The Westside Gazette

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Dear Black America: We’ve been here before…sadly.

When we reconcile our differences “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.”

Isaiah 11:6 (NASB)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

DR. HUGHES According to a series of tweets sent out by the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, at least 76 men and women of color were killed in police custody since the 1999 death of Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea who was shot and killed by four New York City Police officers on Feb. 4, 1999.

With the recent deaths of Michael Brown, the unarmed Black teen shot dead by a Ferguson, Mo. police officer, and

Eric Garner, who died after being put in a controversial chokehold by a policeman in Staten Island, N.Y., the brutalities and injustices suffered by minorities at the hands of some of the very men sworn to protect and serve have been thrust into the national spotlight.

Now that the eyes of the world are on the Black community, we feel it is to our advantage to have an open dialogue about the way the world

DR. DAVIDSON DR. GLOVER views us. We must, without a doubt, change the image of the Black male in the eyes of society.

We have an obligation and responsibility to alter the ways we are perceived by others: We are not thugs and hoodlums; we are not looking for handouts.

We are a proud, hardworking, and honest people. We cannot allow the few bad apples and those who make the mainstream media to be the icons of our community. It is incumbent upon us to tell our own story and live up to the honor of our forefathers.

(Cont'd on Page 3)

Have you ever sat and watched little children play, the ones who haven’t been spoiled by their parent’s short comings?

When children, never mind their skin color, have disagreements over anything; sharing toys or territorial spaces, etc., they don’t physically hurt each other; as a matter of fact they settle it with strange looks or even by walking away to find a happier place.

It’s only when they grow up and learn the behavior of others that they are in company with who they emulate and put into action those practices, which hurt, kill and destroy those who they disagree with.

It is amazing how the innocent human doesn’t know anything about differences or, should I say, the differences that separate people.

Polluted minds and spirits don’t kill.

Taking the example of the aforementioned, it would be safe to say that the behaviors of the police as it relates to the killings of Black males is a learned and practiced behavior.

A contaminated behavior that has become a natural reflex; a reflex as automatic as a heartbeat or a blinking eye when something intrudes too closely in its space.

(Cont'd on Page 9)

Americans take to the street to protest police killings A mother’s plea: Don’t

By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent

Thousands of people marched from Freedom Plaza to the United States Capitol on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2014 in the National “Justice For All” March. The event was sponsored by the National Action Network (NAN) to highlight police brutality and criminal justice reform in the United States.

(Milbert O. Brown, Jr./NNPA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNPA) – On Saturday, thousands of Americans across the country registered their objection to police officers not being held accountable after killing unarmed citizens, many of them Blacks, by mounting massive demonstrations and rallies, the main one held here in the nation’s capital.

Organized by major civil rights organizations, the goal of the protest was to demand federal intervention in state prosecutorial systems that have failed to indict anyone in the police killings of victims such as Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and Pearlie Golden.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Richmond, Calif. police chief: Why I joined a protest against honor of Rodney Frazier, police brutality the 16-year-old who was

By Malcolm Marshall From New American Media Q: It’s interesting to see a police chief in the middle of a protest against police brutality. What is your reason for being here today?

A: The police and the community share a common goal. We want peaceful protests to be something that people feel comfortable participating in and to understand that the police are guardians, because we should be protecting people’s constitutional rights. But we also want to send a message that we care about everyone in the community. This needs to be a partnership between police and persons of color, Black, brown, whatever. We need to be working together.

Q: Does the department have a history of being a

Richmond, Calif. Police Chief Chris Magnus.

(Photo courtesy of Richmond Police Department via Facebook) part of protests in Richmond?

A: We’ve been stewards of public safety, when there’ve been protests related to Chevron, protests around environmental issues, protests about political is-

Pleading Our Own Cause

sues. It’s our job to make sure that everyone’s voice can be heard and that people feel safe exercising their First Amendment rights.

Q: A few weeks ago, you spoke at the peace rally in

overlook my son’s death

murdered in front of his home in unincorporated North Richmond, which isn’t technically in your jurisdiction. Why did you choose to lend your presence and words to the community at that event?

A: He was a young man who was very much tied into our greater Richmond community.

This was less about jurisdictional lines and more about fining common ground and working together to prevent future homicides, whether they’re in unincorporated Richmond or in the City of Richmond. We need to be joining together, and I think that was an important opportunity to do that.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Narene Stokes-James mourns for her son, too. (Inset: Ryan Stokes and daughter).

By Narene Stokes-James Special to NNPA EXCLUSIVE KANSAS CITY, MO. – In the midst of the headliners Eric Garner, Michael Brown and now Tamar Rice, the name of Ryan Stokes has not been part of the news or the protests that are taking place around the nation and it hurts me. As a mother, it hurts that no one is marching for my son and no newspapers are writing about him.

The Justice Department is not investigating. Attorney General Eric Holder has not visited. President Obama does not know his name. It doesn’t hurt because I feel slighted.

Rather, it hurts because in the wee hours of Sunday morning, July 28, 2013, a knock on my

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door ended life as I had known it and it has not been and will never be the same.

My son’s name is Ryan Stokes and he was only 24 years old when a Kansas City, Mo. police officer chased him and shot him four times – two times squarely in the back and two times in his side near his back.

He was killed in the Power & Light District of the city; an area in downtown Kansas City frequented primarily by White middle- and upper-middle class professionals.

It is an open secret that Blacks are not welcomed by the clubs, restaurants, theaters and shops in the district. In fact, there is a pending lawsuit against merchants who have used dress codes and other ruses keep Blacks out.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com) MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)

Page 2 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • December 18 - December 24, 2014

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

An open letter to Black elected officials

By Kevin Chavous Each year, various social service organizations issue reports relating to the state of Black America. While issues such as affordable housing, jobs, crime and challenging family dynamics are generally discussed, the poor quality of the education received by far too many African American children continues to be a focal point found in these reports.

The facts don’t lie. According to John Hopkins University, 32 percent of African-American students drop out of high school nationally - 15 percentage points higher than their white counterparts. In urban school districts with a high concentration of low-income and minority students, the gap is widened and graduation rates are even lower. According to the Schott Report on Black Males in Public Education, African American males have the lowest graduation rates out of any other race in 38 of our nation’s 50 states, a 76 percent majority. For over a decade, African American students have been the least likely to obtain a high school diploma out of every racial or ethnic group in the United States. Additionally the achievement gap between African American and white students has consistently grown or stayed stagnant nationally with white students outperforming their African American peers up to 30 points on standardized tests. Not only are African American students struggling in high school, but are ill prepared to succeed in higher education.

Nearly 63 percent of African American students enrolled in a full-time four-year college institution fail to graduate.

For years, we have known that these deficits exist in many of the schools in our community.

And for years, we have put a band aid on the problem and talked in platitudes about future solutions. Yes, many of you offer well intentioned remedies consistent with the memories of your own schooling - even though those days represent a

faraway time that has long passed us by. Additionally, many of you have relied on assurances from friends and acquaintances who are part of the education system and continue to work hard in that system each day. Assurances of coming change that never comes for so many of our kids trapped in failing schools.

On the other hand, it is hard to join forces with some of your fellow conservative legislators who may be identified with education reform. I do understand that you have fought with many of those legislators for years over proposed cuts to social service programs that provide a needed lifeline for many of your constituents. As one of your peer colleagues from Mississippi said to me, “You need to realize that if I support charter schools or school choice, I am instantly identified with the enemy and viewed as a traitor to many of my people”.

The truth is I know that it is not easy to pick up the baton and challenge the education establishment on behalf of the kids not served well by that system.

But, those challenges aside, enough is enough.

Those of us who are vested with some measure of authority or influence need to take an all hands on deck approach to addressing the educational shortfalls within our community. As best we can, we need to lay aside the adult issues, the system preservation issues, and the tendency to go along to get along and start to truly put our kids first.

Our new standard should be: will this proposal - irrespective of who proposed it - help our children learn? If the answer is yes, we should support it.

Of course, this new approach requires something equally hard: taking the politics out of education. Now is time for us to do all we can to take partisanship and party caucus prioritizing out of the education policy

CHAVOUS and funding discussion. Such partisanship continues to curtail the reform effort in many school districts hurt our kids.

