HUSH Magazine Spring 2016

Magazine

Published by

HUSH | 2 | 2016 SPRING

Magazine

MENTORING 5 LeRoy Walker

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Laurel’s Miranda Beard:

6

New NSBA President

14

The Development Academy.................... 10

HEALTH

THE ARTS

DeAnna Tisdale on her Career & Faith.......... 16

CAREGIVING STORIES Kelvin Braxton.......... 34

Christine Brown....... 41

HISTORY

Christi Berrong

E.F. Young, Jr............. 23

37

COLUMNS

Eating Healthy........... 26 Marriage..................... 28 Allergies..................... 45

On the Cover:

20

1st Bishop of AME Church: Richard Allen, illustrated by Mandilay Inc. HUSH | 3 | 2016 SPRING

HUSH Magazine:

Magazine

✔✔promotes unity among all people

–– believers in Christ in particular –– blurring the cultural and racial lines that tend to oppose us;

✔✔offers real-life stories of people making a positive difference as encouragement to others to do the same;

Photographers in this issue

Daniel Buckley | Boston, MA Victor Calhoun | Mobile, AL Jay Johnson | Jackson, MS Kristi Little | Halifax, Nova Scotia Amanda Patterson | Mandilay, Inc. | Jackson, MS

Contributing Editor / Writer

Eleanor Reynolds | Mobile, AL

✔✔spotlights success stories of care and

concern for the development of youth –– the source of the nation’s next generation of leaders.

In a nutshell, HUSH Magazine is about Impacting People Positively and Powerfully.

HUSH Magazine started with three issues in 2015. Four quarterly issues (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) are scheduled in 2016. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all content. However, we do not guarantee that every article, column or story is free of error. No responsibility can be or is assumed.

Opinions presented in columns do not necessarily reflect the sentiments of HUSH Magazine, its editor/publisher or others beyond the particular columnist. All Rights Reserved. © Rapha Communications, LLC, P. O. Box 12635, Jackson, MS 39236; 601.506.1847.

Subscribe online at www.hush-be-still. com or www.hushzine.com for periodic updates about upcoming magazine issues, as well as other information.

Visit us online for a number of resources, including a search engine for farmer’s markets and organic farms, college scholarship searches and archive issues of HUSH Magazine.

Contributing Writers

Columnists

Ayanna Bloom | Pearl, MS Charlotte Graham | Laurel, MS Darrell Robinson, Jr. | Jackson, MS Teresa and Jim Adams | Marriage

& Family | Madison, MS

BetyLou Pierce | Health | Hattiesburg, MS

Brenda Holden | Eating Healthy | Madison, MS

Scripture Consultant

Jacqueline Mack | Jackson, MS

Proofing Consultant

Elise J. Ballard | Clinton, MS

Christian Education Director

Design Consultant

Amanda Patterson | Mandilay, Inc. Photography, Graphic / Web Design

Editor / Publisher

Linda Buford-Burks | Jackson, MS

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PHOTO BY MANDILAY, INC.

hile only 6% of the overall population, Black males

accounted for 43% of murder victims in 2011.

Among youth ages 10 to 24, homicide is the leading cause of death for Black males and also among the leading causes of death for Hispanics, and AIANs (American Indians, Alaska Natives).

In 2012, Black males were 6 times more likely to be imprisoned

than White males. Hispanic males were two and half times more likely.”

–– My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report to President Barack Obama, May 2014 Separate Sectors / Sowing Seeds

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Mentoring for more than 2 decades

by Charlotte Graham, Contributing Writer

As a student at Tennessee State University, retired Jackson businessman LeRoy G. Walker, Jr. received a bachelor’s degree in zoology with hope of one day becoming a doctor.

ut in his early 20s, LeRoy Walker, Jr. was smitten by the entrepreneurship bug. “I said I’m going to own my own business,” the Memphis native recalls. “It was something I just became interested in doing.” To pursue his dream, Walker explored opportunities with McDonald’s, the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. In 1984, he and his wife Terryce opened their first McDonald’s franchise. The two of them left Oklahoma, Nebraska and headed back South in 1989 to Jackson, Mississippi after being offered the opportunity to acquire five McDonald’s franchises. Soon after arriving in Mississippi, Walker was elected president of the Mid-Mississippi Co-op, which governed 28 stores. In recent years, Walker owned and operated a McDonald’s restaurant in Canton.

The retired businessman has received a long list of business, government and community awards during his career, including the Ronald McDonald Award twice, as well as the Global Golden Arches Award and the Gerry Newman HUSH | 6 | 2016 SPRING

McTLC Award. His business acumen is well known. His dedication to sharing his entrepreneurship skills with Mississippi’s youth might not.

For about 25 years, Walker has made it his business to be a positive influence in the lives of youth. In, fact, he is the founder of the Jackson Chapter of 100 Black Men of Jackson, Inc., which celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2015. An affiliate of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. (headquartered in Atlanta), the Jackson organization is committed to raising the quality of life for youth in central Mississippi while contributing to healthier, economically sound communities where youth can reach their full potential.

Mentoring youth is a major priority for 100 Black Men of Jackson.

Walker was the first president-elect of the Jackson organization which offers programs that focus on mentoring, health and wellness, education, economic empowerment, and leadership and diversity. The organization, which started with 25 members, has a membership of 68. The group mentors 138 young men in the Jackson Public School District.

Walker personally mentors 13 boys at Powell Middle School in Jackson. During a recent visit to the school, Walker promised the boys that he would buy a share of stock for each of them and the boys’ parents would have a certificate for the stock.

“Don’t sell it. Keep it until

you are about 25-years-old,” Walker told the students.

“You’re 12 now. Just keep the stock. Don’t sell it. If it sells to another entity or merges with another company, what you have is stock that will have maturity in that particular company. Some companies buy other companies, and the stock will go up. Sometimes, the stock will split; so, if you got one at $28 and it splits to $14 a share, which means you now have two shares of stock that may grow.”

Walker said he started investing in the stock market because his father, who worked at a car dealership bought stock regularly and would give his children a couple of shares or so for good behavior. “The important thing is that you know that if you buy low, you’re going to make more money,” the retired businessman told the boys during a counseling session at the school. “For instance, McDonald’s stock is now $105 a share. It has been about $125 per share. So, you see, it goes up and down. It fluctuates.”

Seated at a table in the school’s library, the students had a copy of stock market information in front of them.

Principal Justin Green leaned into the discussion with great interest, saying that his parents never mentioned the stock market, and he didn’t know anything about stocks and bonds while he was growing up.

Green says he was “blown away” when he learned of Walker’s dedication to HUSH | 7 | 2016 SPRING

“I asked, who is this guy? I googled him…

If you ever want a mentor who really has changed things and made an immediate impact, it’s Mr. Walker.”

– Powell M.S. Principal Justin Green students and the amount of time and resources he had committed to the development of boys in the Jackson Public School District. “I learned about him about 11 years ago when I came to JPS,” Green said. “I asked, who is this guy? I googled him…If you ever want a mentor who really has changed things and made an immediate impact, it’s Mr. Walker.”

Walker’s work as a mentor has garnered both local and national accolades. 100 Black Men of America, Inc., named him the “2014-15 Mentor of the Year” at the group’s national conference in Houston, Texas in June 2015. Thirty boys from the local mentoring program were among conference attendees on hand to see Walker receive his award.

LeRoy Walker (second from left) was commended on his national award by the local chapter of 100 Black Men during the organization’s awards banquet last October. PHOTO BY JAY JOHNSON When asked to describe his feelings about receiving the award from the national organization, Walker said, “Well, I must say it is quite an honor. It gives us hope and accomplishment to know that other members see you as a role model as you work to help others become better. It also shows that your work has not gone unnoticed.”

Honored as “one who blazed a trail of exceptional accomplishments as a dedicated, engaged and accomplished mentor,” 100 Black Men of America, Inc., selected Walker from

nominees submitted by its chapters nationwide, including New York, San Francisco, Miami and Vermont. The national group has 125 chapters.

Walker said that receiving the award is not only a testament to him, but also to the state of Mississippi.

“We have seen grades improve from D’s and F’s to B’s and C’s, and in some cases to honor roll,” he said.

The longtime mentor says most students want to succeed but need someone to help them do it. “They want a road map, and they are generally HUSH | 8 | 2016 SPRING

concerned about ‘what do I do...what’s going to happen to me next…where am I going to be when I move from this stage?’

“I want them to have such good grades that when they get to high school, the counselors are going to come and pull them out and say ‘we’re going to put you in this track, and that track is going to be a higher track than for the other students.’ And I’m going to keep monitoring them to see how well they are doing, and the contacts that I have, I’m going to share with them.”

“I want to give the youth in our community — especially our young black boys — positive examples.” LeRoy Walker Asked if there is a common thread or need among the students he has mentored, Walker said that the 100 Black Men organization’s approach is individually focused.

“Pretty much when you have a conversation with them, you learn about their lifestyles, things that are going on in their lives. If you develop a one-onone relationship with them, then they will tell you about concerns they have at school, and even concerns at home, including personal stuff.”

