Summer Issue 2015

GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

™ $2.95

Summer 2015 thepositivecommunity.com

CELEBRATING

15

YEARS!

HARLEM WEEK BELAFONTE Passion, Experience, Wisdom for a New Generation SPECIAL SECTION Tribute to Gerry Owens 1199’s George Gresham The Quiet Warrior

HARLEM SUMMER ISSUE

“You are cordially invited to join us when we honor three legends “You are cordially invited join and us when we honor three legends who have helped shape ourto lives develop our community.

We “You are cordially invited join and us when we honor three legends who have helped shape ourtolives develop our community.

We are to honor theour Rev. Dr. and Martin Luther King, Jr. who led “You are cordially cordially us when we honor three legends whopleased have helped shape lives develop our community.

We “You are invited to join when we honor three legends are pleased to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who led the Movement, Larrie Stalks who was aJr. trailblazer who haveRights helped shape and develop our community. are Civil pleased to honor theour Rev. Dr. West Martin Luther King, who We led who have helped shape lives develop our community.

We the Civil Rights Movement, Larrie West Stalks who was a trailblazer andpleased pioneer in honor Newark and Essex County government, Cephas are pleased to honor Martin Luther Jr. who led the Civil Rights Movement, Larrie West Stalks whoKing, was aand trailblazer are to the Rev. Dr. Luther King, Jr. who led and pioneer in Newark and Essex County government, and Cephas Bowles who WBGO and transformed it into the respected the Civil Rights Movement, West Stalks who was aand trailblazer andCivil pioneer insaved Newark andLarrie Essex County government, Cephas the Rights Movement, Stalks who was a trailblazer Bowles who saved WBGO and transformed it into the respected institution it in issaved today.

These dedications our way the ofand preserving and pioneer in Newark and Essex Countyare government, Cephas Bowles who WBGO and transformed it into respected and pioneer government, Cephas institution it is Newark today. These dedications are our way ofand preserving their legacy and ensuring future generations understand their Bowles who saved WBGO and transformed it into the respected institution it is today.

These and dedications are our way of preserving Bowles who saved WBGO transformed it into the respected their legacy and ensuring future generations understand their important contributions.” institution it is today.

These dedications are our way of preserving their legacy ensuring future generations understand their institution it isand today.

These dedications are our way of preserving important contributions.”

Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. their legacy and ensuring ensuring future future generations understand their important contributions.” their legacy and generations understand Joseph N. DiVincenzo,their Jr. important contributions.”

Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. important contributions.”

Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., EssexJoseph County Executive N. DiVincenzo, Jr.

Joseph N. Jr., Essex County JosephAnd N. DiVincenzo, DiVincenzo, Jr., EssexFreeholders County Executive Executive The Board of Chosen And The Board of Chosen Freeholders Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., Essex County JosephAnd N. DiVincenzo, Essex County Executive Executive The ofJr., Chosen Freeholders InviteBoard you to the Following Dedications Invite you to the Following Dedications And The Board of Chosen Freeholders And The Board ofFollowing Chosen Freeholders Invite you to the Dedications Invite you you to to the the Following Following Dedications Invite Dedications

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statue Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statue Rev. Dr. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statue Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Wednesday, October 2015 Jr. Statue Noon 14, Rev. Dr. Martin12 Luther King, Statue 12 Noon Wednesday, 14, 2015 12October Noon Essex County Hall of Records Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Essex County Hall of Records 12 Noon County Hall of Records Rev.Essex Dr. Martin Luther King, Plaza 12 NoonKing, Jr. Rev.Essex Dr. Martin Luther Jr. Plaza County Hall King, of Records Rev. Dr. Martin Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza 465Essex Dr. Luther Jr. Blvd.

County Hall King, of Records 465 Dr. Luther Jr. Rev. Dr. Martin Martin Luther King, Jr. Jr. Blvd.

Plaza 465 Dr. Luther King, Newark, NJ 07102 Rev. Dr. Martin Martin Luther King, Jr.Blvd.

Plaza Newark, NJ 07102 465 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 465 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 Newark, NJ 07102

Larrie West Stalks Plaque Larrie West Stalks Plaque Larrie West Stalks Plaque Essex County Register & Trailblazer Essex County Register & Trailblazer Larrie West Stalks Plaque Essex County & Trailblazer Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Larrie WestRegister Stalks Plaque Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Essex County 12 Register & Trailblazer Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Noon & Essex County Register 12 Noon Trailblazer Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Noon Courthouse Essex County12 Veterans Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Essex County12 Veterans Courthouse NoonByrne Essex County Veterans Courthouse Governor Brendan Plaza 12 NoonByrne Plaza Governor Brendan Essex County Veterans Courthouse Governor Brendan Plaza 470 Dr. Martin Luther Byrne King, Jr. Blvd.

Essex Veterans Courthouse 470 Dr.County Martin Luther Byrne King, Jr. Blvd.

Governor Brendan Plaza 470 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 Governor Brendan Byrne Plaza Newark, NJ 07102 470 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 470 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 Newark, NJ 07102

For more For more For morecall information, information, For morecall information, call 973-621-4400 973-621-4400 For more call information, 973-621-4400 information, call 973-621-4400 All events All events 973-621-4400 All events will be held will be held All events will or beSHINE. held RAIN RAIN or All willevents beSHINE. held RAIN or SHINE. will be held RAIN or SHINE. RAIN or SHINE.

Cephas Cephas Bowles Bowles Plaque Plaque

Cephas Bowles Plaque WBGO President/CEO & Jazz Advocate WBGO President/CEO & Jazz Advocate Cephas Bowles Plaque WBGO President/CEO & Jazz Advocate Wednesday, October 7, 2015 Cephas Bowles Plaque Wednesday, October 7, 2015 WBGO President/CEO & Jazz Advocate Wednesday, 7, 2015 12 October Noon 12 Noon WBGO President/CEO & Jazz Advocate Wednesday, October 7, 2015 12County Noon Courthouse Historic Essex Historic Essex County Courthouse Wednesday, October 7, 2015 12J. Noon HistoricWilliam Essex County Courthouse Justice Brennan, Jr. Plaza Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Plaza 12 Historic Essex County Courthouse Justice J.Noon Brennan, Plaza 470 Dr. William Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

470 Dr. William Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Historic Essex County Courthouse Justice J. Brennan, Jr. Plaza 470 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 Newark, NJ 07102 Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Plaza 470 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 470 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102 Newark, NJ 07102

SUMMER 2015

Cover Photo: Bob Gore

CONTENTS

SECTIONS MONEY ..................................15 HEALTH ..................................26 EDUCATION ............................54 CULTURE ................................69

Features 41

SPECIAL SECTION: LABOR LEADER GERRY OWENS

Gospel Music Month ......................................12 Wealth & the Kingdom of Heaven ...................15 A Touch of Spice .............................................18 Honoring Men Who Mentor .............................22

33 ON THE COVER:

HARRY BELAFONTE: PASSION, EXPERIENCE, & WISDOM FOR A NEW GENERATION

&also inside

Guest Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Golden Krust Hosts Scholarship Dinner ..............25 Maria Davis: A Woman of Character ................26 Healthcare in Newark ....................................28 George Gresham: The Quiet Warrior ................36 The Mayor’s Ball in Newark ............................40 Puttin’ On the Ritz ..........................................53 Hooray for the Graduates! ..............................54 Touro College Minority Scholarships ...............58 Willing Heart Supports Students .......................60 UNCF Hosts Mayor’s MASKED Ball ..................62 Chad Foundation Encourages & Equips ..........63

My View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Children’s Book Tells Schomburg’s Story .........69

Gospel Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Prima Ballerina Misty Copeland Honored .......70

Fitness Doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Happy Birthday, Rev. Butts! ............................74

Wade-O Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

First Baptist Lays Cornerstone ........................75 NYC’s First Black Police Officer .......................76

The Way Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

A Family Affair at Two River .............................78

The Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Harlem Revive! ..............................................80

4

The Positive Community Summer 2015

thepositivecommunity.com

Do You or Does Your Child Need Health Insurance?

Apply for enrollment all year long

for these New York State-sponsored health insurance programs

Child Health Plus

Free or low-cost monthly premiums For children under 19 who live in New York State.

There are no copays for care or services. Coverage may be free or as little as $9 per child per month based on income and family size.

Benefits to keep kids healthy and on the go • Well-child care and checkups • Immunizations • Prescription drugs • X-rays and lab tests • Diagnosis and treatment of illness and injury • Dental and vision care • Hospital inpatient and emergency care • Speech and hearing care • and much more!

Medicaid

No monthly premiums!

Medicaid Managed Care is for children and adults who live in New York State and who meet certain income and disability requirements.

Benefits for you and your family • Checkups • Well-child visits • Preventive care • Immunizations • Women’s health and pregnancy care • Treatment for illness or injury • X-rays and lab tests • Hospital, emergency, and urgent care • Prescription drug coverage (copays may apply) • Dental care • Eye exams and glasses • Speech and hearing therapy (limits may apply) • and much more!

It’s easy to apply - all year long!

Apply for Child Health Plus and Medicaid Managed Care offered by Fidelis Care through NY State of Health: The Official Health Plan Marketplace, at www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov. A Fidelis Care Representative can help you complete an application form. Call 1-888-FIDELIS (1-888-343-3547).

To learn more about applying for health insurance, including Child Health Plus and Medicaid through NY State of Health: The Official Health Plan Marketplace, visit www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov or call 1-855-355-5777.

1-888-FIDELIS | fideliscare.org (1-888-343-3547) •

Fall Registration for all NYTS programs will be held on August 25 through September 17, each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

See below for specific program times and dates.

Certificate Programs

Master’s Programs

All Students August 25 - 27, 2015 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

New Students September 1 - 3, 2015 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

New Programs Offered for 2015-2016

Returning Students September 8 -10, 2015 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

• Certificate Program in Islamic Studies • Certificate Program in Christian Ministry: Specialized track in Ministry and Leadership (Edison, NJ)

New Sites Offered for 2015-2016 visit www.nyts.edu for full listing of CP Sites

Certificate Programs Fall Convocation

Master’s Programs Fall Retreat Friday, September 10, 2015 through Saturday, September 11, 2015

Doctor of Ministry Program All Students September 15 - 17, 2015 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Cohorts Offered for 2015-2016* • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Saturday, September 19, 2015 Springfield Gardens UMC Attendance Required

Bible Engagement Church Administration (NEW) Community Organizing Conflict Transformation (NEW) Congregational Ministry Educational Leadership (NEW) Multifaith Military Ministry (NEW) Pastoral Care Pastoral Psychotherapy Preaching Professional Pastoral Care (NEW) Radical Inclusion (NEW) Transformational Leadership Visit www.nyts.edu for further information * DMin Cohort availability is subject to registration.

New York Theological Seminary

Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 500, New York, NY 10115 (Entrance on Claremont Avenue between 119 th Street and 120 th Street) Tel: 212-870-1211 | Fax: 212-870-1236 | www.nyts.edu | info@nyts.edu

R C

GREAT

OLL

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

ALL

TO PROGRESS

he clergy organizations, churches, community businesses and institutions listed below have committed to the purchase of at least 50 magazines per month at $1.00 each (one-third of the cover price) or support this publication through the purchase of advertising. Find out more by calling 973-233-9200 or email rollcall@thepositivecommunity.com

T

Abyssinian B.C., Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, Pastor

Ebenezer B.C., Englewood, NJ Rev. Jovan Troy Davis, M.Div.

Mariners’ Temple B.C., New York, NY Rev. Dr. Henrietta Carter

St. Luke Baptist Church of Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Johnnie McCann, Pastor

Abyssinian B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Dr. Perry Simmons, Pastor

Emmanuel Baptist Church, Brooklyn NY Rev. Anthony Trufant, Pastor

Messiah Baptist Church, Bridgeport, CT Rev. James Logan, Pastor

St Luke B.C., Paterson, NJ Rev. Kenneth D.R. Clayton, Pastor

Abundant Life Fellowship COGIC, Newark, NJ Supt. Edward Bohannon, Jr, Pastor

Empire Missionary B.C., Convention NY Rev. Dr. Ronald Grant, President

Messiah Baptist Church, East Orange, NJ Rev. Dana Owens, Pastor

St. James AME Church, Newark, NJ Rev. Ronald L. Slaughter, Pastor

Evening Star B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Washington Lundy, Pastor

Metropolitan B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Dr. David Jefferson, Pastor

St. Paul Baptist, Red Bank, NJ Rev. Alexander Brown, Pastor

Fellowship Missionary B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Dr. Elton T. Byrd Pastor/Founder

Mount Calvary United Methodist Church, New York, NY Rev. Francis Kairson, Pastor

St. Matthew AME Church, Orange, NJ Rev. Dr. Lanel D. Guyton, Pastor

Aenon Baptist Church, Vauxhall NJ Rev Alphonso Williams, Sr Pastor Agape Christian Ministries Worship Ctr. Rev. Craig R. Jackson. Pastor Antioch Baptist Church., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Robert M. Waterman, Pastor

First B.C. of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset NJ Rev. Dr. DeForest (Buster) Soaries, Pastor

Mt. Neboh Baptist Church, Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Johnnie Green Jr., Pastor

Archdiocese of New York Brother Tyrone Davis, Office of Black Ministry

First Baptist Church, East Elmhurst, NY Rev Patrick Henry Young, Pastor

Berean B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Arlee Griffin Jr., Pastor

First Baptist B.C. of Teaneck, NJ Rev. Marilyn Monroe Harris, Pastor

Bethany B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Adolphus C. Lacey, Sr. Pastor

First Bethel Baptist Church, Newark, NJ H. Grady James III, Pastor

Bethany B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, Pastor

First Corinthian Baptist Church, NY Rev. Michael A. Walrond, Jr. Senior Pastor

Beulah Bible Cathedral Church, Newark, NJ Gerald Lydell Dickson, Senior Pastor

First Park Baptist Church, Plainfield, NJ Rev. Rufus McClendon, Jr., Pastor

Black Ministers Council of NJ Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, Exec. Director

Friendship Baptist Church, Harlem, NY Rev. James A. Kilgore, Pastor

Calvary Baptist Church, Garfield, NJ Rev. Calvin McKinney, Pastor

General Baptist Convention, NJ Rev. Dr. Guy Campbell, President

Calvary Baptist Church, Morristown, NJ Rev. Jerry M. Carter, Jr., Pastor

Good Neighbor Baptist Church Rev. Dr. George A. Blackwell, III, Pastor

New Hope Baptist Church of Hackensack, Hackensack, NJ Rev. Dr. Frances Mannin-Fontaine, Pastor

Canaan B. C. of Christ, Harlem, NY Rev. Thomas D. Johnson, Pastor

Grace B. C., Mt. Vernon, NY Rev. Dr. Franklyn W. Richardson, Pastor

New Life Cathedral, Mt. Holly, NJ Rev. Eric Wallace, Pastor

Canaan B.C., Paterson, NJ Rev. Dr. Gadson L. Graham

Greater Abyssinian BC, Newark, NJ Rev. Allen Potts, Senior Pastor

New Zion B.C., Elizabeth, NJ Rev. Kevin James White, Pastor

Cathedral International., Perth Amboy, NJ Bishop Donald Hilliard, Pastor

Greater Faith Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA Rev. Larry L. Marcus

Paradise B. C., Newark, NJ Rev. Jethro James, Pastor

Charity Baptist Church, Bronx, NY Rev. Reginald Williams, Pastor

Greater New Hope Missionary B.C., NYC Rev. Joan J. Brightharp, Pastor

Christian Cultural Center, Brooklyn, NY Rev. A.R. Barnard, Pastor

Greater Zion Hill B.C., Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Frank J. Blackshear, Pastor

Christian Love B.C., Irvington, NJ Rev. Ron Christian, Pastor

Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) Drek E. Broomes, President & CEO

Community B.C., Englewood, NJ Rev. Dr. Lester Taylor, Pastor

Imani Baptist Church, East Orange, NJ Rev.Chuch Chamberlayne, Pastor

Community Church of God, Plainfield, NJ Rev. Dr. Shirley B. Cathie., Pastor Emeritus

It Is Well Living Ministries, Clark, NJ Rev. Kahlil Carmichael, Pastor

Concord B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, Pastor

Lagree Baptist Church, New York, NY Rev. Wayland Williams, Jr., Pastor

Convent Avenue Baptist Church, New York, NY Rev. Dr. Jesse T. Willams, Pastor

Macedonia Baptist Church, Lakewood, NJ Dr. Edward D. Harper, Pastor

Mt. Pisgah B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, Pastor Mount Olive Baptist Church, Hackensack, NJ Rev. Gregory J. Jackson, Pastor Mount Zion Baptist Church, Westwood, NJ Rev. Barry R. Miller, Pastor Mt. Olivet B.C, Newark, NJ Rev. André W. Milteer, Pastor Mt. Zion AME Church, Trenton, NJ Rev. J. Stanley Justice, Pastor New Hope Baptist Church, Metuchen, NJ Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Owens, Pastor

Pilgrim B. C., Newark, NJ Rev. Dr. Glenn Wilson, Pastor Ruth Fellowship Ministries, Plainfield, NJ Rev. Tracey Brown, Pastor Shiloh AME Zion Church, Englewood, NJ Rev. John D. Givens, Pastor Shiloh B.C., Plainfield, NJ Rev. Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas, Pastor Shiloh B.C., Trenton, NJ Rev. Darell Armstrong, Pastor St. Albans, NY COGIC Rev. Dr. Ben Monroe St. Anthony Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Duane E. Cooper St. John Baptist Church Camden, NJ Rev. Dr. Silas M. Townsend, Pastor

St. Paul Community B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. David K. Brawley, Pastor The New Hope B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Joe Carter, Senior Pastor Union Baptist Temple,, Bridgeton, NJ Rev. Albert L. Morgan, Pastor Walker Memorial B.C. Bronx, NY Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush Sr., Pastor World Gospel Music Assoc., Newark, NJ Dr. Albert Lewis, Founder

Businesses & Organizations 125th St. BID African American Heritage Parade American Diabetes Association American Heart Association, Northern, NJ Brown Executive Realty LLC, Morristown, NJ City National Bank Essex County College, NJ Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce Marion P. Thomas Charter School Medgar Evers College Mildred Crump, Newark City Council Muslim American Chamber of Commerce NAACP New Jersey* NAACP, NY State Conference* New Brunswick Theological Seminary New Jersey Performing Arts Center New York Theological Seminary New York Urban League Newark School of Theology Nubian Conservatory of Music Razac Products Co., Newark, NJ Schomburg Center The College of New Rochelle United Way of Essex and West Hudson WBGO-88.3FM West Harlem Group Assistance, Inc. WKMB-1070AM

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

“The Positive Community magazine does outstanding work in promoting the good works of the Black Church. All churches and businesses should subscribe to and advertise in The Positive Community. Please support this magazine, the only one that features good news about the black community.”—Rev. Buster Soaries, General Baptist Revival, May 20, 2010

Columbia University Celebr ates HARLEM WEEK

“I believe that dance, and the arts more broadly, can be used as a catalyst for social change — this is why I started the Dance Theatre of Harlem, in Harlem”— Arthur Mitchell

The first African American principal dancer of a major ballet company, Arthur Mitchell performed iconic roles with New York City Ballet and went on to found the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library’s Mitchell archive documents his career and adds another perspective to the University’s extensive collection and scholarship on the cultural and social history of Harlem.

LLOYD WILLIAMS GUEST EDITORIAL

Lloyd Williams is President of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce

Why “OUR LIVES MATTER”

I

t is the God-given obligation of everyone to be responsible for the lives of their family members, neighbors, friends and associates.

Unfortunately, in America we have lost the importance of the communication link between our lives and the lives of others. We are far too comfortable in believing that it is not our responsibility to look out for our neighbors. There is a tendency to believe that persons who are indiscriminately killed in our country are victims of their own professed weaknesses – be it poverty, mental illness, where they reside or, of course, their color.

Right-wing conservatives, many with or many more without badges, are normally the ones pulling the trigger. We too readily accept it when the gunman is white and shoots a person of color, but find it hard for many to accept when the same gunman randomly kills multiple persons, especially when the persons killed are not of color.

Oft times the shooters are ultra-conservatives with mental defects that they hide behind the confederate flag or other right wing dogma because they do not have a true sense of their own history and purpose. It is interesting that most of the shooters—with or without badges—are almost always ultra-conservatives who do not value the lives of others as they profess to do in their political philosophies.

We must establish a greater moral purpose that reflects what America is supposed to stand for. America, with less than 5% of the world’s population, can boast that it currently has approximately 25% of the entire world’s prison population? It is hard to fathom that one in 99 adults is currently living behind bars in the America. Also, that one in 31 adults (7.2 million) are under some form of correctional control, counting prison, jail, parole, and probation populations.

America’s criminal justice systems should keep communities safe and treat all people fairly regardless of the color of their skin, and unfortunately, justice is more often measured and delivered according to the size of one’s bank accounts.

