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Volume 80 – Number 17

2017 DRIVEN Automotive Project returns for 7th year Multicultural focused project to return to celebrate achievements in the automotive industry

By Olga Hill-Ford

A young auto enthusiast enjoys some time behind the wheel at the 2016 Charity Preview. — PHOTOS: Andre Smith

All about those cars

It's January, which means it's time for the Detroit Auto Show

By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor

Detroit is known as the Motor City for a reason.

Detroit made its greatest impact on the world in two area — the mass production of the automobile, pioneered by Henry Ford, and music. It was Detroit that put the world on wheels, and it was Detroit that provided the world the tunes to sing and hum while driving those cars.

Detroit has always been a Driven city, ever since the days when thousands of African Americans heard the call of better wages — and a better life — from Detroit’s auto factories. Few who worked in those factories would express fond memories of the often mind-numbing and sometimes brutal working conditions, but despite the challenges, Ford’s offer of $5 a day was nevertheless a far better deal than anything most black people were getting in the South. Brutal living and working conditions was something they were accustomed to, but at least this time they would be getting some money out of the deal.

Ford introduced the $5-a-day wage in 1914. The promise of a good job and a better life attracted thousands of immigrants and African Americans, a consequence that forever altered the dynamic

WHAT’S INSIDE

— and the complexion — of America’s Motor City. Today, a little over a century later, African Americans and other minorities are contributing considerably more to the automotive industry overall — not just to Ford — than simply working in the factories. Few would argue that a considerable distance remains to be traveled before any recognizable form

of equality is reached when it comes to leadership positions within the industry, but the pressure to speed up the pace of change is increasing.

NNPA President Dr. Benjamin Chavis had this to say in an October, 2016 commentary regarding the ongoing inequities

See AUTO

SHOW page A-4

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“We are honored to welcome President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Matt Simoncini and Lear Corporation as the corporate co-chair for the 7th edition of DRIVEN,” said Jackson. “As we celebrate multicultural achievement within the automotive industry we are pleased to have a corporate cochair that has a proven record of embracing diversity and inclusion.

Lear, was recently recognized by the Billion Dollar Roundtable for spending $1 billion with minority owned companies, a tremendous feat. Lear’s investment of building an Innovation and Design Center in the heart of Detroit demonstrates their commitment to the future of

See DRIVEN page A-4

NAACP calls on Senate to block sessions as Attorney General Rather than enforcing voting rights protections, Senator Sessions has instead made a career of seeking to dismantle them.

When Shelby County v. Holder gutted the protections of the VRA, Senator Sessions cheered.

For decades, he has pursued the rare and mystical unicorn of voter fraud, while turning a blind eye to the ever-growing issue of voter suppression.

BALTIMORE, MD – NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks issued the following statement opposing the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as potential Attorney General:

in black entertainment See page D-1

“We are very pleased to bring the DRIVEN Experience back for the 7th year,” said Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media. “We look forward to sharing the colorful and inspirational stories of success from the industry’ top ranking automotive executives. DRIVEN is a must-attend event for any industry professional looking to network and stay connected to happenings in the industry.”

Early on, Lear Corporation was announced as this year’s corporate chair.

Historic and current failure to acknowledge voter suppression remains a key issue

Milestones

Real Times Media is excited to announce the return of the award winning “DRIVEN Experience,” presented by Real Times Media for its seventh year. Held during press week of The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), DRIVEN celebrates diversity within the automotive industry and recognizes the men and women of color who are making significant contributions and achieving high levels of professional success in their respective auto-related fields. We are expecting nearly 1,000 industry professionals to attend the DRIVEN Experience. This year’s industry specific event will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 11 at the Garden Theater in Detroit. Fox 2 News reporter Roop Raj will serve the master of ceremonies for the second year.

“America yet stands at the beginning of presidential administration but also in the middle of a Twitter age civil rights movement based on old divisions.

Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is among the worst possible nominees to serve as Attorney General amidst some of the worst times for civil rights in recent memory.

“Following a divisive presidential campaign, hate crimes rising, police videos sickening the stomach while quickening the conscience, protesters marching in the streets and politicians mouthing the myth of voter fraud while denying the reality of voter suppression, Senator Sessions is precisely the wrong man to lead the Justice Department. The NAACP, as the

nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, opposes the nomination of Senator Sessions to become U.S. Attorney General for the following reasons: a record on voting rights that is unreliable at best and hostile at worse; a failing record on other civil rights; a record of racially offensive remarks and behavior; and dismal record on criminal justice reform issues.”

Voting Rights: Senator Sessions supported the re-authorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2006, but called the bill “a piece of intru-

sive legislation” just months earlier. Sessions has consistently voted in favor of strict voter ID laws that place extra burdens on the poor and residents of color, and drive voter suppression across the country. When the Supreme Court struck down federal protections in 2012 that prevented thousands of discriminatory state laws from taking effect since 1965, Sessions declared it was “a good thing for the South.”

As a prosecutor in 1985, Sessions maliciously prosecuted a former aide to Martin Luther King for helping senior citizens file absentee ballots in Alabama.

While ’ historical record on civil rights remains one of dismay, it is his unrepentant stance against the vote that remains our issue. The threat of voter suppression is not a historical but current challenge.

At least 10 times in the past 10 months, the NAACP defended voting rights against coordinated campaigns by legislators targeting African-American voters in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and many other states.

While the NAACP could gain the assistance of the Justice Department in fighting back against voter suppression, a Sessions-led DOJ would likely lead to the exact opposite. During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, then-Attorney Gen-

See NAACP page A-3

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE January 4-10, 2017 Page A-2 news Rep. Debbie Dingell urges government to expand manufacturing opportunities in Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell (DMI) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) led a letter with 24 House members from Heartland states to Majority Leader McConnell, Leader-elect Schumer, Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi urging immediate action in the upcoming Congress to expand economic opportunities in manufacturing communities harmed by the outsourcing of American jobs.

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“The frustration and despair felt by workers in our region is palpable, and the discourse during the year’s election detailing the lack of opportunity for the working class underscores the need for solutions to these challenges. Congress has a responsibility to address their concerns and work together to strengthen the economic stability of these communities,” the letter states. “Too many

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working class families in our districts have been left behind because of the outsourcing of American jobs. It is critical Congress takes immediate action to jumpstart the economic prosperity of these communities.”

The full text of the letter follows.

Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Leader-elect Schumer, Speaker Ryan, and Leader Pelosi: “We write today to urge immediate action in the 115th Congress to expand economic opportunity in communities harmed by the outsourcing of American jobs.

“Our states encompass communities that once served as thriving hubs for manufacturing and development, providing the opportunity for working class families to achieve the American Dream. In recent decades, the livelihoods of these workers have been pulled out from beneath them. We have watched too many factories shutter their doors and too many workers lose their jobs, decimating these neighborhoods and leaving families behind.

“The frustration and despair felt by workers in our region is palpable, and the discourse during the year’s election detailing the lack of opportunity for the working class underscores the need for solutions to these challenges. Congress has a

Debbie Dingell responsibility to address their concerns and work together to strengthen the economic stability of these communities.

“For these reasons, we urge Congress to prioritize the consideration and passage of legislation consistent with the following principles: “We should close loopholes in our tax code which reward companies that ship jobs overseas and punish companies that stay in the United States and invest in American workers.

“Federal contracting and procurement policies should give preference to American labor and domestic-made goods so our taxpayer dollars benefit working class families in the United States.

“We should increase investments in education and prepare workers for careers in advanced manufacturing and other industries that will be pivotal in the 21st century economy.

“Trade Adjustment Assistance and retraining programs should be improved and expanded to give workers the opportunity to get back on their feet when confronting job displacement.

“We should expand access to quality broadband services and increased telecommunications connectivity so all communities have the digital resources that are necessary to compete in our digital economy.

“The promise of a secure retirement must be

upheld by preserving benefits that workers have paid into and earned, including Social Security, Medicare, and workplace pension guarantees.

“Too many working class families in our districts have been left behind because of the outsourcing of American jobs. It is critical Congress takes immediate action to jumpstart the economic prosperity of these communities by passing legislation that adheres to the principles listed above.

“We hope you will stand with us and our constituents during the 115th Congress to advance these goals and revive the American Dream for workers across the country.”

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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2016

Page A-3

Looking back, moving forward

Mayor Mike Duggan assesses accomplishments, challenges

By Keith A. Owens

pect in terms of community policing and other initiatives?

Senior Editor

How important was it to get the lighting system done?

I think it was important from the standpoint of the public having confidence. We got the neighborhoods done a year ago. We finished the main streets this past week. But for a long time it seemed like city government couldn’t get anything done, and the lights were a symbol of the ineffectiveness overall, so it was a big deal to get it done on time and under budget.

What other infrastructure projects can people look forward to seeing?

On the infrastructure side, you know it’s not exciting stuff, but we’re going to be fixing the roads. We’re going to be adding another 1,000 bus trips a week to the bus schedule, because we still don’t have the kind of bus service that we ought to have. We’re going to do a huge amount of work on the water and sewer system, which you don’t notice unless there’s a sinkhole. And so, we’re gonna be doing the basics. We’ve got 40 parks that are a half acre or smaller, the kind of neighborhood parks that over the years have been forgotten. We are doing renovations on them. All of these things are exciting to the people who live around them.

The Regional Transit ballot issue did not pass in November. What kind of impact will that have?

I don’t think we expected it to pass.

We won’t notice a difference. We’ll continue to build up DDOT and continue to expend the service, but we’ve got a crazy system now. We used to have two bus services, DDOT and SMART. Now we’ve got a third one, the RTA. We’ve got three different bus systems running three different-colored buses on the same streets, and at some point we need to deal with that. I’m not sure the RTA structure is doing a lot of good.

Although still high, the rate of violent crime has come down in Detroit. What can the community ex-

Homicides are up, we’re down in almost all other categories. But if you wanna ask what’s on peoples’ minds, it’s the homicides, and it is what defines perception. And so, the green light program is finally really taking off. We’re adding 5-6 gas stations and businesses a week right now, and we’re learning how to scale up. And we’re learning as we scale up that we need to make sure the responsiveness stays high. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the first half of next year, City Council doesn’t pass an ordinance requiring businesses that are open after 10 p.m. and receiving customers to become Green Light businesses. And if we could link up the whole city, and create zones of safety the way we have, I think that would be a great step. We’ve got probably 200 police officers in academy classes now who are graduating 30 or 40 every month. Finally getting officers on the street because we put the pay raise into effect this year and we’re able to recruit. The ceasefire program is working extremely well, where we bring in these gang members and the chief and I and U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade meet with 30 or 40 gang members a month to tell them tell them here’s what happens if you’re involved in a shooting, and here’s what happens if you wanna choose another opportunity. And we’ve had some who have gone back to college and others who have taken jobs. So you’re right, violent crime is down, and we’re not the most violent city. We’re second or third. That isn’t anything that we’re proud of, but we had to start somewhere, and if we keep bringing it down 5 or 6 percent a year, over time, we’ll get to where we wanna be.

Where are we with the demo program, and how do you talk to people about trusting the administration now that there is this federal investigation going on?

When I’m in the neighborhoods, and I still do a house party every single week, I never get asked about the investigation. What I get asked about is when is the house coming down by me? And so we’re going to be up to 100 houses a

week again in early February late January. And that’s all we can really handle.

We tried to get bigger than that, and as we learned it was more than we could handle. But if we could take down 100 houses a week for the next two years, another 10,000 houses, I think we’ll continue to make great progress. We’ve seen dramatic increases in property values and home sale prices in the areas where we’ve taken down the houses in the last two years, and we’re gonna keep doing it.

Entrepreneurs of Color program, helping dozens of small businesses that are finally getting access to capital. And Motor City Match has been an enormous success. We’re getting 300 applications every single quarter, and the ones we’ve funded are predominantly Detroiters and predominantly people of color.

Have you been able to make changes to how you’ve done all that into the programs as well?

Eleven-hundred more Detroiters are working today than were working a year ago, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. More Detroiters are working in a lot of different places. It isn’t going to be one strategy, it’s going to be a lot. We’ve got a great workforce strategy now that is tracking every single job for which there are vacancies and figuring out how to get Detroiters those skills.

Oh yeah, we’ve completely changed it. We had a program that had six employees at the Land Bank, and was doing maybe 25 houses a week, maybe a thousand a year. We’re now at 110 employees, we’re running the largest demolition program in America, and by the way we sold 6,000 side lots to people, and by the way we got 2,000 vacant houses that people moved into, and we’re running Rehabbed and Ready. We grew it too fast without having the proper controls in place, but those controls are there now, and I think the state will tell you that the controls are there now.

With all the growth downtown, we still hear critics say that we need to do more for the neighborhoods. Are the critics wrong about the need to refocus?

I’m in the neighborhoods every day, and what you’re talking about is not the normal person’s experience. You have explosive growth downtown because downtown is where the office buildings, commercial buildings, apartment building are. What people want in the neighborhoods is services, and we have had a huge improvement in services to people living in the neighborhoods. Their lights are on, police are showing up in half the time, the ambulances are showing up in less than half the time. The illegal dump sites are cleaned up within 72 hours, the bulk pickup is every two weeks, the parks are cut every seven to ten days, so people in the neighborhoods have seen a huge improvement in services.

And we’ve seen large numbers of people in many neighborhoods filling in vacant houses. So we’re not gonna get high rise apartments in neighborhoods. Neighborhoods expect improvement in services.

The major commercial growth is gonna happen downtown and in Midtown.

That’s the way it is in Chicago, that’s the way it is in Pittsburgh. So I think people who live in cities understand that.

What about small business? Is the capital loosening up some so we can encourage small business growth, and is the red tape easing up a little bit?

Talk to any business owner in the city and they’ll tell you how much easier it is. I think there’s a totally different attitude in supporting the businesses. And we’ve got a number of good programs.

I’m really pleased that the Kellogg Foundation and JP Morgan Chase started the

Unemployment in the city is high.

What’s your administration doing to link more people to skills training so they can fill the jobs that are available?

What are your hopes for DPSCD in the coming year, and the newly-elected school board?

I’m hopeful for the new board. I’ve met with most of the newly elected board members and I’m going to be supportive of them. I think Alycia Meriweather is doing an outstanding job of returning the focus to teaching. And all these eight years of emergency managers where all they did was cut budgets and the like, and drove half of the students out of the Detroit Public Schools.

Parents send children to these schools because they think their children are going to learn. And when all you’re talking about is how many you’re laying off, it doesn’t inspire any confidence.

We’re trying to create career paths, and probably the most important thing I can do is support for Detroit Promise.

I mean, every student who graduates from a school in Detroit this year, who lives in Detroit, will have two years of community college paid for. And, if they earn a 3.0 and a 21 on their ACT, four years at a university paid for. I’m going to be supporting the district from the outside, I’m not going to try and run the district. I don’t think the mayor should be running the district. And I’m hopeful that this newly elected school board will work in partnership.

Where are we with the structural conditions of the schools?

All of the schools in the city are now up to code. All of the water has been tested and is within appropriate lead levels in all of the public schools. And so DPS made tremendous progress. The teachers had legitimate issue they were raising a year ago and it’s too bad that it took the city coming in and writing violations to do it. But from now on the city will be rigorously inspecting the school buildings.

This article was done in collaboration with the Detroit Journalism Cooperative. The interview was conducted

by Detroit PBS news anchor Christy McDonald.

A Detroiter just might be the future of the Democratic Party And he probably should be…

By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, (D-Minn), a Detroit native, has rather quickly become the favored contender to lead the Democratic National Committee among the more progressive members of the party. However, he is also considered to be too controversial among others in his party due to his past association with Minister Louis Farrakhan (he has since distanced himself from Farrakhan) and what some are referring to uncomfortably as his black nationalist past. Detractors have also dragged up other issues surrounding Ellison, such as reported problems he has had with tax issues and campaign finance violations that they claim make him unfit for the position.

Not surprisingly, Ellison’s supporters angrily accuse those detractors of trying to wage a smear campaign against their candidate, pointing out that most of the issues being dragged up go back nearly two decades. The election for the new DNC chair will be held in February. Ellison’s primary challenger for the position is Labor Secretary Tom Perez.

So what to make of all this?

After what happened in November, one thing Democrats have become super aware of is that they need to go back to the drawing board and retool/re-energize their party in a huge way.

They need to connect and reconnect with their base, and that certainly does not mean

just the working-class whites who defected and decided Trump was the best choice this time around. This is not about chasing after the working class white people who left the party, but doing a better job of getting out the vote everywhere else.

Ellison was in town two weeks ago at a special event to talk about why he’s running for DNC chair. Just prior to that event, he sat down for an interview with the Michigan Chronicle at 1917 American Bistro.

What’s your main reason for taking this on?

It’s the best chance for working people and people who have not had access and inclusion and respect in our society. The Democratic Party has been the standard for jobs and justice over the course of, certainly since the second half of the 20th century, and then this century. And yet, not enough people perceive it to be that.

And so, I want to fight to make sure that it not only is that, but that people perceive it that way. I think we’ve got to be a lot more vocal in our advocacy work with people.

The Republican Party, God bless them, they’re really clear — they say we’re the party for wealthy people. If you’re a billionaire then we’re for you, and they’ve proved it. I mean, look at this [Donald Trump] cabinet.

The collective wealth of this cabinet is greater than about one-third of all Americans.

[Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education] Betsy DeVos? She wants to privatize the schools.

Keith Ellison

She’s not some benevolent person. She’s trying to find a way to monetize public education.

Now look, I’m in favor of people being a part of NAACP, Urban League, Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, MoveOn. org, Democracy for America, all that. I love all those groups.

God bless ’em. I want them to be successful. But when it’s election time, we’ve got to find a way to bring all that energy into one political party.

Have Democrats gotten away from their original mission?

Well, I do think we need some retooling. We’ve got to get a lot more effective at pushing back on smears. Because they smeared Hillary Clinton. Tore her down in every conceivable way. I don’t believe Hillary is corrupt, but he [Trump] did name her Corrupt Hillary. What did we do about it? Not enough.

We have got to rebuild our trust relationship with the Democratic voter.

Who is the Democratic voter in your mind?

Of course, the white working

class is the Democratic voter.

So is the black working class.

Latino working class. The Asian working class. So is the straight working class, the gay working class, so are the older folks working. And so are the young folks just getting out of high school.

