mcj september 2, 2015 edition

JJOUROURNALNALW I S C O N S I N ’ S L A R G E S T A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N N E W S P A P E R

CCThe Milwaukee

OMMUNITYOMMUNITYVOL.XL Number 5 September 2, 2015 www.communityjournal.net 25 Cents BULK RATE

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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSINPERMIT NO. 4668

MARCHELLEODOM: “We atNorth go to suchlengths to welcomeback our students sothey understand theyare important to ourcommunity and to usas educators. This process builds self-esteemand community between students, parents,staff and other community members. Wefeel empowered by their presence and wewant them to feel empowered by ours.”SHAWN GRAHAM(Business Ed.teacher): “We go tosuch lengths (of wel-coming back students)because it’s importantto begin the process ofbuilding relationshipsright away. We want to show our NDHS stu-dents that we are excited to see them andwant them to know we are looking forward tocontributing to their educational process.”

WILLIAMYATES(Alumnus): “ I think it is im-portant that this fu-ture generation ofyoung leadersknow that we (the elders) supportthem in their education.”

SALEEM EL-AMIN(Alumnus):“The life of the stu-dent is spirit keep-ing the Blue Devilspirit alive. Wecan’t stop now!”

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:We asked some North Division alumni

and staff: “Why do you go to such lengthsto welcome back North students of today

BACK TO SCHOOL?”

Milwaukee Community Journal PublisherPatricia O’Flynn Pattillo will be one of eightoutstanding journalists and media profession-als who will be inducted into the The Mil-waukee Press Club’s Milwaukee Media Hallof Fame on Friday, October 23, 2015.Aside from being the founder of the Com-

munity Journal, the largest circulated publi-cation in Wisconsin, Pattillo is also the firstfemale president of the NNPA-Black Press ofAmerica.

“This year’s inductees are a very impres-sive group of journalists,” said press clubpresident Mark Kass. “I have followed themfor many years and always respected thework they did to inform our community. “We look forward to this important Mil-

waukee Press Club event and the opportunityto be inspired again by these distinguishedprofessionals as they highlight their memo-rable experiences." The other 2015 inducteesto the Wisconsin Media Hall of Fame are:

Mary Fran Cahill, long-time editor, de-signer and writer for The Milwaukee Journal

Martin Kaiser, editor emeritus of TheMilwaukee Journal and Milwaukee JournalSentinel; during his 18 years as editor, thenewspaper won three Pulitzer Prizes and wasa finalist six additional times

Gerald Kloss, memorable, long-timecolumnist, satirist, critic and reviewer for TheMilwaukee Journal who was known for his“Slightly Koss-eyed” column

Mark Zoromski, news producer and di-rector of news planning for WITI-TV andUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee journal-ism producer, where he started the nationalaward-winning UWM PantherVisionJim Cullen, (deceased), managing editor

at WTMJ-TVScott Feldmeyer, (deceased), long time

print and broadcast journalist known for hisinvestigative work

An Armenian acquaintance recently revealed howhe offered water to Black marchers during the 1967-68 open housing campaign and chased away a smallband of racist thugs who were intent on assaulting ahandicapped Black youth.The Armenian risked his own well being, he said, because he lived the

words of Jesus the Christ and thus supported our quest for integration.As a dark skinned Armenian, the WWII veteran said he knew discrimina-

tion first hand and cited several examples, including how he watched in con-fusion as he and relatives had to wait hours for treatment at a local clinicwhile White patients were given priority.The Armenian’s act of heroism took place 48 years ago this week during

the early stages of the 200-day marches from the North to the Southside toprotest Milwaukee’s legal system of housing segregation. The Open HousingMarches were a page in local history that cast Milwaukee in the forefront ofcivil rights campaigns that challenged this country’s system of racistapartheid.My history lessons, including that chapter, to young African Americans of

Services held forformer HarambeeExec. Director Sherman HillFuneral services were heldTuesday, Sept. 1, in Evans-ville, Ind. for Sherman Hill,the former executive directorof the Harambee Ombuds-man Project, Inc., and the co-founder of Father’s Inc. Hillpassed away Aug. 24. Hewas 71.

Community Journal Publisher Patricia Pattilloamong Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame inductees

(continued on page 6)MCJ Publisher Patricia Pattillo

SIGNIFYIN’SIGNIFYIN’By Mikel Kweku Osei Holt

WELCOME BACK STUDENTS!WELCOME BACK STUDENTS!Once again, the alumni andstaff of North DivisionHigh School welcomedback its students for an-other school year of aca-demic endeavors. Northwas one of severalschools in the MilwaukeePublic School District to“roll out the red carpet(at north, the carpet wasblue”) for its students asthey begin the 2015-2016school year. MPS Sup., Dr.Darienne Driver, StateSup. of Public InstructionTony Evers, and MayorTom Barrett helped mark“Day One” of the schoolyear for tens of thou-sands of MPS students at-tending traditionalcalendar schools.

PULSE OF THE COMMUNITY

Photos and question by Yvonne Kemp

(continued on page 3)

Crossing the “Mason-Dixon Line”Remembering the Opening Housing

Marches to the city’s Southside

Fair housing march, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 1966 (James Groppi,center). Wisconsin Historical Society. (Photo courtesy of recol-lectionwisconsin.org)

Sherman Hill

The Milwaukee Community Journal September 2, 2015

THETHE PULSEPULSEThe WHO•WHAT•WHERE• WHEN of YOUR Community!

F o r m e r l y t h e 4 W C o m m u n i t y H a p p e n i n g s

Comunity organization togive out hygienekits and offer free haircuts“A Cry for Help Foundation

LLC mission is to cultivate theless fortunate along with vibrantcommunities by connecting cred-itable organization and likemindedpeople with the skills, informa-tion, and services they need tomake a living."Our goal as A Cry For Help

Foundation on September 12th2015, is to feed 500 less fortunatepeople, give them hygiene kits,which will include; toothbrush,toothpaste, 1 towel a bar of soap,lotion, powder, deodorant andmouthwash. Also on this day we will be

have barbers that will be donatingfree haircuts for those that are thehomeless. Day one events will be held at

The Big Easy 2053 N DoctorM.L.K. Dr, Milwaukee, WI53212. On day two September15th 2015, so far we have two dif-ferent barbershops that have do-nated one hr. of time to haircutting for those that are home-less. We will be at Masters Hands

Beauty Salon and Barbershop at4510 W. Burleigh Street from 9amto 10am and at Marv’s Barbershopat 6157 W Appleton Avenue from11am to 12 noon. The Ultimate goal is to eradi-

cate this way of living throughcontinuously talking about theissue, actively aiding homeless in-dividuals and working togetherwith others to feed and give aid tothe homeless. Donations for this event can be

dropped off at Bee Bee’s gift 4512W. Burleigh Street or go to ourgofundme link at http://www.go-fundme.com/562canzs.

When Rick Huerta, Personal Trainer andGroup Exercise Instructor with the Wis-consin Athletic Club needed a high energygroup to motivate the Mexican Fiesta Walkand Run participants, he choose noneother than the Riverside University HighSchool Mighty Tigers Cheerleading Squad(shown above and at right).