We invite all to join with us to turn it around, because we can do it. There are solutions: dealing with truth; not thepositivecommunity.com

denying realities; and not being afraid of each other.

Love and Respect are the answers. We can no longer sit back and allow two-year-old children and 86-year-old grandparents to be killed in that which is deemed to be the most developed, intelligent, sophisticated nation in the world.

Join The New York Black Publishers and bring your associates, yourself, and your love for all people to our rally that says “OUR LIVES MATTER” on Saturday, August 15th on West 135th Street between St. Nicholas Ave. and Frederick Douglass Blvd. in the village of Harlem at 12 noon. We will also commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the historic Selma March.

“OUR LIVES MATTER” and Love, is the Answer.

For more information call 212.862.7200 and ask for Ms. Sutton or via email csutton@harlemdiscover.com.

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

9

2015 August Calendar of Events coe_inside_2015_use.qxp_Layout 1 7/21/15 3:24 PM Page 1

JULY AUGUST

TUESDAY • August 11 • 10 AM - 5 PM

12:00 NOON NYC Economic Development Day-

Site IV

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

International 12:30 PMTributes & Salutes to 12 Noon 6PM 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM On W.– 135th St. “ALL LIVES MATTER” bet. A.C. Powell, Jr. & F. Douglass Blvds.

LET’S DANCE: Alvin Ailey Up Market International Vendors Village SUNDAY • JULY 26 • 12NOON - 8:30PM 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM 12noon–6pm: Up Market Fashion and Arts & 4pm–6pm: HARLEMMUSICFEST 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM SATURDAY • AUGUST 159:30• 11AM–8PM Dancers & Instructor Robin Fashion and Arts & Crafts Featuring Arts & Crafts, Music, The Fashion Flava Show International Vendors Village AM - 11:30 AM “A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM” SATURDAY • August 15 11AM Craft Pavilion Featuring“Uptown the best in urban & creative fashion Concert” Featuring Arts & Crafts, Music, Clothing, Saturday • MWBE/Business Conference U.S. Grant National Memorial Park Dunn Pavilion Clothing, Jewelry, Hats, SculpSUMMER IN THE CITY Jewelry, Hats, Sculptures, Foods, Job Recruit• Health Conference W. 120th St. to 124th St. on Riverside Drive – 8PM 4:00 PMThe - 6:00 PM ment, Product Sampling, & Corporate Exhibits Featuring Jeff Foxx Band, Kenny Lattimore, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM 12:30 PM 1:00 PM tures, Foods, Job Recruitment, 12 NOON - 6in PM the City” • Indoor Expo featuring info on Business, HARLEMMUSICFEST “Summer 1pm–7pm: HARLEMMUSICFEST/YMCA FAMILY TECHNOLOGY PAVILION Deborah Cox, Saturday etc.

Community Development, Housing, Health, International Music Tributes 1 PM -Site 7 PM Product Sampling, & Corporate V “Uptown Concert” In Sakura Parkacross from U.S. Grant Site II: W. 135th bet. Malcolm XCareer Opportunities, Educational On W. 135th Street Featuring The Jeff Foxx Band, Kenny SiteNational Blvd. &1:00 5th PM Ave.- 2:30 PM Dance,Exhibits Gospel, Jazz, Spoken Word, Memorial Park Featuring robotics, HARLEMMUSICFEST & Professional Services bet. F. Douglass Blvd. & St. NicholasStage Ave Lattimore, Deborah Cox, etc.

On smart W. gadgets, 135th St. bet.

XPM - 2:00 PM interactive science Malcolm activities 11am–2pm: Harlem Honeys12:00 and Bears International Tributes & -5th Ave Stage and more.

Hip-Hop, R&B, Musical Theater and “Back to Site V: Nicholas • Basil A. Paterson Business Awards Luncheon PM - 7:00 PM Park, SiteOn V The Great Lawn of St.1:00 Blvd. & 5th Ave. HARLEMMUSICFEST Salute 3:00 PM - 5:00Salutes PM On The Great Lawn of St. Nicholas Park Jazz, R&B Musical Theatre, Site VFashion Show, NJPAC Jazz Family senior citizens' swimming demonstrations 1 PM - & School” Children’s W. 135th & St. Nicholas Ave. to the 90th Birthday of • The Silicon Harlem MEET UP: W. 135th St. & St. Nicholas Ave. 11 AM -4 PM 2and PM Artz, Rootz Rhythm Malcolm X featuring Business Technology Seminar Hip Hop, Gospel and guest On W. 135th Street Hansborough Recreation Center International Cultural Showcase R&B, Jazz, hip hop,for blues,Teens, Kim and Reggie Harris and others Harlem Honeys and Bears 7:00 PM Harlem Swing Dance Society, IMPACT SATURDAY • August 15 • LIVES 11AM – 8PM MATTER” gospel, reggae, and dance tributes with a special “OUR bet. F. Douglass Blvd. & St. Harlem Music Fest/Imagenation Outdoorartists Repertory, Uptown Dance Academy and The performance by Doug E. Fresh & guest artists 7pm:Music HARLEM MUSICFEST family & senior citizen’s Film Festival our featured film, Africa Center Music featuring okayafrica. DJ’s “Summer in 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Nicholas andII: Dancers Site W. 135th bet. Malcolm X “Still Bill”Outdoor tribute to Bill Withers Site IV:

.

135th bet. Ave A.C. Powell, Jr. W Site VI swimming demonstrations Imagination Music Film Festival the City” The Fashion Flava Show SUNDAY, August 16 , 10 AM – 7PM Site II 2 PM 4 PM 5 PM Hansborough & A C. Powell, Jr. Blvds.

Recreation Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the

& F. Douglass Blvds. featured film, “Still Bill” tribute to Bill Withers Site I HARLEMMUSICFEST Gospel Caravan Featuring the best in urban Bet. 136th St. & 137th on One 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM Rucker Pro Legends , Each One Teach On W. 135th St. featuring Mama Foundation Gospel Choir, Center 11am–5pm: NY City “Children’s Festival” and NBA Legends Basketball Clinic1pm–6pm: International Vendors Village bet. Malcolm X Blvd.& & 5th Ave. Tiger the Hope Boy and Bishop Hezekiah creative fashion Malcolm X Blvd.

HARLEMMUSICFEST Salute At Rucker Park – 155th St. & F. Douglass Blvd.

11 AM - 2arts PM & crafts, Walker Love Fellowship Crusade Choir Site II & theparade, Featuring exhibits, games, Featuring Artsto&the Crafts, Harlem Honeys and Bears 90thMusic, Clothing, Jewelry, SATURDAY • August 22 On W. 135th St. bet.

Malcolm X Family & senior citizen’s swimming demon5 PM 6:15 PM liveFashion music, dance, free health screening and Site I Hats, Sculptures, Foods, Recruitment, Part I • 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 12:00 PM 6:00 PM Birthday ofJob Malcolm X featurstrations Fusion Showcase SUNDAY • AUGUST 16 • 10AM–7PM W. 135 St. (bet.

5 Ave & Malcolm X Blvd) &sports ASaluting C. Powell, Jr.fashion Blvds.

Hansborough Recreation Center the best in urban & BroadPercy Sutton clinics Product Sampling, & Corporate Exhibits HARLEMMUSICFEST “Our Health” Village ing 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM way theater Harlem 5K Run & Walk HARLEM DAY 11AM – 5 PM Site II Manhattan Auto Show Free “Uptown SaturdayUpper Concert” screening, R&B, Jazz, hip hop, blues, gosA 5K health Run & “ALL LIVES MATTER” walk PM - 8:30 PM NY 6:30 City “Children’s Festival”On W. 135th St. bet. Malcolm X & A C. Powell, Featuring classic, vintage and the newest through historic Harlem to bring us all toJr. Blvds. Fair & Expo “Concert UnderHigher the Stars” cars, as Foxx well as motorcycles & historic buses. education and holistic 12:30pm–5pm: Education Featuring The Jeff pel, reggae, and dance Site V:

W. 135th bet. F. Douglass Blvd.tributes gether in our communities.

• Honoring B.B. King - featuring exhibits, King W. 135 St. bet. 5 Ave. & Malcolm X Blvd.

Featuring parade, Run - 8:30 AM • Walk - 9 AM Solomon Hicks & City Keith “The Captain” Gamble with a special performance by Highlighting of 11AM NY –&5 PM StateBand, Kenny SiteLattimore, I:10AM-4PM W. 135th bet. Malcolm information X Blvd. & 5th Ave. & St. Nicholas Ave games, arts &University crafts, live NY City “Children’s Festival” (Day 1) HARLEM WEEK /USTA Part II • 12 Noon – 4 PM Mural Deborah Cox, etc.

Harlem Hospital Doug E. Fresh & guest artists E.NY Kinginstitutions, – with salutes from Showcasing • Honoring Ben Featuring parade, exhibits, games, arts University ofLloyd 10am–4pm: Upper Show 1pm–7pm: HARLEMMUSICFEST Live entertainment and recorded music Tri-State Free Tennis ClinicsManhattan Auto music, dance, health Chuck Jackson, Price,free Paul Shaffer & & crafts, live music, dance, free health saluting the music and sounds of the 60’s, Howard Bennett Playground Site V Pavilion Toya and sports clinics Historically andscreening Universities.

Featuring classic, vintage and the70’s,newest Salute to the 90th Birthday of Malcolm X 80’s and 90’scars, screeningBlack and Colleges sports clinics 12 NOON –St. 5 PM On The Great Site VI • HARLEMMUSICFEST / WBLS.FM Concert 12:30 PM - 5 PM Upper Manhattan Business Fair & & Exhibits universities, community Over 50 colleges, asLawn well asof motorcycles historic buses. featuring R&B, Jazz, hip hop, blues, gospel, Featuring Lalah Hathaway, Maysa and Ray Nicholas Site IIIPart III • 7 PM 2 PM HIGHER EDUCATION FAIRPark, & EXPO Chew & thetechnical Star Band 12 NOON – 6PM colleges, and trade schools providing HARLEMMUSICFEST / IMAGENATION 12:30 PM HMF - 5 AllPM 10am-4pm: Harlem Week /USTA Highlighting City University of NY & State reggae, and dance tributes with a special MARKET MusicSt. Film Festival featuring W. 135th St. & St.UPNicholas On W.Outdoor 135th Celebrating the 50th Anniversaof NY institutions, Showcasing Fashion and Arts & Crafts Pavilion HIGHER EDUCATION FAIRUniversity info on admissions, scholarships and financial Tri-State Free Tennis Clinics bet.“Finding Historically Black Collegesaid. and Universities. byofDoug E. Fresh Pro & guest artists , Fela”X & A.C.performancery Ave. Malcolm the Rucker Legends Over 50 colleges, universities, community On The Great Lawn of St. Nicholas Park 1 PM - 7 PM & EXPO colleges, technical and trade schools Howard Bennett Playground W. 135 St. & St. Nicholas Ave. Harlem Music Fest-5th Ave Stage Powell Jr., Blvds.

Each One Teach One and NBA providing info on admissions, scholarships Jazz, R&B Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, Gospel Highlighting City University of and financial SiteTUESDAY III: W. 135th A.C. Powell, Jr.aid.7:00 PM • August 4 • 9:30 bet.

AM - 5 PM & Fredrick Douglass Blvd. and guest artists Our Key Summer Site VI: 155thLegends NY & State University of NY Citizen’s Day Partner Events NYC Senior & Fredrick Douglass 12noon–5pm: Upper Manhattan Business Fair 2pm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the HARLEMMUSICFEST/ 12 Noon - 6 Pm Basketball Clinic at Rucker Site II For information on our partner events, institutions, Showcasing Site III “Elder’s Jubilee” visit their websites or call: Bet. 136th St. & 137th on Malcolm X Blvd.

11am–5pm: International Vendors Village Exhibits Outdoor NY City “Children’s Festival” Park – Each 155thOne St. & Rucke Pro Legends Teach One and On W. 135th St.Imagenation& 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM Historically Black Colleges and Harlem Summer Stage Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Bldg. bet. A.C. Powell, Jr. & F. Douglass Blvds. www.harlemsummerstage.info • 212.961.4390 Music Film Festival Theme: “Back to School”.

Fredrick Douglass Blvd.

Featuring Arts Crafts, Clothing, Jew“Our Health” Village 125 Street & Adam & Clayton Powell, Jr.Music, Blvd.

NBA Legends Basketball Clinic at Rucker Park Jazzmobile Universities. Over 50 colleges, Free health screening, education 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM www.jazzmobile.org • 212.866.4900 featured film, “Still Bill” Featuring elry,• Outdoor Hats,Farmers Sculptures, Job Recruitment, and holistic information 12noon–6pm: Up Market Fashion and Arts & Market on the Foods, Plaza Studio Museum in Harlem International Vendors Village universities, community Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion www.studiomuseum.org • 212.864.4500 • Indoor Senior Citizens Expo Featuring Arts & Crafts, Music, Clothing, tribute to Bill Withers exhibits, games, arts & SATURDAY • August 22 Product Sampling, and Corporate Exhibits • Elder’s Jubilee Awards Luncheon Craft Pavilion Apollo Theater colleges, technical and trade Jewelry, Hats, Sculptures, Foods, Job SATURDAY 22 www.apollotheater.org • 212.531.5300 • Senior Citizens “Demystifying Technology” Site III crafts, live music, dance, Part• IAUGUST • Recruitment, Product Sampling, Conference Schomburg Center for On W. 135th St. schools providing info on and Corporate Exhibits Research in Black Culture www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg bet.

Malcolm X & A.C. Powell Jr., Blvds.

SUNDAY, August 16 free health testing and Percy Sutton Harlem 5K • August 8 • 11AM - 5PMF. Douglass SiteSATURDAY IV: W. 135th bet.

Blvd.

1pm-7pm: admissions, scholarships and NJPAC 12 Noon - 6 HARLEMMUSICFEST Pm www.njpac.org • 973.642.8989 Site IV Part I— Percy Sutton Harlem 5K 10 AM – 7PM sports clinics Run & Walk S.T.E.A.M. NY City “Children’s (Day 2) Imagenation On W. 135th Street bet. F. Douglass Blvd. & Ave financial aid.

(Science, Technology, & St.Engineering, Nicholas Ave. 5th Stage Jazz, Festival” R&B Musical Theatre, Arts & Math) : www.imagenation.us • 212.694.2887 St. Nicholas Ave. Run & Walk: A 5K Run & “Our Lives Matter” HARLEM DAY Theme: “Back to School”. Featuring A 5K Run & “Our Lives Youth Technology Education and Career Entertainer’s Basketball Classic exhibits,Gospel games, arts &and crafts, live music, artists Site III & Expo 12noon–2:30pm: “Our Lives12:00 Matter” Hip Hop, guest Conference www.info@ebcruckerpark.com • 212.601.9358 dance, free health testing and sports12 clinicsNoon – 6PM NOON - 2:30 PM I Site Matter” walk to through walk through historic Harlem bring us all Our Children’s Foundation Each One Teach One On W. 135th St. www.eteamz.com/nationalassociationofeachoneteaA Salute 527 W. 125toSt.Unity and Healing “ALL LIVES MATTER” choneinc • 917.275.6975 W. 135th St. (bet.

5th Ave & Up Market historic Harlem to bring us 12 Noon – 6PM together in our communities. bet. Amsterdam Ave & Broadway bet.

A.C. Powell, Jr. & A Salute to Unity and Healing U P MARKET Caribbean Cultural Center Site II:Fashion bet.136th St. & 137th www.cccadi.org 212.307.7420 Malcolm X Blvd) Fashion and •Arts & Crafts together our at 9am and Arts & Crafts Pavilion Run begins at all 8:30am Walkinbegins SUNDAY • August 9 • 2 PM Fredrick Douglass Blvds. 12:00 NOON - 12:30 PM Harlem Arts Alliance www.harlemartsalliance.com • 347.735.4280 HARLEM WEEK 12noon–12:30pm: Let’s Dance

on Malcolm X Blvd.

10:00 AM 4:00 PM Pavilion communities.

1:00 PM 7:00 PM LET’S DANCE: Alvin Ailey Dancers “Golden NY State Farmers Market & Fair 11:00 AM Hoops” - 5:00 PM Stage www.125thstreetfarmersmarket.com & Instructor Dunn ManhattanHARLEMMUSICFEST/YMCA Basketball Alvin AileyChampionships Dancers & Instructor RobinRobin Dunn Upper Auto Show Run begins at - 8:30 AM • 12noon–6pm: “Our Health” Dance, Gospel, Jazz, Spoken Word, Hip-Hop, Village International Part II: 12noon–4pm in concert with Vendors Village For additional information feel free to contact us directly R&B, Musical Theater and “Back to School” at 1.877.427.5364.

For information on sponsorship, 12:30 PM - 1:00 PMFeaturing Free classic, vintage 1:00 PM 7:00 PM Walk begins at - 9 AM Each One Teach One health screening, education and holistic Children’s Fashion Show, NJPAC Jazz for Teens, corporate exhibitor, vending or performing please call Featuring Arts &F. Douglass Crafts, Rucker Park - W. 155th St. & Blvd. International Music Tributes Live entertainment and recorded music Kim and Reggie Harris and others 1.877.427.5364 or visit www.harlemdiscover.com and the newest cars, Harlem as well Hospital HARLEMMUSICFEST/YMCA Part II • 12 Noon – 4 PM 12:30pm–1pm: International Music Tributes information Mural Pavilion Music, Clothing, Jewelry, saluting the music and sounds of and the 60’s, as motorcycles & historic Stage Live entertainment Hats, Sculptures, Foods, Job 70’s, 80’s and 90’s buses.

Dance, Gospel, Jazz, recorded music saluting the 1pm–2:30pm: Site III: W. 135th bet. Malcolm X Recruitment, International Tributes & Salutes Spoken Word, Hip-Hop, music and sounds of the Product Sampling, “OUR LIVES MATTER”

& A.C.Powell Jr., Blvds.

10AM-4PM R&B, Musical TheaterPart andIII— 7pm 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and Corporate Exhibits HARLEM WEEK /USTA “Back to School” Children’s Part III •/ 7 PM HARLEMMUSICFEST IMAGENATION Site IV 3pm–4pm: The Fashion Flava Show Tri-State Free 12Tennis noon-6pm: NY City “Children’s Festival” Clinics Fashion Show, NJPAC Jazz Music HARLEMMUSICFEST / IMAOutdoor Film Festival featuring “Finding On W. 135th Street bet.

F. DouFeaturing the best in urban & creative Howard fashion Bennett Theme: “Back to School” featuring exhibits, Playground for Teens, Kim and Reggie GENATION Fela” tribute to Fela Kuti­­­ glass Blvd. & St. Nicholas Ave. games, arts & crafts, live music, dance, Harris andfree others Film Festival On The GreatOutdoor Lawn ofMusic St. Nicholas Park, W. 12 Noon – 5 health PM testing and sports clinics featuring “Finding Fela” 135th & St. Nicholas Ave. 12:00 NOON - 2:30 PM Upper Manhattan Business Fair Site IV tribute to Fela Kuti “Our Lives Matter” & Exhibits On W. 135th St. bet. A.C. PowOn The Great Lawn of St. A Salute to Unity and Healing ell, Jr. & F. Douglass Blvds.

Nicholas Park, W. 135th St. & St. Nicholas Ave. Columbia University / Alfred Lerner Hall 115th Street Broadway

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Gospel Music Month Positive Music Matters

Adrian Council and Albert Lewis

W

hat began as a week-long celebration of Gospel music in Newark has today, blossomed into a New Jersey statewide and month-long observance. June is Gospel Music Month! As tradition would have it, the music celebration kicked-off at Newark City Hall. The occasion recognizes the contribution of leaders in clergy and community life that have invested their time and resources toward improvement in the lives of the people and their city. Gospel music filled the near capacity room as songs, hymns, and praise transformed the Council Chambers into a sanctuary! Dr. Albert J. Lewis, impresario and Gospel Music Month founder, led the light-hearted, spirited celebration, presenting awards and proclamations. The event was presided over

by Newark Council President Mildred C. Crump.

Publisher Adrian Council was invited to speak about Positive Music Matters, a cultural literacy initiative de-

L–R: Rev. Patrick Council, Rev. Collier, Hon. Mildred Crump and Dr. Lewis

signed to preserve, protect, and promote the very best of our American music legacy of all genres and to inspire a generation of creative artists, musicians, and thinkers.

