Author: Carma Henry

The City of Miami Gardens has announced Jazz in the Gardens (JITG), its popular 2-day jazz and R&B music festival, will return in March 2022 to the world-class Hardrock Stadium. In 2020 the City was forced to cancel the festival just days before its scheduled dates to protect its attendees against the COVID-19 virus. The festival will not occur in 2021 because of the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.

       Despite the pandemic, New Mount Olive Baptist Church still finds a way to provide for their community. On March 6, NMOBC had a give back in honor of the pastor’s anniversary.

     A few weeks ago we mentioned the Golden Globes nominations. We told you to look out for “The United States vs Billie Holiday” (Hulu) movie. At the time, we had not seen the movie, but we knew that the star Andra Day was radiant in the trailer and that she received two Golden Globe nominations. Well, to cap off Black History month, Day has won the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture. What makes this so special? It’s been thirty five years since a Black actress has been awarded this prestigious honor. The last woman to receive this was Whoopi Goldberg. Can you imagine following in the footsteps of Whoopi?

Leadership Broward is relaunching the Follow the Leader in You (FLY) Program, a free program for eighth graders attending Title 1 Broward County Public Schools. There will be a special focus on recruiting from the Prosperity Broward designated zip codes 33309, 33311, 33313, 33319, 33023 and 33069. 

     The nonprofit legal organization committed to exonerating wrongly convicted individuals also noted that Black people are more likely to be wrongly convicted of murder when the victim is White. Among Black people exonerated of murder convictions, approximately 31 percent were wrongly convicted of killing White people. However, only 15 percent of homicides by Black people involve White victims, the National Registry of Exonerations reported.

     This week, authorities announced they had suspended York and acknowledged that Greene “was mistreated.” The admission came after Greene’s family viewed graphic body camera footage of the arrest that included York using a barrage of expletives as he detained the Black motorist. York and other troopers were seen on the video choking and beating Greene.

Coronavirus Report

As part of its virtual “Ask the Expert” program series, the Alzheimer’s Association will host “Medicine Cabinet Mayhem,” a free, educational program on March 18.

To commemorate The Jim Moran Foundation’s 20th anniversary of improving the quality of life for the youth and families of Florida, the Urban League of Broward County (ULBC) and Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF) have each received a $500,000 grant to advance racial equity in Broward County. This $1 million investment will build the capacity for both organizations to work effectively with stakeholders to lead critical conversations about racial equity and to propose transformative solutions that address them.

My frustration at the lack of respect given the public is galling. I was one of 15 persons in a line stretching the length of the post office lobby. There were two service reps to process the patrons which was outrageous. The American people deserve better.