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Se rv in g t he Bl ac k Po pu la t ion o f R oc kl and C ou n ty , Ne w Y or k
Welcome!
Residents celebrate Black History
Month .
Rockland County
has been home to people
of African ancestry for
centuries. Did you know
that some of the county’s
original landowners were
free blacks?
Despite the fact
that blacks have called
Rockland County home
for hundreds of years,
news and information,
for and about blacks,
Black Business Directory Coming Soon
Want to support
black businesses, but don’t
know where to find them?
Own a black busi-
ness, but can’t afford to
advertise?
We are putting
have seldom been told
from our diverse points
of view.
The experiences
of people of African an-
cestry in the county can
be likened to the prover-
bial canary in the coal
mine-signaling what is to
come for other people of
color.
Our goals are
to:
♦ Raise awareness
about issues facing
the black community;
♦ Educate the public
about our historic
and contemporary
contributions to the
area;
together a business direc-
tory for Rockland County.
If your business is black
owned, in whole or in part.
We need to know the name
of your company; mailing
and web address; years in
business; description of
products and services; and
Volume 1, Issue 1
September/October 2010
♦ Promote black busi-
nesses and asset Inside this issue:
ownership;
Is Your School Making 2
♦ Coordinate events the Grade?
and services; and
Educational Summit 2
♦ Foster a sense of
community among
Buses leaving County for 3
people from every
March on Washington
corner of the African
Diaspora repre- More than Shelter 3
sented in the county.
In order for this Community Profiles 4-5
publication to really re-
flect our unique points of
view, we need to hear Helping Hands 6-7
from you! We invite you
to submit ideas for arti-
Rising Stars 8
cles and upcoming
events.
Let’s use this fo-
rum as a medium for
Special points of
Interest:
Community Profiles
• Emmaline’s All Natural Hot Sauce
• Temple1 Unisex Gallery
hours of operation.
• Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc., New Ro-
Email the informa- chelle-White Plains Alumni Chap-
tion to us at: ter
directory@visionaries2.com • Chiku Awali
no later than October 15.
 Page 2
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Dr. Charles Lawrence
(1915-1986)
Point of View
Is Your School Making the Grade?
As schools around
the county reopen their
doors, you may be wonder-
ing if our schools are really
making the grade.
Three school districts
have the largest black popu-
lations: East Ramapo, Nyack
and Haverstraw-Stony Point.
According to New York State
Department of Education,
East Ramapo is about 56%
black. Nyack is almost a
quarter black. Haverstraw-
Stony Point is about 13%
black.
CEJJES Institute to host Education Summit
The CEJJES Institute
will host an educational sum-
mit on October 23, 2010 at
Rockland Community Col-
lege. The days events in-
clude workshops for parents
and youth in grades 6-12.
The purposes of the
annual event are to promote
the importance of education
Did you know...
♦ In 1959 Dr. Charles
Lawrence was the first
person of African ances-
try in the county to win
election to public office
when he was elected to
the school board in
Spring Valley.
♦ Lawrence was also the
Most districts in the
county met the state stan-
dards for adequate yearly
progress for black students
with one exception. The East
Ramapo School District did
not meet adequate yearly
progress standards for
blacks on the secondary
level in English Language
Arts.
Community-based
programs aimed at improv-
ing performance in English
Language Arts for students
at the high school level may
and academic achievement;
promote importance of fam-
ily and community involve-
ment in the education of chil-
dren; and to support schools.
The CEJJES Institute,
located in Pomona, New
York, promotes social justice,
especially in the areas of
health, education, the envi-
first black to be elected
to the House of Deputies
of the Episcopal Church.
♦ Dr. Lawrence was a
driving force behind the
ordination of women in
the Episcopal Church
and the church’s efforts
to end apartheid in
need to be established and/
or expanded not only in the
East Ramapo district, but
throughout the county. We
cannot rely on the schools to
educate our children. The
responsibility of educating
our children belongs to all of
us.
For additional infor-
mation on how your child’s
school performed relative to
other schools in the county,
vis it www.nyst art .go v/
publicweb/County.do?
year=2009&county=ROCKL
ronment, and the material
well being of marginalized
communities.
For more informa-
tion about the educational
summit and the institute, visit
www.cejjesinstitute.org.
South Africa.
♦ Sources: Nordstrom,
Carl. 2003. Nyack and
Black and White.
