\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Norwood has always had an affinity for community. His first job out of law school was as policy coordinator at the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) for now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and he assisted his first client, The Children\u2019s Trust, with its strategic planning shortly after its creation under his consulting company, The Norwood Consulting Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
\u201cAs this district is developing itself, we\u2019ve begun to help create that narrative,\u201d Norwood said. \u201cThe reason why I wanted to do the show here in Overtown was for obvious reasons. It\u2019s a historic community where culture and entertainment has always been present.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Norwood has always had an affinity for community. His first job out of law school was as policy coordinator at the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) for now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and he assisted his first client, The Children\u2019s Trust, with its strategic planning shortly after its creation under his consulting company, The Norwood Consulting Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
The exhibition took place in none other than the Ward Rooming House, a space that was offered to him by the Southeast Overtown\/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA). This, he says, is how he found himself in the center of Overtown\u2019s current revitalization as an arts and entertainment district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs this district is developing itself, we\u2019ve begun to help create that narrative,\u201d Norwood said. \u201cThe reason why I wanted to do the show here in Overtown was for obvious reasons. It\u2019s a historic community where culture and entertainment has always been present.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Norwood has always had an affinity for community. His first job out of law school was as policy coordinator at the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) for now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and he assisted his first client, The Children\u2019s Trust, with its strategic planning shortly after its creation under his consulting company, The Norwood Consulting Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
\u201cI started understanding the jewel that we have, and wanting to share that jewel in a way that benefited the advocacy for the university,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition took place in none other than the Ward Rooming House, a space that was offered to him by the Southeast Overtown\/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA). This, he says, is how he found himself in the center of Overtown\u2019s current revitalization as an arts and entertainment district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs this district is developing itself, we\u2019ve begun to help create that narrative,\u201d Norwood said. \u201cThe reason why I wanted to do the show here in Overtown was for obvious reasons. It\u2019s a historic community where culture and entertainment has always been present.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Norwood has always had an affinity for community. His first job out of law school was as policy coordinator at the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) for now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and he assisted his first client, The Children\u2019s Trust, with its strategic planning shortly after its creation under his consulting company, The Norwood Consulting Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
In 2018 as the national treasurer for the Hampton Alumni Association, Norwood set off to showcase 30 borrowed works by Elizabeth Catlett for Art Basel. Hampton houses the nation\u2019s oldest African American art collection and he wondered why HBCUs did not have a presence in what is dubbed as the premier art fair in the Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started understanding the jewel that we have, and wanting to share that jewel in a way that benefited the advocacy for the university,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition took place in none other than the Ward Rooming House, a space that was offered to him by the Southeast Overtown\/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA). This, he says, is how he found himself in the center of Overtown\u2019s current revitalization as an arts and entertainment district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs this district is developing itself, we\u2019ve begun to help create that narrative,\u201d Norwood said. \u201cThe reason why I wanted to do the show here in Overtown was for obvious reasons. It\u2019s a historic community where culture and entertainment has always been present.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Norwood has always had an affinity for community. His first job out of law school was as policy coordinator at the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) for now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and he assisted his first client, The Children\u2019s Trust, with its strategic planning shortly after its creation under his consulting company, The Norwood Consulting Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
