10 Community Leaders To Watch In 2010
Posted on 30. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus
This year, we saw the difference figures on the national level could make, but what about local change agents? As we enter the new year, the Citizen found it fitting to start off 2010 highlighting community leaders, noting the accomplishments of some of the town’s up and coming heroes, both sung and unsung, who through their words and works, offer a message for hope, healing and prosperity. Some of them, you’ve heard of others are working behind the scenes but all of them are newswor thy. Shaking things up in their respective fields, from business, to law, to medicine, ar t, science and other fields, here’s who’s making news in your community. Pictured from left to right: Krystal McAllister, president and owner of Achilles Shield – The Heel Shield, Inc.; Mary K. Palmore MD, F.A.C.O.G, board cer tified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chairwomen of the OB/Gyne Depar tment at Advocate Trinity Hospital; Clifton Henri, freelance ar t director and photographer; LeRoy S. Weathersby, college student at the University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana; Carolyn Griffin-Palmer, administrator and board member for the QBG Scholarship Foundation; Presbyter William Hudson, III, M. Div, pastor and founder of Prayer & Faith Outreach Ministries Deliverance Center; Roman Morrow, community leader; Maurice Rochelle, Lt. Col., Battalion Commander, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Ar tillery and wife, Marie; Naomi Davis, founder and president of Blacks in Green (BIG) and Attorney Bonita Coleman-John, candidate for 1st Judicial Subcircuit, Cook County.
Krystal McAllister
Name: Krystal McAllister
Title: President
Age: 48
Category: Business
Current Occupation: Owner of Achilles Shield – The Heel Shield, Inc.
What Makes Her Stand Out: Krystal McAllister wanted to make a stellar impression on her way to a luncheon in Chicago, but a stain on her yellow Stuart Weitzman designer dress shoes ruined her first big impression. “I scoured the City of Chicago trying to find a pair of [the] yellow shoes in my size,” McAllister said.
“When I finally found a pair – I was so excited, I didn’t wear them right away. Noooo, I saved them for a special occasion.” When she stepped from her car, McAllister said she looked at the “black stuff ” on the back of her shoes.
“I was DEVASTATED,” she added! “This was my first experience with BLACK HEEL,” a condition she said occurs when you drive without protecting the back of your shoes. “…I planned for [that experience] to be my last,” she said. But necessity is the mother of invention and McAllister said from that experience, she was inspired to create “Heel Shields” a piece of molded plastic that slides on the back of dress and casual shoes. Designed to protect shoes against scuffing, look for this “neat” invention to gain popularity in 2010.
LeRoy S. Weathersby
Name: LeRoy S. Weathersby
Title: College Student – University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana
Age: 19
Category: Science & Technology
Current Occupation: Sophomore. College of Engineering – Computer & Electrical Engineering
What Makes Him Stand Out: He may be your next senior management leader for a major American defense contractor or industrial corporation. Weathersby is one of only seven college-bound students in Illinois to achieve a 36, the highest possible score on the ACT test. An accomplishment he achieved as a junior at Homewood- Flossmoor High School, Weathersby went on to graduate number 5 in his class out of 700 students and managed to transfer 13 AP classes from high school turning them into 60 hours of collegecredit! For college, he stayed close to home and chose the University of Illinois in Champaign where a natural progression for him was to study Engineering based on his high academic performance in both Math and Science. Right now, he remains on target maintaining an “A” average and even has time to participate as a student board member in the, “In Search of a Genius Foundation,” a not-for-profit organization that honors the life and legacy of unrecognized minority scientists, which serves as a perfect fit for Weatherby’s own interests.
Mary K. Palmore MD, F.A.C.O.G
Name: Mary K. Palmore MD, F.A.C.O.G
Title: Board certified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chairwomen of the OB/Gyne Department at Advocate Trinity Hospital
Age: 57
Category: Health
Current Occupation: Medical Doctor
What Makes Her Stand Out: Palmore has practiced in her field for the last 27 years and has been in private practice since 2001. She’s invited medical professionals of all specialties to spend a week with her in Lesotho, a landlocked country and enclave surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, where the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics reports the life expectancy for men and women at approximately 40 years of age due to HIV/AIDS. As the plan goes, Palmore and the others anticipate using the week to provide much needed medical care in Lesotho where recent estimates from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Fact Book report that HIV/AIDS is about 23.2 percent, the third-highest rate worldwide. In 2010,watch for her to collaborate with the 18th Episcopal District, A.M.E. Church in coordinating this mission.
