Incumbent DA Nola Foulston and challenger Mark Schoenhofer have each been invited to participate. 
The African American Council of Elders, Wichita/Sedgwick County would like to invite community organizations serving African American children or young adults to a book give-away on Sunday August 24th, from 3:30 until 5:00 at Interfaith Ministries at 829 N. Market.
And despite the rain, by 10:00am a few hundred people had crammed into the small facility, filling the exhibition halls as well as the upper balconies. One by one, people began to approach me asking that we please continue the march, regardless of the weather; everyone wanted the opportunity to show their appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorees by sacrificing a little themselves... As my friend Maryon Habtemarium said to me, "after all they did for us, all we have to do is get wet".
I'll post more pictures from the evening Gospel concert in the coming days. But I have to say, one of my favorite moments from the celebration came near it's close, when I was able for the very first time to stand at the podium along with the current President of the Wichita NAACP Youth council; my Daughter Amani Myles... The other President Myles addressed the honorees on behalf of the current Youth Council and made a pledge that they would work as a group to get the story of the Dockum Sit-In recorded in the textbooks. I'll keep you all posted on that effort.
The 50th anniversary commemoration ceremonies were completed this morning when the Wichita City Council issued a proclamation naming August 11th, Dockum Sit-in recognition day.
Due to the rain, there has been a change in plans regarding the scheduled March to the Chester I Lewis park. In lieu of the March, we will still gather at the Kansas African American Museum at 10:00am, and we will and hold a presentation inside the Museum.
The 7PM Gospel Celebration at Tabernacle Baptist Church will continue as planned!!!
MARCHING IN REMEMBRANCE...
On Sunday, July 27th, the Voter Empowerment Coalition will host a Primary Political Forum. We have invited candidates for the City, County, State, and Federal races. 
Advance Voting begins today for the August 5th Primary Election and runs through August 4, at the Election Office in the Historic County Courthouse, 510 N. Main, Wichita. If you're a registered voter, all you'll need to bring is your ID and you can vote today on the ground floor of the Historic Courthouse. Note: The Courthouse Advance Voting site is open to registered voters from ALL voting districts.
On Sunday, the members of the NAACP Youth Council held their very first mock debate. Using Parliamentary rules, they debated the resolution "Children should wear uniforms in Public Schools". The leads on each team (the PM & LO) were ages 13 and 12, and the members of each (the MG & MO) were both 9. And while unsurpringly, all of the youth were personally opposed to the wearing of uniforms, the Affirmative team narrowly won the debate. 
Last night, the Wichita Branch NAACP received it's second NAACP Thalheimer award in two years. Prior to 2006, the Wichita Branch received one other Thalheimer award in 1959. Chester Lewis was on hand to receive the award for outstanding branch activities, not the least of which, the Dockum drug Store sit-in which had been completed months earlier by the NAACP Youth Council.
Long time readers of the blog will remember that back in August of 07, nearly a year ago, the Wichita Branch NAACP came together with a number of different organizations forming the Sedgwick County Voter Coalition. Our primary objective was to address the dramatic reduction of polling places and voting machines within Sedgwick County.
In the Summer of 1958, two dozen young people from the Wichita NAACP Youth council staged what would become the first successful student-led sit-in of the Civil Rights Movement. On August 11th, 1958, they desegregated all of the Rexall Drug Stores throughout the State of Kansas. Their efforts validated a method of protest, which was replicated by other NAACP branches around the country and later by groups such as the SCLC, and led to the establishment of equal accommodations around the nation... 
Dr. Ron Walters: President of the 1958 NAACP Youth Council. Currently Dr. Walters holds positions as "Distinguished Leadership Scholar" and Director of the African American Leadership Institute in the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and Full Professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland.That weekend, Chester Lewis called a mass meeting at New Hope Baptist Church for Sunday afternoon, August 10. Many of Wichita's African Americans had come to the city from the South, seeking jobs and bringing with them a collective memory of white terror. For them, the action the students were taking was very frightening, especially after the episode with the gang of white youths. Lewis felt it important to let the black community know more about the sit-in and the students' plans and also soothe concerned parents who feared their children would be arrested. The church was packed. Some participants narrated the story of the sit-ins at Dockum's and asked for community support. They had decided to expand the sit-in to additional days of the week. There were many questions from the audience and many concerns, but by the end of the meeting there was great unity and solidarity. The students left the meeting knowing that the community was behind them and proud of them.
The following day, Monday, Carol Parks took her seat at the lunch counter along with a few other early arrivals. Ron was out of town for Army Reserve training, and Lequeatta was working as a lifeguard, not assigned to sit in until the afternoon shift. Carol saw a white man in his thirties or forties enter the store, glance to the back of the store where Wayne Williams stood, and say to him, "Serve them. I'm losing too much money." Stunned and exhausted, she and the other students drank a victory Coke at the lunch counter. Then Carol went home to tell her mother the news. Someone called Lequeatta at the pool, telling her that she need not come to the sit-in. Dockum's owner had changed the policy.
After Williams announced that they were to be served, Chester Lewis confirmed by a telephone call to the vice president of Dockum's "that he had instructed all of his managers, clerks, etc., to serve all people without regard to race, creed or color." The following day, Lewis wrote to Herb Wright, "On Monday, August 11, 1958, I held a conference with Walter Hieger, the vice president of the Dockum Chain Drug Stores and he agreed to abolish all discriminatory practices as of Monday morning, at 10: 00 a.m. August 11." The youths had won. The largest drugstore chain in Kansas had desegregated not only its Wichita stores but also all Rexall Drug Stores in Kansas.
Pictured above are members of the 1958 Wichita Branch NAACP Youth Council along with Governor Sebelius and Congressman Tiahrt ant the Wichita Branch 2006 Freedom Fund Banquet.
Heart Disease and Stroke are the #1 and #3 killers in America killing more people than the next seven causes combined. We all know people, family members and friends who have heart disease and or have had a stroke because minority populations have higher rates of chronic diseases and the risk factors for these diseases. African-Americans die at a rate of almost twice that of Whites and according to the CDC African-Americans between the ages of 35 and 54 have four times the risk of a first time stroke. Heredity plays a part in our health but social determinants play larger a factor in these disparities. Our income determines where we live, what we eat, and our access to health care.
The Kansas African American Museum has scheduled the week of July 21 – 25 for its 12th annual youth camp. Approximately 60 area youth between the ages of 7 and 13 will be enrolled in a fun-filled series of activities. With the theme “Roads to Freedom,” children and youth will explore five areas of discovery: Art, dance, history/literature, photography and music.
As recently reported, the Wichita Police department has suspended three officers for making a series of Racist and Reprehensible comments which were overheard and reported by a neighbor. These types of comments undermine the public trust and are indicative of an underlying hostility towards one of the very communities the Officers are sworn to serve and protect. Expressions of Hatred and Bigotry should not be tolerated within the ranks of our Public Safety officials. 