Rather, the example set by many of your peers in the Louisiana Black Legislative Caucus is one to follow. In recent years, several of those members have embraced bold education reform initiatives ranging from charter schools, virtual learning, common core and the statewide opportunity scholarship program. Moreover, some of those same members have been supportive of the aggressive system reform efforts promoted by state superintendent John White. Often, these Louisiana Black caucus members find themselves voting with conservative colleagues with whom they oppose on most other issues. But, as former New Orleans state Senator Ann Duplessis says, “At some point, we have to come together to help our kids, or accept the fact that we will continue to lose more of them”.

With all of the challenges facing Black America, none is more important to our future than the education of our young. As you enter your respective legislative sessions in the New Year, I truly hope that that you find the way to extend yourselves beyond yourselves and build the needed alliances to get our kids in good schools now - by any means necessary.

NNPA MEETING WITH BAHAMAS AMBASSADOR TO THE US -- The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), whose membership includes the publishers and editors of all the Black-owned newspapers in the United States, will be holding its mid-winter conference in Nassau, Bahamas, at the British Colonial Hilton from Wednesday, Jan. 28 – 31, 2015. As a prelude to the mid-winter conference, NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the noted former civil rights leader and a former President of the NAACP, and Mrs. Denise Rolark Barnes, Editor and Publisher of The Washington Informer, the NNPA’s award-winning newspaper in Washington, D.C., paid a courtesy call on His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, at the Bahamas Embassy, 2220 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Pictured from left are: Krissy Hanna, Second Secretary, Bahamas Embassy; Mrs. Rolark-Barnes; Dr. Chavis; Ambassador Newry; and Mr. Mikhail Bullard, Third Secretary, Bahamas Embassy.

M-DSPD PARTICIPATES IN ‘RAISE SAFE KIDS’ -- L to r: Chief Ian A. Moffett, Officer Hilda Hernandez and Erin share a laugh during the event ‘Raise Safe Kids’ held at West Little River Park. The event gave an opportunity to different community agencies to demonstrate their services. Miami-Dade Schools Police distributed toys for children during this activity.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

are relevant; some not. We were born in protest against nowoutlawed racial segregation, but quickly learned that protest, while necessary, was not sufficient for tackling the larger issues we soon encountered.

Therefore, we became an organization of organizers.

Understanding our evolu-

Getting past the grand jury Special to the NNPA (Reprinted by permission from the SNCC Legacy Project) The brainchild of civil rights organizer Ella Baker, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in April 1960 at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. as a youth alternative to traditional civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, SCLC, the National Urban League and CORE. More than 200 students attending the first organizing session and elected future Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry as it first president. Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.)

and former NAACP Board President Julian Bond were key members of SNCC. Cops killing young Black men is hardly a new story. Nor is the White supremacist assault on Black and Brown communities anything new. Individuals and organizations have fought both for centuries, and continue to do so today; so ours is neither the first nor the only voice to be raised urging that struggle continue. It does appear to us, however, that a new movement is emerging and spreading across the nation, and that young people in particular have taken the lead in fighting police thuggery. We

December 18 - December 24, 2014 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 3

ap-plaud and support this and stand in solidarity with them.

We cannot help but respond to this development in terms of our own mid-20th century history as young organizers with the SNCC. A half century has passed since those days, so parallels cannot be exact; times do indeed change. Some things

tion is crucial for understanding the relevance of then to now.

As we thought about what was to be done to really effect change, the conclusion we came to was to organize for political power, challenge and confront police brutality, and to probe the possibilities of economic development in disenfranchised

Broward County’s 29th annual Arts Teacher of the Year BCPS Educators winners in dance, music, Terl, Theater, Parkway theater and visual arts categories Michelle Middle School of the Arts

Dear Black America: We’ve been here before…sadly.

(Con't from FP) The argument has been raised that both Brown and Garner contributed to their demise by refusing to comply with officers’ orders. The truth of the matter – despite the unfairness – is that our young men do need to be taught to respond to officers in a way that reduces their “perceived threat” level.

Their very lives depend on it!

While many will certainly point out that this is a double standard, we must be smart about our actions and conversation, regardless of the officer’s race, until we can change the cycle and deal with the underlying issue which is sin and the efforts of Satan to continue to breed prejudice, mistrust and chaos.

Yes, we deserve to be treated with respect and in a dignified manner—as any other race of people—but let’s live to seek justice and not die at the hand of injustice.

One of the loudest rallying cries that resulted from the most recent cases and similar tragedies was the hashtag Black Lives Matter (#BlackLivesMatter).

Yes, Black Lives Matter; not just when it is at the hands of white police offers, but at the hands of others who look like us, too. We must become just as angry and convicted when young Black men kill other young Black men. The amount of Black-on-Black crime is staggering and we are simply not doing enough to eradicate violence in our own communities.

To combat the problem, parents must first step up and do their jobs as parents. We need to be our children’s first role model and not have it filled by the latest celebrity or athlete.

We must demonstrate the traits we want cultivated in our children’s lives. Little boys and girls need to be taught self-esteem and the value of family unity.

They need to have faith in God and respect for not only themselves but for each other.

The “Stop Snitching” campaign, popularized in 2004, continues to wreak havoc in our communities. As Geoffrey Canada, a nationally recognized educator and anti-violence advocate, so eloquently said, “It’s like we’re saying to the criminals, ‘You can have our community. Just have our community. Do anything you want and we will either deal with it ourselves, or we’ll simply ignore it’?” We must commit to changing this cancerous sub-culture. Our young people are dying and families are hurting.

Black communities also need churches willing to step up and embrace our young people. We need additional community centers and local government programs to help stem the tide of crime and murder that plagues our neighborhoods.

Continuing to blame our behaviors on a “system” designed to keep us in impoverished communities with inadequate access to educational/career opportunities and/or legal representation—though it has played a role—is no longer a valid excuse for not getting our homes in order.

As we march to protest against brutality, we must understand that marching and protesting alone will do very little to effect change in this nation where racism is so deeply

embedded. Marching and protesting will do very little to change a system that has made the Prison Industrial Complex one of the largest growth industries in America. In fact, the prison system is the new system of slavery in America and the majority of those in prison are Black men. A 2012 article found that one in every 15 African American men and one in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in comparison to one in every 106 white men.

We must protest with a purpose. Protest at the polls by registering in large numbers and voting in every election—not just presidential races— for those who have our best interest at heart, regardless of party affiliation. Protest by staying in school and getting an education. Protest with our wallets, credit cards and debit cards by not spending except for bare necessities. We can make a difference!

Forty-three years ago, Marvin Gaye asked the question, “What’s Going On?” Back then, we had far less economically than we have today. Black Enterprise magazine analyzed a 2012 Nielsen study that concluded that African American buying power will reach one trillion dollars by 2015; and yet only two cents of every dollar an African American spends in this country goes to Black-owned businesses. We spend at a

rate of growth that outpaces the remaining population by 30 percent. A dollar circulates in the Asian communities for one month; in Jewish communities for approximately 20 days; and 17 days in white communities. However, a dollar stays in the African American community for just six hours. In her book, Our Black Year, Maggie Anderson, co-founder of the Empowerment Project, highlights her family’s journey “buying Black”. She advises that “reinvesting in Black businesses is one of the best ways to address socioeconomic disparities”.

With the global reach of the internet, it is now much easier to seek out and support Blackowned business. Consider making a monthly commitment to patronize African American establishments.

Today, we ask that question again, “What’s Going On?” It’s time for us to develop and change our own communities by taking ownership of our actions. It’s time for us to bring peace in our communities and stop killing ourselves. It’s time for us to build up and not tear down. It’s time for us to stop making others rich at our expense.

Sincerely, Dr. Derrick J. Hughes Dr. C. E. Glover Dr. Marcus Davidson

communities.

This required that we embed ourselves in those communities, listening and learning how best to assist local people find their voices, and to organize for the change they wanted.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Librach, Sangster, Luffred and Terl.

Congratulations to Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) outstanding arts educators who were named winners in the dance, music, theater and visual arts categories of Broward County’s 29th Arts Education ceremony, ArtsED Forever! The event, held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, celebrates the arts community

– teachers, legislators and organizations that support arts education.