Carolyn Griffin-Palmer
Name: Carolyn Griffin-Palmer
Title: Administrator, Board Member for the QBG Scholarship Foundation
Age: 60
Category: Philanthropy
Current Occupation: Principal, Illinois School, Matteson School District 162
What Makes Her Stand Out: As a longtime educator in the Chicago Public Schools System and Matteson School District, Griffin-Palmer has always had a passion for young people and education. She demonstrates this commitment through her work as a board member of the Quentis Bernard Garth Scholarship Foundation created in 1995 and named after the late Quentis Bernard Garth, son of foundation chairman/founder William Garth Sr., who is also CEO of the Citizen Newspaper Group Inc. Griffin-Palmer can be found working with more than 14 committed individuals who share the same vision of raising millions of scholarship dollars to help inner-city youth go off to college. At the foundation’s headquarters on 806 E. 78th St., she interviews prospective recipients for scholarships, helps students apply for scholarships and manages to keep in contact with them throughout their college and professional careers. With help from board members like Griffin-Palmer, watch for the QBG Foundation to continue to provide more scholarship opportunities for students in need in 2010, making the dream of a college degree a reality.
Clifton Henri
Name: Clifton Henri
Title: Photographer, Art Director
Age: 30
Category: Art
Current Occupation: Freelance art director and photographer
What Makes Him Stand Out: Inspired by history, collective and personal, Clifton Henri is a storyteller. This photographer and art director, born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, “tell[s] tales that not only entice the imagination, but that touch the heart and engage the mind.” His work, influenced by the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights Movement and by artists James VanDerZee, Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava, have helped him “discover and define [his] style.” His award-winning photographs “convey tales of personal growth, social concerns, and everyday moments which empower, inspire and humble the spirit.” Henri has exhibited in galleries and juried art shows across the nation. Look for him in 2010 as he participates in the Museum of Science and Industry’s upcoming exhibit, “Black Creativity 2010.”
Presbyter William Hudson, III, M. Div
Name: Presbyter William Hudson, III, M. Div
Title: P astor and Founder of Prayer & Faith Outreach Ministries Deliverance Center
Age: 35
Category: Religion
Current Occupation: Pastor and Founder of Prayer & Faith Outreach Ministries Deliverance Center
What Makes Him Stand Out: While he has gained recognition for his starring role as “Rev. Johnny” on the hit TV sitcom, “Amen,” Hudson decided his purpose was better served in the pulpit. As pastor of Prayer & Faith Outreach Ministries of Chicago for the past 20 years, he received the call of God when he was three and became an ordained minister of the Gospel at 12. When he was eight, Hudson gathered some of his friends together and began a church. As the crowd increased in size, members of the church moved into his parents’ garage and from there, into their basement. In December, 1990, he began his pastoral ministry at Prayer & Faith Outreach Ministries Deliverance Center on a full-time basis. Under his leadership as pastor, he has been instrumental in assisting families with food and helping former substance abusers get back on track. Now, at 35, he’s training and mentoring new pastors and church leaders. Selected by Archbishop Roy E. Brown, Chief Prelate of Pilgrim Assemblies International, watch for Hudson when he will be appointed to the office of Bishop in July, 2010.
Roman Morrow
Name: Roman Morrow
Title: Community Leader
Age: 32
Category: Activism
Current Occupation: Newsroom archivist at ABC7News.
What Makes Him Stand Out: In an area where the struggle continues to transform a blighted community into a thriving venue for economic development, Roman Morrow may be found pitching in to help clean up the neighborhood.
Whether it’s helping out seniors or hosting a wellness fair, he believes in “keeping the community first.” From securing converter boxes and smoke detectors for senior citizens, to organizing a team of volunteers to clean up the neighborhood, Morrow still finds time to promote local artists within the Chicago Public Schools system thereby raising the level of self-esteem for aspiring artists. A life-long resident of Austin, watch for him to continue to spearhead other community projects in 2010.
Maurice Rochelle, LTC
Name: Maurice Rochelle, LTC
Title: Lt. Col., Battalion Commander, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery
Age: 47
Current Occupation: Full-time Brigade Logistics Officer
Category: Military
What Makes Him Stand Out: About a month after Barack Obama was sworn in as the first Black President of the United States, Lt. Col Maurice Rochelle made history himself. As the first African-American Commander for the 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery, he describes his accomplishment as a “milestone” in long line of achievements where Blacks are being placed in key roles. Recently, Rochelle received the Lt. Col. James O’Rouke Sr. USO Service Salute Award for his community involvement and military achievements and like so many other soldiers, risks his life everyday to serve his country. This coming May, he’s scheduled for deployment to Egypt where the probability of serving is based on the need for troops to fulfill the mission.
Naomi Davis
Name: Naomi Davis
Title: Founder of BIG™ (Blacks in Green)
Age: 54
Current Occupation: Founder and President of Blacks in Green (BIG)
Category: Environment
What Makes Her Stand Out: An urban theorist, attorney, entrepreneur, and founder of BIG™ (Blacks in Green), Davis is the granddaughter of Mississippi sharecroppers. Her commitment to community activism and growth is a result of her heritage, a history of survival. “BIG™ was born to remind generations of our great cultural legacy – which is our stewardship of the land – and to reinvent that legacy in the age of climate change…Its platform is informed and inspired by America’s great Underground Railroad story – which teaches the need for selfhelp alongside the need for allies across the bounds of race and class. Its mission is to link, leverage, and lead through a new breed of environmentalists who will invent, invest, manufacture and merchandise their communities into ‘walkable,’ self-reliant, mixed-income villages,” she said.
