bush doesn’t care for Black people” was the most ‘gangsta’ he had ever witnessed and heard. I must second that!! All of these things were correlated to King with extreme eloquence and intelligence. Dyson pulled in an audience of youthful minds on the curve of hip hop but kept the integrity of the message deep, intact, and informative. Brilliant!! Dyson made us laugh, think, applaud and cheer. He also gave a shout out to Black Women and how our men need to be more thankful and appreciative of us. He spoke of Harriett Tubman’ s strength, determination, and strong-will that are still ingrained in black women to this very day; because of our history we’ve had to be. He loves Black women!!!! He also spoke about using his efforts through King’s mission to help and support other groups that suffer injustice such as, gay and lesbian communities, women, and the impoverished. He also asked us, as individuals, to do the same! Continued Page 5
Omar Radney Named to Dean’s List at Oswego
Omar A. Radney of Rochester, a senior finance major, has been named to the Deans’ List for the fall semester at SUNY Oswego.The President’s and Deans’ lists represent the academic top 24.4 percent of the Oswego student body. To be included on the Deans’ List, students must have a semester grade average of 3.30 to 3.79. Omar is the son of George and Delores Radney of Rochester. Admission to SUNY Oswego is competitive. U.S. News named it among the “Top Public Regional Universities in the North” for 2012, the Princeton Review and USA Today named SUNY Oswego to their 2012 list of 150 “best value” colleges and universities in the nation, and the Princeton Review included Oswego in its 2012 college guidebook “The Best Northeastern Colleges.”
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Sign Up Now for School Construction Training & Jobs! The City of Rochester Joint School Construction Board has initiated a training designed to train and place residents in school construction jobs. This is the first program being offered in conjunction with the School Construction Modernization Program. Reaching Occupational Achievement for Residents of Rochester (“ROAR”) will be accepting applications commencing Monday, February 27 through Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 between 9:00 am to 6:00 pm daily at 1776 North Clinton Avenue, Rochester (the old Maynards Building) This program is geared toward individuals interested in construction training and job placement. “R.O.A.R” is an excellent construction training and employment opportunity geared towards the city’s up and coming construction industry open to all Rochester’s residents Continued Page 16
Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com
SCENES FROM THE SUPERBOWL: GEORGE RADNEY & MIGHTY OBA REPRESENTIN’.
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• FEBRUARY 22, 2012 Challenger Community News •
WNY AREA BRIEFS
TO YOUR HEALTH! The Community Heath Care Center of Buf-
falo officially opened their beautiful, new expanded 50,000 square foot health care facility at 34 Benwood Avenue during ribbon cutting ceremonies January 30. The facility was lauded as a health care safety net for the uninsured and underinsured, in addition to having a positive economic impact on the Buffalo community. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, William V. Corr was the featured speaker. The Community Health Care Center of Buffalo provides access to quality preventative and primary care to individuals of all ages regardless of their ability to pay Medical Services include: Individual and Family Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Family Planning, Radiology and Laboratory services, dental care and a pharmacy. LaVonne Ansari, Ph.D is CEO/Executive Director of the Community Health Center of Buffalo. PHOTO PRINCESS PHOTOGRAPHY
Super Saturday Super Saturday hosted by Eric Eve will present a special guest Jerry Clarke. The workshop at the Millennium Hotel will be held Saturday, February 25 from 10am- 4pm. Mr. Clarke, is a young African American multimillionaire, motivational and personal development speaker from Dallas Texas. A student and friend of nationally known, Les Brown and Tony Robinson, Clarke will instruct on techniques and attributes for being successful.
Buffalo United Front, 2nd Cup, Team up to Sponsor Inner City Chess Sessions The Buffalo United Front, in conjunction with The 2nd Cup, is sponsoring the first Inner City Chess Tournament Chess Players. Monthly chess qualifiers will be held the 1st Saturday of the month during the months of March thru June. The entry fee is $20. The sessions kick off on Saturday March 3rd. Registration is at 9:30 am at The 2nd Cup 36 Broadway across from the downtown library. The Tournament Directoris Barry Davis.This is not a USCF event, but all USCF rules will be in-effect! In case of a dispute TD decision will be final! Mini Chess workshops are also available.
Khametic Ascendants How important is our story in His-story? Should we have a greater knowledge of self? Tune in to Khametic Ascendants every Wednesday at 9 a.m. and 12:30 (after midnight) on Public Access Channel 20. For more information email: itstheone999@gmail. com or thinc00@yahoo.com or write: Khametic Ascendants, PO Box 872, Buffalo, NY 14215 or call 716-4008644 or 917-232-2056.
Celebrate Black History!
From Harambee to Zawadi Books
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In 1997, after 21 years of service, Harambee Books and Crafts was sold to a new partnership. The business which was last located at 1377 Fillmore Avenue was not only a bookstore, but a center for cultural activities such as the Kwanzaa Committee, Marcus Garvey Parade, book readings, storytelling and more. At the time, Kenneth and Sharon Holley wanted to pursue other interests and decided to leave the store to others to carry on the services to the community. Without a store location, the Holley’s continued to vend at special events such as Juneteenth, Kwanzaa, etc. and consult with individuals and groups about books and reading. At the end of 2011, the Holley’s rented space inside Fraternally Yours Card Shop, 2460 Main Street to Open Zawadi (Gift) Books as a way to provide books by and about people of African descent. Although, not a full service bookstore, Zawadi answers the request of the community who has asked for bookmarks, Kwanzaa items, etc. for sale, the location is also open as the Jordan Holley Reading Room and Storytelling Resource Center. The Reading Room and Storytelling Center consists of books from the Holley’s personal collection and made available for reading at the location. The process for borrowing an item is still being worked out. A Grand Opening will be scheduled in March 2012 in conjunction with Fraternally Yours Card Shop. A book signing for Open Doors: Western New York African American Houses of Worship by Sharon R. Amos, PhD and Sharon A. Savannah, Coeditors is scheduled on Saturday, March 17th from 2-4 pm. Other book events will be planned in the future. Current hours are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 11 am4 pm. For more information call 716-903-6740.
On The Cover: Black History Poster by Jessica Thorpe of Outside the Box.
Notice of Public Hearing The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is seeking public comment on a proposal to adjust Metro Bus and Rail fares. The proposal is to increase fares to offset a $7.1 million funding deficit for the 2012-13 fiscal year. A detailed listing of the proposed fare adjustments is available online at NFTA.com. A summary of the adjustments include: •Increased adult base fare from $1.75 to $2 •Increased reduced fare for seniors, disabled, Medicare & child based fare from $.75 to $1 •Increase adult day pass fare from $4 to $5 •Increase day pass for seniors, disabled, Medicare children from $2 to $2.50 •Increase PAL trip fare from $3.50 to $4 •Increase PAL Pass (10 trips) from $29 to $35 •Increase PAL Pass (20 trips) from $58 to $70 •Increase adult monthly pass from $64 to $75 •Increase monthly pass for seniors, disabled, Medicare & children from $32 to $37.50 •Restore 30 day adult pass priced at $75 •Restore 30 day pass for seniors, disabled, Medicare & children priced at $37.50 •Introduce new adult seven day pass priced at $25 •Introduce new senior, disabled, Medicare & child seven day pass priced at $12.50 •]Introduce new adult express trip surcharge at 50 cents •Introduce new express trip surcharge for seniors, disabled,Medicare and children at 25 cents •Summer Youth Pass increase from $52.50 to $60 •Discontinue free bus to rail/rail to bus transfer Two public hearings are scheduled as follows: March 21, 2012 Niagara Falls City Hall Chambers – 6 p.m. March 22, 2012 Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Auditorium – 6 p.m. Comments or e-mails received no later than March 22, will also be considered. Comments should be sent to NFTA, 181 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, Attn: Service Planning Department or e-mail to planning@nfta.com.
Photo Teez Creates Black Legends Custom Tee Shirt Line David Alston, a construction worker by trade with local 210 for over 10 years, started Photo Teez in 2007 with Sayonara Hunter as something to do during the winter lay-off season. Minority owned and operated, they soon outgrew their first location and moved to their current location in downtown Buffalo at 209 Niagara Street (corner of Georgia). “I think it is important to represent and promote the best of us, that’s why I started my Black legends collection. I think its okay to wear 2Pac and Biggie on a shirt, but I wanted to offer people an opportunity to wear a Fredrick Douglass or a Thurgood Marshall shirt as well” said David, the company’s owner. Sayonara, Photo Teeze president, is a Computer Operations Analyst by trade and is the creative mind behind many of the designs you see. She is the one who came up with the Photo Teez motto “You think it, We ink it”! We try to cater to people in their time of bereavement and make their loss easier.” Among the services they provide are Obituaries, Wedding Programs, Flyers, R.I.P. Shirts, Copies, Fax, CD and DVD -duplication, invitations, Business Cards and much more! For more information call (716) 464-3969 or (716) 603-4151, also Facebook.com/phototeez or ptceo207@gmail. com or www.buffalophototeez.cjb.net
Sonya Sconiers returns to Niagara Falls to address Black History Event Sonya M. Sconiers, a Niagara Falls native and healthcare researcher who specializes in cultural diversity and competence issues returned home recently to serve as keynote speaker for Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center’s annual Black History Month celebration. An experienced healthcare administrator and associate editor for The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, Dr. Sconiers entered the healthcare field as an occupational therapist before going on to earn a master of science degree in physical therapy from Texas Woman’s University and a doctorate on health care administration from University of Phoenix Online. A Washington, D.C.- area resident, her community involvement includes youth mentoring through education, movement and dance and developing a health careers program for honors high school students. “ My Health Counts,” Memorial Medical Center’s annual Black History celebration, began with healthy heart wellness presentations and blood pressure screening. It was a luncheon program that featured Dr. Sconiers, hosted by Annie Fields- Chapman.
NATIONAL NEWS
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FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Thousands prepare for Nation of Islam’s national convention and major address by Minister Farrakhan
White Teacher Sues for the Right to Use “n” Word JACKSON ON WHY HE VOTED FOR OBAMA; During a recent interview, Samuel L. Jackson opened up about why HE voted for President Barack Obama.Here’s what he had to say about it:“I voted for Barack because he was black. Cuz that’s why other folks vote for other people— because they look like them.” And more from Sam:“That’s American politics, pure and simple. [Obama’s] message didn’t mean [bleep] to me. In the end, he’s a politician. “When it comes down to it, they wouldn’t have elected a [n-word]. Because, what’s a [n-word]? A [n-word] is scary. Obama ain’t scary at all. [Nwords) don’t have beers at the White House. [n-words] don’t let some White dude, while you in the middle of a speech, call [him] a liar. A [n-word] would have stopped the meeting right there and said, ‘Who the [f-word] said that?’” “I hope Obama gets scary in the next four years, ‘cuz he ain’t gotta worry about getting re-elected..”