But the overwhelming number of people in this country are folks who can’t go more than a few months without that paycheck. Seventy-four percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. That’s the Democratic voter.

When Martin Luther King made that “I Have a Dream” speech, that speech, that whole march, was for jobs and justice. It wasn’t just for justice. It wasn’t just a civil rights march.

It was a jobs march. And the Democratic party should be that instrument that connects people to their interests and to justice and respect. That’s why I’m running.

What makes you uniquely qualified to do this?

Well, if being DNC chair is about getting Democrats elected, there’s nobody running

who’s done a better job at it than me. First of all, I got myself elected eight times. Then, there’s no Republicans who hold statewide office in the state of Minnesota. The senators, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, all Democrats. And part of the reason is, I turn out the vote in my district, and that’s a big deal. I think that nobody else running can say that. [Ellison points to the fact that when he was first elected, the 5th Congressional District in Minnesota, Ellison’s District was the lowest in voter turnout. Now it is the highest].

What is the strategy leading onto 2018?

If I’m chair, the first strategy is a change in attitude. Turnout, turnout, turnout! How are you going to do 3 percent better than you did last year? How are you going to go from 100,000 to 103,000? How are you going to go from 200,000 to 206,000? If everybody goes up 3 percent, and then they go up another 3 percent in 2020, that’s more than 6 percent because of compound. If we go up 7.5 percent, we’ll kill it. We’re taking back state houses, we’re taking over city councils, we’re winning governorships, we’re winning U.S. Senate races.

Will Trump be a motivating factor in getting out the vote?

Yes, but that’s not enough.

Because if people are being battered and beaten by the Republicans, but ignored by the Democrats, then they’ll just stay home. We actually have to make an affirmative case.

So set everybody’s attention to turnout. That means turning it on during the off year.

news

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

DRIVEN

From page A-1

Detroit. Their civic and charitable involvement in the metro Detroit area and around the world speaks volumes to their corporate value system.

We are honored to have their support this year.”

Simoncini stated, “Lear Corporation is honored to serve as the corporate co-chair of this year’s DRIVEN event. At Lear, valuing diversity and inclusion is one of our core values. We truly believe diversity makes us a stronger company, and we are proud to partner with Real Times Media in celebrating multicultural achievement within the automotive industry.”

Auto Show

that persist in the automotive industry: “As the racial and ethnic population diversity in the United States continues to grow and expand, the casual rhetorical utterances about the demands for ‘diversity and inclusion’ in corporate America oftentimes have not produced desired results, especially for black Americans, with respect to economic advancement, parity, equity and equality. Updated research and information about these issues within the automotive industry, today, reveal serious contradictions as well as equity inconsistencies in the face of increased auto purchases by blacks across the nation.

“Although, the auto industry has experienced record sales over the past few years, the industry’s investment in advertising and marketing with African American-owned media companies, ensuring that African American-owned dealerships, and African Americans in the corporate executive suites and board rooms, all are lacking the evidence of inclusion and equality.

“The recovery of the auto industry in America has not produced an equitable economic recovery for African Americans.”

DRIVEN, which began in 2011, is the Michigan Chronicle’s way of recognizing, appreciating and applauding multicultural achievement inside the industry and those who are steadily expanding the definition and reach of their chosen profession simply by being the best of who they are at what they do.

At the 2014 Rainbow Push Automotive Project, held in Detroit at the MGM Grand Hotel, Rainbow Push founder Rev. Jesse Jackson said, “I don’t like the word diversity. Diversity is a bad word to me.

We don’t need diversity, we need equality. Whenever the playing field is even and the rules are just, the goals are clear, and the referees are fair, we can win.”

In a press conference earlier

From page A-1 that day, Jackson complained that business leaders “keep changing the rules,” indicating that business leaders had broken agreements with regard to minority participation. Jackson cited the decline in the number of minority-owned auto dealerships and minority auto supplier contracts as evidence that some agreements to increase minority participation had not been honored.

“Inclusion leads to growth and as growth occurs, everybody wins.

Those who fought against the growth benefit the most. Just as in the New South, those that opposed [inclusion] the most, have also reaped the most benefits,” he said.

One year later, at the 2015 automotive summit, Jackson indicated that change was still occurring only grudgingly. The United States has one of the largest automotive markets in the world and is home to 13 auto manufacturers. The industry is one of the world’s most important economic sectors by revenue.

However, when it comes to diversity and inclusion, it still has a long way to go to achieve a diverse and inclusive work environ — meant at all levels of the organization — all structure, from dealerships to the C-suite, to suppliers and employees.

And yet another year after that, Dr. Chavis observes that the view has not improved much if at all.

“Recent studies show that black America’s auto purchases contribute more than $35 billion to annual automaker revenue. Despite this fact, black American dealers have declined 65 percent during the past 10 years.

“African American dealerships decreased since 2005 by 75 to 265 today. Ownership of black businesses is an indicator of the economic vitality of the black American community. The National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers reported that of the more than 19,000 car dealers in the United States, African Americans

NAACP eral Nicholas Katzenbach’s commitment to democracy allowed him to help write the VRA. Today, our nation stands on the verge of selecting an AG who has never shown the slightest commitment to enforcing the protections Katzenbach and others wrote into law.

How can our communities who have born the both historical and current brunt of the attacks on the right to vote, sit idly by while an enemy to the vote is now given the responsibility of enforcing this right? The simple answer is that we can’t.

Other Civil Rights: Since 1997, Senator Sessions has received an F every year on the NAACP's federal legislative civil rights report cards. He’s voted against our policy positions nearly 90 percent of the time. Senator Sessions has repeatedly supported lawsuits and attempts to overturn desegregation while shamelessly voting against federal Hate Crime legislation four times from 2000 to 2009.

Notwithstanding, he has also repeatedly voted against the Violence Against Women Act that expanded protection for victims of domestic violence and repeatedly stood on the wrong side of immigration and LGBT issues.

Racial Insensitivity: During his failed 1986 federal judgeship hearing, four DOJ attorneys and colleagues of Senator Sessions testified that he made several racist statements. J. Gerald Hebert testified that Sessions had referred to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as "un-American" and "Communist

only currently make up 1.4 percent of auto dealers.”

Furthermore, according to research by Polk IHS, African Americans are easily the most loyal buyers with 51 percent sticking with a chosen brand. The numbers of African Americans purchasing a new vehicle is nearly double the overall industry growth at 9.4 percent versus 5 percent. Such lopsided numbers might partially explain the behavior of auto manufacturers, who seem only too happy to sell us as many cars as we’re willing to show up and buy, while withholding that same enthusiasm when it comes to sharing in the profits.

“The auto manufacturers have maintained a one-sided relationship with minorities, viewing us as consumers rather than business partners. It is time for the auto manufacturers to shift gears and present benchmarked growth opportunities to all people of color,” said Jackson at the 2015 Automotive Summit.

“Minority companies need a short-term plan for survival and long-term critical path to success with measurable goals, targets and timetables. Many of our award-winning minority companies are at an economic crossroad that is hinged on a plan for growth. There is not a talent deficit among minority companies; there is an access and commitment deficit from auto manufacturers. It is time to shift the paradigm and hold the auto industry accountable.”

The Rainbow Push Summit focuses on inclusion for ethnic minorities in the areas of supplier diversity, human resources, advertising and marketing, technology, professional services and dealers.

It is the only national conference that focuses on the automotive industry for ethnic minorities. Automotive CEOs and vice presidents, as well as business owners and consumers, have the opportunity to discuss business issues that are relevant to the ethnic majority.

From page A-1 inspired" because they "forced civil rights down the throats of people.

Additional accusations of racist behavior were attributed to Senator Sessions by Thomas Figures, an African American Assistant U.S. Attorney, who testified that Sessions said he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "OK until I found out they smoked pot." Sessions later said that the comment was not serious, but did apologize for it. Mr. Figures also testified that on one occasion, Senator Session railed against civil rights cases, threw a file on the table and called him the derogatory racist term “boy,” and later advised Figures to watch what he said to white people.

Criminal Justice Reform: In a time of expanding protests against the scourge of police brutality, Senator Sessions stands on opposite ground. He has repeated stood against the consent decree, a main tool of the DOJ to reel in racist and unaccountable police departments. In a report by the Alabama Policy Institute, Senator Sessions called consent decrees: “One of the most dangerous, and rarely discussed, exercises of raw power is the issuance of expansive court decrees. Consent decrees have a profound effect on our legal system as they constitute an end run around the democratic process.”

While under the administration of President Barack Obama, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division made investigating police departments charged with racism and police brutality a key focus by intervening in high-profile cases in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland to impose consent decrees and reforms to correct misbehavior and the violation of citizen’s civil rights.

Senator Sessions would become

the Attorney General under a president who supports nationalizing the racist and disproven “stop and frisk,” strategy. Both Sessions and the incoming president are supporters of the DOD 1033 program which allows police department’s access to surplus military equipment including tanks, armored vehicles, grenade launchers and more. He also opposes the removal of mandatory minimum sentences and blocked efforts to reduce nonviolent drug sentencing despite wide bi-partisan support for doing so. If not enough, Senator Sessions has repeatedly voted against safe, sane, and sensible measures to stem the tide of gun violence.

Given that these are issues our nation the attorney general is sworn to protect and enforce his nomination represents an ongoing and dangerous threat to our civic birthrights –particularly, and the right to vote.

We call upon the Senate to reject Sessions and for President-elect Donald J. Trump to replace Sessions with a nominee with a record of inclusion and commitment to protecting the civil rights of the American majority.

The NAACP does not believe that an election where the incoming president lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes represents a mandate to overhaul the America of the Majority. The vote remains the most important resource in making democracy real for all people.

As we have since 1909, the NAACP will continue to stand against Senator Sessions and any attempts to unravel the progress earned through the blood, sweat and tears of our people to enjoy the same rights under law as all Americans.”

Page A-4

DRIVEN has tapped two well-respected leaders in the automotive industry to be a part of the event’s 7th edition publication.

President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK), Wilbert W. James, Jr. will write the foreword, and Ramzi Hermiz, president and chief executive officer of Michigan based Shiloh

DRIVEN has highlighted the accomplishments of the automotive industry’s most well-respected and high-ranking executives.

As they share their personal stories of success we realized there was one common thread amongst all of the honorees; an exposure and interest in science, technology, engineering and math early on. A survey conducted by STEM connector showed one out of four high school freshman indicated an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The study also showed that 57 percent of freshman lost interest in STEM-related careers before their senior year. The decline in interest was mainly due to students being unable to make the connection between course-related work ando real world experience and career paths.

This year, nership with DRIVEN has the traditional

in partDAPCEP, extended program-

Fox 2 News reporter Roop Raj will host DRIVEN for the second year in a row.

Industries, Inc. will write the introduction.

“Both of these gentlemen are innovators in the industry and have a proven track record of embracing diversity and inclusion. We look forward to sharing their stories of triumph along the way and how they have managed to impact the industry in so many ways,” said Jackson.

James is the seventh president of TMMK. He leads Toyota's largest automotive manufacturing plant in the world which produces the Camry, America’s best-selling car; Avalon, and the ES 350, the only U.S.-produced Lexus. Additionally, James champions quality initiatives for Toyota’s 14 North American manufacturing plants.

James’ career with Toyota began in 1987, supervising a team of about 20 people. He has since served in senior leadership positions at three of Toyota’s U.S. plants, including TMMK, a $6 billion operation that directly employs nearly 8,000 people. Before being announced as president in 2010, James served as senior vice president for Manufacturing and Quality at Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana facility.

Shiloh Industries, Inc. is a global innovative solutions provider to the automotive and commercial vehicle industries.

Since joining Shiloh in 2012, Hermiz has transformed the regional automotive supplier into a $1.1 billion global company with a strategic focus on designing, engineering and manufacturing lightweight technologies that improve performance, reduce noise and vibration, and benefit the environment.

During his tenure, Hermiz has rebranded the company, now recognized as a global technology leader, by expanding the company’s customer base, growing its manufacturing footprint from nine North American plants to 28 operations, sales and technical centers throughout Asia, Europe and North America, and more than doubling its employee and revenue base.

Through

the

years,

ming by hosting a STEM career symposium, where students will have access to automotive professionals who specifically used their love for STEM to discover their dream job within the automotive industry. Students will have the opportunity to ask career-related questions and through this interaction will be inspired to continue exploring the world of STEM. The DRIVEN Youth Symposium will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 9:30 am to 2 pm at the Michigan Science Center in Detroit.

“It is important that we expose our youth to careers they may not even know exist. The DRIVEN symposium is a tremendous opportunity for students and we believe will encourage and inspire the next the generation of automotive influencers. We thank our lead sponsors, Lear Corporation and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), for lending their support to make this symposium possible,” said Jackson.

DRIVEN 2017 promises to be an evening of celebration and distinction showcasing trailblazers and emerging leaders. For the second year, Real Times Media will honor individuals that have made a tremendous impact on the industry.

In years past, DRIVEN has welcomed world-class talent such as Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Anderson, MC Lyte and Jermaine Dupri and this year will be no different.

Famed DJ Biz Markie will host the afterglow. With more than 30 years of solid hip-hop acumen and an overwhelming fan-base that stretches from New York to Japan, appearances on such popular TV shows such as “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” DJ Biz Markie will perform greatest hits such as “Just a Friend” and “Vapors.”

Admission to the DRIVEN Experience is complimentary but those wishing to attend must RSVP by visiting www. michiganchonicle.com and clicking on the events tab.

For more information, please call (313)­ 963-8100.

news

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

Page A-5

NC NAACP to consider economic boycott based on the repeal of legislative, judicial and election procedure overreach, unconstitutional race-based districts and all of Provision HB2

By Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II President, North Carolina NAACP

In light of all the gross wrongs by the extremist Republican controlled legislature over the past two weeks, that follow a pattern over the last three years during which they have passed unconstitutional laws that were overturned in the courts 13 times, we say enough is enough. Their actions are in violation of and are antithesis to the values of our Constitution, our civil rights commitments, and the deep moral values of justice we share as a state and nation.

The extremist Republican leadership in the NC General Assembly has engaged in a modern day political and policy coup d’état, by passing regressive laws such as SB4 and HB17. The legislative overreach into our access to the court system takes away the political power of the people by undermining our vote. It violates the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branch. These actions were taken after an African American won the Supreme Court race by nearly 350,000 votes, thereby changing the ideological makeup of the courts by having two African Americans.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, NC NAACP president, said, “In fact, according to the Electoral Integrity Project at Harvard University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Aarhus in Denmark, legislative power in our state no longer depends on the ballot; instead, one party has won roughly half of the votes but gotten 100 percent of the power. A recent article by one author is titled “North Carolina Is No Longer A Democracy.” These outrages also resonate with the legislative extremists’ voter suppression law that “targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision,” according to a ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 4th District. They remind many North Carolinians of how the all-white Republican caucus has abused power with their secret efforts and refusal to hold public hearings. We have always stood against extremism whether perpetrated historically by Democrats or Republicans. Our

Rev. Dr. William Barber II (right), the president of the NC NAACP, speaks at a Moral Mondays rally in 2013. —

Wikimedia

Commons photo

lawyers are pursuing every legal option for challenging these unconstitutional laws.

the State Board of Elections that seeks to guarantee Republican control even after they lost the governor’s seat.

Therefore, after the Christmas holiday, the NC NAACP Executive Committee planned to convene and engage in serious deliberations and develop a formal request to the National Board of Directors of the NAACP, calling for an economic boycott of North Carolina until the NC General Assembly:

Pass fair redistricting laws that give the people of this state a fair chance to elect legislators of their own choice.

Restores the people’s full and immediate access to the Supreme Court that does not allow the legislature to choose which courts hear actions against their decisions based on their partisan bias.Repeals the hijacking of

HB2 and all of its provisions, including the provisions against raising the minimum wage, limiting the timeframe to take employment discrimination cases before the state’s courts, and the provision that undermines the ability of local municipalities to write progressive anti-discrimination laws, have been repealed in total.

Not only are these policies unjust, but also the prior actions of this legis-

lature have hurt the poor and working people of our state. They repealed the Earned Income Tax Credit, increasing taxes for 900,000 working poor people, and have denied 500,000 working poor people Medicaid expansion.

This decision has cost North Carolina 25,000 new jobs and $2 billion in federal funding each year.

We are calling for a Mass Moral March of Raleigh & HKonJ People’s Assembly on Feb. 11, 2017. We must stop this kind of political overreach here in North Carolina or it will spread to other states. We cannot stand for it now and we will not stand for it tomorrow because our fore parents did not stand for it yesterday.

news

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

Page A-6

Flint water charges address the symptom, but the disease grows The Michigan Chronicle

Earlier this week, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced criminal charges related to the Flint water crisis. Among those facing charges are two individuals who served as emergency manager over city, Darnell COMMENTARY the Earley and Gerald Ambrose. These individuals participated in decisions that created the crisis to begin with (by switching the source of Flint’s water supply), and then deepened the crisis by ignoring all sorts of warning signs, including the outcry from the city’s residents.

While bringing charges against those who consciously prioritized finances over the health of Flint’s residents is a decent start, we should all be clear: the battle is not over. The people of Flint are still fighting for clean water, battling for government funding necessary to solve long-term infrastructure need, and protesting ridiculously high water bills and threats that water services will be cut off if bills are not paid.

But as grossly unjust the specific situation in Flint is, there is a larger issue which, must be addressed in order to prevent catastrophes like what we’ve seen in Flint from becoming the new normal. There is an existing disease which, with the impending presidency of He Who Shall Not Be Named, threatens to metastasize into something far more dangerous and, quite literally, deadly. It

is a disease which attacks democratic institutions in much the same way that a biological disease might attack a human organ. This disease is the trend of state takeovers of local control, and in the case of Flint and other Michigan cities, it shows itself in the form of “emergency management.”

The State of Michigan’s ability to take control of the city’s water supply stemmed from a law which allows the state to takeover cities and school districts that are facing financial trouble.

Michigan had allowed for such takeovers for years, but when Republican Governor Snyder and the state legislature expanded the takeover powers in a 2011 version of the law, voters in the state repealed the policy via referendum. The governor and the legislature responded with a 2013 version of the law, which basically allowed for the same things but with different wording.

Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have emergency manager laws. Many of these states have large cities with heavy populations of blacks and Latinos. The matter of removing local power and control from local residents is troubling enough at the theoretical level. However, when the implementation of such policies generally involves taking power from black and brown communities and placing it in the hands of white lawmakers who are often Republicans, many view the policy as old school racial disenfranchisement.

