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THURSDA Y, MARCH 9 - WEDNESDA Y, MARCH 15, 2017 THURSDAY WEDNESDAY

First Black Astronaut remains a forgotten pioneer By Erick Johnson (Chicago Crusader/NNPA Member) Two historic events that changed America occurred 50 years ago. While many will remember the 50th anniversary of the failed Apollo 1 space flight, an equally historic event that affected Black America remains largely forgotten.

The 50th anniversary of the tragic death of America’s first Black astronaut, Major Robert H. Lawrence, will perhaps go unnoticed in 2017. Lawrence was a determined individual whose career into space never got off the ground. Like the three White astronauts who perished during a fire on the Apollo 1 flight, Lawrence’s dreams of orbiting the earth also ended in tragedy.

Ambitious and fearless, he aspired to venture to the moon at a time when people of color were not wanted in parks, restaurants, and neighborhoods here on earth.

Lawrence’s launching pad was his hometown of Chicago, where he blasted through high school and graduated at just 16 years old. Poor and Black, Lawrence faced tremendous odds against breaking into the National Aeronautics and

Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was the first AfricanAmerican selected as an astronaut by the USAF. (USAF/Wikimedia Commons)

Space Administration’s (NASA) lilywhite stratosphere, but when he did, he became America’s first Black astronaut.

Black pride turned to sorrow after Lawrence was killed in a jet crash at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The accident happened just 11 months after an electrical fire aboard a rocket in flight killed three Apollo I astronauts on January 27, 1967. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the deaths of four astronauts, but NASA and America have remembered the three astronauts in the Apollo 1 disaster as heroes, with special commemorations, while Lawrence remains a forgotten pioneer whose memory has been lost.

Robert Lawrence's contributions to NAS reinvigorated Black America, but there won’t be any ceremonies and special events to mark the 50th Anniversary of his untimely death.

Lawrence’s struggle remains the same in death as it was in life: getting recognized as an astronaut at NASA. Despite campaigns and efforts to recognize his contributions, Lawrence’s legacy is drifting like a wayward space satellite.

Have our leaders forgotten what good leadership entails?

“1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,.”

— Philippians 2- 1:3 NIV

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr. Our leaders are lasting about as long as ham hocks at a soul food party. It appears that the governing bodies are inclined to “Stay the Course” as opposed to allowing the infusion of a new approach. Right, wrong or indifferent, something or some bodies have to accept a change.

Unity is the first and foremost essential corner stone for the foundation of togetherness. The second most important building block is the genuine concern for the causes of the organization and its members.

(Cont'd on Page 3)

Ben Carson sworn-in as Trump’s only Black cabinet pick

(Cont'd on Page 11)

The State of Black Broward: Starting the Conversation

EDUCATION PANEL

By Nicole Richards

in the South Florida 100- Sun Sentinel Sunday March 5,

Last week: “The dismal statistics presented at the recent “State of Black Broward” conference: only eight of the county’s 90 judges are Black; Black motorists are stopped 1.9 times more than whites for seat belt violations; median household income is $74,000 for whites and $43,000 for Blacks; the unemployment rate last year was 4.4 percent but nine percent for Blacks; and, of the more than 800 firefighters in Broward Sheriff’s Office FireRescue, only 54 are Black.

Combined with recent studies showing racial disparities in school suspensions and sentencing, there is but one conclusion: Broward has a race problem,” stated Clarence V. McKee, president, McKee Communications in an op-ed

2017.

On the night of Feb. 28 the

African American Research Library & Cultural Center (AARL&CC) auditorium was left with standing room only.

Hundreds of attendees poured in from every corner of South Florida, producing a rich sea of mahogany, caramel, and ebony. The event was fitting, for America was bracing itself for President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress, a speech projected to be laced with familiar racist rhetoric of Black & Brown violence and poverty we had come to expect. The packed house proved this event was necessary.

(Cont'd on Page 5)

Florida Supreme Court considers allowing vote to end permanent felon disenfranchisement By Kira LernerFollow

Ex-felons call attention to their lack of voting rights in a demonstration in Florida in 2003.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/J. Pat Carter

Pleading Our Own Cause

WWW.

More than 1.6 million Florida residents—including nearly one in four African Americans— are currently barred from the polls in Florida because of the state’s strict disenfranchisement law.

But in 2018, state voters may have a chance to change that policy. A constitutional amendment is currently being considered for the ballot which would allow for the automatic restoration of voting rights to people who have completed their prison sentence, parole, and probation.

The amendment could add roughly 1 million more voters to the rolls. Only those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses would be excluded.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

Dr. Ben Carson (l) was sworn in as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on March 2. His wife, along with his five-year-old granddaughter, Tesora, held the Bible.

(Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) The swearing-in of all the primary members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet is just about complete.

Most of Trump’s cabinet— from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross—are rich, White and male.

On Thursday, March 2, re-

Miami Dolphins Girls' Flag Football Clinic and Jamboree presented by Broward College.

(See story on Page 9)

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tired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson broke the mold with his swearing-in as Housing and Urban Development secretary, officially becoming the only African American in Trump’s cabinet.

The former GOP presidential candidate was confirmed by a 58-41 vote, leaving just four of Trump’s 22 cabinetlevel nominees still unsworn.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

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PAGE 2 • MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017

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Westside Gazette

‘Love Your Life’ Campaign encourages self-love among NYC-area women of color Black women and Latinas will be seeing more positive, culturally familiar images associated with HIV prevention and treatment in New York City around Harlem and the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights, as well as in Central New Jersey, starting on March 10, 2017.

On that day, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the bilingual social marketing campaign Love Your Life will debut in those areas. Following in the footsteps of the Let’s Talk About PrEP and PrEP for Her campaigns, Love Your Life encourages women of color to become active in protecting their sexual health.

Despite recent improvements in rates of new HIV infection, both Black women and Latinas disproportionately experience HIV. In 2014 in New York City, 66 percent of total HIV diagnoses among women occurred among Black women, while 25 percent occurred among Latinas/Hispanic women, according to the New York Department of Health and Mental Health. What’s more, 45 percent of all people newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City between 2010 and 2014 were Black and 33 percent were Hispanic/Latino. On World AIDS Day in 2015, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an ambitious plan to end the AIDS epidemic in his city by the year 2020. The Love

Your Life campaign supports this goal.

Conceived by Duane Cramer Creative and spearheaded by Iris House and Voces Latinas, Love Your Life projects bright, colorful and uplifting images of Black women and Latinas to embolden and inspire them to put their wellness first. Iris House—the first nonprofit in the United States to focus on women and HIV, with locations in Harlem and Plainfield, N.J.—has been serving women of color since 1992. Executive Director Ingrid Floyd says that Black women and Latinas have Love Your Life, a new campaign with images by Duane Cramer.

Speak out to protect your health

Give and Go Moving and Delivery Company recently selected Jean Philly Valcourt, a senior at Deerfield High School, for its first community give back project’ “Love Thy Neighbor- Giving From The Heart”. Jean’s mother recently passed away and he and his family have minimal support. He is currently displaced and lives on his own with a cousin of a family friend. Give and Go was introduced to this student by a family friend who is an administrator at this young man’s high school. Give and Go presented him a duffel bag filled with clothing, shoes, toiletries and other items to assist with his daily needs.

Give and Go Moving and Delivery ‘s owner, Marcus Durham, states “It is an honor and a responsibility to give back to my community. It is my plan for Give and Go to have a philanthropic division and that this event will be the first of many in the future.” Pictured: Marcus Durham- owner of Give and Go - and student Jean Philly Valcourt

By Patricia Maryland, Dr.PH (NNPA Newswire Guest Columnist)

For six years, Republicans have repeated the same phrase in every conversation about health-are: “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Now that Republicans control all levers of government, they are preparing legislation to strip 30 million Americans of the everyday security of health insurance.

The impact of any repeal would be massive and disastrous. Experts estimate that repealing the ACA will kill 43,000 Americans every year.

A disproportionate number of these deaths will be from the African American community.

The ACA is the most significant piece of health equity legislation we’ve had in a generation. It reduced the number of African Americans living without health insurance by more than half.

We know that increased coverage has decreased the number of Americans dying from cancer.

A recent report by the American Cancer Society showed that cancer deaths have declined by 25 percent since peaking in 1991.

Our heart is the engine that keeps our body running. That’s why problems with the heart— such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure or heart failure—can significantly impact a person’s well-being, and, at worst, be life-threatening.

During February, American Heart Month, we were able to shine a spotlight on heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. For African Americans, it’s also a time to raise awareness of how cardiovascular disease disproportionately impacts members of the Black community. Indeed, nearly half of African American adults suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, compared to about a third of Whites, according to the American Heart Association.

This trend stems in part from the fact that African American men and women are more susceptible than other racial and ethnic groups to a number of health conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. African Americans can take several small steps to

In their report, the American Cancer Society specifically notes that the ACA is driving “these shifts [that] should help to expedite progress in reducing socioeconomic disparities in cancer, as well as other health conditions.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Saving hearts and lives in the African American community

By Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Ill.)

Congresswoman Kelly (DIll.) says that thanks to the ACA, we are starting to see the mental healthcare gap between Blacks and Whites close and more people are receiving the care they need to live healthy, productive lives.

(Official Photo)

been neglected in the messaging surrounding HIV prevention and services.

“Over the last few years, the focus of a lot of services has been on young, Black gay men.

We don’t negate that there’s a need to focus on them, but we still need help among women of color because the rates of infection are still high. So this campaign focuses on helping women of color understand that they also need to get tested,” she says.

Maryland says that while care access plays a role in explaining heart health disparities, African-Americans also face unequal outcomes when they do seek medical treatment for heart conditions. manage these conditions and reduce their likelihood of experiencing cardiovascular problems, including adopting a healthy diet, exercising regularly and avoiding smoking.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

If you have Medicare and Medicaid, picture all the benefits you can get with Simply Healthcare.

Simply Complete (HMO SNP), designed for dual eligible individuals with both Medicare and Medicaid. $0 copay for hospitalization $0 copay for primary and specialist office visits $0 copay for prescription drugs Tiers 1 & 2 $0 copay for enhanced dental benefits (including partial and full dentures) Transportation to plan approved locations

$200 per year for eyewear $1,500 per year for hearing aids Personal emergency response system SilverSneakers® fitness program $25 monthly for over-the-counter (OTC) items, that’s $300 a year!

Call us today!

1.800.226.3494 / TTY: 711 mysimplymedicare.com Broward County. Simply Healthcare Plans, Inc. is a Medicare-contracted coordinated care plan that has a Medicaid contract with the State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to provide benefits or arrange for benefits to be provided to enrollees. Enrollment in Simply Healthcare Plans, Inc. depends on contract renewal. This information is not a complete description of benefits. Contact the plan for more information. Limitations, copayments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits, premiums and/or copayments/coinsurance may change on January 1 of each year. You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium. For full-dual members the Part B premium is covered. This plan is available to anyone who has both Medical Assistance from the State and Medicare. Premium, copays, coinsurance and deductibles may vary based on the level of Extra Help you receive. Please contact the plan for further details. Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-Star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next. The Formulary, pharmacy network, and/or provider network may change at any time. You will receive notice when necessary. From October 1 to February 14, we are open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., EST. Beginning February 15 until September 30, we are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., EST. We do not discriminate, exclude people, or treat them differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in our health programs and activities. ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-877-577-0115 / TTY: 711. ATANSYON: Si w pale Kreyòl Ayisyen, gen sèvis èd pou lang ki disponib gratis pou ou. Rele 1-877-577-0115 / TTY: 711. Paid Endorsement.

Y0114_17_30341_U Accepted

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MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017 • PAGE 3

Westside Gazette

Congresswoman Debbie W asserman Schultz held a ceremony honoring African American Wasserman Veteran for their service to our country

By Michael Liquerman During the month of February we honor the immeasurable achievements and contributions of African-Americans to our nation’s political, cultural, and economic fabric.