A white teacher feels that his rights have been violated after he was suspended for using the n-word during a “teachable moment” on racism in his sixth grade class. The teacher has now filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that his black principal violated his civil rights by suspending him without pay for five days. Lincoln Brown, 48, says that he used the n-word in front his mostly black class at Murray Language Academy last year after one of his students passed a note to a girl with rap lyrics that included the nword. Brown, who has taught black students for the last 21 years, “attempted to give his own denunciation of the use of such language” according to the lawsuit. Brown,48, says that he then discussed the use of the term in the novel Huckleberry Finn in order to show “how upsetting such language can be.”
Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - The billboards and posters have gone up, flyers are being distributed, and the Nation of Islam’s event management staffs, broadcasting crews and internet social networking teams are in full throttle.
Afghans protest over reported Koran desecration at U.S. base BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - About 2,000 Afghans protested outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday over a report that foreign soldiers improperly disposed of copies of the Koran. U.S. helicopters fired flares to try to break up as many as 2,000 demonstrators who massed outside several gates to the base, chanting anti-foreigner slogans and throwing stones. Roshna Khalid, the provincial governor’s spokeswoman, said copies of the Muslim holy book had been
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burnt inside Bagram airbase, an hour’s drive north of the capital Kabul, citing accounts from local laborers. “The laborers normally take the garbage outside and they found the remains of Korans,” Khalid said. NATO’s top general in Afghanistan attempted to contain fury over the incident, which could be a public relations disaster for the U.S. military as it tries to pacify the country ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014. When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them. The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities,” said General John Allen, head of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), in a written statement, as well as in a video released on a U.S. military website. “This was NOT intentional in any way.” Allen did not provide details on the incident. Reuters reporters at the scene said there were about 2,000 protesters. “We Afghans don’t want these Christians and infidels, they are the enemy of our soil, our honor and our Koran,” said Haji Shirin, one of the protesters. “I urge all Muslims to sacrifice themselves in order to pull out these troops from this soil.” The Afghan Taliban also strongly condemned the incident. “Since the invasion of Afghanistan by the animal Americans, this is almost the 10th time that they have degraded the holiest values of Muslims,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in an emailed statement. Bagram also houses a prison for Afghans detained by American forces.
Ticket sales are brisk for the keynote address by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, which is the highlight of Saviours’ Day weekend. This year, Minister Farrakhan’s subject: “What Will 2012 Bring to America, The World, and Black and Oppressed People” is scheduled to be delivered February 26 at the multimillion-dollar United Center. What Will 2012 Bring “Saviours’ Day has been the platform from which Minister Farrakhan has been able to tell the world, what we can expect to see in that current year and he has been precise and accurate and right on point,” said Student Minister Ishmael R. Muhammad, Minister Farrakhan Min. Farrakhan’s assistant at the international headquarters of the Nation of Islam, Mosque Maryam.This year’s Saviours’ Day convention marks 82 years of the Nation of Islam’s existence in North America, and in addition to the fellowship and spiritual renewal, the workshops and plenary sessions provide massive amounts of information for the conference attendees. Events begin Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Plenary Room, Level 2N where all are invited to come and be a part of the live studio audience for the broadcast of Dr. Ava Muhammad’s popular talk show “Elevated Places.” Dr. Muhammad will delve into the subject of “Separation” with Student Minister Nuri Muhammad, Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad, Manager of Muhammad’s Farms in Dawson, Georgia and others. Audience members will have a chance to ask questions and join in the discussion. Family night on Thursday will also include games, a competitive chess tournament and other activities. Dr. Ava Muhammad said in addition to participating in the workshops, she is looking forward to this year’s Saviours’ Day message, a message in which she says Minister Farrakhan “is going to further guide us into the actual Exodus that it is written will take place.” “It is our destiny to part from the slave master’s children, and Minister Farrakhan is leading us in that promised Exodus that in the Bible dates all the way back to the Book of Genesis where Abraham was told that his seed would go into a land—a strange land that was not theirs—but that they would come forth from that land with great substance. That’s speaking of the Black man and woman in America. So at Saviours’ Day we will experience the actual beginnings of the concrete manifestation of prophecy,” she added. On Friday, Feb. 24 Jumu’ah prayer will be held at the Stephens Convention Center at 1 p.m.. Delivering the khutbah (sermon) for this year’s Jumu’ah prayer is Imam Abdul Malik, according to organizers. Taking place right after Jumu’ah, those in attendance will hear from researchers from the Nation of Islam’s Historical Research Department during the information packed plenary session titled “Business is Warfare: The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.” Recent data compiled by the Corporation for Enterprise Development determined the median net worth of White households in the U.S. was $112,647, while the net worth for what they termed “households of color” was $8,803. Their studies also showed 43.6 percent of “households of color” nationwide are “liquid asset poor,” meaning they lack enough money saved to cover basic expenses in case of a job loss or emergency.
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com
Old Behind Bars...
M
ARE YOU EATING TO LIVE? OR LIVING TO EAT?
any on the outside have certain stereotypical pictures in their heads when they think of prisoners. Some don’t ever think of mothers in prison. Some never consider blind or deaf people in prison. Many never consider those who are growing old behind bars. As I cruise toward age 65 with Medicare and other health-related info filling my mailbox daily, I think of my contemporaries who are aging in a place that was never designed to be a senior living facility. Further, we rarely think of those terminally ill prisoners who may require hospice care. What happens to them? While some state prison systems are liberal about granting compassionate release, most are not. Some prisons have outside organizations that come into the facility to provide hospice care while others carefully select and train prisoners to take care of those confined who are terminally ill. According to Human Right Watch, “…aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons.” In a recent 104-page report, “Old Behind bars: The Aging Prison Population in the US,” the following information is stated: •Nearly 10% of state prisoners are
serving a life sentence. 11.2% have sentences longer than 20 years. •The number of state and federal prisoners, age 65 or older, grew at 94 times the rate of the overall prison population beKarima t w e e n Amin 2007 and 2010. •Long sentences today mean that many current prisoners will not leave prison until they become extremely old, if at all. •Many older prisoners remain incarcerated even though they are too old and infirm to threaten public safety if released. While some states are moving forward to change the rules about mandatory minimum sentences and parole, the need for special medical care and hospice care for the elderly in prison is rapidly growing. The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too will screen the award-winning documentary film, “Serving Life,” which takes a look at prisoners caring for prisoners in the hospice unit of Angola State Prison (aka “The Farm”) in Louisiana, where the average sentence is more than 90 years. At Angola, the sentences are so long, 85% will never again live to see the outside world. Prisoners who volunteer in the hospice unit have said that this program provides the kind of bonding and empathy that leads to a clearer understanding of how fragile life is. It’s an opportunity that can be transformative. While hospice care is just one aspect of growing old in prison, prisons must also be prepared to provide for the medical needs of the elderly who frequently require special safety precautions, emotional feedback, special nutrition, or whatever may be needed to deal with diabetes, hepatitis C, or cancer …and the list goes on. The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too will be on Monday, February 27 at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street in Buffalo, at 6:30-8:30pm. The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng are the sponsors of this program. For further information, contact Karima Amin, 716-834-8438 or karima@ prisonersarepeopletoo.org.
HEALTH MATTERS Wholistic Health Collective to Meet
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The Wholistic Health Collective will meet for a second time on Sunday, February 26, 2012 at the Saunders Community Center, 2777 Bailey Avenue from 2:20 to 5 pm. This group is dedicated to improving our personal health and the health of the community using natural, wholistic means taught by our teachers Queen Afua, Dr. Afrika, Dr. Alim and Dr. Nurideen. At first meeting we listed some ideas to develop: growing food, holding health workshops, setting up a health store and center were some of the items we want to pursue. Providing support to each other in achieving our personal health goals was important to many in the group. We are looking for additional members, especially those who are selling or using healthy products or providing alternative and preventive health services. Please join us. More information, call Arzeymah Raqib at 716-239-7238.
DYSON continued If you haven’t picked up a book by Dr. Dyson (he’s authored 16) please do so; it will be worth your time and money. I was very fortunate and blessed that my mother gave me Dyson’s book entitled, ‘Why I love Black Women’ written in 2004... it gave me hope for myself and for our Black men. It is a book that I recommend Black men, as well, should read. If and when you’re blessed to have an opportunity to hear Dyson speak live...camp out the night before. Dyson hosts a news show on NPR and he was named one of Ebony Magazine’s “Most powerful Black Americans.” I met him and spoke with Dr. Dyson and he’s a handsome, humble, and grateful man. His speech was long, passionate, and intense and he remained until he was able to speak to every person that waited to shake his hand and receive his autograph. True man of the cloth.. he’s also an ordained minister!! Dr. Dyson is a graduate of Carson-Newman College and Princeton University. A political analyst and a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, Dr. Dyson, a prolific scholar, has appeared on the Today Show, Nightline, Bill Maher’ s Real Time and MSNBC.