Obama’s legacy includes Christian support of gay rights

By Brooke Obie When President Obama came out in support of LGBTQ lives and in favor of marriage equality in a May 2012 interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, he became the first president to connect his policy to his Christian faith in a way that substantively benefitted the LGBTQ community.

“I’ve been going through an evolution on this issue,” Obama told Roberts of his decision to affirm marriage equality. “[Michelle Obama and I], we’re both practicing Christians. And when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf but it’s also the golden rule, you know?

Treat others the way you’d want to be treated.

And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids.

And that’s what motivates me as president.”

Obama’s affirmation came on the heels of his instructing the Department of Justice to not defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned the marriages of same-sex couples. The president considered the act unconstitutional. In 2011, the president also signed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the ban on LGBTQ people serving and marrying openly in the military.

Military veteran, queer womanist theologian and activist Dr. Pamela Lightsey was at the forefront of the movement to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and worked against the GOP and the National Organization for Marriage’s efforts to use President Obama’s support of the LGBTQ community against him in the 2012 election.

“American opposition to same-sex marriage was about 45 percent but within the Black community it was somewhere between 60 to 70 percent,” reports Lightsey. “So we were really nervous about his chances of winning another term having expressed his support of same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. In 2012, President Obama was elected with 95 percent of Black Protestant [Baptist] support.”

In his second term, President Obama continued his Christian support of the LGBTQ community.

Just last year, as the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, legalizing marriage equality in the country, the White House lit up with all of the colors of the rainbow in celebration. Soon after, the Episcopal Church formally ap-

proved religious weddings for same-sex couples.

Episcopal priest and scholar the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney shared the impact of Obama’s public stance on other Christians. “I watched people reduce then end vociferous opposition to changes in laws and public policy,” she says. Though she doesn’t credit Obama with beginning the cultural shift taking place in many religious circles, “Mr. Obama was part of that,” Gafney concedes.

This year, President Obama instructed the Department of Justice to vigorously defend the rights of transgender people to have access to bathrooms in public spaces—an issue that erupted in North Carolina when Governor Pat McCrory signed a law limiting access. McCrory has lost his bid for re-election and was widely criticized for signing the law.

“President Obama’s support of LGBT rights, both in concrete and symbolic ways, sent a strong message to countries around the world that hold laws against LGBT people,” says Eliel Cruz, the Executive Director of Faith in America, an organization dedicated to ending religious based bigotry towards LGBT people.

Even as 80 percent of white evangelicals just voted into the presidency an anti-LGBTQ candidateleanup%20At%2 who has promised to repeal the advancements that President Obama’s administration have made, Lightsey believes there’s still evidence of growing support for LGBTQ rights.

“Major denominations have lifted their restrictions on LGBT marriage and ordination. Where denominations have resisted, the membership within has taken stances in defiance of church policies,” Lightsey says. “I know we often use young people’s affirmation to speak about the shift in acceptance but in reality many cis-hetero elders are allies in the movement so now over half the adult population in the U.S. supports LGBT rights.”

Cruz still believes that President Obama’s stance has had a global positive impact on the Christian community.

“Most of these countries, particularly in the western world, are influenced by Christianity to enact draconian laws that lead to the incarceration, or death of LGBT people.

President Obama’s proLGBT stance as a world leader and a Christian showed an alternative

route to those who professed anti-LGBT beliefs and blamed their faith for it,” says Cruz.

Despite what comes next for the community and the country under the next administration, President Obama’s legacy as a leader in Christian support for the LGBTQ community remains.

“President Obama was the first president who supported LGBT rights because of his faith and not in spite of it,” said Cruz .

COMMITMENT DEFINED BY ACTIONS, NOT JUST WORDS SMART Business Financing – low-cost lending for qualified small businesses.

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michiganchronicle.com

January 4-10, 2017

Alisha Dixon photos

Detroit Training Center builds bridge to better futures

By Alisha Dixon

Since 2012, the Detroit Training Center has provided employment, vocational and workforce development training for Detroiters in the areas of construction, heavy equipment, facility maintenance, landscaping, CDL training and more.

Patrick Beal, who serves as CEO, and Marcus Jones, DTC’s president, founded the Detroit Training Center.

Beal, a graduate of the Michigan State University Broad College of Business, has an extensive background in construction. He is a licensed residential builder and asbestos abatement trainer and supervisor and one of the founders of Beal Incorporated, a demolition contractor.

Jones holds masters of science degrees in environmental science and urban planning from the University of Michigan. He has worked for over 10 years in residential and commercial real estate. Jones is heavily involved in sustainable construction and holds a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associates certification.

DTC was created, Beal said, to bridge the gap between construction companies who needed Detroiters to work on their projects and Detroiters who needed the skills necessary to work on these projects.

cation while nurturing personal growth by providing supportive training and employment.

“It started with a specific project downtown where we had to hire over 150 people. We figured it would be really easy to hire Detroit labor to do a Detroit project and that turned out not to be true, through issues related to training, past experience, transportation, soft skills like showing up and dealing with paperwork. These are the kinds of issues that we encountered that made it difficult to hire as many Detroiters as we thought we could use on that project,” said Beal.

DTC’s training programs are not just confined to its Detroit location. Currently, Beal teaches asbestos abatement classes at a Michigan correctional facility.

“We literally go and teach classes inside of prisons. The idea is that the citizens who are going through that program will end up working for blight removal programs through the city of Detroit. So, they’re getting trained in asbestos abatement, lead abatement and HAZMAT as well as OSHA safety. So, the guys are getting some really good education that will allow them to come out and hopefully get a job very quickly,” Beal said.

“So I started teaching lead abatement classes and we began to see a need for more than just training, also a need for workforce development. So we created the programs around workforce development and along with the other training programs, DTC was created.”

Jones’ background in urban planning and green construction allows DTC to be a sort of incubator for workers and for environmental improvement.

“Solving this workforce issue helped us to solve the issue of the triple bot-

tom line which is to get people employed who will reinvest in the community while also cleaning up environmental hazards and cleaning up environmental abatements,” Jones added about the goal of DTC.

that really understanding the urban environment and understanding how cities work and operate and the need for having everyone to be a part of the economic landscape of a city is really where the light bulb went off.

“This work just makes sense. I think

DTC’s goal is to improve urban edu-

“The governments sort of realized that there is this gap that was causing them a lot of expense because the expense of someone re-offending. It’s much cheaper to try to have a solution.

DTC also has partnerships with em-

See TRAINING CENTER page B-2

Five words can change lives

By Alisha Dixon

Every day, Detroit native Terrance Burney braves all weather conditions to hold a sign with a motivational message that says, “I see greatness in you” to encourage and inspire Detroit­ ers during their morning commutes.

Burney, a Cass Technical High School graduate and former Prairie View A&M University basketball player, is a life coach, motivational speaker and author who found his calling after being encouraged to see his own greatness.

“After being in a toxic relationship, I was able to see how I didn’t want to live and it made me reflect on my life and inspired me to

seek direction from God. I had to get still and humble myself to whatever message I received and that message was to use my voice to encourage, uplift and inspire,” Burney said.

“It was the encouragement that I received from someone else that pushed me to find my own purpose.”

To fulfill his purpose, Burney said, “Each morning, I allow God to guide me to where I need to go. People are normally really receptive to me and my message, but sometimes people aren’t into it. Often, I get flipped off, but I use this as motivation.”

Criticism, he said, has allowed him to work on himself and to understand

that not everyone will understand and receive his message. It is his faith that gives him the will to keep going.

“People often say my message is right on time.

I’ve had people tell me they were about to commit sui-

See FIVE WORDS page B-2

community

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

Page B-2

‘The Uninvited’ art exhibit sets a table for everyone Detroit artists respond to the Trump agenda with open arms on Jan. 22 On Sunday, Jan. 22, dozens of local visual, spoken word and hip-hop artists will participate in a groundbreaking exhibit called “The Uninvited” at the Tangent Gallery, 715 East Milwaukee Avenue, in Detroit from 1 to 3 p.m. Spoken word/open mic performances will begin at 2 p.m.

As America inaugurates its 45th president, many citizens continue to feel alienated by the stated goals and policies of the new administration.

“The often racist, sexist and Islamophobic rhetoric of President Trump have made us feel distinctly uninvited from the American dream,” said Nancy J. Rodwan, event co-curator. “Through our creative expression, we are letting the new president know that we are here and will not back down whether or not we have a seat at his table.”

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will feature a massive table with sculptural place settings that respond to the current political climate.

Contributors include mixed media artist M. Saffel Gardner, ceramic artist Barbara Barefield and fiber artist Mandisa Smith as well as young people, immigrants and mothers of children with special needs.

Detroit hip-hop artist Mahogany Jones will emcee the event and perform, along with rapper Dominique Rhodes.

The exhibit began as a conversation between Rodwan, a Detroit artist, filmmaker and writer, and her friend, Pamela Murray, who has a degree in studio art from Wayne State University and lives in Pleasant Ridge.

“Pam and I were sharing our fear and anxiety about what’s going to happen to the people in our communities under Trump,” said Rodwan. “I had been working on another project where someone had donated a complete set of china. I thought, wait a minute, let’s set the table for the uninvited.”

Co-curator Murray agreed: "If the people at the highest levels of government are the sort who only look out for their own self-interests, then we must stand up for each other, by gathering around our table, where everyone is welcome."

200 years of experience Recently, Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media and publisher of the Michigan Chronicle, arranged a celebration at Joe Muer in the GM Renaissance Center. The purpose of the elegant luncheon was to honor the five longest-serving employees of the Michigan Chronicle still working for oldest black-owned newspaper in the state. Seated (from left) are Linda Moragne, account executive, Pauline Leatherwood, front office manager, and Joyce Johnson, account executive. Standing are Steve Holsey (left), columnist-entertainment editor, and Raymond Allen, production manager. Jackson noted that the five honorees represent over 200 years of experience.

Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray goes missing on way home to Detroit

By Jeff Mays

persons case” he has ever dealt with.

Although African Americans make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, we account for 33 percent of missing persons in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database. Cases involving African Americans tend to receive less media coverage than missing whites, with missing men of color getting even less attention.

Michigan Chronicle’s partner NewsOne has partnered with the Black and Missing Foundation to focus on the crisis of missing African Americans.

“We do have an investigation that is ongoing. We are looking for Nicholas McCray,” said Gaddis.

Gaddis said he can’t confirm beyond McCray’s family’s beliefs that he was in North Dakota.

“Nothing has been solid. He came out here to work, but I can’t confirm that he got to North Dakota. No one seems to know who he got a job with,” he says.

“I have not been able to talk to someone to say, ‘I saw him here or he had a job here,’” said Gaddis.

Brown said his To be a part of the brother told them he solution, NewsOne will had a job in construcprofile missing persons and provide tips Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray tion, but the family is unable to confirm that. about how to keep your loved ones safe and what to do if someone goes missing. Gaddis has reached out to other North Dakota police departments and put out Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray was a national alert for McCray. born Nov. 1, 1985. He has been missing Brown said his brother became a fasince Nov. 17. McCray is 31 and was travelling home to Detroit from Bis- ther to a daughter in May. marck, North Dakota.

“He was really looking forward to beAccording to family members, McCray was working in North Dakota when he went missing. Friends and family are unsure of his last known location.

McCray’s last posts to his social media accounts came on Nov. 17. He told friends he was heading home to Detroit and is believed to have been en route from North Dakota. McCray’s family say they tried to file a missing persons report with Detroit Police, but were told they had to file one at his last known location.

“He was supposed to return to Detroit for a custody hearing for his child, but he did not come home,” McCray’s brother, Cedric Brown, told NewsOne in an interview. “He would normally talk to my mom a couple of days during the week, but he stopped posting on social media on Nov. 17.”

McCray’s last post on Facebook was a routine one about how he watched the documentary “13th.” There has been no answer on McCray’s phone.

Sgt. Mark Gaddis of the Bismarck Police Department told NewsOne that McCray’s mother filed a missing persons report on Nov. 29. The case, said Gaddis, is perplexing and “the oddest missing

ing a father because his father was never in his life,” said Brown.

Five words

Brown, a college graduate who works in public relations, said it was his brother who pushed him to stay out of trou- cide or murder someone and seeing me ble. with the sign made them change their “I went to college while he graduated minds. That’s the power of five words. high school, but was still trying to find I need to take this message all over the his path,” said Brown. “He got into trou- world. I see myself traveling the world ble young, but he kept me out of trouble and using those five worlds to help milbecause he didn’t let me join along and lions of people all over the world to see didn’t want me in that lifestyle. He defi- their greatness and to inspire change,” he said. nitely looked out for me.”

Burney can be seen with his sign at Brown said his family is still hoping Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons games for the best.

“I wish I had talked to him more,” where he also works with the players said Brown. “I would tell him that we all to keep them motivated and inspired. love him, that he is severely missed and To help spread the word about his meshe still has a chance to be with his little sage, Burney uses social media to reach girl. We can help him figure this out to- a larger audience.

From page B-1 “I wrote a book called ‘The TexTBook.’

It’s the first book ever written, received via text messaging. It’s a combination of inspirational, personal development, self-help and motivational text messaging done on a consistent basis on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The one thing that is really powerful about it is that I pray before I write everything and I pray before I send them,” Burney said.

“It’s proven that a few words can save lives.”

For more information about Terrance Burney, go to @TheTexTBook on Twitter, @teamgreatness on Instagram and @weseegreatness on Snapchat.

gether.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts or circumstances of disappearance of Nicholas McCray may contact Sgt. Mark Gaddis or the shift supervisor at the Bismarck Police Department at (701) 223-1212. You may also contact your local police or the Black and Missing Foundation’s confidential tip line.

Crime Stoppers hosts press conference for family of Timothy Ward Timothy Ward was last seen on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 in the city of Holly. Ward was living in a semi-independent apartment at Rose Hill Center.

He went for a walk at 5 p.m. and never returned.

The facility is located at 5130 Rose Hill Blvd east of Fagan Road in Holly.

Training center ployers who hire people with barriers to employments such as criminal backgrounds.

Ward had stopped taking his medications and left his phone and car at the facility. He is 39 years old, 6’1” tall and weighs 240 lbs. His weight may be lower now due to an unstable diet.

Timothy Ward graduated from Romulus High School. He was involved in boxing during his high school years. He also did volunteer work for Adopta-Pet. He attended Southern Illinois University for two years, majoring in Aeronautics. He discontinued his studies due to health issues and returned home to Romulus.

Crime

Stoppers

of

From page B-1

New programs and initiatives will be rolled out this year for DTC students with the expansion of the CDL program with the delivery of four new training trucks.

Timothy Ward Michigan is a offering cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that helps locate Ward.

If you have any information regarding Timothy Ward’s location, we are asking that you help this family and make that

anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP or visit our website at: www.1800speakup.org or text: CSM and your tip to 274637.

Your identity is always 100 percent anonymous.

Funding options for students is determined on a case-by-case basis and with the help of local and state agencies for those who are eligible. All interested in taking courses at DTC are encouraged to go to the orientation days on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am. During the orientation, a student affairs representative will

help students find the right program for them, enrollment and funding sources.

The Detroit Training Center is centrally locat-

ed and easily accessible via public transportation.

For more information about DTC, visit Detroittraining.org or call (313) 221-5876.

community

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

Page B-2

‘The Uninvited’ art exhibit sets a table for everyone Detroit artists respond to the Trump agenda with open arms on Jan. 22 On Sunday, Jan. 22, dozens of local visual, spoken word and hip-hop artists will participate in a groundbreaking exhibit called “The Uninvited” at the Tangent Gallery, 715 East Milwaukee Avenue, in Detroit from 1 to 3 p.m. Spoken word/open mic performances will begin at 2 p.m.

As America inaugurates its 45th president, many citizens continue to feel alienated by the stated goals and policies of the new administration.

“The often racist, sexist and Islamophobic rhetoric of President Trump have made us feel distinctly uninvited from the American dream,” said Nancy J. Rodwan, event co-curator. “Through our creative expression, we are letting the new president know that we are here and will not back down whether or not we have a seat at his table.”

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will feature a massive table with sculptural place settings that respond to the current political climate.

Contributors include mixed media artist M. Saffel Gardner, ceramic artist Barbara Barefield and fiber artist Mandisa Smith as well as young people, immigrants and mothers of children with special needs.

Detroit hip-hop artist Mahogany Jones will emcee the event and perform, along with rapper Dominique Rhodes.

The exhibit began as a conversation between Rodwan, a Detroit artist, filmmaker and writer, and her friend, Pamela Murray, who has a degree in studio art from Wayne State University and lives in Pleasant Ridge.

“Pam and I were sharing our fear and anxiety about what’s going to happen to the people in our communities under Trump,” said Rodwan. “I had been working on another project where someone had donated a complete set of china. I thought, wait a minute, let’s set the table for the uninvited.”

Co-curator Murray agreed: "If the people at the highest levels of government are the sort who only look out for their own self-interests, then we must stand up for each other, by gathering around our table, where everyone is welcome."

200 years of experience Recently, Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media and publisher of the Michigan Chronicle, arranged a celebration at Joe Muer in the GM Renaissance Center. The purpose of the elegant luncheon was to honor the five longest-serving employees of the Michigan Chronicle still working for oldest black-owned newspaper in the state. Seated (from left) are Linda Moragne, account executive, Pauline Leatherwood, front office manager, and Joyce Johnson, account executive. Standing are Steve Holsey (left), columnist-entertainment editor, and Raymond Allen, production manager. Jackson noted that the five honorees represent over 200 years of experience.

Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray goes missing on way home to Detroit

By Jeff Mays

persons case” he has ever dealt with.

Although African Americans make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, we account for 33 percent of missing persons in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database. Cases involving African Americans tend to receive less media coverage than missing whites, with missing men of color getting even less attention.

Michigan Chronicle’s partner NewsOne has partnered with the Black and Missing Foundation to focus on the crisis of missing African Americans.

“We do have an investigation that is ongoing. We are looking for Nicholas McCray,” said Gaddis.

Gaddis said he can’t confirm beyond McCray’s family’s beliefs that he was in North Dakota.

“Nothing has been solid. He came out here to work, but I can’t confirm that he got to North Dakota. No one seems to know who he got a job with,” he says.

