John F. Baker Jr., award-winning author

The Tennessee State Library and Archives will play host to an African American Genealogy Workshop presented by award-winning author John F. Baker. The one-day workshop will be held on Saturday, July 25, from 9 AM until 10:30 AM. The TSLA is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville. The workshop is free and open to the public.

Baker will discuss African American genealogy as told through his own genealogical research which resulted in his recently published book, The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family’s Journey to Freedom.

Baker discovered the story of his ancestors quite by accident when he saw a photograph of four former slaves, entitled, “Black Tennesseans,” in a seventh grade social studies book. Later he learned that two of them were his grandmother’s grandparents. Baker has lived his entire life just a dew miles from Wessyngton Plantation in a town populated by hundreds of descendants of its former slaves.

For more than thirty years, he has been researching, conducting interviews, and collecting photographs and information about them and the hundreds of others enslaved on the plantation. Baker has written extensively on Wessyngton and the lives of African Americans there.  The National Historical Home submission, Families and Cabins: Archaeological and Historical Investigations at Wessyngton Plantation included his paper, which earned him a national history award from the American Association for State and Local History.

Those wishing to attend the workshop must contact TSLA to reserve a seat as the number of attendees is limited. Reservations can be made via e-mail to workshop..us. Patrons can also register by telephone by calling 615-741-2764.  Parking is available in front, on the side, and in back of the Library and Archives building.

Their summer program offers youth between the ages of 9 and 13, the opportunity to train under some of the top performing artists in Nashville. The program runs for six weeks, and provides rigorous daily instruction in Drama, Dance, Music, Public Speaking, Creative Writing, and the Visual Arts. The young people learn self-esteem through the arts and how to express themselves in a positive way. The youth will be visited weekly by working artists, and other celebrities who will provide motivational instruction to help in allowing the students to embrace their own hidden lights. Students are held to the highest artistic standards.

This year they are proud to host the camp in their own facility on Clifton Avenue. The Amun Ra Theatre’s summer program  is proud to receive support from Tennessee State University each year. The Program well regarded and highly respected citywide. The Theatre is one of Nashville’s premier performing arts ensembles.

For more information contact the Amun Ra Theatre at 615-329-iACT (4228), or send an email to . They welcome the public’s assistance as they continue in their mission to uplift and enlighten the local community and its youth.

Editor’s Note: The Urban Resource Center provided this release.

[Show as slideshow]

United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.

The text of U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is presented as part of Black History Month.

Every year, in February, we attempt to recognize and to appreciate black history. It is a worthwhile endeavor for the contributions of African Americans to this great nation are numerous and significant. Even as we fight a war against terrorism, deal with the reality of electing an African American as our President for the first time and deal with the other significant issues of the day, the need to confront our racial past, and our racial present, and to understand the history of African people in this country, endures. One cannot truly understand America without understanding the historical experience of black people in this nation. Simply put, to get to the heart of this country one must examine its racial soul.

Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race.

It is an issue we have never been at ease with and given our nation’s history this is in some ways understandable. And yet, if we are to make progress in this area we must feel comfortable enough with one another, and tolerant enough of each other, to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us. But we must do more- and we in this room bear a special responsibility. Through its work and through its example this Department of Justice, as long as I am here, must – and will – lead the nation to the “new birth of freedom” so long ago promised by our greatest President. This is our duty and our solemn obligation.

We commemorated five years ago, the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. And though the world in which we now live is fundamentally different than that which existed then, this nation has still not come to grips with its racial past nor has it been willing to contemplate, in a truly meaningful way, the diverse future it is fated to have. To our detriment, this is typical of the way in which this nation deals with issues of race. And so I would suggest that we use February of every year to not only commemorate black history but also to foster a period of dialogue among the races. This is admittedly an artificial device to generate discussion that should come more naturally, but our history is such that we must find ways to force ourselves to confront that which we have become expert at avoiding.

As a nation we have done a pretty good job in melding the races in the workplace. We work with one another, lunch together and, when the event is at the workplace during work hours or shortly thereafter, we socialize with one another fairly well, irrespective of race. And yet even this interaction operates within certain limitations. We know, by “American instinct” and by learned behavior, that certain subjects are off limits and that to explore them risks, at best embarrassment, and, at worst, the questioning of one’s character.

And outside the workplace the situation is even more bleak in that there is almost no significant interaction between us. On Saturdays and Sundays America in the year 2009 does not, in some ways, differ significantly from the country that existed some fifty years ago. This is truly sad. Given all that we as a nation went through during the civil rights struggle it is hard for me to accept that the result of those efforts was to create an America that is more prosperous, more positively race conscious and yet is voluntarily socially segregated.