Tai Chi for Health The Taoist Tai Chi Society Will Offer Classes For Beginners Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 p.m. at The new Community Health Center of Buffalo, 34 Benwood Ave., off Main Street. The Taoist Tai Chi Society® internal arts of health incorporate stretching and turning into a sequence of movements that improve the health of body, mind, and spirit. They reduce tension; improve circulation and balance, and increase strength and flexibility.Instructor Faryl Rasuli demonstrates in photo above. The charge for four months of classes is $125. Seniors (60 and older) can attend at a discounted rate of $85. Call 8767218 for further details. Discounts are available from. The Taoist Tai Chi Society USA’s Buffalo branch is a community supported, volunteer run, registered charity, with certified instructors and founded in 1974. Over the years, thousands of people have benefited from learning
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ATTORNEYS James P. Davis 181 Franklin St. (716) 847-2606 Samuel P. Davis 534 Delaware Ave. #108 855-7611 Terrence D. McKelvey 181 Franklin St. (716) 847-2606 Home Office (716) 839-3905 Pratcher & Associates 1133 Kensington (716) 838-4612 Daria L. Pratcher 136 Broadway (716) 541-8574
AUTOMOTIVE Automotive Battery & Tire 3218 Bailey Ave. (816) 838-0263 Colslton Mobile Auto Repair 720 E. Ferry * 896-3910 First Klass Muffler & Brake 779 Genesee St. (716) 362-0450
BANKS Citizens Bank NA 414 Main St. Chiquita Rodgers 855-2532 Key Bank/South Campus Terrence A. McKelvey, CFP 3586 Main St. * 871-4260
BARBER SHOPS KLASSIC KUTS 1471 Kensington 836-3260 MASTER TOUCH 1283 E. Delavan 570-7234 / 846-5956 PRECISION CUTZ 87 Cleveland Dr. 603-1477 THE BARBERSHOP 2516 Bailey (716) 464-SHOP
BEAUTY/IMAGE Hazel Harris (716) 573-5240
CAFE’S
Robin Gibson, Consultant (716) 444-6773 www.ardysslife.com/robin
EATERIES
HAIR SUPPLY
PHOTOGRAPHY
Glamorous Beauty 1281 E. Delavan (716) 892-5821
Princess Photography (716) 563-0994
REAL ESTATE
CLOTHING
West African Int. Market & Take Out 3125 Bailey (716) 507-2329
Level’s Apparel & Footwear 1455 Kensington (716) 832-0284
Tomatoes 1393 Kensington (716) 835-3663
Main Hair & Beauty Supply 3067 Main St. (716) 862-4247
CHILD CARE
HAIR SALONS
HEATING & COOLING
EM Tea Coffee Cup * 884-1444 2nd Cup * 840-0048
Home Away From Home 84 Courtland Ave. (716) 238-1455 My Precious Angels 2946 Baley Ave. (716) 896-3800
COFFEE SHOPS Golden Cup Coffee 883 Jefferson (716) 883-7770
DELI / VARIETY STORES Grant’s Variety Shop 1055 E. Ferry St. 893-0704
DJ’S
Althea / Hair to Go Natural 727 Main St. (716) 883-2000 Compositions Professional Hair 143 Kenmore Ave. (715) 995-3450 Excellence Hair Design 59 Kenmore Ave. 835-2036 Everything Beauty Salon & Spa 156 Elmwood Ave. 939-3355 Hair Changers 1787 Hertel Ave. (716) 602-6561 Hersha / Hair to Go Natural 727 Main St. (716) 563-1734
Zenner & Ritter 3404 Bailey * (716) 8332463
HOME IMPROVEMENT Franklins Interior / Exterior Concepts 105 Commonwealth (716) 235-8818
Modeste Real Estate Josephine Latifa (716) 704-0685
TAILORS F&S Tailors 2930 Genesee St. (716) 894-3742 F&S Tailors & Fashions (716) 894-3742 wwwfandsfashions.com Ann Rhod’s Tailoring 3185 Bailey Ave. (716) 838-5633
Jones Hardwood Flooring Alton Jones* (716) 9035320
TAX SERVICE
INSURANCE
L. Sessum Income Tax Service 1650 Fillmore (716) 894-4904
Able Insurance Jeff Moore/Broker 1798 Main St. * 883-5212
TOWING
Lacy’s/Kymmy’s 179 Parkridge * 578-2880
Geico 1330 Niagara Falls Blvd. (716) 832-3253
Ron’s Towing & Recovery (716) 892-2282
Majestic Eloquence 20941/2 Eggert Rd. 308-4873
Hopkins Insurance 1193 Jefferson (716)-886-8880
WE BUY GOLD
Dogman Joe Dog Trainer 1963 Fillmore * 807-8163
Miracle Tranition 2 3339 Genesee * 481-1321
LIQUORS & WINES
EATERIES
Miss JacQuis ExQuizit Beauty 2250 Main St. (716) 833-2250
Bellamy’s Liquor Store 405 E. Ferry * (716) 8844066
Matties Restaurant 1412 Fillmore (716) 597-0755
More Hair Care Clinic 72 Allen St. (716) 886-7960
One Mo Shot Liquors 2612 Bailey * (716) 4643299
Peaches & Keys Unisex 883 Jefferson * 603-6506
MEDICAL
ADD YOUR
Mr. Bones 893 Jefferson (716) 464-6794
Promise Hair Studio 87 W. Cleveland Dr. (716) 835-0250
Main Pediatrics 2800 Main St. (716) 837-0995
LISTING TODAY!
Nette’s Fried Chicken 3118 Main St. * 715-9592
Serenity Hair Boutique 221 Jefferson Ave. (716) 812-0663
Rapha Family Medicine 2200 Main St. (716) 200-4122
E-mail ads@ChallengerCN.com or Call 716-881-1051
DJ Kenny Kutz (716) 400-7358
DOG TRAINING
Loretta’s Soulful Dining 479 Genesee * (716) 3819308
EATERIES
elitesolutionspresents@gmail.com
• FEBRUARY 22, Challenger Community News •
The Corner Store Deli & Grill 1733 Genesee * 895-2009
Studio U Hair Loft 894-8737
PHONE SEVICE Boost Mobile 1286 E. Delavan (716) 551-0304
View the entire Business Directory online 24/7 at ChallengerCN.com
We Buy Gold 3124 Bailey * (716) 832-3332
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• FEBRUARY 22, 2012 Challenger Community News •
Grant Co-Sponsors Resolution Urging Residents to Test for Radon Gas in Homes The Erie County Legislature unanimously approved a resolution cosponsored by County Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant (DBuffalo) encouraging county residents to have inexpensive radon gas tests performed at their homes at its February 16 session. “Radon, an invisible, odorless radioactive gas that emanates from rocks, soil and water, is the leading cause of non-smoking related cancer deaths in the United States. It seeps into homes and poses substantial health risks at elevated levels,” Chairperson Grant said. “More than 21,000 radon-related deaths were recorded in the United States in 2008, more than the total number of deaths from drunken driving, drowning and plane crashes combined. One in 15 American homes has an elevated level of radon before remedial treatment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Chairperson Grant noted that many Erie County communities were susceptible to possible radon exposure.
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Buffalo Challenger “Certain Erie County com- PUBS: the City of Buffalo and Town munities are considered hot of Cheektowaga have also beds for radon gas,.High-pop- recorded radon seepage into ulation communities including houses,” Chairperson Grant
added. “Environmental experts recommend that homes be tested for radon annually; simple acts such as neighbors
installing pools or sewer line work can affect underground gas movement into homes.”
I knew I needed help paying my heating bills—
and there wasn’t any time to waste.
Help With Heating Bills Available Thru HEAP Betty Jean Grant,2nd District, Erie County Legislatorannounces a H. E. A. P. Outreach Site on Monday, February 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Edward Saunders Community Center , 2777 Bailey Avenue. For General HEAP, first time applicants for this year do not need a final disconnection notice. However for Emergency HEAP applicants must have their final disconnection notice. There must be an interval of 30 days before an individual can apply for HEAP a second time in the same heating season. If applying for General HEAP please bring: *Proof of income *Proof of number(s) in household *Proof of Address *Current gas bill For Emergency HEAP please bring *Proof of income *Checking & Savings Account information *Proof of number(s) in household *Proof of Address *Utility Shut-off notice/ Current gas bill For income guidelines and more information, contact Legislator Betty Jean Grant at (716) 894- 0914 or 536-7323
Get help with your heating bill through HEAP today. You may also be eligible for a reduced rate on your heating bills through LICAAP, National Fuel’s Low-Income Customer Affordability Assistance Program. LICAAP is designed to offer eligible households discounted natural gas rates and allow monthly forgiveness of past debts. For more information, or to see if you qualify, visit HEAPhelps.com, call 1-877-443-2743 or text HEAP5 to 88704. Msg&data rates may apply. One-off message. Text HELP to 88704 for help. Text STOP to 88704 to cancel. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.QualifyForHEAP.com/terms.
HEAPhelps.com // 1-877-443-2743 Grant amounts vary and will be provided only while HEAP funding remains available. Additional assistance may be available for those with a heating emergency. The maximum Regular HEAP grant for customers that use natural gas to heat their homes is $300. HEAP grants are immediately posted to customer accounts when they are received from New York State.
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FAITH BASED
Family, Friends and Co-Workers Day
The Coldspring Church of God in Christ Jesus is having Family, Friends and Co-Workers Day on February 26 at 6 p.m. All are welcome. Please come out and join us. For more information call the Church at 882-2052.
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com
Theologians: long’s king crowning a step too far So,
now is it king bishop eddie long or bishop king eddie long? Perhaps we should just drop the “bishop” and just call him king eddie long - or your highness or your majesty?
On sunday, jan. 29, Long, the embattled senior pastor of the new birth missionary baptist church in lithonia, georgia was crowned a “king” by ralph messer, who apparently claims to be a rabbi.
“He’s
a king.
God’s
blessed
him. He’s a humble man. But in him is kingship. In him is royalty,” messer said, prior to having long wrapped up in a jewish torah scroll - which is not going over well among jewish communities - and raised up by four men who marched long around the pulpit as what is left of his congregation went wild.
Dr. Emanuel
cleaver iii, senior pastor of the st. James united methodist church in kansas city and adjunct pro-
fessor at the central baptist theological seminary, says that there was no scriptural basis for the act.
“You don’t need all of that if you’ve been called to preach the word of god. If you’ve been called, you’ve been called,” dr. Cleaver said. “From my understanding, god called pastors in the 21st century. I don’t know that god called kings. That line from king david ended. Israel had no king. Christians have
a king, and his name is jesus. That is the only king that we are obligated to recognize,” dr. Cleaver told blackamericaweb.
“I
think that it has to fall into the category of cult worshipping,” dr. Cleaver said. “The only thing to do next is drink the kool-aid. I was really concerned about the people sitting there cheering. If they are studying the word for themselves, i don’t see how they could sit there and approve of all that nonsense.”
WORSHIP THIS WEEK!
ChallengerCN.com
• FEBRUARY 22, 2012 Challenger Community News •
DID YOU KNOW...
