2 upcoming events worth noting

There are a couple of events this month I want to highlight and in which I encourage your participation and support.

The first is the Youngstown-Warren Black Caucus honoring community activists Atty. William Ron Miller and his wife, Lynnette Miller, at the organization’s fifth-annual dinner at 6 p.m. Friday at the Buckeye Elks Youth Center, 421 North Ave., Youngstown.

Serving as mistress of ceremonies will be state Sen. Nina Turner of Cleveland, a Democrat, and candidate for Ohio secretary of state.

The keynote speaker is Youngstown native Dr. Ron Daniels, currently a distinguished lecturer at York College, City University of New York, and president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century.

The Millers are staunch proponents of education, and I love the quote Lynnette has on her Internet home page from Malcolm X: “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

Ron Miller for many years served as chief executive officer for the Youngstown Area Urban League.

Lynnette serves as a guidance counselor and after-school site coordinator with Youngstown City Schools. An East High School graduate, she has a bachelor’s degree in education with a specialty in comprehensive social studies and a master’s degree in guidance counseling, both from Youngstown State University.

The Millers have long been associated with the Harambee Youth Organization. Harambee, which means “Let’s all pull together,” started as a grass-roots organization about 1980 to teach young black men and women about African history, culture and heritage.

The Harambee dancers and drummers have performed throughout the Mahoning Valley, Ohio and other parts of the country.

The Millers also were instrumental in organizing the first area Kwanzaa celebrations.

Kwanzaa, founded in the 1960s by Dr. Maulana Karenga in California, is a weeklong African- American holiday celebrated by millions from Dec. 26 to New Year’s Day.

Turner is a first- generation college graduate, community college professor and former Cleveland city councilwoman

According to her biography, she was at the forefront of the campaign to reform Cuyahoga County’s government into a transparent and accountable institution, was a key early supporter and lead sponsor of legislation that laid the groundwork for the transformation of the Cleveland schools.

She serves as Senate minority whip, the ranking member on the Insurance & Financial Institutions Committee and the Finance Subcommittee on Education, as well as a member of the Ohio Ballot Board.

Daniels was a prominent figure in Youngstown’s civil- and human-rights movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was the founder of Freedom Inc., a community nonprofit organization that directed investment into opening black-owned businesses.

He also is a former Youngstown State University professor who, for about 18 years, hosted a local public-affairs program on WYTV Channel 33.

He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Youngstown State University, a master’s degree in political science from the Rockefeller School of Public Affairs in Albany, N.Y., and a doctor of philosophy degree in Africana Studies from the Union Institute in Cincinnati.

Daniels also once ran for mayor of Youngstown and also ran as an independent candidate for president in the 1992 election. He also worked on the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign.

Tickets are still available, but you need to make your purchase by Tuesday. Tickets are $30 per person of $225 for a table of eight. To get your tickets, call either 330-519-6052 or 330-727-5758.

The second event is another free prostate screening.

The first was in June, and it went exceptionally well. This screening will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Grace AME Church, 1137 Main Ave. SW, Warren.

Doctors will perform digital-rectal exams, and laboratory personnel from Humility of Mary Health Partners will perform the blood draw for the prostate-specific antigen. PSA is an enzyme made by the prostate. High PSA levels can be an indicator the man may have prostate cancer or other prostate problems.

To register, call the Humility of Mary Health Line at 330-480-3151 or 1-877-700-4647.

The free screening is sponsored by HMHP Cancer Centers, Man Up Mahoning Valley, NEO Urology and the HMHP Foundation.

Please remember that early diagnosis is the key to curing cancer. Black men particularly have higher rates of prostate cancer than Caucasian and Asian men.

The digital exam takes less than 20 seconds, and the blood draw is nearly painless — you feel a pinch — and is over just as quickly. Men, these two tests could help save your lives, and you can’t beat the price.

A final congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Lewis W. Macklin II and everyone who worked hard to promote the successful first African-American Male Wellness Walk and Run on Aug. 31.

The turnout was great, and many men were able to partake of the free prostate, cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension screenings.

Ernie Brown Jr., a regional editor at The Vindicator, writes a monthly column. Contact him at ebrown@vindy.com.