May 22, 2022
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
African-American News&Issues
“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”
Vol. 27, Issue 18 Vote for who is fighting for us because your black vote is the key to any election. Stop falling for the corn game of the democrats and republicans. - Roy Douglas Malonson
JUDGE ELAINE MARSHALL
TAKE IT TO
COURT Cont. on Pg. 3
2 AFRAMNEWS.COM
May 22, 2022
EDITORIAL
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Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.: Associate Editor Nick Jones: Afram TV Tristar: Layout Design
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Partin’ the Waters By Omowale Luthuli-Allen
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GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
After Buffalo, Is there a Way Forward? “Baseless rumors about possible racial troubles are being circulated by loosetongue, thoughtless people. There is no plan for any outbreak or riot in the Houston area on Saturday June 19th, or any other time. The police and the Federal authorities have thoroughly investigated every rumor that they can trace and have found no basis for any of them. A group of wellknown white and colored Houstonians on investigation has confirmed these statements. We urge you don’t do Hitler’s work. Stop circulating rumors, which create tenseness and interfere with war production and attend to your own business. The colored people of this vicinity are entitled to celebrate their traditional Juneteenth holiday Saturday pleasantly and in peace, and the fact they gather for their customary celebration on that day is no evidence of any of any intention on their part to create a disturbance. Law enforcement authorities are prepared to deal with thoughtless hoodlums, white or colored, who provoke trouble.
Houston Blue – Roth and Kennedy We are depending on our elected officials and lawmakers and law enforcement to protect our holy day- Juneteenth from domestic terrorists. This piece is stimulated by the angst and trauma in the Black community. A home boy that I was potty trained with called me and lamented the unending assaults on Black people following the Buffalo Massacre. At the bottom of his angst, was a larger question about the problem of evil. He posited that White people were innately evil and there was not any real hope for change. Let me share elements of this conversation. First, I explained that Buffalo was the pits. We could lament but shouldn’t have fits. Eruption of racial violence are perennial, and they happen fast, but we partially recover, and the perpetrators don’t last. In a superhuman way, aided by the divine, we go back to living our lives. What is happening now with racial violence against Blacks, Jews, brown people and yellow people does not rise to past peak levels in our tormented and beautiful history. This is not an apology statement nor a consolation. For more visit aframnews.com
Food for Thought Oscar Blayton
Here We Go Again Mass shootings and racially motivated killings in American society are becoming common place occurrences. The recent racially motivated mass murders in Buffalo, New York are a spiritually troubling sign and reminder that American society is headed for the eternal bonfire. America has and will always be a multi-cultural society; love it or leave it. If you decide to remain then all of US must have a “come to Jesus’ moment”; especially Christian Right Evangelicals who are masquerading as Christians but are doing the devil’s work. The GOP call themselves conservative statesmen, but are in fact, greedy self-conceited, power hungry low-life individuals who are doing the devil’s work hiding behind White Privilege (for example: January 6th, 2021). White Nationalists cannot be helped; they must be punished to the full extent, and by the letter of the law, because if you break the law, you must pay the penalty regard-
less of skin-tone (Cain’s Children). Most Godfearing individuals felt that the Dylan Roof Mother Emmanuel Church (AME) killings were horrific enough, but the Buffalo, New York mass murders is simply mind-boggling. A young White Privileged Male with everything to live for, because of the color of his skin desires to kill others, who are disadvantaged because of their skin color. Sadly, the individuals that he killed were second class-citizens as defined by skin-color based upon the 1619 Project: disgraceful. It is time to begin to legally consider charging and holding parents accountable as accessors to the hate crimes their children commit toward others based upon ethnic, racial and bullying scenarios. Thus, if their children do the crime parents must do some time, because hatred is taught and exampled. Children do not enter the world hating others. The Kyle Rittenhouse case is a classic example of a spiritually dysfunctional family unit. A mother drives a son with a military-style weapon across state lines to commit a crime against others, because they do not think like you; even though they have the same skin-tone. For more visit aframnews.com
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
May 22, 2022
AFRAMNEWS.COM 3
POLITICS
TAKE IT TO COURT By: Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.