“I have not been able to talk to someone to say, ‘I saw him here or he had a job here,’” said Gaddis.

Brown said his To be a part of the brother told them he solution, NewsOne will had a job in construcprofile missing persons and provide tips Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray tion, but the family is unable to confirm that. about how to keep your loved ones safe and what to do if someone goes missing. Gaddis has reached out to other North Dakota police departments and put out Nicholas Alexander Lee McCray was a national alert for McCray. born Nov. 1, 1985. He has been missing Brown said his brother became a fasince Nov. 17. McCray is 31 and was travelling home to Detroit from Bis- ther to a daughter in May. marck, North Dakota.

“He was really looking forward to beAccording to family members, McCray was working in North Dakota when he went missing. Friends and family are unsure of his last known location.

McCray’s last posts to his social media accounts came on Nov. 17. He told friends he was heading home to Detroit and is believed to have been en route from North Dakota. McCray’s family say they tried to file a missing persons report with Detroit Police, but were told they had to file one at his last known location.

“He was supposed to return to Detroit for a custody hearing for his child, but he did not come home,” McCray’s brother, Cedric Brown, told NewsOne in an interview. “He would normally talk to my mom a couple of days during the week, but he stopped posting on social media on Nov. 17.”

McCray’s last post on Facebook was a routine one about how he watched the documentary “13th.” There has been no answer on McCray’s phone.

Sgt. Mark Gaddis of the Bismarck Police Department told NewsOne that McCray’s mother filed a missing persons report on Nov. 29. The case, said Gaddis, is perplexing and “the oddest missing

ing a father because his father was never in his life,” said Brown.

Five words

Brown, a college graduate who works in public relations, said it was his brother who pushed him to stay out of trou- cide or murder someone and seeing me ble. with the sign made them change their “I went to college while he graduated minds. That’s the power of five words. high school, but was still trying to find I need to take this message all over the his path,” said Brown. “He got into trou- world. I see myself traveling the world ble young, but he kept me out of trouble and using those five worlds to help milbecause he didn’t let me join along and lions of people all over the world to see didn’t want me in that lifestyle. He defi- their greatness and to inspire change,” he said. nitely looked out for me.”

Burney can be seen with his sign at Brown said his family is still hoping Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons games for the best.

“I wish I had talked to him more,” where he also works with the players said Brown. “I would tell him that we all to keep them motivated and inspired. love him, that he is severely missed and To help spread the word about his meshe still has a chance to be with his little sage, Burney uses social media to reach girl. We can help him figure this out to- a larger audience.

From page B-1 “I wrote a book called ‘The TexTBook.’

It’s the first book ever written, received via text messaging. It’s a combination of inspirational, personal development, self-help and motivational text messaging done on a consistent basis on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The one thing that is really powerful about it is that I pray before I write everything and I pray before I send them,” Burney said.

“It’s proven that a few words can save lives.”

For more information about Terrance Burney, go to @TheTexTBook on Twitter, @teamgreatness on Instagram and @weseegreatness on Snapchat.

gether.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts or circumstances of disappearance of Nicholas McCray may contact Sgt. Mark Gaddis or the shift supervisor at the Bismarck Police Department at (701) 223-1212. You may also contact your local police or the Black and Missing Foundation’s confidential tip line.

Crime Stoppers hosts press conference for family of Timothy Ward Timothy Ward was last seen on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 in the city of Holly. Ward was living in a semi-independent apartment at Rose Hill Center.

He went for a walk at 5 p.m. and never returned.

The facility is located at 5130 Rose Hill Blvd east of Fagan Road in Holly.

Training center ployers who hire people with barriers to employments such as criminal backgrounds.

Ward had stopped taking his medications and left his phone and car at the facility. He is 39 years old, 6’1” tall and weighs 240 lbs. His weight may be lower now due to an unstable diet.

Timothy Ward graduated from Romulus High School. He was involved in boxing during his high school years. He also did volunteer work for Adopta-Pet. He attended Southern Illinois University for two years, majoring in Aeronautics. He discontinued his studies due to health issues and returned home to Romulus.

Crime

Stoppers

of

From page B-1

New programs and initiatives will be rolled out this year for DTC students with the expansion of the CDL program with the delivery of four new training trucks.

Timothy Ward Michigan is a offering cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that helps locate Ward.

If you have any information regarding Timothy Ward’s location, we are asking that you help this family and make that

anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP or visit our website at: www.1800speakup.org or text: CSM and your tip to 274637.

Your identity is always 100 percent anonymous.

Funding options for students is determined on a case-by-case basis and with the help of local and state agencies for those who are eligible. All interested in taking courses at DTC are encouraged to go to the orientation days on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am. During the orientation, a student affairs representative will

help students find the right program for them, enrollment and funding sources.

The Detroit Training Center is centrally locat-

ed and easily accessible via public transportation.

For more information about DTC, visit Detroittraining.org or call (313) 221-5876.

community

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017 Page B-3

Jewish and African American congregations to celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Adat Shalom Synagogue, Greater New Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, and Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church will join together to celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in “Creating the Beloved Community – A Time for Healing: An Afternoon of Song and Inspiration.” The event will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15 at Adat Shalom Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills.

The program is in partnership with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Detroit Branch NAACP, the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC, and Spill The Honey Organization, and will feature the Adat Shalom, Greater New Mt. Moriah and Russell Street choirs under the leadership of Hazzan Daniel Gross, Deacon Harry Mont and Rev. Michael Kennedy. Other presenters will include Rabbi Aaron Bergman, Rev. Dr. DeeDee M. Coleman, Rev. Kenneth James Flowers, and the youth choirs of Greater New Mt. Moriah and Hillel Day School.

“The voice of Dr. King must be heard in each generation and among all peoples. I am thrilled that Adat Shalom will be a place that shares his powerful message in a world that needs it now more than ever,” said Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom Synagogue.

Rev. Kenneth James Flowers, pastor of Greater New Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, says that “Martin Luther King, Jr. sought to establish the Beloved Community, a community where racism, sexism, classism and anti-Semitism are things of the past. He believed in the equality of humanity and that we should live together as brothers and sisters. I, too, believe that this is needed now more than ever.”

Rev. Dr. DeeDee M. Coleman, pastor of Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church, said, “As we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy for justice and equality, how appropriate is our theme today, ‘The Beloved Community – A Time For Healing.’ This afternoon honors Dr. King in his march for unity, peace and healing for the Beloved Community as we work, share, and worship together.

This afternoon is just what Dr. King ordered, a dream materialized, a hope assured in peace, and a love for one another as we share our Jewish and African American Biblical heritage together. I am honored to be a part of this historic healing program through song and inspiration.”

The program will be followed by a dessert reception sponsored by AIPAC and is open to the community at no charge. Reservations are not necessary. For more information, please contact Adat Shalom Synagogue at 248-851-5100 or adatshalom.org.

Historic WGPR-TV62 Museum to open in Detroit on Martin Luther King Day Interactive facility pays tribute to the nation’s first African-American owned and operated television station Detroit will welcome its newest cultural institution when the William V. Banks Broadcast Museum & Media Center celebrates its grand opening on the Martin Luther King holiday, Monday, Jan. 16, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The state-of-the-art, interactive museum is dedicated to the historic achievements of the nation’s first African-American owned and operated television station, WGPR-TV62. The facility is named after station founder Dr. William V. Banks and is located inside the landmark building housing the original television and radio studios at 3146 East Jefferson Avenue.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit Historical Society Executive Director and CEO Robert Bury are among the special guests who will gather at the museum for the official grand opening. The event will begin with public remarks, a ribbon cutting, and exhibit tour for special guests from 9:30 a.m.

11:00 a.m. The museum will then

open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We are extremely excited to see this long-awaited project come to fruition,” said Joe Spencer, former WGPR program director and current president of the WGPR-TV Historical Society. “WGPR-TV was a trailblazer in many ways, and visitors to the museum will see the amazing ways the station paved the way for minority programming and updated technology, as well as launched the careers of many successful African Americans in the media.”

WGPR-TV62 was the dream and legacy of the late Dr. William V. Banks, founder of the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, Inc. and Order of Eastern Star. The station’s initial broadcast was on Sept. 29, 1975 on Channel 62 in Detroit. It was the first TV station in Detroit to stay on the air 24 hours a day and the first to broadcast Arab language programming and utilize ENG (electronic news gathering) equipment. One of WGPR’s most popular shows was “The Scene,” a dance program featuring local young people who had a huge influence on fashion and dance trends.

The station remained on the air for 20 years, until its sale to CBS in 1995. WGPR’s sister radio station, 107.5 FM, is still on the air and offers

a mainstream urban format.

The museum will preserve WGPR’s rich history through interactive video exhibits, memorabilia displays, archival program footage, and photos and bios of the station’s former TV/ radio personalities and employees.

Additionally, there are displays highlighting Detroit media personalities and the growth of black media ownership in cable networks and Internet platforms.

The facility’s media center is part of the Phase II development and will train middle and high school students how to operate television cameras and use editing equipment.

Following the Jan. 16 grand opening, the William V. Banks Broadcast Museum & Media Center will be open to the public on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 pm.

Earlier this year, the WGPR-TV Historical Society dedicated a historical marker outside the former television station on East Jefferson.

Additionally, the Detroit Historical Museum housed an exhibit that was titled “America’s Broadcast Pioneer: WGPR-TV62” from January to April.

For more information on the William V. Banks Broadcast Museum & Media Center, visit the WGPR-TV Historical Society Facebook page by searching for “Telling Our Story WGPR.”

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HIRAM E. JACKSON Publisher

A Real Times Media Newspaper 479 Ledyard, • Detroit, MI 48201

(313) 963-5522 e-mail:newsdesk@michronicle.com January 4-10, 2017

Page B-4

CATHY NEDD Associate Publisher KEITH A. OWENS Senior Editor SAMUEL LOGAN Publisher 1933-2011

JOHN H. SENGSTACKE Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997 LONGWORTH M. QUINN Publisher-Emeritus 1909-1989

As President Obama departs, we owe him our thanks

By Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.

President and Founder/Rainbow PUSH Coalition

The final days of the Obama presidency are upon us. His popularity is rising with the economy, and with the increasingly stark contrasts to his successor.

It is worth being clear about the legacy that he leaves.

Obama came to office facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The global financial system teetered on collapse; the auto industry faced bankruptcy; the economy was shedding 400,000 jobs a day. He also inherited the catastrophe George Bush had created Jesse L. Jackson with the debacle in Iraq and government misrule dramatized by the shame of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Now, eight years later, the economy nears full employment, with more than 15 million jobs created and private sector job growth at a record 81 consecutive months and counting. Wages are beginning to rise after long years of stagnation or worse. The auto industry has enjoyed some of its most prosperous years.

This isn’t an accident. Obama helped rescue the economy by passing the largest stimulus in history, the most ambitious financial reform since the 1930s, and daring and direct intervention to save the auto industry. Economic growth helped lower the annual budget deficit to less than half the level he inherited.

Obama also passed the largest health care reforms in six decades, providing health insurance for 20 million Americans. His reforms saved those with pre-existing conditions, provided the young with protection under their parents’ programs and, although most Americans don’t realize it, slowed the rise of health care costs dramatically.

Running for re-election in 2012, Obama recognized that income inequality had become “the defining issue of our time.” With his progressive tax reforms both in his health care plan and in the partial repeal of the top-end Bush tax cuts, and with expanded tax credits for low-income workers and families with children, Obama made a significant beginning in addressing that inequality.

Abroad, Obama struggled against great opposition to reduce America’s exposure in the wars without end in the Middle East. His nuclear agreement with Iran not only dismantled its nuclear weapons capable facilities, it also provided the most comprehensive and aggressive verification mechanisms in

the history of arms control. In opening relations with Cuba, he helped reduce America’s isolation in our own hemisphere and made the historic turn from a policy of embargo that had failed for five decades.

His most historic contribution was to understand the clear and present danger of catastrophic climate change. The agreement with China and subsequent Paris Accord cemented a global consensus on the need for bolder action on global warming. On his watch, America began to reduce its reliance on coal and its greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama won a majority of the votes in both his election and re-election, something neither his predecessor nor successor achieved. He governed with grace and dignity, despite grotesque and too often racist provocations. His family provided a model for all Americans, with Michelle winning hearts across the country. He and his administration were remarkably free of scandal. His administration demonstrated once more that competence could be valued in Washington.

He did all of this while facing unprecedented, unrelenting partisan obstruction, with the Republican leader of the Senate opposing him at every turn, intent on making him a one-term president. In part because of that opposition, much remained undone. The stimulus would have been larger and the recovery stronger except for Republican opposition. The national minimum wage would have been raised. A national infrastructure project to rebuild America would have been launched. Progress on making America the leader of the green revolution, the next global industrial revolution, would have been greater.

Guantanamo, the shameful prison in Cuba, would have been closed. The Voting Rights Act would have been revived, and much more.

For most Americans, the recovery was slow; for many it was invisible. Donald Trump won election promising working people a better deal. He appealed to our weariness with war, suggesting a less interventionist policy. He played upon divisions, rousing fears about immigrants and Muslims. He pledged to “Make America Great Again,” in part by undoing everything Obama.

So it is worth marking what Trump will inherit, as we head into what is already a rocky and tempestuous presidency. Unemployment under 5 percent.

Eighty-one months of job growth and counting. Average wages rising at 2.4 percent over the last year. Growth at 3.5 percent over the last full quarter.

Inflation at 2 percent. Twenty million more Americans with health insurance.

America, one of the global leaders in the green industrial revolution. A president respected at home and abroad, known for his thoughtfulness and his great eloquence. Let us hope that Trump can build on that legacy, and not lead us into a deep hole.

Trump staffers target EPA and the State Department for the purge

By Bill Fletcher, Jr. NNPA Newswire Columnist

There have been several disturbing developments over the last several weeks that give us a clue to the approach of the incoming administration.

The Trump transition team asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the names of staffers involved in global climate negotiations.

It did not appear that they were getting ready to offer them awards.

On Dec. 21, 2016, the Washington Bill Fletcher, Jr. Post reported that the transition team was asking the State Department about grants it provides to global environmental groups.

With former Texas Governor Rick Perry as the nominee for Secretary of Energy and with Scott Pruitt the nominee to head up EPA, it is as clear as day that the incoming Trump administration seeks to take the country, if not the world, back about 50 years when it comes to addressing climate change and other environmental catastrophes currently unfolding.

The disingenuousness of Trump and his allies when it comes to climate change is outstanding. Trump would like to play agnostic on whether climate change is unfolding and suggests that there is actually a debate in scientific circles regarding this matter. I hate to break it to the president-elect, but there is no more debate in scientific circles

about the validity of climate change (and the human role in it) than there was about the connection between smoking and lung cancer.

It is worth noting that the long delay in getting recognition of the connection of smoking to lung cancer was directly related to the obstruction emanating from the tobacco industry. Much the same is the case when it comes to climate change.

The Trump administration appears to be prepared to throw science to the wind and reject facts, as Trump-the-candidate did throughout his presidential campaign. But what is worse is that it appears that they want to take action against those who have rung the bell about the danger of human-induced climate change.

This would be the equivalent of the tobacco industry taking over what is now the Department of Health and Human Services at the height of the debate on the connection between smoking and lung cancer.

Key elements of the Republican Party have made it clear that they wish to overturn the 20th century. In other words, they seek to reverse the myriad gains won throughout the last century and return us to the reality of the late 19th century, with all that it involved.

We simply cannot let that happen.

The fights we are about to engage in with the new administration will decide everything.

Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the former president of TransAfrica Forum, a talk show host, writer and activist.

Why is President Obama getting no credit as he leaves office?

By Roger Caldwell NNPA Newswire Columnist

In less than a month, Americans will be forced and some will be ready to drink President Trump’s Kool-Aid. There is a reverence for Trump, and 62 million Americans voted for his platform, even though they really have no idea what he stands for and what he is going to implement.

Many of Donald Trump’s supporters believe that the country does not belong to them, because white people no longer are in control, locally, nationally and internationally. For the last eight years, a black man has Roger Caldwell been in control, and made decisions that supported people of color. As a result of Obama’s genius and intelligence, white America’s only goal was to make him look bad and stop his progress.

President Obama will leave the economy far stronger than it was when he started. Unemployment is 4.6%, a nineyear low, the stock market is breaking all kind of records, and an additional 20 million Americans are with health insurance coverage. The country is no longer just dependent on oil, and has shifted the nation on cleaner energy sources — natural gas, wind and solar.

During the president’s tenure, he can boast about creating 15 million new jobs and 74 months of consecutive job growth. More minorities have been appointed to management positions in the history of the federal government. The first Hispanic woman has been appointed to the Supreme Court, and the first black man and black women have been appointed to the position of attorney general.

As the president gets ready to leave office, his approval rating remains the highest it has been since the spring of 2009. But there has been a major backlash against his administration.

During the president’s eight years in office, the Democrats have lost over 1,000 political seats in state legisla-

tures, governor’s mansions and Congress. The defeats have destroyed a generation of young Democrats, leaving the party with limited power in state houses and a thin bench to challenge Republicans on the federal level.

It is easy to place the blame on President Obama, but the entire Democratic leadership team must also share in the blame. For the last six years, it appears that the Republican Party is quicker to the draw, and they appear to work harder.

When President Obama won the election in 2008, he tried to reach across the aisle and work with the Republicans. But the Republican leadership was working from a different playbook, and their plan was to suppress and obstruct every policy the president tried to implement.

The mid-term election of 2010 is where the Republicans began to take control of the federal government, state legislatures and governorships.

“The refusal by many Democrats to accept help from Obama in 2010 and 2014 midterms was also a strategic mistake. Some Democrats blame Obama for an executive agenda that highlighted social issues, such as transgender rights and access to birth control over the economic anxiety still felt by many voters,” said Lisa Lerer, Associated Press reporter.

Even though Obama won the presidential campaign in 2012, the Democrats were still losing political seats, and in 2014, Republicans controlled both Houses on the federal level. President Obama’s administration did not develop a job strategy for the middle states in America, and the citizens felt they were no longer living in the country they grew up in.

The final reason that President Obama is not getting any credit as he leaves office is the problem of the color line. America is changing, because there are more people of color with positions of responsibility, influence and power.

Systemic racism still exists and it is difficult to give a black man credit for a job well done.

