®
Vol. 19 Issue 10
Greater Houston/Southeast Texas
March 31 - April 6, 2014 | FREE
“Choose wisely who you allow to control your mind; Your Money & Your Vote these are the most powerful things you have; Be careful who you give them to.” ~Roy Douglas Malonson, Publisher~
Houston Homeless Get Little Respect
“It Should Not Hurt to Be Homeless” See HOMELESS pg. 7
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Healthcare Penalty Info
As you know, March 31st is the deadline for most people to get covered this year. Already, more than 5 million Americans have already enrolled in a plan through the ACA marketplace. Over 750,000 Texans have registered on healthcare.gov and been deemed eligible to purchase insurance, and I hope many of them decide to join the over 300,000 Texans who have already enrolled in a plan. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly encourage you to shop around and see what your options are on the website or by calling 1-800-3182596. Texans across the state are finding that the ACA makes health insurance more affordable than they thought. One of the unfortunate aspects
of the healthcare law is that those who go without insurance will have to pay a tax penalty. Note, however, that the penalty does not apply to those who would have been eligible for Medicaid if Texas had expanded the program or to those who otherwise cannot find affordable coverage. What is the penalty for not purchasing health insurance? For this year, the penalty is $95 for each adult and $47.50 for each child or up to 1% of your income after exclusions, whichever is greater. Your income is defined as total income above the filing threshold ($10,000 for singles, $20,000 for families), so an adult making
Politics Honorable Garnet Coleman TX 147th Dist.
$60,000 a year would have to pay a $500 penalty for failing to obtain coverage (1% of $50,000 which is the income minus the $10,000 filing threshold). A married couple making $60,000 will have to pay $400 each (that is 1% of $40,000, which is their income minus the $20,000 filing threshold). You can click here to calculate the penalty for not obtaining coverage. The penalty will be assessed next year when you file your taxes for 2014.
$500,000 2014-2015 Urban Scholarship Fund
Since the establishment of the DALLAS- Over $500,000 in Urban Scholarship Fund, nearly scholarships are available for high 11,500 students throughout the state school graduates from Dallas and of Texas have been able to begin twenty eight other urban areas or continue their college education throughout Texas. Administrated by the Texas Association of Developing due to over $6,000,000 awarded to them through the Urban Scholarship Colleges (TADC), the Urban Fund. Scholarship Program was created “This fund was created to produring the 74th Legislative session vide access to higher education opas part of House Bill 2128 with the cooperation of the three largest local portunities for Texans who, without this assistance, might not be able telephone companies in the state to strive for a college education,” of Texas at that time. This year’s said Rep. Davis. “Basically, all the Scholarship Fund contributors are Business Card for Paper_Layout 1 2/18/14 12: problems facing our communities, AT&T and Verizon Wireless. including economic parity, high crime, building cohesive families, and other quality of life issues are related to the lack of education. By providing increased avenues of educational opportunity, we multiply our chances of improving the conditions of our State. The goal of this fund is to boost chances of reaching this target” Rep. Davis continued. 979-921-9908 28820 FM 1736 Road The 2014-2015 Urban Hempstead, TX 77445-7204 Scholarship Fund is for Texas Trophy Hunting: residents who are also U. S. citizens Whitetail - Axis - Blackbuck and full-time undergraduates in Archery • Camping • Camp Fire good academic standing at any Canoeing • Family & Church Reunions accredited public or private nonFishing • Guided Nature Hike Hay Rides • Hiking • Horseshoes profit college, university or technical Kayaking • Nature Photography college. Additionally, applicants Pedal Boats • Picnics • Sand Volleyball must demonstrate financial need and have graduated from a high website: www.rsdeerranch.com school in the following metropolitan email: malonson@rsdeerranch.com TX-2
cities: Abilene, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Carrollton, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Houston, Irving, Killeen, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, McKinney, Mesquite, Midland, Pasadena, Plano, San Antonio, Waco, and Wichita Falls. Students interested in applying for scholarships should contact their high school guidance counselor; college financial aid officer, or call the Texas Association of Developing Colleges at (214) 630-2511. Applicants may also complete the scholarship application online at www.txadc.org then print, sign and mail it with the required documents. The deadline for applying for the 2014-2015 Urban Scholarship Fund is Monday, July 7, 2014 (postmarked). Students attending technical, junior or community colleges will receive $700, public four-year college and university students will receive $1000, and private four-year college and university students will receive $2000. The number of awards is uncertain because of the varying funding levels to different types of institutions. The Urban Scholarship fund was created in 1995 when Rep. Davis attached an amendment to
Texas December 9-15,6,2013 Texas ••March 31- April 2014 Texas • August 12-18, 2013
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Celebrating Women
arch was celebrated as Women’s History Month. And while women have made great strides in this country, there is still much that needs to be done to bring them on par with men in America, particularly in the area of equal pay for equal work. It is neither fair nor prudent that we live in a society in which women earn approximately 80 percent of what men who are doing the exact same work are paid. In 2010, the last year for which data was compiled, the median income for a woman in America was $36,931 compared to $47,715 for their male counterparts. This is simply unacceptable and must be changed. Honorable Yvonne Davis TX 111th Dist.
the omnibus telecom bill creating a pool of funds derived from unclaimed telephone service deposits. Previously unclaimed funds went into the unclaimed funds pool in the State Treasury. Although these funds will be shifted into the scholarship account, local telephone companies will still reimburse consumers for any funds properly claimed in the future. “We ask our students to study hard, make the grade and prepare themselves for the next level necessary to reach their goal. However, the continued rising cost of a college education presents an obstacle to some students. The Urban Scholarship Fund provides these students additional funding to help pay for their college education and ultimately realizing their goal,” stated Rep. Davis. Students from non-metropolitan areas of the State may be covered by the Rural Scholarship fund, which was also created by House Bill 2128.
Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson TX 30th Dist.
The practice sends an appalling message to young women who are seeking professional careers. Are we saying to them that they are not as good as their male colleagues? As a society, are we suggesting to them that we place greater value on the work of men than we do on their work? This type of thinking is a relic of the past, and it must remain there. When I was elected to Congress in 1992, I was the only female in the Texas Congressional delegation. In Washington, I became one of 48 women who were members of the House of Representatives. In the Senate there were seven women. Today, our numbers have increased, and women chair many of the committees in the House and Senate where much of the work in the Congress is accomplished. There are presently 20 female Senators and 82 women in the House.
R.D. Malonson S.A. Malonson Darwin Campbell Chandra Jarmon Rebecca S. Jones Fred Smith
Publisher President/C.E.O. Editor Production
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General: news@aframnews.com Ads: sales@aframnews.com Website: www.aframnews.com African-American News&Issues is published by African-American News & Issues, Inc., 6130 Wheatley Street, Houston, Texas 77091, (713) 692-1892. Our office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:15am - 5pm. The entire contents of the paper are copyrighted by African-American News & Issues, Inc. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher. African-American News&Issues is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the publisher.
African
Texas • March 31- April 6, 2014
Edit rial & Opini n
The GOP’s Talk About Minority Outreach Just That, Talk Earl Ofari Hutchinson Author & Political Analyst
One year ago Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus assured one and all that the GOP had learned from its 2008 and especially 2012 presidential election debacles and that it would change its losing ways. The formula for the comeback was something that the GOP has more than once paid much lip service to, and that was making the party more inclusive. This meant making a real effort to draw more blacks and Hispanics into the party tent. Priebus had a big, wordy, interminably long blueprint for doing that, which included embracing immigration reform, and spending millions in a concerted campaign to talk and listen to what minorities had to say on the issues, and once that was done, presumably to incorporate some of their positions into the party’s supposedly evolving program for outreach. Priebus, on the first anniversary of his manifesto, claimed that the GOP had righted the ship and had made the necessary changes it promised a year ago. Priebus is right about changes. But the changes he touted with success were revamping their fundraising machinery, tweaking the number of debates the GOP contenders have with each other, and investing more in technology to improve its field operations. The only problem with that is there wasn’t a single word about what progress it has
made in attracting the supposed legions of blacks and Hispanics that the RNC claims it wants and needs. This is no surprise. In quick succession, GOP rocker and pitchman Ted Nugent maligned President Obama as a “subhuman mongrel,” GOP House representative Paul Ryan, chair of the House Budget Committee, virtually called blacks and Hispanics lazy as the cause of their chronic high joblessness, and South Dakota GOP state representative Phil Jensen publicly said it was OK for businesses to exclude blacks from service. Their outbursts could be chalked up to the rants or ignorance of a few named GOP luminaries, and some top GOP officials did chastise Nugent for his bone-headed cracks. But that’s not much reassurance that the GOP has indeed done the 180 degree pirouette on racial sensitivity that it claims it’s trying hard to do. Then there’s the other problem that the RNC has even if it meant every word it wrote a year ago about changing course and making a major push to make diversity a reality in the party. That problem remains its own party, or more particularly, the millions of GOP backers in the south and Heartland, and the gaggle of right-wing webs, blogs, and talk radio jocks that think the GOP’s only flub is that it’s not truly conservative enough. They have saber-rattled the GOP so that any retreat from its core beliefs and message will perpetually doom it to political has-been status in national politics. They warn that if the GOP suddenly starts pandering to minorities and gays, it can kiss millions of their fervent supporter’s goodbye.
American News&Issues
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“We MUST never forget slavery, lynching, Jim Crow Laws, the disrespect of the Black race and the first Black president.”
Do You Hear Me Now?
Attacks on Black Children in Our Schools Proves Inequality is the Main Issue
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his just in...The “schoolto-prison pipeline” is a reality for AfricanAmerican youth. How real? Check this out. A Federal Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights released a report last week that shows that black students are suspended and expelled at a rate that’s three times higher than their white peers. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder have urged educators across the country to move away from practices that suspend students for minor infractions and disproportionately affect minority students. Those results from the first comprehensive survey in nearly 15 years of civil rights data from the 97,000 U.S. public schools show they remain marked by inequities. It confirmed things we already knew about how the education system feels about educating Black youth. What should it say to AfricanAmerican parents, legislators and community leaders? Inequality is the issue!!! How many times do I have to say this before Black people get it? We MUST Understand that the inequality in the education system in America is failing young Blacks. You may not believe all we say, but at least consider the facts. Facts that are clear enough to show that Black children in the education
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system have a target on their backs. The sad part about it is the inequality has Blacks labeled even before they attend preschool. Even our babies are victims of the years of history, stereotypes and an education system that is programmed with a special set of instructions to keep as many African-American children from reaching their full potential in life. Many Black youth are being set up for a hard fall that will either line them up for prison or put them in a funeral procession. How is this done? Look closer. Giving a youth a juvenile record is the beginning of the end for that young person. It takes away his freedom to think, steals his dreams and squashes hopes of getting athletic scholarships,college acceptance letters and even can affect general employment opportunities. By training him early to report to juvenile courts and probation, it introduces him to a whole new culture of courts, judges and attorneys – all making decisions about his future. The eventual end of that cycle is a loss of independence and a life of crime, prison or unemployment or underemployment. These frustrations lead to other issues, including family violence, abandonment and failure to pay child support. It is a cycle of failure that starts when these school administrators execute their “perfect crimes” of destroying Black youth. Some of the real criminals
- Roy Douglas Malonson
We MUST Understand By Roy Douglas Malonson, Publisher
responsible for hurting our babies are sitting in our classrooms, in principal offices and are running on-site police departments for school districts. The real story is how White school board leaders and administrators are selling these racist stereotypes about our youth and principals and teachers bwho have taken it and declared war on Black youth using their tactics to “bully” our children. James Eichner, a managing director at the Advancement Project in Washington said when it comes to racial disparities in discipline, research has shown that black students are more likely to be treated harshly for more minor offenses, and that implicit bias often leads adults to perceive black children as older and more threatening than whites. I agree with the Attorney General Eric Holder who said “A routine school discipline infraction should land a student in the principal’s office, “not in a police precinct.” And definitely not with a juvenile record. We MUST Understand that these inequities inflicted on our children are “socially divisive”, “educationally unsound”, “morally bankrupt” and “economically self-destructive.” Question is: What is the Black community going to do about it?
