Contemporary jazz saxophonist Andre Ward, born and raised on Chicago’s Westside, said he first knew that music would be the cornerstone of his life when he began playing the drums in a thriving arts department and afterschool program at his Chicago-based public school. In short order he picked up the trumpet and then moved on to the saxophone.
Garth Fagan, the founder of Garth Fagan Dance and the award-winning choreographer of the hit Broadway musical, The Lion King, was honored at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture during a festive ending of dance, song, spoken word and tributes on Feb. 20.
In celebration of Black History Month, Columbia Bank will sponsor Rutgers University’s Black History Month Empowerment Forum: “Positioning Black Professionals to Continue Making History.”
As a proud member of the Black Press for more than 25 years, I have grown to both love and abhor the arrival of February when America, perhaps in an act of penance, holds its annual “lovefest” known as Black History Month.
Over the last several years, owners of small minority businesses have faced an inordinate number of challenges, given the COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact on almost every aspect of life.
Florida’s governor and a potential Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, Ron DeSantis, has drawn a line in the sand that provides a foretaste of what Blacks can expect should voters allow him to gain control of the White House.
