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Michigan Chronicle

Vol. 83 – No. 21 | Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

Michigan Chronicle Hires Veteran Journalist for Key Position First published at age 10, media industry professional Georgette C R Johnson joins the Michigan Chronicle as Executive Editor-General Manager. Johnson, a 30-year veteran journalist has expertise in marketing, community and public relations, crisis management, event planning, government, education. She also has experience in insurance and financial services. She was first published in The Detroit News Sunday Magazine when a classroom essay was Georgette C R submitted by her English Johnson teacher. “I received a check for $50 and my life changed,” says Johnson. “I already had a passion for words and communicating but this opened up a whole new world of understanding and possibilities. I was hooked.” She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists as past deputy director of Region II, and parliamentarian and programming committee chair of its Detroit chapter. For more than seven years, she coordinated film crews for ARISE Detroit Neighborhoods Day throughout the city and led the production team for the documentaries which chronicled the annual events. “We are all truly excited about Georgette joining The Michigan Chronicle and The Real Times Family,” said Publisher Hiram Jackson. Her deep experience and passion for community journalism will be a major asset to our organization. This is a period of major change for all media operations and we are looking forward to utilizing Georgette’s unique set of skills to move us into this new decade.” Johnson spent several years as director of communications for the Pontiac School District. She served four years as press secretary for the Pontiac mayor and executive office liaison for seven city departments. She led many marketing campaigns from combating recall elections to recruitment and positive positioning. Johnson wrote grants, scripted, planned and executed four State of the City Addresses, Mayor’s Inaugural Ball, State of the District Address and many other high-profile events. Before joining the

Survey: Is President Donald J. Trump A Threat to The Black Community? By Whitney Gresham Earlier this month the Washington Post released a poll which showed that 83 percent of African Americans across the country consider President Donald J. Trump to be a racist and that he has exacerbated racial tensions during his tenure in office. And 9 in 10 disapprove of his job performance. The Washington Post-Ipsos poll found Trump’s overall approval rating among black Americans stands at 7 percent, with 90 percent disapproving, including 75 percent who disapprove “strongly.”1 Trump has always polled poorly with African Americans. However, the Post poll illuminates the starkly negative view of the President by blacks at time when Trump, the White House, Republicans and their supporters have been pointing to a widely discredited poll in December by Emerson, Marist and Rasmussen that allegedly showed President Trump registering about 30% support among black voters. Alonzo White a black Republican businessman from the D.C. area told the Chronicle that he’s far more inclined to believe 83 percent of black folks believe the president is racist than him having 30 percent support among them. “Still, black folks need to understand Trump is a businessman and the only color he really cares about is “green” as in the color of money,” he said. “If you’re rich and you’re black, he’s fine with you. That’s why he got along so well with people like Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, Don King and all them before he was president.” But that’s cold comfort to a longtime Detroiter like Bernice Smith, a Lifetime NAACP member who has been active in Detroit civics and politics for more than 60 years. She notes most black folks

aren’t rich like Michael Jackson and Don King, and said just because President Trump may have a few select black friends doesn’t mean he is not harmful to the black community as a whole. “I believe whole heartedly that Donald Trump a threat to the black community,” Smith said. “For the simple reason that he attacks our voting rights, cuts back on food stamps, puts little Hispanic babies in cages and deliberately destroys their families to keep them out of our country and wants to build damn wall to keep people out!” “I’ve lived a longtime and have seen a lot of bad things by politicians, but this has never happened in my lifetime and I am 87-years old” she said. “You can’t pay me to support that man and I will tell people everywhere I go, do not fall for that B.S.” University of Michigan Law School Professor Michael J. Steinberg, professor from Practice and Director of the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative said African Americans like Smith have good reason to feel threatened by the Trump presidency. “The belief that 83 percent of African Americans believe President Trump is a racist is backed up by his policies,” he said. “From his attacks on outsiders; people who are not white and people he describes as murderers and who are not Christians pervades his policies. Starting with the Muslim ban and attacks on immigrants and characterizing Mexican Americans as criminals and rapists; separating the kids of immigrants.” Steinberg said such policies specifically target people of color. And additional discriminatory policies such as his recent announcement that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will no longer enforce provisions to take actions to eliminate racial barriers to housing along with

trump’s push for voter ID laws when he knows it will disproportionately harm people of color are proof of his hostility toward racial minorities. “As well as his speaking to overt white supremacist by saying there were good people on both sides of the Charlottesville conflict,” he said. “It just goes on and on.” Such messaging to white supremacist is strategic on part of Trump whose entire political appeal based upon playing into the fears of whites, said the Bishop Talbert Swan of the Church of God and Christ in Springfield, Massachusetts, President of the local NAACP and an anti-racist activist with a large social media following. “I think Trump was the ultimate slap in the face to black progress,” he said. It just reminds us that as far as we have come from slavery and Jim Crow we still have so much further to go. When they say “make America Great Again, they want to go back to from where escaped.” Talbert blamed much of Trump’s power on the support he receives from white evangelicals who enthusiastically support him in spite of his blatant racism and lurid lifestyle. “If you juxtapose the 83 percent of African Americans who say Trump is a racist against the 81 percent of white evangelicals who think he was sent by God and is the chosen one, it really tells you how far apart ideologically, politically, and religiously black and whites are in this country.” However, he said white evangelicals support of Trump should be instructive to all people of color in in general and African Americans in particular. “Their support of this man whose entire life has been antithetical to everything that they purport to believe in, and

See TRUMP page A2

See JOHNSON page A2

WHAT’S INSIDE

Dr. Curtis L. Ivery Releases New Book “The Wonder of Words” Includes Insight from Years of Work in Supporting Early Learning, Literacy, and Educational Equity

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A new book from nationally honored educational leader and Wayne County Community College District Chancellor Dr. Curtis L. Ivery shares more than 100 tips and ideas that parents can use to raise active readers and critical thinkers. The Wonder of Words: A Parent’s Guide for Raising Children Who Read, gives out-of-the-box ideas that make reading fun and open children’s imaginations to foster an early love for creativity, curiosity, and learning. “This book is the culmination of years of thought and passion about supporting early reading as a vital foundation to critical thinking, a joy for learning, and intellectual and

wife, Ola. We remain dedicated to helping to build strong thinkers and learners who will grow to become strong leaders in our community.” Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to The Wayne County Community College District Student Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Curtis L. Ivery personal growth,” Ivery said. “It has been an honor to champion early learning through decades of work and support with my

Dr. Curtis L. Ivery has been a national thought leader, educator, author, equity advocate and force for change for more than two decades. Ivery has assembled academic, community, business, religious, and government leaders at the table across a series of roundtables, think tanks, and conferences to develop real-world strategies to

expand educational equity in the southeast Michigan region, and across the nation. Dr. Ivery credits early reading with fueling a lifelong passion for learning and intellectual growth. “My parents were my first teachers,” Ivery said. “Wonder of Words is intended to foster that deep appreciation for the world of imagination and thought in the home as early as possible to grow the next generation of leaders.” The hardcover book will be published in February 2020 by Micro Publishing Media and is priced at $14.95. The book will be available on all major book retailer sites, as well as all WCCCD campus bookstores.

Page A-2 • michiganchronicle.com •

Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

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Trump

From page A-1 yet, are willing to give him a pass, is in order to maintain white supremacy and keep the white power structure afloat,” Swann said. However, despite Trump’s racism, Swann said African Americans share some of the blame for finding themselves in this “Second Post-Reconstruction” period because they took their eye off the ball.

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“We thought the NAACP and other civil rights organizations were no longer relevant and we didn’t need them anymore,” Swann said. “And the religious institutions became social clubs that talked about wealth and prosperity and lost the prophetic voice of the black church in the public sphere. And now we realize we need all that back.”

through on it in many ways.

Professor Steinberg from the University of Michigan School Of Law said in many ways trump told the American public what he was going to do and has followed

Smith, the longtime Detroit activist agreed.

Johnson

Radio. She started as the first official station intern and held every position and assignments from writer to executive producer and planner of major productions and special events to public affairs liaison and assistant operations manager. She spent nine years in the newsroom producing award-winning newscasts, series, documentaries, special productions and coaching writers, producers, editors and reporters.

From page A-1

Johnson has Homeland Security training and certification through the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, which has been tested with successful results in the handling of everything from bomb threats to homicides to anthrax. Johnson’s experience in media began at WJBK-TV2. Most of her career developed at WWJ/CBS

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“African Americans had grown complacent as a community,” he said. “We were basking in the progress we had made. We were loving having a black man and black woman in White House and shifted our system of support from those organizations that fought for our rights and progress.”

mayor’s office in Pontiac, Johnson was spokesperson for the Detroit Housing Commission.

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“But he’s also gone beyond what many people anticipated in his nod to white supremacist groups and his playing on the fears that white people are losing the nation to people of color,” he said. “I was fearing the worse when he was elected but he has gone further than what I feared.”

“It’s undeniable that Donald Trump is a threat to the black com-

Special productions included the Ask the Mayor Show (Mayor Coleman Young), The Mayor Dennis Archer Show, Ask the Governor Show, primary and general elections, ITT Automotive Grand

munity – right now!” she said. “If we had a black president in office and 83 percent of the white population thought he was as racist to them as Trump has been to us, there would be a second Civil War.” https://www.washingtonpost. com/politics/black-americansdeeply-pessimistic-about-country-under-president-who-morethan-8-in-10-describe-as-aracist-post-ipsos-poll-finds/2020/01/16/134b705c-37de11ea-bb7b-265f4554af6d_story. html

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Prix, Detroit International Auto Show, Mazda/Free Press International Marathon and other remote broadcasts. “The Michigan Chronicle is an historic and community institution with deep roots and amazing legacy,” she said. “I’m looking forward to assisting with more history-making moments and campaigns.” Johnson is a graduate of Cass Technical High School and Wayne State University earning a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the Journalism Institute for Media Diversity. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

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Thursday, February 27, 2020 International Banquet Center 400 Monroe St, Detroit, MI 48226 Standard Admission (includes a copy of the edition): $75.00 General Admission (admission only): $50.00 VIP Standard Admission (includes copy of the edition, copy of Conversations In Black, access to VIP experience): $125.00 Corporate Table (includes 10 copies of the edition, Conversations In Black,access to VIP experience): $1,500

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Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020 • michiganchronicle.com • Page A-3

Detroit Future City Opens Center to Advance Economic Equity in Detroit Region Detroit Future City (DFC) annouced the opening of a new department within the organization, the Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research, which builds upon DFC’s significant portfolio of research and tracks economic equity in Detroit and the region.

will use evidence-based research and employ our engagement work to set benchmarks, track progress, involve stakeholders and, most importantly, hold our region accountable for achieving this critically important goal of economic equity,” Goss said.

DFC’s reThe Center search has idenfor Equity, Entified that only gagement, and one-quarter of Research will be Detroit houseintroduced today holds are middle before several Anika Goss class, compared hundred comwith 38 percent munity leaders at DFC’s of the households in the Equity Forum, which region. will feature a keynote Additionally, in Deby esteemed PolicyLink troit, nearly 40 percent Founder in Residence of residents live in areas Angela Glover Blackwell, of concentrated poverty, one of the nation’s fore- which is well above state most leaders in racial and national averages. and economic equity. The These statistics, coupled event also will include with the fact that over half a panel discussion with of Detroit residents are local business and com- renters, leaves the majormunity leaders about the ity of the city’s population importance of economic very vulnerable. equity in the region. DFC received seed “Through DFC’s re- funding from the Hudsearch, we have noted sev- son-Webber Foundation eral startling economic and The Kresge Foundainequities that are plagu- tion to support an intening our region’s growth sive yearlong planning and the prosperity of its effort for the Center for residents,” said Anika Equity, Engagement, and Goss, DFC’s executive di- Research. The primarector. “After three years ry objectives during the of developing relevant planning phase were to and thought-provoking establish a common defiresearch, DFC realized we nition of economic equity; needed to strengthen this create an equity indicator work to drive measurable dashboard; engage civic change and impact. and community leaders, “Through the forma- and residents, around tion of the Center, DFC the effort; and develop

Brenda Price appointed lead AARP Michigan staffer in Metro Detroit Native Detroiter named Associate State Director for Community Outreach Brenda Price, a lifelong Detroiter and veteran non-profit organization leader, has been appointed AARP Michigan Associate State Director for Community Outreach in Metro Detroit. Price comes to AARP from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, where she was volunteer and education director. “Brenda Price brings to AARP a wealth of experience in community engagement and organizing, education and leadership, and work in the non-profit, private and public sectors,” said Paula D. Cunningham, State Director of AARP Michigan. “She hits the ground running in Metro Detroit. We are fortunate to have her on our team.” Price said her deep roots in the community give her understanding of issues affecting Metro Detroit, especially older adults. “As a connector of people, resources, and opportunities, I want to further engage our AARP members in Detroit and introduce others to all that AARP has to offer,” Price said. “AARP is a catalyst for change, fostering everyday innovations in aging while disrupting what aging is expected to be. I am a disrupter, too, and welcome being part of AARP in Michigan.” As AARP Michigan Associate State Director, Price will oversee education and outreach programs that the organization has offered in the Metro Detroit community over the years. These include programs, services and events such as: fi-

dex” – as well as a number of reports on transit, Detroit’s rental housing market, green infrastructure and vacant industrial sites.

technology that will allow stakeholders to track indicators over time.

of our conversatios and plans for the city’s continued revitalization.”