The Phoenicians Were Africans... Remember who the Phoenicians were? They were Africans! Don’t get lost in the words or names they call our family. Same folk’s different locales. ‘The Phoenicians were a coastal branch of the Canaanites, who, according to Biblical traditions, were the brothers of Kush (Ethiopia) and Mizraim (Kmt)--members of the Hamite ethnic group. In other words, the Bible states that the ancient Canaanites, Ethiopians and Egyptians were all African nations. Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop claimed that “Phoenician history is therefore incomprehensible only if we ignore the Biblical data, according to which the Phoenicians, in other words, the Canaanites, were originally Negroes, already civilized, with whom nomadic, uncultured white tribes later mixed.” While acknowledging the Biblical data, Diop cautioned that the economic relations shared by the Kamites and Phoenicians should not be minimized in explaining the strong sense of solidarity which generally existed between them. There was frequently a Kamite presence: military, diplomatic, religious or commercial, both in the Canaanite hinterland and the Phoenician city-states themselves, and Diop goes on to state that, “Even throughout the most troubled periods of great misfortune, Egypt could count on the Phoenicians as one can count more or less on a brother.” The Moors, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Egyptians, Libyan, Nubians, all are part of the same family and bloodlines they are all Africans of various shades, facial features and hues. -Runoko Rashidi http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/runoko.htm
Cabell “Cab” Calloway, the King of “Hi-De-Ho,” born on Christmas 1907, is one of Rochester’s most famous sons and is honored on the street where he once lived. A plaque and monument commemorating Cab Calloway’s career is located in Otto Henderberg Square, a small park along Sycamore Street, in Rochester’s Swillburg neighborhood.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Rachelle Ferrell Sansom Street in Philadelphia is the home of one of the most popular jazz clubs in the city of “Brotherly Love”. Music fans from the entire state of Pennsylvania converge on Chris’ Jazz Club since the early 20th century to hear sweet voices like Billie Holiday. Eventually, the discerning ears of Philadelphia jazz fans would descend on Chris’ to listen to a voice that would become one of their favorites. Whenever the marquee read Rachelle Ferrell the box office would soon have to put up the sold out sign. The audience on the night of the performance would be standing room only. Ferrell will be bringing her unmistakable sound to Western New York at The Tralf Music Hall on Friday, March 2. Her two shows will feature a voice whose range has been compared to Minnie Riperton. If the comparison seems over the top, she has been known in
concerts to hit six octaves. Ferrell has been the apprentice to many of the icons in jazz, R & B, gospel, and even classical music. George Duke, Lou Rawals, and Patti LaBelle have all employed Ferrell as a backup singer either on stage or in the studio. Using her rich voice to add depth and richness to their music. In her own right though, Ferrell has created a unique and unmistakable sound that many have praise and compared to the greats in the industry. The Jazzed website, a must read for the jazz music fan, writes of Ferrell, “She is a masterpiece in creating vocal sounds that not only were transforming, but insanely indescribable.” “Her rendition of “My Funny Valentine” was highly intelligent as presented in her landmark improvisational style, which featured her sticking six-octave range that few songstress possess.” In regards to making songs her own, Rachelle has stated, “The songwriter translated emotion into words. The singer’s job is to translate the words back into emotion.” The talents of Ferrell are not confined to her vocal cords.
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
“EVERY TONGUE CONFESS” SPEAKS TRUTH TO EVERY GENERATION, on the PRT stage through Sun*The Soweto Gospel Choir, day, March 4. Curtain time 4 p.m., Feb. 26, Riviera The- is 8 p.m. on Friday and Satatre, 67 Webster St., North urday, and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Tonawanda, 692-2413. Tick- General admission is $27.50; ets $40-$50. www.rivierath- $25 for seniors and students with a valid I.D., and $20 eatre.org for children ages five to 13. *70’s Soul Jam, 8 p.m., March Group rates are available. For 10, Shea’s, $45-$50-$55.50, more information about the Box Office, Ticketmaster. African American Cultural *Ujima Theatre Pres- Center and its programs, call ents FOR COLORED 716-884-2013. GIRLS Who Have Con*A Raisin In The Sun, The sidered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enuf by Nto- Manny Fried Playhouse, 255 zake Shange, February 17 Great Arrow Ave., 3rd Floor, thru March 11at TheatreLoft, now Thru Feb. 25, tickets $20 545 Elmwood Ave. Box office & $15, by Subversive Theatre, 883-0380. Starring: Shanntina no Sunday performances; for Moore, Kunjane Lyons-Latim- info 408-0499 or www.suber, Fredrica Germany, Dayatra versivetheatre.org Hassan, Aitina Fareed, Zoë Scruggs, Saron Ephraim, & India Moss.A breakthrough portrayal of Black women’s experiences in America, the story combines music, poetry and dance to celebrate their unique culture while painting a poignant portrait of their terrible struggles.
on stage
She is an accomplish multiinstrumentalist. She has been known to accompanying herself on a few songs on acoustic piano and electric keyboard; an accomplished violinist, at times her voice takes on the timbre and elasticity of the high pitched strings. Diaab Entertainment promoter Don Patterson has been an admirer of Ferrell since the early 90’s. Patterson, mostly known as a boxing promoter, was so impressed with the entertainer’s flair and style he jumped at the chance to bring Rachelle to Western New York. “I’ve always been a fan of Rachelle Ferrell and when the opportunity presented itself to bring her to Buffalo I knew it was something we had to make happen,” Patterson said. “She is one of those unique talents, truly gifted, when you leave her performance you realize that you’ve witnessed something special.” The Berwyn, Pennsylvania native has navigated her way through the tough world of the music industry in her own fashion. Ferrell has steadfastly resisted the efforts of some in the industry to force her to narrow her musical range to just jazz or pop. “After close to 20 years of being accepted for who I am and having diversity being a moniker for my sound, to have to deal with the constant pressure from the record company, as well as the media, to have to choose or splinter myContinued Page 11
Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com
*“A Black Tie for Black History” Friday, February 24 from 7 -10 pm at The Tralf… honoring Buffalo’s difference makers in the community… entertainment by The Old School B-Boys…The All Star Band and DJ Papa Trini. Tickets for this Juneteenth fundraiser are only $25 and available at Doris Records, The Tralf box office and Ticketmaster. Afterparty at The Oakk Room.
Review:Tifani
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ChallengerCN.com
• FEBRUARY 22, 2012 Challenger Community News •
RACHELLE FERRELLcontinued
By Capucine Philson
Being from the south and being surrounded by signing constantly, I truly appreciate great vocalists. This is what I received Saturday evening at Blush, January 21. Tifani is her name and she’s triumphant in what she does… perform and sing! Tifani has a talent that is graced with elegance, charm and most importantly genuine emotion. She’s not there for show or just to look cute, she’s there to move you and make you feel something; this young lady is beyond her years in wisdom and in her craft. When Tifani stepped on the state I was certain it was home for her. She wore silver, sparkling blouse with a fitted hot pink cardigan that complemented her chocolate complexion and legging jeans that fit her perfectly. As soon as she opened her mouth I was captivated, once more. This past summer I was fortunate to hear Tifani sing accapella, for Buffalo’s own Sure’ Will Clark. She was stunning then and stellar during her set at Blush. Her set list consisted of cover songs by Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce’ and Ledisi…I told you the girl can sing. The greatest highlight of Tifani’s performance was when she took a moment and said, “I’m going to let you all hear me because I don’t just do cover songs, I’m a songwriter So I hope you enjoy it. “ Enjoy it? I am absolutely convinced that Tifani can hold on to her audience with an entire performance of her original pieces. This young lady is not just a songstress she’s a very in depth, serious songwriter. The songs, So Easy, You Already Know and Empty were previews from her upcoming CD release for spring entitled “Undeniable.” Tifani’s songwriting stands alone but also has the love that motivates it like Beyonce’ and the intelligence of Jill Scott. My fervent wish is to witness Tifani’s artistry again with a full set list of her own original works. This young lady is on her way! Her talent, passion, wisdon and artistry shall be heard and witnessed by the world. Keep on keeping on Tifani!
TIFANI/Photo Abubakar
on stage *Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Friday, Feb. 24, 9 p.m., Armor Tap Room, 5381 Abbott Rd, Hamburg; $15,202-1315. *Rachelle Ferrell at the Tralf, 6:30pm Doors | 7:30pm Show & 9:30pm .Doors | 10pm Show $45.00 Tickets on sale at Walmart & The Tralf Box Office. Charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000 / 716852-2860
self in order to accommodate their structures is a bit much after a while,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle, in an interview. “My major focus and goal right now, if I am to remain in this industry, is to be able to find some type of way to strike a balance in my life and in my career and to be able to retain my integrity. If I can’t do that, the cost is gonna be too much and I’m not willing to pay it.” There are two shows for this remarkable event at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are on sale at The Tralf Box office 716-852-2860, Doris Records 716-883-2410, Walmart and at Ticketmaster.com. Fans can also charge by phone by calling 800-745-3000 or 716852-2860.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Buffalo Alumnae Chapter & Masten District Councilmember Demone Smith Present
10th Annual WNY Black Film Festival WNY BLACK FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 10 YEARS of SHOWCASING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH FILM
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ter
www.dstbuffalo.org
"Fly Sista Fly" - is written and produced by local film maker Lakeshia Ford. This dynamic documentary highlights several women who dare to challenge the norm. Determined to overcome all barriers and stereotypes, these Pauline E. Drake Scholars at Spelman College prove that you are never too old to be bold in obtaining an advanced degree.
en
Festival to Feature Award Winning Films and 2 films by Buffalo Filmmakers
ura lC
See (Ten)10 Short Films that include comedy and drama.
keshia
ker La Film Ma
Ford
ult
February 26, 2012 at 3:00 PM
"Dandelion" - a romantic drama written and produced by Dorchell Harris. Ms. Harris is a 1997 graduate of the University of Buffalo and 2010 graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California.
Afr Spon ica sor n A ed b me y: ric an C
DO NOT MISS OUR GREAT CLOSING!
