Today Bullies Stink pays tribute to not one difference maker, but 16 of them. We are shining a light on the A Red Orchid Theater youth ensemble. This courageous group has taken on the challenge of educating people about tolerance, intolerance and everything in between.  Through their art, they are changing lives and informing the masses. 

ane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace. Beside presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, she was the most prominent[1] reformer of the Progressive Era and helped turn the nation to issues of concern to mothers, such as the needs of children, public health, and world peace. She said that if women were to be responsible for cleaning up their communities and making them better places to live, they needed the vote to be effective in doing so. Addams became a role model for middle-class women who volunteered to uplift their communities. She is increasingly recognized as a member of the American pragmatistschool of philosophy.[2] In 1931 she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Bullies Stink Difference maker of the day... Mayor Harold Washington

On this April 12th in 1983, Harold Washington was elected the 51st Mayor of Chicago. He was the first African-American to serve in that office.

Washington was born in the Bronzeville neighborhood in 1922. He attended DuSable High School, where he starred on the track team. After Army service in World War II, he earned a B.A. at Roosevelt and a law degree at Northwestern.

He got his political start working in Ralph Metcalfe’s 3rd Ward Democratic organization. In 1965 Washington was elected to the Illinois House. Though nominally part of the Chicago Machine, he often showed an independent streak.

Washington ran into some tax problems during the 1970s and serve a short jail sentence. However, his political rise continued. He was elected to the State Senate in 1976, and to Metcalfe’s old U.S. House seat in 1980.
A statue errected in Washington's memory at 47th and King Drive.
He had run for Mayor of Chicago in the 1977 special primary and come in a distant third. But in 1983 he saw his big chance. Mayor Jane Byrne was being challenged by States Attorney Richard M. Daley. Washington entered the contest. 

At first he seemed a long shot–in 1977, he had polled less than 20% of the vote. This time around, a registration drive added about 100,000 African-American voters to the rolls. And during the TV debate, Washington proved himself a thoughtful, articulate candidate.

In February Washington won the three-cornered Democratic primary with 37%. Most years that would have been the end of the story. Not in 1983.
A few of the old-guard Democrats mistrusted Washington because of his reform credentials. Most of them were simply not ready to have an African-American as Chicago’s mayor. The party chairman and many others swung their support behind the Republican candidate, Bernard Epton.

Epton was a State Rep with a long, liberal record on civil rights. But in 1983 he also saw his big chance. His campaign dug up every negative fact in Washington’s past and invented a few more. One of his slogans played on racist fears: “Vote Epton–Before It’s Too Late.”

Washington won anyway, with just under 52% of the vote. The next day, the Defender headline said it all: “Washington Wins, Dirtiest Election Is Over–Amen!”

After being elected to a second term, Harold Washington died in office in 1987. Two years later, Chicago's new central library was named for him.

Charles Drew was born on June 3, 1904 in Washington D.C.  In 1928 he moved to Canada and enrolled in McGill University in Montreal.  He graduated in 1933 with degrees in Master of Surgery and Doctor of Medicine.  In 1935 Charles Drew moved back to the United States and worked at Howard University as a professor of Pathology.  While working at the university he was also a resident doctor at Freedman Hospital.

Later enrolled in Columbia University in New York and began doing research on blood and blood transfusions.  While at Columbia University he wrote about “banked blood” in his writings he developed a way to preserve blood plasma so blood can be stored for long periods of time.  He discovered that by separating the plasma from the blood and then refrigerating the blood and the plasma separately they could be combined up to a week later for a blood transfusion.  He also found out that even though people may have  different blood types everyone has the same plasma.  This was an important discovery because in cases where a full blood transfusion was not needed a plasma transfusion can be given to anyone no matter the blood type. 

Before Charles Drew’s important discovery blood could only be kept for  1-2 days.  Often times blood was not available to complete blood transfusions . People often died when they lost a lot of blood because blood was not always available. This discovery saved many people’s lives. 

Charles Drew died on April 1st 1950 from injuries in a car accident.

Bullies Stink Difference Maker of the day Talia Newman. 17 year CEO Talia Newman proves that you can make a difference at any age. Starting her philanthropic efforts at the age of 10, Talia has taught kids all around the world how to make things happen for themselves and those around them. 

Today we honor Roger Ebert. Ebert was the first and if I am not mistaken only film critic to win a Pulitzer, he was an ardent and self proclaimed “ newspaper man” that critically review films and at times gave minority films a platform that the studios didn’t even bother to promote.  He was a very visible cancer spokesperson and did a lot to bring awareness to living with cancer.  The fact that he forged on even after loosing his ability to speak and eat; after his lower jaw had to be removed is a testament to the his courage and tenacity.  The fact that he took to his blog and declared that he was taking a “leave of presence “ a mere two days before he died also speaks to his wantingness to be relevant and useful until the very end.   You know as a dean, I sometimes see the harsh side of social media, I am surrounded by, “you should have never said that on twitter or take those pics of me off instagram” or something of the like.  It was refreshing to see Roger Ebert take to social media to get his poignant points across when his voice had been taken from him.  It felt good to see social media being used “for good” if you will.  Here is more on Roger Ebert. 

Today's difference maker proves that you are never too young to start making a difference. Jack Thomas Andraka (born in 1997) is an inventor, scientist and cancer researcher. He is the 2012 Intel Science Fair grand prize winner. Andraka was awarded the Gordon E. Moore Award for his work in developing a new, rapid, and inexpensive method to detect an increase of a protein that indicates the presence of pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer during early stages when there is a higher likelihood of a cure.

The result of Jack's research was a new dipstick type diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer using a novel paper sensor, similar to that of the diabetic test strip. This strip tests for the level of mesothelin, a pancreatic cancer biomarker, in blood or urine, to determine whether or not a patient has early-stage pancreatic cancer. The test is over 90 percent accurate in detecting the presence of mesothelin.[1] According to Andraka, it is also 168 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive (costing around three cents), over 400 times more sensitive than the current diagnostic tests and only takes five minutes to run. He says the test is also effective for detecting ovarian and lung cancer, due to the same mesothelin biomarker they have in common.

The Bullies Stink difference maker of the day, Mr. Charles Albert Poland. Mr. Poland sacrificed his life to make sure that the children on his bus were not in harms way when a gunman attacked. Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed as a hero who gave his life to protect the children on his bus. Authorities said a gunman boarded a stopped the bus Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When Poland tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took a 5-year-old boy

Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1858 – August 4, 1931) was an American surgeon. He was the first African-American cardiologist, and performed one of the first successful cardiac surgeries in the United States. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States.

In 1893, Williams continued to make history when he operated on James Cornish, a man with a severe stab wound to his chest who was brought to Provident. Without the benefits of a blood transfusion or modern surgical procedures, Williams successfully sutured Cornish’s pericardium (the membranous sac enclosing the heart), becoming the first person to perform open-heart surgery. Cornish lived for many years after the operation.

In 1894, Williams moved to Washington, D.C., where he was appointed the chief surgeon of the Freedmen’s Hospital, which provided care for formerly enslaved African Americans. The facility had fallen into deep neglect and had a high mortality rate. Williams worked diligently on revitalization, improving surgical procedures, increasing institutional specialization, allowing public viewing of surgeries, launching ambulance services and adding a multiracial staff, continuing to provide opportunities for black physicians and nursing students.