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Published by purepurposemedia, 2018-07-29 10:15:45

Christian Times: July 27 - August 9, 2018

Special Harlem Week Edition

BACK PAGE

PAGE 8
PAGE 11
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PAGE 5

P2 July 27 - August 9, 2018

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P3

TWIN BROTHERS

and Co-Valedictorians

HEADING TO MIT

They are twins, born but ever‐present parents, climate own education, and are grate‐ proud parents, to whom they
eleven minutes apart, change and the environment, ful to our parents who always liberally attribute their accom‐
and the need for focus and to did their best to care for us. plishments. “From our very
and at their high school follow your dreams. It is theirs Now we must be each other’s young age, our parents have
to live as they leave their par‐ big brother,” shared Miles. been active in our education.
graduation ceremony on June ents, who have been married They always did their best and
for 20 years, and head north to As they continue on their wanted us to be the best. We
21, Malik and Miles George further their education. journey of academic excel‐ were never forced, just encour‐
lence, Malik and Miles George aged,” Malik confided.
took turns in delivering rousing “We are very active in our are co‐creations of some truly

speeches to the delight of their

fellow graduates, the school

faculty, and the thousands

gathered.

The 18‐year‐old fraternal twins graduated
from Woodbridge High School in New Jersey
and are following their dreams, attending Mas‐
sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to pur‐
sue degrees in biotechnology. No surprise
there – the brothers are science buffs and are
avid lovers of science research. In their parents’
attic, Malik and Miles bred mice for a genetic
research project, and they are known for being
top achievers in school and in all of their pur‐
suits. They maintained an A‐plus average, and
neither have seen anything as low as a “B” since
the third grade. Of course, they both achieved
an almost perfect score on their SAT, and were
both accepted into all of the top Ivy League
schools, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

Now loaded with ambition and their drive
to succeed, the brothers are headed to college
and must be the first recipients of the advice
they shared with graduates during their speech.
They talked about family and having a support
system, the impact of their very support and



July 27 - August 9, 2018 P5

A Tribute to Our Chairman
REV.
DR.

He was an avid reader and a prolific writer. A deep tends beyond the thinking of most men, and he intel‐ editorial
thinker, a conversationalist, an intellectual. Against all lectually operated in the future while his flesh endured
odds, the Revered Dr. Elgin W. Watkins was a rounded the present.
man of all seasons, divinely endowed with multiple tal‐
ents, and an active and engaging mind. A heart that com‐ Born in October of 1941 in a small rural farm in
pelled him to aid others, and an abiding love for his Texas, this giant of faith and trailblazer of economic
people and the human family. This bold and brilliant empowerment and spiritual redemption rose to a
Texan was first and foremost a servant of God who served place of great influence and impact. With a master’s in
the Lord by serving the Church and the people of God. public health and M.Div. from Yale University, and a
Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary,
He was the assistant and youth pastor at Shiloh Bap‐ Dr Watkins died empty because he lived full. His pro‐
tist Church in New London, Connecticut; the executive fessorships, mentorships, scholarships, chairmanships,
minister at both
Bethany Baptist directorships, and
Church (Brooklyn) avid leadership are
and St. Albans but indicators that
Congregational Elgin gave his all.
Church (Queens);
and he was the Prior to his full‐
lead pastor of time work in min‐
Nazarene Congre‐ istry, Watkins
gational United worked as a scien‐
Church of Christ, tist for the United
and finally, First States Atomic En‐
Presbyterian ergy Commission
Church of Spring‐ and the Idaho Na‐
field Gardens. tional Energy Re‐
search Laboratory.
For more than He was fluent in
18 years, Dr. Elgin Russian and served
Watkins served as as the Chief Assis‐
the chair of the tant to the Chair of
editorial board for the Atomic Energy
The New York Christian Times, and has tickled the hearts Commission. The
of tens of thousands of readers with his insightful articles accolades and awards are endless, but beyond his accept‐
and thought‐provoking columns. ance of Christ at an early age, his greatest accomplish‐
ment is t meet and marry is long‐time love, Gena Lois
I cannot forget the excitement in the voice of the late Davis. They were married at the historic Yale University
Rev. Dr. William Augustus Jones in a phone call to me Chapel, and their marriage bloomed for 35 years.
sometime in the mid‐1990s. “Dillon, I have someone I’d Our friend, our brother, and my beloved sister’s hus‐
like you to work with,” he said in his deep, rich baritone band made his transition on July 5, 2018. Our moments
voice. I showed up to his office on Marcus Garvey Boule‐ with him are gone, but our memories of him will last a
vard in Bedford‐Stuyvesant, and was delightfully intro‐ lifetime. This visionary, scholar, preacher, and defender
duced to Elgin, who Jones commissioned to work with of the faith; this warrior of truth, justice and liberation;
The Christian Times. An enduring and impactful relation‐ this trailblazer and pioneer of things fraternal will never
ship ensued, and for the last 20 years, Watkins helped to truly die because he inked himself on the pages of our
shape The Christian times and our aggressive economic lives – and that ink is indelible.
empowerment agenda. – REV. DENNIS A. DILLON

This man of rarity had a mind capacity that well ex‐ Publisher

P6 July 27 - August 9, 2018

Presiding Bishop Curry

to have

Prostate

Cancer

Surgery

(above) Bishop Michael Curry electrifies hundreds of worshippers in singing “Love Lifted
Me” along with him at Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau, Bahamas during this week’s
opening Eucharist of the 50th annual meeting of the Union of Black Episcopalians.

Presiding Bishop Michael least a day, then at home to re‐
Curry, whose preaching about cuperate.”
the power of love at Prince
Harry and Meghan Markle’s Bishop Curry added that he
royal wedding in May propelled plans to return to work after
him into the international spot‐ four to six weeks of rest.
light, announced that he will
undergo surgery for prostate “I am very blessed with a
cancer next week. wonderful family, a first‐rate
medical team, a great staff,
In a letter released through dear colleagues and friends, a
the Episcopal Church Office of calling to which I have given my
Public Affairs, Curry shared: “A life, and above all, a good, great
few months ago, through my and loving God in whose hands
annual physical, I was diag‐ we always remain,” he said.
nosed with prostate cancer. “So, do say a prayer, and know
After a variety of tests, consul‐ that I look forward to being
tations, and conversations back at my post in September.”
with my wife and daugh‐
ters, I decided on a surgical
treatment course. On
Tuesday, July 31, I will have
surgery to remove the
prostate gland.

“I am happy to say that
the prognosis looks very
good and quite positive,”
he said. “I have spoken
with others who have gone
through this, and who have
offered both encourage‐
ment and helpful advice. I
will be in the hospital for at

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P7

P8 July 27 - August 9, 2018

Harlem Center The sparklingly clean lobby with its shiny
for Nursing & floors, glitzy décor, and contemporary fur-
Rehabilitation nishing gives the impression that you are
Stresses in a posh 4-star hotel. Here in Harlem on West
Healing and 138th Street between Fifth and Malcolm X Boule-
Short-term Stay vard, an institution endowed with new life, an ex-
panded focus, and a brilliant and bodacious
administrator is redefining nursing home care and
elevating post-hospitalization therapy to a new
level.

The Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation is another of
Harlem’s success stories. Founded in the 1960’s, this health care
institution is now heavily focused on quality short-term rehabilita-
tion, and prides itself on its acute care and its commitment to return
patients to their homes as quickly as possible. The 190-bed facility
just north of Harlem Hospital Medical Center offers physical and
occupational therapy, IV therapy, and helps rehabilitate patients
whose illnesses have impaired their speech.