As a nation we should use Black History month as a means to deal with this continuing problem. By creating what will admittedly be, at first, artificial opportunities to engage one another we can hasten the day when the dream of individual, character based, acceptance can actually be realized. To respect one another we must have a basic understanding of one another. And so we should use events such as this to not only learn more about the facts of black history but also to learn more about each other.

This will be, at first, a process that is both awkward and painful but the rewards are potentially great. The alternative is to allow to continue the polite, restrained mixing that now passes as meaningful interaction but that accomplishes little. Imagine if you will situations where people- regardless of their skin color- could confront racial issues freely and without fear. The potential of this country, that is becoming increasingly diverse, would be greatly enhanced. I fear however, that we are taking steps that, rather than advancing us as a nation are actually dividing us even further.

We still speak too much of “them” and not “us”. There can, for instance, be very legitimate debate about the question of affirmative action. This debate can, and should, be nuanced, principled and spirited. But the conversation that we now engage in as a nation on this and other racial subjects is too often simplistic and left to those on the extremes who are not hesitant to use these issues to advance nothing more than their own, narrow self interest. Our history has demonstrated that the vast majority of Americans are uncomfortable with, and would like to not have to deal with, racial matters and that is why those, black or white, elected or self-appointed, who promise relief in easy, quick solutions, no matter how divisive, are embraced.

We are then free to retreat to our race protected cocoons where much is comfortable and where progress is not really made. If we allow this attitude to persist in the face of the most significant demographic changes that this nation has ever confronted- and remember, there will be no majority race in America in about fifty years- the coming diversity that could be such a powerful, positive force will, instead, become a reason for stagnation and polarization. We cannot allow this to happen and one way to prevent such an unwelcome outcome is to engage one another more routinely- and to do so now.

As I indicated before, the artificial device that is Black History month is a perfect vehicle for the beginnings of such a dialogue. And so I urge all of you to use the opportunity of this month to talk with your friends and co-workers on the other side of the divide about racial matters. In this way we can hasten the day when we truly become one America.

It is also clear that if we are to better understand one another the study of black history is essential because the history of black America and the history of this nation are inextricably tied to each other. It is for this reason that the study of black history is important to everyone- black or white. For example, the history of the United States in the nineteenth century revolves around a resolution of the question of how America was going to deal with its black inhabitants. The great debates of that era and the war that was ultimately fought are all centered around the issue of, initially, slavery and then the reconstruction of the vanquished region. A dominant domestic issue throughout the twentieth century was, again, America’s treatment of its black citizens. The civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s changed America in truly fundamental ways. Americans of all colors were forced to examine basic beliefs and long held views. Even so, most people, who are not conversant with history, still do not really comprehend the way in which that movement transformed America.

In racial terms the country that existed before the civil rights struggle is almost unrecognizable to us today. Separate public facilities, separate entrances, poll taxes, legal discrimination, forced labor, in essence an American apartheid, all were part of an America that the movement destroyed. To attend her state’s taxpayer supported college in 1963 my late sister in law had to be escorted to class by United States Marshals and past the state’s governor, George Wallace. That frightening reality seems almost unthinkable to us now. The civil rights movement made America, if not perfect, better.

In addition, the other major social movements of the latter half of the twentieth century- feminism, the nation’s treatment of other minority groups, even the anti-war effort- were all tied in some way to the spirit that was set free by the quest for African American equality. Those other movements may have occurred in the absence of the civil rights struggle but the fight for black equality came first and helped to shape the way in which other groups of people came to think of themselves and to raise their desire for equal treatment. Further, many of the tactics that were used by these other groups were developed in the civil rights movement.

And today the link between the black experience and this country is still evident. While the problems that continue to afflict the black community may be more severe, they are an indication of where the rest of the nation may be if corrective measures are not taken. Our inner cities are still too conversant with crime but the level of fear generated by that crime, now found in once quiet, and now electronically padlocked suburbs is alarming and further demonstrates that our past, present and future are linked. It is not safe for this nation to assume that the unaddressed social problems in the poorest parts of our country can be isolated and will not ultimately affect the larger society.

Black history is extremely important because it is American history. Given this, it is in some ways sad that there is a need for a black history month. Though we are all enlarged by our study and knowledge of the roles played by blacks in American history, and though there is a crying need for all of us to know and acknowledge the contributions of black America, a black history month is a testament to the problem that has afflicted blacks throughout our stay in this country. Black history is given a separate, and clearly not equal, treatment by our society in general and by our educational institutions in particular.

