10th Annual City Wide Youth Revival This Sunday in Des Moines

10th Annual City Wide Youth Revival

The event is sponsored by the Congress of Christian Education

Sun. Feb. 3 at 3:30 p.m. and Mon. Feb. 4 through Thurs. Feb. 7 at
7:00 pm nightly

LOCATION: MAPLE STREET MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

1552 MAPLE STREET

HOST PASTOR, REV. KEITH RATLIFF

BIBLE PREACHING, YOUTH CHOIRS AND YOUTH GROUPS PARTICIPATING.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME.

Rev. Carolyn King, President Emeritus & Rev. William J. Cannon – Congress Revival Co-Chairs and Diedra Thomas Conley, Congress President; Renee Thomas Burkett, and Sharon Hanna, Congress Vice Presidents; Rev. Alex Hanna, Congress Dean; Tia Wright, Congress Secretary

I'll Make Me a World in Iowa 2008

By Dana Boone


Iowa's big-scale celebration of African-American culture had it all Saturday -- Morris Chestnut. Enjoy photos from the event, which was held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines. All eyes were on Chesnut who took the stage to cheers and camera flashes with the festival's executive director, Betty Andrews.




Adrienne Jennings,center in black, of Ankeny and friends enjoy music while waiting for Chesnut to take the stage.


Onlookers await Chestnut.




Taylor English, 13, Shireena Taylor, 15 and Alex Franklin, 16, all of Des Moines, said they enjoy attending the festival each year.


Edward Young Jr., Enterprise Manager of the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa sits amid books on black history.


The Iowa Bystander Newspaper.







Deborah Mobley, owner of Perfect Choice Hair & Beauty Supply located at Wakonda on Fleur in Des Moines spoke with potential customers at the festival.






Activist Veola Perry and Miss Black Iowa 2008 Evette Fantroy told festival-goers about the pageant, which is accepting applicants for the 2009 pageant. For more information visit the web site at www.missblackiowausa.org.





The Metro Youth Program of Rock Island, Ill., chillin' before performing.











Friday's I'll Make Me a World in Iowa Gala

Awards


Malcolm Goodwin, president and CEO of Promise IT Solutions, Inc., and BrownIowa contributor, Dawn Campbell

Nightclub Dress Code Policies Attacked by Iowa Legislator

Iowa nightclubs wouldn't be able to bar admittance to patrons based on what brand of clothing they wear if a bill proposed by Rep. Wayne Ford (D-Des Moines) becomes law. Read the entire story at Iowa Independent.

So what do YOU think about it? Post a comment by clicking below on comments.

African-American Business Association Holds Seminar at I'll Make Me a World in Iowa

By Dawn Campbell

African-Americans from all over the state will converge on Des Moines for I’ll Make Me a World in Iowa to celebrate the kick off of Black History Month. This year, the 10th anniversary of the event, entrepreneurs will have a chance to hear African-American business owners share their stories of success and struggle.

The African-American Business Association of Des Moines (AABA) is sponsoring a business seminar that will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Polk County Convention Center.

Two speakers will be featured during the program. At 11:00 a.m. Isaiah McGee, owner of McGee Strategies, LLC., will present “Building Professional Relationships that Create Opportunities.” McGee Strategies is a consulting, training and coaching firm.

Following McGee, Ted Williams, AABA member and past president, will present “Tips, Strategies and Answers Regarding Small Business Workplace/Workforce Issues and Challenges.” The Williams Group is a human resource management consulting firm.

AABA members and business owners will share their business history and answer questions during a panel discussion at 12:15 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Here are the panelists:

Debra Carr, Institute for Social and Economic Development
Malcolm Goodwin, Promise IT Solutions, Inc.
Larry Hawkins, Custom Paper Supply
Isaiah McGee, McGee Strategies LLC
Ted Williams, The Williams Group

Learn more at AABA, which is an affiliate of The Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Get "PHAT" this Saturday at I'll Make Me a World in Iowa

By Dana Boone

P.H.A.T.

Many African-American women are familiar with the acronym, which stands for pretty, hot and tempting.

But organizers of this Saturday's I'll Make Me a World in Iowa festival want the acronym to become much more meaningful -- Promoting Heart health Awareness Together. Heart disease and stroke are top killers of blacks, according to the American Heart Association.

"There is kind of a crisis in the African-American community when it comes to health," said Betty Andrews, the festival's executive director.

That's why the festival -- Iowa's big-scale celebration of black culture -- is collaborating with the association, Iowa Public Television and the John R. Grubb Community YMCA on a health fair called "Fat to PHAT." The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines.

Andrews is hoping the health fair's catchy name and free soul food cookbook will draw black women and empower them to take better care of their families' health.

"We chose that term because it resonates within the African-American community," Andrews said. "Now we are also using it as a term for taking care of your health and your heart health."

The health fair includes free diabetes and blood pressure screenings. Nutrition and meal planning information will be available, along with information about the warning signs of stroke and heart attacks, she said.

"We're mothers, wives and sisters, and we sometimes forget that we are responsible for treating our body as a temple," Andrews said.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of all Americans, according to the association. Nationally, the risk of stroke for blacks is twice that of all other ethnic groups, and high blood pressure affects nearly half of all blacks, according to the association. Blacks also are more likely to have diabetes and to be overweight and obese, which increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Shannon Rudolph, cultural health director for the association, will help festival-goers on Saturday learn more about stroke warning signs.

"Having a stroke is a scary thought," Rudolph said. "No one wants to think they're having a stroke."

Stroke warning signs include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg; sudden confusion; trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking; dizziness and sudden and severe headache, according to the association.

