Vol. 81 - No. 25

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Nebraska’s Only Black Owned Newspaper Vol. 81 - No. 25 Omaha, Nebraska

Friday, December 13, 2019

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‘A Lens Through Which All Eyes Could See’ The Life and Legacy of Rudy Smith

By Terri L. Crawford, JD “It takes vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of experience. Someone with the courage to live his dreams.”

– Les Brown On Saturday, Dec. 14, 10 a.m. at Salem Baptist Church, 3131 Lake St., Omaha will assemble to pay tribute to a remarkable man. A man who documented a substantial body of work and set the standard for Civil Rights photojournalism. A man of vision who saw the world through a unique and compassionate lens, and proved to be a suitable person indeed for such a monumental task.

Sight is something we experience with our senses.

Vision is deeply embedded in our spirit. Perhaps each of us has had a visceral reaction to a beautiful piece of art, a thunderous theatrical performance, or a brilliant photograph that captured the essence of a moment, searing it into our memory, forever suspended in time. Evoking these feelings in the eyes of the beholder is the goal of every master

craftsmen. Omaha, Nebraska was blessed to have such a master craftsman share his lens and his legacy with us and with the world for generations to come.

Rudy Smith was a man of the keenest precision, rivaling the masters of creativity when it came to his legendary photography and civil rights advocacy on behalf of our community.

His calling came early, at the tender age of 13, when he was inspired by none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a fateful date in Denver, Colorado at a National Baptist Convention. Rudy recalled being “mesmerized” by Dr. King’s speech. The experience sparked a flame in him that lasted his lifetime. Through his works and deeds, he served the Omaha community and the world at large, with civil rights activism and photographic genius.

Smith was moved to action and joined the NAACP’s Youth Council, eventually becoming president of a seven-state region.

He participated in sit-ins, protests, and marches at a time when the battle cry was, “Say it loud I’m black and I’m proud.” During

the 1960s, when the country was experiencing change and segregation was still the rule of the day, Omaha was also transforming. It was in this city that Rudy Smith courageously worked to desegregate a popular amusement park. It no longer exists, but his legacy endures. In 1963, Peony Park, now a HyVee grocery store, was a popular gathering place for young people of all ages. The only problem was that Blacks were not allowed entry into the park. During that summer, civil rights activist Rudy Smith and other community leaders participated in three protests over four days, forcing the desegregation of the park.

Such discrimination was illegal under Nebraska law. Peony Park was taken to court, found guilty, and paid a fine. It was a victory for all of us due to the courageous efforts of Smith and other young leaders.

Through the NAACP Youth Council, Rudy Smith was challenging desegregation at all levels throughout the city during that decade. Under his leadership, the NAACP Youth Council teamed with the Citizens Coordinating Committee for Civil Liberties (better known as “4CL”), protesting job and housing discrimination. They picketed in front of businesses that refused to hire Blacks, displaying signs that read, “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work!” Rudy Smith was instrumental in persuading the Omaha World-Herald to examine its own hiring practices. It employed no African Americans except in menial positions.

Smith and other “young lions” dedicated to the struggle gathered

to protest the paper’s pattern and practice of not hiring African American employees. The Herald’s production manager invited Smith and his minister in to talk. He told them he couldn’t control union hiring practices, but he could offer nonunion jobs. Rudy Smith accepted his first position with the World Herald working in the basement as a paper sorter.

He continued his employment after graduating from Omaha Central High School in 1963 and during his University of Nebraska at Omaha years. He graduated in 1969 from UNO as the first Black graduate of the School of Communications and was promoted to staff photographer with the World Herald as a result of his hard work and dedication.

In addition, Rudy Smith was instrumental in the fight for a Black Studies curriculum and the hiring of more Black faculty and staff at UNO. I am personally effected and eternally grateful as a current graduate adjunct faculty member.

Not by happenstance, Smith became a master photographer, capturing photographs from the civil rights movement, helping expose the cruelty of segregation and discrimination to a worldwide audience. This allowed Omaha and America to see the power of those images and how they could hurt, but also heal. Rudy Smith’s photography opened up and exposed the ugly reality of poverty and inequity in our city.

During the riots of the 1960s, Rudy Smith stood in an almost biblical display of the spirit of

An Omaha Star Returns The iconic star that graces the Omaha Star building, 2216 N. 24th St., is once again burning brightly and it is a sight to behold. The once beacon of hope has been restored as a symbol of strength and resiliency during this exciting time of revival along the North 24th Street Corridor.

Omaha Star Interim Publisher Frankie Jean Williams said the Mildred D. Brown Study Center board of directors worked diligently to restore the star to its original glory. She added, “We hope the star will serve as a reminder to some north Omaha residents, and a notice to others, that our community has a newspaper that is here to tell our stories and share our news. We appreciate the support of our readers and advertisers and look forward to serving the community for many years to come.”

If you haven’t driven down to 24th & Lake lately, take a ride and see the beautiful holiday lights that reflect a brilliant glow on this historic area of our city.

House Passes Voting Rights Measure to Restore Portions of Law Gutted in 2015

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia More than four years after sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were taken out by the Supreme Court and following four attempts under a House led by Republicans, Rep. Terri Sewell’s (R-Ala.) bill to reinstate voting protections has finally passed.

“Voting is personal to me because it was on the streets of my hometown, Selma, that foot soldiers shed their blood on the Edmund Pettus Bride so that all Americans – regardless of race – could vote,” Sewell, who is African American, wrote on Twitter.

“I am so proud the House voted to #RestoreTheVote,” she added.

The measure, H.R.

4, passed by a 228187 margin, with all Democrats voting in favor while Sewell and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick counted as the only Republicans to support the legislation.

Many are now calling on the Senate to take up the measure.

Rev. Dr. William Barber, the president and senior lecturer of See Voting Rights continued on page 2

Rep. Terri Sewell

Miami magazine!

(Terri L. Crawford, J.D; University of Nebraska Omaha, Department of Black Studies Adjunct Professor; Political Awareness and Involvement Chair, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (OAC); Policy Director League of Women Voters of Greater Omaha.)

New Warden Appointed at Youth Facility Diane Sabatka-Rine, chief of operations for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS), has announced the appointment of Loretta Wells as the new warden for the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility (NCYF). Wells will assume her new duties on Dec. 23.

Wells comes to the post having most recently served as deputy warden at the Omaha Correctional Center (OCC). Her Wells career started at NDCS in 1996 as a correctional officer at that same facility. Wells was promoted to corporal at CCC-O and then returned to OCC where she served in numerous custody positions.

In 1997, Wells became a unit case worker and later transferred to NCYF to assist in opening that facility. Wells also has experience in emergency preparedness, and was responsible for providing training and conducting regular audits for the three Omaha facilities. She also has a background in investigation and intelligence gathering. In 2017, Wells was promoted to the position of deputy warden, the position she has held since then.

“Wells brings a significant amount of experience to the position of warden,” noted Sabatka-Rine. “She is someone who has constantly sought increased responsibility and management experience. Wells will be a great mentor for the team at NCYF.” In addition to her work accomplishments, Wells has a bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis on criminal justice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Jingle & Mingle Omaha’s LaSharah Bunting One of Miami’s Most Seniors – Influential & Prominent Dec. 22.

Black Women by Legacy See In the Village for details.

Isaiah stating, “Send me, I will go.” He ventured into the eye of the storm on North 24th Street while the fires were still burning. No white reporters or photographers wanted the assignment due to the volatile racial undertones exploding in the city. Smith was the only photojournalist present to capture the intensity of the riots with his keen eye, clarity and spirit. His Pulitzer-worthy images were displayed on front pages of newspapers across this country.

Rudy Smith, like one of his heroes, challenged the existing state of segregation and injustice, illuminating through his photojournalistic lens a new pathway to racial justice and brotherhood. As Latin is tied to the law, so too was his life tied to that which is excellence. We bid you in Latin “bene factum” (well done), Rudy Smith. A life well lived and well done, true and faithful servant, well done.

Kwanzaa Celebration – Dec. 28.

See In the Village for details.

Page Two

LOCAL NEWS

THE OMAHA STAR

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Member of the National Newspaper Publishers Association Mildred D. Brown: Founder, July 9, 1938 Dr. Marguerita L. Washington: Publisher, 1989 - 2016 Phyllis Hicks: Publisher/Managing Editor, 2016 - 2019 Frankie Jean Williams: Interim Publisher/Editor Tanya Cooper: Advertising Director/Business Manager Debra Shaw: Social Media Administrator Barbara Reeves: Retail Distributor THE OMAHA STAR believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonism when it accords every man, regardless of race, color or creed, his human and legal rights. Hating no man, fearing no man in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as one is held back.

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Voting Rights continued from page 1 Repairers of the Breach and the march and die fighting for our right architect of the Moral Mondays to vote only to have that right denied Movement in North Carolina, counts us in this new Jim Crow era –fueled among those calling out Senate by the racist policies of conservative state legislators and the terrible leaders.

“The U.S. House passed legislation decision in Shelby v. Holder by the to restore the Voting Rights Act,” Supreme Court that reinforced these oppressive laws.

Barber stated.

“We call on Sen. Mitch McConnell “If [GOP Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell refuses to take it up to follow the leadership of House in the Senate, he’s confessing that he Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop the believes the GOP can’t win without assault on voting rights by scheduling a Senate vote on the Voting Rights voter suppression.”

Gerrymandering, unfair voter I.D. Advancement Act as soon as possible.

“We encourage voters across the laws, and intimidation at the polls are among the tactics being used to country to unite in resistance by prevent voters of color from casting holding their elected representatives votes, stated Marcela Howell, the accountable and, most of all, by founder, and president of In Our exercising their right to vote in local, Own Voice: National Black Women’s state, and federal elections.”

Sewell’s bill initially would cover Reproductive Justice Agenda.

“Passage of the Voting Rights 11 states, including nine in the South, Advancement Act by the House and also California and New York.

The bill would require all states is a first step toward restoring our democracy. We applaud the House to get federal approval for election of Representatives for passing the changes known to disproportionately Voting Rights Advancement Act of affect voters of color, like strict voter I.D. laws, tighter voter registration 2019,” Howell stated.

“The wholesale disenfranchisement requirements, and polling place of voters threatens our democracy. closures in areas with large numbers Conservative lawmakers across the of minority voters.

The Voting Rights Act is perhaps country are pulling out all the stops to prevent people of color – especially the most significant piece of civil Black people – from exercising our rights legislation in U.S. history, Senate Minority Leader Chuck right to vote,” she stated.

Howell continued: “We didn’t Schumer stated.

Tickets for Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ on Sale Now Disney Theatrical Productions and Omaha Performing Arts are thrilled to announce that tickets for the longawaited return engagement of Disney’s “The Lion King” are now on sale to the public. “The Lion King” will leap onto Omaha’s Orpheum Theater stage on April 15 for a four-week engagement through May 10.

Tickets are available via TicketOmaha.com, lionking. com, by phone at 402.345.0606, and the Ticket Omaha Box Office in the lobby of the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. VIP Ticket Packages, which include a prime seat location, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item, are also available.

Groups of 10 or more can reserve seating by phoning 402.661.8494.

Ticket buyers are reminded that the outlets listed above are the only official retail ticket outlets for all performances.

Ticket buyers who purchase tickets from a ticket broker or any third party should be aware that Omaha Performing Arts is unable to reprint or replace lost or stolen tickets and is unable to contact patrons with information regarding time changes or other pertinent updates regarding the performance.

The North American touring productions of “The Lion King” have been seen by more than 20 million theatergoers.

Having already played more than 80 cities across North America, “The Lion King” now proudly makes its return to Omaha.

Omaha Star Philosophy: At the Star we look at ourselves as the documentarians of African-American news in Omaha. We strive to make our readers and our advertisers proud they support a publication that portrays the AfricanAmerican as a multidimensional person capable of excelling in areas other than sports, entertainment and politics.

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For more than 50 years, the law stood as a powerful force to prevent the type of racial discrimination in voting that marred America’s history before the bill’s passage, Schumer stated.

“The Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted this critical legislation and unleashed a surge of pernicious Republican-led voter suppression laws,” he continued.

“The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. This is a critical step towards restoring the protections of the Voting Rights Act and beating back the scourge of voter suppression,” Schumer added.

He continued: “The right to vote is the very wellspring of our democracy.