President-elect Trump and the Republicans can blame President Obama for not accomplishing anything and it is easy to criticize when you are on the sidelines. But, Jan. 20, 2017 starts a new administration, and President-elect Trump says he is ready to go.

Blacks in Detroit 100 years ago

By Ken Coleman

streets.

Imagine a time three years before radio and 30 years before television. Imagine buying a movie theater ticket for only a dime or a Hershey chocolate bar for only three pennies.

The year was 1917. The place was Detroit’s black community. It’s the subject of my new book.

African Americans have lived in Detroit since the 1700s, according to Dr. Norman McRae, a historian who penned “Blacks in Detroit, 1736 – 1833: A Search for Community on the Western Frontier.” Throughout the 1800s, some of the most recognizable names in Detroit belonged to long established Ken Coleman black families like the Coles, the Pelhams, and the Willises. Many of them came from southern states looking for freedom, jobs and for a better way of life. Some of them found that in Detroit; others did not.

Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, announced in 1914 that he would pay factory workers $5 each day now that he had developed the assembly line to mass produce automobiles.

Blacks and others heard Ford’s call and migrated to the boomtown. The African American population in Detroit increased from 5,700 in 1910 to 120,000 in 1930 and it became America's fourth largest city. Only New York, Chicago and Philadelphia had more residents.

Most blacks in 1917 lived east of downtown, in a community called Black Bottom, a tiny neighborhood with rent prices as high as a kite. Its name describes the rich, fertile and dark soil there. During the 1800s, farmers who immigrated to America from European countries lived in the neighborhood until the early years of the 1900s. Most of the city’s blacks were packed between the boundaries of Rowena (now Mack Avenue), Hastings, Macomb and Brush

Benjamin Pelham

Community night dances, sponsored by the Urban League, were held at Bishop School near Black Bottom.

The Tuesday night event had a 10 cents admission price and attracted as many as 500 teens and young adults.

During the warm months, there was a Sunday afternoon baseball league in the neighborhood. During the cold months, a basketball league operated. Children were involved in Boy Scouts and Campfire Girls of America troops, sponsored by the Urban League.

It happened in 1917: Robert A. Burt, a 32-year-old black musician, in February married Josephine Lang, a 23-year-old white woman, the first license applied for by a Negro and a white person in a long time. In some American communities in 1917, miscegenation laws made it illegal for blacks and whites to marry.

Recorder’s Court Judge Edward Jeffries in March congratulated jurors on their “broad-mindedness” after they acquitted Levi Pruitt, a black man, of the murder of Charles Nielands, a white man.

America entered World War I on April 6. In the fall of the year, about 600 black men from Detroit were drafted by the U.S. Army and trained at Fort Custer in Battle Creek. They were not allowed to fight alongside whites and most are scheduled to serve as cooks.

David and Daisy Northcross established Mercy Hospital, the city’s first black medical institution.

Ken Coleman is an author who writes frequently about black life in Detroit.

community

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

Page B-5

Maulana Karenga and Kwanzaa’s 50th anniversary celebration

By Herb Boyd Special to the Michigan Chronicle

Paying Tribute The legacies of Judith D. Jackson and Dr. Gerald K. Smith, who both served in the positions of president and CEO of Youthville, were recently honored posthumously at the annual Franklin Wright Settlements Spirit of Giving Gala. Sharing reflections were Ann Colette Parham, niece of Judith D. Jackson, and Kevin Smith, son of Dr. Gerald K. Smith.

Southfield Human Services hosts monthly free legal aid clinics beginning Jan. 6 Southfield Human Services in partnership with the Legal Aid and Defender Association, will host free legal clinics for low income families the first Friday of each month at 9 a.m. at Southfield Human Services, 26000 Evergreen Road.

The Legal Aid and Defender Association will have representatives on-site the first Friday of every month to assist low income and eligible residents with civil legal matters. No appointment is necessary.

Doors open at 9 a.m. and interested residents must be registered by 10 a.m. Residents are asked to bring copies of their documents for attorneys to review.

Southfield Human Services have legal clinics scheduled on the following dates: January 6, February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5 and June 2.

Southfield Human Services provides programs and services designed to meet the specialized needs of residents. For more information on Southfield Human Services, visit www.cityofsouthfield. com.

Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. is the largest provider of legal services to low- and moderate-income people in Michigan and one of the largest in the nation, servicing Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, including the city of Detroit. For more information on the Legal Aid and Defender Associ-

ation, visit www.ladadetroit.org.

For more information contact Legal Aid and Defender at (844) 859-0363.

Southfield Human Services and TTI sponsor weekly Veterans’ Support Services program The Southfield Human Services Department, in conjunction with Training And Treatment Innovations, Inc. (TTI), is sponsoring a new Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program for homeless or at risk of homelessness on the first Tuesday of each month (that began Jan. 3) from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Southfield Human Services Department, 26000 Evergreen Road.

Beginning Tuesday, January 3, the case manager from TTI became available on the first Tuesday of each month from 1-3 p.m. to coordinate and provide intensive housing services to veteran families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The program is open to any veteran in Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, Saginaw, Lapeer or Genesee counties.

For further information, contact Rhonda Terry at Southfield Human Services Department at (248) 7964540 or visit www.cityofsouthfield. com.

Addressing a standing-room-only crowd last Wednesday at the National Action Network in Harlem, the Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of the organization, drew rounds of applause and his words had particular resonance when he introduced the guest speaker Maulana Karenga and his concept of Kwanzaa and nguzo saba, the seven principles.

“The principles and values of nguzo saba will not be trumped in the next four years,” he said, and the reference to the president-elect was not missed in the boisterous response. He then recalled an article that appeared in the New York Times in 1971, one of the first published in the paper about Kwanzaa.

“Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first black woman reporter for the paper, wrote the story about a Kwanzaa celebration at a school in Harlem that was guided by a 16-year-old minister named Al Sharpton,” Sharpton recounted. “Forty-six years later it is my honor that we celebrate the 50th year of Kwanzaa at our headquarters with the creator of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga.”

After a sustained standing ovation from the audience, Karenga greeted the crowd with his typical Kiswahili “Habari Gani!” and he continued in the African language before expressing his appreciation for being in the House of Justice. He thanked Rev. Sharpton for his tireless devotion to “doing justice” and then began his speech with a citation that black people of the Nile Valley were “the elders of civilization.”

With these words he immediately connected with the audience, many of whom had been taught similar lessons by Dr. John

Maulana Karenga and his wife, Tiamoyo – Herb Boyd photo Henrik Clarke and Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan. “What does it mean to be the elders of humanity, but not only the fathers and mothers of humanity, but of human civilization?” he asked rhetorically before speaking at length about black “resistance, resilience and recommitment.”

“If we can’t be ourselves, we can’t free ourselves,” he declared to loud cheers and applause. “We strive to achieve, we strive to excel and we strive to advance.” The then began a detailed discussion of each one of the seven principles — Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (Collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). He discussed the importance of “overcoming the legacy of oppression, to create social space in which we can live, love, work and relate freely, strive diligently and come into the fullness ourselves.”

“We don’t even know what we can do because oppression keeps us busy defending ourselves,” Karenga continued, his voice becoming increasingly hoarse. After a sip of water from his wife, Tiamoyo, he said that after “defending ourselves we must develop ourselves.”

Kwanzaa, he explained,

“was conceived, born and came into being in the midst of struggle in the fires and furnace of the black freedom movement. So, on this 50th anniversary of the celebration of the Pan-African holiday, Kwanzaa brings with it the joys, celebration, beauty, the good, the excellence and the achievement of African people.”

For the next several minutes, Karenga enthralled the crowd with the glorious history of the African past, “the awesome journey that has led us and the people to this pivotal point in our history and struggle.”

During his introduction of Karenga, Sharpton noted the universal celebration of Kwanzaa and Karenga elaborated on the global impact of the holiday, and this point was stressed again during the recitation of the seven principles in which there was an exchange, a call and response between him and the audience.

Karenga asked the audience to repeat after him: “Continue to struggle, keep the faith, hold the line, love our people and each other, seek and speak truth, do and demand justice, be constantly concerned with the well-being of the world and all things.”

“Happy Kwanzaa to you all!”

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Page B-6 • THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE • January 4-10, 2017

Now Accepting Nominations Submission Deadline January 27, 2017

The Michigan Chronicle is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Women of Excellence MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

awards. For the past ten years, the Michigan Chronicle has recognized local African American women who continue to break the mold and affect change in their professions and community.

These women are visionaries in their given fields and inspire those around them to go beyond the norm and strive for the exceptional. They are champions of our economic empowerment and diversity, the backbone of our religious and educational organizations, and driving forces in politics and community service. These women will join the exclusive society of 450 professionals who have previously received this distinction.

Submit your nominations today. www.michiganchronicle.com

#WOE17

BUSINESS

SECTION C

January 4-10, 2017

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michiganchronicle.com

Blackonomics:

Black-owned ComproTax is one of the best in the business

By James Clingman (NNPA Newswire Columnist)

Having written many articles on what takes place from January through April each year, relative to our tax payments and refunds, I understand that we need reinforcement and repetition on certain issues. Just as advertisers and marketers understand the power of continuous exposure to their messages, black folks need the same thing, especially when it comes to getting us to act on basic, sound, practical, and collective economic and business principles. So please take a little time to read my latest James Clingman repetitive missive on one of this nation’s finest blackowned businesses, ComproTax. The tax preparation industry generates between $6 billion and $9 billion annually, which indicates that there are plenty of tax returns to go around.

The IRS estimates that there will be over 250 million filed by 2018 with revenues of $11 billion. Compared to our percentage of population (13 percent), black-owned tax preparation businesses should have revenues of at least $1 billion. As far as I am concerned, ComproTax alone should be a billion-dollar business, considering it has some 220 affiliates throughout the nation.

One advantage that ComproTax brings to its customers is yearround services. That’s because ComproTax is more than a tax preparation service. Most of the large chains only come into our neighborhoods for four months or so, until around April 15.

ComproTax is always there, providing tax preparation training, insurance products, bookkeeping services, payroll services, business mentoring and small business consulting.

Additionally, ComproTax founder Jackie Mayfield and his two co-founders, Yusuf Muhammad and Craig Johnson, believe in something many black businesses only talk about — giving back. They return some of their profits to community activities and charitable causes and they provide sponsorships for many black events across the country. In other words, they are “conscientiously conscious” business owners.

Mayfield stated, “When it comes to tax preparation, you have a lot of choices. So, why choose ComproTax? ComproTax provides complete and professional tax preparation and bookkeeping services with the personal attention that you deserve. We have over 220 offices nationwide and we are steadily growing. In addition to our convenient office locations, we have hundreds of mobile affiliates that will come directly to you. Our tax preparers are committed to ongoing training to ensure that you get the best service and the best tax refund available. In short, we offer a vast network of trained professionals that are ready to serve you in tax season and out of season.”

He continued, “At ComproTax we are about relationships. We work hard to get your business and develop a relationship of trust. We do this by being knowledgeable about new laws and requirements that affect your taxes, being reliable and being confidential.

See ComproTax Page C-2

House of Pure Vin, a luxury experience

By Alisha Dixon House of Pure Vin, located on Woodward Avenue in the heart of downtown Detroit, is the city’s premier wine and champagne destination. Regina Gaines along with co-owners Terry Mullins and Andrea Dunbar opened the House of Pure Vin in 2015 in hopes of participating in Detroit’s rebirth.

“I wanted to be a part of the revitalization of Detroit. The spirits industry is all I know. I’ve been in the industry since I graduated from college. I’ve always been an entrepreneur and I thought this was just a great way to be a part of the movement that was going on in Detroit,” said Gaines.

This movement, similar to what has happened in most major U.S. cities, is a crucial element for niche businesses that reflect the local economy.

“Wine is the best accessory and wine is a big industry in Michigan. It represents number two and three in terms of industry and tourism, which is about $600 million each year. House of Pure Vin is something lifestyle, something cute, something sexy,” said Gaines, a Detroit native.

“I think we set the stage here on Woodward. We were here before ‘Detroit is the new black’ and Nike. Coming behind Jon Varvatos we had some big shoes to fill, To be able to bring something signature that’s not corporate owned, but a small business owned by brown girls from the D, I think that’s huge.”

“We carry between 120-132 brands including Michigan vineyards. Michigan has about 137 vineyards that are in commercial production and we’ve been very great at building relationships with the Michigan Grape and Wine Association as well as working with the government to be able to be a retail outlet for those vineyards.”

The House of Pure Vin is definitely huge and Gaines along with Mullins and Dunbar plan to make it even bigger.

“Right now, I’m in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses program. My whole goal is to work on our expansion and growth plan,” Gaines said. “So, that’s my prime objective between now and April. I see multiple locations in not only Michigan, but also out of state. We also have some different business models that we are going to be introducing. This is definitely a platform to something much bigger.”

Business has been booming since the House of Pure Vin opened its doors with offerings that include wine tastings, venue rental, delivery services and a staff that includes three master sommeliers. The central locale and the big city feel has been well received by Detroiters.

“I think it’s been great! We’ve tagged into the ‘Pure Michigan’ concept with the name Pure Vin. I think people are excited about having something that’s a

destination in their city that looks like something they would see somewhere else,” Gaines said of the response to House of Pure Vin.

House of Pure Vin is located at 1433 Woodward Ave. in Detroit. For more information, please call 313.638.2501 or visit info@houseofpurevin.com.

NAMAD, IHS Automotive awards auto brands focused on diversity Anticipation builds for Diversity Volume Leadership Awards

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

A year ago, the makers of the Toyota Corolla were recognized as having the auto industry’s highest number of new vehicles registered to ethnic consumers.

At this year’s second annual Diversity Volume Leadership Awards in Detroit, Toyota faces competition from Honda, Nissan and Chevrolet, among others, when winners are announced at the invitation-only event scheduled for 5 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8.

The special presentation takes place during the North American International Auto

Show at Cobo Center in Detroit.

“Last year went excellent and it exceeded both my expectations and [the expectations] of my awards co-creator Damon Lester,” said Marc Bland, vice president of diversity inclusion for IHS Automotive, a London-based organization that’s widely considered the most trusted source for vehicle and consumer insights and registration information. Lester is president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD). “Damon and I decided to do a fact-based diversity awards show and we looked at those brands and models and their supporting agencies who put forth a strategy of selling to ethnic consumers including women of all races and backgrounds and also Millennials because they’re the future.”

Bland continued, “Instead of putting together a panel of

ny, Toyota and its luxury brand sibling, Lexus, took home 10 of the 20 awards that were issued.

Honda captured four awards while Chevrolet earned three.

Marc Bland, vice president of diversity and inclusion for IHS Automotive, talks about his research in the auto industry during the Diversity Volume Leadership Awards in Detroit in January 2016.

Buick, Mercedes-Benz and Ram each grabbed one award.

Meanwhile, the top vehicle registration winners were handed out in the areas of women and ethnic millennial consumers, which were based on more than 13 million new vehicle registrations of 2015 model year cars and light trucks between October 2014 and September 2015.

(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA Newswire Service)

people who based recognition on opinions or perceptions, we said why not look at facts. Our awards are based on new vehicle performance. If you sell to mostly African Americans, to

Asian Americans, to women, you’ll be able to get on our stage and accept an award. If you don’t, you get to be recognized based on facts.”

At the first awards ceremo-

This year, the ethnic volume leaders, as determined by IHS Markit regions, in the Great Lakes Region are Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Escape and Honda Civic.

In the Mideast region, the ethnic volume leaders are

See DIVERSITY Page C-2

business

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

ComproTax

Diversity

From page C-1

In the Plains region, the ethnic volume leaders are Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series, and Toyota RAV-4.

In the Rocky Mountain region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series, and RAM.

One thing I personally love to brag about is the Compro Event Center, a full-service convention center built, owned and operated by ComproTax a few years ago and located in Beaumont, Texas. Managed by Fred Zeno, another ComproTax stalwart and longtime business associate to Mayfield and the co-founders, the Event Center is a spacious and luxuriously appointment venue that can be used for weddings, various meetings and conventions, parties and banquets. I am proud to say that The One Million Conscious and Conscientious Black Contributors and Voters will hold our quarterly Training and Orientation gathering there Jan. 6-8, 2017. It would be great of other black groups would do likewise. It is one thing to talk about supporting black venues, but it is much better to act upon those words.

To that I say amen!

We should support this and other blackowned businesses that believe in reciprocity and providing top quality goods and services to their customers.

For more information on ComproTax

In the Southeast region, the ethnic volume leaders are Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla.

In the Southwest region, the ethnic volume leaders are Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series and Ram. And in the Western region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla.

The nominees for volume leaders for Top Women’s Luxury Vehicle are Buick Encore, Lexus RX, and Mercedes Benz C-Class. The volume leaders in the Top Ethnic Millennial Vehicle category are Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla.

Awards will also be handed out for Top Vehicle for African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders. and to find an office near you, go to www. comprotax.net or call 1-888-884-2829.

In any case, however, use a competent black-owned tax firm this year.

James Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for black people. His latest book, “Black Dollars Matter! Teach Your Dollars How to Make More Sense,” is available on his website, Blackonomics.com.

Page C-2

From page C-1

Honda Accord, Honda CR-V and Honda Civic. In the New England region: Honda Accord, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV-4.

That’s why our customers come back to us year after year. Don’t trust just anyone to handle your taxes and confidential books.

Contact a ComproTax professional and begin a relationship with someone that you can trust.”

ComproTax was founded in 1982 and has since created a platform for true economic empowerment via entrepreneurship, by modeling a high level of conscientious consciousness in addition to merely talking about it. As Mayfield said in a speech 16 years ago at a MATAH conference in Philadelphia, “Not only should we be conscious, our consciousness must be disturbed enough for us to do what must be done to achieve real economic power.”

January 4-10, 2017

The awards are unique to the industry and Bland said more than 13 million personal new vehicle registrations have been analyzed to identify which consumer groups are winning and driving sales with top global automotive brands.

“High tide raises all boats,” Bland said. “Therefore, what we do reveals who’s doing what. What Damon

Lester and I are doing is putting some facts into the marketplace so that when publications and others publish the information, they can provide the facts to the consumers and when in the [diversity] marketplace, someone wonders what is the number one selling vehicle last year, they can see it was the Toyota Camry.”

Bland continued, “This year, we will have to wait until Jan. 8 to see who is Np. 1. We will have to wait until January 8 to see who has the top-selling luxury vehicle to Latino consumers.”

