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THURSDA Y, MA Y 5 - WEDNESDA Y, MA Y 11 THURSDAY MAY WEDNESDAY MAY 11,, 2016

400 at-risk students take Broward County by storm And when it is time, we Participants in the Firewall Centers’ after -school program learn firsthand after-school must face the peace what it means to serve others at the third annual ServeA-Thon Serve-A

Firewall Centers’ students, staff, and volunteers.

DAVIE, FL – On April 30, 2016, over 400 Firewall Centers’ students, their mentors, staff, and volunteers engaged in service projects throughout Broward County as a part of the agency’s third annual Serve-A-Thon pre-

sented by Regent Bank. This event not only impacts the community, but teaches Firewall students the value of serving others. Firewall Centers is a nonprofit organization based in Davie that runs daily afterschool programs in eight

Broward public middle and high schools. The program helps kids achieve academic success, build character and teaches them to be servant leaders.

“It was a pleasure for Regent Bank to sponsor the third annual Firewall Serve-A-

Thon,” said Giselle Bayona, vice president/commercial loan officer of Regent Bank and a Firewall Centers’ board member. “What a privilege to see over 400 kids and volunteers serving our community. These kids are the future of our country; it is so important to teach them how to serve others in order to become great leaders.”

Students started early in the morning with a breakfast graciously donated by Walmart.

Firewall Students from Blanche Ely High, Pompano Beach Middle and Plantation Middle served at Fort Lauderdale’s Snyder Park by mulching trails, painting picnic tables and restoring the butterfly garden.

A group from Bair Middle in Sunrise and Lauderhill six-12 STEM-MED sorted and packaged meals for the hungry at Feeding South Florida in Pembroke Park.

(Cont'd on Page 5)

“O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?”

Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr. What is supposed to be a special day set aside for recognizing mothers is shaping up to be a soul searching experience for me.

In life we were never guaranteed a smooth sailing from our birth to our death; however, we are given the assurance of a safe landing.

Mother’s Day, for most, holds as many fun and beautiful memories as an astonishing bouquet of glorious wildflowers beholden only to the splendors of an irreducible, purple hazed, orange colored sunset melting into a translucent, transitory, bed of comfort; perhaps the beauty won’t last and is ever changing.

For me, this week has been a very wearisome trek through life’s forest of unexpectedness.

The experiencing difficulties to which I (family/friends) was with visits by the Death Angel many times in a very short period.

(Cont'd on Page 5)

'Getting a healthy, wealthy mindset with Dr. Dennis Kimbro'

FAMU graduate and single mother, Taylor Hunter, is a testament to the power of perseverance support,” Hunter said. “The overwhelming amount of support I received for me and my daughter allowed me to enjoy the full college experience, and I can proudly say I am graduating on time.”

Hunter included her daughter, Haylie, in her celebratory graduation photo shoot to showcase how proud she is to be a mother and to inspire others to persist toward their dreams no matter what they may face in life.

(Cont'd on Page 5)

Dr. Dennis Kimbro during a financial workshop.

(Photo by AshleyAllen)

By K.L. Brown Attitude is something we shape and choose in determining our path in life and also is a factor in the number of digits in

our bank account. What do you think is a determining factor in having a healthy mind-set about your personal wealth?

According to Dr. Dennis Kimbro

during a financial workshop held at the New Mt. Olive Baptist Church (NMOBC), in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. recently.

Dr. Kimbro shared that we have to be conscious of our thought patterns in setting the tone over our life in determining our successes and withstanding our failures. We have to remind ourselves of our intentions to forge ahead in meeting our goals, regardless of the obstacles .

Could becoming a millionaire be as simple as gaining financial stability and wealth –by putting mind over money?

Dr. Kimbro thinks so and he said it this way, “it takes personal will power and action to have perception take over your reality. We are here to make money and not excuses due to our circumstances and where we came out of.”

(Cont'd on Page 3)

Debate rages over TV’s future Hunter and daughter Haylie.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – When Taylor Hunter discovered she was pregnant as a high school junior, she almost gave up on education and quit school.

“I just knew my life was over. Some mornings I didn’t want to go to school or finish,” Hunter said.

But somehow, the single mother remained tenacious.

Perseverance through teen pregnancy and financial setbacks is what led Hunter to where she is today – a magna cum laude graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU).

The senior social work student from Thomasville, Ga., says her daughter inspires her to keep moving forward and

not give up on her quest to succeed.

“Whenever I feel like giving up, I look at her picture on my phone and remember why I am working hard,” Hunter said.

“When you come from a strong, powerful, praying family like I do, negative thoughts vanish quickly!”

Hunter’s focus and commitment allowed her to successfully navigate through caring for a kindergarten aged daughter and taking 18 credit hours in one semester to meet her four-year graduation goal.

She counts her family as the beacons of light that lit the sometimes dim road she had to travel to achieve her goals.

“My parents and grandmother offered lots of familial

Pleading Our Own Cause

LIGGINS JOHNSON

By Josh Peterson, Urban News Service #16 Ben Ellzey, of Florida A&M University (FAMU), high fives #1 Brian Davis after crossing home plate. Ben had just hit a solo homerun, in the second inning, May 1, 2016, during game three of a three day game series vs. University of Miami (UM) at Mark Light Stadium in Coral Gables.

UM won the series 3-0.

Photo by Frederick Bryant FAMU: 1971- 1975

WWW.

It’s a spirited debate: Would minorities benefit if online video could stream through their set-top TV boxes?

Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, says yes. A range of minority advocacy groups say no. Both Johnson and people on the other side of the debate have commercial interests that align with their views.

(Cont'd on Page 9)

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Hepatitis awareness without action equals death

By Lucinda Porter, Formerly hep C+ nurse, author, and speaker working to make the world healthier and free of hepatitis C, while offering occasional levity Hepatitis Awareness Month is observed the entire month of May. Unlike HIV or breast cancer, hepatitis B and C are the awkward diseases that comedians joke about, but few understand the seriousness of these problems. Viral hepatitis desperately needs every bit of awareness and subsequent intervention and prevention it can muster.

Consider hepatitis C, the more prevalent of the two chronic forms of viral hepatitis.

Beginning in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the number of deaths associated with hepatitis C surpassed all 59 other notifiable infectious conditions. Despite the high mortality rate, funding for viral hepatitis-related services is paltry. Currently, there is no money for a nationally coordinated chronic viral hepatitis surveillance system.

The CDC conservatively estimates that there are 3.4 to 5.3 million people with chronic

hepatitis B and C in the US. Between 2010 and 2013, new hep C infection rates increased by 151 percent, largely because of opioid use. For the first time since 1990, the number of acute hepatitis B cases has increased.

The majority of people living with chronic viral hepatitis do not know they have it. Hepatitis Awareness Month isn’t reaching them. Viral hepatitis doesn’t have its own postage stamp or national spokesperson. Hepatitis organizations can’t even agree on the color of its awareness ribbons. Are they red, yellow, red and yellow, or red and blue? What we can agree on is that viral hepatitis is a huge problem and if we don’t act now, the death rate will continue to rise.

Although viral hepatitis does have an entire month devoted to awareness, the campaign

To

Levi Graham Henry, III "Little Levi" We love and miss you, your family

May 3, 1963 June 18, 1988

pales in comparison to an entire month of pink everything in October. Women dying from breast cancer are an awful reality, one that we as a nation can get behind. However, the American public isn’t sympathetic to hepatitis C sufferers, a disease that is deeply stigmatized because of its sometimesassociation with injection drug use.

And while I am comparing diseases, let’s look at HIV. It can be tricky comparing the two, because people living with HIV fought mightily for the services they finally got, and they need every penny of funding they have. AIDS day on December 1 is a powerful reminder of how precious everyone is, and why we need to find a cure for HIV. But more people are dying from hepatitis C than from HIV, and obviously Hepatitis Testing Day on May 19 is not getting the attention it needs.

Stigma plays a large part in keeping hepatitis C in the shadows. Between its association with injection drug use and the fact that it is infectious, it makes it hard to walk into the doctor’s office and request a test. The majority of those who are infected do not know it, and baby boomers bear the lion’s share of this silent disease.

Nearly 75 percent of Americans with hepatitis C are baby boomers; the CDC recommends testing all people born from 1945 through 1965.

What if we had a world without baby boomers? Or a world without musicians and other remarkable people with hepatitis C? We already know what it feels like to live in a world without Lou Reed, Natalie Cole, Ken Kesey, Etta James, Danny Kaye, and Allen Ginsberg.

Then there are the ones you don’t know about, the many patients and friends I lost to hepatitis C. This virus could have also taken David Crosby, Greg Allman, and Naomi Judd but medicine intervened.

