Atlantic City Weekly

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ATLANTIC CITY — How could I have missed so many great cook-outs, parties and dances?

Because I didn’t learn of the AC/DC Connection until a few years before I moved back to Atlantic City.

I lived in the Washington DC/Maryland area for almost 25 years, but it seemed whenever this group was “partying with a purpose” in Washington, D.C., or its Maryland suburbs, I was up here in A.C. visiting family.  

When I learned of the AC/DC Connection's existence, I did manage to attend of couple of these old-school dances when they were at Wash’s, but this year’s coincides again with my family reunion.

If you can get by the Soldier’s Home on July 9, however, you are sure to have a blast and catch up with many old neighbors, friends and classmates.

The Atlantic City/DC Scholarship Connection began in 1993 with only nine members who wanted to assist African-American Atlantic City High School graduates in applying to and attending a four-year college or university in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Since 1994, over $16,000 in scholarships have been awarded and students have been mentored while attending college in D.C. Members who live in the Washington, D.C., area have also made themselves available to scholarship recipients 24/7, acting as students’ families away from Atlantic City during their college years. 

Periodically, they meet or have a luncheon to monitor the student’s progress.

Today, there are two committees, one in Atlantic City and one in Washington, D.C., and they are always looking for new members. There has been no shortage of deserving A.C.H.S. students who plan to attend college in the D.C. area as so many of the AC/DC Connection members did many years ago.

This year’s scholarship dance is $20 in advance and $25 at the door. It is a bring-your-own event, which begins at 9 PM, at the Soldier's Home facility in Atlantic City.

Community Updates

1.The investigation into the death of Nadirah Ruffin continues. Please keep her family in your prayers and report any new information to Atlantic City Police Chief Ernest Jubilee.

2. Last Saturday’s Walk for Health event, led by Councilman-at-large Mo Delgado, was a success as I witnessed many residents, families, exercise buddies and children signing up early that morning.

Bottles of water and bags of fresh blueberries were given to each of us as we began the walk from Kennedy Plaza to the Showboat and back. Atlantic City Health Department employees handed out free information on diabetes, cancer and healthier eating choices, and also checked blood pressures and cholesterol levels. 

Later, there was yoga, line dancing and a Zumba demonstration. A good time was had by all.

3. Well, the Dave Matthews Caravan may have been jammin’ at Bader Field on Saturday, June 25, but for locals, the action was all voices, viddles and vendors at Gardner’s Basin. After several opening acts, the evening of free music ended with the Manhattans and Gerald Alston.

Families stayed for the whole day, listening to great live music, many while cooking lunch and dinner.  Others strolled the premises patronizing a wide assortment of vendors selling everything from ice cream cones and fried fish to jewelry and African-inspired artwork. 

This event is part of the free music series sponsored by the City of Atlantic City and the Atlantic City Free Public Library. The next one is scheduled for July 16, and will end with the Temptations! See you there.

Turiya S.A. Raheem was born and raised in Atlantic City. Currently an English teacher at Atlantic Cape Community College, she loves to describe her neighborhood as “the other Atlantic City,” because it was not the casino-resort mecca most people know today. It was a place with a “cozy, down-home feeling” as she describes in her 2010 book, Growing Up in the Other Atlantic City: Wash’s and the Northside.