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Editorial/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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When It’s Our Time To Go
hen I was a kid stay- ing with my great- grandmother in old
Central Park Village, one of the things I vividly remember were the regular visits to her apartment by a person I only knew as the insurance man. It seemed like every week he would stop through to collect a payment on a life insurance policy she purchased that she hoped would cover any ex- penses upon her death.
Even though she was on a fixed income, Auna (that's what we called her), somehow found a way to make those payments regularly. Along with the tithe she gave at church every Sunday, it was one of her obligations she never missed.
Back then it bothered me to see my G-G give what little she had to some weird looking white guy carrying a big brief- case. But, after she passed years later, I realized that the money she sacrificed was meant to ease whatever finan- cial burden we would endure when it was time for her bur- ial.
I thought about this the
other day when a friend told me about a family who had to resort to selling fried fish sandwiches in an effort to pay for a funeral for their loved one. Apparently, as is often the case, the person who died did- n't make proper arrangements while they were alive and those left behind to mourn were forced to hustle up the cash needed to pay for a suit- able send off.
Unfortunately, it's the kind of story I've heard far too often. And, each time I hear such an account, I always won- der why people refuse to take the necessary steps before- hand to relieve their family members of the stress that comes with untimely depar- tures?
It is amazing to me that, after witnessing fundraisers like these take place time and time again, people still walk around thinking it could never happen to them. As if, regard- less of how much they eat, drink, smoke or neglect their health, death is something avoidable.
Unfortunately, the grim re- ality of the situation is that,
just as sure as the sun rises, there will come a time when we won't be able to meet its glow. And, when that day ar- rives, the people we love the most will have to find some- thing to do with our lifeless bodies. Whether that means burial or cremation, it trans- lates to someone having to come out of pocket to pay for the expenses.
Knowing that this is an in- evitability, it only makes sense to have a plan in place to help with the cost.
A simple $10,000 burial policy can be acquired for as little as $10 a month, depend- ing on a person's age. With that our families can afford a decent casket, pay for an in- spired eulogy, provide limou- sine transportation to the grave site for the closest rela- tives and even host a nice repast.
No one wants to die. But the truth is that it can happen to any of us at any time.
With that being the case, if we care anything about those in our lives, we should do everything we can to make our exits as smooth as possible for them. After all, if we're willing to pay for insurance on our cars, homes and phones, pay- ing to make sure that the world doesn't come to an end once we're no longer around should be just as important.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Mayhem In God’s House: A New Year’s Resolution
magine the unimaginable. A white Georgia
teenager threatens to shoot into a Black church. A gunman walks into a church during Communion and before he, himself, was shot, shoots down two parish- ioners.
And, in New York, a demented anti-Semite stabs nu- merous Jewish worshippers before he is subdued. Perhaps, the message is clear. Now, more than ever be- fore, American churches are bull’s eyes for hate mon- gers. The question is what are churches prepared to do about it?
In the recent past, numerous organizations have been created solely to speak to church security. For a modest fee, they train church members to look after themselves, with firearms, if necessary. The result has been mixed. But the rationale is logical.
In America, our philosophy remains that church is an open-door. However, times have proven that “self- defense” is a reality even in the sanctuary.
Therefore, for the New Year, a resolution for churches should include, “Pray, but keep one eye open.” Make sure that security is part of the church discipline.
DNA And Your Ancestry
n 2018, my husband and I received one of our best Christmas presents, an
ancestry DNA testing kit and membership. Both of us grew up on farms in the Delmarva area and have known our ancestors came from West Africa for more than our major lifetime.
We discovered it more than 50 years ago when we each found out that our grandfathers both practiced a West African tradition of libation while working in the fields. Neither of our grandfathers could tell us why they always poured some of the water on the ground from the dipper and bucket from
which they drank while working in the field.
Now, we know for sure the names of the country and tribes where our ancestors came from, which include Nigeria, Senegal Ghana and Cameroon. There was no European or Native American ancestry found in our DNA as is usually shown in 50 percent of Blacks on their fathers’ side.
Genetic DNA can reveal our father’s and mother’s ancestral roots. In 2014, a genetic study found that most Blacks are 22 percent white. The study also found that the majority of American Blacks’ “ancestry comes from just 500,000 to 600,000 Africans
brought forcibly to America as slaves.
Moreover, the African ancestry of American Blacks comes primarily from six tribal ethnic groups, Yoruba, Mandenka, Bantu, San, and Mbuti. At least 10 percent of American Blacks is more than 50 percent European.
In addition, a study estimated between 27.5 and 33.6 of Y (male) chromosomes of Blacks are European origin. A major source of ancestry for American Blacks is West Africa and West Central African groups.
I encourage each of you to invest in finding out as much as you can about your ancestry using one of the top-rated DNA testing search companies. While the cost may vary, pooling your family funds and selecting a male and female to undergo the testing may be a cost effective way to find your roots. Happy ancestor hunting. Harrambee!
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5