Medical intervention spared the lives of my friends Karen, Chris, Jack, Lynn, Jane, Mike, Teresa, Rick and others.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

www.thewestsidegazette.com

The Justice Project

Lawrence Knight, Westside Gazette FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - The Urban League of Broward County (ULBC) hosted a restorative justice event on April 26, 2016. The event took place at The Urban League’s downtown headquarters at 560 N.W. 27 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. between the hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about community needs, address community policing and engagement and create an open dialogue for community relations with police officials.

Once the event began the adults and children were split up into two separate groups to engage police attending in productive dialogue regarding community relations. During their group time, community members and police were supposed to discuss and create strategies for improving community relations.

Each attendee was given a chance to express their individual ideas and experiences when dealing with police officers in and around their community via microphone. Everyone attending the forum at its conclusion made indivi-dual pledges to do their part to help the surrounding community by volunteering with local organizations or continuing with their existing volunteer work.

After intermission ended, youths attending their separate group activity. They were ushered in to watch a Ted Talk video segment on techniques police should apply when serving the community.

The video’s speaker, a former police officer himself, emphasized the need for police officers to exercise a balance in their duties, which is to protect as well as serve. He stated how too often police departments around the country had forgotten that they are servants of the communities they patrol

May 5 - May 11, 2016 • Page 3

Westside Gazette and as a servant police must give back on a personal level.

Once the video ended, the staff members set up a stage to create a panel consisting of police officers paired with youths.

The purpose of the panel was to spark discussion on how police officers should interact with youths as well as how youths should interact with police officers. Each pair on the panel displayed their ideas and strategies discussed earlier during a separate segment for everyone in attendance to see.

During the intermission, I had a chance to speak with the head of the event’s staff, Ms. Courtnee Biscardi and asked her what the ULBC wanted to accomplish with this event moving forward. Her official statement was, “We want to highlight how law enforcement and members of the community can positively interact with each other. We want to increase the level of accountability and trust between the community and law enforcement. We also want to see those who participated today to spread the message within their neighborhoods and law enforcement agencies in an effort to strengthen our community”.

I also got a chance to speak with Miramar’s Police Chief Dexter Williams about existing strategies his police department had in place for productive relations with police officers and community members.

He replied, “The first thing you have to have is commonality on the purpose and your base strategy has to be to adopt 21st century policing, which was the framework that was instituted by the White House. There are six pillar concepts, with those

'Getting a healthy, wealthy mindset with Dr. Dennis Kimbro'

six pillars you build your organization to follow each one and when you do that you now have a strategy in place to address social norms in your community as well as officer behavior issues”.

This event was definitely a step in the right direction for improving minority community relations with police, but we

still have a long way to go.

There are deep rooted issues like generational racism in the justice system of America that weren’t really addressed by police officials during the event.

However, I’m definitely always open for peaceful resolutions to systemic problems. Never forget that love is more powerful than hate, because it last longer.

Special thanks to the sponsors of ‘’The Justice Project”, the Children’s Services Council, Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the Attorney General of The State of Florida, in partnership with the Fort Lauderdale Black Police Officer Association, City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Legal Aid and Pepsi.

Several states take a fresh approach on teacher training Multiple states in the U.S. are implementing efforts to ensure that students, regardless of their income level, ethnicity or race, are provided with quality teachers. In short, they are eliminating all of the factors that seem to affect education.

Arne Duncan, the United States Secretary of Education, said that it is critical for the parents to understand that strong teaching is paramount for creating opportunities for the students. Duncan added that the U.S. must make quality education a right to all the families without considering their first language, wealth, zip code, origin, ethnicity or race.

The Department of Education, in October 2015, stated that the District of Columbia and 33 states have departmentapproved plans to see to it that learners have access to excellent teachers.

There is a program entitled, “Professional Pathways for Alabama Teachers” in Alabama that aims at seeking career development opportunities for its teachers. This pilot program will support and attract new educators while improving the retention and recognition of the service of the teachers that have been effective.

Michigan has a similar program called the “Michigan Teacher Corps.” It aims at at-

tracting and retaining experienced teachers in the lowestperforming schools in Michigan.

The priority goes to the schools that serve Black students and low-income families.

In Maryland’s Howard County, the local school district has come together with the McDaniel College to form the “Teachers for Tomorrow” initiative.

The initiative is meant to provide country learners with four years of paid internships.

$1.5M HIV, hepatitis intervention targets at-risk young Black males Sandra Barnes (John Russell/Vanderbilt)

By Joan Brasher HIV diagnoses are disproportionately high among young African American males, especially those who engage in sexual activity with men (MSM). A new $1.5 million Vanderbilt study supported by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services is addressing this troubling trend.

The study is a unique partner-

BARNES

ship with First Response Center, a nonprofit HIV/AIDS prevention and care organization run

by Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in North Nashville. FRC has been serving this population for more than 16 years.

“Interventions and services are out there, but the numbers are still rising,” said Sandra L. Barnes, lead investigator of the study. “ (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

“ Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.”

(Photo by Ashley Allen) (Cont'd from FP) That is why some are rich and others are impoverished.

There are big dreamers and non-dreamers in our society and that distinction is not determined by if you drive a Kia verses a beamer.

During the workshop he outlined seven wealth choice laws to govern us, such as: Knowledge – wealth begins in the mind and ends in the purse; Decision – in deciding not to be poor; Believe – in yourself regardless if others don’t; Unique Gift - find yours; Ask – How can I serve thee?; Own your own and Make your money grow.

Of the 142,000 households in 2015 worth $25million or more, up from 132,000 in 2013 – the rich are getting richer!

Also as a side- note as the rich are indeed getting richer, more people are becoming wealthy.

The millionaire population plunged in 2008, but is bouncing back. You mean being wealthy is not rich?

Dr. Kimbro’s philosophy is to not necessarily strive to be a millionaire, but aim more towards self fulfillment. He advised that money is not the bottom line – love is! He emphasized to never do it for the money – it won’t sustain you in keeping it going! Find your area of excellence, and there the marketplace will then seek you out.

The author, professor and faculty member at Clark Atlanta University School of Business Administration, certified Napoleon Hill Science of Success trainer and lead-ership coach whom is also re-ferred to as a ‘thought leader’ provided the adult audience at NMOBC, ideas, strategies and success principles to be guided by in seeking ‘A Transformed Financial Mindset.’

Dr. Kimbro also has authored five books that have influenced readers from all over the world.

Relayed in his talks about financial success are biblical references to support his theory that if you can’t save ten per-

cent of your resources whether tithing or saving, you won’t succeed in multiplying your assets.

Dr. Kimbro started out on his crusade studying why people of color in impoverished countries weren’t as wealthy as those not of color while getting his doctorate degree from Northwestern University.

He found that there wasn’t much of a difference between those countries and the United States in terms of the ratio of the 1% rich vs. the vast majority of poor.

“Wealth doesn’t seem to penetrate the families and communities where people of color lay their heads unless they are an athletic or an entertainer.

So is the difference in their mindsets or perseverance,” asked Kimbro.

—William Makepeace Thackeray

The caliber of millionaires and billionaires he interviewed resembled the same message he heard from them time and time again in following the same path in succeeding, whereas, finding the unsuccessful all fell into the same pit over and over again in the opposite direction.

The question remains through those inquisitions of how can impoverished Black Americans pull themselves out of poverty and reach their full potential, still has Dr. Kimbro searching for the answers.

The NMOBC Stewardship Ministry presented the occasion for adults with Dr. Kimbro and on a separate day for the children on the topic of financial stewardship. There were over seventy children that attended , and deemed a success will be continued as an annual event.

VITAS Pays Tribute to Mothers

JESSIE TRICE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER’S DR. JOCELYN LAWRENCE SERVES AS GUEST SPEAKER AT UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI’S MINORITY HEALTH MONTH MEET AND GREET -- Dr. Jocelyn Lawrence, Chief Medical Officer of the Jessie Trice Community Health Center recently served as guest speaker for the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine’s Minority Health Month meet and greet. Dr. Lawrence gave an address about the Black livelihood in Miami and the status of the community’s present health and needs. The meet and greet, held in recognition of Minority Health Month was hosted by the Black Graduate Student Association and Student National Medical Association, cosponsored by the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine.

My mother is always with me • She’s the whisper of the leaves as I walk down the street • She’s the smell of bleach in my freshly laundered socks • She’s the cool hand on my brow when I’m not well • My mother lives inside my laughter • She’s crystallized in every tear drop • She’s the place I came from, my first home • She’s the map I follow with every step I take • She’s my first love and my first heartbreak • Nothing on earth can separate us … not time, not space … not even death!

SINCE 1980

For more information on VITAS services in Broward County, please contact Deborah Mizell, community liaison, at 954.777.1824.

800.723.3233 • VITAS.com

Page 4 • May 5 - May 11, 2016

Opinion

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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.