“The Detroit Future City framework released in 2012 identified assets that the community can build on and highlighted opportunities for creating jobs, fostering economic growth and ensuring vibrant, healthy neighborhoods,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of Kresge’s Detroit Program. “Kresge supported that planning effort and the establishment of Detroit Future City as an ongoing organization to steward that vision. Now the Center explicitly puts equity where it belongs at the center

The nonprofit is in the process of hiring a director to lead the Center as a division of DFC, which also will have a resident-scholar program to attract national experts on equitable economic development to Detroit. “The Hudson-Webber Foundation’s grant to support DFC is intended to build the research, data, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy capacity of the community economic development field within the city,” said Melanca Clark, president and CEO of Hudson-Web-

ber Foundation. “DFC has consistently demonstrated that it is an active collaborator among the private, philanthropic, and public sectors, and Hudson-Webber views support for the Center as an important complement to the economic equity work the Foundation regularly supports to drive shared prosperity in Detroit, and as an investment that will help our region hold itself accountable to this goal.” Over the last three years, DFC has released three major publications – “139 Square Miles,” “Growing Detroit’s African-American Middle Class,” and “The 2019 Detroit Reinvestment In-

“Our recent reports have allowed us to advance these recommendations in the Strategic Framework in the context of today’s Detroit, providing current data and relevant policy considerations,” said Goss. “This work is done to support our primary goal of empowering Detroiters with credible and accessible information so that they can serve as informed advocates for their community.” DFC was formed in 2013 and officially became an independent nonprofit in 2016. The organization serves as a “think-and-do tank” with three main program areas: community and economic development, land use and sustainability and now the Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research. For more information about the Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research and to track its progress through the planning effort, go to www.detroitfuturecity. com/thecenter.

NOTICE OF REGISTRATION FOR THE ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020 DETROIT, MICHIGAN TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that any qualified elector of Detroit, Michigan who is not already registered, may register to vote at the office of the Detroit Department of Elections, the office of the Detroit City Clerk, any of our satellite/vote centers, the office of the County Clerk, a Secretary of State branch office, or other designated state agency. Registration forms can be obtained at mi.gov/vote and mailed to the Detroit Department of Elections or the Detroit City Clerk’s office. Voters who are already registered may update their registration at www.expressSOS.com. The last day to register in any manner other than in-person with the local clerk is Monday, February 24, 2020.

Brenda Price nancial security, fraud prevention and caregiving workshops; voter engagement; veterans’ events; age-friendly community work; the holiday toy drive, and the annual celebration of Grandparents Day. “I also plan to work with our outstanding team of volunteers to take AARP in new and exciting directions in the years to come,” she said. Prior to her service at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, Price’s career path includes: • Democratic National Committee, regional organizer and presidential campaign organizer; • Marygrove College, Urban Fellow and Director, Office of Urban Leadership; • John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, program director; • Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, senior program office, director African American Legacy Program; • Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan, community and government affairs liaison; • Executive Assistant to the Wayne County Executive; • Substitute teacher, Detroit Public Schools.

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After this date, anyone who qualifies as an elector may register to vote in person with proof of residency (MCL 168.492) at the Detroit Department of Elections, Detroit City Clerk’s office or any of the following satellite locations or vote centers:

District 1 WCCCD Northwest Campus 8200 W. Outer Drive Detroit, MI 48219

District 2 Northwest Activity Center 18100 Meyers Road Detroit, MI 48235

District 3 Farwell Recreation Center 2711 E. Outer Drive Detroit, MI 48234

District 4 WCCCD Eastern Campus 5901 Conner St. Detroit, MI 48234

District 5 Department of Elections 2978 W. Grand Blvd. Detroit, MI 48202

District 6 WCCCD Downtown Campus 1001 W. Fort Street Detroit, MI 48226

Detroit City Clerk’s Office 2 Woodward Ave., #200 Detroit, MI 48226

District 7 Adams Butzel Recreation Complex 10500 Lyndon St. Detroit, MI 48238

HOURS OF OPERATION: •Regular business hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Department of Elections) Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (All other locations) •Saturday, March 7th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 8th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. •Election Day, Tuesday, March 10th from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the City of Detroit will be voting in the Primary for the office of the President of the United States. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Wayne County will be voting on the following authority millage as presented and listed below: WAYNE COUNTY: RENEWAL OF WAYNE COUNTY ART INSTITUTE AUTHORITY MILLAGE Full text of the ballot proposal may be obtained at https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/ clerk/election-information.aspx or at the Wayne County Clerk’s Office, 2 Woodward Ave., Room 201, Detroit, MI 48226. A sample ballot may be viewed at mi.gov/vote. Persons with disabilities needing accommodations should contact the Department of Elections at 313-876-VOTE (8683).

Janice M. Winfrey Detroit City Clerk

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Two years before his death, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King wrote that “there is no way merely to find work, or adequate housing, or quality-integrated schools for Negroes alone.” We could only achieve these goals, he said, by pursuing them for all people -- regardless of their race, gender, class or creed. Dr. King’s belief in universal programs as the key to our nation’s shared prosperity has long been central to the African American tradition. For centuries, Black men and women have struggled to guarantee human rights and economic security--not just for themselves, but for everyone. Their perseverance in this universal cause Nina Turner has resulted in the greatest strides towards progress that this country has ever made. For example, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished chattel slavery, established equal protection under the law, and protected the right to vote, benefited people of all races. Reconstruction, which created public schools in the South and advanced the interests of poor farmers, benefited people of all races. And the Civil Rights Movement, which brought an end to the Jim Crow era, benefited people of all races. Even accomplishments that we do not associate exclusively with civil rights and racial justice would not have been realized without Black leadership and struggle. Social Security and Medicare, key pillars of our safety net, were won by working-class movements in which African Americans played a central role. Millions upon millions of elderly people have been rescued from poverty thanks to their efforts. The elites who would rather see us divided have tried to limit these victories every step of the way. At times, like during the early Jim Crow years, they resorted to open violence, hoping to terrorize us into submission. More recently they have relied on the less visible but no less real violence of budget cuts and austerity. But because of the overwhelming popularity of policies in which everyone has a stake, they have not been able to do away with these hard-earned achievements for good. This history provides a lesson: rather than adopting a narrow focus on the differences between us, the best way to advance the age-old struggle for racial justice and freedom is through universality. African Americans are 50% more likely than our white sisters and brothers to be uninsured. This together with the stresses of economic hardship leaves us with

HIRAM E. JACKSON Publisher AJ WILLIAMS Interim Managing Editor | City.Life.Style. | Entertainment Editor SAMUEL LOGAN Publisher 1933-2011

JOHN H. SENGSTACKE Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997

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Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020 | Page A-4

In Honoring King’s Legacy, We Must Commit to The Work That Cost Him His Life

By Nina Turner

Redefining Suffrage, Unerasing Black Women By Gwen McKinney

worse health outcomes by almost any measure. We suffer from higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and maternal mortality. The only way out of this public health crisis is through a Medicare for All system that provides every single person with access to the kind of care that the rich take for granted as their birthright. We are 25% less likely to graduate from college yet have more student debt than anyone else. Black women like myself are the most indebted of all. I have served as a City Councilwoman and a State Senator and like millions of others still have monthly student loan payments. Free public higher education and the cancellation of student debt would enable millions of African Americans to get the education they want but currently cannot afford. We are twice as likely to be unemployed, and the jobs we do have are more likely to pay starvation wages. This is the reason why the poverty rate among African Americans is so much higher than the national average. There is no better anti-poverty program than a federal jobs guarantee and labor laws that make it easier to unionize. A Green New Deal would make desperately needed investments in our communities and go a long way towards addressing the environmental racism African Americans in urban and rural areas alike endure. A national housing program would benefit African Americans who, because of the history of redlining and segregation, are disproportionately renters, living month to month at the whims of predatory landlords and forces of gentrification. The list goes on and on. Those who benefit from the status quo will tell us that these are radical ideas that the American people will never accept. But we should remember that the abolition of slavery was a radical idea until it was not. Social Security and Medicare were radical ideas until they were not. The integration of public schools was a radical idea until it was not. For people in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, public goods that alleviate the stress caused by economic insecurity are not pie in the sky proposals. They are much deserved and long overdue. More than fifty years after Reverend King’s death, we have yet to achieve the basic level of economic security for all that he understood to be a precondition for true racial justice. But as the great civil rights leader Ella Baker put it, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.” This year, we have an opportunity to take a step in that direction. So, in the months to come let us dedicate ourselves to bringing people together around a vision that works for all of us. If we do, we can finally create the foundation for a truly just and free society. Nina Turner is a former Ohio state senator and the national co-chair of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

Sojourner Truth. Harriet Tubman. Ida B. Wells. Shirley Chisholm. Rosa Parks. These household names, spanning a couple of centuries, qualify for the Suffrage Hall of Fame. Almost a buzz word synonymous with the Year of the Woman, in 2020 the centerpiece of suffrage will be marked by the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women’s voting rights. Referred to as a bold justice movement, suffrage will be celebrated as America’s march to full democracy. In popular Gwen McKinney parlance, can we unpack the significance of suffrage and inclusive democracy for Black women? Words matter. But the impact and impetus of their meaning matter more. Here’s a composite definition from online dictionaries: Suffrage is the right to vote in public elections. Universal suffrage means everyone gets to vote, as opposed to only men or property holders… For example, after trying for about a hundred years, American women were granted suffrage and voted for the first time in 1920. The 19th Amendment was adopted Aug. 18, 1920, after the required number of states ratified the constitutional measure. Though many Black women led suffrage campaigns, the 19th Amendment put white women on an empowerment tract to electoral engagement. Interestingly, the suffrage movement, festooned in the symbolic color white, is often portrayed through a narrow window uncomplicated by the strictures of race and power that framed the Amendment then and now. Look no further than the historical landscape of that moment. Congressional approval of the Act in 1919 was the same year as the infamous Red Summer, a tumultuous white supremacist reign of terror and lynching in Black communities across the country. One year after the 19th Amendment was adopted in 1921 racist mobs set ablaze Tulsa, OK, decimating what was revered as Black Wall Street. The Year of the Woman battle cry is perversely at odds with Black women’s unbroken quest for liberation. Although lauded today as the most reliable and consistent voting bloc for democratic change, we’ve historically endured being marginalized, dis-

missed and erased. Black women’s demand to be equal and heard extends beyond the century run-up to the 19th Amendment. It was intersectional and linked with abolition of slavery, anti-lynching battles, literacy drives, sharecropper land rights campaigns and the establishment of a radical Black press that was led by many Black women suffragists. Our suffrage quest continued through the Civil Rights Era and passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which finally, for the first time, delivered the franchise to Black people in the South. Rewind centuries earlier. Our demand to self-govern predates the formation of this republic, beginning in 1619 when the first Africans, snatched from their ancestral home, landed on these shores. Those nameless suffrage pioneers joined with their men to resist and carry the torch for all people – Native Americans, Chinese immigrants and even Irish indentured servants – denied fundamental liberty. Then and now, we wage claims to own our bodies, voices and choices. We build on that truth by redefining suffrage beyond the limited act of casting a ballot. For Black women, the narrative is rooted in telling herstory, unerasing the achievements of yesterday and the possibilities for the future. This centennial year is an appropriate time to redefine universal suffrage through the prism of triumphs and tragedies. Trust Black women must be more than a cliché. Unerased Black Women promises to create brave spaces and in alliance with Black newspapers across the country, unfurl a frank public conversation about Suffrage, Race, and Power. Through a digital destination, we’ll turn our ear to a beating heart of resilience, resistance, words and deed. Daughter of slaves, descendants of warriors, writers, journalists, teachers, mentors, activists – universal suffragists all – have something to say. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. Anna Julia Cooper. Mary Ann Shadd. Harriet Jacobs. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin. Mary McLeod Bethune. Fannie Lou Hamer. Ella Baker. Gertrude Bustill-Mossell. Charlotta Bass. Marvel Jackson Cooke. Most of these women can’t claim household name status in the traditional suffrage roll call. But their noble stories will be unerased. Stay tuned as suffrage, redefined, meets our truth. Gwen McKinney is campaign director of an initiative, “Suffrage. Race. Power: Unerased Black Women,” that will launch in March.