The Fiesta Walk/Run was sponsored byMexican Fiesta Scholarship Foundation inconjunction with many local health organi-zations to bring awareness of Obesity andDiabetes.

Fiesta's Walk/Run and warm up was heldat the Summerfest Grounds in MilwaukeeSunday, August 23. (Photos by Cy White)


PERSPECTIVESPERSPECTIVES QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Cool Papa Bell was so fast, that one time he hit a linedrive up the middle that hit himself slidin‘ into secondbase…” Lou Myers, “Cobb” (1994)

When the Braves brought major league baseball to Mil-waukee from Boston in 1953, countless Black fans finallyhad a chance to cheer for their very own local heroes. Andwe flocked to brand new County Stadium to root for thelikes of Hank Aaron, Billy Bruton and Wes Covington --the fabled A-B-C outfield.With the young power-hitter Aaron in right, speedster

Bruton in center and slugger Covington in left, all of uswere proud as punch. They were the talk of Black Mil-waukee.The Braves, of course, went on to play the New York

Yankees in the World Series in 1957 and 1958 -- beatingthe fabled Bronx Bombers the first year and narrowly los-ing to them in the second. In ‘57, the ensuing victory cel-ebration brought much of the city -- especially downtown-- to a standstill. Indeed, it was the largest outpouring ofpeople since the end of World War II.But 10 years earlier -- in the late ‘40s -- many here werestarved to see big league ball in person, and would driveto Chicago to watch the Cubs in Wrigley Field and theWhite Sox in Comiskey Park. I was luckier than most,since my father, the late Sanford Carter, had been a starin the old Negro Leagues and loved to take me along.Prior to1947 -- when Jackie Robinson broke major

league baseball’s color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers -- Black players “barnstormed” in the Negro Leagues and

the Mexican League. And their popularity was astound-ing. Teams such as the Chicago American Giants, Home-stead Grays, Indianapolis Clowns, Kansas City Monarchsand Birmingham Black Barons, among others, attractedbig crowds in major league cities.Blacks and Whites jammed Cleveland’s Municipal Sta-dium, New York’s Yankee Stadium, Washington’s Grif-fith Stadium and the Chicago venues, to see Josh Gibson

Remember when…Gene Baker and Ernie Banks were baseball’s first Black double-play combo

By Richard G. Carter

I must begin by saying that I whole-heartedly support Minister Louis Far-rakhan’s call to gather in Washington,DC on October 10, 2015 to commem-orate the 20th anniversary of the Mil-lions Man March and to kick off anational movement for justice titled“Justice or Else.” In spite of the “supposedly” gains

that Black people have made in Amer-ica, in my humble opinion, the pur-pose and reason for this call is neededtoday more than at any time in our his-tory. I will not only attend, I will do all I

can to make sure that the event is suc-cessful. I am working in Philadelphia, Mil-

waukee and on a national level to con-tribute both time and resources and Iam hoping that you will do the same. Why? Not because I’m a follower

of Minister Farrakhan, but rather, I’ma supporter of Black Leadership and Iwill support any mobilization effortthat will not only shine a spotlight onthe oppression of Blacks in America,but also, like the Million Man March,it will produce the a sincere and pro-found level of “Black” pride which issorely needed now more than ever. Isupport this effort because we need a“national” Black voice and “national”Black leadership.I’ve written on many occasions

questioning the purpose of marchesbut I really wasn’t faulting the march,

vigil, or memorial, what I really wasquestioning was the strategy or lack ofstrategy to win what the purpose ofthe march was supposed to cure –knowing that it will require more thana march to change the conditions thatthe Black community faces (but let’sbe clear, there is a real role for publicmarches). It is no question that one of our

biggest strengths is our numbers (weare a very large minority). However, we are unable to achieve

the unity without utilizing the tool ofmobilization. There are some in our community

that question the value and success ofthe Million Man March – I’m not oneof them. Even though I was not able to at-

tend the event 20 years ago, I canquote a thousand reasons why themarch was successful and regret thatI did not attend (I did support and at-tend the Millions More Movement in2005, the 10-year commemoration ofthe Millions Man March). As I have tried to articulate on a

number of occasions, a march by itselfis not enough, but the Million ManMarch demonstrated our power andour beauty – it showed the “real” po-tential of the Black community. In addition, the theme of the Mil-

lion Man March was about “atone-ment”, we were all instructed to gohome, and change things ourselves

and many organizations were estab-lished because of the Millions ManMarch.It was not the Minister or the Nation

of Islam’s responsibility to do workneeded in our neighborhoods; that re-sponsibility falls on the people of theircommunity and that responsibilitywill never change. In some cities the Local Planning

Committee (LCO), which was repre-sented by a number of organizationscoming together to work as a unit,stayed together and some things weredone jointly but so many of thingshappen individually. The Million Man March was ex-

tremely successful because it repre-sented an extremely large voice forthe Black community. A big voice is essential to the move-

ment; a big voice becomes a defenderfor the Black community; a big voicebecome allows the Black communityto begin winning the “public” opinionwhich critical to the trajectory forchange. I liken having a collective voice

being equivalent to being a big windthat is strong enough to shake theapple tree (America’s Resources) andcause the apples to drop from the tree– when we mobilize, we create aBLACK VOICE, and we createBLACK POWER. Once the apples fall from the tree,

we must be able to pick up the apples(infrastructure); take the apples andmake applesauce, apple juice, or applepie out of the apples (infrastructure);and then we must be able to deliverthe final product to the market (infra-structure). That is why I say that the march it-

self, while needed, it’s not enough.We need both the VOICE AND THEINFRASTRURE. The Minister has wisely widen the

Justice or Else

SIGNIFYIN’: Crossingthe “Mason-Dixon Line”today, are often met with amazementand disbelief. But I find it necessaryto include in my presentations be-cause it lays the foundation for theMilwaukee we live in today.Back in that era, Black Milwau-

keeans were not allowed to live be-yond an artificial boundary ofapproximately Keefe Street on thenorth, Juneau on the south, and ThirdStreet on the east and 20th Street onthe west.Legal covenants forbid Black Mil-

waukeeans from buying or rentinghomes beyond those boundaries, in-suring that Milwaukee’s standard asthe northern most southern citywould remain intact.(Interestingly, nearly a half-cen-

tury later, Milwaukee is still consid-ered the most segregated city in thecountry, although the current status isbased on the percentage of AfricanAmericans living in the suburbs vs.the city.Ironically, one of the most segre-

gated suburbs is Waukesha, whichwas a hotbed for abolitionist activityprior to the civil war. Indeed, theWaukesha Freeman newspaper,started as an anti-slavery publica-tion.)In an effort to tear down Milwau-

kee’s walls of apartheid, Vel Phillips,the city’s first African Americanalderwoman, introduced the first offive consecutive fair housing ordi-nances in 1962. Each of those billswas rejected with Phillips casting theonly affirmative votes.In 1966, a recently discharged

army veteran, having bravely foughtin Vietnam to uphold democracy andjustice in that foreign country, wasunsuccessful in his attempt to rent ahouse on Capitol Drive for himselfand his family.The owner explains he couldn’t

rent to him because of the covenants,and even if he could, “what wouldthe neighbors think?,” it was re-ported.The incident led to a protest (actu-

ally, Black activists demonstrated infront of the homeowner’s housesinging Christmas carols—a trueirony if ever there was one).Demonstrations were also held in

front of the homes of White aldermenwho represented Black constituentsbut had cast negative votes againstthe fair housing bill.Responding to a complaint filed by

the veteran, and expressing supportfor Phillips’ efforts, NAACP youthcouncil members Prentice McKinneyand Dwight Benning organized thefirst march across the 16th Streetviaduct to the segregated Southsideon August 24, 1967.The 250 marchers led by McKin-

ney and Benning were met by 13,000(that's right, 13,000!) bigots carryingsigns telling them not only to returnto their ghetto (they called it the‘core’ back then, as in rotten apple

core), but also to pack their bags andreturn to Africa. Some of the signsand racist epithets directed towardthe marchers, along with bottles androcks, were not as judicious.Some say television camera crews

on the scene during that tenseepisode, interrupted the assembledcops’ naps and forced them to lobtear gas in the direction of themarchers to disperse the crowds.The marchers returned to the Youth

