Education

Scoliosis Survivor Martina Lawson Promotes Education on TV Show

Published

10 years ago

May 12, 2014

Education has always been a priority for Martina Lawson, motivational speaker and TV host, who was diagnosed with scoliosis at 12 years old.

A condition in which a person’s spine curves from side to side, scoliosis put Lawson in a back brace and, later, in spinal fusion surgery but did not damper her spirit.

I had to find a way to find beauty even in the fact that I had these huge scars on my back,” said Lawson, who says the choice between getting the surgery, or living in pain was obvious.

Now years later after a successful surgery, Lawson continues to live her life with purpose, promoting education and empowering young people on her TV show, “The Martina Show.”

“Embrace who you are, love yourself,” she tells young girls.

“I can recall my Mom telling me you’re still beautiful, you can still go after your dreams, and don’t stop believing in yourself. She encouraged me to keep my education in front of me,” she said of mom Martha, who is executive marketing director of the show that airs Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. on Comcast 28.

Lawson empowers young people to “go after their dreams, stay in school and understand that your education is what can get you where you want to go.”

Now a senior at Cal State East Bay, Lawson put that message into action when she started “The Martina Show” in 2008 after taking classes in Mass Communication. Having dreams of becoming an actress and moving to Hollywood, she coupled her love for acting with the camera on her show highlighting local businesses, promoting healthy lifestyles, and interviewing celebrities such as Kel Mitchell, Lenny Williams, and Brandy.

“I had a fervor to see my dreams become my reality,” said Lawson, also executive producer of the show. “I’m just trying to keep moving and not think about so much where I’ve come from [with my scoliosis] as opposed to where God has me going next.”

“I want to encourage people through not only my words, but through my actions as well,” Lawson said

For more information, visit www.themartinatalkshow.vpweb.com.

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Bay Area

Faces Around the Bay: Sidney Carey

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland. Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

Published

6 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Sidney Lane.

By Barbara Fluhrer

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland.

Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

He graduated from McClymonds High with a scholarship in cosmetology and was the first African American to complete a nine-month course at the first Black Beauty School in Oakland: Charm Beauty College.

He earned his License, and then attended U.C., earning a secondary teaching credential. With his Instructors License, he went on to teach at Laney College, San Mateo College, Skyline and Universal Beauty College in Pinole, among others.

Carey was the first African American hair stylist at Joseph and I. Magnin department store in Oakland and in San Francisco, where he managed the hair stylist department, Shear Heaven.

In 2009, he quit teaching and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. He was 60 and “too old for a heart transplant”. His doctors at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) went to court and fought successfully for his right to receive a transplant. One day, he received a call from CPMC, “Be here in one hour.” He underwent a transplant with a heart from a 25-year- old man in Vienna, Austria

Two years later, Carey resumed teaching at Laney College, finally retiring in 2012.

Now, he’s slowed down and comfortable in a Senior Residence in Berkeley, but still manages to fit his 6/4” frame in his 2002 Toyota and drive to family gatherings in Oakland and San Leandro and an occasional Four Seasons Arts concert.

He does his own shopping and cooking and uses Para Transit to keep constant doctor appointments while keeping up with anti-rejection meds. He often travels with doctors as a model of a successful heart-transplant plant recipient: 14 years.

Carey says, “I’m blessed” and, to the youth, “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

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Bay Area

Emiliano Zapata Street Academy Celebrates 40 Years Serving Oakland Families

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Published

17 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Live music was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, on April 27, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue and 29th Street. Photo by Ken Epstein.

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50^th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Attending the Saturday, April 27 celebration were current and past students, families, faculty, and supporters of the school. The school is located at 417 29^th St., and the celebration was held nearby at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

For more information, go to www.streetacademy.online or call 510) 874-3630 or (510) 879-2313.

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California Black Media

State Ed Chief Tony Thurmond Pushes Bill to Train Educators

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Tony Thurmond is advocating for comprehensive training for teachers in reading and math, emphasizing the urgent need to improve student academic outcomes across California. On April 24, during testimony in the Senate Education Committee, Thurmond backed Senate Bill (SB)1115, which aims to provide evidence-backed educator training. The committee passed the bill with a 7-0 vote.

Published

19 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

By California Black Media

On April 24, during testimony in the Senate Education Committee, Thurmond backed Senate Bill (SB)1115, which aims to provide evidence-backed educator training. The committee passed the bill with a 7-0 vote.

Thurmond pointed out to the committee that existing funding for educator training in literacy and math only covers about one-third of California’s educator workforce. SB 1115, Thurmond said, would fund the remaining two-thirds.

“This is an issue of moral clarity,” according to Thurmond. “In the fifth-largest economy in the world, and in an age when we have access to substantial brain science about how students learn, it should be unacceptable to train only some educators in the best strategies to teach essential skills.”

SB 1115 incorporates multiple research-backed methods, including phonics, and it aligns with the California ELA/ELD Framework, which encourages biliteracy and multilingualism.

Thurmond emphasized the moral imperative behind the push for enhanced training by noting that 70% of incarcerated adults struggle with reading or are illiterate.

“Every child should feel supported as they learn to read and every teacher should feel confident in their ability to support students’ foundational literacy,” Thurmond said. “SB 1115 is about ensuring that all children have the opportunity to read by third grade, and that all children have a shot at the life-changing outcomes that come from early literacy.”

The next step for SB 1115 is a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 6.