by Bobbi Booker
Special from the Philadelphia Tribune
(NNPA) -- The man looked frail
and leaned on a cane as he was
helped by his wife onto a
London stage illuminated for his
impending 90th birthday. Events
in the pop culture news and
world political events leading up
to this special showcase had
threatened to overshadow the
honoree. But his brief speech
(and the thunderous applause it
garnered) made it clear that
Nelson Mandela is still revered.
“Where there is poverty and
sickness including AIDS, where
human beings are being
oppressed, there is more work to
be done,” Mandela said. “But
even as we celebrate, let us
remind ourselves that our work
is far from complete. Our work
is for freedom for all.”
Though his birthday, July 18,
was just last Friday, Mandela’s
comments came three weeks ago
as part of a special birthday concert
held in honor of the South
African statesman’s 90th birthday.
He recalled how 20 years
earlier, a similar event celebrating
his 70th birthday had been
held while he was still imprisoned
in South Africa as an antiapartheid
activist. Mandela told
last month’s crowd of nearly
50,000 that the concert made a
big difference in his eventual
release and the fight against the
racist system, which was dismantled
in the early 1990s.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
was born 90 years ago in
Transkei, South Africa on July
18, 1918. His father was Chief
Henry Mandela of the Tembu
Tribe. Mandela was educated at
University College of Fort Hare
and the University of
Witwatersrand and qualified in
law in 1942.
He joined the African
National Congress in 1944 and
was engaged in resistance
against the ruling National
Party’s apartheid policies after
1948. When the ANC was outlawed
in 1960, he went underground
and organized its military
wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe
(Spear of the Nation). In 1962,
he was sentenced to five years
imprisonment. In 1964, while
still in detention, he was charged
with treason and, after giving a
memorable four-and-a-half hour
speech criticizing apartheid, he
was sentenced to life imprisonment.
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Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., whose
passionate advocacy for racial
equality and diversity was
shaped by his early exposure to
the Civil Rights Movement and
its leaders, has been named the
university’s 2008 Distinguished
Alumnus. The Vanderbilt
Alumni Association will honor
Watkins, a noted cardiac surgeon,
at an Oct. 22 dinner at the
Student Life Center.
Watkins, a professor of cardiac
surgery and associate dean
of the Johns Hopkins
University’s School of
Medicine, was the first African
American to enroll at and graduate
from the Vanderbilt
Medical School. The Vanderbilt
Board of Trust member has
been a pioneering leader not
only in efforts to bring more
racial diversity to medical and
graduate education but also in
research on coronary heart disease.
“Levi Watkins is a pioneer
in his field and at Vanderbilt,”
Vanderbilt University
Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos
said. “The university would not
be what it is today without
Levi’s many and ongoing contributions
as a trailblazing student,
a distinguished graduate
and an engaged, thoughtful and
committed Board of Trust
member. His service to
Vanderbilt and to society has
been tireless, and he embodies
the very spirit and meaning of
the Distinguished Alumnus
Award, and it is fitting to honor
him in such a prominent and
public way.”
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One Million Fathers lead the
nation back to school this fall
CHICAGO, Ill.
(BlackNews.com) -- "Education
has become a matter of national
security. Because we cannot
control our schools, we cannot
control our economy. And
because we cannot control our
economy, we cannot control and
protect our quality of life in
America," said Phillip Jackson,
executive director of The Black
Star Project, U.S.A.
The Black Star Project is
sponsoring the Million Father
March 2008 on the first day of
school in nearly 300 cities across
America. The Million Father
March has become a special day
that fathers and men use to make
a commitment to their children,
their families, their communities
and their country with their
dynamic presence at a school.
This is the real fathers' day!
The Million Father March
2008 will play-out at thousands
of schools across America and in
other parts of the world. About
300,000 men from 127 cities
participated in the Million
Father March in 2006. An estimated
400,000 men in 238 cities
participated in 2007. This year,
an estimated 500,000 men from
300 cities are expected to participate.
The Million Father March
also provides an escort of safety,
support, and encouragement to
children of all ages on their first
day of school.
"Gang recruitment, bullying
and random violence goes way
down on any day that a group of
men are at a school," said
Jackson.
Research shows that children
whose fathers take an active role
in their educational lives earn
better grades, get better test
scores, enjoy school more and
are more likely to graduate from
high school and attend college.
Additionally, children have
fewer behavior problems when
fathers listen to and talk with
them regularly and are active in
their lives. A good father is part
of a good parent team and is critical
to creating a strong family
structure. Strong family structures
produce children who are
more academically proficient,
socially developed and selfassured.
Such children become
adults who are valuable assets to
their communities.
"Better parents produce better
communities, better schools,
and better students with higher
academic achievements," said
Jackson.
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Fisk University raises more funds in
one year than last three combined
Fisk University announced
final fundraising totals that far
exceeded annual goals. The total
amount of funds raised,
$9,230,414, represents more
funds raised in one year than in
the last three years combined.
Key metrics that underscore
the success of the university’s
fund raising efforts include:
• $9,230,414 in total
fundraising for ’07-‘08 fiscal
year vs. $3,200,000 in ’06-‘07
• 1,249 new donors
• 34% of all funds raised
originated in Tennessee
• $1.5 million in alumni giving
represents over 50% increase
over last year
• $4 million accounts payable
eliminated during the fiscal year
“We asked our friends to support
Fisk as we began to turn a
very big ship around and they
responded marvelously,” said
Board Chairman Robert W.
