Delta's Stories of Triumph (DST in the News)

[ladygreek]

And just so there is no misunderstanding, I wrote the post on Kazo. I was responding to comments and questions raised based on the first unofficial email. Like Kelli, I went and did a lot of research on the UN and NGOs. The last bullet was in response to a statement that we had become a NGO with the UN in the 50s or 60s. So now we all have the OFFICIAL statement.

[Ms Public Service]

NAACP LDF President Honored At Goodbye Dinner

Elaine Jones' Many Accomplishments Noted

Elaine Jones, whose tenure ends May 1 as president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, leaves a rich legacy behind after 32 years - the last 11 as head of the group - including winning a landmark death penalty case, securing a presidential pardon for Kemba Smith and getting wrongful drug convictions of Blacks overturned in Tulia, Texas.

Gwendolyn E. Boyd, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, mentioned Jones' gift of persuasion.

"When Elaine would come to the national convention, where between 15,000 and 20,000 Deltas gathered, she would walk up the mic and say, 'Sorors, I need your help' and we'd just fill in the blank. Then, we'd all start marching. When Elaine speaks, we just start moving. We'd ask a couple of days later, why? When, Elaine speaks, we just start moving.''

And she moved quickly.

http://www.sacobserver.com/news/0426...e_dinner.shtml


http://wilmingtonjournal.blackpressu...D=42650&sID=33

[Professor]

The Raleigh Alumnae Delta Endowment, Inc. presents Frankie Muse Freeman of St. Louis, MO June 5-12, 2004. Ms. Freeman is a past president of Delta, distinguished attorney, civil rights activist, author and Hampton University alumna. Events will be held throughout the Raleigh, NC area during the span of the week. Please e-mail me if you want details.

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by Professor
The Raleigh Alumnae Delta Endowment, Inc. presents Frankie Muse Freeman of St. Louis, MO June 5-12, 2004. Ms. Freeman is a past president of Delta, distinguished attorney, civil rights activist, author and Hampton University alumna. Events will be held throughout the Raleigh, NC area during the span of the week. Please e-mail me if you want details.

Not to mention the first Black woman to serve on the United States Civil Rights Commission! And she was written an informative autobiography about her struggles growing up as a Black woman.

[CrimsonTide4]

Jun 4, 12:53 PM

Seniors thrive on the go

Activity keeps mind, body healthy

BY ELESKA AUBESPIN
FLORIDA TODAY

Read the rest here
For Catherine Forbes, walking five miles daily, six days a week, is no big thing .

The Palm Bay resident has done so for 24 years, faithfully arriving at a nearby park walking trail at 5:30 a.m. for a good workout.

Forbes is 84. She continues to live an active, healthy life rich with exercise, healthy eating habits, travel and community connections.

"I want to be able to take care of myself as long as possible, and I find that exercise has really helped me to do that," said Forbes, a retired schoolteacher.

Her body was ravaged when she was younger by two bouts of breast cancer, osteoporosis and arthritis. She also lost a kidney to complications after kidney stones.

Exercise and daily activities have kept those problems in check, she said. Also, Forbes has lost 40 pounds. She doesn't have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.

In addition, her cancer has been in remission since 2002 and daily walking has eased typical aches and pains.

"I've been walking since retirement in 1980," Forbes said. "It was one of the things I promised I would do. Now, I feel alert mentally, and it keeps down my back pain. In fact, when I don't walk, my legs are so stiff."

And Forbes doesn't stop at walking. She's active in her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, and with her church, the Allen Chapel AME in Melbourne. Next month, she plans a trip to Las Vegas with friends.

"I'm going to have fun and enjoy the nightlife," she said. "I'm living. The Lord has really blessed me."

Pete Frink, a friend of Forbes for 20 years, said she is a role model when it comes to good health and exercise later in life.

"It's important for everybody, particularly African-Americans, to keep ourselves healthy as we age because we are so prone to diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol," said Frink, the internal auditor for Melbourne.

[ladygreek]

Thanks CT4. This is great motivation for me. I definitely gotta meet her at convention.

