Volume 29 Issue 7

African-American News&Issues

“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”

History is His Story, not the Truth or Our Story. Black History is 24/7/365, not just 4 weeks

- Roy Douglas Malonson

PIONEERS IN EDUCATION

By Shelley McKinley

ere are currently at least seven school districts being led by superintendents of African American decent in the Greater Houston area: Aldine, Channelview, Crosby, Fort Bend, Houston, Lamar Consolidated, and Sheldon ISD. ere are other African Americans leading the school districts state-wide. Whether they know it or not, they all stand on the shoulders of Ned .E. (N.E.) Williams and his son, Elzie R. (E.R.) Williams. James N.E. Williams, the son of E.R. and the grandson of N.E., along with his daughters have worked to document their history so that both men continue to inspire future generations.

N.E. Williams, who was born a slave on September 4, 1864, to Ms. Partha Williams. Being a slave, his father was unknown. His mother had three other children; Jake, Della and Ludie. e family moved to Kansas for a short while but returned to Texas, stopping at a farm in the Elderville, Gregg County. ey worked on the farm for a while and decided to stay in the area instead of returning to Shelby County. During this time N.E. Williams kept studying the books he acquired along the way a er he nished his chores.

LOST GENERATIONS

By Bobby E. Mills, PhD

America is spiritually losing generation a er generation, because we have forgotten that: “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” (Psalm 90:1). In the Black community we are experiencing generational curses without spiritually understanding that God will never break faith with us, even though we sin against His Commandments and ourselves. us, there are many curses, but the number one curse in the Black community is family disintegration. Seventy- ve percent of all families in the Black community are without a male father gure. Family spiritual brokenness is the overriding problem in the Black community. Family brokenness produces spiritual brokenness from God, because individuals are attempting to live apart from the reality of God. God is LOVE, and apart from God is spiritual brokenness. If individuals attempt to live apart from God, they invariably live in the reality of the devil. God created family as the foundational institution of society. In so doing, God spiritually required that husbands be obedient to their wives by loving and protecting them. Likewise, wives are to be spiritually obedient, and love and comfort their husbands. Children are to obey their parents, by understanding that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. More importantly, parents must train up children in the spiritual way of the Lord. As a result, none of this is spiritually taking root in Black families nor American society in general. Love child gone wild, and babies having babies.

Education on pg. 3 Generations on pg. 7

Adah and Ned E. Williams

By: Lloyd Harrison, Houston

of The

As we commemorate Black Heritage Month, it is important to reflect not only on the struggles and triumphs of the past but also to address the challenges of the present. By taking action to improve our present, Black Heritage Month offers an opportunity to continue to inspire our community to work towards a brighter future for the next generation.

As I contemplate the path forward, three impactful considerations come to mind as vital guideposts for our collective journey.

Supporting the young members of our community

In the journey towards progress, education plays a pivotal role. There are several mentorship and scholarship opportunities available for Black students that can support their education. We can all do our part in helping young members of our community seek opportunities that support their educational goals. Taking advantage of these opportunities can offset the cost of education and facilitate access to mentors that can help them successfully navigate through their academic journey.

AT&T, for example, offers mentorship and monetary support to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities through the Rising Future Makers program. In 2023, the program awarded

$5,000 to 25 Black students from across the country. Additionally, many nonprofit organizations like The NETwork, AT&T’s Black employee resource group, also offer mentorship and financial support to college students. The NETwork Scholarship Program has awarded more than $200,000 to 90 students since 2011. Last year, it awarded 10 deserving Black students $2,500 each.

Empowering young members of our community to explore scholarship opportunities like these is crucial in fostering education equity and provide them with the resources and support need to unlock their full potential.

Establishing a strong network Having a strong support system is the cornerstone of success. In times of challenge, it provides the motivation to persevere, and during moments of triumph, it amplifies the joy of achievement. Surrounding yourself with a network of encouragement, guidance and trust nurtures personal growth.

“All this because of my hair?”

In the 1700s, the “Negro Act” made it illegal for Black people to “dress above their condition.” In 2024 Black Americans remain stigmatized for not imitating the grooming habits that match white, European beauty values.

it’s always gathered on top of their head, even for religious reasons. This contradicts the Texas CROWN Act law that strictly prohibits discrimination on the basis of hair styles associated with race. Protective styles expressly include locks, braids, and twists.

Lawyers representing Barbers Hill I.S.D. claimed lawmakers should have included specific language about hair length if they expected the CROWN law to cover it. Allie Booker, representing Darryl George, was forced to state the obvious to the oblivious judge: protected styles, including braids and locks are only possible with long hair. “You can’t make braids with a crew cut. You can’t lock anything that isn’t long,” she tried to explain. Her efforts were repeatedly disrespected and interrupted by the opposing counsel as “irrelevant.”

I joined The NETwork in 1996 looking to connect with other Black professionals in my community. Today, as president of the Houston Chapter my goal is to create an environment where Black professionals feel supported to continue to work towards achieving their goals –we call this “Lift & Climb”. We do this by providing our members with access to professional and personal development opportunities and by coming together to give back to our community. We know that access to job opportunities, career advancement, and economic mobility are all tied to someone’s access to digital resources.