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ChallengerCN.com
• FEBRUARY 22, Challenger Community News •
Paul Robeson Theatre Review
“Every Tongue Confess” Speaks Truth To Every Generation By Zhari Heritage If you desire a dose of spirituality, “Every Tongue Confess” is the play to see. The production premiered Friday, February 10 and runs through March 4, 2012 at the Paul Robeson Theatre, which is the second oldest component of the African American Cultural Center, located at 350 Masten Avenue. Written by poet-playwright Marcus Gardley, recipient of the 2011 PEN/Laura Pels Award for Mid-Career Playwright, the intricate plot line of Every Tongue Confess explores uncomfortable taboos with palatable, comforting imagery. The PRT production is aptly directed by Buffalo theater veteran Laverne Clay. Set in the backwoods town of Boligee, Alabama, the story opens with a trio of griots in a burning church, contesting the scorching summer heat. (Their blues and gospel crooning is a nostalgic reminder of what music was prior to the evolution of the
computer age). Together, Elder (Chalma Warmley), Missionary (Sandra Gilliam) and Brother (Rodney Dockery) introduce three stories – of an interracial couple, a widowed community healer, and an estranged father and daughter. Those stories weave into each other to reveal the antagonist responsible for setting the church on fire. Under Clay’s direction, Every Tongue Confess successfully engages mind, body and spirit in the biblical, magical and metaphorical elements of the story. The line “we so hot because the church is on fire,” which is repeated throughout the dialogue, may be interpreted as a directive for those inside the church to lead by example instead of allowing their prejudiced actions to get the best of them. The soulful crooning of Charles Everhart as Blacksmith, Annette Christian as Mother Sister and Sandra Gilliam as Tender Meeks is spine tingling. And the dialogue is between Mother Sister, her son Shadrack, played by
Brandon Gaines in his stage debut, and Blacksmith draws considerable laughter. Overall, the cast does a good job portraying Southern Alabama accents – and Harlan Penn’s simple yet effective set design and stage effects are simple yet effective. The only low point may be Benny Pride’s (Suzanne Fitzery) rendition of His Eye is on the Sparrow; her small voice seemed to be lost in the scene, drowned out by the strong vocals of the rest of the cast. Ultimately, the audience will walk away from the PRT production of Gardley’s brilliant morality play remembering one pivotal line that speaks to previous generation, this generation and generations to come: “If you let fear and prejudice get the best of you, you are robbing yourself of your miracle.” Curtain time is 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. on Sunday. General admission is $27.50; $25 for seniors and students with a valid I.D., and $20 for children ages five to 13. Call 716-884-2013.
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• FEBRUARY 22, 2012 Challenger Community News •
“Know Thyself”: Historian J.A. Rogers Pens Amazing Facts About The Blackman
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I Am From My Skin, My Blood, My Hair By DEJON T. BRICE
(From 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro, originally written by J.A. Rogers in the 1940’s , thus the use of the word “Negro”) * Benjamin Banneker, a Negro astronomer, made the first clock made in America in 1754. *. The word “coffee” comes from Caffa, Ethiopia, where it was first used and still grows wild. * George Washington sent a Negro slave to Barbados to be exchanged for a hogshead of molasses, a cask of rum, and “other good spirits. *. The Negro arrived in the New World free from tuberculosis, and syphilis, or other venereal disease. Livingstone, the famous African missionary, and a medical doctor says, Syphilis “dies out in the African interior. It seems incapable of permanence in any form of persons of pure African blood.” Syphilis originated in Europe in 1494, when there was a great epidemic of it.. As this was two years after the discovery of the New World, it was erroneously believed to have been brought back by the sailors of Columbus. * The Negro was the first artist. The oldest drawings and carvings yet discovered were executed by the Negro people 15,000 years ago in Southern France, Northern Spain, Palestine, South Africa, and India. The drawings are on rocks, the carvings on bone, basalt and ivory. *. The oldest known representation of the human body is that of a Negro woman. It was carved by a Negro scupltor of Grimaldi race from 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. It is called the “Venus of Willendorf” after the place in Austria where it was found, and is in the Vienna Museum. *. Beethoven, the world’s greatest musician, was without a doubt a mulatto. He was called “The Black Spaniard”. His teacher, the immortal Joseph Haydn, who wrote the music for the former Austrian National Anthem, was colored too. Ancient Civilizations *. The Grimaldi, a Negro race, lived in europe as late as 12,000 years ago. Two complete Grimaldi skeletons are in the Musuem of Monaco, near Monte Carlo. Abundant traces of their culture have been unearthed in Southern and Central Europe. * Elam, a mighty Negro civilization of Persia, flourished about 2900 BC and is perhaps older than Egypt or Ethopia. One of its later Negro kings, Kudur nakunta, conquered Chaldea and Babylon and brought back to his capital, Susa, rich treasures among which was the famous statue of the goddess, Nana. Later it became the capital of Cyrus the Great and Darius. Susa is the Shushan of the Bible where Esther, the Jewess, sought the favor of King Ahaserus of Persia and Ethopia. * Cheops, a Negro, built the Great Pyramid, on of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is 451 feet high, has 2,500,000 blocks of granite, each two and a half tons, covers 13 acres, took 100,000 men thirty years to build and was completed in 3730 BC. *. There were at least eighteen Ethiopian or unmixed Negro rulers of Ancient Egypt, the best known of which is Piankhi. Leaving his country in Central Africa, Piankhi conquered all Egypt to the mouth of the Nile in 750 BC. * The Ganges, the sacred river of India, is named after an Ethiopian king of that name who conquered Asia as far as this river. *. The most ancient lineage in the world is that of the Ethiopian royal family. It is said to be older than that of King George VI’s by 6130 years. The Emperor Haile Selassi I, ruler of Ethiopia, traces his ancestry to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and beyond that to Cush, 6280 BC. * Negroes lived in America thousands of years before Columbus. Central American monuments show numerous carvings of them as gods. When Columbus came to the New World, Negroes had been crossing from Africa to South America a distance of 1600 miles. The first white men to reach the American mainland, tell of seeing Negroes. Columbus who visited South America said that he heard of them there. *. Estevanico, a Negro from Morocco, was one of a party of four to cross the North American continent in 1536 for the first time. The journey took nine years. In 1539 he headed an expedition that discovered Arizona and New Mexico. Estevanico’s travels served to open up the Southwest and the States west of Florida, as far as the Pacific. * The founder of the City of Chicago was Baptist Pointe de Saible, a Negro, in 1779. *For years human beings had been trying to reach the top of the world. Thousands of lives and millions of dolaars were lost in the attempt. On April 6, 1909, Matthew Henson, a New York Negro, was the first of a party of six to do so. He is now (1943) the only human being alive to have stood there. The first Artic explorer was Pytheas, a Greek, who perished in the attempt in 325 BC. Science and Invention * Jan Ernest Matzeliger, a Dutch West Indian Negro living in Lynn, Mass., invented the first machine for sewing teh soles of shoes to the uppers. This invention, which was eleven years in the making, revolutionized the industry and gave shoe supremacy to the United States. It made several millionaires, one of whom left $4,000,000 to Harvard University. Overwork and privation hastened Matzeliger to his grave in 1889 at the age of 37. He left a few shares of stock to a white church, which later saved it from being sold for debt. * Imhotep of Ancient Egypt, was the real Father of Medicine. He lived about 2300 BC Greece and Rome had their knowledge of medicine from him. In Rome he was worshipped as the Prince of Peace in the form of a black man. His Ethiopian portraits show him a Negro. Imhotep was also Prime Minister to King Zoser as well as the foremost architect of his time. The saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die”, has been traced to him. Hippocrates, the so-called “Father of Medicine” lived 2,000 years after Imhotep. * Aben Ali, an African Negro, was private physician to Charles VII, King of Frances (1403-1465). when the king fell dangerously ill at Toulouse, Aben Ali was sent for and he cured him. Thereafter the king made him a member of his suite. *Dr C. Tavares, an African Negro, was the private physician to King Carlos I of Portugal until the latter’s death in 1908. 36. Dr. Daniel Williams, Chicago surgeon who died in 1931, was the first to perform a successful operation on the human heart. Politics * France has had six colored Cabinet Ministers -- Severiano de Heredia, 1887; Senator Henri Lemery, 1915-1918, and 1934; Alcide Delmont, 1928; Bliase Diagne, 1931; Gratien Candace, 1932; Gaston Monnerville, 1937. De Heredia, as Minister of Public Works, built some of France’s finest roads. * Eugene Chen, one of the most dynamic political figures of the present century, and Minister of Foreign Affairs for China in 1927, was born of Chinese-Negro parentage in Trinidad, West Indies, in 1878. He was also secretary to Dr. Sun Yat Sen, first president of China. * Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, and father of the Declaration of Independence, was the father of a large number of mulatto children. His wife protested long and loud to no avail. Patrick Henry, another signer of that document, had a Negro son named Melancthon. * Napoleon planned to solve the color problem in Haiti by makin it legal for each man to take three wives, one white, one mulatto, the other black. He had several conferences with the theologians on “this grand measure” and tried to win the consent of the Pope. * In 1787 while a party of 351 freed Negroes was aboard ship at Portsmouth, England, enroute to Sierra Leone, West Africa, the authorities brought on board sixty-two white women, prostitutes and others, whom they wished to get rid of, and married them to as many men,a nd sent them off to be the future mothers of the colony. To be continued
I am from my skin, my blood, my hair I am from my family From the womb of hard working single mothers With two jobs, two kids and no car at the time From my Gram who at age forty-seven Decided to go back to college for her Bachelor’s Degree I am from my people I am from the lashes on their backs I am from the shackles on their feet I am from the people who had no voice in this country to the man who now runs this country I am from Billie Holiday’s tree: you know the tree that bares strange fruit. The tree with blood on the leaves on blood down at the root I am from the stereotype I refuse to portray I am from my strive, anger, success From my discipline, dedication, determination I am from my future restaurant I wish to own one day I am from my problem with authority to My solution with those of power I am from Buffalo‘s Uncrowned Kings and Queens to histories most precious Jewels I am from the stones on King Ramses’ Pyramid to the twins that fell on 9/11 as I choke on Katrina’s water it fills my lung I gasp for air but just like F.E.M.A. it comes too late I am from this thing we call Earth I am its abundance I am its scarcity I am its wrath then to its creation I am from these states, cities, and towns I am from this country I’d like to call home But I feel as if this country is falling apart falling apart because it has forgotten who has helped build it I am from religion I am from Poseidon’s Trident I am from Zeus’s Lightning Bolt I am from Buddha’s Eight Fold path I am from God’s Ten Commandments I am from literature from writing I went from Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe to Tyler Perry and Quentin Tarantino I went from fighting Capulet’s and Montague’s to family reunions with Madea As I weep upon her grave beyond the sea I curse the heavens and damn angles above for they have stolen my Annabel Lee I am from the rights The rights that all men should have “Even though I don’t agree with what you say, I will defend your right to my death for you to speak it” I am from Cancers, Sickle Cell Anemia and H.I.V. I am from the ignorance of people who run scared in fear of contact I am the ignorance and because of that I shall make people scared of what they don’t understand I am from high school, Lafayette to be precise I went from Ms. Powell‘s iders and Ms. Mathibees remedies to Ms. Wilson’s strictness and Mr. Brodnicki’s Brodnickiness I am from graduating 2012
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EDITORIAL
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Seneca President’s Comment on Casino Incident
Mass Black Incarceration: Damn Right, We Charge Genocide
A Black Agenda Report commentary by Glen Ford The United States resisted signing the international treaty against genocide until 1988 – because it was guilty of the crime, and not necessarily finished. Mass Black incarceration, in both its past and present forms, provides much evidence of U.S. genocidal intent. The bodies have been piling up for forty years – although mainly warehoused, rather than deceased. “The criminalization of genocide was intended to be much more than a kind of legal epitaph for the dead; it was designed, like all laws, to prevent the crime.”
