FIFTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT’S

12th ANNUAL WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY LUNCHEON©

 

“Good Afternoon – thank you all for that very warm welcome.  Let it be written in the notebook of time, that the women of America never had a better friend in Congress than Steny Hoyer, the Gentleman from Maryland!  Congressman Hoyer – thank you also, for your kind words of introduction.  For all you have done, and all you continue to do to move the needle on women’s equality, we are all very grateful.

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     And As I sat here and listened to that gracious introduction – it reminded me of a friend who was always frank with her husband.  At a recent banquet the chairman went on and on in his introduction, finally calling the speaker a great man.

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     The speaker was so taken with this, he turned to his wife and said, “Did you hear that?  He called me great.  I wonder how many men in this world can honestly be called great?   His wife looked at him and said, “I don’t know Dear.  But, I do know there’s one less than YOU think there is!”  Women do keep it real!  Ladies and gentlemen, I am absolutely delighted to stand with you today, as you mark this auspicious occasion. 

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     During this 12th Annual Women’s Equality Day Luncheon – I want to take just a few minutes to acknowledge the strong shoulders on which we all stand.  I will also talk about how far we’ve come, who got here us, and how we can achieve fulfillment by preparing the next generation to take their rightful places in leadership positions all over the nation.  If you watched the news in the past week or so, you saw the rise of another superstar who made her mark in Women’s History.  A 12-year-old girl with a 70 mile-an-hour fast ball pitched a no-hitter at the Little League World Series. 

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     A little wisp of a girl, MoNe’ Davis did something that has never been done by anyone, male or female.  She made history!  She became a history maker.  When General Motors was “called on the carpet” at a recent Congressional Hearing, Mary Barra took her criticism with poise and grace, and pledged an immediate fix to the problem.  She’s a history-maker, tough and strong!”

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POLITICAL SCIENCE CONVOCATION – SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA©

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“Thank you, Professor Arp, for that kind introduction.   President Tarver, distinguished members of the Faculty, administrators, students, and friends, especially my good friend and mentor, Dr. Jewel Prestage, and her husband, Dr. James Prestage.  Southern has always occupied a special place in my heart and in my life, and I am moved beyond words to stand before you this afternoon.   So many of the people who faithfully and steadily guided me through my youth, and sent me off to face the future were connected to Southern University.   They were teachers, coaches, and friends, and they were intimately connected to this school.  They persuaded me that Southern University is a special place, and I came to know that it truly is.

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I want to tell you about one person in particular who, more than anyone else, guided me to Southern in the fall of 1960.  His name was Wiley McMillan, Sr.   All of us in my hometown of Lake Charles knew him as “Mr. Mac.” Mr. Mac was a star baseball player at Southern, and became a teacher in the Louisiana public schools for Negroes after he graduated.   As a teacher, he disliked the lack of pay equity among white and Black teachers, so he and other Black teachers sued the State of Louisiana for equal pay and won.

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But, Mr. Mac paid a heavy price for wanting to be treated on equal terms with white teachers.  He lost his job and became a recreation center director.  And it was in this capacity that my life was first touched by Mr. Mac.  During my high school summers, I began working for Mr. Mac at the only recreation center for African Americans in Lake Charles.  And over the course of those summers, Mr. Mac told me about our struggle to be free; why my generation had to stand up and challenge segregation; why it was important to demand to be treated with respect and to treat people similarly; and why it was important to go to college. 

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And what college did Mr. Mac suggest that I attend?  That’s right; Southern University.  When I suggested to Mr. Mac that college was out of my reach, he would hear none of it.   It was the summer before my senior year in high school, and I had no idea how I could possibly go to Southern or any other college.  Mr. Mac said to me that if I was accepted for admission, he would help me stay in school.  He said I would be able to eat, but I would have to take direct action and make this happen.  He suggested that I go to Baton Rouge, and that I hitchhike to get here.  I did as I was told. 

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Upon arriving on campus, Mr. Mac said I should go see his friend, Mr. Benjamin Kraft, who was head of Campus Security.  Mr. Mac said: “You see, Weldon, there is so much that you can do if you think it is possible.  You have to take charge of your life and determine your own fate.  And I am I am honored to stand before you today, a product of Mr. Mac’s vigilance.”

