Fitness Doctor

KAHLIL CARMICHAEL THE FITNESS DOCTOR

Kahlil Carmichael MAPCC, MDIV, CPT is the pastor of Live Well Church, in Somerset, New Jersey. He is a fitness specialist at The Fitness Doctor, a fitness and wellness consulting company; and the author of 50 Tips for a Better You. He is a contributor to Guideposts magazine. His first publication, Living Longer Living Better, is available now. Go to www.livewellchurch.org for more information.

RESTORATION POWER!

’Tis the season—a time of hope, childlike wonder, and renewal. The new year is dawning and no matter how old we are, we have an opportunity to begin again. For this I am grateful. Through prayer and introspection, at this time of year I assign an annual theme for our church. It is a message for right now, and we will study it deeply as we strive to worship in spirit and truth. This year’s theme is “perfecting our God-given potential,” which can easily be applied to our spiritual and physical selves. 1 Peter 5:10 promises, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”

To restore means to bring back and repair. God wants to restore our health for us to live well. Let’s work along with God’s plan and make smart health decisions! The first step is to see your doctor annually for a physical examination. Routine annual testing can reveal chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

The next step is incorporating healthy eating and healthy exercise. As the owner of the Fitness Doctor AKA FitCare 360º, I can say all exercise is not healthy. Exercising too long or with too much weight can be harmful. Please use balance and gradually strive to increase activity and weight.

You cannot restore or improve your physical condition without exercise or mindful movement of your body. When you exercise you can reduce inflammation, lose weight, lower your blood pressure and blood sugar, increase your flexibility and lung capacity, sleep better, and have an increased sense of mental well-being.

Start with walking three to four days a week and work up to jogging. Properly lifting weights will help to strengthen your bones and muscles. Start light and increase in reps and weight. Try other activities to get moving like hiking, roller skating, or a dance class. Exercise can and should be fun.

Next, what does healthy eating entail? Eat clean, including a variety of colorful vegetables, lean proteins, and plenty of water. Your body will thank you. Please make sure to eat the appropriate number of calories for your body. If you gained weight over time, expect to lose it the same way. Excessive dieting can wreck your metabolism and ultimately weaken your health.

Remember: move often and eat well! May God bless your wellness journey and restore you!

Live well and prosper.

Fitness training is available through the Live Well Church FITCARE program, offered at the Fitness Doctor Studio in Somerset, New Jersey. Please call Karen Beasley at 732-912-4435 to schedule a free assessment.

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.

There’s Nothing New Under the Sun

Martin Luther’s Words from 1527 Resonate in 2021

By R.L. Witter

As 2021 comes to an end, many of us have spent a second year modifying our lives due to COVID-19. Others have wearied of mask wearing and social distancing; perhaps they’ve forgotten the fact that plagues and pandemics have occurred throughout history for hundreds of years? The recent resurgence of a letter penned by Martin Luther (as in “Lutherans”) during an outbreak of the bubonic plague nearly 500 years ago makes clear how Christians should respond and comport ourselves during a pandemic.

Many have cited their religious beliefs as reason not to comply with mask and vaccine mandates, in addition to their “God-given rights” to freedom and governance over their own bodies. But in doing so, they put others’ health at risk by possibly spreading the virus. Martin Luther wrote in 1527, “They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague, but lightheartedly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. They say that it is God’s punishment; if He wants to protect them He can do so without medicines or our carefulness. This is not trusting God but tempting Him. God has created medicines and provided us with intelligence to guard and take good care of the body so that we can live in good health.”

The aforementioned passage reminds me of James 2:26, “…faith without works is dead.” God gives us free will and the ability to choose. It is our choice whether or not to take the medicines God has made available to us. Luther seemingly weighed in on the vaccine debate, writing, “Use medicine; take potions which can help you…shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body?”

Each time I see another video of someone becoming loud and belligerent upon being told a mask is required I go further into the priest and theology professor’s words. “It is even more shameful for a person to pay no heed to his own body and to fail to protect it against the plague the best he is able, and then to infect and poison others who might have remained alive if he had taken care of his body as he should have. He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death and is a murderer many times over.” This one is huge. I understand vaccines and therapeutics are not one hundred percent effective and there are breakthrough cases that sicken vaccinated people. However, when I hear of people infected by those who don’t take precautions and even worse, falsify documents to make themselves appear to have been vaccinated or received a negative test result, I am hurt and angered.