The retired businessman says mentoring has its rewards, pointing to an instance where a mentee bragged to him, “Mr. Walker, I made 100 in World History.” He says such moments are encouraging for mentors, because in this case, the student’s previous grade was an ‘F.’ Students who do well get reinforcement at the 100 Black Men organization’s meetings, where they can “show off” their accomplishments and receive reinforcement about their progress.

“I would love for all of them in the 6th grade to be at seventh or eighth grade level in reading,” the mentor said.

Walker is the friend, father or brother many of his mentees never had.

“I really have a tight relationship with Mr. Walker,” says Landyn Smith. “He’s like an old brother with gray hair,” he jokes. Walker doesn’t flinch as his young mentees poke fun at him.

Walker and mentees discuss various aspects of the stock market at an informal session at Powell Middle School. Mentees are (top photo, left to right) Tyree Summerall and Timothy Allen; (below, left to right) Dyllion Redmond and Landyn Smith. Powell Principal Justin Green listens in on the conversation (top photo, standing). The principal told the boys that his parents never mentioned the stock market while he was growing up.

“I want to give the youth in our community, especially our young black boys, positive examples,” he says emphatically. “If we don’t give them positives, they will look to others in the streets as their examples.

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“That’s why we need more African American entrepreneurs,” he adds.

“We need to begin cultivating their minds and talking to them about the opportunities available to them today.

“If we don’t, who will?”

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Charles Lewis

Marshall Thompson

Tony Gibbs

Pastor Hugh Davis

Stepping up to the Plate for Boys And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

EPHESIANS 6:4 t 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, young African American males gather at The New Horizon Center, a South Jackson facility –– to play basketball, get martial arts training, and learn or hone music skills. By summer, football will be going strong.

The young people attend The Development Academy, a concept brainstormed and birthed by three men who volunteer their time to make a difference in the lives of children in South Jackson.

Ronnie Crudup oversees the academy’s activities. He and two of his friends envisioned

a place where boys could be engaged in physical activity and at the same time, learn skills for successful living.

His friends, Charles Lewis and Marshall Thompson coach basketball and teach mixed martial arts, respectively. Coach Tony Gibbs was recruited to coach football, and Pastor Hugh Davis to teach music.

Most participants at The Development Academy come from single parent homes, but “we do have a good number with fathers at home,” Crudup said. “So, that helps. I don’t think it’s good to just have a bunch of males who don’t have any male discipline at home because sometimes you need another young man to help you out because he’s already had that discipline at home.”

By March 2016, boys’ basketball teams were in competition with citywide leagues; the music program offered vocal, guitar and piano lessons (open to HUSH | 11 | 2016 SPRING

boys and girls in group sessions on Monday and Tuesday nights); and the mixed martial arts offering was known as the Mixed “Marshall” Arts program.

In April, the academy started a Midnight Basketball Program for “young men 13 and older” who want to play basketball from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday nights.

“Sports is basically an art for us,” said Crudup. At the time of this interview, about 45 boys ages 5-18 were regular participants in the programs. Crudup anticipated that the numbers would rise dramatically after Spring Break, when the academy would honor the high community demand for its programs. “We’re just going to open it up, and see what happens,” he said.

When the idea of The Development Academy first became clear, the men could foresee that it would grow to serve large numbers of children.

PHOTO BY MANDILAY, INC. “We wanted to develop a big organization that serves a lot of kids, particularly African American boys,” Crudup said.

“We decided to start gathering people, particularly coaches, who were gifted in their craft.”

Each of the men conducting programs at the academy have the credentials to do so.

Lewis, the head basketball coach, is a former basketball player at Wingfield in Jackson and “went off to college and played basketball,” said Crudup. “A lot of the kids know him in the community.

He stays in South Jackson. So, he has been able to recruit just from the people who already know him.”

Crudup and Thompson have been friends for years.

They shared an apartment in South Jackson during their

college days when Thompson attended Jackson State University and Crudup was at Belhaven University. A top mixed martial arts fighter, Thompson teaches “Mixed Marshall Arts” at the academy.

Davis, in charge of the music program, earned the highest degree and honor awarded by the Trinity College of London as well as a degree from the Royal Schools of Music, also in London. Additionally, he graduated with an emphasis in Youth Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a Master’s degree in Education from Jackson State University.

Football Coach Gibbs, a former little league coach, played high school football and is a Mississippi State University graduate.

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While The Development Academy’s top volunteers want to assist in the success of young boys in particular, their agenda includes promoting “pride in the South Jackson community.”

“We call all of our teams the ‘South Jackson’ something,” says Crudup. “Our basketball teams are called the South Jackson Warriors. The football team is called the South Jackson Cowboys. We are trying to make a better life for the South Jackson Community.

So, it’s intentional for calling everything ‘South Jackson.’”

The academy reaches out to boys of the South Jackson community because many of them “have limited access to positive influences.”

“With us having this facility, we tell moms, ‘Just drop them

off, and we’ll handle them.

Give us the leeway with them.’”

The Development Academy has gone to great lengths to ensure that adults associated with it are above reproach.

All coaches and volunteers undergo background checks, “FBI background checks at that,” Crudup adds.

“We want to have an imprint in the lives of a lot of young men,” Crudup says of the staff. “For me, a lot of men had a real impact on my life.

Even though my father was a pastor and a minister, he spent a lot of time building the church. There were a lot of key moments when he was not there.

“I don’t use that as an excuse because the Lord had me to see that everything that my Dad couldn’t teach me, there was always another man who came and showed me.”

He recalls the men in his father’s church (New Horizon Church International) who taught him skills that his father was unavailable to teach him. One man picked him up every Saturday and taught him how to play basketball, another took him fishing and hunting, and his grandfather taught him carpentry, construction and other skills.

Because other men taught him, Crudup feels obligated to “do the same for these boys.”

While participants come for the program offerings, “We’re working on their attitudes and their spiritual life,” said Crudup. “We don’t start anything without prayer.

Parents know that. They

Pastor Hugh Davis (top photo) conducts a music session, while Marshall Thompson (above left, blue shirt) provides martial arts training to participants. PHOTOS BY MANDILAY, INC. know that we come from a Christian environment, that we’re connected to New Horizon Church already, and so, we just try to do our best with these young men, and that’s what we do.” A few parents were a little skeptical about the academy at first.

“The parents are now at a point where they just drop them (boys) off and leave.

We were hoping that, but we didn’t want to just tell Moms to do that because we know there is a trust factor involved.

They have to trust us.”

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Plans are to expand The Development Academy’s offerings this summer to include cheerleading (for girls only).

So far, it seems that parents are satisfied that their boys are in good hands.

“We’ve had some parents to say, ‘I’m just going to bring them to you,’ and that has turned some things around for the boys,” said Crudup. “We’re doing our very best to make sure that we have a positive influence on these young men’s lives.”

In the Spotlight

Miranda Beard, 2016-17 president of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), hosted a General Session at the national meeting in Boston, MA on Sunday, April 10. PHOTO COURTESY: NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

Beard Begins Term as President of National School Boards Assoc.

M

iranda Beard, a Laurel, MS businesswoman and president of the Laurel School District Board of Trustees, was installed as president of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) on April 8. With this ceremony, she becomes only the second Mississippian in three decades to head the national organization’s Board of Directors. She also is the first African American Mississippian to serve as NSBA president.

“NSBA supports school boards associations across America,” said Beard.

“The magnitude is pretty

huge in terms of the trickle down impact regarding legal, legislative, and public advocacy for America’s education system. NSBA members serve 90,000 school board leaders nationwide, and

those leaders make policies and decisions that impact 50 million children in the public schools.”

Beard won the approval of NSBA’s 150-member Delegate Assembly as President-Elect

John Tuttle, NSBA Immediate Past President 2015-2016, introduces Miranda Beard, NSBA President 2016-2017 at the NSBA Delegate Assembly on Sunday, April10 in Boston, MA. PHOTO COURTESY: NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION HUSH | 14 | 2016 SPRING

Mississippi Lawmakers Recognize Beard with Proclamation: (LEFT TO RIGHT: Standing in the House Chambers of the Mississippi Legislature, following a formal proclamation presentation to Miranda Beard, (front, third from left) are Mississippi Rep. Gary Staples, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, Michiah Beard, Miranda Beard, Mississippi School Boards Association (MSBA) Assistant Executive Director Denotris Jackson, Rep. Toby Barker, MSBA Executive Director Michael Waldrop, MSBA Governmental Relations Manager Paul Chamblee, and Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden. PHOTO COURTESY: MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION of the organization at a March 2015 meeting in Nashville, TN. Her April 8, 2016 installation marked the beginning of her one-year presidential term.

Mississippi lawmakers recognized Beard’s new post with a proclamation, presented to her on Monday, April 18.

First elected to the NSBA Board of Directors in April 2011, the Laurel School District Board president is a past president of the Mississippi School Boards Association.

She is a broadcast journalism

graduate of the University of Mississippi and completed both the Leadership Jones County and Leadership Mississippi programs.

