42ND ANNUAL WILSON, LAKE AND HERBERT FAMILY REUNION
SHERATON SOCIETY HILL HOTEL
SEPTEMBER 3-5, 2010
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

SPIRIT OF PHILADELPHIA

We are very thankful to be able to join together as a family once again. We are celebrating our 42nd Annual Wilson, Lake and Herbert Family Reunion this Labor Day Weekend, September 3rd through September 5th, 2010. We thank God for Blessing and Keeping us.

This year’s Reunion is being held in Philadelphia, PA. We will be staying at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel at 2nd & Walnut Street, 19106, in Old City Philadelphia.

Our itinerary includes:

Meet and Greet on Friday, 9/3 with free time on your own to visit local historical sites, a possible day trip to New York City, possible fireworks at Penn’s Landing or spending time with family at the hotel.

On Saturday, 9/4, we have planned a Breakfast Buffet at the Hotel from 8 to 11 am. Our Family Reunion Barbeque will be held from 2-6 pm at Belmont Grove Site in Fairmount Park. We will have age appropriate activities, WLH Family Olympics, and hope to have Chapter gatherings for family photographs at the Park. At the hotel we will have our Audible Auction and Silent Auction starting at 8 pm and DJ Music from 10 pm to 12 am. The Hospitality Room will be open for adults only from 9 pm until. Another adult activity is for those scheduled to attend our Midnight Cruise (see photo above). We will meet in the Hotel Lobby at 10:45 pm; and board the boat across the street from the hotel at 11:15 pm. We will then cruise and party down the Delaware River on the Spirit of Philadelphia.

On Sunday, 9/5, we have our Sunday Morning Inspirational Praise and Worship Service at the Hotel from 10 am to 12 noon. Our Family Reunion Banquet will be held in the Society Hill Ballroom from 2 to 6 pm with DJ Music after dinner for our pleasure from 6 to 9 pm. Our WLH Executive Board Meeting will start immediately following our Banquet. We have Children’s (PG Rated) Movie Night for our younger family members from 8 to 11 pm. The Hospitality Room will again open for adults from 9 pm until.

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2010 WLH NEWSLETTER

What a year!  From September, 2009 to September, 2010, we’ve seen and experienced a lot.  There have been many things that have occurred- some good and some bad, but we must thank God for everything for it is all His Will.

Below is a timeline of some of the newsworthy events that occurred over the past year that may be more interesting to us as a people.  We hope it is understood that our intention is not to focus on the negative or problems that we are having but we can’t overlook that these things occurred.  The good thing is that our family- is striving, as you can see by our Newsletter information, to make it through and Thanks Be to God, we have faith that things will be alright for us.  We like to enjoy life and are optimistic about our future.

President Barack H. Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama

Over all, we think our President- President Barack Obama has done a tremendous job governing our country since he came into office 18 months ago. Over the past year, in spite of many obstacles, he’s been able to get many bills passed.  In fact he was able to pass 200 + laws including Health Care Reform and Financial Reform. See the WLH Newsletter Website- 2 full pages – for a partial, detailed list of accomplishments by our President up to the present time.  He passed the $787 billion Economic Stimulus Plan which saved enough jobs over the past year to prevent the United States from going into a second Great Depression.  The unemployment rate is still higher nationally for African Americans- it is nearly double the national average of 9.5 percent.  President Obama said during the recent bill signing, “The Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010 will create jobs, help American companies compete, and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of our economic recovery.”  The issue that was predicted to be his toughest is measuring up to its expectations, President Obama said, “Now, we knew from the beginning that reversing the damage done by the worst financial crisis and the deepest recession in generations would take some time—more time than anyone would like.” And, he said, “We knew that it would require an ongoing effort across all fronts.”  Our belief is that although unemployment is a major problem, things would have been a whole lot worse without the stimulus plan.  And, as it was once said . . . “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  Things are slowly getting better.

There are some people who say that the Obama Administration on the whole, have not really stood up to its opposition as strongly as they could have. The Republican Party continues to try to sabotage everything our President tries to accomplish.  An example was the hold up of the extension of unemployment benefits to the unemployed.  That bill was held up by the Republicans for months while people were having extreme difficulty surviving without those benefits.  The Republican Party showed no regard for the average person; they were looking into passing legislation to extend tax cuts to the wealthy. They think “politics” all the time, about everything.  They don’t want our President to be seen favorably by anyone, but . . . most of us are very proud of him . . . “because, the man is baad . . . ” . . . as Susie Herbert says. Many of the “Right wingers;  Tea Partiers; and Conservatives frequently question President Obama’s citizenship, his religion- they say he is a Muslim although he has shown that he is a Christian, and they say they want their “country back” – what this really means for some, is that they really can’t see having an African American man as President of the United States.

