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THURSDA Y, MARCH 30 - WEDNESDA Y, APRIL 5, 2017 THURSDAY WEDNESDAY

Preservation or Progress: The Case of the Von D. Mizell Center

By Nichole L. Richards (Part III) In the early 1970s, the great educator and historian, Dr. Chancellor Williams, released Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. a dynamic and in depth study of mighty African civilizations and their subsequent ruin.

Throughout the text, Dr. Williams identified two reasons for the demise of these civilizations: inner-tribal disagreements and the introduction of (mostly nonBlack) outsiders to tribal territory. The book was to serve as a cautionary tale, for what Dr. Williams presented was the process of gentrification in its ancient form. The text demonstrated what happens when inner differences take center stage while external forces quietly close in.

What is done to the least…

Sheep and Goats?

And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25:40 (NKJV)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr When a so-called country like the United States can look at the injustices perpetrated on its own soil, upon its own countrymen/women, and there is not an determined outcry for swift, equal and unwavering justice, then this country is exhibiting characteristics of one built upon hypocritical doctrine.

There is no sensitivity to hurting humanity. Even dogs get treated with much more congeniality than Black people.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

Trump is finally lashing out at the right enemies Movement conservatism is about as popular as toe fungus.

(Cont'd on Page 10)

Sistrunk Community Marketing Plan 2014

The Pride of Fort Lauderdale Elks Lodge No.652 has a rich history as a Black social and civic organization “My Soul is a Witness,” which chronicles the history of Blacks in Broward County. The late David N. Laramore was found-

ing member of the Elks Lodge No 652 laid the block for the Lodge to be built in 1932.

(Cont'd on Page 5)

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to Black Press: Trump has endangered America

President Trump and Speaker of the House Ryan.

Olivier Douliery/Pool via CNP/MediaPunch/IPX ( Photo credit)

By Ian Millhiser Justice Editor

Let's not get locked out of our HISTORY. (Photos by P.H.)

By Charles Moseley According to the African American Registry, a nonprofit organization, the Black Elks were formed in 1899. This historically Black non-profit charitable fraternal organization is still operating. Formally called the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, it was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio. African Americans during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century were denied entry into any of

the White fraternal organizations. There was a distinct need and desire for these organizations in Black communities for the same reasons that they were wanted everywhere. They provided financial, spiritual, and emotional support and served their communities in many other ways.

Locally the Black Elks, formally known as the Pride of Fort Lauderdale Elks Lodge No 652 Temple 395, was built in 1932. The following excerpt was taken from the book entitled,

Pleading Our Own Cause

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said that she has considered pursuing impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump, during a ceremony honoring a Lenora “Doll” Carter, former publisher of the Houston Forward Times.

(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

By Harry Colbert, Jr. (Insight News/NNPA Member) WASHINGTON, DC—On a day that honored a stalwart of the Black Press and saw a liaison of the Trump Admini-

WWW.

stration walk out on a breakfast with members of the Black Press, it was the words of Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in a university library that rang the loudest.

(Cont'd on Page 3)

A strange thing happened over the weekend, as President Trump contemplated his party’s inability to bring an Obamacare replacement bill to the House floor after seven years of promising to replace this law.

Initially, Trump stuck to a partisan script, blaming Democrats for unanimously opposing a health bill that was projected to take health coverage away from 24 million people.

By Sunday morning, however, Trump had a different take.

Trump’s Twitterrage against three of the most uncompromising right-wing groups in Washington followed another tweet, where he urged people to watch Jeanine Pirro’s Fox News show on Saturday night.

Pirro opened that show with a demand that Paul Ryan “step down as speaker of the house” because of his incompetent management of the failed health bill.

The fact that Trump lashed out against someone on Twitter is hardly news. Trump has, at times, used Twitter to rail

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against judges who ruled against his Muslim ban, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the University of California, Berkeley, and Delta Airlines’ computer system. Angry tweets are a central piece of the Trump brand.

But this time around, Trump appears to have actually latched onto his real enemies.

There may be no greater threat to Trump’s presidency—or, at least, his popularity as president and his ability to keep his job— than the ultra-conservative groups that are pushing him to embrace ideas that have barely any support among the electorate.

The Ryan trap As a candidate, Trump seemed to understand that the harsh austerity favored by movement conservatives was a political non-starter. “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid,” Trump told the Heritage Foundation in 2015.

(Cont'd on Page 10) MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA), and Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA) Florida Association of Black Owned Media (FABOM)

PAGE 2 • MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017

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Black Women Publishers Drive the Black Press naging editor and co-publisher of the Voice & Viewpoint in San Diego, said that being a female publisher has proven to be an “amazing experience.”

Warren-Darby also offered advice to the next generation of women. “[Women publishers] should always remain true to themselves and never conform.

There’s a lot of authenticity missing in the world of journalism and the media industry as a whole,” Warren-Darby said. “I believe it’s slowly returning, but it will take the next generation to maintain that authenticity. I

would also encourage them to know that their voices and ideas matter, to never underestimate what they bring to the table, and to never feel like it’s too late.”

Others have spelled out what the Black Press has brought to the table.

The New York Times noted that, well before the Civil War, publications and, more recently, radio and television stations owned and operated by African Americans have provided an important counter-weight to mainstream media, simultaneously celebrating and shaping

Black culture—from politics and government to fashion and music.

It all starts with the Black Press and many of its talented and savvy female publishers.

“The Black Press has been the heartbeat of Black America since its inception,” said Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of the New York Amsterdam News, one of the most influential Black-owned and operated media businesses in the world, which ran its first edition in 1909. “From the abolition movement, to the Civil Rights movement to the Women’s Rights movement, the Black Press has been our voice, a voice not heralded anywhere else.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Leaders of the N hool: Young women Neew Sc School: fighting HIV/AIDS

Some of the ladies of the NNPA (standing l-r): Natalie Cole, Denise Rolark Barnes, Dorris Ellis, Brenda Andrews, Amelia Ward, Jackie Hampton, Karen Carter-Richards. Seated (l-r): Dorothy Levell, Molly Belt and Mary Denson.

By Stacy M. Brown Janis Ware of The Atlanta dent and general manager of (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Voice, Joy Bramble of The the Indianapolis Recorder Baltimore Times, Brenda works as the organization’s seIn 1827, with the publication Andrews of the The New Jour- cretary. of the Freedom’s Journal, nal and Guide”and the many “For the Black Press, WoJohn Russwurm and Reverend Black women that own and men’s History Month becomes Samuel Cornish established the operate media companies in the more noteworthy because of the Black Press and boldly declared United States and around the women of the NNPA and their their mission: to be the voice world. very important roles,” Chavis the African American commuChavis said that it’s also im- said. nity, standing up for victims of portant to acknowledge the role Still, the pressure of operatinjustice, and championing the that women play as leaders in ing a newspaper isn’t lost on unsung. the NNPA. publishers like Richards of the Dedicated, resilient and “Four out of five members of 57-year-old Houston Forstrong Black women, who ac- the NNPA executive committee ward Times. count for a significant number are women and, in 2017, that Richards took over after the of the 211 African American shows that NNPA, as a national death of her mother, Lenora owned newspapers and media trade organization, is out in “Doll” Carter, whom she shacompanies, that are members front of all other organizations dowed at the paper for more of the National Newspaper Pub- in putting women in the top po- than 30 years. lishers Association (NNPA), sitions,” said Chavis.

“The business isn’t for the stand at the forefront of that Denise Rolark Barnes, the faint of heart and being a female mission, today publisher of The Washington publisher requires you to be As Women’s History Month Informer,” serves as chair of even stronger,” Richards said. concludes, NNPA President and the NNPA; Karen Carter-Ri- “Because of what my mother CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis chards, publisher of the “Hou- taught me, Forward Times PubJr., said that it’s important to ston Forward Times holds the lishing Company has grown to recognize publishers like Ro- position of first vice chair; At- become a multimedia company setta Perry of The Tennessee lanta Voice publisher Janis and award-winning national Tribune, Elinor Tatum of the Ware serves as treasurer; and publication.”

New York Amsterdam News, Shannon Williams, the presiChida Warren-Darby, ma-

D’Metris Welters, Grants & Events Specialist, NAESM, Inc., in Atlanta There’s a new generation of leaders taking the reins in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and they are passionate, focused and young. They’re also women. As the HIV/AIDS pandemic hits its 36th birthday, young sisters are grabbing the torch and not looking back. And we’re ready for them.

We caught up with two of those budding activists— D’Metris Welters, 28, a grantsand-events specialist at NAESM (National AIDS Education & Services for Minorities) in Atlanta; and Solita Jefferies, 27, from Charlotte, N.C., a patient navigator for Mecklenburg County Public Health— to talk about how they see women’s roles in the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how they are making an impact in the field.

What made you decide to get involved in HIV/AIDS? Solita Jefferies: The more I learned about the virus and those it impacted, I saw myself.

Ten years ago the focus was not on MSM but on socioeconomic status and ethnic groups. They were talking about me, my neighborhood, my family, so I felt very connected to the cause.

It made me want to learn more.

After I had a wealth of information, I felt a responsibility for sharing that.

D’Metris Welters: I remember being at the doctor’s office with my favorite aunt at age 7 and her telling me, “Baby I have AIDS.” Then, in college, I saw a presentation by the regional minority AIDS coordinator in the area, and the way she talked frankly about sexual health made me decide what I want to do with my life. I changed my major from premed to health education and behavior, and I became engulfed in studying HIV, sexual health and sexual identity. That presentation and my aunt’s admission had major impacts on me.

How do you see the role of younger women in ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic?

SJ: In communities of color, women naturally have a matriarchal, nurturing presence.

It’s in my DNA to be a gatekeeper of information for the communities that I am a part of and the communities that I am invited to be a part of. The gay community has invited me into their space, and I feel a huge level of responsibility to share

Solita Jeffries, Community Health Educator, Gaston County Health Department, MecklenburgCounty Health Department what I know with them and help them make informed, responsible decisions.

DW: Women are naturally the keepers of the house and the family, so I think that a woman is awnatural fit anywhere.

We pay the extra attention to detail when it comes to our clients and how they’re feeling.

Working alongside Black gay men, we have a different perspective because we’re not in that population. So if Tom doesn’t want to talk to Bob because the Atlanta community is small and Bob knows Bill and John, then Tom may feel more comfortable talking to me because I am not part of that circle.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Wh olor missing in America is ne Whyy gir girlsls of ccolor nevver a crisis ?

Because it's a pr oblem wwee can guiltlessly ignor problem ignoree !

Random notes on what being Black in America really entails

By Ezinne Ukoha There is an epidemic. The status has been escalated mainly due to the uproar on social media. Let’s face it—if we were still partying it up in 1999— there would be no need to address the fact that 14 Black girls vanished within a 24-hour period.

