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COMMENTARY: My Fair Lady

TEXAS METRO NEWS — Before becoming a Broadway box office musical, My Fair Lady was a 1913 play and a 1938 film, Pygmalion, produced by George Bernard Shaw. “Eliza Doolittle” was the lead character. Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews were the most famous actresses cast in the several iterations of My Fair Lady. But for today’s purposes, neither Shaw, Andrews, or Hepburn ever knew a more fair or genteel lady than my Birtie Preston.
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By Vincent L. Hall | Texas Metro News

“The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves but how she is treated.”

– Eliza Doolittle, My Fair Lady.

Just as I was gazing at the beautiful sights across the harbor from my hotel in Long Beach, California, last week, I received a call from my sister. She told me that the most beautiful woman I had ever known was now gazing into the eyes of our Lord. Birtie Christine Beard Preston had transitioned, and a voice said to me with clarity and conviction, My Fair Lady. I can’t tell you whether it was Casper the Friendly Ghost or Christ the Holy Ghost, but that was my first impression.

CUT! Explain My Fair Lady.

Before becoming a Broadway box office musical, My Fair Lady was a 1913 play and a 1938 film, Pygmalion, produced by George Bernard Shaw. “Eliza Doolittle” was the lead character. Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews were the most famous actresses cast in the several iterations of My Fair Lady. But for today’s purposes, neither Shaw, Andrews, or Hepburn ever knew a more fair or genteel lady than my Birtie Preston.

She was the model and mold of aesthetic and spiritual beauty. She was, in all things, a purist! Paul Beard and his wife, the former Marie Clark, witnessed the birth of their daughter, Birtie Christine Beard, on October 20, 1937. She was born near their home in Arkadelphia, Arkansas (Clark County). Birtie Christine was perfectly beautiful inside and out. After graduating from Peake High School, Birtie met the love of her life, Mr. Vernon L. Preston.

Vernon often noted that Birtie was “the prettiest girl in Arkadelphia.” They married on August 26, 1956, and remained inseparable until Vernon’s passing in December 2021. After moving to Dallas, the young couple, joined the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas’s historic “Bottom District.” She served as a faithful leader of the church usher board and as a deaconess.

Birtie and Vernon deeply invested their time, talent, and treasure in the church. Two children were born to their union, Regenia Dena and Reginald Dewayne. The doting parents poured all of their material, spiritual, and emotional estate into their lives and the subsequent generations.

CUT! Get to the point quickly, this column is 700 words or less.

Birtie Preston became my mother-in-law, and no man deceased, living or yet to be born, could have been more fortunate than me. Birdie loved lavishly and cared deeply about family. No one other than my birth mother could have loved me so much. However, nothing illustrated Birtie’s love better than being in her presence on Christmas morning. The ritual, and I do mean ritual, began in late September. We knew the season was near when she started stashing shopping bags.

Once Thanksgiving was spent, the whole of her house would be transformed. If red and green are the colors of any sorority, she was undoubtedly the president.

Back in the day, when our children were a priority, Birtie encouraged Vernon to join his neighbors in creating a festival of lights. Penguin Street was one of the best in Oak Cliff. The endless offerings of ornaments featured sleighs, Black Santas, talking mechanical minstrels, and other relics of a traditional Winter Wonderland. Drivers sat in long lines during nightly processionals and waited their turn. Bertie enjoyed watching parents and children of all ages leap from the passenger side to take precious snapshots.

These days preceded cell phone photos, which were indeed “Kodak/Polaroid” moments.

CUT! Birtie is displaying her Love Language.

Christmas Morning. We knew the drill. Vernon, their children, grandchildren, and I would sit in our appointed seats. Mrs. Preston would hand you your gift, one by one. The joy of her life was watching with pride as you opened that beautifully wrapped package. Over time she handed me my first London Fog, Bass Weejuns, and monogrammed sweater. You couldn’t fake it either. She could read your expression, and if you weren’t sufficiently “wowed,” she would say, “I have the receipt baby!” But we knew better. She poured love and pride into every choice. All Mr. Preston could do was calculate how much overtime he would need. A Birtie Preston gift was the best, most thoughtful, and most expensive. Birtie Preston respected others and demanded respect. She was no Flower Girl; she was My Fair Lady and a gift in her own right!

CUT!

Vincent L. Hall is an author, activist, and an award-winning columnist.

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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.

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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 …
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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.

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