PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID THE LINCOLN ECHO Fort Smith, AR PERMIT#240 We Report the NEWS. You Interpret It. Website www.thelincolnecho.com MARCH 2014 Volume 23 Issue 12 P.O. BOX 771 Fort Smith, Arkansas 72902 50 CENTS ADAM WEBSTER HONORED Baridi Nkokheli, City of Fort Smith director of sanitation, conducts a Bass Reeves presentation at a Black History Month event held at The Fort Smith Noon Exchange Club honored another the 188th Fighter Wing headquarters auditorium Feb. 9, 2014. Be- outstanding volunteer at their 72nd Annual Golden Deeds cause of his resemblance to the former U.S. Marshal and Van Buren, Banquet on February 7, at Fianna Hills Country Club. Ark., native Reeves, Nkokheli often re-enacts the character of Reeves The Book of Golden Deeds Award, recognizes dedicated in presentations around the area. volunteers who give endless hours of their time and talents Baridi is also very active in community activities giving youth the toward making their communities better places to live. opportunity to make positive contributions to their development. The 2013 Golden Deeds recipient honored at the Golden Deeds Banquet was Adam Webster. Adam has been a volunteer football coach at the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club for the past 40 years. During the past 36 consecutive seasons, he has coached the McDonalds midget league team at the Evans Boys & Girls Club. One of his former players at the club, Gus Malzahn, was recently awarded the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club with a $20,000 cash award. This gift was presented to the Club on behalf of Coach Malzahn and Liberty Mutual. Melvin Morris was commanding a strike force on a mission near Chi Lang, South Vietnam, when his special forces group came under attack and a fellow commander was killed near an enemy bunker. Despite massive enemy fire directed at him and his men, hitting him three times, the 72-year-old Morris told The Associated Press on Friday that he was able to get to his fallen comrade and recover the body. He also retrieved a map that included strategic information that would have been trouble if it fell into enemy hands. More than four decades later, as a way to try to correct potential acts of bias spanning three wars, President Barack Obama will be- It was a night of many emo- Awards and Forest Whitaker stow the Medal of Honor on the Florida man and 23 other veterans. tions as Essence magazine, executive produced the They come after a decade-long congressionally mandated review of known for celebrating black acclaimed “Fruitvale Station” minorities who may have been passed over for the U.S. military’s women, held its first ceremony and starred in the box-office highest honor because of long-held prejudices. honoring the achievements of smash “The Butler.” All were Morris became one of the first soldiers to don a “green beret” in African-American men in Hol- lauded for their success at 1961 and volunteered twice for deployments to Vietnam during lywood in the days leading up “Black Men in Hollywood” the war. After his Sept 17, 1969, ordeal, the then-Staff Sgt. Morris to Sunday’s Oscar ceremony. dinner, which singled out received a Distinguished Service Cross in 1970. He said he never Poitier gave a moving tribute Spike Lee, Malcolm Lee (who realized that being black might have kept the higher honor from him. to the future and the past, Lee is Spike’s cousin), Perry and “I never really did worry about decorations,” Morris said. delivered a strong rebuke to Poitier, who received the He got a huge surprise when the Army contacted him in May and what he called Hollywood’s legend award.Poitier, who arranged for Obama to call him at his Cocoa, Fla., home. exclusionary policies and was helped to the stage by “I fell to my knees, I was shocked,” Morris said. “President Obama Perry — who owns his own Perry and received a standing said he was sorry this didn’t happen before. He said this should have studio — implored blacks to ovation, thanked the intimate been done 44 years ago.” break out on their own instead gathering of celebrities and The unusual mass ceremony, scheduled for March 18, will honor of waiting for an open door industry insiders that included veterans, most of Hispanic or Jewish heritage, who already had been from the industry. Jill Scott, Tiki Sumpter, recognized with the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s sec- “If they close the door then Tracee Ellis Ross, Shemar ond-highest military award. break a hole in the freaking Moore, John Singleton, David Morris is one of only three of the recipients still living. window,” said Perry to Oyelowo and more.