The Westside Gazette

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PERMIT NO. 1179

Black Stars For Justice: Increased Attacks Young Black Man Honors Celebrity Response To His Deceased Mother Mother’’s Communities Of Recent Police Killings Wish And Admitted Color Are Unacceptable To Savannah State Is Nothing New

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VOL. 45 NO. 25 50¢

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THURSDA Y, JUL Y 28 -WEDNESDA Y, AUGUST 33,, 2016 THURSDAY JULY -WEDNESDAY

White Hat Honorees

What did we do?

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

(Luke 23:34 NKJ)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

Esther Baylor still making a visible difference in the lives of others Vern Dooling, a stanch supporter of children and the less fortunate really gave a great entrance to who Ms. Esther Baylor is: “Greatness does not demand a grand entrance. It just shows up and get the job done. For the past 20 plus years Ms. Baylor has shown up at the Central Broward Kiwanis meeting and quietly got the job done for hundreds of children and families.”

Esther Baylor emerged from Kemper County, Miss., where she graduated from the historic St. Joseph Catholic High School of Meridian, Miss. Yet, immediately after graduation, she set her sights on the Sunshine State. She matriculated to Bethune-Cookman University (formerly College), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education and English communication.

(Cont'd on Page 3)

Judge Zebedee Wright will forever be known as ‘The People’s Judge’

Pastor Joe Johnson’s church and community growth intertwine

By Charles Moseley

The Rev. Joe Johnson’s solid presence as the leader of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hallandale since 1977 is reflected in the success and harmony of the community where the church is located. The minister’s spiritual philosophy of empowering people to lead successful lives on Earth translates into action. He is a fitting match for a church that was founded under a rubber tree in 1909, a bare-bones declaration of people’s desire to come together and make God the leader of their endeavors.

“Pastor Johnson is a man of integrity that leads with an intensity and isn’t afraid to involve himself in community issues that are outside of the comfort of the pulpit”, stated Pastor Anthony Sanders of Higher Vision Ministries.

(Cont'd on Page 5)

Our nation’s greatest civil rights hero, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was asked what defines greatness in an individual and he responded with the following statement, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Although retired Broward County Judge Zebedee Wright may have come from very humble beginnings, he clearly has made an indelible imprint on this community, an imprint which can be summarized in a few simple words. By all

accounts Wright always has had a love for humanity and his commitment to serving his community.

He was born in 1934 in Louisville, Ga., “out of wedlock to a teenage mother.” He was raised by the family matriarch, his grandmother, who was affectionately known as “Mother Wright.”

(Cont'd on Page 9)

Of the furthermost misfortune to the American society is that a certain people are allowed to classify other human beings as insignificants, due to the fact that one race or another judged them worthless of esteem or kindness.

To identify one as an “insignificant” is to cheapen their self-worth and to our misfortune we as Black Americans, along with the destitute, disabled and the pitiable, have been classified as such-we have been deemed insignificants.

Justifiable homicides, disenfranchisement, genocide, selfinflicted hate as well as spiritual detachment is causing us to believe that there is no hope and that the Black man is doomed.

The most depressing thing about this is- it is appearing as if we have brought in to the hype. We believe that there is such a thing as Black on Black crime, a class of its own and Black lives don’t matter and worst of all there is no need to vote.

Are we stuck on stupid and choking on a toxic drink call hatennessey you know like Hennessey while doing the dab?

All of these have been our crucifixion and like the story of the real crucifixion, the crowd prefers to allow criminals, even if they wear blue to live and us to die.

(Cont'd on Page 9)

Global Network of Black People working in HIV convenes at AIDS 2016

Critic’s Notebook: Bernie who? Michelle Obama, Sarah Silverman steal Democratic Convention

First Lady Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders

By Frank Scheck Obama delivered by far the most powerful speech, while Silverman called out Bernie or Busters with one memorable jab.

The opening night of the Democratic National Convention definitively proved once and for all that a First Lady deserves to be President of the United States.

I’m talking, of course, about Michelle Obama.

Delivering the most powerful speech in an evening filled

with more drama than usual for a convention’s opening lap, Michelle handily repaid Bill Clinton for the stirring address he gave four years ago that reenergized her husband’s reelection campaign. Providing a passionate endorsement of Hillary in the most personal terms, Michelle showed that she’s more than a match for Barack when it comes to soaring oratory.

Introduced by a laudatory video produced by J.J. Abrams — the Democrats don’t fool

Pleading Our Own Cause

around when it comes to exploiting their show business connections — Michelle cannily made her children, and the nation’s children, the theme of her address. Like any mother anxiously sending off her kids to a new school, she talked about the anxiety of watching Malia and Sasha head for their first day of classes “in black SUVs filled with big men with guns.”

And she stressed the importance of electing someone worthy of “the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives.”

“She didn’t get angry or demoralized,” she pointed out.

“Hillary didn’t pack up and go home.”

Michelle also took determined aim at Donald Trump, although never once mentioning him by name. But her barely veiled description of a thinskinned figure handling the nuclear codes was enough to trigger a Dr. Strangelove flashback.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

WWW.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) speaks during the panel on the Global Network of Black People Working in HIV during the 2016 International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.

(Photo by Freddie Allen)

By Linda Villarosa I first attended the International AIDS Conference in 2002. I traveled to Barcelona at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the AfricanAmerican community with a delegation of other journalists of color from around the world, excited to cover the global gathering and share, learn and find common ground with others from Africa and our diaspora.

But to my surprise, most of the people I met that year had no idea that HIV/AIDS was still a concern in the United States.

When I mentioned that I was working on a piece about AIDS in the African-American community, another journalist asked, “Do you mean AIDS in Africa, the issue Bono’s working on?” Most disappointingly

several non-American people of African descent in our group made comments to the effect, “Lucky for you, AIDS is not a problem in your country anymore.” We had been “disappeared,” made invisible, excluded from the conversation, erased.

That was far from the truth.

In fact, just as the disease had become “manageable” in the United States with the advent of anti-retroviral medication, it grabbed hold of the Black community in America and hasn’t let go. Beginning at the end of 1996, just as many of those most affected—primarily white gay men—were coming back from the dead thanks to life-saving treatment, Blacks began to account for a larger proportion of AIDS cases than whites (41 percent) for the first

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time since the start of the epidemic. Then (and now), in pockets of America—in the South and in communities of Black gay and bisexual men— African Americans were acquiring HIV at rates that rivaled and surpassed many of the countries on the continent. AIDS had also just become the leading cause of death among American Black women of childbearing age.

Even as the epidemic has changed over the past 14 years and six international AIDS conferences—mainly for the better—each time I have attended these large-scale events the nagging question resurfaces: Why the disconnect between people of African descent who care deeply about the issue of HIV/AIDS and have so much to learn and share? The vast majority of people living with the virus around the world are Black, so why are we creating separate tables rather than all sitting together?

Yesterday morning, Marsha Martin, a long-time heroine in the AIDS struggle, answered the question with action. Along with her co-chair, Senegaleseborn scientist Amadou Diagne, she convened the first meeting of the Global Network of Black People Working in HIV (GNBPWH) with over a hundred Black bodies in the room. The goal?

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

PAGE 2 • JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016

www.thewestsidegazette.com Westside Gazette Winners and losers from the first night of the Democratic Convention

By Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post

William Kooly Scott ‘Love Ballad’ William Kooly Scott is a native Floridian hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He is an internationally known performer and recording artist.

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Answer: You don’t. You must totally represent it, and we promise this brother is representing the LTD R&B classic Love Ballad in a very real way!

Along with Doug Carter on keyboards, Jon David Anderson

on drums and percussion, Dylan Shiavone on guitar, and the man himself, William Kooly Scott on bass and vocals, this arrangement is in a word, “Scintillating” and a sure fire mood setter for love and passion.

Now available for download on CD Baby, ITunes, Amazon and Google Play. Actual CD’s available upon request.

Get your copy today. You are sure to be thoroughly gratified!!!

For booking information, contact William Scott at bscottband@gamil.com or (954) 309-5031.

A tumultuous first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is in the books. I watched, tweeted and, candidly, ate and drank. (I mean, it was a long day.)

My take on the best and worst of the night that was is below.

WINNERS Michelle Obama: An absolute home run. Period. It will be difficult for anyone in the next three days to deliver a better speech than the first lady did on Monday night. She used her personal story of raising two young African American girls in the White House to tie her husband’s history-making presidency to the history-making bid of Hillary Clinton. She was poised, calm and convincing. When she teared up talking about what it would mean to her, Malia and Sasha to see a woman elected president, it was

an instantly memorable moment.

Remember this, too: Michelle Obama is not a politician. She has not run for any office — yet.

It is not easy to get up and deliver a heartfelt, effective speech in front of a bunch of rowdy delegates and millions of people watching at home. Michelle Obama did it with an ease that suggests she may not be on the sidelines of the political game for much longer.

Bernie Sanders: The Vermont democratic socialist who, before this presidential campaign, existed on the outskirts of American politics, received a hero’s welcome when he emerged as the final speaker of Monday night. The applause lasted for three minutes. People in the crowd cried. And then Sanders delivered much of his now-familiar stump speech — revolutionary change, millionaires and billionaires, economic justice — with a sprinkling of “Hillary Clinton” on top. Sanders’s speech was, essentially, a confirmation that he was right about almost everything and Clinton now understood that

fact. It was, generally, fine — if too long. Still, Sanders was able, largely, to avoid a moment when his supporters booed, jeered or otherwise protested the idea that Clinton had won the nomination fair and square. That plus the amazing response he received at the start of the speech made it a good night for him.

Stephanie RawlingsBlake: The mayor of Baltimore benefited from the fact that she was not Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She received a massive cheer when she emerged to open the convention — a huge moment in the spotlight for Rawlings-Blake.

And, yes, she forgot to actually gavel the convention. But she

more than made up for it with this epic reaction when she realized what she had done.

Sarah Silverman: Conventions tend to be programmatic affairs. Even when there is behind-the-scenes drama, every effort is made to show a smiling face to the public. It’s like a duck — all smooth grace about the waterline and all paddling below it. Kudos to Silverman for breaking down the fourth wall and acknowledging the fight between Clinton and Sanders forces. Her line — “To the ‘Bernie-or-bust’ people: You’re being ridiculous” — will be one of the memorable lines of the convention. And it was spontaneous.

(Cont'd on Page 9)

The big reveal of Judge Matthew His reputation precedes him Destry in some controversial rulings

By K.L. Brown Disrobed and not in the courtroom, Judge Matthew Destry speaks about his life as candid as he can in a rare interview.

and his courtroom antics, but who is the man behind the black robe that touches many lives, young and old, in delivering jail and prison sentences that affects the future and fate of individuals and their families?

This is me with Vincente Thrower and Pastors George Rich and Nathan Austin at the Easter Egg Drop in Pompano Beach this year - it really is all about the kids - you should have seen their faces when that helicopter flew over and started dropping the eggs!

Three to four times a year, I bring in groups of seniors to watch our justice system in action - they watch part of a trial, have lunch on me and get to know their courthouse and the people who work here - I view it as judicial outreach and I am happy to sponsor anything that fosters a better understanding of the justice system - the first picture is me with a group from Kings Point outside the courtroom.