HOUSTON - As an only child, Judge Elaine Marshall grew up as an “air force brat.” Her family moved to different places all the time. San Antonio, Texas was one of the places her father was stationed, and she ended up graduating from Sam Houston High School in1970. She graduated with honors and was one of the valedictorians (they had two). One of the rules that was enforced in her house was “you will graduate, and you will go to college.” After high school, Judge Marshall knew what school she wanted to attend for college, but it was an all-boy school. With that in mind, she applied for Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Yale, and a few other places, but still had her heart set on one school. One day, her college counselor comes running down the hall saying, “You’re not going to believe this…your university is going co-ed and they’re letting women transfer in. You have an opportunity to take a test to be a Notre Dame scholar and be one of the first women to go to the University of Notre Dame.” Judge Marshall was selected as one of the 12 Black women they let in. “We were like the ground breakers,” she stated. Being there was an honor for her, but it was also a challenge. She mentioned, “We had such a crazy experience… because we were new to them, and they were new to us.” In 1977, Judge Marshall graduated with a degree in psychology and Black studies with a minor in language. After graduating, she applied to several law schools and was accepted
to The University of Texas (UT) things that people challenged you in Austin. She had a different on as a Black woman judge, they experience at UT from her would never challenge anyone else experience at Notre Dame. At in the county or anywhere else, or Notre Dame, they did not judge even some of my peers that way. her by the color of her skin, but at So, you have to always maintain UT, they did. “At Notre Dame, you your dignity in terms of how you worked hard, you got the grade run your courtroom, and to know you deserved. At UT, you had to that you’re intelligent enough to step it up…it was just harder and rule the right way and to do the different.” things that are necessary to do it.” In 1980, Judge Marshall She discussed how she prided graduated from law herself in being the school and became same every day with a lawyer in 1981. everyone. “I ran When she my courtroom completed that way and law school, most of the she received lawyers would agree with a job with me that I the District was fair to Attorney’s everybody.” office in Houston On where she December Judge Elaine served as 7, 2016, Marshall the Assistant selected by District Mayor Turner, Attorney under Judge Marshall Johnny B. Holmes was the first African for eight years. She was American judge appointed then appointed as a full-time to serve as Director and Presiding judge in 1987, and she has served Judge for the Municipal Courts in this position for 35 years. Department. She stated, “I am the As a judge she has had obstacles first Black Director and Presiding as well. “For women and for Judge for the fourth largest city in women of color, if you are America.” assertive, you’re labeled aggressive. Judge Marshall plans on retiring You have to maintain the decorum as a judge one day, but there are of your courtroom. You have to some other things she would make sure that you are running like to do, which is to try cases your courtroom and operating with her daughter who is in the your courtroom according to the law field as well. She reflected on law, fairly and justly.” one of her “blessed and proud In addition, she mentioned how moments” was hooding her people would always challenge daughter when she graduated her. “When I was a prosecutor and from law school and swearing sitting on the bench, some of the her in to the practice of law when
she passed the bar. She has also thought about going back to teaching as she previously taught at Thurgood Marshall School of Law for seven years. In addition, she was part of the team who started teen court for the city of Houston. “When we first started, we had 13 student volunteers, and now I have over 180 students.” They teach the students to try real cases, serve on the defense side and act as jurors, and it is a fantastic program because these kids are really absorbing what the legal field is like.” Judge Marshall enjoys working with the kids and giving back. “For me, it’s the kids… investing in them, investing in their future, and letting them know they can do it.” If she had a chance to give advice to her younger self, it would be to “never doubt the possibilities that lie ahead of you, never give up, and always follow what you think is best for you.” For young Black women who want to be in her shoes one day, she stressed the importance of them reaching out to the Black women judges that are serving in the field and learning the role and what it truly means to be a Black woman judge. In closing, she reflected on the words of her grandmother who said, “What you are is God’s gift to you and what you make of yourself is your gift to God, and further stated, “I am so proud to represent the city of Houston…I am honored, I’m humble, and I don’t take my position lightly.”
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May 22, 2022
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
POLITICS
WHERE AM I SAFE?