Former Governor Kirk Fordice appointed Beard as a commissioner to the Mississippi Employment Security Commission, a position she held for eight years. She is on the advisory board for the Frances Karnes Center for Gifted Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi and the advisory board for the University of HUSH | 15 | 2016 SPRING

Southern Mississippi School of Mass Communication and Journalism. The owner of B&B Consultants Inc., Beard is a former broadcast journalist who once served as president of the Mississippi Associated Broadcasters Association. She also formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi.

A woman of the Christian faith, Beard will be featured in the Summer Issue of HUSH Magazine, providing insight on how her faith impacts her life and community service.

The Arts

PHOTO BY DANIEL BUCKLEY

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DEANNA TISDALE: Glad to Leave State, Content to Be Home

by Ayanna Bloom, Contributing Writer

“I’m no Beyonce or anything,” said DeAnna Tisdale. If you google her, you won’t find an extensive amount of information, but that doesn’t make her any less amazing.

T

isdale’s bright and bubbly personality is an interesting contrast to the comfortable-looking neutral toned workout clothes she wears, just in case she gets time in her busy day to go to the gym.

The Jackson, MS native is a lyric soprano and recent graduate of the Boston Conservatory where she received a Graduate Performance Diploma in Vocal Performance. She says her mom often tells a story about when she was younger, how she would sing the song, No Pain No Gain, in the grocery store. “One of my first memories of my mom is of her singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot. So all of my earliest memories are of music, and I kept pursuing it,” Tisdale said.

Despite what others might think, Tisdale is the only one in her family who was bitten by the music bug. “My dad was in the choir in high school and he liked to sing in the kitchen, but I’m the only musical one on both sides of my family. It’s kind of weird.”

Tisdale has an amazing support system anchored to a large degree by the family

newspaper, the Jackson Advocate. Growing up in the newspaper business and having somewhat of a bent for writing make her a natural for her current position at the family newspaper as associate publisher.

“I work at the paper full time, but I also have flexibility to perform and audition for performances,” she said.

Her performances are “the calling” of her heart, and she still gets nervous before each one.

“You can either use that energy positively or negatively, but it has to go somewhere. I try to channel it in a positive way.”

Tisdale always prays before performing, allowing God to use her to connect with others.

In the 2014-2015 season, she performed her first leading role as Anna Maurant in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, with lyrics by Langston Hughes. She also performed in the chorus and covered the role of Prilepa in Tchaikovsky’s

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Queen of Spades with Harvard’s Lowell House Opera. She took part in a groundbreaking, immersive theatre production of Britain’s Turn of the Screw in the role of Miss Jessel (Opera Brittenica).

Previous performances include Foreign Princess from Dvorak’s Rusalka (Halifax Summer Opera Festival) and the Gingerbread Witch from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Berklee Opera). She sang with the Mississippi Opera in its 2009-2010 Champagne season as a soloist in The Best of Opera Choruses and as a chorus member in J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.

During the summer of 2009, she traveled to Rome where she was part of the Opera

Festival di Roma.

Tisdale’s attendance at the Boston Conservatory changed who she is as an artist. “It’s one of the most significant times in my life....Everything is done at such a high level and you’re in awe of the people around you that are super talented, and you want to push yourself to be at that level,” she explained.

At the Boston Conservatory, she performed the role of the Forester’s Wife and covered the role of the Fox, in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen.

Additionally, she studied role preparation with the worldrenowned Martina Arroyo in her Prelude to Performance program.

“You have to know where

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God is leading you,” the vocal artist said. “I’ve always wanted to get out of Mississippi. I didn’t want to go to college here or grad school, but I ended up doing that” before leaving the state.

Tisdale’s career is one that requires a constant pursuit of perfection. “Nothing is ever perfect. You’re consistently and constantly improving yourself.”

Nevertheless, the lyric soprano loves opera, saying that it is “the one art form that incorporates all art forms.

“It has music, writing, scenery, movement and dance, lighting, costuming, and a bunch of other things. At the most basic level, it is telling a story through song, but to me it’s like everything that you can think of artistically being displayed at one time.”

Now back home in Jackson and engaged, Tisdale most recently was a featured artist on April 9 with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. She sang Schubert’s Salve Regina with the chamber orchestra.

She believes every one of her steps to this point has been orchestrated by God, something she didn’t always notice.

At the Martin Luther King Banquet hosted by Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes in January, Tisdale told the audience about an experience she had while singing the song, Order My Steps, at the NAACP Spingarn awards in 2011.

The lyric soprano said that in 2011, she became deeply overwhelmed by the song

PHOTO COURTESY: KRISTI LITTLE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA

PHOTO BY KRISTI LITTLE and acutely aware of God’s presence. Each time since then, she finds herself in a prayer mode when she sings the song, with its powerful lyrics becoming a prayer sung to God. “I’ve been more aware of Him ordering my steps, and my walk in the spirit,” she said. “My fiancé and I talk about it all the time.”

Although she was oblivious to it at the time, even her

admittance to the Boston Conservatory, where she met friends she considers her “soul sisters,” was divinely appointed.

“I had some amazing experiences and growth there.

It was like I was supposed to be there,” she said.

Nowadays, Tisdale is more tuned into God’s leading and has “grown so, so much in the past two years.”

“I’m excited about the HUSH | 19 | 2016 SPRING

things He has planned for my life. I’m just going to keep on walking. I know that He is ordering my steps.”

Her favorite song, “Io son l’umile ancella,” is an Italian selection from the opera, Adriana Lecouvreur. It helps her keep things in perspective.

“It basically says that ‘I am the humble servant.’ We are His vessel, His servant. God gives us what we need to impart His message to others.”

200 Years

AME Church formed for freedom of worship

“T

This image is of Bishop Richard Allen, the first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is courtesy of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday School Union, with minor embellishments made with permission.

he history of this church dates back to 1787, when a number of persons of African descent, imbued with the spirit of independence then in the American atmosphere, and led by Richard Allen, a colored local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, withdrew from St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, because the white Christians desired to segregate them in the gallery of the church, and otherwise place a badge of inferiority upon them. They established a society of their own, in which any person, regardless of his color, could enjoy the worship of God with freedom from restriction or segregation.

Soon Negroes of other Pennsylvania localities, and of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland

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followed the example of the Philadelphians, and formed distinctively African congregations — often with the encouragement of the whites. In 1816, representatives, sixteen in all, from Bethel African Church in Philadelphia, and African churches in Baltimore, Md., Wilmington, Del., Attleboro, Penna., and Salem, New Jersey, met in Philadelphia and formed a church organization or

connection under the title of “The African Methodist Episcopal Church.” (The term “African” was then prevalently used to designate the people of color, just as the terms “Negro” and “colored people” are now used).

They adopted the polity and doctrine of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with some slight changes, and elected one of their number, Richard Allen, as their bishop.”

This passage was reprinted verbatim with permission from the 1816-1916 Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, written by Richard R. Wright, Jr., A.M., B.D., Ph.D. and contained in the Rare Book Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina / Chapel Hill.

Special July Events Mark Bicentennial

On February 2, 2016, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new Black Heritage Stamp, featuring Bishop Richard Allen, the first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The ceremony was in Philadelphia, PA -- the denomination’s birthplace. The graphic is courtesy of the Library of Philadelphia.

I

n July, the African Methodist Episcopal Church will kick off a series of national events to celebrate 200 years as a denomination.

Many of the church’s Episcopal Districts are marking the bicentennial with special observances within their regions prior to the internationally attended General Conference in Philadelphia, PA. The first church of the denomination was started in a renovated blacksmith’s shop in Philadelphia, and an anvil was used as the pulpit.

Major Bicentennial events occur before the official July 5-13 General Conference, the

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first of which is an 80-mile relay on July 3, cosponsored by the American Cancer Society. Four runners from each of the 20 AME districts will be featured in a race from Dover, Delaware to Philadelphia. The course of the run is significant, because the first bishop of the church, Bishop Richard Allen, spent a significant amount of his childhood in Dover, and Philadelphia is where he was born and also where he established Mother Bethel, the first AME Church in America.

The “Unveiling and Dedication of the Richard Allen Memorial Courtyard” also will occur on July 3, at Mother Bethel AME Church, following the 80-mile Bicentennial

...Events mark Bicentennial Run. According to the special website listing the Bicentennial events, the courtyard includes a 6.6 ft. statute of Bishop Allen in a 20x30 foot area at the original church. Other special events are the “Unveiling and Dedication of the Richard and Sarah Allen Mural” on July 4 and a “Gala Bicentennial Banquet” on July 5.

More than 20,000 AME Church members from across the world are expected at the General Conference. Most sessions will be held at the Philadelphia Convention Center, although opportunities to tour major historical sites including Mother Bethel AME Church and St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church will be available.

Among its accomplishments, the AME Church today has more than 2.5 million members in 39 countries and 19 “Institutions of Higher Education.”

Rev. Dr. Samuel Henry Boyd, Sr., Pastor of Pearl Street AME Church in Jackson, MS said that excitement continues to build as members look toward the special activities and General Conference.

He said Bishop Julius Harrison McAllister of Jackson is responsible for the momentum being built concerning conference attendance, and “several hundred people from Mississippi and Louisiana will travel to the Philadelphia conference.

