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COMMENTARY: Wordz of Wilson — Black Heroes

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “I believe celebrating our heroes does as much for us as it does them. Most who put in work to improve our communities, using whatever resources they have, don’t do it for flowers, applause, or any other recognition. However, is it too much to ask of ourselves to let them know they are seen and valued?”

Published

5 years ago

April 13, 2019

Oakland Post

By Chelle Wilson, International Secretary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorotity, Inc., Texas Metro News

“The Need for Heroes” by Langston Hughes was featured in a 1941 issue of The Crisis. He was bothered by the overwhelmingly negative images of African Americans in the news, movies, and books, as well as the growing erasure of Black heroes from the iconic—like Denmark Vessey and Mary McLeod Bethune, to the not so well known like Sam Solomon, who in 1939 led the first African Americans to vote in Miami, and Roscoe Dunjee, who in 1915 started the Black Dispatch newspaper in Oklahoma City to challenge and expose racism and violent attacks on the community.

Hughes believed heroes like these would never make the news, writing “Why bother with the [news] at all? Look around you for the living heroes who are your neighbors—who may or may not always speak perfect English but who are courageous, straightforward, strong…and whose words and thoughts gather up what is in our own hearts and say it clearly and plainly sitting quietly in a chair in front of you.”

I remembered Hughes’ words as I began to read all the articles and tributes celebrating the life and legacy of Nipsey Hussle. I was saddened that I didn’t know more about Nipsey, his story, and all of his accomplishments before his passing.

From major national news outlets to local dailies, the “everyday hero” is featured all the time.

Recently, I’ve seen stories on a high school principal who installed washing machines, so his students wouldn’t miss school because of dirty clothes; a nurse that adopted a baby who had been in the hospital for over a year without any visitors; and a chef who left his Michelin Star-rated restaurant to try and add some flavor to school lunches in New York.

These are all heroic efforts, to be sure, but so are Nipsey’s.

That leaves me to wonder, why are so many just learning about his heroics? My mother used to always say, “Give me my flowers while I live.” I view her words a little differently now.

Nipsey Hussle’s transformative work in community development, entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and, efforts to end gang violence will be recorded in the Congressional Record, but all of this comes posthumously.

I believe celebrating our heroes does as much for us as it does them. Most who put in work to improve our communities, using whatever resources they have, don’t do it for flowers, applause, or any other recognition. However, is it too much to ask of ourselves to let them know they are seen and valued?

“We have a need for heroes,” writes Hughes, “[heroes] that will encourage and inspire our youth…to move and stir them to be forthright, strong, clear-thinking, and unafraid.” I believe we have just that kind of hero all around us. Nipsey Hussle may not have ever described himself as a hero, but his mission to transform the community that he both loved and lived in was heroic.

Let his sudden loss remind us to honor the Nipsey Hussle’s right here in our own neighborhoods, schools, churches, rec centers, community organizations, sororities, and fraternities. If we look, they are there. We will find them doing the important work Nipsey embodied in life and death, “more faith and less fear…talking about dreams. Better to do it and let it be seen, cause then it’s clear.”

Chelle Wilson is a speaker, journalist, and the International Secretary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.