Here’s a list of some rules to consider when you’re using social media. Check out these tips. Do you agree with these do’s and don’ts for the various listed social media platforms?
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Men’s Conference 2014 Patriarch Awards, March 21
What do men who are teachers, leaders, elders, and builders have in common? These are all titles of men of distinction and service. Why not come out and see who this year’s men of distinction are?
On Friday March 21, at 6:30 pm the 14th Annual Patriarch Awards will kick off. Come out on and join Emmanuel Baptist for the Patriarch Man Leadership Recognition Service. Hope to see you there!
Infographs
i wanted to try something different this week. While searching the Internet for some interesting stories to write about I came across this set of infographs. The first infograph is a recap of the history of Internet and what we call today social media. At times it’s surprising how social media is only a decade old. Yet we as a society can forget how words like tweeting, and googgling haven’t been around forever. Sometimes as much as it’s apart of our daily vocabulary it sure does feel like it.
While the second infograph recaps the evolution of the selfie. What started out on MySpace has now evolved into something that was encouraged by social networking. Check out the brief history of the Selfie? Did you know it’s officially added to the Oxford dictionary?
What interesting fact did you discover?
African and African-American Men Come Together at Men’s Conference 2013
On a hot summer Saturday morning, men gathered from all around the city to attend Ministry ONE Men’s Conference 2013.
As men made their way to the sanctuary for the event at Emmanuel Baptist Church, located at 8301 S. Damen Ave., they were greeted and asked to fill out information slips and were given instructions on where to sit.
The African men were instructed to sit in the middle pews of the church to the right and the African-American men were instructed to sit on the middle pews to the left. Some of the African men were dressed in business casual attire or colorful native garbs while African-American men wore casual attire.
Camera crews were positioned to the far right and left of the pulpit. A large projector screen and projector was positioned to the right of the pulpit which showed interviews and presentation material during the event. As time progressed more men began to fill up the house of worship and were instructed to sit on the African side if they were from any country in Africa, while men who were born in America began to take their seats.
Once the event began, one of the narrators asked the African men what part of Africa they were from and then he asked the American men if they have ever been to Africa. Among the handful of American men who stood up to speak was Attorney George Howard, a deacon at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Howard stated how he visited the continent with his wife and how they traveled to various parts. He explained that African-Americans need to have a better understanding of their history and culture.
“We need to be enlightened to where our forefathers came from. I mean the main thing is we’re just not proud of our ancestry,” said Howard. “And if you’re not—if you don’t like yourself, nobody else in the world is going to like you.”
Among the crowd of men filling the pews was Booker Thomas Cox, Jr., a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church. He recalled how his father told him and his siblings the importance of knowing their heritage as well as their history.
“My dad exposed us. When we were children—I was the youngest of four,” said Cox. “[He] always told us that we were Africans and he’d often tell us how the people—of Africa— they sold their people to the white man. And—we were always aware of that…”
A significant moment for Cox, Jr. occurred when one of the speakers at the event, Rev. Dr. Kanayo Odeluga apologized to the men in attendance. When Odeluga was speaking at the pulpit during his demonstration he took the time to apologize to the men on behalf of his fore fathers for what they had done in the past to their ancestors.
“I thought that was very humbling,” says Cox, Jr. “It had touched our spirit just to hear what he said. I know it touched mine.”
- Rev. Dr. Kanayo Odeluga speaking at Men’s Conference
Cox enjoyed the fact that the amount of men who showed up for the event were there because of their love for God. He said his main takeaway from the conference was how, “The brothers from the motherland and [America] love the true and living God.”
“We connected that’s the most powerful thing. We connected at a very deep level,” said Odeluga. “I–I cry when I heard Pastor Jackson.”
Rev. Dr. Odeluga explained that the issues that exist between Africans and African-Americans come from the actions of their ancestors.
“Joseph did not need to reconcile with Egyptians,” he said. “We don’t need to go to white America for healing. God will judge between us and white America how they handled us when we get here. It is something that God has to deal with.”
As a result of dislocation by circumstance of place, the youth are living violent and destructive lives, he said.
“Now what has happened is that as a family we have not being able to hold Africa accountable for what they did,” said Odeluga. “Knowing this will also empower young people here to know where we came from and how far we’ve come.”