Bishop McAllister is president of the 20-member Council of Bishops. The

council is the governing body of the AME Church.

“We are reflecting on the past and focusing on the future as to where do we go from here as Christians and as members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,” said Rev. Dr. Boyd.

“The voice of the black church must focus on addressing all that is going on as it concerns Jim Crowism and concentrate on building our communities.” The energy and strength received from worship and praise should be carried outside church walls “to lift the morale and hearts of Black people, Hispanics and all other ethnicities,” said Pastor Boyd. “We need to go out and make a difference.”

Alluding to Bishop Richard Allen’s “picking up the torch” when he set out to organize a new church denomination 200 years ago, Dr. Boyd said that today’s AME members must do the same, setting an example “for the younger generation.”

“The General Conference which met in Philadelphia to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary probably drew together the largest number of talented Negroes ever assembled at one place and time in the history of the country. The six hundred and fifty delegates comprised both ministers and laymen from every State in the Union, where there is any considerable Negro population, from West Africa, South Africa, Canada, South America, and the West Indies, and represented the popular leaders of the Negro race."

SOURCE: The 1816-1916 Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, written by Richard R. Wright, Jr., A.M., B.D., Ph.D. and contained in the Rare Book Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina / Chapel Hill

AME CHURCH: First 100 Years AME 1816 Church Churches 7 Bishops 1 Conferences 2 Schools 0 Ministers 7 Local preachers

Members 400 Value of Property $25,000 Pastors’ support (estimated)

1836

1866

1896

1916

86 2 4 0 27

7,594

286 3 10 1 265

73,000

4,850 9 52 20 4,365

518,000

7,500 16 81 24 6,650 6,400 650,000

$125,000

$1,126

$825,000 $8,630,000 $12,500,000 $85,593

$956,875

$2,000,000

SOURCE: 1816-1916 Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church HUSH | 22 | 2016 SPRING

Meridian businessman thrives during the Great Depression

I

n 1933, Eugene Fred Young, Jr. of Meridian, MS received the official trademark for his company, E.F. Young, Jr. Manufacturing Company, from the U.S. Patent Office in Washington. The young African American’s company already was well on its way to success by the time the patent arrived, with thousands of repeat customers who had placed the company’s hair care products on their list of routine purchases. Using the founder’s name as the brand, E. F. Young, Jr. Manufacturing Company offered a Hair Pomade, Pressing Oil, Temple & Scalp Dressing, and Hair & Scalp Dressing. By 1945, the company’s products were household names for hundreds of thousands of customers across the United States, and the Meridian, MS

company opened a Chicago office to facilitate distribution of products in the North.

The company expanded its offerings to include a hand lotion, facial soap, cold cream, deodorant, lipstick, perfume and hair straightener.

E. F. Young’s Background

The young entrepreneur, born to Minister E.F. Young, Sr. and his wife in Russell, MS, finished New Haven Teachers College in Meridian in 1927. He married his college sweetheart, Velma E. Beal, the same year. After his efforts to find full-time employment failed, the young man used the barber’s license that he earned while at New Haven’s Teachers College to work part-time in a barber shop. He drove a cab to supplement his

family’s income. His studies in business and chemistry at New Haven Teachers College began to pay off, as he pondered how to fill the void he noticed in the market while working in the barber shop he would later own. His hair care products manufacturing company was firmly established less than five years after he graduated from college in 1927.

Fast Track to Success

Two popular haircare products from the early E.F. Young, Jr. lineup.

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His success in the hair care products manufacturing industry did not stop E. F. Young from establishing other ventures. In the mid 1940s, he

had constructed an innovative hotel, building the E. F. Young, Jr. Hotel over the barber and beauty shops that he owned.

The young entrepreneur died of a terminal illness in 1950, leaving his wife Velma to head her husband’s businesses and to care for their three children, Charles Lemuel, Eugene, and Loyce.

Clearly his wife had a disadvantage being an African American woman trying to do business at a time when women were not likely candidates for entrepreneurship. However, Madam C. J. Walker (also African American), the first female self-made millionaire in America, had already set a precedent in the early 1900s, making her fortune by developing and marketing beauty and hair care products for black women. Her company, Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, closed in July 1981 (source: wikipedia.com) Despite difficulties, Velma Young prevailed, keeping E.

F. Young, Jr. Manufacturing Company and other family enterprises afloat until 1969, when her oldest son, Charles Lemuel Young, returned home from military service to take the reins of the businesses.

Eugene Young became a construction contractor and Loyce D. Young-Daniels headed the E. F. Young Beauty School after graduating from college and before moving to Los Angeles, CA.

E. F. Young’s Legacy

Charles Lemuel Young, Sr. (August 27, 1931 - April 29,

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2009) became an industrious entrepreneur like his father, turning the company’s enterprises around at a pivotal time in the country’s history.

The Civil Rights Movement was making headway, and he was a part of it. At the same time, the E. F. Young, Jr. Hotel played a role, too, since it was the only African Americanowned hotel in that part of the state at the time –– located less than one hour from Philadelphia, MS, where three young Civil Rights workers were killed just outside of the Mississippi town.

E. F. Young, Jr. (left) is pictured with Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, who was among the guests at his hotel’s opening in 1946. The Meridian, MS hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Special Honor....

The official ceremony naming the Canton Court Room / Board Room after Canton native and Civil Rights historian Flonzie Brown Wright was on February 26 at the Canton City Hall. Canton Mayor Arnel Bolden and the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the move during the October 6, 2015 meeting of the board.

Brown Wright was the first African American female elected official in Mississippi post or preReconstruction, serving as Election Commissioner for Madison County from 1968 through 1972. She is the mother of three children: Cynthia and Lloyd of Jackson and Edward (deceased).

“I accept this recognition in honor of my parents, especially my dad, Mr. Frank Brown, Sr.,” Wright noted at the official dedication. She related how her dad was “required in the same courtroom 60 years ago to take the electrician and plumbing test three times, and according to the superintendent, he failed each time. Some few years later, the superintendent became very ill and sent for my dad to come to his bedside to apologize to him for failing him each time and admitted that he passed each time, but that the City of Canton ‘was not ready to give a Black man his license.’

“To add insult to injury, on the third time, he sent his fifteen year old grandson in the room with Dad to see whether he had notes written in his hand or in the sleeve of his jacket. He asked dad to forgive him for his actions and being the kind man that dad was, he reached on his pillow and embraced him and told him, “all is well.” A few days later, the superintendent passed away. So for me, this validates my dad’s legacy. My mother (Mrs. Littie P. Brown), always encouraged him to go back and keep trying. Finally, he was able to receive his license, thus becoming the first African American male to become a licensed Electrician and Plumber. The amazing gem for me to remember is that he did not realize he was making history. He was simply trying to earn a decent living for his family. Approximately 10 years before Dad’s death, he became vice-president of the board which licensed all plumbers and electricians.”

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EATING HEALTHY: A Lifestyle Commitment for Holden

B

renda Holden, Operations Manager at Ballet Magnificat in Jackson, MS, deliberately watches what she eats.

She describes her diet as one full of “organic, whole, unprocessed foods, with lots of raw fruits and veggies.”

“When I changed my diet about 8 years ago, I lost weight (she went from a size 12 to a 6), and

it has not been a problem since,” says Holden.

“I have added back a little more cooked food in the last few months and have gained a few pounds, but they were needed, since I was a bit too thin (size 4). I’m happy at size 6.”

Married for 43 years to her first sweetheart, Holden and husband John have two grown children and one granddaughter. She says her family is “very supportive” of her diet choices and are “greatly influenced, but are not as fanatical” as she is about it. She has “healthy uped” her husband’s diet, “keeping it organic, pasture-raised, low sugar and as raw as I can.”

However, “he won’t touch my smoothies.”

Brenda Holden’s Diet on a Typical Day BEFORE BREAKFAST ›› A cup of warm lemon water ›› 1 hour later, a supplement called Zija (Moringa Oleifera) BREAKFAST (an hour later): ›› 2 organic pastureraised poached eggs with Celtic sea salt, with a little olive oil splashed on after cooking

LUNCH Choices: ›› A smoothie, OR ›› Apple/banana & peanut/almond butter ›› Green salad with lots of colors, Celtic sea salt, olive oil or homemade dressing; ›› Gluten-free bread with mashed avocado, olive oil, Celtic sea salt, sprouts – sometimes with hummus ›› Grapefruit & avocado splashed with olive oil & Celtic sea salt

ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK: ›› Another smoothie OR ›› Bottle of Zija DINNER BIG salad with lots of colors, cooked food “If I eat meat, I eat organic, pastureraised chicken or beef.

Organic beans, lentils, and lots of veggies - squash, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, greens like spinach, chard or dandelion, green beans or butter beans from my garden.”

AFTER DINNER: Dessert: If I haven’t had a second smoothie earlier, I’ll sometimes have one for dessert about an

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hour after dinner, or an apple.