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t is well known that the United States is the unchallenged leader in mass incarceration, and that nearly half of the 2.4 million inmates of the American Gulag are Black. Many in the Black Freedom Movement have long contended that mass Black incarceration, as practiced in the United States, fits the legal definition of genocide. Others, because of fear or denial, insist on absolving the United States of the ultimate and ongoing crime of genocide. This is not a semantic question. The charge of genocide differs in international law from war crimes and crimes against peace, in that genocide can occur when a country is technically at peace with the rest of the world. It is no longer seriously disputed that Native Americans are victims of deliberate, genocidal policies of successive U.S. governments. The proof is in the raw results: millions of dead Indians. But guilt of genocide does not require that the great bulk of the victims be physically wiped out. Otherwise, the charge of genocide would be nothing more a post-mortem, like an autopsy report. The criminalization of genocide, which only began in 1946, was intended to be much more than a kind of legal epitaph for the dead; it was designed, like all laws, to prevent the crime. For that reason, the four categories of criminal acts cited in the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide include, not just the physical killing of members of “national, ethnical, racial or religious” groups, but also the infliction of serious harm to members of the group; imposition of conditions of life that are calculated to bring about destruction of the group, in whole or in part, or measures intended to prevent births among the group. It is also genocide to transfer children of the group to another group, as happened to Native Americans and natives of Australia. As in most systems of law, it is the intention to cause harm that is key. In the United States, the criminal justice system established in the post-Civil War South was designed to put Black people back into a kind of bondage. That is the lesson of the recently broadcast PBS documentary “Slavery By Another Name,” which points out that African Americans made up 90 percent of the inmates in some southern states. And it is Michelle Alexander’s position, in her book The New Jim Crow, that modern mass Black incarceration, beginning around 1970, is calculated to create a caste of Black people with no rights, and to stigmatize Blacks as a group as criminals. At New York’s Riverside Church, recently, revolutionary communist activist Carl Dix argued that “Stop-and-frisk and other policing policies” that enmesh Blacks in the criminal justice system amount to “a slow genocide which could easily accelerate into fast genocide.” Even a Being from another planet would conclude that Carl Dix is right. ET would quickly learn that one out of every eight incarcerated persons in the world is African American – about 12 percent of the inmates on Planet Earth – although Black Americans make up less than six tenths of one percent of the global population. ET would recognize that such numbers can only mean that a genocide is in progress, that African Americans have been singled out for some horrible fate by the U.S. government. We cannot sit and wait for the post-mortem. We charge genocide, now! For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendareport.com.
Officer Douglas
Thank You Buffalo! Dear Editor: The family if the late Police Officer Anthony L. Douglas Sr. “Tony” would like to thank everyone who came out to give their loving support during their time of great sorrow. Your presence, offering of food, flowers and heartfelt words of encouragement are appreciated beyond words and will never be forgotten. Thank you Buffalo Fire Department, Buffalo Police Department PBA, AfroAmerican Police Association, the hospital staff at ECMC, Subway & Tim Horton’s of ECMC, Cafeteria staff of ECMC, Rev. James Lewis III and his staff, Rev. Gross Glenn III, Buffalo Police Department Chaplains, True Bethel Baptist Church, co-workers of Gateway Longview, Pall Bearers, relatives and friends. We know our beloved one lives on in the presence of the Lord. Mrs. Hazel Douglas & Family of Anthony L. Douglas Sr.
Whitney ‘Crack Ho’ Comment Should Be Wake Up Call to Black America
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he suspension of KFI’s John and Ken show has sent shockwaves through Los Angeles and thanks to the Internet, the nation. Black people everywhere, who have never even heard of John and Ken, much less listened to their show, are in an uproar and have something to say about the two white men in L.A. who called singer Whitney Houston a “crack ho” on the radio. There are even talks in Los Angeles about having a Day of Protest against the show and the station for the offensive comments. At the center of the controversy are the duos on-air comments about Houston’s behavior prior to her death where they said: “It’s like, ‘Ah Jesus . . . here comes the crack ho again, what’s she gonna do.” John and Ken went on to say that when it came to Houston’s long time problems with drugs, that she was “cracked out for 20 years,” and regarding her death, they said: “Really, it took this long?” As a Black woman to who listens to KFI religiously Monday through Friday from the first word out of Bill Handel’s mouth in the morning to the last word from Tim Conway Jr. in the evening, and who is not one of the millions of people mourning the death of Whitney Houston, even I had to do a double take when I heard this slip of the tongue live on air last week. I remember thinking, did they really just say that? Coming off of the Don Imus controversy and his on-air “nappy headed hos” comment, the suspension of John and Ken wasn’t that much of a surprise. We’ve already been there and done that. For the record, White people calling Black women derogatory names is nothing new. And even though I listen to the John and Ken Show, as a Black woman, at the end of the day I know exactly where I stand with them and what they think about Black people. Are their comments enough to justify national outrage from Blacks? Maybe.
Continued Page 15
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( The following is a statement from Seneca Nation of Indians President Robert Odawi Porter following an incident at Seneca Niagara Casino Friday night involving State Sen. Mark Grisanti and Seneca business people.) Dear Editor: “For the better part of this week, the Seneca Nation has been the subject of a media story of global scale. News outlets from across the state, country and the world have covered an incident that we all know by now occurred at our Seneca Niagara Casino and involved a New York State senator, his wife, and several Seneca Nation citizens. “On Saturday, I issued a statement expressing my regret over this unfortunate, isolated incident in which the senator’s wife was injured. As the facts have emerged, it has become clear that Seneca people were also injured and that none of those involved are blameless for what happened. “In the intervening days, several media outlets have taken this episode and sensationalized the story, reverting to salacious stereotypes, calling the incident a ‘wild brawl,’ producing headlines such as, ‘Indians on the Warpath’ and ‘Indian Whomp-‘em,’ and peppering their stories with other unseemly descriptions of my people. “It is without question an incident in which all parties involved should have used better judgment. But it is hardly a unique occurrence in the annals of human history. Yet the media portrayals have taken the story to an unacceptable level, painting the Senecas involved with ugly, broad strokes, and disparaging an entire Nation of people. “Big city tabloids may be the greatest offenders, but a local weekly in Buffalo has also established a pattern of anti-Indian sentiments reflecting a willingness to assume the worst about our people, our business enterprises and our Nation. “We don’t get the benefit of the doubt despite the economic contributions that we make to the local region, the thousands of Western New Yorkers who
• Published every Wednesday • News Deadline: Friday 5 p.m. • Ad Deadline: Friday 5 p.m. • Classified Deadline: Thursday 5 p.m. We respectfully submit that the opinions expressed on the editorial pages of this newspaper are not necessairly those of Challenger Community News Corporation or its advertisers.
we employ at our businesses, and the efforts we have made in the past 40 years to rise up out of nearly 200 years of abject poverty forced on us by the confiscation of nearly all of our aboriginal lands. “I would hope that our neighbors, our friends, and those in the media would remember that the mistakes of a few do not define the reputation of the many. No responsible person would think that the actions of the few Americans are indicative of the character of all Americans; the same sentiment should apply to the Seneca people as well. “The Seneca Nation and our 8,000 people have struggled too hard for literally hundreds of years to provide for our own and we don’t deserve the assault that has been directed at us in the media. The Seneca Nation is committed to working together with everyone in Western New York to make our homeland a better, more attractive and prosperous place for our shared benefit. After all we have been through, we don’t deserve to be treated like this.” -Robert Odawi Porter President, Seneca Nation of Indians
-78Nothing in the world Is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, Nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; The gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, But few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains Serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil cannot enter his heart. Because he has given up helping, He is people’s greatest help. True words seem paradoxical. ADVERTISING adver tising@thechallengernews.com
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DISRESPECTING WHITNEY continued However, I’d argue that before a single finger is pointed at John or Ken, most Black people need a quick reality check. While the word “ho” on KFI is seldom used, the same can’t be said for Black America where it is in heavy rotation on a daily basis. From the barely bleeped out lyrics that we listen to on the radio, the videos we watch on television, and how we speak to and about each other—there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t hear the word ho and it’s usually coming out of the mouth of another Black person. Just one scan of the most requested songs on Los Angeles hip-hop radio station Power 106 proves my point. 2012 Best New Artist Grammy nominee J. Cole’s “Work Out,” features the lyrics, “She bad and she know it. Some niggas save hos, I’m not that heroic.” Nice. Add to that, this year’s Best Rap Album Grammy nominees Jay-Z and Kanye West and their “Niggas in Paris,” which, if you can get past the title, uses the word bitch four times and is only topped by Tyga’s “Rack City” which manages to use the word bitch 22 times in a little over 3 minutes and says, “All the hos love me you know what it is.” Lil Wayne’s “She Will,” says, “I tell her, now go and pop that pussy for me. Haters can’t see me but them bitches still looking for me,” among other things. I could go on and on, from city to city, radio station to radio station and still come up with the same examples. But it’s not just radio that helps to keep the word ho alive in Black America. Thanks to CD players and iPods where censoring is not even an issue, much worse is played in the cars and homes of many of the same Black people offended by John and Ken’s characterization of Whitney Houston. Homes and cars of Black parents with impressionable children who see and hear Mommy and Daddy enjoying songs with the word ho in it and a lot worse. So while John and Ken were undeniably wrong in using the words “crack ho” to describe Whitney Houston, the reality is that they are two white guys on the radio in Los Angeles who have a majority conservative white audience they play to. And even if they used the word ho everyday to de-
Reflecltion on the Status of Education... By Kat Massey Part II - Conclusion
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n 2009, Dr. Williams (former superintendent) urged the public to lobby for the return of the long-time system in which students could earn either one. He said its termination is partly responsible for the depressed graduation rates. He further stated that the Regents requirement is “killing inner-city children” [i.e., academically]. It was emphasized that academic rigor is supported. However, the current system shortchanges career and vocational education. (Also, the inadequacy of the current school year period for achieving the higher standards was criticized.) Hopefully, there will be some “out-of-the-box” offerings for the students dire problems. By any means necessary should be in full effect. The suggestion to have a campaign to ignite more parent involvement is worthy of earnest consideration. (Similar to a political one, there could be a rallying theme song, lawn signs, TV and radio advertisements and public service announcements, etc.) Certainly, Facebook and Twitter would need to be in the mix. If rappers can write songs to encourage reading and school attendance – release the bucks – sign them up. Hypnotists, in group settings, stop people from smoking. (A friend went to one in order to pass a job-crucial typing test.) Perhaps they can rev up the students performance in math and science. Farfetched??? Barring possible parent reluctance and legalities who knows??? There has been good news! The “Say Yes to Education” initiative, which is to provide a college education for Buffalo students, is huge. (Thank you!) Infinite salutes to dynamo, Stephon Wright, the non voting student Board member. 35,000 hats off for Buffalo’s launch of the Student Lobbyist Association. It’s the first in New York State. Mega congrats to the District Parent Coordinating Council’s new president, the indefatigable Sam Radford. Finally, with a little alteration, the Pointer Sisters “Yes We Can” song possibly could be the students “We Know We Can Make It” motivational ditty. President Obama probably won’t mind his slogan’s remix.