In her remarks to the veterans, local leaders and students

at Cooper City High School, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz said: “Since our founding, African Americans have bravely fought in every war fought by or within the United States. At Bunker Hill and Fort Ticonderoga, both free and enslaved Blacks fought to secure

our independence from Great Britain.

While African Americans have always fought to protect our nation’s ideals and freedoms, it was not until 1948 that President Harry Truman issued an Executive Order to desegregate the Armed Forces.

An empowered Black woman from Florida

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

By Ginette Curry, Ph.D. “I am not tragically colored.

There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negro hood who hold that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all hurt about it.” — Zora Neale Hurston (“How It Feels to Be Colored Me”) In 1928, Zora Neale Hurston, one of the leading literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance, published her compelling essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” in which she describes her strong sense of identity and pride in herself. At a time when Black people did not fully exercise their civil rights and when segregation between Blacks and Whites was an institution in the South, she was an empowered woman.

Several decades before the women’s right movement, she followed in the footsteps of her many outstanding predecessors such as: Harriet Tubman (18201913, civil rights activist, American abolitionist and humanitarian), Ida B. Wells (1862-1931, journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist and feminist) and Elizabeth Freeman (1742-1829) who was among the first slaves to

file and to win a freedom suit in Massachusetts.

Hurston was a woman ahead of her time. She was not only a writer but also an anthropologist who was not afraid to live on her own terms and to defy the status quo.

At three, her family left Notasulga, Alabama and traveled to Eatonville, central Florida, where she grew up. She was raised in an all-African American town that was one of the first to be incorporated by Black people in the United States.

In her book Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (2003), literary critic Valerie Boyd explains that Hurston loved Eatonville so much that sometimes she claimed it as her birthplace. In 1897, her father was elected mayor of the town and later, he became preacher of its largest congregation at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.

In her illuminating narrative “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” Hurston reveals her very personal rise from poverty to literary fame and clearly articulates her empowered voice as a Black woman from the South.

Despite the many challenges she faced, she was able to overcome them and she became a

Have our leaders forgotten what good leadership entails?

(Cont'd from FP) Unrepressed desires most often times lead to apprehension, arrogance, and uncertainty; which impedes the process of delivering the goals and mission of a community. These behaviors weaken the body and castrate the effectiveness as a whole.

I’m not pointing fingers nor am I casting spurs, but there has to be some equal sharing of culpability when communities malfunction to the point of the abortive dismantling of leadership.

Self-adoration or unrestrained aspiration can create competition within any organization. If left uncontrolled and unchecked, this selfishness can destroy entire institutions.

Every member of any organization must hold tight to the spirits of meekness, selflessness and hallowed direction. By being immersed in these virtues, one will be connected to the will of God, thereby endeavoring to grow in a greater capacity, to “love thy neighbor and thy self”, causing an enhanced appreciation for the sake of others.

You see, when we begin to position ourselves in line with the will of God and not our own self-induced motives, we are positioned to make a lasting difference that will not bow down to abrupt mismanagement even though we may have a “tough row to hoe”.

Obstacles seem to melt away in the face of faith and holy directed actions. There is no room for failure. Even time seems to be controlled when it’s all done and directed by Holy Intervention.

“All things truly work for good to those who love the Lord…”

Romans 8:28 Our communities, families, cities, hell, the entire world need people who act out of unselfish motives if for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do!

As we are pulled nearer to our Heavenly Father, our talents that dwell deep within us are brought forth like sparkling jewels. These jewels glow with a radiance of unselfishness, humility and a consideration for others allowing us to attract all sorts of things. It is through these talents and directions that we are instructed to conduct ourselves and inspire others to do likewise.

As leaders or as members we should all be concerned about each other as much as we are concerned about ourselves. If we all think in that way, there would be no need for unwarranted resignations.

“Dear God , please keep me humble enough to know that I only work for goodness when I’m controlled by you. Amen.”

CONTROLLED BY GOD IS THE RIGHT WAY TO BE CONTROLLED

shining star of the Harlem Renaissance.

Her Challenges Life was not easy for Hurston,but she built an inner shell that protected her from the challenges she encountered. She lost her mother when she was nine.

In Dust Tracks on a Road, Hurston acknowledges that when her mother died, it was the end of a phase: “I was old before my time with grief of loss, of failure, of remorse of failure.”

Soon after, her father married Mattie Moge, a young woman only six years older than her. They disliked each other.

Her stepmother was instrumental in her being sent away to boarding school in Jacksonville.

It was during that period in her life when she first experienced racism. She was made conscious of her difference because of the color of her skin: “Jacksonville made me know that I was a little colored girl…These white people had funny ways” (Dust Tracks on a Road). Though acknowledging “she felt her race” and she was perceived as “different” by White people, she refused to engage in self-pity. I have admired her fierce individualistic personality. She wrote outside the stereotype of Black people of her time and refused to complain about her woes. Instead, she claimed she had been in “Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots,” but she “stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows” with a harp and a sword in her hands. Her main weapon was her sense of humor. Therefore, she did not have time to dwell in gloominess and pity the fate of Black people.

Her father eventually stopped paying her tuition, and she had to leave before graduating.

Later, she worked as a maid to the lead singer in a traveling Gilbert & Sullivan theatrical company. After her stay in Jacksonville, she experienced five years of wandering, working odd jobs as a waitress and manicurist as well as being part of the Gilbert and Sullivan Company. In 1917, she lied about her age in order to qualify for public education. At the age of 26 and in only one year, she completed high school in Maryland. Shortly after, she started attending Howard University in Washington, D.C while working to sustain herself.

Despite all that, she had a strong sense of her own identity and had a great influence on a new generation of prominent African American female writers such as Maya Angelou who followed Hurston’s lead to speak her own voice. According to Angelou in Dust Tracks on a Road’s foreword, “Hurston, who claimed to have been born in 1901 but whose records show her birth year was a decade earlier, most certainly lived through the race riots and other atrocities of her time…The southern air around her most assuredly crackled with the flames of Ku Klux Klan raiders, but Ms. Hurston does not allude to any ugly incident.” Nevertheless, she was determined not to let racial injustice deter her from her path.

Throughout the latter half of her essay “How it Feels to Be Colored Me,” Hurston shows her awareness of race in her vivid description of the Cabaret where her “color comes” and through the image “beside the waters of the Hudson’ where she is ‘a dark rock surged upon.”

Despite everything, she distanced herself from the Black voices of social protest. I keep thinking it might have been a way to cope with her environment because she occasionally separated herself from the notion of being Black, stating “at certain times, I have no race.”

She reshaped her identity after her travels to South America, Jamaica and Haiti and became the ‘cosmic Zora’ who belonged to no race or time.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Rep. Wasserman Schultz and the veterans she honored.

Wells F ar go commits $60 Billion to incr ease Far arg increase Black homeownership

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Wells Fargo & Company has set aside a staggering $60 billion to lend to at least 250,000 black homeowners by the year 2027.

Metropolitan Atlanta’s second-largest bank also pledged to increase the diversity of its home lending sales team and spend another $15 million to give financial education and counseling over the next 10 years.

The announcement came at a Tuesday press conference in Atlanta that was attended by representatives from several organizations including the National Urban League, the NAACP and the National Newspaper Publishers Association – an organization comprised of 211 African American-owned newspapers and media companies.

“The National Newspaper Publishers Association enthusiastically salutes Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Division for taking steps forward to promote and to advance African American homeownership,” said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. “As we conclude celebrating 2017 Black History Month, it is aspirational for Wells Fargo to offer $60 billion in loan accessibility specifically for African Americans who want to purchase and own a home.”

Chavis continued: “This is unprecedented in the mortgage lending space in the United States. Millions of African-A-

merican families will now be able to strive more effectively to own a home. This is also about economic justice.”

Chavis said that the NNPA intends to work directly with Wells Fargo to raise public awareness about this new initiative to substantially assist African Americans to be homeowners across America.”

The banking giant’s commitment was hailed as a direct action to help address the lower homeownership rates in the Black community and it follows Wells Fargo’s announcement to address Hispanic homeownership rates in 2015.

Further, officials said the company’s commitment seeks to increase the diversity of the Wells Fargo Home Lending sales team, and support the effort with $15 million to support a variety of initiatives that promote financial education and counseling over the next ten years.

“Wells Fargo’s $60 billion lending goal can contribute to economic growth by making responsible homeownership possible for more African Americans in communities across the country,” Brad Blackwell, executive vice president and head of housing policy and homeownership growth strategies for Wells Fargo, said in a statement. “We are proud to be the first mortgage lender to make a public commitment to help in-

crease African American homeownership. And, we are grateful for the support of key housing and civil rights organizations, who work alongside us to increase economic prosperity in our communities,” Blackwell said.

The company has also pledged to continue to improve diversity of its sales team, including increasing the number of Black home mortgage consultants, noting that they’ll dedicate $15 million to support a variety of initiatives that promote financial education and counseling for African American homebuyers.

The African American lending commitment is the second initiative from the company’s Housing Policy and Homeownership Growth Strategies group, a Wells Fargo Home Lending team advancing homeownership for minorities, firsttime homebuyers and low- to moderate-income customers.

“Homeownership has become an indispensable part of being a full participant in American society,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said in a statement.

Morial continued: “An erosion of homeownership rates among African Americans represents not only a devastating financial loss but a barrier to full participation in the American dream.”

PUBLIC NOTICE THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE IS OPENING THE WAITING LIST FOR SAILBOAT BEND AN ELDERLY DESIGNATED PROJECT BASED DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT (425 SW 4TH AVE, FT LAUDERDALE, FL 33315) Preliminary applications must be completed online beginning March 22, 2017. The applications will be closed after 150 applications have been received .To be eligible to be placed in the waiting list, the family composition MUST have a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of two (2) members. The Head of the Household MUST be 62 years of age or older. The total household annual gross income must not exceed the very-low income limits for the appropriate family size as listed in the Income Limits Table appearing at the end of this Public Notice.

If you wish to apply, you will need to login into www.hacfl.com and follow the application wizard ensuring that you complete all the required fields or the application will not successfully be submitted at the end.

Pre-Applications WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLINE ONLY.Pre-Applications must be completed beginning Wednesday, March 22, 2017 and ending when 150 names are received. Hand delivered or Mailed applications WILL NOT be accepted. ” If you or anyone in your family is a person with disabilities and require(s) a specific accommodation in order to utilize our programs and services, please contact us at 500 West Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 and/or via email at intake@hacfl.com For the Elderly Project Based Waiting List: All completed pre-applications submitted online will be processed in the order in which they are received by our system. The system will only be accepting 150 names. Incomplete applications cannot/will not be submitted and therefore will not be processed. »

Placement on the waiting list will be determined by the order the applications are submitted.

»

Incomplete applications will not be submitted.

INCOME LIMITS FOR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER APPLICANTS Family Size Very-Low Income

1 $25,400

2 $29,000

If your application is successfully submitted you will receive a receipt confirming the submission.

The Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, political affiliation, disability, handicap or familial status.

PAGE 4 • MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017

Westside Gazette

Community Digest

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

Event

Florida Memorial University World Renowned Ambassador Chorale will be at Mount Herman AME Church, 401 N.W. Seventh Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 7 p.m., to benefit the chorale students and the university. For more info contact Gwendolyn Batie at (954) 731-1728.

Festival The Executive Board of the Glades Festival of Afro Arts & Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. presents The 38th Annual Glades Festival Afro Arts on Saturday, March 18, 2017, from 12 to 6:30 p.m., at Lake Shore Park, Belle Glades, Fla. Parade begins a 11 a.m. at Lake Shore Middle School, 425 W. Canal St., N. Belle Glades, Fla. For more info call (561) 914-0280 or (561) 983-2425.

Program

Walk

Join Team Broward House at the Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival on Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday, March 19, 2017. For more info call (954) 568-7373.

Summit Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is proud to host the second National Summit for Principal Supervisors at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday, 17-19, 2017. For time and additional info call (954) 321-3636.