Darryl George is a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Chambers County. Every school day since August he has suffered the punishment of forced segregation from his peers in in-school suspension for the depravity of sporting his hair in well-groomed, painstakingly pinned-up locs. He will remain in isolation indefinitely since the March 22nd trial where the white State District Judge Chap Cain III brazenly declared the school’s policy “does not prohibit nor does it discriminate against male students who wear braids, locs, or twists,” but that Mr. George must cut his to regain classroom attendance privileges.

“It feels lonely,” Mr. George said. “When you’re only stuck in one room for a whole semester it makes you feel some type of way. You see everyone else walking around talking and laughing, and you can’t do that.”

The school district forbids males from wearing hair that extends beyond eyebrows, earlobes, or collars even when

The primary author of the CROWN Act, Texas Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers recognizes that Darrell George’s education is being unlawfully withheld. “We see your efforts to break down this young Black man, and we will not allow it.” She added that if she and her team have to go back to the drawing board to create a clearer law, they will.

State Rep. Ron Reynolds says he will file a new crown act including hair length.

Civil rights activist Candice Matthews knows Barbers Hill ISD “wanted to pick a sacrificial lamb in order for them to show that ‘We don’t give a damn about your bill, and your law.’”

Education Cont.

Despite being selftaught he attended Bishop College in Marshall, Texas and Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. While at Tuskegee Institute he studied under Drs. Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.

“He was self-taught and learned subjects like Greek and Latin and taught courses there. Somewhere along the lines he met Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the father of what we called at that time Negro history. I can remember as a student that we used to have Negro History Week, and there was a course in Negro History which was normally taught by my grandfather,” recalled James N.E. Williams.

N.E. Williams started his teaching career at a small school in Fredonia in 1883 about 8 miles south of Longview, Texas. He taught there until 1889 when he was called home to the community of Greenville (about 8 miles southeast of Longview) to assist in setting up and running a school that would later bear his name.

The school, which was part of the Rosenwald School Project, operated under the following names: Greenville School, Greenville High School, and Gregg County Training School. The Rosenwald project was led by Dr.

and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company Julius Rosenwald.

Dr. Carver made his first visit to Longview in 1915, and again in 1927 when he stayed in the home of Professor Ned E. Williams for about a week to visit the school and community. Another visit was scheduled by Dr. Carver in 1943, but he became too ill to travel. Dr. Carver passed away a few months later. With over 60 years in the field of education, Professor Ned E. Williams passed away on November 27, 1945, leaving the world in much better shape than he found it.

Sometime before 1947, E.R. Williams became the principal and changed the name of the school to the Ned E. Williams High School. The school continued in operation for 86 years producing thousands of graduates who have served the community and the nation as teachers, preachers, lawyers, chemists, business leaders, administrators and leaders in the armed forces.

E.R. Williams became the first African American to serve as superintendent in Texas in the former Elderville Community School District. A brick building was constructed in 1964, and the original Ned E. Williams School operated until 1969, when

its schools. Rosenwald schools became obsolete following the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared school segregation unconstitutional.

When the Longview ISD board of trustees called for a bond election in May 2008 that would finance construction and renovation of facilities across the district, the Trustees decided to build a campus south of Interstate 20 to meet the needs of students in the area.

LISD Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox said naming the campus after Williams was a natural choice.

“Professor Ned E. Williams was truly a man ahead of his time, who left a legacy in our community that continues to this day,” Wilcox said. “Ned E. Williams established a school to give students who did not have the opportunity to learn a chance to get an education. It is a tradition that our entire district takes sacred.”

The Ned E. Williams Elementary School, located at 5230 Estes Parkway Longview, TX opened in September

2010, with a host of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren on hand for the ribbon cutting and Opening Ceremony. Dr. Dorcas Dunlap, a third-generation descendant of Ned E. Williams, is the administrator of the elementary school. The school will also be home to the Ned E. Williams Education Museum. The museum will feature N.E. Williams’ educational journey, and also highlight other Rosenwald Project schools in the area.

Writing in his book “History of My Life” dated December 11, 1928, Ned E. Williams stated: “I am indebted to the best Negroes and Whites of this country for my success if I have made any at all. I do know one thing I have spared no time in trying to make myself an honest citizen and all that come in my way to instruct. So this is about the career of my life. My only regret is I wish I had another to spend.”

James N.E. Williams can be seen and heard sharing a detailed oral history in the ‘Ned E. Williams Project’ on YouTube.

Eula Lee and Elzie R. Williams

James N.E. Williams, Oral Historian and Grandson

By Frederick V. Roberts

The 100 Black Men of the Metropolitan Houston Chapter proudly announces Darnell Joseph as its new Chapter President. With 30 years of distinguished and dedicated service, including as a founding member and two previous terms as President and Chairman of the Board, Joseph brings a wealth of experience and commitment to his new role. The chapter was chartered by the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. in June 1994.

As President, Joseph aims to build upon the chapter’s 30-year legacy of empowerment and service by furthering initiatives that foster education, mentorship, and community development. He envisions a future where every young person in the Metropolitan Houston area has access to the resources and support needed to thrive academically, professionally, and personally.