Norton. “We’ve taken a brief
moment to celebrate, but are
now moving this momentum
into this fiscal year.”
The university’s fundraising
strategy has as its base foundation
and corporate support,
trustees, alumni and friends.
Another key element is small
gatherings of potential fundraisers
hosted by alumni and friends
able to galvanize new supporters
of the institution.
“This accomplishment represents
a massive effort grounded
in the generosity of people who
want to see Fisk’s excellent academic
outcomes extended,” said
President Hazel R. O’Leary.
“Over the last two years we put
our financial house in order
through stringent fiscal management
and controls. Coupled with
our extraordinary fundraising
results, this heralds a newly
transformed and sustained Fisk.
Because of these results and
stringent financial discipline, we
have reconnected with several of
our community partners and will
speak with others in the months
ahead.”
That financial discipline is
demonstrated by the presence of
several key fiscal controls:
* Real-time revenue and
expense monitoring
* Cash flow data which indicates
when expense accounts
need to be reduced to reflect projected
revenue shortfalls
* Campus wide purchasing
system to prevent budget overruns
in all departments
* Accountability assigned to
each budget unit to offset over
expenditures
According to the National
Science Foundation, Fisk
University, a liberal arts university
produces more African
Americans who go on to earn
doctoral degrees in the natural
sciences than any school in the
nation.
by Robert H. Elliott
Everyday we open up printed
material or turn on the TV to be
blitzed by someone who is making
a high-5-figure salary telling
us about how someone named
Fred or Aunt Fanny has our economic
future in his or her hands.
They will point out how if these
folks don’t live too much longer,
their death spiral will take us all
into an early grave.
Then the next article or guest
spot will feature someone saying
that Fed or Dick has to do something
to save the banks or all of
our hard earned savings could be
lost in a wave of bank closures.
Of course, both of these scenarios
have been brought on by the
poor people not paying their
mortgages and defaulting on
these promissory notes.
(MSNBC, CNN, FOX, CNBC
and the WSJ)
According to the Program
Director of Home Safe:
“If you had paid attention to
these same people, on the same
show or in the same printed
medium, back in 2006 when
they said these mortgages would
not, could not affect the over-all
economy you might wonder,
‘Are these people as stupid as
they sounded then or even more
stupid as they sound now?’ They
seem to continually under-estimate
the economic power of
poor people!”
The first thing to realize is
that the Federal National
Mortgage Association , FNMA
(Fannie Mae), and the Federal
Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation, FHLMC (Freddie
Mac), didn’t buy any of these
sub-prime loans. They only have
‘conforming’ loans (30 yearfixed/
conventional mortgage
loans) in their vaults and mortgage
backed securities (FNMA
and FHLMC charter rules).
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Mayor kicks off MTA Easy
Ride program for Metro
employees
Mayor Karl Dean kicked off
the MTA Easy Ride program
for Metro employees with a bus
ride to work on July 16. Dean
arrived at Shelter B on the
Transit Mall downtown at
approximately 8:15 am.
The mayor proposed funding
in the 2008-09 operating
budget for Metro employees to
ride the bus to and from work at
no cost to them. The budget was
passed by the Metro Council at
the end of June.
Metro employees began
receiving their Easy Ride cards,
making Wednesday the first
morning they were able to take
advantage of the program.
About 500 Easy Ride applications
have been submitted to
Metro Human Resources since
enrollment started on July 1.
The cards will continue to be
distributed over the coming
weeks as applications are
processed.
Nashville Fire Dept.
Training Academy graduates
31 new firefighters
Thirty-one newly trained
firefighters graduated from the
Nashville Fire Department’s
Training Academy on July 8.
Fourteen of the recruits
received the firefighting training
for a total of 11 weeks
because of their current certification
as a paramedic or EMT,
and were quickly deployed out
into the field to begin additional
practical training. The
remaining recruits received 22
weeks of training to include the
EMT certification.
Following graduation, the
new firefighters will be
assigned to fire battalions to
continue their experience in the
field.
The fire recruits were hired
to fill vacancies throughout the
department.
Family and friends gathered
to share in the ceremony that
was led by Mayor Dean and
Chief Steve Halford as the new
graduates were charged with an
oath of commitment and the
promise to protect the lives and
property of the citizens they
serve.
Nashville Fire Training
Academy is located at 2601
Buena Vista Pike.
by Bobbi Booker
Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., whose
passionate advocacy for racial
equality and diversity was
shaped by his early exposure to
the Civil Rights Movement and
its leaders, has been named the
university’s 2008 Distinguished
Alumnus. The Vanderbilt
Alumni Association will honor
Watkins, a noted cardiac surgeon,
at an Oct. 22 dinner at the
Student Life Center.
CHICAGO, Ill.
(BlackNews.com) -- "Education
has become a matter of national
security. Because we cannot
control our schools, we cannot
control our economy. And
because we cannot control our
economy, we cannot control and
protect our quality of life in
America," said Phillip Jackson,
executive director of The Black
Star Project, U.S.A.
Fisk University announced
final fundraising totals that far
exceeded annual goals. The total
amount of funds raised,
$9,230,414, represents more
funds raised in one year than in
the last three years combined.