Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, “The Mighty” Southern Region is hosting its 94th Southern Regional Leadership Conference and 55th Southern Regional Amicae Leadership Workshop from June 8 – June 10, 2023. The conference site is the Marriott Rivercenter, located on the River Walk at 101 Bowie Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205.

The theme,“Celebrating 75 Years of Providing Worldwide Service as Zetas and Friends,” is aligned to Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated’s efforts to address and bring awareness to health disparities and social determinants in Texas and Louisiana.  The Southern Regional Leadership Conference is hosting two events that are open for the public to attend: a Health Justice Townhall and a Public Program that includes a Night of Performing Arts.

The Southern Regional Health Justice Townhall is June 8, 2023, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will be moderated by Dr. Stacie NC Grant, International President and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. The town hall will provide a platform for open and honest dialogue on health justice, healthcare, health disparities, and social determinants.  The panel will consist of experts in the fields of health, civic and social advocates and leaders who serve as Champions for health justice and equity. 

“The Mighty” Southern Regional Public Program is June 9, 2023, from 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  It will consist of recognition of San Antonio community leaders who are Embracing the Extraordinary with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, and a Night of Performing Arts featuring Billy Ray Shepard.   

• SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego provide complimentary one-day admission to military veterans and their families
• Active-duty military members and their guests continue to enjoy one-day complimentary admission all year long
• SeaWorld has offered free admission to U.S. military for more than 20 years
• More than 10 million U.S. military guests and their families have visited the park at no charge through the Waves of Honor program

SeaWorld will honor Military Appreciation Month with free one-day admission for U.S. military veterans and up to three guests to its SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Antonio, and SeaWorld San Diego parks. Veterans can register for this offer through May 14^th and have until July 9^th to visit the parks with their free tickets.

Active-duty military and their guests continue to enjoy one-day complimentary admission all year long. The offers are part of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment’s Waves of Honor program, a longstanding partnership saluting active-duty military members, veterans, and their families by offering special pricing and promotions throughout the year.

For more than 20 years, SeaWorld has been proud to provide complimentary park access to members of the United States military. More than 10 million guests – active-duty military members, veterans, and their families – have enjoyed free admission to the company’s parks through the Waves of Honor program. Whether it’s educational animal experiences or thrilling attractions, SeaWorld invites military families for a day of family fun on us. 

“We are proud to honor active-duty military, veterans and their families with a complimentary visit to one of our parks,” said Marc Swanson, chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. “The Waves of Honor program extends a small token of our appreciation to members of our military for their commitment and dedication to serving our county. We welcome all military families for a fun-filled day as a thank you for their continued sacrifice and service.”

Eligible U.S military veterans and retirees can register for complimentary single-day ticket(s) for themselves and up to three dependents before May 14 at www.WavesofHonor.com. After registering, all tickets must be redeemed by July 9. Service members and their direct dependents must have a valid active military ID to participate.

Any U.S. active-duty military activated or drilling reservist, or National Guardsman can also take advantage of one complimentary admission for themselves and up to three dependents per year to SeaWorld. Additional discounts and offers are available for active military and veterans through MWR and ITT offices on U.S. military bases and online at www.WavesofHonor.com. These offers are available year-round and may differ by park.

I know what you’re thinking. Grown men, Queens, and Mermaids, what the heck is Caleb talking about now? Well, I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count. No, I’m not talking about a wild night at The Bonham. No, I’m not talking about a party at our local city councilman’s house either. What I am talking about is a bunch of grown men still upset that Disney chose a young Black woman to portray a fictitious character. Folks, mermaids are not real.

This controversy has resurfaced due to Jada “Get ‘em Will” Pinkett Smith deciding to portray Cleopatra VII as a mulatto woman in her Netflix series “African Queens.” Cleopatra is the second installment of the series, which already produced a segment chronicling the life of the beautiful bold, heroic Black Queen, Nzinga Mbande. And Cleopatra’s portrayal as being mulatto has all the armchair historians, pseudo-Egyptologist, and new-minted anthropologists that constitute the highly educated MAGA crowd up in arms. The comment section became so outrageous that Netflix had to suspend the comment section. And part of the outrage comes from the people who currently occupy Egypt.