As a former American history major I am struck by the fact that such a major part of our national story has been divorced from the whole. In law, culture, science, athletics, industry and other fields, knowledge of the roles played by blacks is critical to an understanding of the American experiment. For too long we have been too willing to segregate the study of black history. There is clearly a need at present for a device that focuses the attention of the country on the study of the history of its black citizens.

But we must endeavor to integrate black history into our culture and into our curriculums in ways in which it has never occurred before so that the study of black history, and a recognition of the contributions of black Americans, become commonplace. Until that time, Black History Month must remain an important, vital concept. But we have to recognize that until black history is included in the standard curriculum in our schools and becomes a regular part of all our lives, it will be viewed as a novelty, relatively unimportant and not as weighty as so called “real” American history.

I, like many in my generation, have been fortunate in my life and have had a great number of wonderful opportunities. Some may consider me to be a part of black history. But we do a great disservice to the concept of black history recognition if we fail to understand that any success that I have had, cannot be viewed in isolation. I stood, and stand, on the shoulders of many other black Americans.

Admittedly, the identities of some of these people, through the passage of time, have become lost to us- the men, and women, who labored long in fields, who were later legally and systemically discriminated against, who were lynched by the hundreds in the century just past and those others who have been too long denied the fruits of our great American culture.

The names of too many of these people, these heroes and heroines, are lost to us. But the names of others of these people should strike a resonant chord in the historical ear of all in our nation: Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Charles Drew, Paul Robeson, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Vivian Malone, Rosa Parks, Marion Anderson, Emmit Till.

These are just some of the people who should be generally recognized and are just some of the people to whom all of us, black and white, owe such a debt of gratitude. It is on their broad shoulders that I stand as I hope that others will someday stand on my more narrow ones.

Black history is a subject worthy of study by all our nation’s people. Blacks have played a unique, productive role in the development of America. Perhaps the greatest strength of the United States is the diversity of its people and to truly understand this country one must have knowledge of its constituent parts.

But an unstudied, not discussed and ultimately misunderstood diversity can become a divisive force. An appreciation of the unique black past, acquired through the study of black history, will help lead to understanding and true compassion in the present, where it is still so sorely needed, and to a future where all of our people are truly valued.

]]> http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2009/02/19/attorney-general-speaks-at-black-history-month-program/feed/ 0 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2009/02/13/economic-recovery-bill-and-the-african-american-community/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2009/02/13/economic-recovery-bill-and-the-african-american-community/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:00:05 +0000 Terry McMoore http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=15758

Over the next 5 years a half a billion dollars in job training money will be coming to Clarksville. Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) will open a new plant in Clarksville that will hire over 1,000 construction workers to build, and provide over 800 permanent high paying jobs when they open. HSC will be one of the richest employers in Clarksville’s history since the arrival of Fort Campbell in the 1940s.

Under the President’s Economic Recovery Bill, states and counties are poised to receive significant federal funding to stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

To learn more about the coming opportunities, join in a Community Discussion titled  “How Will President Obama’s Economic Recovery Bill Affect the African American Community?” to be held on  March 5 at the Montgomery County Public Library, 350 Pageant Lane, Clarksville, from 6-8 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the Urban Resource Center and its director,   Terry McMoore, in partnership with the Center for Community Change.

New job opportunities for targeted populations include high school graduates, college graduates, veterans or members of the reserve forces, homeless individuals, non-violent ex-felons, and low-income individuals.

These are some of the questions:

• Pastors: Are you educated enough on the new job issues to help your congregation?
• Business Owners: Do you know the steps in getting funding for training under the Green Jobs Act?
• Community: Are you prepared to have a place at the table right now while there are still jobs and money available?

How and what this money is spent on is important to the survival of our communities; these are the jobs of the future and they pay good salaries. Don’t wait until the last minute.

For much of the last forty years, ever since America “fixed” its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, “When are African Americans finally going to get over it?

Now I want to ask:  “When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?

Recent reports that “Election Spurs Hundreds’ of Race Threats, Crimes” should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in “Bombingham,” Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than “talk the talk.” 
Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes.   Criticize them, yes.  Call for their impeachment, perhaps.

But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we’re back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we’ve proven what conservatives are always saying -that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president. But instead we now hear that schoolchildren from Maine to California are talking about wanting to “assassinate Obama.”

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, “How long?”    How long before we white people realize we can’t make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can -once and for all- get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color?  How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior?  How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?

How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loud mouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we starting “living out the true meaning” of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that “red and yellow, black and white” all are precious in God’s sight?

Until this past November 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency.   I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here’s my three-point plan:

First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built I’m going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I’m going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

Third, I’m going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can “in spirit and in truth” sing of our damnable color prejudice, “We HAVE overcome.”

