Columbus & Dayton March 2018 Edition by Columbus African American News Journal

Columbus & Dayton

FREE March 2018

The #MeToo Movement: Thoughts and Considerations

A Living Legacy

By Eric Johnson, PhD

By Alethea Gaddis, MBA

African American Women In Healthcare: We Are Not Alone By Charleta B. Tavares

CONGRESSWOMAN

MAXINE WATERS “If you come for me, I’m coming for you!”

YOU’RE NEVER TOO YOUNG OR TOO OLD TO HAVE DREAMS.

Real Possibilities is a trademark of AARP®

Whether it’s first grade at 5 or first time college student at 65, we believe it’s never too late to turn your goals and dreams into Real Possibilities.

PUBLISHER’S PAGE Founder & Publisher Ray Miller

Layout & Design Ray Miller, III

Assistant Editor Ray Miller, III

Media Consultant Rod Harris Distribution Manager Ronald Burke OSU Student Intern Kabrina Thompson

Lead Photographer Steve Harrison

Contributing Editors

Rosyln Clark Artis, EdD Heidi Beirich, PhD Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Rodney Q. Blount, Jr. MA John Delia Marian Wright Edelman Alethea E. Gaddis, MBA Adeel Hassan Thomas Heath Robin A. Jones, PhD Cecil Jones, MBA Jaqueline Lewis-Lyons, PsyD Senator Charleta B. Tavares

The Columbus African American news journal was founded by Ray Miller on January 10, 2011

The Columbus & Dayton African American

There are many people who speak derisively about our nation’s annual recognition of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., celebrated each year, during the month of January. This attitude is expressed despite all that Dr. King, and so many others, did to make America a more equal and just nationand to improve the quality of their lives--regardless of their race. Still they consider the King Holiday an imposition and an infringement on their time. They are further irritated by Black History Month, celebrated in February, and all of the boastful teaching and pride demonstrated by people of African descent. And, if that wasn’t enough, here comes the month of March, and these same critics have to endure women, whom they perceive as the weaker sex--physically and intellectually-speaking out, standing up, marching, protesting, and affecting change by exercising their electoral strength and intolerance of abuse and inequality. For some, all of this empowerment is an affront upon their “Americanness” and their perceived cultural and racial superiority. I view this 90 day period as an opportunity to continually educate both the well-intentioned and misguided individuals, about meaningful issues surrounding race and gender. The ultimate goal is obviously to remove any limitations on learning and action directed toward the realization of the promises of our nation. Because of my long and highly visible political career, I am often asked, “What are you doing now?” When I respond that I am now publishing a news journal, they say, “oh yes, I know, but what else are you doing?” That’s when I know that those individuals have no idea what it takes to produce a news journal, magazine or newspaper on a weekly or monthly basis. Each day, I am shifting my time between the journal’s strategic direction, editorial focus, writing assignments, distribution, advertising sales, business management, financial record-keeping, accounting, collecting revenue, lead writing, research and, added to all of this, everything I used to do as a legislator except sit on standing committees and vote. One of my great joys is speaking on the very topics which I have addressed in this column. Although the researching and writing of speeches is time-consuming, I find it rewarding, principally because of my love of literature, poetry, and most definitely the study and contextualization of history. To envelope all that I have shared with you thus far, consider the timeliness of what follows. Most recently, I was invited to be the keynote speaker for Black History program of The Ohio State University Chapter of the NAACP. The request came from Ms. Precious Tate, the President of the Chapter and the Executive Board: Ginette Rhodes, Vice-President; Taylor Lonas, Secretary; and Leonna Bell, Recruitment Chair. Ms. Tate informed me that the organization had planned a “Living Museum” program, wherein the members of the Chapter would present speeches, poetry, songs, dance and spoken word performances to honor African American legends such as: President Barack and Michelle Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Gabby Douglas, Misty Copeland, Josephine Baker, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Oprah Winfrey, Malcolm X, and fourteen (14) others. My first thought was, “What do you need me for and how are you going to present all of this in one evening?” Well, everything came off like clockwork, the performances were extraordinary, everyone had a great time, and we all learned something that we previously did not know. The students, family members, faculty, and guests enjoyed my speech......at least they said they did! Far more importantly, I thoroughly enjoyed the students performances. They were excellent! What the students gave me was a much needed respite from the demands of my day. Hopefully, what I provided to them was a generational bridge between our past and our future. In my summation, I expounded upon the lyrics to the Black National Anthem, penned by James Weldon Johnson: “We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. All of those brilliant, young African American students in the Dr. Frank W. Hale, Jr. Center that evening, left knowing that they are our “bright stars” James Weldon Johnson was writing about. What a powerful experience! Precious Tate is a Rock Star who we will hear much more from in the near future. In the words of the late, great poet, Maya Angelou, she is indeed a Phenomenal Woman....Phenomenally! With Appreciation and Respect,

503 S. High Street - Suite 102 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Office: 614.826.2254 editor@columbusafricanamerican.com www.CAANJ.com

Ray Miller Founder & Publisher 3

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

In This Issue

31st Annual Minority

Health Month Kick-off

COVER STORY

Legislative Update

24 It’s Past Time for White

Supremacy To Die

The Search for Wakanda

Begins With Investing

In HBCUs

Six Area High School

Students Named As

2018 Kenneth L. Howard

Scholars Cover Story – Page 19

The Most Powerful Piece In The Game of Chess: The Queen By: Robin Jones, PhD

Lynda Blackmon Lowery: Turning 15 On The Road To Freedom

By: Rodney Blount, Jr., MA

Black Impact: Consumer Categories Where African Americans Move Markets

The MeToo Movement:

Thoughts and

Book Bags & E-Readers

Central State Invests $2M On

Safety and Security Upgrades

NBA Star Kevin Durant

Invests $10M To Help

Youth Get Into College

Sankofa Includes

Knowing Your History

For You To Be Successful

Today and Tomorrow

Black Impact: Consumer

Categories Where African

Americans Move Markets

St. Vincent School and

Summer Prep Academy:

Considerations

Alternative for

Creating An Unshakeable

A Living Legacy

Struggling Students

Generational Legacy

The Most Powerful Piece In

Saving Babies By Helping

The Game of Chess:

Moms Get Healthy

The Queen

Aging With A Youthful Attitude

Making Schools Safer Requires

Lynda Blackmon Lowery:

Turning 15 On The

Something From Everyone

Road To Freedom

African American Women

Amanda Gorman - National

In Healthcare: We Are

Youth Poet Laureate

Not Alone

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

Community Events

All contents of this news journal are copyrighted © 2015; all rights reserved. Title registration with the U.S. Patent Office pending. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and illustrations will not be returned unless accompanied by a properly addresses envelope bearing sufficient postage. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials.

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

THE ME TOO MOVEMENT: THOUGHTS AND CONSIDERATIONS

By Eric Johnson, PhD The explosion of the Me Too movement has revealed an aspect of American society that many have underestimated and often denied. The intersection and impact of sexism, patriarchy, and oppression have long been aspects of sexual politics that have obstructed women for the better part of the country’s entire existence. Wage inequality, domestic violence, sexual assault, misogyny and host of other issues represent an all too common climate that many women have been forced to navigate. The resulting situations produced environments that were often so toxic for many women that words are often insufficient and the damage often too fractious to describe. The Me Too movement has shed light on an issue that many folks who have worked in the area social justice were and are deafly aware. It is in society’s interests to collectively respond to what has been in effect sanctioned behavior by both men and women for far too long. If the Me Too movement makes it possible for people to explore their possible selves we all benefit from the product. It is shameful that it took so long to address a problem that has been ostensibly apparent to many for a very long period of time. One can only hope that this moment marks a permanent change and not simply a bump on the road of status quo. While there is no question that women have borne the brunt of this particular social inequality, few of the social disparities this widespread remain discretely in one camp. Less talked about are the subtleties and nuances that are necessary to promulgate such despicable customs across time and space. The silence of good men and women was and continues to be the oxygen that gives this inequality life. Even less popular is the notion that oppression requires some consent from the oppressed. Many powerful women and women not so powerful have participated in the silencing of women in more vulnerable situations who were seeking only to speak their truths and heal their spirits. As we seek to purge this wicked aspect of our culture to do so fully and comprehensively we must be aware that there are those who are involved for their own self-centered reasons who would use an otherwise worthy effort to forward their personal agenda. It is difficult to assess the impact of the race, culture, and class on the intention, operation and consideration of the movement but we would be foolish to think those issues are irrelevant to the evaluation of the movement’s success. To the extent that we encourage a cultural climate that is built on mutual respect and human dignity we develop circumstances that move us

beyond simply identifying the bad guys to nurturing the full expression of women and men who wish to leave the world better than they found it. It is not in the interest of the Me Too movement to cast women as some vulnerable population that is in need of saving. Many women have found themselves in circumstances that defy belief in the capacity of human goodness and they succeeded despite forces that would have had it otherwise. Women are not in need saving, the truth is our society perpetuates a culture of discrimination, oppression, and inequality that adversely affects many communities and the evolution of the Me Too movement represents another attempt to bring just to the unjust. However, the stubborn tendency of the status quo to win out is ever present. The effects of the Me Too have been felt in almost every aspect of our lives, however there is one area that has largely remained outside the spotlight of this important mantra and that is the American family. Family structure, tradition, culture and beliefs are and always have been the lynchpin to the broader American framework. How families inculcate girls and boys with hopes, dreams, fears and considerations is the ultimate foundation for the actions we take or don’t take as women and men. Certainly, impacting the way families support and encourage the development of girls and boys is a far more complicated challenge but it is a critical aspect of developing a sustainable change that ensures that girls and boys become the men and women who make “Me Too” something that was done as opposed to something we have to do. While the work will never be done because better is always something to which we should subscribe, we can move the cultural needle on the susceptibility of public

sanction of wretched behavior. Every time we do that we save a woman from a sexual assault, we provide courage to a woman to get out of an abusive relationship, or we give a young man the tools necessary to refrain from or object to any action that seeks to subjugate any member of a vulnerable population to include objectified women. Living on and with purpose is not something we can do at anyone’s expense. When we create the circumstances necessary for our growth we can only do so authentically when everyone we know is invited to do the same. However, living with purpose does not allow us to have uncritical conversations that do not require us to examine our contribution to every situation in which we find ourselves. The Me Too movement has the potential to contribute to the effort to live on and with purpose if we are honest about each of our contribution to the environment that made the effort necessary in the first place. In addition, we have to be clear that living on and with purpose is not a common goal as a result some among us might put their personal interest first even when they are seemingly advocates for or victims of Me Too. Living on purpose require us to not allow ourselves to be intellectually herded to places that benefit someone else at our expense. Dr. Eric L. Johnson currently serves as the Chief Consultant with Strategies to Succeed and he is on the faculty at Virginia International University. He is the former Chief of Research Publications for the United States Air Force Academy. He also worked in Columbus Public Schools for the eight years. Moreover, he has conducted seminars in many organizations nationally and internationally in places such as Russia, China, Canada, Africa and Central America. In addition he has published three books Livin’ in the Shade, co-authored with his son, 10 Deadly Aspects of Pride, and Beyond Self Help: A Journey to be better.

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

A LIVING LEGACY By Alethea E. Gaddis, MBA With the beginning of a new month, some people just flip the page of the calendar and keep it moving. Most people are familiar with the expression, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” The expression describes the month greeting us like lion’s roar of inclement weather, only to leave us with the gentle lamb-like days of warm, sunny weather. March is also recognized as Women’s History Month. It’s time set aside to celebrate women’s contributions to history, culture, and society. Cities, communities, and neighborhoods throughout the nation can boast of rich contributions made by women in their vicinity. On the national level, many know the accomplishments of dynamic women like Dorothy Irene Height, noted non-profit executive and social activist. She levied her influence to address issues of African-American women, including unemployment, illiteracy, and voter awareness. History records that she encouraged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint African-American women to positions in government. There is Selma Hortense Burke, registered nurse, sculptor, and member of the Harlem Renaissance movement who in 1942, joined the Navy making her one of the first African American women to enroll. While in the Navy, she was commissioned to create a bronze portrait of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The U.S. Mint later selected that image which now adorns the United States dime. Here recently, with the passing of Marie Frankie Muse Freeman, we were reminded of her distinction as the first woman named to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She gained national recognition for her work in the areas of civil rights, housing, and education. Shirley Anita Chisholm politician, educator, and activist declared herself a black woman who dared to be herself in the 20th century.

In 1972, Chisholm made a symbolic bid for the Democratic presidential nomination with the slogan, “Unbought and Unbossed.” Ruby Dee, was a prolific African-American actress in Harlem who was actively engaged in the American Civil Rights movement. Check out her poem, “Calling All Women” found in her book from 1987 titled, My One Good Nerve. She issues a clarion call for women to come together and fight for equal rights together as a group. When I hear her recite this poem, I want to grab my lunch, meet up with my sisters, then roll up my sleeves to work. Ah, we could travel the annals of time and call the names of countless women who were without a doubt, bold and dynamic representatives of women everywhere. As a child living on the east side of Columbus in the early sixties, I recall that many businesses lined the streets of my neighborhood. The two women recognized in this article were among those business owners. They are worthy of mention because they carved out and established a business in the early 19th century, under the most unlikely circumstances. For example, according to an article in the Ohio Sentinel dated Saturday, April 23, 1955, Isabelle Ridgeway established an “Old Folks Home” on September 15, 1912. In 1912 though, as a woman, Mrs. Ridgeway was denied the right to vote in the presidential race won by Woodrow Wilson. Mrs. Ridgeway, a compassionate healthcare pioneer, established a legacy that benefited generations of elderly Central Ohioans. I remember visiting her, “Old Folks Home” with my parents. As an adult, I returned there many times to visit a resident or as a volunteer. I’d sit in the lobby, trying to conjure up an image of the trailblazing pioneer who was impressed to create a stable, comfortable place for the elderly to live out their days with dignity. There were lean days financially; grants funds were not available then, but she was resourceful, and her church, the historic St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal church joined the ranks of those supportive of the work. On Tuesday, April 5, 1955, The Columbus Dispatch reported Mrs. Ridgway’s death at the age of 95, the day prior, on April 4th.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

One of her friends, also a member of St. Paul, was Dollie Whittaker, also known as Mrs. D.A. Whittaker. The Ohio Sentinel, (Saturday, November 24, 1956) credits Whittaker and two other ladies, Mrs. Jennie Tucker and Mother Wright, with the distinction of being instrumental in bringing Ridgeway’s dream to fruition. Mrs. Whittaker was an entrepreneur as well. According to the Long Street Businessmen’s Association, the Whittaker Family became owners of a business in 1921, established the year before by Mary A. Austin. I remember my parents telling me we were going to the “undertaker” for the calling hours of a church member at Mrs. D. A. Whittaker’s, a funeral home and ambulance service on Long Street. (known as Diehl-Whittaker Funeral Service since 1975). As a young girl, I was curious about women in my neighborhood who had businesses named after them. Women whose name or impact I learned later, may not be recorded in literature. I struggled even to secure information from the world wide web about them. As I researched though, I was fascinated by the details of Mrs. Whttaker’s life. Her obituary in The Columbus Dispatch, (Wednesday, June 30, 1943), says she was born in slavery in Washington County, Virginia. When she died at the age of 89, she was the oldest active funeral director in all of Columbus, Ohio. It seems like yesterday that I imitated Mommy directing the choir because that’s what I saw her do at church. And wasn’t it just yesterday that I played house with my cousins Cynthia and Jolynn; pretending to cook on a play stove because we saw Mama in the kitchen baking pies that our grandfather delivered for Mr. Waldo Tyler to serve at his lunch counter and drug store at Long Street and Taylor Avenue here in Columbus. My point is: children watch the acts and deeds of adults. After all of these years, I possess countless memories of people working and making positive contributions to both family and community. Let’s govern ourselves so that the work of our hands will inspire our children and the generations to come. Alethea is passionate about creating opportunities to help others thrive. She has 30+ years’ experience in the non-profit sector. As former Executive Director of New Beginnings Christian Revitalization Corporation for First Church of God, she developed youth leadership development and educational programs for youth and created clean, safe, affordable housing for low-to-moderate income families. She and her brother Randal are co-founders of the Willie and Vivian Gaddis Foundation for KIDS, offering the Jump Start U4 College Tour and scholarships. She has also directed youth drug and alcohol prevention programs and is currently a Franklin County CASA/GAL volunteer advocating for abused and neglected children. As a licensed, independent insurance broker, she works with individuals, families, and churches to protect their assets.