Letter to the Publisher
he McQueen factor story in your editorial hit very close to home. I must give you due praise for the newspapers updating the community on black history facts relevant to our time. Hopefully positive reinforcement such as this continues and I look forward to our people getting the due credit they deserve.
Lebron James #6, Miami Heat Foward TX-3
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African
American News&Issues
April
Apr. 1 - Apr. 3
Tuesday-Thursday Acres Home Library After School Zone 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 4pm For more info contact: (832)393-1700 Tuesday Stanaker Library After School Zone w/ Graduation Game Plan 611 S-Sgt Macario Garcia Dr Houston, TX 77011 From 5pm - 6:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993
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Thursday Howard Jefferson NAACP Board
Acres Home Chamber for Bus. & Eco. Dev, Inc. Networking Luncheon 6112 Wheatley St Houston, TX 77091 From 11am -12:30pm For more info contact: (713) 692-7161 info@acreshomecenter.org
This should be your event ~ Why isn’t your event posted here?
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Thursday Acres Home Library Open Job Search Lab 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 11:30am For more info contact: (832)393-1700 Thursday Smith Library After School Zone w/ Graduation Game Plan 3624 Scott St Houston, TX 77004 From 4pm - 5:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993
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Apr. 3 - Apr. 13
Thursday - Sunday Ensemble Theatre By The Way, Meet Vera Stark 3535 Main St Houston, TX 77002 *Various Showtimes* For more info contact: (713)520-0055 Friday Change Happens (RSVP) Spring Breakfast 3353 Elgin Street Houston, TX 77004 From 7:30am - 8:30am For more info contact: (713) 374 1291 Saturday Acres Home Library After School Zone w/ Graduation Game Plan 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 From 11am - 12:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993 Monday Community Meeting Austin High School 1700 Dumble St Houston, TX 77023 From 6pm - 7:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993 Monday Carnegie Library After School Zone w/ Graduation Game Plan 1050 Quitman Houston, TX 770009 From 3:30pm - 5pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993 Monday Stella Link Library After School Zone w/ Graduation Game Plan 7405 Stella Link Rd Houston, TX 77025 From 4pm - 5:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993 Monday Community Meeting Lamar High School 3325 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX 77098 From 6pm - 7:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993
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What’s Happenin’ in Texas Saturday 7 Monday Park Place 12 New Hope MBC Regional Library
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After School Zone w/ Graduation Game Plan 8145 Park Place Blvd. Houston, TX 77017 From 4pm - 5:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993 Tuesday Community Meeting Worthing High School 9215 Scott St Houston, TX 77051 From 6pm - 7:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993
Email your Community Event to news@aframnews.com 2 weeks in advance!
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Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center 4400 W. 18th St Housotn, TX 77092 From 6pm - 7:30pm For more info contact: (832)393-0993
71st Yr. Pre- Anniversary 4827 Creekmont Dr Houston, TX 77088 From 11am- 3pm For more info contact: (713) 498-5987
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Saturday Concord Church Aspiring Writers Guild 6808 Pastor Bailey Dr Dallas, TX 75237 From 9:30am - 12:30pm For more info contact: (214) 331-8522 Saturday Concord Church Easter Extravaganza 6808 Pastor Bailey Dr Dallas, TX 75237 Beginning at 10am For more info contact: (214) 331-8522 Saturday Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Spring Fest & Health Fair 1808 W. Camp Wisdom Rd Dallas, TX 75232 Beginning at 10am For more info contact: (214) 3672-9100
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10 Thursday Acres Home Library
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Apr. 8 - Apr. 10
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Computer Help Session 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 11:30am For more info contact: (832)393-1700
Tuesday-Thursday Acres Home Library After School Zone 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 4pm For more info contact: (832)393-1700 Thursday Houston Museum African-American Culture “Killer of Sheep” 4807 Caroline St Houston, TX 77004 Beginning at 7pm For more info contact: (713) 526-1015
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Saturday Acres Home Library Book Club 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 From 1pm - 2pm For more info contact: (832)393-1700 Sunday Jewell Houston Academy 10 Year Celebration 8103 Carver Rd Houston, TX 77088 From 2m - 4pm For more info contact: (281) 878-7745
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Friday Cliffdale MBC Easter Egg Hunt 854 Enterprise St Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 11am For more info contact: (832) 889-9791
Texas • August 12-18, Texas • March 31- April 6, 2013 2014
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Saturday The LightHouse Church Egg-Static Easter Expo 14000 Weckford Blvd Houston, Texas 77044 From 1pm - 5pm For more info contact: Aizeline@itsthinkzilla.com
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Sunday First Baptist Church of Lincoln City FBC Praise Dancers & Easter Program 844 Fortune St Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 11:30am For more info contact: (832) 892-5078
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Thursday Houston Museum African-American Culture “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne” 4807 Caroline St Houston, TX 77004 Beginning at 7pm For more info contact: (713) 526-1015
Support those whom support you!