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CAPITAL PARTNERS FOR EDUCATION ANNOUNCES

GUEST SPEAKER AT ITS SECOND ANNUAL CAP & GOWN CELEBRATION©

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“(Washington, DC) Capital Partners for Education (CPE) named alumna Ashley Ajayi as the guest speaker at the organization’s second annual Cap & Gown Celebration. This year’s Celebration will take place on Tuesday, June 16th at the National Press Club.  She was selected as CPE’s guest speaker because of her extraordinary academic achievements and her enduring relationship with her CPE mentor, Camilla McFarlane, who will be present at the Celebration. Ajayi is a 2009 graduate of Elizabeth Seton High School and a 2013 graduate of University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where studied Health Administration and Public Policy and competed on the track team.

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The Cap & Gown Celebration is CPE’s signature fundraising  event of the year and an opportunity to honor its high school seniors, who will have recently graduated from high school and begin college in the fall. Ajayi will offer a few words of wisdom to CPE’s Class of 2015 and then lead them in a ceremonial oath, pledging continued commitment to academic excellence and engagement with CPE. CPE anticipates over 250 attendees, including students, mentors, family members, board members, corporate partners, school leadership, and other stakeholders.  “We are thrilled to have such an accomplished alumna speak to our graduating seniors,” said Capital Partners for Education Executive Director Khari Brown. “Ashley is a first-generation-to-college student who is now an aspiring dentist. She is an excellent role model for young men and women who are looking to make the most of their educational opportunities.”

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“The Cap & Gown Celebration is a truly unique event because it is entirely focused on celebrating the accomplishments of CPE’s young men and women,” said Development and Communications Director Genette Comfort. “It’s a wonderful moment for these college-bound seniors, but also for their families, their mentors, and CPE donors who have championed the students over the years.  ”CPE is a premier mentoring and college success organization that serves low-income students from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Since the organization’s inception in 1993, 97% of CPE graduates have enrolled in college and 70% have graduated from college on-time (within 6 years of enrollment).”

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SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE©

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CBCS Fashion Show Combines Haute Couture and Smooth Jazz

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“An explosion of textures and colors burst on to the runway as the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses launched their Annual Fashion Show during the organization’s 35th Annual Legislative Conference, held on Friday, September 23rd at the Washington, DC Convention Center. 

The Spouses’ ALC Fashion show boasts a unique collection of Fortune 500 sponsors, A-List celebrity guests, internationally acclaimed designers and high-fashion supermodels from the world over, all gathering for the promotion of academic excellence and scholarship.

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The Honorable Vivian Creighton Bishop is Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses (CBCS).   “We look forward to this event each year,” said Mrs. Bishop.  “It gives our customers the opportunity to contribute to the education and general welfare of our young people, while enjoying a top-notch fashion show.  It is the best of both worlds. Most importantly, it is for the wonderful cause of providing scholarships to our best and brightest young people,” she said.Serving as the Fashion Show Ambassador, Sean “Diddy” Combs was honored during the show for his innovative entrepreneurial successes in the fashion industry.  This year’s event was hailed as one of the most exciting shows the CBC Spouses have ever hosted, combining smooth jazz with the latest in fashions, ranging from the urban-chic-and-casual to the glitzy and glamorous.  Co-chairs of the special event were CBC Spouses, Dr. Andrea Jefferson and Mrs. Sandra Jackson.

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This year’s show was called ROAR – “Revival of Our Artistic Roots” – and featured the sassy mixture of haute couture and chic casual produced by Kim Porter, Eboni Elektra, and Nicole Johnson, an Atlanta-based group known as the “Three Brown Girls.” The fashion trio combined amusement with substance in this show, transforming the "norm" into the awe-inspiring with their eye for unique and dazzling outerwear.  

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The show opened with the smooth vocals of Atlanta jazz artist, Phillippia Butler whose voice was an eclectic mixture of Jill Scott and Miriam Makeba with a little Nina Simone tossed in for good measure. Producers of this fashion extravaganza sought to combinewhimsical entertainment with the seriousness of the political world, resulting in a stunning mixture of flash and substance.

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Fashion embraced glamour with the stylish winter wear, including long coats with big fur collars, and formal dresses that revealed entire backs and hugged shapely hips.  There was a unique selection of suits for men and women, fashions that ranged from Main Street to Wall Street, and even included a sassy collection of shorts affectionately referred to as “Daisy Dukes.”  The Spouses’ Fashion Show is one of the most popular ticketed events featured during the Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, and continues to be the most sought-after ticket of the year.  Annually, the Spouses’ Fashion Show draws an overflow crowd featuring African American notables that included outstanding actresses, Lynn Whitfield, Vivica Fox, and Alfre Woodard, who hosted the Annual Awards Dinner.   Omarosa Mindingall of “The Apprentice” fame, was a special guest emcee.”

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SAMPLE FAMILY HISTORY©

 

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126 Full Color pages, Published November 2009

 

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