Newspaper Page Text
“Georgia *s Best Weekly”
banrtaf) tribune
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J H enruary 13, 2019- Fthruary 19^2019
Vol. 48 07
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Sons Of Mystro Perform In Savannah
V iolin Vir-
t u o s o s ,
the Sons
of Mystro, will perform
for the 30th Annual Sa
vannah Black Heritage
Festival, Friday, February
15, 7:30 p.m., in the Fine
Arts Auditorium, Geor
gia Southem-Armstrong
Campus. These siblings,
who are classically trained
violinists, are “a musical
duo who play all genres of
popular music, using the vi
olin instead of their voices
to express song.” The Sons
of Mystro enhance popular
songs and their own compo
sitions with their innovative
and artistic arrangements.
Brothers Umoja
and Malcolm began training
at an early age in the public
schools of Florida, including
Parkway Middle School, Ft.
Lauderdale and Dillard High
School for the Performing
Arts. College training con
tinued at Broward College,
Davie, FL, and Miami Dade
College in Miami. Umoja
was influenced by the Black
Violin duo as early as ele
mentary school. “...After
seeing them perfonn for the
first time, and meeting them
backstage...,” he expressed
his desire to one day play
like them and was advised
by Kevin Marcus, of Black
Violin to ‘practice, practice,
practice.’ Umoja took the
advice, improved his tech
niques and skills and even
tually influenced his brother
Malcolm to do the same.
The Sons of
Mystro have shared the
stage with great R & B and
Jazz artists such as Najee,
Fantasia, Charlie Wilson,
New Edition, Kenny ‘Baby-
face” Edmonds and Earth,
Wind, and Fire. As part of
the Savannah Black Heri
tage Festival, presented by
Savannah State University
and the City of Savannah,
the Sons of Mystro will be
on stage in Savannah, GA.
The concert is free and open
to the public and present
ed in part by Gulfstream,
Georgia Power, Carver
State Bank and the Georgia
Southern University Office
of Diversity - Armstrong
Campus. Doors will open at
7:00 p.m.
Stacey Abrams Thanks Local Supporters
By Tina A. Brown
Hundreds of
hard-working civic volun
teers walked into Savannah
Station - a historic train
depot - to answer Stacey
Abrams’ invitation to join
her in a “Fair Fight Action”
campaign to change Geor
gia’s electorate system.
Abrams delivered
the battle cry on Thursday
to her supporters to retain
an inclusive voter poll in the
political landscape during
2020. Abrams will decide
next month if or when she
will run for another elected
position in Georgia.
She received
1,923, 685 votes in the gu
bernatorial race in the 2018,
and her Savannah area
supporters screamed and
clapped. They expressed
their beliefs that Abrams
was Georgia’s best choice
for governor.
“We won,”
Abrams cheered.
Though Abrams
came close to being Geor
gia’s first African-American
female governor, she faced
Brian Kemp, the 2018 secre
tary of state and Republican
governor opponent. The fed
eral court has said Kemp’s
policies and the state law
allowed him to reject thou
sands of voters opportunities
to cast their votes. The state
claimed thousand names on
registration voter applica
tions did not exactly match
their state identification
cards. Thousands other reg
istrars were unable to vote
in the 2018 contest because
they did not vote regularly
and Kemp’s administration
erased them from the rolls.
He received 1,978,408 votes
and he became the governor.
Abrams said those
facts reflect an unfair contest
and the law must change.
The state of Georgia doesn’t
allow a remedy within these
constraints, Abrams said
during an interview with
The Savannah Tribune.
She pledged to be a
“persistent” political watch
captain to ensure voters can
cast their votes. “When you
have a purpose, you feel the
pain. What I can do is to be
persistent.”
Continued on Page 6
Savannah Black Heritage Festival Hosts
Grand Festival Day
The Savannah
Black Heritage Festival held
their Grand Festival Day
last Saturday, February 9th
at the Savannah Civic Cen
ter. Grand Festival Day be
gan with a historic Health
Walk tracing the steps of W.
