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

Talented Florida artist Broadway Harewood exclaimed that he feels like a kid in a candy store as he awaits a special unveiling taking place in the Liberty City section of Miami on Saturday, Feb. 27.

More precisely, he said he’s got the goosebumps usually reserved for the Yuletide season.

“I’m feeling like tomorrow is Christmas, but I have to wait to open my presents, and believe me, I cannot wait because I’m so excited.”

Harewood, a majority owner of commercial real estate in Liberty City, has used the arts to reduce crime in the area.

On Feb. 27, he will publicly unveil a mural honoring National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

The unveiling will take place at 2 p.m. in the Broadway Arts District at 6209 NW 18th Avenue. The Broadway Art District encompasses 18th Avenue, between 62nd and 71st street.

“[An acquaintance] said to me that I’ve been doing murals for so many people who don’t appreciate it and those who really haven’t done anything for the community,” Harewood told NNPA Newswire.

“He asked me had I thought about Dr. Ben Chavis, and I was like, ‘wow, here’s a man who has done so much for so many,’” Harewood exclaimed.

Harewood noted that he had always found himself spellbound by the story of the Wilmington Ten, the Dr. Chavis-led civil rights activist group that served nearly a decade in prison in the 1970s on trumped-up and racially-motivated charges of arson and conspiracy.

The Wilmington Ten were eventually released from prison and exonerated.

In 2012, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue pardoned the civil rights leaders, correcting a nearly five decades-old false conviction.

“Dr. Chavis was one of the Wilmington 10 and author of ‘Psalms From Prison,’ a book that was an inspiration for the film ‘Blood Done Signed my Name,’” Harewood recalled.

The 2010 film starred Natalie Alyn Lind, Michael Rooker, and Nate Parker.

“You are talking about someone who continues to fight for what’s right,” Harewood stated about Dr. Chavis.

Besides recognizing Dr. Chavis and guests, organizers will distribute 1,500 protective masks to the community during the mural unveiling.

According to a news release, the Broadway Art District kicked off Black History Month, 2021, with Commissioner Keon Hardemon’s mural unveiling and special recognition.

Harewood said the South Florida community continues to advocate for proper safety protocols and health guidelines about social distancing. With that, all who attend the unveiling must adhere to guidelines.

“I can’t wait,” Harewood stated.

Equality Health Foundation, HeroZona and More Announce Upcoming Community Events

PHOENIX – The Equality Health Foundation in partnership with the HeroZona Foundation, Travis L. Williams American Legion Post 65, and African American Christian Clergy Coalition are excited to announce that new COVID-19 vaccine sites are coming to Phoenix in Spring of 2021. These community events will be located in diverse, underserved communities where HeroZona and Equality Health Foundation also launched the nation’s largest free COVID-19 testing site in July of last year and continue offering testing and wrap around services to more than 35,000 individuals. Vaccinations at these sites will be facilitated by Panda Pediatrics and Adolescent Care, Passport Health and other healthcare partners.

The coalition of partners believe a community-based Point of Dispensing (POD) system is critical to ensuring all individuals disproportionately affected by coronavirus get prioritized access to the vaccine. Under this framework, it will be a high priority to track demographic data to identify disparity gaps and guarantee that Arizona is distributing the vaccine in a fair and equitable way.

“Our emerging strategic alliance is actively working with state and local governments to implement this model in communities hardest hit by this pandemic,” said Tomás León, interim CEO of the Equality Health Foundation. “Because of the lack of communication, resources and access, many Black and Hispanic people in Phoenix are not receiving their vaccine. We hope to break down barriers to create greater access for these vulnerable populations.”

The first phase of the model will be a public awareness campaign that dispels perceptions and myths regarding the vaccine in hopes of educating community members on the benefits of getting immunized. Next, the partners will address obstacles in accessing existing state-run POD sites by helping vulnerable minority populations register for their doses. Finally, the coalition will activate community-based micro-POD vaccination sites in minority communities hardest hit by the pandemic. The official activation date is still pending. Once the site is active, the coalition will work with various hiring agencies and community-based organizations to employ volunteers and staff that reflect the communities they are serving.

“During Black History Month, myself and other leaders across black and brown communities have come together to discuss how we can better support the members of our neighborhoods at high-risk,” said Alan “AP” Powell, Chairman of AP & Associates – Strategic Alliances, U.S. Army Desert-Storm Veteran, and founder of HeroZona. “Research shows that minorities are getting vaccinated at a slower rate than normal, and we want to change that. We will provide the vaccine as well as other resources to help underserved populations in Phoenix stay safe against coronavirus.”