Council headquarters, called theFreedom House on North 15th Street,only to learn the police used a rumorof a sniper in the building as an ex-cuse to bomb the building, burning itto the ground.Of course there was no sniper to be

found.Oh, this isn’t in the history MPS

teachers read to your children? Well,allow me to turn the page. It gets bet-ter—or worse—depending on yourpoint of view.The next day, then-Mayor Henry

Maier issued a proclamation banningthe youth council from any furthermarches.Unintimidated, the civil rights

group staged a rally at the site of theburned building. Under Chief HaroldBreier’s orders, police converged onthe scene and arrested 58 of the civilrights activists for “illegal assembly.”(Obviously, someone forgot to tellthe mayor and police about the U.S.Constitution.)Unscathed, the council calls for a

rally at St. Boniface Church on 11thand Center Streets during which ac-tivists decide to march in violation ofMaier’s proclamation.But the marchers, over 400 strong,

are confronted by police severalblocks away from the church. Thistime approximately 200 are arrested.The next day, Syd Finley of the

NAACP and Father James Groppi ofSt. Bonifice Church, lead anothermarch. This time they make it oneblock before police attack, lobbingtear gas amidst the marchers.Undaunted, the council calls for

national support and receive letters ofsupport from Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr., among others. Reportedly, Kingwas in the process of reworking hisschedule to make a stop-over in Mil-waukee after leading demonstrationsin Memphis. You know the rest ofthat story.But several thousand-freedom

lovers did respond to the appeal forsupport, showing up for one of thelargest marches in city history. Thistime over 5,000 marchers walkedacross the viaduct (nicknamed theMason Dixon line by Black Milwau-keeans) where they were met byrabid racists, who police allowed tocontinue throwing bricks and bottlesas they looked on.Courageous is not a strong enough

word to describe the marchers, whichincluded young Black children whoreceived an education they would

never forget. For 200 days, theymarched into the belly of the beast,but despite the righteousness of theircause, the council again rejected anew Phillips’ proposal to end housingsegregation.Ironically, it was the death of King

that turned the racist tide. After hisassassination, and partly to quell riotsand to smooth the tempers of ‘Ne-groes’ who had had enough, the U.S.Congress passed a federal fair hous-ing law, forcing Milwaukee to do thesame.I obtained some of the aforemen-

tioned history through research.Other parts were from personal ob-servations, as I was one of themarchers.In truth, as a preteen, I didn’t fully

understand or appreciate the signifi-cance of our crusade. My grand-mother lived directly across the streetfrom St. Boniface Catholic Church,and I was curious about the hundredsof Black folks who attended themeetings and rallies.I was awestruck by the goings on,

and further impressed with Phillips,who the media tried to push to thebackground in its effort to promote aWhite guy, Father Groppi, as theleader of the historic campaign.The implication was that Black

folks needed a saintly White man tolead us ignorant colored folks to thePromised Land.For the record, the marches were

started by the council, organized bythe Commandoes (an offshoot of theNAACP that didn’t believe in turningthe other cheek), and Phillips, whorisked not only jail (which she be-came familiar with on a couple of oc-casions), but also disbarment becauseof the mayoral proclamation.People have asked me how I mor-

phed into a philosophy of Black Na-tionalism over the years. Well, thefoundation was formed as I marchedwith activists during those two years.What I saw across the bridge con-vinced me that I would never liveamong those bigots, and avoid utiliz-ing any Southside business.I still carry a scar from a rock

thrown by an unknown bigot. I nowwear it as a badge of honor.But it was the images of hatred—

racially inflammatory signs (one ofthe reasons I detest theadjective/noun ‘nigger’ to this day),taunts and threats that would forevertaint my worldview.For many years, a majority of

Black folks shared my opinion aboutliving in the area we hoped to inte-grate, but in the last decade, moreand more (mostly poor) Black folkshave moved over there.So did the “southerners” have a

change of heart?Most won’t say, and others have

moved further south or to surround-ing suburbs.What is alarming is a thesis written

by former WTMJ radio newswomanSherry Preston several years ago. Aspart of her master’s project, she inter-viewed a Southsider who as a youthcarried a racist sign, and me, a youngBlack boy who innocently believedpeople could see beyond race andbigotry.Preston asked the Southsider if he

had repented, grown from the expe-riences, began to abide by his Chris-tian beliefs.He hadn’t and said Black people

were still savages and should becaged like the animals we are. Blackpeople are lazy, sex crazed and vio-lent, he said, as evidenced by ourhigh incarceration rate, out of wed-lock birth rates and the gap betweenBlack and White academic achieve-ments.Hell no (!), he didn’t want to live

with or around us.So much for Martin Luther King’s

dream and our quest to integrate withthe good—albeit confused or mis-guided—folks on the Southside.What the hell, at this point in my

life, I would rather spend time con-gratulating the Armenian than tryingto change the heart of the bigot any-way. Hotep.

THETHEMILWAUKEEMILWAUKEECOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYJOURNALJOURNALPublished twice weekly,Wednesday & Friday3612 North Martin LutherKing Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212Phone: 414-265-5300 (Advertising and Administration) • 414-265-6647 (Editorial) • Website: communityjournal.net • Email: [email protected]/[email protected]

Opinion and comments expressed on the Perspectives page do not nec-essarily reflect the views of the publisher or management of the MCJ. Let-ters and “other perspectives” are accepted but may be edited for contentand length.

MCJ STAFF:Patricia O’Flynn -PattilloPublisher, CEORobert J. ThomasAssoc. PublisherTodd Thomas, Vice Pres.Mikel Holt, Assoc. PublisherThomas E. Mitchell, Jr., EditorTeretha Martin, Technical Consultant/Webmaster BillingDept./Publisher’s Admin. Assist.

Colleen Newsom,Classified AdvertisingJimmy V. Johnson, Sales Rep.CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:Taki S. Raton, Richard G. Carter,Fr. Carl Diederichs, Rev. JoeMcLinPHOTOGRAPHER: Yvonne Kemp


Major League Baseball’s first Black double-playcombo: Ernie Banks (left) and Gene Baker(right). (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)


(continued from page 1)


RELIGIONRELIGION

Milwaukee6630 W. Hampton Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53218

Telephone: (414) 462-6020Fax: (414) 462-9937

Racine800 Barker St. Racine, WI 53402

Telephone: (262) 637-6400Fax: (262) 637-6416

Families served by:Northwest Funeral Chapel O’Bee, Ford & Frazier

Quality Service...a tenured tradition

sincere concern at your time of need.Offering pre-need, at need andafter-care services to families inMilwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and

other communities throughout our state.