While Luther’s words were written at the end of the High Renaissance, their relevance today makes them seem prescient. “‘Whoever loves danger,’ says the wise man, ‘will perish by it’ (Ecclus. 3:26). If the people in a city were to show themselves bold in their faith when a neighbor’s need so demands, and cautious when no emergency exists, and if everyone would help ward off contagion as best he can, then the death toll would indeed be moderate.” We’ll simply never know how many lives might have been saved if we all had heeded the advice of staying home when possible and taking recommended precautions when out in public.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem as king, he told the people the two most important commandments were to Love God, and to “love your neighbor…” (Mark 12:2834). Martin Luther reiterated this in his letter writing, “No neighbor can live alongside another without risk to his safety, property, wife, or child. He must run the risk that fire or some other accident will start in the neighbor’s house and destroy him bodily or deprive him of his goods, wife, children, and all he has.” I am sadly reminded of the myriad stories of families devasted by the spread of the virus. They just wanted to share a holiday dinner or celebrate a birthday, but they decided against following recommendations and guidelines designed to slow the spread of the deadly virus.

While there is much we can take from Luther’s letter and apply to where we find ourselves today, perhaps his closing sentences best sum up his position on pandemics, medicine, and our duty to others: “As we have learned, all of us have the responsibility of warding off this poison to the best of our ability because God has commanded us to care for the body, to protect and nurse it so that we are not exposed needlessly… For ‘none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself,’ as St. Paul says, Romans 14:7.”

Originally appeared in the January 2013 issue of The Positive Community, in recognition of the 150th Anniversary of Emancipation.

On the Road to Freedom: A Sesquicentennial Observance of the Great Emancipation

BY CLEMENT ALEXANDER PRICE, PHD

In the late 1930s, Works Progress Administration

interviewer Henry Grant of Columbia, South Carolina sat down with then eighty-three-yearold Ezra Adams. Mr. Adams was one of more than two thousand elderly African Americans who by dint of age and longevity knew of slavery and had lived long enough to speak of it for the record. That record, the WPA Slave Narratives, has grown in importance as an historical archive over the years as Americans have increasingly trusted eyewitness accounts left by the veterans of the past. According to Grant, Mr. Adams was not in good health at the time of the interview, “incapable of self-support.” His niece, who lived nearby, just off Route 6 and near Swansea, looked after him. When these two men met and talked, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the difficult years that were to follow were distant memories. But those memories resonated in the waning years of life for veterans of the African American past, people such as Ezra Adams. When he thought back to the time of the Emancipation, this is what Grant took down as Ezra Adams’ testimony:

My mammy and pappy b’long to Marster Lawrence Adams, who had a big plantation in de eastern part of Lancaster County. He died four years after de Civil War and is buried right dere on de old plantation, in de Adams family burying grounds. I was de oldest of de five chillum in our family. I ’members I was a right smart sise plow boy, when freedom come. I think I must of been ‘bout ten or eleven years old, then. Dere’s one thing I does know; de Yankees didn’t tech our plantation, when they come through South Carolina. Up in de northern part of de county they sho’ did destroy most all what folks had.

You ain’t gwine to believe dat de slaves on our plantation didn’t stop workin’ for old marster, even whom they was told dat they was free. Us didn’t want no more freedom than us was gittin’ on our plantation already. Us knowed too well dat us was well took care of, wid a plenty of vittles to eat and tight log and board houses to live in. De slaves, where I lived, knowed after de war dat they had abundance of dat somethin’ called freedom, what they could not eat, wear, and sleep in. Yes, sir, they soon found out dat freedom ain’t nothin’, ‘less you is got somethin; to live on and a place to call home.