Generations have organized, protested, marched, and died to extend the franchise to all Americans.

“It is incumbent upon every member of Congress to continue to fight to increase, rather than impede, access to the ballot box and ensure that every eligible American can have their voice heard. I urge Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring this legislation to the floor of the Senate. Voting rights are simply too important to be banished to Leader McConnell’s legislative graveyard.”

Metropolitan Utilities District Board Approves 2020 Budget The Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD) board has approved a 2020 budget with no natural gas or water rate increases. The water bill for the average residential customer will increase due to a previously approved water rate increase to be effective Jan. 2. Additionally, the gas bill will increase due to higher “pass-through” costs associated with increased gas costs and increased transportation charges.

The District estimates 2020 revenues of $200.7 million for the Gas Department and $138.4 million for the Water Department.

The revenues, combined with the spend-down of cash reserves, will be used to fund the District’s operating expenses, gas purchases, debt service costs, capital improvements and cast iron pipe replacement.

“We strive to find a balance between rate design and operational efficiencies while ensuring that we provide safe, reliable and cost-effective service to our customers,” said MUD President Mark Doyle. “It also is critical that the District continues to responsibly invest in infrastructure replacement to ensure the reliability of our gas and water distribution systems.”

The average residential gas customer is projected to use 781 therms in 2020 at an annual cost of $576, compared to $560 in the previous year. The additional $16 is the result of increased “pass-through” costs for the cost of gas, pipeline transportation charges and statutory fees.

The average residential water customer is projected to use 105 CCF in 2020 at an annual cost of $379, an increase of about $20 compared to the previous year.

Impacting water costs is a 12% water rate increase approved in 2019 to be effectuated Jan. 2.

As compared to 41 other U.S. utilities that participated in the 2019 Memphis Light, Gas and Water Survey, the District ranked fifth lowest in cost for residential gas bills and 14th lowest for residential water bills.

“The District’s affordability ranking in 2020 should be minimally impacted, in light of the fact that infrastructure replacement funding needs are being addressed by other utilities throughout the nation,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Schaffart.

Last month, S&P Global Ratings upgraded the District’s gas system credit rating to “AA+”, citing “strong financial metrics and low debt.” The issuer credit rating was assigned by S&P Global Ratings as part of the District’s obligations under certain of its gas purchase contracts. At the “AA+” rating level, the District’s gas system is now the highest rated municipal gas system of those to which S&P assigns credit ratings.

MUD is one of the few water utilities to operate a system with three water plants, which significantly enhances reliability and the ability for the communities served by the District to grow.

Gas and water bill summary: • Gas usage for the average residential customer is budgeted at 781 therms in 2020, the same as in 2019.

• An average residential gas customer will see a projected increase of $1.28 a month or about $16 a year.

• Water use for the 2020 average residential customer is budgeted at 105 CCF (78,540 gallons), compared to 106 CCF (79,288 gallons) in 2019.

• A customer with a 5/8-inch water meter will see a projected water bill increase of $1.69 a month or about $20 a year.

• An average residential gas and water customer will see a projected increase of about $36 annually ($3 a month) for a combined gas and water bill.

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Page Three

Down for the Cause Not Down for the Count Development & Gentrification in North Omaha

‘Affordable’ – To Whom?

By Dawaune Lamont Hayes

There are a growing number of conversations taking place in cities like Omaha, who are seeing new luxury developments in their urban centers. As rents and buildings rise, people have become especially concerned about affordable housing.

The term “affordable” is used regularly by developers, city officials, housing advocates and residents, but what exactly is meant by affordable? Affordable to whom? By what measures?

What does affordable housing look like and who is building it in Omaha?

Let’s start with the literal definition. Google “affordable” and you will see the terms “inexpensive; reasonably priced,” with “affordable housing” as the contextual example.

“Inexpensive?”

“Reasonably priced?” Both are subjective terms. That is where “affordable” really becomes tricky.

To the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), affordability means a household pays no more than 30 percent of its income for housing costs. Yet HUD also notes: “An estimated 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more than 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing.

A family with one fulltime worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.”

A household is defined as low-income if the annual wage falls below

80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). In the OmahaCouncil Bluffs metro, that’s $81,600. This means a family of four making $65,300 could qualify as “low-income” in some parts of the city. Meanwhile, the median household income for residents of North Omaha is approximately $41,800. A big issue with medians is the failure to represent those who live at or below the poverty line, many of whom are noticeably concentrated in North and South Omaha.

Basing “affordability” solely on AMI ignores ongoing costs such as transportation, medical, and education, which factor into a family’s true ability to afford their housing. Yet two of the major affordable housing developers in Omaha, Holy Name Housing Corporation (HNHC) and Gesu Housing, use AMI as the sole criteria for deciding whether or not a family qualifies for one of their homes.

Holy Name Housing Corporation is a nonprofit that has been providing affordable housing in North Omaha since 1982. Their definition of affordability: “What a family can afford based on the size of the family. We go by HUD guidelines of affordability,” said Mike Gawley, executive director

Home built by HNHC

Bird’s view of Adams Park Cottages

of HNHC. In the early years, HNHC renovated an estimated 140 homes until expenses outpaced finances and the City of Omaha acquired funds for building new homes.

“Whatever the family couldn’t afford in a mortgage, the city would give us the extra money for that house to build it and a second mortgage would be (taken out) on that house,” Gawley explained.

“As long as the family stayed in the house for 10 years, the second mortgage was forgiven.”

However, the forgivable mortgage model is no longer used. HNHC now uses Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, LIHTC (pronounced Ly-tek), to fund 90 - 95 percent of their new home builds.

Holy Name provides housing for two different income brackets: one for families who make 80 percent of the AMI or less, and one for families who make between 80 and 120 percent of the AMI. “In the future, we are also working on building housing for people who make 30 percent AMI or less,” said Gawley.

For a family of four to qualify for LIHTC housing, Gawley said their maximum income would be no more than $51,600. For a senior household of two, the maximum is $41,000. The organization also sets minimums to ensure the families can afford the mortgages.

LIHTC can be very complex. Put simply, Congress approves money each year for allocation by states.

State housing agencies then award the credits to private developers of affordable rental housing projects through a competitive process.

Organizations receiving the credits must meet certain parameters, ensuring that a percentage of units meet low-income guidelines.

How does one ensure these properties remain affordable?

Gawley explained that HNHC records receive regular audits.

They monitor their LIHTC properties for at least 15 years, and sometimes up to 30 years.

Fortunately, the family income must only qualify during the year they apply for a LIHTC property.

This means they can stay in the home even if it eventually increases. Other funding sources, like the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s Trust

Funds, evaluate incomes annually, which could disqualify people if they begin to earn over the “lowincome” limit.

Holy Name offers financial support services to families living in their properties, including budgeting and mortgages.

December already have qualified buyers.

“The homeowner puts in a third, HUD/the City put in a third, and Gesu puts in a third,” said Barr, “and that’s how we define affordable, keeping the monthly house payment and utilities at a

“A family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.”

Affordable Housing, HUD.gov

Gawley mentioned Omaha 100, which works with a consortium of financial institutions to offer affordable mortgage lending products and Family Housing Advisory Services, located on 24th & Lake Streets, which provides low-interest loans and homeownership counseling.

As for Gesu Housing, CEO Dale Barr reiterated that affordable is defined by income of 80 percent or under AMI and the person qualifies for a $68,000 bank mortgage. Applicants must have a good work and credit history to receive that loan. Gesu refers people to Omaha 100 before going through the application process, said Barr. If they qualify, the City of Omaha backs a $60,000 loan to enable the applicant to buy a $128,000 home from Gesu while only paying their monthly bank loan, which averages $650.

Barr said each house costs $200,000 to build. He raises $70,000 per house from private foundations and other grants to cover building costs and maintain the lower selling price. Gesu is building 71 houses in the Holy Name/Clifton Hills area, 57 of which have been sold, with the remainder under construction.

Currently, there is a waiting list.

Three homes to be completed in

level where they can afford it.”

Most of the homes resemble suburban, single-family homes.

Holy Name Housing gets its recent designs from Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture. Gesu works with Hallmark Construction to devise layouts based on the neighborhood surrounding their new construction. Most models have three to four bedrooms, attached garage, and noteworthy Energy Star ratings to reduce energy costs.

Holy Name Housing, Gesu Housing and Habitat for Humanity will build new housing along North 30th Street in a major redevelopment of the Highlander neighborhood coordinated by Seventy Five North Development Corporation. Partial funding comes from a $25 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant received by the City of Omaha earlier in 2019. Banks, private donors and founations committed an additional $187 million to the project.

So now that we have this government standard of affordability that dictates much of the local new construction we see in North Omaha, how does the community think it should work?

Look for Part Two in the Dec. 27 issue!

All That Glitters, Part 3 45 Years of Block Grants Omaha, 2019.

Omahans are now on equal footing with the coasts in terms of many fashion, cultural and social trends which formerly took years to reach the midwest. Eyebrows are now appropriately groomed, outfits on point. Millennials seemingly born with an iPhone in their hands can Google “Jaws,” a movie that preceded their birth by about 10 years.

The downtown Mall is once again subject to a massive transformation, expected to cost up to $290 million by completion.

The Missouri Riverfront Revitalization Project will eventually extend well beyond the footprint of the original mall to Heartland of America Park, Lewis & Clark Landing and across the river to Council Bluffs’ riverfront. The project is co-chaired by Ken Stinson (Peter Kiewit Sons) and Mogens Bay (Valmont), titans of Omaha business and board members of Heritage Services. The same group has raised nearly a half billion dollars in donations for public-use buildings over the past 25 years including CHI Health Center (formerly CenturyLink Center) and TD Ameritrade Park.

Unlike the original ‘70s Mall which had federal funds as its impetus, the current Riverfront project is largely privately financed. The project’s official website reads, “The Downtown Riverfront Trust (DRT) will contribute approximately $230 million in private donations for construction of the parks. The City and the DRT will each contribute $3 million annually for ten years to a fund managed by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority for operation, maintenance and activation costs.”

Why are so many resources being funneled into Mall 2.0? A clue may be found in an Omaha Master Plan prepared about a decade ago, during the administration of Mayor Mike Fahey (2001-2009).

Regarding “Land Use” it reads, “… the city lacks a clear and positive national image. (emphasis added) This lack of image hinders Omaha’s ability to define a national and regional role and in turn has an adverse effect on business recruitment.”

Omaha’s city center is ripe for development because of cheap(er) land and old buildings that can often be razed or rehabilitated without significant interference or political fallout. Dollars flow in and improvements are made, property taxes and rents creep up, which is lucrative for developers and the City.

But family incomes are lower in North and South Omaha. Many residents are preoccupied by the struggle to pay for basic necessities like decent housing. The push-pull of revitalization is a doubleedged sword that cuts low to moderate income renters especially deeply.

A bald truth: there is little financial motivation to protect low income people. Protecting human rights falls to social services, nonprofits, activists and City leaders who embrace civic responsibility, a meaningless concept unless backed up by action. The 2009 City Master Plan proclaims, “Omaha must be a community committed to promoting and maintaining a high quality of life for all of its people.” On the 2019 Will Brown Day of Remembrance, the Omaha World Herald quoted Mayor Jean Stothert’s public remarks. Omaha’s governing class needs to look unflinchingly at this horrific crime “to recognize that enormous racial tension and suffering were part of our past, and that affects our feelings and our beliefs to this day.”

Against this backdrop, the final vestiges of Spencer Homes are being replaced with updated housing. Much of Spencer Homes was destroyed in 1981 to make room for the North Freeway, a controversial move that displaced 56 families and numerous

businesses in a move Urban Planner Marty Shukert calls, “one of the worst planning decisions the city of Omaha ever made.”

According to the Project Overview, “Leveraging significant private philanthropy, the housing strategy will transform Spencer Homes into a mixedincome community (known as Kennedy Square) with access to educational amenities, as well as complete the Highlander mixed-use development.”

Seventy Five North’s Highlander redevelopment has made a splash at 30th and Parker, formerly the site of Pleasant View Homes. Once complete, Highlander plans a total of 280 units of mixedincome housing for sale or rent, including apartments, townhomes, and single-family homes. There are currently 101 rental units finished, and a senior housing complex of 60 units is under construction. Sixty percent of the housing is dedicated to low and moderate income residents, and 40 percent to market rate. The blueprint for Highlander is the Purpose Built Community model created, in the once crime-ridden East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta.