scribe Black women, they still wouldn’t come close to the damage that’s already been done and continues to be done on a daily basis in the Black community with our own use of the word. Black children and teenagers are not listening to KFI but they are listening to Mommy and Daddy, watching MTV and BET, and listening music that says much worse than “crack ho.” Last Thursday, in the statement, KFI’s John Kobylt said, “We made a mistake, and we accept the station’s decision. We used language that was inappropriate, and we sincerely apologize to our listeners and to the family of Ms. Houston.” When was the last time a rapper apologized for using the word ho, bitch, or even niggas? Exactly. John and Ken apologized and were suspended. Is it enough? I think so. The chances of them using the word ho on-air to describe any Black woman in the future are slim to none. Protesting to extend their suspension or boycotting KFI and its advertisers, even if it were successful, would donothing to change Blacks own use of the word and that’s really where the issue is. Whitney Houston was a talented singer who died tragically and wasn’t alive to hear herself being called a “crack ho.” Millions of other Black women however hear it everyday—either coming out someone else’s mouth or sadly—their own. A former press secretary in California State Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives, Jasmyne A. Cannick writes about the intersection race, sex, politics, and pop culture from an unapologetically Black point of view. Follow her on Twitter @jasmyne and on Facebook at /jasmyne
BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS
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“Locked Up, But Not The “Journey” Was Fantastic! Locked Down!” The Organization A.S.I.A. in conjunction with Supreme Design Publishing (www. supremedesignonline.com) will host “Locked Up, But Not Locked Down!”Monday February 27 from 6-8pm at the Niagara Falls Public Library Auditorium 1425 Main Street Niagara Falls, NY. This Event will consist of a screening of the A.S.I.A. Documentary “The Three Wise Men,” a short question/answer session about the Film and a panel discussion about the American Prison System. There will also be a Black History Trivia. The goal of this event is to provide information about the American Prison System and to discuss strategies for how to survive and avoid it. For any questions or to follow-up with call facilitator Saladin Q. Allah at (716) 990-9333. The website for A.S.I.A. is www. atlantisschool.blogspot.com
Unified Court System and Minority Bar Celebrate Black History Month The Honorable Paula L. Feroleto, Administrative Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, the District’s Diversity Steering Committee, and the Minority Bar Association of Western New York announce that the Unified Court System and the Minority Bar will celebrate Black History Month from February 1 through March 1, 2012. Black History Month began in Erie County Supreme Court on February 1 with the exhibit, “They Kept Their Words,”on loan from the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. The exhibit focuses on local African American Women’s organizations, founded and active during the 19th and 20th centuries, and will be on display throughout Black History month. On the second floor of the Old County Hall, 92 Franklin Street, in Buffalo. The celebration continued February 15 with and event featuring guest speaker Rev. Roderick Hennings, Senior Pastor of Zion Dominion Global Ministries. This event included performances by students of School 18 in the Old County Hall.
Annual Black History Program
Pilgrim Baptist Church, located at 665 Michigan Avenue will hold its annual Black History program event February 25 at 4 p.m. The public is invited.
The Journey. PhotoAbubakar
Dear Editor: JOMO and ROBIN’s Journey was beautiful ! This Love is sent to “Express a Moment of Joy and Inspiration !” It is what we all have received through this event called “THE JOURNEY “ held on Monday, February 13 at Kleinhans to a mostly young audience. May you All continue to be Blessed for what you do! It never fails that whenever I’m within such Divine Spheres of our African Culture, being apart of that moment, causes tears to bubble up and little goose bumps cover my entire body with a deightl I cannot explain ( other than GOD is Good ) ! Others, too has expressed this same experience ! It is truly a “ HEALING” Happiness, moment, as we enjoy the music, singing and dancing, along with many acts of creation that this event has inspired and truly did provide !!! The Children especially shouted so “ Loud “ with their voices ! They showed themselves alert to the education that was being expounded right before their very eyes and ears. Yes, every scene was different, as we knew not what to expect next. Also, Jomo, how well you spoke to the youth; teaching Oneness, Family, Community, Education and the formula for keeping in touch with our unique heritage. It was just “ Beautiful!” This really brought tears to my eyes. It was so unique. The performers depicted various scenes of History throughout all of our African human evolution . It was just how our Ancient traditions cannot be dissolved yet, how amazingly its various forms of Transformations has passed right on into this 21st century via our roots, values, lifestyles and just how incredibly each of the scenes made that visually clear. It has been something to feel proud of oneself through this profound Journey. Yes,this event had us all traveling that day into realms into our ancient past, as we were blessed to learn more about this expansive Journey, through education, shared on such a day, as this ! We give thanks to all the Sponsors , to Kleinhans Music Hall and to everyone who had a part in this very inspiring event ! Special thanks to Jomo for his strong narration and to Robin andfor all the work she does , along with others who work behind the scenes to bring renewed strength to us all ! The “ Journey” gave to all of us that day, our own individual Journey, also. Again, We express gratitude for such a delightful occasion and thank everyone, the prop workers, the band, singers, the poets andcChoreography, the dancers and to GOD who made it all happen. It is another reminder that we all are always within the motion to our Ancient African roots... we seeing ourselves on that day within The JOURNEY. It was indeed that day’s travel and Inspiration ! “ With Peace and Love . Nana Dade
Honoring Our Elders Parenting Wisely of the Family Resource Center will celebrate Black History Month Saturday, February 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. at 347 East Ferry Street. Honorees include Robert Lewis, Betty Bulls, Susie Smith, Gilbert Hargrove, Estrice Bulls and Charlene Caver Miller. All are invited. Please bring a pot-luck dish!
Black History Month Presentation A Black History Month Presentation hosted by Sandi Williams, U.S. Army Veteran, will be held on Friday, February 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the East Delavan Branch Library, 1187 E. Delavan. There will be a documentary film screening and a speaker presentation from Russell A. Guthrie, a WWII Army Veteran. Come hear this informative and historic talk. For more information call 748-5402.
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• FEBRUARY 22, 2012 Challenger Community News •
Brief Local History from the Buffalo Niagara African American Heritage Guide
Buffalo was a final stop on the freedom train north from slavery and the Jim Crow South. In its heyday, Buffalo represented hope and self-empowerment for black Americans, and a better life for generations to come.The weight and wonder of this rich legacy flows in blues riffs and jazz notes through the city. Black frontiersman Joseph Hodges was one of Buffalo’s earliest non-white settlers. Local griots - oralhistorians - know that Underground Railroad conductor Harriet “Mother Moses” Tubman led bands of runaways through the Niagara region. Abolitionist William Wells Brown lived on Pine Street in Buffalo and helped fugitives cross the water into Canada when he worked for the Lake Erie Steamship Co. Frederick Douglass spoke to a full sanctuary at the Michigan Street Baptist Church. In 1905, W.E.B. DuBois, with other black leaders, planned the Niagara Movement and Booker T. Washington addressed crowds in Buffalo. Mary B. Talbert campaigned for antilynching legislation from her home on Michigan Avenue.
Buffalo is where jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie,Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong jammedwith local musicians at the Colored Musicians Club. *Writer Ishmael Reed and pop R&B icon Rick Jameshail from Buffalo. “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin(and her sisters) sang in a Buffalo church choir where her father served as a pastor. Buffalo is where the late Grover Washington, Jr. cultivated the smooth in his sax. Cleveland Witherspoon invented the electronic car starter here. *In 1816, there were 16 black residents (nine listed as slaves) included among a Buffalo population of 400. By 1828, that number had grown to a community of about 60 who, shortly thereafter, organized the Vine Street African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Michigan Street Baptist Church. Along with the Colored Presbyterian Church and St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, these churches became the cornerstones of activity dedicated to building a free life inthe urban North. At the beginning of the Civil War,The African American population in Buffalo numbered about 500; most were fugitive slaves or their descendants. Proximity to Canada – and to points West – made the city an important Underground Railroad station. Buffalo was pivotal in abolitionist and turnofthe-century “race relations” movements. In 1843, the high point of the National Negro Convention, hosted by the Vine Street AME Church, was a debate between statesman and Rochester publisher Frederick Douglass and minister Henry Highland Garnett on whether or not the institution of slavery should be overthrown by force.In 1845, the congregation of the Michigan Street Baptist Church erected its own building at 511 Michigan Avenue. It stillstands as the oldest property in the region built and continually owned by African Americans. During the peak of Underground Railroad activity, the church harbored tired runaways before they crossed the border into Canada. In 1997, the Michigan Street Baptist Church became an official historic site when New York State Governor George Pataki signed the New York Freedom Trail Program Act. (More next week on how to obtain the guide from which this in formation was reprinted.)
