Demcorats’ Denver Convention highlights
first Inter-Faith gathering
by Zenitha Prince
Special from the
Afro-American Newspapers
(NNPA) -- In what is arguably
the most anticipated event of the
summer, more than 50,000
Democrats will converge on
Denver’s Pepsi Center Aug. 25-
28 for the Democratic National
Convention.
While this gathering will be
glutted with the ‘who’s who’ of
politics, business and even
Hollywood, the undisputed star
of the show will be Sen. Barack
Obama, the Democrat’s presumptive
nominee for president.
“This is an inspiring, engaging
celebration of Barack Obama
and his vision for America,” said
Damon Jones, spokesman for the
Democratic National
Convention Committee.
And for a majority of the
convention’s 4,439 delegates, it
will be the chance to show their
ultimate support for the senator—
casting their votes to elect
him the Democratic Party’s official
presidential nominee.
''I wanted to be intimately
involved in this campaign,” said
Jeff Hart, an at-large delegate
from Denver and Obama supporter.
“Obama’s the only candidate
that can bring our country
together—Democrats and
Republicans, liberals and conservatives,
Blacks and Whites,
rich and poor, urban and rural—
to heal the country and heal the
world.”
But first, the candidate and
the Democratic Party will have
to heal the breach opened up
during the primaries. Supporters
of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)
have called for her name to be on
the ballot and some supporters
have even said they will protest
if proper recognition isn’t given
to the New York senator during
the convention.
“There’s a special effort
behind Clinton supporters to
bring us all together to defeat
McCain and that’s going to be an
ongoing process--because you
have some individuals who supported
Clinton and don’t want to
come over,” said at-large delegate
James Tucker of Colorado
Springs.
Obama and Clinton have
been negotiating ways to give
voice to her millions of supporters
while furthering the convention’s
ultimate goal, but it would
demand the cooperation of her
devotees.
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Patricia Stokes, former program
manager of Meharry
Medical College Center for
Women’s Health Research, has
joined Urban League of Middle
Tennessee (ULMT) as president
and CEO according to
Sam Howard, board chairman
of ULMT.
Stokes brings 20 years of
non-profit management experience
to her new position at
Urban League. Prior, Stokes
directed the development of
programs and partnerships at
Meharry Medical College,
resulting in over 15 new community
health education and
scientific programs. She also
held multiple leadership positions
during her seven-year
tenure at the Metropolitan
Atlanta Chapter of American
Red Cross.
“In addition to being impeccably
qualified, serving Urban
League as president is an affirmation
of her work,” said
Howard. “Since 2007, Patricia
has worked with the Urban
League of Middle Tennessee on
a number of programs and
grants, each of which typify her
unique and obvious ability. We
couldn’t be more pleased to
welcome her as president.”
A wide range of experiences
frame Stokes’s work in nonprofits.
Beyond her leadership
positions within Meharry
Medical College and American
Red Cross, she provided program
management and evaluation
services to multiple organizations.
Ranging from
Kentucky State University’s
Onward/Upward Mentoring
Program for Children of
Incarcerated Parents to Guide,
Inc., a substance use prevention
agency, she has developed and
proven her aptitude in an array
of fields. She also worked on a
contractual basis with the
Association of Village PRIDE,
Inc.; The ZAP Asthma
Consortium, Inc.;
Rehabilitation Exposure, Inc.;
Macon County School System
in Alabama and American Red
Cross.
As an active member of
multiple organizations she further
defines her caliber and
commitment to community.
Stokes is a member of
Nashville CABLE; Jack and Jill
of America, Nashville/
Davidson County Chapter;
Meharry Medical College
Academic Community
Outreach Network; The
Society, Inc., Greater Atlanta
Chapter and the chapter’s
immediate past president. She
is an incoming board member
for Nashville’s Northwest
YMCA.
Stokes earned a Master’s of
Social Work from Smith
College and a Bachelor’s
degree from Howard
University.
Urban League of Middle
Tennessee is committed to
helping African American and
other minorities to enter and
stay in the economic mainstream
by empowering the
community and providing
workforce development services.
by Cass F.L. Teague, Jr., Ed.D.