Mixed income housing plus childcentric and health-conscious programming sets the Highlander apart as a development with a mission to retain and champion low income residents who have lived in the area for years. Yet there have been murmurs of suspicion about the Highlander in part because the majority of the funding originates outside of North Omaha. The Purpose Built Communities organization was founded by Atlanta-based developer Tom Cousins along with billionaires Warren Buffett and Julian Robertson.

The Highlander ‘s philanthropic partners include the Sherwood Foundation, the William and Ruth Scott Foundation, the Lozier Foundation, the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation, the Peter Kiewit

Foundation and the Daugherty Foundation.

Like the Mall, a project of this magnitude arguably could not have gone forward without a mix of business, federal and philanthropic support. Although Michael Maroney of Omaha Economic Development Corporation is not directly involved in building the project, he observes housing development will probably continue on this path away from federal funds such as HOME and CDBGs. “All federal dollars aren’t necessarily gold.” Maroney says with a slightly pained chuckle. “My father used to say when I was growing up, all that glitters is not gold just because it shines. Don’t get me wrong; federal dollars are important and they’re necessary to move. But they come with a lot of restrictions.” Even a small percentage of federal funds attach regulations to the entire project, including environmental assessments, wage requirements from the Department of Labor, and years of ongoing monitoring of affordability. All these add to overall costs, making them less attractive to most developers.

“The reality is,” Maroney says, “if there’s not an integrated economic base (in North Omaha) then it’s going to be harder to attract businesses or to sustain businesses that are there.” Senator Justin Wayne, speaking at a December 9th meeting with business owners from the 24th Street Corridor put it more bluntly: “People need to do business with Black folks.” 80 to 90 percent of the issues in North Omaha would disappear with economic development, Wayne says. His “Innovate Nebraska 3.0” plan provides a detailed map for that development. Wayne writes, “While the implementation will be challenging, the philosophy is simple: local jobs, build great communities, which generate income, that strengthens our state.”

Page Four THE OMAHA STAR

PRAISE, WORSHIP, DEVOTION, OBITUARIES & INSPIRATION

December 13, 2019

RIP Juice WRLD Details are trickling in surrounding the sudden death of rapper Juice WRLD, who died Sunday morning following a seizure at an airport in Chicago. Previously, it had been reported that the rapper suffered a seizure as law enforcement was searching his luggage, which allegedly contained a large amount of prescription pills and 70 pounds of marijuana. But a new report provided some missing context to the deadly episode.

According to TMZ, which broke the news of Juice WRLD’s death Sunday morning, “at some point between the plane landing and the feds conducting their search … Juice was seen swallowing several Percocet pills in what people believed was an attempt to hide them. Our sources say the pills might’ve contributed to his death in a possible OD.” The pilot flying the private jet that Juice WRLD and his entourage were on reportedly alerted the authorities that guns were on board before being told to divert the flight to Chicago, where law enforcement was waiting.

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Until One Has Loved an Animal

Kids Talk About God What Is the Narrow Gate of Which Jesus Spoke?

By Dr. William Holland My wife and I were raised with dogs and when Cheryl and I started our new life together, it did not take long for us to bring home our first fur babies, (a Scottish Terrier and a Wire Hair Terrier) and over the years we’ve had many other wonderful companions. James Cromwell is quoted as saying, “Pets are humanizing. They remind us of our obligation and responsibility to preserve and care for all life.”

Like many of you, our dogs are like our children and it’s truly a privilege to share our lives with these remarkable individuals. They are such a blessing with being loyal, protective, and a sincere desire to love us unconditionally. Therapy animals have proven they have a special sensitivity that can detect human emotions and even the condition of our health. When we make eye contact with our furry friends, it seems they can see into our soul with a devotion that is pure and without question. We now have a young English bulldog named Teddy Roosevelt who is our latest best friend. At seventy pounds, he loves to take turns squeezing into our recliners with us in the evenings and when it’s time for bed, he labors to make it upstairs for another chance to snuggle with us. Anatole France is quoted as saying, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

Sometimes I’m surprised how much our dog knows. We’ve not actually tried to teach him a lot of tricks but when he’s laying around, it seems he always has one eye on us as he listens to every word and watches every move we make. I believe for all that he does not understand, he is learning to interpret

Beautiful Jim

By Carey Kinsolving And Friends

Dr. Key and Beautiful Jim our voice intonations and habits in order to somewhat figure out what’s going on. Speaking of our beloved companions, I want to share a story with you about an amazing pet that for over the last one hundred years has been declared as one of the most intelligent animals ever known.

It’s not a dog, dolphin, elephant, or a monkey, but rather a horse named “Beautiful Jim Key.” It’s a fascinating and true account of the deep love between a compassionate man and a clever stallion and how this relationship revealed that animals are much more perceptive than was ever imagined.

In the late eighteen hundreds, a former slave and self-taught veterinarian named Dr. William Key had the idea of breeding two extraordinary horses with the hopes of producing a super racehorse.

Well, the Arabian-Hamiltonian colt was quite a specimen alright, but he turned out to be superintelligent instead of a champion athlete. At birth, the colt was very weak and sickly, and his mother passed away shortly thereafter which added to the opinions that Mr. Key should euthanize him, but instead a strong bond was formed between them. It’s documented how the wobbly young colt insisted to spend every minute with William and so he was brought into the house as a member of the family where he lived and slept.

William named the horse Jim on his birth papers along with his

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own last name, and the “Beautiful” was added later. Right away Mrs. Key noticed that Jim was very attentive and developing humanlike behavior so she started asking him questions to which he would nod yes or no. After observing Jim’s desire to communicate, William the “horse whisperer” was eager to see just how much Jim could learn.

William was a gentle and kind man and slowly started teaching Jim the alphabet where he quickly responded by spelling words, understanding math problems and eventually advanced to sentences and Bible verses. William introduced Jim to local fairs where they astounded large crowds with Jim’s ability to spell words by putting letters on a rack in the correct order. In 1897, Jim performed in the Tennessee Centennial Exposition as thousands witnessed his incredible abilities including President William McKinley who was quoted as saying, “This is certainly the most astonishing and entertaining exhibition I have ever seen.”

Performing all over the country including the World’s Fair in 1904, it was said that Jim was the most famous celebrity of this era. With over a million supporters of the Jim Key Band of Mercy which ignited the animal rights movement, Jim passed away in 1912 and on his grave displays the popular slogan “Be kind to animals” as a lasting tribute to God’s spectacular creation.

“God has a narrow gate so people won’t push and shove to get in,” says Allen, 10. “You have to wait your turn to get in,” adds Brittany, 7.

When there’s a great sporting event, some fans sleep outside the ticket office in the cold to get a ticket. We may think that places in heaven are limited, but that’s not the case, says Clayton, 8: “Inside the gate is the biggest place you have ever seen.”

Heaven’s capacity is always greater than the demand to get in.

There are thousands of gates that promise salvation, but Jesus spoke of himself as the only way through heaven’s gates.

“There is a wide path for many choices,” says Shelby, 9. “If you make the right choice, you get to go to heaven. There’s a narrow gate because not many people will make the right choice to go to heaven.”

To say there’s only one way or gate to heaven offends many people. Yet, that’s exactly what Jesus said. Heaven is inclusive in that people from every race, nation and rank of society will be there, but it’s not pluralistic in the sense that there are many ways to get there.

Many of life’s important decisions are made for us. For the first few years of life, parents and authority figures made major decisions for us. But when it comes to where we will spend eternity, God gives us a choice.

There are many ideas about the narrow gate. “Do not go, be bad. Be good,” says Erica, 7. “Be good” must be the most popular parental admonition. The problem with “be good” is that it’s a lot easier to “be bad.” If you don’t believe me, tell a child not to touch something and leave the room.

A man once addressed Jesus as “Good teacher.” Jesus replied, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (Matthew 19:16-17). Even though Jesus was God, the inquirer didn’t realize the implications of what he said. Like many, he was under the illusion that he could earn eternal life.

Some think the narrow gate is avoiding something really bad.

“I would not shoot anybody, and God himself will help me not shoot anybody,” says Jeremy, 7.

There’s always someone who has committed a sin that shocks us. If God graded on the curve, it might mean something. But he doesn’t. Enter by the narrow gate and pass, or try another way and fail.

“You can go to heaven if you believe Jesus is the son of God who died on the cross for your sins,” says Adrienne, 7.

“It means you believe in him and you enter through him. I will enter through his gate when I die,” says Brittney, 10.

Think about this: Jesus can’t be only a good man because a good man wouldn’t claim to be the only way to heaven if it were not true. Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or God, wrote the famous author C.S. Lewis.

Memorize this truth: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Ask this question: Are you willing to roll the cosmic dice by believing all roads lead to life when Jesus said he is the way, the truth and the life?

THE BLACK PRESS AND THE BLACK CHURCH: Both Born Out of Necessity For Self-Expression And Both Black - Owned.

Together, The Press And the Pulpit Can Give Us Full Citizenship Immediately

ATTENTION READERS Looking for Death and Funeral Notices If you want a notice of death or obituary published in the Omaha Star Newspaper, call or let your funeral director know that you want a notice placed in the Omaha Star Newspaper.

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Monday - Thursday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

402-346-4041

PRAISE & WORSHIP DIRECTORY

December 13, 2019

ALLEN CHAPEL A.M.E.

Rev. Benjamin R. Finnell

Rev. Benjamin R. Finnell, Presiding Elder and Pastor Tammi Tate, Public Relations Chairperson 2842 Monroe St. Ph: (402) 502-8003 Fx: 934-8581 Sunday School...........................9:00 a.m.

Sunday Worship......................10:00 a.m.

Thursday Bible Study..............8:00 p.m. via teleconference, dial-in number 563-999-2090 and access code 576989

MOUNT CALVARY COMMUNITY CHURCH

Page Five

ST. MARK BAPTIST CHURCH

“Jesus is the Light of the World” Bishop Kevin Chambers, Senior Pastor (Elect) www.m3comaha.org 5112 Ames Avenue Omaha, NE 68104 (402) 457-4216 Church Phone (402) 453-4084 Pastor’s Office

THE OMAHA STAR

Pastor Jarrod S. Parker 3616 Spaulding Street, Omaha, NE 68111 Phone: 402-451-0307 Email: smbcsecretary@ stmarkbaptist.org Bishop Kevin Chambers

Pastor Jarrod S. Parker

Sunday School – Sunday 9:00 a.m.

Services: Sunday School .................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship Experience ......... 11:00 a.m.

Word On Wednesday (WOW) ........................ 7:00 p.m.

Worship Service – Sunday 10:15 a.m.

Children’s Church (except 2nd Sunday) Holy Communion every 1st Sunday Prayer and Bible Doctrine Study Midday - 12:00 noon; Evening – 7:00 p.m.

MT. MORIAH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

“Where Life is for Everyone”

Dr. Ralph B. Lassiter, Pastor 2602 N. 24th St. Off: (402) 451-8800 Fax: (402) 451-8522 mtmoriahomaha.net pastorlassiter@gmail.com

Drs. Mar n & Lynnell Williams Founders & Lead Pastors SUNDAYS Prayer 9:00 AM Worship 10:00 AM

WEDNESDAYS Prayer 6:00 PM Worship 7:00 PM

www.ambassadorswc.com 402-341-1866 5417 N 103rd St. Omaha, NE 68134

Televised Broadcast – Sundays at 6:00 p.m., KPAO Cox Channel 22 & CenturyLink Channel 89 Our Mission: “To exalt the Savior, edify saints, evangelize sinners and elevate society.”

SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH

Rev. Ralph Lassiter, Sr.

Fr. Dave Korth

Sunday School .............................................. 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship ..........................................10:45 a.m.

Overcomers in Christ......................Sunday 7:00 p.m.

2207 Wirt Street Omaha, NE 68110 Phone: 402-451-5755

Wednesday Bible-Prayer Service 11:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m Fr. Dave Korth

CLAIR MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH “Come Get Your Hilltop Experience” Rev. Portia A. Cavitt, Pastor 5544 Ames Avenue, Omaha, NE 68104 Telephone: 402-451-8322 • Website: www.cmumc.net Email: clairumc@cumc.omhcoxmail.com Rev. Portia A. Cavitt, Pastor

Sunday School………………………8:45 a.m.

