Newsletter Archives - 2005
October 24, 2005
Lenora A. Hudson, President
Board of Directors/South Region
I am pleased to congratulate the Oklahoma Chapter of the
National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice on the 16th
Annual State Conference and Training Institute held at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Oklahoma City, Ok, September 21-23, 2005.
The conference theme: NABCJ: Committed To The
Cause of Justice and the Spirit of Unity.
The conference attendance was again one of the best in
conference history for the organization. The conference
participants were represented from various areas of the criminal
justice arena throughout the state to include the Office of
Juvenile Affairs.
Mr. LL Young spearheaded our second golf tournament that
kicked off the conference, approximately nine teams participated
and it was a great success! Then there was the Gospel Fest
that was absolutely most rewarding. Special thanks to
Professor Orlando Smith and the Oklahoma Chapter of the Gospel
Music Workshop of America, Sherol Darko, Don Brown, and
Charlotte Forh.
The Keynote Speakers:
Ms. Addie Richburg, Chief Domestic Strategist
for the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and
its affiliate, the National Alliance of Faith and Justice
Association, challenged the membership to “Look Beyond Self
and Make a Positive Contribution,” to serving the
organization, as the Opening Session Speaker, that should have
energized conference participants to become more committed
through actions and less talk. Banquet Speaker, Dr.
Ernest Holloway, Retired President for Langston University
the only Historically Black University in Oklahoma, put the
icing on the cake as he challenged the membership to become more
involved in community activities. He stressed the
importance of education and the positive affect it will have on
our children. Dr. Holloway displayed his concern for the
young people and his desire to continue to help shape the lives
of our youth. He is committed to Langston University and
its students---- past, present, and future. He delivered a
short straight to the point
“powerful” message to the organization.
Those involved in putting the program together did and
outstanding job on providing thought provoking and very
informative workshops that were presented throughout the
conference. The Leadership Panel that consisted of The
Honorable Mike Shelton, US Attorney General, Rozia
McKinney-Foster, Reginald Hines, Assistant Deputy Director,
Division of Community Corrections and Warden Eric Franklin,
James Crabtree Correctional Center provided additional insight
on being a good and effective leader. Additional workshops
were: Domestic Abuse, Mental Health Issues in Corrections,
Family Justice/Literacy, Re Entry, Implementing Evidence-based
Principals in Community Corrections just to name a few.
The organization served as host for the Strength Training
for Community Correctional Practitioners, and approximately
sixty-five community correctional staff participated.
Special thanks to Deputy Director Justin Jones for the
opportunity to serve as host.
The Jackson, Dickens, Logan Scholarship
was presented to Lanisha Cole in the amount of $1000.00.
She is currently enrolled at Oklahoma State University at the
OKC campus and is majoring in Psychology. Part of her essay
stated that she was the daughter of an offender that was
incarcerated for a crime that he didn’t commit.
Carolyn Rhone was selected as NABCJ member of the Year, The Honorable
Opio Toure’ was selected for the Community Service
Award and Etta K. Thomas was selected for the Presidents
Award.
A special tribute was paid to Theodore “Ted” Logan as the
chapter unveiled a banner, re-naming the Annual State Banquet to
the Theodore “Ted” Logan Annual Banquet. Mr. Logan is a
long time NABCJ member on both the national and local level. He
is dedicated to the cause and committed to the goals and
objectives of the organization. He has spent countless hours
for the betterment of criminal justice and currently serves on
the Board of Corrections. He served as 2004 Conference Chair
and is past Board member/South Region on the National level and
he is very involved in the community.
Special thanks to Department of Corrections Interim Director
Edward L. Evans, Deputy Directors, Wardens and District
Supervisors.
Special thanks to Mr. LL Young for the commitment to the
golf tournament and for making the NABCJ Black Hawks presented
to the speakers. Mr. Young is an outstanding member that goes
over and beyond the call of duty for NABCJ.
Special thanks to Jesse Keith, American Commissary Supply
for sponsoring the Golf Tournament, Dave Miller of the GEO Group
Inc., and James Saffle, Avalon for their contribution in making
our conference a success.
As African Americans, we have past history that should
“never” be forgotten. At the same time we must continue to
focus on issues that are for the betterment and inclusion of
all.