BY J. EDWARD STILES

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P9

Mrs. Winsome McLean-Davis, the Center’s oping a team in which everyone shares. A li- with my team to see people function at their op-
executive director, proudly attest to the growing censed administrator since 1997, McLean-Davis
impact of the institution as Harlem’s best choice attributes her success to her faith in God, her timal level is what we strive for every day, and
for post-acute rehabilitation and rehabilitative strong commitment to community, her leadership
nursing care. and administrative abilities in identify and devel- when someone who was brought here on a
oping talents, and her strong conviction to the
“Our people in Harlem need to know that healing and wellness of her service population, stretcher then walks out on their own functioning
there is a place in Harlem that is committed to particularly the elderly.
their optimal care while they are here, and to help feet, that’s what makes our jobs worthwhile,” she
ensure that they have optimal services when the “I am driven by God’s love for me and my
leave,” explained McLean-Davis. passion to meet the needs of the elderly. Working explained.

With a team of more than 200 health care pro- When Winsome McLean-Davis came to that
fessionals, Harlem Center dispenses clinical and
nursing care services 24 hours a day, 7 days a what was formerly known as The Greater Harlem
week, and its wide range of skilled services en-
gages the institution’s diverse team of licensed Nursing Home, the morale was low, many beds
and certified nursing professionals, therapists,
and nutritionists who are thoroughly committed were empty, and the facility was in disrepair. The
to help the residents to live their best life.The
Harlem Center advocates clinical excellence and
offers its patients (residents) the kind of personal
touch that is essential to their recovery.

“Our state-of-the-art equipment, along with
our trained professionals and our core values of
respect, compassion, and integrity, makes Harlem
Center Harlem strong,” Ms. McLean-Davis
shared.

McLean-Davis, who was born in Jamaica,
West Indies, and did her undergraduate studies at
the University of the West Indies, holds an MSW
in Nursing Home Administration from Howard
University, and has been intentional about devel-

Brooklyn-based Allure Group had taken over the

facility and tapped McLean-Davis to revive it.

For more than seven years, she has administrated

similar healthcare facilities on behalf of Allure,

and being

called to

Harlem was a

challenge that

she embraced.

“I am stronger

here in Harlem

because I am

blooming

where I am

planted as I

fulfill my Executive Director
God-inspired WINSOME McLEAN-DAVIS

purpose to care for the elderly.”

Once the assessment was made and the needs

were identified, the leadership team was devel-

RESIDENCE ROOM CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

P 10 July 27 - August 9, 2018

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

oped, the staff trained, and the services began. THERAPY ROOM
The Center changed its focus from a long-term
nursing home residence to a facility committed ministry and law enforcement, and has worked in both of those
to helping its residents get well, feel better, and fields. However, he shares his passion for nursing because of its
move on with their lives. “And while they are power to bring healing and wellness to the lives of others. “I
here, we want them to be happy. If your resi- cared for my mother when she had a stroke, and as she uncovered
dents are happy to live here, our employees are my passion, she encouraged me to pursue nursing.”
happy to work here, and if our guests are happy
to visit, we would have created a happy home, After 15 years in the field, Jack now leads a team of some
and everyone will have an opportunity to shine 200 nursing professionals who offer services in many key areas,
and live and function at the highest level possi- including pulmonary and respiratory care, cardiac and bariatric
ble,” she contends. care, wound care, diabetes, pain/symptom management, ampu-
tation and post-surgical care, and hospice and palliative care.
At Harlem Center, residents and their fami-
lies go through an initial assessment to make “By getting patients back to their baseline, we want to enable
sure that they fit, and when they leave, they are them to get back to what they were doing. And while this is not
given an update to ensure that they will have all always possible, it is always our passion and our goal,” Jack con-
the services that they need through the Center’s cluded.
discharge planning assessment.
The Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation is making
Dwight Jack, the Director of Nursing, waves while making a difference. The Center has a strong pas-
stresses the institution’s commitment to help sion for the community, and continues to seek ways to bring hope
every patient return to their baseline. “Our cen- and impact to the neighborhood. “Not only do we want to treat,
ter is not just tailored for long-term care, but heal, and empower those who come through our doors, but we
short-term rehabilitation. We want our residents to get back to the business of daily also want those who go through our doors – including our em-
living. And every unit has a team of RN’s, LPN’s, and CNA’s who have the capacity ployees – to get back and give back to community so that those
and commensurate ability to provide acute care and return these residents to their communities can be stronger,” Mrs. Winsome McLean-Davis
homes as quickly as possible,” he explained. contends.

Like McLean-Davis, Jack is passionate about nursing. Jack holds credentials in The Center is located at 30 West 138th Street, Harlem, NY,
and accepts most insurance and HMO’s. For additional infor-
mation, visit their website at harlemcenterrehab.com.

We like to hear from our readers.
Please send all correspondence to
[email protected].

For advertising, email
[email protected]

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 11

NBA’s Steph Curry to
Produce Faith Based
Movies for SONY

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry Curry’s newly formed production company,
has signed a multiyear media deal for TV, movies and Unanimous Media, will be located on the Sony Pic‐
potentially gaming and virtual‐reality projects with tures studio lot in Culver City, California. The projects
Sony Pictures Entertainment. will focus on faith, sports and family‐friendly content.

One of the projects in development is an
animated biblical feature under Sony Pic‐
tures Animation and another, called
“Church Hoppers,” is a comedy in the vein
of “Wedding Crashers” in which a group of
guys help their friend navigate the dating
scene at a series of churches.

“It’s very humbling to know I’m able to be
on the stage that I am, and I think God has put
me in this situation to change this perspective
on what it is to be a man of God and a player in
the NBA,” said Curry, 30. “I want to use the gifts
God gave me on the basketball court to uplift
His name. That’s at the forefront of why I play
the game.

“Being a father and a husband, I’m hope‐
fully able to speak to a lot more people who are
going through the same thing,” he explained.
“It’s nice to talk to them. It’s pretty powerful
how many people God has put in my family’s
path since we’ve been out here on the West
Coast. It’s amazing that if you’re open to it, ask
God to keep your eyes open, and He’ll put you
in situations to witness and make people
stronger.”

Curry promises to be heavily involved in
the projects that make their way to produc‐
tion. Yet, with his outspoken faith, Curry
clears up his intentions with the content
Unanimous will portray. “It’s not about me
hitting people over the head with a Bible
and telling them they have to believe a cer‐
tain thing or think a certain way,” he ex‐
plains. Rather through showcasing Christian
topics and inspiring stories, his desire is to
lend a hand in offering better content op‐
tions.

P 12 July 27 - August 9, 2018

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WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY

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Off-Broadway at The Sheen Center For Thought & Culture • 18 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012

Illustration by Charles Chaisson • Photos by Carol Rosegg

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 13

She is an impressionable 9 years old, but this young progeny of civil stilettos do not define them, and class, flasks
rights icon Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is creating waves as she treads and tasks do not confine them.
her own path as a young activist.
This year, the Greater Harlem Chamber of
At a massive #MarchforOurLives rally in Washington in the aftermath of Commerce and Harlem Week have selected to
the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 students in salute women under the theme of “Women
Parkland, Florida, Yolanda Renee King, the daughter of Martin Luther Transforming Our World.” As Harlem Week
King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, gave a brief but rousing celebrates forty‐four years of community
speech that took on the gun lobby. engagement, the organization has identified
these 44 women and organizations from an
“I have a dream that enough is enough. This should be a gun‐free world endless list of women – past, present and
– period!” she shouted. future – who have, are, and will invest,
trailblaze, direct, define, build, lead, establish

and transform our world. Here they are! Ü

Yolanda has been doing the media circuit as a King truly represents the future of bold,
visible voice of her generation that is speaking sagacious and audacious females who are
truth to power. And tens of thousands are helping to transform our world. In this dot‐com,
#MeToo era, it is thrilling to recount the tens of
chanting with her, millions of bodacious women who were
“Spread the word, great pioneers and trailblazers. Scores of
have you heard, all today’s women are finding those paths and
across the nation, are toe‐to‐toe and shoulder‐to‐shoulder
we are going to with their male counterparts as inventors,
be a great technologists, and revolutionary trans‐
generation!” formers. As with Yolanda Renee King,
untold millions of babes and sucklings are
rising to live the dream of that great
generation.