Sunday Worship Experience………...10:00 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study….…….…….6:00 p.m.

Mass Schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - 8:00 am in Rectory (2218 Binney)

MT. NEBO MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

Thursday - School Mass 8:10 am in Church

“The Church Where Fellowship is Real”

Saturday - 5:00 pm Sunday - 8:15 am and 10:30 am

Pastor Terry L. Arvie 5501 N. 50th Street Ph: 402-451-4245 Fx: 402-451-2130 office@mtneboomaha.org www.mtneboomaha.org Pastor Terry L. Arvie

Sunday Morning Worship ...................................9:00 a.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting .....................7:00 p.m.

Wednesday Night Church School ......................7:30 p.m.

Youth/Children Ministry Focus (Wed.) ............7:30 p.m.

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH Serving God and One Another in the Spirit of Excellence Rev. Dr. Selwyn Q. Bachus Senior Pastor 3131 Lake Street Omaha, NE 68111 402-455-1000 www.salembc.org

Rev. Dr. Selwyn Q. Bachus

Rev. Kent H. Little, Lead Pastor Services on Sundays at 8:30 am & 10:50 am

PLEASANT GREEN BAPTIST CHURCH

7020 Cass Street, Omaha, NE 68132 402.556.6262 www.fumcomaha.org First United Methodist Church is a welcoming and inclusive community, inspired to grow with and in God.

Weekly Services Sunday Morning Worship Service .....................8:30 a.m. & 11:30 a.m.

Children’s Church (2nd & 4th Sunday) ................8:30 a.m. & 11:30 a.m.

Life Development (Sunday School) .........................................10:15 a.m.

Wednesday Word and Worship (WWW) ................................ 6:30 p.m.

“Where CHRIST is Preeminent and the Word Prevails!”

Rev. Kent H. Little

Pastor Brian Page 5555 Larimore Avenue Church: 402-346-8427 www.pleasantgreenomaha.org

TABERNACLE OF FAITH CHURCH

Pastor Brian Page

Pastor Barbara Mitchell 2404 Fort Street, Omaha, NE 68111 402-455-1800 Church 402-455-3390 Fax

Wednesday: Prayer Power Hour ......................................12:00 p.m Thursday: Youth For Christ ............................................6:00 p.m Prayer & Bible Study ....................................6:30 p.m Sunday: Sunday School.................................................9:00 a.m.

Morning Worship..........................................10:15 a.m.

Televised Broadcast Sunday @ 10pm on KPAO Cox Communication channel 22 & Century Link channel 89

Charles Galloway - President, Rev John Deang - Pastor, Dr John Beasley - Elder

Pastor Barbara Mitchell

8:30 am Early Sunday Morning Worship 9:30 - 10:15 am Sunday Morning Breakfast 10:15 - 11:15 am Sunday School 11:30 am Sunday Morning Worship 6:30 pm Wednesday Bible Study 8:00 pm Friday Night Service Noon day prayer Thursday - Saturday

HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod 2721 N. 30th Street 402-453-1583 Sunday School................................10:00 a.m.

Church Service...............................11:00 a.m.

YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

Rev. Vitalis Anyanike

ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH

ZION BAPTIST CHURCH

2423 Grant St. Omaha, NE 68111 Ph: 402-348-0631 • Fax 402-342-4451 Sunday Mass: 9:00 a.m.

Reconciliation: Sunday after Mass or by appointment

Rev. Kenneth A. Allen, Pastor

&

JOY OF LIFE MINISTRIES COGIC

HOLY NAME CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pastors Eric and Cynthia Butler

2901 Fontenelle Blvd. 68104 Ph: 402-451-6622 • Fax 402-457-6901 Mass Schedule: Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m., Sat. 8:30 a.m. & 5:00 p.m.

Sun. 8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m. & Noon (Spanish) Reconciliation: Sat. 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. or by appointment

6401 N. 56th Street Omaha, NE 68104 Ph: 402-399-9628 E-Mail: Jolpastor@aol.com Sunday School..........................9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship......................10:30 a.m.

Sunday Evening Worship.......6:00 p.m.

Wednesday Night ....................7:00 p.m.

Bible Study and Youth Ministries

Pastor: Rev. Vitalis Anyanike

Pastor Eric Butler and Co-Pastor Cynthia Butler

2215 Grant Street Omaha, NE 68110 Ph: 402-346-1502 Fax: 402-344-2720

Pastor Kenneth A. Allen

SUNDAY Sunday Morning Worship……………10:00 A.M. Sunday School……………………….. 9:00 A.M. WEDNESDAY 11:00 A.M. ~ Hour of Power Bible Study Wednesday is Family Night!

6:00 P.M. ~ Prayer & Praise Service 6:30 P.M. ~ Feast & Fellowship (Light Meal) 7:15 P.M. ~ Discipleship Academy (Classes for ages 5 & up)

THE WORSHIP CENTER North 24th Street Church of God “Presenting the Never-Changing GOD to an ever-changing World!”

MORNING STAR BAPTIST CHURCH “Where Christ Jesus Is the Center of Attention” Rev. Dr. Leroy E. Adams, Jr. Senior Pastor 2019 Burdette Street Omaha, NE 68110 Ph: 402-342-0018 Fx: 402-346-9300 Rev. Dr. Leroy E. Adams, Jr.

Radio Broadcast: 101.3 fm 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each Sunday Worship Service .............10:00 a.m.

Sunday School .................8:45 a.m.

Excluding First Sunday Tuesday Evening Service.........7:00 p.m.

Dr. Stan Rone - Senior Pastor 2021 N. 24th Street • Omaha, NE 68110 (402) 341-4297 Dr. Stan Rone Senior Pastor

Sunday Kingdom Academy 9:00 a.m.

Worship Celebration 10:15 a.m.

Tuesday Prayer Hour 7:00 a.m. & 12:00 noon Wednesday Power Hour (Prayer/Bible Study) 6:30 p.m.

Youth and Children 6:30 p.m. www.theworshipcenter24cog.org

Page Six THE OMAHA STAR

LOCAL NEWS

December 13, 2019

Christmas Comes to the Village ‘Tis the season for holiday fun. Last Saturday businesses and organizations along the North 24th Street Corridor opened their doors to the community to celebrate the 9th annual Christmas in the Village. Hundreds of people made their way to 24th Street to enjoy exciting holiday cheer.

The Omaha Star once again partnered with the Washington Branch Library to delight excited children with a new book to take home. Each child who took time to pick out the perfect book then received a bag of goodies. This year the children were assisted in their book selection by Washington Branch Librarian Nancy Novotny and Library Specialist, Kimara Snipe.

Photos by Candide Villard

Voluntary Early Retirement after 37-Year Career in Banking/Finance Karnetta Rushing, Vice President and Branch Manager of the First National Bank Ames branch, has announced her voluntary early retirement after an exceptional 37 year career in banking and finance.

“A career in banking never occurred to me when I first applied at First National Bank of Omaha as a freshman in college. I grew up in the North Omaha community in a “nurturing” low income-single parent family household.

I don’t recall ever having discussions about banking and finances in our home. I feel very blessed to have become a Vice President in banking to serve my own community.”

Rushing has an MBA in Business Management from Bellevue University. She has been recognized for her leadership and community service by numerous organizations and her community volunteerism does not go unnoticed. She Rushing is an active member of her church. She’s married and has an adult son.

“I cannot express enough the need for more people of color to seek careers in the financial sector. For me, it was a pathway to help individuals in low-to-moderate income communities to attain sound professional advice rather than trusting their financial needs to predatory sources. There is nothing more rewarding than to have the opportunity to impact the lives of individuals, families and small business owners in emerging communities.”

“A great and effective door has been opened to me. So, I know that my work is not finished. Special thanks to First National Bank of Omaha and the Laurtizen Family for trusting and investing in me and their continued support to my community.”

Statement on Articles of Impeachment from NDP Chair Jane Kleeb

Kleeb

Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb issued the following statement Tuesday after House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – stemming from charges that he corrupted the U.S. election process and endangered national security.

“The survival of our democracy is at stake. As Speaker Pelosi said, Trump is a threat to our democracy and national security. I commend House Democrats for standing up to this criminal bully and giving our nation a path to restoring the rule of law and defending our Constitution.”

Candidates Reminded Not to Use State Seal in Campaigns LINCOLN – Secretary of State Bob Evnen reminds candidates running for office in 2020 and political consultants that the use of the state seal is prohibited, for political or campaign purposes. Evnen, who is keeper of the Great Seal of Nebraska, reiterated that use of the seal was strictly limited to state government and educational use.

Anyone wishing to utilize the Great Seal must request written permission from the Secretary of State. Each request is evaluated to determine if it meets the guidelines.

“Citizens often will tell us of someone using the state seal on a website or social media page,” Evnen said. “Occasionally, it is in connection with a campaign. Other misuses we discover are associated with a product or an organization.”

Evnen said it is a common misconception that the state seal is available for public use.

Furthermore, there is only one official and

correct image. “Images that are available on the internet are frequently inaccurate. So, not only could someone be using the image inappropriately, that person may not even be using the right one.”

“Using the state seal is like having a stamp of state endorsement, which is a wholly inaccurate message if being conveyed by political campaigns or product marketing,” Evnen said. “As a recognized icon and honored symbol of the state, the Great Seal should be treated with integrity and respect.”

Evnen said warnings will be issued to anyone who uses the seal inappropriately.

“Fortunately in recent years, we have been able to get the word out and are having better luck with people seeking written permission from my office to use the state seal,” said Evnen. “It is important that this continues to be the policy going forward.”

COMMENTARY THE OMAHA STAR Page Seven Newsroom Diversity Efforts Don’t Let Predatory Lenders Have Failed. It’s Time to Take a Rob Your Holiday Joy overdraft “coverage” still have a right Structural Approach

By Charlene Crowell to cancel the costly so-called service by

December 13, 2019

directing their institutions to remove it.

“With abusive overdraft fees, financial institutions take advantage of customers fighting desperately to stay afloat,” said Rebecca Borné, a senior policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending.

“Ultimately, these fees drive many from the banking system altogether and make reentry very difficult.”

Data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), back up Borné’s claim. Over half a million households who once had bank accounts became unbanked – primarily due to high or unpredictable fees like overdraft.

Other consumers, beckoned by the brightly-colored signs advertising “fast cash” or “bad credit? No problem,” should just keep walking or driving past storefronts of payday and car-title loans. These predatory loans often lead to consumers paying more in interest and fees than the money borrowed. They ultimately wind up costing consumers $8 billion in fees in states where they are legal.

Research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has found that predatory payday loans alone drain $4.1 billion in fees from consumers annually – borrowers who typically are unable to fully repay the original loan, usually due in two weeks’ time. With average annual interest rates of 391%, three of every four payday loans go to borrowers with more than 10 loans a year.

Although the typical payday loan averages $357, a car title loan provides more cash, averaging about $1,000 but must be secured with an owned car as collateral.

Failure to make on-time payments often leads to the loss of the vehicle – even though the loan may only be a fraction of the vehicle’s marketable value. While the lender holds on to a car title, the borrower is faced with triple-digit interest and, one of every five cases – a whopping 20% percent – end up losing their personal transportation.

In recent years, activist ministers and clergy have emerged as some of the most vocal consumer advocates on payday and car-title loans.

“American consumers are now in the death grip of a government that is not only deaf to the cries of the poor for fundamental economic justice, but this government is also blind to their merciless exploitation by payday lending traffickers,” said Rev. James T. Golden of Florida.

“Consumers don’t need payday loans; they need financial stability,” added Rev. Dallas Lenear, Director of Project GREEN in Grand Rapids. “And, payday loans keep them unstable. Scripture says, ‘Do not exploit the poor because they are poor...’

(Prov. 22:22) But that is precisely what payday loans do.”

All forms of predatory lending bring the probability of robbing low-to-moderate income consumers of their holiday joy.

This holiday season try adding a full measure of practical sense to help your dollars preserve the spirit and joy of the season – it only comes once a year!

After the nation gives thanks for its many blessings, the annual season of holiday joy begins with its barrage of celebrations both secular and spiritual that mark the season. Colorful decorations and Christmas trees pop up at parades, concerts, parties and more as family and friends gather in good cheer.

For many businesses, the holidays are also the difference between ending the year in profits or in red ink. So there are also an abundance of advertisements, circulars and commercials beckoning each of us to offer loved ones a special token of the season.