Renewing Martin Luther King’s Dream by Renewing Our Minds By Dr. Kelvin “Kelly” Wright “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” a scripture reading from Romans 12:2. Transformation is something the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior was in pursuit of. He was seeking to fulfill his God given dream to help lead all people to the promise land of true brotherhood. On this national holiday we observe the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a drum major who followed the drumbeat Dr. Kelvin Wright of a different drum. He did not follow the world’s cadence of anger, discord and violence but chose to operate in the unforced rhythm of God’s grace to take a stand against racism, militarism, injustice and poverty. He sought to serve others in his quest to achieve equality in civil and economic rights for Black Americans, along with a demand for criminal justice reforms. In 1963, I remember as a child sitting at home in Hagerstown, Maryland with my mother and grandmother in our living room watching a network news report on the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. The report showed Dr. King delivering what would become a speech literally heard around the world and echoed throughout history, “I Have A Dream.” It was a dream that set into motion the transformation of race relations in America. Dr. King’s leadership in the non-violent struggle for civil rights earned him the distinction of being called a “drum major for justice, a drum major for peace.” But to his four children, he was sim-

ply known as “daddy.” Dr. King was mindful of his children when he delivered his famous address, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. King’s youngest child, Bernice King, has followed in her father’s footsteps, becoming an ordained minister and continues his legacy. She believes that her dad’s dream for his children to be judged by the content of their character has, in many ways, become a reality. She says, “new generations of people have benefited greatly because of the dream but we still have more work to do.” King recently talked to me about her reflections of her father. Her dad’s incredible contribution to the world, she explained, is a result of his extraordinary faith in God. As I talked with her, she told me that everything her daddy did, came out of his personal commitment to Jesus Christ. King recalls how her dad’s deep faith helped him overcome the pressures from leading the non-violent struggle for Civil Rights, particularly when the burden became too heavy to bear: “I remember in the beginning when he was about to give up because he got a call that threatened to blow up his home where my mom and my sister were. He was in the kitchen and just before midnight, he told God; I’m at the end of my powers. I’m just down here trying to do right. Why do I have to deal with all of these evil and wicked people? Why are people so mean-spirited? Why can’t people understand goodness and the good works we’re trying to do? Why is there so much hate?” King continued that her dad had grown weary and felt he could not continue; he was at the end of his rope. She explained to me; “It was at that point that he said he heard the voice of God say; “Martin Luther King, Junior! Stand up for justice! Stand up for righteous-

ness! And I will be with you until the end.” Essentially, Dr. King went through what I refer to as a “Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane” moment. King was facing the very real threat of death for seeking to do what was right in the eyes of God. He knew in the eyes of man, if he would continue to carry his cross of love for humanity, the very depravity of mankind could crush him and his family. But from that encounter with God in his kitchen, his extraordinary faith compelled him to keep moving forward with his noble cause, even in the face of death. Scripture tells us when we encounter adversity as King surely did, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore, we do not lose heart.” Of her daddy’s accomplishments, Bernice humbly says, “It’s emotional to know that you’re connected to a man who had such a great impact on this world. It’s a humbling experience to know that he’s my dad.” Dr. King, a dedicated Baptist minister with brilliant oratory skills, the academic prowess of a scholar, and the wisdom of a prophet, faithfully and courageously challenged America to embrace his dream of a better, stronger and united America. I asked Bernice how we have gone astray in fulfilling that dream. “It goes back to economics and spirituality. Those two issues I think are very critical. And the whole fervor of materialism in our society and self-centeredness has taken us away. And so, instead of people focusing on God first and everything else next, we’ve reversed those priorities. So, our values and our priorities are off.” She adds; “Daddy talked about this in 1967. He forewarned that if we’re not careful, we will become a “thing” oriented society and not “people centered” and all of these different crises are going to emerge. And that’s what’s been happening.”

With that, King’s daughter acknowledged how the world has shattered her daddy’s dream. She points out how we are still confronted with poverty, crippling illiteracy, poor education, and senseless violence. “You think about what happened in Newtown, Connecticut. I mean that should have jolted us like nothing else. We saw 6-year-olds losing their life so senselessly. I’m thinking about Chicago and all of those young people who are killing each other. What has happened to a society that has turned away from that kind of situation and not realize this speaks to who “we are.” as a nation and a cancer in our society. The situation with Trayvon Martin, everyday there are several Trayvon Martins; not in the black community but in the Hispanic/Latino communities and other communities. Were he living today, Dr. King would listen to politicians, civil rights and faith leaders agitate bloviate, instigate and aggravate. Then he would seek to elevate, motivate and demonstrate God’s view for healing the painful wounds of the past and bridge the deep divide with the bonds of reconciliation. In 1963, as he sat in a Birmingham jail, he wrote about becoming an extremist to deal with the extreme issues of hate and division. He advised Americans to become more like Jesus as an extremist in love — “your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them who despitefully use you.” Reflecting on King’s legacy, we would serve ourselves well if we could follow his example of spiritual depth, courageous leadership and unselfish service. Like King, we must seek transformation by the renewing of our minds. Let us remember that Dr. King did not conform to the culture of hate but followed the pattern of love. He said; “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Let’s continue the King dream and legacy by boldly and courageously spreading God’s love, freedom and peace.

Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020 • michiganchronicle.com • Page A-5

Property Is Power

Before You Buy Inspect Know before you buy. You are at a point where you cannot hide your excitement. The day you have been waiting for is closing in and as tempting as it may be…do not surpass a home inspection before signing on the dotted line. It’s Anthony O. Kellum easy to get swept up in the excitement of buying a new home but it is imperative to schedule an inspection soon after you are under contract. I know you may not want to fork up more money since you are about to make one of the most expensive purchases in your lifetime. And yes, it will cost some money up front, but it is well worth the money. Hiring a professional home inspector is an integral part in the homebuying process and when done can save you a ton of money, time and heartache in the long run. Home inspections are one of the most common contract contingencies from home buyers. Whether it is your first purchase or sixth, home inspections are almost always recommended. It is a detailed look at the home from the basement to the roof and everything in between including the outside. As previously mentioned, it is an important factor in the purchasing process, and it helps the buyers make informed purchasing decisions about issues the home may have that need repair prior to purchasing. It is not a requirement from the mortgage lender nor the realtor however it is highly recommended to ensure you are making a good investment. No home is perfect but know before you buy. Some of the top reasons home inspections are important: Peace of Mind: Buying a

home is one of the largest purchases and investments people will make in a lifetime. Buying a house is not a cheap purchase and there are many costs associated with this purchasing/ investment decision. Bar none having a peace of mind is worth the money spent. The many reasons for an inspection is to ensure for the most part the home is safe and in good condition. If you decide not to have a home inspection, you may be creating additional undue stress and anxiety. Relatively Inexpensive: Home inspections range between $300 - $600 depending on the size of the home. Since making the decision to buy a home is such a large investment it is worth the money spent and should help make the decision to inspect easy. Buyer’s who decide to waive their right to inspect often regret that decision of not spending a few hundred dollars up front ~ in the future. Uncover Safety Issues: The home inspection is your opportunity to thoroughly investigate the home you want to buy. No home is perfect and there will be some issues, however some issues may be no big deal while others may be serious safety concerns. The purpose of the home inspection is not to find perfection but to determine the home has no glaring safety issues. Structural Issues: One of the primary reasons to have a home inspection is to determine if there are any structural issues with the home. One of the most important components to a home is the structure/foundation. Structural damage could cost thousands of dollars to fix. If discovered during the home inspection you can avoid this expense in the future if you have a home inspection prior to purchasing. Reveal Possible Pest & Insect Problems: Depending on where you buy, the likelihood of having a pest or insect issue varies. There are numerous types of insects and pests that may create serious problems in a home. Termites could be

The many reasons for an inspection is to ensure for the most part the home is safe and in good condition. If you decide not to have a home inspection, you may be creating additional undue stress and anxiety. a major problem if not discovered. Termites cause approximately $5 billion in property damage yearly. Other insects commonly known to destroy wood include, carpenter ants, and powder post beetles. Forecast Potential Future Expenses: It’s important to know what to expect when purchasing property and the potential future expenses that may accompany the purchase. Buying a home is expensive and can deplete the buyer’s account and if issues are detected during the inspection, you may be able to predict future expenses and properly save for them.

ed and although the home inspection is not perfect it provides you with a much better idea of what you are buying. It will cost you a little bit if money but in the long run it is well worth the price. “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.” — Warren Buffett Anthony O. Kellum, Speaker, Author and TV Host NMLS

# 1267030 President of Kellum Mortgage, LLC Powered by Local Lending Group, LLC NMLS # 1567678. Connect with me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/propertyispower. O: 248-599-1624 E: anthony@kellummortgage.com Anthony O. Kellum is on a mission to save the American Dream of Homeownership. Access to credit and serving distressed communities remains my chief focus.

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Price Negotiations: If there are major problems with the home they will be found during the inspection, depending on the severity of issues it may be appropriate to renegotiate the terms of the original offer.

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Negotiate Seller Repairs: The buyer is the only person who can determine what home improvements need to be made before moving forward with the sale. After the home inspection is completed, you will have the opportunity to request the homeowner makes the repairs to the home. The homeowner will have the opportunity to agree or not to your request. Without the inspection you are not provided the opportunity to request the repairs be made. As you can see a home inspection is highly recommend-

If I could do one thing, I’d tell the world she counts. Communities are as rich and diverse as their needs. That’s why completing the 2020 Census matters. It’s a safe and confidential step toward having an impact on how public funds flow through our communities. That could mean more resources in your area for special needs. It’s within your control.

Learn more at:

2020CENSUS.GOV Paid for by U.S. Census Bureau.

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| Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

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AT&T Michigan volunteers posed for a group photo while planting a memorial garden at Cass Community Social Services as part of Believe Detroit.

Improving outcomes for Detroiters

AT&T volunteer Victoria Griffin mentored with students from Detroit Carver STEM Academy as they participated in STEM activities at STARBASE located on Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

Detroit families came to the AT&T Linwood Garage to receive Thanksgiving dinners. Forty Believe Detroit volunteers worked with Forgotten Harvest to set up and unload boxes, distribute food and assist families in getting their food.

AT&T Michigan is committed to making an impact in the communities it serves and that is the mission that led to the creation of the Believe Detroit initiative. Launched in 2019, Believe Detroit is a community and employee engagement initiative aimed at promoting educational opportunities, academic achievement and a path to self-sufficiency for the Detroit community. “We are committed to connecting Detroiters with opportunities that will change the trajectory of their lives for the better and our team will proudly be engaged in the effort every step of the way,” said AT&T Michigan President David Lewis. Believe Detroit is an extension of AT&T Believes, a larger company-wide initiative aiming to create positive change in local communities. AT&T Michigan teamed up with 16 Detroit organizations, helping them expand current efforts and create new opportunities that would provide Detroiters with resources to improve their future outcomes. The signature event of the initiative was the 2nd annual Believe Detroit Technology Challenge that was held on October 18, 2019 at Wayne State University. The challenge brought 150 students from five Detroit high schools together to learn how to build websites. The websites centered around AT&T’s “It Can Wait” initiative and the Detroit Pistons “Basketball for All” initiative. This effort, in partnership with Rebrand Cities and WordPress,

AT&T Michigan employees built benches with book storage in collaboration with Sit On It Detroit. The benches are placed at Detroit bus stops so residents can have a place to sit and the opportunity to read a book.

AT&T volunteers worked with Cass Community Social Services on Nov. 6th to collect more than 600 abandoned tires in the city and recycled them into welcome mud mats to sell. The project is part of the Green Industries program that employs former homeless men. provided students with real-life skills they can use in their future careers. More than 40 AT&T Michigan employees were on-hand providing the students with assistance. As the holiday season approached, AT&T employees

accelerated their efforts to help Detroiters. Believe Detroit hosted a pop-up food pantry with Forgotten Harvest so families would have food to make a Thanksgiving meal. Throughout the entire holiday season, AT&T employees stepped up to help Salvation Army raise money to provide food and shelter to those in need. AT&T Michigan served as the first-ever corporate bell-ringing sponsor for Salvation Army, and employees spent their spare time during the holiday season and into January as bell-ringers in communities all across the state. In the first year of the initiative, Believe Detroit impacted more than 5,000 Detroiters, providing more than 750 volunteer opportunities for AT&T employees, who spent more than 3,000 hours volunteering in the city. AT&T is proud of the impact Believe Detroit and AT&T employees have made during thee first year of the initiative and are eager to grow that impact in 2020.

AT&T President David Lewis and AT&T PR Manager Teresa Mask volunteered as bell-ringers during the 2019 holiday season. AT&T Michigan served as the official corporate bell-ringing sponsor for the Salvation Army of Southeast Michigan’s Red Kettle Campaign.

AT&T Michigan David Lewis took a selfie while addressing the students participating in the 2nd annual Believe Detroit Technology Challenge.

Lewis continued: “We are extremely proud of the impact we have been able to make through the Believe Detroit initiative in its first year and are eager to continue this work to make an everlasting impact on the Detroit community.”

Page B-2 • michiganchronicle.com • Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

ASU President Speaks @ Detroit’s 70th Founders’ Day Scholarship Luncheon! By Kenneth Mullinax Alabama State University’s President is the keynote speaker at Detroit’s 70th Founders’ Day Scholarship Luncheon & Dance, which is hosted by the ASU alumni chapter for Detroit’s greater metropolitan area. Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. serves as the University’s 15th president, which is the oldest, state-sponsored, historically black college or university (HBCU) in America. The University was founded in 1867 by nine former slaves. He graduated with an undergraduate degree from ASU in 1992 (serving as its Student Government Association president), Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. and received his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University. Ross served in the Alabama State Senate while also being employed in leadership positions in higher education. The scholarship luncheon will be held on Feb. 15 (Saturday) from 1:30 p.m. till 4 p.m. (doors open at 10:45 a.m) at Stefan’s Banquet Hall, which is located at 26355 W. Chicago Rd., Redford, Mich. In addition to the President’s address, the event also includes a presentation by Detroit’s ASU alumni chapter of over $25,000 in Alabama State University scholarships and one-time emergency assistance grants to Detroit’s greater metropolitan area students who are enrolled at the Montgomery, Ala. school. After the formal ceremony, a dance will follow. ASU’s Detroit alumni have one of the most active Alabama State University alumni chapters in the nation. Organized in the 1940’s, it has a proud history of providing leadership, scholarship, and service to the metro-Detroit community. For more information on attending the event: Contact ASU’s Detroit alumni chapter representatives at 313-4188489 or 248-515-5831.