The power and impact of women –
past, present, and future – cannot be
inked on the pages of paper, housed
in the halls of museums or confined
to the scenes of documentaries.
Women are so much more than hips,
lips, and fingertips; curls, curves, and

P 14 July 27 - August 9, 2018

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR was the first African American woman to direct a major motion picture,
Down in the Delta (1998). She was respected as a spokesperson for
CNN Peabody Award winning interna‐ Black people and women. She died on May 28, 2014 at the age of 86. In
tional journalist. She is CNN’s chief inter‐ 2015, a US Postal Service stamp was issued commemorating Maya An‐
national anchor of the network’s gelou with the quote, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it
award‐winning flagship global affairs pro‐ sings because it has a song.”
gram “Amanpour,” which also airs on
PBS. Beginning in 1983 as an entry‐level TARANA BURKE
assistant on the international assignment
desk at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, Civil rights activist from the Bronx who
Amanpour rose through the organiza‐ founded the Me Too Movement. She
tion, becoming a reporter at the New began using the phrase in 2006 to raise
York bureau, and later, the network’s awareness of the pervasiveness of sex‐
leading international correspondent. ual abuse and assault in society, and the
She has reported on major crises from many of the world’s hotspots, in‐ phrase became used as a hashtag follow‐
cluding Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Iran, Israel, Pak‐ ing the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse
istan, Somalia, Rwanda and the US during Hurricane Katrina. Her allegations. She is currently Senior Di‐
fearless and uncompromising approach made her popular with audi‐ rector for Girls for Gender Equity in
ences and a force to be reckoned with by global influencers. In addition Brooklyn, which strives to help young
to her work as an anchor and reporter, Amanpour is an active rights women of color increase their overall
campaigner. She has used her profile to raise awareness of key global is‐ development through various programs
sues and journalists’ rights. In May 2014 she used an appearance on and classes. Time named Burke, among a group of other prominent fe‐
BBC television to raise awareness of the plight of the 200 Nigerian male activists dubbed “the silence breakers”, as the Time Person of the
schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram – asking British Prime Minister Year for 2017.
David Cameron to join the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
MARIAN ANDERSON
In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the
One of the most celebrated singers of first Black woman elected to the United
the twentieth century, with most of her States Congress, and she represented
career spent performing in concert and NY’s 12th Congressional District for
recital in major music venues and with seven terms, from 1969 to 1983. In
famous orchestras throughout the US 1972, she became the first Black candi‐
and Europe between 1925 and 1962. date for a major party’s nomination for
She became an important figure in the President of the United States, and the
struggle for Black artists to overcome first woman to run for the Democratic
racial prejudice in the US. In 1939, the Party’s presidential nomination. A na‐
Daughters of the American Revolution tive of Brooklyn born to Caribbean immi‐
refused permission for Anderson to sing grants, Chisholm began her career as an
to an integrated audience in Constitution educator, teaching nursery school and running a day care center, which
Hall. With the aid of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, piqued her interest in politics. Chisholm died on January 1, 2005 after
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open‐ suffering several strokes. In February 2005, Shirley Chisholm ‘72: Un‐
air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln bought and Unbossed, a documentary film, aired on US public televi‐
Memorial in Washington, DC before a crowd of more than 75,000 and a sion, chronicling her 1972 bid for the Democratic presidential
radio audience in the millions. She was the first Black person, American nomination. “Unbought and Unbossed” is inscribed on her burial vault
or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC on January in Buffalo, NY.
7, 1955. She died of congestive heart failure on April 8, 1993 at the age
of 96, after having suffered a stroke a month earlier. DR. JOHNNETTA COLE

MAYA ANGELOU Dr. Cole was the first female African
American president of Spellman College,
American author, actress, screenwriter, serving from 1987 to 1997; she was pres‐
dancer, poet and civil rights activist best ident of Bennett College from 2002 to
known for her 1969 memoir I Know Why 2007, and during 2009 to 2017 she
the Caged Bird Sings, which made liter‐ served as the Director of the Smithsonian
ary history as the first nonfiction best‐ Institution’s National Museum of African
seller by an African American woman. Art. A native of Jacksonville, FL, she is a
Born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. granddaughter of Florida’s first Black mil‐
Louis, Missouri, her long and extensive lionaire, Abraham Lincoln Lewis. She en‐
career also included poetry, plays, rolled in Fisk University at the age of 15
screenplays for television and film, di‐ and transferred to Oberlin College where she completed a B.A. in Sociol‐
recting, acting and public speaking. She ogy in 1957. She earned a Master of Arts (1959) at Northwestern Uni‐

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 15

versity, and Doctor of Philosophy (1967) in Anthropology. During her countries. She was an ambassador for the variety and vitality of the
tenures at Spelman and Bennett, she led very successful capital cam‐ music of her native Havana, and after the Cuban revolution she became
paigns, attracting significantly higher enrollment as students increased. a symbol of artistic freedom for Cuban American exiles. She died of
She has also served in major corporations and foundations, including the brain cancer in 2003 at the age of 78. In 2011, Cruz was honored by the
Rockefeller Foundation, and Merck & Co., she is the first woman elected UN Postal Service with a commemorative postage stamp. In October
to the board of Coca‐Cola, and was the chair of the Board of Trustees of 2015, Telemundo premiered an 80‐episode docu‐drama based on her
United Way of America. life, Celia.

HILLARY CLINTON RUBY DEE

Served as the First Lady of the United Actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter,
States from 1993 to 2001, U.S. Senator journalist and civil rights activist. Best
from 2001 to 2009, 67th United States known for originating the role of “Ruth
Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, Younger” in the stage and film versions
and was the Democratic Party’s nomi‐ of A Raisin in the Sun (1961). Other no‐
nee for President of the United States in table film roles include The Jackie Robin‐
the 2016 election. As First Lady, she was son Story (1950) and Do the Right Thing
an advocate for gender equality and (1989). Married to actor Ossie Davis (for
healthcare reform. During her tenure as 57 years until his death in 2005), and the
Secretary of State, she visited 112 coun‐ two were well‐known civil rights activists.
tries, making her the most widely traveled secretary of state, and was In 1963, Ruby emceed the March on
the first secretary of state to visit countries such as Togo and East Timor. Washington. She and Ossie were awarded the Lifetime Achievement
Upon returning to private life, she and her daughter joined her husband Freedom Award in 2005, presented by the National Civil Rights Museum
as named members of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in located in Memphis. She died in June 2014 at the age of 91.
2013. Although she lost the 2015 presidential election by only captur‐
ing 232 electors to Trump’s 306, she won the popular vote by more than HAZEL DUKES
27 million votes, or 2.1% of the voter base. She won the most votes of
any candidate who did not take office, and the third‐most votes of any President of the NAACP New York State
candidate in history. Conference and a member of the NAACP
National Board of Directors. Served as
MISTY COPELAND the national president of the NAACP
from 1989 to 1992. A woman of great
On June 30, 2015, Misty Copeland strength and courage, her dedication to
became the first African American human rights and equality is exemplified
woman to be promoted to principal by her role linking business, government
dance in the American Ballet The‐ and social causes. Throughout her life,
atre’s 75‐year history. In an interna‐ Dukes has shown a deep commitment to
tional ballet community with a lack the importance of education and worked
of diversity, she was so unusual as an hard to improve the educational chances
African American ballerina that she of many people in deprived areas. She built a career in various social
endured cultural isolation. She has service agencies, and was successful working for the New York City Off‐
been described in the press as the Track Betting Corporation (NYCOTB), where she worked for 25 years be‐
Jackie Robinson of classical ballet. fore being made its president by NYC Mayor David Dinkins.
Copeland is considered a prodigy
who rose to stardom despite not GLORIA ESTAFAN
starting ballet until the age of 13. In
addition to her dance career, she has Cuban American singer, songwriter, ac‐
become a public speaker, celebrity spokesperson and stage performer. tress and businesswoman who started
After her promotion, she was named one of Glamour’s Women of the her career as the lead singer for the
Year for 2015, one of ESPN’s 2015 Impact 25 athletes and influences Miami Sound Machine. Estefan’s break‐
who have made the greatest impact for women in sports, and, by Bar‐ through success with “Conga” in 1985
bara Walters, one of the 10 “most fascinating” people of 2015. made her known worldwide, and the
song became her signature song. She
CELIA CRUZ has sold an estimated 100 million
records worldwide, including 3.15 mil‐
Cuban singer and the most popular lion in the U.S. alone. She and her hus‐
Latin artist of the 20th century, gain‐ band, Emilio Estefan, own several
ing 23 gold albums during her career. business establishments, including several Cuban‐themed restaurants in
She was renowned internationally as Florida. In June 2009, the Estafan’s became the first Latinos to buy a
the “Queen of Salsa” and the “Queen minor ownership stake in an NFL team, the Miami Dolphins.
of Latin Music”. She spent much of
her career working in the United CONTINUED NEXT PAGE ...
States and several Latin America