A couple of things. First thing first, let’s get this quick fact out of the way. The people who currently live in Egypt are NOT the ancient Egyptians. They are Arabs, plain and simple. They are the progeny and product of the Arab conquest of Egypt in 640 AD. An Arab army under the command of Arabian general Amr ibn al As marched into a weak and tired Egypt, and the rest is history. The Arabs swarmed into the newly conquered land, took it over, and claimed all of it, including its rich history, as their own. They are the first, worst, and most notorious cultural appropriators in all of history.

The second thing is the MAGA crowd. I hate to admit it, and it deeply pains my soul to begrudgingly admit this, but on this one thing, their crying and whining are correct. Cleopatra VII was indeed Macedonian. So, yeah, they are right. Like my grandma used to say, “Even a trash can gets lucky every once in a while and gets a steak.” Of course, most of the MAGA crowd didn’t even know there were eight Cleopatras, and they couldn’t even begin to tell you where Macedonia was, even if you placed their finger on a map right on top of present-day Greece. But I digress. Folks, she was Macedonian, and please, let them have her. Please, I beg you.

The reason we don’t want to claim this woman or her people is because they were a historically insignificant incestuous bunch. She was part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, a dynasty founded by one of Alexander, the Great’s generals after the death of the Macedonian ruler. The Ptolemaic dynasty lasted less than 300 years; America has been around longer than that dynasty lasted. And the ONLY reason it’s even talked about in a historical context is because of Cleopatra’s affairs with Roman Emperors Julius Cesar and Mark Anthony. That’s it. She played a role in Roman history. As far as Egyptian history, they were not even a blip on the radar.

The Ptolemies set up their capital not in Memphis, the traditional capital of Egypt, but in the Greek city of Alexandria. They rarely left the palace and never traveled outside of Alexandria. None of them, with the exception of Cleopatra VII, even spoke Egyptian. Not a single Ptolemy ever went to Gebal Barkal to be crowned, and none of them ever ventured to Karnak to pay homage to the Gods of Egypt. They did nothing to show that they were ordained by the Gods to rule over the Egyptian people, and religion in Egypt was everything. The truth about the Ptolemies is that they ruled Alexandria, period. Thebes and the regions in the south that were under Thebian control broke away from them. In fact, two of the Ptolemaic rulers were killed by the Egyptian people! The last three Ptolemaic rulers had to get the Roman Empire to help them stay on the throne. They were so weak that they gave Egypt to Rome in exchange for being able to rule in Rome’s name. At the time of Cleopatra’s birth, the Romans ruled Egypt, not the Ptolemy’s. She was nothing more than a glorified Roman Provincial Governor. To call her the Queen of Egypt would be a stretch, to call her an African Queen would be an affront.

The other reason I say they can have her is that out of the first 15 rulers in the Ptolemaic dynasty, 13 of them were in brother-sister marriages, and the other two were uncles marrying their nieces. This was definitely not a dynasty of Black folks! And then you had sons marrying their aunts, who were also their father’s second wives, and you have a couple of first-cousin marriages. This family was more inbred than a MAGA rally in West Virginia. So please, let them have this entire dynasty. When someone says that Cleopatra was Macedonian, you should say, “Damn right she was!” We want no part of that. And for those who think that sibling marriage was commonplace, it occurred primarily in the later dynasties after Egypt’s conquest by several Western powers. I challenge anyone to show proof of sibling marriage in any Kushite Dynasty, Ethiopian Dynasty, or any sub-Saharan Black African dynasty.

My final thought on the matter is why Jada Pinkett-Smith decided to showcase Cleopatra in this series. She is not a Black African Queen and really was not an African Queen or Egyptian Queen, but rather a Roman Governor. There were so many other truly magnificent African Queens that she could have chosen instead of an inbred Macedonian from an insignificant inbred dynasty whose only claim to fame was being a Roman bed wench. I wonder if Jada Pinkett-Smith’s team consists of anyone who truly knows African history. Let me help them out by throwing out some names: Nandi, Amina, Yaa Asantewaa, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tiye, Sobekneferu, Nefertari, Makeda, and one of my all-time favorites, Amanirenas. And there are hundreds more to choose from.