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

THE MOST POWERFUL PIECE IN THE GAME OF CHESS: THE QUEEN By Robin A. Jones, PhD Scripturally, man should CLEEVE to their wife; behind every good man is a good woman. Black Women are the backbone to our family. We have always been able to lift the oppression so we could progressively move forward. From days of slavery to the Whitehouse, Black Women are the foundation. Thinking about Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, to Michelle Obama. Women are the substance that catapults family, men, and children to reach their destiny. If Black Women are the backbone of our households, what is happening to our family stronghold? dignity. Where are the women I grew up knowing and seeing with the strength to Don’t Lose Your Queen handle our family with both, passion and friction? As a young woman, I remember my Why are we losing our women to mental mother telling me – “if he hits you, you better illness caused by drugs, our children to leave him laying”. She lived by the sword. expulsions and jails, and our husbands to street violence? According to the American Mom was a force to be reckoned with in Association of Addiction Medicine (2016), all that she attempted in her life. Everyone the below statistics are proven credit we knew – you did not ‘mess’ with Lib, and you need to lend a helping hand; let’s change did not ‘mess’ with her children. She was a “Outreach” to “REACH-OUT”. According to Banks descendent, and they are known to be the Black Doctor (2015), Black women in a strong generation with a band of fearless particular, avoid the outside advice of a women. Many lessons were learned from my mental health professional when stress starts mother, both positive and not so positive. As to affect their mood, activity, sleep, eating a not-so-positive, she was a chronic alcoholic. habits or weight. Black women often deny Growing up as the child of an alcoholic is mental and physical changes; typically something that you do not forget. As a child suppress their feelings and even harmful you want to help, but you do not know where thoughts for fear of being seen as weak or to start or how to lend a hand. She always crazy 1. The national average for mental told me, “This is not your life, Bobbi,” as she health in the past year for adults was 18.1%, called me. She told me, “Never let someone compared to 16.3% for African American tell you something about yourself that you adults. did not know.” At the age of 45, my mother turned from the bottle and looked toward * Women are more likely to be prescribed God. Yes, I remember many good points Opioids for chronic pain as pain relievers and about my mother, but mostly I remember her be given higher doses, while using them for struggle with alcohol. longer time periods than men, and creating a dependence more quickly than men.2 Your Mother is Your Queen * Women are more likely to be known to have prescription pain reliever overdose deaths by more than 400% from 1999 to 2010, compared to 237% among men.2 * Women tripled among the Heroin overdose deaths in the last few years from 0.4 to 1.2 per 100,000.3

You see as much as I wanted to help, it was not about me; it was about mom. As I have aged, and began my studies on genetics, I have learned that while each of us are genetically predisposed from both parents, we actually carry more of our mother’s genes. Due to the little organelles that live within our cells called mitochondria. The mitochondria has retained their own genome, called mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA. Each cell contains many copies of mtDNA, as mitochondria freely replicates within the cell. MtDNA is exclusively a mother’s trait. The women in my family gave me my genomes and the genetic chemistry to make me who I am today, both maternal and paternal women.

Yes, this is a crisis in epic proportions. It is an epidemic. Drugs, alcohol and mental health, diseases which are a life some of us know from personal experience. Others from reading the record books or listening to the news media. When I stand and look at myself in the mirror or stand before my students in the classroom, I see scars of these diseases. None of us are immune to the crises in our According to 23andME, genetic studies society and families. or genomes will lead to key medical breakthroughs. The Genomes, as reported by We all have a Queen in our Life 23andMe, offers information on ancestry and a variety of genetically influenced traits. For In my family there was a band of strong me, after processing my DNA through two women that ran with grace, finesse and different sources, it was discovered through 7

my genetics, I did not carry the alcoholic gene and I would be able to process alcohol normally. Therefore keeping the words of my mother in memory, an over consumption of alcohol is a life I have never known, personally. Children need to know how to detect these diseases and why some are more affected than others. SAMHSA4 reported the rate of illegal drug use in the last month among African Americans ages 12 and up in 2014 (most recent data collection) was 12.4%, compared to the national average of 10.2% (SAMHSA, 2014). You Need Your Queen We are impacted by the genetic composition and the health of our mothers. The African American community is genetically impacted in many ways through alcohol and drug addiction as well as mental health, diabetes, hypertension, infant mortality, and so on. As we become more knowledgeable about our genetics, the more we will be able to better analyze and provide information to our medical practitioners. Our families need to heal. Let us return to the strong Black woman: we are the stronghold and we can and will make a difference. We are exceptional Black women. Let us not talk about the change, let us be the change. Footnotes: Sun, L. (2015). Available at https:// www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-yourhealth/wp/2015/05/28/women-of-all-agesmorelikely-to-have-serious-mental-healthproblems-than-men-report-says/?utm_ term=.3ab580bc7d19

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Prescription Painkiller Overdoses: A Growing Epidemic, Especially Among Women. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/ prescriptionpainkilleroverdoses/index.html 2

Hedegaard H, Chen LH, Warner M. Drugpoisoning deaths involving heroin: United States, 2000–2013. NCHS data brief, no 190. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2015. Available at http://www.cdc. gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db190.htm

Dr. Jones has a commitment to a strong work ethic, education and a passion for entrepreneurship. In her 40+ years of employment, Robin spent 30 of those years gainfully employed with fortune 50 companies such as GE, IBM, Ashland Oil, and the U.S. Department of Energy, and Department of Defense. Robin started her career path as a database developer building her first database for the F14 Aircraft Fighter planes and from there she catapulted her way to the position of Interim CIO. In her most recent employment capacity, Robin is a retired Senior Manager PMO Director of the Computer Center at University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business.

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

LYNDA BLACKMON LOWERY - TURNING 15 ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM By Rodney Blount, Jr., MA The month of March commemorates Women’s History month. Women’s History month reminds us to honor women who are the backbone of the human race and the progenitors of life. I am always glad to write about the accomplishments of women because although they make up over 50 percent of our population, their achievements are often understated or not heralded at all. I want to thank Catherine Willis for informing me about Lynda Blackmon Lowery. I did not know about this stellar civil rights leader before Mrs. Willis informed me about Mrs. Lowery. I went to hear Lynda Lowery speak about her experience at the Bexley library. Before she spoke, the audience was serenaded by the Urban Strings Youth Orchestra, a Central Ohio-based community youth orchestra of serious, talented, young musicians. Mrs. Lowery followed the talented young men and women by singing the Civil Rights era song, “I woke up this morning with my mind, stayed on freedom.” Thereafter, she delivered a stirring, biographical speech and I have written a compilation of the highlights below. Lynda Blackmon (Lowery) was born on March 22, 1950, to two adoring parents, Alfred “AC” and Ludie Blackmon in Selma, Alabama. She had three siblings: Joanne, Jackie, and Alfred, Jr. She grew up in the George Washington Carver homes, a tight knit community that was a protective shield against the open racism in Selma. On September 15, 1957, a tragic event occurred with the death of her mother, who may have survived had racism from the local hospitals not interfered and prevented her from receiving the proper care she needed. Lynda was only 7. Lynda’s father and grandmother, Sylvia Johnson, became the bedrocks in her life and were strong examples of determination and courage. Her grandmother would often provide inspiration to Lynda by saying, “If you start something, finish it,” and when referring to her life and spirit she would say, “You own this. Treat it as a garden. Cultivate it. Don’t let any weeds take root.” Lynda’s grandmother invited her to see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak at Tabernacle Baptist Church. She did not know who he was at the time, but listening to him speak was a life changing event. She was fascinated by his eloquence and the content of his speech. She imagined Dr. King telling her directly that she can do it (create change) with steady, loving confrontation. Dr. King was talking about voting rights for African Americans and she made a covenant that day to fight for equal rights. Lynda became an active participant in local civil rights activities. Lowery and several others were trained by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on how to participate in the Civil Rights movement. SNCC was founded in April 1960, by young

people who had emerged as leaders of the sit-in protest movement initiated on February 1 of that year by four black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their goal was to increase student participation in the Civil Rights movement. On January 2, 1965, Martin L. King, Jr., came back to Selma and talked about marching for their rights, particularly voting rights, on Jan. 3. Registration to vote for Blacks in the South was hard at best and nearly impossible at its worst. Poll taxes and other discriminatory laws were the rule of the day. Also, there were several discriminatory tests including guessing how many jelly beans are in a jar and how deep is the Alabama River. Mrs. Lowery participated in several marches for civil rights in Selma. Although she was very young, it was not uncommon for children and teenagers to participate in marches and other civil rights activities. Mrs. Lowery stated, “The Selma march was really a children’s march. The Voting Rights Act (1965) would not have been signed without the children.” Like the adults, children were also arrested and sent to jail. Mrs. Lowery was arrested and jailed at least nine times before her 15th birthday in her quest for civil rights. After one march, she and roughly 150175 fellow freedom marchers were arrested and sent to jail in school buses that took them to Camp Selma, a state prison, for three days and Camp Thomaston for six days. They were only fed black eyed peas, which has fueled her dislike for black eyed peas to the present day. The children, young men and women kept up their morale by singing (We shall overcome/I am not afraid). On the ninth day, Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered their release from prison. On February 18, 1965, Alabama state troopers joined local police in breaking up an evening march in Marion, 30 miles away from Selma. In the subsequent brawl, a state trooper shot Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26-year-old church deacon from Marion, as he attempted to protect his mother from the trooper’s nightstick. Jackson died eight days later in a Selma hospital. Jackson’s death was the catalyst for the march from Selma to Montgomery.

The Columbus African & Dayton American African American News Journal • March • February 2018 2015

On March 7, 1965, Mrs. Lowery participated in an attempted march from Selma to Montgomery led by Rev. Hosea Williams (SCLC) and John Lewis (SNCC). The marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but were faced on the other side with a barricade of state troopers and local lawmen, including mounted patrol, commanded by the infamous sheriff Jim Clark. They marched two by two. Mrs. Lowery was towards the front of the march. Rev. James Webb kneeled and motioned for everyone else to do the same. All of a sudden, she heard a loud noise, it was tear gas! She felt a hand coming toward her and she bit it. She got up and ran, but the officer followed her and attacked her. She passed out, but woke up only to realize she was on a stretcher and being put into a hearse. She said she was not dead, removed herself, and ran until she found her younger sister, Joanne, because she believed it was her job to protect her. Mrs. Lowery found her sister and at first she thought she might be dead, but she was informed that she had fainted, but would be okay. She then went to Brown Chapel, which was surrounded by troopers, followed by First Baptist Church where she was informed that she would need stitches, a total of 38. This dreadful day is better known as Bloody Sunday. On March 9, 1965, Martin L. King, Jr. led the march in Selma, but they were again stopped by the troopers. Dr. King filed for an injunction for the march, which was granted on March 17 by federal Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. The federally sanctioned march from Montgomery to Selma commenced on March 21, but only 300 were allowed to march the full length of the way. Lynda Lowery was on the list of 300 to participate at the age of 14. Lynda Blackmon Lowery was the youngest person to take part in the Selma to Montgomery march. She turned 15 on the second day of the march. She feared for her life, but was encouraged to keep marching by several people on the march and by thinking of the words of her grandmother. The march lasted for three days and swelled to over Continued on Page 9

Continued from Page 8

25,000 participants on the last day. When she saw the state capitol, she wanted to say to Governor George Wallace, “I am here.” Lynda Blackmon Lowery continues to lead a successful life after the Civil Rights movement. For more than 27 years she worked as a case manager at a local mental health center and still lives in Selma. She has been happily married to Collie Lowery for over 30 years and has two daughters (Danita and Bonita) and three grandchildren. She is an active member of the NAACP, Ward Chapel AME Church, and Phyllis Wheatley Chapter #656 Order of the Eastern Star (PHA) where she serves as the secretary. She lectures all over the United States and has won numerous awards. She is especially

proud of her book, Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March. The book has won numerous awards, including the Perkins book of the year award, has been published in Japanese, and has been produced into a one woman play. When asked about how she accomplished so much at such a young age, Mrs. Lowery responded, “Some people say I was courageous, but I say I am determined.” I personally want to thank Lynda Blackmon Lowery for her contributions in the fight for civil rights and I encourage everyone to read Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom. Works Cited http://urbanstrings.squarespace.com/ whoweare/ http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_

wdesc.php?rec=7124 http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/ encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_selma_to_ montgomery_march/ Interview with Lynda Blackmon Lowery Rodney Blount is an Educator and Historian. He received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Ball State University and a Masters of Arts degree from The Ohio State University. His work has been featured in several publications. Rodney is a native of Columbus, Ohio and is a member of several organizations.

AMANDA GORMAN - NATIONAL YOUTH POET LAUREATE By Adeel Hassan It’s impossible not to think of your having been a precocious child. Tell me whether there was anything early that pointed you in the direction of writing. I grew up at this incredibly odd intersection in Los Angeles, where it felt like the black ’hood met black elegance met white gentrification met Latin culture met wetlands. Traversing between these worlds, either to go to a private school in Malibu, or then come back home to my family’s two-bedroom apartment, gave me an appreciation for different cultures and realities, but also made me feel like an outsider. I’m sure my single mother, Joan Wicks, might describe me as a precocious child, but looking back in elementary school I often self-described myself as a plain “weird” child. I spent most of elementary school convinced that I was an alien. Literally. The worlds I mentioned, traveled between for school and home — of blackness and whiteness — seemed so foreign to me. While other students were on the jungle gym, I was writing in my journal on a park bench, or trying to write my own dictionary. I was obsessed with everything and anything; I wanted to learn everything, to read everything, to do everything. I was constantly on sensory overload. I’d hoard dozens of books in my second-grade cubby, and literally try to read two at a time, side by side. What contributed to my writing early on is how my mom encouraged it. She kept the TV off because she wanted my siblings and I to be engaged and active. So we made forts, put on plays, musicals, and I wrote like crazy. Who were the writers who made you first want to write? When did you decide to be a poet? I’ll never forget being in third grade, and my teacher, Shelly Fredman, a writer in her own right, was reading Ray Bradbury’s novel “Dandelion Wine” to our class. I don’t remember what the metaphor was exactly — something about candy — but I lost my mind. It was the best thing I’d ever heard. Pure magic! How did you discover your own voice? How did it feel to discover your own voice? Did it happen gradually? When did you get more serious about writing?

In eighth grade, I picked up Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” because I’d never seen a book with a dark-skinned, nappy-haired girl on the cover. I was enthralled, not just by Morrison’s craftsmanship, but also the content of her stories — her characters, which I’ve always called fourth dimensional. What’s more, I realized that all of the stories I read, and wrote, featured white or lightskinned characters. I’d been reading books without black heroines, which nearly stripped me of the ability to write in my own voice, blackness and all. Reading Morrison was almost like reteaching myself how to write unapologetically in a black and feminist aesthetic that was my own. After that I made a promise to myself: To never stop writing, and to always represent marginalized figures in my work. And from that sprouted my own voice — the voice of an unashamed black woman who also by way of a speech impediment understood what it was like to be silenced, and didn’t wish this fate on any other soul. To hone my voice, I read everything, from books to cereal boxes, three times: once for fun, the second time to learn something new about the writing craft, and the third time was to improve that piece. I woke up early every day and basically did “literary dress up,” where I’d wear another writer’s voice like clothing and move onto the next one, until I’d gone through a stack of 10 different books. I wore ephemeral versions, copying their sentence constructions, verbiage, and tones. Then I’d step out of them and choose the best characteristics of those styles, until I created a voice that was mine.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

This was before I started thinking about publishing, which came in early high school when I started attending free poetry workshops at Beyond Baroque and the nonprofit WriteGirl. What is it that gets you started on a poem? Is it an idea, an image, a rhythm, or something else? Do you rely more on your ears or your eyes? Both the external and the internal trigger me. If I’m writing about something internal, say past experiences, I’m writing about it in relation to an external reality, like the ocean. When that connection happens in my mind, I grab a pen and find the closest excuse for sunlight. I usually begin with a word cloud, where I write down the best words I’ve heard that week — like plum, stone, spoon — I don’t know why but I love words like that. I then take those words and begin to write. I think about the content of what I’m writing first, just getting the lines out and choosing the most necessary ones. Only then do I think about a shape that comes out of that meaning. Where do I want this line to break? Do I want the stanzas to be shaped like a girl, or a house? Maybe it’s because of an auditory processing disorder, but I depend a lot on sight. But that also means I’m hypersensitive to sound — I just see it, rather than hear it, if that makes sense. For example, in order to write, I must have music. Without. Music. I. Can. Not. Write. I’ll play an instrumental track that speaks to my mood, usually something by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ludwig Göransson or Michael Giacchino, and then my poem becomes a visualization of that sound. Revelation is a fact of your poems. Do you feel “visceral” is an accurate description of your poetry? It’s always difficult to describe my own poetry, it’s like trying to paint my own face without a photo. I guess visceral is accurate in that I attempt to bring the reader or listener on an emotional journey, but it’s also a visceral inquiry. I want my poetry to ask questions, even without answers. I want my poetry to interrogate myself and the audience so deeply you can feel it ringing in your gut afterward. Article from NYTimes.com

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

COMMUNITY

ST. VINCENT SCHOOL AND SUMMER PREP ACADEMY: ALTERNATIVE FOR STRUGGLING STUDENTS Each day, over 200 students walk through the doors of St. Vincent Prep Academy, each with a story to tell, each with a unique set of challenges: tantrums, withdrawal, conflict, aggression, anxiety. Additionally, many families also experience poverty, homelessness, addiction, hunger, violence, abuse- we call it trauma, they call it life. St. Vincent Family Center offers children and families a safe space for healing and hope for a healthy future. Families trust the team of behavioral health experts when they don’t know where else to turn. When children lack the appropriate skills to regulate their emotions and behaviors, they struggle to function successfully in every-day life, most commonly in a traditional school environment. At St. Vincent Prep Academy, students and families find the support and guidance they need to succeed. The Prep Academy is one of very few options for elementary students in need of this level St. Vincent Prep Academy connects of care and is the only therapeutic preschool behavioral healthcare and academic model of its kind available for young children instruction through a specialized approach to in central Ohio. Prep Academy services are treatment in a classroom setting for children financially supported by Medicaid and health ages 3-12. An evidence-based model of care insurance, and transportation is also provided is delivered by a comprehensive team of for families and children who attend St. experts- teachers, counselors, social workers, Vincent Prep Academy. and a pediatric psychiatrist- working together to develop a care plan that best suits each St. Vincent Family Center also offers a student. Through a combination of small Summer Prep Academy, providing a similar group behavioral health therapy, individual approach for children in need of structured intervention, and family counseling, the Prep support during the summer months. Children Academy offers trauma-informed behavioral enjoy a wide range of fun and healthy healthcare while supporting each student’s recreational experiences while receiving academic needs in a low-ratio classroom behavioral healthcare in a small group environment. Despite the disadvantages setting, preparing them for a successful that children face, this model of care has proven successful for hundreds of students school year ahead. Summer can be a time of throughout Franklin County. Ninety-seven challenge and disruption for children who percent of preschoolers and ninety-three struggle to adapt to the traditional summer percent of elementary students achieve key camp environment. St. Vincent Summer milestones and successfully graduate St. Prep Academy is the supportive, healthy Vincent Prep Academy, equipped with the alternative for students in need of a structured skills to thrive in their home schools and bridge between school years. preschools.