In Loving Memory

J.C. Frazier, Funeral DirectorEarnestine O’Bee-Founder

Lowe, Alfonso Sr.Age 62 yrs. August 28, 2015. Funeral services will be held on Fri-day, September 4, 2015 at 11AM. Visitation Friday 10AM until time

of services at:

Northwest Funeral ChapelO'Bee, Ford & Frazier

6630 W. Hampton Ave. (414)462-6020

Neal, Lula MaeAge 94 yrs. August 28, 2015. Funeral services will be held on Sat-

urday, September 5, 2015 at 11AM at Lamb of God BaptistChurch 8415 W. Bradley Rd. Visitation Saturday 10AM at the

CHURCH until time of services. The family is served by:


6630 W. Hampton Ave. (414)462-6020

Jackson-Gilmore, M.Age 69 yrs. August 20, 2015. A Memorial Service will be held on

Monday, August 31, 2015 at 1PM at:


6630 W. Hampton Ave. (414)462-6020

Today we have readings that pointus to what is and what is not faithful-ness to God’s commands. The firstreading is: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8,the second reading: James 1: 17-18,21-22, 27, and the Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.In the first reading, Moses is

speaking to the people about how tolive; they are to keep God’s com-mands, but not add to them. Unfortunately, over the centuries,

the religious leaders did start addingto them and it took Jesus to siftthrough the reality of what Godwants and what the leaders think Godwants.James is very clear about what he

sees to be important for God. First of all, all we have is from

God. “Every generous act of giving,with every perfect gift, is fromabove, coming down from the Fatherof lights.” What a power incentive tobe generous! It is God workingthrough us. The word of God has been planted

within us and that word in us has thepower to save our souls. But, wemust be “doers” of the word and nothearers only. That would be a deception for us

to think that we do not need to act onthe word, but hear it only.And what are we asked to do? We

are not asked to fast or pray, we areasked “ to care for orphans and wid-ows in their distress, and to keep one-self unstained by the world.” In today’s world we still have or-

phans and widows. At the time ofJames, orphans and widows were themost vulnerable for exploitation. They were without hope since they

were no longer under the protectionof the father/husband. Today we would include along

with orphans and widows many oth-ers of God’s children who are ex-ploited, used and abused. Where should we start? I think we

start with self-examination of howwe think about poor and deprivedpeople in general. We may not be Mother Theresa or

Pope Francis, but we are blessed as

much as they are with thepresence of Jesus in us. We have the “Words” of everlast-

ing life. So, why do we skirt aroundthe issues of poverty and wealth, aliving wage and poverty wages,racism and sexism, immigrants andthe homeless and not feel the urge todo something? Or even blame the poor for their

plight? If we are not formed by theWord and let the Word enter us andchange our hearts and minds, we can

continue to worship God while at thesame time dishonoring God by ouractions and words. “For it is fromwithin, from the human heart, thatevil intentions come.” We pray for each other, for a melt-

ing of our hearts. We pray for a newopenness to others who are suffering.We pray for each other to be “doersof the Word.”God of all creation, we honor you

with our lips and our actions, espe-cially for the poor and powerless.

BREADIN THE WILDERNESSBy Fr. Carl Diederichs,All Saints Catholic Church

Every perfect gift is from above

Senator Lena Taylor (second from left) wanted to inform everyone in my community oftheir rights this past Saturday; because all too often people are misinformed or misledinto incriminating themselves, or simply giving up their rights. A little knowledge can goa long way; and a great deal of residents turned out to Greater New Birth this last week-end to ensure they had all the knowledge they could get related to their rights in theWisconsin Criminal Justice System. (Yvonne Kemp photo)

Taking “Know YourRights” to the Street

SALVATION ARMY HELPS WINGS CELEBRATE PEACE IN THE STREETSWINGS (Working to Inspire Nurture and Grow for Service) held their 10th Annual Peace Rally and Picnicon Saturday, August 29th at Lindberg Park, 3629 N. 16th St. The event focused on stopping violence inthe community with prayer and awareness. Joining Faithe Colas, community relations director of TheSalvation Army (at the microphone) were The Salvation Army Chaplains. The Salvation Army Chaplaincyprogram is a joint partnership with the Milwaukee Police Department and provides a ministry of presenceat homicide incidents in neighborhoods. (Photo by Yvonne Kemp)

Members of St. Mark AME Church’s Geraldine Bradford Women’s Missionary Society recently helda Back-to-School Rally inside the church’s Gillespie Fellowship Hall. The church auxillary also pro-vided free $20 shoe certificates while supplies lasted to area parents to purchase shoes to preparetheir children for returning to school. (Photo by Yvonne Kemp)

St. Mark auxillary holds Back-To-School$20 Shoe Certificate Giveaway

In a nation where rising numbers of people are drop-ping out of organized religion, one dynamic religiousmovement continues to display remarkable strength.The black church.Several studies and surveys reveal black Americans re-

tain remarkably strong levels of religious beliefs andpractices. And that spiritual core is having an impact oncommunity life in areas from health to economic empow-erment.Just how much of a difference was illustrated in a study

measuring racial differences on moral behaviors.Researchers found that blacks scored higher than

whites on seven of nine virtues. The results indicated that,compared to whites, blacks were more humble, more

grateful to God, felt more compassion for strangers andwere likelier to provide emotional support and tangiblehelp to people they do not know.The only virtues in which race differences were not ob-

served involved compassion and emotional supportshown to family members and friends. The study ana-lyzed data from a 2013 national survey of 1,535 adultsages 50 or older.The black church is not without its concerns. Many

black churches are struggling to attract younger genera-tions. Issues such as the role of women and the rise ofsuburban megachurches siphoning members from smallerinner-city congregations also demand new responses in anew age.Yet while many predominantly white mainstream

Are Black Americans the MostReligious -- and Virtuous -- of All?By David Briggs, article courtesy of The Huffin-gton Post, originally posted Feb. 27, 2015



BUSINESS CORNERBUSINESS CORNERJackie Loohauis-Bennett, (de-

ceased), features writer for The Mil-waukee Journal and MilwaukeeJournal Sentinel who pioneered cov-erage of Summerfest, covered theMilwaukee County Zoo and PublicMuseum, the Great Circus Parade,history and archeology.Relatives, friends and co-workers

of the inductees, as well as membersof the Milwaukee Press Club and thegeneral public, are invited to attend.The event will take place atPotawatomi Hotel & Casino in theWoodland Dreams Ballroom at 1721W. Canal Street in Milwaukee, witha reception at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at6:30 p.m. The induction ceremonywill begin immediately after dinner.Tickets are $65 per person; tables ofeight are available for $500. For additional information about

the Milwaukee Press Club and previ-ous inductees to the MilwaukeeMedia Hall of Fame, visit www.mil-waukeepressclub.org and click on"Honors." To sponsor the Hall ofFame dinner or other Press Clubevents, contact Joette Richards at(262)894-2224.The Milwaukee Press Club,

founded in 1885, is the oldest contin-uously operating press club in NorthAmerica. Proceeds from Milwaukee Press

Club programming benefit the MPCEndowment, Ltd., and its scholarshipfund.