Washington, D.C.’s version of Saturday Night Live

By George E. Curry George Curry Media Columnist Last Saturday, President Obama attended his eighth and final White House Correspondents Dinner as President. Below are my favorite President Obama zingers from the night: I do apologize - I know I was a little late tonight. I was running on C.P.T. - (laughter) - which stands for “jokes that white people should not make.”

(Laughter and applause.)

My eighth and final appearance at this unique event. (Laughter.) And I am excited. If this material works well,

I’m going to use it at Goldman Sachs next year. (Laughter and applause.)

Earn me some serious Tubmans.

Next year at this time, someone else will be standing here in this very spot, and it’s anyone’s guess who she will be.

But the prospect of leaving the White House is a mixed bag. You might have heard that someone jumped the White House fence last week, but I have to give Secret Service credit - they found Michelle, brought her back, she’s safe back at home now.

I love Joe Biden, I really do. And I want to thank him for his friendship,

Jackie Robinson and the cost of racism

By Lee A. Daniels George Curry Media Columnist Another baseball season has opened, and with it, Major League Baseball’s annual homage to Jack Roosevelt Robinson, more popularly known as Jackie Robinson, whose breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers was one of the late 1940s’ harbingers of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

This year, the tribute to Robinson was complemented by documentarian Ken Burns’ superb exploration on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) of Robinson’s life and the American society of the mid-20th century.

As Burns shows, Robinson’s importance to all of America’s 20th century history can’t be overstated. Branch Rickey, the Dodgers owner who considered integrating baseball his mission, “needed a soldier” in the fight for racial equality, as Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, says in the documentary: someone whose inner strength and unshakable allegiance to Black Americans’ struggle would enable him to stoically withstand the venomous racism within baseball’s ranks, and among many of its fans and other Whites throughout the country. (One can get a sense of what Robinson endured from the misogynistic abuse hurled now at many female sports reporters and sportswriters via social media.)

But Robinson’s cloaked anger likely intensified his naturally fierce competitive instincts on the diamond.

Smart at bat and swift and daring on the base paths, he won the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award and two years later captured the League’s Most Valuable Player honor. Two decades before the Yankees star Reggie Jackson said of himself that he was “the straw that stirs the drink,” Jack Roosevelt Robinson was that not just for the Dodgers. He was that for Black America, too.

This isn’t to slight all the work civil rights activists were engaged in in the late 1940s. Rather, it’s to underscore that then, unlike the crowded professional sports world of today, baseball reigned supreme, literally worshipped as the uniquely “American” game. Its mythic designation, which took shape in the 19th century, undoubtedly contributed to the Major League teams’ de facto agreement to bar Black players in 1897-one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalized racism in the infamous Plessy decision.

So, Robinson’s breaking baseball’s color barrier had meaning far beyond the game itself. He “represented” as well as any one individual could Black Americans’ confidence in their fitness as American citizens and their unceasing determination to claim their rightful place in American society.

Much of the telling of the Jackie Robinson story has focused on that broader history of the cost of racism to Blacks generally and to him specifically. The latter truth is especially poignant when one considers that because of the Major League’s racist rule, Robinson, who was a multi-sport star in high school in the late 1930s, effectively lost a full decade of a career in the Major Leagues.

But there’s another facet to the Jackie Robinson story that’s too little discussed, or even noticed. That is what racism - the banning of Black players from the Major Leagues - cost Major League baseball itself. We can see one dramatic example of that by considering Robinson’s pre-Brooklyn Dodgers experience with another

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for his counsel, for always giving it to me straight, for not shooting anybody in the face. (Laughter.)

We’ve got the bright new face of the Democratic Party here tonight — Mr. Bernie Sanders! (Applause.) There he is - Bernie! (Applause.) Bernie, you look like a million bucks. (Laughter.)

Or to put it in terms you’ll understand, you look like 37,000 donations of 27 dollars each.

And then there’s Ted Cruz. Ted had a tough week. He went to Indiana — Hoosier country — stood on a basketball court, and called the hoop a “basketball ring.” (Laughter and Major League team: the Boston Red Sox. It’s well known that in 1945 Robinson endured a “sham tryout” with the Red Sox, whose owner was fully committed to preserving baseball’s color barrier. The Dodgers and Robinson himself reaped the benefit. In his rookie year and for five more times during his 10-year career, Robinson and the Dodgers played in the World Series. Each time they played their hated crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, winning only once.

Meanwhile, after making it to the World Series in 1946, the Red Sox began a 20-year exile from World Series play. In 1951, however, they did have the opportunity to atone for their mistake in not taking Robinson by drafting a “can’t miss” Black teenage phenom from Alabama. But once again they kept to their no-Blacks rule.

That teenage phenom was Willie Mays. He was drafted instead by the New York (baseball) Giants and by 1954 was playing in the World Series.

The Red Sox didn’t sign a Black player until 1959 - the last Major League team to do so. They didn’t get back to the World Series until 1967.

Consider this fact: In the 20 years from 1945 to 1965, the New York Yankees were “Baseball’s Team.” With a lineup that included some of the greatest players in the game’s history, they appeared in an astounding 15 World Series and won 10 of them.

Now, imagine a post-1945 to early1960s Boston Red Sox team with a lineup that included Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays, a dazzling outfielder and power hitter, and Ted Williams, arguably the game’s greatest pure hitter, and ponder this question: How many times during those decades would it have been the Boston Red Sox, not the New York Yankees, in the World Series?

Just in baseball terms, that could be a magnificent debate. In terms of the larger American society, it’s stark evidence that racism has always had a cost that’s borne on both sides of the Color Line.

Lee A. Daniels, a longtime journalist, is a keynote speaker and author. He worked with Rachel Robinson on her 1996 book, Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait.

He can be reached at leedanielsjournalist@gmail.com

applause.) What else is in his lexicon? Baseball sticks? Football hats?

(Laughter.) But sure, I’m the foreign one. (Laughter and applause.)

The Republican establishment is incredulous that he is their most likely nominee - incredulous, shocking. They say Donald lacks the foreign policy experience to be president. But, news channel among viewers who have no idea what “shade” means.

I think Fox News secretly likes Beyoncé, though. They just renamed The Kelly File, “Becky with the good hair.”

MSNBC - MSNBC here tonight?

No? Which actually now stands for “Missing a Significant Number of Black Correspondents.” Am I wrong? They like fired Melissa Harris-Perry, they canceled Joy Reid, they booted Touré.

I heard they put Chris Hayes on probation because they thought he was related to Isaac Hayes. That’s wrong.

You know, I should say some of America’s finest Black journalists are here tonight. Don Lemon’s here, too.

But to say a little bit about me, so, I am a Black man who replaced a white man who pretended to be a TV newscaster. So, yeah, in that way Lester Holt and I have a lot in common.

President’s hair is so white it keeps saying “all lives matter.”

All I’m saying is that in less than eight years, Mr. President, you’ve busted two time-honored stereotypes.

Black does crack, and apparently once you go Black, it looks like we are going back. Thanks, Ben Carson.

Lots of big news this year, the Treasury promised to put Harriet Tubman’s face on the $10 bill, but now we have to wait until 2030 for the $20 bill. Yeah. Man, women haven’t been this deceived by a bill since Cosby [groans].

Donald Trump said that if Hillary Clinton were a man, he didn’t think she’d get 5 percent of the vote. Okay, alright, alright. First of all, if Hillary Clinton were suddenly a man, her biggest problem would be finding a bathroom she’d be allowed to use in North Carolina.

And I can’t understand why everyone treats Donald Trump with kid gloves. And then I realized they’re the only gloves that’ll fit his stupid, little baby hands.

And this is your last year in office, right, so now your legacy begins. So I wanna talk about what you’re leaving behind, and I don’t mean the Black Jesus in the Lincoln bedroom...No, I’m just saying, make sure you take all of your culturally specific items with you so you can get your security deposit back, Mr. President.

George E. Curry is president and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National Newspaper Publi-shers Association News Service (NNPA).

He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach.

What are Blacks fighting for in the 2016 Election?

By Roger Caldwell At this time in the Presidential primary, everyone who follows politics in America is assuming that Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump will become the presumed nominee for their party. Everyone knows anything can happen before the conferences, but in all probability, the two candidates have worked extremely hard to deserve the nomination.

Without the Black and Hispanic vote, Hilary will lose the election.

President Obama established a winning formula in 2008 and 2012 with social media, the support of the minority community, youth, seniors, women, and first time voters. Clinton is well aware of the President’s winning formula, and her campaign team is trying to replicate the same system. Many consider Clinton a part of the establishment, and this thinking does not add a positive element to her campaign.

Trump and Bernie Sanders have built a social movement with their campaigns as outsiders and they are connected to the grassroots element in their party. Voting is about excitement and enthusiasm, and this is what’s seen at their rallies.