Ezra Adams’ recollection of the ending of slavery in his life and in the lives of those in his community is in concert with what we now know about the Great Emancipation. As grand an event as any other in American History before or since, the Emancipation was not a singular experience, but rather many experiences that more than four million Black women, men, and children lived through along with white Americans, Indians and Latinos. It was also an evolutionary experience, all the pieces of its drama not necessarily falling neatly into place. As Mr. Adams reminds us, many of the slaves freed over the course of the Civil War or after the Civil War as a result of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, initially wondered if freedom would be better than slavery. Over time, they would realize that it was. Others worried that as swiftly as slavery ended in areas that came under the control of the Union Army it might be re-imposed once the Union, and the power of Southern states, was restored. Obviously that did not happen. But the concern of

Blacks on their way to becoming free people was justified. President Lincoln’s famous Proclamation was issued during the War and had not been brought before the Supreme Court, the very Court that before the War was a decisively pro-slavery branch of the Federal Government. And still other Blacks on their way to becoming free, as in the case of Ezra Adams, were most practical men and women. Enslavement had been their way of life; they had forged a relationship with a system that by our standards was demeaning and harsh, but by theirs was grounded in the racial, labor and political customs of their time, not ours. It was the only harbor they had known. Would freedom be a safer one? That was not certain when freedom came.

Ezra Adams’ recollections are most instructive when he observed that “…they [the emancipated slaves] soon found out dat freedom ain’t nothin’, ‘less you is got something to live on and a place to call home.” Another former slave, Jenny Proctor, who lived in Texas, remembered the experience in similarly complicated ways: “When ole marster comes down in de cotton patch to tell us ‘bout bein’ free, he say ‘I hates to tell you but I knows I’got to, you is free, jes’ as free as me or anybody else whats white.’ We didn’ hardly know what he means. We jes’ sort of huddle ‘round together like scared rabbits, but after we knowed what he mean, didn’ many of us go, ‘cause we didn’ know where to of went.”

Now that the commemorative season for the Great Emancipation is upon us, as we observe the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation that went into effect on January 1, 1863, long before the grandparents of The Positive Community readers were born, the time has come to complicate what we know about that historical moment and to have empathy for those who lived through it. Becoming free during the Great Emancipation involved uncertainty, danger, and the mustering of courage. It also involved a determined reliance on the folk culture that had sustained Black Americans in slavery. As it became clear to those once enslaved that they were no longer to be enslaved, the folkways they knew of intimately enabled them to navigate their way forward, giving many Blacks a sense that they were, after all, in charge of important aspects of their lives, including their primary relationships—especially their children, and their aspirations as free people. For these reasons, I have always imagined navigating the Great Emancipation to have been a remarkable achievement for Africans on American soil and a period that the nation needs to embrace as its finest hour, despite the obstacles that it placed in the face of those newly freed.

The release of two blockbuster Hollywood films that in very different ways deal with the story of Black freedom in nineteenth-century America, Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and a forthcoming array of public programs on the Great Emancipation will likely energize interest in what Ezra Adams witnessed when he was but ten years old. He saw on a very small stage in South Carolina the beginning of a new nation that would no longer countenance the enslavement of Black people, its soon-to-be newly designated citizens.

While the Emancipation will be monumentalized this season as a great event, brought on by great men and largely anonymous women, made possible by an especially brutal and transformative war, and consummated as that war’s most noble objective, we should consider how that momentous event affected its primary historical actors, the slaves themselves. The nation’s historical record is old enough now for us to affirm that the Civil War and the Great Emancipation created a nation deserving of the respect of other nations and societies. That transformation from an enslaved nation that professed liberty as its core aspiration to a nation that for generations would agonizingly seek to give meaning to Black freedom, and its ripple effect across the landscapes of time and memory, is the reason all Americans have a stake in observing the sesquicentennial of the Great Emancipation. Ezra Adams from South Carolina, Jenny Proctor from Texas, and others who stepped into freedom one hundred and fifty years ago this season, are deserving of that broadly based acknowledgement and reverence.

Dr. Clement Alexander Price, a Rutgers Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History and founding Director of the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience ((IECME), at Rutgers Newark, passed away in November 2014. Professor, mentor and advisor, Mayor Ras Baraka named him Newark’s first City Historian in 2014. Rutgers Newark created the Clem Price Chair in Public History and Humanities and renamed the Institute he founded to honor Price.