Annual Christmas Party—Every year since I took office in 2007, I have thrown an Annual Christmas Party at the Courthouse - it’s the largest event of the season and I pay for it out of my own pocket - 300-400 people come every year for a plate of ribs, chicken, black beens and rice and good cheer - the line stretches out of the Courtroom and down the hall. It’s my way of saying thank you to all the folks who keep the Courthouse running - a lot of them for very little money and no recognition - this is me greeting folks as they come in: Still a sitting judge, he realizes a lot said about him goes without any rebuttal because he sees no reason to justify why a ruling turns out the way it does, and also due to the limitations he is placed uner in not being able to

discuss those cases publicly.

He states in his over eight years as a sitting judge “there is no classroom to learn how to be a judge.”

(Cont'd on Page 5)

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JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016 • PAGE 3

Black stars for justice: Celebrity response to recent police killings is nothing new

By Ronda Racha Penrice Urban News Service Young people in Dr. King’s native Atlanta responded to the recent police killings of Alton

Sterling and Philando Castile with consecutive nights of marches. Celebrities spotted in the protests included rapper T.I. and actress Zendaya Coleman.

Other stars have spoken up

about these and similar incidents, mainly through social media. The New York Knicks’s Carmelo Anthony issued a onepage challenge in the July 9 New York Daily News for his

Supporters had converged on the city in grand fashion along with new potential voters from other parties looking to convert or voice their disdain with the rhetoric that has been added to the 2016 political scene.

My Week at the RNC Convention

By Lyndale Pettus Photographer /Film Maker The political bid for the next president of these United States has officially started with the Republican convention kicking off in Ohio this past week after the city of Cleveland had been rewarded with its first ever NBA basketball championship.

Republican delegates and supporters had converged on the city in grand fashion along with new potential voters from other parties looking to convert or voice their disdain with the rhetoric that has been added to the 2016 political scene.

With the fire and brimstone dialog of Donald Trump as the first ever candidate as an outsider in the American political system, the city of Cleveland prepared in every way possible to insure the overall safety of the candidates and general public. Security was at a high threat level, due to all the violence that we have been witnessing in our country and on the global landscape.

There were protesters every day with only one real skirmish between police that saw some arrest but not on the massive scale most would think would happen due to all the negative rhetoric and mean spirited attacks on many groups that have been the focus of the Trump campaign.

This was my first political convention and I have to say it was memorable and will forever be etched in the images I captured and the conversations I witnessed and had with everyday people that make up our country.

I have to start with my own affiliation as an African American Democrat from Pittsburgh, Pa. living in Florida. I had witnessed political movements through the ‘60’s seeing the fight for equality and the right to vote. This was something special for me to see that the GOP has thousands of delegates and only a few dozen African American delegates in the party.

I had the opportunity to speak with several new dynamic young leaders aligned to the GOP party, whom are fighting for a lot of the same things most people in urban America are demanding from both candidates. To stop all violence in our communities no matter who delivers the blows, reform the prisons for too many men of color are locked into the system, and the need for more jobs in those communities.

I met with organizers from several cities and both parties that had this as their main concern. From the two women, both Republicans one representing Chicago’s 3rd Ward committeewoman and her crosstown district colleague from Chicago’s

7th ward - both of whom were clearly very passionate about the violence and lack of jobs that has plagued there neighborhoods for decades.

There was also the four women who drove up on the last day from Baltimore to attend a town hall meeting of community leaders at the Holy Trinity Church & Cultural Arts Center to see if this is the candidate who could be the change agent to embrace the organization Black Girls Vote, whose mission is to uplift the community by inspiring voting age Black women to educate women about using the political system to change policies for better communities. These ladies had the opportunity to bump into Don King at the convention and have a longwinded conversation that inspired them even more.

Throughout the week I was photographing and meeting new young leaders tired of the same old stale rhetoric.

I bumped into a couple of young leaders on my second day of the convention behind the scenes of the protest and pomp and glory of the GOP. They had a meet and greet at the elegant Black owned venue, C’est La Vie Restaurant, talking about their initiatives and expectations from a Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton presidency.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Esther Baylor still making a visible difference in the lives of others (Cont'd from FP) She is a proud “Wildcat” alumna and incorporates in her life the legacy of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune’s “last will and testament” to maintain the “thirst for education” and “depart to serve.”

Esther’s thirst for education is eclipsed only by her passion for inspiring others to pursue a higher education. Esther continued with graduate studies in curriculum and instructions at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and post-graduate studies at Florida International University with a concentration in secondary and vocational administration, and working with handicapped and disadvantaged students.

Esther has worked as an educator and school administrator for over 32 years in Volusia, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. She was the first Black female teacher at South Broward High School in Hollywood, Fla., and served on the Broward Schools District desegregation sub-committee.

Esther led the initiative to have computer technology integrated into the business office and educational programs in Broward County Schools.

While working in administration at Atlantic Technical College (then Center), she implemented the certificate training program approach that replaced supplemental and many fee supported classes. Thus, students graduated with employability skills and program completion certificates.

After retiring from the school system, Esther returned to the workforce as a part-time teacher, licensed mortgage broker, and individual tax preparer.

Esther continues to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Many former students and mentees have achieved successful careers as a result of her dynamic influence, inspiration and words of encouragement.

She has served diligently and held numerous leadership positions in several charitable organizations including: Dorsey Riverbend Homeowner’s Association; Susie C. Holley Cradle Nursery, Inc.; Women’s Social Club; the Progressive Ten, Inc. (real estate investment group); Broward Citizens for Seniors, Inc.; the Delta Eta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (collegiate pledge Mu Beta) and now she wears the crown of “Golden Soror”, for 50 plus years of service. She has received many awards, certificates, and recognition for her accomplishments and benevolent community services.

She is actively involved in the Kiwanis Club of Central Broward. Kiwanis is an international organization that focuses on serving children throughout the world. Esther provides countless volunteer hours with Central Broward in partnership with the Broward County Community Action Agency.

“Ms. Baylor is a very hardworking individual, but she never complains. She just smiles and keeps it moving”, said church member Janice Hayes admiring the strides she has made with the Kiwanis.

Esther’s work with Central Broward Kiwanis Foundation provides over 3,000 books annually to children in elementary schools located within the urban core. She is actively engaged in community service pro-

jects and fundraising events with local and national Kiwanis initiatives. During her 27 years of service with the Kiwanis Club, she has served on the board of directors, budget and finance committee, as assistant secretary, and chairperson of the scholarship committee.

Esther Baylor is a faithful member of New Mount Olive Baptist Church. She has served on a myriad committees including the George E. Weaver Scholarship Committee, Church Anniversary Committee, and the Ministry of Directors.

Esther enjoys music and the arts. She is an ardent traveler, vacationing throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, Hawaii, and the Caribbean Islands. Yet, her most favorite travel destination is her vacation home in Mississippi. She has one daughter, Valencia Omera McCoy of Douglasville, Ga.; and a sister, Omera Baylor Tatum of Biloxi, Miss.

By all accounts, Esther has a passion for helping others, preferring to work behind-thescenes while making a visible difference in the lives of others.

When asked how she manages to stay involved in so many activities, she humbly expresses, “the good Lord keeps me afloat.”

Ms. Baylor is a very hardworking individual, but she never complains. She just smiles and keeps it moving, said Janice Hayes admiring the strides she has made with the Kiwanis.

Greatness does not demand a grand entrance. It just shows up and get the job done. For the past 20 plus years Ms. Baylor has shown up at the Central Broward Kiwanis meeting and quietly got the job done for hundreds of children and families.

“fellow athletes to step up and take charge.” He took an even higher-profile stance on July 13. “The urgency for change is definitely at an all-time high,” Anthony said, as he, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James opened the ESPYs, the Oscars of sports.

These pleas for social justice are not unique to today’s cele-

brities. Former collegiate athlete, singer and actor Paul Robeson became politically active in the 1930s. He paid a heavy price for such activism in the ’40s and ’50s, as he largely lost his livelihood. Robeson’s difficulties didn’t deter other performers. In Stars for Freedom: Hollywood, Black Celebrities, and the Civil Rights Movement, author

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) — A slew of leaked emails was the last straw for Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who announced Sunday after-

noon her resignation as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee effective later this week .....Statement by the Presi-dent on Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Re-signation THE WHITE HOUSE: OFFCIE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY — For the last eight years, Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has had my back. This afternoon, I called her to let her know that I am grateful. Her leadership of the DNC has meant that we had someone who brought Democrats together not just for my re-election campaign, but for accomplishing the shared goals we have had for our country. Her critical role in supporting our economic recovery, our fights for social and civil justice and providing health care for all Americans will be a hallmark of her tenure as Party Chair. Her fundrais-ing and organizing skills were matched only by her passion, her commitment and her warmth. And no one works harder for her constituents in Congress than Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Michelle and I are grateful for her efforts, we know she will continue to serve our country as a member of Congress from Florida and she will always be our dear friend.

Emilie E. Raymond focuses on six celebrities — Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dick Gregory — who struggled for social change.

Gregory was an early and leading critic of police brutality.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

PAGE 4 • JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016

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Community Digest

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Luncheon

Retreat

Event

Health Fair

The Broward County Section Of National Council of Negro Women, Installation Luncheon, Saturday, July 26, 2016 at 11 a.m., at Inverrary Country Club, 3840 Inverrary Blvd., Lauderhill, Fla. For more info contact Deborah Allen at (954) 515-6020 or Laura Richardson, at (954) 822-0749.

It’s that time of the year again; the event of the summer season-Retreat 2016 on July 28-30, 2016 at Reunion Resort in Orlando. The Retreat theme this year is “Brave”! As women.

Registration open at www.thespiritled.com. Space is limited, you can email spiritled@tlcfl.org or call (954) 533-8023 for more info.

Join Sheriff Scott Israel and the men and women of the Broward Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 as we observe the 33rd National Night Out Against Crime.

The annual event designed to strengthen our neighborhoods through police and community partnerships also aims to heighten awareness of crime and drug prevention, build support and participation in local anti-crime programs and, most importantly, send a message to criminals that our neighborhoods are organized.

