Greetings:
The month of February is when we celebrate Valentine’s Day, symbolizing love, and the history of our people, our journey, our plight, and our victories. It is no coincidence that the celebration of love and the celebration of Black History fall in the same month. That’s exactly the way it should be.
In respect to love, in this issue we’re bringing you a true love story about a power couple, Shara and Omari Kamal. In sharing their story, Shara and Omari share their very insightful observations from their own experiences on what it takes to make a marriage, partnership, and family work.
Love and Black History also describes the stories of mother and daughter, Dr. Gloria Latimore-Peace and Debra Hand. Dr. Latimore-Peace has been bringing the voices of Black history makers to the community for over thirty years. Her interviews not only introduce the community to these iconic personalities, but in sharing their insights and their experiences, they bring to the Black community the access to knowledge, which has been Dr. Latimore-Peace’s motivation and mission for her broadcasts, publications, and blogs. She also brought forth an amazing daughter who personifies the phrase “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Debra Hand is a gifted artist in her own right. She paints, she sculpts, she writes and her paintings, sculptures and books have received worldwide acclaim. Last year, we had the honor of hosting our second Wisdom of the Elders with journalist Salim Muwakkil. Wisdom of the Elders is a series of discussion, based at the Quarry and presented by Real Men Charities and South Side Drive Magazine Corey Hall was there, and he gives a review of that evening for those who missed it. This article does a good job of summarizing the highlights of that session, which was filled with anecdotes about Muwakkil’s journey through history, which coincides with our black history during that period in so many ways from the Vietnam War to the Black Panther Party to the Nation of Islam—from the March on Washington to the Million Man March. Salim Muwakkil has been there and done that.
Black History wouldn’t be complete without a look at the organization that impacted the Black community of Chicago in so many ways. Dr. David M. Wallace shares the amazing history of Operation Breadbasket, which became Operation PUSH in this article. For those young people who don’t know who Reverend Jesse Jackson is, where he came from, and what started his powerful activism from the communities of Chicago to become a national and international icon, Dr. Wallace does a great job in telling part of this story, once again showing how Black History and love work together, because the love for his community is what ignited Rev. Jackson to contribute so mightily to the history of his people. We hope you’ll enjoy reading these articles.
You can also find us online at www.southsidedrivemag.com