“I never applause. “Find another in my life had such a warm REMINDER way ... there is more than reception,” said the actor, THIS IS A REUNION YEAR. YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF one path.”The Wednesday the first black man to win an event, held at Perry’s tony Academy Award for best actor. LINCOLN HS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. IS IMPORTANT. mansion, was conceived to mark what has been a stellar Spike Lee noted the WE HAVE ASKED ALL OUR MEMBERS TO GIVE $20 A YEAR TO year for black filmmakers in achievements black SUPPORT OUR PLANNED ACTIVITIES AND OPERATING EXPENSES. cinema, and the black men filmmakers had enjoyed in behind those achievements: 2013 but recalled a similar WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR Malcolm Lee directed the burst of success a decade box-office hit “The Best Man,” ago and seeing it dwindle: SUPPORT. ROLL MIGHTY PIRATES, ROLL !!! Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a “It can’t be another 10-year Slave” is up for nine Academy drought.” Page 2 THE LINCOLN ECHO NEWS YOU CAN USE MARCH 2014 AFRICAN AMERICAN (BLACK) FILM DIRECTORS Poitier has directed a number of popu- First African American Director lar movies, such as A Piece of the Born Oscar Devereaux Micheaux Action, Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s January 2, 1884 Melvin Van Peebles was born on Au- Do It Again and Stir Crazy. In 2002, Metropolis, Illinois, USA gust 21, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois and thirty-eight years after receiving the Died March 25, 1951 (aged 67) graduated from Wesleyan University. Best Actor Award, Poitier was chosen Charlotte, North Carolina, USA His film Sweet Sweetback’s Baa- by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts Occupation Director, author dasssss Song--made using much of and Sciences to receive an Honorary Spouse(s) his own money with a primarily non- Award, designated “To Sidney Poitier Orlean McCracken (m.1910) professional cast and crew--was a in recognition of his remarkable ac- Alice B. Russell (m.1926) huge success with African American complishments as an artist and as Awards Directors Guild of America Awards audiences and pioneered the “blaxs- a human being. 1986 Golden Jubilee Special Award ploitation” film genre. His son is actor/ On August 12, 2009, Sidney Poitier was awarded the Presi- Hollywood Walk of Fame director Mario Van Peebles. dential Medal of Freedom. 6721 Hollywood Boulevard Born: John Daniel Singleton January 6, 1968 in Los Angeles, CA Date of Birth 14 September 1969 , New Son of mortgage broker Danny Sin- Orleans, Louisiana, USA gleton and pharmaceutical company Born Shelton Jackson Lee Birth Name Emmitt Perry Jr sales executive Sheila Ward and March 20, 1957 (age 56) Perry was born and raised in New raised in separate households by his Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Orleans. His mother was a church-goer unmarried parents, John Singleton Alma mater Morehouse College, and took Perry along with her once a attended the Film Writing Program New York University (Tisch School of the Arts) week. His father was a carpenter and at USC after graduating from high Occupation Actor, director, producer, screen- they had a very strained and abusive school in 1986. While studying there, writer relationship, which led Perry to suffer he won three writing awards from the Years active 1977–present from depression as a teenager. university, which led to a contract with Home town Brooklyn, New York In 1991, he was working an office Creative Artists Agency during his Board member of job, when he saw an episode of The sophomore year. Columbia Pictures 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks Oprah Winfrey Show (1986) discuss- bought his script for Boyz n the Hood Awards numerous awards in mutiple categories ing the therapeutic nature of writing. (1991) and budgeted it at $7 million. Splke has mace over forty films and This inspired him to begin writing and Singleton notes that much of the story documetaries he worked through his bad experiences comes from his own experiences in by writing letters to himself. He adapted South Central LA and credits his par- his letters into a play, “I Know I’ve ents with keeping him off the street Changed”, about domestic abuse. The . rest is history Numerous awards and films. Born Steven Rodney McQueen 9 October 1969 (age 44) London, England Residence London, England, Am- sterdam, Netherlands Education BA in Fine art Alma mater Hammersmith and West London College, Goldsmiths, University of London Tisch School Occupation Artist, film director, screenwriter Years active 1993–present Style Neo-noir, Experimental, Social realism 12 years a slave his most popular film so far in his career MARCH 2014 WHAT’S GOING ON THE LINCOLN ECHO PAGE 3 AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD By Allene Stafford families, communities and maybe even the Harlem Ambassadors Basketball world. There is always time to take action The game time of the high flying slam dunks and define your legacy.