Twin Port Action Coalition invites you to join the fun on Feb. 13
By Kimberly Dansereau
Valentine's Dance and Silent Auction will be held on Friday Feb. 13 from 7 p.m. until midnight at the Venue at Mohaupt Block, 2024 West Superior St. Proceeds from sales of ticket will go to the Twin Ports Action Coalition. Tickets are $7 for one and $12 for two.
Love and valentine are to many people synonymous with each other. But how are we defining the word love? Do we mean the first stolen kiss from our first" true love" back in junior high school? Or do we mean the love a mother has for her child as she holds him or her gently in her arms, or the love of a protective father? Or, perhaps, the love of a friend or a family member?
Maybe to you love means pride for your city, state and country.
Whatever definition of love suits you best, love is something that should celebrated and should be passed along. I volunteer along with other residents of Duluth and Superior for the Twin Ports Action Coalition, an organization that is dedicated to helping the homeless, the formerly homeless and those who are at risk of becoming homeless. We deal with many things political and social to help end homelessness, and we try to give people who fit into either of those qualities a chance to be heard and to be rightfully informed on what affects them.
We have a love for this city and for the people who live here. We love the people who have been forgotten by many others, we love the people who are struggling to make ends meet, especially in these very tough times. We love people who are struggling for a place to call home, food to eat and to feed their children, good health care, a voice of their own and respect as human beings. We love them because we have been in similar situations.
We at Twin Ports Action Coalition believe that no one should be denied a safe place to call home, good health care, and food for themselves and their families, a chance to be heard and, a chance to be informed about issues that affect their everyday lives. It is simply common decency and respect for others that we should all have as human beings. If you believe this and you feel that you would like to help out in some way please join us Friday, Feb. 13 for a Valentine's Dance and Silent Auction from 7 p.m. ‘till midnight. There will be dancing, music from a great D.J. plus much laughter, enjoyment, refreshments, snacks, door prizes and wonderful items to bid on, but, most importantly, there will be love.
Tickets are $7 for one and $12 for two. Proceeds will go to the Twin Ports Action Coalition.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Record crowd gathers for MLK Day events
Feelings of excitement and anticipation lent a celebratory air to Duluth’s annual Martin Luther King Day festivities last month. Held a mere 24 hours before the inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American president, the day’s events broke their attendance records.
The day began with an early morning breakfast at the First United Methodist Church, where Duluth’s African-American Men’s Group prepared food for and served over 350 attendees. The MLK community breakfast in Duluth began in 2002 by churches and committees interested in anti-racism. Each year it is funded by the General Mills Community Foundation.
David Comer, director of the Black Student Association at UMD, emceed the morning event which included prayers, storytelling and music.
Each place setting included a placemat decorated by elementary students from Nettleton and Grant schools. A free-will offering for Kids Cafe of the Damiano Center raised over $750.00
The day’s events were planned by the Martin Luther King Holiday
Committee which includes many groups, agencies and churches.
In addition to free food, the breakfast featured a simulcast speech from Gen. Colin Powell. Touching on the breakfast’s theme, “Because of His Dream, I can... Lead, Grow, Inspire,” Powell said that as a child growing up in the Bronx he never imagined that he would become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also credited the integration of the military for helping the United States to become a more integrated society.
Following the breakfast, more than 700 people gathered at the Washington Center at Lake Avenue and Third Street to participate in a march through downtown to a rally at the DECC auditorium. Mothers and fathers with children, older people, and people of all ethnicities marched peacefully and sang songs including, “We shall Overcome,” “This Little Light of Mine” and “Gonna Lay down my Sword and Shield.”
Many shopkeepers stopped to look out their doors and smile.
“Today is a good day to focus on solutions,” urged Vince Senski, who said he was marching because there are still injustices in the world, “not spending billions a year on a war that wasn’t needed and using all the money and resources to improve the lives of people living in our country.”
A crowd estimated at over 1,500 people turned up at the DECC to continue the day’s celebration. Curtis Austin, director of the Center for Black Studies at University of Southern Mississippi gave the keynote address, “Will the Real Martin Luther King Please Stand Up?”
He stressed that King did not come into the civil rights movement without the urging of the women in his congregation and city. Most people do not know that Rosa Parks was a leader in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and had stood up to injustices prior to even meeting King.
According to Austin, King was not the first to fight injustice, but he did provide a rallying point at a time ripe for television and newspaper coverage.
“King’s work is the work of so many others,” Austin explained. “He had the uncanny ability to stand up and give others courage to stand up.”
Austin ended his remarks with a final word of encouragement for the audience: “The real Martin Luther King did stand up. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
This year Doug Bowen-Bailey and Community Action Duluth won the Justice for Peace Awards. The awards recognize citizens and/or an organization of the community who have gone beyond their regular duties to: build awareness, speak on behalf of justice, celebrate diversity and impel, foster and promote actions toward building a better future for all.
The day began with an early morning breakfast at the First United Methodist Church, where Duluth’s African-American Men’s Group prepared food for and served over 350 attendees. The MLK community breakfast in Duluth began in 2002 by churches and committees interested in anti-racism. Each year it is funded by the General Mills Community Foundation.
David Comer, director of the Black Student Association at UMD, emceed the morning event which included prayers, storytelling and music.
Each place setting included a placemat decorated by elementary students from Nettleton and Grant schools. A free-will offering for Kids Cafe of the Damiano Center raised over $750.00
The day’s events were planned by the Martin Luther King Holiday
Committee which includes many groups, agencies and churches.
In addition to free food, the breakfast featured a simulcast speech from Gen. Colin Powell. Touching on the breakfast’s theme, “Because of His Dream, I can... Lead, Grow, Inspire,” Powell said that as a child growing up in the Bronx he never imagined that he would become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also credited the integration of the military for helping the United States to become a more integrated society.
Following the breakfast, more than 700 people gathered at the Washington Center at Lake Avenue and Third Street to participate in a march through downtown to a rally at the DECC auditorium. Mothers and fathers with children, older people, and people of all ethnicities marched peacefully and sang songs including, “We shall Overcome,” “This Little Light of Mine” and “Gonna Lay down my Sword and Shield.”
Many shopkeepers stopped to look out their doors and smile.
“Today is a good day to focus on solutions,” urged Vince Senski, who said he was marching because there are still injustices in the world, “not spending billions a year on a war that wasn’t needed and using all the money and resources to improve the lives of people living in our country.”
A crowd estimated at over 1,500 people turned up at the DECC to continue the day’s celebration. Curtis Austin, director of the Center for Black Studies at University of Southern Mississippi gave the keynote address, “Will the Real Martin Luther King Please Stand Up?”
He stressed that King did not come into the civil rights movement without the urging of the women in his congregation and city. Most people do not know that Rosa Parks was a leader in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and had stood up to injustices prior to even meeting King.
According to Austin, King was not the first to fight injustice, but he did provide a rallying point at a time ripe for television and newspaper coverage.
“King’s work is the work of so many others,” Austin explained. “He had the uncanny ability to stand up and give others courage to stand up.”
Austin ended his remarks with a final word of encouragement for the audience: “The real Martin Luther King did stand up. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
This year Doug Bowen-Bailey and Community Action Duluth won the Justice for Peace Awards. The awards recognize citizens and/or an organization of the community who have gone beyond their regular duties to: build awareness, speak on behalf of justice, celebrate diversity and impel, foster and promote actions toward building a better future for all.
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