L-R: Commissioner of the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit Roberto Perez and President and CEO of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce Lloyd A. Williams L-R: Mayor Bill de Blasio and Lloyd A. Williams

President and CEO, New York Urban League, Arva Rice

Mayor Bill de Blasio and guests

L-R: Voza Rivers, Ademola Olugebefola, Jackie Rowe Adams, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sally Pinero, Lloyd Williams and Melba Wilson

Harlem Send-off Celebration for de Blasio

The who's who in Harlem community life gathered at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for a "Thank You" celebration and touching tribute to outgoing New York City Mayor Hon. Bill de Blasio. The two-term Mayor who has served since 2014, will leave office on January 1, 2022. On the same day, MayorElect Hon. Eric Adams will take office as the 110th mayor of the nation's largest city.

Money

business, finance + work

Brian Lamb Byna Elliott

Why Black-led Banks Are Key to Driving Racial Equity

Success in driving sustainable wealth for Black communities rests in the critical role they must play

By Brian Lamb and Byna Elliott, JP Morgan Chase

Over the past year, racial equity has been pushed to the forefront of our national dialogue amid the furor of George Floyd’s death and the aftermath. The 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the establishment of Juneteenth National Independence Day as a new federal holiday are a stark reminder that the issue of racial inequity is intricately woven into our nation’s history, and that resolving it is an ongoing battle.

At JPMorgan Chase, our view is that true racial equity will occur in our society when a person’s race is no longer a key determinant in the opportunities that come their way. In examining the unique history of Black Americans, we’ve certainly made significant progress since slavery ended 156 years ago.

But it’s also true that if you’re Black, you’re statistically more likely to face an uphill battle in overcoming persistent racial disparities, including wealth creation, educational achievement, incarceration and more. This is what systemic inequity looks like, and future generations will face these same challenges unless policymakers and industry-leading corporations like ours take meaningful steps towards driving sustainable change.

In an effort to do our part, last fall JPMorgan Chase announced a $30 billion, five-year commitment to advance racial equity with a focus on Black, Hispanic and Latino communities. We’re directing this commitment towards improving access to affordable housing and homeownership, providing capital and mentorship for small business owners, and growing our pipeline of Black talent across all levels.

We’re making significant investments in Black-, Hispanic- and Latino-owned and -led financial institutions that provide critical capital and services to underserved communities. We have invested more than $100 million in over a dozen diverse-led Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CFDIs), more than doubling our original goal of $50 million.

At JPMorgan Chase, we recognize that MDIs and CDFIs have earned the trust of their communities as a resource that provides access to loans for consumers and small businesses in many Black communities across the country. They’re a significant provider of mortgages in underserved communities and offer a crucial alternative to high-cost alternative financial offerings like check cashing services, pawn shops and payday lenders which are far too common in communities of color.

To help MDIs and CDFIs build capacity and broaden their ability to invest in communities, in February we launched Empowering Change, a unique program that allows these financial institutions to offer new investment products to customers, boost their technological capabilities and develop new revenues through fund distribution. Anchored by a $500 million investment from Google, the program established a new Empower money market share class for distribution by MDIs and CDFIs across J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s suite of money market funds. This will enable Black-led financial institutions to attract investments from institutional clients who are looking to create a positive social impact.

Looking ahead, we fully expect that these investments will help drive a more inclusive economic recovery from the pandemic, which hit communities of color much harder than the broader population. If we are to succeed in driving true racial equity and generate sustainable wealth for Black communities over the long term, Blackled MDIs and CDFIs must play a critical role.

Brian Lamb is JPMorgan Chase’s Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Byna Elliott is the firm’s Head of Advancing Black Pathways. To learn more about Advancing Black Pathways, visit jpmorganchase.com/ABP

Charlotte Ottley Honored at Salute to Women in Leadership

BY LESLIE NASH

Charlotte VM Ottley garnered notoriety and respect in the worlds of media, business, politics, and community activism in the New York area and in St. Louis, her hometown. Honored by the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis in September for her lifetime of achievements, she credits her successful career to her commitment to purpose, combining innovation and strategic planning driven by passion.

