Volume 28 Issue 45

November 26, 2023

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

African-American News&Issues

Vol. 28, Issue 45

FREE

VOTE DEC 9

ENDORSEMENTS

“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”

Chris Hollins (Controller), Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (City Council, District D), Mary Nan Huffman (City Council, District G), Mario Castillo (City Council, District H), Melanie Miles (City Council, At-Large #1), Nick Hellyar (City Council, At-Large #2), Richard Cantu (City Council, At-Large #3) Letitia Plummer (City Council, At-Large #4)

INCLUSION

BLACK HOMELESSNESS By: Shelley McKinley

Homelessness is an issue for some and an experience for others. Of those experiencing homelessness, the 2022 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data tells us that nationally 50.0% of homeless people are white, and 37.3% of homeless people are black.

According to the Coalition for the Homeless, which serves as the lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC) and is the Greater Houston homeless response system, the vast majority of those experiencing homelessness are black/African American (55%) or white (41%) in Harris County. The 2020 U.S. Census showed a total of 6,174,367 persons in Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend counties.

How are homeless people counted? HUD uses a Point-in-Time (PIT) methodology, offering a snapshot of homelessness—both sheltered

and unsheltered—on a single night. The onenight PIT counts are typically conducted during the last 10 days of January each year. HUD has methodological standards for conducting the PIT counts, and CoCs use a variety of approved methods to produce the counts. In Houston the official “night of record” for the count occurred on the night of Jan. 23, 2023. Persons experiencing homelessness were found in one of four settings – places not meant for human habitation (i.e., unsheltered), emergency shelters, transitional housing, or safe havens. Safe havens are supportive housing that serves hard-to-reach homeless persons with severe mental illness who are on the street and have been unable or unwilling to participate in supportive services.

Homelessness on pg. 3

By: Bobby E. Mills, PhD

God is an inclusive God. Even though all have sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory. Thus, when any individual says he loves God, and hates any fellowman, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. God is an inclusive God, He hates the sin, but loves the sinner, because nothing can separate us from the love of God, that was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world unto God. America, individuals never have to say I love you, because actions speak louder than words, and if individuals include you in their lives, you know they love you. Sunday is a Holy Day, and at the same time, it is the most exclusionary day of the week. We work together, we go to school together, we spend our money together in different business enterprises, and we engage in entertainment venues together, but for a devilish reason (s) we cannot worship God together. Christian Right Evangelicals, The GOP, White Nationalists, Fox “FAKE” News, and some spiritually misguided minorities for some ungodly

Inclusion on pg. 3

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President/Chief Editor

Contributing Writers Dr. Bobby Mills Rachel Thompson Jazz Pazz Asia Williams William Monroe Trotter Jr. Shelley McKinley Tristar Web Graphics - Layout Design/Print Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

STORIES, PICTURES, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, EMAIL TO

news@aframnews.com

PO BOX 41820 Houston, TX 77241

We are looking for historical writers That can produce stories that address current and historical realities affecting our community.

PLEASE SEND YOUR INQUIRIES TO PROD@AFRAMNEWS.COM

November 26, 2023

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

EDITORIAL A Revival of God

Consciousness Bobby Mills, Phd

THANKS BE TO GOD: THANKS BE TO MANKIND America, we should always come into the spiritual presence of God and each other with joyful thanksgiving: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God, it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (Psalm 100: 1-4).

America, we owe this to God, because His mercy and grace has been overwhelming, and His love for US endured forever, because nothing or no one can separate us from

the love of God that was manifested in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Thus, to allow a demonic minded former President to divide and confuse some Americans into devilish siloecho-chambers is a disgrace before the throne of God Almighty. America know this, you cannot govern a multi-cultural democratic society advocating confusion, exclusion, and violence. And, we all know, that if Donald J. Trump were Non-White, he would be either dead or under the jailhouse, because thus far, Donald J. Trump, has gotten away with everything under the law, including getting away with individuals being murdered on January 6th, 2021.