Dr. Lewis recounted how it was Gospel music, especially the Gospel Quartets, that evolved and inspired the “Soul” singers and the R&B movement of the 60s and 70s. Church inspired artists like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, the Staple Singers, James Brown, and countless others went on to dominate American popular music with songs that provided a soundtrack for freedom movements around the world! And it remains forever true: All positive, life affirming music is sacred music—a righteous sound… Positive Music Matters! —JNW

L–R: Honoree, Cynthia Harris with Apostle Gennie Holt

Mildred Crump and Dr. Mamie Bridgeforth Photos: Vincent Bryant

L–R: Rev. Louise Roundtree, Hon. Mildred Crump, Rev. Collier, Rev. Patrick Council, Dr. E.T. Byrd, and Dr. Lewis

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

thepositivecommunity.com

DR. PAULINE E. BALLARD PUBLISHER’S GUEST

“Positive Music is a substance of power that can and will break every type of enslavement.”

Dr. Pauline E. Ballard is pastor of Pentecostal Family Prayer Center, Newark NJ

I Do Believe: Positive Music Matters®

I

t was a pleasure being introduced to Adrian Council for the first time while he was waiting to be interviewed by my Godson, Dr. Albert Lewis, on his Cablevision program, The Gospel Hour.

I was quite surprised and equally honored when Adrian asked me to review his articles entitled “Positive Music Matters” (thepositivecommunity.com) and provide objective feedback. Well, here is my response: I agree with you—Positive Music does matter. Mr. Council, when I think of positive music; sacred music comes to mind. Positive music is not a song for the present that soothes for the hour for that time or place—lasting only for the moment—then it dissipates. And yet, the hurt and pain remains.

Positive music is music of the soul. A melody does not always require verbalization to convey a message that will and can be understood by the recipient.

Even when we hum a sacred melody to ourselves, it ushers in a God-given calmness to any situation.

Immediately there is a divine connection which resonates a soothing and sweetness throughout the soul that does quiet the troubled heart. We agree sacred music is the answer to health, healing and happiness.

You see sacred music is positive music because music had its origin in heaven.

Recorded in the scriptures, God instructed Ezekiel to speak to the spirit of Lucifer that embodied the Prince of Tyrus. Ezekiel 26:13; Ezekiel 28:11-17; also Isaiah 14:12-15: Before Lucifer was in his fallen state, he was

Positive music is music of the soul. A melody does not always require verbalization to convey a message that will and can be understood by the recipient. thepositivecommunity.com 40 The Positive Community

Summer 2015

called the Son of the Morning. Not only were precious stones his covering, but sacred music as we know it today was in his body.

May I use the scripture that you used in your June 2015 issue of The Positive Community “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” Psalms 137:4 This depicted the hearts of Israel when they were taken into captivity by their enemies. They lost their song. As Sons and Daughters of God, we too have lost our song because we no longer seek the face of God – could it be that we look for help in all the wrong places.

As the body of Christ, what happened to our positive music that gives God the glory such as traditional hymns, anthems and gospel songs .

Let us return to the rudiments of our faith, bible reading, praying, fasting and teaching. These practices gave strength to our forefathers in slavery.

They sang positive music with dual references to give instructions and codes for directions—Steal away, stealaway to Jesus… We ain’t got long to stay here! Goin’ to Lay Down My Burden Down by the River Side, etc..

Positive music coupled with my study of the word of God, fasting, praying and constantly seeking God’s will for my life is my source of strength in ministry.

I cannot recall the composer, but one soul, for whatever the reason or experience wrote this song “Up above my head, I hear music in the air I know there must be a heaven somewhere.”

Positive music speaks the language that our soul understands and does respond to. After the song has ended the melody lingers to sustain us even when we are at “wit’s end corner!”

“Then sings my soul, “My Savior God to Thee, how Great Thou Art; How Great thou Art.” Mr. Council, I do thank you for your allowing me to share my thoughts on positive music. May God bless you in your area of ministry. “Positive Music is a substance of power that can and will break every type of enslavement.”

Community 13 Summer 2015 The Positive thepositivecommunity.com

William J. Dowdy Foundation Annual Golf Outing / August 24, 2015 Cedar Hill Golf & Country Club, Livingston, NJ

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

thepositivecommunity.com

By Rev. Dr. Charles Butler VP of Equitable Development, HCCI

Money BUSINESS, MONEY & WORK

Wealth and the Kingdom of Heaven

I

n the Gospel according to St. Luke 18:18, we find a rich ruler coming to Jesus and asking Him what he should do to inherit eternal life? After speaking to this young man for a few minutes, his problem became obvious to Jesus and He told him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

Because he was a man of great wealth, the ruler was not pleased when he heard this. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” This story is a perfect illustration of the “haves” not willing to share their wealth with the “have-nots.” This man was rich in material wealth, but impoverished in spirit. Jesus promised this man that he would have treasure in heaven, but that was not enough for him to let go of his material possessions.

Although this rich ruler initiated the conversation by asking Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life, he was unwilling to accept the answer. He was so close to the truth that is found in Jesus; the truth that could have set him free; the truth that promises riches beyond his wildest imagination. But unfortunately, he was ensnared by his own material possessions and that alluring power held him so tightly captive that he was unable to free himself from them for an even greater reward.

Today, personal greed and political corruption continue to influence the attitudes of many, especially those people who are in positions of power. Their rhetoric might say one thing, but their actions speak much louder than their words. They are not concerned with the welfare of others, but only of securing more wealth for themselves. They already have more than they need, but will continue to hoard their wealth rather than open their hearts and share it.

If you are not careful, my friends, you can find yourself also being held hostage by your possessions. You will start to worship them. They will become your god. How many people do you know who worship their fine, fancy Wealth

thepositivecommunity.com

and the Kingdom of Heaven cars, nice homes, or even that prestigious job title? They spend more time with these possessions than in the presence of God through prayer or in studying the Word of God. In a nation as wealthy as the United States, it’s a shame that there are families that are homeless. It is a shame that there are children who will have to go to bed hungry. It is a shame that people are dying because they cannot afford adequate medical care. Do we dare to trust the Words of God and become a positive community? Are we willing to demonstrate the love of God by caring for those in need? It is up to us to allow our light to shine by having an attitude of love and sharing our resources.

Jesus said to whom much is given much is required, Luke 12:48. This is true of wealth building. Spiritual wealth is far more important and precious than material wealth.

The things of this world will pass away. But the rewards that Jesus promises to provide for us are for all of eternity.

The choice should be easy, live your life for Jesus Summer 2015 The Positive Community

15

Rev. Dr. DeForest Soaries

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A Touch of Amie Kiros on what makes Gran Piatto D’oro Restaurant such a treat BY GLENDA CADOGAN

T

he Gran Piatto d’Oro Restaurant is grand for far more than its exquisite chandeliers and sprawling ambience. The Harlem restaurant is a place where worlds collide as Ethiopia meets Italy in the USA. Situated on Fifth Avenue in the heart of Harlem, USA, The Gran Piatto d’Oro is an expansive Italian restaurant serving fine culinary delights. Its owner, Amie Kiros, is a former fashionista and professional caterer who brings the cultural flare of her native Ethiopia to every aspect of the business. In 1974, Kiros left Ethiopia to vacation in Italy, but war broke out in her native country and she was unable to return. Stranded in Italy, she established ties with the Gucci fashion house family and began to pursue higher education. “My father was a politician and even while living in Ethiopia our family had a relationship with the Gucci family,” she explained. “So I was lucky in that they welcomed me into their family and my life took a different turn from what

Amie Kiros, owner The Gran Piatto d’Oro Restaurant

I had planned.” Eventually, the Guccis accepted Kiros into their famed family business and after spending 10 years in Italy, she moved to the United States working as their national fashion coordinator in their head office.

“As a natural consequence, Kiros shouldered the responsibility of hosting high powered parties with celebrities and guests from all over the world, and it was there her culinary flair and people skills flourished.

After a Gucci family feud, Kiros left to join forces with one of the sons but eventually formed a partnership with paparazzo Gilberto Petrucci and opened a restaurant in SOHO Manhattan. ”We were successful in the business until the terrorist attack of September 11 and then we could no longer survive in the area,” she said. “We were advised to open a restaurant in Harlem, which was described to me as an up and coming neighborhood.”

In 2000, Kiros established the first of three Italian restaurants at 109th Street and 1st Avenue. But with the increased demand for larger catering jobs and weddings, she put her energies into upgrading and in 2007 opened the Gran Piatto d’Oro—translated as: “A Golden Dish.”

With a grand piano, a fireplace, chandeliers and plush carpeting, the Gran Piatto d’Oro is considered one of the finest dining experiences uptown. But getting to this distinction did not come without jumping hoops and evading what were essentially gender and cultural biases. “People said that there was no way a woman could do this by herself,” Kiros said. “I had to do everything from hiring architects and construction workers to managers. But I made it happen and today I am very proud of what we have been able to achieve.”

Then there was the cultural bias of those who argued that it takes an Italian person to operate a successful Italian restaurant. “Nonsense!” Kiros shouted back at those naysayers. “My idea is that the most important factors in any business endeavor are the background and the knowledge.

Once you have these two things anyone — woman or man— could open any kind of restaurant they choose to.”

Today Kiros advises younger women to never be derailed by anyone telling them what they can or cannot do. “Be guidcontinued on page 67

thepositivecommunity.com

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

18

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Photos: Margot Jordan

L–R: Hazel Dukes, NYS NAACP president and from Macy’s: Mynah Gooden, External Affairs; Ty Stone, manager of Diversity Strategies & Inclusion; and Chairman & CEO Terry Lundgren

Macy’s Celebration Senior VP Ed Goldberg Retires

L–R: L-R: Ed Goldberg and his wife, Judy, with Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams and Mynnah Gooden

I

t was an intimate gathering in the executive suites at the corporate headquarters of Macy’s Department Stores on 34th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. Community leaders, fellow employees, family members, and friends were on hand to celebrate Ed Goldberg as he welcomes a new chapter in his life. Mr. Goldberg is retiring from his position as a senior vice president of external affairs after more than 40 years of service at the retail giant and to the community. Under the leadership of Ed Goldberg, Macy’s has forged extraordinary relationships in the African American and Caribbean American communities in the New York/ New Jersey metropolitan area!

Henry Garrido Executive Director

L–R: Former NYC Mayor David N. Dinkins with Ed Goldberg

20

The Positive Community Summer 2015

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Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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Men Who Mentor Honored

BY AUDREY BERNARD

Publishers Present Inaugural Awards Dinner Photo: Gideon Manasseh

L–R: NYBP members Pat Stevenson, Sandra Blackwell, Adrian Council, Jean Nash Wells, Miatta Haj Smith and Aziz Gueye Adetimirin

O

n Thursday, June 11, 2015,the New York Black Publishers Inc. (NYBP) and Metro-Plus presented the inaugural “Men Who Mentor” awards dinner honoring men who have made a significant difference in young people’s lives.

Antwan Lewis, co-anchor of Fox 5 News Weekend hosted the event at Mist Harlem.

The room was filled with mentors bursting with pride, their mentees, proud parents and family members—all of whom have played an important role in keeping their young men focused on accomplishing their goals­—making a better life for themselves and their loved ones and then giving back to the community.

Following a stirring invocation, the audience participated in singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, accompanied by Phil Young Trio.

In his keynote speech, Andrew Morrison, president of Small Business Camp, beseeched young people to call on him for help. He topped off his generous offer of help with a monetary gift of $250 to each honoree.

The coveted awards were presented to Jvon Alexander of South Bronx United; Derrick Barnes,100 Black Men; Shaquille Blake, BMCC Urban Male Leadership Academy; Michael Colden, The Sledge Group; Dr. Mel-

22

The Positive Community Summer 2015

vin I. Douglass, YOU-niversity Bound LLC; Paul Forges, Campaign for Black Male Achievement ;Trevor Jaha, Man Up Global; Donald LaHuffman, Eagle Academy and the Omega Psi Phi; Barnabas Shakur, The Foot Soldiers; and Brian Washington, Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

In addition to the “Men Who Mentor” awards, each honoree received citations from local leaders: Council members Inez Dickens and Jumaane Williams, State Senator Bill Perkins, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Congressman Charles B. Rangel sent a video message congratulating the honorees.

In his salute to the honorees, Roger Milliner, deputy executive director of marketing for MetroPlus Health Plan, thanked the men “who continue to make a difference in the lives of our youth– and in our community.”

After thanking title sponsor MetroPlus as well as City University of New York and MIST (My Image Studios) for their support, Pat Stevenson, publisher of the Harlem News and president of NYBP concluded the evening, saying, “We are aware that we have more than a few good men in the community who are willing to be role models and father figures. Men who are willing to devote their time and resources to help educate, elevate and inspire young people.” thepositivecommunity.com

Photo: Wali Amin Muhammad

Happy Birthday Inez!

The City University of New York Congratulates

NY Black Publishers Inc. And Distinguished Honoree

Shaquille Blake

Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY 2015 BMCC Urban Male Leadership Academy

And all distinguished honorees On the occasion of

Men Who Mentor Awards June 11, 2015 Benno Schmidt

CHAIRPERSON, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Harlem’s best and brightest gathered to celebrate popular NYC Councilwoman Inez Dickens on the occasion of her birthday at Harlem’s Mist entertainment complex. Pictured: Inez Dickens with Yasmin H. Cornelius of Community Board 10.

James B. Milliken

WWW.CUNY.EDU

1-800-CUNY-YES

CHANCELLOR

CUNY TV–Channel 75

MetroPlus salutes Men Who Mentor.

Thanks to the men who continue to make a difference in the lives of our youth – and in our community.

MKT 15.37

thepositivecommunity.com MET1315 Men Who Mentor Positive Comm B&W 7 x 4.75.indd

1

Summer 2015 The Positive Community 23 6/11/15 1:11 PM

Golden Krust Hosts Scholarship Fundraiser

Honoree David C. Banks with his father, Philip Banks, Sr.

Photos: Bruce Moore

Honorees with Golden Krust President/ CEO Lowell Hawthorne

O

ver 300 business leaders, non-profit organizers, educators, franchisees, family members, and friends were in attendance at the Mavis and Ephraim Hawthorne Golden Krust Foundation (MEHGKF) tenth annual Excellence Awards Gala on June 11, 2015. The fundraiser, which was held at VIP Country Club in New Rochelle, NY, honored seven distinguished members of the community.

“Tonight, we pause to honor seven esteemed members of the community who have done outstanding work in their different spheres of influence,” stated Lowell Hawthorne, chairman, MEHGKF & CEO, Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill in his remarks.

Honorees were Susan Taylor, founder/CEO, National CARES Mentoring Movement; David C. Banks, president/CEO, The Eagle Academy; Paul C. Brunson, founder/president, The Paul C. Brunson Agency; Glenford Christian, founder/chairman, Cari-Med Limited; Dr. Hector Estepan, medical director of West Caldwell Health Council; Dr. Suzanne Greenidge, founder /director, Woman to Woman OB/GYN); and Rev. Granville Senior, senior pastor of United Church of Jesus Christ.

The gala was more than a phenomenal success.

Guests enjoyed the ambiance and delicious food provided by the VIP Country club as they were entertained by the Platinum One Band. The program was inspiring and powerful. Previous MEHGKF recipients participated, Lowell Hawthorne talked about the goals of the foundation, and honorees thanked MEHGKF and their supporters as they received the unique Unity Globe award. thepositivecommunity.com

Susan Taylor (L), her husband Khephra Burns, and Lorna Hawthorne

Omar Hawthorne with Adrian Council, Jr.

L–R: Rev. Dennis Dillon, guest; Rev. Dillon’s mother; Hon. Una Clarke

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

25

Health Maria Davis: A Woman of Character R.L. :WITTER

P

roverbs 31:17 describes a woman of noble character as follows: “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” When last we met Maria Davis in the pages of The Positive Community, it was May, 2010 and she had just hopped out of her car at a New York City gas station to break up a confrontation where a group of young women had accosted an elderly woman. Davis chastised the young women saying, “You don’t get blessed like that!” And without a doubt, if anyone knows what it means to be blessed, it’s definitely Maria Davis.

“You know I’m still a member of First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem,” she said in an upbeat manner, her warmth and smile radiating. “My faith is very important to me and is really what leads me to be the activist I am today.” Davis is an HIV/AIDS activist, and is celebrating her 20th year of living with HIV since her diagnosis in 1995.

“In 2015 we’re still dealing with the stigma and trying to get people—especially African Americans—to get tested for HIV,” she remarked. “We’ve been traumatized. We can go back and talk about slavery, being abused, molestation… These are all things that affect us and the decisions we make in life. They affected

26 The Positive Community

Summer 2015

my decisions because I didn’t know what love looked like, so I was looking for love in the wrong places. I thought it was in a man, when I really should’ve been looking for it inside myself.”

It took a minute, but when Maria Davis finally did look within, she found the strength and resolve to become a vocal and powerful force in the movement to educate about and end HIV. One of her most recent partnerships in her mission is the I Design campaign with the pharmaceutical company Merck.

“The I Design campaign is so important because it’s a national campaign that advises people living with HIV to seek individualized care and to speak up and be vocal about their individualized treatment,” Davis explained. “When I was diagnosed 20 years ago, I didn’t have any support system. I didn’t have any campaigns or anyone to speak with about what I was going through. So this is why this is very dear to my heart.”

I Design, available at www.projectidesign.com, allows people to access talking points and conversation starters to use with their doctors and healthcare professionals, as well as a tool to track health and symptoms to improve individual treatment plans. “I Design is in its third year. The first year was about vision, the second about healing, and the third is about vocalizing and that HIV is a chronic condition,” Davis explained. “I love all of the staff there that I’m working with; they really care about individuals and about us living long lives.” She expresses some concern about the way young people might see her and others who are managing the disease successfully. “It’s a blessing and a curse because the problem thepositivecommunity.com

is that the younger generation sees us now living with HIV and they don’t remember back in the day when it was different,” she explained. “I weighed 95 pounds, had sores all over my body, and went through a whole different experience…” Davis was fortunate to be treated by HIV/AIDS pioneer, Dr. Joseph Sonnabend. “Your doctor and your healthcare team are the most important people in your life when you are HIV positive. Dr. Sonnabend rallied my entire healthcare team to help get me where I am today.”

Today, Davis is in a good place where her two grown children are on their own and active in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, and she has a fulfilling church home at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem with Rev. Michael A. Walrond. “When I was first diagnosed I was at Canaan Baptist Church with Wyatt Tee Walker… Now I have Pastor Walrond, who reminds me so much of Rev.Walker. The churches are doing work. We’re not completely there yet, but we’re on our way. The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS is doing great work amongst the churches to educate.” thepositivecommunity.com

She continues to lead a team annually in Aids Walk New York, and was recently featured on VH1’s Black Ink Crew when she decided to get an AIDS ribbon tattoo. Her MAD Wednesday’s weekly music showcase has evolved beyond its original industry insider event status. “It’s a movement,” Davis explained. “It’s about helping people in the community and educating, and my non-profit Can’t Be Silenced.” And she won’t be silent ever again, because she’s been there and it wasn’t a good place. “The day I opened my mouth to start telling my story and not hiding it anymore —once I opened that door, there was freedom; real freedom,” Davis reflected.

For Maria Davis, life goes on; and she wants to give others the tools to continue living with HIV, or the tools to steer clear of it. “You don’t have to be infected to be affected. You don’t have to be HIV positive to be affected by this disease,” she says. “There is no testimony without a test, and the healing began when I started speaking about it. I can’t save the world, but if I can save one or two, then I think God is pleased with me.” Amen, Sister Davis. We believe He is, too.

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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HealthCare in Newark Making the City a True Center of Excellence.

BY: MICHELLENE DAVIS, ESQ., EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, BARNABAS HEALTH

W

hen it comes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), affectionately referred to as “Obamacare” in our community, political pundit rhetoric has been filled with both criticism and praise.

But what does the political rhetoric mean and why is it that so much of it fills our airways? A new age is emerging in healthcare delivery in the United States, driven by the need to transition to a system that ensures and nurtures wellness and creates a culture of healthy living versus focusing only on treating patients when they are sick. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Obamacare, the country’s healthcare system is in dire need of change, especially in inner cities across the nation. The overarching metric driving that change is our nation’s ranking as one of the unhealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

In fact, in comparing America’s overall health to 16 other developed nations, the United States is dead last behind countries such as the UK (14), Germany (12), and Canada (7), to name a few. In New Jersey, one only needs to look to our large urban centers, like Newark and Camden, to witness the great potential of healthcare’s major transformation within the United States.

Michellene Davis

that high level of leadership through vision and community-centered efforts to transform healthcare in the Great Gateway City.

When it comes to Newark, it is clear that the residents and wards are woven into the Mayor’s very soul.

Always a strong advocate of community engagement, Mayor Baraka believes that his constituents deserve a seat at the table, and that they have an opportunity to voice their concerns before decisions are made. Over the past several months, the Mayor has conducted a “listening tour” to determine what the residents of

“When it comes to Newark, it is clear that the residents and wards are woven into the Mayor’s very soul.”

Champions of change have shaped and reshaped our nation, but our chosen leaders within the African American community have, indeed, been some of the greatest champions in our churches and communities. They possess a more granular understanding of the needs of their families, friends, and neighbors. Great servant leaders convert intangible words on paper into tangible actions in their neighborhoods that hopefully, build a brighter future for all citizens.