- Dr. Joseph Rhoiney speaking at Men’s Conference.
- The pastors at Men’s Conference.
- The pastors during communion. Rev. Dr. Odeluga (K.K.) to the left and Rev. Dr . Jackson to the right.
Fruitvale station and changing a stigma
After I saw the film Fruitvale Station, which was based on the life of Oscar Grant leading up to the events of his death by a BART police officer, I began to wonder “What will it take to end the stigma associated with black males?” “What can be done to help address the issue of violence in urban communities?”
The film invoked a variety of emotions and addressed an issue that communities of color are all to familiar with. Every young man with a past is not necessarily a threat to his community and should not always be seen merely as an individual who is up to no good.
The film showed a flashback scene of Oscar while in prison, to illuminate his relationship with his mother , daughter and girlfriend. to show her son tough love, Grant’s mother Wanda, played by Octavia Spencer ,told her son she would no longer be visit him while in prison. I could feel the heartbreak and tension was felt.
How many young people have been left to their own devices in a justice system that is clearly broken? Still today, Black men are faced with the same issues of unemployment and incarceration. Due to past mistakes, they have been incarcerated; when they try to re-enter society, employment options have become more limited.
This was shown in the film when Grant tried to convince his former employer to rehire him, and he was denied.
The problem Grant faced is another reality that can be only corrected if the system in place is amended to to better equip these men with the tools they need to re-enter society. New policies are needed which treat hardened criminals differently than non-violent offenders.
When I checked social media responding to the film, I came across some truly interesting and understandable tweets. The film created a believable image of a young man trying to improve his life, in desperate need of a second chance. The film made the audience see the humanity of Grant, who was portrayed by Michael B. Jordan.
One Twiiter account @Remona_Leshay tweeted, “Finally saw Fruitvale Station and it has left me filled with emotion. Pass the tissues please.”
While @_ESEKnowsBest said, “Fruitvale Station? I walked out of the movie theatre with a box of Kleenex.”
Or when @nelsongeorge tweeted, “The Butler is #1 with 25 million. Fruitvale Station has made $14 million. Spike has his $1.2 million & is already shooting. Sweet news.”
Near the end of the film when the audience saw how the fight had started on the train which led to Grant and his peers being pulled of the train and forcefully being subdued by the BART police, tension in the theater rose. After Grant was shot and killed, by the BART police officer, there were protests and rallies, but what has really changed since then?
If law enforcement established a better relationship with the community where people could have trust in the individuals that claim to protect them, they won’t be the problem but be part of the solution. Then things could start to change.
Local neighborhood watch groups can work with CAPS officers to make things better in particular communities. As long as people fear what they can’t control, they will continue to attack the situation from the wrong angle. Change has to take place in the household.
For too long, fatherless households have existed and only served to further divide urban communities and leave parenting roles to single parents and grandparents. These dynamics have to change and communities must start being accountable for residents instead of acting as if the problem is limited to a specific area. Perhaps if the youth are raised with morals, have a strong foundation, and believe that they can be more than what society or others try to claim they are, then change can come.
How to turn a moment into a movement
After hearing the constant coverage from various media outlets about the Trayvon Martin case, I asked myself “How long will this keep happening? What will it take to make change happen?” I realized that if the black community wanted to see actual change it would take more than just marching. It would take a movement on the grassroots level in the communities.
In the days that followed the verdict I heard about Rev. Al Sharpton organizing marches across the country to get people to show that they were serious about getting justice for Trayvon Martin. But marching is just one part of the solution. Yes, it’s a great tool to help organize people but what about the more pressing issue of how do you get the laws to be changed? If people truly want to be heard they have to do it economically and use their power to be heard. They should use their power in the ballot to vote come next election and ask some serious questions: “Does this individual actually care about us? Is this politician actually going to help our community and the people who live here? Or are they more concerned about collecting a check? What issues are they really fighting for?”