The Tennessee Titans won
their second preseason game of
the 2008 campaign with an
exciting come-from-behind lastsecond
victory over the visiting
Oakland Raiders. The win for
the home team came on the final
play of the game, capping a
magnificent two-minute drill
engineered by two unlikely
home town heroes, one from
Brentwood Academy, and one
from Montgomery Bell
Academy.
Titans reserve quarterback
Ingle Martin, of MBA and
Furman, started with 2:10 on the
clock, trailing 16-14, and drove
the team from their own three
yard line to the Oakland 15-yard
line, with only two seconds
remaining. From there, placekicker
John Vaughn, from
Brentwood Academy and
Auburn, capped the 11-play, 82-
yard drive with a beautiful 33-
yard field goal as time expired,
lifting the Titans to a 17-16 win.
Oakland's Jamarcus Russell,
the NFL's first overall draft pick
in 2007, could claim a measure
of victory for himself. He threw
for more yards and the game's
first touchdown pass. Russell
left the game with a 10-7 halftime
lead, and finished 10-of-17
for 75 yards. After the game,
Russell said:
"It was fun. I got to go out
there. We did some good things,
and we just kept the ball moving.
We were never in a bad
position, like a third-and-long
situation, at least not very
much...I did pretty well out there
today, but at the same time, you
can always improve yourself on
every aspect of the game."
Titans QB Vince Young was
4-of-13 for 37 yards with no
TDs, and left after five series--
his final incompletion drew a
few boos. Oakland had 224
yards rushing, close to matching
the 248 it ran for in their exhibition
opener against San
Francisco. Tennessee, with 340
yards rushing against the Rams
the previous week, finished with
140 against the Raiders. Young,
after the game, said:
"We always have to establish
our running game. But what we
try to do is establish an offense
that’s going to be very, very balanced
in throwing the ball and
running the ball. It’s going to be
alright. We have more plays in
our offense than what you saw
today. We’re just going to continue
to keep working."
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African Americans win five Gold, three
Silver, and five Bronze at Olympics
by Cass F.L. Teague, Jr., Ed.D.
With days remaining, and the
major team-sports of men’s and
women’s basketball to be determined,
along with other individual
and team events, the medal
count for U.S. athletes is rising.
At press time Tuesday, the count
stood at five Gold, three Silver,
and five Bronze medals won by
African American athletes participating
in the Beijing
Olympics under the auspices of
the United States of America.
The five Gold medals were
won in swimming, tennis, and
track and field. The three Silver
medals were won in fencing and
track and field. The five Bronze
were claimed in track and field,
the heptathlon, and wrestling.
As seen on the front page of
last week's edition of the
‘PRIDE,’ Cullen Jones won the
Gold in swimming as member of
the U.S. men’s team in the 4x100
meter freestyle relay. Serena and
Venus Williams claimed Gold in
women’s doubles tennis. Dawn
Harper claimed the Gold in the
100-meter hurdles when favored
U.S. teammate Lolo Jones faltered.
Angelo Taylor claimed the
Gold in the men’s 400-meter
hurdles, and U.S. teammates
Kerron Clements (Silver) and
Bershawn Jackson (Bronze)
joined him on the stand, sweeping
the medals for the U.S. of A.
Silver medalists Keeth Smart
and Errin Smart both won in
fencing, and the siblings
excelled in a sport not usually
associated with African
Americans. Keeth took the
medal with the men’s team
saber, and his sister Errin took
the medal in women’s team foil.
Sanya Richards took the
Bronze in women’s 400-meter
hurdles. Walter Dix won Bronze
in the men’s 100-meter. Hyleas
Fountain took the Bronze in the
heptathlon. Randi Miller scored
the Bronze in the 55-63 kg
wrestling freestyle category.
Watch this space next week
for news about the final medal
count for African Americans in
the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Patricia Stokes, former program
manager of Meharry
Medical College Center for
Women’s Health Research, has
joined Urban League of Middle
Tennessee (ULMT) as president
and CEO according to
Sam Howard, board chairman
of ULMT.
by Cass F.L. Teague, Jr., Ed.D.
With days remaining, and the
major team-sports of men’s and
women’s basketball to be determined,
along with other individual
and team events, the medal
count for U.S. athletes is rising.