Von Howard’s Biographical Sketch
Mr. Von C. Howard, a Fort Lauderdale native, is a devoted Christian, husband, father, and community leader. He serves as Administrative Supervisor in the City of Fort Lauderdale Manager’s Office, holds a B.S. in Human Services and Management from the University of Phoenix, and is Basileus of the Zeta Chi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. A mentor in the Lamplighter’s Program and active in conflict resolution, he also serves at New Mount Olive Baptist Church and is engaged with the NAACP. Guided by the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” he finds joy in faith, family, and service to his community.
**************
Ain’t That A VHIT
By Von C. Howard
Growing up in neighborhoods like Sistrunk, Lauderdale Manors, Parkway, and Lauderhill, you don’t need anyone to tell you life isn’t always fair. You see it in the streets, hear it at the barbershop and corner stores, and feel it in the loss of too many young lives. For too many of us, circumstances feel like a trap, a cycle that repeats generation after generation, reinforced by unwarranted negative stereotypes about our communities.
But here’s the truth: your circumstances set the stage, but your choices write the script. As Jay-Z wisely put it, “I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man.” This lyric reminds us that we have the power to shape our own destiny through the choices we make.
Circumstances Are Real, But They Aren’t Final
Circumstances shape us. They influence us. They can even wound us. But they don’t have the final word. A tough childhood, financial struggles, broken homes, or mistakes you’ve already made, none of these erase your ability to choose differently moving forward.
Even in pain, you have power. That power lives in your decisions. One choice can change everything: showing up for class instead of skipping, walking away instead of throwing that punch, saving instead of spending recklessly. These choices may not be glamorous, but over time, they create a path out of struggle, out of cycles, and out of the limitations people try to place on us.
Lessons From Our Neighborhoods
Northwest Broward is full of lessons if you pay attention. Sistrunk is the heartbeat of Black Fort Lauderdale, full of history, legacy, and resilience. Lauderdale Manors and Parkway remind us of family and neighbors who look out for one another. Lauderhill shows the power of diversity, culture, and perseverance.
These communities have seen hardship, but they’ve also raised leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, athletes, and artists who refused to let circumstances nor unwarranted negative stereotypes decide their future. The blueprint is around us; it just takes choosing to walk it.
Our grandparents made those choices when they built churches, opened businesses, and kept our communities standing even when the system wasn’t built for them to win. If they could choose hope in those days, we can choose it now.
Reflection: What Are You Choosing?
Ask yourself:
Am I choosing people who bring me closer to my purpose or further from it?
Am I choosing short-term comfort or long-term growth?
Am I choosing to be silent when I should speak up, or to stand when I should lead?
Your choices impact more than you, they shape your family, your friends, and your community. Somebody younger is watching, learning how to navigate their own circumstances.
This isn’t just for the youth. Adults, our choices matter too. We set the tone. We can choose to show up instead of giving up. Mentor instead of criticizing. Reinvent our neighborhoods instead of abandoning them. Every decision creates an example for the next generation.
And young people, don’t let anybody tell you your zip code is your destiny. You are not bound to the unwarranted negative stereotypes neighborhoods like Sistrunk, Lauderdale Manors, Parkway, or Lauderhill may carry. You are born from them, it has helped construct who you are, but it does not define the finished product you are ultimately destined to become. Your future is built by your choices.
Choices Speak Louder Than Circumstances
Life gives us circumstances we don’t always choose, poverty, broken systems, environments that aren’t fair. But it also gives us the ability to respond. Choices are the levers that can shift our path. Choosing to study instead of settling, to work when giving up feels easier, to surround yourself with people who lift you instead of those who drain you, that’s where real power lies.
We all make mistakes. We all have moments when choices carry heavy consequences. And yet, even in those moments, hope isn’t lost. Redemption is real. New choices can rewrite old mistakes.
This isn’t about perfection. It’s about acknowledging struggles while choosing the fight. Circumstances may be loud, but your choices speak louder.
Planting Seeds for the Future
To every young person walking the streets of Sistrunk, to every parent hustling in Lauderhill, to every dreamer in Parkway or Lauderdale Manors—hear this: your circumstances are the soil, but your choices are the seeds. Plant wisely. Nurture faithfully. Watch what grows.
The final word on your life won’t be written by where you started nor by the unwarranted negative stereotypes placed on your neighborhood. It will be written by the choices you make moving forward.
And as a son of Broward County who has seen both the struggles and triumphs of these neighborhoods, I know this much to be true: we are more than what happened to us, we are what we choose to become.