OKLAHOMA
CHAPTER OF NABCJ involved with RE-ENTRY!!
By: Lenora A. Hudson, Chapter President
Published: August 4, 2005
A few months
ago an article was written stating the local chapter of NABCJ
had received a $2,500.00 dollar grant from the National Alliance
of Faith and Justice, (renamed from National Religious Affairs
Association) that was awarded a one time $122, 000 dollars grant
to be used for Justice Sunday.
The event
Justice Sunday is in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. The theme, however, and the hymn from which it evolved,
suggests a charge to keep we have, a responsibility, not only
before and on the holiday, but also beyond the holiday, to serve
this present age. The charge we must keep was not exclusive to
the years before his death, but the greatest tribute we can pay
to him and all those who fought so diligently for our civil
rights is to continue service with all our might beyond his
death.
The first
stage of our commitment was held in January 15, at the Lexington
Correctional Center. Dr. Major Jemison, pastor of the St. John
Missionary Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, Ok and National
President of the Progressive Baptist Convention Inc., was the
guest speaker. His topic was: “Right Side Up for a World
Upside Down”. Coloring books and crayons were presented
to One Church, One Child of Oklahoma City, Ok and Valarie
Howard, Executive Director accepted the donations. Justice
Sunday has been held at the Lexington Assessment and Reception
Center for the past 3 years under the direction of former Warden
Reginald Hines, now assistant Deputy Director for Community
Corrections and Probation and Parole.
The next
stage of our commitment was in partnership with DOC, and the
Ralph Ellison Library. Rebuilding Communities-Family Literacy.
According to the National data from the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, 3.5 million parents were supervised by the
correctional system. Prior to incarceration, 64% of female’s
prisoners and 44% of male prisoners in state facilities lived
with their children. During incarceration, nearly 90% of
children of incarcerated fathers lived with their mothers and
79% of children of incarcerated mothers lived with a grandparent
of other relative. Although research had indicated that parents
and children should visit one another, less than 50% of
offenders receive visits from their children. Oklahoma’s
incarceration rate of 622 offenders per 100,000 population is
the third highest in the nation. Among females, the
incarceration rate of 122 per 100,000 leads the nation.
Research
indicates prisoners who try to maintain their family ties do
much better when they’re released. Because children are
vulnerable to the negative consequences of the incarceration of
a parent, re-entry and after care programs that include children
can foster the strengthening and maintaining the family ties.
The
organization purchased the Bowdin Method Literacy program for
our literacy project. Eight parents from the Hillside Community
Corrections Center and ten children participated in the ten-
week program that ended June 10, 2005. Sheila Edwards an
educator for the Oklahoma City Public School was the
facilitator. The parents and children went through an
orientation process and received library cards. On June 17,
2005 an appreciation reception was held for the offender,
children, and guardians that brought the children at the
Hillside Community Corrections Center. President Hudson,
extended her appreciation to the participants as well as
presented certificates verifying the program completion.
Educational goody bags were presented to the children and Ms.
Shelia Edwards gave a snapshot of the beginning of the program
and completion at ten-weeks. The offenders (some with tears in
their eyes) stated how much the program meant to them and asked
for a continuation of the program. The participants completed a
one-hour session every Friday for ten-weeks and then a one-hour
reading session at the library on Wednesday with their
children. Books were given to the parents at each session that
were discussed at the following session, also a game of bingo
about how to help your children enhance their skills while
enhancing the parenting skills were part of the program as well
as some actual role playing.
The final
phase of our commitment was a Mock Job Fair/A Real Job Fair in
partnership with the All of Us or None Organization and the
Oklahoma Urban League. The mock job fair took place on July 9,
2005 at the Metro Tech Technology Center in Oklahoma City, OK.
The purpose was to provide ex-offenders and offenders on work
release status with the skills to prepare and seek meaningful
employment opportunities upon release from prison.
Areas
addressed were:
- How to
dress for an interview
- Learn
how to answer the dreaded question, “have you ever been
convicted/arrested of a crime
- Respond
to rejection
- How to
sell yourself
-
Communicate your strengths and weakness during your
interview
- Talk
about tax credits and the federal bonding program
Constructive
feedback regarding the offender’s skills was also discussed.