Rochester Black History Highlights The Rochester region is well-known for its ties to former slave, abolitionist, orator, and publisher Frederick Douglass, who made his home here from 1847 to 1872. Aside from its well-deserved place in abolitionist history, however, Rochester has a rich and varied past that is alive with stories of notable African-American citizens who helped contribute to a more progressive way of thinking not only in Rochester, but in Western New York and the state as a whole. There is Asa Dunbar, said to be the first African-American settler, who cleared land for his farm in Irondequoit (near present-day Winton Road North) in 1795. Austin Steward, a runaway slave who came to Rochester in 1816 and opened his own meat market on what is now West Main Street. Or Frank Stewart, who started the first African-American baseball team in 1866, called the Unexpected. (Frederick Douglass’s son Charles is rumored to have been a member.) Activist Hester C. Jeffrey came to Rochester in 1891 and founded a number of local African-American women’s clubs, including the Susan B. Anthony Club for Colored Women. Isabella Dorsey incorporated the Dorsey Home for Dependent Colored Children in 1917. Dr. Charles T. Lunsford, Rochester’s first licensed African-American physician, opened his private practice at 574 Clarissa Street in 1921. The following year, Dr. Van Tuly Levy became the first licensed African-American dentist in Rochester. The city’s first African-American architect, Thomas Boyde, Jr., joined the Siegmund Firestone Architectural Firm in 1930. Boyde was the chief architect for the Monroe Community Home and Infirmary and contributed to the design of the Rundel Memorial Library, the Great Lake Press Building, and the Strathallan, to name a few. In 1931, Beatrice Amaza Howard earned the distinction of being the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Rochester. Howard Coles, who founded the Frederick Douglass Voice newspaper in 1934, was a noted historian, journalist, activist, and expert on the writings of Frederick Douglass. In 1948, Charles Henry Price became the first African-American member of the Rochester Police Department. Price became the first African-American captain in the department 30 years later. Kathryn Green Hawkins, the first AfricanAmerican woman in the Rochester Police Department in 1956, was promoted to lieutenant in 1964. Dr. Freddie Thomas, scientist, inventor, biologist, and scholar, moved to Rochester in 1952 and is known for his pioneering research in genetics and plastic surgery at the University of Rochester. Internationally renowned, Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan moved to Rochester in 1970. He still resides in Rochester, serving as Artistic Director and President of Garth Fagan Dance. (Sources: Rochester History (various issues); African-American Who’s Who, Past & Present, Greater Rochester Area, 1998.) These are only a few of the many unique individuals who helped contribute not only to Rochester’s growth as a city, but also to its reputation in the advancement of science, technology, scholarship, and the arts. Many more await the light of discovery. (From The Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County www.libraryweb.org)
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FEBRUARY 22, 2012
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COUNTY OF ERIE NOTICE TO BIDDERS RECONSTRUCTION OF SENECA STREET BRIDGE OVER NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR BR215-RR-1 PROJECT NO. FA-215-RR1-11 LOCALLY ADMINISTERED FEDERAL AID PROJECT 5755.25 The Department of Public Works, Division of Highways, is seeking sealed bids for replacement of existing bridge with pre-cast concrete arch structure construction project. Sealed proposals will be received at the DPW-Division of Highways Conference Room, 95 Franklin Street, 14th floor, Buffalo, NY at 10:00 a.m., March 8, 2012. Bid deposit of $210,000.00 required. DBE 11% required. Plans will be available for purchase at $100./set from February 16, 2012 through bid date. Pre-let meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 23, 2012 10:00 a.m. at the DPW-Division of Highways Conference Room, 95 Franklin Street, 14th floor, Buffalo, NY. Bid submittal details are on the Erie County website at: www.erie.gov/bidproposals.asp Legal Notice COUNTY OF ERIE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING} 95 FRANKLIN STREET BUFFALO, NY 14202 County of Erie, New York EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning is seeking proposals from qualified service providers to provide housing and outreach services for homeless persons and prevention services for persons at risk of homelessness in the Erie County Community Development Block Grant Consortium.
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All correspondence, communications and/or contact with the County in regard to any aspect of this proposal shall be with Diane Cadle. Prospective proponents, or their representatives, shall not make contact with or communicate with any representatives of the County, including employees and consultants, other than the designated person in regard to any aspect of this proposal. A pre-application meeting has been scheduled for February 28, 2012 at 2:00 PM in Room 1004 of the Rath Building, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York 14202. Final proposals are due to the Department of Environment and Planning at 95 Franklin St, Room 1053, Buffalo, NY 14202 by 4:00 pm (EST) on March 16, 2012. Erie County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and waive any informality. Maria R. Whyte Commissioner of Erie County Department of Environment and Planning
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Zakiyyah’s Run Down 562-670-106-860-103-657-748-905-198-
657-648-920-907-546-986-676-198
Billy Bye Bye Sez:
If you dream of your MOTHER Your number should be 562. If you dream of MONEY PLAY 365; TRAMP 615; Rabbit 301; turkey 221 and preacher 330!
February Monthly Vibrations 333-891-145-549-096-326-437-228-252-202-
EVE-6375
12-13-17-22-35
EVE- 3007 EVE-7577
2-5-25-27-30 3-8-18-23-27
4-7-11-17-26
1-13-16-25-40-43#10
202
588
MA RUTH Winter
998-012-213 443-514-910-102648-515-907
LUCKIE DUCKIE 134-431-143
648*123*104
980-422-809
981-989-970-990-080-800 390-196-102-581-752-319408-378-352-126
189-444-886
322-522-412-432-421-423
THE NUMBER BOOK quick money $$$$ 189-809-444 886-980-422 322-522-355 800-592-390 394-833-924 127-909-418 927-313-466 124-550-525 583-269-508 grandma’s Febuary pixs
235-409509-776123-189
Grandma’s 4-Way MyWay
6789-1917-54689558-6657-5611
EVE-9196
9-17-35-43-45-53#6
335
888
435
CHALLENGER HITS
Midday
297-November & Quick *$$ (bx) 093-Lucky Ducky & Quick $$ (bx) *390-Quick $$ (Straight)*
Evening
*437-February Vibes (Straight)* *409- GrandMa’s Pix (Straight)* 374- Number book (bx)
Dance
*2nd Cup 36 Broadway St. 840-0048 7p.m. Wed. “Salsa night with Calvin and Fanny.” Beginner salsa lesson and social dance. salsacalvinfanny@hotmail. *African American Cultural Center 350 Masten Ave. 884-2013 3 p.m. Sat. 3 pm @5 p.m. Tues. Thurs. “Community Dance and Drumming Classes.” Visit www.africanamericancultural. org. *El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera 91 Allen St. 8849693.wwwfolkloric.org. Mon through Wed: “Dance Classes with Folkloric Productions Dance Co.” Includes meditation and yoga 912-8754. *First Shioh Baptist Church. 15 Pine St. 6:30 p.m. Fri. “Line dancing lessons.” 847-6555. Free. *Gateway Longview Family Resource Center. 347 E. Ferry St. 6 p.m. Tues. “ Dance lessons with the Smooth Steppers.” Classes in urban Ballroom, Chicago Steppin’ and swing. 6337813. *Kenan Center 433 Locust St.; Level Breakdancing class. Also 7:30 p.m. Mon. Wed. “B-Girl class.” Beginners welcome. $10; $15; Also 6 p.m. Tues; 4 p.m. Thurs. Open practice.” $5. BUFFALO BETTY IF YOU WERE BORN IN... January - 571 * February - 103 * March - 155 April - 267 * May - 931 * June 817 * July - 720 Augus - 315 * September - 521 * October - 600 November - 729 * December 508
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ChallengerCN.com
• FEBRUARY 22, Challenger Community News •
Events Calendar Wednesday February 22 Annual Black History Month Celebration: Noon, Buffalo City Hall lobby, hosted by Mayor Brown. Public invited to attend.
Board of Education Meeting: 5:30 p.m., 801 City Hall. Friday February 24 Black Tie for Black History: 7-10 p.m., The Tralf, $25; Ticketmaster, Tralf Box Office, Doris Records. Saturday February 25 Super Saturday Workshop: Hosted by Eric Eve, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Millennium Hotel.
Monday February 27 Annual Black History Program: Pilgrim Baptist Church, 665 Michigan; 4 p.m., pubic invited. Sunday February 26 WNY Health Expo: 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., Fairgrounds Event Center, Hamburg NY Wholistic Health Collective Meeting: Saunders Community Center, 2777 Bailey Avenue, 2:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.; 716-239-7238 for information.
SEE YOU AT THE events!
Betty Jean Grant 2nd District Erie County Legislator Announces H.E.A.P. outreach Site, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Edward Saunders Community Center, 2777 Bailey Avenue; 716894-0914 or 716-536-7323 for more information. Locked up But Not Down: Screening and panel discussion, Niagara Falls Public Library, 1425 Main St. N.F. 9909333, Saladin Q. Allah. Prisoners Are People Too: Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street, 6:308:30pm. The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng are the sponsors of this program. For more info Karima Amin, 716-834-8438 or karima@prisonersarepeopletoo. org. (see page 5) Thursday March 1 King Center Charter School’s March board meeting, 4:30 p.m. in the school conference room. Call 716-891-7912 for more information.
“BLACK TIE FOR BLACK HISORY” OUTSTANDING HONOREES: Top L-R: Satoria Donovan, Terrence Amir McKelvey, Detra Trueheart, Kevin Donovan. Above L-R: Demone Smith, George Johnson, Pastor Darius Pridgen and Eva Doyle will be honored at the annual Black Tie for Black Hstory event Friday, February 24 at the Tralf, 622 Main Street from 7 to 10 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by theOld School B Boys, The All StarBand and DJ Papa Trini. Tickets are $25 and are available at Ticketmaster, the Tralf Box Office and Doris Records. There will be an after party at The Oakk Room, 1435 Main Street.Proceeds to benefit Juneteenth. PHOTOS XAVIER
we salute BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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ChallengerCN.com
• FEBRUARY 22, Challenger Community News •