In the evening, join your neighbors at your nearest National Night Out Against Crime location, where you’ll find displays and demonstrations by various BSO specialized units, including SWAT, K9, motor pat-rol and more. This event also provides the opportunity to get to know the BSO deputies and firefighters who work in your neighborhood. · Deerfield Beach from 6 to 9 p.m., activities: BSO Jazz Band, Mobile Mike, PAL DJ, 45 vendors, Toyota & Corvette Vehicle displays, Petting Zoo, Kid’s Zone, Food & Refreshments at Quiet Waters Park – 401 S. Powerline Road – Pavilion #10, Deerfield Beach, Fla. · Parkland from 6 to 8 p.m., activities: Refreshments, Food & Music at 7805 University Dr., Parkland, Fla. · Pompano Beach from 6:30 to 9 p.m., activities: Food Drop at 7 p.m., Bobby Rubino’s, PDQ, Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Snow Cones, Mobile Stage, Paint the Fire Truck, SWAT Demo & Kid’s Zone, at Anne Gillis Park – 601 Hammondville Rd., Pompano Beach, Fla. · Lauderdale Lakes from 6 to 9 p.m., activities: DJ, Food, Basketball & Football games, at Vincent Torres Park – 4331 N.W. 36 St., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. · Tamarac from 6 to 8:30 p.m., activities: Food, BalloonMaking Clown, Bounce House, Petting Zoo, Pony Rides, Face Painting, DJ, Crime Prevention, Giveaways & Raffles, at Tamarac District Office – 7515 N.W. 88 Ave., Tamarac, Fla. · North Lauderdale from 6 to 8 p.m., at activities: BBQ, Live Music, Bounce Houses & Face Painting, at Municipal Complex – 701 Rock Island Rd., North Lauderdale, Fla. · Dania Beach from 5 to 8 p.m., at DJ, Food, Refreshments, Bounce House & Fire Rescue, at Frost Park – 300 N.E. 2 St., Dania Beach, Fla.

Chi Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated will co-host annual back to school health fair, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, 9 to until 12 noon, First Baptist Church, in the Global Event Center, 301 E. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Services will be provided for the entire family. Immunizations, physicals, dental hygiene screening and information will be provided for students attending Broward County Schools.

Event

Cookout

Nisei GoJu Ryu Karate & Jujitsu Youth P.A.C. Program and Marital Arts Foundation, Inc. Grand Master Heribie Thompson, Kyoshi Larry Mabson, 2016 Invitational, Saturday, July 30, 2016, registration starts at 9:3 a.m., at 4936 N. Pine Island Rd., Lauderhill, Fla.

NAA of Bethune-Cookman University Broward County, Wildcat Sandoff and Cookout, Saturday, July 30, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Snyder Park, 3299 S.W. Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Pavilion #6. There is a charge for adult and children over 10.

Fashion Show Ceremony

OB Johnson Park/Hepburn Center Ribbon Cutting, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2016 from 6 to 8 p.m., at The Hepburn Center – Main Hall, 750 N.W. Eight Ave., Hallandale, Fla. For more info call (954) 457-2224.

Tyler Joy cordially invites you to DopestDenim’s first annual Fashion Show, Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 4 p.m., at 2990 W Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Food, party, free to attend, raffle to RSVP call (954) 864-8438 or (954) 864-8270.

TIP 2016 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holida y, August 5 Holiday thr ough August 7, 2016. This through gins a holida y be holiday begins att 12:01 a.m. on F rida y, Aug Frida riday ug.. 5, 2016 and ends at 11:59 p.m., on Sunda y, Aug Sunday ug.. 7.

EDUCATION MATTERS Every Child Deserves a Chance

Event

Join us for our Backpacks Extravaganza, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at LA Lee YMCA Family Center, 408 N.W. 14 Terr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and at Plantation High School, 6901 N.W. 16 St., Plantation, Fla. For more info call YMCA at (954) 467-2444 or Plantation High School at (754) 322-1850.

Fundraiser

Event

Free Back-to-School and Sport Physicals, Thursday, August 4, 2016 from 8-10 a.m., at Urgent Care Center, 6931 W. Broward Blvd, Plantation, Fla. Call today and reserve a free back-to-school or sport physical for your child! Offer includes basic physical examination and paperwork excluding immunizations and is limited to the first 25 students from this newsletter. For the month of August, back-to-school and sport physicals are offered for a special price of only $25. Call (954) 321-5191 to schedule your child’s physical examination today!

OKAY Institute’s Second annual fundraising gala “Masquerade Ball – Unmasking the Hidden ‘Mentor’ in You”, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016 from 7:30 p.m. 12 a.m., at Lauderdale Lakes Cultural & Educational Center, 3580 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. Tickets and/or donations can be made at http:// m a s q u e r a d e ball2016eventbrite.com For additional info call (954) 6526128.

Health Fair

Fair

Join the City of Lauderdale Lakes Parks and Human Services Department for a Community Resource Fair, Senior Citizens: Friday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Free Health Screenings, free care packages, at Lauderdale Lakes Multipurpose Building 4340 N.W. 36 St., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. Children & Families: Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free backpacks & school supplies, immunizations (parents/guardian must be present with student and immunization records). For more info call (954) 535-2804.

Meeting Mount Bethel Change Ministries, NA/AA Meeting, Every Friday, at 6:30 p.m., at 901 N.W. 11 Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For more info call (954) 763-5644 or (954) 400-8222.

The T. Leroy Jefferson Medical Society (TLJMS) will kick off National Health Center Week Celebration by hosting its 16th Annual Community Health Fair on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016 at 9 a.m.; registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The event will take place at FoundCare’s Health Center, 2330 S. Congress Ave., West Palm Beach, Fla. Services offered to children include the back-to-school physicals and immunizations for two-month-old infants up to 18year-olds. Parents must bring immunization records for their children. Demonstrations for car seat safety will also take place on-site. For more info about TLJMS and the health fair, visit www.tljmedicalsociety.org or call (561) 318-0814.

Meeting Monthly meeting for Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. is the second Saturday of the month at 10 a.m., at African Heritage Cultural Art Center, 6161 N.W. 22 Ave., Miami, Fla. For further info call (786) 320 2891.

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.

July 2016 Program Highlights “Celebrating the South Florida Book Festival” Prearranged Group Tours Available during library hours.

Call (954) 357-6224.

Youth Services (954) 3576209 For more infor on children and teen programming, call the Youth Services desk at (954) 357-6209. * Monday - Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. Only homework and educational games are allowed on Children’s and Teens’ computers during homework hours. * Saturday Morning Matinee, ages up to 12. Enjoy a family movie with popcorn! Call Youth Services for a listing of movies, (954) 357-6209. * Saturdays, July 30 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. A Knight with the Queen, free chess lessons, ages 7-80. * Mondays and Tuesdays, July 25, 26 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Code Fever Boot Camp for teens, ages 12-19. Basic coding and how to convert your ideas into a business. Pre-register at (954) 357-6209. * Thursdays, July 28, from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Summer Story time Fun for toddlers 3 to 5years-old. Pre-register at (954) 357-6209.

Pre-registration is required for all classes, call (954) 3576236. Due to limited seating, registration begins 6 days prior to each scheduled class.

Pre-registered students are asked to arrive 15 minutes before class to check in. **Please bring a storage device (such as thumb drive) if you wish to save your work** The following classes are funded by the Broward Public Library Foundation ***For additional information for FREE classes being offered at other library locations please call (954) 357-6236 or inquire at the Computer or Reference Information Desk.

Need FREE help with resume writing? Inquire at the Computer or Reference Information Desk***

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Westside Gazette

JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016 • PAGE 5

NAACP statement on candidates’ rresponse esponse to the NAACP Pledge to Pr otect and Protect tion, the NAACP will neither pliance with constitutional reduce and eliminate unlawful Pr eserve Our Lives Preserve offer a coronation nor a pass to standards. police violence against civilians.

BALTIMORE, MD — NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks recently issued the following statement after the NAACP Convention and RNC Convention in Ohio this week: “Amidst both ongoing police– involved shootings in our streets and the recent slaying of police

officers in the line of duty, the NAACP has called upon presidential candidates, other candidates and officeholders to take our Pledge to Protect and Preserve Our Lives. This five-point pledge calls upon candi-dates for the highest office in the land to take affirmative steps within 100 days of assuming office to

any presidential candidate. You have to consistently show up and speak up between now and November.”

“Having declined to speak at the NAACP’s 107th Annual Convention, Mr. Trump has also declined to speak so much as a whisper of substance on this issue of concern to the mill-ions of supporters and members of the NAACP – before and during the Republican National Convention. We are calling upon

Pastor Joe Johnson’s church and community growth intertwine

Rev. Johnson and wife Emma (Cont'd From FP) Ebenezer Baptist Church precedes even the establishment of Hallandale Beach as a city in 1917. In 107 years the church has had only 13 other pastors. . Rev. Johnson follows a line of preachers who’ve dedicated themselves to building up the services provided by the church to empower the community.

An activist for human rights in North Florida from the early 60’s, Rev. Johnson has worked to improve the lives of individuals and communities since he arrived in Miami-Dade in 1977. He collaborates with civic and governmental leaders including members of the City Commission and the Broward County School Board to keep the community moving forward.

He has helped transform the area by advocating for new parks, affordable housing, jobs, and generally cleaning up the streets and “making sure that people have hope.”

“As a minister, I’m responsible to tell the people, ‘Jesus said I come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly. So it’s not about people dying and going to heaven, it’s about empowering people to have a successful, productive life here on earth.”

Rev. Johnson was on the frontlines in the early years of the AIDs epidemic, advocating for the human rights of the affected community and pushing back against the stigmatizing of people who had the disease. He has walked alongside people stricken with cancer in the American Cancer Society’s Walk for Life. His leadership at Ebenezer has pioneered innovative programs that help the young, the elderly and the incarcerated.

He has been able to catalyze the potential of the area’s religious community by serving with organizations such as Concerned Clergy of Broward and the Broward Ministerial Alliance. He is a former chair of

the Florida East Coast Baptist Association and vice president of South Broward Ministerial Alliance.

“We are here to make a difference,” says Rev. Johnson. “I feel humbled to realize that you can’t help anyone without being helped in the process. So the more the Church helps, the more we are helped.”

A minister’s minister, Rev. Johnson is the pastor to luminaries including Bishop Victor Curry. He has shepherded 15 ministers to become ordained, six of whom now pastor their own church.

Pastor Johnson was quoted at one time on his positions as it related to faith and his work he stated: “People often don’t understand how you dedicate your life to God. They try to be perfect. But God isn’t looking for that. He just wants for you to be available. He can use you with your imperfections. My role as a minister is to help a person come to grips with himself or herself. To realize his or her potential in all areas of life.

One of the most fulfilling things for me is when I see people’s lives changed, especially people who didn’t think they could make it. When I see a couple almost ready for divorce court, and I can sit them down and get them to talk to each other.

They often realize things aren’t as bad as they’d thought, and they start a new relationship.

What bothers me is when I see people push their hypocrisy off on other people. When they pretend they’re living so holy, so right, and tell someone else that something is wrong if they have problems. God always said we’d have problems. That doesn’t affect your relationship with God. When I have engaged in all of this I just someplace quiet and relaxing. But I really prefer eating at home. I like to turn off TV, radio, the lights.”

A graduate of Miami-Dade Community College and Florida Memorial College (now university) Rev. Johnson and Mrs. Emma Inez Johnson have three children, Jacqueline, Katrice, and Eric.

The big reveal of Judge Matthew Destry (Cont'd from Page 2) He takes the criticism he gets “as constructive criticism” and he has learned over the years that “you can’t go through life thinking you are right all the time and get set in your ways and not know you have to make changes sometimes!”

To sit daily and make the kind of decisions that may haunt you at night, keeps him human. Judge Destry is single without children and says he “doesn’t think” those attributes weigh in at all in his seemingly lack of compassion courtroom as seen by some.