On the day that Holden supplied this information, she had the following Dinner menu: ›› salad of romaine, with apples, carrots, raisins with homemade apple dressing ›› blackeyed peas ›› baked sweet potatoes ›› steamed broccoli Her favorite Smoothie recipe is on the next page. She does not know its calorie count, adding that it “never matters to me since I don’t have a weight issue any longer.”

by Brenda Holden, Operations Manager Ballet Magnificat / Jackson, MS People are always amazed when they taste this and discover that it doesn't taste like vegetables but like a dessert! I love having the concentrate to take to work where I can just add the banana and ice. I try to drink two each day. Use only organic ingredients.

A powerful blender like a Vitamix is needed. ›› 1 medium zucchini and/or yellow squash ›› 1 large carrot or 1/2 sweet potato ›› 1 raw organic pasture-raised egg (optional) ›› 1 whole avocado ›› 1 small head baby bok choy ›› several handfuls of greens: collard, spinach, leaf lettuce, chard, beet ›› 1/4 cup walnuts **

›› 2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds ** ›› 1 - 2 inch piece of vanilla bean ›› 1/4 tsp stevia powder, more or less ›› enough water to blend ›› banana ** Nuts should always be soaked before consuming. I soak large batches, then dry them in the dehydrator.

Place ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, making a thick mixture that will fill the container. I fill 8 oz. canning jars to the rim (so there is no air between the smoothie and the lid) and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. When ready to use, just pour one of the 8-oz. jars of "smoothie concentrate" into the blender. Fill the emptied jar half full with filtered water and put on the lid, shaking it to remove all the smoothie mix before pouring the liquid into your blender. Add 1/2 whole banana, about 10 ice cubes, and blend.

You should end up with the consistency of an ice-cold milkshake.

Optional ingredients to add: ›› a tablespoon or two of peanut butter ›› blueberries and raw cacao ›› pineapple and coconut ›› Granny Smith apple and spices ›› dehydrated lemon rind powder

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Re-connect!

By Jim and Teresa Adams, Authors / Marriage Counselors

A woman paints a dismal picture of where her marital relationship stands today. She says, “We (my husband and I) have been married for over 20 years, and we have never really connected. We started the relationship with hopes of taking time for each other and building a beautiful life together. However, time has passed.The children came, and now the children are gone. We are left alone to make up for many valuable years lost in our marital relationship.

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Continued on next page

If Couples Are Willing,

Marriages Can Work he scenario on the previous page is played out in many marriages today, leaving far too many married couples feeling stuck. Marriages can be saved, however, if the couples are committed to restoring the joy in their marital relationships.

Here are a few recommendations for getting things turned around: For the person reading this article, Pray for your relationship to change and be restored. If you are a Christian and you do not know how to pray just say this: “Lord God, please help me to see what I am doing in this relationship that is causing a problem and work on me.” As you grow in your Christian walk, you will begin to understand you have to give an account of yourself to God in your relationship.

Ask your spouse for some of his/her time.

Do this first in your home away from others.

During this time, both of you should make the Decision that you want the relationship to grow and be different. You want to honor the vow you made to God and to each other. There is no “magic” here. Yours is a decision to do what is right in your marital relationship. (If you do not know the design for marriage, a resource is provided at the end of this article).

When the two of you are together, Reconnect. The first thing we tell couples to do in reconnecting is to “Look into each other ’s eyes,” then “Hold hands.”

Now, you are ready for “reconnecting.” Start a conversation about something you both enjoyed years ago or a current event you would like to attend. This is just “small talk.”

If there is a lot of anger or bitterness, this conversation might be very uncomfortable at first, but keep trying. When you are able to have a comfortable “small talk” conversation, you are ready to go to the next step.

Confess to your spouse how you feel in the relationship, i.e., “I feel sad when…” “I feel hurt when you do not include me in your life…” “I feel so alone…” Express yourself in a way that is not demanding or judgmental.

Forgive- If forgiveness is in order, ask your spouse for forgiveness for anything you have done to harm the relationship.

As you work on your relationship, you will begin to see that, with the Creator of Marriage in your life, you are fighting a winning battle.

God ordained marriage, and the marriage is all about Him. Go to God and Repent and Follow Him!! Begin your spiritual growth together in the Lord, and the joy will return.

These tips should help you reconnect with your spouse so that the two of you can move forward. If you are not making progress within a few months, professional counseling may be needed. You also can gain more insight for a healthy and happy marriage in our book, Preparing for Marriage: What to Do Before and After You Say, ‘I Do.’

Jim and Teresa Adams, married for 30 years, are the parents of four grown children.

Teresa holds a masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT) and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC). Jim is a Smalley Certified Marriage Intensive Coach. They are best-selling authors and co-founders of the digital relationship coaching center, Relationship Success University.

Email them at JimandTeresa@RelationshipSuccessUniversity.org HUSH | 29 | 2016 SPRING

God Cares about our relationships....

See Genesis 29:31.

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by Darrell Robinson, Jr., Contributing Writer elvin Braxton had no inclination of the faith journey he would embark upon when he accepted the responsibility as primary caregiver for his mother-in-law, Joan Ralls, diagnosed with Stage-Four pancreatic cancer almost two years ago.

He vividly remembers the August day Ralls learned of her diagnosis, as it proved to be the mark of a new beginning for both Braxton and the 79-year-old.

“When she heard about it, she wasn’t devastated, but it weighed on her because she couldn’t understand why,” says Braxton. “She was pretty healthy and took good care of herself.”

Braxton remembers his mother-in-law as a selfsufficient woman. So, it was no surprise to him that she insisted on caring for herself after she learned of the diagnosis. Ralls had an extremely small family.

Besides her daughter, she had one brother who lived in Chicago, and he had one child. There was no one else around to care for her. She lived in her Tennessee home alone for a month before she could no longer care for herself.

“My wife Adrianne told me, ‘We might have to bring mom home to stay with us,’” said Braxton. “She was reluctant

Kelvin and Adrianne Braxton decided he would be the major caregiver when her mother’s stage 4 cancer required her to live with them. to ask out of fear of me saying no, but she didn’t know I was more than willing.”

Braxton and Ralls loved and respected each other, but he admits that before her diagnosis, they shared no extraordinary friendship. He says that her commitment to caring for her own mother in the past was a major factor in his decision to help her.

Years before, Joan Ralls’ mother had suffered from HUSH | 34 | 2016 SPRING

Alzheimer’s, prompting her to move her mom from Chicago to Tennessee so that she could care for her. Eventually Ralls placed her in a nursing home due to the nature of the illness.

“Joan would work a long day, get off, and before she went home, she would drive an hour to spend time with her mom and talk to nurses, cooks, and other staff so that her mother wouldn’t have to deal with harsh conditions,”

Braxton said. “Whenever Joan felt that her mom wasn’t being treated properly, or the food was bad, or the care was terrible, Joan knew that and would complain.”

Ralls moved her mother to six different homes due to unacceptable care.

“I witnessed all the times that Joan would travel an hour one way to go see her mom and then travel an hour back to come home before she went to work the next day,” says Braxton. “She did that up to four or five times a week.”

Ralls worked with Meals on Wheels, an organization that delivers meals to elderly or disabled people unable to prepare the own meals.

Braxton says Ralls’ mother always talked of coming home, even though she had Alzheimer’s. “I didn’t want that for Joan,” says Braxton.

“I just wanted to make sure she didn’t have a need. I told my wife that I would do all I could to care for her.”

Braxton’s wife of 32 years worked a full-time position, while he was a full-time independent photographer.

After some discussion, the two of them decided that his wife would continue to work in her position and he would care for his mother-in-law.

At first, his wife was a little apprehensive about his ability to be the primary caregiver for her mom, but her concern dissipated after she witnessed her husband’s genuine

concern for his mother-in-law.

Due to Ralls’ extensive needs, Braxton put his entrepreneurial goals on hold and made her care his primary focus. As a caregiver, he prepared and provided her meals, administered medicines, and took care of her other needs, including hygiene. He was still able to do some photography, spending weekends and late evenings serving clients.

Doing so helped balance the household budget and gave him periods of respite from caregiving.

“I made accommodations and adjustments,” says Braxton. “My needs weren’t the priority at that time. I understand that the Scripture tells us that God will meet all of our needs. You have to have enough faith to know that whatever your needs are, God is a provider.”

After living three months with the Braxtons, Ralls’ health started to seriously fail due to frequent chemotherapy treatments. Her deteriorating condition increased Braxton’s stress level. He found relief in photography and fishing.

Relatives helped too, and his church family at Greater Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN was particularly helpful.

“They brought us food and flowers, laughed and prayed with us, and brought the Lord’s Supper,” the caregiver said.

“There was a time when Joan asked me to pray and ask God to let her live....Seven months later, she told me to pray that God would let her die.”

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While caregiving was often tedious, Braxton and his mother-in-law developed a genuine bond that helped them both keep things in perspective.

“We laughed, cried, sang, read, and did a lot of praying,” he said. “I wanted her to be comfortable physically and spiritually, but my most important goal was to help strengthen her faith.”

Braxton’s mother-in-law passed in June 2015. Braxton found joy in seeing firsthand the maturation of Joan’s personal faith in God. “There was a time when Joan asked me to pray and ask God to let her live,” says Braxton. “Seven months later, she told me to pray that God would let her die.”