Emily Eckert, Program Director for Elementary Prep Academy

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 American News Journal • February

Although the lived experiences of our community’s most vulnerable youth may influence their journey, they do not exclusively define the triumphs of their future. More than 90% of families find success at St. Vincent Family Center. “St. Vincent gave my child language to communicate how he is feeling, very personalized care,” shared one mother. Another family noted, “I liked the resources and compassion toward me and my family, staff really showed they care and were sincere.” The trusted team at St. Vincent Family Center is helping students reach their fullest potential every day-making good kids better, one child at a time. Call today (614-824-KIDS) for an individual confidential consultation. For more information about St. Vincent Elementary and Preschool Prep Academy, please contact Erika Stromsoe, LISW-S or Emily Eckert, MSEd., LPCC-S at (614)252-0731, or visit St. Vincent Family Center online at www. svfc.org. St. Vincent Family Center is located at 1490 East Main Street, Columbus, Ohio 43205.

Come Home to a GREAT RATE!

Bank local with Heartland and we’ll give you a competitive rate and a quick, local decision.

All mortgage applications are subject to credit review and approval. Actual rates may vary based on credit history.

Heartland.Bank

Proudly serving central Ohio since 1911 Member FDIC

@heartlandbank

African American Journal Ad Heartland Bank November 22, 2017 3:31 PM

NMLS# 440231

Equal Housing Lender

heartlandbankcentralohio

1/4 Page 5.5” x 7.25” CMYK

#heartlandbank

Contact Jonathan Heberline (614) 392-5156 x1025

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in both African American men and women. Call PrimaryOne Health today to schedule for your FIT Colon Cancer Screening Test. This nonevasive screening can be done in the comfort of your own home.

Get FIT today!

® 11 convenient Central Ohio locations offering: Primary Care • Ob/Gyn • Pediatrics Behavioral Health • Physical Therapy • Internal Medicine Weight Management • Vision • Dental primaryonehealth.org • 2780 Airport Dr., Ste. 100 • Columbus, OH 43219 • 614.645.5500

www.nfbpaforum2018.com The Columbus African & Dayton American African American News Journal • March • February 2018 2015

FRIENDS

SCHOOL

SHOPPING

CONNECT TO

EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS.

CMAX is your connection to jobs, healthcare, education and fun along Cleveland Avenue. While on board, stay connected with real-time bus tracking screens, free Wi-Fi and USB charging stations.

LET’S GO | COTA.COM/CMAX

of accounts

ADAMH

Board of Franklin County

& our partners We loved it when we could fix her problems. Then came addiction. Every day, we risk losing people we love to heroin, crack, marijuana or alcohol. It’s always hard to accept the reality that some things we just can’t fix alone.

TOGETHER

Families Heal

There is hope. Get the facts from experts, link to helpful resources and join a virtual connection to other families who understand.

PARK

Go to ADAMHFranklin.org/TogetherFamiliesHeal

NATIONAL BANK Africentric Personal Development Shop • Alvis, Inc. • Amethyst, Inc. • Buckeye Ranch • Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging • CHOICES, Eliminating Domestic Violence • Columbus Area, Inc. • Columbus Public Health • Columbus Urban League • Community for New Direction • Community Housing Network • CompDrug/Youth to Youth • Concord Counseling Services • COVA • Directions for Youth & Families • Syntero at Dublin Counseling Center • HandsOn Central Ohio • House of Hope for Alcoholics • Huckleberry House • Maryhaven • Mental Health America of Franklin County, Inc. • NAMI Franklin County • National Church Residences • Nationwide Children’s Hospital Behavioral Health Services • Neighborhood House • Netcare Access • North Central Mental Health Services • North Community Counseling Centers • Syntero at Northwest Counseling Services • The P.E.E.R. Center • Schottenstein Chabad House – Friendship Circle • Southeast, Inc., Recovery and Mental Health Care Services • St. Vincent Family Centers • TBI Network • Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare (TVBH) • Urban Minority Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Outreach Program • Village Network

Find the right account for you at ParkNationalBank.com

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

HEALTH

SAVING BABIES BY HELPING MOMS GET HEALTHY Last year African American babies died at three times the rate of white babies in Franklin County. The goal of CelebrateOne is that that every child, no matter their race, family income, or zip code, celebrates their first birthday. CelebrateOne has an ambitious goal of decreasing infant mortality by 40% by 2020 and cutting the racial disparity in half. This work requires collaboration. Decreasing infant mortality is a multi-faceted issue that cannot be fixed with one solution. Issues must be addressed on a community and societal level; from socioeconomic factors like homelessness to healthcare access, infant safe sleep education and tobacco use by both fathers and pregnant mothers. One societal issue that must be part of the conversation is racism and the effects on a woman before she ever conceives a child. Fact: A major contributor to stress in AfricanAmerican women is racism. Fact: Black women have disproportionately more premature and low birth weights than other races. Prematurity, babies born too small (below 5 lbs.) and too soon (born before 38 weeks), is a major contributor to the infant mortality rate. In 2017, 75% of infant deaths in Franklin County were before the baby reached 28 days of life.

A healthy pregnancy starts with a healthy woman long before conception. CelebrateOne, Mom2Be, Columbus Public Health, and several community partners are continuing to create programs to positively impact social determinants that contribute to healthier women, including: personal and community safety, stable housing, adequate nutrition, quality education, gainful employment, and available transportation. CelebrateOne embraces the use of several interventions to reflect a multi-pronged approach to improving the health of women and families in Central Ohio, many of which will take time. These are several ways to support the health of women, mothers and babies: • Reinforce supportive family and community activities •Sponsor programs that promote increased female high school graduation rates • Sponsor programs to help women maintain a healthy weight • Promote safe sex and reproductive health practices to prevent STD infections that can cause early labor and unplanned pregnancies • Support participation in community smoking cessation programs • Connect women to treatment programs for

alcohol and drug addiction During pregnancy women should: • Call StepOne (614-721-0009) to connect to prenatal care services • Attend prenatal care appointments regularly • Connect with a home visitor and a neighborhood pregnancy support program such as OSU’s Mom2B • Eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet • Minimize mental and physical stress by incorporating regular exercise into a weekly routine • Talk to your doctor about appropriate medication and hormone use • Treat chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes • Practice safe birth spacing by waiting two years between pregnancies • Limit all smoking, alcohol consumption, and use of illicit drugs All of us have a role in supporting the health of our mothers and their babies in Central Ohio. Parents and pastors, caregivers and community residents – all of us – are part of the solution. Visit celebrateone.info for more information. Erika Clark Jones is the Executive Director of CelebrateOne.

“Protect your baby.” Blankets, toys and stuffed animals in the crib with a baby are dangerous. No exceptions!

Follow the ABCs of Safe Sleep A

Alone

Back

Crib (empty)

Every nap. Every night. Every time. Need a crib? 614-645-3111 Visit CelebrateOne.info

Dr. Janice James, M.D. Board Certified Pediatrician

Funding support from the following: City of Columbus Mayor’s Office, Columbus Public Health, Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Franklin County Job and Family Services, Central Benefits Health Care Foundation, American Electric Power, Huntington, LBrands, Nationwide® and Worthington Industries Foundation.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

HEALTH

AGING WITH A YOUTHFUL ATTITUDE By Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons, Psy.D

Do you consider yourself to be young or old for you age? Do you think others regard you as “old” if you are past a particular age? I know as a child, I thought forty was “old” and I carefully watched my mother as she approached that terribly high number of years. How silly it all seems now. Age, as in chronological age, is just a number. Any meaning we assign to it reflects our own perceptions and assumptions, but rarely is an accurate description of a person. Physical appearance is usually more a factor of genetics and/or lifestyle rather than an indication of the numbers of years a person has lived. We all know people who look and behave ten, fifteen, or even twenty years younger than they are. They display a vibrant, youthful attitude and are fun to be around. Typically, such persons don’t think of themselves as “old” and really don’t focus on age at all. They are more interested in what they do each day. Could this be a secret to successful aging? Premature aging, which describes people who appear much older than their actual age, reflects a life of unhealthy habits. These habits include a poor diet, a lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol use, a negative outlook, and a cynical attitude. We may jokingly describe such persons as “old poops”- but, no one really wants to become one. However, it is an unfortunate fact that these habits can destroy a person’s wellbeing nearly as much as any disease. Studies of senior citizens have repeatedly shown that maintaining (or cultivating) a positive attitude, more optimism, and being physically active result in higher level of general health and less reported levels of physical pain. Our minds and bodies are so connected that there is a relationship between our emotions and bodily responses. For example, people who report more symptoms related to depression also report more complaints of physical pain. And, the converse is seen with treatment – as a person becomes less depressed, their physical condition seems to improve. While our culture continues to overvalue

Ernestine Shepherd, the world’s oldest female body builder at age 81.

youth and tries to avoid the idea of mortality, aging is a fact of life and we should not be ashamed of it. In fact, there are many reasons for us to look at this stage of life as a new beginning. The trick is to plan ahead and set new goals for the retirement years. Did you know that Thomas Edison was 73 when he launched the campaign to create the Naval Research Laboratory? Claude Monet didn’t even start his famous Water Lily paintings until he was 73. The odds are each of us has ideas and dreams that we could not put into effect during the years we were parenting, building careers, or taking care of others. But, what about now? What is holding you back? So, are you curious about how “old” you are? Are you interested in adding more excitement or fun to your life? Here is a simple (not scientific) questionnaire from the book “Successful Aging” by Mary O’Brien, MD. Answer each question and give yourself a point for every ‘Yes’. 1. I enjoy my daily routine or work. 2. I have a hobby I pursue regularly. 3. I enjoy reading. 4. I love learning new things. 5. I appreciate the fine/performing arts. 6. I keep up with current events. 7. I enjoy talking to people from different backgrounds.

8. I update my skills periodically. 9. I interact with people of all ages. 10. I love a good challenge. Add up your ‘Yes’s and check your score: 10 = pretty sharp, people probably enjoy your company 7-9 = you’ve got an interesting life – could be great 3-6 = you’re probably feeling a little dull, need to get moving 0-2 = need to make a major shift, start pursuing things that interest you. Next month, we will continue this topic with suggestions on making the most of your retirement years. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons’s office is located in north Columbus. Her practice centers on helping clients with depression and anxiety related disorders. In recent years, after discovering a love of running, she expanded her practice to include servces related to Sports Psychology for athletes of all ages and levels. To reach her, call 614-443-7040 or email her at Jacqui@DrLewisLyons.com

To Advertise in The Columbus - Dayton African American contact us at: editor@columbusafricanamerican.com Ray Miller, 503 S. High StreetPublisher - Suite 102 750 East Long Columbus, OH 43215 Street, Suite 3000 614-571-9340 Columbus, Ohio 43203

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

HEALTH

MAKING SCHOOLS SAFER REQUIRES SOMETHING FROM EVERYONE By Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Have you ever responded to a mass shooting? How do you respond to a mass shooting? Although the experts are not necessarily in agreement as to the definition, Congress defined a mass shooting as a killing of three or more people, (some definitions say four people) not including the shooter in a single incident. This categorization came about after the school shooting at Sandy Hook. However working as a trauma surgeon you considered a mass shooting anything more than your response and emergency treatment system could handle at one time. For example, if you are responding to a shooting in a small community hospital away from the big city, you needed help sooner than you might in a trauma center where a team is on standby. However, there were instances when the trauma team was responding to another emergency such as a pedestrian struck by a car or a motor vehicle crash or trauma related to a structural fire. If a shooting happened during those times, our hospital needed to divert further ambulances or helicopters to another hospital often further away, costing precious life-saving minutes. Also, if the shooting happened at the same time all the cardiac surgeons, neurosurgeons or vascular specialists were operating on their scheduled cases, we had to rely on really good information over the phone or radio about the entrance and exit wound of the bullet and the path it took through the body known as the trajectory. Quite often in our trauma center, our ability to respond to more than one or two shooting victims at once tested our reserve capacity. Working in Oakland, California during the late 1990s, our hospital stayed busy responding to shooting that were related to gang violence, intimate partner (domestic) violence and family violence. At those times you could anticipate that the medical care and response was not going to be one and done. You often dealt with the retaliation by surviving gang members and the escalation in the cycle of violence. The combatants both injured and wounded, came in together and had to be kept apart throughout the whole hospital encounter. It meant extra security for the hospital staff. What started as a fist fight, became a knife fight, became a gun fight.

Getty Images

Studies show that the more we watch, listen to and take in every detail of the horrific incident being constantly replayed or looped 24/7, it is more likely to affect us as if we were actually there and lived through it. Thus our anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress increases.

One teacher described doing this by mixing kids into different groups for activities and rotating the groups so every child interacts with others. She is able to watch and notice if patterns or if a kid seems out of place or something isn’t quite right and take a little more time to find out why. That is a skill of working with group dynamics that comes Back in the 1990’s after shootings in naturally to many teachers making them California, we had silent marches where special, but also a skill that can be taught to we lined the steps of the state capitol with others educating and leading our children. empty shoes representing all the people killed by gun and we had rallies in front of Responding to the risk of school shootings gun shows. When a child shot and killed or means using primary, secondary and tertiary maimed another child with a gun, we had the strategies as people say “from the hood to discussion about trigger locks and finger print the hilltop, and from womb to the tomb”. identity for guns. You want to be involved with identifying people and situations at risk, preparing for the We talked about the need to have better response, fighting back and escaping should mental health interventions and screening a shooting happen, and what can be done to prevent people with a high likelihood to afterward to heal and rebuild. escalate their intent to violence from getting a gun so easily. We even talked about As surgeons, we would debrief after a tracking the bullets since many murders shooting and estimated that one shooting can were committed using aftermarket guns not directly and indirectly touch the lives of at purchased legally where a background check least 250 other people, reminding us that it would not have mattered. There were even takes a village of ideas and people working interventions that worked with youth and together to make a difference. young adults hospitalized after surviving a gunshot to keep them from retaliating. References: Yes, whether you agreed or not that people kill people and not guns or that there are indeed too many guns out and around, nobody wanted to the guns in the hands of the wrong person since it only took one time.

