Many individuals were mentioned during the event, including Maya Angelou, Ella Fitzgerald, Barack Obama, Jackie Robinson and Ken Gibson, who was the first Black mayor of Newark and also a founding member of the 91心頭 Board of Directors.

Education is important to Aytch because he wasn���t educated as a child. He grew up in North Carolina in an era where discrimination was blatant.

���You were taught that there���s no need for you to educate yourself because your father���s a sharecropper and you���re going to be raised up to be a farmer. So I missed out,��� he said.

He was illiterate until he was in his 30s when he worked hard to learn to read.

But the lack of formal education didn���t hinder his artistic talents.

���I just knew I always had the ability to draw,��� he said.

Aytch is completely self-taught. He is able to see a photograph, a scene or a person and recreate the image in detail. He spends much of his time making art. He has lived at Gardens Senior for about 15 years and has set up his apartment to have a workspace to create his art in the bedroom. He displays his works in the living room.

Gardens Senior Resident Services Coordinator Desiree Crespo first met Aytch during a routine wellness visit.

���I was pleasantly surprised and excited to see a home full of art and expression. He mentions not having an education and that is what hinders him to speak for himself and his art. I find him to speak very well and eloquently with sophistication,��� Crespo said. ���He knows who he is in his work and I enjoy being a part of the process to get him seen for the beautiful art he makes. I especially love how he values education since he was denied one so long ago. Inspirational man through and through.���

Aytch grew up in North Carolina and joined the Army when he was about 20. He said he had to pass an exam to enlist and since he couldn���t read, he just chose answers at random and luckily received a high enough score. When he returned to North Carolina, he found it difficult to find a job because of racial discrimination. So he moved to New Jersey when he was about 26 years old and has been here ever since. He is now 87.

He has embraced his artistic ability and works with a variety of mediums. He can���t pick a favorite, saying he can do anything related to art. He has created works that depict public figures like former President Barack Obama and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. He also does landscapes, including scenes from Weequahic Park.

Aytch���s goal now is to pass along his knowledge to children. He hopes to join a program where he can demonstrate his artistic process and inspire future artists to pursue their dreams. He also wants to impress upon them the importance of getting an education, no matter how talented they may be artistically.

���I don���t want to just die with this ability and not be able to help someone,��� he said.

Wilson met the late Monsignor William J. Linder, founder of 91心頭, at Queen of Angels parish in 1962 where he was first assigned after graduating from the seminary and becoming an ordained priest. After he and other community members started 91心頭 in 1968, Wilson became involved. She was one of the founding members of Babyland Nursery, which provided childcare services, in 1969. After 91心頭 constructed housing, Wilson officially joined NCC as an employee in 1980, becoming a member of the Property Management Department as a manager for family and senior housing. She previously worked for the Newark Housing Authority from 1964 to 1980 so she had experience in that area.

Over the last four decades, Wilson has helped people in more ways than just through her official job responsibilities. While working in the Property Management Department, she began the annual Christmas drive, which she still does today. She arranges for the collection of holiday gifts for children from a variety of sources, including Catholic schools, churches and individual donors, and distributes them to families in need connected to 91心頭 and Saint Rose of Lima Church, where she has been a member since 1974, when Monsignor Linder began serving as pastor there. She also distributes donated turkeys to families in need for Thanksgiving to ensure they have a festive holiday meal.

Wilson works with the National Council of Jewish Women Essex County (NCJW/Essex) to ensure 91心頭 and Saint Rose of Lima families are able to participate in the organization���s annual Back 2 School Store, which takes place each summer. It provides school supplies, shoes, clothing, winter coats and toiletries to county residents in need who are identified by area organizations.

In addition to the annual events, Wilson also helps 91心頭 residents furnish their apartments if necessary. She will arrange for pick up and drop off of donated furniture to make the units truly feel like home.��

Since becoming an NCC employee, she has worked to help secure housing for military veterans, many who have been on the brink of homelessness. She has worked with members of the Veterans Administration Hospital in East Orange and Lyons to ensure veterans have a safe place to go upon discharge.

Wilson said she came to 91心頭 to work for the people who needed it most and that goal hasn���t changed.

