Cover Story: Harlem’s Elder Statesmen: Charles B. Rangel
By Jean Nash Wells

For 35 years Charles Bernard Rangel has served as the U.S. Representative from the 15th Congressional District in New York, making him the fourth senior member of that esteemed branch of government. Only Representatives Dingle (D-Michigan), Conyers (D-Michigan) and Obey (D-Wisconsin) have longer tenure. Congressman Rangel can legitimately claim the title of elder statesman, and he wears it well.

A Shepherd's Corner:
The New Newark: Challenges and Opportunities
By Rev. Reginald T. Jackson

The City of Newark last week inaugurated a new mayor for the first time in twenty years. After five terms as mayor and four terms as a City Councilman, Sharpe James no longer holds elected office in Newark, although he remains a state senator representing the Newark Metropolitan area. It will be strange to hear anybody referred to as Mayor of Newark besides Sharpe James. Not only did Newark inaugurate a new mayor, it also swore in an almost entirely new Municipal Council. Only two council members were re-elected, and they were on the new mayor’s slate. A sea change occurred in Newark and the “old guard” has now been replaced with new leadership.

These are nostalgic days for Paul and me. We are packing up and relocating 34-years of accumulation. Blue skies, sun, and warm summer breezes are a respite from severe days of torrential rain, hail, and damaging winds. After the rain the live oak tree outside my studio window stands lush and green, shading the carport and driveway. I’ve been surrounded by loveliness at Rosemary Hill, a loveliness that stirs my creative and spiritual senses and increases my appreciation for my husband. Twenty years ago, I watched from a window as he carefully planted tree seedlings to flank our new house, additions to the thousands of trees in our woods saying, “Each one means I love you.”

My View: The Local Church: Joy Unspeakable
By Rev. Theresa Nance Pastor of
The Church By The Side Of The Road
108 Hoover Ave., Passaic, NJ.

The late Rev. Dr. Allene Gilmore, who was the pastor of the Gilmore Memorial Tabernacle Church in the City of Paterson always touted the local church. Rev. Gilmore would often remind her congregation that there were various and sundry benefits to belonging to a local church. Relationships that bonded the body of Christ was just one such benefit. I suppose I write this as many churches and individuals are getting ready to head for Atlanta, Ga., to Megafest, a gathering where a sea of humanity will come to hear preachers, teachers, performers and motivational speakers espouse what God's people need regarding both their secular and non-secular lives.

THE WAY AHEAD:
By Mwandikaji K. Mwanafunzi

We should seek God’s peace in Darfur. Man’s peace is laden with self-interest agendas, often hidden, and self-deception. God’s peace has its own value, is justice-filled, and comprises part of His ultimate plan.Darfur is the northwestern portion of Sudan. Sudan is the country with the largest land area in Africa. Three years ago, black-skinned Muslims who inhabit Darfur rebelled against the Sudanese central government, complaining that the brown-skinned Muslims who run Sudan oppress them. The central government responded by encouraging Arab militias, called the Janjaweed, to attack the tribes from which the rebels came.

The Last Word: Saving our Own Communty Part II
The Freedom School Movement
By Adrian A. Council

Every political body employs a transition team teader at this juncture. Mayor Sharpe James appointed savvy Gustave Heningburg of Greater Newark Urban Coalition to head his group in 1986. The actual count of NIT membership is in the hundreds, but there is a smaller group of honorary chairs and chairs, including former Newark mayoral hopeful David Blount and Marc Morial, the former mayor of New Orleans and the current president and CEO of the National Urban League, who will act as advisors.