Fast forward to today. At least everyone seems to agree that anything or anyone you value and treasure needs to be a priority, kept safe and set apart, and that our children are indeed most precious to us. Everyone agrees that children need to be safe at school, at play It is sad to see how a culture of public and at all the times and places in between. grieving has grown up over the years around We also know the solution to gun violence in mass shootings since Columbine in 1999. our neighborhoods demands an intersection After the shooting, you get the ribbons, of plans and ideas to cover them. balloons and flowers, print the t-shirts and have the candlelight vigils, fundraisers and For example, while the debate of who should memorials all the while you are crying your carry a firearm, when and how continues, it is just as important to work on keeping kids eyes out. safe by noticing who is having problems and at risk for violence. The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 American News Journal • February

What we know about mass shootings. By Jon Greenberg, Louis Jacobson, Miriam Valverde on Wednesday, February 14th, 2018 at 9:36 p.m. Retrieved from: http://www.politifact. com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/feb/14/whatwe-know-about-mass-shootings/ 10 ways schools, parents and communities can prevent school shootings now. February 16, 2018 6.38 a.m. Retrieved from: http:// theconversation.com/10-ways-schoolsparents-and-communities-can-preventschool-shootings-now-91960 Helping Kids Cope with Cliques. Retrieved from: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/ cliques.html Lisa D. Benton, MD, MPH (The Doctor is In) breastsurgeonlb@gmail.com, Twitter:@ DctrLisa (415) 746-0627

HEALTH

AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE: WE ARE NOT ALONE By Charleta B. Tavares We have come a mighty long way and we have miles to go before we rest. Our African American sheroes have blazed an enormous path with many achievements and contributions to the health and well-being of America’s people. We have pioneered new techniques, treatments, protocols and discovered new medicines to heal the sick and afflicted. Our history goes back to the first civilization on Earth on the continent of Africa. These women gave birth to our ancestors – and our Mothers of the world were not alone. She depended upon her sisters and brothers to help her find a better way, a better remedy, and a better cure for what ailed us. We are celebrating Women’s History Month in the United States in March. The celebratory month has its roots in the socialist and labor movements — the first Women’s Day took place on Feb. 28, 1909, in New York City, as a national observance organized by the Socialist Party. It honored the one-year anniversary of the garment worker’s strikes in New York that had taken place a year earlier, when thousands of women marched for economic rights through lower Manhattan to Union Square. (That strike in turn honored an earlier 1857 march, when garment workers rallied for equal rights and a 10-hour day.) Within two years, Women’s Day had grown into an international observance (1911) that spread through Europe on the heels of socialism.1 In 1978, the school district of Sonoma, California participated in Women’s History Week, an event designed around the week of March 8 (International Women’s Day). In 1979, a fifteen-day conference about women’s history was held at Sarah Lawrence College from July 13 until July 29, chaired by historian Gerda Lerner. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. In 1981, responding to the growing popularity of Women’s History Week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a Women’s History Week.2

millions of women who have sacrificed, suffered and died to bring life and health care to the populations in the United States and beyond. As noted poet laureate, Maya Angelou so eloquently stated in her poem, Alone, “…The race of man is suffering and I can hear the moan, ‘Cause nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone…” The women featured below did not come to their decisions to pursue a career in health alone nor did they establish themselves as pioneers, inventors, physicians, surgeons and professors without the help and support of others. Dr. Alexa Canady In 1976, at age 26, Alexa Canady became the first black female neurosurgeon in the United States when she was accepted as a resident at the University of Minnesota. In 1986, after four years at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Canady became chief of the hospital’s neurosurgery department. In 1993, she received the American Women’s Medical Association President’s Award. Canady’s research in neurosurgical techniques resulted in the invention of a programmable antisiphon shunt, which is used to treat excess fluid in the brain. She shares a U.S. patent for the device with two other neurosurgeons. Dr. Jane Cooke Wright Jane Cooke Wright’s father set the bar pretty high by being one of the first blacks to graduate from Harvard Medical School, the first black doctor on staff at a New York City municipal hospital, and New York’s first black police surgeon. However, Jane Cook Wright successfully emulated his example. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson appointed her to the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. In 1967, at the age of 48, Wright became professor of surgery, head of the cancer chemotherapy department, and associate dean at New York Medical College. These accomplishments made her the highest-ranking black woman at a nationally-recognized medical institution. In 1971, Wright also became the first female president of the New York Cancer Society.

ALONE - Maya Angelou Lying, thinking Last night How to find my soul a home Where water is not thirsty And bread loaf is not stone I came up with one thing And I don’t believe I’m wrong That nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone. Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone. There are some millionaires With money they can’t use Their wives run round like banshees Their children sing the blues They’ve got expensive doctors To cure their hearts of stone. But nobody No, nobody Can make it out here alone. Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone. Now if you listen closely I’ll tell you what I know Storm clouds are gathering The wind is gonna blow The race of man is suffering And I can hear the moan, ‘Cause nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone. Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone.*

Dr. M. Jocelyn Elders In 1961, 28-year-old M. Jocelyn Elders became the chief resident at the University of Arkansas, leading a charge of white, male residents and interns. She was the first person in the state of Arkansas to be board certified in pediatric endocrinology. In 1987, Governor Bill Clinton appointed Elders head of the Arkansas Department of Health, and in 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed her the sixteenth Surgeon General of the United States. She was the first black and the second female to hold this position.

By 1986, fourteen states had declared March as Women’s History Month. In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 1009 which designated the month of March 1987 as Women’s History Month. Since 1988, U.S. presidents have issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. Dr. Helen Octavia Dickens

Medicine, she was the only black female in her class. In 1948, Dickens became the director of the Mercy Douglass Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Philadelphia. In 1950, she became the first black female fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dickens also taught at the University of Pennsylvania as an instructor, and then a professor, and was appointed professor emeritus in 1985.3

None of us climb the ladder of success alone and without guidance, assistance, encouragement and the knowledge of others. Many African American women have had a Why is Women’s History Month important In 1934, when 25-year old Helen Octavia spirit led passion to help others in need. Our to African American women? Our story Dickens graduated with an M.D. degree Continued on Page 18 in America is shared with thousands if not from the University Of Illinois College Of The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

HEALTH

Wikipedia, “About: Women’s History care. We believe that health care policies, Month”. Library of Congress. and National programs and funding strategies developed with, by and for patients will ensure that foremothers blazed a trail for us to follow, Women’s History Project surpass and locate new routes to travel in the culturally appropriate services are delivered health care arena. Their tracks ensured that 3 May 30, 2012 | By Terri Williams, and disparities are eliminated. we would arrive at the same place however; MadameNoir.com they expected us to go beyond that which had been discovered or accomplished. They * From Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Charleta B. Tavares is the Chief Executive expected us to create new pathways to assist Well By Maya Angelou. Copyright © 1975 by Officer at PrimaryOne Health, a Federally our people improve their health, eliminate Maya Angelou. Reprinted with permission of Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system disparities and discover new lanes to conquer Random House, Inc. providing comprehensive primary care, chronic diseases and premature/unnecessary OB-GYN, pediatric, vision, dental, deaths. The mantle has been passed…you/we are not alone when we hear the groans and PrimaryOne Health® is focused on improving behavioral health and specialty care at 11 moans of those who are hurting. What trail health outcomes for African Americans who locations in Central Ohio. The mission is will you blaze? are bearing the burden of premature and to provide access to services that improve preventable death in Central Ohio. As one the health status of families including Footnotes: of the largest Community Health Centers people experiencing financial, social, or cultural barriers to health care. www. 1 By Julia Zorthian February 29, 2016, Time. in Ohio, we actively and aggressively work to provide high quality, patient-focused primaryonehealth.org. com Continued from Page 17

31ST ANNUAL MINORITY HEALTH MONTH KICK-OFF Minority Health Month was created in April 1989 by the Commission as a statewide, 30day wellness campaign. In 2000, Minority Health Month became a national celebration. Minority Health Month was designed to promote healthy lifestyles, provide crucial information to allow individuals to practice disease prevention, showcase the resources for providers of grass roots healthcare; disseminate information, highlight the resolution of the disparate health conditions between Ohio’s minority and non-minority populations, and to gain additional support for the on-going efforts to improve minority health year round. The Ohio Commission on Minority Health will initiate this important 30-day health awareness campaign with a statewide kickoff that will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2018 from 9 am to 2pm at the Vern Riffe Center disease prevention. The statewide calendar To this end, the Commission has initiated a located at 77 S. High Street in downtown of events is posted at www.mih.ohio.gov on Medical Expert Panel on Achieving Health Columbus, Ohio. the Commission website. Equity for Racial and Ethnic populations in Ohio. Our work will culminate with the This statewide event has been made possible Each year the Commission releases funding development of a white paper that will through the generous support of corporate for Minority Health Month initiatives. contain recommendations to support the sponsors. This year’s sponsors include: In addition, the Commission funds other achievement of health equity in Ohio. Buckeye Health Plan ~ CareSource innovative and culturally specific projects ~ Promedica ~ Molina ~ Ohio Health which address health disparities, to learn Furthermore, the Commission’s strategic Ohio State University-Wexner Medical more about our these and other funding policy efforts will continue to center on: Center Ohio University-Heritage College opportunities visit our website at www.mih. of Osteopathic Medicine and PrimaryOne ohio.gov • Increasing the awareness of the significance Health. of health disparities; The research has shown that racial and ethnic The 2018 national theme is “Partnering minorities are far more likely to suffer from • broadening the leadership to address health for Health Equity”, since 1987, the Ohio preventable health conditions, are more likely disparities at all levels; Commission on Minority Health (OCMH) to get sick, and have serious complications has been at the forefront of addressing health and die from these conditions. It is without • improving healthcare access, workforce disparities and health inequities in Ohio. question that health disparities represent diversity and cultural/linguistic competency; significant burdens for these individuals and and This event draws attention to the fact that their families. However there are additional we must implement cost effective strategies societal and financial burdens borne by our • the availability and meaningful use of health along with policy and legislative solutions in state as a whole. These burdens establish data and research for all racial and ethnic order to achieve health equity and eliminate both ethical and tangible mandates to reduce populations. health disparities. health disparities and achieve health equity. The persistent nature of health inequities, On behalf of our Commissioners and our staff During the month of April, there will be events the effect of social determinants and new whose daily efforts remain focused on our held throughout the State of Ohio focused on opportunities for systemic change requires mission to eliminate heath disparities and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, screening expertise to address old challenges and achieve health equity, we welcome you to join us. activities, and the provision of crucial health maximize new opportunities. information to allow individuals to practice Happy Minority Health Month! The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2017 2015 American News Journal • February

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2017 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

COVER STORY “...And The Walls Came Tumbling Down.”

By Ray Miller, III What kind of love does one have for their people which would cause them to risk their life to guide others to freedom? The courage shown, the absence of fear from harm, the willingness to lead troops into battle in the Civil War. Not many people, man or woman, would be willing to put their lives on the line as Harriet Tubman did, again and again. What are you willing to lose? What are you willing to sacrifice to halt an injustice? To save the lives of people who you do not know personally, but whose circumstance you are acutely aware. These are the kind of leaders that we need today. Those who will stand for something, protect their community, fight for the salvation of their people and not separate themselves from those who are in the greatest need. Ida B. Wells-Barnett was committed to a cause greater than herself. She was not afraid to die. She felt the death, degradation, and loss of life of the thousands of Black men and women who were murdered by lynchmen, and she was fully committed to doing all that she could to halt the mass murders of her people. What are you willing to sacrifice to get the best education available to you. Do you have the fortitude, discipline, and intellect of a Dr. Anna Julia Cooper who earned a B.A. Degree and a M.A. in Mathematics from Oberlin College in 1884 and 1887 respectively. She would later earn a PhD from the University of Paris in 1925 at the age of 67, becoming only the fourth African American woman to obtain a Doctorate of Philosophy Degree. Michelle Alexander, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Oprah Winfrey all share a key characteristic in common--fearlessness. Each of them have demonstrated throughout their professional lives that they are not willing to let anyone intimidate or discourage them from reaching their goals. Like the strong leaders who came before them, “They ain’t goin let nobody turn them around.” Courage matters. Intellect matters. Discipline matters. And, being a blessing to someone other than yourself, matters most of all. Read the brief biographies of these enormously accomplished women and use their lives as a model for your own.

Harriet Tubman (1821-1913) Dubbed “The Moses of Her People,” escaped slave Harriet Tubman assisted hundreds of slaves on the Underground Railroad, leading them from Maryland to safety in Pennsylvania. Born enslaved and raised in Dorchester County, Maryland to Benjamin and Harriett Greene Ross, Harriett was both a field hand and a domestic servant. As a young girl, she suffered a lifelong injury after her master threw a piece of iron at her, which struck her in the head. Throughout her life, Harriett suffered bouts of narcoleptic seizures. In 1844, she married a free black man, John Tubman. She escaped in 1849 in order to avoid being sold into the Deep South. Her husband refused to go with her. Several months later, when she returned to get him, she learned he had taken another wife. He died shortly after the end of the Civil War. Harriett later married Nelson Davis. During the Civil War Tubman served as a spy for the Union Army. On June 2, 1863, however, Tubman, under the command of Union Colonel James Montgomery, led 150 black Union soldiers in the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina. This was the only Civil War military engagement where a woman was the commander. Tubman who was already aware of vital information about the location of Confederate torpedoes planted along the river, led Union gunboats to specific areas where fugitive slaves were hiding and waiting to be rescued. Eventually 750 people were liberated from slavery. Some of the men eventually joined the First South Carolina Volunteers, the military regiment established for former slaves in coastal South Carolina in 1862. The Combahee River Raid was a major miltary and psychological blow to the Confederate cause. After the end of the Civil War Tubman settled in Washington, D.C. and participated in the emerging national suffrage movement. In 1911, two years before she died, she attended a meeting of the suffrage club in Geneva, New York, where a white woman asked her: “Do you really believe that women should vote?” Tubman reportedly replied, “I suffered enough to believe it.” Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) Activist and writer Ida B. Wells-Barnett first became prominent in the 1890s because she brought international attention to the lynching of African Americans in the South. Wells was born a slave in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1862. At the age of 16, she became primary

The & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 The Columbus Columbus African American News Journal • February

caregiver to her six brothers and sisters, when both of her parents succumbed to yellow fever. After completing her studies Rust College near Holly Springs where her father had sat on the board of trustees before his death, Wells divided her time between caring for her siblings and teaching school. She moved to Memphis, Tennessee in the 1880s. Wells first began protesting the treatment of black southerners when, on a train ride between Memphis and her job at a rural school, the conductor told her that she must move to the train’s smoking car. Wells refused, arguing that she had purchased a first-class ticket. The conductor and other passengers then tried to physically remove her from the train. Wells returned to Memphis, hired a lawyer, and sued the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company. The court decided in her favor, awarding Wells $500. The railroad company appealed, and in 1887, the Supreme Court of Tennessee reversed the previous decision and ordered Wells to pay court fees. Using the pseudonym “Iola,” Wells began to write editorials in black newspapers that challenged Jim Crow laws in the South. She bought a share of a Memphis newspaper, the Free Speech and Headlight, and used it to further the cause of African American civil rights. After the lynching of three of her friends in 1892, Wells became one of the nation’s most vocal anti-lynching activists. Calvin McDowell, Thomas Moss, and Henry Stewart owned the People’s Grocery in Memphis, but their economic success angered the white owners of a store across the street. On March 9, a group of white men gathered to confront McDowell, Moss, and Stewart. During the ensuing scuffle, several of the white men received injuries, and authorities arrested the three black business owners. A white mob subsequently broke into the jail, captured McDowell, Moss, and Stewart, and lynched them. Incensed by the murder of her friends, Wells launched an extensive investigation of lynching. In 1892, she published a pamphlet, “Southern Horrors,” which detailed her findings. Through her lectures and books such as A Red Record (1895), Wells countered the “rape myth” used by lynch mobs to justify the murder of African Americans. Through her research she found that lynch victims had challenged white authority or had successfully competed with whites in business or politics. As a result of her outspokenness, a mob destroyed the offices of the Free Speech and threatened to kill Wells. She fled Memphis determined to Continued on Page 21

COVER STORY

continue her campaign to raise awareness of southern lynching. Wells took her movement to England, and established the British AntiLynching Society in 1894. She returned to the U.S., settled in Chicago, Illinois where she married attorney and newspaper editor Ferdinand L. Barnett in 1895. Wells-Barnett also worked to advance other political causes. She protested the exclusion of African Americans from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and three years later she helped launch the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). In 1909 Wells was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She also actively campaigned for women’s suffrage. Ida Wells-Barnett died in Chicago in 1931 at the age of 69. Dr. Anna Julia Cooper (1858 - 1964)

approach for black students, which focused and directed the Civil Rights Clinics. In on college preparation, and she resigned in 2005, she won a Soros Justice Fellowship, which supported the writing of The New Jim 1906. Crow, and that same year she accepted a joint In addition to working to advance African appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the American educational opportunities, Cooper Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz also established and co-founded several College of Law at The Ohio State University. organizations to promote black civil rights In 2015, Alexander accepted an appointment causes. She helped found the Colored as a Senior Fellow for the Ford Foundation. Women’s League in 1892, and she joined Currently, she is a Visiting Professor at the executive committee of the first Pan- Union Theological Seminary in New York African Conference in 1900. Since the Young City where she is exploring the moral and Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) spiritual dimensions of mass incarceration, and the Young Men’s Christian Association and working with other committed souls on (YMCA) did not accept African American multi-media projects aimed at transforming members, she created “colored” branches to public consciousness with respect to race, provide support for young black migrants justice and democracy in America. moving from the South into Washington, Prior to entering academia, Alexander D.C. served as the Director of the Racial Justice Cooper resumed graduate study in 1911 at Project for the ACLU of Northern California, Columbia University in New York City, where she coordinated the Project’s media New York. After the death of her brother advocacy, grassroots organizing, coalitionin 1915, however, she postponed pursuing building, and litigation. The Project’s priority her doctorate in order to raise his five areas were educational equity and criminal grandchildren. She returned to school in 1924 justice reform, and it was during those years when she enrolled at the University of Paris that she launched a major campaign against in France. In 1925, at the age of 67, Cooper racial profiling by law enforcement, known became the fourth African American woman as the “DWB Campaign” or “Driving While Black or Brown Campaign.” to obtain a Doctorate of Philosophy.

