Children’s Defense Fund Makes it Possible to Beat the Odds

         

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) awarded five once at-risk youths, who were able to overcome great adversity, with scholarships on Tuesday night at the Carnegie Institution for Science, here in Washington, Dc.  The five 2011 Beat The Odds Program award winners were Leland Kraatz, Anh Luong, Mustafaa Nuraldin, Andrew Finein, and Thurman Anderson. Each winner received a $10,000 scholarship to the college/institute of their choice, as well as laptops, and the opportunity to become part of the CDF family.  The Beat the Odds Program was initiated in 1990 to celebrate the positive potential of young people who, despite the odds stacked against them, demonstrate academic excellence and give back to their communities. Malik Yoba, an actor and mentor best known for his role as Gavin from Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married film, was the Host of the awards ceremony. Yoba was a great host and began a personal relationship with each award winner that night; He even went as far as nicknaming Thurman Anderson “Kobe Bryant” in order to encourage Anderson to follow his dream of becoming an N.B.A player. Many of the past program award winners were award presenters to the 2011 recipients. Those presenters were Geoffrey Canada, Malaak Compton-Rock, Dr. Judith Lansing Kovler, Dr. Rhondee Nenjamin-Johnson, and Judge Joanna Fitzpatrick. The program began with the Washington Youth Choir singing the African American national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.  Then Rev, Gwendolyn E. Boyd did the invocation and prayed over the ceremony and the award winners. “These young people have giant-killing DNA” said Rev. Boyd speaking on how the recipients have the ability within themselves to rise above the obstacles that may come their way.

Geoffrey Canada, the chair of the CDF’s board of directors, presented Thurman Anderson with his award and scholarship, after the audience watched a video of him describing himself and his life. In the video Thurman talked about how at six years old his mother told him he was “the man of the house and he had to take care of his family”. Thurman did so by working as early as he could and selling candy at school on the one day of the week that he would go. He progressed from selling candy to selling drugs and he was taught how to not get caught by his own mother, who was a high school drop out with three kids. Shortly after Thurman and his siblings were taken away from his mother, split up, and put into foster care system. Thurman was in the foster care system for seven years before he asked Jon and Nia West-Bey could he come and live with them permanently. “It’s one of the hardest things to ask someone will they adopt you but I made a good choice. I know for a fact they love me for who I am” said Thurman. Thurman had always looked at school as an escape from his troublesome environment when he was living with his biological mother. “School and writing was my way of coping. School changed me and made me who I am now” said Thurman, “My goal is to just continue to stand up and if I can do that, I’m happy.” When Thurman was handed his award he said “I am very grateful for this scholarship. Thank you to the Children’s Defense Fund committee for choosing me.”

Former Beat the Odds winner, Malaak Compton-Rock presented award recipient Andrew Finein with his scholarship award. Malaak had this to say about the Children’s Defense Fund, “My work with CDF first took me to New Orleans to help child Hurricane Katrina survivors. But this is just as important because these young people are survivors too.” The audience got to watch Andrews’s video about his trials and tribulations. When handed his award he said “what does beating the odds mean to me? It means not letting anything stop you from succeeding.” The next recipient awarded was Mustafaa Nuraldin. Mustafaa was presented his award by Dr. Rhondee Benjamin Dodson. Mustaffa was described by his teacher, in his personal video, as an “old soul, a wise young man, and a student with perfect moral pitch.” Mustaffa and Thurman, who are both winners of the Beat the Odds Scholarship, are both seniors at Washington Latin Public Charter School. “We, me and Thurman, ended up making history by being the 1^st two winners of this scholarship that go to the same school” said Mustafaa,  “I’d like to thank CDF for thinking I was significant enough to win this scholarship.”  The final award recipient of the night was Anh Luong, a senior at Benjamin Banneker High School. She was the only female scholarship winner this year.  Anh has overcome downfalls such as her family’ poverty situation, her mother being diagnosed HIV positive, and her father’s friend sexually assaulting her at a young age. Yet she still managed to push through it all and achieve more than she ever even expected of herself.  “I wanted to give up on life, I thought I was cursed’ Anh said. “But I have learned that if I share my story and my struggles that I’ve been through, then I can reach out to others and help them overcome as well.” Anh put everything she had into working hard academically so that she will be able to take care of her mother and be successful. When she was handed her award she read a poem written to her by her godparent and she also had this to say “That I was able to make it in life that is my greatest accomplishment.”

Marian Wright Edelman, the president of the Children’s Defense Fund, has led The Children’s Defense Fund to become one of the nation’s strongest voices for children. After all the recipients were awarded she came up to the podium and shared a few words. “Since 1990 CDF has held events to help students beat the odds” said Edelman, “No one has the right to give up on a child, no matter what their circumstance may be. Perhaps we can prevent this world from having tortured children but we can help to reduce the amount of children being tortured. Our world is trying to do better. We have choices as humans and as Americans that can make a difference.” These were her closing words “These young people prove everyday that with perseverance and hard work, it is possible to overcome tremendous obstacles and succeed. They inspire us in our work each and every day and are the reason we do what we do. They are our true role models for our children.”The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life.  The Beat the Odds Program has been up and thriving for over twenty years and there seems to be no end to their success and outreach in sight. To find out more about the Children’s Defense Fund, The Beat the Odds program, or the recipients visit www.childrensdefense.org.