It takes a Village to protect our President!!!

About the author: Andrew Manis is author of Macon Black and White and serves on the steering committee of Macon’s Center for Racial understanding.

Leaders from Montgomery County gathered to hear State Senator Thelma Harper speak and give her support to Tim Barnes, Democratic Candidate for the Tennessee State Senate District 22. They left this event with a deeper understanding about what this race is really all about.

Thelma Harper has served in the Tennessee state Senate for more than 14 years; she has seen more than her share of politicians come and go. Harper addressed the audience with the kind of fire that has made her one of the most powerful senators to ever represent Tennessee. But sadness in her voice could also be heard every time she mentioned the name of the current senator Rosalind Kurita.

It was Thelma Harper who some time ago came to Clarksville to lend her support to a young up and coming candidate from Montgomery County. It was Thelma Harper who walked these same streets with Kurita and it was Thelma Harper who welcomed her with opened arms when she arrived for her first day on Capitol Hill. Senator Harper, the first African American woman elected to the Tennessee State Senate, knew how it felt to not only to be a minority but also what it meant to be one of the few women senators serving her state and country on capitol hill.

On this night, Thelma Harper told a story of how Rosalind Kurita crossed party lines and cast a vote giving the Republican Party control the Tennessee state senate. It was a speech about trust, a word Senator Harper repeated several times during her emotional speech.

Harper spoke about knowing that if a vote comes up that creates more jobs for Tennesseans or better educational opportunities for our kids or a bill that provides every person a chance to become a home owner that you are going to have a senator in place you know you can trust to do the right thing. Without hesitation, Harper proudly proclaimed Tim Barnes to be that person. While she said she once saw Rosalind Kurita as the future of the Democratic Party, she now sees that in Tim and stressed that only Tim Barnes can undo the harm Rosalind Kurita’s vote has caused the party.

She encouraged all in attendance to get to know the candidates and to hold them accountable to their word, stating her belief that “your word should be your bond,” and that trust and accountability are just a few of the things we as voters should expect from our elected officials.

Senators Harpers speech had all the ingredients of a powerful motivational moment, but at the same time you could have heard a pin drop in the room. The experience was deep as it was moving.

Arkansas US Attorney Tim Griffin, the controversial US Attorney in Arkansas, has resigned his position. Griffin is a protege of Karl Rove and former research director of the Republic National Committee.

The BBC reported in 2004 that Griffin led a “caging” scheme to suppress the votes of African American servicemembers in Florida. As a result, 1,886 U. S. servicemembers were denied their right to vote because they lived in predominantly black and traditionally Democratic  areas of Jacksonville, FL. These servicemembers were stationed overseas at the time. This tactic was a deliberate assault upon our military forces engaged in defending our freedom and liberties.

Sending mail marked, “Do not forward-returned to sender,” and then challenging those servicemember voters’ absentee ballots is beyond the pale of lowball politics. But the Republican Party, in recent years, has resorted to using these kinds of tactics to minimize voting blocks which they have failed to win over to their side. Florida has proved a fertile testing ground for these tactics.

It is reprehensible to think that in “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” that these kinds of dirty tricks and fraud would even be considered, much less actually carried out, by “the Party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan!”

Is “caging” the newest manifestation of ‘hitting one for the gipper? Somehow, I don’t think he would have approved.

For an explaination of what “caging” is, go to:

http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/05/us_attorney_tim.php

Given the documented evidence of this fraud, one must question whether these tactics have been tried here in Montgomery County, or anywhere else in Tennessee, for that matter. Suppressing the Black vote seems to be a national obsession with the GOP. Have black voters here in Tennessee been likewise victimized by Republican dirty tricks in recent elections? Challenges to absentee ballots has become a major component of Republican election strategy. Karl Rove seems to have a penchant for devising and inflicting treachery upon the American electorate.

 Where will he strike in 2008?

The African American community mourns the recent death of Yolanda King.

With great sadness we mourn the lost of Yolanda King. Civil Rights Activist, Producer, Actress, and Lecturer. As we reflect on her achievements while on this earth let’s not forget that this Homegoing will unite her with God, Mother and Father.

She will be missed by many but her advocacy for the poor will be remembered forever as will her spirit for life and equity for all.  As an avid supporter of Gay rights, Yolanda King was not always placed in the forefront of the media like other King family members for their stance on this issue. 

From The King Center:

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, two weeks before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus and triggered the movement that ultimately desegregated the South, Yolanda King had been in the midst of the struggle for human rights all of her life. The first-born child of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Yolanda participated in numerous civil and human rights demonstrations and spoke before countless religious, educational, civic and human rights groups.

