Man Up! Honors Sistas of the Year

an Up! Inc. is a most welcome addition to New York City’s activist community, for it calls on good and decent people to unite and get involved in the affairs of their community – by any means necessary! Founded by Andre T. Mitchell, a former Special Assistant to Council Member Charles Barron, Man Up! recruits and trains New Yorkers on how to improve the negative conditions of their communities caused by social, legal, and economic pressures.

And when people step up to do the right thing, Man Up! is eager to show its appreciation. To that end, at the Classy Grill Restaurant in Brooklyn, the organization held its first annual Sistas of the Year Award celebration to pay tribute to 15 very deserving women who are great forces in the betterment of their communities.

In order to become a member of Man Up!, a person undergoes a 60-day probationary period during which they participate in a number of social action events such as protest marches and Community Board meetings. The first five women, who were honored for their "dedicated service with loyalty and diligence," had completed that prerequisite – and much more besides – and were now being inducted into the organization.

Terry Norfleet, the President of Man Up!’s female membership, Save Our Sisterhood (SOS), was the first to be honored for her tremendous work organizing workshops and other activities to help young women develop to their full potential.

Next up was Kimberly Hill, mother of Daesean Hill, who was killed last year in a drug related shootout in East New York. She heads Man Up!’s Families and Victims of Violence Campaign. "Sister Kimberly is great," Mitchell stated, "because she can personally relate to a lot of these victims and help them recover from their grief and see how to turn a negative into a positive."

Following her was Audra Givens who so selflessly travels all the way from the Bronx to East New York, Brooklyn each day to fulfill her duties as Man Up!’s invaluable Chief Administrator. Alice Lowman, President of the Springfield Gardens Housing Development Tenants Association, was also recognized for the faithful work she’s done over many years in her Queens community.

The last inductee was Andrea Foy, Captain of Man Up!’s Hood Watch and Neighborhood Peace Patrol programs. Along with being the President of the Springfield Gardens High School PTA, Foy works with the Department of Education School Safety Division, dispatching Hood Watch teams to various schools.

Next, attention turned to ten more women being honored for their "outstanding community service." Featured was Captain Johnna Muhammad, the female Captain of the Nation of Islam Mosque No. Seven’s Muslim Girls’ Training program. She is an excellent mentor and role model not only to women in the Nation, but to other women in the community as well.

Singer, songwriter and dedicated activist Nana Soul received an award for her use of music as a tool to educate people, while the young spoken word artist, Tylibah, was honored for being a pioneer and a champion of young people as she gives voice to their issues.

There was also journalist and super-mom Nayaba Arinde who can always be counted on to cover the important community stories for the Daily Challenge, as well as Rosa Clemente of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and Know Thyself Productions. Clemente is a Latina woman who’s very proud of her African heritage and never misses a chance to speak about it wherever she goes.

Erica Ford, activist extraordinaire, was also honored. Coming from the hip-hop movement and now Executive Director of The Code, Ford remains outspoken on behalf of the disenfranchised people of Queens.

December 12^th Movement Director Viola Plummer – who’s often called "the Harriet Tubman of the modern reparations movement" – also received an award for her commitment and fidelity to the struggle.

Honored in absentia were the esteemed Council Member Yvette Clarke who, as Chair of the City Council’s Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee, is fighting hard to bring racial diversity to the Fire Department; Professor Safiya Bendele, President of the Women's Center of Development at Medgar Evers College; and Cheryl James Wray, the "Salt" in the legendary female rap duo Salt-n-Pepa. Wray, now a gospel hip-hop artist, is about to release a new solo album.

Council Member Barron also awarded each of the sistas a citation, and Rev. Kevin Mohammed, the evening’s keynote speaker, addressed the need for men to respect women because, "We won’t go anywhere if we don't honor women and let them teach us."

Throughout the evening there were also thrilling performances by Man Up! member James Chestnut, gospel singer Teisha Battle, Jamaican-born singer/songwriter Sparlha Swa, R&B vocalist Lauren, as well as spoken word artists Kahlil Almustafa and Tylibah.

To contact Man Up! Inc., call 718-512-5100 or email them at manuporg@yahoo.com.

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