Cook County honors all women veterans
Smiley is simply being Tavis
by Lou Ransom
DEFENDER STAFF WRITER
Tavis Smiley has been catching a lot of heat lately, but he doesn't seem to mind.
The host of a talk show on NPR and frequent social activist, Smiley recently hosted We Count, a confer- ence at Chicago State University that brought together activists, academi- cians and social leaders to discuss the Black agenda.
Photo/LeShawn James.
In commemoration of Women's History Month, President Todd H. Stroger and the Cook County Board Tuesday paid tribute to mili- tary service women and women veterans including those who paid the ultimate price for their country.
Pictured from bottom left: Rochelle Crump, President, National Women Veterans United, Melissa Montalvo, Social Work Intern at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Sgt. Hattie Tyson, U.S. Army, Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center, Master Sgt. Victoria Anderson, (left to right second row) Comm. Earlean Collins, Comm. Bridget Gainer, Comm. Joan Patricia Murphy; Comm. Deborah Sims (rear) Luz M. Hein, Chief Social Work Service, Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center; President Todd H. Stroger; Comm. Elizabeth "Liz" Gorman Doody; (rear) Richard A. Morbidoni, Superintendent, Veterans Assistance Commission of Cook County; and Comm. Jerry Butler.
Tilden student chefs cook lunch on Capitol Hill
Smiley announced the conference during a commentary on the Tom Joyner radio show, and said that Al Sharpton would be invited to take part. Sharpton called in and dis- agreed about the invitation, and it was quickly dubbed a Smiley- Sharpton rift. Smiley calls that char- acterization “silly.”
“This conversation is really about whether we need a Black agenda in this era of Obama,” Smiley told the Defender. “Do we need a Black agenda in this so-called post-racial America.”
While Smiley posed the question, he admits that he was prompted by Black politicians and other leaders, including Sharpton, whom he said have backed off pressuring the fed- eral government, and particularly President Barack Obama, to move on issues important to the Black
community.
“What kicked this off is that there were politicians and leaders saying the president didn't need to focus on a Black agenda. We can't give this president a pass on dealing with these issues,” Smiley said, noting that the Black community would not give a white president a pass. Smiley said the We Count forum was designed to give voice to issues that affect the Black community. “Black folk are living this every
day,” said Smiley. “Black folk are catching hell, getting crushed. We can't expect that our issues are going to be addressed if we don't speak up about our issues. Achild understands that. When a baby wants attention he makes some noise.” “We've always had a Black agen-
da. The Black agenda has always been the best of the American agen- da. It's always been about justice, about fairness for everybody. But the minute you say ‘Black agenda,’ peo- ple think you are being exclusive. They cast it in pejorative terms,” said Smiley. “We have to recast this conversation, redefine the terms.” “I am doing this because I feel compelled to do this,” said Smiley, who describes himself as an activist in the mold of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“It's about fulfilling my small
commitment. My life has always been dedicated to doing my small part.”
He noted that Sharpton had sched- uled his own conference in New York in April.
“I'm all for having as many con- versations as necessary,” said Smiley. “I never ever suggested that any conversation that I moderated would be the end-all. I am not trying to start any organization. I'm not try- ing to run any organization. I'm not unemployed. My role is to raise these questions, and to moderate these kinds of discussions. I'm trying to get us to think, get us to act.” The uninvited guest at Chicago State was the president, whom Smiley had criticized even before the election after Obama chose not to attend Smiley's State of Black America conference. And his senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett had been invited but could not attend. Smiley subsequently discontinued his gathering, saying that he was advised that with a Black president, they would be unnecessary. “When you are President of the United States, you don't need to be invited anywhere,” said Smiley. “In my (radio) commentary, it was not about Barack Obama. It was about us coming together as a people to have a conversation about a people.
Dominick’s gives to Haiti relief
Photo/Special to Defender
Photo/Special to Defender
Tilden students and their culinary instructors pose earlier this month on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where their award-winning healthy school lunch was served to ask Congress for more money for better school food. From left: Henry Walton Jr., David “Chef D” Blackmon, manager of culinary educa- tion, Chicago Public Schools; Daniel Leszczewicz, Tilden culinary instructor, Jakaia Franklin, Keith Morris, Tilden culinary instructor, Lashonda Livingston, Aljibri Reed and Cari Smith.
Front row, from left: Wynona Redmond, Dominick's, Don Keprta, President, Dominick's, Ald. Walter Burnett, Chair, Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus, Casey Marsh, Director, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Francesca Maher, CEO, American Red Cross of Metro Chicago, Bob Shepard and Frank Guiglio, Dominick's District Managers. Back row, from left: Jean Pierre, Distribution Center, Dr. Joel Augustin, Rush University Family Physician, Jeff Norkiewicz, Dominick's VP of Marketing, Gerard Durang, Dominick's Fox Lake Store Manager
Chicago Defender • ChicagoDefender.com • March 24-30, 2010
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Grocer Dominick's raised over $150,000 locally for Haiti Earthquake Relief through check- stand donations at all 80 Dominick's stores as part of the $1.7 million raised by Safeway stores. On March 12, Dominick's marked the second month since the earthquake struck the island nation, and made a check presen- tation dedicating the funds raised from Dominick's to local repre- sentatives of the American Red Cross and UNICEF.
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