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was a writer, teacher, and activist who championed education for African Americans and women. Born into bondage in 1858 in Raleigh, North Carolina, she was the daughter of an enslaved woman, Hannah Stanley, and her owner, In 1930, Cooper retired from teaching to assume the presidency of Frelinghuysen George Washington Haywood. University, a school for black adults. She In 1867, two years after the end of the Civil served as the school’s registrar after it was War, Anna began her formal education reorganized into the Frelinghuysen Group of at Saint Augustine’s Normal School and Schools for Colored People. Cooper remained Collegiate Institute, a coeducational facility in that position until the school closed in the built for former slaves. There she received the 1950s. equivalent of a high school education. Anna Julia Cooper died in 1964 in Anna Haywood married George A.G. Washington, D.C. at the age of 105. Cooper, a teacher of theology at Saint Michelle Alexander Augustine’s, in 1877. When her husband died in 1879, Cooper decided to pursue a college degree. She attended Oberlin College Michelle Alexander is a highly in Ohio on a tuition scholarship, earning a acclaimed civil rights lawyer, BA in 1884 and a Masters in Mathematics advocate, legal scholar, and in 1887. After graduation Cooper worked at best-selling author. Her awardWilberforce University and Saint Augustine’s winning book, The New Jim Crow: Mass before moving to Washington, D.C. to teach Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, at Washington Colored High School. She helped to spark a national debate about the met another teacher, Mary Church (Terrell), crisis of mass incarceration in the United who, along with Cooper, boarded at the States, and inspired racial justice organizing home of Alexander Crummell, a prominent and advocacy efforts nationwide. Numerous clergyman, intellectual, and proponent of commentators have dubbed The New Jim African American emigration to Liberia. Crow “the bible of a social movement,” and the book has become a staple of university Cooper published her first book, A Voice curriculums, advocacy trainings, reading from the South by a Black Woman of the groups, and faith-based study circles. South, in 1892. In addition to calling for Alexander has been featured on national equal education for women, A Voice from radio and television media outlets, including, the South advanced Cooper’s assertion that among others, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The educated African American women were Bill Moyers Journal, the Tavis Smiley necessary for uplifting the entire black race. Show, MSNBC, C-Span, and Democracy The book of essays gained national attention, Now! She has also written for numerous and Cooper began lecturing across the country publications including, The New York Times, on topics such as education, civil rights, and The Washington Post, The Nation, The Los the status of black women. In 1902, Cooper Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post. began a controversial stint as principal of M Street High School (formerly Washington Alexander has taught at a number of Colored High). The white Washington, D.C. universities, including Stanford Law School, school board disagreed with her educational where she was an associate professor of law 21

In addition to her non-profit advocacy experience, Alexander has worked as a litigator at private law firms, including at Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, in Oakland, California, where she specialized in plaintiff-side class action lawsuits alleging race and gender discrimination. Alexander is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Vanderbilt University. Following law school, she clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the United States Supreme Court, and for Chief Judge Abner Mikva on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Congresswoman Maxine Waters Waters was born in 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Velma Lee (née Moore) and Remus Carr. The fifth out of thirteen children, Waters was raised by her single mother once her father left the family when Maxine was two. She graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis, Missouri before moving with her family to Los Angeles, California in 1961. She worked in a garment factory and as a telephone operator before being hired as an assistant teacher with the Head Start program at Watts in 1966. Waters later enrolled at Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles), where she received a bachelor’s degree in sociology. In 1973, she went to work as chief deputy to City Councilman David S. Cunningham, Jr.. Waters entered the California State Assembly Continued on Page 22

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

COVER STORY

in 1976. While in the assembly she worked for the divestment of state pension funds from any businesses active in South Africa, a country then operating under the policy of apartheid, and helped pass legislation within the guidelines of the divestment campaign’s Sullivan Principles. She ascended to the position of Democratic Caucus Chair for the Assembly. Upon the retirement of Augustus F. Hawkins in 1990, Waters was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for California’s 29th congressional district with over 79% of the popular vote. She has been re-elected consistently from this district, renumbered as the 35th District in 1992 and as the 43rd in 2012, with at least 70 percent of the vote. Waters has often been seen as the most corrupt member of the U.S. House of Representatives, when comparing both Republicans and Democrats by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. Waters has represented large parts of southcentral Los Angeles and the Los Angeles coastal communities of Westchester and Playa Del Rey, as well as the cities of Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lawndale. Waters was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1998. During 2005, Waters testified at the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearings on “Enforcement of Federal Anti-Fraud Laws in For-Profit Education”, highlighting the American College of Medical Technology as a “problem school” in her district. In 2006 she was involved in the debate over King Drew Medical Center. She criticized media coverage of the hospital and in 2006 Waters asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny a waiver of the cross ownership ban, and hence license renewal for KTLA-TV, a station the Los Angeles Times owned. She said that “The Los Angeles Times has had an inordinate effect on public opinion and has used it to harm the local community in specific instances.” She requested that the FCC force the paper to either sell its station or risk losing that station’s broadcast rights. According to Broadcasting & Cable, the challenges raised “the specter of costly legal battles to defend station holdings... At a minimum, defending against one would cost tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers’ fees and probably delay license renewal about three months”. Waters’ petition was ultimately unsuccessful. Later, Waters had a confrontation over an earmark in the United States House Committee on Appropriations with fellow Democratic congressman Dave Obey in 2009. The funding request was for a public school employment training center in Los Angeles that was named after her. In 2011, Waters voted against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.

With the retirement of Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) in 2012, Waters became the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. On July 24, 2013, Waters voted in favor of Amendment 100 included in H.R. 2397 Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2014. The amendment targeted domestic surveillance activities, specifically that of the National Security Agency, and if ultimately passed would have limited the flexibility of the NSA’s interpretation of the law to collect sweeping data on U.S. citizens. On March 27, 2014, Waters introduced a discussion draft of the Housing Opportunities Move the Economy Forward Act of 2014 known as the HOME Forward Act of 2014. A key provision of the bill includes the collection of 10 basis points for “every dollar outstanding mortgages collateralizing covered securities” estimated to be approximately $5 billion a year. These funds would be directed to three funds that support affordable housing initiatives, with 75% going to the National Housing trust fund. The National Housing Trust Fund will then provide block grants to states to be used primarily to build, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate rental housing that is affordable to the lowest income households, and groups including seniors, disabled persons and low income workers. The National Housing Trust was enacted in 2008, but has yet to be funded.

Winfrey launched The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 as a nationally syndicated program. With its placement on 120 channels and an audience of 10 million people, the show grossed $125 million by the end of its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing it under the control of her new production company, Harpo Productions (‘Oprah’ spelled backwards) and making more and more money from syndication. In 1994, with talk shows becoming increasingly trashy and exploitative, Winfrey pledged to keep her show free of tabloid topics. Although ratings initially fell, she earned the respect of her viewers and was soon rewarded with an upsurge in popularity. Her projects with Harpo have included the highly rated 1989 TV miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place, which she also starred in. Winfrey also signed a multi-picture contract with Disney. The initial project, 1998’s Beloved, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison and starring Winfrey and Danny Glover.

The media giant contributed immensely to the publishing world by launching her “Oprah’s Book Club,” as part of her talk show. The program propelled many unknown authors to the top of the bestseller lists and gave pleasure reading a new kind of popular In July 2017, during a House Financial prominence. Services Committee meeting, Waters questioned United States Secretary of the With the debut in 1999 of Oxygen Media, a Treasury Steven Mnuchin. At several points company she co-founded that is dedicated to during the questioning, Waters used the producing cable and Internet programming phrase “reclaiming my time” when Mnuchin for women, Winfrey ensured her place in the did not directly address the questions Waters forefront of the media industry and as one had asked him. The video of the interaction of the most powerful and wealthy people between Waters and Mnuchin became viral in show business. In 2002, she concluded on social media, and the phrase became a deal with the network to air a prime-time attached to her criticisms of Trump. complement to her syndicated talk show. Her highly successful monthly, O: The Oprah Oprah Winfrey Magazine debuted in 2000, and in 2004, she signed a new contract to continue The Oprah A m e r i c a n t e l e v i s i o n Winfrey Show through the 2010-11 season. h o s t , a c t r e s s , p r o d u c e r , At the time, the syndicated show was seen on philanthropist and entrepreneur nearly 212 U.S. stations and in more than 100 Oprah Gail Winfrey was countries worldwide. born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. After a troubled According to Forbes magazine, Oprah was adolescence in a small farming community, the richest African American of the 20th where she was sexually abused by a number century and the world’s only Black billionaire of male relatives and friends of her mother, for three years running. Life magazine Vernita, she moved to Nashville to live with hailed her as the most influential woman her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. of her generation. In 2005, Business Week She entered Tennessee State University named her the greatest Black philanthropist in 1971 and began working in radio and in American history. Oprah’s Angel television broadcasting in Nashville. Network has raised more than $50 million for charitable programs, including girls’ In 1976, Oprah Winfrey moved to Baltimore, education in South Africa and relief to the Maryland, where she hosted the TV chat victims of Hurricane Katrina. show People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Winfrey stayed with it for eight In December 2017, it was announced that years, after which she was recruited by a Discovery had become the majority owner Chicago TV station to host her own morning of OWN with the purchase of 24.5 percent of show, A.M. Chicago. Her major competitor the company from its founder for $70 million. in the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within Winfrey retained 25.5 percent of OWN and several months, Winfrey’s open, warm- remained its chief executive under terms of hearted personal style had won her 100,000 the agreement. more viewers than Donahue and had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings. Her success led to nationwide fame and a role Oprah continues to expand her media empire in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film The Color and pursue her career in acting, to which Purple, for which she was nominated for an she has produced and will appear in two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. upcoming films in 2018.

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 American News Journal • February

POLITICS

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

WOMEN’S FAIR ACT, PAID FAMILY LEAVE AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ACTS INTRODUCED By Senator Charleta B. Tavares FAIR ACT Senator Charleta B. Tavares (D-Cols.) re-introduced the Fair and Acceptable Income Required (FAIR) Act, Senate Bill 174. The bill will provide a much needed update to the statutes that protect Ohioans from wage discrimination. Current law provides that an employer may not base pay differences in pay on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or ancestry, but has proven far from effective in closing the wage gap between men and women in Ohio. On average, women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns in Ohio, amounting to a yearly loss of over $10,000. This gap remains even when accounting for career choices, industry, and educational attainment. At a time when women are becoming increasingly important to the economic security of their families, the continued lack of income fairness places hundreds of thousands of Ohioans at risk.

provided entirely by the employee through premiums deducted from their wages. Businesses would bear no financial cost and employees have the ability to opt out of the program. While FMLA was signed into law 25 years ago, we haven’t made the necessary strides in Ohio to bring guaranteed, legally protected paid leave to families. Currently only 13% of workers have access to paid family leave and that number drops to a mere 4% among low-wage workers. The Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program will support family stability, strengthen child-and-parent bonds; and reduce gender and economic disparities. This is all contributing to a healthier economy and a more productive, familyfriendly workforce. If passed, Ohio will join California, Rhode Island, Washington, New Jersey and New York in passing life changing legislation for their constituents.

The FAIR Act would strengthen Ohio’s wage discrimination laws by requiring employers to substantiate pay differences— for causes other than seniority, merit, or quantity or quality of employee production— with legitimate, job-related or skill-based reasons. It would also prohibit retaliation against workers who discuss salaries with colleagues or raise concerns about wage inequality, and prevent wage discrimination based upon sexual orientation. The bill has been referred to the Transportation, Sexual Harassment Protection and Safety Commerce and Workforce Committee. Act Paid Family Leave Act Senator Tavares has introduced legislation Members of the Senate, Sen. Charleta related to sexual harassment training and B. Tavares (D-Cols.) and Ohio House ongoing reform. Senate Bill 270 will require of Representatives, Reps. Janine Boyd that all entities that employ or supervise (D-Cleve.) and Kristen Boggs (D-Cols.) are individuals who work on Capital Square working to establish the legislation to provide to have a sexual harassment policy on file for paid family leave. Senator Tavares has and to undergo annual sexual harassment introduced Senate Bill 261, the Family and training. The bill also calls for the creation Medical Leave Insurance Program. This of the General Assembly Sexual Harassment program would allow for workers to continue Taskforce, and to add an exemption to earning a percentage of their paycheck while public records law for materials related to they take time off to care for a newborn, a complaints during ongoing investigations. newly-adopted or newly-placed foster child, a family member with a serious illness or to Senate Bill 270, mandates that sexual harassment policies be created, be kept address their own medical condition. public, and be kept on file by all members Under the proposed legislation, workers and staff of the House and Senate, and be would be provided up to 12 weeks of family reviewed at least every two years. The and medical leave during a 12 month period purpose of the annual sexual harassment at partial pay. To be eligible, employees training is to inform employees as to must have worked at least 680 hours and the definition and range of inappropriate contributed to premiums to the Family conduct, to educate employees about the and Medical Leave Insurance Fund for at complaint and disciplinary procedure, to least one year. Funding for the program is encourage staff to raise concerns early, and 23

to describe best practices for self-monitoring and avoidance of inappropriate behavior. The SHT will also make recommendations for legislative or administrative change, as well as recommendations for prevention, recognition, reporting, training and the role of bystanders. The SHT’s overarching goal is to create a supportive and safe environment for all Ohioans interacting with agencies and employees housed at the Statehouse and Capital Square. Members of the public are welcome to attend the committee hearings and sessions of each chamber. If you have a bill for which you would like to provide testimony, please contact the committee chair or your member of the Ohio House or Senate. Additional Contacts UPDATE: The Ohio General Assembly sessions and the House and Senate Finance Committees are televised live on WOSU/ WPBO and replays can be viewed at www. ohiochannel.org (specific House and Senate sessions and committee hearings can be searched in the video archives). If you would like to receive updated information on the Ohio General Assembly and policy initiatives introduced, call or email my office at 614.466.5131 or tavares@ ohiosenate.com to receive the Tavares Times News monthly legislative newsletter. The committee schedules, full membership rosters and contact information for the Ohio House and Senate can be found at: www. ohiohouse.gov and www.ohiosenate.gov respectively. Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus, is proud to serve and represent the 15th District, including the historic neighborhoods of Columbus and the cities of Bexley and Grandview Heights in the Ohio Senate. She serves as the Ohio Senate Assistant Minority Leader and the vice-chair of the Finance – Health and Medicaid Subcommittee; Ranking Member of the Senate Transportation, Labor & Workforce and Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committees.