At first I was surprised by some of the comments that I came across on Twitter, days after the not guilty verdict. Some celebrities had tweeted how the system was unfair or how the Martin family didn’t receive justice. Then I saw the tweets from Ebony Magazine asking followers to:“Show the world what a different kind of #JusticeForTrayvon looks like! Send us your pics! #Anger2Action.” Other tweets by the well-known publication included: “We want to see what you are doing to spark change in our community. We don’t want another #justiceforTrayvon #Anger2Action
I understood where the outrage was coming from in regards to parents who have lost children or love ones to violence due to another person’s actions or the lack of justice that they felt they received from the justice system. Now is the time to galvanize the people who are tired of the youth being murdered by people holding others accountable to their own code for justice. If people can come together to rally then why can’t people come together to vote for the change they want to see? Or take up a more active role in their community instead of just believing that the problem with the youth isn’t their problem until one of their loved ones are lost to this violence?
Another set of tweets that caught my attention came from Kyra Kyles @thekylefiles “Still angry and sad about #Zimmermantrial? So am I, but what are we going to do? Tell @GetJETmag how you will turn #anger2action.”
Sir Charles Cary @SirCharlesCary tweeted: @thejylefiles @EBONYMag @GetJETmag Create solutions to keep us out of the hornets nest and bring down bad stats on our community.While bjm @Namaste2525 tweeted: @thekylefiles @EBONYMag @GetJETmag #Zimmermantrial #anger2action , could EB/Jet run ongoing articles~ voting, commty action, talent devlmnt?
In order to see change in urban communities it has to start with the people in the communities. The people have to want to see change where they live. Perhaps it’s time for the leaders of the civil rights era to pass along their wisdom to the youth and work together to help prevent the murdering of an innocent youth.
Superhero Huff
How many people can say that they love their job? Yorli Huff is among the few people that did.
“I very rarely hear anyone say that ‘I love my job’, but I loved my job absolutely,” says Huff. At the time she was a special drug agent for the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department. Huff was one of the few African-American undercover agents in the task force.
While at the department she excelled at her job and her success was met with racism and discrimination. “ No matter how I out performed, no matter the accomplishments that I did during that time, the great cases that I did, the arrest that I made, the seizures that I made I still was not good enough,” says Huff. “And it was hard factual evidence that one could lay out and say that this is a super performer, because of the color of my skin and someone’s ignorance it really made me mad as hell that they thought, that they had the audacity to take something from me.”
Huff took a stand against the injustice and filed a lawsuit against the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department. The lawsuit took her 11 years to win, but ultimately she was victorious.
A valuable lesson that Huff learned from the lawsuit was thinking strategically. And she realized the game that she was playing could no longer be fought with misplaced emotions. “I moved from playing checkers, which was very emotional, the anger and the frustration,” says Huff. “. I moved from playing checkers to begin to play chess and to become very strategic, very focused, and very determined in learning my opponent, because we were about to play a game and my life depended on it. And once I learned the rules to this particular chess game, then I mastered the rules.”
After her victory she decided to share her story with others by writing her autobiography titled The Veil of Victory: A Memoir of Tragedy & Triumph. Huff received “divine inspiration” to turn her character from Veil of Victory into a comic book and cartoon.
Huff is the founder and CEO of Engendering Strength Inc. which is devoted to inspiring and empowering women, and was created based on the experiences that Huff overcame in life and her relationship with God. According to the website the company was also created to show people how have a “mindset to excel against all things, dream the impossible and dare to be different amongst all odds.”
Derrell Spicy, is the illustrator of Superhero Huff comic book series and creator of the well-known comic strip WHATZ UP MAN,which tells the story of “everyday life” in Chicago’s West Side black community. He recalled how he and Huff meet. “She saw that I worked on children’s books and said that she was currently looking for a comic book artist,” says Spicy. After Huff told him her story, he decided to take a chance and they started putting “the pieces together from just talking.”
Since her comic book’s release the series has gained acceptance by various comic book readers, although the core audience is teenage girls. “It capture a lot of people especially a lot of young women. Because—[the] comic book characters are women,” says Spicy. “And they can relate to it… So it can be a very good teaching tool and it can be a very good sci-fi tool. They tell different sci-fi stories with a little bit of an element of the neighborhood. A little bit of an element of the military. And [womanhood].”
He said that the comic book also has a lot of spirituality in it. Spicy says that the series brings awareness to issues such as self love, skin tone, and self pride. While a lot of well known fictional heroes’ origin stories may come from a place of personal tragedy or from some alien planet, Huff decided to take a different approach with her character.
Most of the characters in the Superhero Huff series powers come from acts of selflessness. “Help makes her stronger,” says Spicy. “The more she surrenders herself to helping others. The more powerful she becomes.”