Bank of America Announces Open Enrollment for 2020 Student Leaders Program

High School Juniors and Seniors Encouraged to Apply

Bank of America Student Leaders program is now accepting applications for the 2020 program. For Metro Detroit students interested in a rewarding summer internship, with a passion for community engagement, this summer initiative just may be what you seek. The Student Leaders program is part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to recognize youth who lead and serve in their communities and beyond, connecting young people with the tools and resources that will help them make communities better. Each year, the program awards paid summer jobs to high school juniors and seniors at a local nonprofit organization, and participation in a national leadership summit in Washington D.C. The application for the 2020 Student Leaders program is open now through January 31, 2020. To become a Leader, you must:

Student

of recommendation from a teacher, guidance counselor, or school administrator. Contact your recommender as soon as possible to provide them with the requirements listed at the end of the application. You will need to upload the letter no later than January 31, 2020. Prospective Student Leaders can apply online at www.bankofamerica.com/studentleaders

• Currently be a junior or senior in high school in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb Counties • Be able to participate in an 8-week paid internship at a local nonprofit organization and work 35 hours a week • Be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship through the

end of September 2020 • Be able to participate in a week-long Student Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. (July 13 - July 18, 2020 with all expenses paid. This week will be part of your 8-week experience.) • Be a student in good standing at your school • Obtain and submit a letter

“The Student Leaders program has proven that a more diverse and inclusive society advances economic mobility,” said Matt Elliott, Michigan Market President, Bank of America. “It provides promising young people with leadership skills and meaningful workforce experience.” In the Metro Detroit region, Bank of America partners with Focus:HOPE to provide paid internships to the Student Leaders who will also participate in a leadership summit in Washington D.C. and learn financial skills through Bank of America’s Better Money Habits®.

Parks & Recreation to host a ‘Southfield Celebrates Black History Month’ kick-off event The city of Southfield Parks & Recreation department will host a ‘Southfield Celebrates Black History Month’ kick-off event on Saturday, February 1 from 4-9 p.m. in the Southfield Pavilion, 26000 Evergreen Road. The kick-off event will feature the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, a lecture by museum founder Dr. Khalid el-Hakim, a Black-owned Business Marketplace, music by DJ DeezyD.

ketplace will be open throughout the event for attendees to browse and support blackowned businesses from the metro area.

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum is an award-winning collection of over 7,000 original artifacts of Black memorabilia dating from the trans-Atlantic slave trade era to hip-hop culture. For 2020, the museum is proud to curate the Parallels in Time exhibit featuring over 150 original artifacts documenting the Black experience from slavery to hip hop. There is wide range of topics reflected in the rare objects on display including the trans-Atlantic slave trade,

Jim Crow, Black leaders/organizations, Civil Rights, Black Power, Sports, and Entertainment. Museum founder Dr. Khalid el-Hakim, who has been called the “Schomburg of the Hip-Hop generation” because of his passionate commitment to collect and present these artifacts to the public via a non-traditional museum, will fascinate the audience with his lecture adding a voice and dimension to the pieces on display. The

Black-owned

Business

Mar-

The city of Southfield Parks & Recreation department is presenting ‘Southfield Celebrates Black History Month’ to remember the contributions and celebrate the history of African-Americans. The month-long celebration will also include Black History Movie Night on February 7 featuring the documentary 13th; the new Conversations & Cocktails event on February 15 and The Spirit of Harriet Tubman play on February 17; Between the Lines Coloring Café featuring Naturally ILLustraded on February 22; and concluding on February 28 with the return of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers event. For more information on ‘Southfield Celebrates Black History Month,’ visit www.cityofsouthfield.com.

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Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020 • michiganchronicle.com • Page B-3

Black Press of America Expands and Innovates in 2020 via NNPA By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

Fort Lauderdale, FL — The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) wrapped its threeday Mid-Winter Training Conference on Saturday, January 25th, with a proposal that will increase revenue for NNPA’s member newspapers through digital upgrades and innovation. The NNPA is the national trade organization that represents 230 African American-owned newspapers and media companies across the nation, which make up the Black Press of America. Dr. Colin “Topper” Carew, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, led a discussion that included monetizing the use of mobile devices and other technologies in news publishing and distribution. “Black Power was about our getting a voice in the political process on a national and regional electoral basis. It was about power, and that’s the basis of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC),” Carew stated. “I’m here because I believe in what you, the NNPA, represent as the Black Press of America.” Carew, the co-creator of the hit television series, “Martin,” presented a proposal for that will facilitate increased revenue and sustainability for members of the Black Press and the NNPA. Carew’s proposal also included a digital migration training initiative. “To increase advertising income due to the newly emerging digital economy by emphasizing and employing new digital advertising formats and capturing future digital ad budgets,” Carew explained to the group of publishers. The proposal, which NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., said was adopted by NNPA’s Board of Director’s, concluded the conference of black newspapers and media company owners. The conference also featured workshops led and moderated by NNPA Newswire Manager Norman Rich, who also serves as the NNPA News-

An annual highlight of the conference was the 2020 NNPA Publisher Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to The Dallas Examiner’s distinguished publisher, Mollie Finch Belt (Pictured are Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Melanie Belt, Mollie Finch Belt, James Belt III, and Karen Carter Richards, NNPA Chair and publisher of the Houston Forward Times). wire Editor. Part one of Rich’s presentation highlighted the specifications and benefits of participating in the NNPA Digital Network. Connie Wright, the senior vice president of Housing Affordability Philanthropy at Wells Fargo, participated in a fireside chat with Chavis. The discussion highlighted how Wells Fargo is helping to navigate the U.S. housing affordability crisis by donating $1 billion to help address housing affordability through 2025, including homelessness, available and affordable rentals, transitional housing, and homeownership. As part of the $1 billion philanthropic commitment, the bank and nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners plan to launch a $20 million housing affordability challenge to uncover new, more rapid ways to increase the availability and sustainability of scalable housing affordability solutions. Officials from AmeriHealth Caritas, Pfizer Rare Disease, Eli Lilly, Compassion & Choices, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Reynolds American (RAI), and Google all participated in various training workshops and discussions central to improving African American quality of life and helping to sustain the Black Press of America. General Motors (GM), the Black Press of Amer-

ica’s longest-standing corporate partner and supporter, formally introduced the future innovations of the automotive industry during a luncheon the company hosted for publishers and conference guests. Twenty-eight-year-old African American GM engineering executive, Charles Muse, presented a detailed exhibition on autonomous vehicles technologies, electrification advances, and new vehicle designs and functionalities. Muse stated

that those technologies have the potential to save lives, help create a better planet, and save people precious time. “At General Motors, we believe your journey should be safe, clean and efficient,” Muse stated while introducing the company’s mission of “Zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion,” during the luncheon, titled, “Transforming General Motors to reflect a transforming industry.” Muse received a standing ovation from

Coming Spring 2020 Nominations are closed. Deliberations are underway.

Stay tuned to meet the Women of Excellence Class of 2020!

The 30th annual NAACP Art & Essay Contest Detroit elementary, middle, and high school students are encouraged to apply for the “Art and Essay Contest.” The Detroit Branch NAACP chapter will host the winners of the event at The Charles H. Wright Museum on February 27, 2020. The event is sponsored by Coca Cola and Detroit Public Schools Community District. For 30 years, the scholarship has given over $250,000 to students in surrounding communities. This year’s theme is “What the civil rights struggle means to me.” Students must explain the impact on the civil rights movement in their lives in artistic form. Submissions are due by January 31, 2020, at 6 PM. A separate committee will pick the finalists while the Detroit Branch NAACP Contest Committee will choose the winners. Here are the essay requirements for each submission: • One- or two-page essay

typewritten or neatly handwritten on 8.5 x 11 paper. • Handwritten entries will only be accepted from elementary (Grades K-5) contestants. • Sample writing prompts are included in the packet. Essays will be judged on: • Continuity of Thought • Grammar and Syntax • Here are the art requirements for each submission: All art entries must be between 16 x 20 inches and 18 x 24 inches. Poster Board, Bristol Board, Heavy Paper, Ak Tag, (no newsprint paper) Poster Board, Bristol Board, Heavy Paper, no newsprint paper). Only 2-dimensional entries will be accepted. Student artist should carefully plan and complete their art entries. All lettering-text must be legible, spelled correctly, and appropriate to the theme.

the NNPA Mid-Winter Training Conference attendees. An annual highlight of the conference was the 2020 NNPA Publisher Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to The Dallas Examiner’s distinguished publisher, Mollie Finch Belt. At a lively, entertaining, and emotional Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony, held at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina on Friday, January 24, the Dillard High School

students who are in the Broward County Color Guard opened the event by marching into the hotel’s Grand Ballroom in full regalia. “This is such an honor,” Belt stated as she was accompanied on stage by her son, James Belt III, and daughter, Dr. Melanie Belt. “I’ve received many awards, but there’s nothing like receiving an award from your peers. The Black Press means a lot, and I want to say thank you,” Belt stated. Westside Gazette Publisher Bobby Henry and NNPA local host publisher for the Mid-Winter Conference, then led many of the attendees in a Greek step dance as DJ Dynamite played George Clinton’s hit song, “Atomic Dog.” NNPA Chair and Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards affirmed that the conference was a tremendous success. “I’m thrilled with the participation of all the publishers and the great ideas they have for the future,” stated Richards, whose daughter, singer Lenora, helped to open the conference by performing several songs at the Chair’s Poolside Reception, including her hit song, “Relax.”

www.michronicle.com | #WOE2020

| Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

Money.

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Hottest New Restaurant in English Village?

Ivy Kitchen + Cocktails I

Nya Marshall

t’s Friday night, you’re exhausted from work, and you’re ready to grab a drink, or two, or three (seriously, who’s counting) with friends. As luck would have it, your usual happy hour spot is packed to capacity. So, what do you do now? Open your Waze app, type in “Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails Detroit,” and take a trip to Detroit’s East English Village to experience the new black-owned restaurant that features a Mediterranean, Spanish, Asian, and All-American food and drink menu.

success. I wanted to find out what the community wanted, and one of the common denominators was a really nice restaurant.”

Owned and Operated by Detroit native Nya Marshall, Ivy Kitchen + Cocktails was born after Marshall purchased two East Jefferson buildings with plans to develop the community.

“My favorite dish is the Branzino, but I love everything on the menu,” said Marshall. “We took a long time curating the menu and coming up with what we thought people would like. We have bold flavors and some things that we wanted to introduce or reintroduce to the community. Detroiters are from all over the world, so why shouldn’t we serve delicacies that mimic that?”

“The vision derived from the community and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Marshall said. “I didn’t just want to be a developer that bought and built buildings and plopped something in the community on a prayer of

Filling the food-insecure neighborhood with a culturally eclectic menu, Ivy Kitchen + Cocktails serves everything from Argentinian Shrimp Bruschetta and Beef Short Rib Stroganoff to good old chicken sandwiches and burgers. It is the place to go when you want the best of both worlds – fine dining and a short drive from home.

See IVY

KITCHEN + COCKTAILS page B5

Detroit @ Work

Nicole Sherard-Freeman

By Patreice A. Massey

to Detroiters becoming gainfully employed.

It has often been said that when Detroit does well Michigan does well. Over the past few years Detroit has been working overtime to become a city where people want to live, work and play. With the influx of new businesses, housing developments and restaurants the city is close to achieving that goal.

Last year during his sixth State of the City address, Mayor Mike Duggan spoke at length about expanding career pathways, training and creating more jobs for Detroiters.

Jobs and businesses are key to the city’s continued recovery; in fact, data show that the city’s workforce development agency helped over 10,000 residents obtain a job over the last two years. Business and job growth in the city is on the rise. However, there is still work to be done as it relates

“We want to be a city that’s committed to creating job opportunities for everyone,” Duggan told the audience. “While that sounds like a slogan, we have to rethink everything we’ve done. ... With the historic levels of businesses coming in, those who stayed need the benefits. ... I want to make sure the people who have been here get the first shot.” The Mayor and his team have been diligently working to overhaul the employment and training system that has long been in place by creating the Mayor’s Workforce Development Board. According to the Detroit work-

force website, The Mayor’s Workforce Development Board was created to focus specifically on providing training and opportunities in targeted industries to ensure residents are ready and able to connect with jobs. To accomplish this, the Board is providing career pathways and entry points for Detroiters of all skills levels within five high-growth, high-demand industries. One key initiative making great strides in community outreach, work readiness, employment and training is Detroit at Work. Created in February 2017 at the Mayor’s direction to provide one entry point into the workforce system that connects jobseekers with employers. Detroit at Work is an initiative under the leadership of the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development and Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC). De-

See DETROIT

@ WORK page B5

Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020 • michiganchronicle.com • Page B-5

Cash Out Cannabis: Economic Opportunity in Cannabis By Jordan Woods

systemic barriers to economic inclusion.

“A ‘Tyrone’ and a ‘Jeff’ can both sell marijuana for the same amount of time, and one thing that we know is that ‘Tyrone’ is 3-4 times more likely to be convicted.” This is a truth that for so long has been inescapable. It’s one that was told to us by Michigan native Cimone Casson.

“We’re not talking to our best talent... If someone from the State Department comes and has a meeting, we’re supposed to believe that that the government is going to turn his (Tyrone) illegal business into a legal business. Probably not gonna happen,” Casson explained. “Then how many people do you think we’re gonna get from Joy Rd. or 7 Mile?...So I wanted to create platforms where we could educate our people.”

Having spent over 20 years living in Chicago, Casson has decided return Michigan and leverage her experience as a business owner and financial adviser to make the cannabis industry ‘Green Rush’ accessible to Black and Brown communities.