Construction Management Development Program: Free Live Training at Broward County Public Schools (BCSP) · Wednesday, March 15, from 1 to 4 p.m., kickoff meeting · Wednesday, March 29, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Course 1: - Becoming an FDOT Contractor · Wednesday, April 5, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Course 2: - Plan Reading & Estimating · Wednesday, April 12, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Course 3: Constructing & Submitting an FDPT Bid · Wednesday, April 19, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Course 4: Project Planning & Scheduling · Wednesday, April 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Course 5:- Fundamental Business Operations

The United States Postal Service cordially invites you to attend the Broward County Stamp Dedication Ceremony for the Black Heritage Dr. Dorothy I. Height COMMEMORATIVE FOREVER STAMP on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 from 6 – 8 p.m., at African American Research Library & Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Celebrate the life and work of Dr. Dorothy I. Height (1912 – 2010 American Civil rights and women ‘s rights advocate, Widely respected for her influential leadership and unwavering commitment.

Please RSVP by March 10, 2017 to: ncnwbcs01@gmail.com or call (954) 822- 0749.

Hosted by United States Postal Service Broward County Section of National Council of Negros Women, inc. African American Research Library & Cultural Center Westside Gazette Newspaper

Upcoming Municipal Elections in March

The Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office would like to inform voters who live in the municipalities of Coconut Creek (District C), Deerfield Beach (Seats 3, 4, & Mayor), Hillsboro Beach (Questions Only), Lighthouse Point (Mayor), Miramar (Seats 1, 2, & 3), and Weston (Seat 3) municipal elections are scheduled to be held on March 14, 2017.

Approximately 31,341 vote by mail ballots with pre-paid return postage have been mailed out to voters in the respective six cities. Voters may request a ballot to be mailed until Wednesday, March 8, 2017.

Voters will be able to cast their votes at the polls on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All eligible voters are encouraged to vote on Election Day. The location of a voter’s precinct can be found on their Voter Information Card or by visiting the Elections website.

Even though Early Voting will not be offered by the cities, eligible voters can request a vote by mail ballot by calling (954) 357-7055 or by placing a request online at: www.browardsoe.org.

Anyone with questions or concerns regarding this election should contact the Main Office at (954) 357-7050.

Touch Weekly Events

· Join us as we clean Fort Lauderdale Beach on Saturday, March 11, 2017 from 7 to 11 a.m., at Fort Lauderdale Beach, 300 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Volunteers are needed and students will receive community service hours. Come for one hour or all four! · Oasis Project Dania Beach Improvement Community Clean-up, Saturday, March 18, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at The Dania Beach PATCH, 1201 W. Dania Beach Blvd., Dania Beach, Fla. To make an appointment contact Julie Macias at (954) 703-4536 x 822. · Join for a free, fun event providing developmental and behavioral screening for children 4 months to 5 years of age, Saturday, March 18, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Community Health Expo, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 5555 N. Fed. Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. To register now www.surveymonkey.com/ r/HMGBrowward. . You are invited to the Healthy Families Broward Graduation on Saturday, March 18, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 2501 Franklin Dr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. . Family Hayride & Campfire Series, preregistration or same day registration. Payment required online or cash only on day of event on Sunday, March 19, 2017 from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Reverend Samuel Delevor Park, 2520 N.W. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdlae, Fla. ·Let’s Go Biking! The Fourth Annual Broward MPO Let’s Go Biking event on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 9 a.m., at Pompano Community Park 1900 N.E. 10 St., Pompano Beach, Fla. The event will feature a leisurely bike ride, bicycle safety activities, giveaways, music, free food, and more. · Food Distribution Event The Be Well Plus Center is hosting its monthly food distribution on Thursday, March 23, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., : 330 S. State Road 7, Suite 200, Plantation, FL 33317: 330 S. State Road 7, Suite 200, Plantation, Fla., and this event is open to everyone. Items may include grains, rice, beans, canned goods, produce, etc. . Fifth Annual Me and My Dad Challenge on Saturday, April 1, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Joseph C. Carter Park, 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. This event is for all Broward County male role models and their children.

Swim gear is required for water activities.

Event Countywide Class of 1971an outing has been planned for classmates, families and friends.

Fun games, good eats, and ac chance to socialize with those we have kinda lost touch with on Saturday, March 18, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Central Broward Park, 3700 N.W. 11 Place., Lauderhill, Fla. (Pavilion #7). Please RSVP to Janie at (954) 612-2433.

1. Dillard High School class of 1966 Monthly Meetings: Osswall Park, 2220 NW 21 Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Every 3rd Thursday of each month 7-8 p.m. Contact: Marvalyn M. Davis (954) 683-2303 2. Morris Brown College Miami-Dade/Broward Alumni Association Monthly Meetings: 1100 NW 95th Street, Miami, Fla., Room C, North Shore Medical Center Main Entrance. Every 3rd Saturday of each month 9:3011 a.m. Contact: Robert Parsons (786) 356-4412.

Happenings at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderale, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-6210.

March 2017 Programs “The Great Expression: Redefining Negro Culture Through the Arts” in the AARLCC Gallery. An exhibit focusing on the Harlem Renaissance - Women’s History Month Book Display Second Floor Reference Desk Prearranged Group Tours available during library hours: Youth tours, (954) 357-6209 Adult tours, (954) 357-6224 Mondays in March -Adult Literacy Classes from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Call (954) 357-6157 for info.

Mondays and Wednesdays in March - IRS Tax Assistance, 6 to 7:45 p.m. * Wednesday, March 8 - Nutritional Health Education, Glenda All in One, Inc., from 6 to 7:30 p.m. * Friday, March 10 - Destination Fridays: Let’s Dance at AARLCC from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. For age 21+event. There is a fee at the door. Featuring urban line dancing, country western line dancing, and belly dancing. Musical performance

by Keba Music. * Saturday, March 11 - A Knight with the Queen, free chess lessons for ages 7 to 80, in lobby from 1 to 3:30 p.m. * Saturday, March 11 - How to Reach Your Audience through Digital Marketing from 2 to 6 p.m. * Saturday, March 11 - at 3 p.m. BizTech 411- Proven Strategies to Attract New Customers and Maximiz sales. * Saturday, March 11 Elgance of the Harlem Renaissance Fashion Design Contest.

All ages are eligible to design and create a fashion piece inspired by and representative of the Harlem Renaissance Era. Must register and get guidelines from Ms. Dayna at (954) 3576153. Contestants will be judged in a fashion show on March 11 beginning at 6 p.m. This is a free event. * Wednesday, March 15 Unveiling of Postage Stamp for Dr. Dorothy Height from 5 to 7:45 p.m. * Thursday, March 23 - Broward County 4-H Community Fair from 10:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. * Saturday, March 25 - My Hair Speaks, a natural hair community event in honor of Women’s History Month, in collaboration with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and the Friends of AARLCC from 2 to 4 p.m.

Free admission. The first 100 attendees will receive a goody bag with natural hair care samples. * Monday, March 27 - Creating the Ultimate Business Plan from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Youth Services March: Books on Display in Youth Services Way Up There! Women of Space * Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays Free Homework Help from 3 to 5 p.m. For info call (954) 357-6209. * March 11 Teen Tech Week.

Be the source of change. *Tuesdays, March 7, 21 Preschool Storytime. Parents an caregivers are invited to bring children aged 3-5 to this story time especially for them. Featuring stories, finger playsand simple crafts at 10:30 a.m. * Wednesday, March 8 (Teen Tech Week program) “HoC” (Hour of Code). Learn various coding languages to demystify “code” and learn the basics to broaden participation in the field of computer science, 4 to 5 p.m. For info call Youth Services at (954) 357-6209. * Wednesday, March 8 Stargazing Night with the South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association, near the bike rack area. Bring your own telescope or use those provided.

A family event, 6 to 8 p.m. * Saturday, March 18 Wags & Tales. Come and read to Augy, a furry four-legged friend.

Sponsored by the Humane Society of Broward County, Animal Assisted Therapy Youth Services, 2 to 3 p.m.

For more information on Children and Teen programs, call the Youth Services desk at (954)357-6209. FREE Adult Computer Classes Sche-dule * Friday March 10 - Senior Computer literacy, 12 noon to 3 p.m.

Celebrate at Broward County Library with free events for all ages March is Women's History Month International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it was not until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated annually the second week of March.

In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History Month, and the president has issued a proclamation.

Movies - Wednesday March 8 at West: Senses of Cinema foreign film series with commentary by film expert Shelley Isaacs, Transit Café (NR), from 2 to 3 p.m., at West Regional Library, 8601 W Broward Blvd., Plantation, Fla. For more info call (954) 765-1560 -Saturday, March 18 - LC Cinema Presents Florence Foster Jenkins from 1 to 3 p.m., at Lauderhill Towne Centre Library, 6399 W Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderhill, Fla. For more info (954) 357-6406 - Saturday, March 18 - Book-n-A Movie Matinee: Learning to Drive from 2 to 5 p.m., at West Regional Library, 8601 W Broward Classes, Presentations & More - Wednesday and Saturday, March 8, 11 - Women Take Charge of Your Wealth: Money Management Workshop, 3/8: from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. 3/11: Your Business Bank, at 2 p.m., at Carver Ranches Library, 4735 SW 18 St., West Park, Fla. For more info (954) 357-6245 -Saturday, March 8 - Presentation by Patricia Zeiler of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society: “From a Fort to a City: The Women Pioneers of Broward County from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Miramar Branch Library & Education Center, 2050 Civic Center Place, Miramar, Fla. For more info (954) 357-8090 - Saturay, March 8 - Woman History Month Jeopardy from 6 to 7 p.m., at Jan Moran Collier City Learning Library, 2800 N.W. 9 Ct., Pompano Beach, Fla. For more info (954) 357-7670 -March 8 - On Hemingway: Three Views from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University, 3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info (954) 262-5477 -Monday, March 13 - Caregiver Support Group: Know your federal benefits from 6:30 to 7:30PM, Carver Ranches Library, 4735 S.W. 18 St., West Park, Fla. For more info call (954)-3576245 -Wednesday, March 15 - Author Talk and Discussion: Margaret Atwood’s HagSeed (Hogarth Shakespeare), from 1 to 2 p.m., at Pembroke Pines Library, 955 N.W. 129 Ave., Pembroke Pines, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-6750 -Saturday, March 18 - Belly Dancing for Women from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Weston Library, 4205 Bonaventure Blvd., Weston, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-5420 -Saturday, March 18 - Healthy Living! Healthy Aging!, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., at Carver Ranches Library, 4735 S.W. 18 Street, West Park, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-6245 -Monday, March 20 - Women’s History Trivia Contest from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Pompano Beach Library, 1213 E Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-7595 Book Discussions & Literary Events - Friday, March 10 - Jewish Authors/American Classics Book Talk: Ellis Island by Mark Helprin from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Lauderhill Towne Centre Library, 6399 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderhill, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-6406 -Monday, March 13 - Dear Readers Book Club: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., at Deerfield Beach Percy White Library, 837 E. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-7680 -Monday, March 13 - Once Upon a Rock with author Erica Bennett from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., at Main Library, 100 S Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-7444 -March 14 - Ruth E. Cohan Jewish Book Review Series from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., at Northwest Regional Library, 3151 University Dr., Coral Springs, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-7990 -Tuesday, March 14 - The Page Turner’s Monthly Book Club: The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict from 2 to 3 p.m., at South Regional/Broward College Library, 7300 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, Fla. For more info call (954) 201-8825 Children & Teens -Wednesday, March 8 - Raise a Reader @ Sharkey’s Storytime!, from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., at Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University, 3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 262-5477 -Wednesday,March 8 - Colorful Women in History, children’s program from 4 to 5 p.m., at Dania Beach Paul DeMaio Library, 1 Park Avenue East, Dania Beach, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-7073 -Tuesday, March 14 - Tuesday Fun Night: Children’s story time and craft from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Hollywood Library, 2600Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Fla. For more info call (954) 357-7760.

