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Monsters are scary, So are brilliant Black women
Cruz named Miss Paul Quinn College
page 4
The Last Word by Julianne Malveaux
GarlandJournal SERVING NORTH EAST TEXAS
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MY TRUTH
By Cheryl Smith Publisher
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THURSDAY OCTOBER 22, 2020 VOLUME X
My Plan
to Lift Every Voice in Black America
United We Stand
By Joe Biden Special to the Garland Journal
I was so happy when I received Alayna’s text message. I was already planning to call her and her sisters, Annya and
EXCLUSIVE OP-ED
Biden for President
Photocredit: Adam Schultz
There is injustice in America. There is discrimination. There is a legacy of racism and inequality that lives still in our institutions, our laws, and in too many people’s hearts that makes it harder for Black people to succeed. These are facts in the United States of America in 2020, and we must all do more to move our
nation closer to the ideals inlaid at our founding—that all women and men are created equal. This year has also brought us too many examples of the dangers Black people can face in the course of going about their lives. With grieving hearts, we learned to say the names of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and many more. I’ve spent time with the families of George Floyd and Jacob Blake, sharing their grief and anSee MY PLAN, page 7
Mamie Till still speaks for Black mothers Alayna Smith
Ayanna, because even though I brought them up understanding the importance of voting; I felt the need to encourage, inspire, urge and give that last little push, if needed, to the polls. Which brings me to my truth. I always vote but I haven’t always been happy with the choices. For numerous reasons, there have been times when I have had to hold my nose, say a prayer and even shake my head as I cast that oh so important vote. And for years I have written about elections; my first was the presidential election that pitted President Jimmy Carter and Republican nominee Ronald Reagan. See MY TRUTH, page 5
I WAS JUST THINKING By Norma Adams-Wade Images of Black men and women killed mainly by police scroll across the screen. Percussion and stringed instruments smoothly croon plaintive jazz music in the background. Rev. Dr. Sheron Patterson’s words pierce the sound as she boldly states the case for Black mothers. God made us mothers of a people who are othered In the land of the free and the brave, it’s our kids winding up in graves Rev. Dr. Sheron Patterson is known for her passionate delivery of a Sunday sermon. This senior pastor of Hamilton
Park United Methodist Church in North Dallas is known for rallying the public when there’s a social cause that needs attention and for being a “first” in many arenas. But the trailblazing woman of the cloth faced a recent motherly concern that she says stopped her cold. The experience forced this author of nine books to pen a poetic spoken-word message for all mothers of Black sons, and even Black daughters, who are forced to live in today’s world where she says their “pigmentation leads to criminalization.” The spoken-word poem is “Concerned Black Mothers’ Anthem.” The Charlotte, N. C. native, wrote and recites the poem in a two minute, 34 second YouTube video, complete with music, historic and current videos, photographs, and lines from the spoken-word that
and to not look threatening or make them feel ill at ease else our kids end up in the street under a policeman’s knee.
Rev. Dr. Sheron Patterson
flash over images. The anthem tells how iconic mother, Mamie Till, is a role model for modern mothers who grapple with fear when their Black sons and daughters go out into a world that fears Black skin. Mothering while Black has always been complicated. Gotta teach our kids how to be assimilated
In a Texas Metro News interview, Dr. Patterson, herself the daughter of a policeman and school teacher, said the piece began to form in her head and heart after one of her two adult sons told her about a recent incident where he was called the N-word as a car drove past her own home in Dallas. This familiar media personality – who hold various degrees, serves on various boards, and is also a relationship counselor -- said the conversation added to her foreboding as a Black mother. And it compelled her as an activist minister who has spoken out and taken stands following national racial See MOTHERS, page 6