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Email Basics 2 8501 W. Montgomery Rd Houston, TX 77088 Beginning at 11:30am For more info contact: (832)393-1700 Saturday Houston Museum African-American Culture Jen.e.sis: Candles and Incense Edition 4807 Caroline St Houston, TX 77004 Beginning at 6:30pm For more info contact: (713) 526-1015 Tuesday Our Mother of Mercy Parish Civil Rights Class 4000 Sumpter St Houston, TX 77020 From 7pm - 8pm For more info contact: (281)704-6655
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Online Advertisment available NOW! For more info Call (713) 692-1892
Texas • March 31 - April 6, 2014
Educati n/Y uth
Carver High’s ‘Porgy’ One-Act Play Advances to District Contest
HOUSTON- Carver High School theater students are advancing to the District UIL Contest after advancing from UIL One-Act Play Zone A Contest recently held. The students performed Porgy, the play adaptation of the Gershwin musical Porgy and Bess. “I am so proud of the students,” said Roshunda Jones, theater director at the campus. “They did an awesome job performing Porgy. I also thank everyone for all their support in helping the theater program and the students succeed.” Listed below are the awards received: Porgy and Archdale played by Isaiah Rusk and Nicco Martínez. Zone Competition Results Advancing Play — Porgy *Best Actor — Isaiah Rusk All-Star Cast Medal — Darlesia Carter All-Star Cast Medal — Raegan Robinson All-Star Cast Medal — Nyles Washington Honorable Mention Medal — Kristopher Adams Best Technical — Dionna Malone (*Only one school receives this honor) The one-act play company is
comprised of Jones and Jabari Collins, technical director, along with students Isaiah Rusk, Nyles Washington, Duncan Lester, Nicco Martínez, Joseph Arriaga, Kristopher Adams, Malcolm Thomas, Joshua Austin, Raegan Robinson, Darlesia Carter, Shola Ojesina, Kiera Prusmack, Brianna Rodríguez, Kyle Ward, Cameron Moore, Treat Carrier, Calep Smith, Kassidy Fajardo, Dionna Malone, Mykaelan Flournoy, Kevin Crear, India Sherman and Jayla Rhodes. History of Porgy Porgy and Bess began its journey to the Broadway stage in 1936, when George Gershwin wrote a letter late one night to the author of a book he was reading proposing that the two of them collaborate on an operatic adaptation. The African-American poet DuBose Heyward, author of the novel Porgy, immediately agreed to Gershwin’s proposal, but commercial commitments in New York prevented Gershwin from actually beginning work on the project for another seven years. In the meantime, singer Al Jolson attempted to mount a musical version of Porgy starring himself in blackface, but that effort foundered in 1932, leaving the way open for the Gershwin-Heyward
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New Graduation Requirements Shaped by House Bill 5
collaboration that would feature an all-African American cast of classically trained singers—revolutionary casting in 1930s America. DuBose Heyward and the two Gershwins—George’s brother, Ira, joined on as co-lyricist in 1934— collaborated mostly by U.S. Mail, with only occasional face-to-face meetings. In this fashion, they nevertheless managed to create some of the greatest songs in American musical-theater history, including “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now.” The critics of the day were decidedly mixed in their reception of Porgy and Bess. It was revived in 1976 by the Houston Grand Opera and that helped establish its current place in the standard operatic repertoire. George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward died in 1937 and 1940, respectively, not knowing that the poorly-received Porgy and Bess, which premiered on this day in 1925 and closed some four months later, would later gain recognition as one of the most important American musical works of the 20th century. Source: History.com
The Houston Independent School District is continuing a series of community meetings that will connect middle school parents with high school counselors and other experts on House Bill 5, which is changing high school in a big way for next year’s ninth-graders. The Texas Legislature passed a package of new requirements for school districts that changed STAAR end-of-course requirements, established tight attendance guidelines, and set forth criteria for personal graduation planning that includes a career component. The regulations do allow some latitude for school districts – and whenever possible, HISD has opted for a rigorous academic pathway as a minimum requirement for students and has chosen to offer the maximum number of career options. The planning requirements start with this year’s eighth-graders – the class of 2018 – who will
Recently, Ponderosa Elementary, Spring ISD celebrated their fourth graders’ writing accomplishments with red carpets, gold curtains and paparazzi. Ponderosa staff transformed the gymnasium into a Hollywood-styled destination for the school’s Third Annual Night of the Oscars. Fourth graders had been working on writing projects to enter for the evening competition. Ten students from each homeroom were awarded special Oscar awards for categories such as Best Action, Best Editing, or Most Creativity. Assistant Principal Dr. Brendell Reece said the event helps promotes enthusiasm about writing. “Oscar Night is a huge motivation for them,” said Reece. “This event is always
standing room only.” About 200 parents and family members packed into the gymnasium for the event. Students walked on a red carpet to enter the gymnasium, which was draped in gold curtains, as staff and parents created a crowd of paparazzi and lit up the stage with camera flashes. Students were called to the podium for category awards and all students received a certificate recognizing their participation. Parents were entertained by student talent shows throughout the evening. Principal Brooke Neal thanked the parents for coming and supporting the students. “This was a very special night for our fourth graders after they have been working so hard on their writing,” Neal said.
commit to and start their personal pathways next school year. Parents who attended the first two community meetings learned about how the district is combining career awareness and selection with a rigorous academic curriculum from pre-K through graduation. “I wish this had been invented years ago,” said Adrian Hernandez, who attended a community meeting at Reagan High School with his wife, Isabella, and daughter Sophia, an eighth-grader at Hamilton Middle School who plans to attend Waltrip HS. “When you start early thinking about college and jobs, it helps you get to the next level.” Parents and students who attend community meetings will be introduced to new concepts that will customize each student’s high school experience. See What’s Happenin’ in 2014 ~ TX pg. 4 for upcoming Commuity Meetings.
