Author: Carma Henry

Island SPACE Caribbean Museum’s third annual Mango Festival welcomed approximately 1,200 attendees on Father’s Day, marking the event’s largest turnout yet and nearly doubling attendance from the previous year.

       When family and friends gather to celebrate the 100th birthday of Mattie B. Rutland on July 8, they will be honoring far more than a remarkable milestone. They will be celebrating a century of unwavering faith, enduring love, family legacy, and a life that has touched generations.

   The Shak’s Hope 10th Anniversary Casino Royale brought together City of Plantation Mayor Nick Sortal, community leaders, healthcare professionals, corporate partners, sickle cell warriors and their families for an evening of entertainment with a greater purpose: raising awareness, expanding education and ensuring more families understand the importance of knowing their sickle cell status.

      The Jamaican American community in South Florida is mourning the loss of respected matriarch and longtime community leader Eulalee “Mama Bax” Bax, who died on June 23, 2026, at the age of 95.

     Tony Brown, the pioneering host and producer of “Tony Brown’s Journal,” a long-running public affairs television show aimed at Black audiences that was notable for its candid and often contentious discussions about race and other politically charged issues, died on June 17 at his home in Newport News, Va. He was 93.

       Howard University alumnus Harold Wheeler, the Tony-winning Broadway orchestrator, composer, and longtime musical director of “Dancing With the Stars,” died June 24, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles following a lengthy illness. He was 82. His death was announced by longtime family friend and Broadway producer Lamar Richardson. Harold Wheeler’s Howard University roots shaped not only his career but his entire life. He met his future wife on that campus, alongside future legends who would go on to change American music forever.

       In a Democratic primary already packed with well-known names and seasoned elected officials, Kendrick Meek Jr. continues to build momentum with another major endorsement this time from former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, one of Florida’s most respected Democratic leaders.

AFRO-AMERICAN – WASHINGTON — THE AFRO — “The white artists in the first generations of rock and roll would acknowledge where their music was coming from. They would talk about the fact that they were being influenced by Black American music,” said Maureen Mahon, professor of music at New York University (NYU). “But the people who were writing about it or retelling the story didn’t make that the focus. The emphasis was on the white artists.”

     Florida A&M men’s basketball has secured a historic recruit commitment.

     The nonprofit think tank Drake Group last week released a report in support of the SAFE Act. President Kassandra Ramsey outlined “four significant recommendations.” Resolve the athlete compensation, employee status and collective bargaining issue; replace the NCAA Board of Governors and the Power Four’s control of Division I sports with a new enforcement system; the House settlement should not be codified into federal law; and Congress should set program standards applicable to all college athletic programs.