From Black Friday discounts, to Cyber Monday sales, to the perennial Christmas Eve bargain sales, merchants hope their cash registers will ring nonstop this season.

But the holiday season is also a time when predatory lenders offer enticements to put more debt than money into your pockets. For unsuspecting consumers, it’s temptation trapped in all kinds of packages that seem too good to pass by. In reality, these deals are often a debt trap leading to a holiday financial hangover that can last well into the New Year.

If you believe pre-paid debit cards are insurance against financial rip-offs, think again.

Some prepaid cards may be a helpful way to avoid overspending. But before paying cash for this convenient form of plastic, read all of the fine print that explains the terms and fees that come with its usage. Terms and options can and do vary significantly. Many include a range of fees from activation, to learning your current balances, reloading monies and in some cases fees for inactivity. Some prepaid cards even use tricky tactics that allow consumers to inadvertently overspend the value on the card and incur an overdraft fee. By the time all applicable fees are assessed, the amount of money actually available on that prepaid card can shrink and shortchange how far it can help on purchases.

Another debt trap, overdraft fees, are marketed and sold as a ‘customer convenience’. Yet in truth, these fees can run up holiday bills that many consumers will not know about until after New Year.

Their trick is for the bank to extend credit when transactions exceed monies actually available in accounts – including debit card point-of-sale transactions, and ATM withdrawals which banks could easily decline at no charge when consumers lack sufficient funds. Instead, some banks often accept the transaction, putting the customer in the red and charging a steep $35 per overdraft fee. Additionally, some banks alter the posting of transactions in an effort to maximize revenues. In 2017, customers of several large banks paid over $11 billion in overdraft fees in just one year.

Consumers most vulnerable to these high-cost fees are those who have little or no cushion in their checking accounts.

Consumers who may have accepted

Help the Omaha Star Find Its Missing Issues Complete the Nebraska State Historical Society Archives On June 2 representatives of the Nebraska State Historical Society took bound copies of some of the Omaha Star’s earliest issues with them to Lincoln.

The five bound books will complete issues missing from the state archives for the past sixty years, ranging from September 17, 1938 through October 26, 1951.

The Mildred D. Brown Memorial Study Center (MDBMSC) Board is working with the Nebraska Historical Society to create a complete Library Archive of the past and current issues of the Omaha Star. Although many years of newspapers have been microfilmed by the Omaha Public Library and the Nebraska Historical Society, many issues are missing. We are asking readers, who may have copies of the issues that are listed, to please bring them to the Omaha Star to be microfilmed. The issues will be returned to you.

The MDBMSC was formed to continue the legacy of Mildred Brown the founder and publisher of the Omaha Star. The purpose of the Study Center is to provide area students with scholarship support and opportunities to envision career possibilities in journalism and communications through educational programs, field trips, tutoring and mentoring. They are also provided access to resources and inspirational archive materials.

The Omaha Star and its affiliated foundation, the Mildred D. Brown Memorial Study Center, are seeking any copies of the following issues: July 8, 1939 to Mar. 15, 1940 May 3, 1940 July 4, 1952 June 29, 1962 Feb. 14, 1964 Apr. 29, 1967 Feb. 29, 1968 Mar. 21, 1968 to Mar. 28, 1968 May 2, 1968 May 23, 1968 July 18, 1968 Aug. 8, 1968 to Aug. 15, 1968 Nov. 14, 1968 May 29, 1969

★ SO THE

Our office will be closed Janu ary 18 th, in obse

ce of Martin MAHA Lutherrvan King holiday TAR Ben Gray to spea k at Mar

Dedicated to the Service of the Shall Lack a Champion People that NO Good Cause and that Evil Shall Not Go Unopposed Nebraska

Luther King Day

’s Only Black Owned Newspaper

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event

Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray will commemorative deliver a address on the Monday, Jan. UNMC campus Thursday, January 18, to on 7, 2010 Rev. Martin Luther honor slain civil rights leader, 50 cents King Jr. Gray’s speech, which is sponsored The Nebraska

by UNMC and Medical Center, Truhlsen Campus will be in the Events Center Center. in the Sorrell “We are pleased The Partnership to bring a city For community volunteer leader and tireless non-profit organization Our Kids, a Schools.” to campus,” Newland, M.D., that provides disadvantaged director of UNMC’s said Myrna “The Partnership The mission of students For Our Staples Foundation and coordinator of Equity Office academic enrichment with positive works to the Martin Luther provide disadvantaged Kids for Learning Inc. is to experiences, Commemoration teach, has mentary King Day received a $10,000 ele- inspire.

Committee. “I school students Founded in 2002, train and can look grant from Staples believe our campus Foundation for forward to an the foundaacademic enrichment with positive tion has contributed Learning, a private inspiring and speech.” experiences,” foundation created relevant said Briana Curran, million to national more than $17 manager, Staples The and Funding from SFFL by Staples Inc. Foundation that provide educationallocal charities best annual address is regularly for Learning. will support one attended events “Staples and the Foundation opportunities Winners Circle on Martin Luther of the city’s job skills for all program, which for Learning supports King Jr. Day. people, with a This year, the event starts pro- Winners vides underserved the special Circle program, at noon, is free which cre- youth. emphasis on disadvantaged to the public. Guests dents with access elementary stu- ates an environment and open can park in Lot to rigorous math, Staples Foundation the visitor parking where youth are 15V, which is reading and citizenship recognized for for area located on Learning has also their achievements the south side developed lasting the Student Life Center increase their academic activities to teachers, peers, by relationships of at the corner of parents and the achievement.

40th & Jones com- of America, with Boys & Girls Clubs Streets.

“The Winners munity.”

Circle program Earth Gray is a first-time ensures disadvantaged Winners Circle Heritage Foundation, Force, Hispanic for elected city council students have and All Our Kids the 2nd District. and the Initiative the resources and member joined forces in for a Competitive support needed 2007 to form Prior to his election, Inner City. In addiOmaha City Councilman to Partnership develop an enthusiasm The tion, Staples Gray had a 30-year For Our Kids, to Ben Gray Foundation for a television for learning,” Vol. 72 - No. 28 help dis- supports said Beth Smith, career as nered Learning advantaged students. photojournalist Executive Director, Ashoka, an organization with the emergency “Kaleidoscope” and host Winners Circle creates a community The Partnership develops and on of Nebraska that department at Program of The KETV NewsWatch Omaha’s ABC’s affiliate station, supports social of caring for stuMedical Center The Partnership For entrepredents from pre-kindergarten to use intervention neurs around the gies to decrease Our Kids. “With discussions about 7. The show featured passionate world, in nine stratesup- high school youth violence, through tries: port from Staples a variety of engagement after such as immediate Argentina, Belgium, coun- Gray has to help Foundation for community issues. won multiple violent incidents Learning we can taged youth graduate more disadvan- Canada, Brazil, local, regional tion attempts. continue to reduce retaliaFrance, awards as a reporter, and pursue highand national grades and standardized to increase er education Netherlands, Spain Germany, the photojournalist In 1998, Gray to become employable test scores for Gray dedicates and host. and the United and his wife, youth throughout productive citizens much States.

Freddie, began of ing with the African-America For his more information Omaha Public time lives of severely who give back workabout the to foundation their community. at-risk youth and to improving the to close or how to apply gang members. the achievement n Achievement Council for a grant, is the emergency team He Omaha gaps of children visit www. staplesfoundation.

Community Connection, director for Impact Public School in the org.

(OPS) District.

Inc. — a non-profit, One A sought lence prevention vio- his Martin after motivational speaker, organization.

Its members Gray titled Luther King Jr. part- Love,” Day speech, “Strength after one of Dr. to King’s most read books.

Vol. 72 - No. 2 Omaha, Nebraska

Partnership For $10,000 grant Our Kids receives from Staples

Festival Self-Empowerment St. Paul Baptist Church July 13th, 2010

★

OMAHA STAR

THE

Cause of the People that NO Good Dedicated to the Service that Evil Shall Not Go Unopposed Shall Lack a Champion and

Newspaper Nebraska’s Only Black Owned

KS Science Fair

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Details on page 4

Empowerment Network

meeting canceled

next meeting will has been cancelled. The Network Monthly Meeting will begin at 9 a.m.

This Saturday’s Empowerment Breakfast and networking High School - Viking Center. be held Aug. 14 at North meeting will begin at 9:30.

Displays to help Parents, and the interactive community Development. Tables and Partner.

Education and Youth become a Mentor or Adopt-A-Class The focus will be on Opportunity to sign up to Presentations & Families, Students & Community. to help students succeed PLUS Special Interactive ways Learn more about specific .

Discussions. the web at www.empoweromaha.com 502-5153 or visit us on For more information call

50 cents

es Omaha Star Celebrat 72nd Anniversary

Excellence Winn

ers

North Omaha Boys & Girls Club Welcomes Club Members New and Old for the New Year

Omaha, Nebraska

Special Thanks

MILDRED D. BROWN 9, 1938

Dr. Marguerita L. Washington,

Founded Omaha Star July

Publisher

homes as you are hardly can continue to repair and buy I On Jan. 4 the of the people that no good money and invest it North Omaha now doing, save your “Dedicated to the service Boys & Girls new and old Club believe that the that evil shall not go bonds that you Club opened members. The its doors tocause shall lack a champion and wisely. Buy more Savings a new year with Omaha Star has Club staff looks new Club parents if and when things forward to beginning unopposed.” may be comfortable age appropriate been in existence for and members. programs for We offer a variety change. kids ages gram areas such seventy-two years of a former pastor of to the newspaper, Mildred as, Sports, Fitness, 6-18. We offer five core Reverend Joseph Forbes, Leadership Development, pro- In an introduction and I have been the & Recreation, said, “Mildred was Character & Gilbert wrote: Education & Career St. John A. M. E. Church Life Skills, and publisher for the It is with profound pleaDevelopment, she made her paper The Health & To the Citizens of Omaha: a friend of the pastors ... from certain schools Arts. We are also offering last twenty years. It a platform. She Publishing Co., and [sic] FREE transportation sure that the Omaha Star available anytime we needed In order to qualify in the Omaha metro area seems like yesterday (please call for well trained journalistic for this special ministry. She believed that a listing). organization of energetic, a paid program by saw her work as a service all Club that I started after my One entire page membership fee members this day a paper of the people, God had given her a calling.

Spring program and a valid membership must have minds, give to you aunt Mildred Brown We here and now wish fee is $30.00 devoted to the work of card. Our the people and for the people. that will be valid Club hours are its was per edition was expired. Some of from 3-8 p.m. the Omaha Star dedicates Jan. 4 - May community, submitted by For more Club 7. Our to have you know that and ask for Mr. in the churches in the you have been supinformation call Dave Felici, Unit serving the general public 342-2300 existence to the task of the pastors.

Director.

Happy New Year porters almost from It shall be our policy the struggle for and we hope to Among her concerns was every way humanly possible.

Others see you at the the start. primary in the behalf of duty of Brown’s path Club!

Mildred unerring an racial equality. to move in became supporters it already had. She worked bringing to you the local Star was in selling Many others became supportfoothold in Omaha than early role in the Omaha Black America in Omaha, for equalas the years went by. sincere it, as well as the national an excellent salespermany organizations to work you I want to give my news of the city as we find of ads. She was not only of tirelessly with the National The African American ers recently. To all of backing for the welfare could use the ads as a tool She was a member of highlights, promoting and son; she found that she to ity and peace.

Career and Scholarship Achievement Council Colored People thanks. to sell newspaper ads Black America in general. will have its 4th for the Advancement of is fascinating. The Omaha Fair on Saturday her activism. She refused the the citizens of Omaha and She Association Annual High Magnet Working at a newspaper from 9 A.M. to Publishers Association, sea of journalistic advenemploy black workers.

School, 4410 because this is our paper.

(NAACP), the Black 3 P.M. at North As we launch out into the of companies that did not N. 36th St. Those seeking her readers to proStar is especially fascinating can the support of the general League, the Urban League employment should Anyone who is interested also used editorials to encourage and she challenged National Business ture, we sincerely request and dressed for Plains Black museum.

This paper is about us. come prepared in when we as a group must military success. Lunch Nebraska, and the Great with a resume and issues. Where else test the segregation of the public. The time is at hand was will be provided. information call submit their story, events Congratulation the Martin Bomber plant During the time during which it was active, she Omaha Star a firm founda557-4470.

