Respectfully Submitted by Jackie Davis, President, Editor of the Columbus, Ohio Chapter of the Wilson, Lake, Herbert Family Reunion Circle
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Archive for category Editorial News And Reviews
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2011 WLH NEWSLETTER EDITORIAL
We are thankful to God for the gift of life for yet another year. Our family is again very happy and proud to be joining together and celebrating our 43rd consecutive Wilson, Lake and Herbert Family Reunion this year in Columbus, Ohio.
Since our last Reunion in September 2010 we have experienced a great deal. Times have been interesting, some difficult and some smooth but we’re happy to have been able to have come through it. Some of the news events over the past year that we hear everyday have been outrageous and unbelievable. The blatant attacks and disrespect for our President, President Barack Obama are totally disgraceful! We must continue to pray for our President and people all around the World.
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Below is a timeline of some events in the news of interest to some that coincide with our own lives over the past year:
>>>>>December 10, 2010 President Barack Obama announced he had reached a deal with Republican leaders to extend the Bush era tax cuts for all Americans, including the rich for two more years. In exchange the extension of unemployment benefits was approved allowing benefits to continue and not end just before the Christmas holidays. This was seen as an economic hostage. The president fought against tax cuts for the rich and entitlements for corporations for most of 2010 but this was not approved as the majority of Congress wanted to protect the rich and big corporations at the expense of the middle class and poor. Most liberal Democrats were angered by this, however, the bill was signed into law on December 17.
>>>>>Beginning in late 2010 and early 2011, a series of floods devastated certain areas of the world, most notably Australia, Rio de Janeiro and in the United States, in the Red River of the North and middle-eastern states. The upper Mississippi River basin from Minneapolis southward to St. Louis and a portion of lower New York, eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey were affected by the over flow of rivers. The flood that struck the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota, were spurred by spring rains as well as months of winter snow. With 4 feet of snow on the ground followed by warm temperatures, or a nice warm rain on top of the snow- that is a prime setup for flooding. Many metropolitan areas had a greater than 95 percent chance of major flooding, which included parts of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The total damages caused by the floods in the United States alone during this period, was in the billions!
>>>>>January 4, 2011 – After thousands of red-winged blackbirds were found dying in a small Arkansas town and several hundred more mysteriously died farther south in Louisiana people became alarmed. . At the same time officials in Arkansas continued to investigate what may have killed nearly 100,000 fresh water drum fish in the Arkansas River. Wildlife experts in Maryland were looking into their own massive fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay. It was not clear what had caused the birds to die off or the fish to die, despite random theories that included fireworks and hail, as well as the wrath of God, and government conspiracies. The last time the Chesapeake saw such a massive fish kill was in 1976, records show, when about 15 million spot fish died due to the cold.
>>>>>March 11, 2011 –An East Japan Earthquake and tsunami occurred. The earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 was one of the most powerful earthquakes to ever occur in the world. Over 15,600 people were confirmed dead with thousands more missing and injured. Three of the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi overheated, causing meltdowns that eventually led to explosions, which released large amounts of radioactive material into the air. Slowly, very slowly, life is getting back to normal in the towns and cities that were hit but it is expected that there will be many more years before the towns have been completely cleared. By the end of the grueling work, it is expected that the disaster will have cost Japan up to $185billion as the mountains of wood and concrete are cleared away.
>>>>>May 2, 2011- Osama bin Laden killed. After landing by helicopter at the Pakistani compound housing Osama bin Laden early Monday May 2, the U.S. special operations team tasked with capturing or killing the Al Qaeda leader found itself in an almost continuous gun battle. For the next 40 minutes, the team cleared the two buildings within the fortified compound in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, trying to reach Bin Laden and his family who lived on the second and third floors of the largest structure. After the firefight, the special-operations force quickly gathered papers — valuable intelligence on Al Qaeda, officials said — and other materials in the two buildings and clambered back on helicopters, taking Bin Laden’s corpse with them. The capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden was seen as a major accomplishment by President Obama in his reign as President as Bin Laden had been hunted since the September 11, 2001 plane crash into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Arlington, VA and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where a plane crash occurred. In the attack on 9/11 three thousand of our United States citizens were killed and thousands more injured in the murder, suicide attack by terrorists. The president called the killing of bin Laden the “most significant achievement to date” in the effort to defeat al Qaeda. “Justice has been done,” Obama said.