Community advocates turned public servants like the Honorable Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of Newark, epitomize

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Newark believe to be the most necessary healthcare services in their community. The Mayor dubbed these public forums, “Creating the Health Care System that YOU Want” and hoped to usher in a full community discussion around the potential for greatness befitting a resilient renaissance city.

In an Op-Ed written by Mayor Baraka in April, he stated: “In an effort to educate citizens and to facilitate community discourse, I have convened healthcare providers to engage members of the community in each of Continued on next page thepositivecommunity.com

HEALTHCARE IN NEWARK Continued on previous page

the city’s wards to discuss the much needed transformation of healthcare already underway across the country.”

The Mayor’s foresight reflects his growing awareness of the local need to take advantage of the national momentum of beneficial change and positive transformation experienced in other urban centers. The mayors of cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had shared similar visions for their cities when they, too, sought a better framework for the preservation of their constituents and worked collaboratively to usher in a new system of healthcare delivery, which brought to bare the benefits of the creation of centers of excellence in medical education and delivery now known as the Cleveland Clinic, Detroit Medical Center, and Temple Health.

In New Jersey, we have mayors who have witnessed the creation of centers of wellness and healthy living in the neighborhoods and wards that make up their city’s brilliantly diverse communities in areas like Camden, Lakewood, and Jersey City. All once hosted traditional hospitals confined to treating the sick within their four walls, but have now been transformed with a much more community-centered goal to proactively respond to the specific needs of the families they serve.

The debate that continues to exist at the national level around the ACA is interesting, as the law was created in order to focus the attention of the healthcare industry on things like ending healthcare disparities.

The U.S. Department of the Human Services notes that the ACA directly targets the issue of ending healthcare disparities, which has had a long history in the African American experience. Despite advances in technology and transformation the world over, African Americans in America still suffer from certain diseases at a higher rate than their white counterparts.

• African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for cancer generally and for most major cancers individually, including stomach, liver, prostate, and colon cancers.

• African American women are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer, despite the fact that the incidence of breast cancer is 10 percent lower among African Americans.

• African American adults are 18 percent less likely than their white counterparts to have their blood pressure under control and hence, are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure.

• African American adults are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as members of the mainstream. thepositivecommunity.com

One of our prime reasons for welcoming the change and celebrating the transformation in healthcare that President Obama’s ACA targets is the nationwide issue of healthcare disparities among our young. Studies show that the infant mortality rate among African Americans is 2.3 times that of non-Hispanic whites, and that African American infants are four times more likely than non-Hispanic white infants to die due to complications

“Finally, the White House projects that being uninsured remains an issue within our community, with African-Americans being 55 percent more likely to be uninsured than white Americans.” related to low birthweight.

According to the Newark Kids Count: A City Profile of Child Well-being 2012-2013 report, in Newark the “infant mortality rate jumped 45 percent from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, the rate was 11 deaths per 1,000 births, more than double the statewide rate of five.” More, this same report touts the immense benefits of access and utilization of early childhood medical attention in asserting that “Young children need access to a regular source of medical care to obtain vital immunizations, well-baby care, and treatment in case of illness. Children with health insurance are three times more likely to see a doctor than children without coverage.”

Finally, the White House projects that being uninsured remains an issue within our community, with African-Americans being 55 percent more likely to be uninsured than white Americans.

In order for us to claim to be a people built of a resilient past and building a brighter future for generations to come, we have to be a people who seek the well-being of our children first and foremost, and who stand with the vision of our President in welcoming the change that we wish to see in the world. We should be excited that our region, too, is experiencing transformation in healthcare. Fundamental to this transformation is the belief that healthy living and community wellness are equally achievable in both urban and suburban settings.

Mayor Baraka seeks a renaissance of Newark’s healthcare by working to bring more state-of-the-art facilities and medical education to Newark. Doing so helps reshape the City into an academic medical destination, ultimately bringing jobs and stimulating economic growth.

Mayor Baraka shares the President’s vision for transformation of the nation’s health system. In Newark, like elsewhere, that means delivering the highest quality healthcare possible by establishing more outpatient facilities in the wards where we live and work—making Newark a true center of excellence.

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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“Amida Care is a caring organization.

They go above and beyond for you.”

–CALVIN K. Member, Amida Care Live Life Advantage

Medicare Advantage Health Plans

FOR YOU A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION IN YOUR COMMUNIT Y.

LEARN MORE | www.AmidaCareNY.org | 888-963-7093 TTY 711 8 am to 8 pm, Monday - Friday (every day October to February) Amida Care (HMO) is a not-for-profit health plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Amida Care depends on contract renewal. This information is available for free in other languages. Please call our member service number at 888-963-7092 or TTY 711, seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm. Esta información se encuentra disponible en forma gratuita en otros idiomas. Por favor llame a nuestro número de atención a los miembros al 888-963-7092 o TTY 711, los siete días de la semana de 8 am a 8 pm.

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- dr. martin luther king, jr.

Š Elvert Barnes

barnabas health stands with our communities.

today, tomorrow and always. barnabashealth.org

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ST

COMMEMORATION OF

THE MAAFA

SEPTEMBER 14-26, 2015

"MAAFA... Preparing The Next Generation" DEUTERONOMY 4:9

THE MAAFA SUITE... A HEALING JOURNEY® PRESENTATION DATES:

SEPTEMBER 20, 21, 24, 25 MAAFA MUSEUM TOURS

SEPTEMBER 14 25, 2015

For commemoration & ticket information, please visit www.spcbc.com/maafa

Rev. David K. Brawley, Lead Pastor 859 Hendrix Street, Brooklyn, NY 11207 (718)257-1300 | Fax (718)257-2988 www.spcbc.com | info@spcbc.com Photo Credits: Martin Dixon | dixondeuxyeux.com

BELAFONTE

BY R.L. WITTER

H

Bob Gore

e’s an award-winning actor, celebrated musical artist and producer, a dedicated activist, and a warm, humble, engaging man. He is Harry Belafonte. The piercing eyes; the distinct, raspy voice; the way he enunciates each word; the passion and wisdom with which he speaks—classic Harry Belafonte. As the world continues to spin and people continue to question inequality, racism, and other social ills,

Mr. Belafonte continues his work on behalf of people of every stripe, tribe, and color, and he was generous enough to spend some time talking about his journey thus far, and beyond.

I spoke with Mr. Belafonte on a Monday afternoon. He had been chatting with Philip Agnew, the founder and leader of Dream Defenders, just prior to our interview. I was not surprised, though thoroughly impressed, as many people don’t know that Agnew founded Dream Defenders shortly after Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012. But there was Harry Belafonte, sharing his wisdom and experience with a new generation. “He’s done a lot…” he said of his young friend.

“He’s part of a legacy of young people who are deeply committed to social change, political change... I let these young people know not only of my existence, but try to make sure they understand the history that preceded them. They don’t have to do what we did, but they should know what we did,” he explained.

And Mr. Belafonte has done it all. Born in Harlem of Caribbean ancestry, he’s seen his share of hard times and struggle. As a young boy he was sent to live with his grandmother in Jamaica when times were tight. “My mother was an immigrant woman. She came here with hopes that opportunity would be extended to her,” he recalled.

“Instead of finding America to be a place of enormous generosity, she found it to be very punishing… She used to say that poverty was her midwife. It was in watching her and her struggles with poverty that her tenacious capacity to confront injustice wherever she experienced it, that became the basis for my own DNA, politically.”

He was arguably the first superstar performer to use his celebrity to bolster causes and bring about change in the continued on next page

thepositivecommunity.com

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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BELAFONTE

world. He became the first person to ever have a platinum record when his album Calypso sold more than one million copies. This was in 1956, when there were no downloads or digital copies and people had to actually leave their homes to buy music. It was the days of Jim Crow, segregation, and second-class citizenship. And yet somehow, Harry Belafonte was on television, was in Hollywood movies, and was breaking records selling records. For many that might have been enough. But not for him; he had a calling, a duty, and the memory of his mother’s words that pushed him to do more.

While some may only know Belafonte from movies like Carmen Jones, Island in the Sun, and Uptown Saturday Night or his musical hits “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line,” others know him as a political heavyweight of legendary proportions. He’s done and continues to do so much. “The generosity of the poor,” he explained, “that generosity is part of my DNA. The minute I get something it’s worthy of sharing and it’s shared right away. Let’s divvy it up and spread it around so that we can keep the body of our movement alive and in touch with what needs to be done and experienced.”

It is through his incredible philanthropy that millions of people around the world enjoy a better life today.

In the 1960s he financed Freedom Rides, financially supported Rev. Dr. King’s family, bankrolled the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and helped organize the March on Washington. He was later named a cultural advisor for the Peace Corps by President John F. Kennedy. He broke barriers on television in the 1970s; traveled the world as a UNICEF Ambassador, produced “We Are the World,” performed at Live Aid, raised money and awareness for children and AIDS in Africa in the 1980s. In the 1990s he shed light on Rwanda’s struggle and raised more money for AIDS and children’s education in Africa. The 2000s have seen him as an ACLU celebrity ambassador; the

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Wikiepdia Commons

continued from previous page

L–R: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafone, and Charlton Heston during the 1960s.

leader of Bread and Roses, the cultural arm of 1199/SEU New York’s Health and Human Service Union; and the recipient of several humanitarian awards.

Mr. Belafonte fondly reminisced about his childhood, remembering when he first became aware of unions through the presence of Pullman porters. “I remember big parades on Africa Day and Negro Day when I was a kid in Harlem. I could not wait for the contingent of Red Caps!

They’d be walking, brilliantly dressed with their shiny buttons and I’d said, ‘one day I want to be one of them.’ I wanted to be a porter.” He went on to mention people like A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin and how they worked together to mount the March on Washington. It was like the best history lesson ever taught, by the man who helped make that history and recalls it in vivid detail.

“We’ve got to stop thinking—as the opposition has forced us to think—that somehow, we are reaching back again into the civil rights movement and recreating it,” Belafonte cautioned. “That movement never died; nor will it… What we’re doing is reaching to the next stage of the liberation movement of black people since the advent of slavery. We’ve been here with Frederick Douglass, we’ve been here with Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer.

Each generation, in being responsible for itself, is a necessary extension.” He continued: “We go into moments of hiatus, calm, and rethinking in our movements—whether it was

thepositivecommunity.com

slavery, the migrant era in America, or the industrial workers being organized. Each one of those things in their time and of their generation was the next logical extension of what had to be done to liberate ourselves from the cruelty of the free enterprise system.”

In addition to his work for civil rights, social justice, combatting poverty, and many other causes, Mr. Belafonte has always valued culture and even had a hand in bringing hip hop to mainstream America. “I’ve always believed that the one gift they’ve never been able to take away from people who are oppressed is their voice,” he explained when asked why he produced the 1984 film Beat Street, the first big budget film to highlight rap, graffiti, and breakdancing as parts of a larger hip hop culture. “Music has always been the metaphor for the language of rebellion that we couldn’t write…I also understood that the enemy consistently took back our base that we had and exploited it to their own advantage, and that soon, they would be doing that with hip hop. I felt we should get in as quickly as possible and establish an image of an alternative choice, to do things in a way other than what it would eventually turn out to be by what happened when they commercially turned hip hop into a weapon against liberation, rather than a tool for it.” Belafonte is also credited with taking hip hop to Cuba and incorporating rap music into Cuban culture in 1999. “The little bit of good that Beat Street did and the artists that I’ve met like Common and Chuck D.—they are very political. They believe in their art and try to make a difference. So that’s what I saw when I looked at hip hop and first experienced it.”

At 88 years-old, Belafonte is more passionate and wellinformed than some people half his age. He continues to work with various organizations in his unending quest to improve the lives of people of color and the under-served around the world. He shared with me that he had recently read The New Jim Crow and Roy DeCarava: a Retrospective, and that he had enjoyed 12 Years a Slave so much that he and Steve McQueen are currently discussing a project on

With Khalil Muhammad, Ph.D at the Schomburg thepositivecommunity.com

At Abyssinian Church, Harlem

Bob Gore

Belafonte’s mentor, Paul Robeson. He has also secured the rights to King Leopold’s Ghost, a historical book that explores the exploitation of Congo, and Martin Scorcese and HBO have committed to doing ten hours on the colonizing of Africa in a dramatic presentation. He gave a shout out to the artists at the Schomburg, and chuckled as he mentioned that he and Cornel West are currently discussing Ta-Nehisi Coates being heralded as possibly the next James Baldwin.

“I say, let’s not debate whether he is today’s Baldwin or not; let’s discuss the work!”

Having revealed to me that the only bucket list item he is unlikely to accomplish is space travel, I had to ask what still keeps him going after all that he has seen and done. As quick as a flash and without hesitation he responded: What keeps me going is simple: poverty. It still exists, it permeates, it still crucifies. It’s still the central theme for unbridled free enterprise . . . When you study economics they say that you need to have cheap markets in order for our system to survive. Cheap markets, if you put a face on them, mean that somebody’s got to be poor.

Somebody’s got to be broke; somebody’s got to be suffering; somebody’s got to be in prison; somebody has to have their life upside down.

And as long as that exists, wherever I go I make sure I identify with those who are caught in the systems of poverty. In not only keeps me informed, it keeps my thinking very current. It helps validate who I am and what I do, and what I think and the choices that I’ve made for alliances in my life. I think that if it had not been for poverty and how my mother chose to confront it, I wouldn’t have become the rebel with a cause that I am because my mother often said to us, ‘never go to bed at night knowing that you could have done something during the day that ended injustice in some aspect of its existence in which you didn’t take advantage of it.’ It’s morally unacceptable and it is politically and socially tragic.

Bob Gore

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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George Gresham: The Quiet Warrior

BY QUINITA EDMONIA GOOD

President George Gresham leads demonstration

T

he leader of a 430,000-member labor union, George Gresham, is a soft-spoken man. But don’t mistake his gentle voice for weakness. He is one of the most powerful men in New York City. President of the Local 1199—part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—Gresham and his executive council lead the union’s Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, and Washington, DC regions. “I do the direct negotiations for our master contract, which basically covers 160,000 members, and it is the gold standard from which we try to match all other contracts,” says Gresham of one of his many responsibilities.

1199SEIU is a union of healthcare workers in the homecare, hospital, and nursing home industries. The union also represents pharmacies, freestanding clinics, and other healthcare settings. Established in 1932, 1199 began as a New York City pharmacists’ union, and New York City remains until this day the primary base of the organization. In 1959, the largely male, Jewish drugstore

36 The Positive Community

Summer 2015

union began to transform itself by launching drives to organize the city’s voluntary, not-for-profit hospitals and their primarily female, African-American and Latino workers.

Thanks to Gresham, today 1199SEIU has a very active caucus program through which workers with common concerns and interests form groups to address them. The caucus groups include the African-American Caucus, the Women’s Caucus, the Green Caucus (environmental issues), the Latino Caucus, and others.

“At 1199, we don’t just [work] by what we can negotiate in the contract, but we try to be as holistic as we can,” says Gresham. “So we are active in politics and we are active in the community, so that, in fact, we consider getting a good contract essential for the workers, but also having a good educational environment is just as important.” Gresham says, “Having things like childcare programs to help working parents be able to either afford to make a good living and keep some of the money they’ve

thepositivecommunity.com

Martin Luther King Jr.'s favorite union

earned, or to improve their education and expand their experiences that way (is also important).”

Gresham’s mother was a maid, then a homecare worker. His first hospital job was mopping floors and emptying garbage at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Early on, Gresham saw how the union improved the lives of hospital workers. Its benefits fund paid his tuition and gave him $150 per week in living expenses so that he could obtain his radiology technologist degree, enabling him to double his salary. “That really allowed me to appreciate the union,” says Gresham, who notes his most treasured accomplishment was in 2008 when Obama first came into office and faced what the Bush administration had done to pension funds—cutting them dramatically.

“Our pension fund lost $3 billion and as a result of that we were considered an endangered pension fund,” he explained. And although the fight to save the workers’ pensions was a major one, Gresham and his team didn’t back down. “We reopened the contract and managed to

thepositivecommunity.com

work very hard to save our pension so that it did not get recalculated at a lower rate.”

Gresham became a full-time, paid organizer for the union in 1988 after 13 years of membership. After reaching the position of vice president and executive vice president, he then was elected secretary-treasurer, a position that he held for seven years. He was elected president in 2007.

On June 26th of this year, Massachusetts homecare workers received a $15 standard wage. I asked when New York would reach that point for its workers.

Gresham said he will not stop until they do. “Now that we’ve done this wage rate for fast-food workers in New York, homecare workers are next in line.”

Indeed, Gresham is soft-spoken, but his strategies, tactics, and power reach way beyond the standard. He is a quiet warrior and a successful one at that.

Quinita Edmonia Good is the founder and operator of The Online Writing Center, LLC, serving seminarians, theologians, and the media. She can reached at qgood@theonlinewritingcenter.com.

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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REV. THERESA NANCE MY VIEW

Rev. Nance is pastor of The Church by the Side of the Road in Passaic, NJ. She is also a radio talk show host and documentary filmmaker.

LISTEN TO THE POSITIVE COMMUNITY HOUR ON WKMB 1070 AM HARVEST RADIO, MONDAYS, 1:30–2:30 P.M. WITH HOST THERESA NANCE.

Sisterly Giving

L

eviticus 19:32 instructs: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man…”

One Willingboro, NJ woman has recruited her sister and friends to do just that, and they are doing a great job. Every Tuesday afternoon, you can find Patricia Hawes and her sister, Rose Richardson, hauling various and sundry delectable food into one of the rooms of the Willingboro Senior Center Building on John F. Kennedy Way. For the past four years, Pat, as she is affectionately called, has sat at the helm of the Inspirational Sharing, Caring, and Giving Group from 1 p.m. through 3 p.m. weekly.

Pat wanted to do something for area residents who had either retired or were simply looking for something to do with their time, but didn’t know exactly what that something was. So, she addressed a need for many in that laid back community by bringing seasoned folks from all walks of life together and then creating an environment of warmth, gaiety, information, and inspiration. For one afternoon each week, easy conversation and light-hearted exchanges take precedence over life’s foibles, struggles, and missteps. It’s a weekly refuge from worry, loneliness, and just the same old every day.

It seems to be a win-win situation for many of the senior citizens who trek to the center on a daily basis in an attempt to find a kind of respite in the twilight years of their lives. Frequently, Pat brings in guest speakers from the secular and non-secular communities, often offering information to enhance their medical lives, or information about programs or services that also can enhance their economic and social existence. “I wanted to show these people—who have become very dear to me—that life is not only still good, but that they themselves are yet viable in the scheme of life itself,” she explained.

Though small in stature, Pat, who retired from the United States Postal Service, is a formidable individual who seemingly gets the job done with a quiet demeanor coupled with a determined spirit. Watching her interact with those who regularly come to this stateof-the-arts facility and to her program specifically, one

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Patricia Hawes

can tell that she is making an impact in the lives of many who previously languished at the center with little to do daily outside of talking amongst themselves, even though many activities are going on simultaneously inside.

Her sister, Rose, and friends like Velma Hanson and Joan Griffin, give their loyal participants hearty meals laced with old-fashioned “mother wit” or wisdom by donning a caring spirit without the condescension that oftentimes is mistakenly targeted toward the elderly.

These ladies recognize the experience, wisdom, and potential that still reside in these precious resources who have collectively seen just about everything.

Not one to rest on her laurels, and with an eye toward doing more, Pat is planning a community outreach event in September to expand her reach by offering necessary staples to people who may be facing hard times in this tight economy. She is working with Higher Cause Productions, Inc., a musical ministry out of Washington, DC, under the tutelage of Minister Joe Rodgers, and has scheduled the event to take place beginning at noon on September 12, 2015. Those who want to donate articles of clothing, toiletries, and other useful items can email Pat at patriciaehawes@yahoo.com.

thepositivecommunity.com

The Mayor’s Ball: Ras Baraka Celebrates TEXT AND PHOTOS BY RISASI DIAS

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he black-tie gala celebrating his first year as the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, the 2nd Annual Mayor’s Ball took place at Riverfront Plaza in Newark’s downtown business corridor. Organized by Kauri Tucker and Linda Jumna, the ball was attended by a veritable Who’s Who of New Jersey’s corporate and political worlds.

Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop warmly introduced his friend Mayor Baraka, citing their mutual concerns as mayors of the two most progressive cities in the state.

The music of James Gibbs & The Brick City Soul Collective Quartet, and neo-soul performer Katt Rockell, kept the festive crowd entertained.

“I am excited because we have had an incredible year of successful accomplishments! There are over $1 billion dollars of development occurring in Newark... in a few years, all of this area will be fully developed with new hotels, new condominiums and apartments, and a variety of new innovative businesses,” an exuberant Mayor Baraka declared.