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

IT’S PAST TIME FOR WHITE SUPREMACY TO DIE

By Heidi Beirich, PhD There were two dynamics that determined the fate of America’s radical right in 2017: the election of President Trump and the fallout from the Charlottesville, Virginia, deadly white nationalist rally. Extremists rode a wave of euphoria from Trump’s January inauguration until August 11, finally having found an uncucked politician who reflected the world they wanted to see: a world where racism was sanctioned by the highest office, immigrants given the boot and Muslims banned. Riding Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images high, a wide range of extremists who usually don’t get along — from heavily armed Trump signed the resolution, sheepishly and militias, to polo-attired white nationalists, to in private. Klansmen, to neo-Nazis — all joined forces in mid-August in Charlottesville. Congress did more than craft and pass the resolution. Members of both parties were They were there to protest the removal of forceful in rejecting Trump’s equivocation a statue of Confederate General Robert E. and most denounced his statements, as Lee, a potent symbol of their beloved white well as hate groups. The months following supremacy. It was the largest hate rally in a Charlottesville saw renewed attention to decade and, for the extremists who gathered, strengthening hate crimes legislation, a a moment of triumph as America, under draft domestic terrorism bill out of the Trump, seemed to be moving their way. Senate and hearings about the threat from racial extremists. Congress can now use its But as has long been the case, emboldened oversight abilities under the joint resolution white supremacy ended in death and disaster. to press Trump to act if it so chooses. An anti-racist protester, Heather Heyer, was killed in a car attack by a young white The Charlottesville events had a remarkable supremacist riled up by the protests. Two effect on major tech companies. For years, law enforcement officers also died, and there civil rights organizations like the Southern were many injured. Most Americans were Poverty Law Center had been pointing out horrified by what they saw, not just by the the devastating amount of hate proliferating violence, but also by scenes of torch-wielding on online platforms and noting its ability, young men chanting “Jews will not replace as was the case with Charleston shooter us,” an image that conjured Nazi Germany. Dylann Roof, to radicalize young men into white supremacy and violence. With In the aftermath of the violence, Trump Charlottesville, the tech world finally blamed “both sides,” blithely equivocating accepted their responsibility and began to act. between racists and non-racists. For those who hadn’t been paying attention to the Within days, white supremacist PayPal rising number of hate groups, a president accounts were ripped down, widely read hate who stoked their growth, and a plague of hate sites like the Daily Stormer and Stormfront crimes in Trump’s name, complacency was disappeared from the web for a time, and no longer an option. companies like Facebook became more aggressive about removing hate content. The Trump may be unwilling or incapable of sewer that the big platforms — Facebook, understanding what he has unleashed, but not YouTube, Twitter and others — had become so for the rest of us. Public figures ranging was being flushed out. More work remains to from actors to sports figures to corporate be done on this front, but at least there is no leaders condemned what happened in longer a debate over whether it is necessary. Charlottesville and the hateful ideas driving the protests. The United Nations, the Catholic It would be nice to think the Trump Church, and world leaders added their voices, administration plans to take this issue just as did regular citizens. as seriously, but that would be naïve. Trump continues to argue he was right about Our national leaders took action. A Charlottesville, and his administration is unanimous, joint Congressional resolution denounced what happened at Charlottesville undoing civil rights protections on multiple and called white supremacy and neo-Nazism fronts. “hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the As has always been the case in battles for civil people of the United States.” It further called rights, human rights and equality, it’s up to us on Trump to “speak out” against hate groups to make change. White supremacy as a way and use “all resources available” to battle of thinking has been a disgraceful scourge, their growing prevalence and hate crimes. used to justify immeasurable catastrophes The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

up to the present day. It is the ideology that underpins horrors such as slavery, genocide, colonialism, segregation, apartheid, Jim Crow, racist vigilante justice and much more. It is one of the West’s foremost sins. America was birthed with white supremacy at its core, a concept written into our Constitution. It has taken decades and decades of hard work by courageous people, as in the abolitionist and civil rights movements, to reduce the numbers of people, like the Nazis at Charlottesville, who still view white supremacy as legitimate. In late August, a Washington Post/ABC News poll found that a shocking 9 percent of Americans still found it acceptable to hold neo-Nazi or white supremacist views. We can applaud the 90 percent who don’t, but that 9 percent represents a daunting 22 million Americans. And millions more are likely OK with other forms of bigotry, most of it rooted in the idea that white people are and should be superior. But perhaps there is hope. For most of the world, chattel slavery — an obvious abomination that shamefully took far too long to end — is today a nonstarter. Its defenders are exceedingly rare, nowhere near the mainstream, and its practitioners very few. They are universally condemned. White supremacy as a concept needs to die the same death. The Charlottesville protests were a stark reminder of the hearts and minds that still need changing. But if we work hard enough, white supremacy, just like slavery, can be chucked permanently in the dustbin of history — the only place it belongs. Heidi Beirich works for the Southern Poverty Law Center and heads their Intelligence Project, which publishes the award-winning Intelligence Report and the Hatewatch blog. She is an expert on various forms of extremism, including the white supremacist, nativist and neo-Confederate movements as well as racism in academia. Heidi earned a doctorate in political science from Purdue University. She is the co-editor and author of several chapters of Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction, published by the University of Texas Press in 2008.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN By Marian Wright Edelman “We see things that adults sometimes can’t see.” --Child participant, United Nations Study on Violence against Children Violence against children. For many people the words alone are unthinkable—the absolute worst of what humans are capable of doing. The school shooting in Parkland, Florida is a stark reminder of the violence that stalks our children in their schools, homes, places of worship, streets, and communities every day. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students’ brave and inspiring response has reminded us all that adults must take action now to protect our children. The politicians and powerful gun industry lobbyists who are stonewalling reforms and now criticizing and seeking to silence young voices are absolutely shameful. Today our children are leading and we should follow them as it is their lives that are at risk. Tomorrow they will be voters and the elected officials we need to move us forward and we must act now. Pervasive gun violence against children is a uniquely shameful all-American epidemic. Consider that since 1963, over three times more children and teens died from guns on American soil than U.S. soldiers were killed by hostilities in wars abroad. On average 3,426 children and teens – 171 classrooms of 20 children – were killed by guns every year from 1963 to 2016. And gun violence comes on top of other major threats of global violence that threaten our children. The new book Violence Against Children: Making Human Rights Real, edited by longtime scholar and advocate Gertrud Lenzer with contributions from authors in many fields, looks at global violence against children in many forms and what we can do to stop it. The book’s foreword is by Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, the independent expert for the United Nations SecretaryGeneral’s landmark Study on Violence against Children. It begins: “The UN Study on Violence against Children revealed how millions of children almost everywhere have been left behind in their recognition as rights holders and in their protection from violence. It revealed how the history of violence against children is a history of silence. Since the UN Study was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, important developments have been achieved . . . [yet] today more than 1 billion children around the world continue to suffer multiple forms of violence in the home and family, in schools, in care and justice institutions, in workplaces, in the community and in cyberspace. The international community cannot remain silent and passive; it is time to stop the history of silence and impunity that surrounds violence against children.” Dr. Lenzer’s Violence Against Children is another call to action shattering that silence. A comprehensive global overview on all forms of violence against children

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

and its prevention, this book is on not just physical violence but structural violence. Both hit close to home for millions of American children. Along with physical abuse, sexual abuse, and gun violence, the assaults of child poverty, homelessness, the structural deficiencies of foster care and our juvenile justice systems, the Cradle to Prison Pipeline® crisis, and youth prisons are all pervasive forms of violence against children. Never has there been such a great need in our own nation to protect children from the growing hate and harms facing them. I was grateful to be able to contribute a chapter to this new book on the violence of child poverty. Coretta Scott King once said, “I must remind you that starving a child is violence.” Child poverty is one of the strongest predictors of poor outcomes in children. It hurts children physically, emotionally, and socially and leaves scars that often last a lifetime. Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to be hungry, to experience homelessness, unstable or dangerous housing, to live in a violent neighborhood, to have unmet health needs, and to attend a low-performing and often an unequally funded school. All these substantially affect their abilities to emerge from childhood ready and able to succeed in life. As the Children’s Defense Fund just outlined in our The State of America’s Children 2017 report, in the United States— the world’s largest economy—there are more than 13.2 million poor children, 6 million of whom are extremely poor. A child in the U.S. has nearly a one in five chance of being poor, and the younger she is the poorer she is likely to be. This is a national moral disgrace. The entire second section of the book is devoted to violence against children in the United States. Dr. Lenzer writes, “According to the 2012 Report of the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, violence experienced by children in the U.S. had taken on epidemic proportions. The report summarizes: ‘Exposure to violence is a national crisis that affects approximately two out of every three of our children. . . .Whether the violence occurs in children’s homes, neighborhoods, schools, playgrounds or playing fields, locker rooms, places of

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

worship, shelters, streets, or in juvenile detention centers, the exposure of children to violence is a uniquely traumatic experience that has the potential to profoundly derail the child’s security, health, happiness, and ability to grow and learn—with effects lasting well into adulthood.’” We are helped to understand that every assault on children’s well-being – I would add, including our leaders’ current refusal to put children’s lives first ahead of gun owners’ dangerous unregulated weapons of death – has lasting effects. Other chapters in Violence Against Children describe child exploitation, the effects of adversity on neurodevelopment, the global movement to end corporal punishment, violence against children in other regions of the world, and proven public health approaches to prevention. This volume confirms the United Nations study’s conclusion that all violence against children is non-justifiable, preventable, and all sectors of society have not just a role to play but a responsibility for doing their part to prevent and eradicate it. Violence Against Children’s foreword reminds us: “We are all connected. Violence against one child affects the entire human family. No child should be left behind.” Silence and inaction in the face of child suffering must never be continued or an option and must be stopped by every possible means. We have too frequent shameful and heartbreaking reminders in the United States that we must make this message heard and act on it. And now is the time to protect children not guns. At the front of the line are the nearly 800,000 Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants brought to this country by their parents as children and granted protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Marian Wright Edelman is President of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www. childrensdefense.org.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

EDUCATION

THE SEARCH FOR WAKANDA BEGINS WITH INVESTMENT IN HBCUS

By Roslyn Clark Artis, EdD On my morning drive to work I listened, as I always do, to the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Shaun King, noted Civil Rights activist and writer, offered a poignant perspective this morning on the historical significance of the blockbuster movie, “Black Panther.” He correctly acknowledged the movie as one of the pivotal moments in African-American history, to be considered alongside Michael Jackson’s Thriller sales records, the election of Barack Obama and Rosa Parks refusal to give up her seat. The success of the movie, starring an almost entirely black cast, casts women in positions of power, strength and superior intellect. Black men shine as wise, responsible leaders and warriors. I concur with King; “Black Panther” is sure to go down in history as one of the most powerful examples of Black pride in a generation or more. The record is clear – Wakanda is a place that many African-Americans long for – a place where their creative genius is recognized and technological and intellectual pursuits are acknowledged and celebrated. Having taken my own family to see the movie and read numerous accounts of the movie’s success at the box office, I can’t help but ask “What if?” “Black Panther” enjoyed staggering, recordbreaking sales figures: $400 million in the first weekend, twice the cost to film it! King further explained that the movie is on track to exceed records and hit a billion dollars in sales overall. As I listened, I could not help but reflect on the difference $1 billion could make to our nation’s historically black

colleges and universities (HBCUs). What if we supported our nation’s HBCUs with the same gusto with which we supported “Black Panther?” In many respects, HBCUs are our version of Wakanda – they are places where creativity is celebrated and technology is developed by people of color. They are places of great pride, where Black people are not excluded or ostracized but embraced and celebrated. Indeed, HBCUs have always been our Wakanda. However, lack of support for these institutions by both government and even our graduates and other people of color have threatened their very existence. What if we invested $1 Billion dollars in our HBCUs? Oh what a difference that kind of money could make to an HBCU! What medical advancements, artistic achievements engineering fetes and technological innovations might be realized by students of color if the classrooms and laboratories, studios and stages were all equipped with state of the art equipment to stimulate their genius? While we all celebrate the milestone achievement of the directors, writers. actresses and actors in “Black Panther,” remember that Wakanda is a fictional place. HBCUs are real. If we truly desire to see the ideals of Wakanda lived out, i.e. bastions of intellectual exploration, dignity and cultural pride for African-Americans, we must invest in HBCUs. Consider investing even the price of a movie ticket in your local HBCU. Even if you did not attend one of these venerable institutions, your support is appreciated. To be clear, I am a Black Panther/Wakanda fan, and particularly because of its beautiful HBCU connections. It’s lead star Chadwick

The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2018

Boseman is a Howard University alumnus. It’s lead costume designer, Academy Award winner Ruth Carter is a Hampton University alumna. The artist that brought “Black Panther” to life is Sanford Greene, an alumnus and faculty member of Benedict College. Michael Colter, who plays the lead in Marvel’s “Luke Cage” also attended Benedict. Breakout Nigerian actress, Sope Aluko, is a personal friend…. We are all connected to this historic production in some way, and its imagery, brilliance and symbolism cannot be overstated. But only a small number of deserving African Americans will reap the financial rewards of the blockbuster sales this weekend. To the contrary, generations will reap the benefits of our investment in HBCUs. The facts are clear – the African American middle class was built on the backs of the students at historically black colleges and universities, who marched and fought for Civil Rights. The documentary film, “Tell Them We Are Rising,” documents our advocacy and engagement heritage. Surely, that merits our support. If our goal is to see Wakanda become a reality, the best way to do that is to invest in an HBCU. Don’t just buy a movie ticket, buy a piece of the future by supporting an HBCU student! The return on that investment is tangible, long-lasting and life-changing. Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis is President of Benedict College. A graduate of West Virginia State University, Artis earned a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law and a doctorate in higher education leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

EDUCATION

SIX AREA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS NAMED AS 2018 KENNETH L. HOWARD SCHOLARS Columbus, OH -- The Columbus Kappa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Columbus Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc. is pleased to announce the 20th annual Kenneth L. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund (KLHESF) awardees. The five high school division recipients are: 1.) Rayshon C. Walker, Whetstone High School; 2.) Alexander R. Ushry, Eastmoor Academy; 3.) Ryan A. Wise, The Wellington School; 4.) Drew E. Collins, Olentangy Liberty High School; 5.) David M. Bean, Pickerington High School North, and 6.) Dominic Carter of Briggs High School (book scholarship). All scholarship recipients will be honored at the annual Kenneth L. Howard scholarship brunch that will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2018 in the auditorium of Columbus Africentric Early College located at 3223 Allegheny Avenue in Columbus. The keynote speaker for the brunch will be Mr. Keith Key, CEO of KBK Enterprises and he will deliver an address entitled “A Change is going to come: Arm yourself with an education.” This year’s awards bring the total for all scholarships awarded to area high school and college students by the KLHESF and Columbus Kappa Foundation to 170 students and $145,500.00 since 1987. At press time no repeating collegiate winners were announced, although two former KLHESF awardees are still eligible to reapply for scholarships for the 2018-19 academic year after their second semester grades have been posted for the Spring 2018 term (May); and in one case, after the successful completion of a summer internship with KLHESF corporate partner Corna Kokosing Construction Company.

Scholarship Awardee Profiles Rayshon C. Walker has been accepted to George Mason University, Ohio University, and Denison University. He will attend either OU or Denison and major in communications with a concentration in broadcast journalism. He was a four year varsity basketball player and captain of the team at Whetstone H.S. as well as senior class president and homecoming king. He took five AP classes, and multiple classes at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) earning a 3.92 GPA. Alexander R. Ushry has been accepted by Norfolk State University, New Mexico, BGSU, Xavier, Cleveland State, Jackson State, Ohio State University, and a host of other colleges. He will attend OSU and major in accounting. He has earned a Morrill scholarship to OSU. This Eastmoor Academy scholar athlete has a 3.7 GPA and a 25 on the ACT. He has taken multiple classes at CSCC plus he lettered in both varsity football & baseball among other things. Ryan A. Wise has been accepted at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and will study film and television. The Wellington School does not rank or calculate GPAs for their students, but a thorough review of his transcript has him at approximately a 3.3. He participated in the theatre program during the last six years, was a member of the Urban Strings of Columbus as first chair cellist, and produced a short film made at the NYU Tisch

School of the Arts Summer High School Filmmakers Workshop last summer. The short film Inalieable can be viewed here on Youtube: https://youtu.be/xd5azJdP3TI . Drew Collins has been admitted to BGSU, The University of Louisville, and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is undecided as to where he will attend at press time. He will major in bass performance. An avid musician at Olentangy Liberty, he participated in the OMEA All State Orchestra and in 2016 had a solo and ensemble rank #1. Drew carries a 2.8 and scored a 20 on the ACT. David M. Bean has been admitted to Belmont University and the University of Hartford among other colleges. He is undecided as to where he will attend. He will major in audio/acoustical engineering and music production. David has a 3.55 GPA and while at Pickerington North has taken multiple classes at Columbus State Community College. He earned a 25 on the ACT and he was also a member of the PNHS track team. Dominic J. Carter has applied to Central State University, the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Kentucky State University, Southern University, Alabama State University and Norfolk State University. He plans to major in music education. While at Briggs he participated in both marching and concert band. Mr. Carter will graduate from Briggs High School this year, and to date has earned a 2.6 GPA and scored a 16 on the ACT.

Now Open at COSI With towering dinosaurs and interactive displays, our new and permanent dinosaur gallery from the renowned American Museum of Natural History is an immersive journey at COSI you won’t soon forget.

cosi.org/dinosaurs | 614.228.COSI | 333 West Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

Board of Commissioners

hr-boc.franklincountyohio.gov/job-openings/

Franklin County employees help Central Ohio thrive Local government employees contribute to the community while being a part of a dynamic, fair and flexible environment. Visit our website today to see how you can make a difference!

JOHN O’GRADY

MARILYN BROWN

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

KEVIN L. BOYCE

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

By Ray Miller Set The World on Fire - Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedon By Keisha N. Blain

Becoming By Michelle Obama In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America - the First African American to serve in that role - she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her. Warm, wise and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has defied expectations - and whose story inspires us to do the same.

In 1932, Mittie Maude Lena Gordon spoke to a crowd of black Chicagoans at the old Jack Johnson boxing ring, rallying their support for emigration to West Africa. In 1937, Celia Allen traveled to Jim Crow Mississippi to organize rural black workers around black nationalists causes. In the late 1940s, from her home in Kingston, Jamaica, Amy Jacques Garvey launched an extensive letter writing campaign to defend the Greater Liberia Bill, which would relocate 13 million black American to West Africa. All of these women and many others were part of an overlooked and understudied group of black women who take center stage in Set the World on Fire, the first book to examine how black nationalist women engaged in national and global politics from the early twentieth century to the 1960s.

Rebels In Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers By J. Clay Smith, Jr.

How Exceptional Black Women Lead - Unlocking the Secrets to Creating Phenomenal Success in Career and in Life. By Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever

Black women lawyers are not new to the practice of law or to leadership in the fight for justice a n d e q u a l i t y. B l a c k w o m e n formally entered the practice of law in 1872, the year that Charlotte E. Ray became the first black woman to graduate from an American law school. Rebels In Law introduces some of these women and through their own writing tells a compelling story about the little-known involvement of black women in law and politics. The essays demonstrate the involvement of black women lawyers in important public issues of our time and show them addressing the sensitive issues of race, equality, justice and freedom.