The tour is not only geared around the business of Black and Brown people, but around our culture as well. Information at each seminar is presented in a way that speaks to Black experiences, benefits, and concerns. This is something Casson is rightly unapologetic about.

Cimone’s journey into cannabis was sparked by watching how a family member benefitted from its medicinal value. “I had an aunt with Pancreatic Cancer, and marijuana was one of the things that really helped her be able to eat,” Casson recalls. While this circumstance gave Cimone her motivation, it also got her thinking about the cannabis industry from a macro perspective. She had many questions, but one in particular stood out: How do cannabis businesses protect themselves financially? While in search of an answer, she developed her own solution. Casson’s company, Cannas Capital, is an insurance agency focused on the protection needs of cannabis and craft brewing businesses. The firm serves businesses in these two industries, across the states of Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. Because of agencies like Cimone’s, cannabis businesses are able to operate with more confidence and purpose, which for many has led to some pretty great profit margins. But if you don’t own and operate a cannabis business, how can you still benefit from these profits? One way is through investing in cannabis stocks. “I have been investing in cannabis since 2014, when I was an adviser,” Cimone told the Chronicle. “I ended up getting an insurance bo-

“It is okay for us to spread the word in a way that is culturally conducive for us to learn,” Casson points out. “As we talk about these social equity plans, we have to be able to put them in terms that can be understood.” Cannabis. Weed. Marijuana. nus of $980 [in 2014], and we’ve been able to turn that into a $20,000 portfolio. “ The best thing about investing is that anyone can do it. As Casson reminded me, it’s the one economic engine that we as black people have not been pushed out of. You don’t need a certain educational background or even good credit to get started. Such autonomy, combined with the low barrier entry can be very empowering, but only when armed with the right information. Along the way to building such a large portfolio, Casson did many things well, and also made some mistakes. So to help others be more efficient, she is traveling across the country to give people all of the information they need about getting involved in the cannabis industry. The “Cash Out Tour” will host seminars in cities across the United States, with a mission to help shrink the racial

Ivy Kitchen + Cocktail From page B-5 In addition to fine dining, stop by the restaurant between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to enjoy “Cocktail Hour” (Happy Hour) specials that feature wine, beer on tap, bottled beer, and hand-crafted, original cocktails and mocktails. Experiencing a late-night craving and in need of something tasty and delicate? Ivy Kitchen + Cocktails has you covered with their late-night menu that is served up until one hour before closing each day. So, the next time you’re looking for good quality, wholesome food to enjoy with your family, friends or significant other, look no further than Ivy Kitchen +

Detroit @ Work From page B-5 troit at Work provides information on in-demand career pathways and training programs that are aligned to jobs in growing career sectors from health care, information technology, manufacturing and logistics, construction, and retail, hospitality and entertainment, among others. These days you cannot discuss employment rates in the city of Detroit without talking about the dreaded “talent gap”. For many Detroit job seekers, the opportunities that come along with the city’s economic growth are still out of reach. But calling it a talent gap may be a bit of a misnomer. “I don’t believe there’s a talent gap. What we see is a skills gap”, said Nicole Sherard-Freeman Executive Director, Workforce Development for the City of Detroit. “There’s no question the talent is here but Detroiters may not have the training or certifications a job requires. Our job is to help Detroiters expand the skills they have, and develop the new skills employers need.” A skills gap refers to the difference between the skills required for a job and the skills an employee actually possesses. Detroit at Work partners with employers to find what they are looking for and they take that knowledge and work with their partners to help Detroiters gain the skills needed to get the job. When Fiat Chrysler Automobile announced its $2.5 billion Jeep plant expansion on city’s east side it was also stated that FCA would have to interview all Detroit candidates before they interview anybody from the suburbs. Detroit at Work held over 400 Job Readiness events and screened over 12,500 Detroiters for the positions. If you wanted priority application access then you had to go through Detroit at Work. Detroit at Work also provided basic math and literacy tutoring for applicants that need to brush up on their skills. But suppose you don’t want to work at FCA, or Dakkota Integrated Systems, or other auto manufacturing suppliers, there’s thousands of other jobs available at detroitatwork.com. Under the oversight of the Mayor’s Workforce Development Board, the Detroit at Work team, led by the Mayor’s office, was able to revamp the old workforce development model. The Detroit

Cocktails on East Jefferson. The restaurant opens its doors at 4:00 p.m. seven days a week, and closes at 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, at 11:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and at midnight on Friday and Saturday. “My goal is to be a community staple,” said Marshall when asked about her vision for the restaurant. “If I can do my small part and inspire people to go beyond, then I’ve reached my goal with the community.” You can find more information about the restaurant on Facebook at Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails, on Instagram @Ivy_Detroit; to learn more about the owner, Nya Marshall, check out @IamNyaMarshall. at Work Career Centers had to get rid of the things that weren’t working at the One Stops. First there was an increase in the service access points. In 2018, there were only three Detroit at Work Career Centers.Presently, there are eight careers centers located around the city. They are all within the neighborhoods thereby making them more accessible to Detroiters. For years, if you wanted employment development services you had your choice of 3 centers: Fort St. Milwaukee and Michigan Ave. “I am really glad that the city chose to place the career centers in the neighborhoods. I Why make it harder for unemployed people to access job development services?”, says Lavedra Forest. “I used to have to go all the way down to Fort Street which took me over an hour on the bus. Now I can go to the career center on 7 mile. It’s close to my house and within walking distance. I find myself going there more frequently because it’s literally right there.” And that’s not all that has changed. Detroit at Work career centers have adopted a human-centered approach to providing employment services. From the way you are greeted when you walk in to how they are having the conversation about personal skill sets and employment goals. It’s designed to put the person at the center of the work instead of trying to fit a person into processes that may not work, so the approach is much more individualized.

wealth gap that exists within the cannabis industry and beyond, build generational wealth in minority communities, and answer the important questions that many have about becoming professionally involved with cannabis. The dates for tour stops in 2020 are: 1/25 St. Louis, MO 2/23 Detroit, MI 3/13 Atlanta, GA 3/ 28 Chicago, IL 4/10 New York, NY The tour is revolutionary in its implementation and purpose. Each event will present information to Black and Brown communities on setting up a cannabis business, tips for investing in cannabis stocks, and advice on how to combat

10 years ago, it would’ve been taboo to speak these words in certain settings, let alone advocate for them in a publication as big as the Michigan Chronicle. But as a society we have finally grown up, largely because profits in the cannabis industry have continued to go up. Whether you want to be a grower, invest in cannabis stocks, or start an insurance agency for cannabis companies, there are many ways to join in on the monetary rewards of the cannabis industry. With the Cash Out Tour, Cimone Casson is not only showing what ways you can get involved, but is also illuminating the specific steps necessary to walk your chosen path. For more information on the Cash Out Tour and on Cannas Capital, please visit http://ccimonecasson.com

Miller Canfield’s Michelle Crockett appointed to Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber Miller Canfield Hiring Chair and Diversity and Professional Development Principal Michelle Crockett has been appointed to serve on the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Crockett is a litigator in Miller Canfield’s Employment and Labor Group, as well as leading the firm’s recruitment, diversity and inclusion initiatives, mentoring programs, professional development and continuing education initiatives. Crockett was appointed in January 2020 to serve on the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Foundation Board of Directors. She is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School, and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, and is the Chair of

of the Michigan Council of School Attorneys.

Michelle Crockett the State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Law Council. She is a graduate of Leadership Detroit. She is a graduate and former board member of Leadership Oakland and serves as chair of the Michigan Community Resources Board of Directors. Crockett is a former board member and chair of Alternatives for Girls and served as president

Crockett has earned multiple honors and recognitions, including the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association 2019 Trailblazer Award, Leadership Oakland 2018 Leader of Leaders, Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2017 Notable Women Lawyers in Michigan, Michigan Chronicle 2015 Women of Excellence, Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyers. In 2018, Miller Canfield became the first Detroit law firm to sponsor the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce, which partners with allied corporate and nonprofit members to promote workplace and corporate diversity and inclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender business community.

Keeping You Informed Away or at Home.

Another service that the career centers offer is financial literacy training. Research has shown that any path to self-sufficiency must include a budget and financial management training. Other services offered at the career centers include transportation assistance, job training and a variety of workshops and classes. Whether you need help with your resume, interviewing skills, computer literacy, or online job applications, the Detroit at work career centers have workshops available to help you build your skillset. Closing the skills gap is essential to creating real job opportunities for Detroit residents. It is also essential that the city build relationships with employers and work to get Detroiters positioned for the available opportunities. Detroit at Work is making job and opportunities available to Detroiters in the neighborhoods.

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Chef Max

Delivers Flavor with New Signature Spice Blends Collections By AJ Williams Michigan Chronicle Managing Editor Celebrity Chef and Detroit native Maxcel Hardy, professionally known as Chef Max, is continuing to expand his culinary brand with the launch of his new spice line, “Chef Max Signature Spices.” Chef Max combines his culinary knowledge of spices with his desire to create a complete allin-one blend of spices curated with the inspiring home chef in mind. Hardy is aware of the time and effort it takes to find the right combination of spices while developing his own recipes and used that experience as the basis to develop his own blend of spices. “I wanted to do it five years ago, but just trying to source all the varieties of flavors and spices was time consuming, and I use several spices in one dish just to get the right flavor, and sometimes that can be frustrating. I am aware if I’m frustrated in the lack of spice blends as a professional, I know the novice to cooking should definitely feel the same.” According to Hardy, taking the guesswork out and reinforcing the joy of cooking was also an inspiration in creating his spices. “Let’s do something that sets our food apart before I had to make everything, but now with my spices we are able to source one-stop spice blends that makes it easier not only for professional chefs to make great dishes but also for aspiring home chefs to make amazing dishes with cool alternatives when they’re cooking.” Hardy, continues. “One of my favorites [that] I think most people will love is the S&P (salt and pepper) blend. Most recipes call for a S&P blend which equal a one to four blend of salt and pepper which most people who cook at home may not know, so this takes the guess work out of the cooking experience.” Hardy has a diverse background including his Caribbean

See NEW SPICE BLENDS page C-2 PHOTOS: Kory Woods

Adidas Collaborates with Run-DMC for Commemorative Sneaker

By Stacy M. Brown

ers throughout their career.

NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

According to the footwear outlet, Sneaker Bar Detroit, Adidas will release the sneakers in three color options.

It’s been nearly 34 years since legendary hip-hop pioneers Run-DMC “walked through concert doors, and roamed all over coliseum floors,” as they performed their groundbreaking single, “My Adidas.” Now, the famed sneaker company that inspired the 1986 hit song is honoring Run (Joseph Simmons), DMC (Darryl McDaniels), and the late Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell). Adidas Originals announced it has col-

Adidas, the famed sneaker company that inspired the 1986 hit song is laborated with Run DMC to celebrate the honoring Run (Joseph Simmons), DMC (Darryl McDaniels), and the late 50th anniversary of the Superstar silhouette Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell). sneakers famously worn by the Hall of Fam-

The first release is black and white, with high-resolution red color. The second reportedly contains a white core with black stripes and a high-resolution red color. Images for the third sneaker hasn’t been released, but each includes Run-DMC branding throughout, with the letters “JMJ” emblazoned along the heel. The sneakers have a retail price of $150, so it’ll cost a little cash if you want to be like Run-DMC and have Adidas “funky fresh and yes cold on my feet.”

Page C-2 • michiganchronicle.com • Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

New spice blends

msg and no salt with the exception of the S&P Blend and the Citrus Sea Salt.”

From page C-1 roots, love of tacos and travels to Africa which all contributed to the development of the “collections.”

The signature line will include five collections of spice blends (African, Caribbean, Latin, Low-Country and Essentials) all of which will be available at the initial launch.

Going back and forth to Africa over the last few years, I have fallen in love with the spices from there; however, it’s hard to source [those spices] here. And with the Caribbean line, it’s a homage to my roots and home. Lastly, anyone who knows me, knows I love tacos, so having a really dope taco seasoning was a must!” “Ultimately, what I love about the spice line is it’s so varied that it provides great flavor for culinary creativity at home while still being healthy. All of my spices are no

“We will initially launch nine spice blends; however, I anticipate growing the line upward towards thirty different blends across the spice collections and to include sauces toward mid-year,” said Hardy. Chef Max Signature Spice Blends will be available for purchase beginning February 1, 2020, at www.ChefMaxcelHardy. com or locally at COOP in the Detroit Shipping Company located at 474 Peterboro St., Detroit.

Beyoncé And Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sign Global Agreement Beyoncé and Sony/ATV Music Publishing today announced a global agreement covering the music icon’s entire song catalog, including seminal hits from her start with Destiny’s Child, through her unparalleled collection of solo works written throughout her career. “I am excited for what’s to come with my continued partnership with Jon Platt in his new leadership role at Sony/ATV,” said Beyoncé. “Jon’s the executive who understands the creative mindset and continues to be both an advocate and protector. It has been an honor working with Jon from the start of my career.” Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Jon Platt said: “Beyond all of her well-deserved accolades and accomplishments, Beyoncé is simply one of the most driven and impactful talents I know. I’ve had the privilege of making incredible music with her throughout her career and she continues to set the bar for creative expression in all forms. Beyoncé inspires generations with her songs and I am honored to reunite with her at Sony/ATV.” Beyoncé is the most critically-acclaimed music artist of her generation. With a fearless focus on feminism, advocacy and empowerment, Beyoncé has revolutionized the global entertainment industry with singular, culture-shifting albums such as Lemonade and Homecoming. In 2013, with the surprise release of her eponymous visual album, Beyoncé disrupted the music industry’s standard, ultimately impacting the

timing of album releases from Tuesdays to Fridays.