At Clinton’s campaign rallies, the element of excitement, enthusiasm, and size appears to be missing. Even though she talks about racial violence and discrimination, the Black community is still not completely behind her campaign.

In 2016, the Black community appears lethargic, and unconcerned about issues impacting their communities. There is a plethora of Black issues that should be addressed by Clinton, and the Democratic Party, because the Republican Party has written off the Black vote.

Since there is only one choice for the Black community in the 2016 election, there should be a mass mobilization of power around our issues. Both parties know that 90 percent of the Black vote will go to the Democratic nominee, so the Democratic Party leadership is not forced to give up any demands because Blacks are not organized.

Not only does the Democratic leadership not have to commit to Black demands, Black leadership is not asking the Democratic leadership to support Black candidates. In 2016, it is not politically correct for Blacks to support a candidate only because he/she is Black. Instead of getting more Blacks in positions of power, and representing the Black community, no one is talking.

Blacks have not begun to understand their power when they vote as a block.

With all the problems that Black communities have had with police brutality, and police killings, this should be one of the first demands on the list

The Gantt Report

Good moms and bad moms

By Lucius Gantt Happy Mother’s Day week to all of the good mothers around the world!

I will explain what I mean by “good mothers” later.

I loved my mother, who is celebrating this year’s holiday in The Land of Plenty, referred to as Heaven by Black community Christians.

Growing up in my hometown of Atlanta, Ga., many people called me “Thelma’s baby boy”. If you purchased and read my latest book, Beast Too: Dead Man Writing, you would know that I dedicated that book to my mom.

My good friend and Pastor Herman Haynes told mourners at Mom’s home going services that “the apple didn’t fall far from the tree”.

If you think I have a sharp pen and a sharp tongue, my mother was never afraid to say what she thought or whatever she wanted to say!

I can’t say that Thelma was the greatest Mom or the best wife but I can say she was perfect for me.

She was like the female version of Victor Newman, a character on The Young and the Restless television soap opera. She loved her family deeply and did everything she could for my sister Sheil, and I. Mama was fair but firm! She was the queen of her house and her rules were absolute law.

She told her kids to “do the right things and stay out of trouble.” She said, “If you go to jail, I’m not coming to see you or get you out!”

Well, we did and she didn’t! However, she would encourage Grandmother or Daddy to get her babies out of jail. Even when I was charged and arrested for felony assault on a law enforcement officer, she didn’t lift a finger to get me out of the jailhouse.

But during the trial, she did send her husband (my Dad was deceased) to Tallahassee and ordered him to go to court every day and to report to her every night about what happened in the court room.

I have written Gantt Reports for 30 years and two books of Gantt Report columns but my mother never read more than one or two paragraphs because she didn’t like for me to express myself so strongly when writing about equal rights and justice because she thought some deranged racist would kill me or at least try to.

But my mother never ever told me to stop writing. She knew it was my calling and my media talent was a gift from God that I had to use and share.

I will always love you Mama!

Now, every mother is not a good mother! Only God can judge moms but I can tell you what I don’t like about some mothers.

Every child deserves to know their mother and father and every child should honor their mother and father.

Some parents occasionally fuss and fight and disagree but children should love both parents anyway.

In my opinion, the worst thing a mother can do is turn children against their fathers that love them and want to be an integral part of their children’s lives.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com) to the Democratic Party. At every Democratic rally, the candidates should be talking about the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Oscar Grant, and the hundreds more in the towns where they have rallies.

They will find more Blacks excited about supporting their campaigns when candidates are addressing Black concerns.

Not only should the Democratic candidates start talking more about the state of Black America, Black political representatives should also be more engaged with Black issues and Black power. On a local, state and national level, Black leaders should be educating Black residents on who they should be supporting.

They should also be exposing members of the Democratic Party who have voted against the issues in the Black community. There is power in the vote when Blacks operate as a united front, and stop letting the politics of fear consume them when they are in office.

There are over 2.2 million Black men and women who are not able to vote because of a felony conviction; yet they have paid their debt to society. There are more than 50 reasons why Blacks must fight in the 2016 election.

Jobs, quality education, justice, economic equality, voter rights, healthcare, mass incarceration, police brutality, environmental justice, and clean water are just a few of the issues Blacks should be fighting for in 2016.

The Black Press, Black leaders, and Black media should lead the way.

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May 5 - May 11, 2016 • Page 5

Westside Gazette

107th Annual Grand Communication Submitted By RW Bobby R. Henry, Sr., 33º, Grand Publicist

Members of the 9th Masonic District. Taken at the 2016 Grand Lodge/Grand Chapter Awards Banquet in Orlando, FL Pictured from left to right: MW Mark S. Jordan Sr., 33º, Grand Master; Sis. LaRhonda Ware-McPhaul, Worthy Matron, Rebecca Chapter #124, OES (Fort Lauderdale); RW Bobby R. Henry, 33º, Grand Publicist; Companion Raymond Higgins, 33º, Most Excellent Grand High Priest, Holy Grand Royal Arch Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, State of Florida; MW Joshua D. Scruggs, 33º, Past Grand Master; Bro. Leonard Brown, 33º, Grand Worthy Patron, Royal Grand Chapter—OES, State of Florida; Bro. Willie Dennis, Grand Sentinel, Royal Grand Chapter—OES, State of Florida & Worthy Patron of Rebecca Chapter #124, OES, (Fort Lauderdale); and Sister Yolanda Dewar, Associate Matron, Rebecca Chapter #124, OES, (Fort Lauderdale).

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Florida, Incorporated, recently held its 107th Annual Grand Communication in Orlando, Florida.

Each year, Lodges, Chapters, Brothers and Sisters from across the State of Florida assemble to conduct the business of our Ancient & Honorable Fraternity.

During the course of this week of activities our Grand Lodge held the Youth Department Prayer Breakfast, Opening Religious Service, Youth Department Oratorical Contest, Knights Templar/Lady of Knights Religious Service/ Gospel Concert, United Grand Court—-Heroines of Jericho Scholarship Banquet, and the Annual Grand Business Sessions of each of the Cognate Branches of Freemasonry working under the confines of our Masonic Jurisdiction.

One of the highlights of the week is the Annual Grand Lodge/Grand Chapter Awards Banquet. During this event Masons, Eastern Stars, Lodges, and Chapters throughout the State of Florida are awarded

400 at-risk students take Broward County by storm (Cont' from FP) Western High and Indian Ridge Middle School students helped restore the Ann Storck Center in Fort Lauderdale, where nearly 300 children and young adults with physical and mental disabilities live.

Firewall students from Crystal Lake Middle in Pompano Beach fed the homeless and gave them clothes in partnership with Hope South Florida.

“The students were very enthusiastic. You could just see them in the future as outstanding adults by the way they served now as children,” said Pat Colangelo, director of Community Engagement and associate director of Operations for Trinity International

University Florida.

Joining the students were volunteers from Lifework Leadership and Regent Bank, who for the third year in a row has been the presenting sponsor for the Serve-A-Thon. Regent Bank team members across Broward and Palm Beach County fundraised in their local offices to support Firewall’s growth. Their support was invaluable to the success of the annual event.

Once the service projects were completed, all of the students and volunteers gathered at Snyder Park for a celebration that included lunch, a dance contest and games.

About Firewall Centers Firewall was established in 2003 in response to the death of

And when it is time, we must face the peace (Cont'd from FP) As with unexpected visitors and visits, they can present themselves with pleasantries as well as the “OMG can I recover from this knock upside my head with a sledgehammer,” unpleasant confrontation!

Once I was able to regain what semblance of composure I thought I learned and kept in my quiver of resourcefulness, I was hurriedly required to delved deeper into my soul for the much need Helper.

What-how-when, no not now and the all too familiar WHY were the subjects bouncing and gyrating in my head like bumper cars at the carnival.

As long as there is life and men/women have the ability to think and ponder, there will always be perplexing questions surrounding this inevitable interesting ending to LIFE as we know it.

Just as bewildering and oxymoronic as life is, death holds equally fascinating points.

One has only to embrace the inevitable with the wisdom of knowing, believing and the fear of the Lord to ease the sensation of what feels like swallowing a dump truck full of beach sand. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10 (NASB) So intriguing and so precious is death that only God knows the time and certainty of the moment for each one of us.

Not even Jesus himself nor the angels know the time or the appointed hour of our death; it’s just that precious and personal. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

Matthew 24:36 (NASB) What a relationship!

If we were to hold a mirror in the face of life, what other attribute would be as stunning or as qualifying or parallel to life other than death?

There are a number of scriptures that address this unavoidable certainty, and yes, there is even mentioned in the Holy Books about the experience of some who never died - they just “went up”, “Enoch was translated that he should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). Be that as it may, we do have to leave here-this place-this earth.