P 16 July 27 - August 9, 2018

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 17

P 18 July 27 - August 9, 2018

ELLA FITZGERALD ALTHEA GIBSON

Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Raised primarily in Harlem, trailblaz‐
was the most popular female jazz singer ing athlete Althea Gibson won a
in the United States for more than half a string of American Tennis Associa‐
century. In her lifetime, she won 13 tion titles on the African American
Grammy Awards and sold over 40 mil‐ circuit. After being allowed entry to
lion albums. Her voice was flexible, the major tournaments, she be‐
wide‐ranging, accurate, and ageless, and came the first Black player to win
she could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz, Wimbledon and the French and U.S.
and imitate every instrument in an or‐ Open titles. Additionally, in the
chestra. She worked with all the jazz early 1960s, she also became the first Black player to compete on the
greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie women’s professional golf tour. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam tourna‐
and Nat King Cole, to Frank /Sinatra, ments, including six doubles titles. After her retirement in 1971, she
dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman). In 1934, her name was pulled in a was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She stayed con‐
weekly drawing at the Apollo, and she won the opportunity to compete nected to sports, however, through a number of service positions. Be‐
in Amateur Night. She went to the theater planning to dance, but once ginning in 1957, she served 10 years as Commissioner of Athletics for
on stage she made the last minute decision to sing – and the crowd de‐ the State of New Jersey. She died of respiratory failure in East Orange,
manded an encore, and the rest is history! Outside of the arts, Ella had NJ, in September 2003.
a deep concern for child welfare. Though this aspect of her life was
rarely publicized, she frequently made generous donations to organiza‐ DOROTHY HEIGHT
tions for disadvantaged youths.
Iconic leader who addressed the rights of
ARETHA FRANKLIN both women and African Americas as the
president of the National Council of
The reigning and undisputed “Queen of Negro Women (NCNW). In the 1990s,
Soul” who has created an amazing she drew young people into her cause in
legacy that spans an incredible six the war against drugs, illiteracy and un‐
decades. The recipient of the United employment. In high school, she
States’ highest civilian honor, The Presi‐ showed great talent as an orator. She
dential Medal of Freedom, her powerful, applied to and had been accepted to
distinctive, gospel‐honed vocal style has Barnard College, but as the start of
influenced countless singers across school neared, the college changed its
multi‐generations, justifiably earning her mind about her admittance, telling her
Rolling Stone magazine’s No. 1 placing on the list of “The Greatest that they had already met their quota for Black students. Undeterred,
Singers of All Time.” She began her career as a child singing gospel at she applied to New York University, where she earned a bachelor’s de‐
New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father, C.L. Franklin was gree in education in 1930, and a master’s degree in psychology in 1932.
minister. In 1960, at the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career. After working for a time as a social worker, Heights jointed the staff of
Franklin eventually recorded a total of 112 charted singles on Billboard, the Harlem YWCA in 1937. There she met Mary McLeod Bethune, and
becoming the most charted female artist in the chart’s history. She has Height soon volunteered with the NCNW and became close to McLeod.
won a total of 18 Grammy Awards, and is one of the best‐selling musical One of Height’s major accomplishments at the YWCA was directing the
artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. integration of all of its centers in 1946. She also established its Center
for Racial Justice in 1964, which she ran until 1977. She became presi‐
INDIRA GHANDI dent of the NCNW in 1957, and was one of the organizers of the famed
March on Washington. Although she retired from the YWCA in 1977, she
Politician, stateswoman, and a central continued to run the NCNW for two more decades. In 1986, she organ‐
figure of the Indian National Congress. ized the first Black Family Reunion, a celebration of traditions and values
She was the first and, to date, the only which is still held annually. On February 1, 2017, the US Postal Service
female Prime Minister of India. Despite kicked off Black History Month with the issuance of the Dorothy Height
her surname, she is not related to the Forever stamp honoring her civil rights legacy.
family of Mahatma Gandhi. As Prime
Minister, she was known for her political GWEN IFILL
ruthlessness and unprecedented central‐
ization of power. She garnered wide‐ A Peabody Award‐winning journalist, tel‐
spread public support for agricultural evision newscaster, and author, in 1999
improvements that led to India’s self‐suf‐ she became the first woman of African
ficiency in food grain production as well descent to host a nationally televised
as for her success in the Pakistan War, which resulted in the creation of U.S. public affairs program, Washington
Bangladesh in 1971. She was assassinated by her own bodyguards and Week in Review. Ifill was a political ana‐
Sikh nationalists in 1984. In 1999, she was named “Woman of the Mil‐ lyst and moderated the 2004 and 2008
lennium” in an online poll organized by the BBC. American vice‐presidential debates.
Born in Jamaica, Queens to parents of