DILLARD HIGH CLASS OF 1967 50 YEAR CLASS REUNION JUNE 1-4, 2017 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

www.thewestsidegazette.com

MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017 • PAGE 5

Westside Gazette

Health L aw ’s 10 essential benefits: A look at what’s at risk in GOP overhaul Law aw’s Benefit at risk as GOP studies ACA As Republicans look at ways to replace or repair the health law, many suggest shrinking the list of services insurers are required to offer in individual and small group plans would reduce costs and increase flexibility. That option came to the forefront last week when Seema Verma, who is slated to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the Trump administration, noted at her confirmation hearing that coverage for maternity services should be optional in those health plans.

Maternity coverage is a popular target and one often mentioned by health law critics, but other items also could be watered down or eliminated.

There are some big hurdles, however. The health law requires that insurers who sell policies for individuals and small businesses cover at a minimum 10 “essential health benefits,” including hospitalization, prescription drugs and emergency care, in addition to maternity

services. The law also requires that the scope of the services offered be equal to those typically provided in employer coverage.

“It has to look like a typical employer plan, and those are still pretty generous,” said Timothy Jost, an emeritus professor at Washington and Lee University Law School in Virginia who is an expert on the health law.

Since the 10 required benefits are spelled out in the Affordable Care Act, it would require a change in the law to eliminate entire categories or to water them down to such an extent that they’re less generous than typical employer coverage. And since Republicans likely cannot garner 60 votes in the Senate, they will be limited in changes that they can make to the ACA. Still, policy experts say there’s room to “skinny up” the requirements in some areas by changing the regulations that federal officials wrote to implement the law.

Habilitative Services The law requires that plans cover “rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices.”

Many employer plans don’t

Oral And Vision Care For Kids Pediatric oral and vision care requirements, another essential health benefit that’s not particularly common in employer plans, could also be weakened, said Caroline Pearson, a senior vice president at Avalere Health, a consulting firm. include habilitative services, which help people with developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy or autism maintain, learn or improve their functional skills. Federal officials issued a regulation that defined habilitative services and directed plans to set separate limits for the number of covered visits for rehabilitative and habilitative services.

Those rules could be changed. “There is real room for weakening the requirements” for habilitative services, said Dania Palanker, an assistant research professor at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms who has reviewed the essential health benefits coverage requirements.

The State of Black Broward: Starting the Conversation

(Cont'd from FP) The Broward Black Elected Officials (BBEO) State of Black Broward event brought together Black political leaders, business owners, and the larger Black community to address the issues facing African American and Caribbean American residents in Broward.

The goal was to develop a plan of action and implement solutions proposed by panelists representing five areas of concern: Political Engagement, Economic Development/Black Business Growth, Employment, Criminal Justice, & Education.

“Everything will not be solved tonight.” Moderator Rodney Baltimore of HOT 105 FM stated, a fair recognition of the mountain of issues to address.

And there are many.

Out of the 1,896,425 Broward County residents, 29% are Black and firmly concentrated within the center of the county where poverty and unemployment rates are highest. The median household income is $74,000 for Whites but only $43,000 for Blacks. As a result, 38% of Black children live below the poverty line in contrast to only 13% of White children.

Nearly one-third of Black High school students do not graduate and Black youth are arrested five times more than their White counterparts.

“Prosperity abounds in many areas,” said Dale V.C. Holness, District 9 County Commissioner and Chairman of BBEO, “Yet we have many of our residents that for whatever reason have been left behind.”

It seemed the cooperation between law enforcement and the criminal justice system served as a major reason and, unfortunately, youth and those who have received criminal convictions are adversely affected.

Panelists discussing political engagement emphasized the damage interaction with the law can cause. Although one can apply for restoration of voting rights after serving time, it is not an attainable reality for everyone, a truth pointed out

by Dr. Brenda Snipes, Broward County Supervisor of Elections.

State Representative Bobby DuBose proposed for “automatic restoration of rights” to those who have served time. Still,

many in the Black community who can vote do not or they have never registered.

“We should all work together to make sure everyone we know is registered to vote.” stressed Commissioner Holness.

Despite an absence of a youth voice on panels, their issues became a running theme throughout the night. The Education panel touched heavily on education quality and the need for community partnerships with schools.

“Every child has a human right to high quality education.” said Robert Runcie, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent.

Mikelange “Mike” Olbel, CEO/Founder of Team Saving Our Youth passionately emphasized the urgency to act on behalf of our children. His proposal to form partnerships between nonprofit and private organizations and schools received positive responses from the audience.

It was Marsha Ellison, NAACP Broward County Chapter President, who reminded us how instrumental schools were in determining a child’s future.

“The largest entry points in the criminal justice system are through the school.” Ellison pointed out. Ellison represents the importance of advocacy in the Black community as she successfully led a delegation in fighting for mandatory civil citations for youth, an initiative that has transformed juvenile justice in Broward County. Despite this, Black youth continue to be ushered into the criminal justice system.

“The pipeline to prison is well-insulated,” Chief Probation Officer Cassandra Evans passionately argued, “We must think differently. We must have systematic solutions for a systematic problem.”

Youth and their parents continue to face a similar foe: unemployment.The unemployment rate for Blacks in Broward stands at 11% and is significantly less for Whites. Newton Sanon, President of OIC of South Florida, touched on the need to prepare for long-lasting careers.

“Aspiration without preparation leads to frustration,” Sanon eloquently stated, “Contextual learning and career

guidance is key.”

Carol Hylton, Executive Vice President of CareerSource, built upon the idea of contextual learning regarding youth who she believes will benefit from hands on training.

“It’s not just college anymore,” Hylton accurately pointed out. She argued for the need to employ youth through partnerships with private organizations. During a brief experimental opening of the CareerSource portal, nearly 3,000 youth applied for jobs.

Unfortunately, only a fraction were linked to job opportunities.

Black owned businesses received their fair share of attention that night. Commissioner Michael Carn of the City of Oakland Park and Sandy Michael McDonald, Director of the Office of Economic and Small Business Development, reaffirmed their commitment to the development of minority owned businesses and promising to remain accessible.

Barron Channer, a South Florida real estate developer, called for the development of Black businesses through race conscious procurement.

Some topics were noticeably missing: the disrepair and neglect of predominantly Black & Brown public schools, aggressive gentrification pushing the Black community westward, and the loss of the Von D. Mizell Center to the YMCA to name a few. But it was a start.

“It was timely, but it only scratched the surface,” Newton Sanon said afterward, “It was a great start and there’s much more work to be done”.

Mikelange Olbel agreed and expressed eagerness for further conversation.

“I’m looking forward to engaging in future dialogue with the community and working towards the implementation of the solutions the panelists discussed.” Olbel said.

And when exactly can we expect to revisit and act on these issues?

“The next meeting will be in a symposium format and will coincide with Juneteenth celebrations,” Chairman Holness explained, “The conversation must continue.The entire community must come together to challenge these disparities.

We will follow up with this and move forward.”

“parity” with medical and surgical services, meaning plans can’t be more restrictive with one type of coverage than the other regarding cost sharing, treatment and care management.

“They could back off of parity,” Palanker said.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

Black Hollywood wins big at Oscars Big Black Oscar wins: 'Moonlight,' Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali take home Oscars stage.

The evening was a triumph

Mahershala Ali won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “Moonlight.” Photo taken at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

Hundreds of attendees poured in from every corner of South Florida, producing a rich sea of mahogany, caramel, and ebony.

Mental Health And Substance Use Disorder Services The health law requires all individual and small group plans cover mental health and substance use disorder services.

In the regulations the administration said that means those services have to be provided at

During an unexpected made-for-Hollyood moment, “Moonlight,” a film directed by African American Director Barry Jenkins, took the award for Best Picture over favorites such as “La La Land” and “Hidden Figures.” The film is a complex coming of age story of an African American man that follows his journey from boyhood into manhood.

Moonlight’s unexpected win and the bizarre way that the announcement played out on live television, will go down in Academy Awards’ history and will forever be a part of that legacy that spans 89 years.

After actor and presenter

Warren Beatty was given the wrong envelope backstage for the final award of the night for Best Picture, he and fellow Best Picture presenter actress Faye Dunaway announced that “La La Land,” had won the coveted award. As La La Land’s producers began making their acceptance speeches, representatives from the Oscars rushed on stage to correct the error in real time announcing that “Moonlight” actually won the evening’s biggest honor.

In stunning fashion, “La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz held up the card printed with the name of Best Picture award winner “Moonlight” for the audience and the TV cameras.

Horowitz summoned the film’s director and producers to the

for Black Hollywood. While last year’s Oscars were criticized for the lack of diversity among the nominees for the Academy’s top honors, this year’s Oscars ended in several big wins for Black actors and Black films.

Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award with his victory for his role in “Moonlight.”

Viola Davis won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film adaption of playwright August Wilson’s play “Fences.” The son of Marian Wright Edelman, Ezra Edelman won an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category for “OJ: Made in America.”

Although “Hidden Figures” was nominated in four categories including Best Picture, the film didn’t win a single award.

Another moment to remember was a victory for actor Casey Affleck for Best Actor in “Manchester by the Sea,” over Denzel Washington, who starred in “Fences.”

Washington has a Best Actor Oscar and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Training Day” in 2002 and “Glory” in 1990, respectively. If comments on social media are a guide, many feel Washington was robbed of an Oscar in 1993 after he did not win for his role in Spike Lee’s film “Malcolm X,” as well as not being awarded for his role as Troy in “Fences.”

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PAGE 6 • MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017

Opinion

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette 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.

Attorney General Sessions must resign, breach of public trust

By Roger Caldwell

The Gantt Report

Coffee and pictures

By Lucius Gantt There is nothing unusual about socalled Negro leaders being invited to state, federal and local government institutions to meet with newly elected politicians.

Democrats do it. Republicans do it.

Liberals do it. Conservatives do it.

Politicians of all political persuasions and perspectives, at some time during the early stages of their terms in office, invite Negroes to visit them and sit around a table to enjoy a cup of coffee and smile for a traditional photograph!

When the Negro leaders leave the White House, the state house, the City Hall or the County administrative offices, they return to their states, counties, cities and homes with nothing but false promises, bad dreams and shattered hopes of better days to come!

Reportedly, John Wilson, President of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Geor-

gia, accepted an invitation to meet with President Donald Trump. About 100 other Presidents of historically Black colleges and Universities (HBCUs) also met with President Trump and his White House Negroes.

The HBCU presidents, I’ve heard, were hoping to get financial and other aid from the federal government for their schools and their students but all they got was a Presidential Executive Order that moved the “HBCU Initiative” from the Department of Education to the Executive Office of the President.

They also received a beverage and a smiley face photo that was posted on Face-book, Instagram and other social media outlets designed to show African American citizens that President Donald Trump is “all Right”!

Well, the Morehouse President has been quoted, after the meeting, as saying, “We got played!”

More than a few Black students across America were outraged about their college and university presidents being punked, misled, bamboozled and

The Dad I knew:

By Harry O, Jr. Harry Williams, Sr. passed away February 2, 2017.

My daddy was a very unselfish, considerate and yielding man beginning with his agreement of allowing his first born son to be named after a close family friend of his loving wife Mattie. His father died when he was very young and his mother Fannie “NOOK” Gray and his sister Red Margaret passed away when my dad was 33-years-old- fifty years ago. My dad routinely gave his mother half of his paycheck, and he always encouraged me to honor my mother every chance I got.

After almost 60 years of marriage to my mother, Mattie Bean Williams, my father passed away but his death to me is not a tragedy because he lived a very good life, leaving behind 3 sons, 10 grandchildren and 6 Great grandchildren. Harry Sr. worked faithfully at Buning the Florist over 50 years and was so highly trusted he was often given the chore of taking his boss' only child Bonnie to and from school during a time when we still had no civil rights in America. After retirement my parents welcomed their granddaughter Asia into their home to raise her and take up the slack where I was a little negligent, which included daily trips to and from school as well as her after school activities, even providing her with daily lunch money. My father as a pre-teen & teen was often called TRAMP by a few neighborhood friends so he left school to emerge from poverty; however, he made sure that all of his children not only earned their high school diplomas but each also has earned advanced graduate college degrees. My dad was never arrested, never used illegal drugs and more importantly, every single night my brothers and I went to bed and woke up, dad was always in the bedroom with our mother. That in itself was the catalyst

educationally jacked by the *United State’s Trickster in Chief!