Using a formula for success developed during her years in the New York area, Ottley creates mutually beneficial outcomes matched with God’s grace. Her achievements include the first African American to be named Communications Alumni of the Year by Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, IL; five EMMY awards; a trained Instructor of Physical Medicine at two major medical centers; and an on-air talent with CBS- and NBC-owned stations in St. Louis and New York. She organized events in the White House during the Clinton Administration, including the announcement of the presidency of Nelson Mandela when representing Urban Radio Network. When she was honored by the National Broadcast Association for her outstanding work in Community Affairs in Chicago, Oprah Winfrey recited Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman” to her.

Currently a columnist with the Ladue News and the author of three books, Ottley serves as the chair of the film and photography committee of the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club. The Charlotte Merritts Ottley Women’s Transitional Center (a subsidiary of BASIC, Inc., [Black Alcohol/Drug Service and Information Center]), based in St. Louis, was dedicated in 2010, helping women transition back into their families and communities as whole persons.

There are so many more achievements and accolades for Ottley, whose eclectic career spans over 50 years. She is an Honorary Marine Captain and a fifth-generation congregant of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. She currently serves as chair of I Am East St. Louis, The Magazine Foundation; the Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce; and the NAACP East St. Louis Branch.

The Salute to Women in Leadership Gala is an annual event that recognizes the tireless contributions of outstanding women. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. takes great pride in giving recognition to outstanding women who embody the mission of our organization to help create opportunity for disadvantaged and overlooked individuals and communities.

L-R: Susan L. Taylor with President and CEO of The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Michael P. McMillian 24 The Positive Community December Issue 2021

Harlem Holiday Lights 2021

Nick Cannon G rand Marshall Nick Cannon led the 28th annual Harlem Holiday Lights event. Multi-talented Cannon—actor, host, comedian, producer, writer, director, DJ, philanthropist, and entrepreneur—was on hand to direct the floats and festivities.

The Caravan began at 125th Street and Broadway on November 16th. The Caravan’s festive floats filled the route with music and infectious holiday cheer.

The 125th Street Business Improvement District (BID) along with Community Boards 9 & 10, and the Mt. Morris Park Community Improvement Association, business owners, and community residents along the route added to the festive atmosphere of the evening, by decorating their properties in gorgeous holiday decor.

L-R: President/CEO 125th St. BID Barbara Askins and Nick Cannon

Rev. Geraldine L. Harris Makes History

BMCGNY&V Elects First Woman President

Conference Officers L-R: Treasurer Rev. Robert Jones, Recording Secretary Rev. Dr. Wendy J. Kelly-Carter; 2nd VP Rev. Shepherd Lee; President Rev. Geraldine L. Harris; Asst. Recording Secretary Dr. Evelyn J. Perkins; Financial Secretary Rev. Dr. Edgar Howard; Sergeant At Arms Rev. Dr. Isaiah Holland; 1st VP Rev. Dr. James A. Kilgore (kneeling)

On Monday, December 13, 2021 history was made when Rev. Geraldine L. Harris became the first female president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater New York & Vicinity (BMCGNY&V).

President Harris and her cabinet were installed at the Greater File Chapel Baptist Church, where she is pastor. Rev. Dr. Carl L. Washington, Jr. Empire Missionary Baptist Convention president presided over the occasion. Rev. Dr. Anthony Lowe, United Missionary Baptist Association moderator, conducted the installation.

Founded in 1898, the BMCGNY&V is NYC's oldest and largest clergy organization representing over 300,000 constituents.

L-R: Rev. Dr. Charles A. Curtis, Immediate past president with President Rev. Geraldine L. Harris

Culture

music, art + literature

L-R: Dr. Joel Bloom, NJIT Chief External Affairs Officer Angela R. Garretson, Ph.D. and Newark School Superintendent Roger León survival!By James Frazier Newark News & Story Collaborative Health ideas for wellness Black Theater Companies Pivot, Present | In-person Theatre is Back

Fifty years ago Amiri Baraka, the poet and activist began organizing the nation’s first National Black Political Convention along with Gary, Indiana Mayor Richard Hatcher, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, and Congressman Charles C. Diggs Jr. Held in Gary, Indiana Marcy 10-12, 1972, the convention gathered around ten thousand African-Americans to discuss and advocate for Black communities that undergo significant economic and social crisis. Part of their goal was to increase the number of Black politicians elected to office, increase representation, and create an agenda for fundamental change.