The community event is supported in part by United States Representative for Arizona’s 7^th District Ruben Gallego, Arizona State District 27 Representative Reginald Bolding, Maricopa County District 5 Supervisor Steve Gallardo, City of Phoenix District 8 Councilmember Carlos Garcia, the NAACP Arizona State Conference, the Greater Phoenix Urban League, the Black Chamber of Arizona, 100 Back Men of Phoenix, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Phoenix Chapter, the Arizona Coalition for Change, Forty-Eight Foundation, National Pan-Hellenic Council Phoenix Metro Chapter and many more public and private stakeholders.

HeroZona Foundation has launched various community programs including Phoenix Tools 4 School, The Bridge Forum, Holiday Bike Giveaways, MLK Celebrating the Dream, Play It Forward: Engaging Our Youth Through the Arts, Veterans Reach to Teach and the HeroZona Forgotten Heroes Breakfast.

For more information about the foundation’s community program partnerships visit herozona.org or follow on Facebook.com/HeroZonaOrg.

About the HeroZona Foundation

The HeroZona Foundation is a non-profit organization that empowers Heroes in the community through entrepreneurship, employment, and education. The group works with veterans, first responders and those that bring social good to future generations and under-served communities. The foundation’s mission is to create opportunities for the brave men and women who serve their country, and community, every day. For more information, please visit HeroZona.org. 

About the Equality Health Foundation

The Equality Health Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to leveling the healthcare playing field in culturally diverse and underserved communities. The Foundation works to expand access to care, accelerate health education, and eliminate healthcare inequalities so that everyone in the community has an opportunity to lead healthier and longer lives. For more information, visit https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org.

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association (LMOGA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) are proud to announce that two new educational institutions have joined API’s Minority Serving Institution (MSI) initiative, which makes API’s best-in-class standards freely accessible to students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

“As the oil and natural gas industry continues to evolve, the API standards seek to advance the safety of industry operations and encourage environmental protection and sustainability across the industry,” LMOGA President and General Counsel Tyler Gray said. “We are proud to work with API to provide these standards as an investment in the next generation of energy workers and the future of the natural gas oil industry.”

The MSI initiative’s mission is to develop and promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the natural gas and oil industry workforce by providing API’s industry standards catalog, with over 700 standards, to accredited higher education institutions. Today’s announcement welcomes Southern University and A&M College and Grambling State University as official participants in API’s ongoing effort to increase access to API’s standards and prepare the incoming industry workforce. This effort supports API’s commitment to expanding diversity in the vital talent pools that will help meet the industry’s future workforce demands.

“API is proud to make our standards catalog available to Southern and Grambling in support of their work to educate and prepare our nation’s future energy workforce,” said Debra Phillips, senior vice president of API’s Global Industry Services. “A diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce is an essential part of our industry’s future success and API is honored to play a small part in supporting progress toward these students’ bright futures.”

Louisiana state Senator Ed Price (D-District 2) and state Representative Ken Brass (D-District 58) advocated for ensuring students at these two schools have first-of-a-kind access to API’s state-of-the-art industry standards. Sen. Price and Rep. Brass are proud graduates from Grambling State University and Southern University A&M, respectively.

“Making the API standards available to the engineering department at no cost truly ensures that the next generation of oilfield workers are properly equipped to have a safe and prosperous energy career. I look forward to continuing to work with the oil and natural gas industry to build a bright future for all Louisianans,” Sen. Ed Price said. “I am thankful for the investment to my alma mater and the continued support for diversity within the industry from LMOGA and API.”

“This partnership between API and both universities will provide our students with an additional resource that can be used to enhance their technical knowledge and prepare them as they move into their careers in engineering,” Rep. Brass said.

API has operated as the global leader in establishing and maintaining standards for the natural gas and oil industry since 1924. API standards help enhance operational safety, environmental protection and sustainability, while working to ensure that industry knowledge is accurately transferred amongst engineers and across organizations.

The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association (LMOGA), founded in 1923, is a trade association exclusively representing all sectors of the oil and gas industry operating in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. LMOGA serves exploration and production, refining, transportation, marketing and mid-stream companies as well as other firms in the fields of law, engineering, environment, financing and government relations.

API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Our 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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

Wells Fargo is observing Black History Month in a meaningful way.

The banking giant has selected six African American minority depository institutions (MDIs) for equity investments.

Broadway Federal Bank in Los Angeles, Carver Federal Savings Bank in New York, Citizens Savings Bank & Trust in Nashville, Commonwealth National Bank in Mobile, Ala., M&F Bank in Durham, N.C., and Optus Bank in Columbia, S.C., are receiving critical equity capital, because of Well Fargo’s generous contribution.

The financial commitment structure means that the investments are in the form of critical equity capital, which is foundational to the MDIs’ ability to expand lending and deposit-taking capacity in their communities.

The investments, primarily non-voting positions, are designed to enable the banks to maintain their MDI status.

Wells Fargo said it is also supporting each MDI’s development through a banking relationship in the form of a single touchpoint coverage model that will help them access Wells Fargo’s expertise and pursue strategic priorities like entering new markets, expanding locations, designing new products, and hiring staff to support loan growth.