His parents were educators and he received a stellar education himself, graduating from Stetson University College of Law with a Juris Doctorate (J.D.), after receiving his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa. He moved around a lot while growing up due to his father’s career from Oklahoma to Montreal, Canada and other cities in between.

Judge Destry was born outside of Chicago in Illinois. He became bi-lingual in French at 19 years old because his parents put him in a French school where he was forced to learn the language.

Judge Destry enlisted in the United States Air Force and became a Russian linguist. He is presently taking Spanish lessons which he acknowledges will help him in his courtroom.

His career choices in the legal field Judge Destry doesn’t take for granted the privileges he has been afforded in being able, he states, “to do good things.”

And there may be many that would disagree that he has done good things due to some of the decisions he makes in his courtroom as many other judges also do.

It may be hard to separate the judge from the man. He never sees himself as retiring.

This is not to say he will always be a judge; but in the next chapter of his life he wants to digest all of the experiences he has had and relegate himself to make a difference in the lives of our youth in helping to prevent them from showing up in anyone’s courtroom!

Even though his courtroom is not juvenile court, he sees a lot of young defendants in the Felony Division being charged with adult crimes. That has prompted him to consider “teaching on the level where it counts for our youth the most in elementary or high school.”

Judge Destry has previously taught as an Adjunct Professor at Saint Leo University in Pasco County Florida.

Being appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to the bench in 2007 to replace retired Judge Larry Seidlin then reelected in 2010 defeating Robert Abraham Jakovich with 64 percent of the vote for a sixyear term that ends this January 2017 has Judge Destry up for re-election!

Re-election was a dilemma that Judge Destry talked over with his elderly dad he cares for that all boiled down to why he took the job in the first place.

He commented, “You have certain responsibilities as a judge, and this job has been a learning curb for me that has

JUDGE DESTRY benefitted me, and has given me the opportunity to give back.

I take each case on its merits. I don’t stereotype or generalize and most importantly I have gotten better at listening and paying attention.”

For anyone to take that kind of responsibility for granted with the discretion that a judge has creates a serious consequence for everyone involved.

Is it the discretion that Judge Destry takes in his courtroom that disturbs most and can he be disrobed to reveal to a small degree who he is as a private citizen that can make the difference and give a better understanding of the man?

Judge Destry states that he does go out into the community and has a community alliance that calls on him when needed.

He has an open door policy in his courtroom to the extent that you can come before him to present your grievance on something you don’t agree with him on.

Law is the guiding force in his courtroom, but honesty and integrity is his personal mantra.

BROOKS Mr. Trump to formally accept the Pledge and describe his undergirding policy positions in depth and detail. To the best of our knowledge and research, his campaign has yet to detail those positions.

“A few days ago, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, addressed the NAACP’s 107th Annual Convention in Cincinnati. Secretary Clinton substantively addressed the Pledge, as well as pledging to take action from day one upon assuming office. She has not as yet formally accepted the Protect and Preserve Our Lives Pledge. We call upon her to do so.

“With one horrific video after another, one hashtag tragedy after another, and at least 533 deaths at the hands of the police thus far this year, it’s long past time for those seeking our vote to take the NAACP’s Pledge to Protect and Preserve Our Lives.

To ignore this pledge is to ignore police-perpetuated violence and to turn a blind eye to the street realities of 2016. No presidential candidate can credibly run and not take the pledge. No president can credibly govern without honoring the pledge.

“As a nonpartisan organiza-

The NAACP Protect and Preserve Our Lives Pledge: The NAACP is asking candidates in the November 8 election to partner with us in changing policing in our communities by taking the following pledge: “In the first 100 days of my term, I commit to working with the White House, executive agencies and Congress to implement the following reforms via regulation, legislation, or executive order: (1) Cut off all federal funding to law enforcement agencies that have been found to undertake a pattern or practice of discrimination. This funding restriction should continue until these agencies are in com-

(2) Provide the United States Department of Justice subpoena power so that it can require the release of internal documents from local law enforcement agencies under investigation for discrimination.

(3) Create regulations that give detailed guidance to local law enforcement agencies about the data required to comply with the Death in Custody Reporting Act. These regulations should make clear that unless there are compelling reasons for an exception, the Act’s penalties on federal funding for non-reporting will be imposed.

(4) Create a federal code of conduct to provide local law enforcement agencies minimum standards on the use of force.

(5) Establish a federal independent review board to investigate police shootings of unarmed individuals.”

Financial justice a key focus at 2016 NAACP Convention

By Charlene Crowell (NNPA News Wire Columnist) With 2,200 branches across the country and added presence on 60 military installations, five located overseas, the NAACP’s grassroots reach is unparalleled.

And throughout its 107 year history, the annual NAACP conference has addressed issues that affect people of color. From the Niagara Movement, to Jim Crow, and discriminatory education, employment and more, the NAACP still stands as this nation’s largest and oldest racial justice advocacy organization.

In 2016 another issue — just as pressing as those for which the NAACP is historically known — echoed throughout the convention by several speakers and resolutions: financial justice.

“Vote to stop the payday lenders and the car title lenders that come in like vultures and prey on our communities,” said Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, on July 18.

Similar remarks on financial justice were also offered during a legislative session by Houston Congressman Al Green, a former NAACP branch president, and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, a marcher in last sponsored by the NAACP. On July 19, the convention unanimously approved a resolution that reaffirmed the NAACP’s forceful stance against predatory payday lending. This year, the resolution specifically called for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to finalize strong rules to stop the payday loan debt trap.

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PAGE 6 • JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016

Opinion

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

By Roger Caldwell

Increased attacks on communities of color are unacceptable rights and a smaller voice. While this rhetoric may well stem from political strategy, they come with potentially dangerous consequences in the real world.

“The speech lends itself to be interpreted as isolating and scapegoating of communities of color. It is concerning that, for some people, the ills to which Donald Trump pointed may be interpreted as caused by communities of color, rather than by a corrosive system where people of color have been terrorized and brutalized for centuries. Not once were the names and stories of people like Philando Castille and Alton Sterling mentioned.

Also excluded was Tamir Rice, a 12year-old boy gunned down by police as he played in a park in Cleveland.

“Given the state of the country, division and exclusion is hardly what the times call for. Communities of color are organized and demand justice – from a stop to the deportation machine that splits families apart to an end to the police violence and brutality that has plagued communities of color for too long.

“Advancement Project and its allies will continue to spotlight police violence, push for immigrant justice, and build more power in communities of color. We are encouraging people to

Another missed opportunity

not feeling gays and lesbians should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation but explaining that my opposition to same-sex marriage was rooted in my religious upbringing. I emphasized that there are millions of people like me who are not the least bit interested in gaybashing, but are genuinely conflicted over this issue.

More important than whether either of us changed our position was that when the meeting was over, Phill had enlightened me how AIDS was ravishing our community. I was struck by the across-the-board disparities, including among teenagers and straight women, and was embarrassed that I was unaware of the depth of the crisis in our community.

I wrote a column in 2014 that pointed out: •The rate of new HIV infections for Black men (103.6) was the highest of any group, more than twice that of Latino men (45.5), the second highest group; •The estimated rate of new HIV infections for African American women (38.1/100,000 population) was 20 times that of White women and almost five times that of Hispanic/Latino women, and; •Of HIV diagnoses among 13 to 19 year olds, almost 70 percent are to Black teens, even though they constitute approximately 16 percent of the adolescent population in the U.S. Because of that visit in which Phill shared so much eye-opening data, I developed a heightened interest in covering the disease, an interest— and friendship with Phill—that has only grown stronger in subsequent years.

By Ricardo A. Ramirez WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently in Cleveland, Donald Trump delivered remarks accepting his nomination.

Unfortunately, some of his words offered disconcertingly misleading rhetoric involving communities of color and the fight for justice. In response to Trump’s remarks, Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project’s Washington office, released the following statement: “When Donald Trump and his followers say ‘Make America great again,’ many of them hear a call for a return to a time when people of color had less

By George Curry DURBAN, South Africa — On my first night here to cover the 26th International AIDS Conference, I had dinner with Phill Wilson, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute(BAI), and three other members of our delegation. During the course of our wide-ranging conversation, Phill mentioned the unusual circumstances under which we had met in 2003.

Phill Wilson, president and CEO, Black AIDS Institute and George Curry, founder and editor-in-chief of EmergeNewsOnline.com at the 2016 International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.

Photo: Freddie Allen At the time, I was serving the first of two tours as editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and had written a column expressing my deeply conflicted feelings about same-sex marriage.

Predictably, the response to my column was quick and furious. I received 200 scorching e-mails and I subsequently published excerpts from some of them in my weekly column without further commentary.

Rather than join the chorus of bashers, however, Phill Wilson telephoned me and requested a meeting. I immediately agreed and he flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., and met with me at my office in the Howard University School of Communications.

Interestingly, neither of us tried to change the other’s mind. Phill expressed his view, which differed from mine, and I elaborated on my quandary of

Are you cowering in your homes yet, clutching your framed copies of the Second Amendment, AR-15s and open-and/or-concealed-carry guns yet? If you watched Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at last week’s Republican National Convention - and you believed any of it - you should be.

For Trump, who spent decades living a much-publicized life of showy hedonistic excess at his signature skyscraper in the uber-weathy blocks of midtown Manhattan described a life for us ordinary folk that verges on the apocalyptic. And it’s all Barack and Hillary’s fault.

We the people are beset by criminals - those “illegal immigrants” who have spread crime over the land, and those “you-know-who” of the nation’s big-city ghettos. And it’s all Barack and Hillary’s fault.

We the people who don’t have jets and helicopters with our names painted on them in big, big letters are forced to drive on crumbling roads and bridges.

And it’s all Barack and Hillary’s fault.

We the people have to suffer the humiliation of not being able to just order the rest of the world to do what we want, and be quiet while they do it.

And it’s all Barack and Hillary’s fault.

I could go on, as Trump did ad nauseam, but you get the picture.

Donald Trump’s acceptance speech embodied what his campaign was built on from the day he announced it last year with a slur against Mexicans and

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.

pay close attention to the words of the candidates and make up their minds regarding which candidate best represents their interests and act accordingly.

“The words in [last night’s] speech surprise no one. But they underscore that the vision laid out is one that depends on diminishing the voices of people of color and exciting the farright at our expense. The movement is too organized, too energized, and too determined to stand by quietly while our communities are attacked.”

To Be Equal: Dallas tragedy debunks every anti-gun control myth Marc Morial says that the background check database for gun purchases must be complete, and the types of incidents that warrant prohibition must be thoroughly examined.

By Marc Morial (President and CEO of the National Urban League)

Latino peoples: fearmongering, a complete disregard for truth, and an overweening narcissism.

And, as usual, for all his slippery assertions of the U.S. having gone wrong and it’s all Barack and Hillary’s fault - he offered no substantive proposals for change beyond his usual I’ll-fix-itand-I’ll-be-great bluster.

In that regard, Trump’s speech, following daughter Ivanka’s world-offantasy tribute to him, was the appropriate conclusion to a four-day spectacle that can best be described as a gift that will keep on giving: most immediately, to the Clinton campaign; and to political satirists and professional and amateur comedians; and finally, to scholars and authors who will be mining its bizarre doings for material for decades.