*President Obama was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Peace 2009. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack H. Obama on October 9, 2009 “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.

*Earthquake in Haiti – On Tuesday afternoon, January 12, 2010, the worst earthquake in 200 years – 7.0 in magnitude – struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than a magnitude of 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks. Millions of people were displaced, and thousands died in the aftermath of the quake. There was a huge outpouring of help from people all around the world in the recovery effort.

More help is still needed. (photo to be added)

*Climate Change– The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and is human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Some of the things we can do to reduce greenhouse gases as individuals is to try to save on electricity; plant trees; bike, bus, or car pool and when we can, practice recycling The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away all influence our carbon footprint and can help ensure a stable climate for future generations.

*The War in Afghanistan– The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001 as the US military’s Operation Enduring Freedom that was launched, along with the British military, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US. The United Kingdom has, since 2002, led its own military operation, Operation Herrick, as part of the same war in Afghanistan. The character of the war evolved from a violent struggle against Al-Qaeda and its Taliban supporters to a complex counterinsurgency effort.  The polls are rising with disapproval of President Obama as a result of the rising death toll which includes civilians.

*British Petroleum (BP) Oil spill -The Gulf Oil spill has been disastrous to our country.  It is the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill stemmed from a sea-floor oil gusher that resulted from the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. The explosion killed 11 platform workers and injured 17 others. On July 15, the leak was stopped by capping the gushing wellheadafter releasing about 4.9 million barrels of crude oil at the rate of 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day.  The oil spill has caused extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries.On June 16, after meeting with President Obama, BP executives agreed to create a $20 billion spill response fund.  African American Fisherman affected by the oil spill along the Gulf coast have found that they are not being compensated by BP Oil Company in the same manner as their white counterparts. Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African American US Attorney General (who was sworn in on February 3, 2009) said recently that federal authorities have opened criminal and civil investigations into the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Holder would not specify which companies or individuals might be the targets of the probe, saying he did not “want to cast aspersions” while investigators come to their conclusions. He said federal clean air and pollution laws give him the power to open the investigations, which he added had been going on for “some weeks.”

*The Anti Immigration Law – Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the nation’s toughest bill on illegal immigration into law on April 23, 2010. Its aim is to identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants. There have been numerous protests throughout the States because the Arizona Law targets illegal immigrants in an inappropriate manner. The law requires police officers, “when practicable,” to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization and to verify their status with federal officials, unless doing so would hinder an investigation or emergency medical treatment. It also makes it a state crime — a misdemeanor — to not carry immigration papers. In addition, it allows people to sue local government or agencies if they believe the federal or state immigration law is not being enforced.  It is believed by some that there are some whites who have had a sense of entitlement for years are now feeling threatened. With the increase of people of color coming into the country, they are now feeling challenged by the fact that with this growth, the white majority can become the white minority by 2050.

*They celebrated the longest marriage – Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of North Carolina celebrated 86 years of marriage on May 13, 2010. They made the Guinness Book of World Records.  Herbert was 105 years of age on June 10, 2010 and Zelmyra will be 103 on December 10, 2010. When asked, what was the best piece of marriage advice you ever received? They replied,  “Respect, support and communicate with each other; Be faithful, honest and true; and Love each other with ALL of your heart.” And when questioned, what’s the one thing you have in common that transcends everything else? – They said, “We are both Christians and believe in God.  Marriage is a commitment to the Lord. We pray with and for each other every day.”

*Students at the Urban Prep Academy for young Men-Englewood Campus, in Chicago ALL received college acceptance letters. 107 high school seniors were accepted to 72 different colleges and universities.  The school is Chicago’s only all African-American charter high school that enrolls male students in one of Chicago’s most besieged neighborhoods.

*Drawdown of the War in Iraq–The Iraq War (also know as the Occupation of Iraq-the Second Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn) is an ongoing military campaign that began on March 19, 2003, with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom during the Bush Administration. There have been a total of 4,416 American Military Casualties and 31,911 soldiers wounded in this war since it began.  On February 17, 2010, Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates announced that as of September 1, 2010 the name “Operation Iraqi Freedom” would be replaced by “Operation New Dawn.”  The drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq is taking place against the backdrop of Obama’s decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan — a decision which has been criticized by some of the more liberal members of his own party.  On August 2, 2010, President Obama confirmed that all U. S. military operations in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010.  Combat troops began leaving Iraq on August 13th.  Yeah!!!   Thank God!!!