The investments are part of a March 2020 pledge by Wells Fargo to invest as much as $50 million in Black-owned banks.

“MDIs are a viable and very important sector of the banking industry that can directly support the financial health of communities where typically there are gaps in banking services,” said Gigi Dixon, head of External Engagement for Wells Fargo’s Diverse Segments, Representation & Inclusion group.

“By working together with MDIs, Wells Fargo can address some of the issues where these banks are located and help reach the unbanked. These investments will complement our community development efforts while positively impacting people in many communities we serve.”

Dixon continued:

“We are trying to break the cycle where these institutions and their communities have faced barriers to raising significant capital,” Dixon said. “Ideally, this is going to promote the ability of MDIs to stimulate growth in low- to middle-income communities and be more profitable.”

The Wells Fargo commitment is in the form of equity instead of deposits. For example, with $1 of new deposits, an MDI can make $1 of new loans, but with $1 of new equity, an MDI can make $10 of new loans.

Wells Fargo officials said its investment goes beyond cutting a check, but the goal is to have meaningful, lasting relationships with the banks.

“We’ve spent considerable time getting to know each MDI and understanding their unique needs,” Dixon noted.

Each MDI will have a dedicated relationship team as part of Corporate & Investment Banking.

Wells Fargo will provide day-to-day relationship coverage and a central point of connectivity for MDIs to access various resources.

Dixon asserted that the MDIs receiving the investment had requested non-financial resources in their business plans, and Wells Fargo will be aligning resources to those needs.

Some of the requests include technology solutions for digital transformation, leveraging Wells Fargo’s consumer footprint (ATM/branch access), loan origination partnerships), financial education, and mentorship.

“These investments are designed to help the banks become stronger and more impactful to the minority communities they serve, which leads to economic revitalization and job opportunities,” said Bill Daley, vice chairman of Public Affairs at Wells Fargo. “So many communities have suffered over the past year. MDIs need capital, but they can also benefit from access to other resources, and Wells Fargo is committed to building lasting, strategic relationships with these institutions in support of their goals.”

By Roger Caldwell, NNPA Newswire Contributor

As America struggles with the challenges of Covid-19, and a depression/recession, there is sunshine and a belief of tremendous success with people of color (POC). Truth, integrity and factual information are the foundation that President Biden and Vice-President Harris are building their administration upon. The past four years were based on corruption, lies and textbook racism. But Democracy — and America’s voice: the vote — won again.

Many Republicans and political pundits may see the new administration as a mistake, but 84 million people, the most in the history of America, voted with their hearts and their souls. So, this is the new truth. America has shifted, and Republican foolishness and corruption will be exposed and destroyed on a daily level.

There is dangerous behavior being exhibited in the Republican Party, with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. On Thursday, 2/4/21, Congresswoman Greene was stripped of her committee posts, in education and budget. The House Democrats joined by 11 Republicans felt she was a danger to the integrity of the body, and many are calling for her to resign her position as a Congresswoman.

“Mostly, the headlines have been about her (previously held) conspiratorial QAnon beliefs, claims that 9/11 did not happen, that school shootings such as the one at Sandy Hook 2012 in Connecticut that killed 26 children and adults were staged and more,” says Andrew Buncombe – reporter for The Independent. This is an indicator that millions of Americans think like her, and they are caught up in a delusionary reality.

As the Republicans remain in gridlock, the Democrats have learned that they cannot wait for them to make up their minds, nor wait to see which way they will go. The Democrats have majorities in the Senate/House, and they are preparing to move forward.

There is a diversity explosion taking place across the country, in the White House, in Congress, with women and with people of color. The new census reports confirm the importance of racial minorities as the primary demographic engine of the nation’s growth.

“The new census projections indicate that for youth under the age of 18, the post millennia population, minorities will outnumber Whites in 2020,” says William Frey, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. This is amazing data for people of color, because Whites are not replacing themselves with babies. Soon there will be an inflection point, and there will be more people of color than White people in America.

William Frey is projecting in 2045; America will become “minority White.”

There is nothing Americans can do about this scientific fact. As the Biden administration begins to address criminal justice and prison reform, the killing of Black and Brown people must end. There are many organizations across the country, fighting in solidarity to change policing in America.

There are now more than 40% of the residents in the country, who identify themselves as people of color (POC). The future of America is with people of color, because they are an interchangeable member of a shared group, and also has a unique identity such as Black or Hispanic.

Public discussion often overlooks the fact that groups called minorities can choose from several identities. A person of color can call themselves Black, Latino, Asian, Mexican, Jamaican, Chinese or any other culture they are comfortable with. Depending on the circumstances, this is a new identity that will get larger as people refuse to call themselves White.