One moment there was former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whose appointee as city police commissioner was later indicted, convicted and sentenced to prison on corruption charges, shouting to the world how much he loves the police. The next, there was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Trump’s chief gofer, staging a mock trial of Hillary Clinton with the convention’s bloc of delegates as the “jury.”

Their lynch-mob-like behavior provided irrefutable proof that “Clinton Derangement Syndrome” is every bit as virulent as the “Obama Derangement Syndrome” they’ve fed on these past eight years.

One could continue on through the convention’s reality-show lineup of Dminus-list celebrities spewing bizarre conspiracy theories and oily tributes to Trump; GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pretending they’re still the party’s actual leaders; and that unholy group no Republican National Convention has been without for 40 years - the Blackface-minstrel Blacks, whose role is to delight the virtually all-white GOP conventioneers by denouncing all those Black Americans not in the convention hall.

“We can’t tolerate this any more. These tragedies must end.

And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this.” – President Barack Obama, Sandy Hook Interfaith Prayer Vigil, 2012.

One of the more unsettling revelations about the tragedy in Dallas is that the mentally unbalanced gunman was rejected, after a background check, for membership in an extremist group, but was legally a able to purchase a high-capacity assault rifle.

According to media reports, Micah Johnson was labeled “unfit for recruitment” among a network of extremist groups, including some designated as “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Yet within months of that rejection, Johnson was able to meet in a parking lot with a gun seller he contacted online, and take possession of a military weapon designed to slaughter human beings as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In what kind of a world do we live when hate groups that actually encourage violence against law enforcement officers are more circumspect than our current firearm safety laws?

The man who sold Johnson the AK47 said Johnson appeared normal during their 15-minute meeting – as though dangerous mental instability is written across someone’s face.

“It’s my belief he would have passed a background check,” the man said.

But it wouldn’t have mattered, not in Texas. Federal law requires only licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks. Millions of guns are sold each year online or at gun shows through private sellers. Felons, domestic abusers, the violently mentally ill are able to acquire firearms and the law does nothing to stop them.

More than 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks.

Legally-required background checks have blocked more than two million gun sales to dangerous people since the system was instituted.

Maybe Micah Johnson’s background would have slipped past the system. Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and wounded 17 on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, was banned from buying guns because a court found him severely mentally ill.

But he passed a background check, because his records never made it into the system. And if the current system wouldn’t have deemed Johnson’s bizarre behavior a red flag for a gun purchase, it certainly should have.

The background check database must be complete, and the types of incidents that warrant prohibition must be thoroughly examined.

Prior to the attack in Dallas, each mass-shooting incident in the United States has prompted a bizarre chorus calling for even more guns in our society. “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” as the saying goes.

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Trump, the fear-mongering candidate

By Lee A. Daniels, George Curry Media Columnist

Trump’s speech — a dark vision of global and national decay The Republicans have finished fabricating lies at their threering circus, where Donald Trump was the ringmaster. Trump is a master showman, and he knows how to strike fear in the hearts of his Party.

White America is angry, and it is time for them to take their country back, with Trump as the commander.

The majority of delegates at the most mismanaged Republican National Convention (RNC) in recent history believe that America is the home of white people, and they just don’t understand how people of color are starting to run and manage the country.

There was very little diversity at the 2016 RNC which is not a true reflection of the demographical breakdown of the voter population in America. When Trump says he is the voice for America, he is essentially saying he is the voice for white supremacy.

It is a fact that many members in the Trump family had not even registered as Republicans at the time of the convention. Maybe at the RNC, it does not matter what one says or does, because the Party has been hijacked by the Trump family.

As Trump stepped up to give his one hour and 14 minute speech, many knew he was there to paint a picture of doom and gloom in America and around the world. His speech was an overheated exaggeration of the demise of America, and he placed problems in the world as a result of electing President Barack Obama. Even though Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State three years ago, Trump is also blaming her for many problems in the world today.

Many Republicans will say that Trump hit a home run with his shouting for over an hour, but basically he appealed to his white base, and gave his standard stump speech. He is going to build a wall; the Mexican government will pay for it, he will destroy ISIS, and restore law and order in America.

Many Americans who were able to listen to the entire message felt that he gave no new policies or initiatives to move America forward into the 21st century.

Trump and the Republican Party can only see pessimism and negativity. His speech was created to divide America into them against us.

From this perspective, all police are under attack in every major city in the country, and there is a need for law and order. Borrowing from a playbook of President Nixon, Trump has anointed himself the law and order candidate, even though statistics indicate that crime and violence historically is declining.

Trump says the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50 percent compared to this point last year. This statement is not in accordance with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund which tracks fatalities daily. The group found that the number of police officers killed in the line of duty as of July 2016 is up just slightly this year at 67, compared to 62 during the same time period last year.

Throughout Trump’s speech, he continued exaggerating many facts such as saying, “After four years of Hillary Clinton what do we have? ISIS has spread across the region and the entire world. Libya is in ruins, and our ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers. This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism, and weakness.”

Clinton had no role in military decisions made during the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi. It is also a fabrication to blame her for widespread instability and violence across the Middle East today.

The fireworks have started because Trump is now the leader of the Republican Party, and no one in the Party can predict what he will do or say next.

When the 2016 RNC started with Mrs. Trump plagiarizing a speech given by First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2008 Democratic Convention, the lies and exaggerations never stopped for the duration of the convention.

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

Church Directory

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

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

Reverend Jimmy L. English

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday Worship -- 10:45 a.m.

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

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

Pastor McQuaise & Antoinette Hepburn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where the kingdom of God is increased through Fellowship.

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

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

Rev. Dr. Jimmie L. Brown Senior Pastor

SERVICES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

McWhite's Funeral Home BERLUS Funeral services for the late Marc Jacob Berlus – 71 were held July 23 at Berean Fundamental Baptist Church with Dr. Elie JeanPierre officiating. Interment: Westview Cemetery.

DAVIS Funeral services for the late Bryan Adrian Davis - 17 were held July 24 at James C. Boyd’s Memorial Chapel with Pastor D. Bent officiating.

McWhite's Funeral Home 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 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.

HANKERSON Funeral services for the Ethel Hankerson 79 were held July 23 at Mount Hermon A.M.E. with Rev. Henry E. Green, Jr. officiating.

SUNDAY

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

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

Email infor@mthermonftl.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

(712)432-1500 Access Code296233#

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016 • PAGE 7

Westside Gazette

HOLNESS Funeral services for the late Eduton A. Holness - 56 were held July 23 at Christian Life Center with Pastor Veronica Clarke officiating. Interment: Bailey Memorial Gardens.

LING Funeral services for the late Mary Bell Ling – 88 were held July 23 at First Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Kenneth Go-sier officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Central.

MESSAM Funeral services for the late Herman Messam – 92 were held July 23 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel. Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

RAMIREZ Funeral services for the late Josemil Tapia Ramirez were held July 19 at McWhite’s Funeral Home Chapel. Interment: Lauderdale Memorial Park.

Roy Mizell & Kurtz Funeral Home BUTLER Funeral services for the late Joseph N. Butler – 82 were held July 23 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Pastor James B. Darling, Jr. officiating.

Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens-Central.

JACKSON Funeral services for the late Bertha Jackson - 89 were held July 23 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Pastor James B. Darling, Jr. officiating.

Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens.

MINCEY Funeral services for the late Marie Billie Mincey - 84 were held July 21 at Roy Mizell & Kurtz Worship Center with Pastor Patrick Boyd officiating. Interment: Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens – Central.

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

Rev. Cal Hopkins.

M.Div) Senior Pastor/Teacher

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

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

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

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

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

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

Changed...a fictional series

By Katrina Jo Book 1 – pt. 2 My legs felt like 100 pound weights as I climbed the steps to the porch, opened the front door and entered the house. I tore wildly at my house dress until I wrenched it free from my neck. It fell to the floor and I dropped my slip next to it before staggering back to the shower in our bedroom. The warm water flowed over me. I grabbed my washcloth, the soap from the wall-mounted blue and white tiled dish, and began to scrub. It wasn’t coming off. A hint of red seemed to stain my skin. I increased the water temperature and screamed in pain as the steaming water flowed down my back.

“He’s dead.” The words came out like a whisper, and I covered my mouth with both hands. A chill that began in my core shook my whole body and I collapsed against the shower wall grabbing at the water faucet as I began a slow descent to the floor. Water pelted my hair; the long, straight hair that Dixon loved so much. I didn’t have the strength to move and wasn’t really searching for any. I rolled over on my side, balled up, waiting for something. I wanted someone to explain how my life had become so horribly rearranged and give instructions on how to go on from this point. The director of my life was gone and I was left without a script to follow or a role to play.

Tears flowed as the sun went down. Then the knocking began. At some point in the evening, the people remembered that he’d had a wife.

“She’s in there I’m sure,” I heard a man’s voice say.

“The lights are on in som’ a the rooms.” Mama Ruth, her voice was tenor deep and grandma sweet all at the same time. “Sister Pratt?” She was calling to the bathroom window. “Did ya’ll try the front door?”

“It’s open,” a raspy man’s voice called out from the direction of the porch. “I think she’s in the bathroom. I hear the shower running.”

I sat on the bathroom floor wrapped in my favorite towel, listening as they knocked on the frame of the screen door then patiently waited for me to come and receive their condolences and their hams and their quik check sodas.

As the hour grew late, the mourner visits stopped and lucidity pulled my mind into the present. I made one phone call.

“Good evening, Lovett’s Funeral Home. How may I assist you?”

“Good evening this is Mrs. Pratt.”

“Can you speak up hon? I can’t hardly hear you.”

“This is Mrs. Pratt. Dixon Pratt’s wife.”

“Oh Mrs. Pratt I’m so sor-” “I need to come in and make arragements for my husband.”

“Why yes. We got word that you might be calling. Mr. Lovett is away at a mortician’s convention, but he’ll be back by-” “Is he the only one who does the funerals there?”

“No ma’am. I just thought that-.”

“Who’s on duty in his stead?”

“Leonard Tanger, can also...”

“Can I speak with him then?”

“Of course you can. But with your husband being who he was in the community, I’m sure Mr. Lovett will want to take care of his services personally.”

The keyword there is WAS. “I’m coming in tomorrow at one to meet Mr. Tanger. I would prefer that my appointment be kept confidential, if you don’t mind.”

“Uh, of…course. Um, I’ll make sure that he’s here.”

I could hear the questions in her tone. Why not wait for the owner? Don’t you want your husband to have the best?

You do realize the people will expect a spectacle? The people were getting a spectacle every time the saw us together with a smile on our faces.

All of that watching and waiting. All of the love and dating experiences that I passed up waiting on that great love affair. Love affair? Lovelike lie is more like it. He wined me and dined me right into a mess. I married the big time preacher. The man everybody wanted. Humph! And he wanted everybody but me. Why me God? Because you were a fool. I promise I could almost hear the voice of God on my wedding day saying run the other way and never look back. But I was too afraid of what everybody would say if I left him at the altar.