Ponderosa Night of the Oscars
Jakaylah Thornton & Darla Wilhite.
The event gives students a feeling of accomplishment. The tie to the real Academy Awards Oscar Award Ceremony helps students connect motion picture stories with writing and motivates them to write a story that everyone would want to see. Teacher Marilou Schopper told the audience as she was handing out miniature Oscars, “It is amazing to see the growth in these kids during this project. All these kids are winners.” TX- 5
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a business that provides quality work with the full assurance of honesty.” He owns Kellough's A/C and Heating and operates his business in Tomball. Session is licensed in installing, troubleshooting and repairing A/C and Heating systems and is bonded and insured. His expertise covers systems systems up to 25 tons. Signature He has total of five years experience and answers calls from Tomball to South Houston. His team has a total of 15 years of P.O. Number expertise. According to Session, a number of AfricanAmerican consumers have been taken advantage of in contracting work with some contractors doing poor repairs or up selling customers on new equipment that is not needed.
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imination. (Parkway Plaza Shopping Center) e Smith, Stovall, Harris and Hill, 4653 South Main l based on the same criteria. StuStafford, TX 77477 ents of magnet programs that had een eliminated HOU-6 would return to heir home campus and given first riority for available slots in other
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Texas • March 31 - April 6, 2014 HOMELESS from pg. 1
In a city where oil industry giants rule and business is booming, it hurts to be homeless in Houston. Homelessness is a still an issue in 2014, but is the city trying to hide one of its worst problems? Whether its a large business convention markets, the annual Houston Chevron Marathon and development and construction progress knocking at the door, the homeless seem to be the ones hurt the most, being pushed out, swept away or shuffled around. Is Out of sight is out of mind? It appears that in the city’s zeal to be a world class technological center and high roller, it has done a poor job not completely solving it’s Third World problem. According to the homeless coalition statistics, there are 29,739 homeless people in Texas. Of those, 7,366 homeless individuals live on the streets of Houston, Harris County and Fort Bend each night. Of that number 1,007 are currently sitting in jail. Another 27,728 people are registered by the Homeless Coalition as accessing homeless services. Conditions for the homeless are not that encouraging either. About 32-percent are chronically homeless, 65-percent experience some form of mental illness and nearly 50-percent have no source of income. One of 7 homeless people are military veterans and 1 in 4 is a family with children. Most homeless people describe life in Houston as a day to day affair filled with uncertainty and live with the expectation that the city or police department is going to come and crack down on them or kick a person while they are down. Solving that problem of homelessness has not been at the
Cover Story
top of the list of priorities of city and business leaders. City and business officials downtown go on the defensive, develop sudden amnesia or go into denial when asked about Houston’s treatment of homeless people. However, despite reports on the street telling stories of ticketing, shuffling and harassment happening, officials are mum and do not seems to recall any negative incidents. They also fail to take responsibility for the stories the homeless tell about what happens in their lives on a regular basis. Does Houston really do this to its homeless population to hold them at bay and keep them swept out of visible areas in the interest of making Houston shine on the national and world stage.? “We are unaware of any protocol or policy to move people and have no role in displacing citizens at anytime,” said Wade Morehead, Chevron spokesman and Executive Director of the Houston Marathon Committee. “We value all citizens and do our best to be good corporate examples in the community.” He added that his company does its part in charitable contributions to homeless agencies and other organizations that help the poor. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has vowed to end chronic homelessness by 2015, but is it enough to help the ones currently trapped by a system in flux as some in the city continue practicing an “under culture” of mistreatment and disrespect. “We have no knowledge of coordinated plans or anyone pushing out or hiding the homeless during tourism events,” said Marc Eichenbaum, DeputySpecial Assistant to the Mayor for Homeless Initiatives. “This issue is a serious moral and financial issue. Band Aid ap-
proaches or hiding the homeless does not address that.” According to Eichenbaum, oner 103 million dollars is spent yearly trying to help, but the problem continues to linger. He also said some non-profit groups also have worked on the issue too, but the main obstacle over the years has been overall cooperation. “There has not always been full cooperation when dealing with this issue in the past,” he said. “Efforts to make the kind of progress we would like to see have not made it to the levels we would like.” Another problem is the way some not always treated with respect by some business owners and police officers not assigned to the city’s H.O.T. Team. Some homeless citizens reported that some police officers view them with contempt and show them little compassion. H.O.T is a small special unit of about three police officers that works downtown Houston area that is trained to help the homeless by offering services needed to help get them off the streets. Houston is the 5th largest police agency in the nation and has over 5,400 sworn police officers and 1,600 civilian employees. On the homeless, Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland said he is concerned if any of his officers on the force are not professional with any citizen homeless or not. “All members of the Houston Police Department have been trained in dealing with the homeless and others who have encountered unfortunate circumstances,” he said. “HPD does not criminalize someone for their socioeconomic status. There is no crime to be homeless and it is not a crime to be a street person.” However, some tickets, arrests and jail time come to the homeless mainly for some being at the wrong place at the wrong
