Is There Room In The Ring For Us?

World Welterweight Champion, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. returned home to Grand Rapids last weekend to celebrate his retirement from his successful boxing career.

The event, “Round 13: When the Gloves Come Off,” was planned to be a celebration between citizens of Grand Rapids and well- known stars.

Unfortunately, some individuals were excluded from the celebration.

A focus of the event was to raise money for the Floyd Mayweather Foundation, as well as a few partnering charities.

With the poor economy in Michigan, the low cost of the events ranging from an average of $4.00 per ride at the carnival to $25.00 for the concert at the Intersection Night Club headlined by recording R&B artist, Keyshia Cole, was affordable for many residents of Grand Rapids. The cost of the events gave individuals who may have been struggling financially a chance to enjoy time with the stars.

As advertisements were distributed and word of mouth spread about the weekend of events, it became obvious that the retirement celebration was mainly for adults.

Youth 17 years of age and under were asking, “are there any festivities for us to participate in?”

Yes, there were — two events, a carnival and the car show in downtown Grand Rapids.

As interns at The Grand Rapids Times, we had the opportunity to attend a sound check for the stars on Saturday. Only Lil’ Jon and J Holiday showed up. We interviewed J Holiday.

Many of our peers were disappointed when they didn’t get to spend any time with the stars. We were told by reliable sources that there were a couple of reasons that youth couldn’t participate in some activities.

First, alcohol was served at many of the venues and Mayweather’s promotion team said that the events were for an adult atmosphere.

Secondly, the poor behavior of young adults at events in the past was also a deciding factor for the age restrictions for Mayweather’s recent festivities.

All youth are being stereotyped as a violent and rowdy group, when, really, there are few bad apples spoiling the bunch.

With the increasing violence in the streets and in public venues youth are shutting doors to youth and creating fear in places that were once open and safe to them.

The few bad apples of Grand Rapids need to work on their behavior problems to change the negative images.

In the meantime, we hope that someone noticed that teens at the carnival and car show last weekend did not cause any disturbance.

Unfortunately, the Floyd Mayweather Foundation did not make a profit from the retirement activities.
We have a suggestion. In the future, there could be separate events for youth and adults.

For example, one of the events during the celebration was a celebrity skating party that was for people 21 and older. There could have been two skating parties, simultaneously – one for adults and another for those under the age of twenty-one.

The celebrities could have rotated their presence at the parties, spending half of their time at one party and the rest of the time at the other.

This could have made teens feel included and might have maximized profit by generating more revenue.

Besides when it come to the stars, teens buy their records, watch their shows, and vote for them on the billboard charts.

Why shouldn’t there be room in the “ring” for us?

Participants in Jubilee Jobs Yes –4- You who are Grand Rapids Times summer interns, ages 14 to 18, grades 9 through college freshman, contributed to this commentary: Kenneth Cason, Marcel Gamble, Storee Harris, Jalynn Lassic, Asia Shipp, and Donshae Vance

Earlean Harris Dies

The Grand Rapids Times
7-11-2008

Grand Rapids – So many people loved Earlean Harris. She was affectionately known as “Momma Lean” and Miss Earlean.

The number of people and the comments from friends and family were evidence at the Celebration Service of Her Life.

The celebration was held at New Hope Baptist Church, Monday, July 7, with New Hope’s Executive Pastor, Rev. Dallas Lenear officiating.

Earlean left this life on Sunday, June 29, 2008 in the presence of her children and friends.

A retiree, Mrs. Harris had been employed at Sunshine Hospital, Walter Hagan and for more than 20 years was a Security Officer for Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Earlean Virginia Harris was born on January 20, 1936 in Senatobia, MS to Earl and D. Ella Johnson.
In the early 1960’s Earlean moved to Grand Rapids, MI with her husband Tommy Harris, her two children Marvin and Janet Johnson and her parents.

Earlean received Jesus Christ as her Savior at an early age.

When the family moved to Grand Rapids, they became members of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Reverend John V. Williams.

Before Earlean’s illness, she was a faithful member at her church under the leadership of Pastor Howard C. Earle. During her membership, she served in the choir and the Pastorettes.”

My mother had a golden voice. She had a way of making everybody feel better about themselves,” stated her son Marvin. “When you came into her presence, you thought you were in the presence of an angel. She fought the good fight of faith. She sang to the end of her life, and this is how she served God.”

Earlean was preceded in death by her husband Tommy Harris, parents Earl and D. Ella Johnson and brother David Johnson Reid.

She leaves to cherish her memories her son, Marvin Johnson; daughter, Janet Johnson; brothers: Ronald B. Johnson Reid, Darryl Johnson Reid, Michael Johnson Reid all of Grand Rapids, and Willie B. Johnson of MS; sisters: Tina Johnson Reid and Lisa Johnson Reid; uncle, Bob (Eva) Raybon; brother in law, Moses Harris all of Grand Rapids; grandchildren, great grandchildren, special cousins, and a host of nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.

Obama Says He’s Not ‘Distancing Himself’’ From Black Community

The Grand Rapids Times
7-11-2008

By Hazel Trice Edney
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

Washington (NNPA) – U. S. Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee and possibly America’s first Black president, denies that he is distancing himself from Black constituents as he seeks to win broader support in the general election.

“I’ve spent the last year and a half on the campaign talking about problems of poverty and problems of injustice. That’s been what my whole campaign has been built around,” Obama said in an exclusive interview with the NNPA News Service. “My answer is that’s what I’ve been doing my whole campaign.”

Obama was responding to a question pertaining to his criticism of absent Black fathers in a Father’s Day message at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago.

