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Join May 10, 2022 meeting

Kathy Myers is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
 
Topic: 
Anthony Wilkerson, Lima, Ohio City Council member and Dominion Energy 30 year employee
Diversity and Inclusion: Who is Responsible?
 
Meeting ID: 358 947 2094
Passcode: 495060
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Myers’ Musings, May 10, 2022
 

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Thank you to everyone who made the Kent Rotary Auction a success!  While I do not yet have preliminary numbers, I am certain that we raised over $20,000 and perhaps over $30,000.  As this was our first in-person auction in several years, I could not be happier.  Many, many thanks to the committee and everyone who participated!  If you were not able to participate, but still would like to donate, please reach out to Carol Crimi or send her a check made payable to the Kent Rotary Foundation.
 
I am on vacation this week.  President-Elect Dave will be running Tuesday’s meeting.  We have another great program lined up for this week, plus we will have birthdays AND the Stanton Student of the Month. 
 
Happy Mother’s Day to all the club’s Moms. 
 
With gratitude,
 
Kathy
2022-2023 Budget Meeting
Reminder from Chas Madonio:
There will be a meeting of the Ways & Means Committee following next week's meeting (May 10).  Check your email for more details.
Rotary Club and Foundation Tax Returns now available
Rotary Club and Foundation Forms 990 for 6-30-2021 are now available. See the links under Important Club documents in the right hand column.
Rotareminder for May 3, 2022
President Kathy called the meeting to order at 12:15. Our patriotic song was My Country ‘Tis of Thee lead by David Dix, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation by Mark Pennell.
 
Visitors: There were no visiting Rotarians. Amanda Senn introduced a former Rotarian, Tim Naftzkger, who recently began working a Portage National Bank. Denise Baba of Leadership Portage County was guest of Kathy Myers. Asad Khan’s guests were his co-workers Christine Churpek and Clinton Braganza.
 
Announcements:
  • President Kathy announced a meeting of the Auction Committee following today’s meeting and reminded everyone that Friday night is the annual Kent Rotary Auction at Underwood Hall at 6 pm.
  • Carol Crimi announced that the next Foundation meeting will be held on May 31st. Rotarians are urged to submit proposals for funding to be reviewed by Foundation board members by May 23.
 
Paul Harris Fellows: President Kathy presented Rotarian Steve Dennis with his first Paul Harris Fellow award. She also awarded Anita Herington, Sue Hetrick, Brian Bialik, Larry Lohman, and Christine Bhargava for achieving multiple Paul Harris status. Finally, she congratulated Carol Crimi for her Paul Harris +5 award.
 
May Programs: Asad Khan introduced May programs with the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reflecting Rotary International’s Code of Conduct. It is our goal to welcome people with perspectives most of us don’t often hear. May programs are listed elsewhere in this Bulletin.
 
Today’s Program: Mwatabu S. Okantah, Chair and Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Kent State University.
Before Bill Childers introduced today’s speaker, he reminded us of events related to the commemoration of May 4, 1970 when four students were killed by National Guardsmen and nine were wounded on Kent State’s campus. A candlelight vigil starts at 11 pm at the Victory Bell. At noon on May 4 there will be a program on the Commons. Pulitzer Prize winning historian Jon Meacham will deliver the May 4th Keynote Address at 7 pm in the Ballroom. Bill also noted the death last year of Alan Canfora, first of the nine wounded to pass away.
 
Today’s speaker, best known by his last name, Okantah, first came to Kent State as a student from his home in New Jersey. He was recruited by Kent as a track and field athlete and came, against the advice of family and friends, in the Fall of 1970 after the tragedy of May 4th. He subsequently graduated in 1976 and received an advanced degree in English from City University of New York. Today, he is a poet and Interim Director of the Department of Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University. Okantah lives in Akron with his wife and five children. He is author of eight books of poetry and has collaborated with the Cavani String Quartet, a Cleveland-based chamber music ensemble.
 