Sounds crazy, right?

I mean just imagine how f*#&!d up we would be if 14 White girls were declared missing without a trace.

The entire country would be in lock down mode, as the search for answers devours our timelines with the urgency that should be assigned when a crisis rears its ugly head with no warning.

It’s imaginable that girls of color will wander off into oblivion without much fanfare because that’s how we roll in the US of A. The value system warrants that only a percentage of us get the privilege of being mourned when we tragically exit against our will.

Yes, there is the thing about how some of us purposely leave without notice, as this is part of our DNA. We break the rules, we are scummy, and we don’t respect the law like our White counterparts who unfairly succumb to circumstances beyond their control.

The headlines are glaring, and the images jarring, and we are all doing what we can to prove why the lives of Black girls in limbo demand a certain level of attention from those who swore to protect and serve citizens of America.

Making America Great Again is interfering with being Black in America in ways that are threateningly vile. We were recently told that the All-American aesthetic can’t be f*&^%d with—and those of us who don’t replicate the look are a**ed out.

We simply have to find other ways to identify ourselves.

The president you elected has bills!

He’s in major debt and until he pays it all off—people of color will continuously have to contend with the idea of being knifed to death in the streets of Manhattan, and all the other goodies that come with walking a tightrope and hoping that you fall away from the b*&^%$@!t.

The Women’s March on Washington was spectacular.

You all couldn’t wait to position yourselves in the lane of awareness. Each step symbolized the mightiness of carrying your right to be heard above the static you disowned.

Hollywood lighted up with names of celebs like Madonna and Charlize Theron who snapped their dispositions and spoke through the bullhorn of righteous endearment.

Yeah! Hanging with my peeps!

Yet, both these women adopted Black daughters and sons with the casualness of duty and the reassurance of knowing how the gates of their mental palace will protect their decision.

When the community they poached from cries out from the debris of consciousness—these

bedazzled mothers of Black children remain loudly silent as if the siren ringing in their ears can be remedied with the millions they store with surprising recklessness.

Yes, there is a difference in the way White women approach their own s*#t and the other s*#t that sticks to the women that they pretend don’t exist.

This is real. It’s not fiction. It’s not a Black woman curating a piece to unfairly blame others who are innocent and want to be better, but resent how they are being depicted.

This isn’t another condemnation of lawmakers or the FBI who have to be publicly ransacked into finally admitting that there are strange things happening that can’t be explained and maybe, just maybe, after all this time, perhaps, something needs to be done about it.

You can guiltlessly wonder how the cries for missing Black girls ended up in your feed and politely dismiss it the way you would anything that doesn’t match your selected preferences.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

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MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017 • PAGE 3

Pfizer and The National Newspaper Publishers Association collaborate to raise awareness of Sickle Cell Disease and need for improved patient care Collaboration aims to educate on the importance of clinical trials in developing potential new Sickle Cell Disease therapies NEW YORK, NY—Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a trade association of more than 200 African American–owned community newspapers from around the United States, are collaborating to raise awareness of sickle cell disease, a lifelong and debilitating genetic disorder that affects red blood cells.

People with rare diseases, like sickle cell disease, have unique and complex challenges.

The first initiative under the collaboration will be a national poll, conducted in partnership with Howard University’s Interdisciplinary Research Team in Washington, DC. The goal is to assess the awareness of sickle cell disease, the challenges of living with the disease, and the importance of clinical trial participation in helping researchers succeed in developing potential new treatments. In a re-

view of 174 sickle cell disease trials, difficulty enrolling patients was the stated cause in nearly half of the 30% of the trials that were terminated early.

“This collaboration with Pfizer provides an opportunity for NNPA to inform and educate the readers of our 211-member Black-owned newspapers in more than 70 markets across the country on sickle cell disease, an often misunderstood disease that has a profound impact on the health and well-being of those affected,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA President. “Together with Pfizer, we look forward to providing sickle cell disease education that can underscore the importance of improving quality of care in the community.”

Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting nearly 100,000 Ameri-

cans. Although it affects many different ethnic groups, the majority of people with sickle cell disease are of African descent.

In the United States, sickle cell disease occurs in approximately 1 out of every 365 African American births. Access to care and delivery of innovative treatments prove to be among the most significant challenges faced by people living with sickle cell disease in America.

“At Pfizer, we are committed to delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare diseases, like sickle cell disease,” said Kevin Williams, Chief Medical Officer for Pfizer’s Rare Disease unit. “Our commitment also goes beyond clinical research to supporting the rare disease community through innovative collaborations. Working together, we hope to improve awareness and ultimately address the unmet medical needs of sickle cell di-

Black students settle discrimination lawsuit against UP School District for $450,000

By Debbie Cafazzo Three families have settled a lawsuit that included allegations of racial discrimination by the University Place School District.

Under terms of the settlement agreement, the school district will pay former Curtis High School students Jamal Welch, Elijah West and Tyrell Wells and their parents a total of $450,000.

The money will come from a statewide risk pool, made up of member school districts and other educational organizations.

The lawsuit was filed in 2015. In legal documents, the plaintiffs, who are African American, say they were subjected to racial name-calling, discriminatory grading practices and other forms of harassment. The parents say that when they complained about the treatment of their children to school authorities, they were ignored or rebuffed. All three students are now over 18 and have left the school district.

The legal agreement states that it is a settlement of disputed claims, not an admission of liability by the school district. In court filings, the school district denied most of the allegations in the lawsuit.

The settlement agreement also prohibits both sides from commenting on the case to news media. Material for this news story came from documents filed with the court and obtained through a public records request to the school district as well as from previous comments by the district.

Documents filed by the students’ attorneys describe a toxic environment at Curtis, where they say other students regularly called them “the n-word,” and the three boys had to focus “on surviving each and every school day without having a mental or emotional reaction.”

Wells told a teacher when someone wrote a racial epithet

Three families of African American students who attended Curtis High School in University Place have settled a lawsuit alleging they faced racial slurs and unfair practices.

(Thinkstock photo) on his desk. “As time went on, he would erase the slur, then someone would re-write it,” documents claim.

I learned at Curtis that people have stereotypes and biases against me.

Former Curtis High School student Jamal Welch Welch said in a written declaration to the court that he transferred to University Place schools from Tacoma seeking better preparation for college in a school with a reputation for strong academics. But he eventually transferred back to Tacoma’s Wilson High School.

In the document, he spoke about the effects of what he experienced at Curtis: “To this day, I have lingering stress and anxiety from my Curtis experience. While before I was easy going and trusting of people, now I find that I hang back and analyze people before trusting them. I also am more defensive than I used to be, and feel like I need to justify or explain who I am since I learned at Curtis that people have stereotypes and biases against me.”

According to state education statistics, just under 10 percent of the more than 1,400 students at Curtis High are Black.

The students said their experiences at the school made

them feel stressed and anxious, and took a toll on their grades.

One incident recounted by Wells involved former Curtis teacher Karen Macy, who taught American Sign Language. According to court documents, she wrote her home address on the board during a lesson on giving directions in sign language. Students teased her, joking that they might egg her house if they knew her home address.

She responded with words to the effect that “no one would do that, except for (Wells,) because he’s Black,” according to court documents.

Attempts to contact Macy for comment were unsuccessful.

Macy resigned from her teaching job in 2014.

Former University Place Superintendent Patti Banks (who retired in 2016) told The News Tribune in 2015 that the school district placed the teacher on leave while it investigated the incident, along with allegations that her grading practices were discriminatory. But Banks said in 2015 that no evidence of discrimination in grading was uncovered.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to Black Press: Trump has endangered America (Cont'd from FP) Rep. Jackson Lee delivered remarks on March 23 in memory of Lenora “Doll” Carter, long-time publisher of the “Houston Forward Times,” who was just enshrined in the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Gallery of Distinguished Publishers at Howard University’s Founders Library. The enshrinement ceremony is one of the signature events of Black Press Week, an annual celebration in Washington, D.C., attended by NNPA members, partners, sponsors and Black Press contributors.

The NNPA is a trade group of more than 200 Black-owned media companies operating in 70 markets in the United States.

During her impromptu talk after the enshrinement ceremony, Jackson Lee dropped a bombshell. In talking about the nation’s current president, Jackson Lee minced no words.

“This is not a government, right now,” said Jackson Lee in front of nearly 50 Black Press members. Jackson Lee added: “I’m on the route of impeachment.”

Jackson Lee said there are a litany of reasons that should disqualify President Donald Trump as president including his potential ties to Russia and its interference in November’s election, but she also said America is unsafe under Trump.

“I’m concerned about our nation. I’m concerned about what happens when we get that call about North Korea in the middle of the night,” said Jackson Lee. “You have in office an individual that is unread and unlearned.”

Jackson Lee’s statement rang loud, because she is also a member of the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.

Some have expressed concerns that an impeachment of

Trump would leave the nation under the control of Vice President Mike Pence, who is seen as a staunch conservative with far right-wing views. Jackson Lee does not share in those concerns.

“At least he understands government,” said the Texas representative. “And I’m focused on getting him (Pence) out in 2020, anyway.”

Jackson Lee also remembered “Doll” Carter, fondly.

“Doll was larger than life,” remarked Jackson Lee. Carter lived in Jackson Lee’s district.

Carter, who died in 2010, also served as the treasurer of the NNPA. She was remembered as a powerful business woman and a loving friend.

Colleague and close friend Dorothy Leavell said Carter lived up to her nickname.

“I know why they called her ‘Doll,’” said Leavell, “She was beautiful on the outside and

sease patients.”

The poll results and information about sickle cell disease will be shared with the NNPA network and incorporated into educational programs at NNPA events. More information about sickle cell disease can be found at www.pfizer.com/healthand-wellness/health-topics/ sickle-cell-disease. For more information about the NNPA, please visit www.nnpa.org.

* Lebensburger JD, Pair L, Hilliard L, et al. Systematic review of interventional sickle cell trials registered in clinicaltrials.gov. Clin Trials.

2015:12(6);575-583. * Sickle Cell Disease Research & Care. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. US National Institutes of Health.https:// www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/ spotlight/fact-sheet/sickle-

cell-disease-research-care. Accessed May 26, 2016. * Sickle Cell Anemia. American Society of Hematology. http://www.hematology.org/ Patients/Anemia/SickleCell.aspx. Accessed May 26, 2016. * Data & Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html.

Accessed Jan. 25, 2017.

Dallas homeless surge felt strongest in local classrooms

By David Wilfong (North Dallas Gazette/NNPA Member) Dallas is looking at a large, and continually growing homeless population. While the spread-out geography of a city like Dallas may make the appearance of the homeless less visually constant, the problem is growing large enough that people are starting to take a second look at it.

