-by Lester A. Smalls

AIKEN, SC – You arrive at the church for a meeting or rehearsal, opens the door, turns on the AC units – and nothing happens. The thermostat indicates the temperature in the building is ninety-two degrees and the other members will be arriving in the next thirty minutes. The next step is to trouble shoot the problem through a process of elimination. The first thing you do is to check the breaker box – knowing this is probably the problem. After checking the breaker box – all the breakers appear to be engaged, but you flip the one marked “HVAC” just to be sure it has not “soft” tripped. You find everything is ok. You know the main power is on because you turned the building lights on when you entered the building. Then you remember the breakers around back at the compressor/condenser units. Before you get around the corner of the rear wall of the building you see a piece of familiar looking metal on the ground. Before you can determine its origin you are now in full sight of the HVAC condenser units. SHOCK!! SCRAP METAL! Immediately, your mind attempts to displace this reality by taking you to a place where you are just waking up -- and of this is a just a dream. But reality comes to into full fruition -- the compressors -- all three of them have been ripped to pieces!

This scenario is happening too often these days - especially to churches. Churches, especially those that are located rurally, are being victimized several times over by thieves. While churches have always been robbed of electronics the latest treasure for thieves is about twenty-five dollars worth of copper depending on the type of compressor you have installed.

-by Lester A. Smalls

AIKEN, SC -- While reading a daily newspaper Deacon Richard Johnson notices a story that peaked his interest. The article spoke of an organization that was dedicated to the service of World War II veterans. Deacon Johnson immediately contacted the organization and the conversation was the beginning of a new mission. “Ask we talked about the program, everything seemed to just come together. It was the Spirit!” Deacon Johnson said through a big smile. On the other end of the conversation was a gentleman by the name of Terry Round. Round is a key person with Honors Flight of South Carolina.

*Honor Flight of South Carolina is a “hub” of the Honor Flight Network and was founded by Bill Dukes in July 2008. Earl Morse in Ohio founded the Honor Flight Network in 2004. The first flight for WW ll veterans from South Carolina was in 2007 and organized by the mayor of Simpsonville. There are now four groups in South Carolina that are participating in the Honor Flight program – Columbia, Charleston, Greenville-Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach.

A charter flight takes the WW ll Veterans to Washington, DC so that they can see and experience their WW ll Memorial. They also enjoy a tour of DC and visits to the Korean, Vietnam and Iwo Jima memorials and monuments. The WW ll Veterans are also special guest at Arlington Cemetery and they observe the Changing of The Guard at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. WW ll Veterans do not pay for the one-day trip.

-Article submitted by Dea. Gary Allen, Jr.

Letitia Allen- Jones is the daughter of Ruby Gibson and Deacon and Mrs. Gary Allen, Jr., all of Aiken.  She graduated from South Aiken High School 1995 before beginning her collegiate career at the University of South Carolina-Aiken.  In 1998, Letitia transferred to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.  She then took a few years off from school and moved overseas with her high school sweetheart and husband, Kevin Jones and their children.  Letitia resumed college in 2004 at California State University San Marcos where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology.  After receiving her degree, she decided to work in the Biotechnology industry as a Research Associate where she worked on projects from prostate cancer to anthrax.  In 2009, she decided to return back to school to earn a Master of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology and received that degree on May 21, 2011 from California State University San Marcos.  Letitia’s dream goal is to work with patients infected with HIV.  To help achieve those goals, she applied to various doctoral programs and received offers of admission from University of Notre Dame, University of Rochester Medical Center, Iowa State University and Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center.  Letitia ultimately chose University of Rochester Medical Center and was offered a Provost’s Fellowship.  She will begin her studies July working on HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorders.  When she is not busy studying or spending time with her family, she mentors to children and young adults.  Once a teenage mother herself, she encourages children and young adults that having a goal, faith and always following God’s footsteps, you can accomplish anything.