Protesting students at many Black schools wonder how could their college and university’s highest administrators drop everything, change their schedules and rush to meet Donald Trump when they routinely refuse to meet with their own students and alumni, ignore requests to meet with Black business persons and wouldn’t even go to sleep and dream about meeting with Black media owners, Black radicals, Black militants and Black community activists.

No, they don’t want to sit down and talk with Black “troublemakers” but the National Guard, the Secret Service and Seal Team 6 couldn’t keep them from meeting with Troublemaker Trump!

I love HBCUs as much as anyone else. Two of my children attended HBCUs to get their college education.

I’ve contributed money to HBCUs. I’ve bought tickets to athletic events and other events at HBCUs. And, I think I could contribute financially, academically and in many other ways to HBCUs. But, apparently, I don’t have the right ideology, theology, philosophy, spirituality or the political persuasion to be even considered for a meeting or a talk at any college, Black or white, that I know about. of all the successes that his sons enjoy today. His eldest son Elijah has been a Circuit County Judge inBroward County for over a decade. Harry Jr., his second son, has over 30 years of government service and is currently employed with Dade County and his youngest son Bruce is employed with Broward County. His wife Mattie was a LPN, then RN for 40 years before retiring. My father was not only good to his family, he was always good to others as well, even strangers.

We often hear about domestic violence. My father never once hit my mother ever, but I know he must’ve wanted to at least “shake her” when she came to him about naming his firstborn after her family friend Elijah Horne. My father taught us thousands of lessons over the past half century, but three of the lessons that I cherish the most are: 1) Never regret doing the right thing 2) Proverbs 6-2 watch your words 3) Others determine your reputation; only you determine your integrity.

I recall my dad and I stopping at a neighborhood store and he observed several minors using marijuana. He advised all of them to stop using drugs.

One of the boys yelled out a little birdie told him that your son Harry Jr. uses drugs, too. My dad replied,well it must’ve been a LOONEY BIRD cause I know my son don’t use any drugs. I was so glad that my dad knew I would not let all of his teachings go for not.

The man some called tramp was transformed into a CHAMP by his amazing work ethic and making his most brilliant decision in choosing to wed Mattie Bean.

I miss my father who showed my brothers and me what being a great father is all about. I am praying that our Lord Jesus Christ deemed my father worthy of a resurrection into his kingdom.......Amen Always remain Professional and respectful !!

The Black AIDS Institute salutes academy award Best Picture-winner Moonlight Tarell Alvin McCraney, author of the play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” the basis for the film “Moonlight.” He, along with the film’s director Barry Jenkins, received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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.

The Black AIDS Institute congratulates Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and the cast, crew, and producers of “Moonlight” for their transformational Oscar triumph, winning Best Picture, the first film about LGBTQ issues ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture. “Moonlight” follows a Black gay boy as he finds his way and himself in a world that hates him and is literally trying to kill him. Given the backdrop of the current political, social, and cultural climate, it is the most important film of the year.

It is also the most moving. I saw “Moonlight” three times. I cried each time, and I told all my friends to go see it. I actually saw all 10 films nominated for this year’s Best Picture award, and “Moonlight” was by far the one that moved me the most—not just to tears but to action.

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan called “Moonlight,” “a film that manages to be both achingly fa-

miliar and unlike anything we’ve seen before”. It is a beautiful line. But who is the “we” that has never seen this before? Yes, “‘Moonlight’ the movie” is a “beautifully shot and told coming of age story about blah, blah, blah,” and all the things he and other critics have said. It is easy to be swept away with the artistry of the film. And who doesn’t love the little film that could? But let’s not get it twisted. “Moonlight” is a story that in real life, if not on the big screen, we have seen all too often before.

It is about Tarell McCraney’s life. It is about Barry Jenkins’s life. It is about the lives of countless Black boys in Liberty City, Harlem, the Southside of Chicago, South Los Angeles, Detroit, and all over this country.

Kenneth Turan’s “we” sees them and crosses to the other side of the street.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

When Black people help their own schools, colleges and universities others will help our educational institutions also.

I hope Black schools get the federal assistance they need and desire but it takes a village to raise a child and a school!

If schools want all Black people to take an interest in the viability and success of HBCUs, HBCUs should take a similar interest in all Black people.

They need to welcome different ideas, different views, different speakers, different fundraisers, different political parties and persuasions and different students that attended and graduated from different schools to work alongside of their own faculty, staff, students and alumni to make HBCUs strong and help them survive.

Most Black people want HBCUs to do well. When HBCUs thrive and succeed Black people and Black communities thrive and succeed!

Stop going to meetings at tables where Black people walk away unfed!

Turn down the coffee and Instagram photos and turn up the Black unity, the Black Pride and the Black Progress!

(Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” onAmazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net.

And, if you want to, “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook.)

Stuart Mayor displays stupidity which comes in all colors

By Don Valentine If you choose to lead, understand you must do it at all times. Not just when you think it is convenient or expedient. Former African American Mayor of Stuart, Florida, Eula Clark, stepped down from her position in January after she was heard calling a police officer a “pig” while at a convenience store. Treasure County News reported that the former Mayor was reported to have said” I did not know we were serving pig tonight” in front of the officer and store clerk.

While her blood alcohol level was not checked at the time, inebriation would still be no excuse for this ridiculously unprofessional behavior. This should be an abject illustration for all leaders of our readers. You are the standard bearers for your flock. What you say and how you behave will be an umbrella for all people,Black or Brown. Many of the readers of N.N.P.A. are current or future leaders of our people. While Stuart is a sleepy central Florida city, Ms. Clarke’s miscue or yours will denigrate the reputation of all people of color.

Use the example of President Obama, who was unflappable and never came into any discord while in the public eye. That President consistently presented himself in the model of Jackie Robinson, Dr. Martin Luther King J.R. and W.E.B. DuBois to name a few. They were all men of color who never illuminated their inner emotions in a manner that would besmirch their peers or legion. Ms. Clarke let down all of the brokers that came before her so she could have that position of power. To the current leaders and future leaders that read this editorial, please refrain from her mistake. One must rise above to set the standard for the rest!

Letter to Editor Excerpt from my book “What We Blacks Need To Do” —`A robber approached a man on a dark street pointed his gun and said “give me your money”. The victim opened his coat so that he could reach his wallet.The robber saw that the victim was wearing a white collar around his neck.

When he looked at the building behind the victim, he saw a Catholic church. When the robber realized he was robbing a Catholic Priest, he said.

Father please keep your money and forgive me. The priest forgave the robber and offered him a cigarette to help calm his nerves. The robber said, thank you Father, I would love to have a cigarette but I can’t because I gave up cigarettes for Lent (smile).

James J. Hankins

“Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong.

He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional,” says President Trump.

If Jeff Sessions was an honest man, why did he not tell the truth during his confirmation hearings with the Senate Judiciary Committee? As the “Top Cop” in the land, Americans must have faith and confidence in every decision the Attorney General makes because it affects the public trust.

Chris Van Hollen of the DSCC says, “The Attorney General of the United States must have the people’s trust as an honest and independent broker who upholds the law. In failing to tell the truth – under oath – about his conversations with Russia, Jeff Sessions has failed to meet that standard, and he must resign.”

There are no gray areas with the attorney general, and there are no second chances. Jeff Sessions lied. He is the chief law enforcement officer, chief lawyer and chief prosecutor in our government. When the American people cannot trust our chief law enforcement officer, then who can we trust?

On Thursday, March 2nd, Jeff Sessions held a press conference, and I expected him to resign, but he acted like he had not violated or broken any laws. In fact, it appeared as though he thought he’d done the American people a favor by announcing his intention to recuse himself from any executive branch investigations into the Trump campaign.

The problem with Trump’s administration is they are dealing from the bottom of the deck. They have been in cover-up mode from the very beginning, and they are hiding something.

“Let me be clear: I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign. And the idea that I was part of a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government is totally false,” Sessions said at a hastily called press conference at the Justice Department.

It was revealed by the Washington Post that Attorney General Sessions had met twice with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 campaign.

Somehow, our attorney general was suffering with amnesia under oath, and he failed to disclose the meetings during his Senate confirmation hearings.

Now Trump is calling this scandal “a witch hunt.” Also, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is putting out a public statement, and calling this scandal “a witch hunt.” Something just does not smell right when the president and the Russian Foreign Minister agree that a lie from our chief law enforcement officer should be excused, and any accusations of misconduct should be swept under the rug.

Jeff Sessions has committed the crime of perjury, and it is a criminal offense of lying under oath. A perjury charge is when someone makes a false statement after being sworn in or promising to tell the truth. This was not a mistake; it was intentional. Sessions has damaged his credibility and fundamentally impaired his ability to run the Department of Justice.

Just as Michael Flynn was forced to resign because he lied and broke the law, there is no difference in what Jeff Sessions has done. Sessions must resign immediately, and confusion and amnesia cannot be used where there should only be truth.

America’s public trust is at stake, and President Trump must ask for Sessions’ resignation. There should be no discussion that Sessions must go.

The Rule of Law should always prevail and once there is a breach of the public trust, the individual must exit their post. Jeff Sessions has broken the public trust, and the Department of Justice needs a new leader.

www.thewestsidegazette.com

BUSINESS

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Thank God for History Geometry Trigonometry, Our President Obama Tree!

Acknowledging unprecedented support for HBCUS Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, says that the funding of HBCUs is a crucial matter that transcends the partisan divide between the left and the right.

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. (President and CEO, NNPA)

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The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. routinely would remind those of us who worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s about the vital importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As we celebrated Black History Month 2017, Dr. King’s admonition concerning the enduring need for HBCUs should be reaffirmed every month.

Dr. King once emphasized, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” Dr. King was a graduate scholar of one of the leading HBCUs, Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was not only an intellectual genius and spiritual leader, but also had an enormous moral character that kept SCLC’s leadership on the frontline of civil rights social transformation.

There should be no rational debate about the contemporary necessity to support the sustainability of the nation’s HBCUs. Yet, we do live in times where too many people have been misled to lean on the unfortunate and unstable walls of irrationality, divisiveness and the absence of truth.

As we continue to posit and emphasize, there is a glaring need to demand intellectual honesty in all matters pertaining to the pursuit of freedom, justice, equality and empowerment for Black America and all others who struggle to improve the quality of life for all humanity. When it comes to the crucial funding of HBCUs, this is a matter that transcends the partisan divide between the left and the right.

Truth is nonpartisan. Truth is therapeutic. Substantial efforts to increase higher education opportunities for Black Americans and others should not get mired down in contradictory and self-defeating political discourse.

March 16 will mark the 190th anniversary of the Black Press in America since the first publication of “Freedom’s Journal” on March 16, 1827 in New York City. Honesty, integrity, and publishing the truth without fear of consequence have been the hallmarks of the Black Press in the United States for nearly two centuries.

We have neither reluctance nor hesitation, therefore, to acknowledge the strategic and unprecedented support that the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries have given to Historically Black Colleges and Universities via the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF).

Recently, one of the single largest financial contributions to TMCF, $25.6 million, was made by the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries. These funds are dedicated to establish and develop TMCF’s Center for Advancing Opportunity.

“This is a momentous partnership,” stated Dr. Johnny C. Taylor, Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s president and chief executive officer. “Historically Black Colleges and Universities are uniquely positioned to lead the field in this type of research. There are thousands of fragile communities across the United States where there are tremendous barriers to opportunity. It’s important to recognize that lasting change to strengthen these communities must begin at the local level. So, we are proud to come together with the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries to help members of these communities identify and study the challenges most significant to them.”

The Center for Advancing Opportunity will focus on education, criminal justice, entrepreneurship and other issues the affect the quality of life in African American communities.

The center also will create research think tanks on HBCU campuses, provide academic scholarships, establish graduate fellowships and render grants to selected HBCU faculty members.

As a proud graduate of the flagship HBCU Howard University, I have witnessed firsthand the advantages and enormous value of primary research accomplished by Howard and other HBCU centers of research power, ingenuity and innovation. The proposed TMCF Center for Advancing Opportunity is a welcomed development that the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) salutes and applauds forthrightly.

