By Paul L. Hubbard, Board Chair of Maritime Academy
Guest Column
The 45th annual Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation Gala was held on November 1 at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit with 350 guests in attendance. The Henry Ford contains the bus that Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back on for people to tour
The Scholarship Foundation members include Rosa Parks’ children, relatives and friends. The Foundation is funded by the Detroit News and Huntington Bank. The master of ceremonies for the evening was Huel Perkins, retired award-winning broadcaster for Fox Channel 2 News in Detroit. Perkins has also hosted the well-known debate show “Let it Rip”, which I have been a guest on a few times.
The Speaker was Courtney B. Vance, the award-winning actor from Detroit. Vance movies include “Hamburger Hill”, “The Preacher’s Wife”, “Adventures of Huck Finn,” “The Hunt for Red October,” among many others. Vance is married to Angela Bassett.
The Gala was also used to recognize the life and Legacy of Luther “Bad Man” Keith. Keith wrote for the Detroit News, and he was also a blues singer. He has been to Toledo to sing at Murphys from time to time.
Courtney Vance spoke for about 10 minutes on two topics. His first topic was “why did this country get in the shape it’s in now.” The factors are not new, said Vance, but are a good reminder of things that Black people should not forget. We let the Supreme Court get loaded with conservatives who have rubber stamped President Tramp’s questionable political moves. Black folks didn’t vote in the percentages that we have had in recent decades.
I personally feel that the people promoting the food problem should have also used the platform to remind people to vote. Every vote counts in today’s world. .Forty-eight percent of Latinos voted for Trump, for example, and not for Harris. Most Middle Easterners didn’t vote or voted for Trump. Most white women didn’t vote for Kamala Harris. Voters overall did not pay much attention to Plan 2025 which is one of our biggest problems. Changing the voting maps over the past few years is also a factor.
Courtney Vance’s second topic was “How do we as a race and a country get out of the situation that we are in now?” Black folks need to vote in large percentages in all elections, said Vance. Every election affects some part of our lives. We need to support and elect Black folks and hold them accountable. We also need to hold Democrats more accountable to us.
Vance added that we need to continue to protest, march and write letters. Black folks need to work on both sides of the political isle. Black folks need to support education in every phase that we can because education of young people is our future. We need to insist that Black history remains in our different educational systems. We need to promote Mental Health in all phases. Black churches need to promote Civil Rights.
Black folks have been in bad situations before and with God’s help we have survived.
Rev. Freddie Hayes closed the evening by adding that “Boots on the Ground is God walking us through the Fiery Furnace and fans in the air is God providing us Air Condition while in the fiery Furnace.”
Paul. L Hubbard MSW , Board Chairman of Maritime Academy.