VOL.8 NO. 9 Nov. 27, 2019
MY TRUTH
By Cheryl Smith Publisher
Always give love and thanks
I’ve always heard that one man’s Heaven is another’s hell. While one group is celebrating Juneteenth, the other side was bemoaning the ending of slavery. That’s pretty much the way it is with Thanksgiving. Now, November is significant for a number of reasons, including it is American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month Which brings me to my truth. We’re not living in a vacuum and we have to be concerned about others. Now when I was growing up, everyone, I mean every Black person I knew claimed some type of “Indian” heritage. They were “part” Cherokee, Apache, Seminole, or If you don’t know your full-throttle history, the whole story of how you came to where you are, it’s kind of hard to put things together. --Nipsey Hussle-AZ QUOTES
Comanche, et al. “Don’t you see my high cheekbones,” many would ask. More ironic than celebrating “Thanksgiving” during American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month, has to be Black people who would rather identify with Native Americans while totally disregarding, dismissing and oftentimes making disparaging remarks about Africa! Well, I just absolutely love Patty Talahongva. A member and former president of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA); Patty has been very helpful in sharing information about the culture of America’s real first family. We were in a program that brought together journalists from NAJA, the Asian See MY TRUTH, page 5
TRAILBLAZER
First African American UTSW faculty member remembered as health care advocate for women By Nyshicka Jordan
Special to Texas Metro News from UT Southwestern Center Times
Dr. Barbara Cambridge, the first African American full-time faculty member at UT Southwestern, is remembered as a passionate advocate for the health of vulnerable women in Dallas. The respected social worker died Sept. 26 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. “Barbara was about making a positive difference in people’s lives. That’s really her legacy,” said Dr. Stephen Heartwell, once Director of the former Division of Community Women’s Healthcare in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (The Division was disbanded in 2005.) In 1969, Dr. Cambridge was appointed Social Services Director
Dr. Barbara Cambridge
for that Division, originally called the Greater Dallas Family Planning Program. It’s a role she held for 12 years. Dr. Cambridge was recognized for her 44 years of service at UT
KwanzaaFest is “Really Coming Together!”
Southwestern during the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration in 2014. By the time she retired from UTSW in 2013, Dr. Cambridge held the rank of Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and participated extensively in clinical and research activities. Additionally, she played a key role in bringing integration and diversity into the spotlight for UT Southwestern Medical School, according to Dr. Drew Alexander, Assistant Dean for Community Engagement. “We came through at a time when opportunities were lacking for minorities and were fortunate enough to be part of the transition and at the forefront to allow the building of the experiences that young people have today,” said Dr.
NAACP awards presented at annual Freedom Fund Banquet
By Vincent L. Hall Quit Playin’
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price
That’s the theme for the 29th Annual KwanzaaFest celebration, and it really is coming together. Each year since 1991, when Dallas County
Commissioner John Wiley Price and the Warriors launched the idea of KwanzaaFest, patrons want to know what Kwanzaa is all about. So let’s peer into
See KWANZAAFEST, page 4
See CAMBRIDGE, page 6
Dallas NAACP Branch President Aubrey C. Hooper and award recipient Chelle Wilson
The Dallas NAACP Branch held the Juanita Craft Freedom Fund Gala, Sat, Nov 16. Each year the Dallas NAACP awards scholarships in honor of Mrs. Craft, the former Dallas City Councilwoman, mother of the Dallas NAACP Youth and College Division and longtime civil rights activist in the Dallas community. Honorees were: President’s Awards: Public Service - Sen. Royce West See NAACP, page 11
I WAS JUST THINKING... By Norma Adams-Wade
Mama in the classroom
“Mama” Mable Chandler
I wrote my first column in 1988 for a local Dallas newspaper. I wrote about a beloved Dallas guidance counselor and teacher that most students called “Mama.” See THINKING, page 4
WORDZ OF WILSON BY CHELLE LUPER WILSON
When I Think of Home One of my favorite movies of all time is The Wiz, yes, the one starring Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross and MJ as Scarecrow. I love the way our culture is beautifully and tragically woven into the storyline as we took this popular story and made it our own—from running numbers, and naming children after cars (Remember Lion aka Fleetwood Coupe DeVille), to the fabulous and fashionable sistas See WORDZ, page 5