>>>>>July, 2011- Summer of the Mob. Philadelphia’s flash-mob headaches date from the South Street mobs of March 2010 when hundreds of young folks gathered leading to injuries and property damage. The mobs have resurfaced this year in Philadelphia and in some other major cities in the U.S. and also in England and Germany. Curfews have been set for certain downtown streets in Philadelphia for 9 o’clock PM for youngsters who are under 18 years of age. One question remains: Why is this happening? Minister Kevin Johnson, Pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church asked in his article in the Philadelphia Tribune: “Was it a mob, or cries from the unheard?”
>>>>>July 18, 2011– Former South African President and anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela, celebrated his 93rd Birthday. U.S. President Barack Obama called Mandela “a beacon for the global community, and for all who work for democracy, justice and reconciliation.” Mandela became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in prison for his fight against racist apartheid rule, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Sixty-seven years of his life were spent in giving service and now people around the world were asked to mark his birthday by giving 67 minutes of their time to work in their local community — one minute for every year of Mandela’s public service.
>>>>>July 21, 2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) landed its final mission into space. Since the first launch 42 years ago April, 1981 in Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, there have been 135 adventures in human space flight missions. There have been 19 African American Astronauts who were part of the space program- all but 4 of these astronauts actually travelled into space. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., NASA Administrator an African American who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009 to this position, said, “As a former astronaut and the current NASA Administrator, I’m here to tell you that American leadership in space will continue for at least the next half-century because we have laid the foundation for success — and failure is not an option.” National Press Club, July 1, 2011
>>>>>August, 2011- Somalis are starving. As it scales up its operations in Somalia, the United Nations World Food Program is investigating allegations that thousands of sacks of grain and other supplies intended for famine victims have been stolen by unscrupulous businessmen and then sold on the open market for a profit. This was blamed on al-Shabab. For a generation, Somalia has been a byword for the suffering of a failed state. It has been without an effective central government since 1991, when the former government was toppled by clan militias that later turned on each other. Since 2006, the country has faced an insurgency led by al-Shabab, one of Africa’s most fearsome militant Islamist groups. Al-Shabab controls much of southern Somalia and has claimed affiliation with Al Qaeda since 2007. In the summer of 2011, the country was hard hit by a famine that extended across much of East Africa. By early August, United Nations officials estimated that tens of thousands of Somalis had died, and that more than half a million children were on the brink of starvation. The situation had even worsened by mid-August, when the United Nations confirmed that a cholera epidemic was sweeping across the country.
>>>>>August, 2011 “Obama-care”- The Healthcare package that was introduced by President Obama and approved in 2009 shortly after he came into office is being attacked by the right wing Republicans and Tea Partiers. Some believe they are critical of this because the reform was started by President Obama and not by any of the 7 other presidents who tried, but failed to get it through. The law which requires all Americans to have health insurance coverage was recently voted down by another state and now it may have to be brought before the US Supreme Court to rule on it. President Obama said in one of his talks recently that, “Yes, Obama cares!”
