Bulletin010318

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018

AN AMERICAN PRINT MEDIA PUBLICATION

Duo goes viral with photos of black girls with natural hair By Sheila M. Poole The kinks. The waves. The twists. The blooming afro. Atlanta photography duo Kahran and Regis Bethencourt want to celebrate

the versatility and beauty of natural hair. A year ago, the owners of CreativeSoul Photography launched the “AfroArt” series, which features African-

American girls in all their natural hair glory. Although the series was shot a year ago, it recently went viral, thanks in part to social media shout outs

from celebrities like Taraji P. Henson, Morris Chestnut and Tia Mowry. The collection is powerful in its entirety. n Viral, see page 3

CBC MEMBERS

CALL TRUMP

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

Photo by Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA

PRESENCE AT MUSEUM

OPENING AN INSULT

By Lauren Victoria Burke When two members of the Congressional Black Caucus, longtime Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), heard that President Donald Trump planned to attend the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum dedication ceremony, they both announced that they would forego the event.

T

HE White House was critical. On December 7, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “We think it’s unfortunate that these members of Congress wouldn’t join the president in honoring the incredible sacrifice civil rights leaders made to right the injustices in our history. The president

New monument at Fort Leavenworth will honor Black WWII unit Funds are being raised to erect a monument at Fort Leavenworth to honor the first and only black Women’s Army Corps unit to deploy overseas during World War II. The monument will honor the 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion, which sorted mail for the armed forces during the war. The Leavenworth Times reports the unit deployed from February 1945 to January 1946. Carlton Philpot, chairman of the memorial committee, said the mail was backed up for two years. He says 855 women sorted seven million pieces of mail in three months. The monument, expected to cost $70,000, will feature a likeness of Lt. Col. Charity Adams, who commanded the unit. It will be located on the Walkway of Patriots on Fort Leavenworth. A dedication is planned for next fall.

hopes others will join him in recognizing that the movement was about removing barriers and unifying Americans of all backgrounds.” From that statement, you might never have guessed that the White House spokesperson was referring to a civil rights leader: Congressman John Lewis. “It’s laughable that the White House is criticizing John Lewis and Bennie Thompson for not attending the opening

“ ”

It’s laughable that the White House is criticizing John Lewis and Bennie Thompson for not attending the opening of a civil rights museum that honors the sacrifices of … John Lewis, Bennie Thompson and many others. CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.).

of a civil rights museum that honors the sacrifices of ...wait...John Lewis, Bennie Thompson, and many others,” said n Museum, see page 2

STAGE 3 CANCER WON’T SLOW DARREN PARKER DOWN LONGTIME POLITICAL ACTIVIST DARREN PARKER ANNOUNCES THAT HE’S BATTLING STAGE 3 ESOPHAGEAL CANCER By Jasmyne A. Cannick After calling to order a standing room only crowd of Democrats at the Winter meeting of the California Democratic Party’s African American Caucus near San Francisco, longtime chair Darren Parker made a startling admission that he was battling stage 3 esophageal cancer. Remarking that many in the room might have noticed his dramatic weight loss since their last meeting, Parker explained that two months ago he began to drop weight and was having issues with that he thought was just acid reflux and indigestion. “What started as a simple doctor’s appointment to pinpoint the problem and find a solution has evolved into a diagnosis of stage 3 esophageal cancer,” he said. Parker says that immediately after his diagnosis he began to withdraw and had begun to mope around until a colleague said to him, “Don’t cancer know they can’t kick your ass? Don’t cancer know that Parker can kick cancer’s ass?” Parker credits those very words with putting the fight back into him. “It brought me back to ‘I’m from Compton,’” he said. “I got in my car and I turned my music back up and I was back to myself because the news had really started to take me out of who I was. And because my friend said that, I was able to put back on my music and it helped to me to change my perspective back into who I was. Being here in San Francisco for the meeting of the African American Caucus was very important to me because it is part of the healing process more than the medication, more than anything else--because I am finishing a journey that the Lord put me on originally. I think that the reason why I’ve n Parker, see page 3

Panelists discuss diversity and inclusion in the petrochemical industry THE OIL AND NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY OFFERS HIGHER WAGES FOR BLACK STEM PROFESSIONALS By Freddie Allen When it comes to preparing the next generation for careers in science, technology engineering and mathematics, also known at “STEM,” Jack Gerard, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said that leaders in the oil and natural gas industry have to answer the “awareness question.” “There are many people out there, today, that don’t really understand the oil and natural gas industry or the opportunities that it can present for them, their families and for well-paying careers,” said Gerard. “It’s incumbent upon us, as an industry, to have this dialogue more often and to

intensify this discussion, so that people really understand,” the connection between the oil and natural gas industry and their everyday lives. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, recently hosted a panel discussion focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM careers and in the oil and natural gas industry. API, the only national trade group representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, according to the group’s website, supports 10.3 million jobs in the United States and nearly 8 percent of the U.S. economy. n Petrochemical, see page 6

Photo by Freddie Allen/AMG/NNP

Dr. Calvin Mackie, a motivational speaker and founder of STEM NOLA, talks about diversity and inclusion in the oil and natural gas industry, during a panel discussion at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.


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