Author: Carma Henry

Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

       The controversy intensified after longtime Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced she would seek election in Florida’s Congressional District 20, a historically Black district that has long served as a political stronghold for Black voters in South Florida.

       That is why the article, “The Voting Rights Act Is Dead. Here’s a New Model for Black Politics,” written by Jake Grumbauch and Perry Bacon resonates so deeply in this moment. It forces us to confront a painful reality many in our community have already sensed: the protections our ancestors bled, died and continue to fight for are being dismantled piece by piece, court ruling by court ruling, district by district, state by state.

       Black unity means standing together instead of tearing each other down. It means supporting Black-owned businesses, celebrating each other’s success, encouraging friends to chase their dreams, and protecting one another from negativity. Too often, young people are made to feel like they have to struggle alone. The truth is no one makes it alone. Strong communities are built when people help each other rise. It truly takes a village.

In a classroom where students of all ages are singing instead of memorizing, math is starting to make sense. Niah Spriggs, an African American educator in Oklahoma City, is using music to transform how her students learn math with the release of a new album, “Multiply the Beats: Math That Moves,” on all platforms, including YouTube, Apple, and Amazon Music, to name a few. (Visit the YouTube page to see a sample.)

   Being teachable simply means staying open to learning, to correction, and to perspectives different from our own. It is not about how much we know, how old we are, or how much experience we have accumulated. It is about posture. It is the willingness to admit that none of us has arrived and that there is always more to learn.

   America repeatedly warns the world about the dangers of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons while ignoring a disturbing contradiction within its own democracy: the steady nuclearization of the American presidency itself. The nation’s Forefathers feared concentrated executive power equally as foreign tyranny because they understood that unchecked authority eventually mutates into authoritarianism.