Bite-sized Blog Book--State Lawmaker: Rep. Lloyd Daniel (Part 1)

I’ve been blessed to have a number of life altering or fork in the road moments and choices. The one that stands out in my mind today is when I was 7 years old, in the spring of 1960, and was in the hospital with an acute kidney infection. They thought I was going to die. People in my family, especially my mother, prayed for me almost constantly, as did many members of Ward Chapel A.M.E. church. Three other children in the same ward did die while I was there. One of them I thought of as a friend. I was in hospital beds and wheel chairs for so long that when I was released from Kansas University Medical Center I could no longer walk. Upon release I rolled through the hospital’s front doors. It took several painful weeks to learn to walk again.

It was the summer of the Rome Olympics and a Black female runner by the name of Wilma Rudolph was competing. She had been a victim of polio and as a child had worn braces. Doctors told her parents that she would always be cripple. The doctors were wrong. I was inspired as I watched her, on TV; win 3 gold medals for herself, Colored people and the United States. That night, I began praying and exercising my legs by running around my block virtually everyday. This was before joggings became fashionable. The neighbors wondered where I was running to or what I was running from. The street I lived on had long blocks and I ran around it time and time again, sometimes as many as fifty times. Occasional I ran with friends, but most of the time I ran alone...

Come back next Friday to hear about Rep. Lloyd Daniel

Rep. Lloyd Daniel is a writer, advocate, college professor and former member of Missouri’s House of Representatives. He lives in Kansas City. His website address is www.lloyddaniel.info

We had a great time at the Family Unity Festival at Luke Easter Park last Saturday!

Check out some of the pictures from the festival! Go to www.policy-bridge.org/educationpays for info on upcoming events!

Family Unity Festival

Welcome from Program Coordinator

Welcome, I am so excited to begin this dialogue with you. As the Program Coordinator this initiative is extremely valuable to me. Education is one of the most vital and fundamental elements to being successful. The value of education has deep roots for me. My parents made sure that I received the best education that they could provide. As it has often been said, “my parents didn’t play when it came to school.” I remember how hard they pushed me to do well and demanded that I brought home good grades. My mom once said, “that it was her job to go to work and take care of me, and the only job that I had was to go to school.” That has stayed with me and has been the source of my success. I faced many challenges that could have disrupted my path. The biggest one was becoming a mother my sophomore year in high school. Nevertheless, I was determined to give my child all that I had and more. I knew I could not do this without an education. Therefore, I completed high school, went to college and will be graduating with a Master’s Degree this August. Many of you will face the same challenges and more but there is always hope. With dedication, inspiration, role models, and motivation you too can be a success.

There is promise in grooming thinkers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and scholars. Education Pays – Get Yours is an initiative that champions that promise. Not only do we want our children to know how imperative an education is to their lives but we also want to send that message to the community at large. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and feedback. We want to know what your challenges are and what inspires you. In addition please check the website, www. policy-bridge.org/educationpays , for more information and activities.
Let’s Talk!!!

Sincerely,
Ashley R. Evans
Program Coordinator
PolicyBridge Inc.

Welcome From Blog Publisher

Welcome to the Education Pays Get Yours blog for PolicyBridge.

This is YOUR blog where you can talk with friends, encourage one another, learn cool stuff, meet successful people.

We encourage you to post pictures, video and audio. If you want to know how to use the various features of this blog just click on the comment link below my blog posts and I will get right back to you. We also invite you to help in managing these blogs. We need writers, artists, camera, sound recorders and video people if you wish to volunteer.

We would love to hear your comments to any post so you can click comment below a particular post and tell us what think about Education Pays Get Yours.

Cec

Blog Publisher

Hello, kids. I am a career journalist. My second worst education move was playing around in high school and getting low grades. I remember selling encyclopedias door-to-door one summer (ugh ! ) when I ran into a guy who offered me a paying job as a copyboy for the Kansas City Star Newspaper. It jumped started my career as a reporter and I later went on to teach at some of the top journalism schools in the country. What is the lesson here?