Braxton vividly remembers the night before his mother-inlaw passed.

“My wife and I were sitting outside,” he says. “I told her to look around and be still for a minute.”

The Braxtons, who have numerous trees in their backyard, are accustomed to hearing the sounds of birds and squirrels moving back and forth. This time was different.

“I told my wife, ‘this is the quiet before the storm.’” The next morning, Joan Ralls passed. The last thing she told Braxton was, “Since I’ve been sick, I’ve gotten closer to Christ.”

Braxton took her testimony as a valuable lesson for his own personal life, reminding himself of the importance of an ongoing, growing relationship with the Lord.

WORDS 4 LIFE Love

Hebrews 13:1; John 13:35; John 15:12

Encourage

1 Thessalonians 4:18

Forgive

Colossians 3:13

Be devoted to Romans 12:10

Submit to Ephesians 5:21

Look out for Philippians 2:4

One another!

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Niece Quits Job, Cares for Aunt hristi, I know that when you take on a project, you don’t stop until it’s perfect,” her sister Wendy told Christi Berrong at the hospital when it came time to take their 68-year-old aunt off life support. “You’ve taken Aunt Teresa on as a project, and in your mind, you think you are failing her by letting her go.”

pressure nor high cholesterol, and she wasn’t diabetic,” Berrong said of her aunt.

“She didn’t walk well, but she was taking care of herself.

She was a brilliant woman,” who had been an assistant administrator at a nursing home for 35 years, who never married or had children.

Her aunt’s major troubles began after she developed a blood clot in her lungs. She was “doing very well” on a blood thinner but was taken Berrong’s aunt was on life to a local hospital in February support at a local hospital in 2015 to have the dosage of her Jackson, MS, and all of her blood thinner adjusted. vital organs had shut down.

“They (the hospital) changed Berrong had been caring for the medication,” Berrong Aunt Teresa for almost eight explained. “She started months, and she was prepared bleeding into her abdomen, and it developed into a to continue doing so. hematoma that became about She realized that her sister the size of a beach ball when it was right: she was looking popped like a balloon.” at the situation from a selfish As a result, Aunt Teresa had perspective. what Berrong describes as “I needed to stop thinking, four massive wounds in her ‘I want her to live. I want to abdomen. “All of the issues fight for her. I want her to we ended up dealing with be OK.’” Berrong said it was were related to the wounds in heartbreaking to realize that the abdomen.” her aunt “had had all she After becoming dissatisfied could take, and I needed to let with the care given by the her go.”

Berrong’s aunt was taken off initial hospital, Berrong transferred her aunt to another life support and died in early hospital around mid-April, December 2015.

2015.

The hospital receiving Aunt Berrong’s Story, from the Teresa was a “tremendous beginning… improvement” from the first Describing her aunt as the one that treated her. “rock of our family,” Berrong “The first 10 days at the new said Aunt Teresa had been in hospital, Aunt Teresa was in relatively good health all of ICU on antibiotics, which the her life.

“She didn’t have high blood initial hospital had refused HUSH | 37 | 2016 SPRING

Christi Berrong to give to her,” Berrong said, with noticeable frustration.

She had been told in February “when all of this started, that they didn’t expect her to live to see Easter, and I said, ‘Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.

But you don’t understand how stubborn she is and how hard I’ll fight for her.’ She saw Thanksgiving at home.”

Caregiving 24-7

When it was time for Aunt Teresa to be discharged from the second hospital in April 2015, Berrong said that many of her family members felt that caring for her in a home environment was unrealistic at best and that she needed to be in a nursing home where qualified professionals were readily available. But Berrong was convinced that a nursing home was not the answer.

“I knew that she would give up if we put her in a nursing home.”

So, Berrong quit her job as office manager for a local trucking company and brought her aunt to live with her.

“The living room became a hospital room,” she said.

“I made the decision to stay at home because she needed around-the-clock care.”

Money that Berrong had “put aside in savings” and “a little bit of tax work” from home helped keep finances in order. “It wasn’t always easy, but you make do.”

Berrong said her son,

Chance, did not hesitate to help his mom in her new role as caregiver.

“He was wonderful. He didn’t do the medical part, but he would help around the house. He was really good about it.”

Berrong also had support from her two sisters who lived nearby on the family’s land in Raymond, MS. Her uncle, Aunt Teresa’s brother, worked nights and lived upstairs in the family home where she and Aunt Teresa lived.

“On his days off, he helped out quite a bit, so I could leave the house, get out, and do things,” Berrong HUSH | 38 | 2016 SPRING

said. “My two sisters were literally a phone call away. If I needed anything, they were right there. I had a fantastic support group.”

The thought of caring for her aunt was scary because of the tremendous amount of delicate care needed.

“She had a wound vac and open wounds. She needed skin care, turning, bathing, changing, cleaning, while she had IVs and wound vacs. I was afraid. I was very afraid. Wound care is not for everyone.” But Berrong found the courage to care for Aunt Teresa.

As for Aunt Teresa, Berrong witnessed her frustration at times. But overall, her aunt’s attitude was commendable in view of the obstacles she faced.

“She was convinced that she was going to fight it and she was going to beat it, and she was going to be here indefinitely. She had no intention of giving up.”

Support Issues

Surprisingly, Berrong said that accessing medical supplies and other items to facilitate her aunt’s care oftentimes seemed more difficult than the caregiving itself. She was often frustrated in “trying to get the help that we needed: the supplies, the equipment, the systems and support to get everybody on the same page.”

When Berrong placed an order for a hospital bed at their home, the insurance company said that there was nothing on her chart

to indicate that she was in pain (she laughed). “I said, wait, would you fax that to me. I think I need to see that with my own eyes. And, they emailed that to me.”

“I often said I could do three antibiotics five times a day, wound care every 8 to 12 hours, turn her, change all of her bed linens by myself — do it all physically, every day all day. But you put me on the phone with her insurance company, and I needed a nap.

Nobody would listen. It was really, really difficult. I do not know if I could have done it all without our home health services and our family.

In the end, Aunt Teresa developed cellulitis in her leg from being bed-bound, even though all of her wounds were clean and healing” impressively.

“She had been on antibiotics for so long that the infection went faster than the antibiotics could catch it, and her kidneys failed, and everything else went out.”

“Nobody would listen. It was really, really difficult.”

Top 3 Lessons Learned Patience is paramount.

“You have to be patient because when you are tired and have gone up to bed at 11 o’clock, and she calls and has dropped her remote, and at 1:30 a.m. she’s dropped the bed controls, and you’re up and down all night, it’s really easy to get worn out….

I started trying to remind myself that dropping the remote is such an insignificant thing in the grand scheme of things, but it was huge to her.” Berrong solved the problem by putting velcro on the remote on the bedside table. “Sometimes you just Christi Berrong: Keep things in have to get creative.” perspective

Reaching out is revitalizing.

“Don’t hesitate to say, ‘I need to walk away. Can you be here?’

I went to Walmart at 2 o’clock in the morning one night. I just needed to walk around. I think I ended up buying a pack of gum. I just had to get out of the house, take a breather.”

Kindness is key.

“I realized how important it was to try to remember that I’m

not the only person, that we’re not the only people going through something difficult. I learned to always smile and be kind to the nurses, techs, aides, and anyone else who came into the room.”

Caregiver Resources

A Place for Mom, founded by

former Good Morning, America News Anchor Joan Lunden, has compiled a vast array of checklists, guides, trackers, and other resources free to families across the U.S. and Canada. You can download a Caregiver’s Toolkit, participate in caregiver forums, as well as get answers to common questions.

Your State’s Area Agencies on Aging, AARP (www.aarp.org/home-family/ caregiving), and the U.S. government’s Eldercare Locator, www.eldercare.gov/ eldercare.net/Public/ can help you find local, regional and national services that helpful to caregivers. A link to these resources can be found on the HUSH Magazine website, www.hushzine.com.

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John 10:27-30 KJV My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

I and my Father are one.

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Simply complete and mail this form, along with your check or money order for $12, to: Rapha Communications, LLC. ATTN: HUSH Magazine Subscription P. O. Box 12635 Jackson, MS 39236 )_____________ Your Name___________________________________________ Phone ( Email_________________________________________________ Date_____________________ Address________________________________________________________________________ Address________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip____________________________________________________________________ You also can sign up for subscriptions and the free monthly eNewsletter on the HUSH Magazine website, www.hush-be-still.com or www.hushzine.com.

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Caregiving for Mom: Last resort is Elderly Care Facility

Christine Miller Brown and her mom, 97 year-old Ms. Susie Miller.

last several years, after the cartilage wore out in her mom’s knees. Because Ms. Miller could no hristine Brown and her sister longer walk without help of a walker or wheel Doris Mayes have been taking chair, she needed more assistance with routine care of their 97 year-old mom needs like going to the bathroom, bathing since 2004. Both are married, and getting dressed. Her 192-lb. frame made and Mayes and her husband it difficult for Brown to physically assist her as have children. Their mom, Ms. much as she wanted.