To RSVP or for s to...the King Since the recent recession, begin to build. Give the them to apply for jobs that She more De Porres Club, and also Science & Technology Science Fair. this State can this happen? and reading support and in Bellevue, Nebraska. rollerthe spokeswoman for the Students wrote at Offutt Air Force Base tion by way of subscribing an emotional, financial after Magnet students school congratulated detailed the paper has also been who is widely remem- allowed it to meet in the Omaha Star building in turn will build an enterwho won awards hired Charles Washington, we will assure you that we are determined to persevere. and the eight Award reports, conducted experiments for a mouthpiece and a emony. Pictured to support their own facility. coaster at times but we civil rights, as a reporter of Excellence us concerning and presented their projects in the annual the club ran out of funds are the Awards bered for his work for prise worthy of consideration, the commuthe public to contact winners executive in the was 7th working a encourage Alec Williams; I who display and & hours of 8th Omaha.

Excellence winners 25 first place grade board to at least She spent countless Luke Armitage; or even if you want to columnist. Whitney Young, force for the people of commuwinners with (l to r): two judges.

Emily Beck; complaints, recommendations are certainly apprecithe Star as a mouthpiece a Breakfast of Urban League before eventu- nity, receiving over one hundred and fifty and Katie Cramer. Nick Schultz; Ian Brummel; In addition to offering Champions awards The the secretary of the Omaha the “Unsung Heroine director of the National Madeleine Dangerfield; compliment us. Your comments community in Omaha, cernity service awards, including the NAACP, one of ally becoming the executive for the African-American in behalf of the community Martha Winterer; by editorials. the community to realize ated. The staff is working Award” for service awarded Urban League, contributed Gilberts also encouraged a better and more enlighten honored be have attention Africanto call always 16,000 to to country the power trying in boycotts and people The country’s The paper supported the positive effect the buying was small, and is an outstanding often only thirty-five cater largest film time of her death. She paper. Our staff is very she and her staff were if they would carefully festival for children and with this award by the to discrimination, and Americans could have working to satisfy you. including traditional, teens will be Lyndon B. Johnson as a businesses that employed team and they are always to making stop in Omaha also appointed by President their purchases only to CGI, collage support base and I wish well. beginning in January a tour stop-motion styles.

East Germany to investigate and Live Action.

We have a large religious treated the community goodwill ambassador to of the churches Film Streams African-Americans and More than ten consupport the when tries are the In for Edward English. following paper, thanks, the presents the Best of issue coun- Recommended Australia; 95 express sincere represented, including alleged human rights violations worked to improve Specifically, in the second of the New min.

York International clergy leaders. ages: 9 to adult. works from She also Australia, members of the North Omaha in the community and the Children’s Film our struction of the Berlin Gilbert pointed out that (NYICFF). From least, I want to thank Festival Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, an ice cream shop carriers and her office Last but certainly not Jan. 9 to March Latvia, Sweden, the lives of the newspaper Feb. 6-7, 11, 13-14, black community were patronizing which would be there would not be Streams’ Ruth 18, Film U.K. that someone did not have Ice Cream, advertisers. Without advertising, 18 — Sokolof Theater, and the U.S. Tickets Switzerland, the Azur workers. If she learned of at 24th and Lake, Reed’s published. Advertisements nonprof it cinema, & Asmar Directed Omaha’s within hiring practices over she would buy them bags for all screenings an Omaha Star Newspaper enough food at home, will screen five Best targeted for their discriminatory an

by Michel Ocelot. the printing of the publicabest programs larded The newspaper carriof the for seniors, of NYICFF are $9 general, Porres Club. Gilbert spent and retail sales pay for from the 2009 groceries to supply their a decade later by the De $7 advertisers have stuck with students, teachers A dazzling animated NYICFF. The Christmas or Easter party series continues shop and counted at least tions. Many of our older us. dren, and ers often received a special and chil- boys hour outside the ice cream Film Streams’ Newer ones have joined $4.50 for approving of their work, when they might raised as brothers, feature about two Young family Forever Members. us throughout the years.

Film Streams adverin gratitude for their hard one hundred African-Americans and children’s who set off on that they don’t have to dangerous quest were given all year. their purchasing power. which is made program, Streams’ All screenings will occur a Others have the feeling them receive the only gifts they through faraway hiring practices through possible in part at Film find Americans we will give Ruth Sokolof in 1989, the Omaha Star divorced in 1943, and lands to and free the port from Lincoln with tise because as African Theater, located At the time of her death Mildred and Edward Gilbert in Fairy of the Star readers look at the Financial Group. sup- the corner of 14th at Animation. a circulation of 30,685 her maiden name, Brown. our business anyway. Omaha and Mike Fahey Founded in 1997, and had a staff of twenty, and In English. France; Djinns.

Mildred resumed using Brown wrote, for those who support us Star, the longest (for- Recommended NYICFF is dedicated merly Webster) Streets, states. In 1969, Mildred 99 min. advertising in the paper publisher of the Omaha to promoting the thirty-nine As one advertisers. answer those block ages: The woman, a from Cuming Street. persist? south of 6 to adult. intelligent, newspaper run by we encourage them to purchase or think our readers passionate, “Why then do Negro publishers of his press, all of provocative cinematic operating black-owned refuse More information deprived neighborhood news and works for audiences For those advertisers, who is clear. If the Negro is Mildred Brown provided ages 3-18 and on all five programs Feb. 20-21, 25, 27-28, to market to, we encourage through the years since within Best helping to define March 4 — than fifty years. The paper are not important enough NYICFF Kids the tortuous gains achieved of NYICFF commentary for more compelling f a more online can be Flix shop to ask those merchants lost, and tomorrow’s Negro by calling attention to ilm experience at our readers when they his emancipation will be served an important function www.f ilmstreams.orgfound A kaleidoscopic Juried by such for kids. www.gkids.tv/t of the powerful forces, they don’t? If they continue people in the black commucollection of well-known filmmakers or animated that do not advertise Why youth will be at the mercy our the accomplishments of the best John Turturro, short films man the ramparts of bigthe Omaha Star, I urge values. The newspaper as contact Casey our. For questions, please Susan Sarandon, from around North and South that still to refuse to advertise in $$ nity and emphasizing positive got world, featuring Logan at Mildred Brown Schamus, Matthew the James email their products. Remember who received awards, or traditional animation, otry, prejudice and discrimination.” to do so. From readers to stop buying at casey@filmstre 933-0259 x11 or CGI, collage, recognized individuals closed Sant, the festival Modine and Gus Van ams.org. that had previously been and stop-motion. because she felt compelled industries in persisted The jobs speak. new has schedule: civic been described In English.

65 min. Recommended she had established readers, supporters, merThe New York It announced acts of by the first edition of her newspaper, Thanks again to my staff, Times as being to African-Americans. good ages: 3 to 8. writers and all others They highlighted one She guided the newspa- a challenge to herself and her staff, “that no “devoted to the kind of fare chants advertisers, contributing labeled “troublemakers.” pride and community charity.

Jan. 9-10, 14, of that may be found and that evil shall not March 6-7, 11, the continued existence eras of the Civil Rights 16-17, 21 — week in order to continue Academy Awards at the Razzle cause shall lack a champion through the tumultuous 13-14, 18 — who lend support to making neighborhood family per staff were but not at the Dazzle Directed On the occasion per to the demonstrations Your help is greatly appreciMildred Brown and her local multiplex.”

by Darren Ashton. NYICFF Party Mix in to foster a sense of community. Ms. Brown again Movement, from segregation the Omaha Star possible. for late go unopposed.”

A mockumentary of their community, Brown to the racial unrest of the bright and continued future An all-animated skewering the Best of NYICFF of the 1950s and 1960s, of the Star’s ninth anniversary, ated. I look forward to a the certainly champions outspoken voice in the wilderprogram featuring absurdi- ious, features one live-action ties of competition community, congratulated The Omaha Star reported hilarcomedy and particular. She was an 1960s and early 1970s. pledged her support to the the Star in the Omaha community.. youth dance troupe between kids on the vokingvisually stunning, and thought-profour animated of their emancipation not of its businesses and that occurred both locally ness that the tortuous gains programs, involved circuit – and the triumphs and the tragedies North Omaha on the growth shorts, specifically end. up this advice for her Mildred Brown was not are lost, and she worked tirelessly toward that hyper- older parents who intended for and throughout the nation. fast development, and offered audiences. In live through get any further a Seniors Alexis English them. titles.

Page and Ayomide neighbors. interested in letting discrimination 75 min. Recommendedor English suband queen at wishes to urge that you Adekunle were Central High ages: 9 to 16.

The Star on its anniversary crowned Homecoming on Sept. 12, 2009. king

Career & Scholar

ship Fair

Best of the New

York International

North Omaha Development Project Community Meeting is scheduled for January 28th Details on page 10

Children’s Film

Festival

On Monday, January 11 on NET1 and NET-HD, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye See page 2 for details

p 2010 Awards

City of Omaha' s Annual MLK, Jr. celebra tion will be at the Holland Perform ing Arts Center See ad on page 10 for more information

Women of Color in Leadershi

and Engage, Business Success “Power to Lead: Leverage, for the Perpetual stewardship. the theme Adopt & Deliver” was Winters advised the in Leadership steps to 3rd Annual Women of Color Awards group of eight Summit & legacy of Leadership at the Inclusion on their per25, 2010 jourLuncheon held on June Center. sonal diversity Holiday Inn Central Conventionluncheon neys; the Over 200 people attended 1. Know self first – was Marywhere the keynote speaker am I? What do I of CEO’s Who Who Quaites-Ferris, Dr. Marguerita Frances Winters, Author for? What makes (L-R) Tanya Cook, Vicki from the Heart stand Get It; Diversity Leadership Leadership Award Recipients: of the Winters me “me”?

Crowder and Soul and President Washington, Annette 2. Value self – What can become? enhance who I am and gifts?

Group.

How are other ences Inclusion are my unique 5. Learn about others – What can learn from differences? circle to Ms Winters spoke on Women’s is my best self? your different from me? How today. She gave Who 4 . individuals/groups 7. Include others – Expand your Tawanna Black and Dr. Winters in the business world Acknowledge 3. succontinued on page 2 to sustained my are they the same? examples of eight steps How do differ- See Leadership to change – What are prejudices – In what 6. Value differences – contribute to Open yourself be my best self? cess: Motivation, Passion/commitment, do I exclude? How do I opportunities to grow? To Magnitude of the ways What are my blind spots?

In-depth Inquiry, and and transforming, intolerance? gap, Resolve, Learning

on July 9, 1938 History was made

Please contact the Omaha Star at 402.346.4041 or by email at fwilliams@omahastarinc.com if you have complete issues, or any portion, of these missing issues.

By LaSharah S. Bunting

Despite decades of warnings, diversity in newsrooms is still one of the most pressing challenges facing the journalism industry. For years, journalism organizations founded and led by people of color have worked tirelessly to advocate for more diversity in staffing and coverage, particularly through training and development opportunities.

Still, institutional efforts to address the issue have historically ranged from ineffective to nonexistent.

Many news organizations, now eager to build digital subscription or membership programs, have turned their focus to audience engagement, only to find a need to repair broken connections to underserved communities that no longer trust them – a particularly difficult task when newsroom leaders and staff don’t reflect the communities they serve.

People of color made up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2018 Census Bureau figures. In comparison, only 16.55 percent of journalists in U.S. newsrooms in 2017 were people of color – down from 16.94 percent in 2016, according to the American Society of News Editors’ newsroom census. Of all newsroom leaders in 2017, only 13.4 percent were people of color. (The most recent census in 2018 saw a historic low for participating news organizations, and, as a result, there is insufficient data to cite industry-wide statistics.)

The common solutions to the failures in diversity follow a well-worn path: convene a diversity committee to provide a set of recommendations for its leadership to choose from; focus on hiring more journalists of color, but essentially disregard why others can’t be retained; or appoint a leader to address diversity and inclusion, but in a role that often lacks true power and resources.

While these approaches can have some positive impact, they rarely address the institutional racism and unconscious biases that pervade many news organizations.

Often these solutions put the burden on the people of color to solve the deep wounds of the institution. As a result, organizations at large rarely confront and address the systemic and cultural issues that have been allowed to persist.

