75 CENTS
OMAHA STAR
THE
Lest We Forget…
Proudly Serving Our Community for Over 80 Years
Will Brown
Dedicated to the Service of the People that NO Good Cause Shall Lack a Champion and that Evil Shall Not Go Unopposed
September 28, 1919
Nebraska’s Only Black Owned Newspaper Vol. 81 - No. 18 Omaha, Nebraska
Friday, September 6, 2019
75 cents
Ruth Sokolof Theater to Screen ‘Always in Season’ Sept. 24 Jacqueline Olive’s searing debut film “Always in Season” visits communities and citizens attempting to address America’s violent racial past. The documentary centers on the case of Lennon Lacy. Despite suspicious details, local officials quickly ruled Lennon’s death a suicide, but his mother, Claudia, believes Lennon was lynched. Woven into this difficult story is a diverse group of reenactors, including the adult daughter of a former Ku Klux Klan leader, who annually dramatize a 1946 quadruple lynching to ensure the victims are never forgotten. As the terrorism of the past bleeds into the present, the film asks: What will it take for Americans to begin building a national movement for racial justice and reconciliation? Presented in collaboration with the Omaha Community Council for Racial Justice and Reconciliation (OCCRJR), UNO Department of Black Studies, Black Votes Matter, Creighton Department of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and OPS Equity and Diversity Office, this screening is part of many community events leading up to the Sept. 28 commemoration of the 1919 lynching of Will Brown. This screening will be held Sept. 24 at Film Streams Ruth Sokolof Theater, 1340 Mike Fahey St., at 7 p.m. The film will be introduced by Christopher Whitt, PhD, Vice Provost for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at
Will Brown and attend the beautification at Potter’s Field. Lauren Burris, a high school Junior who won third prize in the BVM tour essay contest, participated in the cleanup. “I talked about how it just wasn’t a lynching like the entire town was pretty much on it, and he was burned and [there] was also more of a political aspect … it was kind of terrorism also,” said Burris. Elementary age children and their parents attended the clean-up as well as an OPS social studies teacher and a UNO student. The Big Garden provided gloves, tools, and flowers for the project. Attendees pulled overgrown grass and weeds and planted perennials and wildflower seeds, including Brown-eyed Susans and Forgetme-nots. A commemoration ceremony, hosted by the Omaha Community Council for Racial Justice and Reconciliation, will be held Sept. 28 at 9 a.m. at Douglas County District Courthouse, 1701 Farnam St. RSVP and event details can be found on Eventbrite.
Love oversees work on gravesite
Volunteers gather at Brown’s gravesite
Let’s Move, Let’s Reach – Sept. 14. See In the Village for details.
Join pastor, professor, awardwinning author, activist and social commentator Rev. Dr. Michael W. Waters and hear words of hope and empowerment that have inspired national and international audiences. This free community event is Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Community Engagement Center, Room 201. Dr. Waters’ book, “Stakes Is High,” will be available for sale and Waters has agreed to sign copies after his appearance. The event is sponsored by UNO, the Omaha Star and The Reader. Seating is limited; please RSVP at events.unomaha.edu.
Creighton University and steering committee member of OCCRJR. Dr. Whitt will also be facilitating a post-film community discussion about race relations in Omaha. Free tickets for this one-time screening are limited to two per patron. For tickets, visit filmstreams.org events or stop by the ticket office. Please note: Reserved tickets must be claimed or presented (for print-at-home tickets) by 6:45 p.m. on the night of the event to guarantee admission. Any unclaimed tickets will be offered on a first-come, firstserved basis to patrons on the wait-list. Generously supported by the Honorable Laurie Smith Camp, United States District Court Judge.
Community Gathered at Gravesite to Honor Will Brown Will Brown was the victim of a gruesome lynching in front of the Douglas County courthouse in 1919. The scorched and broken remains of Brown’s body were disposed of, by the county, in a field of unmarked graves. This was common practice for those who had no money or family to pay for their burial. The field, located North of Forest Lawn Cemetery, holds the graves of approximately 3912 people. The land is currently owned and maintained by the city of Omaha. Last weekend, Preston Love Jr., executive director of Black Votes Matter Institute of Community Engagement (BVM), facilitated a community cleanup event as a service project leading up to the 100year commemoration of the lynching of Will Brown on Sept. 28. “During the Black Votes Matter tour we taught the kids about Will Brown before and then the stop we made in Montgomery they get it face-to-face,” said Love, referring to the Equal Justice Initiative lynching memorial. Love organizes an annual Black history tour through the southern United States. Participants from the tour were encouraged to write essays about
‘Stakes is High’ – Race, Faith & Hope For America
Waters
College World Series of Omaha Accepting Grant Applications through Oct. 1
The annual grant program sponsored by College World Series of Omaha Inc. and the NCAA is accepting applications through Oct. 1. Organizations interested in applying for the 2019-2020 grant cycle must complete the application online at www.cwsomaha.com. As noted in the news conference prior to the 2019 NCAA Men’s College World Series, additional grant funding is available this cycle for baseball and softball fields damaged by the 2019 spring flooding. Those organizations must apply through the traditional grant application but will be given special consideration during the review process. All applications must be received by CWS Omaha Inc. no later than 5:30 p.m. CT Oct. 1. The nonprofit CWS Omaha Inc. Contributions Committee of its Board of Directors will review all applications and submit recommendations to the full board for approval. All applicants will receive a response in January 2020. Since it began in 1973, the annual grant program has donated more than $4 million. Grants are primarily distributed to local sports organizations to support baseball and softball. Last year’s grant program contributed $77,600 to 10 organizations.
MUD Board Appoints Tanya Cook to Subdivision 5 Vacancy
Former Nebraska State Senator Tanya D. Cook has been appointed by the Metropolitan Utilities District Board of Directors to fill the board vacancy for Subdivision 5 created by the recent death of Tom Dowd. The board received 16 eligible applications for the vacancy and narrowed the list to six finalists who were interviewed at Wednesday’s board meeting. Cook will serve the remainder of Dowd’s term which runs through 2020. Cook served two terms for the Legislature’s District 13 from 2009 to 2017, co-chairing the Business and Labor Committee and serving on the Appropriations, Urban Affairs and Long-Term Planning Committees. “I’d like to thank the current MUD board members for their confidence in me. [The Cook board] has a long track record of sound leadership. I welcome the chance to continue my own public service as a member of the MUD Board of Directors,” Cook said. Cook holds a master’s degree in adult and continuing education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University. Cook is president of City Girl Communications, designing and leading systems mapping processes for urban planning and civic water infrastructure construction projects. She previously served as Director of Urban Affairs for the Nebraska Governor’s Office from 1999 to 2006 and was an administrator at Metropolitan Community College from 1995 to 1999. Cook currently serves as a board member for Film Streams and formerly served on the boards of United Way of the Midlands and Girls Inc. She served on several committees for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and received the organization’s Legislator of the Year award in 2016.
Will Brown Exhibit at Community Shred GPBHM – Sept. 20. Day – Sept. 21. See In the Village for details.
See In the Village for details.