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

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a measure that will overhaul the state’s alimony laws, after three vetoes of similar bills and a decade of emotional clashes over the issue.

     The idiom “Stay Woke” is the popular phrase du jour. Lost in the banter between the Right and Left is the Black history story of these words. The words began as a cautionary Negro warning in the post Emancipation, Jim Crow era. Succinctly defined, it was a warning to be mindful of every detail going on when you were amongst White folks.

Recent SCOTUS decisions abolishing Affirmative Action, allowing public entities to discriminate against the LGBTQ community (ruling on a fictional, bogus case that shouldn’t have been heard), and prohibiting President Biden from offering relief to students burden with college debt simply fortifies my contention that conscientious student/athletes should strongly consider selecting and attending universities in states that believe in democracy, DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – and the American dream for all juxtaposed to states with governors, senators, congress persons and politicians who consistently and insidiously vote against minority interests.

 We observe National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month each July to bring awareness to the unique struggles that racial and ethnic minority communities face regarding mental illness in the United States. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health encourages state, tribal, and local leaders, community-based organizations, faith leaders, healthcare providers and individuals to educate their communities regarding mental health stigma. According to data from the CDC, suicide was the third leading cause of death for African Americans ages 10-24 in 2020. The suicide rate is four times greater for African American men than women. African American females in grades 9-12 were 60% more likely to attempt suicide than white females.

Florida A&M University has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help build a more equitable and diverse workforce in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. FAMU was selected as one of eight 1890 Historically Black Land-grant institutions to receive a combined $18.1 million investment in minority-serving institutions funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.