The Broward County Arts Teacher of the Year winners: Wendi Librach, Visual Arts, Flamingo Elementary School; John Michael Luffred, Music, Coral Glades High School Aimee Sangster, Dance, New Renaissance Middle School and

Each year, the ceremony provides an opportunity for BCPS art students to gain valuable experience in a state-of-the-art, professional performing arts environment. At the opening reception, the Dillard Jazz Ensemble commanded the stage with impressive musical depth, while the Ramblewood Middle School Marching Band serenaded guests as they viewed artistic creations by talented art students. Guests also enjoyed theme songs from popular musicals performed and brilliantly reenacted by Parkway Middle School of the Arts Players on Tour.

The Arts Teacher of the Year Award Ceremony is provided through a partnership among Broward Cultural Division, The School Board of Broward County, Florida, Broward Center for the Performing Arts and Business for the Arts of Broward.

Page 4 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • December 18 - December 25, 2014

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Community Digest

Publix is Proud to Support Community News WHERE SHOPPING IS A PLEASURE

Event

Watoto presents BeautifulAfrica a new generation, Watoto Children Choir, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 at 7 p.m., at New Hope Baptist Church, 1321 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info go to www.watoto.com

Event Christmas near the Beach in Hollywood, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2014 from 4 to 9 p.m., at the Arts Park at Young Circle in Hollywood, Fla. Bands, dancers, singers, vendors, a classic car show and a free photo with St. Nick at his “Beach House”.

For more info call (954) 4284480.

Orientation

The Alpha Gamma Chapter of Eta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., extends and invite to all Seventh Grade Boys and Girls, for our Bee-ettes & Senords December Orientation, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014 at 5 p.m., at Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, 15260 N.W. 19th Ave., Miami, Fla. For more info call (786) 4578296.

Tournament Warren Henry Auto Group together with Tournament of Champions, Inc. will present the South Florida High School Football Player of the Year Award, Monday Dec. 15, 2014 at 11 a.m., at Warren Henry Automotive Dealership in North Dade, 20800 N.W. Second Ave., (Hwy. 441) Miami, Fla. The 17th Annual Nike All-Star Football Game on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 at Curtis Park Stadium. For more info contact, Tournament Of Champions, Inc. (305) 910-9019 (cell) Tocsports@aol.com

Happenings at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Call the Welcome Desk at (954) 3576210.

Learn to Draw using Code – its fun and easy, Kids Can Code!, Thursday, 18, 2014, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., at the African American Research Library & Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For ages 10 and up sign up in Youth Services or call (954) 357-6209 to reserve a space.

For additional info call (954) 357-6209.

African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) is hosting its annual Kwanzaa event, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Local talented artist, Nzingah –Sankofa’s Child. For more info call (954) 357-6210.

Concert

Musical and Worship Arts Ministries of Judah Worship Word Ministries present a Special Christmas Program, The Christmas Concert, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014 at 5 p.m., at 4441 W. Sunrise Blvd., Plantation, Fla. A Special New Year’s Eve Service, Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 9 p.m. with guest speaker Dr. Ane Mercer of Jacksonville, Fla. For further info call the church at (954) 791-2999. Dr. W.L. Mitchell, senior pastor.

EDUCATION MATTERS

Every Child Deserves a Chance to Succeed.

Event

Toy Drive

The Second Annual Christmas Toy Drive, help make a difference this holiday season by donating any new toys to children in need. All donations will be accepted in the AADS office until December 15th. Toys will be taken to a Department of Children and Family Center in Homestead, Fla. For additional info contact Reyni at reyni004@gmail.com for more info.

Event

Elite Events Management presents, “Sharing the Love This Holiday Season”: Elite Events Management gives back. This is a holiday charity event and toy drive to support The Center for Independent Living of Broward (CIL), Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014 at 2 p.m., at the Lauderdale Lakes Library/Education & Cultural Center, 3580 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. This event is free; we need the community to support this event. Contact us on or before Dec. 17, 2014 to donate new, unwrapped toys. For more info call Tawanda Sims, at (954) 261-2036.

Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue and the Firefighters Benevolent Association invite the public to share the spirit of the holidays with Fort Lauderdale children in need.

New, unwrapped toys may be donated at any Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Station from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, from now through December 20, 2014.

Fire-Rescue personnel will wrap and distribute the toys to Fort Lauderdale children in need.

Toys will be accepted at any Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Station, Firefighters Benevolent Hall and Fort Lauderdale City Hall. For more info, contact Alex Boardman at (954) 828-5330 or email ABoardman@fortlauderdale.gov.

Fort Lauderdale FireRescue Stations: · Station 2 - 528 N.W. 2nd St. · Station 3 - 2801 S.W. 4th Ave. · Station 13 - 2871 E. Sunrise Blvd. · Station 16 - 533 N.E. 22nd Street, Wilton Manors · Station 29 - 2002 N.E. 16th Street · Station 35 - 1969 E. Commercial Blvd. · Station 46 - 1121 N.W. 9th Avenue · Station 47 - 1000 S.W. 27th Ave. · Station 49 - 1015 Seabreeze Blvd. · Station 53 - 2200 Executive Airport Way · Station 54 - 3200 N.E. 32nd St.

Party

Broward CountyWide Class of 1974 Annual Holiday Party, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 from 7 p.m. to midnight, at Lauderdale Lakes Educational & Cultural Center, Second Floor Banquet Hall, 3580 N. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. Semi-Formal. For tickets and additional info contact Linda Bush at (754) 244-3178 or Rachel Roland at (954) 258-2433.

The Sistrunk Historical Organization is now accepting applications for its parade and Urban Music Festival which will be held February 28, 2015. Be a part of this phenomenal and festive event by visiting www.sistrunkfestival.org and completing your application.

It is going to be awesome!!

Celebration

Diaspora Arts Coalition, annual Kwanzaa celebration, “A Kwanzaa Experience”, Friday, Dec. 26, 2014 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, 6161 N.W. 22 Ave., Miami, Fla. For more info call (786) 237-5079.

Event

A 2-Year through the Bible Course that fits your lifestyle!

The Derrick C. Gillis, Sr. bible curriculum now allows you to choose 3-Month Terms until course is completed. Enroll Now! You will build a solid biblical foundation thru this comprehensive Christ-centered and quality Bible experience. See Jesus in all 66 Books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. For additional info call The G.R.A.C.E Center at (954)792-3683.

Event

Seminole Middle School is offering free tutoring for their students at the Jim Ward Center, Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. You must have your own transportation and the child must be a current student at Seminole. Contact Ms. Curry at (754) 323 4200, ext. 2012 for more info.

Program

God’s Gift, Inc. Mentoring Program is now accepting applications for girls 7-17. This mentoring program focuses on self-esteem, etiquette, college/ career prep, and leadership skills for African American girls 7-17. For more information and/ or to receive a registration packet, email info@godsgiftinc.org or call (954) 907-9101. Registration packets can also be picked up at Roosevelt Gardens Park.

STAYCONNECTED -- www.thewestsidegazette.com LIKE US ON FACEBOOK Westside Gazette Newspaper FOLLOW US ON Instagram @thewestsidegazettenewspaper ATTENTION RADIO LISTENERS We have free gifts for everybody who calls into the show and shares their opinion. Listen every Saturday at 4 p.m. to Spiritual Downloads with Anna Stephenson on WWNN Radio AM 1470. It’s a live Call in talk show that discusses everything from Spiritual Matters to what matters to you. The show can also be heard on the Internet at wwnnradio.com; just click on the listen live button. Your voice is the most important part of the show. So call in and let us hear what you have to say. The toll free call in number is 1-888565-1470. Also e-mail Anna Stephenson at annasmiami@aol.com with a subject you want to hear discussed on the show. The show also interviews special guests Like Jessica Reedy from Sunday Best. Shelia Raye Charles, Melba Moore and different preachers and gospel musical artists and politicians.

United Way of Broward is looking for volunteers: We are looking for volunteers that can dedicate one hour per week, for 25 weeks to read to first grade students for the 2014-2015 school year -- No experience is necessary; just a love for children. Volunteers must complete and pass a background check.

ReadingPals takes place during school hours.ReadingPals runs from September 2014 to June 2015.

Through the ReadingPals initiative volunteers read with children at 14 public schools and 6 childcare centers throughout Broward County. For more information about volunteering, training dates and volunteer requirements for the ReadingPals initiative please contact Lola Jordan at (954) 453-3738.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Opinion

December 18 - December 24, 2014 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 5

The Westside Gazette, under the Management of BI-ADs, Inc., reserves the right to publish Views and Opinions by Contributing Writers may not necessarily reflect those of the Staff and Management of The Westside Gazette Newspaper and are solely the product of the responsible individual(s) who submit comments published in this newspaper.

