Know this, Texas Southern University (TSU) is the most underutilized, unvalued, and undeveloped institutional resource in the Black community. It’s a shame. It is appalling, but it is an empirical fact TSU needs restructuring. TSU has very few quality-control measures. This problem negatively affects all of us in many and varied profound ways, especially the Black community. This editorial is not designed to create more chaos and confusion. Its purpose is to help provide a positive visionary leadership directional solution because, “where there is no vision the people perish.” Therefore, if the community is not a part of the solution, they are invariably a part of the problem. The Black community is plagued by privilege-oriented political leadership, not sacrificial community service. Political leadership ineptness and immorality in the Black community has created community
development stagnation and not community creative institution building. Someone must be held accountable for what exists at TSU, and it starts with the Governor’s Office, and ends with leadership in the Black community, especially administrative leadership at TSU.
gives testimony to the fact that their cherished way of life is predicated upon injustice.
We need not forgive racial injustices in America’s past, and we must never forget them. But as a nation, we can reconcile. It is undeniable that the flurry of recent activity to suppress this country’s knowledge of its shameful history is an attempt to make us all forget the injustices suffered by large segments of our society. It is also undeniable that forgetting those injustices invites their reoccurrence.
What is imagined to be at stake by those who struggle to bury truths and eviscerate facts is the disappearance of a way of life essential to their very existence. But this only
The danger facing Americans can be demonstrated by looking at South Africa. South Africa went through a truth and reconciliation process after that nation’s government was forced to end its practice of apartheid in 1994. It was an attempt to put to rest animosity, resentment and fears after centuries of mistreatment suffered by Africans and other people of color at the hands of white supremacist.
Many history books say that apartheid lasted in South Africa only from 1948 to 1994, but that does not tell the whole story. In 1948, the National Party came to power in South Africa and codified the racial segregation in existence there for centuries.
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At the beginning of the fall semester there must be an internal autopsy coupled with a forensic audit from top to bottom on academic and financial affairs at TSU designed to assess state funding appropriations and expenditures. Maybe we should remember this scriptural message that states, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8: 28). If you are called and individuals prepare themselves through professional academic training to educate, then they should educate, not only themselves, but students as well. Education is a process that is designed to bring the best out of individuals. A university should never simply become a vulgar paycheck system that allows children to suffer, become ill-educated, and ill-prepared to live a meaningful productive life of service to others.
Bobby Mills, Phd
Food for
Oscar Blayton
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By: Surendra Surujdeo-Maharaj, Ph. D.
As part of a joint project between Tuskegee University and Booker T. Washington (BTW) High School, Houston, Agriculture students at Booker T. Washington High School (Houston Independent School District) journeyed to Alabama – home of Tuskegee University during the week of 14-18 November, to engage in discussions on how Agriculture can be a tool to address Food Insecurity and Climate Change. The project allowed BTW
Houston students to connect with three BTW High Schools in the area, present ongoing work by BTW, Houston to address food insecurity and climate change and understand the role that Dr. Booker T. Washington and Civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. played in the development of Agriculture and industry in the deep south. Upon arrival to BTW, Atlanta, Houston students were warmly welcomed by their peers and given
a grand tour of their campus. Students discovered to their surprise that BTW Atl., like BTW, Houston was in a food desert and the focus of their STEM program was to engage students in their local community in ways that connect learning to the real world. They did this by having a food production and culinary program to address food insecurity in the area.
William Wade (BTW, Atlanta) and Dr. Carlos Phillips II (BTW, Houston) of both schools met briefly, exchanged BTW Merch, and discussed continued collaboration between both schools. On their second day, students arrived at
Henderson Hall where the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences (CAENS) is located. Here, they had another opportunity to connect with BTW, Tuskegee students and Science Chair Ms. Jatoria Floyd during a meet and greet as well as interact with Dr. Quesha Starks, Principal of BTW, Montgomery. They were then led to various labs housed in the building where work was being carried out to address food insecurity and nutrition. During the exchange, students shared what they loved about their individual campuses and things they wanted to see improved. As part of their research into how the 19th century economy in the US was built on Agriculture, students visited the Legacy Museum in Montgomery. BTW Houston upperclassman Ja’Keerah Brooks chronicled ‘As I walked through the legacy museum I was filled with much sadness. It hurt to know that my people had to go through such things and were treated horribly. It also hurt to accept the fact that we still have problems to this day regarding racism. Some of the parts from the museum that really affected me though were the sections about the prisons.’
It always comes down to race. Out of all the examples Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito could have used, he decided to joke about Black kids dressing up as the Ku Klux Klan and Black Santa.
It all started because of a case about a web designer who doesn’t want to work on same-sex weddings because of her religious beliefs. Lorie Smith of Colorado is seeking to be exempt from a Colorado law that forbids discrimination “on the basis of sexual orientation in public accommodations.” Smith, who is a Christian, sued the state back in 2016 questioning the basis of the First Amendment.
