Blog 194: Some Random Thoughts

By John Miller
Guest Writer

A Blind Man’s Journey
(Because you don’t need sight to see the world)

I can think of at least one song that defined my life for a stretch, “In the Still of the Night,” by Boys II Men. This is because it’s random singing led by my two cousins and me to create a singing group. Remember that concept? I don’t think many of those exist these days, as most are solo artists. But I suspect that history will bring them back eventually, which they did until deciding to emphasize gospel more.

My cousins and I had just completed a rousing game of basketball with an adult, one of my cousin’s fathers. How appropriate for Father’s Day? We then piled into his car to go and find some delicious, refreshing ice cream, probably at Dairy Queen.

The said song came onto the radio and for some reason, we began to sing it. My youngest cousin took the lead vocal, I sang bass and my other cousin did the “shoo-wops.” “Hey, that was fun!” we said, once the song concluded.

It really surprised me that I was even able to do this. All of my life, I’d been told by many that I couldn’t really sing or play instruments (have tried to learn the piano from time to time and had gotten decent at the trumpet when in elementary band) so I’d largely became discouraged from even trying. My cousins told me more than once to stick with it though, and working with some fantastic choral instructors and singing in a couple of church choirs, I began to expand my range.  

Due to our group’s origins, my dad suggested that we should have called ourselves the Backseat Boys. Law suit, anyone? We instead went with the name “Off Da Top,” because of course we wrote songs off da top of our heads! My aunt chided us for the less-than-professional spelling, but hey, why can’t we have a little fun? Like Music or Exscape.

Over the years, we continued to develop. Naturally, many of our initial favorites were Boys II Men tunes. I especially remember singing, “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” as we cruised Lake Norman while at a summer camp sponsored by the Metrolina Association for the Blind (MAB). The restaurant area was staffed by college-age women, and one each came to rub our backs as we sang. I nearly lost the ability to stay on the notes. Ha-ha. They also shut down the PA music, so that everyone onboard could hear.

There was another time at a Raleigh ice skating rink. My cousins and I weren’t particularly big fans of this recreational activity, so we sat at the table with drinks in front of us and worked on “Chi’s Baby, I’m Yours.” We made an error and we stopped to retry that spot, then we suddenly heard a loud burst of clapping. There had appeared a rather large contingent of young women, traveling with some kind of youth center. They opted to join us in singing “Kirk Franklin’s Stomp, The Preacher and Leader of God’s Property.” I think many members of the group came from Charlotte’s Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, our family original home church.

Our dream, like anyone who would have been doing such a thing, was to achieve stardom. I think in retrospect that it is quite fortunate we did not, as we had no idea what would have actually entailed. The great memories we do have though, like winning a talent show at UNC Charlotte, performing to an incredibly excited congregation at First Church, may in fact never be surpassed.

Even as my disorder continues to take away my hearing and makes singing more of chore than a joy, I will always continue to enjoy music. So, if I’m a bit flat, sharp, or slightly off rhythm, try not to be too harsh! Off Da Top hasn’t performed in many years, but we have floated the idea of giving it a shot again someday. Who knows?

About the Author

I am 34 years of age. I currently reside in Durham, NC, and work in a factory-type setting building product for the military. On one side, I work to maintain and enhance my online journal. At blind travel net, I read many other blogs and took courses on website construction and Word Press. I also enjoy reading and listening to books and music of every type for further inspiration. Clearly though, the bulk of my material comes from my own life experience.

Blog 193: An Appeal for Suze and Frandy

By Kenneth Simmons

Guest Writer

Several months after the horrific earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince in Haiti, I was commissioned along with a colleague, Ms. Judith Cowan, to travel to Haiti to teach English as a second language to a small group of college students who had attended the University of Port-au-Prince before it was destroyed. Our mission was sponsored by the “I Have a Dream” Foundation which is based in Richmond, Virginia.. 