On December 1, 2021, Amiri Baraka’s son, Ras Baraka, the poet, activist and mayor of Newark, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba of Jackson, Mississippi, Jazz and R&B Legend James Mtume and New Jersey Institute of Technology President Dr. Joel Bloom, held a press conference to announce the 2022 National Black Political Convention in Newark, New Jersey at NJIT April 28 to May 1, 2022.

“It is timely to have a real discussion about some of the issues we have been grappling with – and real debate. This conference will humbly try to launch that. Whether people believe it, understand it, feel like it or not, we are also a part of this country. It is just as much ours as anyone else’s.” said Baraka.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka makes opening remarksF rustrated with the lack of diversity in American theater, Ricardo Mohamed Khan and L. Kenneth Richardson conceptualized the Crossroads Theatre Company. Since its founding in 1978, Crossroads has produced over 100 works, many of them premiere Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Lumumba Newark to Host Third National productions by African and African American artists, including The Colored Museum and Spunk by George C. Black Political ConventionWolfe, Jitney by August Wilson, Sheila’s Day by South African writer Duma, Ndlovu and many more. Crossroads received the 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in the United States in recognition of its 22year history of artistic accomplishment and excellence. “My father’s heritage is East Indian; my mother is African-American and so they were bringing together two cultures,” said Kahn. “That’s ethically as well as geographically. Growing up, there was never a sense that we were solely identified by being Black kids in Camden, New Jersey. Yes, we were Black in Camden, Lumumba noted that many of the issues people of color face today are what he called “cycles of humiliation.” Within these cycles, he said, issues come to light as high-crime rates, underperforming school systems and failing infrastructure. “It is critical for us to come together at this time, in this moment, to talk about how we establish unity,” said Lumumba. but our roots are global. What I’ve always wanted to “Hopefully, my father is very tell people through Crossroads is that it’s about our roots. As Black people in this country we should not happy we are doing the forget or even allow people to think this is all of who we convention here,” Baraka said. are.” He continued, “There’s much more! The sense of a connecting, having a theater like Crossroads that connects to many different communities in this country and around the world is in order for us to redefine who we are on a larger level.” Across the Hudson River, one of the pioneering institutions integrating artists of color and women into the mainstream American theater, Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theater (NFT), faces major changes. Founded in 1970, NFT began as an outgrowth of a theatre program called Mobilization for Youth. The theatre’s first season opened in the basement of St. Augustine’s Five decades after the first National Black Political Convention, organizers of the 2022 convention seek to fill gaps and address the needs of Black people with a collective agenda, building on the work of those who came before. Baraka detailed, "As the 2022 gathering approaches, we will purposefully meet in small groups to discuss a variety of topics, including public policy, criminal justice, economic empowerment, mental and emotional wellness, religious and spiritual health, and the importance of the cultural arts in our daily lives.” For more information about the National Black Political Convention, visit www.nbpc2022.com.

Money Church on Henry Street. Many performers benefited from early successes on NFT’s stage—the late Chadbuiness, finance + work wick Boseman, Debbie Allen, Morgan Freeman, Phylicia Rashad, Denzel Washington, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Education Ricardo Kahn Crossroads Theatre Company Jackson, Issa Rae, and many more. Woodie King Jr. retired from leadership of the illustrious theater at the end of June. “During the first part of the pandemic, March 2020, the art + science of learning I had been thinking about retiring,” King revealed. “Then the pandemic increased in time. The offices closed down. Then people needed to have shots. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t want to go back to work. I’m 83 years old. So, what should I do?’ I thought, I needed a young person to run it. And that person was Elizabeth Van Dyke, our artistic director. She’s experienced and understands how to communicate with this generation. And getting that younger person to run it and work with me over the last year and five months, solidified it for me.” As millions of people quarantined last year, theaters around the world temporarily closed their doors and we were forced to stay at home without live entertainment. For the first time, the theater found the need to compete with social media and streaming platforms. NFT embraced change, deciding to shift theater to the digital space with pre-recorded and live