To Be Equal

Our 10-point plan for police accountability

By Marc H. Morial, NNPA Columnist “… a country’s conscience sometimes has to be triggered by some inconvenience, because I think a lot of people who saw the Eric Garner video are troubled, even if they haven’t had that same experience themselves, even if they’re not African American or Latino.”

– President Barack Obama in an interview with BET Networks The phenomenon we have seen in America since the announcement of the non-indictments of officers in the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner is new to a generation, but not to the nation. Young people have always helped to fuel historic social change. We must not forget – 50 years ago, it was young people on that bridge

in Selma, Ala.; young people sitting-in in Greensboro, N.C.; young people riding Freedom buses all over this nation, challenging conventional laws and the status quo; and young people like Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney losing their lives in Philadelphia, Miss.

A multicultural band of young people, united with historic civil rights organizations, legislators, clergy, and everyday Americans who decided that it was time for our country to do better and be better, have been the impetus for so many of the changes we’ve witnessed as a nation through the decades.

Millions of Americans have now taken to the streets and to social media not because the problems that have caused the outrage just began yesterday, but because sometimes difficult circumstances present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring about his-

Will Governor Scott appoint more Black judges his are white males, and second term? they reflect the goverBy Roger Caldwell In Florida, there are 974 judgeships, and 83.7 percent are white, 8.8 percent are Hispanic, and 6.5 percent are Black. These are very disturbing facts, because the majority of judges

Westside Gazette Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)

Bobby R. Henry, Sr. - PUBLISHER Pamela D. Henry - SENIOR EDITOR Sonia M. Henry Robinson COMPTROLLER Elizabeth D. Henry CIRCULATION MANAGER Carma L. Henry - DATA ENTRY Charles Moseley MARKETING DIRECTOR Norman Edwards & Ron Lyons PHOTOGRAPHERS Levi Henry, Jr. - CHAIRMAN Yvonne F. Henry EDITOR (Emeritus)

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

A PROUD PAPER FOR A PROUD PEOPLE SERVING BROWARD, DADE & PALM BEACH COUNTIES 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 5304, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310 PROUD MEMBER OF THE: NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER’S ASSOCIATION (NNPA) FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF BLACK OWNED MEDIA (FABOM) AND

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PRINTED BY SOUTHEAST OFFSET. CREDO -- The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

E-MAIL ADDRESSES: MAIN wgazette@thewestsidegazette.com PUBLISHER westside-gazette@att.net EDITOR pamlewis@thewestsidegazette.com WEBSITE: www.thewestsidegazette.com

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nor’s ideology and mindset. Florida is a growing population with a very diverse mix of cultures, and the judges should reflect the communities they CALDWELL serve.

Governor Jeb Bush appointed 22 Black juries in Florida, the most of any of his colleagues, including Peggy Quince, the first Black female ever appointed to the Florida Supreme Court.

In the last four years, Governor Scott has only appointed nine Black judges of the 159 that he has appointed. This is a record that the entire state should be disappointed and appalled, because now there should be more qualified Black attorneys than ever before.

As a result of the nine Black appointments by Scott, six serve on lower court benches that handle traffic and misdemeanor cases, or compensation claims for job related injuries. He has picked only three to serve on circuit courts, where felony and jury trials take place.

As there are huge rallies and protest across the country, there is a need for a strategic plan that can make fundamental changes in the judicial system. In many of the states across the country, there are no minorities on its judges nominating panels. The job of the nominating boards and commissions is to screen applicants for judges, (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Let’s have a real conversation about race

By John A. Powell NNPA Guest Columnist Thousands recently took to the streets in protest and outrage following a POWELL Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed Black teenager, we are faced with the reality that a New York grand jury – tasked with determining whether to hold a white police officer accountable for placing an illegal chokehold on an unarmed Black man – reached the same decision: no indictment.

We are faced with the reality of a recent study of federally collected data that found that our young Black males are at 21 times greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts.

We are faced with our system’s criminalization of poverty, anemic political participation, geographically segregated neighborhoods, unprecedented levels of economic and wealth inequality, and a heavily militarized police force entrusted with public safety over communities who are met with not only brutality, but with a justice system that is indifferent, neglectful and even hostile in bringing justice for abuses suffered.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES The Westside Gazette welcomes your letters. Letters must be signed with name clearly legible along with a phone number and complete address. No unsigned or anonymous letters will be considered for publication. The Westside Gazette reserves the right to edit letters. The letters should be 500 words or less.

MORIAL toric change. Now is that time. Now is our time.

This conversation and the subsequent action that will result from it will continue because we remain committed to the idea that these cases – Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Marlene Pinnock and others – do not end where they are. In addition to the opportunity for the Justice Department to conduct independent investigations, we each have an opportunity to participate in our great democracy by helping to ensure that the America of tomorrow is better than who we are today.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Breathing life into a movement

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist “I can’t breathe,” gasped Eric Garner, again and again and again. “I can’t breathe,” he said, as several police officers were on top MALVEAUX of him, choking him, pushing his head onto the concrete sidewalk. The man was not resisting arrest; he simply had the temerity to ask a police officer not to touch him.

And because he was allegedly selling loose cigarettes, the life was choked out of him.

No one tried to help him or stop the vicious assault, which was ruled a homicide by the coroner. Emergency medical respondents offered no assistance. Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe” ought to motivate all Americans, not just African Americans, but Americans of conscience to breathe life and energy into a movement for justice.

Breathing ought to be a simple thing. Air in, air out. It’s not so simple when one’s neck is being choked. Not so simple when one’s spirit is being choked. The image of Eric Garner’s neck in a chokehold, the image of at least four white police officers on top of him, is galling. All the more galling is the invisible choking of spirit that comes when people cannot breathe, cannot speak, and cannot respond to injustice.

To put this in a historical context, how many were as free to speak as Ida B. Wells was when she fought against lynching. Even in her freedom, Wells was threatened and run out of Tennessee. But others feared to speak about lynching for fear of being lynched themselves. Can’t breathe. Think of the many African Americans who have served in our armed forces, treated unfairly, serving nonetheless, often silent.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Applied education transcends the politics of political rhetoric

By Derek Joy Right on the cusp of winter’s onset signaling time to celebrate the Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa Holidays.

And so it is, much atJOY tention has been focused on the sporting world - especially on high school football.

Big news, it was. American Heritage and St. Thomas Aquinas won their second consecutive Florida State High School Football Championships to make Broward County proud.

Equally proud is Miami Dade County Booker T. Washington and Miami Central won their third consecutive state championships on four straight trips to the state finals.

That’s very good for South Florida.

Let the pork choppers and other parts of Florida know we exist down here in the geographic bottom.

There is another story here. One that cannot be overlooked.

Interestingly enough, Central and Booker T., surpassed the two consecutive championships won by Miami Northwestern one its glory eras. Rockets Coach Roland Smith won one of those championships with the Bulls.

Booker T’s Principal William Aristide is the younger brother - by one year of Bulls Principal Wallace Aristide.

William Aristide can tout his championships. Wallace Aristide has a different kind of championship to tout.

He was honored in November with the Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award by the Council For Educational Change. One of three Gold Medallion winners.

The honor brought a total of $10,000 to Aristide - $5,000 for being one of the winners and an additional $5,000 for being the recipient of the Principal Leadership Award.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

What’s next after the marches?

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Columnist We’ve seen it before: The injustice, the reacBURKE tions, the non-stop talking and tweeting after yet another headline grabbing tragedy. We’ve seen the hours of commentary, the “think pieces,” the marches, the online petitions and the panels.

But what exactly should people be doing? Where should the energy go and what should be pushed for? We’ve heard the generalities: The need for “better education” for example, but let’s talk specifics on what would get results on the issue of the moment: Police brutality.

Single issue. Single push. What do the best advocacy organizations do?

How do they win? Does the NRA focus on 20 issues at the same time? No. The winning actors on the political stage win because they focus on one or two issues and push until they win.

In the case of police brutality, a push for independent counsels has come up as a solution to deal with police that get away with murder. It didn’t get that way by accident. The strength and focus of the police unions brought us to the point we’re at now.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Race in the Un-United States of America

By George E. Curry, NNPA Columnist The understandable attention being focused on differing attitudes among whites and Blacks toward law enforcement authorities in the wake of decisions by grand juries in Missouri and New York not to indict white police officers for killing unarmed Blacks ignores a larger and more troubling trend – Blacks and whites view race and racism from distinctly different perspectives.