>>>>>Our Elected Officials did not represent ALL of their constituents-they didn’t do their job prior to recess for their vacation this August! Republicans refused to negotiate with the Democrats-they didn’t want to compromise on anything and insisted on getting everything they wanted by holding out and refusing to agree to raise the Debt Ceiling which is something that routinely has been done in the past. While the American people were in the middle of the worst recession since 1929 and the country was on the brink of defaulting on their loan an overwhelming majority of the GOP Party held President Obama hostage again causing him to give up more than he wanted. However, some see the Democrats and President Obama as caving in too much which could cause problems in upcoming elections. African Americans have routinely been the last hired and the first fired and with the unemployment situation being what it is, we are faring worse than any other group. The Congressional Black Caucus brought to the forefront the fact that our people are hurting badly so that President Obama will focus more attention on this problem. One might think that because of politics, there won’t be any improvement in the state of the economy until after President Obama is removed from office. Many (including some African Americans) will join in with the Republicans and Tea Party members to elect someone from that side, thinking there will be gains made for the average person, but it is believed that may not be the case –– that things very likely will not improve for the average person, but instead may only get worse for the poor and middle class. One example is the attempts by Republicans to break all of our Unions. It is strongly believed that we need to support our President by making sure we are registered NOW – and being prepared to vote in EVERY election!
>>>>>August 21, 2011 –Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi now has a price on his head. The new government of Libya is offering a large cash reward and amnesty to anyone who kills or captures Muammar Gaddafi.
>>>>August 23, 2011– East Coast Earthquake— Tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada were jolted Tuesday by the strongest earthquake to strike the East Coast since World War II. There were no known deaths or serious injuries, but cracks appeared in the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral, which had three capstones break off its tower. Windows shattered and grocery stores were wrecked in Virginia, where the quake was centered. The White House and Capitol were evacuated. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake registered magnitude 5.8. Family up and down the East Coast will remember this Earthquake as alarming. It was considered mild by West Coast standards and some did not feel it all.
>>>>>August 26, 2011– Hurricane Irene traveled up the East Coast from Puerto Rico, North Carolina and up through Maine. It was predicted to be one of the worst storm systems since the 1800’s to hit landfalls all the way up the east coast including New York City. Major precautions were made. Tornado warnings, gale force winds and major flooding hit much of the area but Thank God damages weren’t any worse than they were. There were many lives loss billions of dollars in damages.
>>>>>The official unveiling of the Martin Luther King National Memorial originally scheduled for August 28, 2011, was postponed because of the approach of Hurricane Irene. The monument was an early effort of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to erect a monument of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was a member of that Fraternity. The Memorial was executed by Architect, Ed Jackson, Jr. who developed the project. The granite sculpture stands 30 feet above the National Mall in Washington, DC between sculptures of Jefferson and Lincoln and is the first national memorial for an African American and for a non-President on the Mall. The dedication which was to be on August 28th was to be held on the 48th Anniversary of King’s “I Have A Dream Speech.” The lead sculptor was Lei Yixin, a prominent artist of Chinese nationality and the image has some of his Asian features. (This is sometimes common as artists sometimes tend to show some of their own facial features in their work.) Ed Jackson, Jr. said that selecting the sculptor was an international effort as Dr. King was an international hero. Taken from the Op Ed page ‘History in the making at DC’s MLK Memorial’ about the importance of visiting DC’s MLK memorial, by Rev. Al Sharpton . . . “For those who may be quick to forget the legacy of Dr. King, let us remember that he died while fighting for worker’s rights and the basic human dignity of all.”
Respectfully Submitted by— Mary A. Herbert, WLH Newsletter Editor and Founder, 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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Famous African Americans who have passed away from August, 2010 to September, 2011
Solomon Burke- Cry To Me
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Dr. Ione Vargus became very involved with our family in 1986 around our family reunions. She was impressed that we, the Wilson, Lake, Herbert Family, had begun having Reunions in 1968-69, years before Alex Haley’s “Roots” was published (1976) and that our Reunions were so organized with Chapters in many cities. Our Reunions, primarily all 2 or 3 days long on Labor Day weekend, were always so well done and enjoyed by our family every year.
Dr. Vargus interviewed us and traveled with us on occasion and was our Reunion guest speaker at The Wilson, Lake, Herbert’s and The Aydlett Family Reunions. Several of us spoke at her Family Reunion Workshops and she included information about the WLH Family in one of her books and other publications. The family was also featured in a Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper article about Family Reunions. Carmita Crowder Poe is/was a personal friend of hers. Patricia Haley Hawkins, who was a graduate of Temple University’s School of Social Administration, knew her also.