First Year Accomplishments

Mayors Ras Baraka and Steven M. Fulop

“We initially hired 30 more policemen, then 50 additional, and 150 more are to be hired,” the mayor explained. “The safety of Newark residents will always be a top priority in my administration. We have been incredibly successful; now, major corporations such as Prudential, Panasonic, and others are saying, ‘We want to support you and invest in Newark,’” he beamed.

“I am so proud because for the first time in 20 years, Newark will be back to local control wherein the people of Newark will govern their own lives,” affirmed Mayor Baraka, vowing that, “The commitment we have to the residents of the City of Newark will always make us victorious. I am just blessed that God has put me in this position at this time to help transform my hometown of Newark.”

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72% of the police force placed directly on the streets

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Mandated tax abatement changes requiring developers to give 51% of subcontracting jobs to minority & women-owned businesses and 30 % to Newark-based businesses

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100 residential lots sold for $5,000 each on Valentine’s Day to couples willing to build and live in a home for 5 years.

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$10.2 million Theater Square Complex, featuring a 22-story building with 224 apartments near NJPAC, and the Nina Simone House, offering affordable housing for local artists

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Summer Youth Employment Program Appropriation of $275,000

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Creation of a Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Ground breaking for a Whole Foods Store in downtown Newark 700+ jobs secured for Newark residents at partners like Sonic, Wakefern Foods, Federal Express, NJ Transit, Hotel Indigo OTG, and NCC

Launch of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative The Newark Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) with a 22% increase of businesses enrolling in the Urban Enterprise Zone

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A Messagefrom fromDistrict District 1199J 1199J President Cleary A Message PresidentSusan SusanM.M. Cleary II want want to to take take this this opportunity opportunity to to talk talk aa little little bit bit about about District District 1199J, 1199J, National National Union Union of of Hospital Hospital and and

I want to take this opportunity to talk a little bit aboutour District 1199J, National Unionbyoftaking Hospital and Healthcare Healthcare Employees, Employees, AFSCME/AFL-CIO AFSCME/AFL-CIO and and the the work work that that our members members proudly proudly do do every every day day by taking care care Healthcare Employees, AFSCME/AFL-CIO and the work that our members proudly do every day by taking care of of others. others. of others.

District District 1199J 1199J represents represents more more than than 10,000 10,000 workers workers throughout throughout the the State State of of New New Jersey Jersey in in hospitals, hospitals, nursing nursing homes, assisted living facilities, mental health and agencies as as District 1199J represents thanhalfway 10,000houses, workers throughout the State ofhomecare New Jersey in hospitals, homes, assisted living more facilities, halfway houses, mental health centers centers and homecare agencies as well wellnursing as public employees who maintain our parks and roads, work in our jails and provide many other vital County homes, assisted livingwho facilities, halfway houses, mental homecare agencies as well as public employees maintain our parks and roads, workhealth in ourcenters jails and and provide many other vital County services.

We are a part of AFSCME International which represents more than 1.6 million workers across services.

We are a part of AFSCME International which represents more than 1.6 million workers across the public employees who maintain our parks and roads, work in our jails and provide many other vitalthe County United States.

United States. services.

We are a part of AFSCME International which represents more than 1.6 million workers across the

United States.

Our Our members members provide provide compassionate compassionate and and quality quality healthcare healthcare to to the the community community at at many many hospitals hospitals including including Newark Beth Israel, Clara Maass, St. Michael’s, St. Barnabas, Jersey City Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel, Clara Maass, St. Michael’s, St. Barnabas, Jersey City Medical Center, Capital Capital Health, Health, Our members provide compassionate and quality healthcare Preakness to the community at manythan hospitals including Mountainside, Mountainside, Hoboken Hoboken University, University, Carrier Carrier Foundation Foundation and and Preakness as as well well as as more more than 40 40 nursing nursing Newark Beth Israel, Clara Maass, St. Michael’s, St. Barnabas, Jersey City Medical Center, Capital Health, homes, homes, assisted assisted living living facilities, facilities, home home health health care care and and mental mental health health centers centers .. They They are are nurses, nurses, Mountainside, Hoboken University, Carrier Foundation and Preakness as well as more nursing housekeepers, technicians, nursing dietary social transporters and many other housekeepers, technicians, nursing assistants, assistants, dietary workers, workers, social workers, workers, transporters andthan many40 other homes, living workers. facilities,We health care andof . They are nurses, types of also hundreds men women who in typesassisted of healthcare healthcare workers.

Wehome also represent represent hundreds of mental men and andhealth women centers who work work in correctional correctional halfway providing aa safe the and the they housekeepers, technicians, assistants, to dietary workers, workers, that transporters halfway houses houses providingnursing safe environment environment to the residents residents andsocial the community community that they serve. serve.and many other

types of healthcare workers. We also represent hundreds of men and women who work in correctional District 1199J was 1977 and its first office in have District 1199J was born bornain insafe 1977 and opened opened to its the first residents office on on Central Central Avenue in Newark Newark and we have stayed stayed halfway houses providing environment and theAvenue community thatand theywe serve.

in in Newark Newark ever ever since. since. We We have have aa proud proud history history of of fighting fighting for for worker’s worker’s rights, rights, for for civil civil rights, rights, for for women’s women’s rights and equal rights for all people. rights and was equalborn rightsinfor all people.

District 1199J 1977 and opened its first office on Central Avenue in Newark and we have stayed

in Newark ever since. We have a proud history of fighting for worker’s rights, for civil rights, for women’s Over the years we been successful the years we have have been successful in in negotiating negotiating higher higher wages, wages, health health and and pension pension benefits, benefits, seniority seniority rightsOver and equal rights for all people. rights and job security. More importantly we fight to ensure that our members are treated with dignity and rights and job security. More importantly we fight to ensure that our members are treated with dignity and respect. respect.

Over the years we have been successful in negotiating higher wages, health and pension benefits, seniority rightsWe and job security.

More believe importantly we fight to ensure that our members areenough. treated with dignity at 1199J that representing workers on job That is we We at District District 1199J firmly firmly believe that simply simply representing workers on the the job is is not not enough.

That is why why we and respect. are are politically politically active active and and engaged engaged in in voter voter registration registration and and education education and and by by supporting supporting candidates candidates that that believe believe in in creating creating aa better better future future for for working working people people and and those those who who are are economically economically disadvantaged. disadvantaged.

We at District 1199J firmly believe that simply representing workers on the job is not enough. That is why we We committed in community and clothing and We are are also alsoactive committed in helping helpinginour our community and have have organized food drives, clothing drives drives and toy toy that are politically and engaged voter registration and organized educationfood anddrives, by supporting candidates drives.

We currently have three apprenticeship programs that train our young people to become nursing drives.

We currently have threefor apprenticeship programs that who train are our economically young people disadvantaged. to become nursing believe in creating a better future working people and those assistants, assistants, physical physical therapy therapy aides aides as as well well as as other other positions, positions, and and have have partnered partnered with with many many employers employers to to gain gain employment for our youth.

Our retired members remain active and help to keep our union strong. employment for our youth.

Our retired members remain active and help to keep our union strong.

We are also committed in helping our community and have organized food drives, clothing drives and toy

drives.

We currently have three apprenticeship programs the that train our members young peoplethe to become nursing District District 1199J 1199J remains remains steadfast steadfast in in our our mission mission to to improve improve the lives lives of of our our members and and the community community in in assistants, physical therapy aides as well as other positions, and have partnered with many employers to gain general and to organizing the unorganized.

Give us a call at 1-800-294-1199 if you want to join our family. general and to organizing the unorganized. Give us a call at 1-800-294-1199 if you want to join our family. employment for our youth. Our retired members remain active and help to keep our union strong.

District 1199J remains steadfast in our mission to improve the lives of our members and the community in

1199J Scholarship Awards Dinner Helping to Ease The Burden on Families Susan M. Clear, president of 1199J

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istrict 1199 J recently hosted its 24th anniversary Aberdeen Solomon David Memorial Scholarship Awards gala at the Newark Club. It was a festive, well attended event. The union has distributed over $350,000 to deserving students over the years.

In her remarks, District 1199J president Susan M. Cleary said, “We must continue to help ease the burden on union families trying to deal with the ever increasing costs of post high school education as well as to assist our members who are trying to improve their lives and the lives of their families by working and continuing their education at the same time.”

The scholarship gala also payed tribute to five outstanding individuals who have accomplished much and helped many: NJ Assemblywoman Shavona E. Sumter; Dr. Gale Gibson, president of Essex County College; Judy Sereni, Caesars Entertainment; and Barbara Smalls, executive director of district 1199J NJ Pension Fund.

To the seven students and working members who received scholarships, the charge from Ms. Cleary: “ I hope that each of you understand and appreciate the hard work your parents perform every day to create a better life for you!”

L–R: Gerard Balmir, Jr., keynote speaker with Craig Ford, 1199J secretary/treasurer

L–R: Newark Councilman Luis Quintana and Patti McQuire, Princeton Public Affairs

Photos: Vincent Bryant

L–R: Lanette Harris, asst. to president; Susan M. Cleary-1199J president; and Honoree, Judy Sereni

Students from left to right: Stephanie John, Kadrea Dawkins, Kristen Mucha all Aberdeen Scholarship recipients; Freddy Jones, alumni speaker; Maranie Harris-Kuiper, Sabina Shodeinde, Jackeline Quiroz, Karen Vallo, all also Aberdeen Scholarship recipients and Oladepo “Dipo” Rodoye, Joseph Franklin scholarship recipient.

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Essex-West Hudson LaborCouncil, Council,AFL-CIO AFL-CIO Essex-WestHudson Hudson Labor Labor Essex-West Council, AFL-CIO Essex-West Hudson Labor Council, AFL-CIO Salutes Salutes Essex-West Hudson Labor Council, AFL-CIO Salutes Salutes Essex-West Hudson SalutesLabor Council, AFL-CIO Gerald P. Owens Owens Gerald Owens Salutes Gerald P.

Gerald Owens Gerald P.P.Owens

Forhis his57 57years yearsof ofdedicated dedicated service For his 57 years of dedicated serviceto tothe the Gerald P. Owens For service to the For his 57 years of dedicated service to the For his 57 years of dedicated service to the LaborMovement Movementin inNew New Jersey Jersey and Labor andthroughout throughoutthe theUSA USA Labor Movement in New Jersey and throughout the USA  Chairman, ILA Civil Rights Committee For his 57 years of dedicated service to the Labor Movement in New Jersey and throughout the USA Labor Movement in New Jersey and throughout the USA Chairman,ILA ILACivil CivilRights RightsCommittee Committee  Chairman, General ILA Organizer, International Longshoreman’s Assn. Chairman, Chairman, ILACivil Civil Rights Rights Labor Committee Movement in Committee New Jersey andAssn. throughout the USA General Organizer, International Longshoreman’s Assn.

Organizer, International Longshoreman’s Assn.

President A. Phillip Randolph Institute (Essex County) General General Organizer, International Longshoreman’s   General Organizer, International Longshoreman’s Assn.

Chairman, ILA CivilRandolph Rights Committee President A. Phillip Randolph Institute (Essex County) A. Institute (Essex County) President President A.Phillip Phillip Randolph Institute (Essex County) Essex County Freeholder President A. Phillip Randolph Institute (Essex County) General Organizer, International Longshoreman’s Assn.

Essex County Freeholder Essex County Freeholder  Essex County 2013 – 2014Freeholder Commissioner NJ Casino Re-Investment Development Authority President A. Phillip Randolph Institute (Essex County)  Essex County Freeholder 2013 Commissioner NJ Casino Re-Investment Development Authority 2013 –2014 2014 Commissioner NJ Casino Re-Investment Development Authority 2013 ––2014 Commissioner NJ Casino Re-Investment Development Authority Board Trustee, Essex County College (2011-12-13) Essex County Freeholder  2013 – 2014 Commissioner NJ Casino Re-Investment Development Authority Board Trustee,Essex Essex County College Board Trustee, Essex County College (2011-12-13) Board Trustee, College (2011-12-13) A County legend in(2011-12-13) our time, and 2013Trustee, – 2014 Commissioner NJ Casino Re-Investment Development Authority   Board Essex County College (2011-12-13) A legend in our time, andand A legend in our time, 

Ainspiration legend in to our time, and Newark Youth! anEssex Board Trustee, County College (2011-12-13)

A legend in our time, and toto Newark Youth! an inspiration inspiration Newark Youth! an inspiration Newark Youth! an A legend into our time, and an inspiration to Newark Youth! an inspiration to Newark Youth!

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GERRY OWENS’ SWAN SONG

BY GLENDA CADOGAN

“Gerald W. Owens went from working for $1.70 an hour on the Port of Newark to creating history when he became the first African-American to serve as International General Organizer of the 115-year-old International Longshoremen’s Association, ILA, AFL-CIO.”

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erald W. Owens went from working for $1.70 an hour on the Port of Newark to creating history when he became the first African-American to serve as International General Organizer of the 115-year-old International Longshoremen’s Association, ILA, AFL-CIO. On July 19, 2000 the Executive Council of the union elevated him to the esteemed position.

This past July 1, Owens retired from the Union but his 57 years as a Longshoreman are flavored with a multicolored history of struggle and triumph.

Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Newark, NJ in the mid 50s, Owens exercised what was one of the few options open to him at the time as a 20-year-old looking for honest work. So in 1958, he went down to the port to do what was called “shape-up” work. As a longshoreman, he loaded and offloaded ships, barges, and containers in Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. “Shape-up work is when you just go to the port, get a pass, and stand on line until you get picked to do a day’s work. There was no seniority, no special privileges, or any steady hours,” he explained.

“And the work was hard,” he added with emphasis. “I started off at $1.70 an hour, but I have lived to see the job of a longshoreman pay as much as $32 an hour and considered one of the best blue collar jobs in America.”

Though the work was irregular and sometimes dangerous, Owens was lucky – he was a third generation longshoreman and his father worked as a foreman on the Port. Though this did not grant him any special privileges, it was a significant motivating factor. Not only did Owens make great strides as a longshoreman, he went on to

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Owens with Actor and activist Danny Glover at a recent ILA convention

become what some say is one of the best organizers in the history of the ILA. Subsequently, his life provided inspiration to others, like his son who is now a longshoreman checker at the Port of Newark.

First organized in 1892, The International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 65,000 longshoremen on the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. It has approximately 200 local affiliates in port cities in these areas.

The roots of the International Longshoremen’s Association date to colonial America when the arrival of ships bearing goods from Europe was greeted with cries for “Men ‘long shore!” At first, the “longshoremen” who came to the ships were normally engaged in any number of full-time occupations, but left their work freely to unload the anxiously awaited and sometimes desperately needed supplies without compensation. As America began to develop a fledgling economy, and the ships increased, longshore work became a full-time occupation.

“Some people don’t know it but organizing is one of the hardest jobs in the labor movement,” One that particularly stands out for him is the strike of the early 70s when the union successfully stopped ships from being offloaded at the ports in Los Angeles and San Francisco where he had been sent. “We were on the picket line for over 100 days, and at the time there was no unemployment available to union workers.

I know of people who lost their homes and cars in the strike, but we stayed the course,” he said. “Eventually we got a contract.”

Another thing that brings pride to Owens as he reflects on his journey, is his work in establishing an

As the International Organizer of the ILA, Owens was responsible for every organizing effort that came under the umbrella of the union. “Some people don’t know it but organizing is one of the hardest jobs in the labor movement,” he said. “This is so because government and big business make it difficult and so the deck is stacked against you from the get go. It is a tough job, but I am happy that over the years we have had many small but significant victories.”

Owens with Dennis A. Daggett, president, Atlantic Coast District, ILA, AFL-CIO and Local 1804-1, ILA, AFL-CIO

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GERRY OWENS’ SWAN SONG Continued from previous page

education scholarship fund in the union. “I have always been motivated by making people’s personal lives better,” he said. “To me that’s what union work is all about.”

At 77 and retired, one would think that Owens will be looking forward to quiet days at home with his wife, Jacquelyn. Think again. Though he does plan to take some rest and relaxation, he has also committed to his president to remain connected to the union. As such, he will maintain his position as Chairman of the Civil Rights Committee in which he hopes to continue following his passion. “I am just not the kind of guy who could sit around and watch television,” he said.

However, for Owens, he thinks that the next big thing for union work is getting out the vote (GOTV) action.

“That’s where we need our focus,” he said. “It

Owens with the late Congressman Donald M. Payne (L) and Congressman and Civil Rights hero John Lewis

is vital that we get people to the polls and vote for the candidates who will support working people.”

So in fact, there will be no swan song for Gerry Owens. Instead, hand him a picket sign if you will, get him a GOTV banner and simply step aside. Because as the men and women of the ILA have come to learn – that’s the Gerry Owens way!

Crown Cadillac Proudly Salutes Gerald Owens All Union Members Welcome

Experience 35 Years Of Family Owned Customer Care The Crown Jewel Of Cadillac

1584 Rt 22 East, Watchung, NJ 908.561.2900 Hours: Mon-Thu 9AM-8PM; Fri-Sat 9AM-6PM

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The Members of the The BOARD OF ESSEX CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS

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Salute The Positive Community And its Special Issue Dedicated to Unions And Especially the Lifelong Union-Supporting Works of

A And Espe

Harry Belafonte And Our Dear Friend, Former Essex County Freeholder

Gerald R. Owens Britnee N. Timberlake President Brendan W. Gill Vice President Rufus I. Johnson Lebby C. Jones Leonard M. Luciano Wayne L. Richardson Patricia Sebold

NEW HOURS OF OPERATION OPEN 7am to 7pm: Wed., Thur., Fri., Sat. & Sun. CLOSED: Mon. & Tues

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Rufu

Way

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䘀爀攀搀 刀攀搀洀漀渀搀Ⰰ 䌀栀愀椀爀 䰀漀爀攀琀琀愀 䨀漀栀渀猀漀渀Ⰰ 吀爀攀愀猀甀爀攀爀 䴀椀欀攀 倀愀礀渀攀Ⰰ 嘀椀挀攀 倀爀攀猀椀搀攀渀琀 一漀爀洀愀渀 䠀椀氀氀Ⰰ 倀爀攀猀椀搀攀渀琀 䔀洀攀爀椀琀甀猀 Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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THETIHE NTERNATIONAL SSOCIATION INTERNATIONALLLONGSHOREMEN ONGSHOREMEN’S’S AA SSOCIATION THE INTERNATIONALAFL-CIO LAFL-CIO ONGSHOREMEN’S ASSOCIATION AFL-CIO ALUTES PROUDLY SSSALUTES ALUTES PROUDLY PROUDLY OWENS WENS JERRY O JERRY ERRY OWENS WITH THE ILA 57 PLUS JYEARS PLUS YEARS THEILA ILA 57 PLUS YEARS WITH WITH THE 57 THROUGHT THE YEARS WORKING AS

THROUGHT THEYEARS YEARS WORKING AS AS THROUGHT THE WORKING LONGSHOREMEN LONGSHOREMEN LONGSHOREMEN OF LOCAL 1233 AND 2049 PRESIDENT PRESIDENT OF LOCAL 1233 AND 2049 OF LICE OCAL 1233 AND 2049 PRESIDENT RESIDENT ACD VICE P PRESIDENT ACD V V ICE PPRESIDENT ILA RESIDENT ACD VICE ICE P RESIDENT ILAV ORGANIZER RGANIZER AASSISTANT ICE PRESIDENT ILA VG SSISTANT GENERAL ENERAL O O GGENERAL ENERAL ORGANIZER RGANIZER GENERAL ORGANIZER ASSISTANT CHAIRMAN OF THE ILA C IVIL R IGHTSC COMMITTEE OMMITTEE CHAIRMAN G OFENERAL THE ILA C RIGHTS OIVIL RGANIZER ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ CHAIRMAN OF THE ILA CIVIL RIGHTS COMMITTEE

___________________________________________________ RESIDENT HHAROLD AROLD D DAGGETT AGGETT , PRESIDENT TEPHENK KNOTT NOTT,, SECRETARY ECRETARY-T -TREASURER REASURER SSTEPHEN ENNIS AGGETT ,E EXECUTIVE XECUTIVE V DDAGGETT VICE ICEPPRESIDENT RESIDENT DDENNIS D,AGGETT , PRESIDENT HAROLD ILBERTK ROWELL GECRETARY ENERAL V RESIDENT WILBERT ROWELL ENERAL VICE ICE RESIDENT TEPHEN NOTT,,,SG -TPPREASURER SW D.BBAKER AKER,, G ENERAL V PPRESIDENT JOHND. ENERAL VICE ICE RESIDENT JOHN DAGGETT , EGXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT DENNIS AMES H. P AYLOR , A SSISTANT G ENERAL O J RGANIZER JAMES H. PAYLOR, ASSISTANT GENERAL ORGANIZER ROWELL , G ENERAL V ICE P RESIDENT WILBERT LANA. A.RROBB OBB,,A ASSISTANT SSISTANT G GENERAL ENERALORGANIZER ORGANIZER AALAN OHN D. B AKER , G ENERAL V ICE P RESIDENT J ONGSHOREMEN’’SS A INTERNATIONALLLONGSHOREMEN ASSOCIATION SSOCIATION, ,AFL-CIO AFL-CIO INTERNATIONAL

JAMES H. PAYLOR, ASSISTANT GENERAL ORGANIZER ALAN A. ROBB, ASSISTANT GENERAL ORGANIZER INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN’S ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO

Putting On the Ritz 100 Black Women fundraiser a

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n Saturday, June 6, 2015, The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.,(NCBW) Bergen/Passaic Chapter, celebrated their 29th annual fundraiser – “Putting On The Ritz.” Over 300 supporters were on hand at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, New Jersey for the grand affair.