There is no easy solution. The same intentional, strategic approach many news outlets have embraced to transform themselves into digital-first operations must also be used to address issues of diversity.

If news outlets are to survive, they must engage new and younger audiences who

are increasingly more diverse. They need to be relevant to the people who live in their communities and attract and nurture a diverse workforce. They must commit to making comprehensive structural changes to their organizational cultures, putting the onus on all leadership and staff – not just the people of color.

Knight Foundation’s $1.2 million investment in the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, announced Aug. 5, is an attempt to help newsrooms rethink solutions to the diversity crisis. Maynard will use the new funding to launch its Equity and Inclusion Transformation Program, embedding specialists in newsrooms to help them better inform underserved communities and establish more equitable and inclusive workplaces.

Maynard’s embedded coaches will assess the organization’s internal processes, workplace culture, connection to community, hiring and retention rates, and its leadership’s management skills, among other elements. From there, Maynard will then work closely with the outlet to devise strategies, plans and benchmarks to become more equitable and inclusive, and provide the necessary training and oversight to accomplish this goal.

This next phase of Maynard’s work builds off its decades-long legacy of diversity training in newsrooms across the country, and helps newsrooms shift their core values and priorities to include diversity, equity and inclusion. With this investment, Maynard will also work with newsroom leaders across the country participating in the Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, also known as “Table Stakes.” The funding is part of a $300 million Knight initiative focused on strengthening local news and democracy.

This is a strong step forward in rethinking how we begin to address the failures in diversity. For those of us working hard to improve diversity in the industry – whether journalists or funders – we must demand organizations urgently address the systemic issues, prioritize long-lasting solutions and remake themselves in a way that is equitable, inclusive and equipped to serve all communities.

A robust, diverse press leads to a more informed and engaged public, and communities ultimately lose out when certain voices and experiences are routinely absent. News organizations must make it a priority to look inward and commit to solving diversity through strategic efforts that lead to transformative change.

LaSharah S. Bunting is Director of Journalism at Knight Foundation. You can follow her on Twitter at @LaSharah.

(This article was originally published on kf.org on Aug. 5. Republished with permission from Knight Foundation.)

Michael Bloomberg, King of Stop and Frisk, Tries to Make Everyone Forget

By Lauren Victoria Burke In 2010 in New York City, 601,285 people were stopped-andfrisked by the New York City Police and 315,083 of them were Black. In 2011, 685,724 individuals were stopped and 350,743 were Black. Over 90 percent of those stopped by police where African American or Hispanic.

Michael Bloomberg was Mayor in New York from 2002 to 2013. When new Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014, and after an ACLU lawsuit against New York City, the stop and frisk program was greatly reduced. All the theories that stopand-frisk reduced crime were disproven by crime stats going down along with the use of the policy.

Now Bloomberg is running for President and his use and endorsement of a policy targeted to minorities and members of the Muslim faith is again under discussion. This week Bloomberg lied and said he hadn’t been asked about stop-and-frisk until his run for The White House. Bloomberg’s money has allowed him a place on the national debate stage at a time when a creeping sense of doubt remains regarding the Democratic candidates currently competing.

There are now “more billionaires than Black people in the 2020 race,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) dropped out of the presidential race on Dec. 3.

“Stop and frisk was an outdated and unfounded law enforcement policy of racial harassment. It harmed Black

communities and communities of color and did not make us any safer. Police officers regularly violated rights by stopping a disproportionate number of Black and Latino New Yorkers who they often threatened or physically harmed.

These stops rarely ended in an arrest and mostly served to terrorize and criminalize our communities,” said Monifa Bandele, Vice President of MomsRising who is a long-time New York City resident and an expert on criminal justice.

The effects of this destructive policy had a profound psychological impact, too. It affected how young Black and Latino men lived their lives in their own neighborhoods, it increased feelings of stress, anxiety and trauma, increased racial discrimination in a city already struggling with massive inequality,” Bandele told NNPA. But Bloomberg continues to attempt to minimize the impact of a policy that impacted thousands of New Yorkers over ten years during his time as Mayor.

Even though the current presidential race just lost a candidate, Sen. Harris, who repeated the line “justice is on the ballot,” another candidate who is likely to bring up Bloomberg’s Achilles heel will be on the stage. Sen. Booker is likely to bring up justice reform and stop-and-frisk if he is on stage with Bloomberg.

(Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke.)

LIFE & STYLE/HEALTH & WELLNESS December 13, 2019 Kellom Elementary Receives Earth, Wind & Fire Makes History at Kennedy Center Honors Links Donation

Page Eight

THE OMAHA STAR

The Omaha Alumnae Chapter of the Links Inc. celebrated Founder’s day on Nov. 16, during their normal monthly business meeting. The Chapter committed to celebrate this day by soliciting members to purchase mittens for elementary school children. Over 141 pairs of mittens were collected along with some hats by the Chapter members. These items were donated to Kellom Elementary School, 1311 N. 24th St. Principal Tynisha Northcutt graciously accepted the donations affirming the need and appreciation for the items for her students.

The Links Inc. was founded on Nov. 9, 1946, by Margaret Rosell Hawkins and Sarah Strickland Scott in Philadelphia, PA. The Links Inc. has a long tradition of engaging in educational, civic and inter-cultural activities in the communities in which they reside. The Omaha Chapter was chartered in 1950 and will soon celebrate 70 years of friendship and service in the Omaha area. This Chapter regularly continues the work of its Founder’s, such as the outpouring of love shown through this donation.

By Dawn Onley Earth, Wind & Fire, one of our favorite feel-good bands, made history on Sunday as the first Black group to get inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors.

To accept the honor were three of the band’s original members, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, and Verdine White. EWF founder, Maurice White, died in 2016 although band members say his spirit was with them.

“You can’t play any Earth Wind & Fire songs without Maurice’s DNA being on it, so he’s always here and we’re always celebrating him and his vision,” Johnson told Billboard before the show started. “People are still coming together and having fun.”

In addressing the honor of being the first Black band to get inducted, Bailey added that “there are so many more African-American acts that are deserving and perhaps this can be the first of many more to come.”

During the EWF tribute, John Legend, Ne-Yo, the Jonas Brothers, and Cynthia Erivo, who starred in Harriet, had the audience on their feet with hit after hit until they came together to perform one of Earth

Wind & Fire’s greatest hits, “September.”

The honor was particularly timely as EWF will celebrate 50 years in the business next summer, and group members hinted that they may be planning something big – possibly a duets album or some other collaboration.

“We’re making a list, and checking it twice,” Bailey said to Billboard. “And you’ll hear about it soon.”

White added that EWF has been blessed to have had “a special chemistry from day one because we were all hand-picked by Maurice. He had a vision and he knew what he wanted, so here we are.”

Singer Linda Ronstadt, actress Sally Field, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and Sesame Street, which turns 50 this year, were also honored during the 42nd Honors.

Attending the ceremony were a bipartisan group of politicians, from Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, to 40 congressional leaders, including Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D-VT), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who got a rousing round of applause when she was introduced, according to Billboard.

15 ‘Magical Moments’ You’ll Be Glad You Didn’t Miss Hoboken, NJ – Picture it: your living room, December 2019. The tree is all aglow, the eggnog poured (and spiked), the whole family gathered ‘round – and you’re only half-present. Your mind keeps wandering to what might be waiting for you just a click or a scroll away. Work emails.

News updates. Candy Crush notifications.

The latest scoop on Kim and Kanye.

This is crazy, says Joe McCormack.

“What the heck are we thinking?” says the author of the new book “NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus” (Wiley, December 2019, ISBN: 978-1-119-553373). “Nothing on that phone – however outrageous or dire or seemingly urgent – can top the drama and dysfunction that’s happening all around us at the average holiday gathering!”

“Noise” is McCormack’s name for the relentless onslaught of information that robs us of our attention span and leaves

us unable to focus, listen, do deep work – or appreciate the live entertainment that happens in our own living room each Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa.

As part of his “Just Say No to Noise” campaign, McCormack suggests you banish electronic devices from your holiday gathering. If you can stand to put down the phone for a hot minute, you might be amazed by what you hear and see: • The, umm, intense political debate between your 80-year-old conservative grandpa and his 17-year-old grandson • The grimaces you see when everyone realizes Grandma used sugar (not flour) in the gravy...

•...and when they realize she forgot to add sugar to the cranberry sauce • The forced smile your daughter gives when she thanks Aunt Helen for the mauve-

colored hand-knit penguin sweater • The teary smile from a fussy baby when your son shares his new toy • Laughing ‘til you cry when the new puppy leaves a special “present” inside your nephew’s sneaker • The smirking all around when Aunt Ethel asks (as she does each year) when your 41-year-old brother is going to settle down with a nice girl • The moment after dinner when your best friend lets it slip that “No, it’s not a food baby!”

• Hearing your tween daughter reply, “Okay, Boomer,” to everything you say (even though you’re only 39) • Glimpsing your grandpa try to steal a kiss under the mistletoe...

• ...As your grandma pretends not to notice and deftly deflects him • Uncle Fred’s earthshattering snores from the recliner • The subtle avoidance tactics everyone deploys when Uncle Josh begins the annual hard-sell for his latest multi-level marketing scheme

Sen. Justin Wayne Announces Legislation to Make Insulin Affordable to All LINCOLN – Nebraska State Sen. Justin Wayne (District 13, Omaha) announced plans this week to introduce legislation that will make Nebraska the third state in the nation to set a cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs. Wayne’s proposal will limit patients’ out-of-pocket costs to $100 for a 30-day supply.

“Accessibility to life saving medicines shouldn’t be a privilege for only those who can afford them,” said Wayne. “Access to medicine should be a right for everyone who needs it.”

Diabetes affects people from all walks of life. However, as insulin

prices have skyrocketed, more and more persons with diabetes have been forced to either substitute their medication with lower quality products or ration their supply.

When inventor Frederick Banting discovered insulin in 1923, he refused to put his name on the patent. He felt it was unethical for a doctor to profit from a discovery that would save lives. Banting’s co-inventors, James Collip and Charles Best, sold the insulin patent to the University of Toronto for only $1. They wanted everyone who needed the medication to be able to afford it.

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Over the past decade, the cost of the four most popular types of insulin has tripled, and the outof-pocket prescription costs for patients has doubled. By 2016, the average out-of-pocket cost for insulin rose to $450 – and costs continue to rise, leading to one in four people with diabetes to either ration or forego lifesaving doses.

“No one should be forced to choose between affordable healthcare and basic necessities,” said Wayne. “ Like the inventors, I believe that every Nebraskan who needs life-saving medication should be able to afford it.”

Winter Weather and Holiday Season Lead to Blood Shortage The American Red Cross urgently needs donors of all blood types to be the lifeline patients need by donating blood or platelets this holiday season. Blood and platelet donations often decline during the holidays as people get busy with holiday activities and travel. Snowstorms and severe winter weather may also cause blood drive cancellations and further impact donations. Donors are urged to give now to ensure patients don’t have to worry about the availability of blood this winter.

All eligible individuals are urged to make an appointment to give now by using the Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood. org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device. A blood donation takes about an hour from start to finish, but the actual donation itself only takes about 8-10 minutes. Donation appointments are encouraged to reduce possible wait times at blood donation sites.

Donors can also save up to 15 minutes at the blood drive by completing a RapidPass. With RapidPass, donors complete the pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of donation, from a mobile device or computer. To complete a RapidPass, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/ RapidPass or use the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

Good Books Café

• Your wife’s furtive eye roll when your mother offers to share her technique for turkey that isn’t quite so dry (“I promise, dear, you don’t even have to be a good cook to do it!”)

• And many more...

“Some holiday moments are heartwarming,” says McCormack. “Most of them are awkward, irritating, or even bat-sh*t crazy. But that’s family. That’s life. It’s a shame to miss it because we think what’s on our electronic devices is more interesting. I promise you, it can’t compete.”

Health and Spirituality Odds and Ends

By Mark Darby, RN APRN, FNP-C Director of North Omaha Academy of Healthy Living Just a few things, each not big enough for their own column, I wanted to say before the end of the year.

• Follow up to column on Medicaid Expansion. I testified at the recent public hearing on Medicaid expansion for the state of Nebraska (See Omaha World-Herald ‘Health care delayed is health care denied’ Nov 13, 2019). Every speaker opposed the burdensome regulations, but the DHHS Deputy Director Nathan Watson downplayed this saying only people who disagree usually come to such meetings.