Who wants to admit that the perfume you wash from your husband’s clothes every other day didn’t get there when he was praying for women who were slain in the spirit. No, it was there because he was slaying her and the only spirit they were operating in was Jezebel.

Her scent was all over the house; in his suits, in his handkerchiefs…even in his underclothes.

Tears returned heavier than they were before. I sat in the living room sobbing in my favorite chair. My tears were composed of one part sorrow, one part shame, and two parts madas-hell.

PAGE 8 • JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016

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Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Ezell Ford, Freddy Gray and many more have suffered brutality at the hands of police officers. In the case of Trayvon Martin, it was a volunteer community watch captain who aspired to be a police officer. The lack of police officers being brought to justice for crimes against African Americans have left many hopeless and without answers. Out of this despair, many have decided to take justice into their own hands, Economic Justice!

Earlier this year, Rapper Killer Mike, Polo the Don, Usher, Jermaine Dupri, Big Krit and several others met at Citizens Trust Bank, a Black owned bank in Atlanta to open up bank accounts. After the murder of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, Killer Mike passionately urged listeners of Hot 107.9 in Atlanta, to “go down to their banks tomorrow… [and to] take all of their money to Citizen’s Trust”. Citizen’s Trust Bank CEO, Cynthia N. Day took to twitter to say the following, “We thank @KillerMike for his call-to-action. Together, we can change the conversation.

Cynthia N. Day, Pres and CEO”. The bank has noted since this call to action over 8,000

people have opened accounts totaling over one million dollars in deposits.

“While I realize this is a very personal decision and thing to share, I’m proud to say I made that step today…Time to literally put my money where my mouth is.” Those were the words of recording artist and younger sibling of Beyonce, Solange Knowles, expressing her sentiments on opening up an account with a Black owned bank.

Solange has added her name to a list of celebrities that have decided to use their voices and their resources to speak out against police brutality and to strengthen Black institutions.

The power to grow Black businesses and to strengthen Black institutions lies in networking.

Dr. George C. Fraser, chairman and CEO of FraserNet and founder of the PowerNetworking Conference has traveled the country and the world promoting economic empowerment.

Dr. George Fraser is a firm believer that economic empowerment of Black business is rooted in the “Power” of Networking. One of Dr. Fraser’s famous quotes says, “If you want to meet important people, you have to go where they are.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

Blackonomics A strategic plan needed to redirect our money

By James Clingman, via George Curry Media

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“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” Matthew 25:21 In recent days we have heard much about efforts to demonstrate our frustration and anger about the killing of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Boycotting malls and various stores, depositing funds into Blackowned banks are important and have had some positive effects.

We must do more of the same but in a more strategic and organized manner.

Are Black folks, the recipients of $1.2 trillion annually, poor stewards of this tremendous amount of money and, thus, unable to obtain economic empowerment because of our slothfulness? Is that why we find ourselves in “outer darkness,” continuously attempting to “show” others how much money we spend instead of redirecting more of our money to ourselves?

The Parable of the Talents is quite fitting for Black people in general; of course we fit the description of the last steward who buried his talent in the ground and did not multiply it. Unfortunately, we have used our billions in income to buy everything someone else makes, no matter the cost.

If we cannot demonstrate our ability to manage the resources we have, the small things, how will we ever gain authority over the larger things? How will we ever change the behavior of corporations when it comes to supporting us the way they do other groups? If we refuse to shop at Target, for instance, but go to Walmart instead, what’s the gain? What’s the impact of staying away from the mall for a day or two, or even a week, and then return to spend all the money we withheld?

MLK stated in his final speech, “I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in TriState Bank. We want a ‘bank-in’ movement in Memphis.” That was 1968.

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JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016 • PAGE 9

Young Black man honors his deceased mother’s wish and admitted to Savannah State

By Roger Caldwell There are too many young Black men graduating from high school with no goals and visions after they receive their diploma. Many dream of being hip hop stars, the next LeBron James, a hustler, or a drug dealer. They have decided that they will eventually spend time in jail, so they live with no fear, and at any time they can die, so they keep their pistol close by.

When there are 60 or 70 shootings in one weekend in certain inner cities, it is extremely special, when I get a chance to talk to a young brother who is motivated, and will enter college in the fall.

D’Angelo Robertson is a young Black man, who was born in Gainesville, Fla., moved to Sanford and graduated from Seminole High School. D’Angelo is a quiet, pensive young man, who has overcome tremendous adversity, stayed out of trouble, never knew his father, but believed in the power of his mother, his older sister, his coach, his good friends, the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and his guidance counselor Ms. Lovett.

“My goal has always been to go to college. I knew my mother always wanted me to go to college, and I did never want to let her down, plus I wanted to get out of the house to be honest,” says D’Angelo. He will be a freshman in August at Savannah State, and no one can predict what will happen the next four or five years, but his first year is paid for with the help of a network of organiza-tions, and a powerful support team.

“You want to talk about overcoming odds and obstacles, I cannot think of anymore that could have more been thrown his way,” says his flag football coach, friend, mentor Chris Lawrence. D’Angelo’s older sister, who helped to provide for

Judge Zebedee Wright will forever be known as ‘The People’s Judge’ (Cont'd from FP)

him, died in 2012, his mother died in 2014, but he continued to plow forward through tremendous difficulties.

“To be honest with you, it is in his character. His moral character is the survival mode.

His life is about doing the best he can do every day, and knows when he stops moving forward, he would have made it as far as God will let him go. His mom was a strong woman, she was a good woman, and she raised him with character and love,” says Coach Chris.

It takes a village to raise a child and D’Angelo is the epitome of that statement. His deceased older sister was a professional, and was very instrumental in proving D’Angelo with things that his mother could not afford or provide. But when she passed Coach Chris (a white man), stepped in and become one of the male figures in his life, with the Sigma Fraternity.

“When I met the Sigmas, I was in middle school in the seventh grade. They always tried to say something good, nothing negative, and set high expectations,” says D’Angelo.

“The organization helped kids like me with their raising po-

tential, and they have a big effect on my self esteem.”

D’Angelo is majoring in criminal justice, and plans to be a lawyer someday. Everyone that I talked to about D’Angelo, they are amazed by his maturity and his willing to work hard. His high school guidance counselor Ms. Lovett made sure that D’Angelo filled out all the necessary applications, and helped him get over 10 scholarships to pay for his freshman year.

“I feel I am blessed and God would never put me in any situation, he knew I could not handle. He brought all this on me, and I was ready for the real world. I am set with my education, and my future life,” says D’Angelo with all the confidence in the world.

The network is working and everyone is pulling for D’Angelo. The Phi Beta Sigmas have rais-ed money for D’Angelo during a championship flag football game to help with his education, but they need more. For more information and where to send donations email Tim Nightingale (Phi Beta Sigma) at tmjr1914@gmail.com, or call (904) 635-2567.

launchpad for his national ambitions. The speech was well written and competently delivered. But, it felt too rehearsed, too plotted — and, without question, way, way too long.

The speech could have been half as long and twice as good.

Al Franken: The Minnesota senator has worked very hard since being elected to the Senate in 2008 to avoid being the funny guy that he portrayed

during his time on “Saturday Night Live.” On Monday night, Franken let loose — delivering a comedy routine aimed at poking holes in Donald Trump’s resume and qualifications. I say comedy because that was clearly Franken’s intent — if not what he accomplished. Doing comedy off a teleprompter is not exactly a recipe for success, and Franken is, clearly, very funny. But his routine fell flat. Once he

He spent his formative years experiencing all the vestiges of segregation during the Jim Crow era. As a young boy living in Pahokee, Fla., where his grandmother moved the family, he witnessed firsthand the realities of racial hatred and social injustice, whether in the form of segregated movie theaters to the extremes of racial hatred displayed in the violent acts by the local Ku Klux Klan.

By the time he moved to Fort Lauderdale in the 1950’s young Zebedee had determined that if his lot were to be different in life than those who picked beans for a living as so many he knew, it would have to be through gaining an education.

From the time he began school - albeit a few years later than most - Wright excelled in the classroom. He became a student athlete at Dillard High School. He also served his country in the military. He attended Florida A & M University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education.

Whether he was fighting for equal justice during the 1970’s as a young civil rights attorney, or mobilizing the Black community to register to vote, or as a presiding justice overseeing his courtroom for over several decades, Judge Zebedee Wright developed a reputation for being strong but fair.

“If you know what you’re doing is right, it’s right, be strong and never back down.”

These were the words that he lived by. These words defined who Zebedee Wright was and who he still remains to this day.

These words did not fall on deaf ears as reflected in the words of Wright’s son Anthony,

Winners and losers

(Cont'd from 2 LOSERS Debbie Wasserman Schultz: A total disaster of a day for the soon-to-be-former chair of the Democratic National Committee. First she was booed and heckled at a Florida delegation breakfast. Then she was pushed out of any formal role at the convention — for fear that she would, again, be booed but this time in front of a national TV audience. Rumors flew as to whether she would be fleeing back to Florida or trying to stick out the week. Whether she stays or goes, this was a very, very, very bad day for Wasserman Schultz.

Elizabeth Warren: The Massachusetts Senator had a tough task — following Michelle Obama, who absolutely brought the house down. But, this was still a crowd primed to love her. The speech Warren delivered just didn’t cut it — a cookie-cutter recitation of Democratic principles followed by a laundry list of attacks against Donald Trump. People insisted to me that she was “building up” to a major moment at the end of the speech but, if it happened, I missed it entirely. Warren’s speech reminded me of something I noticed during her 2012 Senate campaign. She is a beloved figure more for her resume than her charisma or her natural abilities as a speaker. Warren wasn’t terrible. But she was far from a standout Monday night.

Cory Booker: Sometimes you want to make fetch happen so badly that you ensure it doesn’t happen. That’s what happened to the New Jersey senator on Monday night. He was clearly aiming to make a moment, to use his speech as a

What did we do?

(Cont'd from FP) A man of African blood, a Cyrenian named Simon, was chosen to carry the cross of Jesus-an insignificant to carry an insignificant’s cross. In the Bible, the story tells us that even Peter was considered an insignificant and treated as worthless by the crowd in Caiaphas’s courtyard. Caiaphas, in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who presided over the counsel that condemned Jesus.

Throughout history it has been the role of the insignificants to burden the struggles and to constantly carry the spirit of humility in the perils of sin and death. Even though the people gave these insignificants no rewards, no respect, no joy and no peace, God thought enough of them to lift them up and make them significant. The Cyrene, Simon, carried the cross for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The most insignificant of all, born in a stable and wrapped in rags is now seated on the right hand of God and God has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… (Philippians 2:9-10).

We have been walking in darkness long enough, it’s time to remove the blinders. Let us look past the surface of skin color and begin to ask the questions, are you cultural sensitive? Are you socially conscience? Do you believe that all men/women were created with a holy spirit?

We have to stop allowing the others, (this includes anything and anybody) that would be a hindrance to us gaining our salvation. If we are truly children of God, it will be God’s grace that will deliver us from insignificants to significants, in His time and in His will, not man’s nor woman’s.

