SAVE THE DATE

BY LORI BETH LEMMON

Mark your calendars – the time has come to celebrate the Grand Opening of CityWalk@Akard. On March 25, we will be joined by Mayor Tom Leppert and several other VIP guests to celebrate the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for this awesome development. Invite your friends or colleagues. We will have complimentary valet and delicious hors d’oeuvres and dessert from Two Sisters Catering.

Black History Month – 101 Fast Facts

Source: www.biography.com

Fact #1

Elijah McCoy (1843 – 1929) invented an automatic lubricator for oiling steam engines in 1872. The term “the real McCoy” is believed to be a reference about the reliability of Elijah McCoy’s invention.

Fact #2

Garrett Augustus Morgan (1877 – 1963) invented, among many other things, a 3-way automatic stop sign, which he sold to General Electric. It was used in the U.S. until the 3-light traffic sign was developed.

Fact #3

Otis Boykin (1920 -1982) invented electronic control devices for guided missiles, IBM computers, and the control unit for a pacemaker.

Learn more Fast Facts here.

Black History Month – Maya Angelou

Source: www.biography.com

Maya Angelou is one of the most important African American authors and orators of the twentieth century. Her achievements span over seven decades and showcase a wealth of talents, beginning in the early 1940s when she became San Francisco’s first female cable car conductor. Angelou then emerged as a singer and dancer in the 1950s and became an editor and writer in the 1960s. In the 1970s she began exploring her talents as an actress, director, poet and screenwriter.

Angelou’s highly acclaimed 1970 autobiography “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” became an important example of African American literature as it chronicled the amazing journey of a young woman who overcame a childhood rape, made a pilgrimage to Africa, served as a civil rights activist and became a shining example of self-determination.

Read more about Maya Angelou here.

Full size bed needed!

To all of our CityWalkTalk blog followers:

We are in need of a full-size bed for a wonderful couple who will be moving into CityWalk. If you know of someone who is looking to donate a bed, please contact me, Naquanna Comeaux, at 214.573.2570 ext. 2133 or ncomeaux@centraldallascdc.org.

We can make arrangements for pickup, so let me know as soon as possible! Thanks everyone!

Black History Month – Ella Fitzgerald

Source: www.biography.com

Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most notable singers of the 20th century, and a significant artist in the emergence of jazz.

A performance at the Apollo Theater’s famed Amateur Night in 1934 set Fitzgerald’s career in motion. Over the next seven decades, she worked with some of the most important artists in the music industry including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Sinatra.

She was dubbed “The First Lady of Jazz” for her mainstream popularity and unparalleled vocal talents—even though her less–than–svelte appearance and upbeat singing style was in contrast to the sultry and bluesy female singers of her day. Her unique ability for mimicking instrumental sounds helped popularize the vocal improvisation of “scatting,” which became her signature technique.

Ella recorded over 200 albums and around 2,000 songs in her lifetime, singing the works of some of the most popular composers such as Cole Porter, Gershwin and Irving Berlin.

Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996 at the age of 79, and is remembered as one of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century.

Read more about Ella Fitzgerald here.

The Men Behind the Madness, I Mean Magic

BY LORI BETH LEMMON

December 4, 2000 was my first day as an employee at Central Dallas Ministries. So much has changed in my life since then – I got married, bought a house, had two babies, and officially entered middle age, and a lot has changed at CDM since then also – program expansion, additional staff, and a new headquarters location. But one thing that hasn’t changed since then is the presence of Larry James and John Greenan.

Individually, these two guys are very different. Larry is charismatic and energetic, and willing to fly in the face of social injustice. On the other hand, John is rather quiet and demure, and approaches issues systematically, sans emotion.

Together, they give new meaning to the expression that two heads are better than one. Their combined intellect, compassion for people, passion for life, and their sheer dogged determination creates a duo that is truly something to behold. They are the true leaders of this community – the men who show up and work for the people and for the city every day, no matter what – no matter the weather, no matter the stress, no matter the sleepless nights, no matter the problems, no matter the obstacles, no matter the nay-sayers.

Larry and John do not give up. They have made a commitment to their work and a commitment to all the people of this community that they will keep on keepin’ on. For all of us who have the opportunity to work with them, there are many moments that do seem rather like madness, but there are those other moments that are truly magical.

Just thinking…

BY NICK SOWELL

I think this has been one of the coldest winters that I can recall for the Dallas area. First there was the 11-inch snowstorm and now they are predicting yet another snowstorm for Tuesday. Old Man Winter will simply not give up. But it’s been sort of nice and a change from the normal.

Is it just me, or do the Winter Olympics seem sort of boring and exhausting to watch? Just food for thought.

Looking forward to the grand opening of CityWalk at Akard on March 25th. Sounds like there is going to be a pretty decent sized crowd. I would be willing to bet people who had seen the building prior when compared to now will be very, very impressed.

Black History Month – Jackie Robinson

Source: www.biography.com

Jackie Robinson became the first African-American of the 20th century to join Major League baseball in 1947. He endured mistreatment from fellow ballplayers and baseball fans with quiet dignity and paved the way for the integration of America’s favorite pastime.

He played with the Brooklyn Dodgers earning the honor of Rookie of the Year in 1947, Most Valuable Player in 1949, and winning the World Series Championship with the Dodgers in 1955. He retired in 1956 with an impressive batting average of .311 and became active in civil rights, business, and politics serving as Vice President of Community Relations at Chock Full O’ Nuts, Special Assistant to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and marching on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963.

You can learn more about Jackie Robinson here.

Black History Month – Rosa Parks

Source: www.biography.com

Rosa Parks was a modest seamstress on her way home from work when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. That single act of defiance on December 1st 1955 is remembered as the start of the civil rights movement and she is respectfully remembered as the mother of the civil rights movement.

Although many had refused to comply with segregation laws before, Mrs. Parks’ humility and strength of character made her an ideal candidate for the NAACP and Women’s Rights Movement to rally behind and organize a boycott in protest of her arrest and trial. The boycott lasted 381 days, forcing the government to overturn segregation laws and also launched a then little known preacher and activist, Martin Luther King Jr.

Mrs. Parks’ accomplishments leading up to her fateful bus ride, included receiving her high school diploma later in life, and registering to vote, both rare and major accomplishments for African-American women of her day. After she was thrust into the spotlight, Rosa Parks continued her commitment to civil rights by attending marches, co-founding the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development and publishing and speaking about her perseverance.

Read more about Rosa Parks here.

Our dolly’s full again!

BY NAQUANNA COMEAUX

With donations, that is! A big thank you goes out to Belinda Oler, who donated some really great household goods to help furnish the apartments at CityWalk.

For more information on how you can assist our low-income and formerly homeless residents in furnishing their new apartments, please contact me at ncomeaux@centraldallascdc.org or 214.573.2570 ext. 2133. We are in need of beds and small furniture items for our one and two bedroom units.

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