He attended Hampton University in Virginia, where he graduated in 1995 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in social work, and four years later found himself in Miami when he received his Juris Doctorate at St. Thomas University\u2019s School of Law in 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2018 as the national treasurer for the Hampton Alumni Association, Norwood set off to showcase 30 borrowed works by Elizabeth Catlett for Art Basel. Hampton houses the nation\u2019s oldest African American art collection and he wondered why HBCUs did not have a presence in what is dubbed as the premier art fair in the Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started understanding the jewel that we have, and wanting to share that jewel in a way that benefited the advocacy for the university,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition took place in none other than the Ward Rooming House, a space that was offered to him by the Southeast Overtown\/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA). This, he says, is how he found himself in the center of Overtown\u2019s current revitalization as an arts and entertainment district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs this district is developing itself, we\u2019ve begun to help create that narrative,\u201d Norwood said. \u201cThe reason why I wanted to do the show here in Overtown was for obvious reasons. It\u2019s a historic community where culture and entertainment has always been present.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Norwood has always had an affinity for community. His first job out of law school was as policy coordinator at the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) for now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and he assisted his first client, The Children\u2019s Trust, with its strategic planning shortly after its creation under his consulting company, The Norwood Consulting Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, he worked on campaigns for state, Senate and judicial races. Despite working in local government in New York, he started doing political work in Miami by attending local Democratic party meetings, which he credits as opening up doors for him to meet those running for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through campaigning that he met Rodney Smith prior to him becoming a federal judge. Norwood, as chair of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the time, supported Smith\u2019s appointment to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood\u2019s passion and experience in making an impact on his community is just a part of who he is, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI realized I do this because it\u2019s something that I feel that I need to do, it\u2019s something that provides meaning to my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy and the spirit that you get by service is something that cannot be replaced, and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve learned over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Chris Norwood brings Black art to historic building","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chris-norwood-brings-black-art-to-historic-building","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_modified_gmt":"2023-01-03 03:15:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=1369","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":724,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 05:00:19","post_content":"\n
A brief brush with homelessness was enough for Valencia Gunder to know it wasn\u2019t the life for her. After struggling through the financial recession of the mid 2000s, in 2009 she hit bottom and wound up living from place to place for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That bit of reality made a huge impression on Gunder. Now she helps homeless people in Miami and Atlanta, making sure they have food, clothing, hygiene products and a shave at least once a month. \u201cGrandma always made sure we had a solid foundation,\u201d said Gunder, who grew up in Liberty City and lived in Tallahassee for a few years after graduating from Florida A&M University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t accustomed to living like that, moving from place to place. I told myself I would help people when I got on my feet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gunder is the founder of Make the Homeless Smile, a nonprofit group that is making a statement in Miami. Since 2014, she has served an average of 225 people per feeding in two cities. That equates to about 15,000 meals, she said. At least once a month, every third Sunday, she and her family and friends go to a familiar corner where Overtown intersects with downtown Miami.
Gunder, a community organizer with the activist group New Florida Majority, got the idea one day while watching a video on Facebook of guys who would jump out of cars and help a homeless person. That was three years ago. She put the idea out to followers on social media, and headed to a spot near Camillus House. \u201cI went out with a few sandwiches, water and fruit. About 25 volunteers showed up and we served 75 people,\u201d she said. \u201cI was only going to do it one time. After that, everyone said we want to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Gunder hasn\u2019t missed a session. Her family and friends also help. \u201cAt first it was a few of my cousins and siblings,\u201d she said. \u201cMy aunts thought I was crazy for doing it. But after a while one of them started assisting by buying things, or giving clothes and telling people about me. \u201c Her father also helped by buying tables and coolers, and also by providing the funds for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. Two years ago, FAMU classmates in Atlanta who were aware of Gunder\u2019s work, encouraged her to expand there, which she did.
Now, her extended family of uncles and cousins all pitch in. Make the Homeless Smile offers hair cuts, grooming and personal hygiene products as well as food and beverages. Gunder said friends and family help with some expenses and she gets in-kind help from organizations such as the Eastern Stars and Masons. But she still bears a lot of the expenses. She said the feedings cost about $400 to $500 each. Once a month, at 10 a.m., the group comes to Northeast First Street and Sixth Avenue in Miami. They often are greeted by a line of men and women who know the rules. No shoving, no cutting the line. Service is provided first come, first served. And everyone must smile.