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time. Again, 1,007 homeless people are currently sitting in jail. If a citizen or business owner is uncomfortable with a homeless person or thinks that person is a threat to his person or business, calling the police seems to be the quickest way to solve the problem – in essence “kicking a man while he is down”. Houston Coalition for the Homeless President and CEO, Marilyn Brown said many of the tickets and troubled encounters with the law often delays the homeless from receiving much needed housing, food assistance or getting employment or other vital Homeless in downtown Houston asking for a little and necessary something to get through the day services. “We are condeal with the issue. City officials cerned about how the homeless might need to look at doing away are treated. What happens to with the court and completely them can cause them to be denied decriminalizing homelessness. housing and prolong their situMcClelland pointed out that ations,” she said. “It should not much of the issue with homelesshurt to be homeless in Houston.” ness comes from complaints The city also has a homeless from the public and the business court it claims helps, but with sector who want the homeless many homeless under duress and shuffled from areas, not undersuffering from mental illness, standing the law or the plight and tickets can pile up and getting condition that led to an individual outstanding tickets and arrest being on the street. warrants leads to more hassles, To continue reading ‘HOMELESS’ burdens and troubles for the visit our website @ homeless. www.aframnews.com Cover Story By: Darwin Campbell, Trying to manage the probAfrican-American News&Issues lem using the criminal justice Cover and Inside Photo Credit: system is hardly the best way to Priscilla Graham HOU-7
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Texas • March 31 - April 6, 2014
Dear Mr. President: NBUF Appeals to “Commander in Chief” to Save Southmore Post Office
Houston-As President Barack Obama works to quell unrest between the Ukraine and Russia on the world stage, he is also being called upon back home to help save the Southmore Post Office and keep some valuable Houston Black
T
On March 4, 1960 students from nearby Texas Southern University marched from their campus to the then Weingarten’s Supermarket lunch counter and launched a sit-in action that would change the history of Houston, Texas. A Texas Historical Marker in front of the Post Office designates this courageous feat. According to Taharka, not just his organization but a whole diverse community has made it well known that our appeal to “SAVE THE SOUTHMORE POST OFFICE”. “It is rooted in both the functional need for the services provided and the historical importance of the location,” he said in his letter to President Obama. “We do not want the property to be sold to developers and become a high rise or some other building that would not properly reflect the history contained at the site.” Story By: Darwin Campbell, African-American News&Issues
YOU, THE LAW AND YOUR RIGHTS
he objective of this series of articles is to enable its reader to learn the basic laws, rights and rules of conduct one should know to avoid incarceration and reduce the chances of recidivism. Of course it is impossible to eliminate the occurrence of arrests for that is beyond one ultimate control; an officer can and may arrest you improperly if he/she chooses, and there is nothing one can do without the risk of injury or loss of life. The judicial system may provide vindication at some later date. Notwithstanding, to be Forewarned is to be Forearmed. To know the basic functions of the Criminal Justice system, your rights and certain rules of conduct TX-8
history from being erased forever. Kofi Taharka, National Chairman of the National Black United Front, Houston Chapter, along with supporters have penned their concerns to the President Obama in a letter appealing to the
president to intervene in the matter. “We want to get his attention and are pulling out all stops because it is important the people of the community be heard,” he said. “We feel getting the president’s attention is vital because Postmaster General is part of the cabinet and is a top level position.” Taharka and community leaders are seeking to stop the closure or (“relocation”) of the Southmore Post Office located at 4110 Almeda Rd. Houston, Texas. “The United States Postal Services (USPS) has ignored the community outcry over this much needed institution,” he said. “Letters, petitions, meetings and rallies have been held voicing the concerns of senior citizens, students, residents and businesses to this action – Now we are taking it straight to the decision makers at the top.” The Southmore Post office occupies the site of Houston’s first sitin during the civil rights movement.
CRIMINAL LAW PART. 9 may greatly enhance one ‘s Right to Bail chances of successfully negotiat[1]-- Generally ing the system and remaining The Texas Constitution free. provides a specific right to bail Pre-Trial Release pending trial in all cases except Once one has been arrested, for capital offenses in which the getting out of jail is the most improof is evident [ Tex. Const. portant thing on their mind. This Art. 1 ‘ 11 . This comports with involves making bail. Bail is that the view that liberty is the norm amount of money set by the court and detention prior to trial is the which must be paid or “assured” carefully limited However, an in order for the defendant to be accused charged with a bailable released from jail pending the felony offense may nevertheless final resolutionh of his/her case. be denied bail in certain instances Bond is that arrangement which if he or she is a multiple offender. purports to secure the appearance Bail may also be denied when the in court of the defendant through- defendant has been returned to out the duration of the case by Texas by virtue of the Interstate paying or assuring payment of the Agreement on Detainers and is amount of bail if the defendant serving a sentence in another fails to appear.. state . Further, there is no federal
constitutional proscription against detaining a person prior to trial on the ground that he or she is a danger to the community if such detentions are limited to serious offenses, the arrestee is entitled to a prompt detention hearing, and the maximum length of pretrial detention is circumscribed by a speedy trial act Most counties (including Harris County) hold a 48- or 72-hour hearing in felony cases. The defendant is required to be brought before a district court judge within 48 or 72 hours to determine if an attorney should be appointed and to review and set bonds. If the defendant is in jail, this may be the first opportunity counsel or the defendant has to
Obituary
Malachi Green
On Saturday, March 22, 2014, Malachi Green of North Miami Beach, Florida was called home to be with the Lord. Mr. Malachi Green is the father of Professor Marcia Johnson, who works at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. Malachi was a beloved father and a man who lived life, laughed and loved people. Even though he has entered his eternal rest, he will be celebrated. Malachi Green will not be forgotten and his presence will be missed by all those who knew him and loved him dearly.
Judge Warren Fitzgerald The Right Side of Justice obtain a personal bond or seek reduction of bail if bail has already been set. The district court cannot use this type of hearing to raise the amount of bail previously set by a justice of the peace. Attorney Warren Fitzgerald Muhammad is a native of a Acres Homes Community. He is both an Attorney and Municipal Court Judge. His office is located at 6415 W. Montgomery, Houston Texas 7091. He may be contacted at 713-692-4688.