He said that speech should not send a signal that his general election campaign will focus on the negatives of the Black community in order to win the support of undecided or conservative Whites.

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Real Tips For Teens:  Take Aim at Your Own Success

The Grand Rapids Times
7-11-2008

By Farrah Gray
NNPA Columnist

You have the power. It doesn’t matter whether you are poor or struggling. It doesn’t matter where you live. You can achieve your dreams.

Your own attitude will determine what you do. It’s not a shortage of brainpower that will affect the outcome; it’s a shortage of hope.

Your belief in yourself is where it all begins. You must put yourself on the path to great success. You can survive and you can solve the problems you will face.

You must simply believe that you can become and do anything you set your heart and mind to. There are no limits to what you can do. Anything – and everything- is possible.

Your parents may not be able to give you money or connections, but they give you values to live by: pride, respect, hard work, preparation, inspiration, the desire to give back and the strength to never give up.

Here are some of the ideas and tactics that you can use to put yourself on the path to success:
Plot Your Future: Nothing happens without effort. You must lay the foundation for success.

1. Watch those around you. If the people around you are working hard but not getting ahead, don’t dismiss them as role models. They have a lot to teach you, both about the realities of life and the values that can lead to a better life.

2. Stop being critical, down, sarcastic and negative. Get out of the lottery ticket mentality. You can’t buy success with a dollar. Stop saying and thinking “what if”. Start saying and thinking “can do” between you and your friends and family. Eliminate any and all evidence of overwhelming hopelessness from your talk. Tell your friends daily that they are destined for great things.

3. Clear the Area. If your life feels like it’s filled with too much stuff, get in touch with the things you can clear out. Do some spring cleaning. If it’s emotional clutter, it could be you are hanging around people who aren’t contributing to you in a positive way.

4. Focus on what you want. Decide what it is you want and then focus on it like a laser beam. Keep your eye on the prize. Write down your desires and look at them every day until they are branded in your thoughts. Visualize your belief.

5. Never fear rejection. Don’t take no as an answer. Look at it as an opportunity. Stop watching so much TV. Get off the couch. Get off your butt and get into action. Fear is False Expectations Appearing Real. It is an illusion entirely in your head. You don’t overcome fear; you embrace it and walk through your doubts, knowing you have the capacity to achieve your dreams in spite of your fears.

6. Never be afraid of your ideas. Don’t be so afraid to talk about your ideas. That’s a loser’s mentality. Correct it! If you’re ashamed of your dream or idea then it’s not worth having. Talk about your ideas. Get feedback. Find supportive people.

7. Never take no as a final answer. Persistence isn’t everything; it’s the only thing. If you are going to be successful in life, you’ll hear no a thousand times. Get used to it and look at no as an opportunity. Success creates confidence. Remember that the first step is always the hardest. Once you’ve taken it, don’t stop walking-start running.

8. Get out there! Work and make money. Don’t wait. Taste the sweet smell of success. Work to make money to support your hobbies and so that you can buy personal items. Start a business, work for neighbors, or be creative and make things to sell. Experience the thrill of creating something and selling it. Go for it.

9. Celebrate every day. Be your own biggest supporter. Don’t look for someone else to tell you that you’re doing a great job. Know that you are moving closer to your dreams. Tell yourself, “I’m doing good. It may sound crazy but it works. Pretty soon you’ll find that your inward conversations are powering you to greatness.

In life we don’t get what we want, we get in life what we are. If we want more we have to be able to be more. You are the single most important factor that can influence your own success.

Farrah Gray is the author of Get Real, Get Rich: Conquer the 7 Lies Blocking You from Success and the international best-seller Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out. He is chairman of the Farrah Gray Foundation. Dr. Gray can be reached via email at fg@drfarrahgray.com or his web site at www.drfarrahgray.com

Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Retires

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Michigan NAACP Supports End To ‘Unfair Tax’

Detroit – State Representative Bettie Cook Scott recently called for repeal of the Driver Responsibility Act and was supported by the House Transportation Committee’s vote.

The Michigan State Conference of the NAACP testified in support of repeal of Driver Responsibility Fees.

Honorable Scott’s House Bill 4665(H-5) would repeal the current Driver Responsibility Act allow partial amnesty for individuals by requiring them to pay 1/2 of the fee levied before December 31, 2008 and eliminate all driver responsibility fees after December 31, 2008.

Currently, Judges and magistrates cannot assign, reduce or dismiss points for traffic violations.

Also, if drivers fail to pay the fee, which happens to many people because of the lack of proper notification of the assessment, their driving privileges are suspended.

Consequently, one must then not only pay the original fine plus the Driver Responsibility fee, but also must also pay an additional $125 Driver’s License reinstatement fee.

The State of Michigan, as of March 31, 2007, had assessed $502,232,300 in driver responsibility fees and the MI Department of Treasury reports collecting $232,417,531 of that total at the same point in time.

There have been a total of 726,392 driver responsibility related license suspensions during this time period. In September of 2005, the Secretary of State issued 199,484 suspensions with 46,689 (23.4%) being in the city of Detroit.

Opponents say that Driver Responsibility Fees to subsidize Michigan’s budget shortfalls amount to an unfair tax levied on Michigan’s citizens, especially those in larger communities.

Yvonne White, State President, stated that “As an organization that advocates Justice for All, the NAACP cannot allow such a policy to go unchallenged. The amended HB4665 call for repeal of this unfair tax, and the NAACP is pleased to see it pass it out of committee.”

The Whites of Their Eyes

[Read more in the July 11th Print Edition of the Grand Rapids Times.  Or, click here to log in if you have a subscription and read more.  Or, click here to buy a subscription.]

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