Dr. Ione Vargus, Carmita C. Poe and friend
The following is info from a Website Blog by Vernon M. Herron about Dr. Ione Vargus “The Mother of Family Reunions,” on April 1, 2010.
In June 1990, Claude Lewis editorial writer of The Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper wrote, “If Alex Haley can be called the Father of Family Reunions, Dr. Ione D. Vargus can be called the Mother of Family Reunions.” In that same year, The Family Reunion Institute emerged because of the many requests for information after two previous African American Family Reunion Conferences. The conference planning committee recognized from the responses and from requests for service and information, that it could begin to work with families outside of traditional family agency structures. However, it would need to have a more organized and permanent existence. Thus, the Institute was formally established at the School of Social Administration at Temple University. Its administrator was Dr. Ione D. Vargus, Professor Emeritus, formally the acting Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Temple University, the School of Social Administration for a total of seventeen years.
She was Temple’s first African American as well as the first female academic Dean. Dr. Vargus now serves as a volunteer to the organization.
Dr. Vargus began her research on African American family reunions in 1986. She traveled the east coast, north and south to attend family Reunions for Conferences on African American Reunions. She continues collecting information about families and their reunions.
Dr. Vargus has published a number of different topics and has been profiled and/or quoted in many local and national magazines and newspapers.
Respectfully Submitted by Mary A. Herbert, of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Wilson, Lake, Herbert Family Reunion Circle
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Respectfully Submitted, Mary Herbert, WLH Family Reunion Circle, Philadelphia, PA Chapter
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Reunion Program and Wilson, Lake, Herbert The Family Tree, Our Roots
TO VIEW A MUSIC VIDEO OF THE 2010 – WILSON, LAKE, HERBERT FAMILY REUNION (PART ONE)- PHILADELPHIA, PA–
PLEASE CLICK HERE: 2010 WLH Family Reunion, Phila. PA, Part 1
TO VIEW A MUSIC VIDEO OF THE 2010-WILSON, LAKE, HERBERT FAMILY REUNION (PART TWO)-PHILADELPHIA, PA-
PLEASE CLICK HERE: Phila. Fam. Reunion 2010, Part 2_0001
Respectfully Submitted by Mary Herbert,
Philadelphia Chapter WLH Family Reunion Circle
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 101st 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
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
DEATHS OF SOME INFLUENTIAL AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO PASSED AWAY FROM AUGUST, 2009 TO SEPTEMBER, 2010
Nov 3
NEWS TAKEN FROM THE INTERNET AND NEWSPAPERS WHICH IS PART OF THE TIMELINE OF EVENTS THAT OCCURRED OVER THE PAST YEAR THAT COINCIDE WITH OUR LIVES——
Respectfully Submitted by Mary Herbert of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Wilson, Lake, Herbert Family Reunion Circle and Editor of the WLH Newsletter Website
WILSON, LAKE, HERBERT FAMILY CIRCLE NEWSLETTER- COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE NEWSLETTER, SEPTEMBER 1, 1996
Jul 21
(SEE NOTE ABOUT 1995 ISSUE BELOW)
Valley Green in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Respectfully Submitted by Mary Herbert, WLH Newsletter Editor
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1995 WLH NEWSLETTER NOT AVAILABLE CURRENTLY
Our 27th Annual WLH Family Reunion was held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Quality Inn Hotel from Thursday, August 31 to Sunday, September 3, 1995 sponsored by Our Newberry, S.C. Chapter
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Duke Ellington was considered in the history of Jazz Music to be the most important musician, composer and band leader of this time which lasted over 50 years.
This piece, ‘Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue’ was performed in 1956 at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport Rhode Island and was recorded in 1957. It is long but it’s one of the most swinging sessions I ever heard. So plug your earphones in to get the true sound, tap your feet, bob your head and enjoy the music! Hope you enjoy the music while you read your Newsletter!