W. Law’s Postal route. The
Annual Adult Health Fair
was held with screenings,
exercise demonstrations and
more. The Ribbon Cutting
ceremony held at 3:30p.m.
launched local performanc
es with host Magic Marc.
The annual Youth Talent
Extravaganza featured lo
cal youth talendt and the
Line Dancing Senios. The
live concert followed with
performances by The Dred
Scott Blues Band, James
Bown Acadamy of Musik
Pupils (JAMP Band) and
the headliner Mary Davis
and the S.O.S. Band. The
festival continues through
February 22. For a complete
schedule, visit savannah-
blackheritagefe stival. com
The Savannah Community
Celebrates The Life
Of Mr. David Forest
Richards, Jr.
Adams Funer
al Services announces the
passing of Mr. David Forest
Richards, Jr., 89, who transi
tioned on Tuesday, February
5, 2019 at his residence sur
rounded by his loving fami
ly-
Chief Warrant Of
ficer 4 David F. Richards,
Jr. is a native of Sedalia,
Missouri bom to the late
David F. Richards, Sr. and
Julia Christina Diggs Rich
ards. He is a World War II
and Vietnam Veteran re
tired from the United States
Anny, with thirty years of
distinguished service; with
numerous awards and dec
orations including a Silver
Star, Bronze Star and Pur
ple Heart medals for hero
ic valor. Richards’s most
outstanding award was his
induction as the first Afri
can-American in the Para
chute Rigger Warrant Offi
cer’s Hall of Fame in 1993
in Fort Lee, Virginia, Distin
guished Order of Saint Mar
tin, Quartermaster Corps, U.
S. Army with over 11,000
parachute operations world
wide without incident. He
received honors from the
legendary 555th Parachute
Infantry Associations, Inc.
“Triple Nickels” and the
Dodge Award in Fort Lee,
Virginia. In November
2018, Richards was one of
17 veterans inducted into
the Georgia Military Vet
erans Hall of Fame for his
contribution to airborne mil
itary operations which will
be displayed at the Georgia
State Capitol Complex.
Continued on Page 4
The Savannah Community
Mourns The Loss Of
Pastor Scottie Swinney
The Reverend
Scottie Swinney of Savan
nah, GA peacefully went
home to be with the Lord,
Thursday, January 31, 2019,
at the age of 57, after a brief
illness. He was the esteemed
pastor of the historic St.
Philip A.M.E. Church, 613
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Boulevard since 2012. A
native of Augusta, GA, the
Rev. Swinney graduated
from George P. Butler High
School, Morris Brown Col
lege, and Turner Theologi
cal Seminary (ITC). He was
also licensed in Real Estate
by the State of Georgia Real
Estate Commission.
The Reverend
Swinney distinguished
himself from the time of
his youth as someone who
would serve the African
Methodist Episcopal Church
(AMEC) with distinction.
He became Augusta Confer
ence President of the Young
People’s and Children’s Di
vision of the Women’s Mis
sionary Society as a teen
ager and soon answered his
call to Christian ministry.
He was a delegate to eight
AMEC quadrennially held
General Conferences. From
1992 to 1996, the Rev. Swin
ney also served as a member
of the General Board for
the AMEC and served on
the Board of Trustees for
Turner Theological Semi
nary. In addition to serving
as a “first pastor” in both
the Georgia and Southwest
Georgia Conferences, where
he maintained and updated
the structural integrity of
historic edifices, he trained
hundreds of emerging min
isters during their Board of
Examiners process in Au
gusta, Columbus (served as
dean), Atlanta, and Savan
nah. As a first-generation
college graduate, he valued
and promoted education
through scholarships and fi
nancial support to countless
youth throughout his life.
Continued on Page 7
arverRfltate
B
Louis B, Toomer
Founder and 1st President
Established February 23,1927
91 Years of Service, Leadership and Success