Keeping You Informed Away or at Home.

Her many career highlights include 23 Grammy Awards, 22 Billboard No. 1 hits, 26 MTV Video Music Awards and 9 American Music Awards, a Peabody Award, among countless prestigious honors. Additionally, Beyoncé stands as the most-awarded artist at the BET Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. Celebrated for her inventive approach to live performance and video, she has also made an indelible impact beyond music to include fashion, film, entrepreneurship and the world of philanthropy. With a prolific output of songs spanning nearly two decades, Beyoncé consistently dominates the world’s music charts, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time with more than 100 million records sold. She has written or co-written major hits across multiple genres that include No. 1 songs such as Crazy In Love (ft. JAY-Z), Irreplaceable, Independent Women and Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), as well as Top 10 hits Baby Boy, Formation and Survivor, among many others. Throughout her career, she has recorded with superstar artists including Ed Sheeran, Drake, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott and Kendrick Lamar, to name a few. In addition, Beyoncé became the first African-American woman and the second woman ever to take home the ASCAP Pop ‘Songwriter of the Year’ Award for her work with Destiny’s Child.

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| Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

Game.

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Remembering the Life of

KOBE BRYANT By Kory Woods

hen it comes to defining the legacy of Kobe Bryant, accomplishing that task is as hard as it can get. The reason for that is because his life on and off the court of basketball contains so many layers. His life was in the public eye from the time he took R&B singer Brandy to his prom until this week’s tragic event. Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna (Gigi), and seven additional passengers died in a helicopter crash on Sunday around 10 a.m. in California, leaving behind a void in the hearts of many worldwide. When TMZ broke the story, most (myself included) thought it was a hoax. I mean, this is Kobe! Kobe can’t die, right? After hours of conflicting reports began working themselves out, the reality set in. One of the most polarizing figures in the history of sports has left us at the age of 41. Remembering Bryant’s life and career is knowing there’s a dosage of good, bad, ugly, and finally, redemption. As most know, Bryant is one of the most accomplished NBA players of all time. Five-time NBA champion, 18-time NBA All-Star, 15-time All-NBA Team, two-time Finals MVP and Olympic gold medalist, and one-time NBA MVP are only a few of his notable on-court achievements. The thing is though, those achievements are just a byproduct of what made him good in the eyes of fans. Fans gravitated towards Bryant because of his assassin-like demeanor on the court. From tip-off until the final buzzer, he gave fans the impression that losing was not an option, whether his teams won or lost. He was fearless. An example of his fearlessness dates back to 1997 during the NBA Playoffs. It was Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals and Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers faced the Utah Jazz. At this time, Bryant was merely a rookie. However, in the closing moments of a close elimination game, no other Laker wanted the ball in their hands but him. In past interviews, Bryant’s former teammate Shaquille (Shaq) O’Neal said everyone was scared to shoot but him. The result? Four airballs. Not one, not two, not three, but four. The Jazz went on to beat the Lakers 98-93 in overtime. After losing in such a horrendous fashion, Bryant’s career could have taken a dive. After all, just look at Nick Anderson. When Anderson missed those four straight free throws in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals, his career was never the same. Bryant didn’t let that happen to him.

He worked relentlessly to transform himself into one of the best players in the league, soon having another career-defining moment. During the 2000 NBA Finals with Shaq fouled out, Bryant, who missed most of Game 2 and all of Game 3 with a sprained ankle, played 47 minutes in Game 4 scoring 28 points as the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 120-118 in overtime in Indianapolis. Led by Bryant and Shaq, the Lakers beat the Pacers in six games, with both winning their first NBA championship. As the saying goes though “all good things must come to an end.”

July 2003 is where things began to unravel for Bryant. That is when he was arrested for the sexual assault of a 19year old hotel employee in Eagle, Colo. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in the nearby city of Edwards. The hotel employee accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room; a claim he would deny passionately. When thinking of this incident, most don’t remember that the charges against him were dismissed. The image that sticks out in the memory of many is his somber press conference with his wife Vanessa by his side. Even with having an assassin-like mentality on the court, Bryant had a relatively clean public image outside of basketball. The unraveling didn’t stop there though. Bryant and Shaq began to publicly feud over the next several seasons on a multitude of issues, leading to the tandem being broken up following a “5-Game Sweep” in the 2004 NBA Finals as the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons. Many blamed Bryant for Shaq’s exit. There were reports (which Bryant would later confirm) that he did not want to play with

Shaq anymore; almost signing with the Chicago Bulls, the former team of Bryant’s idol Michael Jordan. As we all now know, the team would eventually trade Shaq to the Miami Heat, choosing to make Kobe the face of the Laker franchise. Subsequently, then-Lakers’ head coach Phil Jackson would leave the team, citing his issues with Bryant as one of many reasons. Bryant faced extreme criticism as the Lakers missed the playoffs the following season. Many Lakers fans felt that the organization made a mistake placing the franchise in the hands of the embattled guard. Even with Jackson eventually returning to coach the Lakers, they still came up short over the next several seasons with a pair of first-round playoff exits in 2006 and 2007. Additionally, Shaq helping lead the Miami Heat to the 2006 NBA championship didn’t make matters any better for Bryant. However, the cloud that had been cast over his career at that moment would soon see clearer skies. Bryant would go on to be the 2008 NBA MVP, leading the Lakers to their first NBA Finals post “Shaq/Kobe” era. While the Lakers would go on to lose in six games to the Boston Celtics, Bryant’s determination didn’t waver. Led by him, the Lakers would go on to win back to back titles the following two seasons. Controversy would soon follow him again though. In 2011, the NBA fined him $100,000 for using an anti-gay slur to a referee. Bryant, who faced public criticism over this, would go on to work with organizations such as GLAAD, and even scolded a fan for using an anti-gay slur, urging him to learn from his mistakes. As noted, Bryant’s career on and off the court is very complex. So, after factoring in all his highlights and lowlights, how exactly should

Bryant be remembered?

Well, it depends on who you ask, but here is one thing to think about. Bryant’s life is one of climbing the mountain of adversity. Every time he made a mistake, he worked hard to overcome it, whether that was on or off the court. When he was deemed a selfish and uncoachable player, he worked hard to become a leader and admired teammate. When publicly scrutinized following his sexual assault case and infidelity (which nearly led to a divorce), Bryant became a devoted husband and loving father of four girls. His assassin-like “Mamba Mentality” on the court while playing morphed into an ambassador of the game post-retirement. This is evident through his advocacy of women’s basketball; the WNBA specifically, and his love of coaching his daughter Gigi. It was also shown through his Mamba Sports Academy, where he was helping the next generation of athletes. Bryant’s life was reaching the pinnacle, falling from grace, only to reach the pinnacle again, and then to never look back. His life resonated with many because he was the embodiment of working hard and overcoming obstacles at each stage of his life. He was proof that no success comes without perseverance and when you make mistakes, be like late R&B singer Aaliyah and “dust yourself off and try again.” Bryant also gave hope that you can leave one successful career behind, and create another. Proof of that is him winning an Oscar for his short titled “Dear Basketball” which was based on the letter announcing his retirement from the NBA. There will never be another Kobe Bryant. Ever! The thing is though, the world is left with so many memories that there won’t ever have to be just one to define his life. While his death and that of his daughter and the seven other passengers is a tragedy, to say the least, the one thing that people can learn from observing his life is actually a cliché: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” While Bryant had just as much drive and determination as his idol Michael Jordan, he just wasn’t MJ. Even with his amazing athleticism, Bryant wasn’t the physical specimen LeBron James is. Coincidentally, James passed Bryant on the AllTime NBA scoring list the night before his death. However, Bryant had to work the hardest. As a sports fan, if there is one thing I know, a hard worker is loved and admired. That’s how we should remember Kobe Bryant. A hard worker in life. Rest in peace Mamba.

PHOTO: Andre Smith

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the was named Roy Wilson of Wayne When M. in the history I can recall 12th president in 2013, if the State University hoping that, hadn’t fiuniversity sethad at least inits man, it keep the nally found who could the right tled on someoneand headed in stitution stable direction. WilNow, as son’s presidency sixth nears its clear year, it’s been that he has more so much than a caretakstate’s er for our relargest urban search universiWilson ty. Indeed, himhas proven vision- Hiram E. Jackson self to be to and not just ary, smart tedly committed Detroit. wholehear but to all of s acWayne State, university’ a few of the watch: Consider his ents under rate complishm graduation the nt in State’s six-year • Wayne fastest improveme of the Afrihas had the a tripling including rate nation — graduation Coleman its largcan American welcomed By Trevor W. the school City address,a • Last fall, class in history State of the In his sixth Mike Duggan made est freshman its commitits’s has deepened a provost to reclaim Detroit Mayor for Detroit • The school by creating chief difor job opportuspirited call a leading city progress made ment to inclusion oversee diversity;of Multiculspot as a much praised the position to and an Office nities. He goal already but said versity officer;Engagement toward that to be done. highly tural Student himself a room work remains crowded , Wilson, to pursue before a Meanwhile PreparatoSpeaking access surgeon, continues the English Village trained eye aimed at boosting African at the East Duggan said among for a strategy forward l sciences ry Academy,the city has moved of color. students to the biomedica of $10 million and other areas where coalition to invest a plans Americans he formed Police Departwas in its colleges more Detroit and officer), For instance, universities and to hire 70 ed (civilian Building InfraDetroit-bas programs (BUILD) ment personnel the NIH-funded for job trainingPromise to Diversity to launch decline $4.5M more Leading to Detroit the drastic structure the prior and expanding the cost of numerous Galled by students Program. estabmed school include covering skilled trades. ns for the in minority arrival, Wilson also certificatio program, Chrysler noting unemployto his 2013Wayne Med-Direct while talented Ford, and 50 percent lly However, lished the exceptiona out of central more than ly it is General Motors, ment is down he acknowledged from traditionalto which guarantees success in shifted their production 1957, while students of recent 1945 and admission from its peak, bly high. high school ring plants to as examples Detroit between sented groups new manufactuBut not one still unaccepta school. five years moving Detroit forward. underrepre made medical everyone building 25 an area. ways we of underWayne State's he stressed of the city in the metropolit itself. “If you look “In many However, of Duggan said. it has been ahead tly, the number the city Consequen in the School of progress,” of them in focus what’s has been done. ent rate d minorities dismal seven in to 8.5 per- should what’s already been we’re up against at the unemploym a represente “So, what for a long time,” Duggan un- and not from 20 percent 60 last goal for our rose from arrival, to cut in half still have the highest Medicine a central to be in the making after Roy’s we States.” “We’ve got “We want cent. But the United 2014, a year Duggan said. job oppor- said. nt rate in he was defor pov- future,” employme to creating for strateyear. Duggan saidnarrative that However, copattern follows have a city committed deputy director change the large The same Detroiters The former to and program on “35,000 planning the years that city admin- termined the last tunities.” erty he said.out of poverty in he said the reverse the had taken root over best bets were to gic scientific the National Institute a good at To that end, Disparities d to plants been moved you can say that’s ordination determine rers, manufacturing and Health he in rural communiand the highest istration was of major manufactu five years Minority Health Institutes of Health,disnew facilities areas. to avoid union we still have States.” of health 70-year trend locating in rural Pro- openmainly in the south, record. Except of the National auto, in the United ties related the challenges ITIES page A2 poverty rate increasing has tackled from con- especiallyhow New York University native, partDetroit by See OPPORTUN a Detroit said He noted city residents forging new parities in Warning s, Duggan Tom Sugrue,that the “Big Three; dollars and well-being of our themselve hments fessor research the wrote gratulating accomplis improve other point and historian nership to there are manycity officials could y. communit he and other

COMMENTARY

Going After the ss Jobs" -Cla it to Reclaim e of Midn dle Calls for Detro therlod es "Mo ss Mayor Dugga Job Opportuniti ng City for SOTC Addre

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NOTICE OF REGISTRATION FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020 WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK

See WILSON

By Trevor W.

Jazz In The Gardens 2019

TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that any qualified elector of the City of Highland Park who is not already registered, may register to vote at the office of the City Clerk, the office of the County Clerk, a Secretary of State branch office, or other designated state agency. Registration forms can be obtained at mi.gov/vote and mailed to the City Clerk. Voters who are already registered may update their registration at www.expressSOS.com. The last day to register in any manner other than in-person with the local clerk is Monday, February 24, 2020. After this date, anyone who qualifies as an elector may register to vote in person with proof of residency (mcl 168.492) at the City Clerk’s office, located at 12050 Woodward Ave., Highland Park, MI 48203 at the following times: - Regular business hours: Monday – Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. - Saturday, March 7, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Election Day, Tuesday March 10th from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

A Leadi

helping pendence for ses First Inde access to capital gain FDIC leader prai communities underserved

page A2

WHAT’S INSIDE

C1 City.Life.Style.

It’s Spot As

Coleman

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FREE MOTORCYCLE

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Fax (586) 445-5191 CONSTRUCTION SERVICES COORDINATOR

2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R Bike for FREE.

Salary Range: $49,475 - $67,534 with an excellent fringe benefit package, starting salary depending upon qualifications and experience. A copy of the job description for this position is posted on the City’s website at cityofeastpointe.net. Those candidates who meet all minimum qualifications will be required to pass an oral board interview. Prior to employment, applicant must clear a citydesignated physical examination, which includes drug screening.