MCJ Publisher tobe inducted intoMedia Hall of Fame(continued from page 1)

John W. Daniels, Jr., ChairmanEmeritus of Quarles & Brady, anational law firm, has recentlybeen honored for both his civicand legal leadership and his im-pact on corporate law. Daniels was selected by Law-

Dragon, the leading legal periodi-cal of attorneys, as one of thepremier 500 lawyers in the UnitedStates. This rare recognition was done

in testament to Daniels' career as acorporate and real estate lawyer.Daniels, among other things,served as the first diverse nationalpresident of the prestigious Amer-ican College of a Real Estate Lawyers. He and Ben Wilson, the chairman Beveridge & Diamond, instituted a

national effort with major law firms and general counsel to significantlyincrease diversity in corporate legal engagements. A national Network of the finest African-American lawyers has been

created, including experts in the most complicated legal areas. This isan unprecedented effort in the United States. In addition, Daniels, the chairman of V&J Foods, one of largest family

owned African-American companies in the U.S., was named Mr. Exec-utive as part of the business Hall of Fame initiative in 2015. This recog-nition was extended because of his impact on growing and developingbusiness enterprises. Daniels is a Harvard Law graduate and the chairman of Aurora Health

Care, Inc. the largest health system in Wisconsin with revenues exceed-ing $4.5 billion.

John W. Daniels, Jr. Recognized for Civicand Legal Prominence

Atty. John Daniels

Couture Nail Artistry is abusiness founded on the prin-ciples of God first, andhealthy skin, nails secondand fashion/style is last. Hail-ing from Milwaukee, Cou-ture’s’ Founder, JanelThomas, has made a namefor herself in the Milwaukee,Illinois, and Virginia as one ofthe top nail artists around. With a bit of Milwaukee and

Chicago flavor, a little bit ofEast Coast flare, she bringsclass and charisma to the nailgame with bold designs andfresh new ideas. Over ten years of experi-

ence has given her the abilityto deliver a level of crafts-manship and artisanship likenone other. She takes NailArtistry to a completely newlevel...a level of high fashionand couture style.Janel is always looking for-

ward to meeting new peopleand building new clientele.Her belief is that it is ex-tremely important to educateeach client and ensure thatno matter what, healthy nailsand sanitation are the highestpriority. Many discount salons do

not care about the health of aclients’ nails. They typically do not sanitize allof their tools and tend to reuse things fromclient to client without proper disinfection orsanitation. Their concern is typically the speed at which

they can get through numerous clientsthroughout the day. Though Janels’ servicesare time efficient, health and educating theclients are key to ensuring that each client is

satisfied at the end of his or her nail service.Tools are cleaned and sanitized after eachclient and anything that can carry disease thatcan’t be disinfected is thrown away or given tothe client for personal use. Janel’s productsare free of harsh chemicals like MMA and sheuses high quality products to ensure the bestservice possible.

Business Corner Profile:

COUTURE NAILARTISTRY



KALEIDOSCOPEKALEIDOSCOPEt h e M C J l i f e s t y l e & e n t e r t a i n m e n t s e c t i o n

MCJ Publisher tobe inducted intoMedia Hall of Fame

Local Singerdoes EttaJames Proud!Thursday August 27th the

Etta James Tribute was held atThe Hamilton in Milwaukee.The sold out show began withthe hilarious Savannah Cartieras the MC. She warmly welcomed the

crowd and instantly madeeveryone comfortable withher easy natured humor. Fol-lowing her was the beautifullysmooth voice of “Jersey”Shawn Webb. He opened the show with three songs that put the crowd in the soulful seductive

mood, perfect for the entrance of “Mrs. Etta James” played by Milwaukee’s ownAndrea Riley. Riley sang three of James’ chart toppers included “At Last”. Riley says she did

the performance so that her childhood idol’s amazing talent and achievementswould be remembered. “ Etta James is a very powerful woman. I wasn’t going tolet her legacy go down the drain” Riley states. Surrounding Andrea through herperformance was the talented Vertical Dance Company with a wonderfully choreo-graphed interpretive dance. The young girls varying in age gracefully moved within the show venue provid-

ing a spectacular visual for the audience. The tribute was put on Tam Lawrence andExposure Magazine. Lawrence is a prior Milwaukee resident who returned with the sole purpose of

bettering the community “It was a delight to see people come together and em-brace one another. This was all about bringing people together. It doesn’t just take the politicians

and the government to instill change it takes the citizens to say “I want change’”she says. Lawrence will be putting on shows the last Thursday of every month at a new

and more spacious venue that is yet to be named. “My dream and hope is the suc-cession of bring love and spreading love throughout Milwaukee” Lawrence says.

--Article by Asada Njuguna

2015 Milwaukee Film Festival Announces Cream City Cinema LineupThe Milwaukee Music Video Show debutsas new program

MILWAUKEE – Thursday, August 27, 2015 – The 7th Annual MilwaukeeFilm Festival, presented by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, announces itsCream City Cinema lineup. Now in its 7th year, Cream City Cinema showcasesthe best new work from Milwaukeebased filmmakers and awards one localfilmmaker with a $5,000 cash award.

“The quantity, and importantly, quality of submissions this year was as-tounding,” shares Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Mil-waukee Film. “With 177 submissions, a 31% increase over last year, it is clearthat our film community is on the rise.”

This year’s Cream City Cinema includes two featurelength fiction films (Neptune, Take the Dog ), three featurelength documentaries ( 30 SecondsAway: Breaking the Cycle, Clarence, Yoopera! ), and four shorts programs:The Milwaukee Youth Show —the festival’s fourth annual showcase for localfilmmakers ages 18 and under, two installments of The Milwaukee Show aswell as the debut of The Milwaukee Music Video Show .

“Milwaukee’s music scene has long been vibrant and we believe the Mil-waukee film scene is close to becoming its equal. What better way to celebratethis than by foregrounding a program that is the product of both artistic com-munities,” continues Jackson.

Presented by: John AxfordSponsored by: WUWM 89.7 FMMilwaukeePublic Radio and UWM Department of Film2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVALCREAM CITY CINEMAShow some hometown pride and local support at our an nual showcase of

the best new work from Milwaukeearea filmmakers. One of these local cre-atives will receive a cash award of $5,000 from our jury!

30 Seconds Away: Breaking the Cycle(USA / 2015 / Director: Faith Kohler)Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKuEcbEF5VgMilwaukee's homelessness problem is examined by no less an authority

than former federal prosecutor and Marquette graduate Faith Kohler in 30Seconds Away , a vital documentary examination of this issue from all sides ofthe argument. Spending time with those struggling to survive on the streets aswell as with the justice system and Milwaukee police stuck between trying toenforce the law and care for these forgotten members of society (throughmeans such as our local

Homeless Outreach Team), Kohler paints a powerful and empathetic por-trait of an evergrowing problem with no easy solutions.

Clarence(USA / 2014 / Director: Kristin Catalano)Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roC08SxNY9QMeet Clarence Garrett, an AfricanAmerican WWII veteran who had to put

his own dreams of a higher education on hold to put his four children throughcollege.