One of the most obvious places where the homeless issue arises is in Dallas classrooms.

Mark Pierce of the Dallas Independent School District’s Homeless Education program has characterized the numbers he is seeing as “catastrophic.”

According to Pierce, the school district is currently working to educate approximately 3,700 homeless students. He also warns that there may be another 1,000 children in the city who are homeless, but not currently enrolled in school.

Dallas having a homeless population is nothing new, but Pierce said he thinks the problem has swelled in the past couple of years.

“There’s a lot of reasons [for homelessness],” Pierce said.

“The one that stands out the most is that property costs have gone up a lot recently. So apartment complexes are raising their rents, and so it’s harder for people with lower income to find a place to live.”

Pierce has been working with the homeless in the district for 21 years, and he said that one of the programs that has been most successful is the campus “Drop-In” program. In 2012, beginning at North Dallas High School, the district, in partnership with the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation and utilizing a grant from Baron & Blue, opened its first campus DropIn in 2012.

The district now runs DropIns at 12 Dallas high schools and two middle schools. Once a week the Drop-In centers are open to help students with a wide range of needs, from food and clothing to simple hygiene items. Additionally, the district can also employ some students to work in the centers, providing both support and learning opportunities as well as a way to

earn money in the process.

“I would like to see one of these at every, single high school in Dallas, and throughout the rest of the country actually,” Pierce said. “People would be surprised. Even in the wealthier suburbs there are probably kids who have no home for one reason or another and could use a little assistance.”

As for what needs to happen in the near future, Pierce keeps his expectations reasonable.

“I’m an educator, I believe the kids should be in school,” Pierce said. “I believe that public schools can help meet their most basic needs and help them through a difficult time, and get them educated and graduated from high school at the same time.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

PAGE 4 • MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017

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Community Digest

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

Program

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

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. * Magical Kenya is April's Destination Friday, April 7, 2017 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., ages 21 and over event. Payable at the door or through Eventbrite.

Workshop Concert

Chi Psi Omega Chapter of AKA, through its Target IV Environmental Ownership Committee, is hosting a technology workshop for the community. “Digitally Green”, 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 8, 2017, Tamarac Library, 8701 W. Comm. Blvd., Tamarac.

Facilitated by representative from Deloitte and Touche.

Light refreshments will be served and door prizes given..

Grammy Award Winner Nicholas Payton will be performing live with Braylon Lacy and Joe Dyson on Saturday, April 8, 2017 from 2 to 7 p.m., at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center , 6161 N.W. 22 Ave., Miami, Fla. This is a free event, for more info log on to ahcac@miamidade.gov

TODAY'S BLACK NEWS IS TOMORROW'S BLACK HISTORY

The Broward County Chapter Of the National Alumni Chapter of Bethune-Cookman University cordially invites you to attend the Enter to Learn….

Depart to Serve Annual Awards Luncheon Honoring BCU Alumnus who have exemplified service and ideals of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.

Saturday, April 22, 2017 12:00 noon Urban League of Broward 560 N.W. 27th Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 Tickets: $40.00 per person Table of 10: $400 Please make checks payable to: Bethune-Cookman College Proceeds will benefit Scholarships and BCU Programs Contact: G. Dudley (954) 309-1496 or J. Shorter (954) 914-9026

Banquet

Mays High Alumni Association hosts annual Curtis Armstrong Scholarship Fundraiser Banquet on Saturday, April 1, 2017. The annual dinner/ dance benefits the Arthur Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts. For time and additional info call (305) 910-5259 or (305) 7669604 Carolyn Taylor.

Celebration

Dania Beach CRA announces the Fifth Annual Arts & Seafood Celebration on Saturday, April 8-9, 2017 on Saturday, April 8 , from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 9, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Frost Park, 300 N.E. Second St., Dania Beach, Fla. For additional info call (954) 924-6801.

Events

* Free Community Open House. There will be an Easter Egg Hunt, Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 5 p.m., at Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club, 501 Diplomat Parkway, Hollywood, Fla. * Success: Women's Path to Power and Reinvention on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 5 p.m., at Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club, 501 Hollywood, Fla. A free lecture presented by the Dr. Thomas A .nd Joan Rodenberg Lecture Series of Memorial Foundation. * Family Fit Fest, Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Nova Southeastern University, 7500 S.W. 30 St ., Davie, Fla.

Meeting Miami Chapter, Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., meet every second Saturday at 10 a.m., at African Heritage Cultural Arts Center (AHCAC), 6161 N.W. 22 Ave., Miami, Fla. For more info call (786) 320-2891.

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

Urban League of Broward County Events

* Free Health Education & Fitness Classes. The Urban League of Broward County’s Living Well Team invites participation in our free, bi weekly physical activities. All classes are held at the Urban League of Broward County, 560 N.W. 27 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Classes at 10 a.m., in the MultiPurpose Room. For more info contact Kareisha Davis at (954) 625-2566. * College Ready Day prepares high school students for a successful higher education experience, Saturday, April 1, 2017 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Urban League of Broward County. Registration closes at 8:45 a.m. For more info call (954) 584-0777. * Living Well Program's Diabetes Self-Management Workshop, on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Oswald Park, 2220 N.W. 21 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. All classes will be held inside the Recreation Center. Sign up now. For more info contact Kareisha Davis, at (954) 6252566. * Line Dancing, Thursday, April 6 and Cooking Demonstration Thursday, April 20, at the at the Urban League.

SUPPORT THE BLACK PRESS IS THE VOICE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY CALL TODAY TO SUBSCRIPTION

(954) 525-1489

Event

You are cordially invited by Artist Yvette Michele & the resident artists of FAT Village to Inaugural Collector's Night on Thursday, April 13, 2017 from 7 to 10 p.m., at 117 N.W. Fifth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Fundraiser

Calling all Churches to Church Row!!! Relay for Life , the grassroot fundraiser for American Cancer Society, will take place on Friday, May 19 20, 2017 from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., Joseph C. Carter Park in Fort Lauderdale at 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Carter Park – Relay for Life community bonds together to hosts an overnight event full of music, food, and entertainment.

For more info contact Rosalind Hankerson (954) 667-9025 Rosalind.CarterRelay@gmail.com

ELDER ABUSE Did you know that elders in our communities are being abused?

Did you know that elders in our communities are selfnegelcted?

Did you know that elders in our communities are being exploited?

Do you know what to do when you hecome aware of an elder with one or more of these problems?

For information on Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation, please call: 1-800-96ELDER or 1-800-963-5337 to report elder abuse: 1-80096-ABUSE or 1-800-9622873

NOTARY PUBLIC ON PREMISES

Let Chill's do the cooking while we support RelayFor Life at the same time with each flyer presented on Tuesday, April 4 & Thursday, April 6, 2017 Chill's will donated 15% of event day sales The Relay For Life Give Back Event is Tuesday, Arpil 4 & Thursday, April 6, 2017 From 11 a.m.-11 p.m. *** Sawgrass Mills, 12570 Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise, Florida (954) 846-7104 * www.chills.com We look forward to seeing you at Chill's!

545 N.W. 7th Terrace,

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Mon. thru Fri. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more info call -(954) 525-1489

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette

MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017 • PAGE 5

House Intelligence chair discloses classified intel in clumsy effort to validate T rump Trump

By Aaron Rupar, ThinkProgress Nunes, speaks with reporters outside the White House on Wednesday following a meeting with President Trump. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) claims to have evidence that President Donald Trump was surveilled after all.

During a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Monday, FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rogers both said they know of no information supporting the president’s allegation. They also confirmed that President Trump’s connections with Russia are under investigation. On Wednesday, however, Nunes called a press conference and said he “recently confirmed that on numerous occasions the intelligence community incidentally collected information about US citizens involved in the Trump transition.”

He framed his claim as big news. “I’m actually alarmed by it,” he said, adding that the intelligence in question was gathered separately from the investigation into Trump’s Russia ties, which has been active since July.

But incidental collection isn’t uncommon when American citizens are in touch with foreign agents. Leaks regarding Michael Flynn’s talks with the Russian ambassador were what led to Flynn’s ouster as Trump’s national security adviser, because they confirmed that he had misled Vice President Mike

Pence regarding the substance of those talks.

Any intelligence report detailing communications between Trump transition officials and foreign agents would be classified. But instead of bringing whatever information he has to the attention of the intelligence community, Nunes addressed reporters and then headed straight to the White House to inform the target of an ongoing FBI investigation.

A journalist at the press briefing asked him why that doesn’t constitute obstruction of justice.

After talking to the president, Nunes again faced the media and contradicted himself about what his evidence means, saying in the same breath that it both supports and refutes Trump’s wiretap allegations. He was also evasive about where the alleged surveillance occurred, who it targeted, and what form it took.

Like Trump, Nunes never provided any evidence to substantiate his claim. Nonetheless, right-wing outlets like Breitbart rushed to cover the development as though it validated the president’s discredited wiretapping allegation.

Trump later told reporters he feels at least somewhat validated too.

Trump’s campaign even fundraised off of it.

Nunes’ allegation was also trumpeted by Russian propaganda outlets. The story provided a distraction on the same day news broke of Trump’s former campaign manager lying

Rep. Nunes raced to inform Trump, who is the target of an ongoing FBI investigation. (Photo credit AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais House Intelligence Committee chair.

(Cont'd from FP) At 90-years-old Reverend D. N. Laramore still presided daily at the Elks Club. For more than 20 years, he spent the day there.

“The lodge was born with me in it. I was the father of the Elks Lodge. I’ve been the Chaplin for 50 years,” he said.

The Elks Lodge is nestled on a prime property location on 712 N.W. Second Ave., in Fort Lauderdale, within walking distance of downtown Fort Lauderdale and only 10 minutes away from Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Historically, the Elks Lodge has been one of Fort Lauderdale’s leading Black social and civic organizations. A sign on the corner of the building reflects some of those who played an integral role in operating the Elks Lodge during the early years. The sign reads May 29, 1955 Pride of Fort Lauderdale No 652 Exalted Ruler N. H. Kemp, Secretary L. Tunnage, Williams-Treasurer-TrusteesU. S. Williams. D. Rutledge, R. Hankerson, D.N. Laramore, E. McCoy, Atty. T.J. Reddick, Jr.,G Charlton-District Deputy By: McBride No 390, T. Range No 484, W. M. Jackson W. M. Jackson-Deputy.

As of press time the once proud institution known as the Pride of Fort Lauderdale Elks Lodge No 652 stands closed to the public, padlocked with a notice (Issued Sept. 27, 2016) on the front door by the Department of Financial Services Division of Worker’s Compensation, mired in legal dilemma which has yet to be resolved.