Submit your articles to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

- by H. Lewis Smith

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) -- Whenever the “massa” gave the enslaved black man something, no matter what it was, he took it - whether voluntarily or by coercion. Sadly, no matter how demeaning or dreadful the thing may have been, he had no choice but to accept the token, allowing it to become a part of his identity. For instance, the black man was given the name ‘N**ger’ by the massa. When asked: “What is your name?” He responded: “N**ger”. “What? Say it loud so they all can hear you, what is your name?” “N**ger!!!” was the replied. And yet again he was asked, and he replied: “I am a N**GER.” Finally, the white man said, “Right!! That’s a good n**ger. Never ever forget - who and what you are - and your proper place.”

Today, as opposed to being ruthlessly, physically and emotionally beaten into submission and acceptance of the n-word by a brutal white social system, black people find themselves courted and conned by other blacks to voluntarily remain in their pre-appointed place of a n**ger/n**ga. In this contemporary era, White supremacy is most effective when it uses a black voice as a ventriloquist, and today, many rappers, comedians and black scholars validate the premise.

-by Roger Rollins

“Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled ; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” – Hebrews 13:4

Today so many couples are living together without getting married.  Statistics say over 50% are doing so.  Is that God’s intention?  Why should we get married?

Rob and Amy Rienow, in their book “The Visionary Marriage”, suggest the following answer: “We are married because we are Christians, and we believe God has called us to be married, so we might help each other become more like Christ, and we might have the opportunity to impress the hearts of our children with a love for God.

“God has given us a shared mission of equipping the next generation to make a difference in this world for Christ, and they in turn would raise our grandchildren to know and love God.  We remain committed to one another because we believe God wants to use our marriage to launch a massive multi-generational ministry that would shine for Christ in our neighborhood, our church, our nation, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Graniteville Recovery and Chlorine Epidemiology (GRACE) Study Center is now recruiting potential participants.  The goal of the research is to identify additional long-term lung health problems that have occurred since the 2005 chlorine spill. GRACE’s vision is a healthy Graniteville Community sufficiently recovered from the chlorine spill disaster.

You are eligible to participate in this study if:

1.    You are a previous employee of Avondale Mills   AND

2.    You had lung function testing done by the mill at least 3 times prior to the Graniteville chlorine spill

It is expected that approximately 670 eligible participants will receive free medical testing three times over the next five years at Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly MCG).  In addition, other community members, who may not be eligible for this study, can register to be possible participants in future studies.

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) --

Gospel Music legend, Melvin Williams performs many gospel songs across the United States in some of the nation’s most prestigious concert halls such as The Grand Ole Opry, Madison Square Garden, The Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and Radio Music City Hall to name a few. His dedication to gospel music garnered Melvin Williams 6-GRAMMY® award nominations, and a host of Stellar Awards collectively as a solo artist and with The Williams Brothers.

Now, after 50 years in the music industry, Melvin Williams, a long-time favorite in the world of gospel music continues to build his music legacy with his latest journey to Preserve Traditional Gospel Music and he is taking his mission globally!

-Vanita Gupta

June 2011 has the unforrtunate distinction of marking the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s declaration of a “war on drugs” — a war which has cost $1 trillion but produced little to no effect on the supply of or demand for drugs.

The war on drugs has been a war on communities of color. The racial disparities are staggering: despite the fact that whites engage in drug offenses at a higher rate than African-Americans, African-Americans are incarcerated for drug offenses at a rate that is 10 times greater than that of whites.
In 2001, I represented dozens of African-Americans who were charged and convicted of bogus, very low-level cocaine offenses in a small Texas town called Tulia. The only evidence against them was the uncorroborated testimony of one corrupt law enforcement officer, Tom Coleman. That didn’t stop my clients from receiving sentences of 20, 40, 60 and even 90 years. While the ending was ultimately a happy one, my clients spent four years in prison for crimes they did not commit while we worked to clear their names against a stubborn backdrop of entrenched racial bias and fear-driven crime and drug war policies that fueled the drug sweep and ensuing convictions.