The treatment for stroke approved by the U.S. FDA is called tPA, which is a clot-buster that is administered within three hours of the onset of symptoms, Rudolph said.

"Unfortunately, a large segment of our population doesn't get there in time," said Rudolph.

That's why increasing awareness about strokes and heart health is so important, she said. She'll urge health fair participants to sign a stroke pledge, which states they'll become familiar with the risk factors and warning signs. It's also important that they teach their family members since strokes can affect people of all ages, Rudolph said.

This year's headliners on Saturday include actor Morris Chestnut, best known for his movie roles in "The Best Man," "Boyz n the Hood" and "Perfect Holiday," and the gospel group Trin-i-tee 5:7.

Remembering the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

By Dana Boone



It's easy for most Americans to conjure up the image of Martin Luther King Jr., saying "I have a dream." But, nearly 40 years after the death of the civil rights icon, many know little beyond that famous line.

That saddens Pulitzer prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., who discussed King's legacy with a crowd of 300 people at the state's 19th annual King celebration organized by the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans.

"I get the feeling sometimes that as his era recedes ever further in history, that people understand less and less of who he was and how he fought not simply for African-Americans rights, but also for human rights, also against unjust war and also for racial, political and economic justice," said Pitts.



Gov. Chet Culver gave opening remarks. Violinist Daniel Davis wowed the crowd. Ambreyana Jones, 16, who attends East High School, moved the crowd with her a capella song. Passionate speeches from three Iowans who were honored for their civic work inspired the audience during the 90-minute celebration Monday at the State Historical Building. Burlington community activist Mary Stinson and teacher Ruth Ann Gaines of Des Moines each received King Lifetime Achievement awards. State Rep. Wayne Ford of Des Moines received the commission's newly created Pinnacle Award for his civic work.



Pitts recalled the recent controversy between presidential rivals Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama who clashed over remarks about King. Pitts called their argument "silly" but said it was good because it caused people to consider King's legacy.

"Without Dr. King and the moral crusade he led for 13 years, it would be impossible for us to conceive of a Barack Obama," Pitts said to applause. ". . . it would at least be a lot more difficult to conceive of a Hillary Clinton."

Even so, the nation worships a "cardboard cutout" of King and few people know much about the Nobel Prize winner beyond a few quotes, he said.



King, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, led the civil rights movement during the 1950s and `60s. He preached nonviolent protest and led marches and sit-ins to secure equal rights for blacks. His "I Have a Dream" speech was heard by hundreds of thousands during a historic rally in Washington, D.C., in 1963. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968 and his birthday became a national holiday in 1983.

Today's struggles show "that we never did reach the promised land of which Martin Luther King spoke of on the last night of his life," Pitts said.

Racial inequities didn't end with the civil rights movement, Pitts said, pointing to recent studies about racial profiling, black farmers being denied loans and unequal criminal sentences. But, it's imperative that "we return to the man who got us this far," he said.




"To drop the cardboard cutout," Pitts said. "To exchange the image for the inspiration. To understand what he did and how he did it so that we can take the lesson of his example and use it to change our lives in the here and now."

Pitts took the audience on a history lesson. He talked about "separate but equal," Jim Crow laws and described how it must have felt for blacks in a world that had deemed them "inferior."

He described the brutal lynchings of blacks who were hung in trees, their skin peeled back from their "living face" and who were burned alive. A person in the audience gasped, "Lord, have mercy" when Pitts described how pieces of their bodies were used as souvenirs.

Others in the audience were similarly affected. Cousins Johnneisha Long, 11, and Takieyah Wells, 14, of Des Moines, had the day off from school and attended the event with several family members.

"I didn't know that all of that happened -- that they got burned, after the lynchings," said Johnneisha. "It was really informing. I learned a lot."

Takieyah agreed.

"How they treated us," she said sighing. "Some of the stuff I already knew because my mom and dad taught me, but some stuff I didn't really know."


Pitts reminded the audience to consider King's life and think about its relevancy to the daunting problems of today.

"Non-cooperation with evil is as much obligation as cooperation with good,'" Pitts said quoting King.

"There is upon us a debt of honor," Pitts added.

State of Iowa's Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

Renowned civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., will be remembered Monday during the state of Iowa's 19th annual King celebration.

The event, which is called "Honor the life: Martin Luther King," is expected to draw about 300 people and was organized by the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. The celebration will held from 10: 45 a.m. to noon at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust St., in Des Moines.

"King is our blazing American example," said Abraham Funchess, the commission's division administrator. "His practical politics benefited the politically oppressed and the disposed."

Other events across the state and nation will honor the civil rights icon during Monday's federal holiday.

Featured speaker at the commission's event is Leonard Pitts Jr., a 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Miami Herald. Gov. Chet Culver is scheduled to give the opening address. Daniel Lee Davis, a classically trained violinist, also will perform. A question-and-answer session with Pitts will follow the celebration.

Three Iowans will be honored at the celebration. State Rep. Wayne Ford of Des Moines will receive the commission's newly created Pinnacle Award. Mary Stinson, of Burlington, and nationally-renowned teacher Ruth Ann Gaines, of Des Moines, will receive King Lifetime Achievement awards.

The commission created the Pinnacle Award to celebrate Iowans who are "innovators," Funchess said.

"This is award is for people who are doing serious things to improve the plight of black folks," he said. "To remind people that this is what King was truly about."

King, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, led the civil rights movement during the 1950s and `60s. He preached nonviolent protest and led marches and sit-ins to secure equal rights for blacks. His "I Have a Dream" speech was heard by hundreds of thousands during a historic rally in Washington, D.C., in 1963. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968 and his birthday became a national holiday in 1983.