[CrimsonTide4]

I heard about this on the radio this morning.

http://national.unitedway.org/

United Way of America Announces New Chair Bennett College President Dr. Johnnetta Cole begins term

TAMPA, FL – United Way of America (UWA) Board of Trustees unanimously elected Bennett College President Dr. Johnnetta Cole as UWA Board Chair, with her term beginning immediately. Dr. Cole succeeds Radio Shack Corporation Chairman and CEO Leonard H. Roberts who has served as chair of the United Way’s national leadership organization’s Board of Trustees since May 2002. “To have been asked to serve as chair on United Way of America’s Board of Trustee is a distinct honor for me,” said Dr. Cole. “I’ve long believed in our individual moral responsibility to give help where it’s needed and United Way is uniquely able to do so. As I see it, this board’s challenge is to hold itself and the movement to the highest standards of performance and accountability. I am convinced that together, we will make great strides in helping United Way movement to achieve its vision to build a stronger America by mobilizing our communities to improve people’s lives.” Dr. Cole becomes the first African-American board chair for United Way of America. “I did not accept the United Way Chair position because I would be the first African-American in the seat; I accepted the position because United Way of America President Brian Gallagher promised me that I would not be the last.”





Kudos Soror Dr. Johnetta B. Cole

[GRITS]

That's my president!! I miss her already- boo to summer! We are soo proud of her at Bennett!

[TheEpitome1920]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
“I did not accept the United Way Chair position because I would be the first African-American in the seat; I accepted the position because United Way of America President Brian Gallagher promised me that I would not be the last.” [/b][/i][/color]





Kudos Soror Dr. Johnetta B. Cole [/B]

GREAT!!! Where does this woman find the time to sit still!

[CrimsonTide4]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/s...10442639c.html


ARTICLE EXCERPT:

In the North Sacramento Elementary School District, nearly nine out of 10 students come from poor families, many of them homeless, according to statistics from the state Department of Education.

The district adopted an early literacy curriculum for preschoolers that was recommended by the state education department, said Janet Sheingold, district director of child development services.

The curriculum features large-group reading, related interactive computer activities, and taking books home for parents to help their children read and memorize.

School officials have tracked children who took part in the curriculum and found that by second grade, their reading scores were significantly higher than those of their peers who did not participate.

"There is significant retention going on," Sheingold said.

North Sacramento teachers also encourage parent volunteerism and use of the well-stocked school libraries. That's especially crucial in a district where many parents themselves have trouble reading.

"When the parent helps the child, it also helps the parent pick up some of those literacy skills," Sheingold said.

At Parkway Elementary, the Raising A Reader program came courtesy of Terris McMahan Grimes and the Sacramento chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Together, they raised $1,300 to buy the books and related materials.

McMahan Grimes, a Sacramento mystery novelist, mentors a child at Parkway Elementary and chose the Head Start class because of its demographics. Eight out of 10 students at Parkway receive a free or reduced-price lunch and a majority of students are African American or Latino.

"I'm very passionate about literacy," said McMahan Grimes.

Born in Tucker, Ark., she and her family lived in a cabin without electricity or running water. She remembers there being only four books in the house.

Her family moved to California when she was 5 years old. Here, African American children got to attend school year-round, "not just when the crops were out," she said.

Her fondest memory is of her mother, a natural storyteller who bought Little Golden Books at the corner grocery store.

"She would sit me down on her lap and read," McMahan Grimes said. "That 15 minutes of my mother reading to me were the most valuable gift I ever had. My mother did that instinctively, and that's what we hope to share with these parents."

Parent surveys from 2001 show that children participating in Raising A Reader were more than 50 percent more likely to read at least three times a week, and up to three times more likely to visit a public library with parents than before they started the program.

[CrimsonTide4]

Glimpse at hope for troubled teens

One was 18. Three were 15. Two were 14. Another one was 16, and two were 17. They announced their hometowns as such places as Sweetwater, Campbell County, Jackson, Chattanooga, Greeneville, Crockett County and Nashville.