For some of us, our mothers are waiting “up there” and the only way for us to be reunited with them is to pass through this way by death.

“Life ain’t so bad because I have nothing to compare it to.

Death on the other hand must not be bad at all because no one has come back to complain!”

— Bobby R. Henry, Sr. “We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:8 To those who have passed this way never to return, God bless you all and may He welcome you with open arms and keep you in the comfort of a peace beyond ALL understanding.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

400 At-Risk Students Take Broward County by Storm fixing lunch. a 13-year-old girl who overdosed on drugs while left unsupervised during after-school hours. Ever since, the agency has been operating daily afterschool tutoring and mentoring centers for at-risk students that instill character values and promote academic success, supporting them as they strive toward their greatest potential.

For the 2015/2016 school year, Firewall’s T.H.I.N.K. (Take charge, Have a plan, Involve the right people, Never quit, Keep giving back) Leadership program has seven centers and is serving 400 Broward county students. The program’s overarching ob-jective is to improve perfor-mance outcomes among at-risk students as related to their school attendance, behavior, and course performance, thus helping them to ultimately achieve self-sufficiency as they pursue their life goals. You can learn more about Firewall Centers and how you can get involved at www.firewallcenters.org or follow them at www.facebook.com/

firewallcenters.

annually for meritorious accomplishments and achievements rendered to the Masonic Order within their respective communities.

This year, Masonic District #9, and the Broward County area, was well represented during the award presentations.

Broward County members recognized for their service and contributions to the Masonic Order included: MW Joshua D. Scruggs, 33°, Past Grand Master, who was presented with the 2016 Grand Master’s Cup Award, which is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a member of our Masonic Jurisdiction; RW Bobby R. Henry, Sr., 33°, Grand Publicist, was presented with the coveted 2016 Master Mason of the Year Award; and Brother Willie Dennis, Grand Sentinel, Royal Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, State of

Florida, received a Special Recognition Award for his contributions to the building improvement projects of our Grand East Temple (Headquarters Building in Orlando, Fla.).

MW Mark S. Jordan Sr., 33°, (Lauderdale Lakes, FL), was reelected for a second year as the Grand Master of The MWPHGL AF&AM of FL Inc. Sister Juanita Dixon (Jacksonville, Fla.) was reelected to serve for a second year as the Grand Worthy Matron of the Royal Grand Chapter—Order of the Eastern Star, State of Fla..

Brother Leonard Brown, 33°, (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has served as the Grand Worthy Patron of the Royal Grand Chapter for the past eight years.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV

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FAMU graduate (Cont'd from FP) The magna cum laude student joined more than 1,200 graduates at the April 30, 2016 commencement ceremony held in the Alfred Lawson Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium, 1800 Wahnish Way in Tallahassee, Fla. The commencement ceremony featured Obama appointee and U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. as the keynote speaker. At the 2 p.m. ceremony graduates heard from Florida Cabinet member and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam.

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Page 6 • May 5 - May 11, 2016

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Community Digest

WHERE SHOPPING IS A PLEASURE

Event

The Welcome Baptist Church invites the community to National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 12 noon, at 3480 N.E. Third Ave., Oakland Park, Fla., Rev. James G. Dye, Sr. senior pastor. For more information call (954) 564-4793 or email: pastorjdye@gmail.com

Conference

Spiritled Ministries presents Ablaze Women’s Conference 2016 Armed & Dangerous, Thursday, May 12 thru Sunday, May, 15, 2016, at 7 p.m., at The Light Center, 1100 N.W. Fourth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Teen girls’ session (ages 13-17); conference T-shirts available. All services will be held at The Light Center. Registration is available online at www.thespiritled.com for cost and additional info call (954) 533-8023 or email us at spiritled@tlcfl.org

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.

Here is the schedule of Destination Fridays events in 2016: * May is Haitian History Month, Friday, May 6, 2016 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. This age 21-and-over.

For cost go through Eventbrite * Hurricane Preparedness, Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Family Fun & free give giveways. Get Broward County's Hurricane Prepared ness Guide at Broward.org/ Hurricance * September 9 - Madrid, Spain * October 7 - New York City (Harlem Renaissance)

Event

Program

Pastor Parrott Pastor Benjamin H. Parrott of CFMBC proudly invites children, families and friends to the Kick-Off Celebration of Florida’s Summer Free Food program food tasting, Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1907 N.W. 60 St., Miami, Fla. For additional info contact Anna Jackson at (305) 308-0542, email jcksnaa@aol.com

BMSD Healthy Community Zone presents, Project Brain, Sweet & Delicious, Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Delevoe Park, 2520 N.W. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Project Brain is a Broward County student-driven brain health campaign empowering students to reduce their consumption of alcohol.

Meeting Central County Community Advisory Board (CCCAB), Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 6 p.m., at Roosevelt Gardens Community Center, 2814 N.W. 11 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info all Aretha Wimberly, at (954) 357-7794

TODAY'S BLACK NEWS IS TOMORROW'S BLACK HISTORY

Shows

Dillard Center for the Arts: Hot Picks upcoming shows, at 2501 N.W. 11 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. · Motown Revue, A nostalgic journey through the sounds of the Motown Era. The music that defined a generation!, Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m., at DCA, at the Recital Hall, free admission. ·Sweet Dillard documentary, Swinging To The Top Of Them Craft, Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 4 p.m., at in the DCA Theater.

Free admission, for additional info call (754) 32-0838. · Unconquered, featuring Dillard High Marching Band Drumline –Auxiliary Units, Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 6 p.m., in the DCA Theater. For cost and additional info call (754) 322-0838.

Seminar

Dealing with stress through spiritual renewal? Learn how to be renewed and refreshed, Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 1 to 3 p.m., by Dr. Anthony J. Fisehetto, licensed psychologist and director of the Alpha Omega Counseling Center, Inc. presents at Sixth Street Church of Christ, 2190 S.W. Sixth St., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Symposium

The Florida Department of Health in Broward County and community partners will host the sixth annual Transgender Medical Symposium, Thursday, and Friday, May 12, 13, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1100 S.E. 17 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Registration is fee, open to the public and is designed to educate providers, licensed professionals and their support staff.

CME's and CEU's will be available for licensed professionals (excluding physicians). To register or for more info visit www.t-houseonline.com or call (954) 213-0610.

Prayer

National Day of Prayer Task Force Thursday, May 5, 2016 services will be held at 12 noon to 2 p.m., at City Hall City of Fort Lauderdale, 100 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla; City Hall City of Lauderhill, 5581 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park, Fla; City Hall City of Lauderdale Lakes Multipurpose Room 4340 N.W. 36 St., Lauderdale Lakes. Fla; City of Sunrise City Hall at the Flag Pole 10770 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park, Fla.

Dinner

Fish Fry

Attention: Cancer survivors of all ages Relay For Life of Carter Park, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes & North Lauderdale events cordially invites the community to an Annual Survivors Dinner, Friday, May 20, 2016 at 6 p.m. Go to www.relayforlife.org/ Carterparkfl or contact Stacy Anderson at (754) 368-1945 for details. RSVP by May 10, 2016

The Eta Nu chapter of Omega Phi Psi Fraternity will be hosting a scholarship fundraiser – Every Friday Night Fish Fry Fundraiser, Friday April - thru May, 2016 at 7:30 p.m., until at the Frat house 723 N.W. Sixth St., Pompano Beach, Fla. All proceeds from this event will be used for scholarships and will support the chapter’s commitment towards educating our youth.

(954) 444-7994

Concerts

Services

Friday Night Tunes, a concert series at Joseph C. Carter Park, from 7 to 10 p.m., at 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Concert schedule: Friday, May 13, The Too Hot Band (Motown/Top 40); Friday, June 3, Derick Hadley and the Motowners (Motown). Food Truck available on site. For more info visit: www.fortlauderdale.gov/ friday or call (954) 828-5363

Programs

Broward County Animal Care & Humane Society of Broward County presents: Portable Spay-Neuter Unit at Delevoe Park, 2520 N.W. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Provides sterilization services for: Owned dogs and cats; community/ neighborhood cats; residents who have received a SNIP voucher. Spay/neuter surgeries are by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, call (954) 463-463-SPAY.

Program

Urban League of Broward County Summer Enrichment Program Summer Enrichment orientation dates: · Wednesday, May 5, 2016 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at William Dandy Middle School, 2400 N.W. 26 St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 584-0777 or email summercamp@ulbcfl.org ·Tuesday, May 17/ Tuesday, May 24, 2016 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Urban League of Broward County Sunshine Health Community Empowerment Center, 560 N.W. 27 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. *Parents must attend one orientation session.

TO HAVE YOUR UPCOMING EVENTS POSTED PLEASE CALL -- (954) 525-1489 FOR MORE INFO FAX -- (954) 525-1861 OR EMAIL: wgproof@thewestsidegazette.com

Broward County’s Call Center is your single source for BMSD services and programs.