It is in an excellent condition 100% mechanical, no dent / stain. If interested pls contact: Laurieshipman2@gmail.com

Under the administrative direction of the Department of Public Works and Services Director, responsible for the overall management of City buildings, sidewalk assessment program, and provide construction management/construction engineering & inspection services for various ROW improvement projects.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Minimum qualifications include high school diploma or G.E.D. with successful completion of coursework in algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Completion of advanced training with coursework applicable to engineering or engineering technology work. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in civil engineering is preferred and three years of experience in technical work that includes construction engineering and inspection of various construction projects, familiarity with MDOT specification for construction projects, material testing or other technical work involving the application of the principles, methods and techniques of engineering technology and the presentation of technical documentation and information in support of coordination of engineering projects and facility asset management or an equivalent level of education and experience. Send application and resume to the City Manager’s Office 23200 Gratiot Avenue, Eastpointe, Ml 48021. Position open until filled. Electronic submissions are acceptable to Ilince@eastpointecity.org.

to Detroit recent visit the Federal During a of Chairman (FDIC), the former Company the , praised Deposit Insurance Gruenberg of the state’s Martin J. nt and role controlled manageme American only African , First Indepen-d institution underserve financial in helping ed much-need dence Bank, ies gain communit capital. access to in serving critical role who Citing its residents oods and obtaining neighborh have difficulty l banks, otherwise most commercia SVP GovcomPatricia Herndon, loans from Financial nce Bank; said as a designated instiski , VP, Chief Gruenberg Chairnt financial “misFirst Independe Kenneth Kelly, of Directors, Elizabeth Zuchelkow nce is a munity developme on Noel, Board Bankers Association; , Board Director, FDIC, First Independence Independe tution First institution focused FDIC (L-R) Dr. Phares Directors, Michigan ” Martin J. Gruenberg , Board of Development Banking, sion-driven Detroit. nce Bank; ernment Relations, y people of Earl Newsome Independe miserving the Group nce Bank; Minority and Communit Officer, First is no question Independe Montez Miller there a s play crit- man & CEO, First “I think FDIC. PHOTO: National Director, institution J. Rudolph, Deputy to the Director, oods nority deposit Bank; Betty serving neighborh Shively, Acting ical role in A3 and Philip

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page INDEPENDENCE

EOE Elke Doom City Manager

January National Glaucoma Awareness Month

Person with special needs as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the clerk’s office.

SECTION 000100 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK, WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN 2020 SINKHOLE REPAIR & SEWER REHABILITATION, INFLOW/ INFILTRATION STUDY, AND CCTV AND CLEANING OF SEWER PROJECTS CONTRACT NO. WD-2020-02 The City of Highland Park is repairing three (3) major sinkholes and rehabilitating approximately 5,200 linear feet of sanitary sewer line, in addition to a Flow Metering Study and CCTV and cleaning of designated sewer. The City is now accepting proposals for Contractors to perform work on up to all of the following project components: • Part A Repair three (3) sinkholes along Second Avenue between West Buena Vista Street and Highland Street; • Part B Rehabilitate approximately 5,200 linear feet of existing sanitary sewer by lining with cured-in-place sewer lining method and performing five (5) point repairs in the alleys between Colorado Street and California Street and between Woodward Avenue and Oakland Avenue;

Brenda Green City Clerk

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Part C

SECTION 000100 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK, WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN 2020 WATER MAIN & LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT CONTRACT NO. WD-2020-01 The City of Highland Park is replacing aging water main and infrastructure, including service lines comprised of lead and/or other material. The City is now accepting proposals for Contractors to perform work on up to all of the following project components: • Part A Replace approximately 50,000 linear feet of existing cast-iron water main with new C900 pipe with diameter sizes of 8 inch, 12-inch, 16-inch, and 24-inch and Replace roughly 575 service lines, consisting of public- and private-side water service line replacements. Replacement will include meter hookup, flushing, and testing; • Part B Complete private-side replacements of roughly 110 lead service lines previously having had the public side replaced. Replacement will include meter hookup, flushing, and testing; • Coordination of all communication and scheduling required between residents affected by service line replacements, including following regulatory guidelines for lead line replacements. This component is required in both project Parts A & B. Contractors may bid on one or any combination of these project components. A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Friday, February 7th at 10:00 a.m. Local Time at the following location: Highland Park Customer Service Center 14110 Woodward Avenue Highland Park, MI 48203 Bids must be received by 12:00 p.m. Local Time on Monday, March 9, 2020 Ms. Brenda Green Robert B. Blackwell Municipal Building Office of the Clerk, City of Highland Park 12050 Woodward Ave Highland Park, MI 48203 Bid Opening and Reading — Monday, March 16, 2020, 7:00 p.m. (Local Time) Robert B. Blackwell Municipal Building 12050 Woodward Avenue Highland Park, MI 48203 Recommendation and Award - Monday, April 6, 2020, 7:00 p.m. (Local Time) Robert B. Blackwell Municipal Building 12050 Woodward Avenue Highland Park, MI 48203 This project is funded by the State Revolving Fund (SRF), and as such, the Contract will require Davis-Bacon/Prevailing Federal Wages and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements, as well as Debarment and Suspension Certification and American Iron & Steel (AIS) requirements. The Contract Documents may be obtained by emailing procurements@metroca.net. Starting Wednesday, January 29, hard copies of the plans and flash drives containing the procurement/ contract and specifications books may also be picked up at the Highland Park Customer Service Center at 14110 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, MI 48203, free of charge for up to three (3) copies per contractor. Additional hardcopies may be obtained at cost per copy. All qualified vendors are encouraged to bid on all City of Highland Park construction projects. All bidders will be required to attend the mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting at 10 a.m., February 7, at the Customer Service Center (14110 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, MI 48203). Please submit the number attending in each bidder’s party in writing by February 6 to procurements@ metroca.net. A refundable bid deposit in the form of certified check, cash, or surety bond payable to the City of Highland Park for a sum not less than five percent (5%) of the amount of the Proposal shall be required with each Proposal. The successful bidder will be required to furnish satisfactory performance, labor, and materials and maintenance and guarantee bonds in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract price. The City of Highland Park reserves the right to waive any irregularity, to accept or reject any or all bids, and to accept the proposals that, in the City’s opinion, are in the best interest of and to the advantage of the City of Highland Park. No bidder may withdraw his bid within ninety calendar days after the date of bid opening. Bids (Proposals) will not be received unless made on forms furnished by the City of Highland Park and delivered to the City Clerk’s office on or before 12:00 p.m. Local Time on Monday, March 9, 2020. City of Highland Park Brenda Green, City Clerk

Page C-4

As part of the city’s overall flow metering study, identify infiltration and inflow (I/I) entering the system; • Part D CCTV and cleaning of designated sewer in the city. Contractors may bid on one or any combination of these project components. A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Monday, February 10th at 10:00 a.m. Local Time at the following location: Highland Park Customer Service Center 14110 Woodward Avenue Highland Park, MI 48203 Bids must be received by 12:00 p.m. Local Time on Monday, March 9, 2020 Ms. Brenda Green Robert B. Blackwell Municipal Building Office of the Clerk, City of Highland Park 12050 Woodward Ave Highland Park, MI 48203 Bid Opening and Reading - Monday, March 16, 2020, 7:00 p.m. (Local Time) Robert B. Blackwell Municipal Building 12050 Woodward Avenue Highland Park, MI 48203 Recommendation and Award - Monday, April 6, 2020, 7:00 p.m. (Local Time) Robert B. Blackwell Municipal Building 12050 Woodward Avenue Highland Park, MI 48203 This project is funded by the State Revolving Fund (SRF), and as such, the Contract will require Davis-Bacon/Prevailing Federal Wages and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements, as well as Debarment and Suspension Certification and American Iron & Steel (AIS) requirements. The Contract Documents may be obtained by emailing procurements@metroca.net. Starting Wednesday, January 29, hard copies of the plans and flash drives containing the procurement/ contract and specifications books may also be picked up at the Highland Park Customer Service Center at 14110 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, MI 48203, free of charge for up to three (3) copies per contractor. Additional hardcopies may be obtained at cost per copy. All qualified vendors are encouraged to bid on all City of Highland Park construction projects. All bidders will be required to attend the mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting at 10 a.m., February 10, at the Customer Service Center (14110 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, MI 48203). Please submit the number attending in each bidder’s party in writing by February 9 to procurements@metroca.net. A refundable bid deposit in the form of certified check, cash, or surety bond payable to the City of Highland Park for a sum not less than five percent (5%) of the amount of the Proposal shall be required with each Proposal. The successful bidder will be required to furnish satisfactory performance, labor, and materials and maintenance and guarantee bonds in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract price. The City of Highland Park reserves the right to waive any irregularity, to accept or reject any or all bids, and to accept the proposals that, in the City’s opinion, are in the best interest of and to the advantage of the City of Highland Park. No bidder may withdraw his bid within ninety calendar days after the date of bid opening. Bids (Proposals) will not be received unless made on forms furnished by the City of Highland Park and delivered to the City Clerk’s office on or before 12:00 p.m. Local Time on Monday, March 9, 2020. City of Highland Park Brenda Green, City Clerk

Section 8 Voucher List Opening February 2020 See Melvindale Housing Commission’s website for more information.

www.melvindalehousingcommission.org APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR “MacDowell Preparatory Academy, 4201 W. Outer Drive Detroit, MI 48221, 313-4948141. Applications for the 2020-21 school year for grades K-8 are being accepted from February 10 thru March 31, 2020. Should applications exceed available space a random selection drawing will be held on Wednesday, April 15th at 4:30 pm at MacDowell Preparatory Academy. Applications are available online at www. macdowellprep.com.” APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR Grades 9-12 “Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, 15000 Trojan Detroit, Mi 48235, 313-397-3333. Applications for the 2020-21 school year for grades 9-12 are being accepted from February 10th thru March 31, 2020. Should applications exceed available space a random selection drawing will be held Wednesday, April 1st at 5:00 pm at Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. Applications are available online at www.jrladetroit.com” Washington-Parks Academy 11685 Appleton Redford, MI 48239 Phone: (313) 592-6061 http://cornerstoneeducationgroup.org/ Washington-Parks Academy, a Tuition Free Public School Academy, with an academic program for K-8 grade, announces the 2020-2021 enrollment period. Open Enrollment: 02/21/20 through 05/22/20. A random selection lottery will be held on May 25th, 2020. Lincoln-King Academy 13436 Grove Street Detroit, MI 48235 Phone: (313) 862-2352 http://cornerstoneeducationgroup.org/ Lincoln-King Academy, a Tuition Free Public School Academy, with an academic program for K-5 grade at Adams Young Building and 9-12 grade at LKA High School, announces the 2020-2021 enrollment period. Open Enrollment: 02/21/20 through 05/22/20. A random selection lottery will be held on May 25th, 2020. Cornerstone Health and Technology School 17351 Southfield Road Detroit, Michigan 48235 Phone: (313) 486-4260 http://cornerstoneeducationgroup.org/ Cornerstone Health and Technology School, a Tuition Free Public School Academy, with an academic program for 6-8 grade, announces the 2020-2021 enrollment period. Open Enrollment: 02/21/20 through 05/22/20. A random selection lottery will be held on May 25th, 2020. Madison-Carver Academy 19900 McIntyre Street Detroit, MI 48219 Phone: (313) 486-4626 http://cornerstoneeducationgroup.org/ Madison-Carver Academy, a Tuition Free Public School Academy, with an academic program for K-8 grade, announces the 2020-2021 enrollment period. Open Enrollment: 02/21/20 through 05/22/20. A random selection lottery will be held on May 25th, 2020. Cornerstone Jefferson-Douglass Academy 6861 E. Nevada , Detroit, MI 48234 Phone: (313) 892-1860 http://cornerstoneeducationgroup.org/ Cornerstone Jefferson-Douglass Academy, a Tuition Free Public School Academy, with an academic program for K-8 grade, announces the 2020-2021 enrollment period. Open Enrollment: 02/21/20 through 05/22/20. A random selection lottery will be held on May 25th, 2020.