\u201cThey know our rules. They have to pay for the food with a smile,\u201d Gunder said. \u201cWe\u2019re making sure they\u2019re gonna have a good day. Sometimes we have speakers out there. They get to dance and socialize. You may come sad but you\u2019re going to leave happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"She makes the homeless smile for free","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"she-makes-the-homeless-smile-for-free","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_modified_gmt":"2023-02-04 16:47:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=724","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":847,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:33:11","post_content":"\n
Dance is a form of expression for Traci Young-Byron. But it also is a form of release. \u201cIt\u2019s my safe haven, a place to unwind. I can put the music on and free myself,\u201d said Young-Byron, the uber popular Miami dance instructor and star of the Lifetime docuseries \"Step It Up.\" She is as tough and in your face as one of her favorite dancers, Debbie Allen, who starred in the groundbreaking television series, \"Fame!\"
Young-Byron\u2019s outlet of expression has carried her for much of her 36 years on earth. Now she uses dance to carry her students to other worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show follows Young-Byron as she instructed her students at her Young Contemporary Dance Theater, the company she founded and serves as chief artistic director. But when the network approached her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to proceed because she was dealing with a personal crisis. \u201cThey contacted me via a conference call. I had mixed emotions because it was three days after my mom passed,\u201d she said. But ever the professional, Young-Byron pushed past her grief and agreed to step it up. After eight episodes, she said the series is finished. She has no regrets. \u201cI'm glad I did the docuseries because the world had a chance to see raw talent from the inner-city communities in Miami and although my company had a name,\u201d she said, \u201cit opened us up to a much broader audience.\u201d
Her passion is dance, something she has done since her parents enrolled her in lessons at age 3 in the Inner City Children\u2019s Touring Dance Company with Florene Lithcutt Nichols. She later studied with Miami Northwestern High School\u2019s Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC), before going to Florida State University, where she majored in dance.
A year out of FSU, she joined the Miami Heat\u2019s dance team, eventually becoming choreographer and team captain. Young-Byron stayed with that troupe for nine years. But she also found time to perform in concerts, music videos and award shows.
Now Young-Byron teaches dance at PAVAC, as well as YCDT. The experience \u2014 and the students \u2014 is far different from 20 years ago, she said. \u201cWhen I was dancing, we were a little more passionate about dance, and we were more supported,\u201d she said. \u201cNow there\u2019s so much with the FCAT. The arts are suffering. I feel I have to struggle and fight to get the school to respect and embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another difference, she said, is social media, which gives today\u2019s students other avenues for learning dance. \u201cThey\u2019re more distracted. When I was in school we used what we were taught in class. With YouTube, these kids seek instant gratification,\u201d Young-Byron said. \u201cThey\u2019re in a hurry to get to the end results. I want to train them to be artists and not just dancers.\u201d
Though she makes it seem easy, Young-Byron concedes things have not gone as smoothly for a dark brown girl in a field where the decision makers are largely white. At FSU, she was one of 11 Black dance majors in a program of 110. Tryouts could be brutal. \u201cBeing a chocolate dancer I had to work. We used to have to line up \u2026 I had to work so much harder.\u201d
She\u2019s proud of peers such as Misty Copeland, the Black ballerina and principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. \u201cI respect her for being African American. It gives my students more hope. She looks like me, sounds like me. That keeps me going.\u201d
Even with triumphs, setbacks and disappointments, Young-Byron will persevere and continue to guide her students. \u201cToday\u2019s generation of dancers, they like to dance, but they like to dance just so they can be the \u2018it\u2019 girl, or \u2018it\u2019 guy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach them to tap into their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Dancer steps it up to guide students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dancer-steps-it-up-to-guide-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=847","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":790,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:26:00","post_content":"\n
Ingram spends much of his time advocating for quality education for poor youth similar to the way Booker T. Washington did for disadvantaged Blacks.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Education is part of Fedrick Ingram\u2019s vision to help youth overcome the odds to achieve the impossible. During his career as a music teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High and Booker T. Washington in Overtown, Ingram has helped more than 250 of Ingram\u2019s students obtain music scholarships to college. At predominately Black Carol City, Ingram created a program that was popular in white schools: an advanced placement Music Theory curriculum that allowed students to earn college credit while still in high school.
In 2006, Ingram was named the Francisco R. Walker Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year. As president of the United Teachers of Dade, Ingram spends time in Tallahassee fighting against funding cuts in art and music education. Like Booker T. Washington, Ingram believes schools should provide alternatives to an academic education. Ingram stresses that art and music often gives students reasons to stay in school.\u00a0\u201cI chose to be an educator because I wanted to be able to influence kids the way my teachers influenced me,\u201d Ingram said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMusic saved me and kept me coming to school. Music is a subject that made me realize that I was really good at something and I wanted to excel in it. My teachers ultimately helped guide me to my mission in life, which is to ensure that all kids have an opportunity for a great education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ingram\u2019s vision for youth is based on his own life. A product of the Liberty Square Housing projects, Ingram had a severe stuttering problem growing up. But a music teacher helped him master everyday speech using breathing techniques for singing.
