Judge Marcia Cooke was the first Black female federal judge in the United States Southern District. She was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer that took her life at age 68 on Jan. 27 in Detroit, where she died surrounded by loved ones.
Author: Carma Henry
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
“Test Your Bible Knowledge”
Today February 6, 2023, here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center(AARLCC), we celebrate In the Presence of Greatness, as we honored two of our Montford Point Marines with a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony awarded to Corporals Moses Williams (posthumously) and George J. Johnson alive and living at 101 years old..
If I had to describe this team in one word it would be “Perseverance”! If I told you their story, you wouldn’t believe it!! EVERYONE counted them out! What I loved the most about this team was the way they loved on each other. Prayed for each other when one was in need and trusted each other enough to know that NO MATTER WHAT, I got your back! The Sunday after our FHSAA region 4 Regional competition, the team had a group outing to Church. The sermon for that particular Sunday was “STILL IN THE GAME!!!! We took that and ran with it. It was all we needed to hear.
Our Student Athlete of the Week is Dwayne Wimbley, a 6’ 6” sophomore basketball sensation who plays for Westminster Academy. Dwayne has led the basketball team to a 16-7 record, placing them first in 3A District 14 and in contention for a state title. While maintaining a 3.5 grade point average, he has already garnered attention from Division I schools including The U, FSU, LSU, Sanford and UCF among others and is currently ranked the # 1 basketball player in Broward County for the 2025 class.
On Thursday, Woodie tweeted on his Twitter account, “Grateful, thankful and blessed to announce that I will be returning to my alma mater to serve as the next Head Football Coach at Bethune-Cookman University. I know we have work to do. Let’s get after it Wildcats!”
The team made history earlier this year by becoming the first HBCU gymnastics team to compete at an NCAA event. The new docuseries tentatively titled “Flipped,’ will follow them as they compete in their historic first season.
Fast forward fifteen years. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman was sworn in on December 6th., 2022 as the first ever elected Black female commissioner for the city of Fort Lauderdale (District 3). (Commissioner Magdalene Lewis was appointed in 2008.)
By the end of the four-day event, publishers, partners, sponsors, members, guests, and anyone else who visited the San Juan Marriott Beach Resort and Stellaris Casino gained a better appreciation of the power of the Black Press of America.
But, in the opinion of Lawrence Davis, a master mechanic who was diagnosed with prostate cancer nine years ago, an HBCU actually provided for him a service that was equal to or even greater than any one of these benefits. Davis credits Hampton University for literally saving his life after the Veteran’s Administration declined to pay forchosen cancer treatment – Proton Beam at Hampton University.