Approximately 60 offenders and 20 volunteers participated in the
event. The organization provided registration bags with various
necessities for job preparation, to include: 3 ring binders
with sleeves, pencils/ink pens, floppy disc, daily planner,
reading glasses, resume papers, envelopes, stamps, regular
paper, dictionary, business card holder, sheet protector. Also
available was a list of employers that would hire ex offenders,
where they could obtain clothing for job interviews and free
medical, etc…
Cedric Jones
an ex offender that is currently doing well offered a testimony
that was very informative and addressed how he regained his
confidence, his words of encouragement was very informative.
The Real Job
Fair is scheduled for August 23, 2005 at Latino Development
Center in the Rainbow room located at 420 SW 10th in
Oklahoma City, OK from 8:00am-12:30pm for additional information
contact Kym Humphry at
KymHump@hotmail.com or Wayne Bowman at 405-842-1682.
On behalf of
the membership of the Oklahoma Chapter of the National
Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, I salute you all for
a job well done as we stood tall on our commitment to Justice
Sunday, as a day on and not a day off! Remember “ a charge
to keep we have, to serve this present age.”
Special
thanks to: Ted Logan, Board of Corrections and dedicated
NABCJ member Justin Jones, Deputy Director Community Corrections
and Probation and Parole/Community Sentencing, Reginald Hines,
Assistant Deputy Director Community Corrections/Probation and
Parole, Ruby Jones-Cooper, District Supervisor, Oklahoma County
(for the offenders and use of Hillside Community Corrections
Center), Shelia Edwards, Educator/Oklahoma City Public Schools
and the Eastern Stars, Ann Toyer, grant writer and overseer of
the grant process, Mrs. Beasley, Ralph Ellison Liberian,
Beverly Woodson, Oklahoma Urban League, Wayne Thompson, John
Bowman and Kym Humphry, All of Us or None Organization, Deloris
Milton, LaDonna Anderson and Kim Rotelli because of your ongoing
commitment.
OKLAHOMA CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACKS IN
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ON THE MOVE!!!!!
By:
Lenora A. Cooks-Hudson, Chapter President
Published
August 6, 2005
I am pleased to announce the 16th
Annual State Conference and Training Institute to be held
September 21-23, 2005 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (formerly the
Hilton Inn NW) on Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City, OK.
The conference theme: “NABCJ-
Committed to the Cause of Justice and the Spirit of Unity”.
The program committee is to be
commended for the array of thought provoking and very
informative workshops that will be presented throughout the
conference. The workshops will include: Re-entry, Mental
Health, Domestic Abuse, Career Advancement/Retirement, and many
more. There will be a leadership panel with Rozia
McKinney-Foster, Assistant US Attorney, The Honorable Angela
Monson, State Senator, The Honorable Mike Shelton, State
Representative, Eric Franklin, Warden-James Crabtree
Correctional Center and Michael Thompson, Captain with the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol/Major United States Army reserve and
former DOC employee.
Opening Session Speaker is
Addie Richburg, Chief Domestic Strategist, NAFJ/NABCJ and
BOP, who bring a wealth of experience about legislative issues
nationwide and grants for re-entry programs. The Banquet
speaker will be Dr. Earnest Holloway, retired President
of Langston University, who has a wealth of knowledge from the
educational arena. Both speakers will be very dynamic and
informative.
The chapter will award various
awards to include two scholarships. Mr. LL Young has
spearheaded our 2nd NABCJ Memorial golf tournament
and we would encourage all golfers to please help make it a
success. The entry fee is $45.00 each for a four-man team.
All conference information can be
obtained from our website at: www.nabcjok.org/
If you don’t have a computer,
please contact: Lenora A. Cooks-Hudson, 405-425-2611, Ethel
Broiles, 405-425-2500, Ruby Cooper, 405-425-2900 or Reginald
Hines, 405-523-3075.
Please join myself and the members
of NABCJ by participating in our 16th Annual State Conference
and Training Institute. Early registration and deadline for
conference hotel rate ends August 31, 2005.
