Author: Carma Henry

     America – and most notably Black America – is back to work, declared President Joe Biden as he announced one of the most robust job reports in modern times.

     Senior graphic design student Kah’Milah Ledgester won Target’s 2021 HBCU Design Challenge. Participants designed t-shirt artwork and graphics for the Target 2022 Black History Month campaign for the challenge. Ledgester’s design won a top three prize.

Pompano Beach Arts has announced the new dates for the City’s inaugural Jazz Fest.  The star-studded festival kicks off Friday, April 15, 2022, at The Great Lawn along the beach for an evening concert with 10-time Grammy® Award-winner Arturo Sandoval.  On Saturday, April 16, experience an immersive musical extravaganza at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center. During the afternoon, the center’s Arts Plaza will be filled with the sounds of legendary artists including Sammy Figueroa, Brian Lynch, Magela Herrera, Ashley Pezzotti, in addition to emerging and student artists under the direction of Grammy® Award-winning professor Dr. Ed Calle. In the evening, Grammy® Award winning singer Cécile McLorin Salvant takes the stage inside the center’s theater.

     I’m so excited to be writing this blog on the last day of January, as I have not missed a month of writing about national parks in 20 years. Every day I post prolifically about them on social media. Since I wrote last December, my husband Frank and I changed residence in Jamaica, moving from our friend’s placid gardens in the countryside to the high energy mountains above Kingston. When we first walked in and saw the view from the balcony we immediately told the agent, “Cancel the other appointments. We’re taking this.”

     Hallandale born, Fort Lauderdale raised, Reshad Akeem Hope has been selected as one of the Navy’s “Hometown Heroes”, a program that highlights the Navy’s newest incoming officers. It is a sort of boot camp for Navy officers. It is NOT for the faint of heart. 

    Guests can discover celebratory eats inspired by Black stories and new dishes brought to life by Black chefs at select locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort. And across Walt Disney World Resort, “Cooking with Soul” featured menu items will spotlight soul food dishes and the talented chefs who create them

 Civil rights leaders who met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today called for the League to establish specific recruiting and hiring procedures for executive and coaching positions, with meaningful consequences for teams that do not abide by the rules.

“I’m never playing football again!” Cooper proclaimed to his father, Derwin, days after Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open on a fractured leg

City of Lauderhill to the Rescue

     The threat to voting rights may be different than what it was 40 or 50 years ago, but struggles remain. This came fully into focus with the failure of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. The vulnerability of our democracy was on full display with the Jan. 6 attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol last year. But we’ve long noticed assaults on democracy given the 19 states that have introduced 34 laws to restrict voting in 2021 alone. The need to protect the franchise has also been crystallized with the redistricting process, which has at turns seen lawsuits on gerrymandered and racially discriminatory maps and state proceedings devoid of public involvement.