As America shifts under the administration of Biden, the majority in the Democratic Party will be people of color (POC). This makes sense as it reflects the commonality of America, and the fight is for racial equity, and respect for people as human beings.

As anti-racist efforts and organizations continue to grow and unfold, the battle will be coordinated and organized by people of color. People of color will no longer be the minority, they will become the majority, and this will happen before 2045.

The responsibility of people of color is to stand up and be counted. To relax and wait for change is no longer an option. If you want change, remember you are no longer the minority as people of color, and register and vote.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has launched a global news feature series on the history, contemporary realities and implications of the transatlantic slave trade.
(Read the entire series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor
@StacyBrownMedia

“And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all. The white race believes – believes with all its heart – that it is their right to take the land. To kill. Make war. Enslave their brothers. This nation shouldn’t exist, if there is any justice in the world, for its foundations are murder, theft, and cruelty. Yet here we are.” ― Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad

Once they reached the Americas, enslaved Africans were sold to the highest bidder at slave auctions and, once they had been purchased, slaves worked for nothing on plantations without any rights at all.

Often punished harshly, some slaves committed suicide, according to historians and pregnant women – many impregnated by their white slave masters – preferred abortion.

The historic accounts of the transatlantic slave trade, only worsen as they’re told.

From the earliest stages of the transatlantic slave trade 500 years ago and throughout that most ignominious period, many enslaved Africans tried to reduce the pace of their work by pretending to be ill, causing fires and by breaking tools, according to historians.

Though few were able to escape, most who attempted to flee were caught and beaten and some even murdered.

“Slavery is one of the foundational pillars of American society, propping up the nation starting in the earliest days of the Republic and touching the lives of everyone in America,” said Hasan Jeffries, a history professor at Ohio State University.

“And, its legacy has been long lasting,” said Jeffries who specializes in African American history and contemporary black history, which includes the institution of slavery and its effect on African Americans in the United States from the founding era through the Civil Rights movement and today.

“The deeply rooted belief in white supremacy that justified slavery survived its abolition in 1865 and undergird the new systems of African American labor exploitation and social control, namely Jim Crow, that sought to replace what had been lost as a result of emancipation,” Jeffries continued.

“Slavery may have ended in 1865, but a slaveholder mentality persisted, shaping the contours of American life for decades to come. This legacy of slavery is very much what African Americans have been fighting against from the moment of emancipation through the present.”

James Madison’s Montpelier, the home of the Father of the Constitution, an institution that examines slavery during the Founding Era and its impact today, recently commissioned a study that examined how Americans perceive their Constitutional rights.

Research found that African Americans (65 percent) are less likely than whites (82 percent) to believe that their Constitutional rights are regularly upheld and respected.

The study also revealed that African Americans (62 percent) are more likely than whites (36 percent) to believe that civil rights is the most important Constitutional issue to the nation; findings that make it clear that race continues to play a major role in determining how Americans perceive Constitutional rights.

“Enslaved people were considered property during the Founding Era, therefore the Constitution’s declarations of ‘we the people’ and ‘justice’ excluded them, protecting one of the most oppressive institutions in history,” said Kat Imhoff, president and CEO of James Madison’s Montpelier.

“While the words ‘slave’ and, or, ‘slavery’ are never mentioned in the Constitution, they are referenced and codified in a variety of ways throughout the document,” Imhoff said.

“The founders compromised morality – many were recorded as being opposed to slavery, but on the other hand many were not – and power – in some cases, states bowed to slaveholding counterparts to ensure the Constitution would be ratified in the name of economics,” she said.

Imhoff continued:

“Slavery, when all was said and done, was incredibly profitable for white Americans – and not just in the South. It was the economic engine of the new nation. While Madison and his ideas remain powerful and relevant, they also stand in stark contrast to the captivity and abuse of Madison’s own slaves. At Montpelier, on the very grounds where Madison conceived ideas of rights and freedom, there lived hundreds of people whose freedom he denied.”

Indeed, Madison’s story is one of the first in the continuing journey of Americans who struggled to throw off bonds of oppression and exercise the fullness of what it means to be free, Imhoff added.

Working at James Madison’s Montpelier provides Imhoff and others a view of race and slavery’s legacy through the eyes of those who descended directly from the enslaved individuals who lived at Montpelier and other estates in the nearby Virginia area.

“As a leader of this cultural institution engaged in the interpretation of slavery, I believe to truly move forward, it is essential to engage the descendants to help us interpret slavery in real terms and illuminate their ancestors’ stories,” Imhoff said.

“Our country continues to grapple with the effects of slavery. Some of us feel it in deeply personal ways. Others only know of it historically or academically, as part of the distant, long-ago past.

“These differences make it all the more important to engage in worthwhile discussions with each other. We must have a more holistic conversation about freedom, equality and justice, and ensure we are inclusive of those people who it affects most readily.”