As a Black student from New Jersey, he initially found Kent a “curious” place for himself and other Black students. He noted that, during the run-up to May 4th when the National Guard arrived on campus, members of Black United Students (BUS) were urged to leave campus because of the likelihood they could be shot. Not so for white students. He also noted that May 4th looms large in our memory, but not so the killing of Black students at historically black colleges South Carolina State in 1968 and Jackson State later in May of 1970.
 
Noting that “Diversity only works if we are willing to listen to each other’s stories,” and “Poetry is how I see,” Mr. Okantah interspersed his talk with readings of three of his poems. Each contains a powerful story from his experience. The first honors a high school friend, a promising jazz musician, who became addicted to heroin during the time he served in the military in Vietnam.
 
homeboy
 
i remember we called
him, “Big
Daddy Elmer Cook”—
Ma Beulah’s
boy.
we were in junior high school.
he was into A Love Supreme in 1966. he was into wing’d tipped shoes, but he never conk’d
his head.
 
Elmer was into John Coltrane,
into Thelonius Monk.
he was into the “new music”
years before I would
learn it was
new.
i had been summer camp’d
into Top 40 radio “Cousin Brucie,” integrated into
stale “rock and roll.”
 
i remember Big Daddy’s
box front room on Oregon Street. he didn’t read comic books.
Trane music blasted
myopic Marvel Superheroes—
like Miles Davis,
he knew the real thing.
even then, he refused to allow
the other stuff
entry into his world.
he slept in Blues
Minor.
 
the sounds in Elmer’s room
saved my memory:
at Kent State i remembered Coltrane. white blood ran in the streets there one 70s May.
it left white
folks with a nagging after-
Nixon need
for the Average White Band— white boys turned to black blues in search of the soul
their own history stole
from them.
 
i had gone off to college.
Big Daddy went off
to Viet Nam—
neither of us came home the same. war, and whitefolks
seared scars across the bare
flesh of our souls.
we heard it in Eric Dolphy’s
Far Cry,
saw it in Monk’s Ugly Beauty ;
felt it in Bud Powell ’s
frantic piano
sadness;
horn solos
gave voice to feelings found in places words dare not tread.
 
i remember,
we called him, “Big Daddy.”
the last time i saw
him
he
was standing on the corner,
he had that far
away look.
his eyes set deep
in his head.
 
Vaux Hall
from Reconnecting Memories: Dreams No Longer Deferred ©2004
 
mwatabu s. okantah
 
You can see a performance of “homeboy” Okantah did with the Cavani String Quartet here: https://youtu.be/D_Jx4TejJsY
 
The second poem, “see him,” describes a frequent encounter he had with a neighbor after moving to Kent as a student.
 
see him
 
i see him, almost daily.
he waves,
a desperate kind of wave, like,
“hello—I’ll wave, too …
i no longer see color.
in my years
it seems I have been forgotten.
i just don’t want
to be forgotten.”
 
i see him. know his emptiness. feel it.
 
he sits, bringing to mind
Anderson grotesques.
Winesburg was a town name Clyde—
in Ohio. Clyde is real.
so is this man.
real. Old.
white.
 
he sits …the sun blazes black shadows.
he sleeps, actually.
his long-years resting heavily
upon wrinkled eyelids.
 
he sits.
i wave life back …
 
Tree City
(Kent, Ohio)
 
From Muntu Kuntu Energy: New and Selected Poetry ©2013
 
Mwatabu S. Okantah
 
In 1988, Okantah was part of a trip to Nigeria sponsored by the Rotary Club of Akron. While there, he visited a cave where Africans hid from slavers looking to kidnap them and take them to the new world. He wrote “African tree” after his time spent in this sacred place.
 