I hope Mr. Watson has good insurance so he can get his hearing checked because he missed something.

• Despite lack of insurance, people are smart. I just took care of two people who had high blood sugars because they could not afford their new more expensive insulin. When they found out Walmart had cheaper, though less effective insulin, they were still able to get their blood sugar under control because they worked really hard. Good for them!

If Mr. Watson is reading this, he may think that people really don’t need insurance. No Mr. Watson that is not what I meant. Refer to the Nov. 13 article in the World-Herald and read the last line in the second paragraph.

• Get checked, men! At NOAH, I recently saw a 28-yearold man who had an enlarged testicle. He did not get this checked due to lack of insurance. We discussed how can go to the one of the big health networks and apply for charity care. He may have testicular cancer. Good news, testicular cancer is very treatable if caught early. Two comments. MEN – Do a testicular exam every month! Take care of yourself!

Secondly, people really need health insurance in this country.

• Also, in the clinic this week I saw a 5-year-old with speech delay. After some work he is getting speech therapy at OPS – a service he is legally entitled to. If you have a child, pay attention for any developmental or intellectual delays.

For example, by 6 months of age, a child should respond to his own name, like to look at himself in the mirror and babble stringing vowels together. At 2 years of age, your child should be excited to be with other children.

For more age appropriate information, go to the Center for Disease Control Milestones page (https://www.cdc. gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/) and download the age appropriate sheet. You should be able to use it to check out your child. If you are concerned, see your pediatrician or call the local school district. By law, your child does not have to wait for school for services and early intervention has a great (repeat A GREAT) effect. Racial and ethnic minorities and those with lower income have been shown to have difficulty accessing these services. Don’t give up. People are smart.

• Lastly, I want to thank all of you for reading this column and wish you all (including Mr. Watson) a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season.

December 13, 2019

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THE OMAHA STAR

Page Nine

In The Village!

Things to do, people to see, places to go.

Happening Now – Enjoy the sounds of the season during Holiday Under Glass, Joslyn Art Museum’s annual holiday luncheon concert series held in the Museum’s glass atrium. The series runs every Wednesday and Friday, from noon 12:45 p.m., through Dec. 20.

The concerts feature holiday favorites and classical arrangements performed by area choral and high school groups. Joslyn’s Café Durham, located in the atrium, will offer a limited lunch menu from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Happening Now – Race: Are We So Different?

We all know people look different.

Throughout history, those differences have been a source of strength, community and personal identity. They have also been the basis for discrimination and oppression. RACE: Are We So Different? gives visitors tools to recognize racial ideas and practices in contemporary American life.

The exhibit runs through

Jan. 5, 2020 at the Durham Museum. For more info, visit www.durhammuseum. org.

Dec. 16 – Stacey Abrams, author, entrepreneur, nonprofit CEO, and political leader, will be the featured speaker at Girls Inc.’s 2019 Lunch for the Girls from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at CHI Health Center. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Dec. 16 – How to Think like an Entrepreneur presented by Dell Gines and hosted by Black Men United will be held at the Kumani Center, 4200 N. 30th St., from 6-8:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 – Join your fellow #NebDems to watch the Democratic Debate.

Nebraska Democratic Party, Swing Left Omaha, Greater Omaha Dems and UNO College Dems are hosting the watch party at the B. Bar, 4330 Leavenworth St., from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There will be pizza provided and drinks available at the bar.

Dec. 22 – OIC Neighborhood, 24th Street Corridor and NONA hosts

Jingle And Mingle senior dinner from 1-5:30 p.m. at The Venue at Hilander.

Any senior citizen in North Omaha is welcome. Seating is limited. Phone Tanya at 402-346-4041, x5 to secure your spot. Leave your name, address and phone number so you can be sent an invitation.

Dec. 26 – First day of Kwanzaa!

Dec. 27 – Jeff Quinn Magic Show at Charles B. Washington Branch library, 2868 Ames Ave., at 2 p.m.

For more info, phone 402444-4849 Dec. 28 – Escape Room for Grades 4-12 at Florence Branch library, 2920 Bondesson St., from 1-3 p.m. Registration is required by phoning 402-444-5299.

Dec. 28 – Join in The People’s Kwanzaa Celebration at the Malcolm X Center, 3448 Evans St., from 4-8:30 p.m. The Celebration is being held on the 3rd Day and Principle of Kwanzaa, “Ujima,” meaning Collective Work and Responsibility! Featuring

Museum of African American Music Seeks Submissions from Visual Artists

NASHVILLE, TENN. – When the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) opens its doors to the public in the summer of 2020, the first-of-its-kind institution located in the heart of downtown Nashville will be home to more than 1,500 historical artifacts that reflects the development, influence, and impact of African Americans on more than 50 genres and sub-genres including country, jazz, blues, gospel, R&B and hip hop. With construction of the museum currently underway and the layouts of the five primary galleries completed, the NMAAM curatorial team is now looking at ways to fill some of the additional open spaces in the museum with relevant and engaging original public artwork.

Effectively immediately, NMAAM is issuing a call for submissions to all visual artists to submit original artwork for consideration as permanent installations within the museum.

The goal of this request is to include artwork within the 56,000 square-foot facility that will enhance the appearance of three distinct areas within the building that are not occupied by other artifacts. The addition of original artwork will create a visual experience that aligns with the museum’s content and blends well with the overall aesthetic of the accompanying galleries.

Submitted artwork will be juried by an internal art selection committee with three selected artists being awarded between $50,000 – $70,000 for the creation and installation of their work.

“The [NMAAM] curatorial team is very excited about Sr. Oracle EBS Developers - Omaha, NE: the opportunity to review art maintain, modify & develop new & existing application submissions from all around systems of high complexity and scope; develop the world and we encourage EBS Forms, Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, artists to send us their best Extensions and Workflow. music-inspired work for consideration,” said Dr. Dina Send resume to: Lozier Corp.

Bennett, Curatorial Director at 6336 John J. Pershing Dr. NMAAM. Omaha, NE 68110.

“As much as musical artists have their place in celebrating the contributions of African American music to the world, visual artists also play a pivotal role in preserving the legacy and informing the culture. Our hope is that by opening space in the museum to visual artists, we can add some original pieces to our public spaces that will enhance the stories tell as well as share something visually dynamic for our guests to enjoy,” said Bennett.

The NMAAM call for artwork is open to all emerging artists (18 and older) regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or race. No student art will be accepted, and work should be professional in nature. Artwork submissions should be connected to the African American experience and musical in context aligning with the museum’s mission and vision to provide a transformative, inspirational and educational experience for an international audience of museum guests. Artwork should also be durable, able to sustain various climate conditions, resistant to UV damage and safe for public interaction. Projected spaces within the museum where artwork will live include; the Grand Foyer which is the main entry point for the museum, the Lower Lobby which is a gathering space for ticket sales and large-scale public events and the Multipurpose Rooms which will be used for a variety of educational classes and community programs.

Artists interested in submitting artwork will need to submit a completed application by Jan. 12 at 11:59 p.m. CST to the NMAAM Art Selection Committee via the NMAAM submission page at http://NMAAM.org/ArtCall.

For full details on the materials that should be included in the application packet, as well as complete competition rules, download the Request for Proposal for Public Art on the NMAAM website at www.

NMAAM.org.

Additional questions can also be sent to artcall@nmaam.org.

electoral candidates Steven Abraham and Terrell Mckinney, and poetry by Allen Stevenson.

Dec. 31 – New Year’s Eve Party at Florence Branch, 2920 Bondesson St., from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Read stories, sing, dance, eat snacks, make crafts, and party hats until we ring in the New Year at noon! Registration is recommended by phoning 402-444-5299.

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YOUTH/EDUCATION NEWS December 13, 2019 Meerkat Melodies: Helping Scholars Andy Awards Accepting Discover and Share Music Applications practices to teach the scholars the importance of stage

By Bajah Pittman Page Ten THE OMAHA STAR

Nelson Mandela Elementary offers many extracurricular activities outside of the classroom.

Scholars that are inclined to sing can participate in the Meerkat Melodies, a choir that meets weekly to practice, and has many performance opportunities throughout the year. The Meerkat Melodies was founded in 2016 by Alisa Moore and 12 scholars who had a heart for music. Moore’s vision was to invite scholars into a world of music, one that would allow them creativity and diversity. In 2017, the choir welcomed Bajah Pittman as the Assistant Director to accommodate growing numbers.

Today, the choir proudly boasts 75 scholars. The program has not only grown in numbers but also partnerships. Nelson Mandela is blessed to partner with Opera Omaha. Through Opera Omaha’s education and outreach programs, scholars in the choir expand their horizons of music and music genres.

Opera Omaha also regularly attends

presence, tone, pitch, and diction, all of which allow the scholars to proudly share their gifts.

The Meerkat Melodies will be sharing their gifts throughout the city in December. Last weekend, Mandela’s Meerkat Melodies performed at Christmas in the Village. This Saturday they will perform at Christmas at Union Station at the Durham Museum at noon , and on Tuesday the Meerkats will present their Holiday Concert at Nelson Mandela, 6316 N. 30th, at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend and celebrate the holidays!

The International Programs department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha has officially opened applications for the 2020 Andy Award. The Andy Award is a grant program that encourages and funds international reporting projects. A total of $5,000.00 will be awarded to one or more news organizations or individual reporters who propose the best plans to cover a global story of importance to Nebraskans. The application will remain open until 31 January 2020; winners will be announced 28 February 2020.

The Andy Awards have recognized outstanding international journalism in Nebraska since 1987. Recent winners include: 2017 Alisha Davis & JoAnna LeFlore, The Reader, Mind and Soul 101.3 FM 2016 Anthony Flott, UNO Alumni Magazine; Doug Meigs, Freelance 2015 Leo Adam Biga,

Nebraska Spends 20th Most on Child Education

While public elementary and secondary education is partly funded by the federal government, the majority of funding comes from state and local sources, which creates large differences in spending across states.

At the state level, per pupil spending ranges from a high of $23,091 to a low of $7,179 per year.

Whether more spending leads to better outcomes or is, instead, an indication of administrative bloat is controversial. A large body of academic research suggests that more funding does have positive effects on student outcomes. But data from the fiscal year 2017 shows that states spending more per student aren’t more likely to have better outcomes. Neither graduation rates nor performance on standardized testing are correlated with state spending. Teacher salaries, on the other hand, are.

Of the funds spent on public and secondary education, the majority goes

toward instruction and administrative support. More specifically, schools spent $326 billion for teacher salaries and benefits in 2017. In addition, $209 billion went to support services, which include general administration, school administration, public transportation, and operations.

To better understand the large disparities in educational spending among states, HeyTutor used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, and the Nation’s Report Card to analyze per pupil spending as well as academic performance across states.

The analysis found that Nebraska spends the 20th most on child education of all U.S. states. Here’s a summary of the data for Nebraska: • Total spending per student: $12,579 • Instructional spending per student: $8,208

– Support services spending per student: $3,706 • Total spending: $4.01 billion • Average teacher salary: $52,338 • Graduation rate: 89.1% • Academic performance: Above average For reference, here is a summary of the data for the entire United States: • Total spending per student: $12,201 • Instructional spending per student: $7,406 • Support services spending per student: $4,292 • Total spending: $610.30 billion • Average teacher salary: $58,950 • Graduation rate: 84.6% • Academic performance: N/A For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, please see the original report on HeyTutor’s website: https://heytutor. com/blog/these-states-invest-themost-in-their-childrens-education/

Freelance, and Matthew Hansen, Omaha World-Herald 2014 Julie Cornell and Andrew Ozaki, KETV Newswatch 7 2011 Joseph Morton, Alyssa Schukar, Matthew Hansen, & Cate Folsom, Omaha WorldHerald 2009 Carol Katzman, The Jewish Press 2008 KIOS-FM Radio 2005 Ted Kirk & Gordon Winters, Lincoln Journal Star 2004 Jared Hart & Gary Sadlemyer, KFAB Radio 2003 Joe Duggan, Catherine Huddle, & Ken Blackbird, Lincoln Journal Star 2002 Gordon Winters, Lincoln Journal Star; Charles Reinken, Omaha World-Herald For a copy of the application form or for more information about the Andy Award visit h t t p s : / / w w w. u n o m a h a . e d u / international-studies-andprograms/engagement/andyaward.php.

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