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 19

Barbadian descent (via Panama), she was inducted into the National As‐ Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation. In 2005, the
sociation of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2012. She received more USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Bil‐
than 20 honorary doctorates from universities around the world. She lie Jean King National Tennis Center in her honor.
died of breast and endometrial cancer in 2016 at the age of 61.
YOLANDA RENEE KING
JUDITH JAMISON
The eldest granddaughter of the late Dr.
A dancer and choreographer, Jamison Martin Luther King, Jr., 9‐year‐old
joined Alvin Ailey American Dance The‐ Yolanda Renee King made a surprise ap‐
ater in 1965 and quickly became an in‐ pearance at the March for Our Lives in
ternational star. Over the next 15 years, Washington, DC, which demanded meas‐
Ailey created some of his most enduring ures to address gun violence. “My
roles for her, most notably the tour‐de‐ grandfather had a dream that his four lit‐
force solo Cry. During the 1970s and tle children will not be judged by the
80s, she appeared as a guest artist with color of their skin, but by the content of
ballet companies all over the world. In their character,” Yolanda Renee told the throng in Washington on March
1989, she succeeded Mr. Ailey as Artistic 24, as she stood alongside Parkland shooting survivor Jaclyn Corin. “I
Director, and in the 21 years that fol‐ have a dream that enough is enough,” she added. “And that this should
lowed, she brought the Company to un‐ be a gun‐free world, period.” As she delivered the lines not far from
precedented heights, including two historic engagements in South Africa where her grandfather gave his famous speech, the crowd roared in re‐
and a 50‐city global tour to celebrate the Company’s 50th anniversary. In sponse. But she wasn’t finished – she then led the massive crowd in a
2004, under Ms. Jamison’s artistic directorship, her idea of a permanent chant, cheering, “Spread the word! Have you heard? All across the na‐
home for the Ailey company was realized and named after beloved tion, we are going to be a great generation!” She is the daughter of
chairman emerita Joan Weill. Ms. Jamison continues to dedicate herself Martin Luther King IiI and his wife, Arndrea Waters King.
to asserting the prominence of the arts in culture, and she remains com‐
mitted to promoting the significance of the Ailey legacy, using dance as BEYONCÉ KNOWLES-CARTER
a medium for honoring the past, celebrating the present, and fearlessly
reaching into the future. Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and
businesswoman, born and raised in
JACKIE JOYNER KERSEE Houston, TX. She rose to fame in the
late 1990s as lead singer of the R&B girl
Olympic track and field champion ranked group Destiny’s Child, which became one
among the all‐time great athletes in the of the world’s best‐selling girl groups in
heptathlon as well as the long jump. history. Throughout her solo career, she
She won three gold, one silver, and two has sold over 100 million records world‐
bronze Olympic medals in those two wide, making her one of the world’s
events at four different Olympic Games. best‐selling music artists. She has won
She is on the Board of directors for USA 22 Grammy Awards and is the most
Track & Field, the national governing nominated woman in the award’s his‐
body of the sport. Sports Illustrated tory. In 2014, she became the highest paid Black musician in history.
voted her the greatest female athlete of Forbes ranked her as the most powerful female in entertainment on
the 20th Century. Now an active philan‐ their 2015 and 2017 lists. With the release of Lemonade, Beyoncé be‐
thropist in children’s education, racial came the first and only musical act in Billboard chart history to debut at
equality and women’s rights, she is a founder of the Jackie Joyner‐Kersee number one with their first six solo studio albums.
Foundation, which encourages young people in East St. Louis to pursue
athletics and academics. She partnered with Comcast to create the In‐ RACHEL MADDOW
ternet Essentials program in 2011, which costs $9.95/month for low‐in‐
come Americans and offers low‐cost laptops and 40 hours/month of MSNBC television journalist who nightly
high‐speed internet service. Since its inception, it has provided internet hosts “The Rachel Maddow Show” and
access to 4 million Americans. serves as the cable network’s special
event co‐anchor alongside Brian
BILLIE JEAN KING Williams. A native of California, she was
the substitute host for Countdown with
Former World No. 1 professional tennis Keith Olbermann, her first time hosting a
play, who won 39 Grand Slam Titles (12 program on MSNBC in 2008. The show
in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and she hosted was the highest‐rated news
11 in mixed doubles.) King is an advo‐ program among people aged 25 to 54. Olbermann began to push for
cate for gender equality and social jus‐ Maddow to get her own show, and in September 2008 the network gave
tice. In 1973, at the age of 29, she won her the 9 pm timeslot. Following its debut, the show topped Count‐
the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match down as the highest‐rated show on MSNBC on several occasions, and
against the 55‐year‐old Bobby Riggs. She her program doubled the audience for the 9 o’clock hour after being on
was also the founder of the Women’s air for a little over a month. In mid‐May 2017, amid multiple controver‐

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE ...

P 20 July 27 - August 9, 2018

sies surrounding the Trump administration, MSNBC topped the news rat‐ and was tortured and beaten. From 1977 to 1985, she was banished to
ings, surpassing CNN and Fox News. For the week fo May 15, The Rachel the town of Brandfort in the Orange Free State and was confined to the
Maddow Show as the No. 1 non‐sports program on the cable station for area except for when she was allowed to visit her husband at Robben Is‐
the first time. She has been called “America’s wonkiest anchor” who land. It was at this time that Winne became well known in the Western
“cut through the chaos of the Trump administration – and became the World. She campaigned actively for equal rights and was promoted by
most trusted name in the news.” the ANC as a symbol of their struggle against apartheid. Nelson was re‐
leased in 1990, and the couple separated in 1992; their divorce was fi‐
MIRIAM MAKEBA nalized in 1996.

Affectionately known as “Mama Africa,” RITA MORENO
Makeba was a South African singer, ac‐
tress, United Nations goodwill ambassa‐ Puerto Rican actress, dancer and singer
dor and civil rights activist. Associated whose career has spanned over 70 years.
with musical genres including Afropop, Among her most notable acting work are
jazz, and world music, she was an advo‐ supporting roles in the musical films The
cate against apartheid and White‐mi‐ King and I and West Side Story, as well as
nority government in South Africa. In a 1971‐77 stint on the children’s televi‐
1959, she had a brief role in the anti‐ sion series The Electric Company, and a
apartheid film Come Back, Africa, which supporting role on the 1997‐2003 TV
brought her international attention, and Drama Oz. She is one of twelve artists
led to her performing in Venice, London and New York City. In London, who have won all four major annual
she met Harry Belafonte, who became a mentor and colleague. She American entertainment awards: an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a
moved to New York City, where she became immediately popular, and Tony. She came to New York City with her mother in 1963 at the age of
recorded her first solo album in 1960. In 1962, she testified before the 5 and soon thereafter began taking dancing lessons. She had her first
United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid about the effects of Broadway role by the time she was 13, which caught the attention of
the system, asking for economic sanctions against South Africa’s Na‐ Hollywood talent scouts. She acted steadily throughout the 1950s but
tional Party government. As a result, her music was banned in South disliked most of her film work during this period, as she felt the roles she
Africa, and her South African citizenship and right to return were re‐ was given were very stereotypical. In 1961, she won the Academy
voked. Thus, she became a stateless person, but was soon issued pass‐ Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in the film adap‐
ports by Algeria, Guinea, Belgium and Ghana. In her life, she held nine tation of the Broadway musical West Side Story, which had been played
passports, and was granted honorary citizenship in ten countries. She by Chita Rivera on Broadway. After winning the Oscar, she thought she
became a cause célébre for Western liberals, and her presence in the would be able to continue to perform less stereotypical film roles but
civil rights movement provided a link between that movement and the was disappointed and had a self‐imposed exile from Hollywood for 7
anti‐apartheid struggle. She married Stokely Carmichael in March 1968, years. She made her return to film in 1968, and has continued to work
causing her popularity in the US to decline – White American audiences in film since then, including a small voice role in the 2014 Film Rio2, per‐
stopped supporting her, and the US government took an interest in her haps her most commercially successful film.
activities; the CIA and the FBI placed her under surveillance. While va‐
cationing in the Bahamas with her husband, she was banned from re‐ LUPITA NYONG’O
turning to the US and was refused a visa. As a result, the couple moved
to Guinea. Upon Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990, he persuaded her The daughter of a Kenyan politician,
to return to South Africa, which she did using her French passport. On Lupita was born in Mexico City where her
November 9, 2008, she died after suffering a heart attack at a concert in father was teaching; she was raised in
Italy after singing her hit song “Pata Pata.” Kenya from the age of one. She at‐
tended college in the United States, and
WINNIE MANDELA began her career in Hollywood as a pro‐
duction assistant. After receiving her
Renowned South African anti‐apartheid Master’s Degree in acting from the Yale
activist and politician, Winnie Mandela School of Drama, she had her first fea‐
was known to her supporters as the ture film role as Patsey in 12 Years a
“Mother of the Nation.” A social worker Slave (2013), for which she received criti‐
by profession, she married Nelson in Jo‐ cal acclaim and won several awards, in‐
hannesburg in 1958; they remained mar‐ cluding the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the
ried for 38 years and had two children first Kenyan and Mexican actress to win an Academy Award. She made
together. After Mandela was imprisoned her Broadway debut as a teenage orphan in the critically acclaimed play
in 1963, she became his public face during the 27 years he spent in jail. written by Danai Gurira, Eclipsed (2015), for which she was nominated
During that period, she rose to prominence within the domestic anti‐ for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Following a motion capture
apartheid movement. She emerged as a leading opponent of apartheid role as Maz Kanata in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Lupita starred as
during the latter part of her husband’s imprisonment. Due to her politi‐ Nakia in the superhero film Black Panther (2018). The Brooklyn resident
cal activities, she was regularly detained by the National party govern‐ is a fluent speaker of Spanish, Luo, English and Swahili, and supports his‐
ment. She was subjected to house arrest, kept under surveillance, and toric preservation. She is vocal about preventing sexual harassment and
imprisoned. Her longest jailing was for 493 days, beginning in 1969 at working for women and animal rights. In 2014, she was named the most
Pretoria Central Prison, where she spent months in solitary confinement, beautiful woman by People magazine.