Spicy explained how the comic heroine is relatable to women. “A lot of women like it because the way she looks. The retro look, but more up-to-date with the technology around her,” says Spicy. “And her team that she has with her. She’s a young woman. But older people can relate to her, because the way she [looks]. She don’t look like your average girl on the street,” he added.
Huff described the protagonist of the series Phadrea as a “strong black woman, who represents power, and represents intellect and able to handle her own.”
She hopes the comic heroine will become an inspiration to today’s generation and help them gain back something that is lacking. She recalled how her generation had hero’s such as Christie Love. “She is going to become what Christie Love was to us, who [remembered] her, back in the day,” says Huff. “So, hopefully she will-she is going to serve as that motivator that inspiration to say, that “you can do it.”
Courtesy of Yorli Huff
Memorial Day
Lines and lines of cars could be seen stretching back towards the cemetery’s east entrance. A small crowd gathered to pay respects to their love ones, and veterans on a cold spring day at Lincoln Cemetery. Slowly, all those in attendance began to take their seats under the white tent.
As the service began the air was filed with the a strong breeze of cold Chicago air, and light conversation amongst the guest and veterans. This was the cemetery’s
10th year of having a ceremony that paid respect and honor to the men and women who served as well as the men and women who are currently serving and their families. According to the speaker for the event, Diane Nowak, general manager at Lincoln Cemetery.
Here are some photos from the service:
After the service, the veterans and the families made there way to participate in the “laying of the wreaths”. Afterwards, all the guest in attendance were then treated to a barbecued meal prepared by the cemetery’s staff.
Minister dedicates life to mentoring young black men
Reaching today’s youth is a challenge, especially considering all of the outside forces that are vying for their attention.
Rogers W. Jackson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church at 8301 S. Damen Ave., and the author of several books that encourage and offer guidance to men has worked diligently over the years to inform men in Chicago about their purpose in life. He mentors men at his church.
“My basic calling is to help men do something. I believe that every man, every young man, every youth, every senior adult man, has a something that God brought them into the world to do,” said Jackson. “And the challenge is to help that man, that boy, that youth or that senior man, see what God has put in them, to bless, to enlarge and to strengthen the world.”
Jackson a graduate of Bishop College in Texas, relocated when he felt called to Chicago.
“He’s a very smart man, very well educated and he has life experience,” said Barry James, Jr. co-owner of Island Furs, located near the church.
“I think he’s the type of guy that you can go to when you feel like you need some advice on the challenges of life. He seems to be willing and open to share that information,” said James.
One of Jackson’s aims is to establish mentorship programs that help engage young black men in critical thinking and spiritual growth. He wants to create workshops and seminars that offer training he believes that men need to make a significant impact in the lives of others.
“I start basically with the church, because men and boys who come to the church obviously have a vision of God,” Jackson said.
He explained involvement with religion can bring young black men a sense of concern for others and insight on how to strengthen their families.
“Pastor Jackson is very faithful, very committed, and he is jovial,” said his wife, Onie Jackson, the leader of the women’s ministry at Emmanuel Baptist Church. “He has a heart for developing young men for God because there are so many young people, men in particular who don’t know what to do with their life at this point. And he just has such a passion to kind of help them, guide them along, if they will allow him to.”
Jackson plans on creating mini mentorship programs through the church to work with young black men ranging from high school level up to freshmen and sophomore college students.
“I believe in Chicago, but I believe that I can offer a sense of mentorship through film, and movies, of persons who have been mentored by a wiser man,” said Jackson. “That is one way young boys and young adults, since media is a method of visual assessment that could be used as a strategy in the elementary and high school by way of just using that as conversation or discussion.”
Jackson said the main concern of the program would be assistance in the spiritual growth of these men and acknowledged that while some organizations may meet once in a month, the church meets 52 times a year. During the available time frame, he would have the young men partner up with a church or a community of faith that can then follow up with that man throughout the year.
“My thing is more inspiration, encouragement and vision and mission. I can get you started, but it’s up to the individual and others—if it’s a church, pastor, or congregation of preachers can mentor people,” said Jackson.
“Because the culture kind of makes young black men and boys feel as though they are nothing, basically they carry that psychological thing with them in[to] a classroom,” he added.