Now the Elks faces an uncertain future until certain internal matters are remedied.

While there are issues which have temporarily suspended any public activities at the Elks,

some feel expressed hope that the Elks would soon once again return and begin operation.

Several members of the Elks and those with ties to the organization recently shared their experiences with the organization. They also reaffirmed their support of the Elks and urging that the local community do the same. Those individuals included Roschell Franklin, Jr., Freddie Scott, Levi Henry, Jr., and Rodney Baltimore.

Few members of the Elks have had as long an association with the organization than longtime businessman and owner of Franklin Bail Bonds Roschell Franklin, Jr. Franklin first came to know about the Elks as a teenager when he participated with the local boys scout troop. Fast forward to today and the 83 year-old has had a long standing relationship with the Elks spanning over multiple decades when he became a member in 1961.

Franklin has been an active member ever since and seen him in the role of virtually every position as an Elk including Exalted Ruler, Secretary and Treasurer.

“The Elks is a part of my life.

I’ve been going there since I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I’m going to do what’s necessary to try to keep the lodge going. It’s a valuable piece of property and it has a long history,” noted Franklin.

Freddie Scott joined in praising the Elks as a 37 year member and holding most of its leadership roles. By his own admission, he grew up professionally at the Elks, gaining experience from working with the organization on multiple levels. “ I attended the lodge a number of years before joining be-

ned” about “widespread illegal leaks.”

On MSNBC, Jeremy Bash, former chief of staff for the CIA, said he’s “never heard of a chairman of an oversight committee going to brief the president of the United States about concerns he has about things he’s read in intelligence reports.”

“The job of the committee is to do oversight over the executive branch—not to bring them in to their investigation or tip them off to things they may have been looking at,” Bash added. “I’ve gotta believe other members of the committee are horrified at what they just witnessed.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Remember the Masters who did not play golf

By Kevin Palmer The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” For this reason, Master’s Golf week is the right time to remind Augusta, Ga. residents how the slave master abused African slaves. For over 250 years in America, African slaves were systematically abused and the white supremacist John C. Calhoun publicly and unapologetically publicly defended the institution of slavery.

Even more egregious, Calhoun defended the evil institution until his death in 1850.

The Pride of Fort Lauderdale Elks Lodge No.652 has a rich history as a Black social and civic organization

The Pride of Fort Lauderdale Elks Lodge stands empty do to a legal dilemma.

about his secret work on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During the House Intelligence Committee hearing on Monday, Nunes responded to the intelligence community’s rejection of Trump’s wiretapping accusation—and the announcement of the FBI investigation— by asking investigators to take a fresh look at Hillary Clinton.

The Trump administration recently enlisted him to talk to reporters and help knock down stories about ties between Trump’s inner circle and Russia.

Ironically, Nunes also railed against leakers of classified information on Monday, telling Comey he’s “extremely concer-

cause I knew many of the members and non-members. We probably had a mixture of 5050 between members and nonmembers. I was induced by the members to join because some of my closer friends were members. They explained to me what the Elks meant being a benevolent association. I am proud to be a member and have no regrets of being a member of the Elks,” said Scott.

Levi Henry Jr., founder of the Westside Gazette Newspaper, joined the Elks in the early 1970’s, now retired and a resident of Whiteville, North Carolina, had fond memories of the days when he and many of his colleagues from the local community converged on the Elks Club each Friday to catch up with what was going on throughout Black Broward County.

“The Elks was the place as far as Black people were concerned. We got married in the Elks. The Elks was just the only place where we could go and enjoy ourselves.”

In addition those who frequented the Elks forged friendships along the way which lasted for a lifetime and were filled with fond memories of the good times that were shared by those back in those days.

At 84, Henry still expressed his affinity toward some of those individuals who had an impact on his life. One of those individuals was David Laramore, a founding member of the Elks.

“Mr. Laramore was the ‘Daddy of the Elks. He lost his family in the Great Hurricane of 1926. Everything that needed to be done at the Elks he did it.”

Rodney Baltimore is the morning on air radio personality for WHQT-HOT 105. He has had a number of engagements as a host for major events held at the Elks over the years.

He reflected on the historical significance of the Elks as a venue he said was like no other within the Black community.

“I think that the Elks provided an opportunity for the Black community and Black men in particular to get together and socialize from all walks of life - from your landscaper to your judges and your doctors, it crossed all socio-economic and political levels - would go there.

You had gubernatorial as well as presidential candidates that had to stop by the Elks as part of their campaign. It was a place

Therefore, it is not the color of Calhoun’s skin, but the content of his character, that is judged by the words of Mahatma Gandhi who said, “An evil system never deserves such allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil. A good person will resist an evil system with his or her soul.” Thus, according to Gandhi’s standard, Calhoun cannot be considered a good person.

Nor, can those who oppose renaming the John C. Calhoun expressway be considered good people. Their opposition is an endorsement of Calhoun’s racism and defense of slavery.

For blacks, especially, there is no excuse to not support renaming the Calhoun expressway.

Black Augusta commissioners, do you not remember millions of free African men, women, and children were captured, branded with a hot iron, crammed in the lower deck of slave ships, transported thousands of miles wallowing in their own excrement, contracting disease, and malnourished? Therefore, when it is time to vote to remove

Calhoun’s name, do not tell me “there are bigger issues on the table right now.”

Again, Black Augusta commissioners, do you not remember in 1849 Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and risk her life on numerous occasions to enter slave states to lead escaping slaves to freedom? Therefore, since you are not risking your life, do not tell me removing Calhoun’s name “Is not your priority.”

Likewise, White Augusta commissioners, do you not remember in 1859 the white abolitionist John Brown lost his life while courageously executing a plan to liberate slaves? Therefore, do not attempt to justify your cowardice by showing fake concern to preserve history. Do not tell me you are opposed to removing Calhoun’s name because, “We’re screwing up trying to reach back and rewrite history.”

In the final analysis, renaming the John C. Calhoun Expressway is not about rewriting history; it is about the city which hosts the world renowned Mas-

PALMER ters Golf tournament showing the fruit of repentance. Deeds are better than words. In 2017, for Augusta, Georgia to continue to publicly honor a white supremacist and slavery defender is to endorse the evil for which he stands.

Hopefully, Augusta will see the error of its way.

PAGE 6 • MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017

Opinion

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.

Mr. President, what if it was your mama?

By Austin R. Cooper (NNPA Newswire Columnist) During the summer before the election, then-presidential nominee Do nald Trump, added this message to his speeches: “You’re living in poverty; your schools are no good; you have no jobs; 58 percent of your youth is un employed. What the hell do you have to lose?”

It was an attempt to appeal to Black voters.

Needless to say, this was an unusual way of trying to expand his political base among a constituency that had not shown much support for the GOP in recent years.

President Trump is perhaps the first political candidate to knowingly insult the very ones to whom he was appealing for votes. What also made these appeals to African-Americans outside of the norm, and even bizarre, is that they were often made before predominantly, White audiences.

After reviewing the president’s first budget proposal, titled “America First:

A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” his question of “What the hell do you have to lose?” can now be more broadly posed beyond AfricanAmericans. Based on his fiscal priorities, many Americans, including a significant number of those who voted for him, stand to lose a great deal. Unfortunately for some, Hell might seem like a better alternative than trying to survive under some of the president’s proposed cuts.

Take, for example, the “Meals on Wheels” Program. The president’s budget identified steep cuts in numerous domestic programs. It calls for the elimination of a key program that Meals on Wheels groups depend on: a $3 billion program—community development block grants (CDBG)—that began under the Ford administration to combat poverty by giving states and cities greater flexibility in how to combat poverty.

Therefore, pain and hardship will be felt if Congress enacts the cuts.

Meals on Wheels delivers food to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meal programs, not all of which are actually named “Meals on Wheels.”

Research has shown that homedelivered meal programs significantly improve diet quality, increase nutrient intakes and improve the quality of life among recipients. The program also reduces government expenditures by reducing the need of recipients to use hospitals, nursing homes or other expensive community-based services.

Mick Mulvaney, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget recently stated, “We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good…to take the federal money and give it to the states and say, ‘Look we want to give you money for programs that don’t work.’”

Try telling someone, who is no longer experiencing hunger pains due to Meals on Wheels, that the program does not work.

President Trump is blessed to have never gone hungry a day in his life.

However, I wish that he would visit with 56-year-old Linda Preast in Macon, Georgia.

During a recent interview on “CBS Evening News,” Ms. Preast was asked if she was surprised by the spending cuts to Meals on Wheels being proposed by the president. She replied, “Yeah, because I was told—I was under the [impression] that he was going to help us.” The reporter then asked, “What would you tell him to convince him not to cut the program?” Ms. Preast responded, “What if it was your mama?”

Ms. Preast, who is White, poor and confined to a wheelchair due to a stroke, signed up for Meals on Wheels two years ago. Last November, she, like a majority of Macon residents, voted for President Trump.

According to Robert A. Caro, the author of “The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson,” President Johnson loved the phrase “War on Poverty.” From personal knowledge, he knew that the causes of poverty stem from a “lack of education and training, a lack of medical care and housing, and a lack of decent communities in which to live.” These were, to President Johnson, real-life foes.

Poverty in America is Democratic, Republican, independent and nonvoting.

It is my hope that the 45th president will learn from his predecessor and find the compassion to use the bully pulpit to alleviate, and not compound, the pain currently being experienced by so many Americans, many who supported the president as well as many who did not.

So, Mr. President, what if it was your mama?

Austin R. Cooper, Jr., serves as President of Cooper Strategic Affairs, Inc., which provides legislative, political and communications counsel in Washington, D.C., for governmental, nonprofit and for profit organizations. Austin has worked for three Members of Congress, the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), former NYC Mayor David Dinkins and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young. You can follow Austin on Twitter @acooper62.

The Republican Health Care plan with hurt all of us The Republican Health Care Plan will be a disaster for working families.

Millions across the country will be will be without affordable health care and higher taxes. The budget experts predict that out of pocket expenses will be extremely high as employers shift more costs to employees. Medicaid will be weakened and the plan only gives tax breaks to those making 200,000 or more a year. Congress should focus on expanding coverage for more of those working, not putting quality health care out of reach.

Thank you, Beverly Thompson, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Trump having Obama nightmares with defeat of Trumpcare

By Roger Caldwell

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

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette

Republicans in the House of Representatives have a 44 delegate advantage over the Democrats in 2017.

For over 7 years, the Republicans have talked about repealing Obamacare (ACA) and with the election of President Trump; finally they are in a position to make that happen.

Three weeks ago, Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House introduced a new healthcare bill entitled “The American Health Care Act,” which would replace and improve Obamacare. Only 17% of Americans supported the bill and the House Republicans were extremely divided with their support.