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 21

MICHELLE OBAMA a White passenger after the Whites‐only section was filled. She was not
the first person to resist bus segregation, but the NAACP believed that
During her tenure as First Lady of the she was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after
United States, Michelle Obama sought to her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws.
become a role model for women, an ad‐ Parks’ prominence in the community and her willingness to become a
vocate for poverty awareness, education, controversial figure inspired the Black community to boycott the Mont‐
nutrition, physical activity and healthy gomery buses for over a year, the first major direct action campaign of
eating. A native of the South Side of the post‐war civil rights movement. Parks’ act of defiance and the
Chicago, IL. She earned her undergradu‐ Montgomery bus boycott became important symbols of the movement.
ate degree from Princeton University, She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. Al‐
and her law degree from Harvard Univer‐ though widely honored in later years, she also suffered for her act; she
sity. She met Barack Obama while work‐ was fired form her job as a seamstress in a local department store, and
ing at the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP received death threats for years afterwards. She died in 2005 at the age
when she was assigned to mentor him while he was a summer associ‐ of 92.
ate. She held public sector positions in the Chicago city government,
and went on to serve as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the DR. MURIEL PETIONI
University of Chicago. In 2002, she began working for the University of
Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, The first female graduate of Howard Uni‐
beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Af‐ versity Medical School and renowned
fairs, which she continued to hold during the primary campaign but cut urban health activist, Dr. Petioni was
back to part‐time to spend time with her daughters as well as work for prominent in Harlem the way doctors
her husband’s election. Some initiatives of First Lady Michelle Obama once were prominent in every small
included advocating on behalf of military families, helping working town in the country. She was the family
women balance career and family, encouraging national service, and physician to Harlem’s political elite, but
promotion of the arts and arts education. also treated so many thousands of oth‐
ers too that she identified many public
Parkland High School Students health issues before they hit the epidemiologists’ radar. She was known
as the “Matron of Harlem Health” because she sought to fulfill the
EMMA GONZALEZ AND TYAH-AMOY ROBERTS healthcare needs of underserved Harlem residents. She was preaching
against sugar, junk food and obesity in the early 1950s. Her dietary
When you think of Park‐ warning – “You’re digging your grave with your fork” – became a trade‐
land students, the names mark, as did the motherly finger‐pointing that usually accompanied it.
in the forefront are pri‐ Until her retirement as a physician in the late 1990s, Dr. Petioni main‐
marily those of White stu‐ tained her practice on the ground floor of the house on 131st Street
dents leading the call for where she and her family had lived and where she had grown up. Her
an end to gun violence. ties to Harlem ran deep: she was the daughter of one of Harlem’s first
Another name in the Black physicians, and she was among the first generation of Black doc‐
forefront is Emma Gonza‐ tors given staff privileges at Harlem Hospital in the 1950s, when most
lez, an 18‐year‐old of hospitals in the country still made Black physicians refer their patients to
Cuban heritage whose White doctors before admitting the patients to the hospital. She also
speech following the founded the Susan Smith McKinney Steward Medical Society for Women
Parkland shooting gar‐ in 1974, a professional association for African American women doctors
nered national attention. However, there are some Parkland students of in the Greater New York area, and was the founder and first chair of
color besides Gonzalez who feel like they’ve been left out of this debate. Medical Women of the National Medical Association, founded in 1976,
Tyah‐Amoy Roberts, another student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High which became the Council of Women’s Concerns of the National Medical
School, doesn’t want to take away from the good work her fellow stu‐ Association. She died in 2011 at the age of 97.
dents have done, but feels that the students of color have been thor‐
oughly underrepresented and, in some cases, misrepresented. “The SHONDA RHIMES
Black Lives Matter movement has been addressing [gun violence] since
the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, yet we have never seen this kind Best known as the showrunner (creator,
of support for our cause, and we surely do not feel the lives or voices of head writer, and executive producer) of
minorities are valued as much as those of our White counterpart,” she the TV medical drama Grey’s Anatomy,
explained. its spin‐off Private Practice, and the po‐
litical thriller series Scandal. She has also
ROSA PARKS served as the executive producer of the
ABC television series Off the Map, How
Mother of the modern Civil to Get Away with Murder, and The Catch.
Rights movement, best known In 2017, Netflix entered into a multi‐year
for her pivotal role in the development deal with Rhimes, by which
Montgomery Bus Boycott. On all of her future productions will be Netflix Original series. They had also
December 1, 1955, Parks re‐ previously purchased streaming rights to back episodes of Grey’s
fused to obey bus driver James Anatomy and Scandal. A native of Chicago, she exhibited an early affin‐
Blake’s order to give up her
seat in the “colored section” to

P 22 July 27 - August 9, 2018

ity for storytelling. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Film care available to African American residents of their small town in the
Studies at Dartmouth College, where she joined the Black Underground 1940s. Because of the treatments she received at Meharry and the daily
Theater Association, dividing her time between directing and performing massages from her family members, Rudolph was able to overcome the
in student productions, and writing fiction. She went on to obtain a debilitating effects of polio and learned to walk without a leg brace or
Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California (USC) orthopedic shoe for support by the time she was twelve years old. She
School of Cinematic Arts. While there, she was hired as an intern by retired from track competition at the age of 22 because she wanted to
Debra Martin Chase, and Rhimes credits her early success, in part, to leave the sport while still at her best. She continued her education,
mentors such as this prominent African American producer; she also earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1963, and began
worked at Denzel Washington’s company, Mundy Lane Entertainment. her career as an elementary school teacher. In July 1994, Rudolph was
diagnosed with brain cancer. She also had been diagnosed with throat
JACKIE ROWE-ADAMS cancer. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she died in November at
the age of 54. Her legacy lies in her efforts to overcome obstacles that
No mother should have to bury her own included childhood illnesses and a physical disability to become the
child. The pain of losing a son or daugh‐ fastest woman runner in the world in 1960.
ter is even more acute, however, when
their death occurs through something as APRIL RYAN
unnecessary as gun violence. With this
bitter realization in mind, Jackie Rowe‐ Since 1997, she has served as a White
Adams – lost two sons to gun violence – House correspondent and is the Wash‐
decided to do something about it, and ington, DC bureau chief for American
co‐founded Harlem Mothers Stop An‐ Urban Radio Networks. In 2017, she
other Violent End, or Harlem Mothers joined CNN as a political analyst, and was
S.A.V.E., in 2006. Through the years, the named “Journalist of the Year” by the
organization has offered support and National Association of Black Journalists.
services, such as grief counselling and financial assistance, to families A Morgan State graduate, she is one of
who have lost loved ones to violence. The organization also serves as only three African Americans to have
an anti‐violence advocacy group. With the support of elected officials, served on the board of the White House
Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E. is supporting the sponsorship of tough new Correspondent’s Association. As White House correspondent, Ryan has
laws that would severely punish those who sell guns illegally out of li‐ covered four presidential administrations. Following the election of
censed businesses, or allow others to do so within their business. Edu‐ President Donald Trump, Ryan participated in notable exchanges with
cation is central to the organization’s efforts. The mothers hope to him and his press secretary, Sean Spicer. As one of the few African
disavow children from their mistaken thinking that guns can be used to Americans in the White House press corps, Ryan is often the only jour‐
intimidate or settle an argument. Working alongside members of the nalist asking questions on issues concerning minorities.
NYPD, the mothers organize educational forums at Harlem’s junior and
senior high schools, all with the goal of convincing young people that NINA SIMONE
guns are not “cool.”
One of the most extraordinary artists of
WILMA RUDOLPH the twentieth century, Nina Simone (née
Eunice Waymon) was the consummate
Record‐holding Olympic track and field musical storyteller who used her remark‐
champion and international sports icon able talent to create a legacy of libera‐
following her successes in the 1956 and tion, empowerment, passion and love
1960 Olympic Games. Rudolph was ac‐ through a magnificent body of works.
claimed the fastest woman in the world Her prodigious talent as a musician was
in the 1960s and became the first Amer‐ evident early on when she started play‐
ican women to win three gold medals in ing piano by ear at the age of three. Able
a single Olympic Games. As an Olympic to play virtually anything by ear, she was
champion in the early 1960s, she was soon studying classical music and devel‐
among the most highly visible Black oped a lifelong love of Bach, Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven and Schubert.
women in America and abroad. She be‐ After graduating high school, her home community in Tryon, NC raised
came a role model for Black and female money for a scholarship for her to study at Julliard in New York City be‐
athletes, and her Olympic successes fore she applied to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadel‐
helped elevate women’s track and field phia. However, the school denied her admission in spite of a
in the United States. Rudolph suffered well‐received audition. To make a living, she began teaching music to
from several early childhood illnesses, local students. In 1954 she auditioned to sing at the Midtown Bar & Grill
including pneumonia and scarlet fever, in Atlantic City, NJ, and she changed her name to disguise herself from
and contracted infantile paralysis (caused by the polio virus) at the age family members, having chosen to play “the devil’s music” or “cocktail
of 4. She recovered from polio, but lost strength in her left leg and foot. piano” at a nightclub. There she had to sing to her own accompaniment,
Physically disabled for much of her early life, she wore a leg brace until which effectively launched her career as a jazz vocalist. Simone
she was eight years old. For two years, Rudolph and her mother made recorded more than 40 albums between 1958 and 1974. Her musical
weekly bus trips 50 miles away from home for treatment at the histori‐ style fused gospel and pop with classical music, in particular Johann Se‐
cally Black Meharry Medical College because there was little medical bastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz‐like singing in her con‐