Simply dial 311 or (954) 8314000 (954) 831-3940 – TTY for hearing impaired. English, Spanish and Creole speaking specialists are available hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., under emergency condition they are open 24 hours a day, 7 day a week.

Employment Opportunities

The Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of South Florida’s mission is to be a leader in providing self-help skills and employment opportunities for disadvantaged and underemployed residents. The OIC is a community-based workforce, job development and training center. For more info call (954) 563-3535 or visit OICofBrowardCounty.org.

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

Church Directory

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

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

Reverend Jimmy L. English PASTOR 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"

Elevating Word Church 911 N.W. 209 Ave., Suite 122 PEMBROKE PINES, FL 33029 (954) 297-9530 ewc@elevatingwordchurch.org www.elevatingwordchurch.org Sunday Prayer -- 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship -- 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday Adult & Youth Bible Study -- 7:30 p.m.

MONTHLY EVENTS *Men’s and Women’s Ministry, *Villa Maria Nursing Home *Food Distribution

Pastor McQuaise & Antoinette Hepburn

“Renewing minds, transforming lives, and impacting the world for Christ.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where the kingdom of God is increased through Fellowship.

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

St Paul United Methodist Church 244 S.E. Second Avenue Deerfield Beach, Florida 33341 (954) 427-9407 EMAIL EMAIL:: Stpaulmeth@bellsouth.net WEBSITE WEBSITE:: saintpauldeerfield.com

Rev. Dr. Jimmie L. Brown Senior Pastor

SERVICES

Sunday School .................................................................................... 10 a.m.

Sunday Worship ................................................................................ 11 a.m.

Bible Study (Tuesday) ....................................................... 11 a.m. & 7.p.m.

Obituaries James C. Boyd Funeral Home PIERRE Funeral services for the late Gabriel Dulcio Jean-Pierre – 91 were held April 30 at Eglise Baptiste Emmaus with Pasteur Dieuseul-St–Jean officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

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

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

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

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

Mount Calvary Baptist Church

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

Reverend Anthony Burrell, Pastor SCHEDULE OF SERVICES SUNDAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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”

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

Join The Religious Elite In Our Church Directory call us TToday oday -- (954) 525-1489

May 5 - May 11, 2016 • Page 7

Westside Gazette

McWhite's Funeral Home ALLEYNE Funeral services for the late Sylvia Odessa Alleye – 81 were held April 11 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

BROWN Funeral services for the late Harmon “Speedy” Brown 74 were held April 30 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel.

Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

HALL Funeral services for the late Mary Anne Hall - 69 were held April 23 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Elder Tommie Bryant officiating. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

HAYE Funeral services for the late Marvis Maude Haye - 85 were

held April 30 at The Faith Center with Elder Delton McDonald officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens.

JOSEPH Funeral services for the late Alanone Joseph – 61 were held April 30 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Elder Andrew Jenkins officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Central.

SMITH Funeral services for the late Pauline Ellissa Smith - 64 were held April 30 Church by the Glades with Pastor Cunningham officiating. Interment: Bailey Memorial Gardens.

SNELL Funeral services for the late Judith Ann Snell – 59 were held April 30 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Rev. Pope officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Central.

VEGA Funeral services for the late Luisa Amanda Vega – 51 were held April 28 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel.

Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home

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

Rev. Cal Hopkins.

M.Div) Senior Pastor/Teacher

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kids Talk About God How big is the love of God?

By Carey Kinsolving and friends “God’s love is so big, almost nobody can explain it,” says Jamie, age 8. “It’s bigger than 999,999,999 gallons of chocolate milk.

No one really knows how big his love is, but all I know is that he loves us no matter what.”

We’re so used to conditional love that it’s difficult even to imagine a God who loves us unconditionally. Human love is often evoked by appealing or beautiful qualities in people. But what about loving people who repulse, despise or even hate us?

That’s a different kind of love.

“God’s love is bigger than people’s love, dogs’ love and everyone’s love,” says Catherine, 8.

I’ve noticed a consistent pattern of children wanting their dogs in heaven. These amazing animals seem to be equipped with an unconditional-love button for their masters. No matter how many times you come home, your dog is always excited.

Your cat may wake up, meow and go back to sleep.

“Sometimes, I call my sister a bad name. When I get in trouble, God helps me stop crying,” says Spencer, age unknown.

God’s love is bigger than the pain of our failure and sin.

Emotional pain can drive us to bitterness and hardness, or to healing and restored fellowship with God. The evil one would keep us in bondage by having us dwell on our past sins. To be sure, there are always people who want to manipulate us by bringing up past sins. The reality of God’s love must become bigger than past failures.

If your spouse has an elephant’s memory, I recommend a bulldog faith that seizes forgiveness of sin through Jesus’ cross and refuses to let go. Determine to live in the light of God’s opinion of you as his beloved child instead of the guilt and condemnation of your past failures.

Until God’s love affects the way we view ourselves and others, it has minimal impact on the way we live. The Apostle John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Jesus offers salvation from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the presence of sin.

When Christians confess their sins to God, they experience forgiveness, restoration to fellowship with God and freedom from sin’s power. Sin’s penalty of being separated from God forever can’t touch those who have trusted the Lord Jesus as Savior. Confession to God allows believers to agree with God regarding sin and to experience his love afresh as they walk in the light of his will.

“God’s love will never end,” COBWELL says Kasey, 8. It’s bigger than a hundred trillion, billion elFuneral services ephants! If I compare God’s for the late Melvin love to anything, God’s love Cobwell - 50 would be bigger.” were held April 30 Think about this: When at Roy Mizell Kurtz we’re filled with God’s love, Chapel. there’s no room for fear, guilt, hatred, bitterness, envy or the MARTIN past failures that torment us.

When we realize that Jesus’ Funeral services sacrifice on the cross is greater for the late Gary than any sin we can commit, Hernandez “Bewe start to live free. God’s unBe” Martin - 52 conditional love has the power were held April 30 to transform us into agents of at National Church grace. It’s the greatest motivaof God with Pastor Eric Richards tion for holy living. officiating. Interment: Sunset Me(Read full story on morial Gardens. www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Page 8 • May 5 - May 11, 2016

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Blackonomics

Stop whining — start grinding

By James Clingman via George Curry Media It’s interesting how the young folks have started using a term that describes what the older folks should be doing. I hear young people saying, “I’m

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grinding,” and I hear older folks whining. Young people know they have to “just do it,” as the saying goes, in order to achieve their dreams. In many cases, they are willing to take risks and forego the creature comforts that could accrue to them via high level corporate salaries. They are willing to sacrifice in order to pursue their own path in life, unconstrained by the “rules” someone else sets for them.

We older folks are not as willing to do the work appertaining to progress; instead we are still relying on politicians to make things better for us. We do a lot more whining than grinding when it comes to our collective - and sometimes even our individual economic freedom.

I hear it on the radio and on news shows all the time from so-called leaders and from socalled liberated Black folks.

They whine about what the “Man” is doing to us, how our collective fate is not in our own hands but someone else’s, what “we need to do,” how “unequal” we are in income, wealth, and social opportunities, and how many of us are in prison.

They can recite all the stats and all the history surrounding our current demise.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

FUNdraising Good Times

Windfall gifts: blessing or a curse?

By Pearl and Mel Shaw Windfall gifts are the secret fantasy of every fundraiser.

These large, unexpected gifts can take a capital campaign “over the top.” In other instances they are the saving grace for a struggling annual fund. But they can’t be counted on, and you don’t know if they will materialize. So, what are they – a blessing or a curse?

A windfall gift is truly a blessing. It can transform an organization, build a new law school or cancer center, pay off debt, launch new programs, or expand services. If the gift is unrestricted the potential is limited only by the vision and capacity of the organization’s leadership. It can grow an endowment, increasing funds available for programs, advocacy or capital improvements for years to come.

While it may sound crazy, these gifts can also have a negative impact. Here’s what we mean. Let’s say your staff and board are “counting” on a windfall gift to reach a capital campaign goal. There’s always the possibility your organization could be the beneficiary of a windfall, but you can’t count on that unless there is a gift

agreement in place. What if the windfall doesn’t come? How would you explain that to your board, volunteers and staff?

Capital campaigns require the consistent identification, cultivation and when appropriate solicitation of potential major donors.

An unexpectedly large bequest can also mean success for your annual campaign. At the same time it can mask weaknesses or challenges in your fundraising. One way to counteract the unintended consequences of a windfall gift is to pull out these amounts when analyzing annual data. This will help you have a more realistic base from which to make projections. It can help you get a clearer picture of your donors and their giving. This process will help you plan for the coming year without the expectation of repeating a windfall gift.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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May 5 - May 11, 2016 • Page 9 Westside Gazette After school program at Margate Middle teaches children why ‘School is Cool’

By Charles Moseley There is an African proverb that states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” To some these words may be just another catch phrase or a cliché which sounds good. However, there are some people and organizations in communities across

the nation that doesn’t take these words lightly.