Susie Miller, has been a widow since 1980. At “If you don’t get some peace and rest for first, although Ms. Miller was officially living at yourself, you’ll be gone and she’ll still be here the Browns’ home, she stayed with the Mayes with somebody else taking care of her,” Brown family during the week, while Brown worked said her mother’s physician advised her. at her full-time job as a trouble-shooting Admittedly, Brown was perplexed about what computer technician for the Mississippi to do. She had to face the fact that caregiving Department of Transportation. Ms. Miller spent was probably causing the “knots in my back,” her weekends at home with the Browns. chest pains, and shingles. she also had been When Brown retired from her job in January diagnosed with a bulging disc in her back.

2013, Ms. Miller became her responsibility “24-7.”

Even though Ms. Miller now lives in a nursing About a year ago, Ms. Miller reluctantly agreed facility, Brown visits her almost everyday. She to live at a nursing facility, after Brown began also picks her up most Sundays to take her to to experience health issues. She said her mom’s the family church in Utica, MS. physician told her that it was critical to take care Ms. Miller continues to have “her room” at the of herself too.

Browns’ house, and is free to come when she “He said I was wearing myself down.” wants to visit.

Brown admits that she was under tremendous Brown is the contact person for the nursing stress caring for her mom, particularly in the facility when meds are needed or when any

by Linda Buford-Burks, Editor / Publisher

HUSH | 41 | 2016 SPRING

change in her mom’s situation occurs.

“They call me in the middle of the night if they need to,” she said. “if they change her medication, they call me. I don’t care what time of the night it is, I go to see about her when the nursing home calls to say she is not feeling well.”

Brown would like to have her mom back at home with her and husband Pastor Melvin Lee Brown. For now, though, she does what she can to see that her mom is as comfortable as possible at the nursing facility.

Ms. Miller seems to like staying at the facility, where she does a pretty good job of “bossing everyone around,” Brown said.

When her mom comes home to visit, she often is ready to return to the facility fairly soon, because “all she has to do here is watch TV. Out there, they do arts and crafts, make purses, and enjoy other activities.” And Ms. Miller is well liked at the nursing facility, spending a good bit of time visiting with both residents and staff.

Prior to placing Ms. Miller in a nursing care facility, Brown first tried taking her mom to an adult daycare facility to help relieve caregiving pressures.

After the cartilage in her mom’s knees “wore out,” Brown found it difficult at best to take care of her mom’s needs.

She still tries to diligently protect her mom’s health. She has made it clear to her siblings and others that sugar and pork in her mom’s diet should be very limited.

But Ms. Miller likes “a lot of junk food,” and although Brown is the main contact for the nursing facility, that does

not stop Ms. Miller from taking her “junk food requests” to all nine of her children, along with the grandchildren. Her mom is quite convincing.

“When she wants something, she wants it,” Brown said.

“She’ll bypass me and go to all nine kids. She will tell the rest of the siblings and grandchildren to bring donuts, honey buns, and any kind of candy. Even the grandkids will do it.”

“I tell them, ‘when she gets sick, the nursing home is not going to call you. They’re going to call me when she doesn’t feel well.’”

Brown admits that her mom actually has few health issues, other than the problem with her knees. “She has rheumatoid arthritis in her back. She’ll have the nurse to call me, to tell me that her back is hurting.” At those times, Brown usually will contact Ms. Miller’s doctor, who simply prescribes Tylenol due to her mom’s sensitivity to most medications.

“Sometimes he can come in

and give her just one Tylenol and she’s feeling better.”

Brown’s affection for her mom is evident in the gentle tone of her voice as she talks about how mom often prefers the company of young people to that of people nearer her age.

“When my nieces and nephews come in, Mama is not listening to our conversation,” Brown laughs. “Her ear is where the young people are, and she’s listening to their conversation. They tell her everything that is going on in their households. She sits right there and listens. Sometimes she gives them advice.”

Brown admires her mom’s overall attitude. “She has so much joy some days.” She also witnesses her mom’s frustration on other days.

Ms. Miller has been through a lot of life’s storms. She is the only one living of the eight children her parents had. Five of her mom’s seven siblings died of cancer and two died at birth. Her mom also has outlived two husbands.

(From left:) David and Doris Mayes, and Christine and Pastor Melvin Lee Brown. The two couples shared caregiving for 97 year-old Ms. Susie Miller until 2013, when the Browns became her full-time caregivers.

The two women are sisters.

HUSH | 42 | 2016 SPRING

“Let them know that you love them.” - Christine Miller Brown Cancer took the life of her Mom’s eldest son three years ago. Both of Ms. Miller’s parents died of cancer.

Brown has seen cancer extend beyond her mom’s family, taking the life of her mother-in-law, too. Some days, Brown sometimes thinks about the fleeting nature of life. At those times, she remembers the importance of loving and serving people, especially those closest to you.

So, even though Ms. Miller spends most of her time at a nursing facility, Brown is there regularly, bringing special “gifts and niceties,” showering her mom with love.

Brown didn’t get to spend as much time as she would have liked with her dad. “Dad died in 1980,” Brown reminiscences.

“My daddy was a character. He was a good storyteller...I’d be so scared at night (after her dad’s story), I would be afraid to go to the bathroom.”

Her dad also didn’t care much for guys coming by to talk with his daughters. “He would sit on the porch with a shotgun.”

“Those are the years I enjoyed the most,” Brown says. She remembers fondly when her father took her to her high school prom. He didn’t go in, but waited outside for her to take her home.

Her parents’ loving care as she grew up is more than enough reason for Brown to do all she can for her Mom now.

She offers this advice for other caregivers, particularly those taking care of parents:

Partnering with You to Improve Your Business George Brooks 601-957-0130 George.Brooks@tbs.toshiba.com

HUSH | 43 | 2016 SPRING

Do a lot of hugging, kissing, and just be there for them. As old age sets in, life is changing and they don’t know how to handle it.”

Don’t tell them that they are old. Mama says she’s not old.

She is just aging.

You’ve got to let them know that you love them! Telling a person that you love them is just words. Love is an action word. If you don’t ever do anything for me, I don’t really know that you love me.

Brown is committed to following her own advice.

“I tell everyone, ‘This is my Mom. I’m going to take care of her.’”

HUSH | 44 | 2016 SPRING

Allergies: Why do we have them?

by BetyLou Pierce, Columnist Allergies can be caused by a number of factors. Dust, mold and pollen in the air, as well as certain food and/or chemicals can produce allergy symptoms. Research shows that allergies also can be a sign of a weakened immune system.

Candidasis, the result of an overgrowth of candida, is an immune inhibitor. Antibiotics, steroids, hormones and birth control pills release candida, causing it to spread. While everyone is born with candida in the small intestinal tract, it is important to keep it in proper balance. To do so, it is important for us to eliminate the foods and beverages that gets the candida out of balance. A strong probiotic will also help to get the proper balance back into the system.

A healthy digestive system has a proper balance of probiotics and other intestinal microoganisms necessary for correct nutrient absorption.

Some symptoms of candida overgrowth, besides allergies, are digestive problems, bloating, bad breath, sensitivity to cigarette smoke and perfumes, chronic tiredness, chronic vaginitis or prostitis, frequent colds, athlete’s foot, and other recurrent fungal infections.

These “YES” foods help keep candida in balance: ✔✔veggies - steamed/raw, must be organic ✔✔brown rice, brown rice cakes (plain), brown rice

crackers (yeast-free) ✔✔bread (without yeast and gluten-free) ✔✔millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth ✔✔beans(fresh or dried) ✔✔raw almonds, raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, raw walnuts, raw almond butter ✔✔tuna (packed in water), chicken (antibiotic free/ hormone free), salmon ✔✔wild game, beef (grass fed) ✔✔olive oil, coconut oil, coconut butter ✔✔garlic, onions ✔✔stevia, with no other ingredients added ✔✔almond milk, rice milk, hemp milk (all unsweetened) ✔✔pure water ✔✔Pau d’Arco tea These “NO” foods will aggravate allergy issues: ✘✘ artificial sweeteners, sugar ✘✘ caffeine, alcohol, sodas (all) ✘✘ dairy products, including all cheese, bread with yeast (read labels), pasta, peanuts/peanut butter HUSH | 45 | 2016 SPRING

✘✘ meats from animals not organically fed ✘✘ corn, tomatoes, potatoes (except red skin) ✘✘ fruit (for the first nine days; then start with Granny Smith apples and almond butter), followed by any fruit in season. Remember, bananas, grapes and oranges are very high in sugar; so be careful.

Two More Tips: ›› To Stop Sugar Cravings: Munch on a few raw almonds ›› Stay hydrated, drinking recommended amounts of water each day: Your body weight divided by 2 = the number of ounces of water you should drink per day.

Squeeze fresh lemon (no bottled lemon juice) in the water.

Get BetyLou’s Recommended Supplements and Sample Diet at the HUSH Magazine website: www.hush-be-still. com or www.hushzine.com.