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 23

tralto voice. She was deeply affected by the Alabama church bombing and beauty editor. By 1981, she rose to become the editor in chief, and
that killed four little girls and the murder of Medgar Evers, and these during her tenure she had great success building the Essence brand. She
served as the catalysts for a transformation of Nina’s career as she used was executive producer and host of Essence, The Television Program a
her talent for activism in the Civil Rights movement. syndicated interview program broadcast on more than 50 stations for
four years during the 1980s. Her monthly inspirational column, “In the
SONIA SOTOMAYOR Spirit”, became a popular feature of the magazine. She published three
volumes of selected columns. In 2000, Taylor was promoted to publica‐
An Associate Justice fo the Supreme tions director. She left the magazine in 2008. In 2005, she founded the
Court of the United States, Sonia So‐ nonprofit National Cares Mentoring Movement; to date, the organiza‐
tomayor was appointed by President tion has deployed more than 140,000 mentors into 58 cities across
Barack Obama in May 2009 and con‐ America to deliver educational health and wellness services to 200,000
firmed in August 2009. She has the dis‐ of our most at‐risk youths.
tinction of being its first Justice of
Hispanic descent and the first Latina. VENUS AND SERENA WILLIAMS
Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican‐born
parents, she graduated from Princeton The Williams sisters,
University in 1975 and received her J.D. born 15 months
from Yale Law School in 1979. She apart, were not much
worked as an assistant district attorney more than toddlers
in New York for 4‐and‐a‐half years before entering private practice in when their father,
1984. While on the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has supported the infor‐ Richard Williams, set
mal liberal bloc of justices when they divide along the commonly per‐ in motion what was
ceived ideological lines. During her tenure, she has been identified with to become a sporting
concern for the rights of defendants, calls for reform of the criminal jus‐ juggernaut. He
tice system, and making impassioned dissents on issues of race, gender started teaching a 4‐year‐old Venus on court in East Compton Park, and
and ethnic identity. later uprooted his family to enroll the girls in Rick Macci’s Delray Beach
Tennis Academy in Florida, where they trained 5 hours a day, 6 days a
ELINOR TATUM week for four years. The dedication paid off when the sisters turned
professional. Each landed a $12‐million sponsorship deal while still in
Publisher and Editor in Chief of the New their early teens. Between the two of them, they’ve won 30 Grand Slam
York Amsterdam News, the oldest and singles titles and earned more than $125 million in prize money. Addi‐
largest Black newspaper in the City of tionally, they both have their own fashion lines and have been minority
New York, and one of the oldest ethnic owners of the Miami Dolphins since 2009. They were the first female
papers in the United States. She was ap‐ African Americans to hold an ownership stake in an NFL franchise.
pointed Editor in Chief in 1997, becoming
one fo the youngest publishers in the CHERYL WILLS
history of the Black press. She began at
the newspaper as a journalist covering Emmy Award‐winning veteran anchor
local and national issues affecting for News NY1. She joined the cable net‐
Harlem and the Black community. Under work during its launch in 1992. She is
her watch, the Amsterdam News was the host of the public affairs talk show
modernized to include an online edition, a new layout, and refocused “In Focus with Cheryl Wills” and the
with content relevant to a wider African American community in New primetime anchor of the NY1 Live at Ten,
York and across the nation. She also produces and co‐hosts a weekly airing weeknights. She has interviewed
segment of Al Sharpton’s Weekly Radio Show “Keepin’ It Real”, a nation‐ some of the most powerful people in the
ally syndicated talk show. In addition to her career in journalism, she world including the first woman presi‐
holds many civic positions including a member of the Board of Trustees dent in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
of her college alma mater, St. Lawrence University, and sits on the Cheryl’s groundbreaking report earned
boards of the New York Urban League, the Neighborhood Defender her a prestigious medal from the United
Service of Harlem, the Chinatown YCA, Nations Correspondents Association. In 2018, she became the first
Manhattan Community Board 3, and the African American reporter in NY1’s history to win an Emmy Award, and
Creative Visions Foundation. she was also honored with the prestigious Commander’s Medal from
the U.S. Department of the Army, the fourth‐highest public service deco‐
SUSAN TAYLOR ration the US Department of the Army can bestow upon a civilian. She
takes great pride in being the founder and commander of the New York
Served as editor in chief of Essence mag‐ State Chapter of the Sons & Daughters of the United States Colored
azine from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, Troops, a national organization s based in Washington, DC. She enjoys
American Libraries referred to her as teaching students about the contributions of the 200,000 Black soldiers
“the most influential Black woman in who fought valiantly during the Civil War.
journalism today.” She started her career
at Essence in 1970, the year the maga‐ CONTINUED NEXT PAGE ...
zine was founded, as a freelance fashion