The scenario of Black Santa and kids dressed up in KKK outfits was derived from Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson’s hypothetical scenario. She proposed a scenario where a business at the mall is offering pictures with Santa that focused on a particular era. In order to perfect this area, Justice Brown Jackson mentioned how only White kids would be allowed to
take pictures with Santa and that the business will gladly refer families of color to the Santa at the other end of the mall who will take anybody.”
Justice Alito went off of this example and took it up a notch and asked if Black Santa
We can understand why the scenarios were used and Justice Brown Jackson’s scenario was appropriate, but Justice Alito took it too far. When have you ever seen Black kids dressed up as the Ku Klux Klan? And knowing the historic background of what
“political and social” order for the south. There were rights that were put in place to protect African Americans, but the KKK did whatever they could to strip those rights away through violence. The KKK would beat, lynch, burn crosses,
conservative Justice would make such remarks or feel a certain way, but that does not make it right. This is one of the reasons why this country will remain stagnant and divided.
This is one example of why history is so important. We must
at the mall is inclined to take a picture with a child dressed up in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
Justice Elena Kagan chimed in about if the same would apply regardless if the child was White or Black, or any additional characteristics.
Justice Alito then said, “You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right? All the time.” He also mentioned another hypothetical scenario that involved Jewsih people.
the KKK represents and the things they have done, why would you even use this as an example? It’s insensitive and downright inappropriate.
Founded as a terrorist organization towards the end of the United States Civil War (1865), the KKK used fear tactics against African Americans who were free. The main purpose of the KKK was to push White Supremacy as the
bomb places, terrorize the homes of African Americans, and so much more. The mission of the KKK was accomplished with the creation of the Jim Crow Laws (18751965) that made segregation legal.
Justice Alito, who is known as a conservative wrote the majority opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade case this past summer. It is not surprising that the
teach our kids about slavery, racism, discrimination, and the KKK. It is important so that when comments such as these are made, they will understand why it is wrong. They will understand the historic pain that lies behind the comments. We also need to teach our kids about respecting each other’s differences, and that even though bad things were done to our race and culture, we don’t
have to be angry and carry that anger with us every day of our life. Teach them about the history, but make sure they understand that just because the past was that way, it doesn’t mean that the present or the future has to be that way. We must teach them to process the information in a healthy manner that allows them to adequately express how they feel, but more so allows them to function in a world that may not like them because of the color of their skin. In this life or another, we will always have race issues. It is what help set the foundation of this country. This country was built by “We the People,” and was never built for Black people. We live in a nation that tolerates our skin but doesn’t fully accept it. In the words of Malcom X, “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” We will never be at peace as a race because we will never be free from our skin color and the judgement that comes with it.
Maria Velasquez, BTW Houston
Junior impressions of the exhibits at the museum ‘were sadness and a bit of anger. I got really emotional hearing one of the female caged slave’s singings in her cell and also hearing the two little boys calling for their mom. I imagined myself seeing these boys in their cells and reflecting on my memories when I was little with mom and dad. I felt a bit uneasy going into the exhibit with the statue heads on the projected water because imagining their bodies being thrown out into the water and having to die alone by the sea was messed up. The music added to that uneasiness.’
In the afternoon of the third day, BTW, Houston students presented innovations in agriculture that were ongoing at their campus to address food security and climate change to Tuskegee Undergrad students and staff at Henderson Hall Auditorium.
Tuskegee undergrads were very impressed with the work being done at the high school level and wished they could have learned more about sustainable agriculture while they
were in high school.
Campus principal Dr. Carlos Phillips II also made an engaging presentation to the audience of the Vision Statue and Community Plaza project to honor Dr. Booker T. Washington in Houston.
In examining why Black farmers were left landless during the reconstruction period, students visited Selma to find answers. They visited the Selma Museum, Brown Chapel, walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge and discussed among themselves about what it must have
been like for farmers during that period and the human price paid to vote.
Eleventh grade student Ashley Risley, BTW Houston reflected ‘I mentally picture people walking around the streets and going to church and the stores there. But l also felt sad and angry of how much violence the civil right movement brought. People of color protested and created a movement to be able to vote and have equality, but whites and police enforcement brutality beat on the people of color.’
On the last day of their Agriculture immersion experience, Ph.D. candidate Gail Yielding invited students to visit Auburn University to learn about the oldest continuous soil fertility experiment (est. 1911) in Southeastern US – The Cullars Rotation, modern sustainable Agriculture, Vertical and indoor Farms. Students were able to compare the early history of Agriculture in the US with the future of farms in a single location. They were reassured that what they were learning in their classroom is driven by
innovative changes in the agriculture industry and that they are more confident to address food insecurity and climate change in their neighborhood. Since the start of the 2022 academic year, students at BTW Houston have been reading in their Scientific Research and Design class about the lives of two outstanding educators and agriculturalists who believed that students should be empowered with skills that would allow them to grow their own food sustainably to improve the quality of life. In their final moments,
students paid homage to these men who have inspired their school’s namesake and sustainable agriculture philosophy by visiting the house where Booker Taliaferro Washington lived and carried out the most important work of his life. Students reflected ‘It felt like there was a lot of history and walking into the house connected us to it… I felt honored because after the trip we knew so much more about Booker T. and the meaning behind the statue.