Texas • March 31 April 6, 2014
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Library Essay Contest Focuses on Acres Home Legends
American history
of Acres Homes to the next generation, the Acres Homes Legends essay contest is one step in that direction. “This is our first annual contest,” said Etta Crockett, member of the Friends of Beulah Shepard Legacy, Acres Home Library Committee. “We are very happy with the writing responses of our young people and their desire to want to know their history.” The essay contest was held at the Beulah Shepard-Acres Home Neighborhood Library with 42 total entries from students at Pre-K through 12th grade. In order to participate, students were required to choose one or more famed Acres Home community leaders and write a profile. Suggestions for the profiles included essays on Beulah Shepard, Loretta Devine, Jewel Houston, Ruby Mosely, Dorothy Hubbard, Pastor F.N. Williams, Pastor Edwin Davis or Pastor Floyd Flakes and State Representative Sylvester Turner to name a few. The entries were judged on originality, grammar and creativity. Members of the committee who were part of judging were Crockett, Diane Shepard, Cassandra Roberts, Shamarion
Whitaker and Michelle Phillips. HISTORY The Acres Home Community was established during World War I and is considered to be one of the largest African-American communities in the southeast southern region of the United States. Once considered the South’s largest unincorporated black community, Acres Homes is south of Aldine and ten miles northwest of downtown Houston in Harris County. It developed around 1910 during the time of World War I, when landholders began selling off home sites in plots big enough to allow small gardens and maintain chickens or farm animals. The town derived its name from the fact that land was sold by the acre and not by the lot. The first settlers came from rural areas, attracted by the community’s inexpensive land, low taxes, and the absence of city building standards. Residents dug wells and built sanitary facilities, but conditions in the settlement subsequently declined.
When the city of Houston approved a plan to annex the area and install water and sewer lines, Acres Homes was a 12½-square-mile, heavily wooded, dispersed slum settlement without transportation or educational facilities. ESSAY QUALIFICATIONS To qualify for a category, students from Pre-K and 1st grades had to submit a collage drawing of the community leader and a one line sentences about . Second graders wrote a 50-word paragraph; 3rd to 5th graders wrote essays up to 125 words; 6th to 8th wrote up to 300 words; and 9th through 12 graders wrote up to 500 words on the topic. Of the 42 entries into the contest, 12 were selected as winners and placed in category. WINNERS: Pre K : First Place - Tatiyana Henderson – Highland Heights Second Place – Ayana Whitaker – Reece Academy Elementary School: First Place – Adreianna Barnes - FallBrook Academy
College Prep Second Place - Tristan Ward – Kennedy Elementary Third Place – De’Andre Nash – Bethune Academy Forth Place – Kayla Mitchell – Highland Heights Elementary Middle School: First Place - Cydney Bobino – Roberson Middle Second Place – Morgan Shepard – School not reported Third Place – Jonathan Palmer – Klein Middle High School: First Place - Khalan Arnold –
George Washington Carver Second Place – Myracle Randolph – Booker T Washington Third Place – Jonathan Simmons – Lamar The contest was supported by State Senator John Whitmire, State Rep. Sylvester Turner and Constable Al Rosen. “We are proud of everyone who participated,” Crockett said. “We wanted them to learn about the history of Acres Homes and those who inspired us and who helped build our community.” She said the event will be an annual contest and the goal for next year is to increase the number of students participating in the event. Story By: Darwin Campbell, African-American News&Issues
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L cal & State
There’s a New Kind of “Texas Tea” Brewing- African-American Style
Dr. James M. Douglas
The latest show of AfricanAmerican force on justice and education fronts are signaling the rise of a new kind of “Texas Tea”. This time it’s brewing African-American style as Blacks are waking up to the fact that inequality, slight of hand and sell-out Negroes are the main ingredients that have poisoned Black progress and nearly destroyed a generation of youth. The start of the Civil Rights movement began nationwide when one lady sat down on a bus seat where it was forbidden for her to sit and when a group of college students decided that they wanted to be served at lunch counters where Whites only were allowed. Their experiences sparked an awakening that could not be stopped and resulted in changing the course of history. The threat to close schools and the closing of one minority neighborhood school in the Houston Independent School District has once again awakened the spirit of our Civil Rights and Freedom Fighter ancestors. TX-10
“The smoke is not cleared and the dust is not settled,” said Dr. James M. Douglas, distinguished professor of Law at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law. “There is a change in dynamics that has begun and it will lead to us being proactive, upfront and demanding a seat at the table right now.” Dr. Douglas was also Provost at TSU for a short period of time before becoming the ninth president of TSU and served as the historically Black university’s top administrator from 1995 to 1999 and the school’s longest serving dean at the school of law. According to Douglas, this new kind of “Texas Tea” is a special flavor and taste that is refreshing to a new generation of Black people and means that things will never be the same for the HISD, Houston City Council, The Houston Police Department, Dallas City Council, Dallas Independent School District, Dallas Police Department , the Governor, Texas state leaders in Austin or any other government body thinking it can run roughshod over Black citizens. HISD underestimated the will, anger and force of an people who have been unequal, disregarded, disrespected and used for too long. The new Black “Texas Tea” movement should take some lessons from the current national Tea Party movement that has tuned national politics on its ears. The Tea Party is a group many love to hate, but it got its
start with a few people who used a grassroots movement to calls awareness to any issue which challenges the security, sovereignty, or domestic tranquility of the United States of America. From its founding, the Tea Party has represented the voice of the owners of the United States: “WE THE PEOPLE.” It pushes a conservative view of the constitution and has by nature of its passionate followers contends to serve as a beacon to the masses that have lost their way and a light illuminating the path to the original intentions of our Founding Fathers. In the beginning, they were a few patriots who stood in protest representing the American people. Those few kept their heart, mind and vision and seasoned it with courage, valor, solidarity and unity and it has grown to a formidable force that shakes the very foundations of the United States government. Tea Party faithfuls are committed and do not stop promoting their ideals. Day by day, month by month and year in an out, the group stands on its principles and is not ashamed to press forward for what they believe. It has grown from a few lowly protestors to millions of followers young, old, rich and poor. “The power of the Tea party was their ability to stick together and be on the same page,” Douglas said. “Blacks must focus on putting together the same kind of coalitions on education and other issues that need to be addressed in the community.” The awakening in the Black