Davis has received Lt. Governor Pat Quinn’s 2007 Environmental Hero Award, the 2008 Chicago Magazine Green Award, and the 2009 Jewel-Osco Environmental Stewardship Award for her continued work in green community economic development. Watch for BIG and the movement to go green, to grow bigger in 2010.
Bonita Coleman-John
Name: Bonita Coleman-John
Title: Attorney
Age: 44
Current Occupation: Candidate for 1st Judicial Subcircuit, Cook County
Category: Law
What Makes Her Stand Out: Chalking it up to lots of prayers, hard work and support from a group of great people who have helped her along the way, Bonita Coleman-John, a candidate for the 1st Judicial Subcircuit in Cook County, has been practicing law for more than 17 years. Over the course of her legal career, she has represented everyone from single mothers to neglected children to dads who want to be involved with their children to small businesses owners and churches. Dedicated to working for and helping the average person with legal challenges ordinary people face, persistence is paying off. Running for the position of judge the second time around, she’ the sole candidate in the race after successfully challenging one opponent’s signatures and after three other opponents dropped out. In February, 2010, watch for her to go unopposed in the Democratic Primary and also in the general election in November where there are no Republican primary candidates. Feeling “blessed” to be in this position Coleman-John says she’ll bring her “legal knowledge, skill[s] and compassion to the bench.”
Family of Nigerian Bomb Suspect Pens Open Letter Expressing Shock and Prayers
Posted on 30. Dec, 2009 by admin in Global News
Special to the NNPA from GIN
(GIN)-The family of a young Nigerian traveller who allegedly attempted to detonate a powerful explosive while travelling to Detroit from Amsterdam, has issued a statement that provides more details of the alleged conversion of their son to extremist beliefs.
The statement was prepared by the suspect’s father, Dr. Alhaji Umaru AbdulMutallab, a banker and a member of Nigeria’s powerful ruling elite. He had been identified early in the course of the neardisaster by a Nigerian website. According to the story as it first appeared on SaharaReporters.com, an anti-corruption website produced by Nigerians, Dr. AbdulMutallab said he had warned U.S. embassy officials of his son’s possible links to an al Qaeda organization that grew out of a visit to Yemen and his studies in London.
Although his son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was added to the terrorist watch list, he was not denied boarding privileges on the Amsterdam-Chicago Northwest Air flight. He reportedly paid cash for a one-way ticket and was allowed to board.
But shortly before arrival, Umar Farouk attempted to ignite a fire which would have set off explosives he was carrying in his underwear. It is believed these explosives were strong enough to blow a hole in the plane’s fuselage. At the sound and smoke from the fire being ignited, Umar Farouk was wrestled down by passengers and attendants who successfully doused the flame.
The first official response by the Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano, was that “the system worked really very, very smoothly over the course of the past few days,” but she retracted that assessment and now admits that there were failures with airline security.
As to the al-Qaeda connection, as late as last August, experts said they were unable to find evidence of Osama Bin Laden’s group in Nigeria, despite several arrests by the government and two warnings from the US about potential attacks on its interests in the country in as many years.
Analysts remain sceptical about any link between Nigerian radical Muslims and global jihadists.
Today Dr. AbdulMutallab released the following letter:
“Our family, like the rest of the world, were woken up in the early hours of Saturday, 26th December, 2009 to the news of an attempt to blow up a plane by a young Nigerian man, who was later identified as Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab. Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab is the son of Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru AbdulMutallab, the head of this Family.
“Prior to this incident, his father, having become concerned about his disappearance and stoppage of communication while schooling abroad, reported the matter to the Nigerian security agencies about two months ago, and to some foreign security agencies about a month and a half ago, then sought their assistance to find and return him home.
“We provided them with all the information required of us to enable them do this. We were hopeful that they would find and return him home. It was while we were waiting for the outcome of their investigation that we arose to the shocking news of that day.” The disappearance and cessation of communication which got his mother and father concerned to report to the security agencies are completely out of character and a very recent development, as before then, from very early childhood, Farouk, to the best of parental monitoring, had never shown any attitude, conduct or association that would give concern. As soon as concern arose, very recently, his parents, reported it and sought help.
“The family will continue to fully cooperate with local and international security agencies towards the investigation of this matter, while we await results of the full investigation.
We, along with the whole world, are thankful to Al-Mighty God that there were no lives lost in the incident. May God continue to protect us all, amen.”
Finally, as the matter is being investigated by the various agencies, and has already been mentioned in a US court, the family requests that the press should regard this as the only statement it will make for now.