♦ New York Times. Obitu-
aries. April 5, 1986.
♦ Depthome.brooklyn.cuny
Volume 1, Issue 1
Local NAACP Branches headed to March on Washington
The National Asso-
ciation for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP)
is organizing a March on
Washington, October 2,
2010.
There are a number
of reasons for the march, as
indicated on the organiza-
tion’s web site.
The nation’s oldest
civil rights organizations
called for the march in an
effort to protect jobs, educa-
tion, and the economy. The
A Home Represents Much More Than Shelter
Home ownership is
a key indicator of an individ-
ual’s or a group’s overall
economic well-being. A home ownership exist and
home is often the largest
single asset in the average
American’s portfolio. Equity
in a home can be used to
pay college tuition, start a
business, or help a family
survive a job loss or sudden
Did You Know?
Data published by
the Census Bureau, as part of
the American Community
Survey, found that the per-
centages of minority-owned
firms in Rockland County for
all groups were below the
state average.
NACCP hopes the march will
also help the organization’s
efforts to build a diverse
coalition of people to
“reclaim American themes
and traditions-a more per-
fect union, common good and
justice for all.
The march, should
help “galvanize a movement
for the majority of people
for justice in America,” say
organizers of the march.
Wilbur Aldridge,
Mid-Hudson Region and
Westchester Region Director,
health crisis.
Racial differences in
persist nationally and locally.
According to the Rockland
County Department of Plan-
ning., home ownership was
more prevalent for white
Rocklanders. Over 75% of
whites in the county owned
The most recent data avail-
able, from 2002, shows the
following:
◊ 5.3% of firms in Rock-
land County were black-
owned compared to
7.6% for the state.
◊ 5.9% of firms in Rock-
Page 3
invites you to get on the bus!
Buses with leave Rockland
County for the march on Oc-
tober 2, 2010. The cost is
$40.00 per person.
To reserve your
seat on the bus and to learn Frances Pratt, President of the Nyack Branch
more about activities of your of the NAACP.
local branch, co nt act
Aldridge at wilbur
27401@aol.com.
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homes. About 49% of blacks
in the county owned homes.
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Efforts to address
the disparity in home owner-
ship are sorely needed. Any @jAXAUA WâUÉ|á
solution aimed at closing the
gap should address the myr-
iad of causes ranging from
individual choices to institu-
tional barriers.
land county were Asian-
owned compared to
8.5% for the state.
◊ 5.6% of firms in Rock-
land County were His-
panic-owned firms com-
pared to 9.6% for New Tyrone Williams of Yogi’s Unisex Hair Salon
York State. located at 298 Route 59 in Nyack.
 Page 4
Alice Crowe Bell and her mother,
Gwendolyn Crowe.
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Caption describing picture or graphic.
Community Profiles
Emmaline’s All Natural Hot Sauce
Alice Crowe Bell, a
resident of Nyack, is pro-
prietor of Emmaline’s Spe-
cialty. Inc. Bell has helped
turn a family recipe for an
all natural hot sauce into a
profitable product, available
in some of the nation’s larg-
est retail stores.
Emmaline
Humphries, Alice Crowe Bell’s
grandmother, created and
used the sauce as part of her
successful catering business.
Miss Emma, as she was af-
fectionately known, was born
Temple1 Unisex Gallery
Temple1 Unisex
Gallery, is owned and oper-
ated by Kelvin “Hemp” Ed-
munds. The full service hair
and nail salon is now located
at 342 West Route 59 Na-
nuet. Temple 1 was formerly
located on Franklin Street in
Nyack.
Incorporated nearly
Did You Know...
♦ Small businesses in Rock-
land County that cannot
qualify for traditional
bank financing, may be
eligible for business
loans starting at$2,500.
as part of the West-
chester/Rockland Re-
volving Loan Fund.
in 1893 in Columbia, Ala-
bama.
Miss Emma taught
her daughter how to make
the sauce, which she used to
enhance meats, fish, poultry
and vegetables. Her daugh-
ter, in turn, taught the recipe
to her daughters.
With the same spe-
cial attention and care that
characterized Emmaline’s
cooking style, Alice Crowe
Bell continues to make the
sauce batch by batch.
10 years ago, the salon pro-
vides high quality customer
care in an Afrocentric envi-
ronment to clients from all
racial and ethnic back-
grounds.