Bland noted that the awards have also help to clear up the false perception that Latino Americans don’t fare well financially.

“Last year, the Lexus IS was the No. 1 luxury vehicle for Hispanic Americans. They don’t give Lexus IS away, they’re not cheap,” Bland said.

He also said he and Lester have been thrilled with the response they have received from industry insiders, auto enthusiasts and consumers “We’re working together to educate the entire auto industry,” he stated.

Despite major snowstorms last year, the event was sold out and is sold out this year, Bland said.

“That says a lot about us being the only fact-based, diversity focused event. The fact that we’re sold out and there are CEOs who have already RSVP’d,” Bland said. “There’s proper attention being placed on this fast-growing consumer industry.”

a tribute to multicultural achievement in the automotive industry

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UAW-FORD’s

Section C-3

January 4 -10, 2017

Reaching for the stars:

Stage set for exciting 2017 after hefty helping of holiday hoops Motor City R undball Classic touches lives across many borders with help from UAW-Ford game support staff, we had another successful, well-attended tournament with all 10 of our teams coming out victorious for a perfect 10-0 record.

“The ultimate goal is always to provide our supportive fans with exciting games and give-a-ways in a safe environment; provide our teams with good competition; and to close out the year with a newsworthy athletic event for our district. This event leads us into the New Year and playoff drive towards our basketball and boys swim championships.”

Williams shared Ward’s sentiment that he hoped the holiday games serve as a catalyst for good things to come in 2017 by encouraging the community to support high school hoops and youth whenever possible.

“We love these kids, and we want to get the high school basketball enthusiasts and the entire community to come back out and support them,” Williams said. “I’m a Detroit guy and I believe in giving back to our city and giving back to our youth.”

Please see “Shining Stars” on the next page for a listing of some of the top performers in recent games, including the Motor City Roundball Classic and Detroit Public Schools League Holiday Hoops Classic.

Continuing the proud tradition of “Dee-troit Basketball!” A love for the game brought together a diverse collection of teams from across our region and beyond during the 22nd annual Motor City Roundball Classic.

By Scott Talley Special to the Michigan Chronicle Before George “Ice Man” Gervin, Mel Daniels and Spencer Haywood were enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, before Steve Smith and Jalen Rose became respected basketball analysts after long NBA careers, and even before Harlem Globetrotters legends like “Jumpin” Johnny Kline and Charlie “King Snake” Primas helped pave the way for future African American professional basketball players, they all first shined while playing for Detroit Public Schools League teams.

PSL greats have left their marks on women’s basketball too, including college All Americans like Nikita Lowry (Cass Tech/ Ohio State) and Markita Aldridge (Martin Luther King/North Carolina-Charlotte).

Aldridge also won the Michigan Miss Basketball Award in 1990.

Indeed, the Detroit PSL has produced some of the greatest basketball players to ever wear a uniform. However, to borrow a term made world famous by our own John Mason, “Dee-troit Basketball!” has always been about more than producing outstanding players. At its best, basketball played in our city has been about touching lives in positive ways, which was definitely on display during the recent Motor City Roundball Classic sponsored by UAWFord.

“We had 1,900 kids that didn’t get in trouble between Christmas and New Year,” said Randy Williams, founder of the Motor City Roundball Classic, a scrumptious basketball smorgasbord, which fed hoops fans more than 100 varsity boys and girls games in four days. And if that was not enough, the event also included more than 20 junior varsity contests.

The 22nd edition of Williams’ event was held at three sites Renaissance High School, Detroit Collegiate Prep at Northwestern and University Preparatory Academy. And the event’s impact extended far beyond our city, with participating teams representing western Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Ontario, to go along with a large collection of teams from across metropolitan Detroit and southeastern Michigan.

“Each facility was accommodating, the people enjoyed the games, and all of our teams said they really enjoyed

participating and want to come back,” said Williams, a standout student-athlete during his days at Detroit Cooley who enjoys supporting today’s generation through his nonprofit, which puts on the Roundball Classic.

A Detroit police officer and a military veteran who served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Williams proudly talks about the “5 C’s,” which he describes as service to country, city, community, church and college. In UAW-Ford, Williams, a Kentucky State University alum, found a partner that shares his commitment to our community and youth.

“With UAW-Ford, God blessed us, because without them there would not have been a Roundball Classic this year,” said Williams, who wanted to give Detroit youth and families the same type of experience he witnessed at an event in Virginia more than two decades ago.

Williams added: “(UAW vice president) Jimmy Settles and Kevin Fite (UAWFord community outreach coordinator) really worked hard to make sure we had everything that was needed. I thank them for all of their support, along with Angelique (Peterson-Mayberry, UAWFord Department director of Community Relations), we truly appreciate everything they did for us.”

When pointing to others in our community that have demonstrated ongoing dedication to Detroit youth, Williams also had high praise for Alvin Ward, deputy executive director of Health and Athletics for the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD).

Like Williams, Ward provided a high quality event for the entire family through the eighth annual Detroit Public Schools League Holiday Hoops Classic. Because of a facility problem at Cass Tech, this year’s Dec. 26 and 27 event had to be moved to Martin Luther King High School with short notice, but nothing was going to get in the way of another positive holiday tradition, which uplifts our entire community.

“Our two-day tournament is one of the best in the Midwest, matching our best PSL basketball teams against some of the best teams in metro Detroit and sometimes against teams beyond our local borders,” said Ward, who thanked King High School for stepping up to the plate as a gracious host. “Supported by DPSCD Police, local sponsors and loyal

Photo credits: Rogers William Foster

We had 1,900 kids that didn’t get in trouble between Christmas and New Year,” said Randy Williams, founder of the Motor City Roundball Classic.

UAW-Ford’s Best of Young Detroit

January 4 - 10, 2017

Page C-4

PSL History Maker Special College Bowl Games Edition Former standouts from Detroit high schools were extremely busy during the college football season. Even more important than the contributions they made in their school’s closing games, each of the Detroiters represent young men that are pursuing higher education, and in some instances, the young men have already obtained college degrees.

Following is a statistical recap of what some of our finest Detroit products produced on the field during the bowl season: DaQuan Pace, Eastern Michigan/ Cass Tech, the senior cornerback registered three tackles in Eastern’s 24-20 loss against Old Dominion in the Bahamas Bowl.

Amos Houston, Eastern Michigan/ Loyola, the redshirt senior defensive back registered a tackle against Old Dominion.

Avonte Maddox, Pittsburgh/Martin Luther King, the junior cornerback registered seven tackles, intercepted a pass, and broke up two other pass attempts in Pittsburgh’s 31-24 loss to Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Damon Webb, Ohio State/Cass Tech, the junior safety registered four tackles, including three solos, in Ohio State’s 31-0 Fiesta Bowl loss to Clemson in the semifinal round of the college football playoffs.

Mike Weber Jr., Ohio State/Cass Tech, the redshirt freshman running back averaged 4.8 yards on five carries against Clemson.

DeJuan Rogers, Toledo/Cass Tech, the senior defensive back registered 12 tackles, including six solos, in Toledo’s 31-28 loss to Appalachian State in the Camellia Bowl.

Delano Hill, Michigan/Cass Tech, the senior safety registered four tackles, including three solos and one tackle for loss in the Wolverines 33-32 loss to Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Jourdan Lewis, Michigan/Cass Tech, the senior cornerback registered two tackles and broke up a pass against Florida State.

Khalid Hill, Michigan/East English Village, the senior fullback, who has announced that he will return to Michigan next season for a fifth year, caught two passes, including an eightyard TD against Florida State.

Jabari Dean, Central Michigan/ Renaissance, the senior defensive lineman registered three tackles, including a sack in Central’s 55-10 loss to Tulsa in the Miami Beach Bowl.

Desmond King, Iowa/East English Village, the senior cornerback made five solo tackles, intercepted a pass, returned two kicks for 70 yards total, and returned a punt for 19 yards in the Hawkeyes’ 30-3 loss against Florida in the Outback Bowl.

Martell Pettaway, West Virginia/ Martin Luther King, the freshman running back averaged 5.3 yards on three carries in West Virginia’s 31-14 loss against Miami (Fla.) in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Former Central standout Antonio Gates reaches lofty TD mark Antonio Gates never played a down of college football, but apparently the late Woody Thomas taught Gates well at Central High School because Gates is now tied with Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving touchdowns (111) by a tight end in the history of the National Football League. Gates joined Gonzalez in the history book, when he caught a two-yard touchdown reception Jan. 1 in the San Diego Chargers’ season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Gates, a basketball star at Kent State before entering the NFL, just completed his 14th NFL season, but he will be viewed as forever young by the “Best of Young Detroit” and everyone who remember his sensational days as a basketball and football standout for the Central Trailblazers.

Applications available for UNCF STEM Scholars Program

The “Best of Young Detroit” wishes to inform high school seniors and their parents that the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has partnered with The Fund II Foundation to establish a scholarship program to help African American students seeking careers in STEM fields— science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Following are some of the top performers during recent basketball games involving Detroit PSL teams (RC denotes Motor City Roundball Classic games and HH denotes PSL Holiday Hoops Classic games):

Marcel Wilkins, Southeastern, scored 21 points in a 6653 victory against Westside Christian on Dec. 27

BOYS

David DeJulius, East English Village, scored 41 points in a 92-77 victory against Wayne Memorial on Dec. 26 (HH).

Randy Gilbert, Cass Tech, registered 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 69-58 victory against Walled Lake Central on Dec. 30 (RC).

Marcus Gibbs, Cass Tech, scored 26 points against Walled Lake Central.

Michael Green, Cass Tech registered 10 points and 10 rebounds against Walled Lake Central.

Leonard Silas, Cass Tech registered 10 points and eight assists against Walled Lake Central.

Kelly Broadus, Douglass, scored 25 points in a 79-39 victory against Ecorse on Dec. 30.

Carlos Byars-Walker, Douglass, scored 23 points against Ecorse.

Edmen Steward, Davis Aerospace, scored 26 points in a 46-38 loss to St. Clair Lake Shores on Dec. 30.

Jorden Peterson, CMA, registered 24 points, six assists and three rebounds in a 44-34 victory against Saginaw Heritage on Dec. 29 (RC).

Isaiah Cunningham, Cody, registered 12 points and nine rebounds in a 49-45 victory against Detroit Community on Dec. 27.

Deonta Ulmer, Henry Ford, scored 17 points in a 63-58 victory against Southfield A&T on Dec. 27 (HH).

Antonio Green, Henry Ford, scored 15 points against Southfield A&T. Malik Harris, Henry Ford, scored 12 points against Southfield A&T. Ken Holloway, Osborn, registered 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 74-36 victory against University Prep Math & Science on Dec. 27 (HH).

Jamarria Hall, Osborn, registered 11 points and 11 assists against University Prep Math & Science.

Bradford Walton, Southeastern, scored 14 points against Westside Christian.

For 2017, The Fund II Foundation UNCF STEM Scholars Program will identify 100 African American high school students who are determined to pursue careers in STEM fields. These students will receive scholarships, internships, mentoring and other resource tools. Scholars will receive $2,500 per academic year as freshmen and sophomores, $5,000 a year as juniors and seniors, an additional $5,000 for students whose academic programs require a fifth year, and a $5,000 stipend based on a STEM-related project/internship of the student’s interest.

Students must apply for the scholarship by Feb. 23, 2017.

To apply and learn more, please visit uncf.org.

Greg Elliot, East English Village, registered 32 points and 10 rebounds against Wayne Memorial.

Jesse Scarber, King, scored 19 points in a 68-41 victory against Jalen Rose Leadership Academy on Dec. 26 (HH).

JaQuan Robinson, King scored 12 points against Jalen Rose Academy.

Kemon Bassett, King, scored 10 points against Jalen Rose Academy.

Jordan Whitford, King, registered nine points and eight assists against Jalen Rose Academy.

Loren Bowan, Western, scored 18 points in a 65-55 victory against Cornerstone on Dec. 26 (HH).

Rayvon Simpson, Western, scored 16 points against Cornerstone.

GIRLS Del’Janae Williams, King scored 17 points in a 47-44 victory against Muskegon Mona Shores on Dec. 30.

Jordan Lewis, King scored 15 points against Muskegon Mona Shores.

Nina Reynolds, Renaissance, scored 17 points in a 5044 victory against Flint Southwestern on Dec. 29.

Nnenna Nnaji, Renaissance, scored 20 points in a 66-51 victory against Southfield A&T on Dec. 26 (HH).

Dalyn Henderson, Renaissance, scored 15 points against Southfield A&T.

Your Feedback Matters The “Best of Young Detroit” welcomes feedback from our community. Please submit story suggestions and other comments to Scott Talley at stalleyassociates@gmail.com or

313-590-3686

business

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

Page C-5

SBA Launches 2017 InnovateHER Business Challenge for Innovations That Empower Women’s Lives WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today announced the launch of the 2017 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge, a nationwide business competition to drive attention and resources to innovative products and services that make our lives easier and longer. Competitors vie for $70,000 in prize money provided to SBA for the InnovateHER competition through a gift from the Sara Blakely Foundation.

“The return of SBA’s InnovateHER Business Challenge presents an exciting opportunity for some of our nation’s foremost entrepreneurs and innovators,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.

“Women represent half of the U.S. workforce and control 80 percent of the nation’s purchasing power, but still make up less than five percent of venture capitalists. I decided to launch this annual competition two years ago so that we could begin to address that opportunity gap, because when women have an equal role in the marketplace and are able to chart their own paths, our nation as a whole is stronger and more globally competitive.”

The number of women venture capital partners has dropped from 10 percent in 1999 to just six percent in 2014, a trend directly correlated to women’s access to capital; only about seven percent of venture capital funding in the United States currently goes to women-owned ventures. Gender bias is well documented in this area: a Harvard Business

finalists who will be invited to the National InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge to be held in mid2017. The finalists will pitch their products and ideas to a panel of expert judges and compete for the top three awards along with $70,000 in prizes.

In Michigan, several organizations held competitions in 2016, including Lansing Economic Area Partnership, Brownstown Downtown Development Authority, Michigan Women’s Marketplace Women’s Business Center, Grand Rapids Opportunity for Women, and the Independent Business Association of Detroit.

For more information on Michigan competitions, email Catherine Gase, Lead Economic Development Specialist at catherine. gase@sba.gov.

School study asked potential investors to rate a series of pitches, some of which were narrated by women and some by men. Even when the scripts were exactly the same, only 32 percent of people said they would fund the woman, compared to 68 percent who said they would fund the man.

InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge officially kicks off in 2017 with local competitions to be hosted by universities, accelerators, clusters, scaleup communities, SBA resource partners, and other economic development organizations.

Through the competition, SBA is seeking to amplify products or services that fill a need in the marketplace and have the potential for commercialization. SBA continues in its efforts to expand the InnovateHER Challenge, focusing on empowering more women in the investment and innovation space. Additional details on the InnovateHER can be found on the online competition platform https://www.challenge. gov/challenge/2017-innovateher-innovating-for-women-business-challenge/.

Contreras-Sweet added: “Now in its third year, Inno-

vateHER continues to make women a bigger part of the conversations around innovation and investment, helping entrepreneurs realize the empowerment and self-sufficiency that can come from advancing ideas and products that tap into new market opportunities. We continue to recognize and support these visionaries who dare to innovate, take risks, create and transform the marketplace for the better.”

Entrepreneurs selected as winners in local competitions will advance to the semi-final round. From the pool of semi-finalists, SBA will select up to 10

Over the past two decades, women entrepreneurs have been critical to growing businesses and creating jobs in cutting-edge fields such as precision medicine or cybersecurity, as well as through advances in agriculture and manufacturing.

Women across the nation will benefit from investing in research and inventions that impact their experiences. A lack of inclusion in the innovation space leads to missed opportunities, especially when women make the majority of the buying decisions. The SBA is encouraging organizations across the country to participate in this important business challenge.

For more information including competition rules, go to www.sba.gov/innovateHER.

Citizens Bank invites nonprofits to apply for financial literacy funding Organizations throughout the bank’s footprint encouraged to seek 2017 funding

As part of its ongoing commitment to give people the confidence and tools they need to budget, save, invest and be fiscally healthy, Citizens Bank is now accepting applications from nonprofits for crucial financial literacy services that help consumers manage their money better.

From Dec. 12, 2016 through Jan. 20, 2017, organizations throughout the bank’s 11-state footprint – Michigan, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Ohio – are invited to submit an application for funding as part

of the bank’s Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money financial literacy initiative. Eligible financial literacy activities include: • Basics of banking and asset building • Budgeting • Homeownership counseling

• Foreclosure prevention • Credit management and repair programs • Financial management for small businesses In 2016, Citizens awarded 77 nonprofit organizations more than $1.35 million in

contributions through Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money. The program also leveraged the financial expertise of Citizens’ bankers, included volunteer outreach by Citizens colleagues and a social media public service campaign that shared financial tips on Facebookand Twitter.

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business

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017

What We Can Learn from the Black Panther Party Today

By Julianne Malveaux (NNPA Newswire Columnist)

Matthew “Peanut” Johnson was 16 yearsold when San Francisco police officer Alvin Johnson killed him. The unarmed teen was said to have been fleeing a stolen car, and Officer Johnson claimed that he feared for his life, so he shot.

The September 27, 1966 slaying was too much for African Americans in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, and folks took it to the streets in protest. Through the lens of “law and order,” the uprising was so out of control that Governor “Pat” Edmund Brown called in the National Guard.

Some thought that calling the National Guard was an inflammatory overreaction. As the history website FoundSF writes of the scene: "Perhaps the best indication of both the essentially passive character of the response of Black males in Hunters Point and the unreasonable magnitude of White fears is the fact that, aside from longrange brick throwing, less than a half dozen assaults by Blacks against Whites were recorded in the course of five days of rioting." According to some reporters, the police were overaggressive. In one case, police officers opened fire on a community center full of children because they thought the children were armed. But when the children escaped, police

reportedly entered the building looking for weapons, of which none were found.

The San Francisco Sun Reporter, the premier African American newspaper in the Bay Area (full disclosure, I got my start as a column writer for them in 1980), reported on Peanut Johnson’s death with a front page headline, “Cop Kills Negro Youth; Blood Flows in SF Streets.” I had an opportunity to see a copy of the paper when I toured the Oakland Museum of California and spent a couple of hours inhaling the exhibit “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50.” In walking through the exhibit, one is struck with a sense of both progress and regress, a horrible sense of déjà vu, an ugly reminder that for all the change we have experienced, there is a rigid racism that determines the way some people treat Black people. And our community seems to be somewhat unimaginative in managing solutions.