African tree
 
giant silk cottonwood,
massive,
mystifying, majestic,
standing as the tallest tree in the forest. mighty tree, how many rains,
how many dry seasons
have you wind-song weathered?
how many times
have your leaves whispered
stories of black ages?
 
talk to me old African tree,
tell me our story
from unknown pages.
talk to me,
master of the forest tree,
pointed skyward,
grayish green white against the horizon. teach me to stand
Afreekan tree.
your kidnapped
now lost
children in need
of tall trees
to grow
masters in a still hostile forest.
 
i stand in your shade
charmer tree,
rid me of this bitterness,
bind these wounds,
heal these scars lashed across
the bare flesh
of my imagination.
 
restore me magical tree,
resurrect Africa’s
dispersed children once more
upon that stage
of history
only you
in your tree-wisdom can
know.
 
grant me harmony
old African tree,
protect me
inside the Ogbunike Cave*
black warmth
of your
long shadows.
 
i stand before you ancestral tree,
envelop me
in the darkness of your
Niger area
love …
 
Nigeria
 
*Ogbunike Cave is near Onitsha and the Niger River in the Midwestern region of Nigeria. It is a location where Africans hid from slave raiding parties during the Maafa.
 
From Guerrilla Dread: Poetry for the Heart and Minds ©2019
 
Mwatabu S. Okantah
 
In closing, Okantah reminded his audience that the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion will only be achieved if groups like Rotary and white people in particular are willing to discuss the issues among themselves and also listen to the stories and perspectives of others. He left us with the thought that the story of how America became great is not always a good story. Young people need an education that will enable them to become citizens of the world
 
You can find out more about Okuntah and his poetry here: www.mkepoet1.com
 
Today’s Response: Doug Fuller thanked Okantah for his talk and noted that it was one of the most impactful presentations he’s heard at a Rotary meeting.
 
Respectfully submitted
Thomas Hatch
Read more...

Rotary Club of Kent Ohio - Videos

Rotary Club of Kent eBulletin Submissions
Information in this eBulletin comes primarily from the Rotareminder, board meeting minutes, and stories submitted by members. 
 
If you have any Rotary stories, events or speaker information to benefit the Club, please submit it to info.rotarykentohio.org@gmail.com. We will add it to the next appropriate eBulletin.
Speakers
May 10, 2022 11:45 AM
Diversity and Inclusion: Who is Responsible?
Diversity and Inclusion: Who is Responsible?
May 17, 2022 11:45 AM
Litigation Allowing Women to Join Rotary
May 24, 2022 11:45 AM
Critical Conversations in Kent
May 24, 2022 11:45 AM
Critical Conversations in Kent
May 31, 2022 11:45 AM
Annual Kent Rotary Foundation Presentation
View entire list
Sponsors
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Download the website sponsorship guide
Upcoming Events
Rotary Ways & Means Budget Meeting
May 10, 2022
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
 
Online -Kent Rotary Club Board Meeting
Online
May 19, 2022
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
 
Kent Rotary Club Meeting
Jun 07, 2022
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
 
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Chris Martin
May 3
 
Christie Anderson
May 7
 
Tom Myers
May 7
 
Bill Arthur
May 16
 
Sharon Sledzik
May 19
 
Bill Nome
May 21
 
Will Underwood
May 21
 
Doug Fuller
May 22
 
Larry Wright
May 23
 
Anniversaries
Bill Doane
Shirley (deceased 2015)
May 3
 
Club Information
Meetings may be attended in-person or via Zoom.
Kent
Service Above Self
Tuesdays at 11:45 AM
United Meth. Church
1435 E. Main St.
Kent, OH 44240
United States of America
Mailing address: Rotary Club of Kent P.O. Box 6 Kent, Ohio 44240
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President
 
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Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Membership Director
 
Program Director
 
Service Projects Director
 
Outreach Director
 
Club Administration Director
 
Ways & Means Director
 
Immediate Past President
 
Foundation Liaison
 
Youth Protection Officer - Chair
 
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