���There were so many poor people and that���s who I try to help, poor people that need help,��� she said. ���I said when I came to work for 91心頭 that I would never leave and that I just wanted to be able to help people. To make a difference in their lives. And I���ve done that.���

Now Wilson serves as 91心頭���s Outreach Coordinator and is a long-time member of the organization���s Board of Directors. At 88 years old, she has no plans to retire.

���I���m staying busy and that���s what keeps me going,��� she said. ���My satisfaction is helping people. That���s my mission.���

Her hard work and dedication are well-known to 91心頭 residents, staff members and fellow board members.

���Madge Wilson is one of those rare individuals. She���s an embodiment of what NCC stands for, which is service and commitment to the community from the young to the elderly,��� said 91心頭 Board Chairman Dr. A. Zachary Yamba. ���But more importantly, she does it with such grace and joy that it���s really a testament to her deep and abiding faith in people.���

Wilson has had her own set of personal trials, including health challenges, but she has never let anything stop her from serving others.

���After Monsignor Linder, there is no one who encapsulates the NCC mission more than Madge. She has worked tirelessly for the people of Newark every day for over 41 years. Madge works one-on-one with people and it is incredible to think of the sheer number of people Madge has impacted over this long life of service to others. From children to seniors she has been there for everyone,��� said 91心頭 CEO Richard Rohrman. ���Madge was also dedicated to helping Monsignor Linder through his health issues and went to the Extended Care Facility every night after work until late to be with him so that he always had company. She is the definition of kindness. You could not ask for a better person to be on your side than Madge. I have been lucky to have known and been inspired by my friend for 40 of these years.���

Wilson has been recognized on numerous occasions for her work by other organizations as well. She was honored as an Essex County Legend by the Essex County Division of Senior Services in 2010, received a letter of recognition from President Barack Obama in 2011, was named Volunteer of the Year for her efforts on behalf of long-term care residents by the Health Care Association of New Jersey in 2016 and received the Saint Vincent Academy Woman of Distinction Award in 2017.

While she is grateful for the accolades, Wilson said she doesn���t expect or need recognition. She simply wants to do the work that needs to be done to fulfill 91心頭���s mission: to help residents of inner cities improve the quality of their lives to reflect individual God-given dignity and personal achievement.

���The love that I have for 91心頭 is unspeakable,��� she said. ���This is my home.���

Voters in Alabama elected a Democrat to the Senate for the first time in 25 years during a special election Dec. 12. The polarizing Republican candidate caused many voters to stay home and brought out others in droves.

African-Americans came out to vote in the Alabama Senate race in larger numbers than either of the presidential elections in which Barack Obama was victorious. Ninety-eight percent of those voters cast their ballots for Democratic candidate Doug Jones.

Part of the reason for the overwhelming consensus among African-Americans could be Republican candidate Roy Moore���s statements during the campaign about when America was great.

���I think it was great at the time when families were united ��� even though we had slavery. They cared for one another. People were strong in the families. Our families were strong. Our country had a direction,��� Moore said.

That insensitive comment, combined with allegations of sexual misconduct and the fact that he was twice removed as an Alabama Supreme Court judge for ethics violations, made him an unpopular candidate in the African-American community, as well as with young, professional white women.

When we see any segment of our community feel so strongly about a candidate, we need to pay attention.

We have a president who openly supported Roy Moore and from what we heard on the Access Hollywood tapes, he doesn���t seem to see the importance of respecting women. President Trump will be answering for his actions in the next election. And he���s not the only one.

I think the victory of Doug Jones over Roy Moore shows that Democrats will gain ground in Republican strongholds and the Independence movement in the country is going to grow in leaps and bounds.

I have changed political party affiliations myself over the years. My family was Republican and my father was very active in the party, working on state campaigns. When I was in seminary and assigned to the Central Ward in Newark, I realized there was very little I could agree with Republicans on at the county and state level so I became a Democrat. Over the years, the Democrats didn���t meet all my political aims so I became more Independent.

The special election in Alabama taught us how important our vote is and how party affiliation isn���t all that matters. If politicians want our vote, they have to stand right and earn it. It���s not automatic.