CPS: Taking Race Out Of The Admissions Policy
Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by admin in Uncategorized
By Shanita Bigelow
“We want quality— and equal—educational opportunities for all Chicago Public School (CPS) students,” State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie (25th), State Representative William D. Burns (26th) and Sate Senator Kwame Raoul (13th) wrote, to begin their December 11 letter to CPS CEO Ron Huberman, addressing the new CPS admissions policy, effectively taking race out of the equation.
“The federal court has ended the consent decree under which CPS was required to guarantee specific racial and ethnic enrollment goals for magnet and selective enrollment schools. And a recent United States Supreme Court decision cast doubt on the ability of a school system to take race into account in individual cases. But we have grave concerns that your new admission policy will undercut minority enrollment in our high-performing magnet and selective enrollment schools,” they continued.
Their concerns have echoed around the city as other community members have also voiced their concerns. The new admissions policy will use socioeconomic status (SES) based on census data in place of the former race-based policy to promote diversity.
“We are committed to a fair process for all families who seek admission to our selective enrollment and magnet programs, and we believe that economic diversity in our schools will promote equitable educational outcomes for applicants in all communities of our city. To address a potential burden on families with more than one child in CPS, these proposed policies also ease access into these schools for the siblings of students who are already enrolled,” Huberman said in a Nov. 10 press release outlining the, then, proposed policy changes.
The fear for many concerned is that these schools will transform into neighborhood schools, as the initial policy changes included a 50 percent socio-economic and 50 percent proximity lottery, according to a December 16 CPS press release.
In an effort to address these concerns CPS held various community meetings and subsequently changed the 50% proximity policy to no more than 40%.
CPS will monitor the effects of this policy change over the course of the 2010-2011 school year, but that may not be enough to assuage fears.
Currie, Burns and Raoul cited examples of cities like San Francisco, CA and Charlotte, NC that have seen diversity “drop significantly” since their dependence solely on SES for admissions. They suggest that race continue to be a factor.
“Ours is a diverse city. To ensure our continued viability and vibrancy we must continue our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunity… Without using race as a factor, we fear that our magnet and selective enrollment schools will no longer reflect the diversity that makes our city great,” they wrote.
Report Shows Illinois Needs To Do More Work on H1N1 Preparedness
Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus
The report found that 20 states scored six or less out of 10 key indicators of public health emergency preparedness. Illinois was one of those states that ranked six out of 10. Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
by Lesley R. Chinn
After all the work that the Illinois Department of Public Health has done in its efforts to get people prepared for the H1N1 (swine flu) epidemic, a recent report showed that the state needs to do more.
A recent report by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that the H1N1 flu outbreak has exposed some gaps in the nation’s ability to respond to health emergencies and that the economic crisis is straining an already broken public health system.
The report found that 20 states scored six or less out of 10 key indicators of public health emergency preparedness. Illinois was one of those states that ranked six out of 10. While data from the TFAH and RWJF showed that Illinois has enough staff to work during emergency situations such as H1N1 and tracks diseases through an Internet system used by the Centers for Disease Control, the report found that the state does not have a public health lab with the capacity in place to assure timely pick-up and delivery of disease samples. The report also indicated a need for more licensed childcare facilities in Illinois to have a written emergency evacuation plan in place. “From year-to-year, we’re trying to raise the bar on preparedness. Illinois has certainly done well in a number of areas, but this year, the state has fallen below the curve and there are some areas that need improvement,” said Rich Hamburg, TFAH deputy director.
However, the Illinois Department of Public Health officials said they have made a continuous effort to prepare Illinois residents about the H1N1 (swine flu).
“We truly appreciate the work of the Trust for America’s (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in compiling this annual report focused on indicators of emergency preparedness. We take these issues very seriously and will work hard to comply with all of their indicators in the future. There are some areas of this year’s report that we feel misrepresented our true capabilities. For instance, as indicated in the report, we do not have a statewide courier system—however we do have communication and delivery systems in place for timely delivery and testing of all samples 24/7. With limited resources and stretched dollars, we continue to work hard to improve our preparedness efforts to protect the health and well-being of all Illinoisans,” said Kelly Jakubek, an IDPH spokesman.
Putting Kwanzaa Principles Into Practice
Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus, Global News
by Shanita Bigelow and Lesley R. Chinn
“Ever and ever, we survive and adopt, adopt and survive in a style that is uniquely Black…Yet, somehow within such survival, many Blacks continue to struggle for recognition, selfhood, and cultural meaning and continuation. This struggle, in all its complexity, may not be amply articulated by the Black elite, but it can be observed daily in the lives of Black people,” Haki R. Madhubuti wrote in Kwanzaa: A Progressive and Uplifting African American Holiday.
Kwanzaa, created in 1966, at a time of great struggles and great movements, by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Africana Studies at California State University Long Beach and internationally known activist and scholar, is celebrated from December 26 to January 1. These seven days, each day devoted to one of the seven principles, the roots of Kwanzaa, beginning with Umoja or unity, are a celebration of the moments, the reflection of the past year, of the personal and shared histories– in the Black community. It is a time for togetherness and communication, for thought and for action. With that in mind, the Citizen set out to find real examples, in action in the community, that exemplify Kwanzaa and the seven principles it represents.