L-R: Rev. Conrad Tillard and activist Larry Hamm, People’s Organization for Progress L-R: President/CEO at Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ricardo Salazar and Actor Leonard Dozier

Bro. Zayid Muhammad performs Libation for our Ancestors L-R: Rev. Bryant Ali and Bro. Zayid Muhammad

New Jersey Institute of Technology President Dr. Joel Bloom

george clinton & parliament funkadelic with special guests

80th birthday celebration jan 21

chris redd

Sat, Jan 8 @ 8PM

Saturday Night Live star Chris Redd takes a Saturday night off to bring the laughs to NJPAC.

Tue, Feb 8 @ 6PM

Kids 2–7 will have a blast singing, dancing and learning with their favorite character.

@NJPAC • 1.888.MY.NJPAC • njpac.org Groups of 9 or more call 973.353.7561 One Center Street, Newark, NJ

stephanie mills & the whispers

Sat, Jan 15 @ 8PM

The ultra-soulful songstress Stephanie Mills is back by popular demand, with celebrated R&B balladeers The Whispers.

90’s all star dance concert

Sat, Mar 19 @ 8PM

Featuring Robin S., CeCe Peniston, Black Sheep, Lumidee, George Lamond, Lisette Melendez, Aly-Us, Nardo Ranks, Marshall Jefferson, Strafe and Rochelle Fleming.

eric roberson

Sat, Feb 26 @ 8PM

GRAMMY™ nominee Eric Roberson (“Picture Perfect,” “At the Same Time”) shows why he’s called the King of Independent Soul and R&B.

urban bush women

Fri, Apr 1 @ 7:30PM Sat, Apr 2 @ 2PM

Dance performance Hair & Other Stories reflects on race, identity and beauty through the lens of Black women’s hair.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul

Governor Kathy Hochul and Rev. Robert M. Waterman AACEO President Robert M. Waterman, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church of Brooklyn

L-R: Rev. Jacques DeGraff, leader of Choose Healthy Life initiative in New York City, Rev. Waterman, Debra Frazer Howe, founder of Choose Healthy Life, and MTA Chief Diversity Officer Michael Garner L-R: Dee Bailey, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, Watchful Eye Director Jessica Bailey, NYS Governor Kathy Hochul, Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman, NYC Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo and Judge Robin Sheares

NYS Governor Kathy Hochul Addresses AACEO

African American Clergy and Elected Officials (AACEO) hosted their monthly breakfast meeting and fellowship session on December 2, at Antioch Baptist Church in Brooklyn. NYS Governor Kathy Hochul and NYS Attorney General Letitia James were featured speakers.

AACEO meets every first Friday bringing together leaders in clergy, government, business and community service to discuss the issues, share ideas and fellowship.

Berkeley College reserves the right to add, discontinue, or modify its programs and policies at any time. Modifications subsequent to the original publication of this document may not be reflected here. For up-to-date and detailed information, please visit ce.berkeleycollege.edu.

New England Missionary Baptist Convention Meets

L-R: N.E.M.B.C. Executive Secretary, Cheri Wells; N.E M B.C. Women's President, Rev. Dr. Kim Cotton; Bishop Lisa Weah, New Bethlehem Baptist Church, Baltimore, MD and Rev. Dr. Albert L. Morgan, N.E.M.B.C. President L-R: Adrian Council, Sr., Pastor James Butler, N.E.M.B.C DMV Vice President and Rev. Dr. Albert L. Morgan, N.E.M.B.C President

On November 4-6, 2021, the 147th Annual Session of New England Missionary Baptist Convention was held at Perkins Square Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD. The event was hosted by N.E.M.B.C. Vice President Pastor James Butler & N.E.M.B.C President Rev. Cleveland Mason.

Kevin Smallwood “Caterer to the Stars

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