Walgreens specially trained pharmacists have safely administered over 100 million COVID-19 vaccines in the past three years. Through online scheduling or within the Walgreens app offering same-day appointments, Walgreens makes it easy to stay up-to-date on recommended vaccines, like the updated COVID-19 booster and flu shot. Plus, COVID-19 treatments are now more accessible if you or a loved one becomes ill. As you plan your holiday festivities, consider the answers to these 5 questions:
How long does it take for the COVID-19 vaccine to be effective?
It typically takes two weeks, so there’s still enough time to prepare for your festivities! Free COVID-19 vaccines and updated boosters are available at Walgreens via same-day appointments. Getting your primary series or updated COVID-19 booster helps you stay protected against COVID-19 variants.
Why is it necessary to have both a COVID-19 and flu vaccine?
With both COVID-19 and flu circulating, with the highest flu activity reported in more than a decade, staying up to date with vaccines is critical to providing protection and helping to prevent illness, medical visits and hospitalizations for you and your family.
Is it safe to receive both the COVID-19 shot or booster and annual flu shot at the same time?
Yes. Studies conducted by the CDC throughout the pandemic indicate that it is safe to get both a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit. Talk to your pharmacist to determine which vaccines suit your health needs.
What else can I do to prevent a super spreader at my holiday gathering?
For further protection, your local Walgreens offers a variety of masks, hand sanitizers and COVID-19 testing options, including at-home COVID-19 tests available at no cost to you!
COVID-19 treatments were once hard to come by. What is Walgreens doing to make once limited COVID-19 treatments more accessible?
Walgreens now offers free prescription delivery of Paxlovid, a COVID-19 oral antiviral therapy, directly to the doorsteps of those in need, with the help of delivery partners DoorDash and Uber Health for same day delivery.
Pharmacy Manager, New York, NY
“No matter your reason why, Walgreens pharmacists want to help you stay up to date on your vaccinations so you can continue showing up for the people you love. We highly recommend getting your COVID-19 and flu shots as soon as possible. We continue to support your general wellbeing and overall health beyond vaccinations as well. If you or a loved one becomes ill, contact your local pharmacist who can provide testing and prescribe the appropriate treatment options.”
Schedule your appointment by scanning this QR code or visiting: walgreens.com/findcare/ schedule-vaccine
Vaccines are either covered by insurance or government assistance. Vaccines are subject to availability. State-, age-and health-related restrictions may apply.
Girlfriends Christmas is back! Girlfriends Christmas (GC) was established in 2000 and is an annual party with a purpose that partners with charitable organizations to help the underserved in the Houston area. This was the first year back since the pandemic and the room was filled with Black Girl Magic. Every lady put on their favorite brown or gold attire and came out to celebrate the holiday season at the 19th Girlfriends
Christmas Party with a Purpose! This amazing party was themed A Chocolate City Christmas: A Celebration of Melanin. The room was full of beautifully dressed women who brunched and sipped on bubbly as they celebrated their friendships and community for the
holiday season. The ladies partied with a purpose to benefit The JCS Project nonprofit organization that provides FREE college care packages to HBCU students. The room was electric with positivity, love, and empowerment for Black Women doing extraordinary things. Their special guest speaker was the Honorable Tiffany
D. Thomas, Houston City Council member, District F, and their guest emcee was the amazing Alexis “Fly” Jones, TV Personality/Producer. The mission of GC is to celebrate friendship and sisterhood during the holiday season with the sole purpose of providing resources to Houston area nonprofits that serve the underserved in the Houston
community. For 19 years, GF Party has hosted, empowered, and encouraged hundreds of women to give back to the communities where we live and work.
GF has provided charitable donations to many Houston area nonprofit organizations and has touched the lives of hundreds of women, men, college students,
and children through their giving efforts. A few of the benefactors of the charitable giving include:
• Change HappensProvided toiletries for the homeless.
• Houston Area Women’s CenterProvided toiletries for the women and children at the Center.
• The Children’s Assessment Center- Provided toys, basketballs, and journals for the children in the Center.
Houston is proud to be represented as the Barbara Jordan section of The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). The Barbara Jordan Houston Section was organized in January 2004 by Jackie Polk
and is currently under the leadership of President Bessie Fletcher. This powerful organization of women is driven by the mission to lead, empower, and advocate for women of African descent, their families, and
communities. The National Council of Negro Women is an “organization of organizations” (comprised of 330 campus and communitybased sections and 32 national women’s organizations) that
enlightens, inspires, and connects more than two million women and men.
years, the iconic Dr. Dorothy Height was president of NCNW. Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole was elected Chair of NCNW in 2018, ushering in a new era of social activism and continued progress
and growth for the organization.
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