Former NFL pro football player Henri Crockett, a native of Pompano Beach, Fla., has proved what one individual can do when they harness their resources and commit their time and their energies in order to make a difference in the lives of

children in the community.

Crockett launched an after school enrichment program three years ago at Margate Middle School, known as “School is Cool.”

On April 18, 2016 there was an air of excitement before the school day began at Margate Middle School.

Racism in the air: Nonwhite Americans breathe in almost 40 percent more polluted air than white Americans In February, Ohio’s largest newspaper, the Plain Dealer, published stories highlighting Cleveland’s lead-contamination problem stemming from older homes with lead-based paint.

The article revealed that in

Margate Middle School’s “School is Cool” program recently sponsored a field trip for 60 students to attend the eMerge Technology Expo at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Debate rages over TV’s future (Cont' from FP) At issue is a proposal by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler to allow cable television subscribers to access their preferred online content alongside their cable content through the set-top box, which they now typically rent monthly from their cable providers.

If the proposal passes, you could go online or into a store like Best Buy and pay a single price for a single device that would offer access to your favorite cable programs — as well as a host of streaming channels (although you’d still have to pay for programming in many cases).

For cable providers like Comcast, the move could mean a possible loss of nearly $20 billion

per year in rental fees to an industry already reeling from the trend of customers abandoning cable in favor of streaming devices such as Apple TV and Chromecast.

For cable customers, however, it could mean a big annual savings on set-top box rental fees, as well the ability to search and compare programming choices across more than 500 cable and streaming channels.

The proposal is strikingly similar to the debate over telephones more than 40 years ago, when consumers could rent phones only from Ma Bell – the old American Telephone and Telegraph monopoly. Proponents see freeing the set-top box as opening the door to the same kind of innovation that created cellphones.

Correction The article on the front page of the Westside Gazette April 28, 2016 entitled: Florida electing delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention was written by Linda Thigpen not Thigpin.

the predominantly African-American community, countless children have been poisoned for years.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Questioning white supremacy in schools: A mother’s eexperience xperience

By Jen Nicole From theroot.com: In America, unfortunately the most polluted environments are often poor and/or made up of people of color, with race being the dominant factor. A report published by PLOS One in 2014 indicates that nonwhite Americans breathe in almost 40 percent more polluted air than white Americans. Can you believe that? Not only are we fighting a war on land we are fighting an environmental war and this isn’t just about bad air.

It is poisonous water with high levels of lead like in Flint, Mich. and several other Black communities suffering violations of their right to clean air, fresh water and toxic-free neighborhoods. Below are five neighborhoods where they are fighting environmental warfare. Tips are at the end of this article, provided by theroot.com.

1. Cleveland

By Angela Wills Highly dissatisfied is only one of the feelings to describe how Jackie Stewart felt as she visited the principal’s office of her daughter’s school for the fourth time since school started.

She was not at all pleased with the way the school year had started.

Stewart said, “I don’t know what’s going on this year. Let me change that, I know what is going on this year. It’s that teacher. She’s the only one Mariah is having a problem with and the one behind all of these suspensions.”

Mariah, who just entered high school, has always loved history. However, this year, she’s found it challenging to accept the method of approach that her teacher uses to teach Black history events.

To date, Mariah has three suspensions since the start of this school year that are all described as “disobedient and disruptive behavior.” However, when asked about the specifics of the suspension, her mom explains that “she challenged her teacher on the tenets of white supremacy.”

Stewart is a history professor at a local college. She has made it a point to teach Mariah about the past in context. Stewart sees the bigger issues of

educating minority children on issues of race, which is associated with how the experiences are presented to them negatively.

Crockett has provided students with options regarding their future through an innovative afterschool program at Margate Middle School.

Thanks to Crockett’s efforts, along with the staff from the “School is Cool’ Program, in conjunction with the Community Foundation, School Board of Broward County, and Nova Southeastern University, a group of students from Margate Middle School had a pleasant departure from what would have been a typical day of school.

“School is Cool” participants received a special treat in the form of a special field trip, all the way to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Judging by the looks on the faces of the nearly 60 students as each one boarded a luxury tour bus, this day would not be a garden variety field trip. Their final destination wound up at the eMerge Americas Technology Expo.

The two-day event featured a plethora of exhibits from leading companies in the field of technology and an array of internationally known keynote speakers who may not be readily identified with technology but certainly recognizable for their accomplishments in their respective fields of endeavor.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

EARLY VOTING TO ELECT BROWARD COUNTY 2016 DELEGATES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. *VOTE YOUR DELEGATES *VOTE EARLY THURSDAY, Roy Mizell & Kurtz MAY 5th, 2016 FINAL VOTING Funeral Home DAY SATURDAY, MAY 7th , 2016 VOTE!

YOUR CHOICE COUNTS! For More Information Contact:

Full Delegate List and Voting locations: www.browarddemocrats.org/ncdi email: info@browarddemocrats.org or call 954-4232200 for more information

Page 10 • May 5 - May 11, 2016

Westside Gazette

Miami Heat: On to the next round thanks to Goran Dragic than Miami Heat Point Guard Goran Dragic. In the first game seven of his career, Dragic lived up to the pressure.

“It was pressure before the game like every game. We felt like we got that momentum especially after that win in their place,” said Dragic.

In this season’s playoffs, Dragic has had a bit of a difficult time trying to find his rhythm.

However, we all got the opportunity to watch the reason why Pat Riley traded so much

By D’Joumbarey A. Moreau Who needs a Tyler Perry production when you have the Miami Heat?

For the three-time NBA championship franchise Miami Heat the playoffs have been nothing short of dramatic.

We’ve been accustomed to the first round being a cake walk onto the next series and that’s because of the talented players that have suited up for the organization. This year was a bit different.

Miami got off to a blazing start as they took the cake from

the Charlotte Hornets during their first two games. Then the Hornets came buzzing back angrier and forced the Heat to feel their sting winning three straight games. Thankfully thanks to a Dwyane Wade fade away at the elbow over Courtney Lee, Miami got to experience the sports holy grail, a game seven.

Just like the last game seven Miami played in, this one was nothing to scoff at because of the excitement and energy that each of these two teams played with.

The biggest star that shined the brightest was none other

Miami D olphins: Team with AARP & Dolphins: give back with the Million Meal Pack

By D’Joumbarey A. Moreau Is it better to receive or give?

For the Miami Dolphins that answer is clear - it’s give. On May 1, 2016 the Miami Dolphins partnered up with the AARP foundation for their Million Meal Pack and energy was definitely inside of the building at the Don Taff Arena at Nova Southeastern University.

Over 5,000 volunteers signed up to help pack the meals for

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.

May 5, 12, 19, 26, 2016

the residents of Florida who are going through tough times. In the state of Florida alone one out of every five Floridians who are 50 and older are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Seniors lives in poverty. While nationally over 15 million share the same problem.

“I think it says an awful a lot about this community. In this community {there’s} an absolute commitment to do right, to do good work together,” said AARP Foundation President Julia Marsh Ryderson. “One of the things I enjoy most about this event is the intergenerational nature. You have families, people from all ages from South Florida. From the community helping their neighbors We sometimes seem to forget that football is a game, and the Dolphins organization is one of those franchises that don’t. The organization constantly remembers to give back to the community.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

to get him and then offered him so much to keep him here. Dragic was on fire Sunday as he finished with 25 points (which lead all scorers), six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 11-of-17 from the floor. Additionally, he had a plus-minus rating of +30.

“I felt like the paint was more open and I could attack. They didn’t rotate quick and I made plays,” said Dragic.

For the Hornets, going to a game seven wasn’t a moral

www.thewestsidegazette.com victory but a stepping stone.

The Hornets franchise, since relocating to Oklahoma City and then subsequently back to Charlotte as the Bobcats, has had much success. However, after taking a Miami team who will most likely reach the Eastern Conference Finals as a step in the right direction for their franchise.

“Hats off to Charlotte. It really was an honor to be a part of a seven-game series like this...Both teams were pushed so far uncomfortable this series...it’s just great competition. They made us better,” said Miami Heat Head Coach

Erik Spoelstra.

For the Heat, it was a bit discouraging seeing them struggle against the sixth seed.

Thankfully, now most of the players on their roster have some playoff experience and know how to perform when the pressure has been applied. For some Heat fans, the worry is right around the corner because they’ll have to play against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors. This year, that franchise has given Miami a lot of trouble.