How Execeptional Black Women Lead brings together compelling research, hard data, and generously shared personal advice to unlock the secrets to exceptional success for today’s Black woman. Shared in these pages are perspectives gathered from 70 Black women leaders, each who’ve blazed a trail in corporations, non-profit organizations, as public servants, activits, elected officials, entertainers or entrepreneurs. From the C-Suite to the streets, and even to the Halls of Congress, this book relays the strategies and techniques that result in breaking away from the pack, making your own mark, and overcoming the layered challenges every Black woman faces on her way up to the top.

A More Beautiful and Terrible History - The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History By Jeanne Theoharis

Beyond Respectability - The Intellectual Thought of Race Women By Brittney C. Cooper Beyong Respectability charts the development of African American women as public intellectuals and the evolution of their thought from the end of the 1800s through the Black Power era of the 1970s. Eschewing the Great Race Man paradigm so prominent in contemporary discourse, the author looks at the far-reaching intellectual achievements of female thinkers and activists like Anna Julia Cooper, Mary Church Terrell, Fannie Barrier Williams, Pauli Murray and Toni Cade Bambara. As Cooper shows, their body of work critically reshaped our understandings of race and gender discourse. It also confronted entrenched ideas of how -- and who -- produced racial knowledge.

The civil rights movement has beome national legend, lauded by presidents from Reagan to Obama as proof of the power of American democracy. This fable, featuring dreamy heroes and accidental heroines, has shuttered the movement firmly in the past, whitewashed the forces that stood in its way, and diminished its scope. And it is used perniciously in our own times to chastise present-day movements and obscure contemporary injustice. In, A More Beautiful and Terrible History award winning historian Jeanne Theoharis dissects this national myth-making, teasing apart the accepted stories show them in strikingliy different light. Praised by O Magazine and the New York Times, this book is “a bracing corrective to a national mythology (NY Times).

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

William L. Hawkins, Tasmanian Tiger #3, (detail) 1989. Enamel and mixed media construction on Masonite. Collection of the McLaughlin Family. Courtesy Ricco/Maresca Gallery New York.

WILLIAM L. HAWKINS

AN IMAGINATIVE GEOGRAPHY On View 2.15.18 – 5.20.18

This exhibition was organized by the Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa.

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 American News Journal • February

EDUCATION

CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY INVESTS $2M ON SAFETY AND SECURITY UPGRADES WILBERFORCE, OH. - Central State University is taking several crucial steps to upgrade its safety and security systems on campus by adding lighting, security cameras and a new emergency alert system. Approximately $2M is being spent, with the largest investment going toward the installation of 460 new, state-of-the-art, high-definition video security cameras. These cameras are in addition to the 60plus cameras already installed at the new University Student Center in October 2015. The video cameras have been placed in strategic locations around campus to monitor parking areas, residence halls, stairwells, academic buildings, corridors, and other high circulation areas. Many cameras are concealed, thus increasing the ability to monitor activity on campus. Video taken by the surveillance cameras is DVR recorded and available to law enforcement and campus safety personnel at all times. The video quality in some areas is able to show vehicle license plate numbers and facial recognition.

In addition, exterior lighting upgrades have emergency response notifications once the been completed. system is activated by emergency response buttons at campus police operations center Charles Shahid, chief government officer for or the City of Xenia 911 dispatch center, the University, said, “This video system gives which covers the campus at present. Other us surveillance of critical gathering places, universities that use Alertus include Ohio parking lots and common areas in residence State University, Michigan State University hall, and gives the Office of Public Safety and University of Virginia. points of view to react quickly to ensure student and staff safety.” Newly installed data The video camera project will be completed and fiber systems, paid for with another $3M, in March. The Alertus System will be help to connect all campus buildings. A new implemented Fall, 2018. 10GB fiber-optic backbone allows for the high-speed transfer of data and video across About Central State University: the new University network. Central State University, located in Central State has chosen Alertus, an Wilberforce, Ohio, is a regionally accredited emergency mass notification system, for its 1890 Land-Grant University with a 131-year campus-wide alert system. Alertus sends tradition of preparing students from diverse immediate text messages to students, faculty backgrounds and experiences for leadership, and staff, and to audio/visual beacons that research and service. The University, which will be installed indoors and outdoors around has been named 2017 HBCU of the Year by campus. The beacons will sound alarms and HBCU Digest, fosters academic excellence give verbal instructions to persons to seek within a nurturing environment and provides shelter in an emergency. The system also a strong liberal arts foundation and STEMwill “take over” video monitors in buildings, Ag curriculum leading to professional and computers in computer labs to provide careers and advanced studies globally.

NBA STAR KEVIN DURANT INVESTS $10M TO HELP YOUTH GET INTO COLLEGE By Thomas Heath Kevin Durant knows about starting at the bottom rung. But he is blessed with a gift to play basketball, which is not just a paycheck, but a ticket to worlds with other possibilities. He has used that access to create business opportunities beyond the world of sports, such as in technology. “What I love about tech is, I love watching the world advance,” said the 29-year-old star of the Golden State Warriors, who invests through his Durant Company. “I love the connections of people on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter. I would look at it like [Cornelius] Vanderbilt, who built the railroad. He connected us. The next advancement connecting us to each other is social media. I want to be part of that.” His interest in technology connected him to Laurene Powell Jobs and has led to a new philanthropic venture. Durant has committed $10 million and partnered with the Prince George’s public schools on a program called College Track, which was created more than 20 years ago in California by Powell Jobs and others. College Track helps disadvantaged kids — like Durant once was — attend college and get launched into life. Durant is dropping a life-ladder called the Durant Center smack in the middle of the Seat Pleasant, Md., area where he grew up. It isn’t an elevator. The 60 students in the initial group must climb the ladder themselves.

“I want them to see the world,” Durant said in a phone interview this month. “I want them to see where people are from and see that there are things outside their world. I don’t know exactly or at what pace that they will get it, but there is a world outside that they need to see.” Durant’s $10 million will seed construction and operating expenses of a local chapter of College Track, which is scheduled to open this year. “This hits home, because it’s right in the neighborhood where me and my buddies lived,” said the 6-foot-11 “small” forward. College Track is a 10-year program that provides the basic infrastructure — tutoring, test preparation, picking a college that is a “fit” and how to get financial aid — that kids

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

from less-advantaged families often don’t have. “These are all the things that middle-class families deliver if your parents went to college,” said Elissa Salas, College Track’s chief executive. “If your parents didn’t go to college, we fill that gap.” Durant’s seed money brings College Track to the East Coast for the first time. Nine College Tracks across California, Colorado and Louisiana have helped 3,000 students get to college and beyond. The Durant Center will be the first of three facilities planned for the Washington area. Salas plans two more in the District by 2021. Continued on Page 32

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

EDUCATION

I could have used this program. My family wasn’t poor. We weren’t the country club set, either. I didn’t get the whole pursuit-ofsuccess thing. I wanted it, but I didn’t have the tool set. I was clueless about how to go about getting a job and pursuing success. Opportunities would just roll in, or so I thought. Big mistake. Durant wants kids from Seat Pleasant to know at a young age what I had to learn over several decades: to take a longer view, learn who to emulate, how to develop confidence, set standards for yourself, deal with all kinds of people, and handle disappointment without taking it personally. I think of it as showing up. “We didn’t have the mentors,” Durant said of his early years. He found several mentors through basketball. Rick Barnes, who coached him at the University of Texas, was one. Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks, who coached Durant at the Oklahoma City Thunder, was another. Steve Kerr, his coach at Golden State, is also a mentor. “We didn’t have the resources to get our minds thinking about the next level,” Durant said. “I want to do my part, whatever it is. If College Track students want to be the next Steve Jobs [co-founder of Apple and Laurene Powell Jobs’s late husband] or the next influencer or the next tastemakers, they can get there.” Durant had his own ladder out: basketball. He was one of the most sought-after high school players in the country, and he attended Texas before turning professional after a year. He is one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. He also knows that without that gift — and his Eiffel Tower frame — he might have

ended up somewhere other than a Bay Area home high in the clouds. “The majority of my friends, we didn’t have households,” Durant said. “When your mom’s at work and you don’t have a dad, you’re leaving school, and you need to know what you want at that age. You need somebody to guide you in the right direction. Your mind wanders and you want things, but we don’t know how to achieve them.” A College Track program isn’t cheap to run. It is high-touch service that involves salaries and a professional staff and scholarships. At the high school level, students come three to five hours a week after school on school days. They also commit to a summer experience, whether it’s with College Track or some other service. It adds up to about one year extra of high school. “Students understand that it’s a commitment,” Salas said. The ultimate goal? Earning a bachelor’s degree. Four hundred College Track students have graduated from college so far, and that number is on pace to reach 496 this year. “Getting into college is half the battle,” Salas said. “It’s also getting out. Only 21 percent of first-generation, low-income students graduate from college. We are trying to combat that.” Durant’s affiliation with College Track started at a January 2017 Silicon Valley technology conference focused on investment in the Bay Area. Durant was talking with Powell Jobs, musician Will.I.Am and venture capitalist Ron Conway about the athlete’s philanthropic focus. “He had a vision of his own experience, which was mentors and tutors and coaches who had an influence, and who changed his

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

life trajectory, which is what we do,” Salas said. “The leadership component: Exploring your dreams, your purpose and passion. An expectation of service work. That is what resonated with Kevin. It didn’t take much selling.” “I want them to realize ego is the reason a lot of us don’t get ahead,” he said. “If you remove ego, pretty much everything is open to you. It makes it easier to access people and help someone else.” One private-equity investor recently told me that a willingness to acknowledge your shortcomings is a business skill. Durant has another word for it: humility. “When I got to Silicon Valley, I wanted to get in to see more people that knew more about tech than I did,” Durant said. “There was not a thing I knew about tech. I could have just walked into a room full of people if I wanted to invest in tech and they’d say, ‘Okay, you are Kevin Durant,’ and they would do it. “Instead, I was going in there with a humble mind and curious spirit and just intending to learn and begin relationships. That goes back to people skills and life skills that I learned from basketball. “Coming back to the neighborhood and showing them the experiences you went through, coming back and showing them what you’ve seen. You start the upward cycle.” Thomas Heath is a local business reporter and columnist, writing about entrepreneurs and various companies big and small in the Washington metropolitan area. Previously, he wrote about the business of sports for The Washington Post’s sports section for most of a decade. Article from WashingtonPost.com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS SANKOFA INCLUDES KNOWING YOUR HISTORY FOR YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL TODAY AND TOMORROW

By Cecil Jones, MBA Do you know your family history? Do you pass that knowledge on to others (younger generations) of your family? One of the challenges for people (all people but particularly for young people) is that there is little sense of continuity in their families. When one is not connected to their family, it is not shocking that those people feel isolated or exhibit behavior that is not healthy; behavior like having little respect for others’ lives (look at our murder rate), joining gangs and other harmful behavior (https://people. missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/what_I_ learned_about/gangs/whyform/family.htm). It is important to understand history, and particularly African American history. It begins at home! Reach Back to Move Forward The Sankofa Bird is a symbol that includes focusing on the past to succeed in the present and future. The Sankofa concept originated from the Akan people of West Africa. The word ‘Sankofa’ is a short reference word for “se wo were fi wosan kofa a yenki” (https://www.uis.edu/africanamericanstudies/ students/sankofa/); the meaning of those words includes the concept of reaching back (knowing your history) in order to move forward. The Sankofa bird symbolically looks backward while moving forward. Know Your Family History Where can you begin? First, by asking your family members (grandparents, parents, older brothers, older sisters, older cousins uncles, aunts) about previous generations. Get to know the elders’ stories, what they did, where they lived, when your ancestors moved, etc. Get to know the human side of those who went before you. Also, ask for birth years, what year family members passed, when/ where they were married and whether they served in the United States military. Many of those elements are on likely on documents like birth certificates, wedding certificates and census documents whose information is publicly available on the web, at no cost. The great news is that additional family history is being added regularly, for you to search upon. This information includes additional census information, older newspaper articles, birth certificates, wedding certificates and death certificates. What Information Will I Find?

The information that you will uncover will help you understand your family history. You will see information on the profession(s) of family members, the children that were in the household at each census, etc. For some census years, going back to the 1800s and early 1900s, the questions even indicate whom in the household could reach or write. Detailed census information for most African Americans began in 1870 (after the Civil War). However, other information like pictures of gravestones, or other notes, including the freeing of a slave (manumission), wills, from earlier than 1870 are sometimes available.

- Ohiohistory.org/participate/event-calendar/ genealogy/the-great-migration: Ohio African American family research session, ‘Great Migration into Ohio’, October 27, 2018 There are other sites and sources that are available for free and others that cost. Don’t forget about the local library! The main branch has staff available that specialize in history and researching family trees. Help Us to Help You

The purpose of this column is to provide useful information and knowledge that you can use, today. If you have a technology question (how to get something done, what You may even find notes or family trees business, process or software solution might that others in your family have left that are be available for your situation, how to secure already built and are accessible by anyone. that technology position, etc.), please email the question or comment to the email address What Additional Help Is Available? Admin@Accelerationservices.net for a quick response. If you want other sources for assistance while doing your family research, some sources People, Process and Technology include: Are you looking for a technology networking group to help you get smarter? What new - Freeancestry.com technology or process have you learned this month? Need advice on how to look for that - Familysearch.com technology position? Are you considering technology education (courses, certificates or - Genealogy.com degrees) and need information? Do you have - Franklin County Genealogical Society a business, process, project management, personnel or technology question? Please https://fcghs-oh.org/ 614-849-1239 let me know. - Ogsconference.org Ohio statewide Cecil Jones MBA, ABD, PMP, CCP, SCPM, conference April 11-15, 2018 FLMI, Lean Professional admin@accelerationservices.net - Daytonmetrolibrary.org/locations/history www.accelerationservices.net

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS

BLACK IMPACT: CONSUMER CATEGORIES WHERE AFRICAN AMERICANS MOVE MARKETS Black consumers are speaking directly to brands in unprecedented ways and achieving headline-making results. Throughout 2017, popular brands witnessed the power of Black Twitter and the brand impact of socially conscious Black consumers. Through social media, Black consumers have brokered a seat at the table and are demanding that brands and marketers speak to them in ways that resonate culturally and experientially—if these brands want their business. And with African Americans spending $1.2 trillion annually, brands have a lot to lose. DIVING INTO THE DOLLARS SPENT Black consumers and consumers of color alike are making considerable contributions to the overall market—in some cases representing more than 50% of the overall spending in key product categories. For example, half of the total spend ($941 million) on dry grains and vegetables in the U.S. in 2017 came from consumers of color. And Black consumers represented $147 million of the total spend in this category, which has recently made advances in product creation to meet the demands of their diverse buyers. Mainstream manufacturers across other industries are also seizing the opportunity to create specific products that appeal to diverse consumers. Not so surprisingly, African Americans have cornered the ethnic hair and beauty market, ringing up $54 million of the $63 million total industry spend in 2017. But marketers should find it interesting that Black consumers aren’t just spending on products created specifically to appeal to them. In fact, in terms of sheer dollars, African Americans spent considerably more money in the general beauty marketplace last year. Black shoppers spent $473 million in total hair care (a $4.2 billion industry) and made other significant investments in personal appearance products, such as grooming aids ($127 million out of $889 million) and skin care preparations “Our research shows that Black consumer choices have a ‘cool factor’ that has created ($465 million out of $3 billion). a halo effect, influencing not just consumers African Americans make up 14% of the U.S. of color but the mainstream as well,” population but have outsized influence over said Cheryl Grace, Senior Vice President spending on essential items such as personal of U.S. Strategic Community Alliances soap and bath needs ($573 million), feminine and Consumer Engagement, Nielsen. hygiene products ($54 million) and men’s “These figures show that investment by toiletries ($61 million). Nielsen research also multinational conglomerates in R&D to shows Black consumers spent $810 million develop products and marketing that appeal on bottled water (15% of overall spending) to diverse consumers is, indeed, paying off and $587 million on refrigerated drinks (17% handsomely.” of overall spending). Luxury, non-essential products such as women’s fragrances ($151 Companies should take notice of even the million of a $679 million industry total), subtle shifts in spending, because black watches and timepieces ($60 million of consumer brand loyalty is contingent upon $385 million in overall spending) and even a brand’s perception as authentic, culturally children’s cologne ($4 million out of $27 relevant, socially conscious and responsible. million) also play well to an audience that’s In fact, 38% of African Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 and 41% of those aged keen on image and self care.