There are other factors that also add to the fear that exists even at the college level as a result of being intimated by an insurmountable task such as reading multiple college level textbooks in one course and juggling other equally demanding classes.
“I would use James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and other writers to point out the social impact on the black men ego. If I was in a college, I would find an easy book to read, say “Eight Men, ” said Jackson. That’s the type of level of mentorship that I’m talking about.”
Jackson wants to set up workshops where male teachers are taught how to inspire the black males on college campuses. “I know the average man or woman working a job, you do the job you leave,” he added. “In relations as what’s happening to us in regards to as a culture of black people, we have to go an extra mile.”
The Graph Master
A crowd, whose numbers ranged within the hundreds gathered on a cool, Sunday evening at the Double Tree Hotel in Alsip, IL for the 3rd WAHL National Cutting Competition on September 23, to witness barbers, cosmetologists, and highly skilled hair stylist compete for the title of the best. The well-lit room was filled with young barbers, veterans, and rising stars, the contestants came from states as far away as Milwaukee, WI and Nicholasville, KY to showcase their skills. That day there were five competitions scheduled for the evening: the Student Competition, Best Graphics, Best Woman’s Haircut, Best Fade, and Men’s Total Look.
The atmosphere was filled with the sounds of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”, clippers humming and the voice of the announcer G. Whizz, explaining to the audience the history of barbers in America and telling the crowd about the upcoming competitions and raffle prizes. The audience had the opportunity to bid on various barber equipment such as the latest WAHL clippers, a brand new leather barber chair, and a TV set.
Among the competition was John “J.Ruff” Ruff an award-winning barber who’s known for his skillful graphic designs. Ruff was competing in two events that evening Best Graphics and Best Fade. He won second place in the Best Graphics competition and won first place in Best Fade.
Ruff’s been cutting professionally for four years, but it will be his fifth year come November. Over the years he has won several awards as a barber. He took first place in this year’s Bronner Brother Hair Show competition in Atlanta.
Unlike some barbers who begin to lose sight of what’s truly important, due to their recent accomplishments, Ruff has remained undeterred by his achievements. He attributes his success to those within his inner circle and prefers to focus on his clients. “I never think that I’m ‘the man’. I think off all of them [my clients] as ‘the man or the woman to me,’ said Ruff.
When Ruff first started cutting hair he would watch YouTube videos and try out different designs on his brother. “I remember begging him for three weeks to let me experiment on him with a regular haircut,” he said. After his brother refused, Ruff decided that he was going to give him a hair cut one day, whether he wanted one or not.
“I remember the clippers touched his head and he jumped out the chair,” said Ruff. “He felt the clippers go deep into his head. He jumped in the chair, like, ‘Wait a minute! Whatchu’ doing?!’ you said, ‘You said I could give you a design right?’ ‘Aw. Hell naw,’ replied his brother. He said, ‘Let me see the mirror.’ When he saw there was a big line in his head. He said, ‘You know I didn’t tell you that. You did it on purpose. ‘Come, on man, I got to get good one day,’ said Ruff. It took his brother a lengthy amount of time before he would allow him to even cut his hair.
Recently Ruff had the opportunity to participate in the WAHL competition finals in New York. He won 2nd place in the competition, but was disappointed with not being able to take home 1st place in both competitions he competed in. He recalled how close he was to wining first place in the competition for his design.
“I ended up getting 2nd place in one. In another one man, I had it in the bag. I was fin’ to win it. And I was fin’ to win by five points actually. And I did a Mountain Dew concept and I just made a mental era man, and I misspelled Mountain Dew,” said Ruff. As a result of the typo in the design he lost the competition. “They [the judges] docked me by nine points. And that knocked me out of the competition right there,” said Ruff. “I had it in the bag.”
Although he didn’t win the competition in New York like he wanted to he takes solace in the fact that this year was one of his best years. When he finally accomplished his main goal for the year, which was to take first place in the Bronner Brother Competition. “It was so much weight off my shoulders. For me every barber that I look up to they won that competition,” said Ruff. “For me to be in there company of mention, then to see a name like [Bronner], I feel that I had to get better. And that had to be one that I had on my shelf. I got it. I’m not leaving without it. I was satisfied with getting it. I feel it was a blessing to me. But I’ll never forget that.”
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