PAGE 8 • MARCH 9 MARCH 15, 2017

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

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.

Reverend Jimmy L. English PASTOR

Dr. Marcus D. Davidson,

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"

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!

Obituaries James C. Boyd Funeral Home Harris Chapel United Methodist Church Rev. Stanley Melek, M.Div E-MAIL:stanley.melek@flumc.org 2351 N.W. 26th Street Oakland Park, Florida 33311 Church Telephone: (954) 731-0520

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.

BATH Funeral services for the late Baby Girl Dericka Renee Bath.

GERMAIN Funeral services for the late Emilienne St. Germain Jr. - 76 were held March 3 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Pastor Hector Lopez officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens (Central).

GRIFFIN Funeral services for the late Miracle Phei’ana Griffin - 19 were held Feb. 25 at Word of the Living God Ministries. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

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"

Mount Hermon A.M.E. Church Reverend Henry E. Green, Jr., Pastor 401 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 Phone: (954) 463-6309 FAX 954 522-4113 Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Email infor@mthermonftl.com

SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICES Worship Service ..................................................................... 7:30 & 10:30 a.m.

Fifth Sunday ONLY .................................................................................... 10 a.m.

Church School ........................................................................................ 9:15 a.m.

BIBLE STUDY: Wednesday ....................................................................... 10 a.m.

Gems & Jewels Ministry Senior Wednesday Wednesday (Bible Study) .................................................... 12 Noon & 7 - 8 p.m.

Daily Prayer Line ...................................................................................... 6 a.m.

(712)432-1500 Access Code296233#

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church 1161 NW 29th Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33311 (954) 581-0455 ● Fax: (954) 581-4350 www.mtzionmbc1161.com

Dr. James B. Darling, Jr., Pastor/Teacher WORSHIP SERVICES Worship Service ............................................................................................................ 10:15 a.m.

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

Communion Service (1st Sunday) ........................................................................... 10:15 a.m.

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

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

Saturday (2nd & 4th) Christian Growth & Orientation ................................... 8:30 a.m.

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

Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, Oakland Park "The Miracle On 33rd Street" 420 N.E. 33rd Street Oakland Park, Florida 33334 Church: (954) 563-3060 Email: mtzion420@gmail.com

Rev. George A. Hardy, Pastor SERVICES Sunday Church School ................................................................... 8:45 a.m.

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

Tuesday Night (Family Prayer & Bible Study) ........................... 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday (Prayer Conference Line) ................................................ 8:00 p.m.

(Dail 1-573-333-1520 Then 1-605-475-3220 - Acess Code 1983493) Oakland Park CDC (Senior Activity Center) Daily ............10 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.

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Westside Gazette

JONES Funeral services for the late Bobby Ray Jones – 60 were held March 4 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Pastor David Jones officiating.

LABASTILLE Funeral services for the late Annemarie Lucien Labadtille - 84 were held March 4 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

McWhite's Funeral Home BALDWIN Funeral services for the late Kasie Kyeonna Baldwin - 6 were held March 4 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Overseer Joseph A. Williams officiating.

JEFFERSON Funeral services for the late Kevin Wayne Jefferson - 69 were held March 4 at McWhite’s Funeral Home.

Let us kneel before the LORD our maker...

Psalms 95.6

WILLIAMS Funeral services for the late My’Racle Williams – 7 years old were held March 4 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Shirley Harold officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home ANSLEY Funeral services for the late Paul Eugene Ansley - 62 were held March 4 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Dr. James B. Darling, Jr officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens –Central.

CHANCE Funeral services for the late Ernest Lee Chance - 69 were held March 4 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Rev. James C. Watson officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

GRESHAM Funeral services for the late Pastor Rosetta Gresham - 82 were held March 4 at New Birth House of Prayer for All People with Elder Washington officiating. officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

MAYE Funeral services for the late Leroy Maye, Sr. – 57were held March 6 at Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church with Rev. Delores Staten officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

MOORE Funeral services for the late Elizabeth Moore –91 were held March 4 at New Bethel Primitive Baptist Church with Bishop Samuel McNeece officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

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!”

Q & A: What does Reverend Deal say!

‘You don’t want to experience God’s wrath’ Question: What does the word ‘Propitiation’ signify?

Answer: The word “propitiation” signifies the turning away of God’s wrath by a sacrifice.

John 3:36 says’ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abided on him’. To incur the wrath of God must be a terrible thing. There are many references mentioned in the Old Testament (585 times). The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and my favorite is the Ten Plagues upon Pharaoh.

The wrath of God towards sin is stated in the New Testament as well. Romans 1:18; Romans 5:9; Romans 12:19; Ephesians 5:6; Revelation 6:17, 14:19, 15:1, and 19:15.

God reminds us that the only way to ease His wrath is through His Son, Jesus. The wrath is averted only by Christ’s atoning offering, His blood. 1 John 4:10 says ‘ Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins’. From this standpoint Jesus' saving work is called propitiation.

Reverend David Deal is the senior pastor at Every Christian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Rev Deal can be reached at the Westside Gazette, 545 NW Seventh Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Fla 33311, or by email at David.deal55@gmail.com.

Kids Talk About God

Why do so me Chr is to p som Chris isttians ssto top foll ow ing Jesus (J ohn 6:60-71)? llow owing (Jo “Maybe the things Jesus asks people to do are so hard that they do not want to do it,” says Maggie, 11. “It’s easier to quit.”

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is difficult because one is usually swimming upstream against the current of this world. Becoming a Christian is as easy as reaching out by faith to receive the gift of eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ as your savior.

Think of the distinction between salvation and discipleship as two crosses. Jesus died on a cross and rose again to pay for our salvation. This is the cross that he carried to Calvary to secure salvation for all who believe in him. Let’s call it the salvation cross.

The salvation cross cost us nothing. Jesus hung on it alone while God judged him for our sins. We receive the benefits from the work he completed.

The discipleship cross starts with denying yourself. It’s costly to us, but the blessings and rewards from following Jesus last forever. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

The cross is the ultimate instrument of death. The tremendous irony is that the road to living by God’s life travels daily through Death Valley. “I die daily,” wrote the Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 15:31).

The same apostle wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Dayanna, 11, says some Christians don’t follow Jesus because “they are self-absorbed. They think they can do life all by themselves. They think they don’t need God.” God knows how to get the attention of Christians who try to live independently from him (Hebrews 12:6). The self-centered life will lead to misery because it’s too small. God created us in his own image for greater things.

Christians are redeemed people with a heavenly destiny.

Jesus wants believers to reign and rule with him in his coming kingdom. That rule can start now through Christians who allow Jesus to use them to bring people into his eternal kingdom.

When Jesus introduced himself as the bread of life who came down from heaven, many of his disciples complained. “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more” (John 6:66).

Being a disciple is not for the timid or faint of heart. Every Christian will be evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ, not to determine one’s eternal destiny, but to determine rewards and authority in God’s eternal kingdom (I Corinthians 3:1-17). For faithful Christians, this will be a time of great rejoicing. But for Christians who lived self-centered lives instead of Christ-centered lives, they will suffer great loss. Not loss of eternal salvation, but loss of rewards that glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

“People get so obsessed with celebrities and electronics that they don’t think about God. God is more important,” says Micaela, 11.

Think about this: Jesus died not only to redeem us from eternal death, but he rose from the dead that we might live by his overcoming life.

Memorize this truth: Galatians 2:20 previously quoted.

Ask these questions: Are you allowing Jesus to live through you to accomplish his purpose? Are you experiencing the exhilaration of the Lord’s abundant life?

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Westside Gazette

MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2107 • PAGE 9

Miami Dolphins Girls Flag Football Clinic and Jamboree presented by Broward College

MISCELLEANOUS

Dolphins Girls Flag FB Jamboree presented by Broward College.

By Theresa Manahan DAVIE, FLA. – Miami Dolphins Youth Programs, in part-

nership with the Broward County Athletic Association (BCAA) and the Greater Miami Athletic Conference

Dillard Panthers win Seventh State Title

By Byler E. Henry The Panthers have won their second consecutive championship and are back on top in Florida. They showed up to the Lakeland Center where they took on Orlando Edgewater in the class 7A state championship where they won in convincing fashion, 75-43. “There were a lot of good teams up there; we just wanted to go out there and not make it even.” Coach Darryl Burrows said.

This win gives him his seventh overall state title, tying Melvin Randall of Blanche Ely. Coach Burrows has done it with one school. The Panthers have won four consecutive state titles from 2000-2003. This is their first back to back championship since 2003. They also won their fifth title in 2008. “The legacy was built before I got there; it

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.

March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 2017

(Photo credit: Sun Sentinel) was started by the past coaches.”

Burrows also said.

In the second quarter, Dillard went on an impressive 220 run; they set up this run by scoring inside. Whether it was setting up the offense or scoring easy lay ups on the fast break, they were determined to pound it inside, scoring a total of 48 points in the paint.

The Panthers also put on suffocating defense, only allowing Edgewater to shoot 23% from the field; they also outrebounded them 4719.Leading scorer Jordan Wright contributed with 23 points while Raiquan Gray also contributed by scoring 16 points and 11 rebounds. Robert Allen of Edgewater scored 16 points and Anfernee Simons scored 10 points. Dillard is the third school from Ft. Lauderdale to bring a title to Broward County this season. Earlier Saturday, Calvary Christian won the 5A title, and Westminster Academy won the 4A title. Congratulations to Fort Lauderdale for the titles. They have competed and left their blood, sweat, and tears on the hardwood.

(GMAC), hosted the Girls Flag Football Jamboree at Baptist Health Training Facility.

“We’re proud to be associated with this event as the Dolphins have continued to be invested in growing the game for youth,” Broward College District Director of College Readiness & Recruitment Bryan Anderson said.

The jamboree featured 25 high school girls flag football teams from the South Florida area. The jamboree followed a Girls Flag Football Clinic on Feb. 22 that educated the high school ladies on football skills.

“This event continues to grow throughout the years and we’re proud to teach these young ladies the proper skills they need

both on and off the field to advance the game and their journeys,” Miami Dolphins Senior Director of Youth Programs Twan Russell said.

The goal of this event is to promote high school football.

The Miami Dolphins Youth Programs’ mission is to emphasize the importance of education, physical fitness and positive

choices for kids in a safe and fun environment. The Miami Dolphins Youth Programs’ vision is to prepare the next generation of leaders in staying physically active through our Junior Training Camps (JTC), Youth Football Clinics and Youth Football Camps in the South Florida Community.

PAGE 10 • MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017

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Westside Gazette

NAFEO’s Lezli Baskerville calls HBCU White House meetings successful NAFEO president praises Omarosa Manigault for orchestrating Trump’s meetings with HBCU presidents (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Through the vitriolic, and sometimes venomous, atmosphere of the presidential campaign, a highly-regarded member of then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s inner circle focused on one issue that was largely ignored: the future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). “[Omarosa] Manigault was strategically placing HBCUs high on the agenda of candidate Trump and she kept HBCUs on his agenda,” said Dr. Lezli Baskerville, the president and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), a membership association for the presidents and chancellors of the nation’s HBCUs. The White House meetings on February 27 and February 28 with HBCU presidents and chancellors, and the signing of

the executive order on HBCUs, grew out of the Manigault’s understanding of the importance of HBCUs and the realization of so many of the nation’s domestic, foreign, security, scientific, technological, research, and innovation goals, Baskerville said.

“It happened because President Trump knows and trusts the leadership and judgment of Omarosa,” Baskerville added.

Baskerville, who also attended the meetings, described them as successful.

“The success must be measured against the reasonable expectations going into the meeting,” said Baskerville.

“Relative to the ‘HBCU Fly-In’ on Feb. 28 hosted by Congressman Mark Walker of North Carolina and Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina and others, HBCU presidents were also engaged with leaders of the 115th Congress about inclusion and diversity and about the

centrality of HBCUs to American progress, the legislative and appropriations priorities of HBCUs and ways in which the NAFEO-member institutions might move forward and strengthen our relationships with Republican members of Congress.”