Activist and corporate trailblazer Toni Fay was honored with the “2015 Woman Making a Difference Award.” 100 Black Men New Jersey and New York chapters both received the organization’s Salute to Excellence award.

This annual fundraiser is the major source of funding that allows NCBW 100 to implement

community programs in the areas of Youth Development and Education, Economic Development, Health, Public Policy, and Arts & Culture.

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Bergen/Passaic Chapter is a 501(c)(3) taxexempt, non-partisan network of women committed to advocate on behalf of Black women and girls to promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment. —JNW To make a donation to the chapter’s Mary Ann Miller Scholarship Fund go to www.ncbwbergenpassaic.org

Honoree Toni Fay Janice Griffith Johnson, NCBW PR chair; Mary Ann Miller, NCBW founding president; President Yvonne L. Witter; NCBW National President Michele McNeil-Emery; Gwenette Reese (1st VP of Programs and Fundraiser co-chair) and Muzette L. Charles, 2nd VP of Finance & Development and Fundraiser co-chair

Deborah ‘Beechie’ Witcher Jackson (Ex-Officio) Photos: Charles Wilkinson of Edward Chase Images

Members of 100 Black Men of New Jersey with (Center L-R): Yvonne L. Witter, NCBW president; Mistress of Ceremony Dr. Joyce Harley; Gwenette Reese; Matt Horace, president 100 Black Men NJ; and Muzette Charles

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Education

TEACHING,

LEARNING,

MAKING

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Harlem Educational Activities Fund

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EAF is an organization whose mission is to transform the lives of underserved young people, beginning in middle school and continuing in college and beyond, through a youth development approach that includes rigorous year-round academic enrichment, social and cultural exposure, and constant individual attention.

� a r o �o “At HEAF, I’m always held to a high standard— and I love that.”

—Nile Graham

Nile Graham

A graduate of Baruch College, Nile studied Communications.

He plans to start a career in marketing.

Nadira Jackson A Fordham University graduate, Nadira studied Communications, She is an aspiring media correspondent.

“HEAF was that place that helped me escape negative influences. I am so proud of all that I’ve accomplished, and I would not have made it to Fordham without HEAF – this program has opened so many doors for me.”

—Nadira Jackson

! s e t a u d Gra for the

“I love the fact that HEAF is like my second family.”

— Marianna Martinez

A Notre Dame High School graduate, Fanessa will attend Lafayette College in the fall for Engineering. She hopes to someday work for the UN.

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“I love the community aspect of HEAF, and the tremendous amount of support. There is never a moment I’m not being pushed to be my absolute best.”

—Fanessa Delarosa

The Positive Community Summer 2015

Marianna Martinez Marianna has been involved with HEAF for six years. A graduate of Manhattan Village Academy, she will attend DePauw University this fall. She will major in Economics and minor in International Affairs. thepositivecommunity.com

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Felician College Celebrates Largest Graduating Class in its History

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xpressions of excitement and jubilation were on the faces of the Felician College graduates as they entered the Breslin Theatre for the 51st annual commencement exercises held on Saturday, May 16. The Class of 2015 was the largest graduating class in the history of the college, with diplomas granted to 585 students.

The graduates listened to David Kastan, Ph.D., as he asked them to “be better. That's what education is

designed to allow you to be, and what it should inspire you to be.”

Dr. Kastan is the George M. Bodman Professor of English Literature at Yale University. He is among the most widely read of contemporary literary critics and is among the most influential teachers of the Humanities in America.

Dr. Anne M. Prisco, president of Felician College, charged the graduates to lead lives “filled with a hunger and

KIPP Schools

Kaliyah Washington, from the founding class of KIPP TEAM Academy graduated from Occidental College with a Bachelors in Diplomacy and World Affairs.

Patience Marks, a class of 2011 KIPP TEAM Academy alum, graduated from Boston College.

Long Island University

Raven Davis, KIPP TEAM Academy alumna, graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Law.

Hawkins St. School Kyle Mincey, age 14, graduated from the 8th grade at Hawkins Street School in Newark with highest grade of any student who attends the Sharpe James/Kenneth A. Gibson Recreation Center thepositivecommunity.com

curiosity to always want to learn more, ask why?” Prisco urged them to “reflect the values so dear to the mission of our College... and act with competence, character and compassion.”

Among the graduates were six who received the first doctoral degrees ever conferred by Felician. They received their Doctor of Nurse Practice degrees.

It was a wonderful day to celebrate academic achievements and new possibilities for the future.

Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Delta Mu Chapter at Long Island University recently honored the Council triplets—Jeffery, Joel and Jonathan—for their membership and service on the occasion of the chapter's 60th anniversary.

Born in Amityville, Long Island, the Council brothers were also recognized nationally as the only set of triplets to join the fraternity in its 104-year history.

Strayer University Stephen Council received a Masters degree in Business Administration from Strayer University this spring. Stephen leads the Private Client Division for JPMorgan Chase in Princeton, NJ and looks forward to expanding his leadership and mentoring capabilities in the field of wealth management.

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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Democracy Prep Charter High School

! s e t a u Grad e for th

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he class of 2015 graduated on June 24 at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. Zachary Carter, corporation council for the City of New York, was the Keynote Speaker. 100% of the graduates are headed to a four year college!

Virginia Union University

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ay 9, 2015, Virginia Union University awarded 324 degrees during its annual commencement ceremony in Richmond, Virginia.

The University’s 2015 commencement ceremony was one of the culminating events included in the university’s year-long 150th Anniversary celebrations. The Sesquicentennial opening event included noted foreign policy advocate and VUU alumnus Randall Robinson, and the calendar concluded with a rededication march and the unveiling of a 150th anniversary monument.

VUU's renowned Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology presented 121 graduate degrees

VUU Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson (far left) and VUU President Dr. Claude G. Perkins (center) presented honorary degrees to (l–r) Dominion Resources Chairman, President, and CEO Mr. Thomas Farrell, II; Registered Patent Agent Ms. Patricia Carter Sluby; Brigadier General Mitchell Kilgo; and Bishop Rudolph McKissick, Jr. Commencement Speaker Judge James Spencer is next to Dr. Perkins.

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

thepositivecommunity.com

CNR Celebrates Commencement 2015

L–R: Elizabeth Bell LeVaca, chair, Board of Trustees; Honoree Lillian Roberts, Honoree Ellen Mooney Hancock; and President Judith Huntington at The College of New Rochelle's 2015 Commencement on Tuesday, May 19.

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he threat of stormy weather was no match for the high spirits of the newest CNR graduates celebrating the College's 108th commencement exercises at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on May 19. Nine hundred students from the Schools of Arts & Sciences, Nursing, New Resources, and Graduate School strode across the famous stage to take their diplomas and their places among CNR's more than 50,000 proud alumni.

Ellen Mooney Hancock, SAS '65, a nationally recognized technology leader, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. A devoted and generous supporter of her alma mater, Hancock and her husband, Jason, dedicated the Mooney Center on the Main Campus in 2000, named for her parents. “Ellen's devotion to the field of technology has inspired and empowered others to push the boundaries of mediocrity and follow her into the realm of excellence,” said CNR President Judith Huntington.

The first woman Executive Director of District Council 37, New York City's largest public employee union, Lillian Roberts received the Sister Dorothy Ann Kelly, O.S.U. Woman of Conscience Award. A staunch advocate for accessible and affordable education, Roberts was instrumental in the establishment of the DC 37 Education Fund, the largest union-based adult education program in the country that brought education to the lives of more than 125,000 public workers and more than 50,000 retirees in New York. “It was as a result of Lillian's unparalleled insight and undeterred resolve, that a unique partnership between District Council 37 and the College led to the establishment of the School of New Resources DC 37 Campus in 1972, a four-year degree program that is now the paradigm for unions nationwide,” explained President Huntington.

thepositivecommunity.com

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Palmer Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Olivia D. Stanard Earns Doctorate

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ev. Dr. Olivia D. Stanard was awarded a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership of Missional Church Renewal (Contextual Leadership) at the 90th Annual Commencement of Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University of Pennsylvania, Saturday, May 16th, 2015.

Dr. Stanard's doctoral thesis was a women's empowerment initiative, Assignment Hope-Helping Others Prosper & Excel. This study used biblically-based models, missional strategies, and solution-focused structures to transform churches and communities into havens of hope for African-American women in need. Dr. Stanard also serves as an associate minister at Community Baptist Church of Englewood, NJ. Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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BY DR. JOHN PALMER

Rhoda Asimeng, Gabrielle Jasmin and Tatiana Carrillo

Governor David Paterson and Dr. John

Dr. Alan Kadish, Geoffrey Eaton and Dr. Robert Goldberg

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Holds Successful Fundraiser for Minority Scholarships

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early $66,000 was raised for scholarships for underrepresented minorities to attend Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine at the second official “parlor” meeting hosted recently by attorneys John Lynch and Sylvia Khatcherian at their home in Harlem.

Money raised for the TouroCOM Fund for Underrepresented Minority Students now amounts to approximately $160,000.

“These events give the medical school a chance to introduce our student leaders to Harlem,” said TouroCOM’s Executive Dean Robert Goldberg, DO. “We need your help to get more underrepresented minorities into TouroCOM, and to see that they graduate without crushing debt, so they come back into the community, work to improve public health, and make better role models and make us all better people,” explained Touro President Dr. Alan Kadish. Thirty-seven percent of Touro’s approximately 18,000 students at its 29 campuses are underrepresented minorities, but “we want more,” he said.

Dr. Hemant Patel, director of internal medicine at TouroCOM’s Family Health Center, provided a generous challenge donation for the event. He recounted his family’s story. Forced to leave Uganda by the government of Idi Amin, Patel shared a one-bedroom apartment across from Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx with nine others, dreaming one day he would work at the hospital. “The only way to fight is to educate, educate and educate,” Dr. Patel said.

Gabrielle Jasmin, a second-year medical student, earned a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Studies in Biological and Physical Sci-

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

ences at TouroCOM before entering the DO program. Jasmin’s family immigrated from Haiti. She said her family always emphasized the importance of education, particularly her mother, a home health aide.

“I wanted to shoot for the stars. I wanted to become a doctor. I wanted to leave an imprint on the community and that is what I try to embody every day in my life,” she said. Experiencing the 2010 earthquake in Haiti while on a medical mission there cemented her drive towards medical school. “I had the privilege to witness firsthand what poverty really looks like.”

Rhoda Asimeng, another second-year student, is vice president of the student club Creating Osteopathic Minority Physicians who Achieve Scholastic Success (COMPASS); president of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). Her father came to America with $28. He worked hard to be able to bring her mother and their six children to the U.S. They shared a two bedroom apartment in the Bronx. Scholarships helped Rhoda get through school. She has found the most satisfaction in her volunteer work in medical school, mentoring youth interested in medicine.

“As a mentor...it is really is amazing,” she said. “My parents did not work [so] hard just for me to become a doctor. It’s more than that. It’s [being] a person of influence. If I can help in some way, that would be amazing.”

Second-year student Tatiana Carillo, president of COMPASS and vice president of the Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) chapter, was raised by a single mom in the South Bronx in a studio apartment with her grandmother, cousins and a sister. She,

too, made it through college on scholarships.

After medical school, she said she wants to return to her former neighborhood.

“I want to come back to my area and say, ‘I was you and I can help you. What can I do?’ That’s where my home is. I want to be able to practice there and do outreach with my fellow physicians.”

Among the political, judicial, medical, leaders from Harlem and Touro officials at the event was Former New York Governor, event chair and distinguished professor of health care and public policy at Touro. He noted that is important “… that we start to fill in the areas that students are turning away from – science and technology and mathematics and other fields, and particularly medicine. Others present were Geoffrey Eaton, deputy chief of staff for Congressman Charles Rangel, who also spoke, Franc Perry, civil court judge; Tanya Kennedy, supervising judge, civil court; Ms. Deneane Brown-Blackmon, director of Housing and Community Renewal, Manhattan Community Board 10; Ms. MacDella Cooper, professional model and philanthropist; Woody Pascal, deputy commissioner, Division of Housing and Community Renewal; Seven Brown, internationally licensed esthetician, educator and speaker at Harlem Skin Clinic; and Michael Hardy, executive vice president and general counsel, National Action Network.

To make a donation online, please go to www.touro.edu/giving-form and select Fund category, TouroCOM Fund for Underrepresented Minority Students. If you have any questions, please call Yael Simon at 646.565.6237 or email yael.simon@touro.edu. thepositivecommunity.com

facebook.com/nyscasTouro @nyscasTouro

apply ONLINE at a p p l y.to u r o. e d u

Touro College: a world of possibilities assOCiate’s anD BaChelOr’s DeGrees

• Business Management and Administration • Information Technology • Human Services • Psychology • Education • Biology • Social Sciences • Paralegal Studies • Digital Multimedia Design • Liberal Arts and Sciences • and more inteGrateD hOnOrs traCKs Undergraduate/Osteopathic Medicine Undergraduate/Pharmacy

Other PrOfessiOnal OPPOrtunities • Pre-Law • Pre-Medical • Pre-Dental

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Manhattan:

infOrMatiOn sessiOns:

BrOOKlYn: Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach, Flatbush, Kings Highway, Starrett City

Manhattan: 27-33 West 23rd Street, Admissions Office Wednesdays, 12 noon-5 pm Brooklyn: 1870 Stillwell Avenue, Admissions Office

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718.520.5107 x109 Forest Hills

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Touro is an equal opportunity institution For Touro’s complete Non-Discrimination Statement, please visit www.touro.edu

Willing Heart Supports College Bound Students L–R: NJ State Sen. Theresa Ruiz; Metropolitan B.C. First Lady Dr. Joni Jefferson, DO; Pastor David Jefferson; Kimberly Baxter McClain, president/CEO, The Foundation for Newark’s Future; and David Banks, president/CEO the Eagle Academy Foundation

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illing Heart Community Care Center, Inc. launched a new scholarship program for high school students from Newark and surround-

ing areas in Essex County on June 7, 2015 at the Newark Club.

The program will provide financial support to promising collegebound students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, pristine character, and a giving, willing heart dedicated to serving their communities. The goal is to ensure that our young men and L–R: Dr. Roland Anglin, director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers; Dr. Gale E. Gibson, president, Essex County College and Dr. Nancy Cantor, chancellor Rutgers Newark.

L–R: Former Newark Mayor, now U.S. Senator Cory Booker with Mayor Ras J. Baraka

women are not only accepted to a college of their choice, but that they have the means to attend that college and unlock their God-given potential.

Along with the congregation of Metropolitan Baptist Church, where Willing Hearts has its roots, Kimberly Baxter McLain, executive director of the Foundation for Newark’s Future, and many others gave their time and resources for this most worthy cause.

Senator Cory Booker joined Mayor Ras J. Baraka as this year’s honorary co-chairs. —JNW

Photos: Karen Waters

David Jefferson Jr., Youth and Young Adult minister, Metropolitan B.C. with students and teachers from the Eagle Academy of Newark

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thepositivecommunity.com

and dfree® Financial Freedom Movement for Faith & Finance Saturday Seminar & Special Sessions NBTS and dfree® invite clergy, leaders, and the community at large to participate in in solutions-based, interactive sessions about one of the leading problems facing our families, congregations, and communities FINANCIAL FREEDOM!

Dr. Deforest Soaries, Jr., Senior Pastor,First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset, NJ Creator of the dfree® Financial Freedom Movement

Seminary Description Dr. Deforest Soaries, Jr., Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and Creator of the dfree® Financial Freedom Movement will be our host. Joined by a team of trusted experts, Dr. Soaries and the dfree® team will share critical information on a variety of topics, such as:

- Escaping Debt - Managing Credit - Planning Your Financial Future - Protecting What You Have - and a special session on Finance for Faith Leaders...

Saturday, September 19, 2015 8:00 am - 12:00 pm Light Breakfast at 8:00 am New Brunswick Theological Seminary 35 Seminary Place New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1196 732-247-5241 www.nbts.edu Register NOW: events@nbts.edu Poor financial health affects the lives of individuals, upsets families, disrupts communities, and definitely impacts the church’s ability to meet the needs of its members. Let's come together to learn and share about solutions! *.The cost of the seminar is underwritten by the Lilly Endownment Inc, free of charge.

UNCF Hosts Mayor’s Masked Ball Annual Event Raises Funds to help Students Achieve Better Futures L-R Dale Alexander, UNCF; Hon. Ras J. Baraka; Tai Cooper, senior policy adviser to the Mayor; and Fredrick Mitchell, SVP, UNCF

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L-R: Deacon Anthony and Deaconess Carole Rawls, Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, Deacon Franklin, and Deaconess Dorita Dobbins.

Photos: Karen Waters

he third annual UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball, held on June 19, 2015 at the Newark Club, is the organization’s signature fundraising event in support of students attending UNCF (United Negro College Fund)-member colleges and universities and nearly 900 other colleges across America. The festive evening of elegance, hosted by Mayor Ras J. Baraka, featured celebrities, elected officials, public and private sector leaders, dining, live entertainment, dancing, and the VIP MASKED Award Gathering, honoring local UNCF supporters who by their generosity have provided hope and opportunity to deserving minority youth.

This year’s MASKED Award honorees were Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, Jr. pastor, Bethany Baptist Church and a graduate of Morehouse College; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and PSEG. Ellen Lambert, president, PSEG Foundation and Joseph Visaggio, executive director of Novartis Patient Assistance & Philanthropy accepted the awards for their respective companies.

Dinner co-chairs were husband and wife team Marnie McKoy, CEO/chief advocate at Community Charter School of Paterson and Vaughn McCoy, managing director/VP-Legal PSEG Long Island.

—JNW

L–R: Marnie McKoy, Ellen Lambert, Chiara Morrison, and Vaughn McKoy

Members of Fountain BC, Summit, NJ

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Brendon Miles Berger, Calvin West, Mrs. Berger thepositivecommunity.com

Encourage and Equip Chad Foundation Roundtable Champions Efforts to Effectively Respond to Needs of Boys of Color

L–R: David Banks, chairman, Eagle Academy Foundation with Reginald Lewis, The Chad School Foundation

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Photos: Karen Waters

he stated mission of the Newark-based Chad Foundation is to improve conditions in public school systems serving disadvantaged children. In addition to research and the publication of white papers around issues affecting this population, the foundation convenes key policy and decision makers to learn about, discuss, and champion promising efforts to create high quality public schools.

Such was the purpose of the foundation’s third citywide policy roundtable on June 13, 2015 at Bethany Baptist Church in Newark. Building on the theme, “Encourage and Equip,” an audience of stakeholders — over 160 parents, school practitioners, youth service providers, and policymakers—came to learn about the challenges facing black and Latino young men, as well as opportunities to more effectively respond to the needs of boys of color.

They examined evidence-based models and strategies proven to yield positive results with young men (e.g., improving reading proficiency, increasing high school completion rates, and supporting college and career readiness). Equally critical, participants weighed in on a dialogue that highlighted the aspirations of young men and offered examples of boys who beat the odds and succeeded in spite of the lack of familial and/or school or social supports.

Speakers and panelists included Newark Mayor Ras Baraka; Shawn Dove, CEO, National Campaign for Black Male Achievement; David Banks, CEO, Eagle Academy Foundation; Robert Clark, executive director

Mayor Ras J. Baraka Shawn Dove, CEO, Campaign for Black Male Achievement

of Youth Build Newark; and Mark Comesanas, principal of Fast Track Success Academy, Newark.

A collective call to action adopted by the attendees resulted in the following three policy recommendations: 1. Develop an Early Warning System for at-risk students; 2. Provide an adequate college guidance protocol to all students; 3. Establish moratorium on excessive student disciplinary practices.

Chad also assists in providing opportunities to alter the life chances of low-income, yet aspiring students through a limited number of academic scholarships.