The students with whom we worked lived in a small mountain town, Hinche, which is located about fifty miles northeast of Port-au- Prince. It takes two and a half hours to drive there from the capital city because of the rugged roads that traverse the ravines  and rocky mountain sides.  The majority of the citizens of Hinche have never had electricity, and roughly five percent are employed. The average earnings for a day’s work is  approximately five dollars.  Though poverty is rampant, the people were rich in love, and spirit, and decency, far more than most of those I have encountered in my homeland.  The Catholic Church where we lived was filled with the town’s people at six o’clock every morning and at regular mass on Sundays.

Our assignment was to help the students reach an acceptable level of English proficiency so that they could succeed in our American Colleges. The foundation had promised to bring our eight students to the United States and enroll them in colleges where they were to be supported until they graduated. Afterwards, they were to return to their home country as strong leaders. The students were extremely motivated and worked diligently with us from eight in the morning until three thirty in the afternoon as  we tried our very best to immerse them in the English language. Never in my thirty plus years of working with young people in our public schools had I experienced the pleasure of such good manners, motivation and a willingness to learn as when  I  worked with the students in Hinche, Haiti .

We returned to the U.S. in November of 2010; four of the students arrived in August of 2011 and were enrolled in J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia. The other four students were to arrive at a later date because of a lack of funding, but to this day, they still remain in Haiti. After one year of studying at Reynolds, the students were informed that the foundation had depleted its funds. Two white families quickly picked up two of the students for sponsorship. One family enrolled one of the female students, Lude, at Averett University in Danville, Virginia. Lude is doing very well and has almost completed her studies there. Berry, one of the male students, was picked up by another family and is about to complete a four year degree at Elizabeth City State University on the coast of North Carolina. He is doing well also. All four have maintained 3.0 averages and above.

Our concern at this time is the well-being of brother and sister Frandy and Suze Prince. They have been on their own for the last year and now are at risk of losing their student visas if they are not able to receive assistance right away. All four of the students were issued student visas in order to come to the US.,  which means  that they must be enrolled in school on a full-time basis. If the students lose their visas, they will have to return to Haiti with dreams and hopes deferred. Frandy and Suze have not been able to acquire sponsorships but did receive some assistance for the last year from a community organization and an attorney and her family. The attorney and the organization made it clear that their resources were temporary. As of August 1^st, the two students have been abandoned.  The “I Have a Dream” Foundation does not feel any obligation to continue to support Frandy and Suze. The brother and sister have completed their studies at the community college and were informed that as of August 1, 2014, they had no place to live in Richmond.

Thank God, Frandy and Suze were admitted to Johnson C. Smith University for the fall semester. Fortunately, we have been able to assist the two students in acquiring an apartment near the university.  JCSU was able to give each of them five thousand dollar for the year which means that we must raise thirteen thousand dollars for each of them for the entire year tuition making it a total of twenty-six thousand dollars in all. We are seeking an additional six thousand dollars for rent which gives us a total need of thirty-two thousand dollars.  We know that after this first year, the students will be able to earn full academic scholarships for next year based on their academic performance.

We have not been able to find a family or even a church in our community to sponsor our two students; therefore, we desperately are asking you to assist us in making a tax deductible donation so that these two young people can complete their education and return to their home country prepared to lead Haiti into a future filled with promise, hope and prosperity.

Please mail your donation to:

The Suze and Frandy Scholarship Fund

c/o Mechanics and Farmers Bank

P. O. Box 33594

Charlotte, N.C. 28216

Thank you for your support.                                                           

About the Author

Kenneth Allen Simmons is a graduate of West Charlotte High School and the University of North Carolina. He has served in fifteen administrative positions with the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System and is active in many professional and community organizations.

Blog 192 A. Rudolph Hendricks: A Retired Presbyterian Minister Conducts a Multifaceted Ministry in a Baptist Church

By Vernon M. Herron, family members and others

Guest Writers

Have you met the Reverend Doctor Amos Rudolph Hendricks? If not, this is a “must.” This distinguished personality and versatile soul is a scholar; a teacher; a husband; a father; a grandfather; a musician (organist and pianist); a choir member; a farmer; an animal-raiser and lover; a dress-code trend setter; a loyal fraternal brother; a retired Presbyterian minister; and an active member of a Baptist church ministerial staff, conducting a multifaceted ministry.