Newsletter Archives - 2004
Published: October 28, 2004
Title:
15th
Annual NABCJ State Conference
By: Lenora A. Cooks-Hudson, Chapter President
I am pleased
to congratulate the Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National
Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice on the 15th
Annual State Conference and Training Institute, held at the
Hilton Inn NW in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, September 22-24, 2004
that was indeed a great “SUCCESS”. The conference theme:
“Partnerships: Strengthening Our Bond through Reintegration,
Commitment and Dedication”. A special thanks to Director
Ron Ward for your ongoing support and participating in the
Opening Session.
Special
thanks to Deputy Directors, Ed Evans, Justin Jones, Ken Klingler,
J’me Overstreet, Debbie Mahaffey, Richard Kirby, Bobby Boone,
Michael Jackson and Scott Crow for their support.
The
conference attendance was one of the best in conference history
for the organization! The conference participants were
represented from all areas of the state and approximately 90%,
or more, were first time conference attendees. Attendees
included representatives from:
- Various
Oklahoma county jails
-
Juvenile, state, and federal facilities
- Private
sector
- Students
from Paul Quinn College, their interim Dean, Ms. Cynthia
Marshall-Liggins, and their attorney, Mr. Joseph Sage
- Students
from Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma
- Dr.
Joyce Montgomery-Scott, NABCJ National Board member, South
Region, and faculty at Grambling University.
- Willie
Scott, Chief of Security, Bureau of Prisons
- Teresa
Butt, Associate Warden, Federal Transfer Center
The
Keynote Speakers: Ms. June Elkins-Baker,
Coordinator of Substance Abuse Case Manager for the Department
of Mental Health and co-host of “Spiritual Vibration”, on KRMP
and KEBC from 5:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. each Sunday morning,
delivered an excellent message, “We Have Arrived But Don’t
Get Comfortable”, as the Opening Session speaker, which set
the tone for the conference. Banquet speaker Dr. Eric Joseph,
Chaplain, Langston University, known for his powerful,
articulate, humorous and award-winning messages on cultural
studies, faith-based and education, added additional food for
thought as he delivered an outstanding message.
The program
committee is to be commended for the array of thought
provoking and very informative workshops presented throughout
the conference. The workshops included Re-entry, Faith-Based,
Mental Health, Racial Profiling, Domestic Abuse, All of Us or
None. We had a dynamic panel comprised of municipal, state and
district court judges. The judges’ panel was unique in many
ways, it was a panel of African American females and they have
all adopted a child to raise. Some of the judges mentor at
schools two days a week. Jack Cowley, retired Warden from the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, was also a panelist for the
Faith-Based workshop. Information on how to register to vote
was available to attendees.
The
members of all committees should feel extremely proud for a job
well done! A lot of hard work was put
into this conference, a lot of determination and it showed
throughout the conference. The leadership and professionalism
just made me swell with pride to belong to such a great
organization. I usually don’t get into naming names but there
were some members that deserve the additional recognition for I
am one that like to give flowers while you can still smell them:
Ruby Jones-Cooper, Mary Jackson, Reginald Hines, Abdul Bashorun, Sharon Smith, Larry Rollerson, Etta Thomas, Charlotte
Forh, Leroy Young, Ruth Littlejohn, Glenroy Hines, Teresa Butt,
Kenneth McKnight, Leslie Fitzhugh and Ted Logan, I can’t
thank you all enough for the part you played in making this the
best ever conference!!!
Those of you
who have visited the website and read the message from the
President know that my topic is, “A Time for Change”.
Well, out of all the great things accomplished during the
conference the “greatest” accomplishment was the finalization of
both Oklahoma Chapters as ONE state chapter. A strategic
planning session took place during the conference and there was
some great information received. A process in place to review
and address the information so that the organization will
continue to move forward. A special thanks to Deputy
Warden Rick Moham, Deputy Warden Larry Rollerson and Reggie
Bradley who will serve as Region Representatives in their
perspective areas and will be a part of the Executive Board for
the organization.
The
following individuals received awards during the conference,
Ruth Littlejohn - NABCJ Member of the Year Award,
Charlotte Forh - NABCJ Community Service Award and
Reginald Hines - President Award. Mr. Ted Logan was
recognized for his leadership/dedication as the conference chair
and his appointment to the Board of Corrections. Lenora
Cooks-Hudson was recognized for her commitment, dedication,
loyalty and hard work. Deputy Director Justin Jones was
recognized for his ongoing support to the organization. Those
that attended the conference please make sure that you let your
supervisor know how appreciative you were to be able to attend,
because there were many that wanted to but were not able to
attend.