By: Laisha Harris
HOUSTON - Thursday, May 12, 80-100 rounds were fired at a nightclub near Inwood Apartments and a sleeping 12-year-old was shot. Ironically, nobody was killed in Houston on Friday the 13th. On Saturday, while Payton Gendron was livestreaming the racially motivated slaughter of innocent Black people at a Buffalo New York grocery store, we experienced our own losses due to gun violence. In East End, a young man shoots his girlfriend before turning the gun onto himself. Early Sunday morning, a 16-yearold was shot eight times near a shopping center on Westheimer. A mother and her 11-year-old son were shot in a drive-by shooting on Roth Forest Lane. By the afternoon, there were reports of mass shootings in South Carolina, California, and the Houston flea market. While we are entitled to the right to bear arms, gun violence is erupting, corrupting, and destroying our communities. Last September, Texas legislatures changed the laws regarding carrying a firearm without a license. That means that if you are over the age of 21, you no longer need a license to carry (LTC) a handgun in a public place. In 2021, the city of Houston had 473 people killed by another person. This year, there have been more than 100 homicides within city limits. With COVID cases, gas prices and violent crimes on the rise, many are feeling much safer staying indoors. “I seriously have mixed feelings about going places right now. If I’m not feeling daunted by the police, I’m worried about getting shot by my own people,” says Antonia Hall. While Houston
reacts to the racially motivated violence in Buffalo, we have to come to terms with what we are doing to our own people. “People just get mad and start doing shooting. And it’s not always grown men or women, there are kids killing kids. How do they even get access to a gun?” asks Hall. We talked about 19-year-old Keandre Jackson who was arrested for the drive-by shooting of a mother and son. Two middle school kids get into an argument over a girl. Now, there’s an 11-year-old with a bullet lodged in his neck, possibly paralyzed from the waist down. Earlier in May, an older man was shot and killed by teenagers on Fulton and Crosstimbers. “These kids are getting these guns from somewhere. They’re roaming the streets and wreaking havoc like there aren’t consequences to their actions. I can’t even say ‘where are their parents?’ because they probably see the road rage incidents or shooting of unarmed people and think they can get away with it.” Mayor Sylvester Turner has expressed commitment to combat crime with the One Safe Houston crime reduction initiative. With this initiative, $44.6 million is being invested into the police departments, surveillance technology and improved lighting on stores and streets. Included in the plan would be a gun buy-back program to remove the abundance of illegal weapons off the streets.
Mayor Turner and Houston Police Chief Troy Finner went to Washington D.C. where President Joe Biden recognized the impact of the One Safe Houston plan. While these plans are initiatives, I am inclined to remind you that we get to choose who represents the values in our community. There are twice as many Republicans running than Democrats. Tuesday, May 24 is election
day for the primaries in Harris county. In the primary, we get to choose a representative to be on the November ballot. I implore you. Take your voice to the polls and vote. The lives of our children and the safety of our streets depends on it.
L to R- Chief Troy Finner and Mayor Turner
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
May 22, 2022
AFRAMNEWS.COM 5
RELIGION
THE WAY THINGS ARE By: Laisha Harris
HOUSTON - In 1975, local business and professional communities have gathered for prayer and support at The Greater Houston Prayer Breakfast. With music, food and fellowship, members of the Houston, Mission Bend and Clear Lake community, and elected and appointed officials met in Downtown Houston on Tuesday for this annual event. Following a roaring applause and a standing ovation for members of the local police department and prayer for the country of Ukraine. Monica Lee, Senior Leader at the NASA Johnson Space Center, spoke about the way things look and the way things are. Lee was told at a young age that math would stand in the way of her success as an adult. That was the way things looked to her teachers. Now, Lee is the Chief of Staff for NASA working on getting the first woman into space and the first humans on Mars. That is the way things are. Connecting the indisputable knowledge of science and the word of Christ, Lee says “an object will stay the same until there is a force or action to put it into motion. Or, as us Bible-folks would say, faith without works is dead.” You can want, you can wish, you can pray – but until you put faith into action, there will be no reward. She has a valid point. We pray for change but what is being put into action? Lee goes on to say, “you may not be able to change the masses, but you can change the moment.” Thinking about the life of Jesus— Christianity was not common at the time Jesus was born, but His presence did change the moment. His life was impactful because Jesus followed the laws
of his God, rather than the laws of the Romans. The following of Christ threatened the economic structure of Rome at the time, a factor leading towards His crucifixion. Jesus broke the rules of man that went against the Kingdom of God. By following Christ, you would be rejecting the ideologies and practices that encourage the oppression of others. By following Christ, love of God and others is the center of your heart, rather than profits and control of communities. We may not be able to change or stop racist people from being racist, but we can change the moment by taking in the way things look and recognizing the way things are. How do things look? Like faint and insincere attempts at ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion.’ The Black community has been shaken yet again by an indisputably racist act of violence that is not acknowledged by the wealthy business professionals who make incredible profits in the Black community. It looks as if by standing in the righteousness of Christ, you are absolved of your responsibility to fight for the poor, the sinners, and the unclean. It looks as if Christ is standing with the White, wealthy, and powerful. It looks as if we are coming on the end of times—but that is not the way things are. Psalm 82:3-4, “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” Isaiah 49:26, “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh.” Psalm 146:7-9, “The Lord sets the prisoners free . . . opens the eyes of the blind . . . raises up
Monica Lee those who are bowed down . . . loves the righteous . . . protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.”