On this particular night, they came in shackles and they left in shackles, but what happened in between perhaps matters most.


http://www.tennessean.com/opinion/co...nt_ID=52650895


''It's so delightful to be here,'' Tennessee Children's Services Department Commissioner Viola Miller said last Thursday night as she addressed the nine girls and others from the Nashville community who had been invited to the dinner by Harper and other members of her Delta Sigma Theta sorority. ''This kind of thing enriches your life.''

As for the girls, Miller said, ''this is an opportunity for you to grow and thrive.''

Since 1993, members of Delta Sigma Theta have been going out to Woodland Hills once a month to encourage the girls being held there to be successful once they get out of confinement.

''It's a stop-off point,'' Harper said of Woodland Hills. ''We tell the girls to enjoy life while they are there and to follow the rules.

''We got involved because we wanted to see what we could do to have an impact in these young women's lives. We also wanted to experience the joy in having some impact in their lives.''

If you don't think that matters, I wish you could have been in the ballroom Thursday night when Cathy Bell, the new superintendent of Woodland Hills, said, ''It's wonderful to see people who care about children and give them time.''

For juveniles, as well as adults, the more connection to society that they can keep while incarcerated the better their chances for success once they are back in society, said Ryan King, a research associate with The Sentencing Project.

''This is especially important for juveniles,'' said King, whose Washington-based organization advocates for change in the nation's crime policies. ''Adults, who are older, have already been formed emotionally, but juveniles are still developing.

''Any time you can show them that they haven't been forgotten, the benefits will be greater than hiding them away.''

There were a few educators present, a Metro police officer, a Tennessee highway patrol officer and at least two ministers.

As Harper said, Woodland Hills should just be a bump in the road for those youngsters who are sent there to pay their debt to society for getting in trouble with the law.

And yes, while they're locked up they should definitely do what they're supposed to do. But it's also good for them to know there are people on the outside willing to help them become successful in life once they have served their time.

And, as the members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority have shown for the past 11 years, you don't have to wait until these youngsters are released to show them how to be successful. All you have to do is make that one call to volunteer your services.

The smiles on these youngsters' faces will tell you how much they appreciate it.



I really did only provide excerpts. Kudos to this Tennessee chapter of DST.

[btb87]

From the June 28, 2004 Vol. 163, number 26 issue:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...5431-2,00.html

baby exerpt:

VASHTI MCKENZIE
Be Better Than the Men

There is no feminine for the word bishop in the Sesotho language. The word literally means "father." This was a bit dismaying to Vashti McKenzie when she arrived in Africa four years ago. After all, McKenzie, now 57, had just been elected the first female bishop in the history of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and been posted to its 18th district, which includes the churches of Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique.

I am sooo looking forward to hearing her at our Boule's ecumenical service!

[reddawn18]

Originally posted by btb87
From the June 28, 2004 Vol. 163, number 26 issue:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...5431-2,00.html

baby exerpt:

VASHTI MCKENZIE
Be Better Than the Men

There is no feminine for the word bishop in the Sesotho language. The word literally means "father." This was a bit dismaying to Vashti McKenzie when she arrived in Africa four years ago. After all, McKenzie, now 57, had just been elected the first female bishop in the history of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and been posted to its 18th district, which includes the churches of Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique.

I am sooo looking forward to hearing her at our Boule's ecumenical service!

I printed out the whole article. Its so inspiring!

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally posted by btb87
From the June 28, 2004 Vol. 163, number 26 issue:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...5431-2,00.html

baby exerpt:

VASHTI MCKENZIE
Be Better Than the Men

There is no feminine for the word bishop in the Sesotho language. The word literally means "father." This was a bit dismaying to Vashti McKenzie when she arrived in Africa four years ago. After all, McKenzie, now 57, had just been elected the first female bishop in the history of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and been posted to its 18th district, which includes the churches of Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique.

I am sooo looking forward to hearing her at our Boule's ecumenical service!

You will be blessed 1913 times when you hear her speak.

[ladygreek]

57?????? Wow she looks more like 37.