The Democrats were 100% against the bill, but the President and White House Secretary Sean Spitzer said they would get the votes needed to pass the House.

The passage of this healthcare bill was extremely significant to President Trump and Paul Ryan, because this was the first major challenge for the Republicans in the House, and it was an indication everyone was on the same page. With a 44 delegate advantage, the Republicans in the House would prove that they were prepared to govern, and they were united.

Trump is diametrically opposed to everything that President Obama believes and stands for. The AHCA was a disastrous bill, where 14 million Americans would lose their healthcare insurance next year, and 24 million by 2026. After days of negotiations, the last version of the bill had cuts in hospitalization, doctor visits, maternity, mental health, lab test, prescrip

tions, and emergency visits.

But something is happening in America, and it starts with democracy, and ends with truth. There were hundreds of town hall meetings, millions of Americans called their representative and said, “Keep Obamacare alive and let it live.”

On Thursday, March 23, 2017, the AHCA was scheduled to be voted on in the House, but Speaker Ryan and the Republicans did not have the votes.

The president and his team had meetings and negotiations with the different caucuses, and still there were not enough positive votes.

On Friday, it was assumed that there were not enough supporters, so there was never a vote on the floor.

President Trump and Speaker Ryan killed the bill, and the ACA is still the law of the land.

President Trump is in the middle of a non-stop Obama nightmare. Trump has never treated President Obama with respect, and now every evening he is forced to think, “What would Obama do.”

American s now believes that healthcare is a fundamental right, and not a privilege. The defeat of the AHCA was a victory for all Americans, and not just the Democrats.

There are now over 20 million Americans that have healthcare insurance as a result of the ACA. President Obama says, “The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is law only because millions of Americans mobilized and organized and decided that this fight was about more than healthcare – it was about the character of our country.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Letter to the Editor Greetings, I was reading an article in the March 23rd circulation regarding the state of the Von D. Mizell Center that I found enlightening and disheartening all at the same time. In my travels to major cities throughout U.S., whether it’s Harlem, Atlanta, Miami or Jacksonville just to name a few, I see the same thing. If you visit any Black business corridors you’ll always see the most attractive and active buildings are filled with social service programs.

Today, in the 21st century, we as Blacks in America continue to dominate the culture but have not as of yet taken a look at the elephant in the room: Economic and political empowerment. With a large influx of immigrants coming in the country taking over the low tech jobs and they come to compete, we must compete as well. We need a 20 year agenda to address our millennials; we need technology centers geared towards the marketing of services and goods to the community.

We have residents who have received the highest of education with MBAs from some of the finest universities working high ranking post within major corporations and government, and we still can’t create an economic spark in our own backyard. I think it’s time to look at the elephant in the room and reduce it to a mouse.

I applaud Mrs. Richards for this article and hope she continues to shove this topic down the peoples’ throat.

Best, Robb Payne Leverage Capital Associates

Editor Three “world class” liars who will destroy our country unless we continue our non-violent protests. Trump told his biggest lie about Obama’s wiretap. White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, will burn out soon from telling at least 13 lies at every press conference. Vice-president Mike Pence, who looks like an innocent altar boy, knew about General Flynn’s clandestine activities but lied and said he did not.

Trump fired General Flynn for telling Pence a lie. There is no honor among thieves!!!

James J. Hankins—Wilmington, NC

The Gantt Report Don’t stop resisting

By Lucius Gantt The Democratic political puppets had a Congressional victory over the Republican political puppets.

Whoop-de-doo!

To all of the community activists, oranizers, radicals, militants and political revolutionaries, don’t stop resisting! You cannot and must not bask in your moment of triumph!

I think I know a little bit about politics. Most African American candidates and elected officials probably wouldn’t agree with me because if they did I and other Black political professionals would get more respect and more work from them.

Anyway, let me show you how smart I am.

“Trump Care” was not passed because of anything Democrats did to oppose the proposed Republican health care legislation.

The President had a political miscarriage! His repeal and replace baby was dead on arrival!

Masquerading as a huge and great improvement in health care for American citizens, Stevie Wonder and, if they were alive, Ray Charles and Blind Lemon Jefferson could have easily seen that the American Health Care Act was nothing more than a funding vehicle for billon dollar tax cuts for the United States’ wealthiest citizens and a welfare program for greedy, sleazy insurance company profiteers!

Trump Care or Ryan Care, if you want to name the dead legislation after the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was always dead in the water because Republican politicians are just as divided as Democratic politicians. Tea Party Republicans that you call the “Freedom Caucus” will never fully agree with moderate Republicans and neither group will agree with or bow down to lying Republicans that promised an immediate repeal and replacement of health care and any other legislation that the Black President was able to pass!

But don’t stop resisting!

You can’t stop resisting because real political professionals, like I call myself, know very well that you will never really win and you never really lose in political legislation battles.

Why? Because highly paid lobbyists that suck the blood out of industries, associations, corporations and rich individuals will always convince their clients to fight for what they want again and again.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

The last Confederate stronghold in America

By Duvalier Malone When I joined with other Mississippi leaders for the “Take It Down America” rally last year, I had high hopes for Mississippi. Perhaps I was blinded by idealism, but I honestly and truly believed that our state would do the right thing, if we brought attention to this issue.

I believed then, and I still believe now, that Mississippi is capable of great and wondrous things. I often speak on where we were just fifty years ago, and the progress that we have made in that relatively short time.

Mississippi is a great state, that I believe will one day come to the forefront nationally, leading our country forward on many issues. But we can’t do that if we don’t come out from under the specter of this Confederate flag issue.

Mississippi is the only state in America that officially flies the Confederate flag. Every other state has taken it down and renounced it. They’ve accepted it for what it is.

The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate. It is the American equivalent of the Nazi swastika in Germany.

Many won’t agree with that statement on its face, but let’s examine this.

It has been well-documented how the Confederate emblem gives rise to hate crimes against people of color. Two of the most well-known examples are Dylann Roof, the white man responsible for the horrible massacre at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the three killers who drug James Byrd, an African American man, behind their truck until his body was torn apart in Jasper, Texas.

What do these two horrible crimes have in common?

Dylann Roof posed with the Confederate flag alongside the Nazi code for “Heil Hitler”. One of the murderers of James Byrd, John William King, was a member of the Ku Klux Klan who he had several tattoos, which included the Confederate flag, the Nazi swastika and the words “Aryan Pride”.

The Confederate symbol is forever attached to bigotry, hatred and murder.

If you look at the Confederate flag and all you see is “heritage”, then I’m

afraid that you are looking through a terrible rose-colored lens that is blinding you to the reality of the horrible atrocities that have been committed under that flag.

When a person declares that they are proud of their Confederate heritage, this means that they are proud of the murder that has been committed under that symbol.

Last week, Mississippi Representative William Shirley proposed an amendment in the Mississippi legislature to withhold federal funds from the courageous universities that made history last year with their refusal to fly the state flag as long as it contains the Confederate emblem.

That amendment was a slap in the face to every family that has suffered under the Confederate flag; and I’m publicly asking Rep. Shirley for an apology. This was a horrible attempt to set us back.

I’m happy that this attempt wasn’t successful, but we still have to make the decision to remove this symbol from our flag.

The Mississippi Confederate Flag https://youtu.be/Qxw0JehE7_A What will it take for Mississippi to join the rest of the country in denouncing this symbol of hate? Will our state have to experience a crime as terrible as what happened in South Carolina before we decide to finally move forward and let go of the racist vestiges of the past?

This is no longer a Mississippi fight.

This is a battle for the soul of America.

“I come from Mississippi” Duvalier Malone Statement on the Confederate Flag https://youtu.be/ yAAfZdjY6ro

www.thewestsidegazette.com

BUSINESS

Westside Gazette

MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017 • PAGE 7

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MIAMI, FL — Urban Pulse Direct (UPD) founders and creators of the first multi-platform minority business resource guide are proud to announce the launch of their newly expanded platform. After a successful two-year beta period that garnered over 50,000 new users, this newly expanded, multi-platform experience offers more content, a new YouTube channel feature (UPDTV), a larger printed version, and 10 new cities coming in the summer of 2017!

Martin Clarke, founder of UPD said, “It’s been a labor of love and hate in creating this platform with its countless stops and starts, but as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained. My dad always told me that if your dreams don’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough, so here we go. We saw a need in the community to serve minority owned businesses promote their goods and services. We also felt it was time to control the narrative of our community.”

UPD Platform features: * An innovative new social experience: interact, share, and grow your business through promoted features on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. * They’ve updated their platform capabilities using sliders and galleries to increase user engagement while pairing native content with dynamic ads to connect the user to your business. * UPDTV is a new YouTube channel designed to promote positive images, content, and social engagement.

Since the beta launch in 2014, more than 50,000 people have accessed various elements of the UPD platform seeking information on stories that matter to the Black community, current events, and service providers. There is a listing for everything from contractors/ handyman to banking and minority owned tech companies.

What makes UPD unique from other resource guides is UPD focusses on growing the small minority owned business with 1 to 25 employees. “We don’t only list your business, we promote your business. We pride ourselves on providing the marketing support and platform needed to these small businesses to gain visibility within

the communities they are in through online, social media, broadcast, and direct marketing,” Clarke adds.

Founded in 2013, UPD was created to serve as a bridge to connect minority owned businesses with targeted consumers to promote the concept of community in support of circulating dollars, and to encourage growth, economic independence, opportunity, and upward mobility. With over 40 years of combined experience in small business development, marketing, and advertising, UPD’s founders are uniquely qualified to deliver a higher-level engagement between the business owner and the communities they serve. For more information, visit www.iloveupd.com For more information about this topic, please contact Stacey Clarke at (954) 225-8097 or email at stacey@iloveupd.com. *********************************

SUCCESS ISN'T ABOUT HOW MUCH money YOU MAKE, IT'S ABOUT THE difference YOU MAKE IN PEOPLE'S LIVES. -- Michelle Obama

PAGE 8 • MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017

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

Church Directory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reverend Jimmy L. English PASTOR 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"

Dr. Marcus D. Davidson, 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!

James C. Boyd Funeral Home

Rev. Stanley Melek, M.Div E-MAIL:stanley.melek@flumc.org 2351 N.W. 26th Street Oakland Park, Florida 33311 Church Telephone: (954) 731-0520

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

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

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

FRANCIS Funeral services for the late Betty Lou Francis - 73 were held March 25 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Elder Benjamin E. Shaw officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens (Central).

GRANT Funeral services for the late Baby Boy Jay’Ceon Princeton.

JOHNSON Funeral services for the late.

Rudolph Alexander “Ruby” Johnson – 81 were held March 25 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Pastor Monica Marshall officiating.