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Magazine

Distribution Locations BANKS Community Bank 6158 Old Canton Rd Jackson, MS 39211 BEAUTY & NAIL SALONS, & BARBER SHOPS 360 Barber Shop & Beauty Bar, LLC 5735 I-55 North / Beasley Rd. Jackson, MS 39206 Belinda’s Hair Salon 2570 Bailey Avenue, Suite 5 Jackson, MS 39213 Blessed Hands Barber Shop 1335 Ellis Avenue, Suite 5 Jackson, MS Glamour Palace Hair Salon 1518 Broadway Dr. Hattiesburg, MS 39401

Nail Gallery & Spa I-55 North Jackson, MS 39211

Greater Bethlehem Temple Church 1505 Robinson St. Jackson, MS 39203

CAR DEALERSHIPS Herrin - Gear Service Area Waiting Rooms: Infinity, Chevrolet, Lexus 1685 High Street Jackson, MS

Green Grove Baptist Church Prentiss, MS 39474

Shady Grove Baptist Church 101 Church St. Petal, MS 39465

Highland Colony Baptist Church 1200 Highland Colony Pkwy Ridgeland, MS

Stronger Hope Baptist Church 223 Beasley Rd. Jackson, MS 39206

House of Peace Worship Church International 1301 Holly Street Vicksburg, MS 39180

Shekinah Glory Baptist Church 485 West Northside Drive Jackson, MS 39206

Keys Memorial Church of God in Christ 1014 St. Elmo Street Laurel, MS

True Faith Inspirational Baptist Church 2526 W. Sligh Avenue Tampa, FL 33614

Highland Colony Baptist Church 1200 Highland Colony Pkwy.

Ridgeland, MS 39157

Zion Baptist Church 721 Johnson Street Saginaw, MI

Jordan Chapel CME Church Oxford, MS

CITY OF JACKSON Business Permits Office

Mt. Nebo Baptist Church 1245 Tunica Street Jackson, MS 39209

Zoning Office

New Hope Baptist Church 5202 Watkins Drive Jackson, MS 39206

Jackson Chamber of Commerce Office

Paul Moak Honda / Volvo Service Waiting Rooms Harding Street Jackson, MS CHILDCARE / PRESCHOOL New Hope Christian Preschool 5202 Watkins Drive Jackson, MS

Seeds Educational Hairtrapreneur Barber Studio Enrichment Center 6067 Old Canton Road 4426 Hanging Moss Road Jackson, MS Jackson, MS 39206 LeChic Hair Gallery 863 Centre Street, Suite C Ridgeland, MS Lucy Nails & Spa 6071 Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS Personal Touch Hair Salon 4802 North State Street Jackson, MS 39206 Total Package Beauty Salon 6850 Commerce Plaza Jackson, MS 39206 Ultimate Touch Hair Salon 545 Nakoma Drive Jackson, MS 39206

Cade Chapel Preschool Ridgeway Street Jackson, MS CHURCHES Cade Chapel Baptist Church Ridgeway Street Jackson, MS Church of Christ 5225 Hanging Moss Road Jackson, MS Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church 305 North Congress Street Jackson, MS 39201

New Jerusalem Baptist Church North, Midtown and South Locations Jackson, MS

HUSH | 47 | 2016 SPRING

Riverwood Bible Church Old Canton Road Jackson, MS

Jackson City Hall

Magazine

Distribution Locations GROCERIES McDade’s Maywood Mart & Westland Plaza Locations Jackson, MS Food Depot Northside Drive Jackson, MS 39213 NON-PROFITS 100 Black Men of Jackson 5360 Highland Drive Jackson, MS 39206 Mission Mississippi Office 840 E River Place Suite 506 Jackson, MS 39202 REAL Christian Foundation 115 Linda Joe Drive Florence, MS Spencer Perkins Center 1831 Robinson Street Jackson, MS 39209 Southern Christian Services for Children & Youth 860 E River Place Suite 104 Jackson, MS 39202 RESTAURANTS / BAKERIES Beagle Bagel Highland Village Jackson, MS Broadstreet Baking Co. / Cafe Banner Hall Jackson, MS Penn’s Restaurant & Catering 587 E. Beasley Road Jackson, MS 39206

Monroe’s Donuts 3820 Hanging Moss Road Jackson, MS

Dr. Annyce Campbell, M.D. Perkins Bldg-Hanging Moss Rd. Jackson, MS 39206

UMC Physicians / Cardiology 5903 Ridgewood Rd # 210 Jackson, MS 39211

NEWK’s 4450 Old Canton Road Jackson, MS

Dr. Maurice James St. Dominic Medical Plaza West Wing, 5th Floor Suite 563 Jackson, MS 39211

SCHOOLS Adhiambo School 3424 Robinson Road Jackson, MS

Dr. Teresa M. Perkins Dentistry for Children 4631 Hanging Moss Road Jackson, MS 39206

New Hope Christian Elementary 5202 Watkins Drive Jackson, MS 39206

Primos Restaurant & Bakery 2323 Lakeland Dr Flowood, MS Quizno’s 101 Johnston Place Clinton, MS 39056 THE ARTS / DANCE Ballet Magnificat 5406 I-55 North Jackson, MS 3921 LAW FIRMS Martin & Associates 821 N Congress St, Jackson, MS 39202

Capital City Physical Therapy 5888 Ridgewood Road, Suite B Jackson, MS 39211 Capital City Children and Adolescent Clinic 2679 Crane Ridge Drive Jackson, MS 39216 Jackson Medical Mall 350 W Woodrow Wilson Jackson, MS 39213

Priester Law Firm Executive Place Jackson, MS

Kool Smiles Dentistry 989 Ellis Avenue Jackson, MS 39209

The Wade Law Firm Vangela Wade, Esq. 361 Hwy. 51, Suite C Ridgeland, MS

MEA 5606 Old Canton Rd Jackson, MS

MEDICAL Dr. Sheryll Vincent Asthma and Allergy Center 5440 Watkins Dr Ste A Jackson, MS 39206 Dr. Arthur Dampier Ridgeland Eye Care Clinic 8 Professional Pkwy.

Ridgeland, MS

Perkins Pediatric Dentistry 4631 Hanging Moss Road Jackson, MS 39206 Reddix Medical Group 5903 Ridgewood Rd # 310 Jackson, MS 39211 Select Specialty Hospital 5903 Ridgewood Rd Jackson, MS 39211

HUSH | 48 | 2016 SPRING

GYMS, FITNESS Anytime Fitness 4924 I-55 North Jackson, MS 39211 Baptist Healthplex 717 Manship Sreet Jackson, MS 39202 Courthouse Racquet & Fitness 46 Northtown Dr Jackson, MS 39216 Quest Fitness 1693 Lakeover Drive Jackson, Ms 39213 Downtown YMCA 800 River Place Jackson, MS 39202 theVitamin Shoppe 1220 East Northside Dr. Jackson, MS 39211 HOTELS Residence Inn 855 Centre Street Ridgeland, MS 39157

Magazine

Distribution Locations HOTELS continued Homewood Suites 853 Centre Street Ridgeland, MS 39157 Hampton Inn 493 Springridge Rd. Clinton, MS 39056 Holiday Inn Express 495 Springridge Road Clinton, Mississippi 39056 Cabot Lodge Millsaps 2375 N State Street Jackson, MS 39202 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS M3A Architects 4880 McWillie Circle Jackson, MS 39206 McDowell-Convention Center 120 Old Airport Road Hattiesburg, MS

Sanderson Farms, Inc. 127 Flynt Road Laurel, MS

North MS Regional Center 967 Regional Drive Oxford, MS 38655

Tate’s Furniture 150 Feather Lane Canton, MS 39046

SHOPPING CENTERS MAYWOOD MART: 1220 E Northside Dr. Jackson, MS 39211 Suite 16 - Starbucks Suite 14 - Lost Pizza Co. Suite 170 - Cellphone Repair

Shop

Total Taxx by Tee 4436 N. State Street, Suite A5 Jackson, MS 39206 Walgreens 1583 East County Line Road Jackson, MS 39211 Art Supply Headquarters 707 Monroe Street Jackson, MS 39202 Watkins Shell Station 5492 Watkins Drive Jackson, MS 39206 MISCELLANEOUS - OTHER JSU e-Center 1230 Raymond Road Jackson, MS 39204

HUSH | 49 | 2016 SPRING

TRACE STATION SHOPPING CENTER: 500 Hwy. 51 North Ridgeland, MS Edible Arrangements Suite O The Gift Box, Inc. Suite M College Corner Suite V Pink Blush Boutique & Nail Spa Suite L

Next Issue:

PHOTO BY VICTOR CALHOUN, MOBILE AL

Summer 2016

A cardiologist whose vision was impaired by a health condition has “eye-opening” advice about preserving your eyesight.

A conversation with Laurel School District Board President Miranda Beard, about how her faith impacts her life and community service.

Elected president of the National School Boards Association for 2016-17, she will represent the organization which serves more than 90,000 school board members across the country for the next year.

...And there’s much more.

Be sure to pick up a copy at one of our locations or email hush@hush-be-still.com for more information!

HUSH | 50 | 2016 SPRING

Magazine

published by Rapha Communications, LLC • www.hush-be-still.com • 601.506.1847 • hush@hush-be-still.com

Encourage Everyone.

Hebrews 3:13

Do Good.

Ephesians 2:10

Don’t Worry.

Philippians 4:6