At the age of eight, Ms. King wrote a play in which she directed her reluctant siblings and subsequently performed for her parents and friends. By the age of twelve, she had choreographed two musicals and directed several theatrical productions. These early initiatives began a career in the performing arts, which led her to The Actor’s and Writer’s Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia, where she studied theatre and appeared in productions in the Atlanta area.

After graduating from Henry Grady High School in the top 10% of her class, she continued her education at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, receiving a B.A. degree with honors in Theatre and African-American Studies. While at Smith, she co-directed the Student Theatre Workshop and portrayed a wide diversity of characters in productions both at Smith and the surrounding area. She then moved on to New York where she obtained a M.F.A. in Theatre at New York University and directed and performed in productions in New York and the Tri-State area.

She considered herself an artist-communicator who is committed to using her talents to affect social and personal change. Ms. King combined her involvement with human rights organizations and causes with her artistic pursuits. As she explained, “While it is imperative to actively challenge the forces that deny human beings their right to a decent life . . . one must also stimulate and impact the hearts and minds of both the privileged as well as those who have been too long denied. Within the arts lies this power.”

Her career reflected this belief. In addition to working with a number of human rights organizations and causes, Ms. King was a founding member of Christian Theatre Artists and for ten years she served as Co-Founding Director of NUCLEUS, (a company of performing artists dedicated to promoting positive energy through the arts) with Attallah Shabazz, the eldest child of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz.

In 1990, she formed Higher Ground Productions. Its first project was “TRACKS,” a multimedia theatrical production celebrating the philosophy of Dr. King. This one woman show featuring Ms. King portraying sixteen characters, toured the country for four years. Higher Ground Productions’ most recent project, “Achieving The Dream,” premiered during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia and is currently being performed around the country.

As a seasoned and respected actress, many of Ms. King’s stage, television and film credits reflected her interest in social change and include portrayals of Rosa Parks in the NBC-TV movie “King” with Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson; of Dr. Betty Shabazz in the feature film “Death of A Prophet” with Morgan Freeman; and of Medgar and Myrlie Evers’ daughter Reena in Rob Reiner’s Golden Globe nominated film “Ghosts of Mississippi.” Her performance as Mrs. Crawford in the HBO Special “America’s Dream: The Boy Who Painted Christ Black” contributed toward five Cable Ace Awards and the N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Best Television Movie or Mini-Series.

For three years, Ms. King served as a Visiting Professor, teaching in the Theater Department at Fordham University in New York City. At Fordham, she directed and portrayed the role of Mama in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” Her most recent film projects brought her together with some of Hollywood’s famed actors: “The Secret Path” with Della Reese and Ossie Davis; “Funny Valentines” with Alfre Woodard; and “Selma, Lord, Selma” with Jurnee Smollett for ABC’s “Wonderful World of Disney.” Presently, Ms. King maintains an active schedule speaking and performing throughout the United States and Europe, while working on theatre and film production projects from her home in Los Angeles, California.

She recently made her Television Series debut playing Judge Esther Green in the hit CBS series “JAG”. She is most proud of her portrayal of Odessa in the short feature film, “Odessa”, currently being considered for Academy Award nomination.

Ms. King was honored with numerous presentations, awards and citations by organizations around the country and was named to Outstanding Young Women of America. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. (the official national memorial to Dr. King) and was founding Director of the King Center’s Cultural Affairs Program. She served as Honorary Co-Chair of the Memorial to Our Lost Children and was a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, a sponsor of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and holds a lifetime membership in the N.A.A.C.P.

YOLANDA KING

(November 17, 1955 – May 15, 2007)

America is a very young country but is the wealthiest country in the world. With over 400 years of free labor off the backs of enslaved Africans it not only explains its # 1 economic power position among all nations, but also why we still and must continue to fight for equality for all Americans. You can not wipe away over 400 years of institutionalized slavery in a mere 142 years. Remember the law of the land as stated in the United States Constitution declared slavery very much legal and all black people property. We are still healing as a nation people! (read more)

“WITH SPECIAL GUEST PANELIST“

“Rev. Jerry Jerkins” – St. John Baptist church
“Chief Mark Smith” – Clarksville Police Department
“Jimmie Garland” – NAACP President
“Charles Smith” – Clarksville City Judge
“Mark Harris” – Clarksville City Council Ward 6
“Catherine Davila” – Community Activist

Bring your questions, complaints, grievances, comments, and solutions to this special call meeting.

Hosted by the Urban Resource Center, Mr. Terry McMoore, Director

For more information, please call 931-378-1999