Umoja (Unity)—-To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, race.
The Roseland Safety Networks Coalition
Uniting for peace…that’s one way to describe The Roseland Safety Networks Coalition, an organization comprised of six groups on a mission to build safer communities. Ensuring peace by uniting with other organizations, the group hosts forums to address gun violence, gangs, drugs and teen pregnancy. Through the coalition, youth have a safe haven and a venue where they can channel energy into something positive.
This is accomplished through activities like a weekend jam session that helps keep young people off of the streets.
Structured events serve as a platform for young people to take a pledge to stop the violence in their communities, says Rogers Jones, project coordinator of the Roseland Safety Networks Coalition.
“We know that crime happens, but the programs that we deal with are about intervention and prevention. We want to try to tackle the problem and we want to let people know that there is a better way to [solve problems],” he says.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves instead of being defined, named, created for and spoken for by others.
Self-Expression at Street-Level
Technology affords such a luxury of expression. It seems like anyone can post their thoughts, their feelings, themselves to a world they hope will listen. That luxury comes at a price for those without the proper equipment or access, for those often unable to represent themselves. But Street-Level Youth Media has provided a space for urban youth to explore new media as a route to self-expression for about 15 years. The opportunity affords urban youth a chance to define who they are.
After a fire destroyed their previous center, Neutral Ground, Street-Level continues to provide a space for Chicago’s youth as they await their new location, exemplifying their commitment, their ability to grow and to rebuild.
Recently, 15 high school students finished the Digital Fusion Workshop, where they collaborated to produce a CD, expressing themselves through graphic design, video production, music and production design. The students involved in the various programs and workshops Street-Level offers, mostly high school students, work in video production, audio/music production or in production design. It’s a chance to “build critical thinking skills…where [they] develop stories, ideas and images,” and where they can express themselves through their own perspective,” Manwah Lee, executive director of Street-Level stated. It also gives them a chance, to explore “the idea of success,” he said. Whether working independently or collaboratively, whether in school or at Street-Level, these kids are mastering their voices and visions while connecting with each other, with their communities and with their histories.
Ujima (Creative Work & Responsibility) – To build and maintainour community together and make our sisters‘ and brothers’ problems our problems and solve them together.
Youth Peace Center
While HIV and AIDS continue to plague the Black community, groups like the Youth Peace Center are tackling the issue and working on the grass root level often attracting young people by using music and entertainment to get their attention. Recently the center, along with a coalition of other organizations, hosted an HIV/AIDS awareness summit where more than 200 youth participated.
Teens were entertained by the sounds of The Holy Ghostz Boyz with special guest Kandi Burruss, an R&B singer from “The Real Housewives.” But during the event, teens were also tested for the deadly virus which disproportionately affects African-Americans at a higher rate than others. In the Black community, the rate of HIV/AIDS infection is five times higher than that for Caucasians, the Centers for Disease Control reports while African-American adolescents ages 13 to 19 accounted for 1,919 AIDS cases (55 percent females), and 3,517 HIV infections (62 percent females). Additionally, AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death among Blacks ages 25 to 44 years old—- a group likely to have contracted HIV as adolescents, according to the CDC.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) – To build and maintain our own stores and other businesses and to profit from them together.
The Chatham Business Association
The Chatham Business Association, an organization comprised of 235 businesses in Chicago serves businesses on 71st to 95th Streets (on its north and south boundaries) and on the east and west, from State to Stony Island Avenue. The association exemplifies the meaning of cooperative economics and works every day to achieve it.
Under Melinda Kelly, the CBA’s Executive Director, the CBA’s mission is to provide effective social, political, and economic growth opportunities for small businesses. Further, it seeks to create opportunities, inroads and programs that benefit Chatham and surrounding communities. Acting as a small business resource center, the CBA offers an array of customized services and programs for small business owners. Through economic development, strategic planning, technical training, business trend workshops, access to capital assistance, effective collaborative marketing programs and government certification, the CBA helps entrepreneurs maintain their stores and businesses. Additionally, the organization works collectively with businesses to increase profitability and plans to host its first ever street fair in 2010. According to Kelly, the CBA is working on an economic development plan that will among other goals, attract businesses to the community in the hopes of creating and retaining more jobs, a goal of which when accomplished, helps the entire community.