But at the ripe age of 85, Clarence decides to enroll in the University of Wis-consinMilwaukee and finally get the last 52 credits that will earn him his bach-elor's degree. However, medical complications from an earlier cancer scarethreaten to derail his graduation dreams from becoming a reality. Clarence is

an inspirational portrait of an indomitable spirit, a documentary that provesit's never too late to finish what you started.

The Milwaukee Music Video ShowA program that proves the local film scene is every bit the equal of that of

our thriving local music scene, the Milwaukee Music Video Show plays host toa variety of musical acts (Vic and Gab, Webster X, Field Report, Sylvan Esso,Victor DeLorenzo of the Violent Femmes) and the wildly creative local film-makers who bring their varied soundscapes to visual life. Fun, creative burstsof energy occur as these artistic disciplines combine, a toetapping, headbang-ing, hipswaying celebration of local art displayed on the majestic big screen ofthe Oriental Theatre.

“Calliope Casino" (USA / 2014 / Director: Victor Buell IV)Field Report “Wings” (USA / 2014 / Director: Blackbox Visuals)GGOOLLDD "Boyz" (USA / 2015 / Directors: Ryan Bingham, Tony Hunt)Greatest Lakes "Nothing Left" (USA / 2015 / Directors: Brian Steinseifer, Josiah Werning)Kane Place Record Club "Sunshine" (USA / 2014 / Director: John Roberts)Lex Allen “This is Our Year” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Damien Gram, Cody LaPlant)Maritime "Milwaukee" (USA / 2015 / Director: Bob Purvis)The Midwest Beat "High Life" (USA / 2014 / Director: Jon Salimes)Sam & Margot "Burn It Down" (USA / 2015 / Director: Brendan T. Jones)Sylvan Esso “Dreamy Bruises” (USA / 2014 / Directors: Timm Gable, Bob Purvis)Tigernite “Witch” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Kyle Arpke, Eric Arsnow)Uncle Larry "Pieces" (USA / 2014 / Director: Billy Judge Baldus)Vic and Gab "Love of Mine" (USA / 2014 / Director: Betty Allen)Victor DeLorenzo "Carry Me" (USA / 2014 / Director: T.C. De Witt)WebsterX "Doomsday" (USA / 2015 / Directors: Damien Klaven, Cody LaPlant)Wooldridge Brothers "Drive Through Summer" (USA / 2015 / Director: Robb Fischer)The Milwaukee Show IPerennially one of the festival’s hottest tickets, this first of two installments

celebrating our wealth of homegrown filmmaking talent includes styles rang-ing from documentaries to fiction to experimental films—be it the story of aman with a giant thumb for a head, a documentary following the weird worldof sport drumming, or the story of a rock band that goes head to head withan invading UFO!

Beautiful Orifice Boy (USA / 2015 / Director: Vincent Maslowski)The Daffy Strut (USA / 2015 / Director: Andrew Megow)The Death Drive (USA / 2015 / Directors: Michael Bourne, Kyle V. James)Destiny (USA / 2015 / Director: Rubin Whitmore II)DOG*WALK (USA / 2015 / Director: Kristin Peterson)

Fast Company (USA / 2015 / Director: Jack Davidson)It's Cold Up North (USA / 2015 / Director: James J. Roufus)The Life and Times of Thomas Thumb Jr. (USA / 2015 / Director: Ryan

Fox)The Sonatina (USA / 2015 / Director: Kate Balsley)The Milwaukee Show IIThe second installment of our local celebration brings us even more di-

verse styles and voices from the local film scene, with stories ranging from adocumentary about a Kenyan sound engineer’s work in African crisis zones toOrson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” broadcast com ing to life in our very ownpublic museum, and even a claymation short about a cathating grump sad-dled with an affection seeking kitten.

Again (USA / 2015 / Director: Natasha Scannell)Lemon (USA / 2015 / Director: John Roberts)Mothers For Justice (USA / 2015 / Director: Erik Ljung)Notes from the Interior (USA / 2015 / Director: Benjamin Balcom)Parting (USA / 2015 / Director: Sitora Takanaev)The Sound Man (USA / 2015 / Director: Chip Duncan)We Interrupt this Broadcast (USA / 2015 / Director: Kurt Raether)The Milwaukee Youth ShowIt’s not just the adults making stunning contributions to our local film

scene, as this wideranging showcase aims to prove. After you take in the di-versity of viewpoints and styles crafted by our eminently talented youngsters(documentary, fiction, animation, live action, music video, and PSAs are allcovered here), you’ll be excited for the next generation of Cream City Cinema!

Awakening (USA / 2015 / Director: Mikayla Bell)The Brooklyn Bridge (USA / 2015 / Director: Marcelo Quezada)Crazy He Calls Me (USA / 2015 / Directors: Julia Mutranowski, Eden

Raduege)Fusion (USA / 2015 / Directors: Alex Meeth, Ethan Suhr)Gettysburg (USA / 2015 / Director: Sam Pike)Happy Cookers (USA / 2015 / Directors: Youth from the Fitzsimonds Boys

& Girls Club)In the Victim’s Voice (USA / 2015 / Directors: Tasha Kappes, Kirsten

Kliebenstein)A Perilous Poisoning (USA / 2015 / Directors: Sam Pike, Hanxiou Wang,

Andrei Conrad)Scorched Earth: A British Soldier's Memoir of India's Partition.... (USA /

2015 / Director: Megan Sai Dogra)They Never Came Back (USA / 2015 / Director: Alondra Mercado)Urban Ecology: A History (USA / 2015 / Director: Serbata Tarrer)What is Milwaukee to Me? (USA / 2015 / Directors: Youth from the Mil-

waukee Visionaries Project)A Work in Progress ThePainter (USA / 2015 / Director: Tyler Pelzek)What is Beauty? (USA / 2015 / Director: Raven Miller)Neptune(USA / 2015 / Director: Derek Kimball)Trailer: https://vimeo.com/77970830Set on a small island off of Maine's coast in the late 1980s, Neptune is a

comingofage story marked by a lush setting and beautiful cinematography.Obsessed by the disappearance of a young boy her age who washed out tosea, young orphan Hannah takes over the boy's former position on a lobsterboat, working alongside his grieving father. Having been a ward of the localchurch since an early age, Hannah begins to chafe at her limited upbringing,

MCJ Contributor AsadaJones and Andrea Riley

Riley perform-ing one ofJames’ hitsongs.