The Prayer Breakfast concluded with a question that I encourage us all to think about: where do you stand with your God who created this world that we all live in?
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GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
May 22, 2022
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
KID’S POSTER CONTEST By: Crystal Toussant
HOUSTON-The City of Houston rewarded the winners of The Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) Kid’s Poster Contest at a ceremony in the beautiful Legacy Room at City Hall. This contest is for the relatives of City Workers. Every artist was asked to draw themselves as a City Employee. The artwork entries were meant to celebrate the contributions of City Workers. This marks the first time after two years of hosting the ceremony virtually that it was held in person. The guest speaker was the Executive Assistant Chief Michelle McLeod of the Houston Fire Department, who really inspired every little artist in the room. She thanked every artist for celebrating the contributions of City Workers on every level with their awesome artwork. The PSRW Kid’s Poster Contest winners were announced from Third Place to First Place. Each winner received a copy of their framed winning artwork and a gift bag. There were five categories, and the ages ranged from five-year-old to 18-yearold. The first-place winners were Prithak Tripathi for Construction Manager (five years old), Sara Echeverria Torres for Covid 19 Vaccine age (seven years old), Anna Jiaqi Wang for Promote a Walkable Houston, Jayden Jason Onyekwelu for Police Are Our Brave Heroes (11 years old), Chloe’ Marsai Toussant for Future Councilwoman of District D (13 years old), and Elizabeth Sierra for Jobs Around the City (15 years old). Every student did extraordinary work and every parent beamed with pride as their little ones accepted their awards.
During the ceremony, the HR Director, Jane Cheeks made a few remarks and passed out the prizes to the winners. The Artwork was amazing, full of detail, color, and imagination. Prize Sponsors were Blick Art, Children’s Museum of Houston, Cypress Trails, Gringo’s Tex Mex, Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Houston Astros, Houston Metropolitan Federal Credit Union, Houston Rockets, Houston Television (HTV), Ice Skate Memorial City, Kroger, Lone Star Flight Museum, Mayor’s Office, Mc Donald’s, Scavenger Hunt Houston, & Splash Kids Art. Every sponsor contributed to the Super Deluxe good bags that
the winners received. These young artists are blossoming talents that were ready to compete and capitalized on their opportunity to share their art with the Houston Community and the world. Chloe’ Marsai, the winner of the 13 – 14-yearold competition is quite an artist in her own right. Chloe’ Marsai is presently being featured in the Dyslexia Exhibit at the John P. McGovern Health Museum in a digital display of Art that highlights students from all over Texas that were chosen to be a part of their exhibit. She also just received the coveted letter from the Museum of Fine Arts
Houston’s Glassell School of Art that awarded her a scholarship to study Art in their prestigious program. She is just one example of the many great things are youth are doing. Lastly, every student that placed 1st through 3rd was celebrated and acknowledged. It is important to congratulate every student who submitted work because achieving your goals starts with the first step. Congratulations to the award winners and all participants of the PSRW Kid’s Poster Contest. Every student did their best and we are so proud of the youth who participated.
Chloe’ Marsai
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May 22, 2022
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
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