community in Houston is courtesy of the HISD whose bullying tactics forced Blacks into a corner and made them come out fighting. The growing knowledge of how HISD and some elected officials and government leaders and commentators feel about African-Americans should not only be an eyeopener, but also the momentum to keep feeding the movement. Now that the genie is out of the bottle, there is no going back since HISD has hardened the resolve of the community and caused it to finally stand up for it’s children and future over taking it on the chin. The community is serving the following notices to those political “slave masters” who have abused citizens and abused their powers for too long. One of the worst nightmares is those who do not want to see the African-American communities thrive as an united organized community. Those groups must join hands and include the grassroots, the city council, state representatives and community organizations. “You cannot rebuild Houston or any other community unless you have adequate schools and other economic resources working in the inner city,” Douglas said. “We need all hands to be concerned and we need to plan and make clear what we want in the African-American community and for the public education of African-American children.” That is what is shaping up with the advent of this new movement. Without it, he said those forces will finish the job of destroying our neighborhoods. The word on the streets must be clear. Disrespect will no longer be
Texas • March 31 - April 6, 2014
tolerated. Voter intimidation and suppression will no longer be tolerated. Bullying our children in classrooms and principal offices at school will no longer be tolerated. Police brutality and courtroom injustices will no longer be tolerated. Sell outs Blacks and leaders who make deals for themselves and do not work for or speak for the community will no longer be tolerated. Limiting access to speaking at government meetings and limited access to elected officials will no longer be tolerated. Limiting access to public buildings paid for with taxpayer dollars will no longer be tolerated. Question remains how committed is the Black community to working, building its own strong, united coalitions that demand accountability from White and Black leaders from the “Statehouse to the outhouse”. Whether its the Montgomery Bus Boycott or the Dodson School Boycott, there is a lot to be learned about standing up for yourselves and demanding that elected leaders respect you and the community. Blacks must keep stomping and making loud noises in every public meeting, on every street corner, outside every school and shout from the house tops that “We are Mad as Hell and We ain’t gonna take it no more!” “We cannot go back to sleep,” Douglas said. “If we don’t move and keep moving in this movement, we can only blame ourselves.”
Story By: Darwin Campbell, African-American News&Issues
Texas • March 31 - April 6, 2014
Texas HBCU Corner
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Support OUR Texas HBCUs! If WE don’t, then who will?
Distance Learning Center to Help Online Education Thrive at HBCUs
Wiley College, Oakwood, and Florida Memorial collaborate to tailor courses to meet needs of students they serve.
At a time when many small colleges, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), struggle with a successful approach to online learning, The Center for Excellence in Distance Learning at Wiley College is forging a new path. Tapping into the wealth of high quality open education resources (OER) available today, the Center is working with OER services provider Lumen Learning to tailor online courses to the unique needs of HBCUs and the students they serve. “Distance learning creates inherent challenges for small colleges where the educational experience is grounded in personal relationships that cultivate scholarship and leadership among the students we serve,” said Dr. Haywood L. Strickland, President and CEO of Wiley College. “We established the Center for Excellence in Distance Learning to encourage collaboration and innovation in online learning within
the HBCU community, and open educational resources are essential to our approach.” When Wiley College embarked on plans to build out its distance learning programs, faculty members found a growing body of free, high quality OER that aligned with many of the high-demand courses the College planned to offer. Seeking faculty professional development on how to use OER effectively, Wiley College joined the Kaleidoscope Project funded by Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) and began collaborating with Lumen Learning and other colleges to design and improve OER-based courses. According to Kim Thanos, CEO of Lumen Learning, OER offer several advantages over commercial textbooks for addressing challenges faced by many HBCU students. “Cost has an impact: OER are free, so no expensive commercial textbooks are required. Perhaps more importantly, OER provide faculty with the freedom
to design a course that works for their students. With OER, they can excerpt, modify and rearrange course materials to align with learning outcomes. They can also add elements that encourage student success, such as study aids, embedded assignments, culturallyrelevant examples, and materials that fit different reading levels or learning
preferences.” Success with the Kaleidoscope Project collaboration in 2013 sooned to the creation of The Center for Excellence in Distance Learning at Wiley College. With most HBCUs relying on lean staffing and leaner budgets, distance learning programs have been largely out of reach. Leaders from Wiley College, Oakwood University, Florida Memorial University, and other HBCUs hope to change this picture. “As we introduced the new OER-based online courses for Wiley College students, we saw huge potential for broader collaboration with other HBCUs,” said Dr. Glenda F. Carter, Executive Vice President and Provost at Wiley College. “We all face similar challenges with online education. Through The Center for Excellence in Distance Learning, we can share courses, materials, progress and innovation. With a pooled investment, we can get further and faster
toward the outcomes we all want to see.” Fellow HBCUs Oakwood University and Florida Memorial University have joined The Center for Excellence in Distance Learning at Wiley College. Faculty members from these and other Lumen Learning client institutions are working together to develop new courses. Today the Center’s institutional partners offer 40+ online courses in high-demand subjects. Thirty more are under development for summer 2014, using the Center’s collaborative
process for developing OER-based courses. Wiley College is in discussions with other HBCUs interested in joining the Center. "This is about encouraging student success," said Dr. Kim Cliett Long, Director of The Center for Excellence in Distance Learning at Wiley College. "Many students lack the technology and information literacy they need to succeed in online courses and the workplace. We are designing online courses to help them develop and apply these skills as an integral part of the education we provide." Sin 19 ce 94
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