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 Rev Henry E. Green, Jr. PASTOR 401 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 Phone: (954) 463-6309 - FAX 954 522-4113 Office Hours: Tues. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Email: infor@mthermonftl.com

SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICES Worship Service ................................................................................... 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#

PATRICK Funeral services for the late Mother Bernice L. Patrick – 76 were held March 25 at Holy Tabernacle United Church of God with Bishop Johnny L. Williams, Sr. officiating. Interment: Greenlawn Memorial Park, Columbia, S.C.18.

PUGHSLEY Funeral services for the late Norman Pughsley – 63 were held March 25 at New Golden Heights Church of Christ with Dr. W.F. Washington, Sr. officiating.

Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

WILLIAMS Funeral services for the late Verna Mechelle Williams – 45 were held March 25 at New Mount Olive Baptist Church with Dr. Rosalind Osgood officiating.

McWhite's Funeral Home DICKINSON Funeral services for the late Loretta B. Dickinson - 81 were held March 25 at Community Church of God with Min. Connie Morton officiating. Interment: South Florida National Cemetery, Lake Worth, Fla. VEGA Funeral services for the late Domingo Vega.

Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home TUFF Funeral services for the late Albert M. Tuff - 80 were held March 26 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Rev. James B. Darling, Jr officiating. South Florida VA National Cemetery, Lake Worth, Fla. TUTE Funeral services for the late Ronald C. Tute - 84 were held March 23 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Pastor Jeffrey Gresham officiating.

How we should deal with poverty: A Christian perspective

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, Oakland Park "The Miracle On 33rd Street"

By Susan Johnes

rd

420 N.E. 33 Street Oakland Park, Florida 33334 Church: (954) 563-3060 Email: mtzion420@gmail.com

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

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

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

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

(Dail (786) 233-6715 - Acess Code 703513) Oakland Park CDC (Senior Activity Center) Daily ............10 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.

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

Senior Pastor

Obituaries Harris Chapel United Methodist Church

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette

Poverty is a situational phenomenon in human life. We miss certain things in our life and are abundantly blessed with other things. Have you wondered why the rich despise the poor? Most rich people hardly give anything to charity or if they do they are only doing it to gain popularity.

Personally, I have felt guilty

for the failure of giving money to help the poor. Now I am highly in favor of helping people, but let’s stop for just a minute to consider those living in poverty.

The first thing to remember is that God never intended for human beings to live in poverty. The Bible says that our Creator loves a cheerful giver.

Therefore, we ought to give neither grudgingly nor out of

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q & A: What does Reverend Deal say this week!

‘Revelation in Greek is ‘Apokalypsis’ means to ‘unveil’ Question: What is the Book of Revelation? Why isn’t it preached often?

Answer: The Book of Revelation is the last book written in the New Testament of the Bible.

Revelation in Koine Greek is ‘Apokalypsis’ which means to unveil or unveiling’. Revelation is the study of Eschatology. Eschatology is the last things, particularly centering on the event known as the Second Coming of Christ. The author of the Book of Revelation is the Apostle John. John is identified as the oldest and the only living Apostle when this book was written. John was imprisoned on the island of Patmos by the Roman Emperor, Domitian for preaching the testimony of Jesus Christ. John, known as the ‘Revelator’, was 90 years old when he wrote the of Book of Revelation. The book was written in A. D. 95 (A.D. is a Latin Phrase on the Gregorian calendar). John was caught up’ in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. Being caught up’ in the Spirit of the Lord meant that John had a prophetic vision beyond the church age.

I believe that the primary reasons why the Book of Revelation is not being preached is because of (1) the lack of spiritual knowledge and (2) afraid to speak the truth. John was ‘caught up in the spirit’ indicates that certain symbols and allegories written were for the elect’ or spiritual minded people. If you’re not spiritual minded or elected to preach you are lost. Everyone who claims to be a preacher wasn’t call to preach. One can have all the preaching degrees or can be the best “jackleg” preacher in the business doesn’t mean that you were called to preach. So, when articulating “the seven lampstands and the seven stars’ you need help from the Holy Ghost. Amen. In other cases some ministries will not speak the truth.

The truth will cause a decline in membership or a separation from the essential core that keeps the church together. We feel that the Sunday morning sermon should about the fascination, the glory and majesty of God. In some cases this might be true, but please remember that we must experience Jesus suffering before we can experience His glory. The truth will cause a conviction to do things according to the Word of God. Preachers speak the truth. John 8:32 says; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’.

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

Christians need to believe God’s promises of abundance and operate the principles of prosperity. Then their lives will

Sheral Jenkins Sept. 18, 1952 March 22, 2017 Viewing Friday, March 31, 2017 from 5-9 p.m., at McWhite's Funeral Home, 3501 West Broward Blvd Fort Lauderdale Florida. Funeral Service, Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 11 at Mount Bethel Baptist Church 901 N.W. 11 Ave Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

be blessed, and they will have plenty to give to those in need.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

www.thewestsidegazette.com

‘Black Heritage Auction’ to feature songs, notes and jewelry of Tupac Shakur

MISCELLEANOUS

CHESAPEAKE CITY, Md., PRNewswire — On April 7th rap legend Tupac Shakur will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Brooklyn, New York. On the same day and only a few blocks away, a large selection of Tupac’s lyrics, song lists, clothing, and jewelry will be offered in the first “Black History Auction” held specifically to honor the achievements and contributions of African Americans. Over 300 items will be sold live by auctioneers Alexander Historical Auctions at The Dumbo Loft, 155 Water St., Brooklyn, New York starting at 2 p.m.

Offered for sale will be more than three dozen items from the legendary artist, including: 14 sets of lyrics, including Catchin’ Feelins, Wonda Why They Call U Bitch and I Ain’t Mad At Cha; his track list and a master recording for All Eyez On Me; his first music contract; contracts made to secure bail money; and his prison identification. Personal items include Tupac’s signed Koran, Rolls Royce license plates, his trademark nose and ear studs, screen-worn clothing, and jewelry, including a bulletstruck medallion from his fatal 1996 shooting.

Also being offered is a signed photo of Dr. Martin Luther King with a quote from the Constitution: “…all men are created equal…” along with a letter by

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

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

King mentioning “Jackson,” Thurgood Marshall, and the Freedom Riders, and an important signed copy of his “Stride Toward Freedom.” Malcolm X is represented in a letter from prison discussing the “Blackness” of a man, and several other important items.

From President Barack Obama is a 2012 NCAA “Final Four” leader board, which appeared on ESPN, signed at the center.

Boxer Muhammad Ali is represented in several lots, including a signed print of his painting showing a victory in the ring, adding his famous “Float like a butterfly” quote and a print of a painting later “censored” by the U.N. Other notable items to be offered include: • The first literary work of a Black American, a first edition of Phillis Wheatley’s “Poems,” 1773 • Booker T. Washington’s notes on the education of Blacks • Early Black Panther items including a very rare armband • Gen. Colin Powell’s dress uniform • Michael Jackson’s fedora, sequined bowtie, belt, shirt, and signed photos Bidding will be available live, by telephone, and at the bidding websites invaluable.com,thesaleroom.com

Westside Gazette

MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2107 • PAGE 9

PAGE 10 • MARCH 30 - APRIL 5 2017

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette

Joint Center mourns loss of Civil Rights Leader Roger Wilkins

WILKINS

Roger W. Wilkins, civil rights leader, history professor, and award-winning journalist, passed away March 26, 2017 at the age of 85.

Spencer Overton, the President of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, issued the following statement: “The Joint Center mourns the loss of Roger Wilkins. Roger played a significant role in the history of our nation, and a groundbreaking role in the history of African Americans in government and law. He worked at the Ford Foundation in 1970 when the Foundation helped establish the Joint Cen-

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS MEETINGS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR CANCELLATION Date Meeting Place 5/22/17 Bond Oversight Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room 5:30pm Meeting and Public Hearing 600 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Laud 4/6/17 Diversity Committee ± KCW Bldg., Board Room 6:30-8:30p General Meeting 600 SE 3rd Avenue, Ft. Laud.

4/17/17 Diversity Committee - Chair, Lauderdale Manors Learning Cntr 5-6p 1400 NW 14th Court, Fort Laud.

Vice-Chair & Staff Mtg 4/6/17 Diversity Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room 5:30-6:30p Site Visit Sub-Committee 600 SE 3rd Avenue, Ft. Laud.

4/26/17 Diversity Committee ± Various Lauderdale Manors Learning Ctr 4-6p 1400 NW 14th Court, Fort Laud..

Sub-Committee Meetings 4/24/17 Diversity Committee ± Various Lauderdale Manors Learning Ctr 4-6p 1400 NW 14th Court, Fort Laud.

Sub Committee Meetings 4/19/17 Diversity Committee ± Various Lauderdale Manors Learning Ctr 4-6p 1400 NW 14th Court, Fort Laud.

Sub Committee Meetings 4/17/17 Diversity Committee ± Various Lauderdale Manors Learning Ctr 4-5p 1400 NW 14th Court, Fort Laud.

Sub Committee Meetings 4/6/17 Facilities Task Force General Plantation High School-Media Ctr 7pm Meeting 6901 NW 16th St., Plantation 4/26/17 Human Relations Committee Lauderdale Manors Learning Ctr. 3:30-5:30p General Meeting 1400 NW 14th Court, Ft. Laud.

4/20/17 North Area Advisory Council Atlantic Tech. High School 6p/7p Steering /General Meeting 4700 Cocnt Crk Blvd., Cocnt Crk 4/5/17 North Area Advisory ± Panera Bread 11a Nominating Committee Mtg 5975 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Laud.

4/19/17 North Area Advisory ± Panera Bread 11a 5975 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Laud.

Nominating Committee Mtg 4/36/17 North Area Advisory ± Panera Bread 11a 5975 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Laud.

Nominating Committee Mtg 4/3/17 North Area Advisory Council Atlantic Tech High School 7p Special Meeting 4700 Cocnt Crk Blvd., Cocnt Crk. 4/13/17 Parent/Community Involvement McFatter Tech College (Rm 602) 6p 6500 Nova Dr., Davie Task Force Regular Mtg & Conf. Subcommittee Mtg 4/29/17 Parent Engagement Conference Ft. Laud. High School 8a 1600 NW 4th Ave., Ft. Laud.

Spring 2017 4/26/17 QSEC Review of Contractors TSSC - Rm. #323 9a Pre-Qualification/ReCert.

7720 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise 4/19/17 Superintendent's Ins. & Wellness TSSC Annex 9a 7770 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise Advisory Committee (SIWAC) (Purpose: to discuss various items FRQFHUQ WKH (PSOR\HH %HQHILWV¶ Program, as well as any other matter the Committee deems important.)