P 24 July 27 - August 9, 2018

OPRAH WINFREY was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack
Obama in 2015. She will be 100 years old in August. Mary Jackson was
A media proprietor, talk show host, ac‐ NASA’s first Black female engineer. She fought hard to be able to study
tress, producer and philanthropist, alongside her White peers and join a training program that allowed her
Oprah is best known for her talk show to progress from mathematician to engineer, which she did in 1958 after
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was the studying at the University of Virginia alongside her work. Later she took
highest‐rated television programs of its a job in NASA’s Equal Opportunity Office, working to effect change for
kind in history and was nationally syndi‐ female employees until she retired in 1985. She died in 2005. Dorothy
cated from 1995 to 2011 in Chicago. Vaughan became NASA’s first African American manager between 1949
Dubbed the “Queen of All Media”, she and 1958, when she then was part of an integrated division and became
was the richest African American of the an expert programmer. She died in 2008.
20th century and North America’s first
multi‐billionaire Black person, and has MALALA YOUSAFZA
been ranked the greatest Black philan‐
thropist in American history. She landed a job in radio while still in high A Pakistani activist for female education
school and began co‐anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate,
Her emotional ad‐ib delivery eventually got her transferred to the day‐ she is known for human rights advocacy,
time talk show arena, and after boosting a third‐rated local Chicago talk especially the education of women and
show to first place, she launched her own production company and be‐ children in her homeland where the local
came internationally syndicated. Credited with creating a more inti‐ Taliban had at times banned girls from
mate confessional form of media communication, she is thought to attending school. Her advocacy has
have popularized and revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre pio‐ grown into an international movement,
neered by Phil Donahue. In January 2007, she opened the Oprah Win‐ and according to the Pakistani Prime
frey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. The school is set over Minister, she has become “the most
22 acres and features state‐of‐the‐art classrooms, computer and sci‐ prominent citizen” of the country. In‐
ence laboratories, a library, theatre and beauty salon. While critics con‐ spired by her father’s humanitarian work,
sidered the school elitist and unnecessarily luxurious, Winfrey rejected she began detailing her life in a blog under a pseudonym. She rose in
the claims, saying, “If you are surrounded by beautiful things and won‐ prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and she was
derful teachers who inspire you, that beauty brings out the beauty in nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by Bishop
you.” Winfrey also co‐founded the women’s cable television network Desmond Tutu. On October 9, 2012, while on a bus after taking an
Oxygen, and she is the president of Harpo Productions. On January 1, exam, Yousafzai and two other girls were shot by a Taliban gunman in an
2011, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network was launched. assassination attempt in retaliation for her activism; the gunman fled
the scene. She was shot in the head and remained unconscious and in
The women of “Hidden Figures, critical condition, and when her conditioned improved enough, she was
KATHERINE JOHNSON, MARY JACKSON, & DOROTHY transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK. The at‐
tempt on her life sparked an international outpouring of support for
VAUGHN were Yousafzai. Following her recovery, she became a prominent activist for
the right to education. Based out of Birmingham, she founded the
part of NASA’s Malala Fund, a non‐profit organization, and in 2013 co‐authored I am
team of human Malala, an international best seller.
“computers,” a
group made up of
mostly women
who calculated by
hand the complex
equations that al‐
lowed space he‐
roes like Neil
Armstrong, Alan
Shepard, and John Glenn to travel safely to space. Shortly after the at‐
tack on Pearl Harbor brought the US into the throes of war, NACA, the
precursor to NASA, began recruiting African American women with col‐
lege degrees to work as human computers. While they did the same
work as their White counterparts, African American computers were
paid less and relegated to the segregated west section of the campus,
where they had to use separate dining and bathroom facilities. Despite
having the same education, they had to retake college courses they had
already passed and were often never considered for promotions or
other jobs within NACA. Mathematician Katherine Johnson’s brilliant
mind was used to check complicated calculations made by a computer
before they launched the Friendship 7, the spacecraft used to orbit John
Glenn around the earth in 1962. She worked at NASA until 1986 and

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 25

P 26 July 27 - August 9, 2018

HARLEM WEEK SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, JULY 29 Senior Citizens Synchronized Dancing in the Streets International Vendors Village
A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM 2018 Swimming 12:00 PM ‐ 3:00 PM 11:00 AM ‐ 5:00 PM
US Grant National Memorial Park 11:00 AM ‐ 2:00 PM W. 135th & St. Nicholas Ave Stage W. 135th bet. Malcolm X &
W. 122nd Street and Riverside Drive Hansborough Recreation Center Frederick Douglass
W. 135th bet. Malcolm X & 5th Ave Fashion Flava Show
Artz, Rootz & Rhythm International 3:00 PM ‐ 4:00 PM Imagenation Outdoor Film Festival
Cultural Showcase NYC Children’s Festival W. 135th & St. Nicholas Ave Stage 7:00 PM ‐ 10:00 PM
1:00 PM ‐ 3:00 PM 12:00 PM ‐ 5:00 PM W. 135th St & St. Nicholas Ave
Howard Bennett Playground Uptown Saturday Concert
Regional Gospel Caravan W. 135th bet. Malcolm X & 5th Ave 4:00 PM ‐ 6:00 PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 19
3:00 PM ‐ 4:30 PM Harlem Week Higher Education Fair W. 135th & St. Nicholas Ave Stage International Vendors Village
12:00 PM ‐ 5:00 PM 1:00 PM ‐ 6:00 PM
Fashion Fusion Showcase W 135th St. bet. Malcolm X & ACP 135th bet. 5th Ave & Malcolm X
4:30 PM ‐ 6:00 PM

Concert Under the Stars
6:00 PM ‐ 8:30 PM

TUESDAY, JULY 31
Youth Education & Career Conference 2.0
& Hackathon – 10:00 AM ‐ 5:00 PM
US Intrepid Sea, Air, Space Museum
46th Street and 12th Avenue
RSVP required

THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
NYC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DAY
Columbia University, Alfred Lerner Hall

115th Street & Broadway
10:00 AM ‐ 5:00 PM

Business & Health Summits
9:30 AM ‐ 11:30 AM (registration required)

Indoor Business & Professional Services Expo
10:00 AM ‐ 3:00 PM (Free, open to all)

Outdoor Farmers Market
10:00 AM ‐ 5:00 PM

Basil A. Paterson Business Awards Luncheon
12:00 PM ‐ 2:00 PM (tickets required)

Tech Meetup by Silicon Harlem
3:00 PM ‐ 5:00 PM (registration required)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14
A. C. Powell, Jr. State Office Building
125th Street & A. C. Powell, Jr. Boulevard

Indoor Expo, Elders Jubilee Luncheon
& Fashion Show
10:00 AM ‐ 3:00 PM
(Free admission/RSVP required for lunch)

Demystifying Technology Workshop
3:00 PM ‐ 4:30 PM
(Free admission/RSVP required for lunch)

Outdoor Farmer’s Market
10:00 AM ‐ 5:00 PM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18
Summer in The City
12:00 PM ‐ 5:00 PM

July 27 - August 9, 2018 P 27

HARLEM WEEK SCHEDULE

Upper Manhattan Auto Show USTA Children’s Tennis Clinic SATURDAY, AUGUST 25 11-yr-old
10:00 AM ‐ 4:00 PM 10:00 AM ‐ 4:00 PM Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run & College Grad
135th bet. 5th Ave & Malcolm X Howard Bennett Playground Health Walk Wants to Prove God
135th bet. 5th Ave & Malcolm X 6:00 AM ‐ 12:00 PM Exists Thru Science
Our Health Village Registration @ 6 AM, Run/Walk
12:00 PM ‐ 6:00 PM NYC Children’s Festival Start Time @ 8:30 AM An 11‐year‐old boy genius, who re‐
Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion 12:00 PM ‐ 7:00 PM Community Celebration @ 12 PM cently graduated from St. Petersburg Col‐
bet 136th and 137th & Malcolm X Howard Bennett Playground 135th Street & Nicholas Avenue lege in Florida just two years after
135th bet. Malcolm X & ACP finishing high school, said he wants to be‐
Upper Manhattan Small Business Visit come an astrophysicist and prove that
Expo & Fair TUESDAY, AUGUST 21 harlemweek.com God exists.
10:00 AM ‐ 4:0 PM Harlem Restaurant Week
135th bet. 5th Ave & Malcolm X 12:00 PM ‐ 11:00 PM for additional info “I want to prove that God does exist
through science — so that the world can
know,” proclaimed William Maillis, who
received an associate in arts degree.

He argued that atheism and some
parts of science rely on faith just as much
as religion does. He suggested that it is
more likely that a higher power created
the universe than a random event.

“Science and religion are no differ‐
ent,” William said. “Science is a tool for
explaining the world. Science doesn’t dis‐
prove God.”

His father serves as the presiding
priest at Saints Raphael, Nicholas & Irene
Greek Orthodox Church in Palm Harbor.

William began speaking in complete
sentences by seven months, learned addi‐
tion and subtraction by age two, and was
declared a genius at age five.

He believes his gifts are divinely in‐
spired.

“Everybody has gifts from God. I was
gifted with knowledge and science and
history,” William said.

William will be taking classes at the
University of South Florida this fall. His
goal is to get a Ph.D. by the time he’s 18.

Joanne Ruthsatz, the former Ohio
State University psychologist who studied
William and declared him a genius, said
that the family’s history of autism could
explain why he was born with so much
ability.

“Prodigies have, like, this drive to do
good,” Ruthsatz said. “They’re very much
tuned in to the bigger picture of human‐
ity.”

The psychologist noted that children
like William are about 1 in 10 million, and
many of them have gone on to start foun‐
dations for the greater good.


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