100 years old

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Nov 22 2012

He stayed busy, and was never a drinker or a smoker

A week from today Luke D. Dixon will turn 100 years old. That means a century of Thanksgivings.

Still, it’s a birthday he takes pretty much in stride, saying it doesn’t seem that it’s been that long.

“I feel good,” said Dixon. “I’ve been really busy. I never took drugs and I’ve never been a drinker or a smoker.”

The family is planning a big shindig of 170 or more people for the Inglewood resident at the Torrance Marriott on Saturday Dec. 1.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 22 2010

A once in a lifetime birthday celebration

LANCASTER, Calif.—Old age is a beautiful time that many do not get the chance to experience, so when anyone reaches 100, it’s a big deal, especially for Antelope Valley resident Vernon McCutchen. The mother of four, and grandmother to six grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren turns 100 on July 23.

She was born in Portland, Tenn. to George and Florence Hudson. The youngest of two brothers and one sister, McCutchen is the only of her siblings to live beyond the age of 65. 

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.