The Rev. A. Rudolph Hendricks has been married to the former Barbara Parks for 52 years. She is the critic and proof-reader for the Herron Speaks blog. She is a retired school teacher and administrator. She also teaches Latin at the Youth Opportunity University at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Charlotte, NC.

Dr. Hendricks is also the father of three children. His two sons are successful in their respective fields, and his daughter is an accomplished school teacher. She directs the children’s musical program at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. The entire family is musical.

Dr. Henderick has seven grandchildren, two of whom were introduced in blog 138.  He sings in three church’s choirs, farms, is a lover of and raises farm animals, including dogs and horses; is an immaculate dresser; and is an active member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Greek fraternity. But the two dynamic forces of this unusual personality, are a retired Presbyterian ministry and a multifaceted Baptist ministry.

Rev. Hendricks served as pastor of four Presbyterian churches located in the Charlotte, Shelby, Huntersville and Shreveport, LA. areas. After retiring from a dynamic Presbyterian ministry, he and his family joined the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Charlotte, NC seven years ago. He sings in three church choirs, is a member of the ministerial staff, consisting of serving as a worship leader, preaches, is a church greeter, assists in funeral and mid-week worship services, participates in the drama ministry and seasonal presentations.

In his own words, Dr. Hendricks says, “the transition has been easy. Serving on a ministerial staff in a Baptist church has allowed me to continue in the familiar role of leading the worship experience. Singing in three choirs provides many opportunities for me to use my musical skills. I remain cognizant that the denominational designation in a church’s name is secondary to its mission.  ‘Only what do for Christ will last.’”

This preacher is also the grandson of a Baptist minister. Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Charlotte, NC loves and welcomes this brother to its membership and staff where he is conducting a fantastic multifaceted ministry. The Friendship Baptist Church family is the richer because of the Hendricks family.

Blog 191: YEN – Young Entrepreneur’s Network

By C. Maria Macon

Guest Writer

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a group of young business people got together and began to create a microcosm of the infamous “Black Wall Street”?  Just such a group has emerged, and they have begun the process with 20 small businesses. Their mission is to create a clearinghouse of young business-minded entrepreneurs-in-training as they develop a system for future resources sharing. Their goal is to set into motion a structure to facilitate wealth retention among today’s young Black entrepreneurs.  

Stay Tuned…..

Blog 190: NAACP

By Ahmad Daniels

Guest Writer

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s decision to come out in support of same sex marriage is being proudly lauded by some and vociferously castigated by still others in the Black community.  This bold decision to equate gay rights with Civil Rights will be debated for years to come in many Black households and faith institutions. The NAACP has long fought a battle against those who claim that the oldest Civil Rights organization in the nation has outlived its usefulness. This audacious and prudent decision shows there continues to be much work for it to do.

To your journey!

Blog 189: The Civil Rights Act

By Ahmad Daniels

 Guest Writer

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked Congress to reconfigure the formula that will determine which states and municipalities are mandated to submit proposed voter related changes to the Justice Department. There are many who believe the election of a Black president is proof positive the times of changed and the Civil Rights Act of 1965 is anachronistic. Yet, many of the states who are listed in the “penalty box” of Section 5 are states that did not vote for President Barack Obama. Can a Congress, wrangling with immigration, expediently and impartially address issues related to so-called minority voting?  Stay tuned.

To your journey!

Blog 188: The Fourth of July

 

By Ahmad Daniels

 Guest Writer

It has been said a word takes on its meaning at the moment of its conception. And while time and pop-culture may attempt to give new meaning to words, the essence of words is immutable.

Such is the case with the “N” word and what inevitably will become the “R” word presently used by a Washington NFL team.  Perhaps the same rule applies to historical events.

On July 5, 1852, Abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered a speech at Rochester, New York entitled, “What to the American Slave is Your 4^th of July?”  Mr. Douglass knew the irony in speaking of an independence that Afrikan people had never known.

Which begs the question; Can the “Fourth of July” be divorced from a day of remembrance that embraced the enslavement of Blacks in 1776?  Or, can one apathetically dismiss the history of the day and blindly “jump on board” as has long been the case with the “N” word?  Each person must decide this for him/herself.

To your journey!