As the blood dripped from Jesus’ hands, he prayed for his persecutors, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

(Luke 23:34 NKJ) Dear God, please teach me how to love more and to show others that it can be done, we can be changed for good. Amen

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN THE WESTSIDE GAZETTE CALL (954) 525-1489

transitioned to a more traditional stump speech, Franken was far better.

Susan Sarandon: Yes, she was adamantly with Bernie Sanders during the primaries.

But if you are going to go the convention, try to have a little fun!

who along with Ronald and Laurette are the children of Zebedee and his first wife, the late Kathleen Cooper-Wright.

“The greatest attribute my father Zebedee Wright has given me is “STRENGTH”. The strength to be proud of who I am, the strength to remain strong in the values and beliefs I have been taught, the strength to stand up for what I believe, and the strength to remain faithful in Christ.”

Former Broward County Public Schools administrator Dr. Dorsey C. Miller has known Judge Wright since arriving in Fort Lauderdale in the early 1970’s. They both share a common bond as fraternity brothers in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., of which Dr. Miller was the past Grand Basileus of the fraternal organization.

“When he became a judge, he was a judge that was no nonsense but in my opinion, he administered justice with mercy and you don’t find a lot of that today. And I think a lot of young people, especially whose lives could have been ruined had he ruled another way, lives were probably saved because of the fact that he administered that justice with mercy,” recalled Dr. Miller.

In addition to excelling professionally throughout his legal career, Wright devoted considerable time and effort in his youth basketball program known as the Fort Lauderdale Roadrunners.

Former Fort Lauderdale Roadrunner and now retired NBA professional basketball player Keyon Dooling was among the hundreds of those who benefitted from Coach Wright’s leadership.

“I remember the first time I met Judge Wright at six years old. His voice was thunderous, his smile was radiant, and his attire was Easter Sunday clean. I had no idea on that day I would meet a second father.

You protected us, motivated us, challenged us, disciplined us, coached us, help feed us but most of all you loved us. Thanks for all the Saturday morning bus rides, thanks for all the long road trips, thanks for putting that board on us; we needed it, and most of all, thanks for setting an example of what a Real Brother should aspire to be.”

The greatest tribute that one can receive is that bestowed

upon an individual by their peers. Judge Wright has been a trailblazer all of his professional career beginning with being the first African American graduate from the Florida State University Law School.

Judge Wright was also one of the founders of the T.J. Reddick Bar Association, a civic organization comprised of Black attorney’s. He has been a role model and served as an inspiration to many attorneys throughout the state of Florida.

Two among them include Judge Michael Robinson and Attorney Johnny L. McCray, Jr. who shared their personal experiences regarding Judge Wright.

“If it were not for mentors and leaders like Judge Wright and many others who constructed and maintained our “village”, I would not be the person I am today. I stand on their shoulders. He has lived and continues to live a life worth living. He is responsible for opening doors of opportunity for me, my wife, and other lawyers in South Florida,” said Judge Robinson.

“I was privileged to work with a man who during my childhood made such a difference with so many of the students in my community when he worked with my mother in Pompano teaching elementary school. My legal experience working under Judge Wright’s guidance was a rewarding experience as I learned much from a thorough, aggressive and effective trial lawyer.

I admired his tenacious style and approach in protecting and enforcing the interest of his clients. Indeed, I learned from one of the best. I was also impressed with the respect he commanded when he addressed social issues. Judge Zebedee Wright,” added McCray.

Judge Wright and his wife Ann are residents of Fort Lauderdale. They have a son Jason.

They also are members of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.

Ann Wright reflected on her husband in glowing terms as well as shared her insights on how much he cared about young men in the community.

“He’s a fantastic husband and father. Whenever a kid needed something all it took is one call and they had it. He is a great man and a great leader.

I love him to death.”

PAGE 10 • JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016

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Henderson Tours guides travelers back to their African roots

By Michael H. Cottman, Urban News Service

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.

July 7, 14, 21, 28, 2016

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS 8/2/16 KCW Bldg., 600 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Laud.

10:00 a.m.

•Special School Board Meeting 10:15 a.m.

•Regular School Board Meeting 5:30 p.m. or •1st Public Hearing- Budget immediately following the regular school board meeting

8/9/16 9:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

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

•Special School Board Meeting •School Board Workshop

8/16/16 10:00 a.m.

10:15 a.m.

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

•Special School Board Meeting •Regular School Board Meeting

8/23/16 9:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

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

•Special School Board Meeting •School Board Workshop

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

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

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

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

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

Date 8/2/16 6p 8/4/16 6:30-8:30p 8/4/16 6:30p 8/4/16 7p 8/4/16 6p 8/8/16 3:30-4:30p 8/8/16 5:30-6:30p 8/8/16 6p 8/9/16 6p 8/10/16 10a 8/10/16 3:30-4:30p 8/10/16 5:30-6:30p 8/11/16 6p 8/15/16 3:30-4:30p 8/15/16 5:30-6:30p 8/15/16 6p 8/16/16 6p 8/17/16 9a

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA NOTICE OF MEETINGS MEETINGS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR CANCELLATION Meeting Place North Area Advisory OSPA Office -Board Mtg / Gen. Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach Diversity Committee KCW Bldg., Board Room rd -General Meeting 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

Facilities Task Force Plantation High Media Center -Sub-Committees Mtg 6901 NW 16th St., Plantation Facilities Task Force Plantation High Media Center -General Mtg 6901 NW 16th St., Plantation North Area Advisory OSPA Office -Board Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Diversity Committee – Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th Nominating Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Parent/Community Involvement Southwest Regional Library Conference Subcommittee 16835 Sheridan St, Pmbroke Pines North Area Advisory OSPA Office -Board Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach District Adv. Council (DAC) OSPA Office -Steering Meeting 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr.

Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14th Court, Ft. Laud.

Diversity Committee – Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th Nominating Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

North Area Advisory OSPA Office -Board Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach Diversity Committee - School Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th Site Visitation Sub-Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Diversity Committee – Lauderdale Manors Lrng. Cntr. th Nominating Committee 1400 NW 14 Court, Ft. Laud.

Parent/Community Involvement McFatter Tech College (Bistro) General Mtg 6500 Nova Drive, Davie North Area Advisory OSPA Office -Board Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach Superintendent’s Insurance & TSSC (Lobby) Wellness Advisory Committee 7770 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise (Purpose: to discuss various items concerning the Employee Benefits’ Program, as well as any other matter the Committee deems important.

Telephone conferencing or other telecommunications technology may be used in the conduct of this public meeting to permit absent SIWAC members to participate in discussions, to be heard by other committee members, and the public, and to hear discussions taking place during the meeting.)

8/18/16 North Area Advisory OSPA Office 6p -Board Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach 8/24/16 Supplier & Diversity Outreach TSSC - Rm. #323 4-5p Program Adv. Committee 7720 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise 8/24/16 District Adv. Council (DAC) OSPA Office 10a -Steering Meeting 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach 8/25/16 North Area Advisory OSPA Office 7p - Gen. Mtg 610 NE 13th Ave, Pmpano Beach 8/29/16 Bond Oversight Committee & KCW Bldg., Board Room rd 5:30p Public Hearing 600 SE 3 Avenue, Ft. Laud.

8/31/16 QSEC Review of Contractors TSSC - Rm. #323 9a Pre-Qualification/ReCert.

7720 W. Oklnd Pk Blvd., Sunrise 8/31/16 South Area Advisory McArthur High 8:30a - Gen. Mtg 6501 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any policy or procedure which results in discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158. Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, (ADAAA) may call Equal Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at 754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

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

Gaynelle Henderson is the second-generation owner of Henderson Tours, a trailblazer among African-Americans in the travel industry.

Her late parents, Jacob and Freddye Henderson, were visionaries who founded the agency in Atlanta in 1955. Rosa Parks was arrested that year for refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala. Freddye Henderson want-ed to create a cultural and business niche overseas, even as Jim Crow blocked many Blacks from the polls, barred them from many restaurants and hindered their travel in the Deep South.

Freddye felt that Africa would embrace African-Americans. She believed that Blacks here could experience freedom,

education and entertainment in Africa, rather than endure pervasive racism at home.

Henderson Tours pioneered African tourism, according to Gaynelle Henderson. It was the first travel agency to offer large, multi-group tours to West Africa. Freddye and Jacob led their first group of clients to Africa in 1957, when Ghana celebrated its formal independence.

“My parents were taking clients to Africa before Pan Am was flying to Africa,” Henderson said. “It was known as the ‘Dark Continent’ back then.”

Gaynelle, her sisters and her brother, grew up in their parents’ office. “Mom and Dad would give us paper tickets to write out by hand with dates,

departure times and destinations for up to 100 people,” Henderson said.

Henderson Tours’ clients have included Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, author James Baldwin, and Fela Kuti, the popular Nigerian musician and activist.

Henderson Tours made history in 1964: Freddye and Jacob arranged a high-profile trip for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his entourage to Oslo, so that he could accept the world’s highest honor.

Andrew Young, America’s former United Nations ambassador, recalls the voyage like it just happened.

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

www.thewestsidegazette.com

Westside Gazette

JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016 • PAGE 11

Broward Section NCNW Installation shows Mary Bethune’s vision is still alive

From to l to r: Sheila Thomas/Chaplain; Lorine Checks /Financial Secretary; Iola Glenn/Treasurer; Scherrie Thomas /Corresponding Secretary; Ja’Meka Thompson/Recording Secretary; Krystal Coke/3rd VP and Azia Powell/2nd VPN; Rev. Deborah Allen/1st VP; President Laura Richardson being sworn in by Judge Ilona Holmes.

By Staff Writer The newly-chartered Broward County Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) held its Installation Ceremony at Inverrary Country Club, Lauderhill, July 16, illustrating that founder Mary McLeod Bethune’s spirit of service is still vibrantly alive.

The Section was officially welcomed into the NCNW with a letter received April 25, 2016.

The story behind its founding is as inspiring as the story of Bethune aspiring to start a school of higher education for Negroes with $1.50 in 1904.

Now Bethune-Cookman Un-

iversity (B-CU) has educated many thousands of Americans.

Bethune’s visionary call to “work together with a unity of purpose and a unity of action,” came at a time when she was serving as advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1953. A member of the President’s “Black Cabinet,” she was noted for achieving her goals, and was described by one of her fellow board members as having “the most marvelous gift of effecting feminine helplessness in order to attain her aims with masculine ruthlessness.”

A close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Bethune used her position of privilege to

elevate the conditions facing Black women and the need for an umbrella organization to help them focus their power.

“We live in a world which respects power above all things.

Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force,” Section Chair Laura Richardson quoted Dr. Bethune. “It is our responsibility to accept the challenge for the improvement of our communities. It’s important that we prevail in education, healthcare, empowerment and entrepreneurship that will enhance the livelihood of women, their families

and community of African descent.”

For more than 60 years the NCNW, founded as “a national organization of national organizations” has led coalesced power and led on national issues affecting the Black community.

The same organizing impetus started the Broward Section which was conceptualized by Ms. Richardson in 2015. Her efforts immediately attracted more than 88 women, passionate about “becoming Marys.” By March 2016 the section had met the requirements to be chartered.