Over the past 50 years, Gallup has tracked U.S. attitudes on race. On Dec. 12, it issued a report that found four key areas in which Blacks and whites hold widely divergent views – attitudes on race relations in general, views of discrimination against Blacks, beliefs about the need for new civil rights laws and more intervention by the federal government, and views of the police and the criminal justice system.

Let’s look at each issue separately.

Race Relations Gallup researchers found: “Since the late 1990s, Blacks’ optimism that there will be a solution to

the country’s racial problems has consistently trailed whites’ by about 12 percentage points,” Gallup reported.

“Most recently, in June 2013, Gallup found 58 CURRY percent of whites versus 48 percent of Blacks believing a solution to Blackwhite relations would eventually be worked out. By contrast, in December 1963 – at the end of what some describe as ‘the defining year of the civil rights movement’ – a U.S. poll conducted by NORC found 70 percent of Blacks in the U.S. believing a solution would eventually be worked out, while barely half of whites – 53 percent — agreed. When Gallup repeated this question in the early 1990s, Blacks’ outlook had dimmed to match whites’, with 44 percent of both groups feeling optimistic.

Now, the gap has expanded, primarily because writes have become more positive.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

The Gantt Report Murders and money

By Lucius Gantt This is one of those Gantt Report columns that some people love to hate.

Many in our community never want to GANTT get hurt but the truth hurts!

And, this column will discuss why bad cops can shoot unarmed African American children and get away with it.

The people you love, the people you follow around town on marching parade routes designated by the police force and the people you invite into your homes to help you get justice won’t tell you some things but I will!

It is nearly impossible for courts, juries and governments to charge, arrest, jail and punish any law enforcement officer for police misconduct, police brutality or for wrongful death caused by police and other law enforcers!

If it was easy for every victim of law enforcement misconduct to get a preacher, hire a lawyer, go down to the courthouse or to City Hall and get equal rights, justice and compensation for your losses there would be a line around the courthouse every day!

If you’re Black, you and every other Black person you know has been or has someone in their family or in their community that has been mistreated, harassed, disrespected, overcharged, aggressively prosecuted, pulled over, pushed, shoved, hit, punched, beaten, jailed, choked or shot by a law enforcer!

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

The white majority’s racial world of fantasy

By Lee A. Daniels NNPA Columnist Now, in the season that’s supposed to exalt goodwill toward all, comes fresh evidence of the important role the white majority’s unwill- FIELDS ingness to consider Black Americans as their counterparts across the color line plays in maintaining the racial divide.

Note that I said the white majority, not all whites. Indeed, at each stage of Blacks’ difficult journey through and out of the eras of slavery and its first cousin, Jim Crow, the alliance between Blacks and the minority of whites who’ve opted to support racial justice has been critical to the progress Blacks charted.

The current dense fog of racial controversy enveloping American society shouldn’t blind us to the fact that that dynamic still works: For one thing, it’s precisely because a sizable minority of white voters joined with the heavy majorities of Black, Hispanic- and Asian-American voters that Barack Obama was elected and re-elected to the presidency. (And the protests against the grand jury decisions in the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner continue to include significant numbers of white and other Americans of color.)

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Blackonomics Cincinnati N.A.A.C.P. – Negroes are acting like crazy people

By James Clingman NNPA Columnist Tennessee Williams said, “The only thing worse than a liar is a CLINGMAN liar that is also a hypocrite.” I could not agree more, especially as it relates to what is currently underway in my hometown under the auspices of the NAACP. Collusion, dishonesty, inequity, intimidation and, yes, hypocrisy, abound within the ranks of this venerable organization.

In my hometown, the letters NAACP could very well stand for: Negroes Are Acting like Crazy People.

That hasn’t always been the case.

Over the past eight years, the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP rose from near obscurity to become Ohio’s largest branch, winning the national NAACP convention in 2008 from work done by then-president Edith Thrower, and continued by her successor, Christopher Smitherman. Now, under current President Ishton Morton, the national convention selection committee has again chosen to come to Cincinnati in 2016.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Page 6 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • December 18 - December 24, 2014

AF amily T hat Prays T ogether, Stays T ogether Family That Together, Together

Church Directory

Worship T his and Every Sunday at the Church of Your Choice This

Bethel Missionary Baptist Church 2211 N.W. 7th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33061 Church: (954) 583-9368 Email: bethelmbchurchfl@att.net

Reverend Jimmy L. English

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1161 NW 29th Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33311 (954) 581-0455 ● Fax: (954) 581-4350 www.mtzionmissionarybapt.com

Rev. Dr. James B. Darling, Senior Pastor WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Worship Service .............................................................................. 8:00 & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ............................................................................................................... 10:00 a.m.

Communion Service (1st Sunday) ......................................................................... 11:00 a.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting ........................................................................... 6:30 p.m.

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

Saturday (2nd & 4th) Growth & Orientation ........................................................... 9 a.m.

But be doers of the Word - James 1:22 nkjv - “A Safe Haven, and you can get to Heaven from here”

St. Ruth Missionary Baptist Church

PASTOR

145 NW 5th Avenue Dania Beach, FL 33004 Office: (954) 922-2529

WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Worship ............................................................. 8 a.m. & 11 a.m.

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

Wednesday (Prayer Service & Bible Study) ............................... 7:30 a.m.

Saturday (Women Bible Study) ............................................................ 8 a.m.

"Baptized Believers working together to do the will of God"

Bishop Victor T. Curry Senior Pastor/Teacher WORSHIP SERVICES

Faith United Church of Christ 6201 NW 57 Street Tamarac, FL 33319 954-721-1232 uccfaith@bellsouth.net faithbroward.org "Historically the First Church in the City of Tamarac!”

Rev. Dr. Ileana Bosenbark, Senior Pastor WEEKLY SERVICES & EVENTS SUNDAY Worship Service (Communion 1st & 3rd Sunday) ........................................................... 10 a.m.

F.A.I.T.H. Academy for Children (Spiritual Formation) K-12 ................................ 10 a.m.

TUESDAY F.A.I.T.H. Academy for Adults (Spiritual Formation) - Office Complex ...... 10:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY Worship & Arts Ministry Rehearsals (Open Auditions) - Sanctuary .............................. 7 p.m.

First Baptist Church Piney Grove, Inc. 4699 West Oakland Park Blvd.

Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33313 Office: (954) 735-1500 Fax: (954) 735-1939 fbcpg@bellsouth.net

Rev. Dr. Derrick J. Hughes, Pastor SUNDAY SERVICES Worship Services .......................................................... 7:30 & 10:45 a.m.

Children's Church ........................................................ 7:30 & 10:45 a.m.

Communion (First Sunday) ......................................... 7:30 & 10:45 a.m.

New Members' Class .................................................................... 9:30 a.m.

Church School .............................................................................. 9:30 a.m.

Baptist Training Union (BTU) .................................................... 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ...................................... 11:15 a.m.. & 7:00 p.m.

Harris Chapel United Methodist Church Rev. Juana Jordan, M.Div E-MAIL:juana.jordan@flumc.org 2351 N.W. 26th Street Oakland Park, Florida 33311 Church Telephone: (954) 731-0520 Church Fax: (954) 731-6290

SERVICES Sunday Worship ................................................. 7:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday School .............................................................................. 9:00 a.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ........................................... 11a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mount Calvary Baptist Church

800 N.W. 8th Avenue Pompano Beach, Florida 33060 Church Telephone: (954) 943-2422 Church Fax: (954) 943-2186 E-mail Address: Mtcalvarypompano@bellsouth.net

Reverend Anthony Burrell, Pastor SCHEDULE OF SERVICES SUNDAY

New Member Orientation ........................... 9:30 a.m.

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

Worship Service ........................................ 11:00 a.m.

WEDNESDAY Prayer Meeting ............................................... 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study ..................................................... 7:00 p.m.

"Doing God's Business God's Way, With a Spirit of Excellence"

New Birth Baptist Church The Cathedral of Faith International Bishop Victor T. Curry, M.Min., D.Div. Senior Pastor/Teacher 2300 N.W. 135th Street Miami, Florida 33167

ORDER OF SERVICES Sunday Worship ........................................................ 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m.