The young man who was killed on September 27, 1966 was named Matthew Johnson, but he could have been named Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, or let’s just call the roll. The officer who shot him was, of course, acquitted. The killing, and the acquittal, both galvanized people around the Black Panther Party fifty years ago, just as the killing of Michael Brown galvanized the Black

Lives Matter movement a couple of years ago.

A review of the Black Panther Party Ten Point Platform reminds us that things like culturally sensitive education, jobs, decent housing, food, and health care are still not accessible for all Americans, and that African Americans are far less likely to have access than others. The platform is displayed prominently in the multi-media exhibit space, along with pictures of many of the Panther founders, a film featuring Bobby Seale and other Panther leaders, including Erika Huggins, music of the times, and copies of the Black Panther newspaper. More than a walk down memory lane, the exhibit was, for me, a reminder of an audacity that so many African American young people exhibited in the face of oppression. One of the Panther newspapers had the headline, “Capitalism Plus Racism Breeds Fascism.” That is, perhaps, a timely slogan for these troubling times, but few mainstream African American politicians will use the word “fascism” in a sentence.

The more important part of the story of the Black Panther Party is the story of resistance to injustice, resistance despite the interference of the FBI, Herbert Hoover, and Cointelpro. If the Panthers could develop more than 40 chapters without the assistance of the electronic media, is there any limit to what we

can do now?

We limit ourselves.

There is an unseemly caution among African American people. Too many have learned how to color within the lines; many have been rewarded for it. Insanity means doing the same thing over and over, then hoping for different results.

And so too many, including leaders, have taken the “go along to get along” approach, forgetting that sometimes getting along is not enough.

If you are tired and dispirited in the wake of the 2016 elections, the Power to the People exhibit at the Oakland Museum might be the energizer that you need.

Perhaps you need to be reminded that a group of audacious young people, facing obstacles, and lacking substantial resources, were able to raise important issues and make some changes in the ways Black people thought about themselves. And the Black Panther Party may also have made a difference, if just a bit of one, in the way that Black people are treated.

Page C-6

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January 4-10, 2017

michiganchronicle.com

Reflections

By Steve Holsey

22 years and counting When it comes to happy mar­riages, among the most clear to see and enduring are those of Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, and Denzel and Pauletta Washington. LL Cool J (James Todd Smith) and Simone Smith are another addition.

Like the other couples, they glow in each other’s presence.

LL and Simone have been married since 1995 and have been together longer than that, proven by the fact the oldest of their four children are 27 and 25. (It’s kind of hard to believe that LL Cool J will turn 49 this month.)

You never hear anything negative about the Smiths, which is commendable and inspiring.

Flip Wilson

Vanessa Williams

Denzel Washington

Milestones in black entertainment

By Steve Holsey In 1965, Bill Cosby became the first African American to star in a weekly dramatic TV series, “I Spy,” co-starring Robert Culp. Many years later, “The Cosby Show,” that ran from 1982 to 1992, was so popular — No. 1 for five years in a row — that there was an industry joke that NBC was an acronym for “Nothing But Cosby.”

LL Cool J and his wife, Simone

When “Hello Dolly!” reached the top in 1965, it made Louis Armstrong the oldest artist to ever reach No. 1 on the national charts. He was 62 at the time.

In 1963, Sidney Poitier made history as the first African American to take home the Academy Award as Best Actor. It was for his work in “Lillies of the Field.”

And in 2001, Halle Berry became the first African American to win the Best Actress Oscar, for the controversial “Monster’s Ball.” Interestingly, no other black actress has ever won the award since, although several have been honored as Best Supporting Actress.

In 1960, the fledgling Motown Record Corporation landed its first national No. 1 hit, “Shop Around” by the Miracles, and followed with another No. 1 million seller the following year, “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes.

Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor WHICH BRINGS to mind another marriage, that of Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor. They tied the knot in 2015 but recently had another ceremony, which she describes as doing it “the right way” this time.

Fantasia did nothing less than gush about her husband on social media, saying, “I love you so much that I’d do it over and over and over again. When I met you…it’s almost like I may have known you in another life. Like this love has happened before, and that’s how it works so well between us because we’ve been here before.”

“The Flip Wilson Show” was a ratings bonanza from 1970 to 1974, earning two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

The show also landed the star on the cover of Time magazine.

Wilson’s most popular characters were the sassy Geraldine Jones and the flamboyant Rev. Leroy. Wilson also introduced two popular catchphrases, “What you see is what you get” and “The devil made me do it.”

New ground was broken in 1984 when Vanessa Williams was crowned Miss America, a first in the pageant’s long history. She went on to become a major recording star and actress.

Bill Cosby with Robert Culp

The Supremes were the first female vocal group to have five No. 1 hits in a row, step one in securing their place as the most

Wow. Taylor owns a courier service, Metro Transportation LLC, which we assume is successful. But he has a couple of scary things in his past — convicted for assault and arrested for failure to pay child support. Not good signs.

We wish Fantasia the best, and Kendall as well.

WORD IS circulating that Usher will be among the celebrity contestants on season 24 of “Dancing With The Stars.” That should certainly be entertaining, but it brings up an ongoing issue.

It is unfair for celebrities with no dancing experience and sometimes no basic skills at all to have to com- Usher pete with professionals. That would include highly skilled celebrity contestants such as Alfonso Ribeiro, Joey Lawrence, Lance Bass, Mario Lopez and Corbin Bleu.

Ruth Brown

Ella Fitzgerald

successful female vocal group of all time. Those songs were “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Back in My Arms Again.” After that they had seven more Denzel Washington is the only African American to have won an Academy Award in two categories — Best Actor (“Training Day,” 2001) and Best Supporting Actor (“Glory,” 1989).

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is the most successful album of all time. In addition, he is in a three-way tie with Janet Jackson and Bruce Springsteen for the most Top 10 singles (seven) from one album.

“Soul Train,” the first nationally syndicated black dance/variety show, created by Don Cornelius, made its debut on Oct. 2, 1971. Many of the dancers went on to become professionals, including Jody Watley, Damita Jo Freeman, Darnell Williams, Fred Berry, Rosie Perez and Jeffrey Daniel.

Among the worst were Wendy Williams, Chaka Khan, radio personality Mike Catherwood Alfonso Ribeiro and the worst of them all, Master P.

Phillis Wheatley was the first major black poet. Her book, “Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” was published in 1773.

THE PASSING of George Michael was a real blow. The singer, songwriter and producer was among the best, and he had a lot of soul and “black appeal” too.

“Kind of Blue,” a mellow, atmospheric album by iconic trumpeter Miles Davis, has been recognized as the best selling jazz album of all time. Released in 1959, by 2008 it had been certified four times platinum by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Adam Wade, singer-actor, was the first black person to host a national TV game show. “Musical Chairs” aired on CBS in 1975.

A lot of Michael’s George Michael records placed high on the R&B charts, including “One More Try” (No. 1), “Father Figure” (No. 6), “Careless Whis-

See Reflections Page D-2

William Grant Still

The first African-American composer to a have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra was William Grant Still. The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performed Still’s “Sympho-

Robert Guillaume

See MILESTONES Page D-2

entertainment

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

MOTOR CITY ENTERTAINMENT

CALENDAR

January 4-10, 2017 Page D-2

37

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ANDIAMO Celebrity Showroom, the Temptations, Jan. 27-28; the Whispers, Feb. 12.

Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations, the Andiamo box office and by calling 586.268.3200.

GOOD IN PRINT

DOUG E. FRESH, Al B. Sure, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Jalil and Ecstasy of Whodini, Force MD’s, Hi-Five, Cherrelle, Fox Theatre, March 17. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

BOBBY BROWN, Alise King, Masonic Temple, Jan. 21.

Tickets sold at the Masonic Temple box office and Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

FAITH EVANS, Ginuwine, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, Jan. 23. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

RACHELLE FERRELL, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, March 23. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

LIVE LIT Comedy Explosion, featuring Guy Torry, Tony Roberts, JJ Williamson, TK Kirkland, Robert Powell and Benji Brown, Music Hall, Jan. 21. Tickets available at the Music Hall box office and Ticketmaster locations.

“MARRIED But Single Too,” starring Bill Bellamy, Lisa Raye and Wendy Raquel Robinson, Music Hall Center, Feb. 16-19. Tickets sold at the Music Hall box office

The Temptations and Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

MAZE FEATURING FRANKIE BEVERLY, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, Jan. 27.

Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

CHRISETTE MICHELE, Ro James, Vivian Green, Fox Theatre, Feb. 14. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

MJ LIVE – Michael Jackson Tribute, Fox Theatre, March 3. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

MOTOR CITY Blues Festival, featuring Willie Clayton, Shirley Brown, Bishop Bullwinkle, Sir Charles Jones, T.K. Soul, Bigg Robb, Fox Theatre, March 11.

GREGORY PORTER, Music Hall Center, Jan. 29. Tickets sold at the Music Hall box office and Ticketmaster loca-

tions. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Joe Louis Arena, Feb. 2.

Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

RICKEY SMILEY & Friends, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, April 20. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

MUSIQ SOULCHILD, Fox Theatre, Feb. 25. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

SESAME STREET LIVE – Make a New Friend, Fox Theatre, Jan. 26-Feb. 12. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

CHRIS TUCKER, Fox Theatre, Jan. 21. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

Milestones ny No. 1.”

Isaac Hayes was the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for “Theme From Shaft” in 1971. He was also the first black person to win an Oscar outside of acting.

Ruth Brown was the female vocalist who played a pivotal role in the advancement of Atlantic Records in the company’s early days in the 1950s. Her hits included “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean” and “Oh What a Dream.”

Robert Guillaume, best known to

From page D-1 television viewers as the star of “Benson,” a spinoff from “Soap,” was the first African American to be hired for the lead role in the Los Angeles production of the long-running stage musical “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Long before Oprah Winfrey, the first black woman to host her own syndicated talk show was singer-actress Della Reese. “Della” ran from 1969 to 1970.

Ella Fitzgerald was the first African American to win a Grammy Award. She won two that night in 1958, for Best Jazz Performance and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Reflections per” (No. 8, with Wham!) and the No. 1 duet with Aretha Franklin, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).”

Sorry, too, about the loss of Raynoma Gordy Singleton. As producer, songwriter and backup singer, she was very important in the early days of Motown Record Corp.

In fact, it was she who found the now world famous building (Hitsville U.S.A.) at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. The book written by the second wife of Berry Gordy, “Berry, Me, and Mo- Raynoma Gordy town: The Untold Singleton Story,” is intriguing and a treasure trove of Motown information. It is available at Amazon.com.

Angie Stone says she is working on a biopic, but it will have to be a miniseries because “there’s a lot that happened that the world needs to know about,” she said.

On Feb. 12 at the Grammy Awards, there will be Lifetime Achievement Awards for Charley Pride (the first and only black country music superstar), Shirley Caesar, Sly Stone, Ahmad Jamal as well two who are no longer with us physically, Nina Simone and Jimmie Rodgers.

From page D-1 BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that Erma Franklin had a national Top 10 hit in 1967 with “Piece of My Heart” and Carolyn Franklin had a national Top 30 hit in 1969 with “It’s True I’m Gonna Miss You.” They were both sisters of Aretha Franklin.

MEMORIES: “I’m in a Different World” (the Four Tops), “You Got the Love” (Rufus featuring Chaka Khan), “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” (Nina Simone), “Good Times” (Chic), “Make Me the Woman That You Go Home To” (Gladys Knight & the Pips), “If You Let Me” (Eddie Kendricks), “Your Old Stand By” (Mary Wells), “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (Roberta Flack), “Groovin’” (the Rascals), “The Boss” (Diana Ross).

BLESSINGS to Jackie Hicks, Eric Pointer, Derek Dirckson, Anita Baker, Jasmen Jackson, Carl Carlton, Michael Brock, Anthony Neely, Huel Perkins and Ron Stevenson.

WORDS OF THE WEEK, from Duke Ellington: “There are two kinds of worries — those you can do something about and those you can’t. Don’t spend any time on the latter.”

Let the music play!

Steve Holsey can be reached at svh517@aol.com and PO Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.

KATT WILLIAMS, Joe Louis Arena, Feb. 11. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

VANESSA WILLIAMS, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, March 9. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

CHARLIE WILSON, Fantasia, Johnny Gill, Solero, Joe Louis Arena, Feb. 17. Tickets sold at Ticketmaster locations.

To charge by phone, call 1.800.745.3000.

Place your classified or display ad in the

Call (313) 963-5522

entertainment

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

January 4-10, 2017 Page D-3

Golf industry aims to diversify ‘The Game of Kings’

By Michael H. Cottman (Urban News Service)

Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation, says strong words about an overwhelmingly white, $70 billion business.

“The golf industry should look like America,” Mona told Urban News Service. “Diversity is fundamental to the future success of the golf industry.”

Mona, who is White, says that when he surveys golf courses around the country, he says he mainly sees two colors: green and white.

Golf industry reports confirm Mona’s impression. American golfers are 77 percent male and 80 percent White, according to the 2015 Golf Diversity & Inclusion Report. Among professional golfers, 75 percent are male and 86 percent are White. And golf-industry workers–every one from caddies to greenskeepers– are 90 percent male and 88 percent White.

Golf remains a big business in America. Some 25 million Americans play 455 million rounds annually on 15,350

links, according to World Golf Foundation. Golf generates some $55.6 billion in annual wages.

Asked why a white executive like Mona worries about racial diversity, Mona didn’t hesitate.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We want to make young people and parents from diverse backgrounds aware that there are 2 million jobs in the golf industry.”

He is matching his words with action. He created a Diversity Task Force, established partnerships with major companies and will host a diversity forum in December with major industry leaders.

Mona plans to create job opportunities for minorities with a range of diversity initiatives include: — A 10-week paid internship program with the Professional Golf Association Tour.

—The Golf Channel’s internship openings now appear on the careers website its parent company, NBCUniversal.

— Nike Golf now offers a 12week internship that explores all of the company’s divisions.

Major golf gear manufacturers also are retrenching. Nike recently announced that it would stop making golf clubs, balls and bags. Instead, Nike will focus on golf attire.

While Tiger Woods remains Earth’s highest-profile black golfer, Mona’s Diversity Task Force confirms just how rare his face is on the greens.

Clemmie Perry, founder of Women of Color Golf. (Women of Color Golf) The World Golf Foundation also seeks African-Americans and other minorities, Mona said, for full-time jobs at courses across America, including head golf professionals, course superintendents, caddy masters, and food and beverage managers.

These steps are afoot even as younger golfers are leaving the sport. About 200,000 Millennial golfers walked away in 2013, according to the National Golf Federation, mainly because of costs in time and money. Golfers between 18 and 34 have drifted off for the last 20 years, according to NGF research.

Little has changed in golf since the demographics of it’s players and staff was first studied in 2003, said Diversity Task Force member Dr. Michael Cooper. “I haven’t seen a lot of what is supposed to be taking place, and I can’t vouch for golf becoming more inclusive and diverse than it is,’” Cooper said.

“But I do have faith in Steve Mona.”

“With regard to racial diversity, this is a work in progress,” said Cooper, who has played for 48 years. “And we have an awful long way to go.”

Can Mona convince other golf industry leaders to take diversity seriously?

“If we don’t have Steve Mona, we’re nowhere,” Cooper said.

“He’s a fair man, and he’s the most committed [White] guy in

a leadership position in the golf industry I’ve seen. But can he move this boulder by himself?”

Clemmie Perry, the founder of Women of Color Golf, is looking to introduce more minority women to the “sport of kings.”

She said she has trained more than 250 women — 95 percent of whom are Black — to play golf since she launched her group in 2013.

“I didn’t see any women on the golf course who looked like me,” Perry said. “I’m creating pathways for women to enter the game. Golf is about access.

Golf is giving [Black] women access to business relationships they would never have. We can’t get the jobs if we don’t have the relationships.”

Perry, a Tampa resident, first took up golf after finding a set of clubs on the side of the road.

When Lockheed Martin laid her off from an executive post in 2012, she used her severance to start Women of Color Golf.

Even former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, an avid golfer, wants to see more minorities on the putting greens.

It’s important that “golf look like America,” Rice said.

The new Celebrity Apprentice Black PR Wire

Sixteen celebrities are set to compete for their favorite charities when "The Celebrity Apprentice" shifts to Los Angeles for its eighth season where twice-elected California governor and international movie superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger reigns over the boardroom.

Advising the new head of the boardroom this season will be world-class business minds, including investment guru Warren Buffett, one of the most successful businessmen in the world; former Microsoft CEO and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer; Tyra Banks, a supermodel, TV host, producer, accomplished businesswoman and CEO of the Tyra Banks Company and cosmetics brand, TYRA Beauty; actress, author and entrepreneur Jessica Alba, the founder and chief creative officer of the Honest Company and Honest Beauty; and

Eric Dickerson - Pro Football Hall of Fame running back who played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders and Atlanta Falcons

Schwarzenegger's trusted confidante and nephew, prominent entertainment attorney Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger.

Additional boardroom advisors this season are healthy lifestyle crusader and James Beard award-winning chef Rocco DiSpirito, TV/film producer and "Extra" co-host Tracey Edmonds, digital influencer Justine 'iJustine' Ezarik, Emmy Award-winning TV host and previous winner of "The Celebrity Apprentice" Leeza Gibbons, Gemma Godfrey, the U.K.'s leading FinTech influencer and founder/CEO of online personal finance firm Moola, and Bob Harper, health and fitness expert, television star and three-time New York Times bestselling author.

