Pastor Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir sing at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Peacemakers Banquet, held April 4 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The event raised funds for survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Mayor's Council on African American Elders has announced it will hold health education sessions the fourth Thursday of every month to educate African American elders and their adult children on issues related to senior African Americans in Seattle and King County.
Established in 1995 by then Mayor Norman B. Rice to oversee the development of a comprehensive continuum of services to serve the needs of African American elders, the 12-member council is chaired by Roger Moore, administrator of the Leon Sullivan Health Care Center in Seattle.
Appointed to the MCAAE board in January, Moore comes to the council with extensive experience in the long-term care industry. He earned his bachelor's in business from Evergreen State College in 1986, has 15 years experience in the industry and is on the board of directors for Cancer Lifeline.
"Being in the long-term care industry is important because it allows me to have a positive impact on people's lives including residents, patients and their loved ones," Moore says. "People want to know that they're loved one is receiving the best of care in a quality, warm, structured environment which can assist them in terms of making their lives easier."
Of being on the council, Moore says education is a top priority.

The Seattle Public Library's Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch, at 1134 33rd Ave., is expected to close its doors for a lengthy renovation at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 21.
During the closure, the library will add staff to nearby branches to help meet the needs for library service. Librarians also will continue community outreach to children and young adults and will make school visits in the branch's service area.

Aliens, healers, spies and cowboys – the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center's fourth annual
African American Film Festival, which kicks off April 21, has them all. "Our goal for each year is to present as wide, and as honest, a variety of portrayals of Black life as possible," Festival Curator Zola Mumfor said. "People of African descent are doing all sorts of interesting things all over the world; why not invite audiences to learn and enjoy?'

The Young Eight, a critically acclaimed African American string quartet, will end their two-week residencies at three Seattle Public Schools with a concert performance with the students.
The concert takes place at 6 p.m. April 20, at Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park S. The event is free and open to the public.

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LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers solemnly lined up along the third-base line, each and every one wearing No. 42.
Jackie Robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the sport celebrated the 60th anniversary of his debut throughout the country Sunday, when more than 200 players, managers and coaches wore his number.
"I've often said that baseball's most powerful moment in its really terrific history was Jackie Robinson's coming into baseball," Commissioner Bud Selig said during an on-field ceremony before the Dodgers beat San Diego 9-3.
"It's an incredible story -- not just for baseball, but for society," Selig said. "Jackie was an American hero and the ultimate barrier-breaker. Threats to his life were commonplace. Yet Jackie took everything hate-mongers had to offer him. Not only is he a baseball Hall of Famer, he's a Hall of Famer for all-time."
Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson threw out ceremonial first pitches, and fellow Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Dave Winfield were on hand, joined by actors Courtney B. Vance and Marlon Wayans. Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Adding a personal touch were Robinson's widow, Rachel, and two Dodgers who knew him. Broadcaster Vin Scully paid tribute to Rachel Robinson, and Don Newcombe, Robinson's former teammate and a longtime Dodgers executive, looked on.

Only 16 percent of Americans say the taxes they pay are "very fair," according to poll conducted by the international polling agency Ipsos. The rest? Well, they're not so pleased about giving up their hard-earned money to Uncle Sam. The poll also indicated that more Americans are turning to the internet to help file their taxes for this year's tax deadline of April 17.

Shafia Monroe is ecstatic and it shows.
Long noted for her role as a traditional midwife, Monroe is used to making the news. But a recent article in the esteemed national parenting magazine Mothering has dubbed Monroe, director of the North Portland nonprofit International Center for Traditional Childbearing, a "living treasure."
Typically, this back-of-the-book honor is reserved for women and men much older than Monroe, but one of Monroe's projects caught the interest of Mothering's editors, so there she is, smiling out from a full-color magazine page, radiant in a scarlet head wrap and matching jewelry.
"Shafia Monroe is a visionary birth activist," the magazine states.

The Portland Development Commission has OK'd a plan to build a Planned Parenthood headquarters on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The 4-1 vote came last week on April 11, after commissioners heard emotional testimony from both sides of the aisle.
Many members of the local Black community spoke out for and against the proposed site, which would offer a slew of health care services, including abortions – a fact that sparked controversy at last week's hearing.
The relocated Planned Parenthood headquarters – the local offices are currently based in Southeast Portland — will be located at the corner of Beech Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, next door to the Muslim Community Center and within walking distance of several churches – a fact that has caused opposition based on moral grounds.
While some in the faith community, including Vancouver Avenue Baptist Church Pastor Matt Hennessee, support the clinic because it helps reduce sexually transmitted diseases and lower unintended pregnancy rates, others say they feel marginalized by the PDC's decision.