In 2013, Ingram was elected president of the United Teachers of Dade, where he aims to increase parental and teacher involvement in the lives of youth. \u201cI believe that our children are the life blood of who we are,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cThey need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Fedrick Ingram: An advocate for poor students","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"fedrick-ingram-an-advocate-for-poor-students","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=790","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":849,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 04:09:44","post_content":"\n
It\u2019s been one year since Lakatriona Brunson took over the reigns of Miami Jackson High School\u2019s football team, making history as the first-ever female head football coach in Florida. The physical education teacher \u2014 known to many as the tough-as-nails Bernice on \u201cSouth Beach Tow\u201d \u2014 is just as tough on the gridiron as she is on the now-defunct reality television show. But despite her toughness, Brunson received a lot of flak for being a female coach in a male-dominated sport. In fact, she still does. \u201cMan, that\u2019s never going to stop. Some people love me. A lot of people hate me. I don\u2019t care,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m still standing. Nothing can take that away from me.\u201d Brunson admits her first year was a challenge, though. After only a few games, half of Brunson's coaching staff \u2014 including assistant head coach Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame \u2014 quit unexpectedly. The team was left with a skeleton coaching staff for the remainder of the season and finished 3-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t change any of that for nothing. I take the good with the bad. I always have. That\u2019s what builds character. That\u2019s what paved my way to where I am today. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to instill in my kids: to not give up, even when the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Brunson continually stresses to her players they need to work hard and try their best in the classroom just as much \u2014 if not more \u2014 than on the football field. \u201cAcademics is important. If you don\u2019t have the grades, you can\u2019t play. You can\u2019t do anything,\u201d she said.
Brunson speaks from experience. Without the grades, she wouldn\u2019t have become a track and field and basketball standout at her alma maters, Miami Northwestern High School and Tennessee State University. She went on to play football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women's Football League, in the mid-2000s. Brunson makes sure her prot\u00e9g\u00e9s stay active in study hall and the weight room so \u201cthey don\u2019t have a chance to get in trouble.\u201d
\u201cKids get in most trouble during the off season. So I keep them busy and run them ragged all year so they won\u2019t get in trouble,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cMy goal is to get them so tired, they won\u2019t have a chance to go anywhere but straight home after school. The violence that is plaguing the youth in this community is insane. I care about these kids and I want them to be safe.\u201d \u201cWhen I can and I have the money, I even feed them so they don\u2019t have to go anywhere after school to get something to eat. They can just go straight home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, man, we need a lot of villagers up in here.\u201d
Besides her students\u2019 safety, Brunson\u2019s long-term goals as head football coach is to win Jackson a district or state title and help the school become more like her alma mater, Northwestern, where pride is concerned. \u201cThere is no school in this county that has the pride and alumni giving back to their community like the Bull Nation at Miami Northwestern,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cThat culture is missing from Jackson. I want to help build that Generals pride.\u201d<\/p>\n","post_title":"Mentoring youth a touchdown at a time","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"mentoring-youth-a-touchdown-at-a-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-02-24 07:04:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dreamersnextgen.live-website.com\/?p=849","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"total_page":false},"paged":1,"class":"jblog_block_24"};
Norwood\u2019s introduction to the arts began with his musical upbringing. He grew up in a gospel-singing family and performed around the globe as a student of the prestigious Newark Boys Chorus School<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an appreciation of culture,\u201d said Norwood. \u201cAnd the art teaches history \u2013 a museum is a classroom. So the preservation of the history of what this building represents, combined with the types of exhibits that we bring, we\u2019re showing people aspects of African American culture that even the people who are not Black that come, they\u2019re now gaining a better understanding of their own community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now showcasing the work of such individuals from Jacob Lawrence to Maya Angelou, the building has been repurposed as a free gallery housing Black artwork curated by Norwood. Inside, every piece on its wall tells a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an appreciation of culture,\u201d said Norwood. \u201cAnd the art teaches history \u2013 a museum is a classroom. So the preservation of the history of what this building represents, combined with the types of exhibits that we bring, we\u2019re showing people aspects of African American culture that even the people who are not Black that come, they\u2019re now gaining a better understanding of their own community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