Nia (Purpose)—-To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
The Quentis Bernard Garth Foundation
The Quentis Bernard Garth Foundation is a non-profit scholarship foundation whose purpose is to assist inner-city youth with an opportunity to attend college. The program was created in 1995 in memory of the late Quentis Bernard Garth, son of QBG Chairman and Founder William Garth. Garth is also CEO of the Citizen Newspaper Group Inc. To date, the foundation has provided numerous scholarship opportunities to youth seeking a degree in higher learning. QBG’s philanthropic efforts are also routinely felt in the community when it teams up with local businesses and other groups with a special purpose to promote charitable giving. Recently, it embarked on its annual coat drive where individuals, families and veterans from Featherfist received 200 coats distributed at Chatham Food Markets for homeless individuals, families and veterans. Recognizing that many families are facing tough times, Janice Garth, QBG board member and project coordinator, spoke of lending a helping hand to the needy. “Charitable giving is part of an important purpose in the community.
Whether it’s giving back through scholarships or through a food or coat drive, giving back helps build stronger and more viable communitie\s,” she said.
Kuumba (Creativity)
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
The Black Ensemble Theater: Vital and Growing
This year, 2009, marks the Black Ensemble Theater’s (BET) 33rd anniversary. With thirty-three years under its belt, the goal is “to eradicate racism and its damaging effects upon our society through the utilization of theater arts.” It’s a mission that will outlast generations, says Jackie Taylor, the Black Ensemble Theater’s founder and executive director, who through creativity and the arts, is definitely helping to make the community more beautiful than when it was inherited. Taylor believes we are all artists. “Everyone is an artist,” she says, “everyone is creative. That part of you which ignites the imagination, which dares to dream, which gets excited and expresses that excitement – that is the creative artist within you…art is present in our everyday lives,” she says.
Through inspirational productions and community programs, the Black Ensemble Theater is working toward and pursuing its mission and making gains “across cultural barriers; across color [barriers]; across cities and states,” Taylor says.
Whether engaging children, encouraging parents, or assisting teachers, the Black Ensemble Theater aims to enrich all members and aspects of the community. Art is necessary and fruitful. “The arts are vital because they are the foundation for learning and for character development.
The arts serve to motivate, inspire, as well as reflect the history and cultural activities of our society. Unfortunately, many of us do not recognize the arts or creativity into our everyday lives.
That is why there is so much violence amongst young folks today – they have taken the arts out of the schools and the violence is a direct reflection of what happens when… art and creativity are ignored or devalued,” she maintains.
Imani (Faith)
To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Faith, like hope, like courage, propels us daily: faith in ourselves and others, in our present path and future trajectories, faith in the possibility of our progress, in the creation of greater good. Kwanzaa was created with this faith.
“Kwanzaa marks a profound reorientation put forth in the 60’s in terms of the way we understand and assert ourselves as an African people in the world. It marks both a cultural and political struggle to return to our own history and culture, to reaffirm our identity and dignity as African people and to reaffirm our social justice tradition in and thru transformative struggle for serious social change,” Dr. Maulana Karenga wrote in his 2008 Annual Founder’s Message, “Kwanzaa and the Seven Principles: Repairing and Renewing the World.”
Looking back on a year filled with so many challenges, much economic uncertainty, high unemployment rates, ongoing wars, failing schools, etc., it is easy to overlook the successes and ones faith may be challenged. The seven days of Kwanzaa, the Nguzo Saba, are an opportunity to reflect and to recommit.
“Imani (Faith) teaches us to believe in the good, hope for the best and work and struggle relentlessly to make both a reality,” Karenga wrote.
Events that may inspire a sense of faith, hope and community that the celebration of Kwanzaa brings include:
Malcolm X College: “Kwanzaa 2009: Honoring our Elders for Preserving our Cultural Heritage”
Malcolm X College will host its 15th Annual Kwanzaa Observance Program from December 26 to January 1. There will be a series of events each day. For more information, visit malcolmx.ccc.edu.
DuSable Museum of African American History
Children’s Penny Cinema: “Kwanzaa”: Bring the family to view this informative introduction to the significance and celebration of Kwanzaa. Wednesday, December 30 at 10:30am.
“Raven Black: A Kwanzaa Tale”:
Come enjoy the sounds of the African Diaspora in this story of the Great Migration. Saturday, December 26 at 2:00pm and Sunday, December 27 at 4:00pm.
Glenwood Village Board Denies Special Use Permit for Day Care Center
Posted on 09. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus
by Lesley R. Chinn
An ordinance to grant a special use permit to operate a child day care center located in a strip mall on the 18400 block of S. Halsted in Glenwood repealed.
The Village of Glenwood unanimously approved an ordinance to repeal the measure during a meeting held this past Tuesday to deny a special use permit to allow the Alphabet Campus II to operate.
Village administrator Eric Wiederhold explained that the Alphabet Campus II Day Care Center located at 18425 S. Halsted had previously been abandoned and the Village has an ordinance that does not allow day care centers to operate in strip malls.
The Citizen later called officials from the Alphabet Campus II for their reactions to the Village’s decision. Melodie Peters, the Alphabet Campus’s owner, said the property is currently sitting abandoned because her lease expired in July.
However, Peters sold the business earlier this year for $50,000 to her business partner, who applied for the special use permit. Peters said her business partner had $35,000 up front and was hoping to collect the rest of her money once the day care center opened.