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

Tuesday (Bible Study) ......................................................................................... 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday (Bible Study) ............................................................................... 10:45 a.m.

1-800-254-NBBC * (305) 685-3700 (o) *(305) 685-0705 (f) www.newbirthbaptistmiami.org

New Mount Olive Baptist Church 400 N.W. 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale 33311 (954) 463-5126 ● Fax: (954) 525-9454 CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Monday - Friday 8:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Marcus D. Davidson, Senior Pastor WORSHIP SERVICES & BIBLE STUDY Sunday .................................................... 7:15 a.m. 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School ............................................................................ 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday Noonday Service .................................. 12:00-12:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting ............................................ 6:30 p.m.

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

Where the kingdom of God is increased through Fellowship.

Leadership, Ownership and Worship F.L.O.W. To Greatness!

A F AMIL Y THA T FAMIL AMILY THAT PRA YS PRAY TOGETHER ST AYS STA TOGETHER

Bible Study (Wednesday Night) ...................................................... 6:45 p.m.

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

Sunday Morning Service ............................................................. 10:00 a.m.

Obituaries James C. Boyd Funeral Home ARCHIE Funeral services for the late Jessie D. Archie – 73.

BAKER Funeral services for the late Varie Baker96 were held Dec. 13 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Pastor Eddie Sims officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens (Central).

BLACK Funeral services for the late Minnie L. Black - 89 were held Dec. 13 at Springfield Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Calvin R. Hart, Sr. officiating.

Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

RICHARDSON Funeral services for the late Andrew Eugene Richardson 60 were held Dec. 10 at James C. Boyd Funeral Home Chapel.

SELF Funeral services for the Diamond Destiny Self – 16 were held Dec. 13 at Greater Mount Pleasant AME Church with Pastor Stanley S. Dawson officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens (Central).

SHERROD Funeral services for the late Tommy Sherrod – 74.

SMITH Funeral services for late James Taylor Smith – 64.

WILLIAMS Funeral services for the late Lloyd George Williams –77 were held Dec. 13 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Brother Bon M. Boyd officiating.

McWhite's Funeral Home BOYD Funeral services for the late Anthony Boyd - 51 were held Dec. 13 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Zedrick Young officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Cemetery (Central).

CAMPBELL Funeral services for the late Howard Hugh Campbell - 34 were held Dec. 13 at St. John UMC with Pastor Osunlana officiating.

Announcements Obituaries * Memoriams * Services

DIFTON Funeral services for the late Sam W. Difton - 96 were held Dec. 13 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Kwaun Felton officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Cemetery (Central).

GRAHAM Funeral services for the late Georgia Ferrell Graham84 were held Dec. 12 at Zion Rest Church of God by Faith with Elder Willie C. Smith officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens – Central.

GREEN Funeral services for the late James S. Green Sr. - 68 were held Dec. 14 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Steven Richard officiating.

JOHNSON Funeral services for the late Lillie Golphin Johnson - 63 were held Dec. 13 at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church with Rev. Roderick Moncrief officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

LEDBETTER Funeral services for the late Artie B. Timmons Ledbetter - 76 were held Dec. 13 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

MILLENDER Funeral services for the late Briana Alyxandria Millender –21 were held Dec. 10 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Upton officiat-

Williams Memorial CME “PRAYER IS THE ANSWER” 644-646 NW 13th Terrace Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 (954) 462-5711(Ministry Office Line) (954) 462-8222(Pastor’s Direct Line) Email: wm_cme@bellsouth.net (Church} pastorCal50@yahoo.com (Pastor)

Rev. Cal Hopkins.

M.Div) Senior Pastor/Teacher

The WITNESS of “The WILL” Sunday Worship Experiences ................................................................ 7:45 and 11:00 a.m.

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

Tuesday Night Triumph {Prayer, Praise and Power} Prayer Meeting ................................................................................................................ 7:00 p.m.

Bible Study ........................................................................................................................ 7:30 p.m.

We STRIVE to PROVIDE Ministries that matter TODAY to Whole Body of Christ, not only the Believers, but also for those stranded on the “Jericho Road”!

“Celebrating over 85 Years of FAITH and FAVOR! Come to the WILL ... We’ll show You the WAY: Jesus the Christ!”

KIDS TALK ABOUT GOD What does Christmas mean to you?

By Carey Kinsolving and Friends “Christmas is a birthday party,” says Ashley, age 11. “It’s Jesus’ birthday. At my church, we get a big birthday cake for Jesus.”

Ashley, you’ve got it right. Christmas is party time.

It’s time to celebrate God’s successful invasion of planet Earth. Yes, “invasion” because the Son of God entered hostile territory. In fact, after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph took their baby boy and fled to Egypt.

King Herod didn’t like the idea of someone else being called king of the Jews. He ordered that all the male children in Bethlehem two years old and younger be killed, but Jesus had already escaped.

“I like to wake up on Christmas morning and pray because I know today represents Jesus’ birth,” says Bethany, 9. “I thank God for Jesus and my family.”

How many kids (or even ing. Interment: Sunset Memorial adults) wake up praying on Gardens.

Christmas morning? I’m impressed.

RICHBOW (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com) Funeral services for the late Dorothy Lee Richbow - 57 were held Dec. 13 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Verna Green officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

SEALY Funeral services for the late Louise Sealy – 50 were held Dec. 13 at Rhema Word Ministries International with Apostle S. Constancia Daley officiating.

WEST Funeral services for the late Winston Alphanso West - 59 were held Dec. 13 at Berean Church of God with Bishop Joseph Fagan officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Gardens Central.

Funeral services for the late Fannie Mae Martin, 89, who passed away on Dec. 8, 2014 will be held on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 11 a.m. at St. John Apostolic Church, 615 N.W. 14 Way, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Repast will be held at the church. Funeral arrangements by James C. Boyd Funeral Home.

Lorraine Lee Benefield Bouyie, Memorial Service will be held Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 at 1 p.m. at Mizell Funeral Home, 1305 N.W. Sistrunk Blvd.

(Sixth Street), Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Reverend Robert Shaw, pastor officiating. A Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home service.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

December 18 - December 24, 2014 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 7

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Recently, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) introduced the African Descent Affairs Act on the occasion of the United Nations’ Human Rights Day and beginning of the International Decade for People of African Descent (Legislation Attached): “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 was a clarion call to the world that inspired, and continues to inspire, Congressman Hastings all of us to work together in order to establish and maintain an international standard of human rights. On the occasion of the United Nations’ Human Rights Day, I am proud to recognize the beginning of the International Decade for People of African Descent by introducing the African Descent Affairs Act. “The International Decade provides an opportunity to join efforts with countries around the globe to, over the next 10 years, develop and implement national strategies honoring the vast contributions of people of African Descent and to combat continuing issues of prejudice and discrimination such as those currently gripping our nation. My legislation seeks to improve the situation of people of African descent around the world by establishing within our State Department a Global Office of African Descent Affairs in order to establish global foreign policy and assistance strategies for people of African descent. Furthermore, it creates a fund to support anti-discrimination and empowerment efforts by African descent-led civil society organizations, and requires annual State Department human rights reports to include a section on discrimination faced by people of African descent.

“As we reflect on the progress made in the promotion of human rights around the globe, we are also reminded of the work that remains to be done to ensure that fundamental rights and freedoms are protected both at home and abroad. It is my strong belief that the United States must continue to demonstrate leadership in the advancement of human rights. In doing so, we must also be honest with ourselves and acknowledge the ongoing challenges we face as a nation in upholding the human rights and civil rights of all people. We must acknowledge that we undermine rather than fortify our commitment to human rights when we allow human beings to be tortured. And we must also acknowledge that we fail in our dedication to human rights when we allow excessive force to be used against our own citizens.

“It is my fervent hope that over the course of the International Decade we will bring increased attention to, and solutions for, the racism, xenophobia and countless other forms of injustice that have for far too long plagued individuals of African descent.

While much progress has been made in the 55 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, injustices continue to plague our nation, and indeed the world. We must embrace the challenges that lie ahead and continue to work with the global community to ensure that each and every single individual’s humanity and dignity are recognized and respected.

“I encourage my colleagues to join me in recognizing and celebrating Human Rights Day, as well as the collective history and achievements made by people of African descent on the occasion of the beginning of the International Decade by supporting the African Descent Affairs Act.”