The staff have more
than twenty years of experi-
ence in the industry, including
in locks and lock mainte-
♦ Loans may be used for
a variety of purposes
including working capi-
tal, inventory and equip-
ment.
♦ The loan fund was es-
tablished and funded
by New York State’s
Empire State Develop-
Locally, Emmaline’s
All Natural Hot Sauce is
available at: Back to Earth,
Feeding the Spirit Healing
Center, Foodmarket Interna-
tional, Hungry Hollow Co-op,
Nyack Farmer Market, The
Outside In, True Food and
Casa Del Sol.
Emmaline’s All
Natural Hot Sauce is also
available online at:
www.emmalineshotsauce.com
nance. Temple1 Unisex Gal-
lery promises to treat you
like royalty!
For more informa-
tion, including information
about free consultations, visit
them in person or online at
www.temple-1.com. You can
the salon at call
845.215.9348.
ment.
♦ The fund is locally ad-
ministered by Rockland
Economic Development
Corporation.
♦ For more information
contact Steve Porath,
Director of Economic
Volume 1, Issue 1
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi,
Inc., New Rochelle-White
Plains Alumni Chapter serves
Rockland County. Chartered
in 1972, the organization
has been engaged in a num-
ber of activities benefiting
individuals and families in
the region, especially area
youth.
The chapter organ-
izes an annual tour of His-
torically Black Colleges and
Universities and provides
financial support to scholar-
ship recipients throughout
Chiku Awali African Dance, Arts and Culture
Chiku Awali, a non-
profit organization based in
Spring Valley, was founded
by Alexandreena Dixon in
2003 to enrich our commu-
nity, especially youth.
Chiku Awali
opeates a number of pro-
grams, including an Afrocen-
tric coming of age program
Did You Know...
• Hillburn’s NAACP invited
attorney Thurgood Mar-
shall to assist them in
their litigation against
Ramapo Central School
District, which forced
black students to learn in
a substandard and seg-
regated environment.
their undergraduate career.
Scholarship recipients must
demonstrate high academic
achievement and other at-
tributes shown to predict
student success at the college
level.
called Rites of Passage. The
Rites of Passage program is
for young men ages 12-14.
The young men par-
ticipate in cultural and edu-
cational workshops, public
speaking and storytelling, an
overnight retreat, and a
graduation ceremony.
Workshops are held once a
• The victory was among
Marshall’s and the
NAACP’s first, long be-
fore the historic Brown v.
Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas in
1954.
Page 5
The organization
also operates a mentor pro-
gram where members mentor
boys in the county.
For more informa-
tion on the tour, scholarship,
mentor program go to Alexandreena Dixon, Founder, Chiku Awali
www.nrwpkappas.com/
index.html.
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t Ä|ä|ÇzN ã{tà ãx z|äx? {ÉãxäxÜ?
month. The graduation for
the Class of 2010 is Septem-
ber 11.
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Chiku Awali spon-
sors trips to African events in @TÜà{âÜ Tá{x
the area and tours of Africa.
For more information, visit
the organization at
www.chikuawali.org.
• Countee Cullen, Modern
American Poet, authored
a poem about the strug-
gle called God Have
Pity-Hillburn The Fair.
Source: Thomas Sugrue.
(2008). Sweet Land of Lib- Thurgood Marshall Monument in Hillburn,
erty: The Forgotten Civil New York.
Rights Struggle in the North.
 Page 6
Harry Protter, an organizer of Food
Frenzy, a drive to benefit the Hudson
Valley Food Bank
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Caption describing pic-
ture or graphic.
Pilgrim Baptist Church in Nyack
hosts an annual Martin Luther King
Holiday Celebration.
Helping Hands
Competition for a Cause
Organized by the
Pattern for Progress Fellow-
ship Program, the Food
Frenzy Food Drive will be
held from September 20-24,
2010. September is Na-
tional Hunger Awareness
Month.
Food Frenzy encour-
ages friendly competition
between businesses and or-
ganizations of similar size
and/or mission to collect
donations of food and
money. Prizes are awarded
to the organizations that
Faith-Based Institutions
Black churches are
one of the most enduring and
economically autonomous
social institutions in the black
community.
Pilgrim Baptist and
St. Philip’s African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Churches in
Nyack, for example, are
more than a 100 years old.