Peters said the Village denied the permit application because of a village ordinance does not allow day care centers to operate in strip malls. Right now, Peters said that she can’t collect the rest of her money as a result of the Village denying her business partner a permit. So right now, Peters said she is short $15,000.
However, Peters said she is currently operating a day care center in Homewood, where she’s been since 2000. Meanwhile, Wiederhold said interested individuals have inquired about the former day care center property in Glenwood.
CBA Applauds Mayor Daley’s Efforts to Sustain Small Businesses
Posted on 09. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus
During a small business press conference held on Tuesday at a Northside deli shop, Melinda Kelly (left), executive director of the Chatham Business Association, stressed the need for small businesses to have access to capital to sustain themselves in the community. Kelly was joined by Mayor Richard M. Daley and City Treasurer Stephanie Neely. Daley announced several new initiatives to help create and sustain the city's small businesses.
by Lesley R. Chinn
As part of its mission to help small businesses on the South side sustain themselves, the Chatham Business Association (CBA) climbed onboard when Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a series of steps to help jumpstart Chicago’s economy and get people back to work despite tough economic times.
At a local North side coffee shop, Mayor Daley announced several initiatives on Tuesday aimed at helping small businesses. Some of the small business initiatives included revising the licensing process to allow business owners to choose between a twoyear or four-year license term. The licensing process will allow businessmen whose license fees exceed $1,000 to pay in installments instead in a lump sum and allow business owners to correct a code violation before having to pay a penalty. Another initiative involves reducing the number of city offices that a business owner must visit to obtain a business license and public way use permit.
“Small businesses make up 90 percent of all the businesses in Chicago. We have made a commitment to grow small businesses in every neighborhood, especially underserved neighborhoods where services and jobs are still needed,” Daley stated. “The small business sector is the backbone of our city’s economy, so it’s in the best interest of all the residents of Chicago when government encourages and assists small businesses.”
The city will also expand the amount of capital in the marketplace available to make it easier for qualified small businesses to get loans. Daley announced that the city has allocated $3.2 million in Skyway lease proceeds for a small business development fund to be administered by the City Treasurer ’s Office. Loans in the amount of $10,000 to $150,000 will be made available through community lenders. Some of the changes will require City Council approval.
Melinda Kelly, CBA executive director, applauded the Mayor’s plan to help small businesses obtain access to capital. “Banks are [either] not lending or the access is not easy. Even though we were in the process of getting contract opportunities, sometimes $5,000 was needed for mobilization money. And the other alternative to the bank or a credit union is going to a pay day loan store where they have a high ridiculous rate. So if we can’t get to the banks, then what are the other alternatives?”
Daley said these steps build upon the efforts already taken in recent months to support small businesses. Earlier this year, the City launched the “Small Business Solution Station” in City Hall where business professionals provide free legal advice and business and financial counseling from Tuesdays through Thursdays. The Mayor also vowed that the city would help small businesses increase access to technology through its second annual TechExpo in 2010.
Unemployment, In The Red: “We Are In This Together,” Obama Says
Posted on 09. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus, Global News
by Shanita Bigelow
The national unemployment rate is 10.2%. In Illinois it is 11%, with some counties suffering from rates near 16% and others significantly lower. America is searching for solutions, ones that would provide both immediate recovery and long-term stability.
The millions of unemployed Americans “…haven’t just lost the paycheck they need to live,” said President Obama in his opening statement at the White House Job Summit, held December 3. “[T]hey’re losing the sense of dignity and identity that comes from having a job.”
The sense of dignity and identity 15.4 million Americans have lost or are losing right now is the sense many minorities have continuously fought to maintain. Before the financial crash and housing market meltdown, minority communities, particularly African American communities, have suffered from rising poverty and unemployment rates. As all of America now contends with the struggling economy, measures, public and private, must be taken to restore economic stability and encourage economic growth.
“Even when the national unemployment picture is good, the black unemployment rate is more than twice that of the white unemployment rate. This means that in what looks like good economic times nationally, most of black America is still experiencing a recession. When white America is in recession, black America is in an economic depression,” according to the 2008 report, “What a recession means for black America,” by Algernon Austin of the Economic in what looks like good economic times nationally, most of black America is still experiencing a recession. When white America is in recession, black America is in an economic depression,” according to the 2008 report, “What a recession means for black America,” by Algernon Austin of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The Forum for Jobs and Economic Growth brought members of the business community (labor leaders, small business owners, prominent CEOs, etc.) together to brainstorm, to share ideas and to discuss successes and failures.