4/26/17 Supplier Diversity & Outreach TSSC ± Ste 323 4p Program Adv. Committee Mtg 7220 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at 754-3212150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158. Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, (ADAAA) may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

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

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS 4/4/17 KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

9:30 a.m.

6SHFLDO Presentations 10:30 a.m. or 6SHFLDO 6FKRRO %RDUG 0HHWLQg (Expulsions) immediately following the Special Presentations

10:35 a.m. or

5HJXODU 6FKRRO %RDUG 0HHWLQJ

immediately following the Special Meeting

4/18/17 9:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m. or

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

6SHFLDO Presentations 6SHFLDO 6FKRRO %RDUG 0HHWLQg (Expulsions)

immediately following the Special Presentations

10:35 a.m. or

5HJXODU 6FKRRO %RDUG 0HHWLQJ

immediately following the Special Meeting

4/25/17 10:00 a.m.

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

6FKRRO %RDUG :RUNVKRS

Regular School Board Meeting ± Public speakers listed on the agenda will be heard immediately following the regular school board meeting or at 5 p.m., whichever is earliest on April 4, 2017 and at 12 p.m. on April 18, 2017 or as close to those times as possible. Workshops ± Public speakers will be permitted three minutes each to address a topic at the conclusion of Board Members' discussion on the topic. The times for items on the agenda are only estimates. The actual start times for these topics may vary up to an hour or more depending on the nature of the items and the length of the Board discussions and public comments.

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

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

ter. On a personal level, I have always appreciated Roger’s encouragement and support, and I have been inspired by his model of social commitment and intellectual engagement. Roger’s wife Patricia and the rest

of his family are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Wilkins was born in Kansas City, Missouri, grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and completed his undergraduate degree and law degree from the

University of Michigan. He held a diverse array of influential positions throughout his life.

Wilkins served as an intern for NAACP LDF director-counsel Thurgood Marshall, an Assistant Attorney General in Lyn-

don B. Johnson’s administration, a program officer at the Ford Foundation who oversaw funding for job training and education, a member of the editorial boards of the Washington Post and the New York Times, chair of the Pulitzer Prize board, a member of the D.C. school board, a publisher of the NAACP’s magazine the Crisis, and a professor at George Mason University.

Preservation or Progress: The Case of the Von D. Mizell Center Trump is finally

(Cont'd from FP) Like NYC’s Harlem, Chicago’s Bronzeville, and countless other rich and historic Black neighborhoods, real estate developers and investors have set their eyes on the Sistrunk Community. That is reality.

Despite previously falling into what the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Community Development Agency describes as “slum and blight”, suddenly the Sistrunk Corridor deserves revi-

talization and the community’s close proximity to a rapidly expanding and increasingly glitzy downtown emphasizes this urgency. Plans and designs have been drafted – all without community input or consideration.

“You can’t call everybody.”

Stated Lorraine Mizell, a descendent of Von D. Mizell and a Sistrunk business owner. She has become a leading voice and supporter of relocating the L.A. Lee Family YMCA two blocks north. Like others she has emphasized the benefits the new

What is done to the least…

Sheep and Goats?

(Cont'd from FP) There still exists a forced relationship of servility as it pertains to the Black American for the white American and this is not an “alternative fact”.

I’m reminded of the story in Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus is teaching about “the judgment of nations.” It talks about how the nations are divided up and classified and separated as sheep and goats. The sheep are those that are responsive to the pains and mistreatments of others while the goats are indifferent to the sufferings of others.

Even though there are written prescriptions for those of us who want to sheep-feed the hungry; give water to the thirsty; care for strangers; clothe the naked; tend to the sick and visit those in prison, these actions call for us to be communal and hospitable, not to show antisocial behaviors toward one another.

I see and recognize behaviors that are popping up faster than gentrification in the urban cities of this country, in semblance to the mousetrap story.

The mouse trap story: A farm mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What he thought might have been food was a mouse trap; the mouse was devastated. The delirious mouse went running through the farmyard shouting out the warning, “there’s a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken, bewildered, clucked, scratched, and then raised her head and said, ‘Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is of grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.’

The mouse, now more agitated, turned to the hog and told him, ‘There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!’ The hog snorted and showing sympathy, said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it and went happily back to his mud pool. But I will be thinking of you.” The mouse turned to the cow, tears in his baggy eyes saying, ‘There-is-a-mousetrap-in-the-house!

There-is-a-mousetrap in-the-house!’ The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose; moooo out the way.” So, the mouse, head down, rejected, tears rolling down his face, returned to the house to face the farmer’s mousetrap . . . alone.

That night while the mouse tossed and turned with anxiety, the deafening sound of a mousetrap, snapping and catching its prey, was heard throughout the house. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she couldn’t see the poisonous snake whose tail was caught in the trap.

When she reach down to get the trap, the snake bit her. The farmer rushed her to the hospital; she returned home with a fever. To treat the fever the farmer needed some fresh chicken soup, so he took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. The mouse could hear the chicken’s last cackle. His wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer had to butcher the hog. The farmer’s wife did not get well, succumbing to the snake’s poisonous venom. Many people came to the funeral so the farmer slaughtered the cow to feed all of them. The small frightened mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

Social responsibility is a necessary response for God’s people. When we are sensitive to the pains and afflictions of others and we come to their aid to try and elevate their discomfort, we are doing what God has asked us to do. We are comforted so that we may comfort others.

So, when you see or hear that someone is being treated discriminatorily and think it’s not your concern, remember — -- when one of us is defenseless and suffers because of it, we are all at risk. In this journey called life, we need each other because we never know what can happen when the trap is sprung.

“Dear God, in the name of Jesus please teach me how to come to the aid of others who are caught in the traps of life.

Amen.”

GOD DOESN’T SEE STATURE OR STATUS; HE SEES HIS CHILDREN IN NEED

YMCA will bring to Sistrunk Blvd.

“Sistrunk needs a shot in the arm,” Mizell emphasized, “We need revitalization.” She believes the new YMCA will do just that.

Again, the disrepair and neglect of the Sistrunk Corridor is obvious and it is undeniable that the community is in desperate need of investment and renewal. The question is who will lead that cause, the community or the city? This is the primary concern of those fighting to preserve the Mizell Center.

“We found out about the plans for the Mizell Center in December 2016", said Sonya Burrows, another Sistrunk business owner. Burrows claims the plans proposed for the Mizell Center are strangely sophisticated and developed, leading one to question just how long this conversation on the fate of the property had been going on.

“It seems there has been backdoor conversations taking place. Selective likeminded people does not constitute a crosssection of the community,” stated Bobby R. Henry, Sr., Publisher of the Westside Gazette and proponent of the small business incubator plan.

Mizell dismisses that claim. As a longtime member of the L.A. Lee Family YMCA, she contests any suggestion that these plans have been years in the making.

“The idea to move the YMCA was just a thought in passing conversation,” she emphasized, “Thoughts had to come first. It wasn’t intentional.”

What does seem intentional was the seemingly deliberate attempt to keep the community’s input out of the discussion. This was demonstrated at last week’s City of Fort Lauderdale Commissioners Meeting when nearly 20 representatives from the community attended wearing “Preserve Our History, #SistrunkStrong” black and white t-shirts, expecting to bring to the Commissioners’ attention their opposition to the relocation of the YMCA. However, before the meeting, the item was pulled from the agenda.

In response, Asa Roberts Shaw, a community activist with leadership in the Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward, volunteered to attach the community’s concern to another agenda item and address the Commissioners. Audience members claim the City of Fort Lauderdale’s District III Commissioner, Robert L. McKinzie, had an indifferent response, turning away from Shaw while he was speaking, becoming preoccupied with his cell phone, grimacing, and “giving disrespectful looks”.

“Whenever someone from the community speaks, they are dismissive,” Shaw explained, “I am used to it.”

If true, that is alarming, but regarding Commissioner McKinzie, a man described as “an advocate for community engagement” on the City of Fort Lauderdale’s website, it is confusing behavior.

Commissioner McKinzie declined to comment.

Supporters of preserving the Mizell Center will attend the next Commissioner’s meeting on April 4 and will hold a rally prior to the meeting. They are expecting a large turnout.

Still, there are questions on the self-sustainability of a repurposed Mizell Center. The inability to generate revenue, resulting in dependence on a neglectful City, was a large factor in the center’s former decline. Some point to other buildings along Sistrunk Blvd built with the intent to house small businesses, but are either left standing empty or lack stability.

“Making the center a small business incubator is a long shot,” explained Mizell, “There will be a couple people in and out of there, but it will not sustain itself. The YMCA is a sure shot and it will pay for itself.”

The fact remains: community input was not thoroughly sought prior to the conversation, which has resulted in the fate of the center to lean in favor of the YMCA’s plans. This has caused heated debate within the community on the best route moving forward.

Cue the inner-tribal disagreements.

lashing out at the right enemies (Cont'd from FP)

Indeed, candidate Trump’s persona more closely resembled racist populists who were a dominant force in the American South for many years—men such as “Pitckfork” Ben Tillman and George Wallace, who combined brutality towards certain racial minority groups with generosity towards poor whites.

As a political matter, this was a much easier agenda to sell to the electorate than movement conservatism. Trump’s white nationalism offered voters a distinctly different flavor of conservatism than the deep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, 40 percent spikes in health costs for seniors, and tax cuts for the wealthy that make up the core of Speaker Ryan’s longstanding agenda.

Ryan’s policies, which were widely embraced by Republican lawmakers in the Obama years, are unpopular with the general public, unpopular with Republicans as a whole, and even unpopular with Republican donors. Pretty much the only group that supports these polices are rich Republican donors.

And yet, Trump ultimately embraced Ryan’s health bill, with its deep cuts to Medicaid that would have stripped health coverage from 14 million of the most vulnerable Americans— in addition to the 10 million others denied health care by other provisions of the bill.

Trump campaigned on white nationalism as an alternative to austerity. As president, however, he’s tried to implement both a nationalist agenda and an austerity agenda. It’s not serving him well. A poll taken shortly before House Republicans pulled their health bill found that only 17 percent of voters approved of the Trump-backed bill.

Can Trump learn?

Yet, even as Trump begins to lash out at the conservative groups that demanded ever harsher health policies— Heritage and the Club for Growth, two of the groups Trump lashed out at in his Sunday morning tweet, both opposed Trumpcare as insufficiently harsh—the groups continue to play a major role in driving Trump administration policies.