“I am deeply honored to serve as President of the 100 Black Men of the Metro-

LOCAL 713.692.1195

politan Houston Chapter. Committed to advancing our mission of empowering our community, I am confident that, together with our dedicated members and partners, we will make a lasting impact.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Darnell Joseph as our President,” stated Justin Washington, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the 100 Black Men of the Metropolitan Houston Chapter. “His proven leadership, passion for service, and deep-rooted commitment to our organization make him the ideal man to lead us into the future.”

Other members of the Board are RW. Bray, Vice President Operations, Jarred Morgan, Vice President of Finance, Will Bryant, Secretary, Rob Smith, Treasurer, Robert J. Jenkins Jr., Vice President of Development, Kieth Jackson, Vice President of Laws, Patrick Rumph, Vice President of Programs and Eric Crawford, Parliamentarian, and members at large William W. Worthy Jr., Derek Holmes, Greg Ulmer. Justin Washington is Chairman of the Board with Tracee Seals as the Executive Director.

For more information, please visit www.100blackmenhou.org or

Contact:

Frederick V. Roberts

Interim Communications Director 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston, Inc.

communications@100menhou.org 979-221-8430

GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE SALES EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FROM 11AM TO 4PM AA

EDUCATION

2ND ANNUAL CACTUS JACK HBCU CLASSIC

By Shelley McKinley

While the Cactus Jack HBCU Classic opened with a Celebrity Softball game that provides scholarship opportunities for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and featured the likes of CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans and Jeremy Peña of the Houston Astros, the collegiate tournament was all about connecting the community to HBCU baseball, and providing a platform for the athletes to showcase their talent. Other events, including the Astros Youth Academy College Fair, an ‘Old School’ HBCU party hosted by Scarface and Bun B, and an Astros Foundation Gospel Breakfast, complemented the tournament. Concerning baseball, the nine game tournament featured three games

per day played by members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC): Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M, and four schools from neighboring Louisiana and Mississippi – Southern University, Grambling State, Jackson State, and Alcorn State University. All the HBCU student athletes had the opportunity to play in Minute Maid park, a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium and the batters had the experience of hitting in a closed-roof arena, which was a first for some. The in-state rivalry matchups between Texas Southern vs. Prairie View, Southern vs. Grambling State, and Jackson State vs. Alcorn State proved to For more visit

Ra’Desha Lee, Texas Southern University c/o ‘23

Left to right: Tiger Borom, Davín Píerre - Grambling State Head Coach, Aries Gardner

BMOA Members in black Left to Right with scholarship recipients holding the bags. Elise Bentham (far left), Denise Bentham (BMOA President, center), and Jay Young (far right).

Left to Right: Harrel Tillman, Lauren Tillman (student), Carol Tillman

Generations Cont.

This is the crux of generational self-annihilation. There is simply too much ungodly disintegration taking p lace in Black families. Mental health and eating habits have become serious generational curses. Health is wealth, and individuals dietarily are what they eat. Gluttony and obesity are sin personified. Lest we forget, Black on Black crime is absolutely ungodly. Likewise, wholesome family mental health is mostly environmental, and contributes to family disintegration, because life apart from God is insanity. America is losing generation after generation, because of our immorality and spiritual disobedience against the will of God.

Too many Americans have broken faith with God, themselves, as well as others. Hence, evil is running wild in American society, even though a remnant of God’s people remains steadfast in the Faith. Life in the twenty-first century is characterized by bold sinful immorality, gun violence, and spiritual confusion, because we are living in a crooked and perverse world. The advent of Donald J. Trump into the political arena in (2016) has only exacerbated societal confusion, bold lying, political corruption, and societal violence. Trumpism has produced a bold ungodly corrosive impact on American society. Seventy-three million Trumpeters would rather buy guns than Bibles. In fact, the power of God’s truth is rejected

twenty-first century Americans, because they spiritually do not understand: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” (Philippians 2: 14-15). God’s faithfulness transcends generational curses, because: “The Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100: 5). America, lest we forget, the radicalized incident of President Trump removing peaceful demonstrators from a public park to use a church as a political prop, and to use the Bible as a demonstration of his Faith and obedience to the will of God. However, God in His infinite wisdom had Trump to hold the Bible up-side-down, as Trump’s life is spiritually upside down. In due time, Trump will find himself spiritually broken, materially broke, because a fool and his money will soon part. Most of all, by law Trump might find himself in prison, and hopefully lost generations of all races, creeds, and political persuasions can overcome the misguided and ungodly White Privilege Autocratic doctrine of exclusion in a multi-cultural democratic society. Prayerfully, the next generation will follow the spiritual tenets of God, and not the devilish isms of ungodly men. Do not read these words of spiritual inspiration in isolation, share the editorial with others. Selah!

AA

BLACK HISTORY MONTH Honoring

Black History is American History.

It is honoring the past, celebrating the present and creating a better future. It’s lifting up Americans who are brave, strong, bold and beautiful.

H-E-B celebrates the pride and resilience of the Black community today and every day.

Edison Arts Foundation