“[T]he most important message…,” Obama said at the close of the forum, “is that if we combine traditional American optimism with an acknowledgment that we can‘t go back to business as usual and that we have to rediscover a sense of seriousness of purpose when it comes to educating our kids or when it comes to government managing money properly or it comes to CEOs feeling some obligations to their workers and their communities — if we can recapture that sense that we’re in this thing together… America is not great because it’s owed to us, but we’ve been great because previous generations have put in the hard work to get us there…” The forum was an invitation to the nation to come together, think creatively and as one forum participant, CEO of Ethan Allen, Farooq Kathwari, said, create opportunity from crisis. This moment provides an opportunity to root out the systemic problems, an opportunity to address the needs of individuals as well as institutions.
Prominent black leaders aren’t asking for a favor or a handout, but the recognition of issues often not directly addressed in broader national initiatives.
PUSH Honors Rush for 40 Years of Public Service
Posted on 02. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus
While accepting an honor from PUSH for his 40 years of public service, Congressman Bobby Rush recalls the assassination of his former Black Panther Party colleagues Fred Hampton and Mark Clark when they were killed in a police raid in 1969.
by Lesley R. Chinn
About four decades ago, Bobby L. Rush stood before a packed audience at PUSH where he turned himself into Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in an effort to coordinate his compliance to police questioning after officers acted on a questionable arrest warrant against Rush shortly after assassination of his Black Panther colleagues Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.
This past Saturday, Congressman Rush stood on the same stage where PUSH recognized him for his 40 years of public service just days after he celebrated his 63rd birthday. Rush was showered with numerous honors from Jackson along with Congressman Danny K. Davis who presented his colleague with a plaque on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus.
As a Black Panther member, Rush helped establish a children’s free breakfast program and developed the nation’s first mass sickle cell anemia testing program. In addition, the young activist also worked to register voters, advocate against poor housing conditions and police misconduct.
Since his former days as a Black Panther, Rush has never stopped fighting for Black people even as a 2nd Ward Alderman and Congressman of the 1st Congressional District where he has become a strong advocate against gun control while fighting for issues concerning social justice and small businesses.
While recalling the moment when Hampton and Clark were killed, the aftermath and controversy surrounding the tragedies, Rush thanked Jackson for the honor while calling PUSH one of the nation’s most respectable social justice organizations. Besides Rush’s family, staff from Chicago and Washington, D.C., Aldermen Freddrenna Lyle (6) and Pat Dowell (3); Bishop Henry L. Williamson Sr., presiding prelate of the Ninth Episcopal District; Rev. Stephen Thurston Sr., president of the National Baptist Convention of America; and State Rep. Connie Howard, a Democratic State Central Committeewoman for the 1st Congressional District of Illinois, also joined him onstage during his honor.
Commissioners Vote To Override Veto
Posted on 02. Dec, 2009 by admin in Community Focus
by Shanita Bigelow and Lesley R. Chinn
Starting next year, Cook County’s sales tax will be reduced by a half-penny.
On Tuesday, 12 Commissioners voted to override Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s veto to rollback the county’s portion of the sales tax from 1.75 to 1.25 or a half penny on the dollar, despite a public outcry from unions and a coalition of ministers who rallied behind Stroger to sustain the sales tax. The Commissioners ignored Stroger’s warnings that their actions would result in a reported $200 million hit that would impact health care services. Stroger reportedly said their decision was an attempt to vilify him and previously, the President tried to get Commissioners earlean Collins (1st) Robert Steele (2nd) and edwin Reyes (8th) to vote along with him in order to sustain his veto because they have minority constituents who greatly depend on these services.
Instead, Collins, Steele and Reyes voted with the other 12 commissioners to override Stroger’s veto while Steele called Stroger’s warnings a “fallacy,” stating the county’s healthcare system is “solid” and that his constituents need tax relief. While Collins, called Stroger’s warning “bull” arguing that the sales tax is not needed, Sean Howard, spokesman for Stroger’s office said constituents of the 1st, 2nd and 8th districts, primarily “people of color, will be most impacted,” by potential service cuts. Reyes chimed in with Steele and Collins, stating his constituents want, “tax relief sooner rather than later.”
also voting to override Stroger’s veto were: Commissioners Forrest Claypool; John Daley; Bridget gainer; Liz gorman; gregg goslin; Tony Peraica, Timothy Schneider, Peter Silvestri; and Larry Suffredin. Commissioners William Beavers, Jerry Butler, Deborah Sims, Joseph Mario Moreno, and Joan Murphy, voted to sustain Stroger’s veto.
This past Friday, members of the Concerned Clergy for a Better Chicagoland (CCBC) met with Cook County Hospital and Health Care administration CeO William Foley to discuss the sales tax rollback and connected health care service cuts. Foley indicated then that Provident and Oak Forest Hospitals wouldn’t make it if the rollback stuck and Provident’s emergency room would close soon. also last week, Stroger who was accompanied by concerned health care workers, vetoed the half-cent rollback at John Stroger Hospital as he urged the citizens of Cook County to contact their commissioners in hopes of withstanding a vote to override the veto.
Under a new law, the commissioners only need 11 votes to override the veto as opposed needing 14 votes previously. The new legislation was signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn at the beginning of November.