-- who hit 972 home runs -- Leroy “Satchel” Paige, James “Cool Papa” Bell,Buck O’Neil, Luke Easter, Don Newcombe, Willie Mays, Roy Campanella,Monte Irvin and others.In 1951, the Chicago White Sox signed Orestes (Minnie) Minoso as their

first Black player. But the Cubs didn’t make the move for two more years. In1953, they signed Ernie Banks and Gene Baker -- the very first Black dou-ble-play combination in the major leagues. Banks was the shortstop and Bakerthe second baseman.The iconic Banks -- who passed away early this year -- was the team’s firstBlack player, and came to be known as “Mr. Cub.” He was far more cele-brated over his long, successful career than was his double-play partner. Yet,it was 28-year-old Baker -- a fancy-fielding shortstop --who was designatedto break the Cubs’ color line in 1953.Baker had been signed by the Cubs in 1950 and sent to the minor league

Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, where he excelled. The levelof play there was so high it was known as the ”Third Major League.”Baker was seen as a hot prospect, was more highly touted than Banks and

the Cubs were mainly interested in the latter to serve as Baker’s roommate.But he was slowed by a minor injury when he and Banks -- fresh from theKansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League -- arrived at WrigleyField on Sept. 14, 1953.Thus, the 22-year-old Banks -- also a shortstop -- became the Cubs’ first

Black player. And he did so well that by the end of the season, he had estab-lished himself as the team’s shortstop of the future. Baker’s first game actioncame was as a pinch-hitter on Sept. 20.Owing to Banks’ continuing fine play at shortstop, Baker was slotted into

an unfamiliar role as a second baseman. And in 1954, he helped turn 102 dou-ble-plays while hitting .275, with 13 home runs and 61 runs-batted-in.The popular, slick fielding pair was dubbed “Bingo and Bango” by Bert

Wilson -- the Cubs’ legendary, play-by-play radio announcer. Breakingground as the big leagues' first Black double-play combo, they clearly livedup to the hype.Despite distinguishing themselves as a duo during the following two seasonson mediocre Cubs’ teams, the pioneering pair was broken up in 1957 whenBaker, dogged by injuries, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. When injuriescontinued to hobble him, he caught on as a scout and coach -- becoming oneof the first Blacks to coach and manage a minor league team.In yet another milestone event, Baker accidentally became the first Black

man to manage a major league team. It happened on Sept. 21, 1963, whenPirates’ manager, Danny Murtaugh, was thrown out of a game for arguingwith an umpire. Baker’s historic tenure lasted for the last two innings of thegame, and has largely been forgotten.But my father, Sanford Carter -- a fine Negro Leagues player -- didn’t forget.From time-to-time, after we no longer had to journey to Chicago to watchbig league baseball, he’d remind me as other Black players went on to fameand glory.Finally, two years before his passing in 1999, Baker was asked by a Chicagosports writer how it felt when he was sent in to pinch-hit for his first bigleague appearance. “My main thought,“ he said, “was that I should have beenup years before.”

Milwaukee native Richard G. Carter is a freelance columnist


Gene Baker and ErnieBanks were baseball’s firstBlack double-play combo

tent by focusing on justice, not just for Black people, but also for all people nomatter who you are and what your nationality is. As the great Rev. Dr. MartinLuther King once said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere.”Which I interpret to mean that we all should be fighting against injustice be-cause injustice is like a disease and unless it’s eradicated, it could easily impactthose who feel protected now at some later date. Dr. King also said that “silenceis equivalent to betrayal.” We can no longer be quiet about the injustices thatwe see every day. How many times can we see the report of an unarm Blackteenager gun down by the armed police; how long can we see government con-tinue to build new prisons while we close schools; The leadership that the Minister is providing takes extreme courage and sac-

rifice – something he has been doing for nearly sixty years. We know this man;we know his commitment to Black people and the struggle that we face inAmerica. His leadership shouldn’t be in question and if it is we must askedourselves why. The media will have you to interpret his message as anti-White or anti-Jewish

but nothing could be further from the truth. How can the Black community bebeholden to the media that does nothing to promote the greatness of Black peo-ple but just the opposite, the media tries its very best to support and sustainWhite supremacy and Black inferiority – everywhere you turn, the media de-picts the Black man as sub-human. As Malcolm X once said that, the mostpowerful institution in America is the media because it has the power to makeright wrong and wrong right.The media also has the power to tell you who the Black man should support;

who the Black man should follow; and who the Black man should be taken asits leader. Since when can we trust the American media? You can book it! - If a Black

person publically challenges America for its racist and oppressive actionsagainst Black people, America will not promote this person as someone Blackpeople should accept as their leader unless they are dead. Dr. Martin Luther King who they have portrayed, not as the revolutionary

that he was, but as a pacifist with a dream; and 2) Malcom X who was an ab-solute freedom fighter but fail to recognize the person that catapulted Malcominto prominence – the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. When both of these men were alive, the media vilified them and when that

wasn’t enough, they would employ the FBI, IRS (cointelpro) to further com-plicate their lives and interrupt the movement. These tactics continue to beused to confuse and divide the Black community. No, I don’t agree with everything the Minister does or says. Nor do I always

agree on his methods, but I’m not dwelling on what we disagree on (very little),we must focus on what we agree on and what we agree on far outweighs whatwe disagree on – it is the media that plays out our differences into division.What we must come to grip with is that we must really “reflect” on the media’sportrayal of those Black men that act independent and not afraid of calling itlike it is and speaking the “truth” to power; speaking “truth” to the Americanpower structure which continues to significantly oppress the Black community. This call to action is critical for a number of reasons – one of the biggest rea-

sons is that we have the opportunity to re-establish the Black voice, re-establishthe Black movement. Yes there were “con” with the Million Man Movementbut there were cons with every mass effort that we’ve undertaken (nothing isperfect). Not only did the Million Man March leave something on the table, this is

similar to every effort of this kind. We must not confuse the limitations of nothave 20/20 vision and now we become Monday morning quarterbacks. There is no bigger struggle in all of life that the struggle for justice – to me,

this is the purpose of life. The struggle for justice is not a destination or a sprint.The struggle for justice is on-going and it’s an attitude that we must incorporatein everything that we say, do and believe in. The self-determination of Black people must be the single most important

issue that we have and we must do all we can to unite around that mandateacross all sectors of our community (i.e. generation, income, gender, etc.). This

is not just for today, this is forever – we must come to understand that it neverends. If I just listen to some people, they seem to think that if were very good, our

oppressors will relent and give in and end their oppression. While the thoughtof that is insane, it could never happen now because the oppression has beentransferred over to institutional and structural oppression (its everywhere andpart of everything) and its deeply rooted in Blacks inability to own (wealth dis-parity). As Malcom X said “the oppressor will never feel the pain of the oppressed.”

We must remove this from our thoughts and think only of ways to end our op-pression - not slow it down; not soften it; not to change it so it looks different;WE MUST DO ALL WE CAN TO END OPPRESSION. We must come to understand the natural order of the creation and as Frederick

Douglas once stated that “Power concedes nothing without a demand; it neverhas or never will.” What does that demand look like? How does that happen?Justice or else should be the cry of all people, especially Black people in Amer-ica. There is nothing else – you either have justice or injustice and if you have

injustice you or obligated to fight to end to eradicate it. Our entire beings fromthe inception has been made in the image of the Creator in that we are naturallyaligned to do what is right versus what is wrong. The human being has a natural receptor to understand right from wrong and

this is feed by everything in nature. The human being is built for the struggleof right (truth) against wrong (falsehood) and justice is a derivative of right(truth); you cannot have justice without being right; you cannot have justicewithout having truth; and you cannot have either without Black leadership. Whether we accept it or not, Minister Farrakhan is a leader that other Black

leaders and Black people must support. When we support Justice or Else, werenot supporting Minister Farrakhan nor are we supporting the Nation of Islam,we are supporting Black Leadership, which is a prerequisite for Black Power.