Written By: Kitrina Ross

The 26th Annual Black Family Reunion

NCNW Hosts 26^th Annual Black Family Reunion Celebration to Show Community Unity and Pride.

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) hosted/sponsored the 26^th Annual Black Family Reunion Celebration on the National Mall Saturday, September 10^th to promote the positive image of the black family and community. The “One Day Mega Festival” featured themed pavilions that displayed African-American businesses and organizations.  Pavilion themes included health, education, economic empowerment, teen issues, family values, social needs, and other issues that are prevalent in the black community.  When walking towards the National Mall the first thing visitors to the NCNW notice is the live music performed by local groups and the numerous pavilions that are offering a variety of services. “I’ve been bringing my boys to the Black Family Reunion since they were about 7 or 8” said Karen Rush, a teacher at Harris Patricia Public School, “So I’ve been coming to this event for over 20 years, and I love it. Rush said she enjoys visiting the community organization pavilions, tasting the ethnic foods, and the international atmosphere of the Celebration.”It’s like the black consortium and often city council members come through and talk to the people” she said.

The Black Family Reunion Celebration is an annual event scheduled for the 2^nd weekend in September and is sponsored by companies and organizations that often showcase their products and services. This year, Kaiser Permanente, Colgate, Mc Donald’s, and many local businesses showed their support for the Celebration. The Black Family Reunion was developed by Dr. Dorothy I. Height, the late Chair and President Emerita (NCNW), in response to the negative publicity regarding "the vanishing Black family". Dr. Dorothy I. Height wanted to find a way to cast a positive light on the black family and she was dedicated to do so by creating a culturally-based event that would celebrate the enduring strengths and traditional values of the African-American family.  The driving goal behind The Black Family Reunion Celebration was that this event would serve as a rallying point for government agencies, private and public sector institutions, corporations, community-based organizations and families of all ethnicities to work together on solutions for issues affecting families. Dr. Height’s  idea was realized when NCNW hosted the first Black Family Reunion Celebration (BFRC) in 1986, and this year’s program agenda  combined service, information and entertainment with workshops, issue forums, exhibits, health checks and demonstrations .

The celebration began with the Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast, which started at 8:00a.m and ended at 11a.m.  The fee for attending the Prayer Breakfast was $40 per ticket. During the breakfast Rev. Dr Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who was the key note speaker, and psalmist Earnest Pugh shared a few inspirational words with the audience. From 11a.m to 5:30p.m reunion goers could go from station-to-station and hear other speakers, purchase memorabilia, participate in the free health screenings, and watch urban dancers and singers perform. Later the day continued with a Dorothy Irene Height Tribute Concert (5:30PM- 8:30 PM) featuring national R&B artists Miguel, Faith Evans, and DJ Capri. The night lead up to a grand performance by , gospel artist, Hezekiah Walker.  This concert was very family friendly and appropriate for all ages and it celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Dorothy I. Height. Outside of entertainment there were several other highlights of the event.  There were free dental screenings for children ages 12 and under by Colgate. “Colgate has been providing these free screenings at the Black Family Reunion for 2 years now, here on the National Mall” explained Mari Campbell who is a Colgate employee, “We service about 200-300 children at these events and we screen kids from 11 a.m till 4:30p.m.”  Although, the screenings are not equivalent to a full dental check up, “the courtesy screenings let parents know about the status of their children’s teeth for free.” said Mari Campbell. Kaiser, America’s Best and the United Medical Center in D.C, all came out to render their services to the public at no charge to raise awareness about health factors that directly affect the black community.

Another part of the celebration was Generation Now. The pavilion for Generation Now held a panel of 4 professional men who are well respected in the community. The panel was called For the Fellas and the men sitting on the panel were Dr. Marcus Stevens Tappan, Antwaun Gay, and Rev. Michael Trotter, Marcus Clifton, and moderator, Rod Barry. The panel was asked questions by the audience about matters that are important for rearing and inspiring the next generation, especially the next generation of young black men. “I want to help, encourage, and inspire young people. My Main focus has always been helping people to try to seek their purpose and full potential in life through God.” stated Antwaun Gay, a member of the For the Fellas panel. Two major points that all the men made was about the importance of education and having a “yes I can attitude.” There is a poem that I read years ago and committed to memory, I recite it whenever I begin to doubt myself” said Dr Tappan, a member of For the Fellas, “It’s called The Man Who Thinks He Can and it reminds us that how we think of ourselves influences how we perform.”  The audience was thoroughly interested in the panels Q & A. The Executive Director of the NCNW, Avis Jones-DeWeever, was proud of the event and said “If people take way anything from this-the Black Family Reunion Celebration, let it be the spirit of love, togetherness, and the sanctity of African American culture.”  To become involved with the NCNW, to participate in next year’s reunion celebration, or to donate towards next year’s event just log into www.ncnw.org or mail donations to National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Friends of Black Family Reunion Celebration, 633 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20004.“The NCNW is always looking for young women and men who want to become involved in issues such as: economic well being, embetterment of health, education, and leader development to consider joining the NCNW or volunteer to help with next year’s Black Family Reunion Celebration” said Avis Jones-DeWeever, “We’d love to have more people get involved.”