NOISE has been republishing “Unleaded,” a joint investigation by the Missouri Independent and the Midwest Newsroom exploring the issue of high levels of lead in the children in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. This week NOISE is featuring a previously unpublished 2020 profile of Ronald Johnson, an Omaha victim of lead poisoning. If you would like to share your story of lead exposure or poisoning, contact NOISE.
Read MoreIn 1865, the Civil War was over and Nebraska was still a territory, two years from statehood. In Omaha, a handful of worshippers established the first Black Church in Nebraska in a private house near downtown. Leo Adam Biga brings NOISE readers the fourth installment in our series “The Black Church in Omaha,” profiling St. John African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a pillar of the North Omaha community for 157 years.
Read MoreSerial entrepreneur Candice Price is building a serious business portfolio in North Omaha with her innate sales savvy and service-minded ethos.
Price and business partner Ron Devers own Home Team Auto Sales, HT Towing & Repair and Sapphire Grill, a mobile catering trailer.
Read MoreLeo Adam Biga continues NOISE's heritage series, "Black Churches of Omaha", to highlight not only the historical significance of church in our community but also the important roles these institutions have played for Black/African Americans during the American Civil Rights Movement. Our third installment of “Black Churches of Omaha” features Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church. Here, Pastor Terry Arvie is committed to restoring the sanctity of the church in our community, as he believe the Black church remains to be a vital gathering place.
Read MoreThe thread of that rich fabric traces back to early 20th century Harlem, New York. The Eures made their way to the northeast following a progression of freedom from Louisiana to the cotton, peanut and tobacco plantations of Virginia to the Carolinas to New York and New Jersey. The man who transplanted the family line to Omaha, Albert Eure Sr., was a dancer’s son. In the mid-1940s, he married budding actress and activist Dorothy Jane Watson whose father was a storyteller and sister a minister. The dye was cast.
Read MoreLeo Adam Biga is exploring the role of Omaha’s Black Churches as historical fixtures in the community, including their importance during the American Civil Rights movement. Our second installment of “Black Churches of Omaha” features Zion Baptist Church. Zion has been a bedrock of faith and fervor in the Omaha Black community. Before and during the civil rights movement, Zion took a leadership role here in the struggle for equal rights. Even to this day it continues to be a place where people find sustenance and strength for their own self-determination.Use the link in our bio to read about this legendary North Omaha church.
Read MoreCertified family life educator Kara Warner is on fire with the idea of living her own best life and helping others do the same. The owner of the family life education and coaching business Manifested Purpose LLC may be a new entrepreneur – she formally launched her business in 2020 – but she’s prepared herself for this work since the start of the new millennium.
Read MoreAny mention of Omaha and the Boys of Summer is bound to stir up the name of native son Bob Gibson. The Baseball Hall of Famer, who died last fall at age 84, made such an indelible impact on the game that even in death he remains arguably the greatest gift the city’s given the sport. Close behind is the City of Omaha serving as host of the College World Series since 1950. For most of that span the CWS unfolded at Rosenblatt Stadium, demolished in 2012. Since 2011 the series has called TD Ameritrade Park home. The 2021 series runs there June 19–30.
Read MoreSince the dawn of the new millennium Omaha native film-television actress Yolonda Ross has stamped herself a chameleon for playing sweet or sour, straight or gay, street or bougie. This veteran of episodic dramas (Law and Order, Treme, Chicago P.D.)
Read MoreTra-Deon Hollins and Tre’Shawn Thurman might as well be biological brothers for how closely bound they are by basketball. These local hoops stars trace a decade-plus journey together of courts, rims, backboards and sneakers. After being teammates in high school (Central) and college (UNO), and then with The NBA G League’s Grand Rapids Drive, they’re now trying to revive pro basketball in their hometown with Omaha’s Finest.
Read MoreOnyx Street Boutique owner Sharnelle Shelton sells the legacy T-shirt “Audacious Women of Omaha” with the names of Black icons Cathy Hughes, Brenda Council, Gabrielle Union and Mildred D. Brown printed on it. “It’s a signature shirt I make. One of my most popular. It’s an attention-grabber and educational about women from Omaha,” said Shelton, who at the rate she’s going, may see her own name added to that list of bodacious ladies. Her Facebook profile says it all: Mother. Fashion Maven. Mogul.
Read MoreBlacks who fled the South during the Great Migration formed churches in their new landing spots, including Omaha. Migrants seeking to make new lives in unfamiliar locales could count on welcome, community and support from the church, said Black studies historian Jade Rogers of Omaha. “People migrating north used those connections to maneuver through their new world and new life and new city and surroundings.”
Read Moreour generations of Goodwins have aspired to affect positive change in northeast Omaha through their social capital investments. In their roles as entrepreneurs, activists and community leaders, they are well-positioned stakeholders and influencers who leverage their history and enterprise in the area.
Read MoreThe old adage goes there’s no substitute for experience. The same could be said for resilience. Budget to Success owner-founder Nicka Johnson, a North Omaha native, possesses an abundance of both.
The financial literacy and credit repair coach has learned to use challenges as catalysts for goal setting and achievement. Raised in a single-parent home with a cycle of teenage pregnancy, a biological father who chose not to be in her life and a brother lost to the streets, she’s moved forward rather than remain stuck.
Read MoreIt’s not often the messages of a performing artist and of a human services provider converge as neatly as they do with singer-songwriter Jocelyn and the Boys Town National Hotline. The artist and the 24/7 resource are aligning the positive affirmations they employ to partner on a self-love themed Kindness Tour for schools nationwide. The project is getting a boost from HOPE Squad, a schools-based peer-to-peer suicide prevention program.
Read MoreWhen it comes to the Legacy of Black Families, the Metoyers have made a lasting impression as entrepreneurs, professionals, community activists, youth service providers and performers.
Read MoreMaking the most of second chances to overcome teenage pregnancy, homelessness and incarceration, Henderson’s become a community advocate and entrepreneur. Her Brilliant & Resilient affirmations line is the latest expression of her desire to lift up others.
Read MoreUpon graduating Creighton University in 2012, Lindsey Stennis did what many young Omaha professionals do: she left for greener pastures. The trend’s especially true of Black millennials escaping the city’s glass ceilings and segregated spaces. But after earning a master’s in social work and a law degree at St. Louis University, then embarking on a legal career in the South, she found reason to return. Now she’s realizing a social entrepreneurial dream that brings full circle a life-changing event in her past.
Read MoreLegislation passed last session in the Nebraska Unicameral creates a mechanism for supporting the formation of creative or cultural districts as economic development catalysts in communities statewide.
LB943 introduced last year by Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt mandates the Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) develop a plan to certify such districts. These cultural nodes would be distinguished by a distinct sense of place and history, along with amenities and activities, within certain defined boundaries.
Read MoreLove, an adjunct professor in Black Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, first made his mark upon his return in 2006 by launching the North Omaha Voter Participation Project. The next year he inaugurated the Hungry Club community forum at Big Mama’s eatery. Within 10 years, he self-published his book, Economic Cataracts: A Chronicle of Efforts to Remove the Obstacles of Urban Community Engagement and Economic Inclusion.
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