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My Truth Publisher Cheryl Smith
Pull out your Little Black Dress My heart has been going through some things, especially in the past six months. Sure over the years there have been the heartaches, the joyful moments, the pain of losses and the feeling when everything seems to fall into place. This little heart of mine has definitely been tested and as I reflect on the special people who are and were part of my life, I can’t help but think about those who have passed on. When I do I can’t speak.
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VOL IX ISSUE 25
CHOICE OF HARRIS AS DEM VP CANDIDATE PRAISED By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
Amelia Ashley Ward, publisher of San Francisco’s Sun Reporter newspaper, could hardly contain her emotions when Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was announced as the running mate for Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden. “I cried,” said Ms. Ashley Ward, who has remained close friends with Sen. Harris for more than two decades. “I know that she is qualified, and she is for the people,” Ward proclaimed. “I’ve always felt that God had a little something special for her.” Marcela Howell, the president
and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Reproductive Justice Agenda, called Sen. Harris highly qualified with a proven record of fighting for human and civil rights. “As a Black woman born to
immigrant parents, Sen. Harris understands, personally, how devastatingly unjust the TrumpPence administration’s attacks on our most basic rights have been.
see HARRIS, page 6
What does that mean for the underserved and inner city students? Tara Robinson
All I can do is release a heavy sigh. Then, something like COVID -19 hits and really turns my world upside down; making me long even more for those I’ve lost. The social distancing, the changes in lifestyle, the many losses; heavy sigh. I wondered if my heart could stand anything else. Which brings me to my truth. Admittedly, I am late, but I am all in for the Black Heart Association (BHA). Founded in 2016 by Tara Robinson, BHA promotes “healthy hearts by advocating for people of color, primarily in underserved communities where there is little or no access to health care.” So I am joining with the BHA as they launch National Little Black Dress Day with an online event “so that women from all over could wear black to save a life rather than mourn one.” Tara, who is the CEO & Founder, of Heart 2 Heart Story, wants to educate us and help us to prevent heart disease. She knows we have to make lifestyle changes, reduce stress, possibly change our diets and more. She knows what can happen if we don’t do better, because she suffered three heart attacks in one week! As she dealt with her health issues, she and her husband founded BHA to help others. Today, we’re being challenged like never before. And yes, I know that every month is a pandemic month for Black people and every day we are faced with challenges. So get ready, on September
see MY TRUTH, page 5
Our children are facing many challenges this school year; staying healthy while trying to learn in an environment hostile to good health. With the political posturing to return students to the classroom, where is the plan to build and protect their immune systems? The mask and social distancing maybe necessary, but there must be more answers to the equation. One answer is so simple it is missed: Healthy Food! Many children living in inner cities have limited access to fresh produce at school and at home. Numerous studies cite the benefits of eating fresh produce, but many African American and Hispanic students live in “food deserts,” according to the USDA definition. According to “Racial Health Disparities Already Existed in America – the coronavirus just exacerbated them” by Court-
Thinking
WASHED Hollywood Review
Norma Adams-Wade
page 6
Williams A ‘dirty’ word?
page 4
ney Connely, “Due to a history of housing discrimination and redlining, which is the systemic practice of refusing government resources to predominantly Black neighborhoods because they’ve been deemed a financial risk, generations of African Americans have been forced to live in areas that lack access to healthy food options. Many of these neighborhoods, which researchers have categorized as “food deserts” are filled with fast food restaurants and small corner stores that have more junk food options than fresh fruits and vegetables.” Former First Lady Michelle Obama raised awareness about the importance of proper nutrition for our children with her My Plate initiative. We must go further to teach and present healthier food choices in a more appealing
Debra Peek Haynes
way, because we are competing with major corporations for the attention of our children. In a World News article, “Study Says Junk Food Companies Spend Billions of Dollars on Ads Targeting Black Children,” author Christina Calloway cites Jim Krieger, the executive director of Healthy Food America, “Targeted marketing to low-income kids and kids of color is a significant public health threat. In the year of COVID-19 and beyond, there must be an emphasis on healthy eating. Just to rely on a possible vaccine and not on a healthy life giving diet, is short sighted.” In 2018, I launched the Healthy Youth Project to educate our youth on the correlation between proper nutrition,
see SCHOOL, page 6