*In addition to the many laws signed to help our people was the signing on August 3, 2010 of legislation by President Obama that narrows the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity. This will dramatically alter the historically more punitive approach to federal crack cocaine offenders that led to racial disparities in sentencing.  This bill was passed in March by the Senate.  The Obama administration was called the sentencing disparity “fundamentally unfair”.  The original law was enacted in 1986, when crack cocaine use was rampant and often associated with violent crime.  Under its terms, a person convicted of possessing an amount of crack equal to the weight of two pennies resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.  In order to receive a similar sentence, possessing chemically similar  powder cocaine, one would have to be carrying the weight of 200 pennies or 100 times the amount of cocaine.  The new law narrows that ratio to about 18 to 1.  It also eliminates the five year mandatory minimum for the first time since the Nixon administration enacted the law that Congress has repealed a mandatory minimum sentence.  The changes will not apply retroactively.

*At the 101^st Annual NAACP Meeting held in Kansas City, Missouri  on July 14, 2010, a resolution was passed to have an anti Tea Party March in protest of their racist antics. NAACP delegates passed a resolution to condemn extremist elements within the Tea Party, calling on Tea Party leaders to repudiate those in their ranks who use racist language in their signs and speeches.  The resolution came after a year of high-profile media coverage of attendees of Tea Party marches using vile, antagonistic racial slurs and images. In March, respected members of the Congressional Black Caucus reported that racial epithets were hurled at them as they passed by a Washington, DC health care protest.  Civil rights legend John Lewis was called the “n-word” in the incident while others in the crowd used ugly anti-gay slurs to describe Congressman Barney Frank, a long-time NAACP supporter and the nation’s first openly gay member of Congress.

*Shoot first-ask questions later” – Shirley Sherrod, an Administrator in the US Department of Agriculture, gave a dynamic 43 minute speech at the Annual Conference of NAACP in July. She talked about her early years in that administration and how she had difficulty but did her job in spite of the fact that her father had been killed by the Klu Klux Klan back then.  Her speech was altered with a 38 second clip which was taken out of context that made it look like she was in fact a racist and didn’t do her job.  The altered release by Andrew Brietbart’s Big Government Blog on July 19 didn’t tell the full story. The altered clips were heard by many and shed a negative light on Ms. Sherrod. In a rush to judgment, the NAACP, Columnist, Commentator and TV Host, Roland S. Martin, and others condemned her for “what she said.”  She was even fired by the officials at the US Department of Agriculture. Tom Vilsack, the Department Head, later admitted that he never consulted with anyone at the White House prior to asking for Ms. Sherrod’s resignation. After the truth was uncovered, she was offered an apology and a higher paying job at USDA by Tom Vilsack. She later rejected the job but said she may be willing to consult. She said, “We do need to work on issues of discrimination and race in this country.”  It has been noted that Andrew Brietbart had also lied and was involved in taking out of context clips about others in the past.   (He was reportedly in a smear campaign against Van Jones the former White House Green Jobs ‘Czar’ causing him to resign and he lied about ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.  Following the exposure of clips taken out of context, the ACORN organization announced on March 22, 2010 that it was closing its remaining affiliated state chapters and disbanding due to falling revenue.)  Ms. Sherrod said on July 29, 2010 that she is suing Andrew Brietbart. Sherrod said she had not received an apology from Breitbart and no longer wanted one. “He had to know that he was targeting me,” she said.

*The floods in Pakistan in late July have caused at least 6 million people to be made homeless.  Overall there have been 20 million people affected by the floods which started in the northwest part of the country after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains.   According to a UN spokesman, “This disaster is worse than the tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the Haiti earthquake.”The United Nations has appealed for 460 million in emergency assistance and the United States has promised 150 million in aid to Pakistan.  For anyone who can, they need our help also.

The following is a quote from the cover of the September, 2010 edition of Ebony Magazine- PRESIDENT OBAMA ON OUR ROLE:  “The most important thing for me is that every single EBONY reader help to parent our kids and set very high expectations for them.”

Respectfully Submitted by

Mary A. Herbert, Founder and Editor,

WLH Family Circle Newsletter

www.WLHNewsletter.com.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Disclaimer- The preceding information and commentary was referenced from news reports: TV and Radio; the Internet and Newspapers. Some of the opinions are the views of the Editor, but are not necessarily the views of the WLH Family. The Wilson, Lake, Herbert Family will not be held responsible for any of the above commentary.

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“Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions.

Conservatives feel they deserve everything they’ve stolen” . . . Mort Sahl