Today the membership of 11w includes nine prominent

men, among them city commissioners, ministers and others who eagerly responded to the invitation to carry forward Bethune’s legacy.

The installation was performed by Judge Ilona Holmes and was attended by more than 100 section members, supporters and prospective members.

Along with President Mrs. Richardson, the Section’s first vice president is the Rev. Deborah Allen. The Charter was presented by National Membership Chair Mrs. Lois Keith and National Membership Director David Glenn.

Throughout the event speakers referred to Dr. Be-

thune as a light and a candle, and encouraged members to let their light shine wherever they are.

“Be a Mary,” Guest Speaker Judge Shirylon McWhorter encouraged. “Be sassy. Speak your piece like Mary would.”

She also said she found it easy to encourage better conduct with the simple words, “That’s not a Mary.” Pointing to the urgency of the moment and the turbulence of events around the country she said, “If there was ever a time we were needed, it’s now. As Americans we need to reach across the aisle and collaborate.”

Broward College helps YMCA students set sights on higher education level. Throughout the sessions students were assisted with identifying the requirements for their academic pathways, skills they have in those areas, developing a plan to achieving their goals, identifying mentors, and second career pathway options. There also was a panel presentation and discussion with three of the College’s associate deans – Catherine Johnson, nursing, Thomas Nguyen, Institute of Public Safety and Annie Myers, computer science. They discussed the different professional careers in their pathways, ad-

mission requirements, and requisite entrance and state exams.

Broward College is dedicated to providing students with the tools to envision their academic path leading to higher education. Throughout the year, the College offers middle- and highschool students tours and career guidance at all three Broward College campuses. Other organizations which have participated include the Boys and Girls Club of America, Hispanic Unity Foundation, HANDY, and PACE Center for Girls.

Developer sells Chicago property, later discovers Emmett Till lived there Broward College Career Advisor Moses Washington looks on as Jordan, a YMCA Lauderhill participant, completes his career assessment on the College’s website.

DAVIE, FL -- High school students ages 14-17 who are part of a six-week summer program at the Lauderhill YMCA were on the Broward College A. Hugh Adams Central Campus recently for a two-part career guide tour and panel discussion.

The visits were organized by the YMCA in collaboration with

the college and have been an ongoing initiative for the last four years. The aim is to improve the general knowledge about the college and the academic pathways offered to vulnerable and underserved groups.

The day’s activities included career advice and career mapping guidance based on grade

Mary Gardner Washington, 83, retired Director of City of Hallandale Beach for 30 years, died July 19, 2016 at home. She leaves behind to cherish her memories her children: James Robert “Billy” Washington, Jacquelynn “Jackie” Washington Mills-Smith, Kay Lavette Washington An-

derson, Jerome Washington, David Gardner (Sharon), Dr. Eugene E. Christian, Jess Temple, Paul Gardner, Jr., Phyllis and Lowell Lampkin, Maurice Gardner; Grand-children: Maria Mills Foster, Teresa P. Anderson, Jeremy J. Mills, RaKenya Alexander (Craig), Kristen D. Smith, John Clark, Johanna Clark; Great Grandchildren: Officer Peter A. Foster, Jr. (Ruby), Corporal Marcus G. Foster, Diyra Willis, Marrissa E. T. Foster, Naderia Willis, Kayla, Craig, Jr., Kayla, Jenyce and Robert; Steve Smith, son-in-law.

Two great great grandchildren: Teagan, Peter III. Viewing: Friday, 2–9 p.m. at Hallandale Culture Center.

Service: Saturday, 10 a.m. at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 816 N.W. First Ave., Hallandale, Fla.

Crusader)

By Erick Johnson (NNPA Member, The Chicago Crusader) It looks like an ordinary building on the South Side, but its occupants were not. For 121 years, the two-story structure has stood in Chicago’s predominately Black Woodlawn neighborhood. An unassuming edifice built with Chicago’s muscular red brick, it’s a piece of Black history that was recently sold before the owner found out that Mamie Till-Mobley and her son, Emmet Till, once lived there.

Emmett was a 14-year-old boy whose brutal murder drew global attention and helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. The building was the last Chicago home that Emmett lived in before his life came to a

Washington uses a sports illustration to show teens steps that can be used to achieve professional goals

tragic end on Aug. 28, 1955—a time when racial tensions began to boil in the South.

His mother lived in a building that’s located just four blocks east of the Chicago Crusader office. It’s one of many structures in Woodlawn that have been purchased and rehabbed

by Elite Invest, LLC—a development and property management firm in South Shore that’s in the midst of an ambitious plan to restore residential and office buildings that have been long neglected on the South Side. Some of these structures were occupied by prominent Black Chicagoans in sports and politics.

This year, the firm has been busy seeking buyers for properties that have some curb appeal in neighborhoods that were once shunned by investors. (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)

New steps were installed during renovations to Emmett Till’s former home in Chicago’s predominately Black Woodlawn neighborhood.

(Erick Johnson/Chicago

CORPORAL ERNEST SNEED, 92, RECEIVES THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL —from President Barrack Obama and the Congress of the United States on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012 at Jefferson County Middle/High School. Marine Lieutenant General Lawrence F. Snowden gave the keynote address as well as presented Sneed with the medal. Sneed is one of the remaining 500 Marines who trained at Camp Montford Point in New River, N.C., was in the 52nd defense battalion during World War II and was one of thousands of Black men to train at the camp 1942 through 1946. World War II Montford Point Marine Corporal Ernest Sneed. Corporal Sneed was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Obama and the Congress of the United States in 2012. He is a member of Jefferson County VFW Post 251 and recently celebrated his 96th birthday on June 18, 2016. He is the last and oldest living World War II Marine, Black or white, residing in Jefferson County, Monticello, Fla. Submitted by John Nelson Sr.

PAGE 12 • JULY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2016

www.thewestsidegazette.com Westside Gazette Grace Leadership Preparatory Institute partners with Mount Hermon AME

SPEAK DAILY WITH YOUR

DOLLAR$ WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ATTITUDES IF WE SPEAK DAILY WITH OUR DOLLAR POWER The Westside Gazette Newspaper is distributed weekly throughout the United States with many of our out of state subscribers receiving our publication by way of the U.S. Postal Service. The Westside Gazette Newspaper is also a member of the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association (NNPA) which consists of hundreds of African American owned and operated newspapers around the U.S. The NNPA has many members throughout the United estside Gazette Newspaper weekly. The Westside Gazette Newspaper States that receive the Westside also has internet accessibility for our, advertisers, readers and subscribers if for some reason our publication does not reach its destination. Please follow us on FaceBook: Westside Gazette Newspaper; Twitter: @_Westsidegazett; instagram: thewestsidegazettenewspaper, Website: www.thewestsidegazette.com

SUPPOR T BUSINESSES SUPPORT THA T SUPPOR T YOUR COMMUNITY! THAT SUPPORT OUR TRI-COUNTY FAMILY CONSISTS OF OVER 150,000 Westside Gazette READERS THROUGHOUT DADE, BROWARD AND PALM BEACH COUNTIES. THESE READERS HOLD TREMENDOUS ECONOMIC CLOUT, SO GREAT THAT IT DETERMINES WHETHER COMPANIES, SUCH AS GROCERS, FURNITURE, CLOTHING, AUTO DEALERSHIP’S AND OTHER RETAILERS ARE PROFITABLE. WE DON’T HAVE TO TAKE A LOT OF STUFF! AS CUSTOMERS WITH AN ECONOMIC BASE OF OVER $836 BILLION, WE SHOULD SPEAK DAILY WITH OUR DOLLAR$ —LETS DO BUSINESS WITH THOSE THAT RESPECT RULES OF FAIR PLAY! FROM THOSE WHOM WE SUPPORT. THEY SHOULD ALSO SUPPORT OUR READERS. WE WILL NO LONGER SUPPORT THOSE BUSINESSES THAT SECRETLY BUILD PRISONS – WE WILL NOT ACCEPT DISRESPECT IN THE MARKETPLACE – WE DEMAND RESPECT AS CONSUMERS, ALONG WITH OUR SPENDING POWER OF OVER $836 BILLION. WE URGE OUR CLERGY, POLITICAL LEADERS AND BUSINESSES TO JOIN TOGETHER

TO DELIVER THIS MESSAGE.

THIS UGL Y SITUA TION MUST END! UGLY SITUATION USE THE Westside Gazette ADVERTISING COLUMNS AS A GUIDE TO KNOW WHO WELCOMES AND APPRECIATES YOUR PATRONAGE SPEAK DAILY WITH YOUR DOLLAR$ TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Bobby R. Henry, Sr., Publisher

Enroll opportunities now available in Fort Lauderdale for K-8 students FORT LAUDERDALE, FL– Chantale Ferguson, CEO/ founder of Grace Leadership Preparatory Institute (GLPI) is pleased to announce the opening of this Accredited K-8 College Preparatory Christian School which will be located at

Mount Hermon African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Fort Lauderdale.

GLPI offers a personalized digital environment with oneon-one learning including iPads, hands-on robotics and coding, project-based techno-

Raven Symoné finally gets it right with ‘Blacks Lives Matter’

By Kacie Whaley Raven Symoné has said something news-worthy on The View again, but this time, it isn’t infuriating.

The actress and television host was talking with the panel about the recent publicized killings of Black men by police officers. When Symoné chimed in, she offered a possible solution to the injustice and a call to action that has been heavily discussed among the Black community lately.

“We have to find some way or somebody to help with the organization of this change – this revolution that needs to happen,” she said. “And I was talking to my mom yesterday, she said, ‘You know, let’s take for instance, the tragedy that happened in Miami and in North Carolina.’ What did people do?

They went for the pockets! They went for the wallet!”

Symoné, who in recent years has been criticized for denouncing herself as African-American and making racially insensitive remarks, acknowledged that her words tend to upset some people.

“And I’m not an organizer whatsoever – people get mad at me for the things I say, but if I was to make any kind of change … I would say, ‘You know what?

Put your money in other companies that support who you are as a person. That support what your color is,’” she continued. “I can’t believe I have to

FERGUSON

say that in 2016 – ‘That support your color.’ It’s said that by 2017, there is going to be $1.3 trillion buying power in the Black community alone. If you took that away from certain people, don’t you think they would make change?”

During the year that Symoné has been a host on The View, she’s made comments that has made many Black Americans feel that she was not a good representation of Black people. There was even a petition once calling for her removal from the show. But maybe she’s finally changing her tune.

logy settings, athletic programs and enrichment clubs/extracurricular activities, all implemented through leadership principles guided by discipline and character development.

GLPI is accepting applications for the 2016-17 school year which starts on Aug. 22, 2016.

Scholarships are available to those who qualify.

“We are thrilled to be connecting with Mount Hermon AME Church to offer digital learning to the Fort Lauderdale community,” states Ferguson.

“GLPI is known for its ability to empower and transform students’ lives from the inside out.

Through our genuine efforts to compassionately nurture every student, our team strives to eliminate the digital divide for challenged and disadvantaged students by redirecting their focus to a positive attitude about learning. We are dedicated to the spiritual, emotional and intellectual development of each student through academics, arts, technology and athletics in a structured learning environment.”

(Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)