tinue preparing students for college, careers and life well into the future. It will also lower the district’s property tax rate by nearly 5 cents. Trustees unanimously called the VATRE Aug. 11, and it will be included on the upcoming November ballot. Election Day is Nov. 3, with early voting running from Oct. 13-30. “If voters approve the VATRE, homeowners will see a lower property tax rate in 2020-21 while our school district will benefit from an almost $42 million increase in funding annual-
ly,” said Board President Johnny Beach. “These funds would be used to provide competitive teacher salaries, expanded Pre-K offerings, additional academic and fine arts opportunities, and more.” Earning numerous awards for transparency and responsible business practices, GISD is one of just a few North Texas districts to have never held a VATRE. Rising operating costs and no new funding from the state led Trustees to call for the election, which will allow GISD
see GARLAND ISD, page 5
Breonna Taylor case spotlights Attorney General Daniel Cameron I was just
Inside
Taking a holistic approach to “Back to School” Experience
Garland ISD Board set Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election for November ballot A leader among school districts across the state and nation, Garland ISD’s more than 100-year history has been filled with excellence and innovation in financial management. The district’s Board of Trustees is continuing that tradition of innovation with an extremely unique Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) that will generate additional funds from the state while also reducing the burden on local homeowners. If approved, the district’s VATRE will not only provide the needed funds for GISD to con-
Who is Daniel Cameron and what does he have to do with the Breonna Taylor case? Cameron is the Kentucky Attorney General assigned in May to the Taylor case as a special prosecutor. He came aboard after the previous county attorney Tom Wine recused himself from the controversial case because of a conflict of interest.
Wordz of Wilson Chelle Wilson
A History Lesson!
Sen. Kamala Harris with former Vice President Joe Biden
BACK TO SCHOOL… By DEBRA PEEK-HAYNES Special to Texas Metro News
AUGUST 26, 2020
Cameron, 34, could be viewed as a political figure at the center of a firestorm. He is Kentucky’s first Black attorney general, a Republican Trump supporter, and the commonwealth state’s first Republican AG in more than 70 years. The son of a college professor mother and coffeeshop owner father graduated from the University of Louisville where he played football and the Brandeis School of Law where he was Student Bar Association president. In other words, he has all the credentials for a political rising star who has caught the
Daniel Cameron
eye of President Trump. The commander-in-chief seems to consider Cameron an ally after Cameron complimented Trump at a political rally. What does this have to do
see THINKING, page 5
Clara Luper
I woke up the morning of Aug. 19, 2020 knowing the day was significant for many reasons, but the way the dots have connected for me have meant much more than I thought. This night, Kamala Harris made history as she accepted the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States. Because of race and gender, the political aspirations of many sheroes were never realized, but their dreams, vision, and intention to make America live up to its ideals absolutely paved the way for this moment. The fact that Senator Harris’ acceptance happened on Aug 19, is surreal for me. You’ll understand why soon. Sixty-two years ago to the same day (two years before the sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina that are widely credited as the first), my mother, Clara Luper, the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council Advisor, led 13 youth on a sit-in protest at Katz Drug Store. After just two days, Katz not only integrated the lunch counter there in Oklahoma City, but their protests led to the integration of all 38 of their stores—across four states. Over the next six years, Luper would be arrested 26 times for protesting segregation and other racially-based discriminatory laws and practices throughout Oklahoma and the nation. She participated in every major civil rights march, including Selma and Washington, D.C. While civil rights protestors are largely celebrated today, my mother used to tell me about the criticism she received from both the white and Black community. Beyond the criticism, she literally put her life on the line for equality and access. Shotgun shells were thrown in her home, her windows were constantly broken, furniture set ablaze; she was followed, received daily threatening letters and calls with promises to harm her and her family, not to mention the pressure by the school board (whom she referred to as a true demonstration of “white power”) to stop engaging in protests. The “Freedom Center,” where she and the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council operated from, was literally destroyed to the ground by a bomb. She sacrificed much. Throughout her life, she saw much of the worse in humanity. She was born two years after the Tulsa Massacre and grew up not far away in Okfuskee County. She used to tell me about having to go into town to get things and how she hated it because of the way she and her family were treated. The closest town was Henryetta, and right outside of town a sign was posted that said, “Negroes Read and Run. If you can’t read, run anyway.” The town made it clear that they wouldn’t wait until sundown to handle any negroes that got out of line. Her brother, Ulysses, survived World War II, only to die of pneumonia as the hospital in Henryetta refused to treat him because he was Black. Nevertheless, she held fast to the
see HISTORY, page 5