Broward County seeks volunteers for 2015 Homeless Count From Michael R. Wright, Administrator BROWARD COUNTY, FL - The Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership, in collaboration with the Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Inc., Broward Sheriff’s Office, 2-1-1, Nova Southeastern University and Hands on Broward, is seeking 200 volunteers to assist the Homeless Continuum of Care with the collection of data for the 2015 Homeless Point-In-Time (PIT) Count Survey and Zero 2016 Registry Week on Monday night, Jan. 26, through Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015.

The Zero 2016 Registry is designed to create a registry of homeless people in Broward County and line up a supply of housing and service resources to help them end their homelessness.

All volunteers are required to attend a mandatory orientation session. The orientation will cover the new and extended survey tool, training, safety,

and coordination procedures and regulations. Three orientation dates, held at various locations across the County on the evenings of Jan. 13 - 15, 2015 are available to facilitate volunteer schedules. Volunteers will sign up for their specific count location and shift time upon completion of the orientation. Volunteers can contact Sander Schrantz at Sander@handsonbroward.org for additional information.

According to Michael R. Wright, administrator of the Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership, the County is charged with counting every homeless person and asking them to complete a survey. The count is used to substantiate need for all federal and state grants. “An accurate count helps Broward County get needed resources to help persons experiencing homelessness in Broward,” Wright said.

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Page 8 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • December 18 - December 24, 2014 THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS 1/13/15 KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3 rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

School Board Workshop 10:00 a.m.

1/27/15 10:00 a.m.

KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3 rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

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Regular School Board Meeting ± Public speakers listed on the agenda will be heard at 12 p.m. or as close to that time as possible.

Workshops ± Public speakers will be permitted three minutes each to address a topic at the conclusion of Board Members' discussion on the topic. The times for items on the agenda are only estimates.

The actual start times for these topics may vary up to an hour or more depending on the nature of the items and the length of the Board discussions and public comments.

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure, which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department, at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158. Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department, at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

Telephone conferencing or other telecommunications technology may be used in conducting this public meeting to permit absent Board Members to participate in discussions, to be heard by other School Board Members and the public, and to hear discussions taking place during the meeting.

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS MEETINGS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR CANCELLATION Date Meeting Place 1/14/15 QSEC Review of Contractors TSSC - Rm. #323 9a Pre-Qualification/ReCert.

7720 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise 1/28/15 QSEC Review of Contractors TSSC - Rm. #323 9a Pre-Qualification/ReCert.

7720 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise 1/22/15 Audit Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 12:30p 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/15/15 Central District Schools Adv. TSSC 9a -Steering Committee 7770 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise 1/22/15 Central District Schools Adv. Western High School th 6p -General Meeting 1200 SW 136 Ave., Davie 1/14/15 District Adv. Council (DAC) KCW Bldg. rd 6:30-9p -General Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud. th 1/21/15 District Adv. Council (DAC) KCW Bldg., 10 Fl. Conf. Rm rd 8:30-10:30a -Steering Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/8/15 Diversity Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 6:30-8:30p -General Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/12/15 Diversity Committee - Chair, Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 2:30-3:30p Vice-Chair & Staff Mbr Mtg 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/5/15 Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 2:30-3:45p Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/20/15 Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 2:15-3:15p Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/26/15 Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 2:15-3:15p Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/12/15 Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 3:30-4:30p Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/12/15 Diversity Committee ± By-Laws Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 4:30-5:30p Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/5/15 Diversity Committee ± By-Laws Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th 4-5:30p Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

1/8/15 Diversity Committee - School KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 4:30-5:30p Site Visitation Sub-Committee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/8/15 Diversity Committee ± By-Laws KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 5:30-6:30p Sub-Committee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/6/15 ESE - Autism Committee of ESE Baudhuin Preschool th 9:30-11:30a Advisory (ACE) 7600 SW 36 St., #2218, Davie 1/6/15 ESE - ACE Board Meeting Baudhuin Preschool th 11:30a-12:30p 7600 SW 36 St., #2218, Davie 1/23/15 ESE - ACE Board Meeting Dunkin Donuts 10a-12p 9740 Griffin Rd., Cooper City 1/21/15 ESE Advisory Council Meeting Piper High School, Sm.Aud. 6:30-9p 8000 SW 44 Street, Sunrise 1/8/15 ESE Adv. Exec. Board Mtg. West Regional Library 10-12a 8601 W Broward Blvd., Plantation 1/9/15 ESE By-Laws Committee Northwest Regional Library 10a-1p 3151 N. Univ. Dr., Coral Spgs 1/16/15 ESE By-Laws Committee Northwest Regional Library 10a-1p 3151 N. Univ. Dr., Coral Spgs 1/23/15 ESE By-Laws Committee Northwest Regional Library 10a-1p 3151 N. Univ. Dr., Coral Spgs 1/30/15 ESE By-Laws Committee Northwest Regional Library 10a-1p 3151 N. Univ. Dr., Coral Spgs 1/12/15 ESE - Down Syndrome West Regional Library 9:30-11a Committee- Exec. Board Mtg. 8601 W Broward Blvd., Plantation 1/15/15 ESE - Down Syndrome West Regional Library 10a-2p Committee- Gen. Mtg 8601 W Broward Blvd., Plantation 1/26/15 ESE ± Planning Task Force Arthur Ashe Middle, Rm. 177 rd 10a-1p Committee Mtg 1701 NW 23 Ave., Ft. Laud.

1/22/15 ESOL Leadership Council KCW Bldg. rd 6:30p -General Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/27/15 ESOL Leadership Council YMCA- Weston 6:30p -General Meeting 20201 Saddle Club Rd., Weston 1/8/15 Facilities Task Force Plantation High School- Library th 6:30p - General Mtg 6901 NW 16 St., Plantation 1/15/15 Gifted Advisory TBD 7p th 1/13/15 Instructional Materials Policy KCW Bldg., 13 Floor Conf. Rm. rd 8:30a Change Committee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud. th 1/8/15 Legal Services Committee KCW Bldg., 11 Fl. Conf. Rm rd 2:30p 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

1/15/15 North Dist. Schools Advisory Rickards James Middle th 7p - Gen. Mtg 6000 NE 9 Ave, Oakland Park 1/15/15 North Dist. Schools Advisory Rickards James Middle th 6p -Steering Committee 6000 NE 9 Ave, Oakland Park 1/14/15 Oversight Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room rd (Purpose: The purpose of the 12p 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud. meeting is to address matters relating to the Second Amended ILA. The School Board of Broward County, Florida, the Broward County Commission and 27 Municipalities in Broward County are parties to the Second Amended ILA, which addresses the coordination of growth management issues and the provision and availability of public school

facilities. The Committee consists of fifteen (15) members that meet at least annually to conduct a public hearing and report to the School Board, Broward County, participating local governments and the general public regarding the successes and failures of the implementation of the Second Amended ILA.)

1/7/15 6-8p 1/12/15 6-7p 1/26/15 6-8p 1/7/15 6-8p 1/28/15 6-8p 1/14/15 1-3p 1/28/15 1-3p 1/28/15 4:00p 1/29/15 10a

Parent/Community Involvement Task Force: Conf. Subcommittee Parent/Community Involvement Task Force Parent/Community Involvement Task Force: Conf.Subcommittee Parent/Community Involvement Forums Data Subcommittee Parent/Community Involvement Forums Data Subcommittee Policy 6000.1 Committee

Piper High School, 8000 SW 44 Street, Sunrise McFatter Technical Center 6500 Nova Drive, Davie Indian Ridge Middle 1355 Nob Hill Rd., Davie Plantation High School th 6901 NW 16 St., Plantation Plantation High School th 6901 NW 16 St., Plantation th KCW Bldg., 13 Fl. Conf. Rm rd 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud. th Policy 6000.1 Committee KCW Bldg., 13 Fl. Conf. Rm rd 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Supplier Diversity & Outreach TSSC - Rm. #323 Adv. Committee 7720 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise Superintendent's Ins. & Wellness KCW Bldg., Board Room rd Advisory Committee (SIAC) 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

(Purpose: Evaluate RFP for Employee Benefits Insurance Consultant Services, as well as any other matter the Committee deems important. Telephone conferencing or other telecommunications technology may be used in the conduct of this public meeting to SHUPLW DEVHQW 6XSHULQWHQGHQW¶V Insurance & Wellness Advisory Committee Members to participate in discussions, to be heard by other Committee Members, and the public, and to hear discussions taking place during the meeting.)