Despite our democratic governance shortcomings and the devilish ways of some Americans, we still have an awful lot to be thankful for, because America is the most powerful socio-economic militaristic nation

on planet earth. America is a multi-cultural democracy with unlimited freedoms, and Human Rights and Civil Rights. Thus, to whom much is given, much is required.

Therefore, America let’s give God the honor, glory, and power, because: “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

(John 4: 23-24). America let’s not lose sight of where our blessings come from, and why we should truly be thankful for all God has done for us individually and collectively: “Even everyone that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him…This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” (Isaiah 43:7,21). God is a jealous God,

and He desires that we have no other gods before him, because the fear of the Lord is righteousness, and: “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.”

(Proverbs 15: 33).

Every Godfearing American should adhere to the will of God that we love and serve Him and love and serve each other in the name of Jesus Christ, and: “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”

(Job 36: 11). America, God is good, and all the time God is good. Therefore, “Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them…. Through wisdom is an house builded: and by understanding it is established. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” (Proverbs 24: 1,3-4).

America, let us always be in a Thanksgiving mindset for all that God has done for US. Thanks be to God for being an inclusive God. Amen.

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION Homelessness Cont.

When asked what the primary cause of their homelessness was, one-third said loss of job or loss of income. Another 9% of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness indicated they were homeless due to the COVID-19 pandemic with most citing the loss of a job or reduction in hours and/or eviction as the precipitating event. The second most common reason given (21%) was family conflict. In a separate question, 8% of unsheltered individuals indicated they were homeless due to a natural disaster.

Of those answering yes, 60%

cited Hurricane Harvey, another hurricane, or flooding as the reason.

In September 2023, ahead of the Houston Mayoral election, the Kinder Institute found that 85% of Houston residents reported being either “concerned” or “very concerned” about homelessness, just behind crime and safety at 86%. Now headed into a runoff, Houston Mayoral Candidates JacksonLee or Whitmire will have to deliver on their campaign promise regarding homelessness in Houston. Both U.S.

November 26, 2023 Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and TX Sen. John Whitmire said their legislative experience would allow them to collaborate with local, state and federal governments to bring additional funding and manpower to tackle the issue.

At the Healthcare for the Homeless Forum on August 17, 2023, Jackson Lee said her experience in Congress will allow her to work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to secure rental assistance and resources for lowincome housing. She also pledged to have a cabinet member of her administration dedicated to addressing homelessness.

At the same forum, Whitmire pledged to bring the owners of the Astros, Rockets and

Texans together and give them 90 days to develop a plan for funding or providing healthcare for homeless Houstonians.

Among the Black/ African American homeless population, many are U.S. Military Veterans, survivors of domestic violence, persons with HIV/ AIDS, persons with serious mental illness, individuals experiencing chronic substance use disorder (alcohol and/or drugs), and unaccompanied young adults and parenting young adults.

Since 2012, more than 28,000 people who have experienced homelessness in the greater Houston area have been housed. This has resulted in a more than a 60% decrease in overall homelessness in just over a decade. Houstonians are counting on the next mayor to continue this trend.

AFRAMNEWS.COM 3 Inclusion Cont. reason (s) refuse to acknowledge that God is an inclusive God. They know without a doubt that God is an inclusive God, and the Founders of our democratic experiment knew it, because they wrote it as cardinal moral truths in the Preamble to The U. S. Constitution as well as the Constitution itself: “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness.” Yet, it is a spiritual mystery why they and preceding generations have not been able to live to the Godly greatness of those sacred words.