—JNW

The Chad Foundation presented a $5,000.00 check to the United Way in support of their summer literacy activities. L–R: Joyce EldridgeHoward, trustee; Kim Weeks Johnson, treasurer; Catherine Wilson, senior director, United Way; Keith Green, president/ CEO, United Way; Kia Calhoun-Grundy, board chair; William F. Williams, trustee; Hon. William D. Payne, vice-chair; Dr. Shirley H. Smith, trustee; Reginald Lewis, executive director

Mark Comesanas

Robert Clark thepositivecommunity.com

Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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MORE THAN A MENTOR College wasn’t easy for me at first. I was doing poorly in one of my classes and let my pride get in the way before reaching out for help. Luckily there is KIPP Through College, a program designed to support KIPP New Jersey students through college. Before I started my freshman year they told me I would be assigned a counselor, Mr. Forde, to help me out.

Mr. Forde was more than a counselor. Our phone calls were never just, “Hi” and “Goodbye.” He would ask me questions about class and how I was doing, but he would also ask about my rent, my job, groceries... everything, just to make sure I was covered.

When I started failing a class freshman year, Mr. Forde challenged me as to why I was failing and wouldn’t take excuses. He put it back on me and said I didn’t do enough research on whether the class would be the right fit for me and didn’t get a tutor when I needed one. He said I should have considered every solution before letting it get to this point.

That stuck with me. College is more than getting a degree. It’s taking advantage of everything the school offers. And since then I’ve been successful with my classes. Most importantly, as I look back and move forward I’m proud to say, despite statistics that say it should have been otherwise, I made it through.

Naim Leary, Johnson and Wales University ‘15, TEAM Academy ‘07, Newark Collegiate Academy ‘11

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www.kippnj.org thepositivecommunity.com

CVP ads 2015_Positive Community 7/30/15 12:15 PM Page 2

More CUNY Award Winners!

JOHNATHAN CULPEPPER

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2015 Medgar Evers College CUNY students are winning the most prestigious, highly competitive awards in the nation. In the past five years, they have won 81 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, 79 Fulbright Awards for research and teaching English abroad, and 12 Barry Goldwater Scholarships for outstanding undergraduates who intend to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering. And two CUNY doctoral candidates captured prestigious prizes that are rarely awarded to students — a Pulitzer Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, both for poetry. Providing quality, accessible education has been CUNY’s mission since 1847, a commitment that is a source of enormous pride, as are these students.

— James B. Milliken, Chancellor

Join the winners’ circle!

For more information about The City University of New York visit cuny.edu/welcome

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• 151st Street Pedestrian Bridge

For all projects, we are looking for highly qualified minority and women union workers and disadvantaged, minority-owned and women-owned (D/M/WBE) subcontractors and vendors certified for heavy civil construction. Specifically, we have goals for minority and women union workers on the 151st Street Pedestrian Bridge and Bronx River Parkway project in addition to D/M/WBE goals on all projects.

E.E. Cruz is also seeking D/M/WBE certified subcontractors and vendors for upcoming bids: Rehabilitation of the Ashford Avenue Bridge (Contract 09-547), Rehabilitation of the Fulton Avenue Bridge (Contract 11-503), Hicksville Station Improvements (L09977), Marine Parkway - Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge (MP-03/MP-16), and Grand Central Terminal Station Caverns East Side Access (CM007).

If you are an M/W union worker or you are a federal, state, or city certified D/M/WBE company involved in heavy civil construction work, please contact us at (212) 431-3993 or dmwlbe@eecruz.com.

E.E. Cruz is an equal opportunity employer and follows a policy of administering all employment decisions without regard to race, gender, religion, or sexual preference.

Dr. David Ireland

Pastor, Christ Church, ATS Class of 1991

“Alliance Theological Seminary prepares the mind, the heart and the character of future leaders both within the church and in missional movements beyond the church. ATS is a place where the Word and the Spirit come together for dramatic transformation.”

VISIT US BY USING ANY OF THESE SUBWAY LINES:

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DEGREES OFFERED • Accelerated Degree Completion Program • Bachelors Degrees (38 majors) • Alliance Theological Seminary • Master Degree Programs in: Organizational Leadership (MSOL), Business Administration (MBA), Mental Health Counseling (MA), Childhood Education (MED) and TESOL (MA) Teaching and Learning centered on the Word of God; Faculty and students are engaged in ministry; Evening and weekend classes are available at two easily accessible campuses: Battery Park and Nyack, NY. Visit us online at: nyack.edu/ATS For more information: 845-770-5709 Blog: life.nyack.edu or: admissions.grad@nyack.edu Twitter: @ATSAdmissions 350 North Highland Ave., Nyack NY 10960 Instagram: @AllianceSeminary thepositivecommunity.com

Culture M U S I C ,

A R T

&

L I T E R AT U R E

Books About a Bibliophile FINALLY T WO ABOUT ARTHUR A. SCHOMBURG

BY JEAN NASH WELLS

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friend handed me a children’s book, recently and said, “I thought it would be good for you to review this in The Positive Community.” The moment I saw it, I agreed.

The book is a beautifully written and illustrated 24page tome entitled, Arturo and the Hidden Treasure. It is the story of Arthur A. Schomburg, the late, great collector and preserver of the “history, heroes and glorious moments of black people”—his treasure as the book denotes.

Written by Ada Myriam Felicie Soto with illustrations by Abimael Ortiz Alvarez and English translation from Spanish by Nathalie Beullens-Maoui, it tells the story of Schomburg’s humble beginnings in his native Puerto Rico and how he loved to read and listen to stories about his ancestors from distant lands, told to him by his grandparents.

When he was in the fifth grade, the class was instructed to prepare a presentation about some aspect of history. Arturo knew just what he would do.

The next day in class, he raised his hand excitedly and announced that he would do a presentation entitled, “The History of Black People.” His teacher, in front of his all white class, told him he was silly and that black people had no history. From that day forward Arturo determined that he would seek out all the history of his people that he could find . . . . . . And he did.

The result is the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on 135th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, where the tens of thousands of books and artifacts that he collected, along with thousands more that have been donated to the library, which is part of thepositivecommunity.com

the New York City Public Library, are available for people to look at, read, and study. It is the largest collection of black history anywhere in the world.

After perusing the children’s book, my intellectual appetite was whetted for more information on Arthur Alfonso Schomburg. I wanted to see what other books there were about him. So I googled, and from Barnes & Noble to Amazon to Ebay, only one book turned up. There were many books about black people with mentions, or even chapters about Schomburg. I searched and searched and the only book I could find about this man who loved books is a biography, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg Black Bibliophile & Collector, written in 1989 by Elinor Des Verney Sinnette.

The book is well documented with photos, images, copious notes, bibliography, and index, even though Sinnette states, “There is little on record about his work as a benefactor, collector, and curator, and much of what does exist is fragmentary, contradictory or cloaked in myth.” Arthur A. Schomburg died on June 16, 1938 at the age of 64 from a tooth infection.

Both books are available on Amazon.com Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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New York City Council Honors Misty Copeland FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRINCIPAL BALLERINA AT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

BY EULENE INNISS

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isty Copeland solidified her place in history when she was named the first African American principal of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in its 75 years. On Thursday, July 23, 2015 she was honored by the New York City Council and was presented a proclamation by New York City council members at city hall on Thursday, July 23.

Copeland, a petite woman with an effervescent smile, is the third black female soloist in the history of the ABT. Her life story unfolds in her memoir: Life in Motion, An

Unlikely Ballerina, A Story of Grace and Adversity. Born in San Pedro, California, the fourth of six children, Copeland said that in writing the memoir, “. . . it was very difficult to tackle my childhood.” The family moved around frequently, her mother’s mechanism for escaping “a string of boyfriends and husbands.”

When Misty was 13, an instructor, Cynthia Bradley, at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America introduced her to dance. Bradley saw her potential to become a ballerina and took on the role of mentor.

Inez Barron, Speaker Mark-Viverito and other members

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In pursuing her career, Copeland faced the same racism and stereotypes that other black professionals encounter in their daily lives: not the right body structure, too fat, too black, etc. She had to struggle with being the “only black in her field.” But she persisted.

Named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in May of 2015, she has accomplished much: in 2008 she won the Leonora Annenberg fellowship in Arts and she has been the only African American woman in the dance company for her entire American Ballet theatre career. She was ABT’s National Coca-Cola scholar in 2002.

“The New York City Council is a reflection of the City of New York and the majority of our elected officials are black. It is only right for such a body of elected officials Councilperson Inez Barron —Misty Copeland and State Assemblyman Charles Barron

to honor one who is a shining role model for the youth in our varied communities,” said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito during the ceremony honoring Copeland. Council member Inez Barron, who spearheaded the recognition, said it was very easy to get her fellow council members to sign on to the idea. She presented a proclamation from the council to Ms. Copeland which reads: Everyone is so proud of your accomplishments. Your biography is inspiring. I applaud you for your persistence and dedication to excellence. Misty rehearses eight hours a day, seven days a week, proving that there is nothing you can’t do, if you do the hard work.

Overwhelmed by the number of young people in attendance, she addressed them directly. “I am emotional because I see so many youths out there. It is important for you to see what success can look like. I am here to represent you, no matter what color you are.”

Now Misty Copeland is headed to Broadway for another career milestone.She will make her Broadway debut in On the Town. The ballerina will join the cast of the musical revival for two weeks, performing from August 25 to September 6 at the Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evening shows, and the Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees.

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BY PATRICIA BALDWIN

Karen Clark-Sheard is DESTINED TO WIN!

L–R: Karen Clark-Sheard and Patricia Baldwin

Grace & Peace

K

aren Clark-Sheard is back with Destined to Win, a title that relates to every area of her life. A wife, mother, sister, and First Lady, she balances it all with the help of God and the desire for God’s will in her life. But how does she balance everything? “In my free time, I love to shop, that’s my hobby. And I usually just get a lot of rest.” She shared. “My health is wonderful, and I learned to let ministry get me to the next dimension. I don’t want people to just [focus on] my vocals, I have so much more inside of me. God has given me so much to give back to the people.”

Clearly Karen Clark-Sheard loves God, and she loves Him enough to follow His orders and put the family first (after Himself of course). This independent woman will boldly declare that her husband is the head of the house, and also her pastor at church. But they are so connected that the flow of what they have to do never collides with what they want to do. One of the things Ms. Karen wanted to do, was start her own record label, so with the support of her husband and the combination of their names, KAREW Records is flourishing.

She didn’t do it alone; Clark-Sheard’s new album features production from esteemed collaborator Donald Lawrence along with Daniel Weatherspoon, as well as her son J. Drew Sheard II on the anthem “My God Is Big,” and other early favorites such as “The Who Doesn’t Matter” (feat. Faith Evans and a little remix of roller-skating bounce from the 80s), Richard Smallwood’s “The Resurrection,” a worship remake version of her popular “We Acknowledge You,” and more. Speaking with her at her listening party, she mentioned one song in particular. “It was an honor to remake a Richard Smallwood classic ‘The Resurrection.’ You can never go wrong talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ and what He did for us…” she explained. “Where would you be if He never got up? It is one of my favorite songs on the album.”

Highlights from our conversation follow:

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TPC: How did you come up with the order and titles of the songs?

KCS: I meditated because I wanted something different on this CD… With society the way it is, everybody’s giving in or giving up, and I wanted to have a consistent message throughout the record and it started with “Destined to Win” and then the single, “My Words Have Power.” …So that’s pretty much how we came up with the titles…

We had a list of songs and I just sat down and said, “You know what, let’s do these songs because these songs are lining up.” I didn’t even hear them yet, I picked them out by titles.

TPC: Each song flows to the next and each title is like a sermon; how did you do that?

KCS: This was divine order. Throughout the process of this record, I said “Lord direct every move, direct Donald, direct myself, even in the way I deliver the songs, direct my every move,” and he did—in everything… If the leader doesn’t deliver in the way God has given a song, then it’s null and void. Like tinkling brass, it’s just making noise and I didn’t want that on this record.

Karen Clark Sheard is so pleased and excited about this project. It’s out in stores now, and a special edition is available at Walmart. “Walmart has the special edition with Kim McFarland and my sisters, The Clark Sisters, along with my daughter (Kierra) with a tribute to the late great Andre Crouch,” she revealed. “I was so honored that they made it… I’m so proud of them and they support me, they always support Me.” And we will support you also Auntie (She let me claim her as auntie! I believe I’m number 286,350 of her “play” nieces and nephews)!

Every track will either have you dancing, praising, or worshipping God with a scripture to back up its title.

You will be inspired and know that you are DESTINED TO WIN! thepositivecommunity.com

COME TO THE COME TO THE CENTER OF IT ALL! CENTER OF IT ALL! Dianne Reeves,

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#NJPAC 7/16/15 3:33 PM

�appy �irthday

�ev. �utts!!

Rep. Charles B. Rangel delivered a birthday proclamation Photos: Bob Gore

I

t was joyous a birthday celebration as Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem paid tribute to their pastor, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, on July 20, 2015 (His actual birthday was Saturday July 19).

The church was filled to capacity and members of the Congressional Black Caucus including Congressmen Alcee Hastings of Florida, G. K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Gregory Meeks of Queens, and of course, Harlem’s own Charles B. Rangel were there to extend best wishes to Dr. Butts.

After the church sang “Happy Birthday,” Rev. Butts delivered a sermon that was at once jubilant, humorous and reflective.

Following the service, everyone was invited to the fellowship hall to continue the celebration and share a slice of birthday cake.

Let them eat cake! Rev. Butts and First Lady Patricia

Rev. Butts and Associate Pastor Reggie Bachus

Rev. Butts in a jovial mood

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Delivering best wishes and waiting for the cake thepositivecommunity.com

First Bethel Baptist Church Lays Cornerstone

O

ABOVE: L-R: H. Grady James IV; Rev. Dr. Guy Campbell, Jr., Rev. Dr. H. Grady James, III and Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Woods Photos: Karen Waters

n Sunday, June 14, 2015, Pastor H. Grady James, III led the congregation of First Bethel Baptist Church of Irvington in a daylong celebration, which concluded with laying of the church’s cornerstone. Rev. Dr. Guy Campbell, president of the General Baptist Convention of New Jersey, preached the 11:00 am service. Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Woods, general secretary for the GBC and moderator of the Higher Ground Baptist Association, preached the 3:00 pm service. Grand Master Ricardo McNeill of the Free and Accepted Masons, Prince Paul Affiliated and his cabinet performed a most beautiful and awesome cornerstone laying service. Minister Grady James, IV in delivering the ALL_HLM_HLM_WK_A_POS_COMM_08-03-15.pdf Statement of Purpose proclaimed that the cornerstone service meant

that “First Bethel has arrived.” Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss declared First Bethel Baptist Church as a cornerstone church of Irvington.

Pastor James, acknowledged the 1 work 8/3/2015of 12:41:34 PM the congregation and their sacrifices, which were blessed by God,

that made the day possible. Rev. James said the laying of the cornerstone says to the community and to the City of Irvington that “…we have been planted here to do the work of kingdom building, economic revitilization, and rebuilding of shattered lives.”

Proud to continue our support and participation!

C

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Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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The Story of New York City’s First Black Policeman

by g.r.mattox

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York with Arthur Browne, author of One Righteous Man… at the book party at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

A

new book so full of history, struggle, and the triumph of one man against incredible odds, almost bursts its spine. One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York is a rich and wonderfully detailed account of the history of Harlem, and the perspective of one man who was a witness to, and participant in, that history.

It’s the story of New York City’s first black police officer; the rise and fall of Harlem as a black mecca of culture and entertainment; the faith and grace that carried Samuel Battle (January 16, 1883- August 7, 1966) through many dangers, toils and snares; and his close — albeit initially unsuccessful — collaboration with iconic Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes, who was hired to write the book about Battle and his adventures. Battle had, after all, lived in the midst of New York’s black population as they moved from San Juan Hill to the northern side of Central Park.

Working among the best and brightest in the Harlem community, he rubbed shoulders with, and came into contact with some of its most notorious.

The author of the book, Arthur Browne, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor of the NY Daily News, explained to NY1 reporter Errol Lewis what piqued his interest about Battle’s life. In 2009, he attended the renaming of 135th and Lenox Ave to Samuel Battle Plaza. The event harkened back to September, 1919 when at that corner, eight years after joining the force, Battle saved another police officer from certain death at the hands of a black mob. He heroically waded into the crowd with his

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

nightstick and gun and held the crowd off until reinforcements arrived. His first two years had been brutal.

No other policemen spoke to him or helped him in any way. He was looked at as almost a sideshow freak. Battle’s heroic actions brought forth “…the first recognition that they might be willing to accept a black man to command troops,” Browne told Lewis.

Browne also told Lewis why the book was not initially published. “One, Hughes was far more interested in other projects and, two the publishing houses of the day had virtually no interest — not virtually, they had no interest — in publishing a book about a strong, black hero who challenged the prevailing racism of the day, particularily in the NYPD.” In the small story placed in the Daily News reporting the street-naming event, Battle was called “The Jackie Robinson of the Police Department.” Never considering the circumstances of the first black policeman in New York City, but reflecting on the history of the NYPD, Browne thought there had to have been something interesting and quite possibly courageous in breaking that color line.

Continued on page 84 thepositivecommunity.com

THE SONG THE WORLD KNOWS.

THE STORY IT DOESN’T. THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

THIS SUMMER!

PHOTOS: JOAN MARCUS

BROADWAY PREVIEWS START JUNE 25

FOR TICKETS VISIT TICKETMASTER.COM Learn more at AmazingGraceMusical.com Nederlander Theatre 208 W. 41st St., btwn 7th & 8th Aves.

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It’s a Family Affair Dirdens return to Two River in Seven Guitars

by g.r.mattox

Brandon Dirden

R

ed Bank’s Two River Theater opens its 2015/16 season next month with a work of one of its favorite playwrights, and featuring in his directorial debut, an actor well known to its stage. Brandon J. Dirden appeared at Two River in 2012 in August Wilson’s Jitney and SuzanLori Park’s Topdog/Underdog alongside his brother Jason. Earlier this year he played Zeke in Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine.

On this visit, Brandon will direct Wilson’s Seven Guitars, which in 1996 was nominated for Pulitzer, Drama Desk and Tony Awards and won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award. He directs his wife, Crystal Dickinson, and brother, Jason.

The Play Seven Guitars is a play in Wilson’s well-known “Pittsburgh Cycle” series of ten plays, each set in a different decade of the 20th Century. Seven Guitars places itself in Pittsburgh, 1948.

Five friends gather after the burial of their mysteriously murdered friend, blues guitarist Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton. “Schoolboy” dies just when his first record is climbing the charts.

The mourners reminisce about their friend recounting memories and revealing aspects of their lives.

Some mourners swear they saw angels at the cemetery. These celestial apparitions represent the roles Floyd’s friends played in each others lives.

Themes of racism and exploitation are explored, and sadly, just as Floyd's star rises, he won’t be around to see it.

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

Jason Dirden Brandon Brandon got the director’s nod from Artistic Director John Dias. “I was having a casual conversation with him, and told him that, somewhere down the road, I would like to direct,” Brandon recalled. A couple of years later he met with Dias thinking it was about an acting part. Revealing Two River's commitment to producing all Wilson’s Pittsburg Cycle plays, Dias offered Brandon the opportunity to direct Seven Guitars.

Marking his second appearance at Two River, Jason Dirden’s other acting credits include Ceremonies in Dark Old Men in Atlanta and A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway. He plays the role of Canewell, one of “Schoolboy’s” closest friends. He describes it as his “dream role. His person touches all facets of humanity: he’s a leader, but he’s willing to step back and let Floyd lead. He’s a jokester, he’s religious, he’s a country boy; he’s a musician; he’s a lover; sometimes he’s a womanizer. He touches on so many aspects of a person you see him in his full color. I feel that’s all me.”

Crystal Crystal Dickinson has appeared on Broadway in You Can’t Take It With You and Clybourne Park. In her acting debut at Two River she plays Vera,

Crystal Dickinson

Floyd’s ex-girlfriend. “She’s lived a little bit and has seen a little bit and she has an opinion about it all,” Crystal says about her character. “I can absolutely relate to that part of her; that righteous part of her that has advice for everybody. I think I may have a little of that in myself.” In addition to their acting work, Crystal and Brandon enjoy their roles as parents of their 16 month-old son, Chase Ari. Brandon, Jason and Crystal worked together in 2008 when they appeared in the Signature Theater Company production of The First Breeze of Summer. Brandon, celebrating 25 years as an actor, will certainly channel that experience and intensity into his directorial work.

Jason, currently working on a screenplay that will include his brother, their father, and his sisterin-law, is looking forward to returning to Two River. "In a place like Two River you’re allowed to do the work and tell the story. It’s wonderful and refreshing to be embraced by this audience and their coming to live with you for two and a half hours. It gives you a great foundation to work in.”

For further information about Seven Guitars and the upcoming Two River season, visit www.tworivertheater.org. thepositivecommunity.com

You asked for it, you got it — more August Wilson!

Following our critically acclaimed productions of Jitney and Two Trains Running, we are now taking you to Pittsburgh, 1948, where local blues guitarist Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton sits on the edge of stardom.

