Page 30 - Florida Sentinel 5-14-21

National
Darren E. Bryant Makes History As Youngest Black Mayor In Illinois
Black Woman's Home
Value Jumps $100k After
She Has White Male Friend
HBCU grad Darren E. Bryant takes office after an election victory against Mayor Tyrone Ward in April, be- coming the youngest Black mayor in Illinois history. After receiving 52% of the votes, the 29-year-old will take the seat as the Mayor of the Village of Robbins in Illinois.
“I would like to thank God for this moment,” Bryant told the Chicago Defender, one of the oldest Black newspapers in existence. “It feels good, but it’sapartofmeandmyDNA being from Robbins. Robbins has a history of African Ameri- can pioneers, and once being a center of black culture in Illi- nois is astonishing. This is the people’s victory more so than mine, and it feels amazing to get it done for the people.”
Bryant has been actively in- volved in public service since he was a child. He says that both of his parents were elected officials, giving him ex- posure to local elections at an early age.
Bryant kicked off his polit- ical ambitions while at Ken- tucky State University. He served as Junior Class Presi- dent for the Student Govern-
Chicago Magazine, the city has seen unemployment rates around 30% and median household incomes less than $25,000.
Bryant has devised an eco- nomic development plan to ad- dress these challenges. He plans to focus on the following five areas:
• Commercial/Industrial Development
Sit In During Appraisal
The appraisal for a Black woman's home in Indianapo- lis, Indiana increased by more than $100,000 after she restaged her home by remov- ing Black identifiers like fam- ily portraits and African artwork.
Carlette Duffy, the home- owner, also had a White male friend present at the evalua- tion to give appraisers the im- pression the home belonged to a White person.
She has now filed a housing discrimination complaint in conjunction with the Fair Housing Center of Central In- diana (FHCCI).
Duffy seized an opportu- nity to refinance her home in a historically Black neighbor- hood just outside downtown Indianapolis. She was hoping to use the equity to purchase her grandparents' home nearby.
She purchased her house in 2017 for $100,000—and even though it was completely ren- ovated after a fire—her first and second home valuations
• • •
Residential Development Financial Development Educational Development
Job Training and Cre- “We must build our citi-
Dez Bryant Reacts Negatively To Tim Tebow Getting Signed By Jaguars After Having Not Played Since 2012
DEX BRYANT AND TIM TEBOW
‘Real Housewives Of Atlanta’ Star Porsha
CARLETTE DUFFY
came back at $125,000 and $110,000, leaving her with very little equity.
So she was prompted to push back but to no avail.
She said:
"When I challenged it, it came back that the appraiser said they're not changing it."
Because her appraisals were estimated at a value close to the initial purchasing price of her home, she decided to con- duct an experiment after hear- ing FHCCI Executive Director Amy Nelson talk to a com- munity group about discrimi- nation regarding home appraisals.
MAYOR DARREN E.
BRYANT •
ment Association. After gradu- ation, Bryant returned to Robbins to serve as Commis- sioner and Vice President at Robbins Park District. At the age of 25, he was elected as Vil- lage Trustee of Robbins.
Now, Bryant will be the youngest Black mayor in Illi- nois. Incorporated in 1917, Robbins is one of the oldest Black communities in the United States.
Although Robbins has a rich history, the village has suffered from economic disparities that have crippled community ad- vancement. According to
ation
zens,” Bryant told the
Veteran NFL wide receiver Dez Bryant isn’t taking the Tim Tebow news well.
On Monday afternoon it was revealed that Tebow was being signed by the Jack- sonville Jaguars to play tight end despite not having played in the NFL since 2012.
Bryant, who is currently struggling to find himself on a roster next season, reacted negatively to the news of Tebow’s signing.
Bryant says he’s not angry at Tebow himself but at the politics behind his signing.
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams is ad- mitting to being in a relation- ship with her costar Falynn Guobadia’s ex-husband Simon.
On Monday, the reality star posted a lengthy message on Instagram coming clean about the situation. Williams said, "Our relationship began a month ago—yes we are crazy in love."
She didn't deny that the ro- mance was moving quickly. "I know it’s fast but we are living life each day to its fullest. I choose happiness every morn-
PORSHA AND SIMON
ing and every night. Tuning out all negative energy and only focused on positive wishes. He makes me so happy
and to me, that is what matters most," the RHOA said wrote.
As Radar first reported, on April 26, Simon finalized his divorce from Falynn. It ap- pears he would have started dating Williams before the settlement was signed off on. However, he did file for di- vorce from Falynn back in January.
In the petition, Simon listed the date of marriage as of June 14, 2019. The entrepre- neur said they had been living in a state of separation and that their marriage was “irre- trievably broken.”
Williams Confirms She’s Dating Costar’s Ex-Husband, Denies Being A Homewrecker
Chicago Defender. “I call it the Big 3. We have a 38% poverty rate, 41% non-homeowner- ship, and 15% higher education rate, and that is a problem. What I plan to do is move the municipality as an investment machine that will empower people through residential de- velopment, job training, and creation. We don’t have a busi- ness district in our community to offer amenities to our tax- payers. We have to keep the dollar within the community to regurgitate and build a strong community.”
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