The Cape Gazette
By Ellen Driscoll February 24, 2021
Sussex Consortium students Christian Partlow and Pastor Purnell were recognized Feb. 22 with the African American/Black Achievement Award from the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice. Read the entire Cape Gazette article here.
THE CAPE GAZETTE
February 23, 2021
In his 1965 essay, “The White Man’s Guilt,” James Baldwin pleaded, “White man, hear me….History, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do.”
One of America’s great thinkers and writers, Baldwin loved his country deeply, even as he relentlessly criticized it with needle-sharp poignancy and vision. A central tenet of his criticism was America’s unwillingness to confront the hard truth of its history, the country’s imperfect founding, based on the economics of enslavement, the treatment of human beings like cogs in a machine which, when broken, are simply thrown out and replaced.
Read the entire commentary here.
Cape Henlopen High School seniors Abigail Ikechi-Konkwo and Jordan Winkfield are the first two students in the school district to receive the African American/Black Achievement Recognition Award from the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ). The SDARJ’s Education Committee initiated the award to recognize students who represent ideals of leadership, effort and excellence in their schools.
Conversation with Alex Tresniowski | The Rope
Monday, March 1 | 5:00 PM Eastern Time
Join us for a live online conversation with Alex Tresniowski, author of The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP. This true-crime thriller recounts true-crime thriller the 1910 murder of ten-year-old Marie Smith, the dawn of modern criminal detection, and the launch of the NAACP. NOTE: You MUST REGISTER to receive instructions for joining the meeting https://delawarelibraries.libcal.com/event/7510465
Racism affects our community and every person’s quality of life. It shows up in inequities between groups and in tensions among people from different ethnic backgrounds. In order to have healthy communities and a strong country, we need to face racism head-on. In a democracy, there must be ways for everyone to have a voice in finding the solutions and in carrying them out.
If you are interested in participating, you can view the schedule and register at https://sdarj.org/dialogue-to-action/
Delaware Governor John Carney recently signed a proclamation recognizing February as Black History Month. Others who participated in the event included Charlotte King, Chair and Founder of the Southern Delaware for Racial Justice; Stephen Mary, State Archivist; Dr. Reba Hollingsworth, Vice Chair of the Delaware Heritage Commission; Rev. Dr. John Moore; and Representative Kendra Johnson, Chair of the Delaware Legislative Black Caucus.
Click here to watch the YouTube video.
In case you missed it, or you just want to watch it again, the SDARJ Town Hall Meeting: Housing and Racism (Part ll) is available for viewing. Click here to view the video on the SDARJ YouTube Channel. Panelists discussed impediments to creating and obtaining affordable housing and what we can do individually and collectively to ensure that everyone has access to safe, sustainable housing.
The article below was published in the January 25, 2021 edition of Delaware Online.
Charlotte King is chair and co-creator of the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, a non-partisan organization focused on ending racism and the effects of it. The organization, which began in 2015, has regular meetings that connect people of all different backgrounds to learn from one another. The organization also provides scholarships to students for pursue higher education. King was one of the leaders who planned and marched in peaceful protests over the summer after the death of George Floyd. She was awarded a Kandler Award from the American Civil Liberties Union in 2019 for her work.
For a complete list of the Most Influential Delawareans click here.