Welcome to the playoffs.

www.thewestsidegazette.com

May 5 - May 11, 2016 • Page 11

Westside Gazette

YMCA of South Florida recognizes Sistrunk area businesses for being Good Community Healt h P ar tner s Health Par artner tners

by Artist Yvette Michele Booth

Walker ocer eceives special awar d as a key par tner alker’’s Gr Grocer oceryy rreceives award partner

By Tongelia Milton YMCA of South Florida POMPANO BEACH, FL - – There was nothing short from Saturday night’s Pompano Beach Amphitheater concert from headliners Keith Sweat and Silk. The groups swooned their R&B hits to a sold out crowd. Silk opened the show with a repertoire of all of the old familiar songs: “If You�, “Lose Control�, and “Meeting in My Bedroom�. The South Florida crowd rocked with the melodious and perfectly pitched harmonic voices. The showmanship and precision of their performance left nothing undone.

Silk leaves nothing short to audience participation; ladies were chosen to experience an up close and personal crooning. If you think that only oldies are available from this group then think again. Silk reOHDVHG LWV ÂżUVW &' LQ D GHFDGH WKLV 0DUFK WLWOHG “Quiet Stormâ€?.

7KH KRXVH '- SOD\HG D WULEXWH WR 3ULQFH LQ EHWZHHQ sets. The crowd danced and sang to the late music icon’s melody of hits. All hands were raised during “Purple Rainâ€?, swaying side to side in remembrance and tribute to Prince’s musical genius. .HLWK 6ZHDW HOHFWULÂżHG WKH VWDJH ZLWK D JUDQG HQtrance and opening up with “You Sweatâ€? and “Make it Last Foreverâ€?. There is no lip-synching here; the R&B superstar gave all voice, mind, body and spirit to the South Florida audience. Sweat leaves no reminiscing of days gone by when acts had full accompaniment to their performance. It was great to see and hear live musicians and back up singers. He also shared his humorous side when selecting audience participation for steppers and Salsa dancers to join him on stage. Both groups closed out the evening with meet DQG JUHDW WR IDQV DQG WKH SUHVV 'HÂżQLWHO\ D PXVW VHH XSRQ WKHLU UHWXUQ WR 6RXWK )ORULGD DW D IXWXUH GDWH

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL —During the month of April, the YMCA of South Florida will recognize 20 small businesses located in the Sistrunk area who have been good community partners in health over the years.

The 33311 zip code has one of the highest rates of health disparity in Broward County.

As part of the Y’s efforts to improve the health and wellness of the residents in the communities in the 33311 zip code, the Y has been working with local small businesses in the area to provide health empowerment options.

Each business will receive a small token of our appreciation that includes a thank you letter from the YMCA of South Florida CEO & President Sheryl Woods, along with a plaque recognizing their contribution as an active agent to improving their community’s health.

Ivory's Take Out

Avenue East Barbershop

Walker's Grocery

Artists of all ages have a message to share in helping eradicate this epidemic that is affecting our community.

Broward County has the second highest new infection rates of HIV in the state of Florida.

ART ON AIDS/HIV )URP WKH :RUOG $,'6 0XVHXP DQG Educational Center: Half of the 1.1 million people living ZLWK +,9 $,'6 LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV are Black.

The rate of new HIV infections per 100,000 among Black adults/adolescents (68.9) was nearly eight times that of whites (8.7 ) and more than twice that of Latinos (27.5) in 2010.

Black women account for the largest share of women living with HIV diagnosis at the end of 2010. (60%) Black women account for the largest share of new HIV infections among women (6,100, or 64% in 2010) and the incidence rate among Black women is 20 times the rate among white women and over four times the rate among Latinas.

In 2010, Black teens and young adults, ages 13-24, represented more than half (57%) of new infections in that age group.

Photography Credits: Westside Gazette Stock Photography, Family Tree Photography from collaborative work, Prince Aderele,Yves Gabriel and Yvette Booth. Keith Sweat & Silk, Yvette Booth. Advertising call (954)-525-1489

On April 1, Walker’s Grocery, 1217 NW Sixth Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311, was recognized with a special award as a key partner for, among other things: • Being a partner in health for many years • Being involved in the Good Neighbor Store initiative, helping youth in an afterschool program develop leadership skills • Advocating for community health by working with local convenience stores to offer healthier food options for residents • Having the business considered a “Safe Placeâ€? by residents of all ages • Refraining from offering alcohol and tobacco in the store Residents have shared that they trust his place of business

as a resource in the community, beyond that of just a place to purchase goods. Walker’s Grocery truly exemplifies the goals of The Good Neighbor Store Initiative. The Good Neighbor Store is a youth-led initiative that brings awareness of healthier food options, affordable choices and tobacco-free living in neighborhood stores throughout Broward County.

Ronnie Walker has been a true leader in community health since 1938, and the YMCA appreciates his partnership and leadership.

Other local businesses to be recognized include: East Barber, Ivory’s Takeout, Exxon (Northwest 27th Avenue), Lucy’s Market, Boyd Funeral Home, Ray’s Market, Sistrunk Meat, The Red School House, Van’s Car Wash, Roberts Barber, Vision Unity

Unisex Salon, Mavericks High School, Bass Brothers, Family Dollar (NW Seventh Avenue), BG’s Restaurant, Dolly’s New Image, Jimmy John’s (Northwest Sixth Street), Heavenly Nails & Hair Studio, Mizell Funeral Home.

The YMCA’s team of community health workers has built relationships with these businesses and in exchange, they have helped spread a positive message of healthy living.

Without these partners, the Y would not have the reach, exposure, trust and creditability needed to engage the community in healthier lifestyles and resources.

To learn more, visit www.ymcaofsouthflorida.org, connect on Facebook or Twitter, or call a Y near you.

Page 12 • May 5 - May 11, 2016

Westside Gazette Which #BlackLivesMatter?

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Exploring suicide in the AfricanAmerican Community Source: Isaiah Pickens/Fotolia The news was as tragic as it was shocking. Sandra Bland is dead. The response from supporters of the movement to end police brutality was immediate: outrage that another Black life was lost as a result of police overreach and possible misconduct. Yet, the story’s next act was equally disturbing. Her death was ruled a suicide. The ensuing chaotic discussion from pundits to public forums was a reflection of how unsettling suicide is—particularly among the Black community.

The rate of suicide among African Americans stands at 8.0 per 100,000, slightly below the national average. However, Black boys account for over 82 percent of these deaths by suicide and their overall rate is on the rise. While these statistics paint a clear picture of some within the Black community being in pain to the point of considering suicide as the best viable option, the ferocity with which many attempted to deny the possibility of Bland’s suicide indicated a strong suspicion that foul play was at hand but also implied that suicide forfeits a person’s right to be fully cherished and pain acknowledged. If the latter represents beliefs within the Black community, a crucial question remains: how can we elevate the importance of Black lives closest to the edge of self-destruction?

The story of suicide is often narrated by shame. Shame is a force that prompts involuntary retreat into what is likely a distorted self-perception and places a person further from the people and supports that can potentially restore a sense of wholeness while easing psychological pain. Historically, the Black community has faced numerous challenges that have attempted to undermine the integrity that a valued person possesses.

The pressures of navigating prejudice, stereotypes of hyper-masculinity or over-sexualized femininity, and the daily stressors and traumas that arise from living in violent and impoverished communities make it difficult to tolerate vulnerability when strength is a necessary ingredient for resilience. Yet, it is the combination of life’s pressures which can lead to intense psychological pain and the growing fear of others learning that the pain has become overwhelming that prevents many in the Black community from connecting with the professional help that can steer them toward lifepreserving solutions.

The remedy for shame is multifaceted but often begins with a simple concept: validation. Showing empathy for the deep pain a person feels while acknowledging the pain is only one component of a multidimensional person can spark opportunities for healing that otherwise are invisible to people blinded by shame.

This is such an important step toward supporting a person struggling to believe his life matters that psychiatrist Christopher Shea encourages use of shame attenuation during assessments of suicide to ensure the people feel comfortable enough to discuss their thoughts. Our ability to collectively attenuate shame, or make it less of an obstacle to a person seeking help, may be the spark for a mental health revolution that many of us desire but collectively have trouble attaining.

Imagine parents matter-of-factly asking their troubled child whether she has contemplated suicide because they understand asking about it doesn’t make suicide more likely but simply reduces shame and opens an avenue for help. What if mental health professionals followed the lead of psychiatrist Sidney Hankerson and developed projects like his Community Partnered Approach for Depression that uses federal funds to train pastors and other clergy to identify depression in the Black community while bolstering churches as a sanctuary for spiritual and mental healing.

If the voices of both the activist fighting for change and the person in pain fighting to stay alive are equally heard, then we truly demonstrate Black lives matter regardless the circumstance. *Article originally published at www.BlackDoctor.org