Among others, the celebrity lineup will include: Laila Ali - the retired fourtime boxing world champion

Boy George Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, lead vocalist for the pop band Culture Club, international DJ and a coach on the U.K. version of "The Voice," as well as a top fashion designer and photographer Matt Iseman - "American Ninja Warrior" host, comedian, actor and licensed physician

Laila Ali and two-time hall of famer, TV host, author, health and wellness expert and daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali Brooke Burke-Charvet - actress, host, entrepreneur, fitness expert and CEO of ModernMom.com

Carrie Keagan - Actress, producer, writer, entrepreneur and the former host of VH1's Emmy Award-winning live morning talk show "Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan" Carson Kressley - Emmy Award-winning television star, celebrity stylist, author and fashion designer, as well as a

successful horse show exhibitor who owns saddlebred horses Lisa Leslie - Naismith Hall of Famer, four-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion who earned an MBA Jon Lovitz - comedian, film and television star and former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Vince Neil - lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe as well as eclectic businessman with interests in liquor, bars, restaurants, tattoo parlors along with clothing and retail Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi - Reality television star and New York Times bestselling author Kyle Richards - actress and star of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" is a philanthropist who owns an innovative boutique concept in Beverly Hills

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PERSONAL SERVICES

HELP WANTED Service Part Engineering Team Leader – Electrical

MRS. LINN

BORN GIFTED READER

Warren, MI, General Motors. Supervise/lead electrical svce parts engrg team of 5 Service Parts Engineers (SPEs), &release svce parts into ERAPA svce sys so that purchasing, supply chain &electronic parts catalog teams are able to work on svce parts &assure parts availability to dealers. Support SPEs on potential vehicle down case for svce parts such as wiring harnesses, cables, batteries, &ignitions switches. Plan/verify regional &international electrical systems svce parts availability for current vehicle programs &new vehicle launches. Assure &support all new vehicle releases based on launch cadence &svce parts list received by Readiness team. Provide daily performance feedback, set team goals/objectives &measure team performance.

Bachelor, Electrical Engineering. 12 mos exp as Aftersales Program Readiness Engineer or Manager, planning &verifying regional &/or international service parts availability for current vehicle programs &new vehicle launches. Mail resume to Alicia Scott-Wears, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, Mail Code 482-C32-D44, Detroit, MI 48265, Ref#2048.

The 7th Daughter without asking you a single word. I will tell you what you want to know. Tell your present, past and future. Tell you who your friends and enemies are.

Why you’re so unlucky. If your loved one is true or false.I will advise you all problems of life, such as love, marriage, business and health, etc. Why suffer, you can be free from all troubles. I guarantee Sucess where others failed. I am superior to any other reader you have seen.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

INVITATION TO BID The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is soliciting IFBs for R134A and R22 Freon, Control No. 17-2338. IFB forms may be obtained beginning on January 4, 2017 from www.mitn.info.

Test and Validation Engineer

Warren, MI, General Motors. Create infotainment test procedures to cover reqmts &specs. Execute infotainment test procedures to validate that sys behaviors conform to reqmts, document Infotainment subsys anomalies in corporate systems. Use CANoe &Vehicle Spy soft to dvlp AVSS test scenarios, execute AVSS tests, &create AVSS test plans for Infotainment subsys. Use VBA to dvlp Excel Macros for Infotainment test procedures &result reports update &maintenance. Master, Electrical &/or Computer Engineering. 3 mos exp as Engineer, dvlpg AVSS test scenarios &executing AVSS tests using CANoe &Vehicle Spy. Mail resume to Alicia Scott-­Wears, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-­C32-­ D44, Detroit, MI 48265, Ref#177.

IFBs are due by 3:00 PM ET, January 25, 2017.

PROCLAMATION I, Carl Mahan Jrel, whose address is 20525 Cherry Lawn, Detroit, Michigan 48221 proclaim my Free National Name as Moorish Science Temple of America according to the rules and usages of such Moorish Science Temple of America.

The Moorish Science Temple of America deriving its Power and authority from the Great Koran of Mohammed to Propagate the faith and extend the learning and truth of the Great Prophet Ali in America, to appoint and concecrate missionaries of the Prophet and to establish the faith of Mohommed in America.

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Senior Controls Engineer

General Motors, Detroit, MI. Use RSLogix 5000 &Siemens Wincc HMI controls soft to interface with SIASUN Automatic Guided Vehicle to desg body &chassis marriage sys. Test &validate legacy &new AGV Traffic Controller soft to ensure production readiness. Use Rockwell Allen Bradley RSLogix500, RSLogix5000, RSLogix5, PB1400e, PB32 &Siemens Wincc soft to desg, test, debug, deliver &troubleshoot glass cells &body &chassis marriage sys.

Desg soft for IDC Corporation Automatic Guided Cart for the Superkit sys that delivers radiators &front strut to the body &chassis marriage sys. Use Cognex Checker &Insight vision soft to configure windshield &back lite glass cells error proofing systems that install front windshield &rear back glass. Bachelor, Electrical Engrg. 24 mos exp as Controls Engineer, using RSLogix500 &Siemens Wincc to design, test, &troubleshoot glass cells &body &chassis marriage sys. Mail resume to Alicia Scott-­Wears, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-­C32-­D44, Detroit, MI 48265, Ref#3847.

Senior Design Release Engineer

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Warren, MI, General Motors. Design &release using UG NX automotive full body (upper &under body) structures, cmpts &systems, incldg engrg &mfg responsibility of sheet metal body structure cmpts &systems for prototypes &production. Design sheet metal cmpts to meet body structure crash, stiffness &durability design reqmts such as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crash &durability standards, &Insurance Institute of Highway safety (IIHS) ratings, &product manufacturability incldg metal formability, press tool design, body shop tool design, welding, body sealing, corrosion &painting criteria. Bachelor, Mechanical Engrg. 12 mos exp as Engineer, designing &releasing automotive full body structures, incldg design of sheet metal cmpts to meet body structure crash, stiffness &durability design reqmts such as FMVSS, UN ECE, US NCAP, crash &durability standards, &IIHS ratings, &product manufacturability incldg metal formability, press tool design, body shop tool design, welding, body sealing, corrosion &painting criteria. Mail resume to Alicia Scott-­Wears, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-­C32-­D44, Detroit, MI 48265, Ref#880.

(StatePoint) Want to update and improve yourself for the New Year? A few top-to-bottom tweaks can help you look and feel your best Update Staples

WWW.MICHIGANCHRONICLE.COM

can add a bright element to your look and is totally on-trend.

By looking back and looking ahead, you can get inspired to update your look for a new year.

Staples and basics don’t need to change with the seasons, however it’s important to update these elements when they’re worn out, no longer fit, or are simply outdated. Evaluate your shoes, bags, jackets with these criteria in mind and replace any items as needed.

If there are items that you love that are in disrepair but you can’t imagine parting with, take this opportunity to re-sole and shine those shoes and replace that lost button. You’ll improve these items’ usefulness and breathe new life into them. You’ll also look more put together once these items are refurbished.

Look Back Refreshing your look doesn’t necessarily mean going ultra-modern. Sometimes a vintage look can make a bigger statement. Accessorize with a timepiece that is elegant, classic and will never go out of style. It will serve as a nice complement to any outfit, whether you’re headed to work or going to a party. To combine style with precision, consider the A168WG9VT from the Casio Vintage Collection, which has a sleek gold colored band and a digital display.

Get Groomed A new haircut can do wonders. Even if you’re growing your hair long, a trim can make you look polished and groomed. Not only that, it eliminates split ends and keeps hair healthy.

For extra edge, men may want to consider indulging in a professional shave while they are at the barber.

Follow a Trend Take a cue from the color experts and add a few items to your wardrobe with Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2017, “Greenery.” A yellow-green hue evocative of spring, this color

Tips to save and spend wisely in 2017 (StatePoint) Did you get carried away with the holiday spirit this past season? On the heels of hefty spending, the New Year is the best time to take stock of personal finance habits and make beneficial changes for the year ahead.

Here are some useful tips and tricks to spend and save wisely in 2017.

Think Long-Term Don’t neglect the future. It’s never too early to save for retirement. In fact, the sooner you start, the better off you will be. Invest through a companysponsored plan if possible. If not, look into IRAs that can help you grow your wealth exponentially.

Create Categorized Funds Consider the 52-week savings challenge. In the first week, save $1, followed by $2 the second week, all the way through week 52, when you put aside $52. Sticking to this plan results in $1,378 saved at the end of the year, as well as any interest you’ve earned.

Creating a savings account for a specific purpose is a perennially sound savings strategy. Look for banks that are fee friendly, such as Ally Bank Member FDIC, ally.com, which allows you to open an Online Savings or Money Market account with no minimum and no monthly maintenance fee. You can deposit money easily through e-check deposit, direct deposit and you’ll earn interest compounded daily on your savings. In addition, putting this money in a separate account allows you to track your spending against the account balance.

It is incredibly easy to save money with a little

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

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Tips to refresh yourself in the new year

Use Shopping Apps

Published Every Wednesday

January 4-10, 2017

online research. With a few minutes effort, you’ll find discount codes, loyalty programs or cashback websites that track your purchases and reward you for the extra step of navigating through their shopping portal instead of going straight to the big name retailers’ websites.

Reap Rewards While no personal finance expert would advocate running up credit card bills one can’t afford, savvy consumers know how to take advantage of credit card reward programs for hotel points, airline miles or just straight cash in their pockets.

“Use credit cards that reward you for the things you buy the most,” says Diane Morais, chief executive officer and president of Ally Bank, the direct banking subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc. There are often offers for opening a new credit card with a minimum spend, such as the Ally CashBack Credit Card, which provides a $100 bonus when you make $500 in eligible purchases during the first three billing cycles, and offers two percent cash back at gas stations and grocery stores, and one percent cash back on all other purchases -- as well as 10 percent bonus on rewards that are deposited into an eligible Ally Bank account.

If you don’t want to open a new account, check your current credit cards for promotions or cash back offers, which can add up quickly on everyday purchases.

With a little homework, savvy consumers can make 2017 the year they spend strategically and save more.

praise connection

SOUL FIBER: Lessons from the kissing doe

By Chaplain Pamelajune Anderson She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. Luke 1:30-33 Message In my SpiritRealm/Love Journey, I daily practice “hearing what can’t be hear, seeing what can’t be seen, feeling what can’t be touched, and tasting what has no flavor.” It’s about seeing the invisible and feeling the intangible in alignment with the sung by the Clark Sisters: “I’m Looking for a Miracle…I expect the impossible, I feel the intangible, and I see the invisible...The Sky is the limit to what I can have…Just believe and receive it, God will perform it today, Hey, Hey, ay. Just believe and receive it God will perform it today.”

a female deer; ray a drop of golden sun, me a name I call myself...” Two in the morning, unshaken, praise the Lord, and creeping along looking for QD with a gas station. Spirit Holy is silent. What could She say? “I told you…” That would have really hurt my feelings.

One thing for certain, Spirit Holy never dog, scold, or put me down.

Doris Akers sings “He’s a light unto my pathway, He’s a lamp unto my feet.

When darkness I was grouping, He showed the way to me. He’s my bread when I am hungry, when I thirst, He doth supply. And when others can’t be trusted, on God, I can rely. Glorious living, just depending on God’s Word. He’s always giving, our every prayer is heard.

When I pray, it’s with Thanksgiving. At the throne, we daily meet. He’s a light, unto my pathway and a Lamp unto my feet.” She is an awesome GPS.

Spirit Holy lifts, affirms, comforts, intercedes, protects, helps, assures, Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekand lives as that Something within. end, on my way home from Illinois, When She speaks, she grants me the Pastor Pamelajune Anderson right? And I hear Spirit Holy speak to choice to hear what can’t be heard, see me saying “go up I 69N and take I 96W to exit 140.” I’m what can’t be seen, taste what has no flavor, and feel listening to Eckhart Tolle and Joel Osteen – flipping without touching. Our life together is incredible. NOW, between my CD and XM Radio. I see a different exit and for the lessons from the kissing doe: When Spirit Holy hear myself saying “this is a quicker way.” Within sec- speaks – listen responsively, trust completely, and onds my Baby Blue Baby was kissed by a Doe “a deer, mind consciously.

Film Review: ‘I Am Not Your Negro’

By Dwight Brown

il rights legends Medgar, Malcolm and Martin, effectively humanizing these political/social deities. He candidly explores their differences and similarities. He reveals the absolute despair he felt each time he heard that one of them had been killed. His ruminations glow with a truth that is timeless.

(NNPA Newswire Film Critic)

James Baldwin, the intellectual, civil rights activist and renowned author, left behind some biting and enlightening words about racism and the status of the black community that are just as relevant today in this age of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924. He moved to Paris around 1950, eventually taking up residence in the south of France. At some point in his self-imposed exile, he came to the conclusion that he had to turn his attention back to his home country. “I could no longer sit around Paris discussing America. I had to come and pay my dues,” said Baldwin.

In 1979, Baldwin started working on his book, “Remember This House.” The manuscript focused on the lives, views and assassinations of his three friends and colleagues: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, at the time of his death he had only completed 30 pages.

Director Raoul Peck (“Lumumba”) took those few, initial pieces of Baldwin’s non-fiction tome and developed them into a searing documentary that examines the struggles of the 1950s and 1960s in a way that makes his thoughts on race incredibly poignant given today’s sociopolitical landscape in the United States.

Peck assembles archival footage, photographs and contentious

January 4-10, 2017 Page D-5

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

“I Am Not Your Negro” examines the struggles of the 1950s and 1960s in a way that makes James Baldwin’s thoughts on race incredibly poignant given today’s sociopolitical landscape in the United States. Photo taken in Hyde Park, London, England. (Allan Warren/ Wikimedia Commons) TV clips (particularly the fledgling “The Dick Cavett Show” where discussions of the state of the “Negro” got heated). He adds in modern day camera feeds of demonstrators angry over police shootings. The results are a blistering indictment of race relations both old and new.

Voiceovers by Samuel L. Jackson verbalize passages from Baldwin notes. You hear the author chide oppressors, confront Hollywood and challenge the American government. His words recount the intimate relationships and mutual respect he had with the iconic civ-

Raoul Peck and editor Alexandra Strauss have masterfully fulfilled the arduous and artful task of pulling all the pieces of Baldwin’s contemplations together and forming a fiery narrative that makes audiences recalibrate their feelings about race in America. The musical score

by Aleksey Aygi adds a piqued sense of urgency and gravitas.

Medgar Evers was killed on June 12, 1963. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered on April 4, 1968. James Baldwin died of stomach cancer on December 1, 1987. Together, collectively, they left behind a tremendous sociopolitical legacy that finds its due respect in this very powerful and enlightening documentary.

In 93 thought-provoking minutes, “I Am Not Your Negro” poignantly connects the past to the present with no apologies.

Dwight Brown is a film critic and travel writer. As a film critic, he regularly attends international film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and the American Black Film Festival. Read more movie reviews by Dwight Brown here and at DwightBrownInk.com.

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Clinisten Johnson Funeral services for Clinisten Johnson will be held on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, 11a.m., at Jordan Missionary Baptist Church, 703 Newport St., Detroit. Her grandson, Pastor Brian C. Lemons, will be officiating. Interment will follow at Gethsemane Cemetery, 10755 Gratiot, Detroit. Viewing will be from 4 to 7 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 6, at Cantrell Funeral Home, 10400 Mack Ave., Detroit.

Mrs. Johnson, formerly of Mer Rouge, passed away on Dec. 24. She had relocated to Detroit from Bastrop in 1955.

Clinisten Johnson’s memory is being cherished by her three daughters, Deborah R. Jackson, Damita Jo Ramsey and Nicole Williams; grandchildren, Brian C. Lemons (Tiffany), Idrees Ramsey, Tariq Ramsey and Destiny R.N. Jackson; great-grandchildren, Briana Aines, Brian II, Aamina Ramsey, Brice Lemons and Ahlaya Ramsey; a very special companion, Jonzie Roberts; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

James Thomas Edmund Services for James Thomas Edmond were held on Saturday, Nov. 12, at United Missionary Baptist Church with Rev. David Stanley officiating. Mr. Edmond passed away on Nov. 7, 2016.

James Thomas Edmond was born on Sept. 19, 1927 to Holman and Magnolia Mackey-Edmond in Laurens County, Dudley, Georgia, the tenth of twelve children.

In 1951, he and Nancy Lillian Stanley were married and moved to Detroit. They were blessed with two daughters.

Mr. Edmond had been a heavy equipment operator since 1958.

He worked for Nagle Paving Company and became self-employed in 1990. He enjoyed singing, gardening, traveling and cooking.

Cherishing the memory of James Thomas Edmond are his daughter, Barbara; his son, Hershel Knight; and many other relatives and friends.

Swanson Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Interment took place at Gethsemane Cemetery.

Malvenie Williams Services for Malvenie Williams were held on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016 at The Church of God of Detroit with Rev. Albert Grant officiating.

Malvenie Williams was born on Nov. 24, 1916 in Swainsboro, Georgia to Beamon and Janie Stokes. She was educated in the Swainsboro public school system. She received an honorary degree in herbal medicine from the University of Windsor in 1981.

She was united in holy matrimony to LeRoy Williams in 1941 and they had three children, Arnold, Van and Roy. Once the family had moved to Detroit, Mrs. Williams was a member first of Second Baptist Church of Detroit and later The Church of God of Detroit.

Cherishing the memory of Malvenie Williams are her sons, Van and Roy; a grandson, Andre Williams; and many other relatives and friends.

Swanson Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Interment took place at Detroit Memorial Park.

Margaret Miller On Dec. 23, services were held for Margaret Miller at Greater Bethesda Healing Spring Ministry C.O.G.I.C. with Supt. Michael A. Elder officiating.

Mrs. Miller passed away on Dec. 15, 2016.

Mother Margaret Miller was born on Nov. 12, 1935 to Charles S. Johnson and Bertha Wathley. She was education in the Detroit Public Schools and continued her education at Highland Park Community College. She received a license in inhalation therapy and later worked at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital as a nursing assistant.

Mrs. Miller, who was active in the church, loved listening to gospel music, cooking and writing poetry.

Cherishing the memory of Margaret Miller are her children, Veronica, Myron, Marilyn, Carolyn, Edward and Jerry, and many other relatives and friends.

Swanson Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Interment took place at Gethsemane Cemetery.

Thomesa Anise Varner On Dec. 6, 2016, services for Thomesa Anise Varner were held at New Prospect Baptist Church with Rev. Craig Ester officiating.

Thomesa Anise Varner was born in Detroit to Tommie and Essie Varner. She moved to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, where she attended high school.

Soon after, she returned to Detroit. She was a Christian woman who was active in the church.

The memory of Thomesa Anise Varner is being cherished by her son, Antoine Demario Varner; siblings, Essie Lee, Nellie, Lee, Ozzie, Carl, Cyrus, Garry, Edward and Harold; and many other relatives and friends.

Swanson Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Page D-6 • THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE • January 4-10, 2017

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