When we support Justice or Else, we are supporting Black power and Blackunity both prerequisites for achieving justice. When we support Justice or Else, we support the visual beauty of Black peo-

ple, which is a prerequisite for uplifting and strengthening the Black spirit.When we support Justice or Else, we show the American superpower and theworld that no one group has real control of the people without doing right bythem (justice) – we show them that there is a higher power above them. When we support Justice or Else, we are supporting the biggest Black na-

tional voice on the biggest stage that we have and if we are successful, we canreturn home and leverage this event to sustain the voice and momentum to beginto work on aggregating and unifying ourselves locally. We live in a democracy and in a democracy everyone, if you want to “win,”

you must have leadership and/or a leader. Every group has representation andevery idea if it has to win amongst other ideas, must have leadership. In ademocracy, you must have leadership or you perish. This is truer when youare at the bottom of the food chain (economic ladder). Our leaders continue tofail us by not doing the very basic things needed – they must be united. We seedivision at every level. We have very little Black leadership because we lack Black unity. We will

not have Black unity until the leaders begin unite – this is real leadership.Everyone agrees that if we keep doing the same thing that we have been doing,we will get the same outcomes – creating a collective is absolutely the way togo. The call to DC will require just a little sacrifice that will contribute a heavy

dose of unity that could save our entire race, yes save our entire race. If youdon’t want to struggle for freedom, justice, and equality for yourself and futureBlack children, then as Marcus Garvey said “go home” and I say stay homewhile I and other go to Washington and mobilize with others who believe inJustice or Else.

Universally Speaking(continued from page 3)


churches suffer severe membership losses, blackAmericans appear to be keeping the faith.Compare the religious lives of black and white

Americans:•Seven in 10 black Americans read the Bible

outside of worship; just 44 percent of white Amer-icans open Scripture on their own, the Bible inAmerican Life study showed.•The 2012 General Social Survey found nearly

half of blacks reported praying several times a day;just 27 percent of whites prayed with the same fre-quency.•Fifty-one percent of blacks, compared to 37

percent of whites, strongly agree that they have apersonally meaningful relationship with God, ac-cording to the Portraits of American Life Study.•Fifty-nine percent of members of historically

black churches reported attending services at leastonce a week; nationally 39 percent of Americansreported attending with similar frequency, accord-ing to the 2007 Pew U.S. Religious LandscapeSurvey.•The percentage of white religious "nones" -- in-

dividuals with no religious affiliation -- rose from15 percent in 2007 to 20 percent in 2012, whilethere was no statistically significant change amongblack Americans, Pew religion surveys found.That high degree of personal faith matters in

maintaining vital religious communities.A study analyzing data from the National Survey

of American Life found that non-Hispanic whites

are significantly more likely than African Ameri-cans to never attend services and to not have a de-nominational home.A major reason: Individuals who are not in-

volved in religion are less likely than others to en-gage in activities such as reading religious texts,prayer and looking to God for strength, the studyfinding suggested.A strong faith also leads to other positive out-

comes, research indicates.For example, the study on moral behavior re-

vealed that "blacks are likely to have higher virtuescores than whites because they are more commit-

ted to their faith than whites."In a separate study, researchers found that blacks

who were more frequent churchgoers and religiousvolunteers were more likely to have greater self-confidence and less likely to feel overwhelmed bypersonal challenges.The findings can encourage health care

providers to work together with faith communitiesto take advantage of "the inoculative potential ofblack churches," sociologist Gary Oates of Bowl-ing Green State University reported.Another area where research suggests black

churches are taking a leading role is in economicempowerment.Forty-two percent of black Protestants said their

place of worship encouraged them to start a busi-ness. That percentage is nearly three times as highas the 15 percent of evangelical and mainlineProtestants who reported hearing similar encour-agement, according to the 2010 Baylor ReligionSurvey.In one sense, the research findings should not be

too surprising. Study after study finds a relationbetween vibrant religious communities and placeswhere individuals have a strong faith and feel theirspiritual needs are being met.What is more surprising is that so many predom-

inantly white churches have not made spiritualgrowth a priority.In particular, it seems a missed opportunity that

the spiritual gifts of black Americans and the blackchurch are often hidden or ignored. Or buriedunder stereotypes that focus disproportionately onpolitical activism or emotional worship.In the latest issue of the journal Sociology of Re-

ligion, sociologist Sandra Barnes of VanderbiltUniversity advocates for greater, more nuanced re-search on the evolving role of religion in the livesof African Americans and the relevance of theblack church in contemporary America."The Black Church has always been compli-

cated, the black community more heterogeneousthan described in academic and mainstreamsources, and its prophetic witness more dynamicthan not," Barnes noted.It also has a lot to offer the larger religious land-

scape -- and the nation -- if we choose to pay at-tention.

David Briggs writes the Ahead of the Trendcolumn for the Association of Religion DataArchives.

“In a separate study, re-searchers found thatblacks who were morefrequent churchgoersand religious volunteerswere more likely to havegreater self-confidenceand less likely to feeloverwhelmed by personalchallenges.”

Are Black Americans the MostReligious -- and Virtuous -- of All?(continued from page 4) Image by ValeriaRodrigues Public Domain

At this time, appointments are preferred but walk-ins aredefinitely welcome. Therefore, if you are looking for a greatplace just to relax and be yourself then you have found theright place. Call and schedule your appointment today and be sure to

ask us about our monthly specials. Right now she is locatedat the End Zone Barbershop – 3607 N Martin Luther KingDrive, Milwaukee, WI 53212. You can visit her online atwww.couturenailartistry.com and reach her by phone at 414-737-1226.


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plagued by mysterious dreams that appear to be callingher out to sea.Take the Dog(USA / 2015 / Directors: Carol Brandt, Andrew Tolstedt)Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tLVHapG-Wjw

Three punkers pack up their dog and make their wayfrom Milwaukee to California for a brother's wedding inthis freewheeling roadtrip from codirectors Andrew Tolst-edt and Carol Brandt.

Brothers Tim and Jack (along with Tim's girlfriend,Leah) make their way to their brother Patrick's wedding,cutting a boozesoaked swath as they cross the country.Tensions flare and bonds are tested as what it means tobe a brother, boyfriend, and responsible adult are all putunder the microscope before they reach their final desti-nation, with no guarantee these relationships will last

until journey's end.Yoopera!(USA / 2015 / Director: Suzanne Jurva)Trailer: https://vimeo.com/97005866

What do you get when you combine the cultural her-itage of Yoopers — those born and raised in Michigan'sUpper Peninsula — and the classical tradition of opera (oroopera, if you’re Finnish)? You get Yoopera! , an exuber-ant documentary about a group of people gathering to-gether to tell their local and family history in a beautifullyartistic fashion. We follow the commission and productionof a major opera for and of the people, maintaining thelegacy of family stories and celebrating the history ofpeople who eked out a living in the beautiful and remoteU.P. Visit mkefilm.org for information on the film festivaland the organization, membership, special events.face-book.com/MilwaukeeFilm ), Twitter ( twitter.com/mke-film ), Instagram ( instagram.com/mkefilm ), and theMilwaukee Film blog ( mkefilm.org/news ).

Film Festival(continued from page 7)

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mcj september 2, 2015 edition

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