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IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

Classified HELP WANTED RESEARCH ASSOCIATE in Ann Arbor, MI The University of Michigan has an available position of Research Associate in Ann Arbor, MI. Position requires a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in Medicine or a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences & 6 months experience as a postgraduate researcher in drug efficacy & toxicity. Position also requires: Exp. must include: 1) 6 mos. exp. performing IV-drug dosing; 2) 6 mos. exp. performing surgical procedures on small animals; & 3) 6 mos. exp. writing study reports on drug toxicity. Exp. reqs. may be met concurrently during the same 6-mo. period. Job duties: Perform complex surgery in small animals including mice & rats for anti-cancer drug discovery & development. Dose animals with various methods including multiple IV (intravenous) injections. Monitor & analyze efficacy, toxicity, & pharmacokinetics. Ensure that Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee guidelines are followed. Publish results of research in peer-reviewed journals & present at international conferences. Qualified candidates should send resume & verification of reqs. to: Jodie Mason Dressler, Sr. Human Resource Coordinator, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, 428 Church St., 1020 Pharm, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Seeking

CUSTODIAN II/HOUSING – OAKLAND CENTER AT OAKLAND UNIVERSITY Oakland Center

Minimum Qualifications: Perform cleaning activities and maintain assigned areas in the residential housing building and the Oakland Center. Two years prior custodial experience, preferably in a university environment/ residential setting. High school graduation or an equivalent combination of education and experience, ability to use and/or mix various cleaning chemicals, perform physically active work, requires frequent lifting, may work in various weather conditions with extremes heat & cold, also may require a MI driver’s license acceptable to the University’s insurance carrier. Salary is $12.73 per hour probationary, $12.99 per hour after 90 days. This position works Monday-Friday: 3:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. See online posting for additional position requirements. First consideration will be given to those who apply by February 5, 2020. Must apply on line to: https://jobs.oakland.edu

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE PROFESSIONAL HELP WANTED

Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

PROFESSIONAL HELP WANTED

Business Data Analytics ManagerClose, Planning, & Reporting (CPR)

Senior Embedded Software Development Engineer

Senior Financial Analyst

General Motors, Detroit, MI. Support CPR product costing implementation, change mgmt, technical finance communication, training integration &all Finance employee readiness. Identify &analyze financial, vehicle, component &material cost data standards disconnects &explain finance system gaps at critical integration points across Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) finance syss incldg the Global Profit Plng Sys in Oracle Hyperion &Global Ledger (SAP S/4 Hana) as part of CPR processes for U.S./global regions. Set technical objectives &lead 2 external Financial Analysts. Coordinate CPR &Power Bus. Intelligence tools &integration of big data for mnthly &qrtrly reporting, to enable anlys capabilities, while ensuring vehicle &component profitability according to U.S. &non-U.S. regional market reqmts. Master, Bus. Admin. or Finance. 12 mos exp as Treasury Manager, FP&A Manager, or related, implementing FP&A tool integration for mnthly &qrterly reporting, to enable anlys capabilities, while ensuring vehicle &component profitability according to U.S. &non-U.S. reqmts, or related. Mail resume to Ref#30172, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-C32-C66, Detroit, MI 48265.

Warren, MI, General Motors. Analyze reqmts, design, dvlp, validate &debug Android apps &embedded SW for psgr vehicle infotainment ECUs for voice recognition (VR), audio, media &projection, &HMI framework subsys, on Android OS platform, using C/C++ &Java programming languages, &Git, Gerrit, Jenkins, IBM RTC, Android SDK, Android Studio, Eclipse, &ADB tools &Serial Terminal, CAN bus &Ethernet commun. protocols. Design &dvlp Android Framework, Green Hills, &HAL modules using Java &C/C++ languages to support vehicle features incldg VR, audio, media &projection. Dvlp SW, debug &fix issues in the Android Framework incldg AudioManager, AudioService, AudioPolicyManager, AudioFlinger, mediaserver &OpenSLES. Work on media related issues &provide solutions for issues related to play song, audiobook chapter, AM/FM tuner, SiriusXM tuner, &USB copfile. Master, Electrical Engrg, Electronics Engrg, Electronic Instrumentation, Electronics, or related. 12 mos exp as Engineer, Developer, Systems Analyst, or related, validating &debugging Android apps or embedded SW for psgr vehicle infotainment ECUs for VR or audio, on Android OS platform, using C/C++ &Java programming languages, &Git, Gerrit, RTC, &Android SDK tools, or related. Mail resume to Ref#2465-206, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-C32-C66, Detroit, MI 48265.

Quality Chain Lead Warren, MI, General Motors. Review &analyze Voice of Customer field warranty data in Global Analysis Reporting Tool sys, NHTSA Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability &Documentation Act data &Safety Field Investigations process data, &evaluate/prevent defects in electrical syss in complete psgr vehicle Power &Signal Distribution Syss (PSDS) electrical syss incldg wiring harnesses, bussed electrical centers (BECs), &cmpnts, & related Active Safety syss incldg External Object Calculation / Front Camera / Body Control / Electronic Brake Control / Electronic Power Steering Modules; Charging Systems (generators, alternators, &12V batteries); &passive safety syss (airbag modules), using Teamcenter Vismockup &E-2 tools. Coach &facilitate product &process engrg solutions to improve electrical syss designs &process qlty methods, &improve product designs &BOMs of material reqmts. Bachelor, Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial, or Automotive Engrg. 24 mos exp as Engineer, Engrg Team Leader, or related, designing &releasing gasoline &hybrid electric complete psgr vehicle PSDS electrical syss incldg wiring harnesses, BECs, &compnts, or related. Mail resume to Ref#1618, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482-C32-C66, Detroit, MI 48265.

WWW.MICHIGANCHRONICLE.COM

General Motors, Detroit, MI. Gather balance sheet (BS), income &cash flow information, &consolidate mnthly, qrtrly &annual cash flow &BS forecasts from global GM regional entities (incldg GMNA, Brasil, Korea, Intl, China, Holden &MEA) using Hyperion sys incldg Indirect Cash Flow (BCR) module. Validate data submissions in Hyperion Global Profit Planning Sys (Profit&Loss sys) &Indirect Cash Flow sys &ensure data reconciliation &sound assumptions. Analyze ROIC. Subdivide invested capital into debt, equity, pension &deferred tax assets. Conduct ROIC, sales growth &cost reductions benchmarking anlys against global OEM carmakers. Project executive compensation payouts based on current forecast of ROIC &evaluate compensation structure &metrics. Analyze automotive profitability &BS sustainability based on EBIT margin, variable profit margin, BS leverage ratio. Assess liquidity &cash flow risk in a downturn &analyze impact of working capital leverage unwind due to negative cash conversion cycle. Master, Bus.Admin., Finance, or Accounting. 12 mos exp as Financial Analyst, Research Analyst, or related, analyzing BS statements, income statements &cash flow statements to make sound assumptions on transportation companies’ sales growth, margin expansion &cost reductions in future periods &reflect assumptions in valuation models, or related. Mail resume to Ref#555-1212, GM Global Mobility, 300 Renaissance Center, MC:482C32-C66, Detroit, MI 48265.

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2019

n Dr. M. Roy Wilso for Has Delivered Wayne State By Hiram E.

Jackson

/CEO REAL PUBLISHER

TIMES MEDIA

the was named Roy Wilson of Wayne When M. in the history I can recall 12th president in 2013, if the State University hoping that, hadn’t fiuniversity sethad at least inits man, it keep the nally found who could the right tled on someoneand headed in stitution stable direction. WilNow, as son’s presidency sixth nears its clear year, it’s been that he has more so much than a caretakstate’s er for our relargest urban universisearch Wilson ty. Indeed, himhas proven vision- Hiram E. Jackson self to be to and not just ary, smart tedly committed Detroit. wholehear but to all of s acWayne State, university’ a few of the watch: Consider his ents under rate complishm graduation the nt in State’s six-year • Wayne fastest improveme of the Afrihas had the a tripling including rate nation — graduation Coleman its largcan American welcomed By Trevor W. the school City address,a • Last fall, class in history State of the In his sixth Mike Duggan made est freshman its commitits’s has deepened a provost to reclaim Detroit Mayor for Detroit • The school by creating chief difor job opportuspirited call a leading city progress made ment to inclusion oversee diversity;of Multiculspot as a much praised the position to and an Office nities. He goal already but said versity officer;Engagement toward that to be done. highly tural Student himself a room work remains crowded , Wilson, to pursue before a Meanwhile PreparatoSpeaking access surgeon, continues the English Village trained eye aimed at boosting African at the East Duggan said among for a strategy forward l sciences ry Academy,the city has moved of color. students to the biomedica of $10 million and other areas where invest coalition to a plans Americans he formed Police Departwas in its colleges more Detroit and officer), For instance, universities and to hire 70 ed (civilian Building InfraDetroit-bas (BUILD) ment personnel training programs the NIH-funded Diversity to launch more for job Detroit Promise to decline $4.5M Leading to the structure the drastic prior and expanding the cost of numerous Galled by students Program. estabmed school include covering skilled trades. ns for the in minority arrival, Wilson also certificatio program, Chrysler noting unemployto his 2013Wayne Med-Direct while Ford, and 50 percent lly talented However, lished the exceptiona out of central more than ly it is General Motors, ment is down he acknowledged from traditionalto which guarantees success in shifted their production 1957, while students of recent 1945 and admission from its peak, bly high. high school ring plants to as examplesforward. Detroit between sented groups unaccepta new manufactuBut not one years still school. Detroit five underrepre medical everyone building 25 an area. ways we made“If you look moving of underWayne State's he stressed of the city in the metropolit itself. “In many However, of Duggan said. it has been ahead tly, the number the city Consequen in the School of progress,” of them in focus what’s has been done. ent rate d minorities dismal seven in to 8.5 per- should what’s already been we’re up against at the unemploym a represente “So, what for a long time,” Duggan un- and not from 20 percent 60 last goal for our rose from arrival, to cut in half still have the highest Medicine a central to be in the making after Roy’s we States.” “We’ve got “We want cent. But the United 2014, a year Duggan said. job oppor- said. nt rate in he was defor pov- future,” employme to creating for strateyear. Duggan saidnarrative that However, copattern follows have a city committed deputy director the same former program large The The to change and on “35,000 Detroiters planning the years that city admin- termined the last tunities.” erty he said.out of poverty in he said the reverse the had taken root over best bets were to gic scientific the National Institute a good at To that end, Disparities d to plants been moved you can say that’s ordination determine rers, manufacturing and Health he in rural communiand the highest istration was of major manufactu five years Minority Health Institutes of Health,disnew facilities areas. to avoid union we still have States.” of health 70-year trend locating in rural Pro- openmainly in the south, record. Except of the National auto, in the United ties related the challenges ITIES page A2 poverty rate increasing has tackled from con- especiallyhow New York University native, partDetroit by See OPPORTUN a Detroit said He noted city residents forging new parities in Warning s, Duggan Tom Sugrue,that the “Big Three; dollars and well-being of our themselve hments fessor research the wrote gratulating improve other accomplis point and historian nership to there are manycity officials could y. communit he and other

COMMENTARY

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Small Business Owners Say Continual Tech Investments Are Critical

What to Know About Eye Health (StatePoint) While most people care about their vision, fewer people take steps to protect their eye health. Indeed, nearly everyone (97 percent) agrees that having healthy eyes is important, but only half of those surveyed by VSP Vision Care and YouGov get annual eye exams. Unfortunately, even fewer people are aware of how important this preventive care is -- only 1 percent of respondents in the same survey reported knowing that signs of serious diseases and conditions like high blood pressure, autoimmune disorders, thyroid diseases and certain types of cancers can be detected through a comprehensive eye exam. The experts at VSP Vision Care are offering the following tips for better eye health: • Think about your overall health needs. Remember vision care isn’t just for people who need glasses or contacts -- getting an annual comprehensive eye exam helps maintain overall health and wellness and can even aid in the early detection of chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. • Consider your family’s needs. Only 12 percent of parents know children should receive their first eye exam at six months old, according to the VSP Vision Care and YouGov survey.

(StatePoint) A new survey of small business executives reveals key insights of what it takes to stay competitive today -- and technology and attracting top talent are crucial. The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll and sponsored by CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT), explores the intersection of technology and talent to identify small business executives’ top priorities for investment and growth. Among those surveyed, 37% plan to invest even more in their businesses during the next 12 months compared to the past 12 months, and of those planning to invest, cloud computing systems, customer relationship management tools and cyber security/data privacy are key priorities.

technology investments and addressing the risks that may come with them. While 82% of survey respondents say their current workforce is tech-savvy enough to keep up with the pace of digital transformation, 69% also say they focus on hiring tech-savvy employees. “Technology is only as effective as the employees that implement it and the customers that benefit from it,” says Denise Menelly, CIT executive vice president and head of Technology and Operations, “Our own successful integration of technology and talent has been instrumental in empowering both our clients and employees.”

“Understanding these key insights and trends can help small businesses maintain a competitive edge and also drive growth,” says Ken Martin managing director of CIT’s Small Business Solutions unit, which offers lending options that give small businesses the financial agility needed to adopt advanced technology-enabled solutions.

Cybersecurity and data privacy are top of mind for small business executives, as 56% say that the risk of security or data breaches are among the top concerns when it comes to technological changes. Other concerns include not knowing how new technology will work with current tools or systems and not having enough capital to invest in the latest technology.

The survey also revealed that earlier technology investments have already paid off for small businesses, with more than 40% crediting tech spending as a top driver of growth over the past 12 months. Additionally, 84% of survey respondents agreed that continuous technological investment is a business need. 79% agree that it’s critical in helping to attract and retain customers. At the same time, small business leaders recognize that their workforce will play a major role in implementing

As small businesses beef up their investments, they are focusing on technology and talent, which experts say is a formula for success in a competitive market.

Less than a third of small business executives are currently outsourcing financial aspects of their business, such as payroll, credit protection, talent acquisition and accounts receivables management. However, as companies add more employees, it’s more likely that they’ll consider outsourcing these various services.

• Get covered. If you are buying vision insurance on your own, you can do so at any point. If you want to do so through an employer, you don’t necessarily have to wait until open enrollment season to get covered. If you go through a life event like getting married, having a baby or moving to a different zip code, you are eligible to enroll in coverage outside the typical enrollment period. And you can get the most out of your vision benefits by ensuring coverage gives you access to a large network of vision providers with practices located near you. In the case of VSP Vision Care, members have access to more than 40,000 VSP network doctors. For more eye health tips, visit SeeMuchMoreVSP.com. To keep your eyes healthy and functional, be sure to get preventive services like a comprehensive eye exam every year. Doing so can help protect your overall health and wellness.

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” - Muhammad Ali

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• michiganchronicle.com • Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2020

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