Baskerville continued: “NAFEO has consistently advanced the position that federal, state, and private teacher preparation programs should be designed to expand the pool of excellent, diverse teaching professionals, especially African American, and Hispanic teaching professionals, and Black male teachers.”

While Baskerville left the meetings with Trump encouraged, others were more guarded in their optimism.

“As I understand it, it means that the White House initiative on HBCUs returns to the White House rather than remaining with the Department of Edu-

cation,” said Loretta Parham, the CEO and director of the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. “This suggests that the president’s ear will be closer and it suggests that HBCUs will be included in conversations about the economy and education.”

Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University in New Orleans, La., reflected on the meetings and said that not enough time was afforded to discuss pressing issues.

“We didn’t expect to have an audience with the president, and that really, you know—it really was a photo opportunity,” Kimbrough told National Public Radio (NPR). “We didn’t have any significant conversation. I mean he’s working on his [address to Congress] for the night.

So, that was okay, but I didn’t go there for that. That wasn’t my intent. It’s just something that happened.”

Kimbrough continued: “I

South Florida Author and Professor’s novel featured on CB S’s Mentoring Matters show CBS’s

By William A. Hobbs

William Hobbs is using his novel “North of the Grove” to spread the word throughout middle and high schools on the importance of mentorship.

MIAMI, FL – The CBS show Mentoring Matters recently featured a segment on the novel North of the Grove, a smart, unique and tough tale of how the flawed and selfish can still make a difference through mentorship.

The exposure raises awareness about the story’s message for its author, professor and novelist William Ashanti Hobbs, who wants the book in middle schools, high schools and libraries throughout South Florida, where the story is set.

The Miami-Dade school board has included North of the Grove as part of their curriculum.

State University and has taught the discipline at the collegiate level for eleven years.

The novel has garnered glowing reviews on amazon.com.

Professor Hobbs seeks to make a full-feature film from the story.

The book is also available on KINDLE.

really was interested more in a conversation with [Secretary Betsy DeVos], because she’s new. She doesn’t really know higher education. She doesn’t know HBCUs. And, so this is an opportunity to educate her.”

An opportunity that Kimbrough said was missed.

However, Baskerville argued that it’s important to note that many, like Representative Mia Love, a first-term congress-woman from Utah, participated in the HBCU Fly-In and made a number of thoughtful contributions to the discussion.

“One of the things she said that is telling of who she is at the core is that she is a member of the Republican Study Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus,” said Baskerville. “[Love] quipped that, ‘there are some things that trump political parties.’ This is important, because this is the manner in which the African American community has always operated.”

Baskerville continued: “We have understood through the years that we need friends in all camps and that we have, ‘no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests.’ We have built and maintained bridges to all houses of power and with all political parties.

“We have had a core group of African Americans, who have served in leading positions and championed the issues and interests of Black Americans and Blacks around the globe, when Republicans were in the majority [in Congress] and in the White House, and the same is

Prescription Drugs Prescription drug coverage could be tinkered with as well.

The rules currently require that plans cover at least one drug in every drug class, a standard that isn’t particularly robust to start with, said Katie Keith, a health policy consultant and adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School. That standard could be relaxed further, she said, and the list of required covered drugs could shrink.

Preventive And Wellness Services And Chronic Disease Management Republicans have discussed trimming or eliminating some of the preventive services that are required to be offered without cost sharing. Among those requirements is providing birth control without charging women anything out of pocket.

But, Palanker said, “if they just wanted to omit them, I expect that would end up in court.”

Pregnancy, Maternity And Newborn Care Before the health law passed, just 12 percent of health policies available to a 30-yearold woman on the individual market offered maternity benefits, according to research by the National Women’s Law Center. Those that did often charged extra for the coverage and required a waiting period of a year or more. The essential health benefits package plugged that hole very cleanly, said Adam Sonfield, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and advocacy organization.

“Having it in the law makes it more difficult to either exclude it entirely or charge an arm and a leg for it,” Sonfield said.

Maternity coverage is often offered as an example of a benefit that should be optional, as Verma advocated. If you’re a man or too old to get pregnant,

Hobbs earned a doctorate in creative writing from Florida

that coverage?

That a la carte approach is not the way insurance should work, some experts argue. Women don’t need prostate cancer screening, they counter, but they pay for the coverage anyway.

“We buy insurance for uncertainty, and to spread the costs of care across a broad population so that when something comes up that person has adequate coverage to meet their needs,” said Linda Blumberg, a senior fellow at the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

By Michelle Andrews This article was reprinted from Kaiser Health News with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Ben Carson sworn-in as Trump’s only Black cabinet pick (Cont'd from FP) “Right now, our country is the patient and it’s not a Democrat or a Republican patient.

It’s an American patient,” Carson said at his swearing-in as his wife, Lacena and granddaughter Tesora held the Bible.

“We have a duty to use the gifts that God has given all of us in order to heal that patient.”

Carson, 65, was born into an impoverished Detroit family, but ultimately became a popular neurosurgeon who ran for president.

In January, he vowed to begin his job at HUD by going on a listening tour before developing any long-term plans for the department, which has more than 8,000 employees and a $50 billion budget.

In February, during Black History Month, Carson joined

Trump for a tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture where the president said Carson would work very closely with him.

“HUD has a meaning far beyond housing,” Trump said. “If properly done, it’s a meaning that’s as big as anything there is.”

Carson, whose mother at times received food stamps to provide for her family, grew up surrounded by some of the housing assistance programs he will now oversee.

“The New York Times” reported that, rather than embrace the programs that once sustained his family and the families around him, Carson adopted standard Republican beliefs that too much government help—both in desegregating neighborhoods and in lifting

true with Democrats.”

Baskerville credited Manigault for orchestrating the meetings with the HBCU presidents that not only included President Trump, but also Vice President Mike Pence and other top executives in the White House.

“That has not happened previously, to my knowledge,” added Baskerville. “I got the sense that the president and his administration have a better understanding of the issues and interests of HBCUs, of the richness of their diversity, of their offerings, centers of excellence, their output…and, importantly, who their 21st century leaders are.”

Florida Supreme Court considers allowing vote to end permanent felon disenfranchisement the Supreme Court approved

Health L aw ’s 10 essential benefits: A look at what’s Law aw’s at risk in GOP overhaul why should you have to pay for (Cont'd from Page 5)

Lezi Baskerville, the president and CEO of NAFEO said that she was encouraged by the meetings that were held with President Trump and 88 presidents and chancellors of HBCUs. This photo was taken during a press conference on an anti-hazing campaign at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in January 2012.

(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

By Stacy M. Brown

people from poverty—can discourage people from working hard.

Carson was awarded a scholarship to Yale University, and at 33, he was named director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. He later became an author and a philanthropist supporting scholarships for young, often impoverished students.

“Housing discrimination continues to be a significant problem in this country, unfairly limiting people’s choices about where to live,” Lisa Rice, executive vice president of the National Fair Housing Alliance, said in a statement. “We look to Secretary Carson to marshal the resources of the department he leads to combat this problem, and to fight all forms of housing discrimination.”

Attorney Jon Mills argues in favor of the amendment.

(Photo credit: Screenshot) (Cont'd from FP) Florida’s Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments about whether or not to allow voters to decide on the Voting Restoration Amendment. Arguing on behalf of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, the group that’s leading the effort in favor of restoring voting rights, attorney Jon Mills claimed that the amendment meets the requirements to be put on the ballot.

“The question would have to be, ‘have you completed all terms of your sentence?’” he said, explaining how the state’s voter registration form could easily be changed from asking citizens about any felony convictions to asking whether the voter has completed his or her sentence.

Solicitor General Amit Agarwal said Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) is taking no position on the issue.

Florida currently has one of the strictest felon disenfranchisement laws in the country— only Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, and Iowa permanently bar those with felony convictions from voting for life, unless they seek clemency.

More Than 1.5 Million Florida Voters Will Be Missing From Tuesday’s Primary thinkprogress.org The clemency process in Florida is notoriously difficult. During his term, former Gov. Charlie Crist made it easier for former

felons to regain their rights, restoring the right to vote to more than 155,000 felons. But current Gov. Rick Scott (R) reversed that change in 2011 and mandated a waiting period before felons could even apply for clemency. Just 2,487 people have regained their voting rights since Scott took office in 2010.

Floridians for a Fair Democracy chair Demond Meade is one of the more than one and a half million Floridians who cannot vote in elections, including last year’s election when his wife ran for state legislature.

“In 2008, it hurt not to be able to be a part of a historic election, but I have even more pain now because I can’t even vote for my own wife,” he told ThinkProgress before Florida’s primary in March 2016. “It’s un-American and totally unfair.

I should have that right.”

Florida’s disenfranchisement law dates back to the postCivil War era when the state specifically wanted to keep Black residents from gaining political power. Voting advocates have pointed to its racist past in pushing for a legal change, arguing that former felons are better able to reintegrate into society when they are able to regain their rights.

Meade has been active in pushing for the ballot initiative, which would require 600,000 signatures to appear on the ballot. If Floridians for a Fair Democracy reached that mark and

its language, the measure would appear on the 2018 ballot. In order to pass, it would need 60 percent support.

If approved, Florida would be joining a growing list of states making it easier for people with felony convictions to vote. According to the Sentencing Project, 23 states have expanded their voter eligibility laws to include more former felons, and an estimated 840,000 citizens have regained their right to vote.

Republicans were wildly successful at suppressing voters in 2016 Three GOP-controlled states demonstrate the effectiveness of disenfranchising the opposition. thinkprogress.org Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe(D) has worked to ease his state’s restrictions, restoring voting rights to 140,000 people, considering them on a case-bycase basis. But his executive order which attempted to automatically restore rights to even more people en masse was invalidated by the state supreme court.

At the time, President Trump accused McAuliffe of “crooked politics.”

“They’re giving 200,000 people that have been convicted of heinous crimes, horrible crimes, the worst crimes, the right to vote because, you know what?

They know they’re gonna vote Democrat,” said the then-Republican presidential candidate.

In total, 6.1 million Americans, mostly from Democraticleaning groups, are barred from voting due to felon disenfranchisement laws. An analysis released shortly before the 2016 election found that if Floridians with felony convictions were allowed to register, an estimated 258,060 would sign up as Democrats, 46,920 as Republicans, and 84,456 as independent and third party.

And nearly 60,000 additional ballots would have been cast.

Follow Political Reporter Kira Lerner at ThinkProgress. Contact me: klerner@thinkprogress.org

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette is engraved high above First Black Astronaut remains a forgotten pioneer name on the Space Mirror Memorial, (Cont'd from Front Page) Once a celebrated pilot who flew over 2,500 miles, Lawrence today is rarely honored on the same level as other NASA astronauts who have gone on the ultimate mission.

Schools and scholarship funds named after Lawrence have vanished, and with Lawrence’s most avid crusaders of his legacy gone (his wife, mother and other relatives), the legacy of a man who inspired many Blacks to dream big has faded over five decades.

Before the release of the movie, “Hidden Figures,” many Blacks were unaware of the historic contributions of Black NASA mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. Though it was Johnson’s use of analytic geometry that helped bring John Glenn back to Earth, she was among the few Black heroes who toiled, unsung, behind the scenes at NASA, where only three percent of 19,000 employees were Black in 1961. Morehouse, Tuskegee University (then Tuskegee Institute) and other historically Black schools were cranking out physicists, scientists and mathematicians every year, but many did not apply to NASA. Some Black leaders accused NASA of not

working hard enough to recruit minorities.

From its inception astronauts were considered the face of NASA. All of them were White and male. Though working for NASA behind the scenes was difficult for Blacks, becoming an astronaut was considered a seemingly impossible mission for people of color.

After Black voters propelled John F. Kennedy into the White House in 1961, his administration aimed to increase minorities at NASA, as well as to place a man on the moon. Kennedy wanted to make history by selecting the first Black astronaut.

