Author: Carma Henry

   In 2017, the Harvard Business Review published a survey that highlighted an uncomfortable truth: 71% of respondents regard meetings as a sheer waste of time. An all-too-typical tale illustrates the absurdity. One meeting organizer routinely distributed slide decks for every subteam in a department to review in advance. When members dutifully showed up, she just walked them through the decks. Why waste everybody’s time so flagrantly? If you must drag workers away from their genuinely productive tasks, at least try to make the most of each occasion.

How do you salute a man who walked amongst the angels? You start by making sure that history accurately reflects his name. This is my modest contribution to the telling of his vital history and legacy.

     One of the biggest challenges in communities of color are higher rates of asthma and respiratory related illnesses. I know this firsthand from growing up in the inner city of Buffalo. My family lived near NYS Route 33, the Kensington Expressway and so did my grandma, one of my uncles and at least one aunt.  As a kid I snored really bad and at times, I experienced labored breathing.  Of course, my physician said I had a mild case of asthma. 

The syphilis rate among Indigenous people in the Great Plains is higher than at any point in 80 years of records. More than 3% of Native American babies born in South Dakota last year had the preventable and curable — but potentially fatal — disease.

 Commissioner Kionne McGhee is dedicated to supporting small minority businesses in the local community, and Jazz in the Heights serves as a platform to showcase their talents and contributions. Since its inception, Jazz in the Heights has provided opportunities for 190 businesses to participate, including food trucks, party rentals, audiovisual services, nurseries, catering companies, clothing boutiques, jewelry shops, cosmetics retailers, public works firms, and artists.

SAN DIEGO VOICE AND VIEWPOINT — A decade after the water crisis began, health implications from ingesting the unsafe water as well as financial burdens continue to plague residents. Keyon Lovett, 34, a multi-disciplinary visual street artist, creatively known as The Art School Dropout, who moved back to Flint in 2021, says that while there is much rebuilding left to do, the community is also beaming with progress and hope — and that is, in part, due to Black artists in the city.

    Around 150 persons met on a recent Saturday in April to celebrate the 20 year development of the Harry T. Harriette V.  Moore Cultural Center in Mims, Florida. Set in the heart of Florida’s orange grove region, the commemoration celebrated the lives of Harry T. and Henietta Moore. Their Mims, Fla home was dynamited Christmas night 1951, ending their careers as educators and fearless freedom fighters in the Civil Rights Movement. The Ku Klux Klan blast that killed them brought international attention to their Florida freedom struggles. The Ballad of Harry Moore was written by poet Langston Hughes, and sung by Sweet Honey and the Rock.

     “We are delighted to collaborate with Blanche Ely High School in bringing a wider audience for the artwork of the tremendously talented young artists who grace our city,” said Ty Tabing, Director, Cultural Affairs Department. “Pompano Beach Arts values our community partnerships, and this one, demonstrating the deep well of talent of the young people involved, is particularly compelling as we look toward the future of the arts in our city, as well as in the world at large.”

By Don Valentine “It occurred to me shortly after that that it was an absolute necessity for me to declare homosexuality, because if I didn’t I…

     A wealth of new research spells out stark wealth and income disparities that reflect a far different economic dynamic: people who work full-time but find it difficult  to get ahead financially. Race and ethnicity remain nagging factors. But emerging gender and occupational trends play a large role as well.