Thus, we do know this after writing the sacred spiritual words of the Preamble and the Constitution many of the Founders went home to their slaves, because they could say and affix the spiritual words pen to paper, but could not spiritually live the true meaning of what they espoused on paper. Sadly, to this very day (250) years later White Privilege Oriented individuals refuse to acknowledge that equal is equal, and that God is inclusive, even though: “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3: 22-23). America, we still can get it right with God, and each other, but with the gerrymandered

congressional “Make America White Again” GOP Representatives might make it mission impossible, because the devil has a hellish hold on them: (Trump and Trumpsters). America, we need to make a concerted effort to live in the inclusive example of Jesus Christ, by knowing this: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did not sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:” (1 Peter 2: 21). America, we know that it is impossible for the South to embrace this spiritual example, because the South has always been exclusive, rather than inclusive. The South is the so-called Bible-belt of the nation, but they say Lord, Lord and run with the devil twentyfour seven. Is it possible for America to believe that Jesus Christ was, and shall always be the inclusive Son of God, because his Father is inclusive. Therefore, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God: but made himself of not reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.”

(Philippians 2: 5-7). Will some Christian Right Evangelical who has not gone AWOL on God, please read this scriptural verse to Donald J. Trump and all Trumpsters.

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November 26, 2023

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

November 26, 2023

AFRAMNEWS.COM 5

POLITICAL

UNVEILING THE CHALLENGE: NAVIGATING LOW LITERACY RATES IN OUR COMMUNITY By: Afram News

In the contemporary world, literacy emerges as an indispensable skill, providing individuals with the capacity to comprehend language, navigate written communication, and actively participate in society. The absence of literacy inhibits individuals from fully engaging in educational opportunities, hindering their ability to grasp complex ideas, acquire knowledge, and make

informed decisions.

Functional literacy encompasses various factors, including proficient reading and writing, analytical and interpretative skills, critical and creative thinking, effective technological use, meaningful knowledge application, and adept communication.

While reading and writing form the core activities associated with literacy, other modes of expression,

such as visual literacy and digital literacy, play equally vital roles. Visual literacy involves interpreting visual cues like maps and diagrams, while digital literacy entails understanding digital devices and accessing online information.

Proficiency in these areas not only enhances individual awareness but also augments job prospects.

Recognizing the pivotal role of literacy, numerous organizations allocate resources to boost literacy rates domestically and abroad. Nonprofits initiate initiatives to bring reading materials into communities without access to books, while governments provide subsidies for higher education. The advent of technology has further facilitated learning through the availability of online courses, offering adults, regardless of age or location, the opportunity to enhance their literacy skills.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 79% of American adults possess medium to high English literacy skills.

This implies that 21%, or approximately 43

million adults, grapple with low literacy skills bordering on illiteracy.

These low literacy levels impact the nation significantly, negatively affecting the economy by limiting employment opportunities and decreasing workforce productivity. The estimated annual cost of low literacy in the U.S. is a staggering $2.2 trillion. Beyond economic ramifications, low literacy can lead to political disengagement, increased reliance on social welfare programs, and elevated crime rates. In a global context, the U.S. lags behind other developed nations in literacy rates.

Immigration emerges as a critical factor contributing to literacy challenges in the U.S. Hosting more immigrants than any other nation globally, the literacy rates reveal that 34% of those lacking English proficiency were born outside the country. This trend is particularly evident in states with large immigrant populations, such as California, where over 20% of the population is foreignborn, correlating with lower adult literacy rates.

Children’s literacy rates are equally significant, with 66% of 4th graders in the U.S. reading below proficiency levels in 2013. Children’s low literacy rates can have lasting effects on a nation’s overall health, as a lack of early literacy development may lead to prolonged challenges in adult literacy rates, negatively impacting the nation’s well-being.

The disparity in literacy rates across the U.S. is influenced by various factors, including the distribution of powers between federal and state governments and the emphasis on education in specific states. States like Massachusetts, prioritizing education with initiatives like a “millionaire tax” for public education funding, boast high children’s literacy rates. Similarly, New Hampshire, with the highest literacy rates in the country, has actively promoted literacy through various programs.

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November 26, 2023

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

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November 26, 2023

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION

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