Shortly after the Trump White House released its first budget outline—which calls for steep cuts to education, community development, and environmental protection, among other things—Heritage’s political arm praised it, saying that “there is a lot for conservatives to like in President Trump’s budget request.” Their praise was unsurprising, since, as The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reported shortly before Trump took office, the incoming president was considering cuts that “hew closely to a blueprint published last year by the conser-vative Heritage Foundation, a think tank that has helped staff the Trump transition.”

Similarly, Trump worked closely with Heritage and another conservative group, the Federalist Society, to develop a list of potential Supreme Court nominees. Trump’s eventual pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch, is a hardline conservative who could potentially hobble agencies like the EPA. So, while Trump appears to have figured out the appropriate target to blame for the recent health care debacle, he’s still allowing the same voices that forced him to choose between cruel and crueler health policies to dominate his administration.

If Trump genuinely wants to punish the groups that so utterly embarrassed him this week, he should withdraw his budget outline and rescind his nomination of Judge Gorsuch.

Ian Millhiser Justice Editor, ThinkProgress.

Author of Injustices: SCOTUS’ History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted imillhiser@thinkprogress.org

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette

MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017 • PAGE 11

First Baptist Piney Grove held Women’s and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

By Ciera Campbell National Women and Girls Aids Awareness Day is a day to empower women and educate

girls on making better choices when it comes to sex. On March 18, First Baptist Piney Grove held an entire day to educate Broward County on HIV/AIDS

healthcare and prevention.

“We were trying to reach women and girls in the community”, said Ethia Bray-Carter, First Baptist Piney Grove’s HIV/

Dr othy Bendr oss-Mindingall v isits Dr.. Dor Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall visits with n ursing studen ts fr om T urn er T ech nursing students from Turn urner Tech Senior High Sch ool wh o ar e enr olled a School who are enrolled att Lindsey Hopkins Technical College

Board Member Dr. Bendross-Mindingall (c) with nursing students from Turner Tech Senior High School.

(Photo credit: District 2 Staff) School Board member Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall visits Turner Tech students at Lindsey Hopkins Technical College. The students are taking nursing classes and will be the

only high school students to ever take the licensed nurse practitioner exam!

“I feel very proud and honored to have met these brilliant students, who will be making

history by taking the nursing practitioner exam while still in high school,” said Dr. BendrossMindingall. “Congratulations and good luck to the students!”

AIDS ministry coordinator. “We had sponsors like the Broward House who offered free testing and Aids Health Foundation who educated women on HIV/ AIDS healthcare.”

The event also offered a panel, “Let’s Talk” with Broward County leading health professionals such as Nova Southeastern University’s professor Dr. Alicia Bolden. “Let’s Talk, offered the opportunity for guests to openly ask questions regarding HIV/AIDS”.

Carter continued. “My goal is to build an army of health advocators and leave with success stories. In our community we are sometimes resistant to change and we are trying to change that stigma.”

According to the Center of Disease Control, African Ameri-

can women have the highest HIV diagnoses compared to women of other race/ethnic groups.

In order to reach all age groups, Maria Bray, FBPG HIV/AIDS ministry co-chair, incorporated different artistic approaches like music, puppetry and spoken word. “Having the ability to reach all audiences was important. Music is a great way to gain someone’s interest. We were hoping the spoken word would reach someone too,” said Bray.

Bray continued “The spoken word touched on people being true to who they are and speaking their truths.”

W. Moore, event attendee, was determined to attend the event to hear more about HIV/ AIDS prevention. “I was really interested in getting more in-

formation especially being a single African American woman.

What kill African Americans women are us not knowing?”

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, today about one in four women are living with HIV in the United States and only half of the affected women are receiving proper health treatments.

The HIV/AIDS awareness event concluded with more than fifty participants parting with shirts, fans and other door prizes.

For more information on healthcare and wellness programs in your community visit, https:// www.womenshealth.gov/ nwghaad/

What it feels like for a (Muslim) girl Some thoughts on post-Inauguration America

This would make a great title for a memoir, don’t you think?

Maybe even a memoir* I could write. After all, I am Muslim. I have lady parts. I appreciate a good Madonna reference like the next person.

What would I write about though?

Maybe I could share what it was like, wearing a burqa every day, as a high school student in Saudi Arabia, how much I hated that thing, that piece of cloth that doesn’t let you run. Doesn’t

let you breathe. I could talk about that.

I could talk about coming to this country, releasing the past, making space for an honest, good future. A future on my own terms. I could recount all the exhilarating, surprising ways in which, over the many years, America has revealed its tender soul to me. America, this place I’ve called home since the age of sixteen. Since college.

I could talk about how I fell in love with this place, fell in love generally, how I stayed and thrived and how, a decade plus after first setting foot in this country, I took the citizenship exam, so that I might have the extraordinary honor of becoming legally what I had already become in my heart: an American. I could share the memory of that bright, cold January day when I took my oath, hand against chest, the other palm reaching for the sky, surrounded by thousands of dewyeyed immigrants, all of us roaring in one voice.

“I hereby declare, on oath, that … I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America… that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same… so help me God.” The 2016 Election felt special to me because I cast my vote for a woman. It felt historic. Like a personal victory: look how far

U.S. Air Force Airman Frederick D. Dixson graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Dixson is the son of Adrienne and Fred Dixson and grandson of Janice and James Hayes and Cleopatra and Frederick Dixson, all of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

He graduated in 2016 from Dillard High School, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The day before the Election: defiant, confident, strutting around the neighborhood in my Clinton tee, completely sure of a big win tomorrow.

By Hilal Isler

we’d come, how far I’d come!

From burqa to the ballot box.

I won’t forget the thrill of it, the sense of validation I had that morning. Not only did my voice matter, but I could use that voice in the service of something greater than myself. I don’t want to ever forget that feeling, to take it for granted. I want to remember it whenever I’m disappointed in the way things are going.

Because I know disappointment. I know what it feels like to wake up after September 11, 2001, and find your dorm-roomdoor vandalized with graffiti, telling you to go back where you came from. I know what it takes to organize after this, to get people who are being unduly targeted to come out of hiding.

I know how to reassure students, Sikhs and Muslims, from Chandigarh to Jersey City, that it is okay, that it is going to be okay. I know how important it is to say it, again and again and again, as many times as it takes: This is America. We don’t have to be afraid here.

On Jan. 20 of this year, I watched, on YouTube, the Inauguration of President Donald Trump. I listened to his speech,

like millions of others around the world. The most-watched Inauguration in history, members of the Administration would later say. After the speech ended, I found myself clicking around on YouTube, feeling a bit numb, to be honest, arriving eventually at Oprah’s channel, as you sometimes do, when in need of solace.

The first video I watched happened to be of Gwyneth Paltrow, at Oprah’s Pearl xChange conference, two years ago. It was a short video, where Paltrow answered a question, on the nature of her spiritual practice. What did Gwyneth Paltrow do, the woman in the audience wanted to know, in times of crisis? Paltrow mentioned meditation, before pausing. “And I believe there’s a reason this is all happening,” she said.

Then, she quoted from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.

“Imagine that life is always in the right,” Paltrow said. “That’s been a very powerful idea for me—that no matter what happens, life is in the right. Whatever the challenge, whatever the obstacle, whatever’s in front of you: life… is in the right.”

I watched the video once,

This is a Rinee Shah illustration. Please visit http:// www.rineeshah.com for more. and then a second time for good measure. I watched because I wanted to believe it so bad. I wanted to believe the shakiness, the disorienting, sinking sense of fear I now had (would my family and I be placed on a Muslim registry? Would hate crimes spike once again?) had some purpose to it. I wanted to believe life knew exactly what it was doing on Election Day; that life was “in the right.”

I still want to believe this. In fact, I do. I do believe it. I believe things fall apart so they might be reconfigured, so they might allow other things, better things eventually, to take their place.

And I believe a person has to, as Rilke also once wrote, “take some action against fear when once it has laid hold of one.”

Taking action against fear— fear in your own heart, fear in the collective—requires bravery. It requires empathy and compassion and conversation.

It requires coming together in order to prevent being driven

apart.

It requires that we tell our stories, and share them with each other not as an exercise in vanity, but as an attempt to describe, to understand what it feels like to be in someone else’s shoes. What it feels like to be a woman, displaced from your home by civil war, by persecution, by disease and famine. What it feels like, growing up as a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. What it feels like to be one of the world’s 65 million refugees. What it feels like to endure an act of rape.

What it feels like, being Dakota, being Hispanic, being Asian, being gay, being American, being a human being alive today.

And what it might feel like, for a Muslim girl.

After all, aren’t we the 99%?

Of course we are. This is my Election story. What’s yours?

Hilal Isler Follow http:// www.hilalisler.com

www.thewestsidegazette.com Westside Gazette The National Newspaper Publishers Association honors Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile and celebrates the 190th Anniversary of the Black Pr ess during Press edition of the “Freedom’s Black Pr ess W eek 2017 first Press Week Journal.”

PAGE 12 • MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2017

Submitted by Benjamin Chavis WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) will honor veteran Democratic strategist Donna Brazile with the 2017 Torch Award for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement in Political Empowerment during Black Press Week 2017 (March 22-March 24) in the nation’s capital.

Brazile, who is also an author, syndicated columnist and television political commentator will receive the award at the 2017 NNPA Torch Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 23 at The Dupont Circle Hotel.

The NNPA will also honor Wade Henderson, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, and Roy Lewis, an award-winning photographer for The Washington Informer.

BRAZILE NNPA members, partners and sponsors from across the country travel to the nation’s capital for the annual celebration of the Black Press. This year, the trade group will commemorate the 190th anniversary of the launch of the Black Press. On March 16, 1827, John Russwurm and Reverend Samuel Cornish, published the

We all love YOU! We wish you a March 29, 2017 Happy Birthday Rosa Lee Williams

Black Press Week 2017 will feature a joint welcome reception hosted by the NNPA and the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), an enshrinement ceremony honoring the memory of Lenora ”Doll” Carter, meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, and a public education workshop on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

The NNPA recently received a media grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create a public awareness campaign about ESSA, the education law signed by President Barack Obama in December 2015.

Black Press Week attendees will also participate in panel discussions on advertising, brand development, and ethnic media and politics in the age of President Trump.

Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, said that the NNPA convenes Black Press Week 2017 with a strong sense of cultural and business pride during the 190th anniversary celebration of the Black Press in America.

“Today, our print and digital businesses continue to be the authentic and trusted voice of Black America,” said Chavis.

“We publish truth to power. We articulate the aspirations of 47 million African Americans and others who cry out for freedom, justice, equality, and empowerment.”

Chavis thanked NNPA partners General Motors-Chevrolet, Ford Motor Company, Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Chavis also recognized NNPA sponsors Volkswagen, Ascension, Coca-Cola, the American Association for Cancer Research, and Honda for supporting the NNPA’s mission during 2017 Black Press Week.