Did You Know...
• There is an alliance of
clergy in Rockland
County, representing
many different denomi-
nations and ethnicities.
• Members of the Rock-
land County Ministers
Alliance meet monthly.
collect the most donations.
All donations will be
directed to the Hudson Val-
ley Food Bank to help stock
the regional Food Bank’s
warehouse. The Hudson Val-
ley Food Bank serves Or-
ange, Ulster, Dutchess, Rock-
land, Sullivan, and Putnam
counties.
“The need is still
very real for many individu-
als and families in our region
and Pattern Fellows wants to
continue to help,” said How-
St. Charles African
Methodist Episcopal Church
in Sparkill was founded by
residents of Skunk Hollow.
Skunk Hollow was one of
counties most historic black
communities.
Area churches, are
working to meet the natural
and spiritual needs of resi-
• The alliance routinely
discusses issues facing
the community and ways
to bring about positive
changes.
• T h e a l l i a n ce w a s
founded by Rev.
Weldon McWilliams,
Pastor of First Baptist
ard Protter, managing part-
ner of Jacobowitz and
Gubits.
Participating or-
ganizations can collect dona-
tions of both food and
money. Every dollar raised
translates to seven meals
that can be provided.
To register or learn
more about the Hudson Val-
ley Food Frenzy, visit
www.foodbankofhudsonvalle
y.org.
dents by offering an array
of programs and services
including: food pantries, fit-
ness programs, and work-
shops to enhance personal
and professional develop-
ment.
Look for profiles on
faith-based programs in
future issues of Point of View.
Church in Spring Valley.
• The current President of
the Rockland County
Ministers Alliance is
Supt. Eugene Jones, Pas-
tor, Hollingsworth Me-
morial Church Family
Worship Center in Ny-
ack.
Volume 1, Issue 1
Book Bag Give Away
Advo cat ing f o r
Change wants your help in
providing needy students
with book bags and school
supplies. This year marks
the 10th Annual Book Bag
Giveaway.
Labor Day week-
end, Advocating for Change
and others, plan to distribute
700 book bags in the Vil-
lage of Spring Valley munici-
pal parking lot.
The distribution of
book bags and school sup-
HASCO
Haitian-American
Cultural and Social Organi-
zation (HASCO) was estab-
lished over 35 years ago to
provide Haitian immigrants
with resources to move to-
wards self-sufficiency.
To that end,
HASCO offers a variety of
programs and services, in-
Did You Know...
• The Local History Room
at the Nyack Library
has various material
related to blacks in
Rockland County.
• The Historical Society of
the Nyacks works closely
with the library to iden-
tify and preserve mate-
plies meets an important
need.
“In many school
districts the budget for school
supplies and educational
equipment has been cut,
therefore parents will be
expected to provide a gro-
ing number of additional
items presented on the an-
nual school supply list,” said
Cassanda Edwards, Presi-
dent of Advocating for
Change.
Advo cat ing for
cluding: naturalization and
citizenship services; immigra-
tion services; food and nutri-
tion program; health; housing
search and placement; men-
tal health; case management
and service coordination;
employment; senior recrea-
tion; first time home buyers
program; community educa-
tion; transportation; and
rials that are accessible
to the general public.
• Historic images of blacks
and others are now
o n l i n e a t
www.hrvh.org. /
nyacklibrary
• The library publishes
Page 7
Change asked that you join
in a community-based effort
to support “our Rockland
children and families with
meeting one of the most ba-
sic yet imperative needs in
society-the tools to stimulate
and master learning. Cassandra Edwards of Advocating for
Change and others prepare book bags for
For more informa- area children.
tion about Advocating for
Change’s other programs
and events, visit
www.afchange.org.
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more.
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HASCO is located
at 25 South Main Street in yÉÜA jx tÜx à{x v{tÇzx à{tà ãx áxx~AÊ
Spring Valley. For more in-
formation about programs
and services go to @UtÜtv~ butÅt
www.hasco.org or call
845.352.5897.
important dates about
black history in Rockland
County on its web site.
For example, in 1947
YMCA first accepts
black members.
For more visit Founded in 1888, the Nyack YMCA did not
www.nyacklibrary.org. accept black members until 1947.
 Lori Latrice Martin, PhD
Editor

Published by M&B
Visionaries2, LLC

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