1/12/15 Technology Advisory BECON - MGM Room 2:30-4:30p Committee (TAC) 6600 SW Nova Drive, Davie th 1/15/14 Wellness and Learning Supports KCW Bldg., 14 Fl. Conf. Rm rd 1-3p Committee 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure, which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department, at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158. Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department, at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

Notice is hereby given that two or more Board Members of The School Board of Broward County, Florida, may be participating.

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper

LEGAL NOTICES PUBLICATION OF BID SOLICITATIONS Broward County Board of County Commissioners is soliciting bids for a variety of goods and services, construction and architectural/engineering services. Interested bidders are requested to view and download the notifications of bid documents via the Broward County Purchasing website at: www.broward.org/ purchasing.

Dec. 4, 11, 18, 25, 2014

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WESTSIDE GAZETTE FOR MORE INFO CALL (954) 525-1489

BROKEN GAS LINE SHUTS DOWN A1A IN FORT LAUDERDALE: Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to a gas leak located at 1750 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. Wednesday afternoon. Construction crews working in the area hit a 1-1/2 inch galvanized gas line at noon on Wednesday, causing the partial shutdown of the busy road.

Fire crews and members of Fort Lauderdale’s Hazardous Material team worked for about 30 minutes to find the source of the leak and to safely contain it. There were no injuries reported and the road was reopened without incident.

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When we reconcile our differences (Cont'd from FP) It’s a God send that all people do not act or react like those scared cops who kill out of fear.

I am moved to the point of accepting that there are people of different races, gender and sexual preferences who are willing to put aside their personal prejudices to join in this crusade of recognizing that all counts.

The crusade of telling the world that “Black lives matter” and the killing of Black males by police departments across this country will not be tolerated!

By “Any means necessary,” they are willing to get this initiative accepted, understood and ingrained into law enforcement officers from the cops walking the beat to the chief and those in our judicial system who wear the black robes.

We have got to find a way to reverse this conduct of killing to one of tolerance. I wonder if we can make it through the rest of this Christmas season without any more Christmas killings of Black males by white policemen?

Please, let’s do our part in talking to those on either side of this brutal issue to make them understand that, yes, all lives matter and that includes Black lives moreover.

But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

Isaiah 11:4 (NASB) Let’s give love as our gifts to one another and make the changes that we need to in order to fulfill God’s commandment: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35 (NASB)

December 18 - December 24, 2014 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • Page 9

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts author and kindergartener, Christopher Isaiah Penn Smith RALEIGH, NC — Most fiveyears-olds (or adults for that matter) can barely read Spinosaurus, Dromaeosaurus, or Tyrannosaurus rex, let alone write a whole book about dinosaurs, but five-year-old South Florida native, Christopher Isaiah Penn Smith, can and did!

In fact, the vibrant, energetic kindergartener wrote and published Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? when he was fouryears-old and in preschool!

While most children are content with learning the sounds that animals make, Christopher took things a step further – or, rather, took things all the way back to

prehistoric times. Guess Who, Mr. Dinosaur? is a children’s book and teaching tool about the shared features between ancient dinosaurs and modern day animals.

While visiting his family in North Carolina for the Thanksgiving holiday, Christopher managed to swing by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for a book signing.

On Dec. 2, 2014 Christopher was the museum’s special guest during storytime, where he read and sold the book he authored.

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Christopher at book signing.

Rotary Club of Hallandale Beach – Aventura first Community Service Award goes to former Club President, State Representative Joe Gibbons nothing else than for this community to continue to progress into one of the greatest, safest, and most prosperous cities in the state and the nation.”

During his eight years representing District 100 in the Florida State House of Re-presentatives, Gibbons served in several leadership roles including, but not limited to, Minority Leader Pro-Tempore from 2010

GOD IS LOVE

to 2012 and the 2008 chairman of the Black Caucus of State Legislators. He is currently chairman of the Energy Equity Alliance (EEA), a recently launched nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring working class families, fixedincome households, and communities of color are ade-quately represented and participating in energy policy discussions that affect them.

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Read these stories on www w estside g az ette .com: www.the .thew azette ette.com: .the * FAMU appoints distinguished educator, sports pioneer and Former AD Nelson Townsend as Interim Athletic Director * Jesse Jackson calls tech hiring 'outrageous' * Young activists push President Obama on police reform * Feds Attorney General Eric Holder seeks better educational opportunities for imprisoned juveniles

Former State Representative Joe Gibbons (c).

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL -- The Rotary Club of Hallandale Beach – Aventura rewarded Hon. Joseph “Joe” Gibbons, former District 100 State Representative, with its inaugural Community Service Award at a luncheon held Dec. 11, 2014.

Gibbons, who was the 2005 Hallandale – Aventura Club Rotarian of the Year and the club’s president from 2006 to 2007, said he was honored to receive the club’s very first award dedicated to a member

who has worked tirelessly to create a positive change in their community.

“Being The Rotary Club of Hallandale Beach – Aventura’s very first Community Service Award recipient is a humbling honor,” Gibbons said. “Since moving to Florida and making the Hallandale Beach area my home, implementing ways to best serve the people of this community, whether it be through policy or other impactful means, has been my foremost priority. I have wanted

People's Trust Insurance Company donates laptops to benefit local youth.

(Read full story www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Chi Psi Omega recognizes community agencies/organizations for impact!

Chi Psi Omega AKA members with community agencies.

Chi Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Coral Springs in a special ceremony recognized four community agencies/organizations for impact. It was overwhelming!

Representing the American Diabetes Association and receiv-

ing the chapter’s donation of $2,060 was Chrissy Cohen, associate director-broward; representing Alzheimer’s Association and receiving the donation of $1,940 was Jessie Brooks, Walk Manager, Southeast Florida Chapter; representing Sickle Cell Disease Association of Broward County and receiving the donation of $625 was Karen Smalls, President and CEO, and representing the Urban League of Broward County and receiving the second of a three-year commitment donation of $435 was Robyn Hankerson, development and donor Relations Manager.

The chapter impacted the community through its annual run/walk-a-thons as well virtual; establishing website pages to garner donations from its membership, family members, co-workers, friends, neighbors, parishioners, businesses, nonprofits, partnerships/sponsorships and other agencies/organizations.

Other donations made through the chapter’s process were American Cancer Society $2,586; UNCF $1,865; Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF) $1,825; South Atlantic Regional Conference for EAF $330; Broward Chapter National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) $1,110; American Kidney Association $540; Ameri-

can Heart Association/American Stroke Association- Pink Goes Red Campaign in connection with an international Alpha Kappa Alpha program $500; South Atlantic Regional Conference $500 gift cards for students aging out of foster care; Greek Sunday observances $2,000 at Mount Hermon AME, Piney Grove First Baptist Church and Greater Bethel AME, in support of their scholarships and maintenance of wells in Haiti; Women-In-Distress of Broward County $250; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, $100 Ebola in West Africa.

More than half of the chapter’s membership supported the National NAACP as they became members of the institution.

In-kind donations included two large bags of toiletries to homeless women and men veterans facilitated through a partnership with nine other Broward County agencies, snacks to Joseph Carter and Osswald Parks for after school youths, seasonal wraps to Broward Rehabilitation and Nursing Home to each patient as well as 20 backpacks to a Palm Beach elementary school as part of an international initiative..

The chapter ranks 1st among all organizations/agencies for

diabetes was in the top 25 for agencies for Alzheimer’s and was presented with a certificate of appreciation. Moreover, the chapter ranked third in more than a hundred participating organizations for American Cancer Society-Relay for Life, receiving bronze recognition. It received platinum status for its donation to EAF at its regional in April and international in July.

The chapter and its charitable arm, A Plus Foundation, Incorporated, a 501 (c) 3, work in tandem with the same goals for community outreach and uplift. The foundation provided the funds for 26 chapter scholarships, donated $1,000 to Children Services Council as an annual contribution, $1,000 in support of the city of Coral Springs Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend of Services, $500 to Dillard School of the Arts for transportation to national competition and $200 to Northwest Federated Women’s Club in their purchase of a new bus for seniors.

The chapter and its foundation will endeavor to continue to impact the community rendering services to make differences.

Page 10 • www.thewestsidegazette.com • December 18 - December 24, 2014

Broward County's Oldest and Largest African American Owned and Operated Newspaper