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2018

35 or older say they expect the brands they buy to support social causes, 4% and 15% more than their total population counterparts, respectively. Moreover, Black consumers’ brand preferences are increasingly becoming mainstream choices, which illustrates that the investment in connecting with Black consumers can often yield sizeable general market returns. For instance, sizable Black spend in health and beauty categories has contributed to a diversification of product offerings that appeal not only to Black consumers, but to the general market as well. WHAT’S AT STAKE? Black consumers account for a disproportionate amount of product sales Continued on page 35

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS Continued from page 34

use social networks to support companies and brands (44% more likely). As the almost nuclear power of social media collides with an increasingly educated, affluent, tech-savvy black consumer base, there’s never been a more critical time for companies to build and sustain deeper, more meaningful connections with black consumers—not only to grow their relationships, but to protect them.

in a number of fast-moving consumer goods categories. Again, with $1.2 trillion in spending power, African-American consumers are an important population for smart brands that want to grow market share and brand preference. More importantly, the data suggests that Black consumer spending already significantly affects the bottom line in many categories and industries, and brands “When it comes to African-American can’t afford to lose favor or traction with this consumer spend, there are millions, sometimes billions of dollars in revenue segment without potential negative impact. at stake,” said Andrew McCaskill, Senior The enormous buying potential of Black Vice President, Global Communications consumers has put a spotlight on many and Multicultural Marketing, Nielsen. “With popular brands’ ability to navigate the 43% of the 75 million Millennials in the U.S. nuances of culturally relevant and socially identifying as African American, Hispanic or conscious marketing. African Americans are Asian, if a brand doesn’t have a multicultural more likely than non-Hispanic white peers strategy, it doesn’t have a growth strategy. to interact with brands on social media or to The business case for multicultural outreach

is clear. African-American consumers, and all diverse consumers, want to see themselves authentically represented in marketing, and they want brands to recognize their value to the bottomline.” METHODOLOGY Insights in this article were derived from Nielsen Homescan, Total U.S., for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 30, 2017. Article submitted from from Nielsen.com on February 15, 2018. Nielsen is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. An S&P 500 company, Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

CREATING AN UNSHAKEABLE GENERATIONAL LEGACY By John Delia Despite the despairing narrative of the African American experience often portrayed by the media and internalized by black people, there’s much to be hopeful about. In recent years, we’ve seen increases in income, purchasing power, cultural influence, and business ownership in the black community, to name a few. To be clear, there’s much work to be done to afford blacks the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as promised by the declaration of independence, but denied by systemic racism. Nevertheless, it behooves us to acknowledge progress and build momentum. A Minority Group with Major Influence From 2005 to 2015, the number of AfricanAmerican households with an income of $100,000 or more increased by 83%. Conversely, the total number of American households in the $100,000+ income bracket only grew by 53%. Another closely related, but nuanced, statistic is that black people in the $75,000+ segment are growing faster in size and influence than whites in all income groups above $60,000. One of the effects of this has been steeper increases in consumer expenditures by the average AfricanAmerican household than other American households—26% vs. 23%. Arguably the most compelling statistic regarding the influence of Blacks in the United States is regarding purchasing power. Purchasing or buying power, is defined as the extent to which a person, firm, or group has available funds to make purchases. Purchasing power affects every aspect of economics, from consumers buying goods, to investors and stock prices, to a country’s

economic prosperity. African-American buying power, which was $1.2 trillion in 2016, is projected to be $1.5 trillion by 2021, making it the largest racial minority consumer market. For context, a purchasing power of $1.2 trillion for African Americans is a 275% increase from what it was in 1990, and higher than the GDP of all but 13 countries in the entire world, based on 2015 data from the World Bank. That’s slightly above the economy of Spain and right below the economy Australia.

inform businesses how to reach in-the-know and influential consumers. The State of Black Wealth Creation

In the United States, the median white owned home is worth $85,800. Conversely, the figure decreases to $50,000 and $48,000 for black and Latino owned homes respectively. This is not to say that white owned homes are better constructed or more architecturally appealing. It is a reflection of the disparity in the quality of white neighborhoods versus Culturally, never has there been a time black neighborhoods. As a homebuyer, one when so many black television programs— does not simply buy a home, but also buys having predominantly black cast or a main into a neighborhood. storyline focusing on a black character— were drawing majority non-black viewers. When looking at blacks and whites of It speaks volumes to the influence of black comparable income, whites are far more shows on mainstream culture when Black-Ish likely to live in neighborhoods with highand How to Get Away with Murder generate quality schools, day-care options, parks, only 20 and 30 percent of their viewership playgrounds and transportation options. from African-Americans, respectively. Likewise, a black household with an annual Likewise, the engaged twitter followers of income of $50,000 lives in a neighborhood black shows, such as Power and Empire, are where the median income is under $43,000, primary subjects of market research, where Article continues on Page 36 their behavior are aggregated and analyzed to

The Columbus Dayton African American • March 2018 The Columbus African &American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS

while whites with an annual income of just $13,000 live in neighborhoods where the median income is $45,000. Simply put, poor white people live in more affluent neighborhoods than middle-class black people.

matter how slight. Imagine the inspiration that could be derived if black kids were growing up knowing that the purchase power of black people in the U.S. rivals that of Australia, that their tweets influence the behavior of major companies, or that they can become business owners. Progress may be a T h e r e a r e v a r i o u s r e a s o n s w h y t h e slow process, but it certainly is happening in disparity in the quality of neighborhoods the black community. exist, but two pertinent causes of note are the disproportionate occurrence of How do we, as a community resolve this? foreclosures in black communities and the Buy, renovate and upkeep the foreclosed and discriminatory treatment that those homes vacant homes in our neighborhoods. While receive after foreclosure. It is no secret that many may not be in the position to make such home sale prices can take a nosedive due to investments individually, co-investing as a nearby foreclosures. The unsurprising, yet group or team enables an entity to raise the disappointing, finding is that communities capital to complete desired transactions. Such of color received a disproportionate share of a way of accessing real estate assets outside subprime mortgages in the years before the of the typical fund structure is called a joint housing crash and were therefore at a higher venture. Joint ventures in real estate tend to risk of facing foreclosure. Consequently, arise when a manager finds an opportunity black mortgage holders were 76% more but is currently not managing a primary fund likely to have lost their homes than white with capital available to invest. borrowers when facing foreclosure. Miami Millennial Investment Firm is doing To make matters worse, banks largely neglect just that. The firm, formed by 12 young foreclosed homes in black neighborhoods. black professionals in Miami-Dade County More specifically, the Department of Housing in 2015, helps black people grow wealth and Urban Development found that banks through real estate, by bringing black continuously failed to conduct simple investors to neglected black communities. maintenance such as grass mowing and They buy properties, rehab them, and sell securing of doors and windows in minority them, focusing primarily in gentrifying neighborhoods. Similarly, investigators from neighborhoods. the National Fair Housing Alliance looked at more than 1,000 foreclosed homes in nine Black people should follow that blueprint major metropolitan areas around the country, across the country. How better would our and found there to be unequal treatment of neighborhoods be if there were less and the foreclosed homes in black neighborhood. better maintained foreclosed homes? By how much more would the values of the homes The Influence of Real Estate Ownership increase? How many low to middle-income black families would live in a community While it is important to keep the inequities where the median income matches their own? in the forefront of American consciousness, How much less susceptible to gentrification we must also acknowledge the progress, no would vulnerable black families be?

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 American News Journal • February

Are you ready to take action or interested learning more? At the 2018 Housing Joint Venture Impact Gala, attendees will learn from a leading minority real estate investor turned Silicon Valley Angel investor how you can achieve a dual return on investments—financial and social change! Keynote Speaker Manny Fernandez, Co-Founder / CEO is a Stanford University educated angel investor, serial entrepreneur, and bestselling author featured on CNBC’s Make Me A Millionaire Inventor. He has been successful investing in his own ideas as well as taking companies from startup to exit. Mr. Fernandez will share how he leveraged real estate to transform neighborhoods in Sacramento and highlight similar opportunities that exist in Columbus. Attend 2018 Housing Joint Venture Impact Gala to discover the hidden segment in the housing market primed to deliver quality housing for decades and establish generational wealth for your family! Saturday April 21, 2018 at 6PM. Location: Le Meridien Columbus - 620 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215, Michael B. Coleman Ballroom. For more information visit http:// events.housingjv.com John D. Delia Jr is a prolific real estate investor, entrepreneur and author. He specializes in repositioning value-added properties in inner cities across the American Midwest. An expert deal maker and strategist, he began his career in real estate at age 18. He is the author of Life, Liberty n’ Property: A Guide to Successful Real Estate Investing. John actively manages a portfolio that houses residents from 4 continents and is valued in excess of $1.5 Million. He resides in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife Dr. Richelle Delia and their golden mini doodle puppy.

COMMUNITYEVENTS Columbus, Ohio March 10, 2018 21st Annual Youth Symposium Join the women of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Iota Nu Sigma Alumnae Chapter for their annual youth symposium. Teens and family members throughout Cenrtal Ohio are encouraged to attend. Enjoy workshops, health screenings, trap yoga and more!

March 28, 2018 3rd Annual Career & Opportunity Resource Fair Calling all youth, entry-level, dislocated workers, restored citizens (ex-offenders), and seniors/retirees, this is an opportunity for you find a new career or gather resources to improve your resume. First 100 people will receive a free professional head shot. For more information call 614-432-4155 or visit the website below.

Location: Arts Impact Middle School Address: 680 Jack Gibbs Blvd., 43215 Time: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.ColumbusMetroClub.org

Location: Trinity Baptist Church Address: 461 St. Clair Ave, 43203 Time: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.SparkleCareerDevelopment.com

March 13, 2018 MLK: 50 Years Later - Preview Event On the 50th Anniversary of the untimely death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the King Arts Complex is convening a citywide celebration honoring his life and work. This event is free and open to the community. For more information call, 614-645-5464.

March 29, 2018 31st Annual Minority Health Month Kickoff April is Minority Health Month and the Ohio Commission on Minority Health would like to invite you to their annual statewide kickoff celebration at the Riffe Center downtown. Enjoy free health screenings, chair massages, health cooking and more. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the website below.

Location: The King Arts Complex Address: 867 Mt Vernon Ave, 43203 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.KingArtsComplex.com March 11, 2018 Thursday Club - 72nd Anniversary Celebration The Thursday Club will celebrate its 72nd Anniversary with a special luncheon honoring retiring General Chairman Henry “Hank” Simpson. For tickets contact Kevin Willis at ThursdayClubOhio@gmail.com. Location: St. Philips Episcopal Church Address: 166 Woodland Ave, 43203 Time: 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM Admission: $20 March 17, 2018 AKA Healthy House Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Alpha Sigma Omega Chapter offers best practices and strategies on physical wellness, financial wellness and evironmental wellness to improve your personal “house” (health). Free health screenings, Zumba & Yoga demonstrations, Cooking demonstations and more. (Please bring a canned good, school supplies or hygine products to support homeless families). Location: St. Stephen’s Community House Address: 1500 E. 17th Ave., 43219 Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.ASO1930.org/events

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

Location: The Riffe Center Address: 77 S. High Street, 43215 (3rd & 5th Floors) Time: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.MIH.Ohio.gov March 31, 2018 12th Annual Ministers & Community Leaders Breakfast Join the Brotherhod Laymen’s Auxiliary of Shiloh Baptist Church for their 12th Annual Minister’s & Community Leaders Breakfast. This year’s keynote speaker is Matthew Gaddis, Project Manager of Gaddis & Son Construction, Inc. For tickets, call 614-253-7946 or visit the website below. Location: King Arts Complex Address: 867 Mt. Vernon Ave, 43203 Time: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Admission: $20 Web: www.EventBrite.com/12th-annual-ministers-breakfast April 26, 2018 50th Anniversary of Black Protests at OSU The Frank W. Hale Black Cultural Center at The Ohio State University will commemorate the 50th anniversary of protests by black students who helped create positive change. Their efforts led to the creation of the Department of African American and African Studies and an increase in black enrollment within the univeristy. For more information about the ceremony, call 614-292-0074. Location: Frank W. Hale Black Cultural Center Address: 154 W. 12th Ave, 43210 Time: 5:30 PM Admission: Free Web: www.ODI.OSU.edu/hale-black-cultural-center

The Columbus & Dayton African American • March 2017

COMMUNITYEVENTS Dayton, Ohio March 9, 2018 Conversations About Race, Film and the City The 2018 Zane L. Miller Symposium, Conversations in the City: Race, Film and the City, features a panel of local film makers, writers and critics discussing film as a popular cultural medium that has been particularly potent in shaping common perceptions about race and society. How have films impacted the way we think about cities and the people who live in them? What difference does that make? Can film be a vehicle for change? Location: People’s Liberty Address: 1805 Elm Street, 45202 Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.PeoplesLiberty.org March 10, 2018 Speak & Sign Series: Olympic Gold Medalist, Mary Wineberg In conjunction with Women’s History Month, Mary Wineberg speaks about her autobiography, Unwavering Perseverance. Wineberg shares her struggles, her journey and her victory in achieving her dream. Mary is a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and a 2007 World Championship Gold Medalist in the 4x400 meter relay in track and field. This event is free and open to the public. Location: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Address: 50 East Freedom Way, 45202 Time: 10:00 AM - Noon Admission: Free Web: www.FreedomCenter.org

March 31, 2018 MAZE Feat. Frankie Beverly and Alex Bugnon Maze featuring Frankie Beverly has established a trust fund with music lovers worldwide. Fans know when they attend a Maze concert they will be treated to an evening of honest, raw soul music. And that’s how it has been for more than 40 years. Nothing has changed. For tickets call 937-228-7591. Location: Schuster Center - Mead Theatre Address: 1 West 2nd Street, 45402 Time: 7:30 PM Admission: $42 - $72 Web: www.SchusterCenter.org April 10, 2018 An Outrage - A Documentary Film About Lynching In The South The Freedom Center presents a documentary film about lynching in the American South. Filmed on-location at lynching sites in six states and bolstered by the memories and perspectives of descendants, community activists, and scholars, this unusual historical documentary seeks to educate even as it serves as a hub for action to remember and reflect upon a long-hidden past. Rated PG-13 for disturbing violent images. For more information, visit the website below. Location: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Address: 50 East Freedom Way, 45202 Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.FreedomCenter.org

March 13-14, 2018 NCAA March Tournament - First Four March Madness is here and the First Four round will take place at the University of Dayton. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the website below or call 937-229-4433.

April 14, 2018 Get Home Safe - Interactions With The Police A day long workshop designed to help youth properly engage with the police force while better understanding their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Workshop will also include a panel discussion with Dayton Police Department and local community leaders. Sponsored by the Dayton Chapter of Jack & Jill, the NAACP and Dayton Public Schools./

Location: University of Dayton Arena Address: 1801 Edwin Moses Blvd., 45401 Time: Call for times. Admission: Call for tickets. Web: www.TicketMaster.com/University-of-Dayton-arena

Location: Thurgood Marshall High School Address: 4447 Hooveer Ave., 45417 Time: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.EventBrite.com/get-home-safe

March 15, 2018 Wilberforce University Job Fair Are you looking for a new job or perhaps to change careers? Attend the Wilberforce University Job Fair and learn more about new full-time/part-time positions available in the area. You can also learn about continuing education classes or to pursue a post-graduate degree. This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit the website below.

April 28, 2018 Dayton Book Expo - Youth Writers Celebration The Dayton Book Expo is launching a writing contest to help students pair creative writing with critical thinking. Students in grades 4-12 are eligible to enter. Cash prizes and honorable mention certificates will be awarded. The theme is: Reading Is My Superpower. All entries must be postmarked by Friday, March 30, 2018. For more information, visit the website below.

Location: Wilberforce University - Alumni Complex Address: 1055 N. Bickett Rd., 45384 Time: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.Wilberforce.edu

Location: Sinclair College - David Ponitz Conf. Center Address: 444 W 3rd Street., 45402 Time: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.DaytonBookExpo.com

Please note: Information for this section is gathered from multiple commnuity sources. The Columbus & Dayton African American is not responsible for the accuracy and content of information. Times, dates and locations are subject to change. If you have an event that you would like to feature in this section, please call 614-826-2254 or email us at editor@columbusafricanamerican.com. Submissions are due the last Friday of each month.

The Columbus African & Dayton African American • March 2018 2015 American News Journal • February

quality,

Preserving central Ohio communities through affordable housing. Proud recipient,

Housing Visionary Award ITALIAN VILLAGE

KING-LINCOLN DISTRICT

WEINLAND PARK

UNIVERSITY DISTRICT

Our organizations fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial status, military status or disability.

OCCH: 88 East Broad Street, Suite 1800 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Phone: 614.224.8446 www.occh.org

CPO Management & CPO Impact: 910 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43205 Phone: 614.253.0984 www.cpoms.org | www.cpoimpact.org

The Columbus African American News Journal â&#x20AC;¢ February 2015

There is no routine lung cancer. A revolution in lung cancer treatment is happening at The James. Our research is proving that cancers are not solely defined by their locations and stages, but rather the individual molecules and genes that drive each patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique lung cancer. To deliver the most effective ways to treat lung cancers, we work to understand each cancer at a genetic level, then pinpoint what makes it grow. Our teams of world-renowned scientists, oncologists and other specialists put their collective knowledge and expertise to delivering treatments that target one particular lung cancer...yours. To learn more visit cancer.osu.edu/lungcaa17.

James No Routine Lung_caa_11x14.5.indd 1

9/6/17 9:20 AM

The Columbus African American News Journal â&#x20AC;˘ February 2015