March 14, 2021
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 26, Issue 8
“Addressing Current & Historical Realties Affecting Our Community”
GRENITA LATHAN SAYS ‘BYE-BYE’ TO HISD
By: N.L. Preston
RED...BLUE...OR BLACK? VOTER SUPPRESSION CONTINUES
The Houston Independent School District announced that Dr. Grenita Lathan has accepted a new position with the Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Missouri. In her three years as interim superintendent, Lathan has led HISD through many challenges and natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey, the coronavirus pandemic and the recent winter storm. Lathan said her work is not over yet, and she will continue to work hard for the district in her final weeks. - AANI
By: Roy Douglas Malonson
The harder we fight and the more advancements we make, the more they try to bend or change the laws to keep us away from the polls. The ballot box is under attack, at least when it comes to minorities and the right to vote. Republicans across the country are pushing new voting restrictions aimed at, obviously, suppressing the Black vote, which triumphantly helped end Donald Trump’s reign of terror. The one-two knockout punch that Stacey Abrams, Rep. Jim Clyburn and others delivered to the GOP has the party making “Hail Mary” attempts to ensure they are not beaten again, especially after all courts found no proof in Trump’s voter fraud allegations. So what are Republicans doing now? They are trying to block our basic right to vote, and if we are not careful, they will get away with it. We, as Black people, usually just focus on the big-ticket elections, like presidential and mayoral races, but ALL ELECTIONS MATTER and ALL
VOTES MATTER! You need to do your research and vote for your councilmembers, commissioners, school board representatives and any other leadership positions in your community. What people don’t realize is that your elected officials make decisions on how much water goes in your commode, how much money you make, and how you eat, breathe and sleep. You pay taxes to support them to make decisions about you - so you need to make the right decisions about who you choose to represent you. You see what happened when Trump got into office, and if you look at it clearly, you see how many Black politicians actually agreed with Trump. Sometimes, even if they don’t say it outwardly, inaction can be considered being complicit. Are the leaders you have stood by standing up for you? Some right here in our own city are not. This is very dangerous for our future. Today, state legislators in at least 43 states are considering more than 250 bills that would make
it harder to vote. A plot is underway to suppress minority voters who overwhelmingly back Democratic candidates. A recent case presented to the U.S. Supreme Court centered around two Arizona election laws that Democrats say discriminate against Native American, Latinx and African American voters. One of the laws requires election officials to discard any ballots cast in the wrong precinct, and the other measure bans third-party ballot collection. With the heavy population of Native Americans in the area, with only about 26% of them living on a postal route, it would be difficult for them to cast a mail-in ballot, and there are even more issues with getting the rural population to the polls. To assist getting ballots in, community and party activists collect absentee ballots from people who don’t have cars so that the sealed ballots can be delivered Suppression cont’d page 2
WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY • AVOID PUBLIC SPACES OR EVENTS WITH MORE THAN 10 PATRONS • SANITIZE AND STOCK UP • AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE AND MOUTH • PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE