By Eleanor Boswell-Raine,
Globe Associate Publisher and Managing Editor

2008 will be remembered as a year that tested the strength and endurance of almost every American alive to experience it. Layer upon layer of challenges from a seemingly endless war in Iraq, a stepped-up war in Afghanistan, bleeding high gas prices, a plummeting economy, unraveling mainstream institutions, corruption resulting in the loss of homes, and the worst unemployment crisis in recent memory. But, for every cloud, we pray for a silver lining.
    2008 was also the year that America broke through a paradigm of historic proportion by electing Barack Obama president of the United States. While there is no question that Obama will need a strong and tough team to wade through the mess handed to him by the Bush administration, he nor his team can succeed without our support at the community level.
    For that reason I appeal to all of you to commit to doing your part to keep our communities, our families and ourselves strong and dedicated to doing what is within our power to push forward. We all have some way we can contribute to get through what lies ahead. To that end, we know that role models are important and that exemplary individuals are at work.
    The Globe will continue to chronicle members of our community who are doing their part, and encourage you to join them. This edition’s cover pages contain a small sampling of individuals and members of organizations that contributed to the spirit of community in 2008. There are so many whose names and faces are absent but whose activities filled our pages each week.
   We wish our readers and our advertisers a happy new year and best wishes for 2009.


PHOTO KEY 1. United States Marine Sergeant Mathew Zeiter was awarded a Purple Heart from U.S. Congressman George Miller. 2. On Aug. 13, Richmond lost one of its icons, Richard Griffin, who served as a city councilman for 25 years. 3. Scholarships were awarded to deserving young students by Dr. C. Diane Howell’s SEEDS organization. 4. Black Expo 2008 attracted thousands to the downtown Oakland Convention Center as corporations, nonprofits, merchants and other vendors made new connections with the community. Mayor Ron Dellums was honored by the late Dr. C. Diane Howell for his leadership. 5. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressional Black Caucus chair-elect 6. Assemblyman Sandré Swanson was elected chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. 7. 100 Black Men of the Bay Area celebrated its 20-year anniversary. From left: Jake Sloan, 100 Black Men board chairman Daryle Whyte, President Emeritus Award recipient Lloyd Lawrence and Mark Anthony Jones. 8. California Assemblywoman Karen Bass made history as the first black woman to be named speaker of the Assembly. Pictured are Fabian Núñez, Karen Bass and Sandré Swanson. 9. The California Newspaper Publishers Association selected the Globe as one of the winners of the Better Newspapers contest for its 2008 Black History Month edition. Accepting the award were Vernon Whitmore and Eleanor Boswell-Raine. 10. Obama stirred the enthusiasm of Bay Area residents as they watched his journey to the presidency. 11. The award-winning 2008 Black History Month special edition showcased noted black women. 12. Oakland’s First African Methodist Episcopal Church celebrated 150 years of service. Pictured are Bernard Tyson, Marc Morial, Reverend J. Alfred Smith, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, First Lady Mary Mayberry, Reverend Harold Mayberry and Bishop T. Larry Kirkland. 13. Black Woman Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) paid tribute to community leaders in memory of Ella Hill Hutch. 14. City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (center) and members of the Oakland Black Cowboy Association. 15. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin (second row, center) surrounded by participants and attendees at Richmond Youth Showin’Out, held at Lavonya DeJean Middle School. 16. John Ziesenhenne and his mother, Lucille Ziesenhenne, former president of the Richmond USO from 1944 to 1945, celebrated memories of the important role that women played during WWII at the second annual WWII Home Front Festival in Richmond. 17. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to help protect homeowners. Behind him, from left, are Norma Garcia, Department of Corporations Commissioner Preston DuFauchard, State Senate President pro Tem Don Perata, Assemblyman Guy Houston, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Assemblyman Sandré Swanson. 18. Richmond city leaders gathered in front of the newly opened Target Store at the Macdonald 80 Shopping Center to celebrate its opening. 19. Respected pastor Reverend Charles Belcher died at age 69 on Aug. 9. Although he had a long history in the Bay Area, he served as pastor of St. John AME Church in St. Louis. Belcher had also served as a member of the Richmond City Council. 20. The Oakland Police Department held its 12th annual memorial service to remember and honor the families of officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. The names of 47 fallen officers joined the names engraved on a marble wall at police headquarters as a lasting tribute since 1867. 21. Loni Hancock won the State Senate race and Nancy Skinner won an Assembly seat. 22. The Richmond City Council presented the Globe with a proclamation for its contribution to the community and its track record of presenting positive news about activities in the Richmond community. Publisher Vernon Whitmore and Associate Publisher Eleanor Boswell-Raine received the award presented by Councilman Nathaniel Bates. 23. The Bay Area lost Cal Davis, an entrepreneur and visionary. One of his most important accomplishments was the creation of the Judie Davis Bone Marrow Drive, organized in 1983 to encourage people of color to register as potential donors in the National Marrow Donor Registry. 24. Nearly two dozen students of the Richmond BUILD program celebrated their graduation from a pre-apprenticeship, construction skills and solar technology training program. Joining the celebration were 14 graduates of the East Bay Crafts program. 25. In 2007 the Globe introduced the “Seeking Solutions to Black on Black Crime” series, edited by David Muhammad. The series represents a two-year commitment to informing and educating readers about factors, myths, working solutions and testimonials from victims, their families and perpetrators of crime. During 2008, the Globe published 52 pages devoted to solutions to crime. 26. Oakland hosted the 42nd annual U.S. Youth Games, drawing hundreds of young athletes from across the nation. 27. 2008 Madam C.J. Walker Business and Community Recognition Awards recipients Crystal Hayling, Corporate Award; Jacqueline Rushing, Advocacy Award; Teri Jackson, Pioneer Award; and Eleanor Boswell-Raine, Entrepreneur Award, with NCBWOakland/Bay Area Chapter President Barbara Williams (center). 28. Women’s Initiative business students graduate prepared for success. 29. The National Coalition for 100 Black Women’s Sistahs Getting Real About HIV/AIDS annual billboard campaign raised awareness among women. 30. National Institute for Arts and Disabilities artists took to the runway to model their creations during the organization’s first-ever fashion show.