In
spite of all the good news, our work is not done!! In many
ways, it is just beginning! We know from experience that
prosperity that is not broadly shared is false prosperity. One
of the greatest challenges is moving families from welfare to
self-sufficiency, we want to help them find and keep good jobs.
We want and need more community involvement.
NABCJ has
had a long history of having a tremendous impact on staff across
the nation. I salute the members for the progress we have made
and will make, the agenda we have set, and our standards of
excellence. Cultural diversity is ever more obvious because of
your genuine support and focus on issues that generate
discussion, resolve concerns, and achieve results. As African
Americans, we have a past and history that should “never” be
forgotten. At the same time we focus on issues that are for the
betterment and inclusion of ALL!!
Published: August 27, 2004
Title: 2004 National Association
of Blacks in Criminal Justice
By: Lenora A. Cooks-Hudson, Chapter President
I am pleased to announce that the 31st Annual Conference and
Training Institute, held in Jacksonville, Florida was a success.
The conference theme: “NABCJ: Making a Difference in the
American Justice System.” NABCJ again teamed up with the
National Religious Affairs, interfaith based program and the
Black Affairs Program Managers National Training. Our situation
isn’t that much better than 2003. Because of severe
budget cuts, the criminal justice
arena continues to rely on their tradition, knowledge, and
experience and most agencies
are continuing to do more with less and less. The National
Religious Affairs program continues to be crucial because an
increasing number of children are growing up with a parent in
prison.
The Keynote Speakers: Reverend Wintley Phipps, Founder
and CEO, U.S. Dream Academy, Janie Jeffers, CEO and President,
Jeffers and Associates, LLC, and Donna Brazile, Brazile and
Associates, LLC, all delivered some challenging and powerful
messages. Ms. Brazile’s powerful message reminded the conference
participants that this is a voting year, everyone eighteen and
older should be registered to vote and everyone registered
should definitely exercise your right. LET’S VOTE!!!
NABCJ’s workshops always feature speakers of great knowledge and
intellect on a variety of criminal and juvenile justice topics
as well as interfaith based programs and community involvement.
Reverend Wintley Phipps officially set the tone of the
conference with a dynamic musical presentation on Sunday. On
Monday, he was the Keynote Speaker for Opening Session.
We were also honored with several special guests, to include Mr.
and Mrs. Jim Gondles. Mr. Gondles currently serves as
Executive Director for ACA.
Our very own Reginald Hines, Assistant Deputy Director Community
Corrections was asked to present the workshop entitled “Survival
Skills for Ethnically Diverse Administrators,” he has presented
this particular workshop for the past several years. Larry
Rollerson, Deputy Warden for the GEO Group and former DOC
employee, presented two workshops: “Reflections of Hannibal”,
co-presenter Lovie Byrd, Case Manager Coordinator, “Community
Service Anyone?”, co-presenter Charlotte Forh, Senior Training
Officer. Etta Thomas, Training Compliance Specialist and
Charlotte Forh, Senior Training Officer, presented a workshop
entitled, “Breaking Barriers to Success: You Bring the Hammer,
We Got the Nails”. It was a big hit! They will
repeat this workshop at the upcoming 15th Annual State
Conference. Rita Cooksey, Administrative Specialist and Dr. W.
L. Haskins, COPE Inc. were among the workshop presenters. Etta
Thomas, Training Compliance Specialist, and Betty Nicholson,
Administrative Assistant, also served as workshop moderators.
Lenora Hudson, Regional Services Coordinator, West Central
Region and Chapter President, was co-chair of exhibits and
served as a moderator. A justice forum of African-American
female leaders shared their ideas and advice about the
importance of exceeding the standards in order to be recognized
for the value of their work.
CONGRATULATIONS to Reginald Hines! He was elected
to serve another 3 years term on the National Board of Directors
and Lenora Hudson was elected 1st Vice President of the National
President Council.
The 2005 National
Conference will be in Dallas, Texas July 23-28.
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