In 1963, NASA officials chose Ed Dwight to train at the Aerospace Research Pilot School to go into space. NASA eventually did not select Dwight for its space mission. While the agency said his academic qualifications weren’t good enough, many Blacks believed the failure of his candidacy was based on racism. The Black Press, including the influential EBONY and Jet magazines, wrote aggressively about Dwight’s experience.

Dwight left the Air Force and became a sculptor. He created the statue of former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, which stands outside the epony-

WILL START AT 2 A.M. ON

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mous cultural center in the Windy City.

With Dwight gone, Lawrence’s NASA candidacy renewed the hopes of Black America; he was brilliant and had impressive credentials. As Dwight’s hopes of flying into space crashed, Lawrence’s career was gaining altitude.

Lawrence never made it to the stars. On Dec. 8, 1967, he died while training another NASA astronaut to land a F104 Starfighter Jet. The exercise was part of a six-month training program. Lawrence sat in the rear seat as trainee Major Harvey Royer landed the jet too fast, causing it to crash on the runway. The landing gear collapsed, the canopy shattered and the plane bounced and skidded on the runway for 2,000 feet. Royer was ejected but escaped, albeit with serious injuries.

Lawrence was still strapped to his ejector seat; however, his parachute failed to open. He was dragged 75 feet from the wreck. Just 32 years old, Lawrence was dead and so, too it appeared, were Black America’s dreams of a Black astronaut in space. Even so, the fact that he was training a White pilot was an extraordinary contribution during an era when segregation and racism at NASA was still prevalent. While Lawrence’s death stunned America, the loss deeply affected Black America, which was still trying to push past the disappointment of NASA not selecting Dwight as an astronaut.

Sadly, Lawrence’s grieving widow, son, and parents would suffer emotionally in the years to come. In 1991 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Astronaut Memorial Foundation (AMF) dedicated a memorial in honor of astronauts who gave their lives for the space program.

NASA didn’t consider Lawrence an astronaut, saying he had never flown 50 miles. After a public campaign led by Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush, Lawrence’s name was added to the memorial in 1997, 30 years after his death. His widow, son, mother and sister attended the dedication.

Time has shown that Lawrence is nothing more than a name to NASA. Though his

NASA doesn’t hold anniversary remembrances of Lawrence the way it does for other deceased astronauts.

As the 50th anniversary of Lawrence’s death approaches, a NASA official told the “Chicago” Crusader that unlike ceremonies held in Washington and at Cape Canaveral for the three Apollo 1 astronauts, there won’t be a 50th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring Lawrence.

Fifty years after his death, NASA still maintains that Lawrence was never an astronaut.

On its website, the agency mentions the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 astronauts, but mentions nothing about the 50th anniversary of Lawrence’s death. Asked why NASA would add Lawrence to its astronaut memorial, yet not commemorate his other historic milestone, the NASA official referred the “Crusader” to another department, which did not respond to the reporter before press time.

It gets worse for Lawrence’s legacy. A scholarship fund set up in Lawrence’s name at Bradley University after he died was discontinued years ago. And the Robert H. Lawrence Elementary School on the South Side closed in 2013 due to declining enrollment and low academic performance. Englewood High School, Lawrence’s alma mater, closed in 2008 for similar reasons.

Some 16 years after Lawrence’s death, Guion “Guy” Bluford became the first Black astronaut to fly into space.

Chicago’s Mae Jemison became

MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017 • PAGE 11

NASA barely mentions Lawrence during anniversaries, memorials. the first Black woman astronaut in 1987. In 1996, Chicago’s Joan Higginbotham became the third Black woman astronaut.

Since Lawrence’s death in 1967, 13 Black astronauts have traveled into orbit, including Charles Bolden, who became

Twelfth Annual Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival announces 2017 lineup with Jill Scott, LL Cool J feat. DJ Z-Trip Also performing: Common, The Roots, Esperanza Spalding, Betty Wright, Andra Day, Morris Day & The Time, Herbie Hancock, Smokie Norful, Jazz All-Stars featuring Chante Moore, Will Downing & Marion Meadows

Ailey brings colorful energy to Adrienne Arsht Center

By Dottie Joseph and Mikhaile Solomon As a former Dancer, lover of arts and culture, and a regular patron of the performing arts, I am ashamed to admit that until Sunday February 26, 2017, as Black History Month symbolically comes to a close, just prior to an evening of brilliant wins for Black cinema at the Academy Awards, I hadn’t seen an Alvin Ailey Production in person.

As the curtains rose at the Adrienne Arsht Center Ziff Ballet Opera House and we were greeted with the playfully mischievous melody of Dizzie Gillespie, I was happy that my

lifelong estrangement from Ailey’s work was finally over.

The Winter in Lisbon pays homage to the late Dizzy Gillespie as the Ailey ensemble gleefully creates a scene with swing dance movements not unlike what we can recall was popular in the 1920’s. Ailey’s performers flirt and play in lively tropical garments that immediately awaken the audience’s senses. The raw intensity of The Winter in Lisbon’s first Act is tempered by the second Act which brings together two lovers who’ve found romance in the midst of the First Act’s romping raucous. Initial parry transforms into sinuous connectedness that communi-

cates the beginnings of an everlasting love.

Ella is cheeky, set to the syncopated scatting of Ella Fitzgerald. Two Ailey Dancers dressed in black tuxedoes prance about the stage following Fitzgerald melody in rhythmic synchronicity. The piece reads a bit like slap stick comedy, sprightly in its delivery. The duet is chock-full of high leaps, patty cakes, fast limbs, and jovial interplay. Shorter than the rest of the pieces presented, Ella is a fast but jaw dropping performance.

Revelations, an Ailey Classic celebrating its 50th year, is as visually breathtaking and beautiful as it has been to described to me. An ecclesiastical masterpiece, Revelations begins with the Ailey ensemble in brown garments as if of the earth, in staggered formation, as the strength they bear through nuanced struggle is revealed in the extension of long, ever so gently quivering limbs reaching outward and above as if to absolve of pain and suffering. They are released in the following Act as Wade in the Water and Rocka My Soul washes away strife and the full ensemble reunites for a celebratory dance of deliverance under the Southern Sun. The richness of Ailey’s choreography and overall pro duction will resonate with all viewers. It was a beautiful Sunday treat and I look forward to seeing other Ailey productions including Chroma and Annointed.

the first Black administrator to head NASA under President Obama’s administration. While Bolden, Jemison and Higginbotham enjoy new careers since their historic flights to space, for Chicagoans and nationally, Lawrence remains a hidden figure.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL (PRNewswire) As the fastest growing jazz & R&B festival in America moves to celebrate its twelfth successful year, the City of Miami Gardens is excited to announce the lineup for the Annual Jazz in the Gardens (JITG) Music Festival, taking place on March 18and March 19th, 2017 at the newly named Hard Rock Stadium (347 Don Shula Drive, Miami Gardens, Fla 33056. Tickets are on sale now at www.jazzinthegardens.com This year’s performances will feature three-time Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Jill Scott, legendary hip

hop artist LL COOL J feat.

DJ Z-TRIP, socially conscious rap pioneer Common, smooth crooner Robin Thicke, hip hop legends The Roots, up and coming soul singer Andra Day, jazz royalty Herbie Hancock, sultry bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, queen of the “Miami Sound” Betty Wright, funk music innovator Morris Day & The Time, the JITG All-Stars Chante Moore, Will Downing & Marion Meadows and gospel sensation Smokie Norful!

Once again, JITG will be hosted by the hilarious radio personality Rickey Smiley, host

of the popular nationally syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show.

The incomparable Jill Scott!

“The Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival is coming back to Miami Gardens with a bang!

We’re excited to bring some of the hottest, most talented performers in music, such as Jill Scott and Common, and welcome hip-hop performers who are heavily influenced by jazz, like The Roots and LL COOL J feat. DJ Z-TRIP,” said Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert. “In our twelfth year, we feel positioned to evolve and reach across generations and genres to take Jazz in the Gardens to the next level.”

Boasting an annual attendance of over 70,000 music fanatics from all over the United States and the Caribbean Islands, the City’s signature event will also showcase local artists along with an array of tropical food vendors and a buzzing Marketplace.

On both Saturday and Sunday, doors to the Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival will open at 3 p.m. and the show will start at 4 p.m.

Official Site: www.jazzinthegardens.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/ jazzinthegardensn; Twitter: www.twitter.com/jazzgardens; I n s t a g r a m : www.instagram.com/jitg12 #JITG12

PAGE 12 • MARCH 9 - MARCH 15, 2017

Westside Gazette

Our family has history, too

www.thewestsidegazette.com Jackson is Aurellia's paternal aunt.

At a time when Blacks were treated separate and unequal and women were also denied equal access to employment opportunities, the women, who were mathematicians, served critical roles in NASA’s success.

Jackson started at NASA as a “human computer” in 1951, then called National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, but continued her education and work at NASA to become NASA’s first Black female engineer in 1958. She retired in 1985.

Aurellia grew up on a tobacco farm in Hallsboro, North Carolina, the same farm we used to

visit as children when we would go visit our relatives during the summer. It was reported in the Times Free Press by Yolanda Putman that Aurellia developed her love for math by working at the family store. Items weren’t pre-packaged then, so people would come and ask for a half pound of flour, and she had to know how to measure and then compute the cost.

Aurellia graduated high school at age 15. She started work at NASA at age 19 after marrying.

Much of this article came from an article written for the Times Free Press by Yolanda Putman

Essie Mae Thomas answered God’s call

Family photo sitting l-r: Dorothy ‘Aunt Dot’ and Cousin Aurellia Mitchell Boza. Standing l-r: Carma Lynn Henry, Elizabeth “Dee” Henry, Sonia H. Robinson, Dwayne Dillard, Debbie Dillard, Francine D. Climes, Bobby R. Henry, Sr., Pamela H. Lewis and Andre Boaz

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr. Mary Winston Jackson, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration engineer portrayed by Janelle Monáe in the movie “Hidden Figures,” is a connecting relative, a late great aunt of our mother Geneva

Henry and our Aunt Dot Dorothy Dillard and Aunt Martha Jacobs. Jackson wasn’t the only “hidden figure” in our family.

We found out, as I’m sure other families have, about our history many years later when old stories came to life.

Aurellia Mitchell Boaz,( She is mentioned in chapter 10 of the Hidden Figures book) our cousin, also worked for NASA “as a human computer” from 1949 until 1956, when she left NASA to eventually live in Chattanooga with her husband, the late Dr. Lonnie Boaz, Jr.

Andre Boaz and his mother, Aurellia Mitchell Boaz, came to visit us in search of reconnecting with our Aunt Dot who is our deceased mother’s, (Geneva), sister.

After many, many years and a Facebook chat, the journey began.

Essie Mae Moore Thomas was born November 3, 1924 to the late Rev. Harvey Moore and Louisa Kenon.

She was educated in MidWay, Florida’s school system.

Essie met and married the late Andrew Glover and to this union a daughter, Angela Glover-Harrison was born and preceded her in death. She later met and married the late James Willie Thomas and to this union six children were born. A daughter, Gloria ThomasAvery, preceded her in death.

She worked for the State of Florida Family and Children Services and retired at the age of 75. When she retired, she visited the sick and took the “elderly” to doctor’s appointments and shopping.

She received Christ at an early age. She joined Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Rev. Coes. She continued to serve under Rev. O.C. Allen and now Dr. James B. Darling, Jr. She was a faithful servant.

She served as the secretary of Sunday school and Mission Ministry; and if something was not right she would speak her

THOMAS mind. She loved God and everyone around her.

Essie M. Thomas answered God’s call on Tuesday morning, February 14, 2017, at home.

Essie leaves to cherish her blessed memory a loving son: James Willie Thomas, Jr., four daughters: Patricia Halsell, Miami; Sherry Williams, Altamease (Steve) Bynes, West Palm Beach; Sandra (KC) Thomas; Goddaughter: Shirley Williams; a host of grand-children, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

THERE’S STRENGTH IN GIVING

62 million

$

Publix would like to thank our associates and Publix Super Markets Charities for strengthening our communities through their generous support of United Way.