Marking the directorial debut of Two River favorite Brandon J. Dirden (Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, Topdog/Underdog and Jitney), Seven Guitars will feature cast members Brittany Bellizeare (Ruby), Brian D. Coats (Hedley), Crystal Dickinson (Louise), Jason Dirden (Canewell), Charlie Hudson III (Red Carter), Kevin Mambo (Floyd Barton) and Christina Acosta Robinson (Vera).

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

FOR TICKETS TWORIVERTHEATER.ORG, 732.345.1400 OR 21 BRIDGE AVENUE, RED BANK, NJ 07701

HCCI’s Harlem Revive!

A Community Day Of Unity L–R: Rev. Dr. Charles Butler, HCCI, VP of Equitable Development; Borough President Gale Brewer; Malcolm A. Punter, EVP HCCI; and Moikgantsi Kgama, HCCI Director of Communications

First Baptist Church of Vauxhall Liturgical Dance Ministry Community residents feel the spirit!

H

arlemites descended on the Bradhurst neighborhood’s Jackie Robinson Park Amphitheater on Saturday, August 1, to participate in Harlem Revive!: A Community Day of Unity. Presented by Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc. (HCCI), the event was designed to offer a social, emotional, spiritual, and financial health revival for Harlem residents.

Harlem Revive! was conceived and produced by Rev. Dr. Charles Butler, HCCI’s vice president of Equitable Development. Representatives of local businesses were on hand to accept applications and interview prospective job seekers; local clergy preached encouragement; youth groups entertained the children with arts and crafts; and community leaders and local residents demonstrated a spirit of unity and community engagement.

“This event is designed to empower local residents to better their lives and improve their community,” said Dr. Butler. “Each year, Harlem Revive! demonstrates the power of unity by presenting this inspiring event.”

Harlem Revive! also serves HCCI’s mission to empower Harlemites and rebuild communities.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer invited everyone to visit her at her new office at 431 West 125th Street. “The fact that HCCI addresses housing and

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

L–R: Aarian Punter, Ashe Massenburg, and Malcolm A. Punter, II distribute books donated by TD Bank at Harlem Revive!

brings together family and community makes gatherings like this very important; we have to work together.”

The affair also featured live musical performances by the First Baptist Church Liturgical Dance Ministry of Vauxhall and Michele Sweeting DeCaro. Rev. James Booker of St. John AME Church was just one of the pastors who delivered an inspiring message to those assembled.

“The event was a great success,” said Derek Broomes, president/CEO of HCCI. “This is just one example of the work we do to empower and provide ongoing programs to serve the Harlem community and beyond.”

—JNW thepositivecommunity.com

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Faith without works is dead.

- James 2:14: 26

REV. CHARLES A. CURTIS, EDD HCCI, Chairman

For 29 years, Harlem Congregations has improved the lives of Harlem residents through the fulfillment of our mission, which is rooted in the provision of affordable housing.

Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc. (HCCI) is committed to the holistic revitalization of Harlem.

We provide economic development and empowerment opportunities to help Harlem residents rebuild and sustain their community.

DEREK E. BROOMES HCCI, President & CEO

www.hcci.org | FB: HarlemCongregations | @hcci_org | 212-281-4887

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KAHLIL CARMICHAEL THE FITNESS DOCTOR Kahlil Carmichael is the spiritual director and founder of It Is Well Wellness and Worship Center in Somerset, New Jersey. He is a spiritual leader and the owner of The Fitness Doctor; a fitness and wellness consulting company. He writes a monthly column for The Positive Community Magazine and is the author of 50 Tips for a Better You! To grow spiritually and improve physically, or have Pastor Carmichael present his wellness seminar to your church or group you can email Kahlil at Pastor@itiswellchurch.com or call 732-921-3746.

The Blessing of Assessing

S

ummer is wonderful! Especially early summer mornings. There is nothing better than waking up early in the morning, praying to the Spirit, and making time for an early morning workout. It is during these special times of worship and workout that I often take a moment to assess my life and look within. I want to see if I am truly living well by faith and moving forward in love.

The summer is a great time to pause and reflect on the important aspects of life: areas such as faith, family, finances, physical fitness, and health. This is a common practice that I preach to the faith community as well as my fitness disciples. I tell everyone all the time “There is a blessing in assessing!!”

The word assess is defined as follows: “To evaluate or estimate the nature, ability, or quality of.” When we pause and take a moment to evaluate the quality of these important areas of our life, we can begin to make changes and move forward (especially as it pertains to our health and wellness).

I did not emphasize physical fitness and health simply because I am The Fitness Doctor. I purposely highlighted fitness and health because a majority of people completely avoid self-assessing their physical fitness and health. I am amazed by the highly intellectual, incredibly efficient, and successful individuals who completely avoid any conversation or thought regarding exercise like the plague. These particular individuals analyze any and everything except their inability to commit to a consistent exercise program that incorporates all three components of fitness: aerobic conditioning, strength training, and flexibility, often until some health crisis occurs, which serves as a wakeup call.

I know, it does not take you all day to assess your health. The probable outcome of your self-assessment is that your health and fitness regimen is terribly lacking. I get it! But don’t fret, Beloved. The Fitness Doctor is here to encourage you to take a little time within these lazy, hazy summer days and truly evaluate the quality of your health and wellness.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself during your time of self-reflection and evaluation: Why won’t

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I do what I know I need to do as it pertains to my physical fitness and health? Why are my career and making money higher priorities than taking better care of myself? Why won’t I reach out for professional help from a trainer or fitness doctor? Why is taking care of others a higher priority than taking care of myself?

Here is a thought from me to you: If you take care of others above yourself, you will eventually burden the very ones for whom you are self-sacrificing and working hard!

God forbid if you were to become ill or worse, die due to obesity related illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The pain of losing you would supersede or replace the fleeting joy of any monetary or material gifts you provide!

The bible teaches us, when we know the truth, the truth will make us free (John 8:36). Your freedom from poor health and disease that can be controlled by regular exercise and healthy eating begins when you get still and truly assess your physical fitness and health. There is a blessing in assessing.

Once you’ve taken a moment to assess your health and wellness and found that you need to incorporate an exercise and healthy eating program, here is what I recommend you do: First, get to your physician and get a medical clearance to start an exercise program. Then, give me a call.

We have a program called the Fit Care program that can help you get started with personal training at a very low cost. (732-921-3746) or thefitnessdoctor@aol.com Finally, give yourself permission to take care of you, first. I believe you are on your way to living well and living whole.

Peace and Blessings!

If you’re interested in a free consultation or more information on FitCare, call 732-921-3746 or email thefitnessdoctor@aol.com.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this column is of a general nature. You should consult your physician or health care professional before beginning any exercise program or changing your dietary regimen. thepositivecommunity.com

D

J Wade-O is a radio host/producer and blogger who loves Jesus. His weekly radio show, The Wade-O Radio Show is heard on over 25 stations nationwide and his podcast has been downloaded over 2 million times.

WE’RE EXCITED TO WELCOME DJ WADE-O TO THE POSITIVE COMMUNITY FAMILY. LOOK FOR HIM EVERY MONTH TO BRING CONTENT THAT CONECTS TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

Wade-O’s World http://www.wadeoradio.com Facebook: /wadeoradio • Twitter: @DJWadeO Youtube: /wadeoradio Instagram: @IamDJWadeO

Interview with Eshon Burgundy

I

t has been an interesting year, and an interesting life for Eshon Burgundy. He grew up in the projects in Philadelphia and was almost murdered due to a botched robbery. God had other plans. He survived and began a career in rap music.

Always a positive artist, he appeared on DJ Jazzy Jeff’s 2007 album Return of the Magnificent. Shortly thereafter, he released 2 mixtapes and 1 album independently. His latest album, The Fear of God was released on Humble Beast Recordings. The project peaked at #12 on iTunes Charts and was downloaded over 30K times within a month of its release.

We recently caught up with Eshon to talk about the project and how he got into Christian Rap and why he does what he does.

You have an interesting testimony.

How did you get into Christian rap?

When I was 19 I joined a church in South Philly and after months of serving and studying God´s Word, I decided to write a song about him and I never stopped.

Why are you comfortable with being called a Christian rapper? Why not just a rapper?

I think hip hop presents to us a struggle between the desire to be humble and the desire to be prideful. To me not denying the Christian title makes it clear who my boast is in.

Your new album, The Fear of God, what's the concept and meaning behind it?

It's about God and His word being taken seriously by all people. The more we cling to our Lord, the more we develop a healthy, reverent fear of Him and the more we avoid Him, the more we fear mankind.

Some people still believe that it is impossible to mix hip hop and Christianity. What would you say in response to those people?

God can do the impossible.

When Muslims or Jews are disrespected, there is typically a huge outcry and response. When Christianity is disrespected, that response is often miniscule. Why do you think that is and how can we get people to wake up?

True Christianity and the weight of scripture is utterly offensive to this world and its hierarchy. Nobody, aside from God´s Body, wants the Bible to prevail in truth. I believe God will awaken whoever He chooses and use us if we're available.

Why do you think its important for The Black Church to embrace Christian rap music?

It's a bloodline for a whole lot of young and older people. Why not use it to deliver the medicine of scripture? Doctors are looking for the veins of the sick so they can heal and we should be, too.

Besides rapping, you also produce music as well as shoot and direct music videos. How did you get into that part of the business?

By not having anyone willing to do those things for me I was able to discover my own abilities and do it for myself. I thank God for these talents!

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ONE RIGHTEOUS MAN

“Battle’s source of strength during the time when things were really the worst, was prayer.”

Battle eventually rose from beat cop to sergeant and finally, lieutenant. He left the police force in the summer of 1941 at the request of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to join on the New York City Parole Commission, replacing the former New York Yankee Lou Gehrig after his death that June.

Browne writes:

Continued from page 76

Initially, there was little information available. Then Browne made contact with Battle’s grandson, who casually mentioned that he had an 80,000 word manuscript his grandfather hired poet Langston Hughes to write in 1949. Browne used that information as a springboard and went on to study many other sources including Hughes’ papers at Yale University, where the original manuscript along with Battle’s recollections (written in longhand) is kept, and Arnold Rampersad’s two-volume bio of Hughes, as well as sources in the Schomburg Center and The New York Age, one of the most influential black newspapers of its time. He also found valuable nuggets of information about Battle in long out-of-print memoirs written by black ministers of the day.

Browne describes Hughes’ interpretation of Battle’s early childhood in New Bern, NC as “glorious,” and he was not able to find a single fact or incident illustrated

by Battle that was not corroborated by these narratives.

“Battle was a rambunctious kid, but as he matured, his faith became extremely important to him, and became one of the sustaining forces of his life,” Browne told me.

“He was born into the first post-slavery generation in the South. His father was a minister and a stern, but loving man. The Christian faith was deeply imbued in every member of that very large family.” Browne continued,

While he was ‘loath to leave’ the police department, Battle could hardly decline an opportunity to achieve another first for the race. La Guardia said that he has selected Battle because he was the best man for the job, not because he was black…Battle saw different racial implications. ‘I shall try to conduct myself so that this job may be perpetuated for a colored man, and that greater rewards will not be denied us because of anything that I may do during my term.’

According to Arthur Browne, Battle had a sense that people were ultimately good, and that the people who were tormenting him were just misinformed and badly taught. At the end of his life, Battle hoped that the Golden Rule would prevail. “In the end, he holds on and he makes it,” Browne said. “He was a good man, and a great man.”

Photo: Karen Waters

Christian Love

R

everend Ron Christian, senior pastor of the mighty Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, NJ, hosted its 14th Annual Community Fun Day on July 11. Hundreds joined in a day of praisedfilled ministry, free food, rides and musical entertainment for the entire community.

Pictured above, Rev. Ron (far left) and Rev. Milton Biggham of Mount Vernon, BC. Newark.

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$45, $65, $100 For Tickets www.ticketsmv.com

info@mvjazzbluessummerfest.com 914-363-9229 ext 384

Labor Day Weekend September 3, 4, 5, & 6, 2015 Live Musical Performances by Sept. 4 th - 6 th @ The Old Whaling Church, Edgartown

Free Desserts, Drinks & Designers Reception September 3rd-6th From 3PM to 10PM At The Old Whaling Church Featuring Artistic Clothing, Accessories & Other Creations

Martha' s Vineyard Jazz & Blues Summerfest 2015 - Travel Excursion September 4 - Sept 7, 2015

For $200, come aboard a deluxe coach and travel to the Martha's Vineyard Jazz & Blues Summerfest 2015.

The bus departs Friday, September 4 at 5am from Mt. Vernon, NY arriving at

Woods Hole, MA, at 12pm for travel aboard the Steamship authority ferry to Oak Bluffs, MA on Martha's Vineyard.

The bus returns to Mt. Vernon, NY on Monday, September 7, departing from Woods Hole at 10AM arriving in NY at approximately 4pm.

Included in the $200 package is your free ticket to Friday's show, along with your round trip ferry fare.

identi Several hotels have been identified for this event based on proximity to the performance venues, group rates and

Summerfest discounts.

See mvjazzbluessummerfest.com and hotel information.

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Summer 2015 The Positive Community

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The Positive Community Summer 2015

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MWANDIKAJI K. MWANAFUNZI THE WAY AHEAD

OLD TESTAMENT BOOK GROUPINGS GENESIS TO DEUTERONOMY

JOSHUA TO ESTHER

The Pentateuch

The History

JOB TO SONG OF SONGS

The Poetry

ISAIAH TO DANIEL

HOSEA TO MALACHI

The Greater Prophets

The Lesser Prophets

NEW TESTAMENT BOOK GROUPINGS

Grouping the Books of the Bible “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill….”

—Matthew 5:17 (Jesus Christ, speaking during the Sermon on the Mount; NASB)

T

he Bible is a big book. Wow! What an understatement!

And the Bible is not just one book but a compilation of books. Most Protestants read a Bible that contains 66 books, including 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Catholic Bible includes additional books, collectively called “the Apocrypha,” situated between the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible’s books are ordered mostly chronologically.

Genesis, the first book, begins with God creating the world and human beings. Revelation, the last book, includes prophecies beyond our present time. The Old Testament was written before the birth of Christ and covers events that occurred before His birth. The New Testament, written during the 1st Century A.D., details Christ’s earthly ministry and the birth, growth and spread of the Church. Scholars group the Bible into nine sections, as illustrated within the charts at the top of this column.

“The Pentateuch” refers to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. “Pent” means “five.” The Pentateuch begins with God creating the world and extends through His bringing the ancient Jews out of Egypt. During the process, God reveals His Law. The next 12 books, from Joshua through Esther, are grouped by scholars as “The History.” It begins with the partial conquest and occupancy of the Promised Land by God’s chosen people under Jacob’s earthly leadership. It continues through the ancient Jews’ centuries of backsliding and repentance, victimization by other peoples, and, ultimately, the ancient Jews being conquered and scattered by the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Next is the group of books scholars call “The Poetry,” although not all of it is exactly poetry. These books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

The remainder of the Old Testament is the writings of prophets. The subcategories “Greater Prophets” and “Lesser Prophets” refer to book length, not necessarily to

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MATTHEW TO JOHN

ACTS

ROMANS TO JUDE

REVELATION

The Gospels

History

The Epistles

The Prophecy

importance. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel wrote longer books than the 12 “Lesser Prophets”; Jeremiah authored both “Jeremiah” and “Lamentations.” Much of these prophetical writings discuss how the ancient Israelites’ disobedience to God resulted in their being conquered and exiled throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.

The New Testament begins with the four Gospel books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These books detail Jesus Christ’s birth, life, earthly ministry, instructions, teachings, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. Scholars sub-group the first three of these books as the “Synoptic Gospels.” John’s gospel, in my opinion, digs deeper spiritually and personally, but can do so effectively only because the basics have been previously laid out by the Synoptic Gospels.

The Book of Acts by itself constitutes the “History” section of the New Testament, detailing the formation of the Church during the first century A.D. It begins with Christ’s final earthly instructions to His disciples and extends through the spreading of the Gospel into portions of the Roman Empire distant from Galilee, despite persistent opposition.

“Epistle” means “letter.” The “Epistles” grouping of New Testament books, including the Book of Romans through the Book of Jude, contains letters written by the apostles Paul, James, Peter, John, and Jude to various congregations and individuals. There may be one other letter-writer; scholars disagree whether Paul or someone else wrote the Book of Hebrews. The letters elaborate on Christian theology and administrative procedures, and instruct local church leaders and laypersons regarding specific situations.

The final grouping within the New Testament consists of one book, “The Revelation to John.” In this book, Jesus Christ appears to the apostle John, who, by that time, had been exiled on the island of Patmos. John writes down what Christ tells him concerning various matters including evaluations of then specific congregations, details of spiritual warfare, and events yet to come even in our time.

I suspect that this month’s column contains new information for some readers and is simply review for others.

Whichever category is yours, I hope the presented information helps you study. Bible study never ends.

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GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

thepositivecommunity.com Summer 2015

™

Vol. 15, No. 7

BY R.L. WITTER

HONOR THY UNION!

Publisher Adrian A. Council, Sr.

I

Editor-in-Chief Jean Nash Wells Associate Editor R. L. Witter Sales Angela Ridenour Adrian Council, Jr. NGS Communications, Inc. Satori MPR Marc Williams Contributing Writers Mwandikaji K. Mwanafunzi g.r. mattox Patricia Baldwin Doris Young Boyer Rev. Theresa Nance Rev. Reginald T. Jackson Glenda Cadogan Helene Fox Rev. Dr. Joanne Noel Photographers Bob Gore Wali A. Muhammad Seitu Oronde Rev. Dr. William L. Watkins, Jr. Darryl Hall Vincent Bryant Hubert Williams Brian Branch Price Karen Waters Art Direction & Layout Penguin Design Group Martin Maishman The Positive Community Corp.

133 Glenridge Avenue Montclair, NJ 07042 973-233-9200 Fax: 973-233-9201 Email: news@thepositivecommunity.com Website: thepositivecommunity.com All contents © The Positve Community Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This publication, in whole or in part, summer not be reproduced, stored in a computerized or other retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means whatsoever without the prior written permission of The Positive Community Corporation. Any opinions expressed herein are solely the opinions of the writer(s) and not necessarily those of The Positive CommunityTM, its management or staff. The Positive CommunityTM reserves the right to retain all materials and does not assume reponsibility for unsolicited materials.

90 The Positive Community

The Last Word

Summer 2015

t’s August. Days are hazy, fireflies dance in the night, and summer begins to wind down. Did you take a vacation or go to the beach? I thought I smelled a cookout coming from your backyard, but since I didn’t get an invitation, I must have been mistaken.

Folks love to get out in the summertime. We take to the streets, roads, and highways to feel the warmth of the sun and hope for a cool breeze. We ride rollercoasters, dive into pools, and dance the “Electric Slide” in unison at family reunions. Some of us took to the streets with signs calling for “Unity!” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

As we look back on the summer of 2015, we should notice a common thread and look back even farther.

Reunions, unison, unity… they all are very similar to “union,” a word that changed and continues to improve many black lives.

In 1925, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

A. Philip Randolph, a friend of Harry Belafonte, was the union’s founder and first president. I am proud to say that my grandfather was a Pullman porter, and a member of the BSCP. It didn’t happen overnight, but after years of organizing, sacrifice, negotiating, and fighting for equality and fair wages, the BSCP and their collective bargaining agreement allowed my grandpa to earn a decent living and provide for his wife and eight children. It was a job that required physical strength and kept him away for sometimes weeks at a time, but it was an honest and honorable living that kept the lights on and the bellies full in a proud black man’s home. That job also helped send several of those eight children to college.

Years later, a cousin began working

for the local telephone company shortly after high school. As an installation technician he joined the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and earned a decent wage and comprehensive benefits. His bargainedfor benefits allowed him to attend college with tuition assistance while he worked, and later helped pay the medical costs when his two children were born. His college degree helped him obtain multiple promotions, purchase a home, and take his brood on outings to concerts, plays, and museums. These are the things 1199SEIU’s Bread and Roses Cultural Project seeks to provide its members. A union job helped my cousin achieve them.

Other friends and relatives have benefitted from union jobs as well.

Teachers, postal workers, electricians, and plumbers represent just a few of the proud union members in our family.

Beyond good wages and medical coverage, these union jobs also limit how many hours people can work, and provide for precious time off that allows us to gather together for holiday meals and those summer reunions when we slide, shuffle, and wobble in unison.

In recent years, corporations have succeeded in diminishing union presence and influence in many workplaces. We’re no longer looking for the union label when we are buying a coat, dress, or blouse. As union membership declines, so do workers’ wages and rights.

As the middle class continues to shrink, we must recognize that across America and especially in the black community, union jobs were responsible for helping to create the middle class. With college tuitions skyrocketing and the need for skilled tradespeople ever growing, it’s more important than ever to support labor unions and bring back fair, living wages and fair employment practices. Unity now!

Union now!

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